Ammassalik / Tasiilaq
- Museum, Tupilak / Tupilaq 1 - East Greenland
I like this one, he looks a bit too friendly to be a proper
monster though.
A Tupilaq is an avenging monster that can be made by
someone against an enemy. They were made of natural
materials such as hair, bone, plant leaves etc. in secret isolated
places and then after suitable chanting was cast into the sea
to seek and attack the enemy with an intent to kill them.
As avenging monsters go however there was a degree of egalitarianism
involved in that if the enemy was more powerful in a magical
way than the aggressor, then he/she could turn the tupilaq back
against the maker, so you had to be pretty confident.
Picture copyright Paul Ward 2009.
Pentax digital equipment.
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