Sanaaq (13 page)

A big boat appeared in the distance. Qumaq saw it first and said, “There's a big boat!”

Sanaaq called out to her cousin, “Yes!
Qatannguuk!
Look at it! Have a good look!”

Qalingu ran to warn the
Qallunaat
at the trading post, telling them, “A big boat is arriving
ai
!
”

The
Qallunaat
went to unload the big boat, accompanied by Qalingu. Both
Qallunaat
and Inuit did the unloading. While they were on board, Qalingu noticed an
iksigarjuaq.
He looked like a very kind man. He seemed to find Qalingu friendly and spoke to him.

“
Ai!
What's your name?”

“My name is Qalingu.”

He then noticed an
ajuqirtuiji
who also looked like a very kind man and who invited Qalingu to follow him to his cabin. He did, and there the minister offered him a book, without saying what it was... Qalingu took it back with him, thinking it to be nothing important, that is, he was told nothing about the book and was taught nothing, so he clearly had no idea what it was. Nonetheless, the
ajuqirtuiji
did tell him what he thought of the
iksigarjuaq.

“You must not listen at all to people like him, for they are big liars! They will come and move into your camp!”

Because of this warning, Qalingu remained very reserved when the Catholic missionaries came and moved into the camp. He helped them only grudgingly, for fear of being tricked. Qumaq, her mother, and their family stayed on the dry land. The
iksigarjuaq
disembarked and went to Qumaq and her family. He shook many hands and smiled broadly at Qumaq and her little brother. But Qumaq was reserved.

“
Ia-a!
” she said shyly, her little brother too.

Qalingu left the big boat and went ashore. He took back a large bag of gifts for his family. Qumaq came to meet him. Her little brother tried to come too, but he still had trouble walking. Qumaq was growing up to be a big girl. Qalingu gave his son and Qumaq some oranges and then went home, carrying his son on his shoulders and taking Qumaq by the hand.

Sanaaq said to her husband, “Look at that! You were given presents for your family?!”

“Yes!” said Qalingu
.

He hurriedly returned to the
Qallunaat,
who gave him many gifts. He was even short of containers to put them in. They treated him well, for it was their first meeting. In exchange for a sealskin and a few small objects, he was offered cloth for a pair of pants. Coming back to his family, he said, “We won't let Qumaq go to the
iksigarjuaq
because he's a liar. That's what the
ajuqirtuiji
told me!”

“What do you mean?” said Sanaaq, very astonished. “Why? Just listen to that! We now have to be afraid of being tricked!”

The next day, Qumaq very much wanted to go and visit the
iksigarjuaq,
but Sanaaq tried to stop her. Qumaq was on the verge of crying. No one could change her mind, and finally she was allowed to go, accompanied by Arnatuinnaq. Qumaq was very happy. When they arrived, the man picked her up in his arms. With Arnatuinnaq, she played billiards. Qumaq was even given a short catechism lesson and no longer wanted to leave. She and Arnatuinnaq nonetheless headed home. On arriving, Arnatuinnaq said to Sanaaq, “He's very kind and really puts you at ease!”

“But why did the
ajuqirtuiji
call him a liar?” said Sanaaq and Qalingu. “Is he one himself?”

“He probably didn't tell the truth,” answered Arnatuinnaq
.
“The
iksigaarjuaq
carried Qumaq in his arms and even began to teach her what's good and what's bad. That's how she was treated! The other man probably didn't tell the truth!”

Arnatuinnaq wished to follow the Catholic faith, but had not yet said so. “I want to join their faith,” she often thought to herself.

In truth, she still had to talk it over with her family… She was afraid, though, of being prevented from doing so by Sanaaq, her older sister, and by Qalingu. She was scared that her family would give her a hard time. The thought made her very ill at ease.

“Never mind
ai!
Since I'm afraid of no longer being well treated, it's not possible for me now...”

Meanwhile Qumaq was thinking, “It'd be better if I followed the
iksigarjuaq,
even if I have to face the opposition of my kinfolk. It doesn't matter... Can't be helped... As for my body, it will die, and then where will I go? What does my body matter!”

She was eager. Aanikallak shared the same ideas, but she felt helpless because her mother forbade her from following the
iksigarjuaq.
Qumaq, whose mother was still making some effort to hold her back, stuck to her choice. Aanikallak too persevered, despite strong opposition.

