Inuit shamanism and Christianity : transitions and transformations in the twentieth century / Frederic B. Laugrand and Jarich G. Oosten.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Laugrand, Frédéric.

Contributor:

Oosten, J. G., 1945-

Series:

McGill-Queen's native and northern series ; 59.

McGill-Queen's native and northern series ; 59

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Christianity--Canada, Northern--History--20th century.

Christianity.

Inuit mythology.

Inuit--Missions.

Inuit.

Inuit--Religion.

Inuit--Social life and customs.

Shamanism--Canada, Northern--History--20th century.

Shamanism.

Canada, Northern--Church history--20th century.

Canada, Northern.

Physical Description:

xx, 467 p. : ill., map.

Edition:

1st ed.

Other Title:

Transitions and transformations in the twentieth century

Place of Publication:

Montreal ; Ithaca : McGill-Queen's University Press, c2010.

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Annotation While the transition to Christianity in the Canadian Arctic occurred between the end of the eighteenth century and the 1950s, the various and complex transformations that happened during this time have not been fully understood. Using both archival material and oral testimony collected during workshops in Nunavut between 1996 and 2008, FrÉdÉric Laugrand and Jarich Oosten provide a nuanced look at Inuit religion, offering a strong counter narrative to the idea that traditional Inuit culture declined post-contact. They show that setting up a dichotomy between a past identified with traditional culture and a present involving Christianity obscures the continuity and dynamics of Inuit society, which has long borrowed and adapted "outside" elements. They argue that both Shamanism and Christianity are continually changing in the Arctic and ideas of transformation and transition are necessary to understand both how the hunting ideology shaped Inuit Christian cosmology and how Christianity changed Inuit shamanic traditions. Inuit Shamanism and Christianityis particularly useful in distinguishing between the influence of Anglican, Catholic, and, more recently, Pentecostal and Evangelical movements and in delineating the ways in which Shamanism still influences modern life in Inuit communities.

Contents:

Pt. 1. Angakkuuniq and Christianity. Continuity and decline

Missionaries and Angakkuit

Inuit winter feasts

Pt. 2. Animals, owners, and non-human beings. Hunters and prey

The owners of the sky, the land, and the sea

Inuunngittut, non-human beings from the land and the sea

Pt. 3. Encounters, healing, and power. Initiation, visions, and dreams

Healing as a socio-cosmic process

Powerful objects and words

Pt. 4. Connecting to ancestors and land. Connecting to ancestors : Qilaniq and Qilauti, head lifting and drum dancing

Reconnecting people and healing the land : Inuit Pentecostal and evangelical movements

Transitions and transformations

Appendix 1. Glossary of Inuktitut words

Appendix 2. Inuit elders.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-282-86681-8

9786612866814

0-7735-7636-3

OCLC:

923234838

Publisher Number:

2027/heb33507 hdl