Get 20M+ Full-Text Papers For Less Than $1.50/day. Start a 14-Day Trial for You or Your Team.

Learn More →

Qugax̂: An Ethnoscience Analysis of Ancient Unangax̂

Qugax̂: An Ethnoscience Analysis of Ancient Unangax̂ <p>Abstract:</p><p> For thousands of years, hunters and gatherers lived in the Aleutians with spiritual beliefs tightly interwoven into almost every aspect of daily life with help from <i>QugaxÌ‚</i> (spirits who assist). When Russian and Europeans arrived in Alaska in 1741, they wrote journals containing irreplaceable information about UnangaxÌ‚ (indigenous peoples of the Aleutians) before the subsequent onslaught of Russian fur hunters forever altered ancient belief systems. This paper utilizes an ethnoscience analysis that focused on seven objects or concepts (loud sea lion voice, bravery, red ochre, feathers, belts, amulets, and knives) to attempt to reconstruct how the people might have utilized spiritual beliefs to safeguard themselves. This analysis indicates that phenomena documented in 1741 had multiple layers of meaning within the ancient UnangaxÌ‚ spiritual world, whose purpose may have been to provide spiritual protection during an encounter with strangers who might become aggressive or violent. </p> http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Arctic Anthropology University of Wisconsin Press

Qugax̂: An Ethnoscience Analysis of Ancient Unangax̂

Livingston, Michael
Arctic Anthropology , Volume 53 (2) – Apr 21, 2017
Download PDF
12 pages

Loading next page...
 
/lp/university-of-wisconsin-press/qugax-an-ethnoscience-analysis-of-ancient-unangax-Hc0tARvLAP
Publisher
University of Wisconsin Press
Copyright
University of Wisconsin System
ISSN
1933-8139

Abstract

<p>Abstract:</p><p> For thousands of years, hunters and gatherers lived in the Aleutians with spiritual beliefs tightly interwoven into almost every aspect of daily life with help from <i>Qugax̂</i> (spirits who assist). When Russian and Europeans arrived in Alaska in 1741, they wrote journals containing irreplaceable information about Unangax̂ (indigenous peoples of the Aleutians) before the subsequent onslaught of Russian fur hunters forever altered ancient belief systems. This paper utilizes an ethnoscience analysis that focused on seven objects or concepts (loud sea lion voice, bravery, red ochre, feathers, belts, amulets, and knives) to attempt to reconstruct how the people might have utilized spiritual beliefs to safeguard themselves. This analysis indicates that phenomena documented in 1741 had multiple layers of meaning within the ancient Unangax̂ spiritual world, whose purpose may have been to provide spiritual protection during an encounter with strangers who might become aggressive or violent. </p>

Journal

Arctic Anthropology – University of Wisconsin Press

Published: Apr 21, 2017

There are no references for this article.