Arnatuinnaq, Qumaq, and Aanikallak all wished to convert. Qumaq was very keen. Arnatuinnaq was afraid and self-conscious. She made obstacles out of anything for herself. As soon as someone talked to her, she immediately began to have doubts, just as Maatiusi did. Qumaq was very happy and said, “I'm going to follow this faith because I think about it continually!”

She strove to push herself whenever she felt like lazing around. She developed a habit of working fervently and, though she had other occupations, began to pray more. Anything became a motive for her to think about her family. She had found a way to be happy now.

Qumaq was growing up. Today, she was going to do the laundry with Akutsiaq. She gathered everything to be washed and put it into a bag, saying, “Mother! We're going to wash, I and Akutsiak... Give me some soap!”

Akutsiaq and Aanikallak, who were still little girls, accompanied her and took along some little things to be washed. Qumaq had a heavy load and chatted on the way.

“Tomorrow
ai!
We'll go fishing on the foreshore, at the far end of the cove!”

“We'll go
ai
!
” said Akutsiaq.

“I won't go,” said Aanikallak. “I have bad boots that let in water and are in very bad shape!”

“It's because you're lazy!” said Qumaq. “You don't take care of them!”

“Oh! I'm going to tell my mother!”

“Don't!” answered Qumaq, who wanted to be forgiven and was looking for a way out. “Don't do that! Here, I'll give you this bar of soap... Tomorrow, we'll have fun making a little tent
ai!
Aanikallak! Here
ai!
Take the soap... It's real soap!”

“That Aanikallak is really a tattletale,” said Akutsiaq
.
“She even tells things that aren't true!”

Once they had arrived, they began to wash in the river. Qumaq was fast and had already gone through a lot of laundry when her two much slower companions were still at the beginning of theirs. Aanikallak washed very poorly and left some parts dirty. She was ridiculed a second time by Akutsiaq.

“
Autualu!
Look, Qumaq! That's been really badly washed. It's still dirty here and there!”

Aanikallak, predictably, again began to sulk. She glared at her companions and started to cry. She called out, “I'm going to tell my mother you've been very mean to me!”

“
Ii!
” shouted Qumaq suddenly. “That old jacket over there is being carried off by the current!”

Akutsiaq jumped to her feet and began running. She ran after what was being carried away by the river, saying, “
Irq!
I've got to grab it fast, when that stone stops it!”

She managed to grab what the current had snatched away before it got to the waterfall. She then washed the laundry that Qumaq had brought. Once they had finished, they wrung the laundry and laid it to dry on the ground. Qumaq stretched out a large
atigi
for it to drip-dry. Unable to wring it with her hands, she let it drain on a rock. They stayed a long while.

Meanwhile Aanikallak had gone to tell her mother.

“Mother! Qumaq and Akutsiaq are always being mean to me!”

When her mother heard that, she said, “
Suvakkualuk!
My daughter has been badly treated. I'm going to find those two rascals who think so highly of themselves!” She believed her daughter, who had not told the truth. She indeed went ahead and scolded them. “Why have the two of you been picking on my adopted daughter? You wicked tormentors!”

“She didn't tell the truth!” answered Akutsiaq. “We simply told her that she hadn't been washing properly! We just treated her as being clumsy… We don't have any bad feelings against her!”

“You're really hurtful! She's not to be humiliated, for she's mine and mine alone!” said Aqiarulaaq, who then went home, the little girls doing likewise.

Ningiukuluk was cooking outside. She was preparing
aqiluqi
and was bothered by the smoke. When the pieces of meat were done just right, she pulled them out with a fork. She did not follow the example of Makutsialutjuaq
who, according to legend, burned her hands when pulling the pieces out with her fingers. Onto a plate she put the various pieces. There were pieces with bones:
siqruit,
kuutsinaat,
akuit,
taliit,
qimminguat,
kiasiit,
sakiat,
tunirjuit,
tulimaat,
kujapigait,
kuutsiniit,
niaquit,
alliruit,
qungisiit,
ittunguat,
pamialluit,
akitsirait,
and
ulunnguat.
She also cooked the guts:
kanivaut,
tinguit,
aqiaruit,
qitsalikaat,
qinirsikallait,
matsait,
qinirsiit,
inaluat,
uummatit,
qalluviat,
pavviit,
umirquit,
qaritait,
puvait,
iggiat,
and
turqujaat.
.. These were the pieces that she boiled.

