Firstly I am excited to be reading a perspective from an Alaska Native culture foreign to me. I was slightly exposed of another Alaska Native culture in Southeast Alaska with the Tlingit. It is interesting to make connections and see similarities/differences between other cultures. Here are initial my thoughts below...
Yuuyaraq = Yupik’s beliefs = their Bible = Eithfold Path = Law etc. Interesting...
I particularly thought the Yup'ik’s beliefs in spirits and the afterlife very interesting because of the similarities between theirs and other cultures in the world. The idea of how iinruq taking another body is similar to other religion’s beliefs of reincarnation and rebirth. The Yup’ik’s respect towards animals, their land, and their people is also fascinating because it is similar to many tribal beliefs in North America. Something that really captured me was the importance of the Spirit World to the Yup’iks which i’ve never realized before.
More to come soon.... I have writer’s block!
I also found this interesting because I had not learned about the Great Death and I was not familiar with their way of life. I found their way of life intriguing and it was interesting that they believed all animals and people had iinruq, meaning spirit. I liked how they were their own people, but was sad when I soon found out that their way of life had been destroyed and they learned the white man’s way of life.
ReplyDeleteI was interested by this as well! I had no prior knowledge of Yup'ik culture before reading this text. I found it exciting to make connections to other cultures I was familiar with.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting to see that the Eskimos believed that EVERYTHING has a spirit. The spiritual world and their beliefs were obviously very important to their culture and heritage. I have read some about the spiritual world, but it is hard to wrap your mind around something you cannot see, and also confusing.
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