>[!abstract] >In many traditional Inuit cosmologies, a person was thought to possess multiple souls — often six or seven. These souls were not identical; they had different roles and relationships to the body and the environment. Some were connected to particular body parts (like the breath, the shadow, or the name), and others linked to more spiritual or animistic aspects — the part that could travel in dreams, or survive after death. > >One widespread idea is that each part of the body had its own animating spirit, while the “personal soul” (tarneq) was the essence of individual identity. When a person died, one or more of these souls might reincarnate (often through naming a newborn after the deceased), while others might linger or require ritual guidance to reach the afterworld. > >Inuit thought, like that of many Arctic peoples, doesn’t draw a hard line between humans, animals, and the natural world — all are animated by inua or yua, the vital force. So, saying a person “has many souls” isn’t quite the same as dividing one self into pieces; it’s recognizing multiple dimensions of aliveness interacting within and beyond the body. >[!related] >- **North** (upstream): — >- **West** (similar): — >- **East** (different): — >- **South** (downstream): —