She called for everyone to come. “
Uujun-ukua!
”

Sanaaq and all of her camp mates gathered for a community feast. Qumaq got a rear flipper and Akutsiaq a front flipper. Qumaq was keen on saving the little bones from her share of the meat, Akutsiaq likewise.

“I'm collecting my little bones!” said Qumaq. “We're each going to do that,
ai!
Akutsiaq! We'll play a game of pulling bones out of a mitten, by using a sinew with a noose at the end!”

After eating her rear flipper, Qumaq
saved the following little bones: a
qimminguat,
arnanguat,
an
iglitikallak,
a
paannguaq,
a
natsinguaq,
a
qajuuttalutuq,
a
sirpalutuq,
an
illiti,
an
utsuluttuq,
and an
angutinnguaq.
Akutsiaq
,
Qumaq's partner, saved the following little bones: a
qimminguat,
an
aquviartulutuq,
a
sappa,
a
qulliq,
a
kaivvasuk,
an
illaulusuk,
an
utsulutuq,
and a
kuutsitualik.
They would now play the bone game.

“Akutsiaq!” said Qumaq. “Use the sinew noose to pull some little bones out of a mitten
ai!
”

Qumaq began pulling some bones out with the noose. “
Aa!
I caught one!”

They each took turns.

“
Irq!
Autualu!
I've just been pulling for nothing! Look, Qumaq!
I i i!
” She laughed. “I haven't caught anything at all! You're so lucky. You've caught a lot, Qumaq!”

With their little bones, they each made the outline of a snow house and a meat cache. Qumaq tried to break into Akutsiaq's meat cache while Akutsiaq's pawn was asleep. She was careful not to make any noise, but Akutsiaq, who was being very attentive, said, “Listen! What's it doing, that one there?”

“Over there! There goes a mouse!” answered Qumaq through her pawn. “It's gone in to hide... I'm going to look for it!”

Qumaq's pawn lied to conceal its intention to steal what was in the cache and because it had been taken by surprise. The two pawns were now going to fight each other. They were tossed into the air and the one that fell convex-side down was the loser... That was the bone game.

Spring had come. Qumaq and Akutsiaq went to gather some
airait.

“Akutsiaq!” said Qumaq. “We're going to gather some
airait
on the plateau!”

“Sure! Wait
ai!
I'll first look for something to dig the ground with and a bag to put them in.”

“Sure, go ahead! Hurry before night falls!”

Akutsiaq went home for what she needed. On her way she walked through a patch of soft snow and got her boots wet. As she came in, she said, “Mother! Qumaq and I are going for a walk. We're going to gather some
airait.
Give me something to put them in and a digging tool!”

“To dig with,” answered her mother, “take the old file. And to carry them, take the little bag.”

Akutsiaq rushed to catch up to Qumaq, who had already set off.

“Qumaq!” she shouted to her. “Wait for me!”

They harvested many
airait
on the little flat mounds where the snow had melted.

“Here's an
airaq!
” said Qumaq. “I'm going to dig it out... It's really a fine
airaq!
”

She unearthed it by digging all around it and then yanking it out. She then cut the stem off with a stone, on a rock, and put it into her bag. She and Akutsiaq kept digging the ground up for more
airait.
They chatted.

“We've got enough!” said Qumaq. “Are we going home
ai?
”

“Yes!” said her companion. “Look, Qumaq! Some people with a sled are approaching... They've been hunting on the
sinaa.
.. Let's go! Let's hurry over to them!”

They ran down the slope. The snow, however, had turned quite soft and when Qumaq sank into it she was flung forward with all of the
airait
she had gathered raining over the snow. She began to cry with grief, for having lost all of her
airait.
Her companion picked them up.

“Qumaq!” she said. “Don't cry, little one! Here they are. Put them into your bag. Look, over there, the people on the sled. They're almost here... Don't cry anymore! They've been hunting on the
sinaa.
”

The two girls arrived home.

“Here are some
airait!
” said Qumaq, tossing them at her mother on the
ungati.

