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The surname Atangana, and its several variants (Atangba, Atangan, Atanga) became notably more popular following the death of Minik Wallace in 1919. Minik was an Inuit born in 1890 who moved in 1897 from Greenland to New York City with his father and others thanks to the explorer Robert Peary. Before this journey, records indicate Minik visited the shaman and practitioner of the healing arts, Atangana, who administered several spiritual remedies to his poorly father, Qisuk.

In spite of Atangana's intervention, Qisuk succumbed to death from consumption just after he had left Greenland (1898). Qisuk's passing destabilised many Inuit circles outside of his immediate family. Worries about healing spirits having abandoned them were exacerbated by the threat of the Big Ice melting, which provoked many indigenous people to 're-center their own energy'. Ultimately, this practice disrupted social harmony, which had been previously maintained through the mutual understanding and appreciation of balance and self-control of its members.

The psychological and spiritual tension at the turn of the century was curbed when Atangana and his network of Shamans revealed what records commonly refer to as 'The Truths Of the Healing Arts'. Whilst many of these truths have been lost in translation, the most significant remark the Shaman made was his admission that healing was, by its very nature, a spiritual endeavour. It had very little material effect on a man unwilling or unable to see himself as healthy. Although they were a few cynics who did not take Atangana's words to heart (there existed a minority who believed healing was solely the summoning of healing spirits to act in the physical world), the majority did, resulting in a restoration of the core values of these Inuit circles.

Many people indigenous to Greenland did eventually decide to leave and voyage across the world, likely due to the impending threat of the 'Big Ice'. Popular destinations for Inuit people were America, Iceland, Scandinavia and contemporary African colonies such as the Ivory Coast. Atangana and some of his contemporaries believed a spiritual imbalance would be caused if they departed from their ancestral land. Hence, it is believed that they remained in Greenland and managed to convince two extended families to take a shortened and less official form spiritual orders (to become half-Shamans: 'Angaanqaaq'). These families adopted the surname 'Atangan' and received the task from their elders to bring about the melting of the Big Ice to the world, a task that appears to have been completed when one examines the abundance of surnames deriving from the Shaman's name all across the world in the present day.

'Atangana' and its variants all constitute a surname that represents moral integrity and sensitivity, intellectual and spiritual dedication and commitment, and a special devotion to the world both in its material and spiritual form.