Breath-Soul and Wind Owner
The Many and the One in Inuit Religion
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 4040530 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Merkur (corresponding author) |
| Year | 1983 |
| Volume | 7 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 23 |
| Publication date | 1983-01-01 |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The American Indian Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0095-182X • E-ISSN: 1534-1828 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/1184255 |
| OpenAlex | W2334367822 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 2 |
| References cited | 2 |
HE PAN-INUIT WORD sila, together with its dialectic variants hila, hla, shla, sla, tla, etc., has an extensive range of meanings: world, the universe; nature, the natural order; common sense, reason; consciousness; the air, the wind(s), the weather; the place or space outside, the open sky. Petersen (1966-67:262) remarks that even though the individual meanings must not be mixed together in daily talk, the concept 'sila' naturally covers them all. Unity is provided to the idea sila by the unity of the conception of the numen known, sometimes as Sila, but sometimes as Silap inua, owner of sila. Scholarly efforts to understand the Inuit conception of Sila have varied. Thalbitzer (1926:375) was content to characterize Sila as spirit of the air, the master of the weather, as was Rasmtissen throughout his writings. Both agreed that the conception had regional variations. Both held that main godheads of the Inuit are nearly everywhere three in number... [and] quite independent of each other (Thalbitzer 1926:375). Birket-Smith (1924:433) instead entertained an animatistic notion of a mystic, supernatural power which permeates all existence. Weyer (1932:389) argued that spirit is not simply an essence or an abstract power, but the personification of these characters. In connection with his theory of primal monotheism, Schmidt (1931:269) identified Sila as a Supreme Being; and, on empirical grounds, Pettazzoni (1956:354-61) and Hultkrantz (1965:358) agree
Geography · Soul · Theology · History · Indigenous Studies and Ecology · Philosophy · Religious Studies and Spiritual Practices
| Citations per year | 0.22 |
|---|---|
| Citation span | 2017 - 2024 (8) |
| Highly cited | No |