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| Institution(s): |
Canadian Museum of Civilization
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| Year created: | 1996 |
| Coverage dates: | not provided |
| Description: |
Inuit throughout the Arctic knew of the existence of places of power. The real, yet sometimes ghostly, geography of these places appeared in language, song, and remarkable drawings. Some were easily recognized because they were so striking. Others were distinguished by the objects found there. Still others were unrecognizable unless revealed by someone who knew of their importance; they had to be believed to be seen.
These places are numerous and varied, and include inuksuit, the stone structures of varied shape and size erected by Inuit for many purposes. The term inuksuk (the singular of inuksuit) means "to act in the capacity of a human." It is an extension of inuk, human being. In addition to their earthly functions, certain inuksuk-like figures had spiritual connotations, and were objects of veneration, often marking the threshold of the spiritual landscape of the Inummariit, which means "the people who knew how to survive on the land living in a traditional way."
Inuksuit vary not only in size and shape but also in their functions. One was to drive herds of game to where they would be killed in numbers. Another was to guide the hunter travelling on land, or on the sea or ice within sight of land. There are places in the Arctic where networks of inuksuit reach from the interior to the sea, and along the coast in both directions. Some inuksuit were built to serve as message centres. They could indicate, for example, dangerous places, the depth of snow, the direction of the mainland from an island where seals or fish could be taken. These inuksuit were designed to be messages fixed in time and space. Others were personal notes left on the landscape -- perhaps for a wife to follow her husband at a later date, or as an expression of grief marking the place where a loved one perished.
Some inuksuit, however, served other than a practical purpose. They were once revered as materialized forms of power.
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| Audience(s): | general |
| Language(s) of exhibit: | English, French |
| Copyright information: | Copyright Canadian Museum of Civilization Corporation. |
| Subjects: |
Culture & Lifestyle
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