 | This article relies largely or entirely on a single source. (March 2021) |
The Caribou Mother is an Inuit deity who represents the source of caribou, a vital food source for the Inuit. She is seen as gigantic, with people and caribou as lice on her enormous body. The Caribou mother is known as one of the oldest Inuit deities.[1] The Caribou Mother was also known as the "owner of all land animals". She was mainly the protector of the caribou and in some texts, the Caribou Mother is referred by the name Pinga.[2] When going out for hunts the Inuit people believe that the Caribou Mother keeps the herds safe and makes sure that the people are treating the animals properly.[3]
- ^ Merkur, Daniel (1991). Powers which we do not know: the gods and spirits of the Inuit. Moscow, Idaho: University of Idaho Press. p. 676. ISBN 978-0-89301-148-2. OCLC 23016717.
- ^ Dupré, Wilhelm (1975). Religion in Primitive Cultures: A Study in Ethnophilosophy. Walter de Gruyter GmbH. p. 376. ISBN 978-3-11087-005-3.
- ^ Hill, Erica (2011). "Animals as Agents: Hunting Ritual and Relational Ontologies in Prehistoric Alaska and Chukotka". Cambridge Archaeological Journal. 21 (3): 21. doi:10.1017/S0959774311000448.