The Greenlandic Tupilak

Tupilak is a carved figure that protects its owner against enemy attack, but is now a popular souvenir.

A WORLD OF SOULS AND SPIRITS

Previously tupilak was made to mysterious and sinister sprits. Today, when the word ‘tupilak’ is mentioned, the majority of people think of the well-known small figures carved in tooth, bone or stone.

REVENGE AGAINST ENEMIES

A tupilak spirit could be called upon to help against a foe by a shaman secretly creating a figure made from various bones or other parts of animals. The figure was then inaugurated and made a home for the spirit by singing a spell over it.

The tupilak was often put out to sea so that it could find the enemy itself and kill him. However, this course of action was not without risk because if the tupilak’s victim had greater powers of witchcraft than its creator, he could repel its attack and instead send the tupilak back to kill its originator.

"In Greenlandic the word 'tupilak' means an ancestor's soul or spirit."

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