page_title: Yup'ik dance
section_title: Yuraryaraq
hierarchical_section_title: Yup'ik dance / Yuraryaraq
caption_attribution_description: English: Ceremonial mask -- Nunivak. A man wearing a ceremonial mask of the Nunivak style.
context_page_description: Yup'ik dance or Yuraq, also Yuraqing is a traditional Inuit style dancing form usually performed to songs in Yup'ik, with dances choreographed for specific songs which the Yup'ik people of southwestern Alaska. Also known as Cup'ik dance for the Chevak Cup'ik dialect speaking Inuit of Chevak and Cup'ig dance for the Nunivak Cup'ig dialect speaking Inuit of Nunivak Island. Yup'ik dancing is set up in a very specific and cultural format. Typically, the men are in the front, kneeling and the women stand in the back. The drummers are in the very back of the dance group. Dance is the heart of Yup’ik spiritual and social life. Traditional dancing in the qasgiq is a communal activity in Yup’ik tradition. The mask was a central element in Yup'ik ceremonial dancing.
  Inuit dancing of their ancestors was banned by Christian missionaries in the late 19th century as primitive idolatry. After a century, Cama-i dance festival is a cultural celebration that started in the mid 1980s with a goal to gather outlying village Inuit dancers to share their music and dances. There are now many dance groups who perform Inuit dances in Alaska.
context_section_description: Yuraryaraq sg Yuraryarat pl (lit. "way[s] of dancing") or Yupiit Yuraryarait (lit. "Yup'ik ways of dancing") embrace six fundamental key entities identified as ciuliat (ancestors), angalkuut (shamans), cauyaq (drum), yuaruciyaraq (song structures), yurarcuutet (regalia) and yurarvik (dance location).
  The ancestors (ciuliaq sg ciuliat pl, ciuliaput "our ancestors") are regarded with respect and believed to be part of the living in Yup'ik  epistemology.
  The shaman (angalkuq sg angalkuk dual angalkut pl) played a functional role in dance. The role of shaman as the primary leader, petitioner, and a trans-mediator between the human and non-human spiritual worlds in association with music, dance, and masks. The shaman’s professional responsibility was to enact ancient forms of prayers to request for the survival needs of the people. The specified masks depicted survival essentials requested in ceremonies. Shamans often carved the symbolic masks that were vital to many Yup'ik ceremonial dances and this masks represented spirits that the shaman saw during visions. Nepcetat (powerful ceremonial masks) were empowered by shamans. Shamans wearing masks of bearded seal, moose, wolf, eagle, beaver, fish, and the north wind were accompanied with drums and music.
  The drum (cauyaq sg cauyak dual cauyat pl) is only instrument in yuraryaraq. Drum that is accompanied with a drum stick (cauyaun, mumeq, mengruq). The drum is made with a round bentwood frame crafted with a designed handle. Traditionally, the drumskin (eciq or cauyam ecia) was made out of fine mammal stomach lining. The drum was to be treated with respect and used for ceremonial purposes. The Yup'ik calendar clearly marks the seasons and seasonal rounds of activity. The November (Cauyarvik in Nelson Island dialect, Causarvik in Kotlik dialect, lit. "place for drumming”)  is the time for drumming.
  The song structures (yuaruciyaraq sg) in ceremonies are composed and choreographed differently. The ceremonies are accompanied with music and must adhere to specific composition formalities as practiced by Yup’ik ancestors. This musical forms of songs are warm-up chorus (ayakata’aryaraq), chorus (agnera), first verse (apalluan ciuqlia), voiceless motion (cauyarialnguq), second verse (apalluan kinguqlia), encore (pamyua).
  The dance regalia (yurarcuun sg yurarcuutek dual yurarcuutet pl) includes qaliq (fancy fur parka), nasqurrun (wolf/wolverine/caribou beaded headdress), uyamik (beaded necklaces), tegumiak (finger mask or woven grass caribou dance fans), piluguuk (decorated boots), and ivory/beaded earrings. Men wear round wooden fans with waterfowl or owl feathers. Today, both female and male dancers wear designed qaspeq (hand-sewn calico pullover clothing).
  Dance mask (kegginaquq sg kegginaquk dual kegginaqut pl) was a central element in Yup'ik ceremonial dancing.
  Dance fans or finger masks or maskettes (tegumiaq sg tegumiak dual tegumiat pl): Hand-held fans accentuate the fluid movements of a dancer’s arms. They were used in traditional winter ceremonies and continue as part of contemporary Yup’ik dance regalia. Men’s fans, like this pair, have feathers inserted into wooden hoops.
  Dance headdress (nasqurrun sg nasqurrutek dual nasqurrutet pl): Women wore similar headdresses, which remain a part of modern Yup’ik dance regalia for both sexes.
  The dance location (yurarvik sg yurarviik dual yurarviit pl lit. "place for dancing”). The qasgiq is where people danced in ancient times. The qasgiq, was the community center for ceremonies and festivals which included singing, dancing, and storytelling.
caption: A man wearing a ceremonial mask of the Nunivak Cup’ig style in 1927 by Edward S Curtis.
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