Glossary

Ajugaq: Also known as the cup-and-pin game, the ajugaq is known across the arctic and in many other parts of the world. Players take turns trying to catch the 'cup,' a bone with a hole in it, on a bone pin attached to the cup with a thong.

Anorthosite: a common rock type. In Labrador, a deposit of light gray anorthosite with labradorite inclusions, is used for carving and is being mined for commercial use.

Labradorite: a feldspar mineral which when polished, shows flashes of color, particularly deep blue.

Tupilak: Traditionally a tupilak is a powerful charm created by a shaman from skin, bones, and other materials with the aim of harming an enemy. Tupilaks are dangerous however, as they can be turned against their makers. In the twentieth century East Greenlandic Inuit carvers began carving representations of mythological characters and tupilaks in sperm whale teeth or ivory for the tourist market. The carvings, all marketed as tupilaks, continue to be popular souvenirs today. The museum's collection of tupilaks dates to the early 1960s.