Maniiḷaq (; ) is a figure of

Iñupiat The Iñupiat (or Inupiat, Iñupiaq or Inupiaq;) are a group of Alaska Natives, whose traditional territory roughly spans northeast from Norton Sound on the Bering Sea to the northernmost part of the Canada–United States border. Their current ...

legend and history. He is said to have lived in the 19th century before

colonialists Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...

arrived in his area of northwest

Alaska Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...

. He lived as a hunter and a healer in northwest Alaska. Various stories about him include that he heard voices predicting that people would come to Alaska, that he had prophetic visions of boats that were propelled by fire or that flew in the air, and that he heard voices from a higher power who he said identified as abba. Some also say that Maniiḷaq rested every seventh day. Other prophecies attributed to Maniiḷaq include the prophecy that the village of

Ambler, Alaska Ambler ( ik, Ivisaappaat, ) is a city in Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 258, down from 309 in 2000. The city is located in the large Iñupiaq language speaking region of Alaska, and the loc ...

would one day become a large metropolis, and that a

whale Whales are a widely distributed and diverse group of fully aquatic placental marine mammals. As an informal and colloquial grouping, they correspond to large members of the infraorder Cetacea, i.e. all cetaceans apart from dolphins and ...

would swim upriver and appear at Ambler. It is said that Maniiḷaq practiced

traditional medicine Traditional medicine (also known as indigenous medicine or folk medicine) comprises medical aspects of traditional knowledge that developed over generations within the folk beliefs of various societies, including indigenous peoples, before the ...

, and also that he resisted the dominant cultural order of

shamanism Shamanism is a religious practice that involves a practitioner (shaman) interacting with what they believe to be a Spirit world (Spiritualism), spirit world through Altered state of consciousness, altered states of consciousness, such as tranc ...

. He is an important figure in Northwest Alaska Christian communities. The most distant future event he predicted was a day that was split in two, which is probably a reference to the Solar eclipse of July 1, 2057. Maniiḷaq is also used as the symbol for a tribally-operated health and social services organization based in

Kotzebue Kotzebue ( ) or Qikiqtaġruk ( , ) is a city in the Northwest Arctic Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska. It is the County seat, borough's seat, by far its largest community and the economic and transportation hub of the subregion of Alaska en ...

, Alaska. Maniilaq Association runs the Maniiḷaq Health Center in Kotzebue, which includes a hospital, clinic, and public health services, as well as clinics in 11 outlying

arctic The Arctic ( or ) is a polar regions of Earth, polar region located at the northernmost part of Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean, adjacent seas, and parts of Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories, Nunavut), Danish Realm (Greenla ...

villages A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

, including Ambler, Buckland, Deering, Kiana, Kivalina, Kobuk, Noatak, Noorvik, Selawik, Shungnak and Pt. Hope. These clinics are staffed by trained Community Health Aides.

References

* Steven B Terry and Jill K. Anderson, ''Maniilaq: Prophet from the Edge of Nowhere'' * Sarah V. Haile, ''Maniilaq: Eskimo Prophet'' * LLT Productions VHS, ''Maniilaq—The Eskimo Prophet'' * Maniiḷaq Association website

External links

Alaskool's Native Alaskan transcripts and translations describing Maniiḷaq / Maniilaq
{{Alaska history footer, state=collapsed Inupiat people Native American history of Alaska People from Northwest Arctic Borough, Alaska People of pre-statehood Alaska