Apakark and Kugan - 
Journey to the Underworld 

2001
Brazillian Soapstone
73.2 x 37.3 x 39.3

Collection of Terra Capital Corp.

My Great-grandparents, Apakark and Kugan, originally came from Alaska in whaling ships, and over the years they gained a wide reputation as a couple who engaged in shamanism. This story about them took place around the turn of the 20th century on Herschel Island, located northeast of Paulatuk. I learned of the story from a book written by Nuligak, an Inuit man from the Mackenzie Delta.

One year, Herschel Island had a late spring and was completely locked in by the sea ice. This meant that people could not go to their spring hunting places. Apakark and Kugan were asked to intercede. They performed with drums and song in a ceremony that allowed them to go into a trance. They were then able to travel underground with their apprentice, Kublualak, to see what was causing the island to be locked in by ice. The apprentice described seeing a lake that was on fire with serpent-like monsters that writhed in the flames. Apakark told Kublualak that he could stay behind if he was afraid, and so Kublualak watched as Apakark and Kugan went into the flames. They later emerged exhausted, and returned to the surface. That night, a massive storm came in and by morning the sea ice had broken up. 

The weather medicine that Apakark and Kugan used on this and other occasions gained them much fame.