Idlirvirissong

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Idlirvirissong, or Irdlirvirisissong, is an evil spirit in the religion of the Inuit of Baffin Island and the Greenlandic Inuit.

In most descriptions, Idlirvirissong is a female,[1] though some give Idlirvirissong's gender as a male.[2]

Idlirvirissong is a demonic, evil spirit[2][3] usually depicted as a clown,[4] with a nose "turned up on the side." Idlirvirissong owns many dogs, and together with them Idlirvirissong lives in a house in the sky, where she awaits the arrival of the newly deceased.[5] When the deceased arrive, Idlirvirissong will dance while saying "Qimitiaka nexessaqtaqpaka" ("I am looking for food for my dogs"). Those who laugh at Idlirvirissong and her dance will have their bodies cut open, and their intestines placed on a Idlirvirissong's plate called qengmerping and be fed to the dogs.[5][6] Those who do not laugh are spared.[5]

Idlirvirissong is said to be the cousin of the spirit of the Sun, to whom she is opposed,[2][3] though in some versions she is the cousin of the Moon spirit Aningan instead.[4] In one version recounted by the Inuit of Smith Sound, Aningan warns people not to laugh around Idlirvirissong.[6]

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