Torngarsuk's most common manifestation is a great polar bear of supernatural size and radiance. Nanook, the master spirit of bears, is closely connected to this bear-form aspect of the great spirit.
Hunters killed by polar bears during the hunt pass into Anguta's care. Anguta ferries their souls to Adlivun, where those who died bravely facing Nanook's bears are honored.
Nanook is the supreme inua of all polar bears. Every polar bear possesses an individual inua, but Nanook is the master spirit who governs the species as a whole and oversees the spiritual contract between bears and hunters.
Kiviuq encounters polar bears during his epic wanderings across the Arctic. The wandering hero must show proper respect to Nanook's bears to survive his journeys through bear territory.
Pinga watches over the caribou and the living. Nanook watches over the polar bears. Both ensure the proper spiritual relationship between hunters and game, and both punish disrespect toward the animals they protect.
Nanook controls polar bears as Sedna controls sea mammals. Both are animal masters whose favor hunters must earn through proper rituals and respect, and whose displeasure brings starvation to communities.
Nanook, master of polar bears, navigates the ice and storms governed by Sila. The bears' survival depends on the sea ice that Sila's temperatures create and Sila's weather patterns that drive their prey.
Polar bear spirits are among the most powerful tuurngait granted to shamans. Nanook oversees which bear spirits become helping spirits, and shamans with bear tuurngait gain strength, tracking ability, and authority.
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