Umik Explained

Umik (alternately Uming) was an Inuit angakkuq (shaman) who proclaimed himself a Christian evangelist and began to preach to the Igloolik Inuit in the 1920s.^[1]

Umik was one of several angakkuq who syncretised Christianity and Inuit traditions. Umik's practices included the use of flags, shaking hands (even those of dogs and children), and Sunday as a day of rest. However, his beliefs also included heterodox practices such as polygamy.^[2]

Notes and References

1. Paul Apak Angilirq, Zacharias Kunuk, Hervé Paniaq, Norman Cohn, Pauloosie Quilitalik, Bernard Saladin d'Anglure. Atanarjuat: the fast runner : inspired by a traditional Inuit legend of Igloolik. Coach House Books & Isuma Pub., 2002., 978-1-55245-113-7 https://books.google.com/books?id=idZkAAAAMAAJ
2. Aparecida Vilaça, Robin Wright. Native Christians: Modes and Effects of Christianity Among Indigenous Peoples of the Americas. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd., 2009, 978-0-7546-6355-3