The Amikuk is a creature of Yup'ik legend, said to live within the ground.
| Grouping | Monster |
|---|---|
| Sub grouping | Shapeshifter |
| Folklore | Yup'ik, Legendary creature |
| Other name(s) | A-Mi-Kuk Amikut Qamungelriit[1] |
| Country | United States of America |
| Region | Alaska |
As a shapeshifter, the Amikuk is said to take many forms, and to behave differently dependent on where a person encounters them. In the sea, it is reported to be hairless with four arms.[2] Its skin is leathery, and it will attack hunters in their kayaks, dragging them under the water to be eaten.[3] As it lives within the ground, the Amikuk will pursue hunters onto land, swimming through the earth as easily as they swim through the water.[4][1]
In its natural habitat within the earth itself, the Amikuk is said to turn the surface a person is walking on into quicksand by quickly "swimming" around them.[4] If a person is holding a walking stick, they will become tired as this is happening. The Amikuk will then swim upwards, into the person themselves, making the person they now inhabit weak.[4] An Amikuk may also jump through a person, which causes them to "lie down and [die]".[1]
The Amikuk can also take the form of a human, which it may do when it is "tired of being amikut for a long time".[1] In human form, the Amikuk may be referred to as a Qamungelriit.[1] Yup'ik elders describe coming across an Amikuk pulling a sled across the ice, which it can only do in a straight line. If a person encounters an Amikuk in human form, they should sit down with their back to the creature, and not speak to it.[1] The Amikuk is then said to offer gifts of increasing value.[2] The legends state that a person should be silent until the Amikuk has offered the person everything they need, or everything that is on their mind.[1][3]
When the Amikuk is shot, it is said to multiply into eight beings.[4]
A traditional Yup'ik mask representing the Amikuk by Aarnaquq (a.k.a. Phillip John Charette) is on permanent display at the Portland Art Museum.[5]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g Fienup-Riordan, Ann (September 1, 1995). Boundaries and Passages: Rule and Ritual in Yup'ik Eskimo Oral Tradition. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806126463.
- ^ a b Hill, Erica (2012), "The Nonempirical Past: Enculturated Landscapes and Other-than-Human Persons in Southwest Alaska", Arctic Anthropology, 49 (2), University of Wisconsin Press: 41–57, doi:10.1353/arc.2012.0021, JSTOR 24475856, S2CID 162283778
- ^ a b Benedict, Adam. "Folklore Profile: The Amikuk". The Pine Barrens Institute. Retrieved November 6, 2020.
- ^ a b c d Jacobson, Steven (2013). Yup'ik Eskimo Dictionary Second Edition. The University of Chicago Press. p. 78. ISBN 9781555001155.
- ^ Mahoney, Jane (August 12, 2007). "MESSAGE BEHIND THE MASK ; Work of 2006 Artists' Choice award-winner conveys lessons, beliefs of his culture". Albuquerque Journal. p. 38.