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6853.2 Dreams Cover_ENG. 5/1/06 10:57 AM Page 1 INUIT PERSPECTIVES ON THE 20TH CENTURY DreamDreams Interpretation and Dreams and Dream Interpretation INUIT PERSPECTIVES ON THE 20TH CENTURY 3 George Agiaq Kappianaq, Felix Pisuk and Salome Ka&&ak Qalasiq Edited by Stéphane Kolb and Samuel Law 6507.5_Fre 5/1/06 9:11 AM Page 239 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 1 INUIT PERSPECTIVES ON THE 20TH CENTURY Volume 3 Dreams and Dream Interpretation George Agiaq Kappianaq, Felix Pisuk and Salome Ka&&ak Qalasiq Edited by Stéphane Kolb and Samuel Law 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 2 Inuit Perspectives on the 20th Century Volume 3 Dreams and Dream Interpretation Copyright © 2001 Nunavut Arctic College, and George Agiaq Kappianaq, Felix Pisuk, Salome Ka&&ak Qalasiq, Stéphane Kolb, Samuel Law and participating students (as listed within). Photos by Stéphane Kolb, Aksatungua Ashoona, Kilaja Simeonie. Cover illustration/photo by Nick Newbery. Design and production by Nortext (Iqaluit). All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without written consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law. ISBN 1-896-204-481 Published by the Language and Culture Program of Nunavut Arctic College, Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0. For order information: Nunavut Arctic College Library Box 600 Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 3 Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i MAP ii PREFACE v INTRODUCTION 1 PART ONE: THE LIFE CYCLE 23 Chapter 1: Sleep 25 Chapter 2: The Body and the Tarniq 35 Chapter 3: Death, Burial Practices and Naming Through Dreams 41 Chapter 4: The Life Story of Salome Ka&&ak Qalasiq 49 Chapter 5: The Life Story of Felix Pisuk 69 PART TWO: DREAMING 81 Chapter 6: Dreaming and Being Aware 83 Chapter 7: Itillimaniq: Sleepwalking 101 Chapter 8: Tuurngait 113 Chapter 9: Dreams and Angakkunngurniq; Becoming an Angakkuq 125 Chapter 10: Out of the Body Travel; Sakaniq, Nakkaaniq, Ilimmaqturniq, and Ikiaqqiniq; and Travel Over Distance, Qiluriaqsiurniq 139 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 4 Chapter 11: Dealing with Dreams: Prevention and Protection; Ilisiiqsiniq 155 Chapter 12: Suicide 171 Chapter 13: Exploring Our Dreams: Dialogue Between Generations 179 PART THREE: CROSS PERSPECTIVES ON UQUMANGIRNIQ AND AQTUQSINNIQ 187 Chapter 14: Elders Perspectives on Uqumangirniq and Aqtuqsinniq 189 Chapter 15: Individual Experiences and Views on Dreams and Uqumangirniq: Iqaluit Interviews 197 Chapter 16: Uqumangirniq or Aqtuqsinniq: Inuit Sleep Paralysis – A Biopsychocultural Interpretation through Inuit Interviews, and Review of International Perspectives 219 EPILOGUE 237 GLOSSARY 239 REFERENCES 247 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 5 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS We would like to thank the Nunavut Government Department of Culture, Language, Elders and Youth for funding the research and publication costs for this book. 26 25 24 23 22 20 6853.2 Dreams_ENG5/1/0611:00AMPage6 19 21 18 17 16 12 15 13 11 9 10 8 14 6 7 1 2 5 4 3 6853.2 Dreams_ENG5/1/0611:00AMPage7 1 nirlx6 Sanikiluaq Sanikiluaq 14 u5tmbo4 Pond Inlet Mittimatalik 2 r7uD5 Kimmirut Kimmirut 15 NiyF4 Nanisivik Nanisivik 3 wclw5 Iqaluit Iqaluit 16 w[loÛ3J4 Chesterfield Inlet Igluligaarjuk 4 X8i6©6 Pangnirtung Panniqtuuq 17 vq 6Oi6 Rankin Inlet Kangiq&iniq 5 er6b3Jx6 Qikiqtarjuaq Qikiqtarjuaq 18 trC3Jx6 Whale Cove Tikirarjuaq 6 r`Zw5 Cape Dorset Kinngait 19 x3Fx5 Arviat Arviat 7 vq6gÛW4 Clyde River Kangiqtugaapik 20 cmi5gx6 Baker Lake Qamanittuaq 8 n9o6 Coral Harbour Salliq 21 bl3Jx6 Taloyoak Talurjuaq 9 niC/4 Hall Beach Sanirajak 22 s6h6©6 Gjoa Haven Uqsuqtuuq 10 w[lo4 Igloolik Iglulik 23 wcl4©4tx6 Cambridge Bay Iqaluktuuttiaq 11 Ns÷5 Repulse Bay Naujaat 24 su1m4©6 Bay Chimo Umingmaktuuq 12 x3Fo[Jx6 Pelly Bay Arviligjuaq 25 ezs4 Bathurst Inlet Kingauk 13 gkiDy6 Arctic Bay Tununirusiq 26 d3l6g6 Kugluktuk Qurluqtuq 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 8 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 9 Preface Aqtuqsinniq was little, maybe around five years old, when I started to think I was not a little baby anymore. I used to dream a lot while I was sleeping. It seems like I was dreaming Inearly every night. I used to be scared of the dark, and during the night, I had mostly scary dreams. In the daytime, when I was going for a nap, I had mostly happy dreams. I used to dream a lot about wolves, dogs, or anything that had sharp teeth. A few times in my life I experienced aqtuqsinniq, but not a