The tupilak is associated with magic and mystical powers and rooted in ancient Inuit myths. A tupilak was made in secret, isolated places by people with magical powers and sucked energy from its creator’s sexual organs. Then the tupilak was put afloat in the sea, a river or stream, to swim off, find the victim and kill him. However, a victim with powers of wizardry could reverse the spell and send the tulipak back to kill its creator. The first tupilek were made at the end of the 19th century when Inuit craftsmen in Greenland began carving figurines to depict their myths of sorcery, giving form to the creatures of oral traditions which had been passed down from one generation to the next. Originally made from driftwood, tupilek have mainly been carved from whale tooth and soapstone since 1950.

There is a collection of tupilek at the Frost & Fire Guesthouse in Hveragerði