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“Kiviuq’s Legend” (2020) SOLD

By Inuk Master Sculptor Manasiah Akpaliapik, (1955 – Cont.) of Arctic Bay/Ikpiarjuk, Nunavut and Cobourg, Ontario

Materials: Arctic Bay marble, baleen, caribou antler, field stone

Dimensions: 16.0″ L x 8.5″ W x 11.0″ H

Missionaries forbade the teaching story of the ancient shaman Kiviuq to be told. It became the Inuit “secret bible,” guarded in memory for its power to teach what to do – and what not to do – when facing the obstacles in life.

Manasiah is helping to keep the story alive, depicting the shaman/hero drumdancing atop a giant seal oil lamp.

On a two-year journey, John Houston gathered testimony on Kiviuq from Inuit Elders, which Inuit wove into a theatre piece. In his film of the play, Inuk Elder Annie “Pairngut” Peterloosie, sings the Song of Kiviuq, in which the hero encounters an enchanted Qulliq or seal oil lamp. He can’t go over it, he can’t go under it, he can’t go around it, so he must summon his courage and leap through its flames. Down through the centuries, this parable has aided many Inuit faced with matters of survival!

Watch below the 2:00 minute trailer of the film: “Kiviuq”

Note: the baleen drum hoop could be substituted for a material not covered by the Marine Mammal Protection Act for shipping out of Canada.