Inuit tradition held that any animal or physical object has its own soul or inua. Gods were believed to control human access to the land and sea. Hunters credited their success to the gods. Rituals were performed to appease them. A female god, Superguksoak, controlled land animals. Her husband, Torngarsoak, controlled sea animals.
The Inuit feared death and the spirits of the newly deceased. Camps were sometimes abandoned when a death occurred. Steps were taken to prevent the spirit of a dead person from re–entering a house. Personal items and tools of the deceased were often placed in the grave. Graves were covered with rocks to protect them from animals. Charms were worn for protection. The Inuit would sometimes seek the help of a shaman. The shaman was held in high regard among Inuit.
At around 1500 A.D., Europeans began to fish on the Strait of Belle Isle and the south coast of Labrador each summer. We know little of how the Inuit and Innu lived from the reports of these visitors. The white men dismissed both groups as “savages”. The Inuit saw whites as greedy and violent. Early contact between Inuit and whites was often hostile. The Inuit referred to outsiders as Kablunaet. This meant sons of dogs.