The supplied sources do not record a discrete cosmogonic origin story for inua. Instead, inua is described conceptually: it is the vital force representing 'a chain or continuum of all the individual spirits of that genus which had lived, were living, or were to live.' This positions inua within Inuit cosmology as a standing, relational quality rather than as an entity produced at a single point of creation; it functions across temporal depths to connect members of a kind (humans, particular animal species, lakes, mountains, plants) through shared spirit-vitality (Source 1).
The provided material does not offer a consistent physical or anthropomorphic depiction of inua. Rather than an embodied being with set visual traits, inua is treated as an impersonal or supra-individual vital force that inheres in classes of beings and places. The sources emphasize its ontological status as a shared spirit-quality across a genus rather than a describable visible form (Source 1).
Sources characterize inua primarily in ontological terms: as the sustaining or animating continuity binding members of a genus across time (those that have lived, those living now, and those yet to live). The supplied material does not attribute specific agentive powers (such as speaking, cursing, or healing) to inua; its role is conceptual—grounding personhood and spiritual continuity in humans, animals, and landscape features—rather than describing discrete active behaviors (Source 1).
Adlet
A category of non-human peoples in Inuit narrative tradition (also rendered Erqigdlet/Irqigdlit) that functions both as a mythic ancestor-race and as dog‑legged antagonists; the term can denote inland native American peoples or half‑canine humanoids depending on regional usage.
Aipaloovik
Aipaloovik is an Inuit sea-associated supernatural being described in available sources as an evil or dangerous water deity linked to death and hazard for fishermen. The figure is described as the opposite of the being Anguta; beyond this brief characterization the cited sources provide no detailed myths, appearance, or ritual corpus.
Akhlut
An Inuit composite, shape‑changing animal‑spirit described in early ethnographic accounts as an orca that can become a wolf on land (and sometimes depicted in later popular media as a wolf‑orca hybrid). Associated with the seashore and ice edge along the Bering Sea, it is portrayed as powerful and dangerous in the cited sources.
Alignak
Alignak is named in modern reference works as an Inuit deity associated with the moon and with dynamic natural phenomena such as weather, water, tides, eclipses, and earthquakes. The available sources provide only terse domain associations and do not supply narrative, iconographic, or ritual detail.
Amarok
In Greenlandic Inuit tradition the Amarok (also Amaroq) is a singular, gigantic wolf-like spirit said to hunt alone and to interact powerfully with humans: stalking and devouring lone nocturnal hunters, wresting with humans to bestow strength in Rink's tales, and — in another tale — dragging a humanoid from the water and taking a mourner's soul. The term in some dialects is reserved for this legendary wolf, while other Arctic peoples may use the word for ordinary wolves.
Amautalik
Amautalik is a child‑stealing ogress from Inuit folktale collections and modern retellings. Presented in story collections, illustrated books, graphic novels, and short films, she functions as a monstrous threat who carries away children and haunts communities, and whom protagonists overcome through luck, courage, and ancestral knowledge.
Anguta
Anguta is an ancestral/parent figure in Inuit cosmology associated with the sea-goddess Sedna and the underworld Adlivun. Different traditions variously portray him as a creator or supreme being (especially in some Greenlandic accounts), a mortal ancestor, and most consistently as a psychopomp or lord of the dead who ferries souls and supervises part of the afterlife journey.
Apanuugak
Apanuugak is an Inuit legendary figure presented in modern summaries as a culture-hero who is narratively ambivalent: sometimes an error-prone or long-lived warrior and elsewhere depicted as a dastardly villain or cunning trickster.
Arnapkapfaaluk
A fearsome sea-being of the Coronation Gulf Copper Inuit who controls access to seals and other marine mammals; she withholds game as punishment for taboos or indiscretions and thus governs hunters' success.
Aulanerk
Aulanerk is an Inuit sea spirit attested in several short ethnographic and reference summaries as a benevolent sea-being who lives in the ocean and is responsible for producing waves and surf; he is also described as helping hunters by working with other sea powers to lead them to seals.
Caribou Mother
An Inuit deity described as the maternal source and protector of caribou herds and, in some texts, the owner of all land animals. She is depicted as ancient and gigantic and is implicated in regulating human behaviour toward animals, especially in the context of hunting.
Eeyeekalduk
Eeyeekalduk is identified in multiple compiled references as an Inuit supernatural figure associated with medicine, healing, and good health. The available sources list the name among Inuit deities or pantheons but provide no primary ethnographic detail about myths, rituals, or iconography.
Community Record
- [1]Inua. Wikipedia contributors, 'Inua', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopediawiki
- [2]Inua Ellams. Wikipedia contributors, 'Inua Ellams', Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia (name noted as modern use of term)wiki
- [3]Inua (Inuit/Eskimo) Gods. Marvunapp.com appendix page referencing 'Inua' (modern/compilatory secondary source)other
- [4]Nelvanna (Inua goddess). Marvunapp.com page listing 'Nelvanna' under a modern compilation referencing 'Inua' (secondary/non-ethnographic)other
- [5]Inua — appearances in modern culture and archives (items referencing the word). Archive.org item containing the string 'InuitInua' (contextual/archival)other
- [6]Inua — Diversifying and Decolonising the University (archive mention). Archive.org item containing the string 'InuitInua' (contextual/archival)other
- [7]INUA Health (modern project name). Project page using 'INUA' in a modern organizational name (contemporary use)other
- [8]Last Inua (video game). Steam store page for 'Last Inua' (modern cultural use of the word)other
- [9]Inua — A Story in Ice and Time (game). Steam store page for 'Inua — A Story in Ice and Time' (modern cultural use of the word)other