_Religion (Beliefs)
shaman's mask
_The Inuit's supernatural was as normal as the natural,
everyday world in which they lived. The Inuit believed everything had a
soul, and when a person or animal died, the spirit could enter another
living creature. The only people who had enough power to control the
spirits called ''shaman''. Shaman used charms and dances as a mean to
communicate with the spirit world. When shaman were performing their
ritual, they had to wear carved mask. They believed that had power to
communicate with the spirit. To appease the spirit the shaman had to
make motions. They would offering gifts to the spirits, moving away, and
sometimes they would find out that person who broke the rules.
Customs
_The Inuit people had many taboos.
They could not ate land and sea animals on the same day. Weapons had
been used for hunting land animals, had to be smoked over a fire of
seaweed before being used for hunting seal. Clothing of caribou hides
was not sewn while seals were being hunted. As safeguard against evil,
Inuit wrote a variety of amulets: owl claws to give strong hands;
caribou ears for quick hearing; a willow branch for growth. They
sometimes were hung amulets around a stone where travelers would
encounter dangerous condition. People who were ill or the women ready to
give birth were separated from the rest of the family. A women had to
stay in a separated house or tent for a month, there had some food they
couldn't eat and was not able to go visiting. Baby's navel cord was
bitten off or cut with a stone knife or mussel shell and kept as an
amulet. When a child was born, it was usually given the name of a dead
relative. When people died, the bodies had wrapped in skins and laid on
the tundra or in the hills, with a ring of stone. If someone dies, their
family had to bath themselves and clean their house. Women without
proper tattoos were said to go to an unhappy place after death.
Art
The art of the Inuit were simple but strong and full of
imagination. They showed of everyday life, often express ancient myth
and traditions. The Inuit were very good at carving, since bowls, tools, arrowheads and spearhead, almost everything they needed. Carvers were discovered by soapstone pots. It was made of blood, clay and dog's hair, and heated over a flame until the mend set. It use for heat and bake. It could take heat well and bake to a glossy hardness when it became really hot. Ivory was the best item for carving, it was strong.
Ceremonies
drum dance
Inuit have different kinds of ceremonies for different parts of their life. The simple one is music and dance. The main instrument of dances was the shallow, one-side drum. Most drums were made by caribou skin or walrus stomach or bladder stretched over a wooden hoop. There were up to 60 people to have the drum dance in the igloo. In the song, they usually told a story about the spirits. Some dance while welcome travelers or celebrated a successful hunt. A celebrate called ''Bladder Dance'' was often held after a large hunt. The Inuit believed that the soul of the animal was find inside the bladder, then if the bladder returned in the sea, the animal's spirit would find a new body.