Sila is an Inuit word and spiritual concept that encompasses weather, consciousness, world, relationships of human and non human, and the interconnectedness of nature. The definitions of Sila vary, depending on the usage, and the historical context of different indigenous peoples. Western science and language limits the complexity of the word Sila, but it speaks to the direct connection between the mind, body, spirit, and the physical world.
Dramatic overcast skies with dense clouds off of Beechey Island. Nunavut, Canada, 2024
Photography By Pamela EA
RESEARCH
Definition edited by Zahra Saifee based on an interview with and notes by Biinia C. Frederiksen
• Sila is a pan-Inuit word with an extensive range of meanings. It can be used as a root word and its meanings are derived from the historical and verbal context in which it is used.
• For some Inuit groups, Sila personifies the weather, whereas for others Sila is also known as Narshuk or Nartsuk, an infant giant who was orphaned when his parents were murdered, flew up into the sky and became the weather owner.37
• The phrase sila maligdlugo literally
means “according to sila” and is a phrase that means “according to the world order”. The phrase refers to the course of life from birth to death, as well as the course of the sun from left to right across the southern sky.38
• Defining Sila with exactness is
difficult because of its fluidity. Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ) or ‘Inuit knowledge’ flows whereas, the Western world and its language provides exactness to its words’. Two scopes of indigenous knowledge are studied, the first is traditional ecological knowledge and the second is cultural stories and concepts, which are often left out.39 We need to have a deeper intercultural dialogue to bring together Inuit and scientific perspectives together.
• When considering ethnographic representation alongside scientific climate change research, there is a possibility that the Inuit apply cultural and spiritual dimensions in their reference to Sila, which would interpret climate change as the world’s ethical response
to improper human actions. Climate change would then be understood as a spiritual force.
• “What we have to learn to do is to listen
to the pulse of Sila”.40