The girls ran off to meet the new arrivals. The sled passed Akutsiaq but caught Qumaq by her feet in the tuglines and dragged her along in the snow. Qalingu and his companion, who were bringing back an
ujjuk
,
both used their feet to brake.

“
Au!
” yelled Qalingu.

Qumaq was dragged over the bumps and hollows of the ice. When they finally came to a stop, she freed herself and walked to the sled... Akutsiaq joined her. The men got moving again, arriving at home shortly after and unharnessing the dogs.

“You're going to have
kujapik
meat to eat!” announced Qalingu. “I've killed an
ujjuk!
”

They finished unharnessing the dogs and rolled up the tuglines. Once free, the dogs lapped up little mouthfuls of snow, having become thirsty from the blood they had drunk.

Qalingu and his companion carried in the pieces of meat. Maatiusi received a shoulder as his share. This was the portion that usually went to the hunting companion of the person who killed the animal. Though not required, it was customary for him to get a shoulder. If he did not want it, he could choose another piece more to his liking. As for the others, the ones given ordinary shares, they could receive a thigh or short ribs, or spare ribs with their vertebrae. To Qalingu went the other shoulder with the head attached. Sanaaq was preparing to take a share to someone.

“A knife!” Qalingu asked her. “I'll first cut some handholds into it!”

Between the two of them they carried a
kiataq
and an
aksunaaksat.
Only for the purpose of making leather straps would the chest skin be removed from an
ujjuk.
Maatiusi received an
aksunaaksaq.
The hunting companion who is entitled to this piece is called an
aksunajjatuq.
The others, the ones who did not take part in the hunt, have no right to these pieces although they may, as a favour, be given some. Similarly, they have no right to a share of the small intestine, unless offered a share.

Sanaaq laid the
kujapiit
on a
mangittaq
and called out to her camp mates, “Here are some
kujapiit!
”

“Yes!” they answered.

Aqiarulaaq, her ulu in hand, hurried over to this small feast for the women. Sanaaq sharpened her ulu and, once the cutting edge was honed, began to eat. Aqiarulaaq cut off a thoracic vertebra by slicing through a joint and ate its meat, adding some pieces from the heart. After scraping the meat off a vertebra, she threw the bone away and it was immediately fought over by the dogs. Meanwhile, the men were eating meat from the
kuutsiniit.
Once they had finished, they rinsed their hands in a bowl and dried them off... They were done.

That evening, Sanaaq and Aqiarulaaq prepared to go line fishing.

“Sanaaq!” said Aqiarulaaq. “Let's go fishing for
kanajuit!
”

Before leaving, they baited their hooks with pieces of blubber — some leftover chewed rubber — and took along a leather strap as a
nuvviti.
They set off. Sanaaq had to step over several cracks in the ice.

“The water is very murky here! Looks like the pack ice is breaking up... It will be harder and harder to walk over after the high spring tides!”

They began to fish by jerking their lines.

“Feel that,” said Aqiarulaaq. “It feels like a sculpin. Doesn't seem to be hungry!”

“Listen! I can feel one! Yes!
A a a!
” Sanaaq drew it in. “I've caught a sculpin
ai
!
”

“I envy you! I probably won't catch any. They're all getting away... I must be scaring them off with my hook!”

Sanaaq caught many sculpins and strung them onto her
nuvviti.

“I feel like heading home,” said Aqiarulaaq. “I probably won't catch any... It'd probably be better if we went to the foreshore, over there
ai!
Where the ice has broken up.”

“Wait a bit, I'm catching quite a few,” said Sanaaq, as she pulled in another one. “Listen to it! A sculpin!” She drew it in. “
Ii!
It's a dirty
ningiurqaluk.
I'll throw it away!”

“
Irq!
Don't throw it away! Give it to me!”

“
Ii!
Leave it! Are you in the habit of eating
ningiurqaluk?
”

“I'm not, but since I haven't caught any…”

“
Ai!
Then take some
qanirqutuit
and some ordinary sculpins!”

They went home and, once there, began cleaning the fish.

“I didn't catch any,” said Aqiarulaaq. “They all got away. I brought nothing back!”

They cleaned the fish and put them into a cooking pot. Qumaq and Akutsiak went to draw some seawater. They dropped their pail down through an ice crack and, when they were done, returned home.