The story recounts the mystical lives of Greenlandic angakut (shamans). Kapiarsuk and Avangnanersuak were said to secretly conjure food from a magical opening in the ground, sharing it with a curious child who later forgot the event. Another shaman, Kuvatsiak, discovered his brother Usuinak was taken by spirits and often saw him struggling to escape their grip. Kuvatsiak later embraced Christianity after a dream-inspired baptism.
Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875
► Themes of the story
Supernatural Beings: The narrative involves interactions with spirits and mystical forces, such as the ingnersuit who seize Usuinak.
Forbidden Knowledge: The child witnesses the secret ritual of conjuring food but is made to forget, highlighting the pursuit and concealment of hidden truths.
Transformation: Kuvatsiak’s journey from shamanism to Christianity signifies a profound spiritual change influenced by dreams and revelations.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Inuit peoples
Abridged version of the story.
Among the last angakut at Kangerdlugsuatsiak (Greenland) was a man named Kapiarsuk, and a woman called Avangnanersuak, who every day during the whole winter used to go out together to catch partridges, but never brought any home, and never were seen to eat anything at all. At last a child, who was anxious as to their doings, one day asked leave to accompany them, and soon observed that they never looked for any partridges at all; but having come a good way up the country, Kapiarsuak commenced to strike a flat rock with his staff, and murmuring certain words, an opening appeared in the ground, out of which they went on angling and hauling up different kinds of food, allowing the child to partake of the good fare.
► Continue reading…
On going home they gave it a small fish to swallow, after which it lost all remembrance of what it had seen. Not until he was full grown, many years after, did he suddenly recollect the event and narrate it.
Another angakok of the same place, named Kuvatsiak, had two brothers, Usuinak and Igpak, of whom the former, having gone out kayaking, did not return, and entirely disappeared. In the evening they saw the clothes of the missing brother moving about by themselves. Kuvatsiak forthwith began to conjure, by means of which he found out that he had been seized by the ingnersuit. Kuvatsiak had a dream somewhat like that of Akamalik; and when he began growing old he often met with his deceased brother out at sea. He observed some black thing lying on the top of his brother’s kayak, who laboured in vain to rid himself of it, saying that that was the only impediment hindering him from leaving the under-world people and returning to the land of the living. When the first missionary came to the country Kuvatsiak had a dream that induced him to get baptised.
Running and expanding this site requires resources: from maintaining our digital platform to sourcing and curating new content. With your help, we can grow our collection, improve accessibility, and bring these incredible narratives to an even wider audience. Your sponsorship enables us to keep the world’s stories alive and thriving. ♦ Visit our Support page
Dreamtime Whispers 