lot. Once, I had this aqtuqsinniq at night, in my dreams. I was just walking and there was a dog in front of me, about five feet away from me, walking towards my right side. I was just walking too, minding my own business, and suddenly I saw this dog in front of me. As I was kind of scared, I told myself, “It’s only a dog,” but it stopped and looked at me with its red eyes and said, “You think I am not real.” I started to run right away, still in my dream, while the dog was just standing there. Somehow, I slipped and fell to the ground. The dog started to run towards me with its sharp teeth showing. I could not move a single part of my body. All I did was scream for help and watch the dog. It kept trying to bite me and I finally woke up lying on my bed. I was still unable to move, even a little bit. I was just breathing hard with my heart beating fast. About two minutes later, I started to be able to move, feeling a bit shaky and weak. It was my first time experiencing aqtuqsinniq and I will never forget it. I experienced this a few times after that. It was a bad experience for me as it must be for anybody who has gone through this. It felt so real in the dream. It makes your body unable to move for a few minutes. Andy Ootoova Preface – Aqtuqsinniq v 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 10 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 1 Introduction Dreams and Dream Interpretation he way one perceives the world, and one’s environment, is in large part shaped by one’s culture. In many societies, dreams and visions are considered the link Tbetween the visible and the invisible universe. This is often the case in cultures that have or have had a shamanistic tradition (Perrin 1997). The dream experiences of younger Inuit in contemporary Nunavut have never been directly addressed in the literature. Research into dreams has been conducted in other circumpolar countries, usually from a medical perspective which tends to focus on dreams in relation only to illness. This volume explores the knowledge and experiences of elders with that of younger Inuit, from both an anthropological and cultural psychological perspective. Written accounts of dreams in traditional Inuit society are also uncommon. Anthropologists rarely paid attention to this aspect of Inuit culture. Knud Rasmussen mentions dreams occasionally in the reports published after the Fifth Thule Expedition in the 1920’s. Although much of Rasmussen’s work was used by other researchers studying specific areas of Inuit culture, his accounts of dreams in traditional Inuit society, surprisingly, remained unexplored. In this introduction we will present information and comments on dreams from the elders interviewed and also from other relevant sources. It must be noted here that Pisuk and Ka&&ak accorded, in general, a greater importance to dreams than did Agiaq. Whether this reflects a regional cultural difference between the Iglulingmiutaq Agiaq and the Kivallirmiutaak Pisuk and Ka&&ak or simply their life experiences, is difficult to assert and would require further research. The reader must be aware that the information and comments presented here reflect personal, familial and local conceptions or practices that don’t necessarily apply to all Inuit across Nunavut. This is a point that the elders repeatedly insisted on by underlining regional differences in each other’s discourses. Part One of the book deals primarily with sleep, the body and the tarniq, as well as with death, burial practices, and the naming of children. It also introduces the biographies of Ka&&ak and Pisuk. As Pisuk describes it: While we are alive our tarniq is just a pullaq, a bubble. When I die my tarniq will no longer be a bubble. It will become the way you see me. If you saw me in dreams you would recognize me. My tarniq will have the same appearance as my body but without bones. It will not have any substance. Introduction – Dreams and Dream Interpretation 1 6853.2 Dreams_ENG 5/1/06 11:00 AM Page 2 The person’s tarniq belongs to an invisible world. According to Ka&&ak, siniktuq, sleep, was also called kujjaajuq: It’s a term for being asleep. It’s an old word. Most people today use the word siniktuq. Most people sleep during the night. Some people are able to see people sleeping as the angakkuit see them. They see them sleeping at an angle with only their head touching the bed. Pisuk, who had this ability, remarks: Kujjaajuq is a very old term in Utkuhikhalingmiut and Nattilingmiut. I think the term refers to the tarniq. It is when a person who is sleeping only has their head on the bed and their heels are up in the air.