Ijiraq

In the Inuit religion, an ijiraq ( or ) is a shapeshifting creature said to kidnap children, hide them away and abandon them. The inuksuk (or inukshuk) of stone allow these children to find their way back if they can convince the ijiraq to let them go.

== Description == In North Baffin dialects, ijiraq means Shape Shifter. While Tariaksuq appear like a half-man-half-caribou monster, an ijiraq can appear in any form it chooses, making it particularly deceptive. Their eyes will always stay red, no matter what they shapeshift into. Their real form is just like a human, but their eyes and mouth are sideways. (The book of Dutch writer Floortje Zwigtman says only the shaman knows the real form of the Ijiraq). When you are hunting somewhere that Ijirait (plural) inhabit, you will see them in the corner of your eye for a fleeting moment (like tariaksuq, shadow people) (following another reference, you see a strange caribou in the corner of your eye instead of a normal shadow). If you try to observe them directly however, they are completely elusive. They are sometimes helpful, sometimes fatally deceptive.