Yup'ik shaman exorcising evil spirits from a sick boy, c.1890.[1]
Masks among Eskimo peoples served a variety of functions. Masks were made out of driftwood, animal skins, bones and feathers. They were often painted using bright colors. There are archeological miniature maskettes made of walrus ivory, dating from early Paleo-Eskimo and from early Dorset culture period.[2]
Despite some similarities in the cultures of the Eskimo peoples,[3][4][5][6][7] their cultural diversity[8] makes it hard to generalize how different groups, like the Inuit and Yupik used masks. The sustenance, Inuit religion, soul concepts, and even the language[9] of the different communities were often very different.
Eskimo groups comprise a huge area stretching from Siberia through Alaska and Northern Canada (including Nunatsiavut in Labrador and Nunavik in Quebec) to Greenland. The term Eskimo has fallen out of favor in Canada and Greenland, where it is considered pejorative and the term Inuit has become more common. However, Eskimo is still considered acceptable among Alaska Natives of Yupik and Iñupiat (Inuit) heritage, as well as Siberian Yupik peoples, and is preferred over Inuit as a collective reference.[10][11][12][13]
^Fienup-Riordan 1994: 206
^Hessel & Hessel 1998: 12–13
^Kleivan 1985:8
^Rasmussen 1965:366 (ch. XXIII)
^Rasmussen 1965:166 (ch. XIII)
^Rasmussen 1965:110 (ch. VIII)
^Mauss 1979
^Kleivan 1985:26
^Lawrence Kaplan: Comparative Yupik and Inuit Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine (found on the site of Alaska Native Language Center Archived 2009-01-23 at the Wayback Machine)
^Kaplan, Lawrence. "Inuit or Eskimo: Which name to use?". www.uaf.edu. Alaska Native Language Center, University of Alaska Fairbanks. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
^"Eskimo: Websters Dictionary". Retrieved 1 April 2021.
^Hersher, Rebecca (April 24, 2016). "Why You Probably Shouldn't Say 'Eskimo'". NPR.
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