BOAS] RELIGIOUS IDEAS. 591 



suppose that it lingers three days around the body, unable to leave 

 it. Then it descends to Sedna"s house. Diiring its stay in Adlivun 

 the soul is called tupilaq, which is represented by the figure of a man 

 with wide, loose, shabby clothing. It is looked upon as a malevolent 

 spirit, frequently roaming around the villages. The tupilaq is not 

 allowed to enter the houses, and if the angakoq perceives and an- 

 noiinces his presence no one would dare to leave the hoiises. His 

 touch kills men at once, the sight of him causes sickness and mischief. 

 As soon as the soul has become an adliparniio, it is at rest and 

 ceases to be feared as a tupilaq. 



It is worth remarking that the Greenlanders designate with the 

 name of tupilaq a siipernatural being made by men for the piirpose 

 of destroying their enemies (Rink, j). 53). It is composed of various 

 parts of different animals and is enabled to act in the shape of any 

 of them at will. ^ I have not found any trace of this idea among the 

 Central Eskimo. 



THE TORXAIT AND THE ANGAKUT. 



A consideration of the religious ideas of the Eskimo shows that 

 the tornait, the invisible rulers of every object, are the most remark- 

 able beings next to Sedna. Everything has its inua (owner), which 

 may become the genius of man who thus obtains the qualities of 

 angakuniru. I am not quite sure that every inua can become the 

 tornaq of a man, though with the Greenlanders this was possible. I 

 learned of three kinds of spirits only, who are protectors of angakut: 

 those in the shape of men, of stones, and of bears. These spirits 

 enable the angakut to have intercourse with the others who are 

 considered malevolent to mankind, and though those three sj^ecies 

 are kind to their angakut they would hurt strangers who might hap- 

 pen to see them. The bear seems to be the most powerful among 

 tlii-se spirits. The tornait of the stones live in the larn'e bowlders 

 scait.'iv.l over the country. The Eskimo believe i hat iliesc rocks are 

 liulldw and form a nice house, the entrance of which is mdy visible 

 to the angakoq whose genius lives in the stone. The tornaq is a 

 woman with only one eye, in the middle of the brow. Another kind 

 of tornaq lives in the stones that roll down tlir hills in s]iring when 

 the snow begins to melt. If a native happens to ineri such a stone, 

 which is about to become his tornaq. thi- htttiT addresses him: "I 

 jumped down in long leaps from my place on the cliii. As the snow 

 melts, as water is formed on the hills, I jump down." Then it asks 

 the native whether he is willing to have it for his tornaq, and if he 

 answers in the afBrmative it accompanies him, wabbling along, as 

 it has no legs. 



The bear tornaq is represented as a huge animal without any hair 

 except on the points of the ears and of the tail and at the mouth. If 

 a man wishes to obtain a bear for his tornaq he must travel all alone 



