Qalupalik
Qalupalik is an Inuit mythological creature. They are human-like creatures that live in the sea, with long hair with green skin and long finger nails.[1] The myth is that qalupaliks wear an amautiit (which is a form of pouch that Inuit parents wear to carry their children) so that they can take babies and children away who disobey their parents.[2] The story was used to prevent children from wandering off alone else the qalupalik would take the children in her amautik under water and keep them forever.
Qalupaliks are supposed to have a distinctive humming sound so they can be heard before they appear.
The myth was adapted as a 2010 stop motion animation short Qalupalik by Ame Papatsie, produced by the Inuit Broadcasting Corporation and the National Film Board of Canada through its Nunavut Animation Lab. The film had its world premiere at the 2010 Terres en vues/Land InSights festival.[3]
The Qalupalik is a very famous creature amongst the Inuit. A painting of one can be seen here.
References
- ↑ Wolfson, Evelyn. Inuit Mythology. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Pub, 2001. ISBN 0-7660-1559-9
- ↑ Millman, Lawrence, and Timothy White. A Kayak Full of Ghosts Eskimo Tales. Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1987. ISBN 0-88496-267-9
- ↑ "The NFB points up the 20th anniversary of the First Peoples' Festival with 10 new films, including two world premieres". Press release. National Film Board of Canada. 1 June 2010. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
Further reading
- Elisha Kilabuk. The Qalupalik ISBN 1-926569-31-8
- LLC Books. Inuit Legendary Creatures: Qiqirn, Akhlut, Ijiraq, Amarok, Saumen Kar, Tizheruk. ISBN 1-158-65008-6
- Rink, Henry (1875). Tales and Traditions of the Eskimo (with a Sketch of their Habits, Religion, Language and other Peculiarities). London. Reduced to HTML by Christopher M. Weimer, April 2003.
- Millman, Lawrence, and Timothy White. A Kayak Full of Ghosts Eskimo Tales. Santa Barbara: Capra Press, 1987. ISBN 0-88496-267-9
- Norman, Howard A., Leo Dillon, and Diane Dillon. The Girl Who Dreamed Only Geese, and Other Tales of the Far North. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1997. ISBN 0-15-230979-9
- Spalding, Alex. Eight Inuit Myths = Inuit Unipkaaqtuat Pingasuniarvinilit. Ottawa: National Museums of Canada, 1979.
- Wolfson, Evelyn. Inuit Mythology. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow Pub, 2001. ISBN 0-7660-1559-9
External links
- Papatsie, Ame. "Nunavut Animation Lab: Qalupalik" (Animated short). NFB.ca. National Film Board of Canada. Retrieved 7 November 2011.
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