North America | Alaska
Thule Whale
Alaska
Shamanic amulet
Thule Culture (ancient Eskimo)
12th – 16th century
Carved walrus tooth
Length: 1 ¼ in. (3.2 cm)
Thule whale 3.2 cm / Galerie Flak
On request
According to Fitzhugh et Kaplan (Inua: Spirit World of the Bering Sea Eskimo, 1982 : 156), these shamanic figurines were carved for several purposes: to stand in for people absent from the village during festivals, to avert infertility, or else to focus the attention of animal inua (spirit) during the Doll Festival, which was held to bless hunting and fishing expeditions in the coming year.
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