Shaman's coat

This coat is a replica of one worn by Qingailisaq, an Igloolik shaman and hunter who lived in the early 20th century. By many accounts, he had a transformative experience while hunting, and that experience led him to have this caribou-skin coat made.

The story behind the making of this coat has been told in several versions. Some of them report that, while hunting caribou, Qingailisaq had a confrontation with another man, who accused him of having killed his son. Following this episode, a caribou spirit commanded him to make the coat. Other accounts report that Qingailisaq had ascended a mountain when an evil spirit tried to kill him by pushing him off the mountain top. He was saved by an "angel" or benevolent spirit who then told him to make this coat.

The hands on the chest of the coat symbolize the ones that pushed the shaman. The figure in the centre may represent one of three entities: the spirit who helped him, a helping spirit (tuurngaq), or the evil spirit.

In the 1980s, Bernard Saladin d’Anglure had three replicas made of the coat by Jeanne Arnainuk and her family, who were Qingailisaq's descendants. The three replicas are now kept at Université Laval, the Canadian Museum of History, and the Yellowknife Historical Museum.