The Story of Aua, a Shaman of the Iglulik Eskimos
At birth, Aua appeared lifeless, with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Yet, Ardjuaq, a shaman from a nearby village, prophesied that the baby lying beside his mother would become a great shaman. “He was born to die, but instead, he will live,” Ardjuaq foretold. Throughout Aua’s childhood, his family strictly adhered to the rituals and taboos necessary to ensure his health and prepare him for a future as a shaman.
As Aua grew up, he married, had four children, and lived a typical life within his community, hunting and fishing. However, he continued to observe the ancient rituals and lifestyle expected of a shaman-to-be. Despite his preparation, the calling eluded him. Aua sought out elder shamans, offering them gifts and pleading for their guidance, but to no avail. The elders accepted his gifts but left him to find his own way. As Aua explained, “I tried to become a shaman with the help of others, but I failed.”
Frustrated, Aua sought solace in the wilderness, where he fell into a deep depression, cried bitterly, and reflected on the source of his perpetual unhappiness. One day, everything changed. Aua recounted, “I felt an inexplicable joy, so intense and uncontrollable that I burst into a mighty song repeating a single word: joy, joy!”
This moment marked a turning point in Aua’s spiritual journey. “In the midst of this mysterious and overwhelming outburst of enthusiasm, I became a shaman without even knowing how it happened. I was truly a shaman: I could see and feel in a completely different way. I had attained my enlightenment—the shamanic light of mind and body. I could see through the darkness of life!”
This inner light radiated from Aua, “not perceptible to humans but visible to all the spirits of the earth, sky, and sea, who now came to me as my guiding spirits.” Aua described, “My vision was so powerful that I could see directly through houses, deep into the earth, and high into the sky.”
To strengthen his visions, Aua relied on the help of two main spirits. One was the “spirit of the shore,” which appeared to him as a small, cheerful, and intelligent woman, “like a sweet, living little doll... no taller than a man’s arm.” The other was a shark, a rare creature in the waters near Aua’s homeland. “The spirit of the shore and the shark were my main helpers, and they could assist me with anything.” To summon them, Aua sang a chant consisting of a single word: “Joy, joy, joy!”
