ETHAM 025852

Seau cérémoniel

Back to results
025852
Ceremonial bucket
United States, Alaska, Deering
Iñupiat. Early 20th century
Bone, ivory, leather, sinew, plant fibre, wood? Whale baleen?
Gift of Georges Barbey in 1956
MEG Inv. ETHAM 025852
Geolocate the object
During the whale hunt, the wife of the expedition’s captain went to meet the cetacean and welcome it respectfully into the community. She would pour freshwater from this ceremonial bucket into its blowhole to slake its thirst and appease its spirit. By this ritual, accompanied by ceremonial singing, it was believed that the soul of the whale that had let itself be caught would rejoice at such a welcome and pass peacefully into the body of another animal

The image above is subject to copyright.
Copyrights for Photographic Reproduction

Registres d'inventaires historiques

Les feuillets numérisés des registres d'inventaires historiques sont soumise à un copyright.
Droits de reproduction photographique

Copie dactylographiée en 13 volumes de l'Inventaire original MEG manuscrit
Registres_inventaire_dactylographie/1479.pdf

Registre d'inventaire original - non indexé
Registres_inventaire_original/Registre_10_024547_025888.pdf

 

Ressources

Multimedia

The Inuit from Alaska to Greenland

The Inuit, the indigenous people of the Great North, are scattered over the largest expanse on the planet: from the coasts of Siberia through Alaska and the great Canadian North to Greenland, a distance of over 10,000 km. Although widely scattered, Inuit culture is unified by related languages and a subsistence lifestyle adapted to the Arctic regions.

The spirit world

The polar landscape changes ceaselessly. The Inuit believe that the spirits of the winds and storms remodel nature as they please, sweeping away all familiar landmarks. The spirits are necessarily involved in all their activities and relationships with the wilds. To ensure satisfactory living conditions, such as mammals being where they were expected to be, the Inuit invoked many of these spirits by ritual chants. They frequently made small amulets from wood, bone or ivory as souvenirs of these supernatural encounters. These magical objects were kept on their bodies, in their houses and on their means of transport.


© 2021 Musée d'ethnographie, Genève