A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - The mysterious stone figures known as Inukshuk can be found throughout far northern areas of Alaska, Canada, Siberia, and Greenland. Inukshuk (the singular of 'inuksuit') means "in the likeness of a human" (or "that which acts in the capacity of a human") in the Inuit language.
They are man-made stone landmark, with many different meanings, used by the Inuit for communication, navigation, as a marker for travel routes, fishing places, camps, hunting grounds, places of worship, drift fences used in hunting or to mark a food storage.
Mysterious stone figures known as Inukshuk.
The traditional meaning of the Inukshuk is "Someone was here" or "You are on the right path."
For the Inuit people living in the circumpolar regions, Inukshuk arrangement of stones, especially its arms and legs, indicates the purpose of the marker.
Inukshuk - among the oldest and most important objects placed by humans upon the vast Arctic landscape - are a sacred symbol. The figure is the Inuit symbol of their homeland and these people tradition forbids the destruction of these objects.
Left: The Hammer of Thor is (an inuksuk or stone landmark) - Ungava Peninsula, Quebec, Canada; Right: Inuksuk, located in the vicinity of Kuujjuarapik, Quebec. (wikipedia)
An inukshuk (also known as inuksuk) is often venerated as symbolizing an ancestor who knew how to survive on the land in the traditional way. The figure can be small or large, a single rock, several rocks balanced on each other, round boulders or flat. Built from whatever stones are at hand, each one is unique.
The so-called the Hammer of Thor, a 3.3 me (10.8 ft) tall, t-shaped, man-made rock formation is located along the Arnaud River in the Ungava Peninsula, Quebec, Canada. It was believed to have been erected by Vikings in reference to the hammer-wielding Thor of Norse mythology. However, it most likely is an artifact of Inuit culture.
Today, the inuksuk statue continue to serve as an Inuit cultural symbol. It is the centrepiece of the flag and coat of arms of the Canadian territory of Nunavut, and the flag of Nunatsiavut.
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Expand for referencesReferences:
Charles River Editors, Native American Tribes: The History and Culture of the Inuit (Eskimos)
