Polar Frankenstein is a terrible weapon of Eskimo shamans

When an Eskimo shaman (angakok) is unable to solve the problem with the help of authority, intrigue or ice spirits summoned from the snowy tundra, he goes to the extreme measure — creates a tupilak. A ruthless killer, alive, but created from dead flesh, he meekly serves his master, killing those whom the shaman points out.

At their core, the tupilaks are analogs of zombies, which, according to beliefs, are created by Caribbean voodoo sorcerers. However, if a zombie is a human body animated during the ceremony, usually a whole one, then a tupilak is a kind of constructor of human parts, animals and even inanimate objects.

Tupilak is created at night in the shaman's igloo, when no one can interfere with witchcraft. Such a killer servant is created from sealskin, deer giblets, bird feathers, bear claws, tendons and other improvised materials. But an obligatory part of the tupilak is the child's body, without which nothing will work.

Having fastened the creepy polar Frankenstein together with tendons and leather straps, the shaman proceeds to the main part of the rite — the revival of the monster. To do this, he puts on his parka backwards, throws a hood over his face and copulates with his product. Eskimos believe that in this way a sorcerer is able to breathe life into his offspring.

After the monster began to show signs of life, the shaman threw it from the shore into the sea, giving the order to find and destroy a specific person or group of people. It was believed that this was the surest way to get rid of enemies, much more reliable than self-punishment.

According to legend, the tupilak is driven only by hatred, and the creature will not stop until it completes the task set by the owner. It is incredibly difficult to escape from the tupilak, because when creating it, all the obstacles that can stand in front of the monster when executing the "order" were taken into account.

Parts of the seal helped the tupilak to move quickly through the water and under water, the hooves of the caribou deer to run tirelessly across the tundra, the feathers of birds to rise high into the sky, and the fangs of the walrus and the claws of the bear to easily deal with the overtaken victim. The child's body was necessary in order to endow the monster with the rudiments of the mind necessary to perform one task.

The corpse of an adult was not suitable for these purposes. Although such a monster could be more effective and insidious, the sorcerers feared that an overly intelligent creature might rebel against its creator. A child who is not too experienced and less independent is what is needed to manage a dead body.

The Eskimos believed that it was impossible to stop the tupilak, and only after completing its task would the shaman's product turn into dead flesh again. However, when creating a ruthless killer, the shaman knew well that he was acting at his own risk. The Eskimos were sure that a more powerful shaman could intercept the control of the tupilak, and then the monster could be turned against its own master.

In order to neutralize the tupilak, who hunts his creator, there was only one way — to tell his tribesmen about the rite performed. The creation of monsters from dead bodies was a reprehensible action among the Eskimos, and usually nothing good awaited the shaman after such a confession.

No, the inhabitants of the camp did not kill their sorcerer, but his family, after revealing an unpleasant secret, was forever covered with shame, and the shaman himself could be expelled from human society forever. In the Eskimo belief system, a shaman is always a positive hero and a good helper, and recognition of black magic completely deprived him of authority. Taboos on manipulating dead bodies are directly related to the funeral rites of the inhabitants of the Arctic.

The Eskimos believed that all animals and objects around them were animated and needed burial after death. Therefore, before killing and eating a deer, seal or fish, a resident of Greenland asked the creature for forgiveness. The remaining unclaimed parts were usually thrown into the sea, thus performing a kind of funeral rite and thereby earning the final absolution of sin. Therefore, any mystical manipulations with remains, animals, or, especially, a person, caused the Eskimos disgust and horror.

With the advent of Christianity, the Eskimos were surprised to discover the similarity of the tupilak and the devil — both of these entities had horns, hooves, tails and wings. The northern parishioners were confused only by the fact that God himself created the devil-tupilak, and he returned to fight with the creator. Therefore, is it not logical to assume that somewhere there is a more powerful sorcerer, and the priests, for some reason, hide his name from the parishioners.

Europeans, faced with the legends of the Tupilaks, liked the creepy mystical creature very much. Scientists and tourists willingly purchased crafts of local residents on this topic, which caused the emergence of a whole industry of special souvenirs. Each master represents a tupilak in his own way, since there is no canonical image of the monster. Figurines are massively carved from wood, stone and bone and they can be found today at souvenir fairs and exhibitions of handicrafts around the world.