Non-humains (« esprits ») et cycles saisonnier et circadien chez les Inuit canadiens

Abstract

In Inuit thought, the perceptible world was not only populated by humans and animals, but also by a multitude of nonhuman beings (other than animals), often called “spirits”, with the most varied characteristics imaginable and forming original societies. However, one trait seems to distinguish them from what ethnographers quite often report about their investigations across the continents: Inuit nonhumans appear not to be ontologically linked to the world of night and darkness. Here this unique feature is linked to that other keystone of Inuit thought which see continuity rather than opposition in relations between darkness and light, night and day.

Keywords

• circadian cycle
• Inuit
• night
• nonhumans
• seasonal cycle
• spirits