On a peninsula in the North Alaskan wilderness, the Inuit of Tikigaq worshipped the whales they killed, evolving an elaborate system of myths and rituals to accompany the hunt. Tom Lowenstein, an oral historian and poet, began to explore the ritual and poetry of the hunt when the whale myth had all but died. He recorded the tales of the elders and entered a disorientating world dominated by dances and séances, puppet shows and divinations, spirit quests and lunar rites, leading to the climactic annual whale hunt in the spring. In Ancient Land: Sacred Whale he combines formal translation of Inuit poetry with direct explanatory prose in a work of lyric and dramatic power which shows a deep respect for the mysterious Tikigaq people and the animal spirits they claim as kin. Written in a variety of styles and voices, it is a dazzling work of both poetry and ethnography.