Eskimo shamanism
Scripta Instituti Donneriani Aboensis August 1, 1967 DOI: 10.30674/scripta.67021 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Ethnography Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Population | Eskimo (Inuit) peoples across the Arctic, from the Pacific Ocean and Bering Strait to East Greenland |
| Topics | Shamanism |
| Key findings | Argues that shamanism has been closely connected with Eskimo culture far back in time and that the shaman's position and traditional functions have had a rather uniform stamp across the vast Eskimo region, while characteristic differences in shamans' ways of practicing indicate that development did not proceed along the same line in all cases. The shaman's task is to take charge of relations to supernatural powers supposed to interfere with human life. |
Abstract
Shamans and shamanistic performances have been described from almost all parts of the Eskimo world, from the Pacific Ocean and Bering Strait to East Greenland, and to judge from the records it seems that the position and traditional functions of the shaman in general have had a rather uniform stamp all over this vast area. Apparently shamanism has been narrowly connected with Eskimo culture far back in time. Nevertheless certain characteristic differences found in the shamans' ways of exercising their practise indicate that the development has not proceeded along the same line in all cases. The task of the Eskimo shaman is to take charge of the relations to the supernatural powers that are supposed to interfere with human life.