Katigagse, skeptical of the angakut, often disrupted their conjurations. During one ceremony, he tore down the curtain and fled outside, only to encounter a terrifying flame rushing through the air. Shaken, he returned to the hut, clinging to the rafters until exhaustion overcame him. After the ritual ended, Katigagse was found filthy and humiliated, vowing never to attend another angakok ceremony.
Source:
Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo
by Henry Rink
[William Blackwood and Sons]
Edinburgh and London, 1875
► Themes of the story
Supernatural Beings: Katigagse’s encounter with the mysterious flame during the angakok (shaman) ceremony highlights interactions with otherworldly forces.
Cunning and Deception: His initial skepticism and disruptive actions during the ritual suggest themes of trickery and the consequences of deceit.
Divine Punishment: The terrifying experience serves as retribution for his irreverence toward sacred practices, leading to his vow never to attend such ceremonies again.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about the Inuit peoples
Abridged version of the story.
Katigagse had no faith in the angakut, and sometimes, when attending their conjurations, he tore away the window-curtain, and thereby dispelled all their doings.
But once when an angakok had begun his conjuration, and announced his tornak to be approaching in the shape of a fire, Katigagse tore away the curtain which covered the entrance, and ran outside.
Suddenly he discovered a great flame rushing through the air, which struck him with terror, and made him re-enter the house, and trembling from head to foot cling to the rafters of the hut, from whence fatigue soon made him fall to the ground.
► Continue reading…
When the conjuration had been finished, and the fire kept off, Katigagse was missed. At length they brought him forth from underneath the ledge, all covered with filth, in which state he left the house, never to attend angakok service any more.
This and the following tale are only interesting as showing the deeply-seated fear of, and belief in, the angakut.
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