Sanaaq (2 page)

Fifteen years ago, my cousin Nutaraaluk was sleeping in the family igloo. She shared the same skin blanket as her young brother, an adolescent about ten years old. All of a sudden, in the middle of the night, the whole family was awoken by the cries of the young boy, still asleep, like his sister. The mother raised the skin blanket and saw that the young girl was pulling with both hands on her brother's penis... Awakened by her mother, Nutaraaluk recounted that she dreamed that her brother was coming back from hunting in his
qajaq
and that she was helping him come ashore by pulling on its bow.

The novel has many historical references:

• • arrival of the first Whites by boat and establishment of the first traders [episode 8];
  
• • visit of the first Anglican and Catholic missionaries, and establishment of a Catholic mission [ep. 25];
  
• • landing of the first airplane [ep. 23];
  
• • first evacuation by air to a hospital in the South [ep. 39];
  
• • first intervention by the police and threat of imprisonment for beating and injuries [ep. 40];
  
• • first visit by a Northern Affairs agent, first payment of family allowances and old age pensions, and first paid employment offered to the Inuit outside the village [ep. 43];
  
• • first medical visit by a nurse, and sending of young patients to a hospital in the South [ep. 45]; and
  
• • first Catholic baptism, and conflicts with the Anglican pastor [ep. 46].
  

One must not, however, look for a rigorous historical framework in this novel. Although Mitiarjuk had direct knowledge of the region's events since she was born in the early 1930s, events further back are known from what the elders told her and were thus, in her memory, condensed into a shorter time-frame. Her parents told her about the establishment of the first trading post (Révillon Frères) at Kangirsujuaq, in 1910, followed by the Hudson's Bay Company post four years later. As early as 1884, however, an ice-observing station had been established and it operated for two years on Stupart Bay. It was the first sustained contact with
Qallunaat
for most of the local Inuit. Only a few heads of family had previously had the opportunity to meet any while fur trading — first on the Labrador Coast, then in the Great Whale region and, finally, from the 1860s on, at Fort Chimo on Ungava Bay. When the story begins, the Inuit were already using tobacco, matches, and guns. They had old coal bags, old tin cans, and fabrics. With regard to Christianity, the first attested visits by Inuit-speaking missionaries were those of Rev. Peck, who went to Kangirsujuaq by boat from Baffin Island in the early 1920s and baptized some Inuit. So many would eventually be evangelized that when Catholic missionaries established the first permanent mission, in 1936, the Anglicans had already baptized the entire population. Mitiarjuk's father was one of the catechists for the community. Nonetheless, Mitiarjuk enthusiastically joined the new Christian faith in the 1940s. It was a personal choice and she stuck by it. This has not been so for many other Anglican and Catholic families who have chosen to join the Pentecostal church in recent years.

Although the last shamans passed away in the late 1920s, taking with them the great shamanistic rituals, many traditional beliefs and practices have persisted while being intermixed with Christian beliefs and practices. The belief in the invisible world's influence on human behaviour has even been strengthened with the rise of Christian fundamentalism in the Arctic.

The cultural context in which the first part of the manuscript was conceived and written was that of the early 1950s, when the Inuit of Kangirsujuaq spent winter in their igloos, in five or six camps, and spring and summer in their tents, in a dozen or so small hunting camps. This way of life was a false archaism, to borrow an expression from Lévi-Strauss, for it was an impoverished form of the life from before the coming of the
Qallunaat
.
The combined effects of the Great Depression of the 1930s, the plummeting prices for Arctic fox pelts, and the Second World War had brought about the closing of the two trading posts that had operated there since 1914. The caribou, so important to the traditional economy, had gone, as had the
umiat
(large multi-passenger boats covered with sealskins) which were used to move families over long distances in summer and autumn. The few owners of Peterheads (wooden boats with a sail and motor) purchased when Arctic fox prices were at their height, had left the territory for other communities that still had trading posts.

In 1950, the Inuit of Kangirsujuaq received their first family allowance and old age pension cheques. In 1961, they had their first small prefab homes, their first school, and their first motor boats. Then came snowmobiles, electricity from generators, housing developments, and the sedentarization of families around establishments (missions, stores, schools, and nursing stations). What makes this novel interesting is that it covers the pre- and early transitional period, i.e., Mitiarjuk's childhood from the early 1930s to the aftermath of the Second World War.

There are about thirty characters in the book, fifteen or so of whom play an active role. The active ones are those close to Sanaaq — the young widow at the centre of the story — and a few
Qallunaat.
In many ways, the heroine resembles the author, while differing from her in other ways. Like Mitiarjuk, she is responsible for a young sister and marries a young, inexperienced man who often has to seek advice from his older sister and her old husband. Like Mitiarjuk
,
Sanaaq has a strong will that impresses her husband. She is nonetheless tender toward her children and compassionate toward people in need. She is also capable of self-criticism when her emotions get the better of her reason.

The novel gives women major roles in all generations: Sanaaq's old relative, Ningiukuluk — with her bad character — who is nonetheless loved and respected; Aqiarulaaq, Sanaaq's friend, partner, and rather scatterbrained stepsister; Arnatuinnaq, the young, active, and sentimental sister; and Qumaq, the little daughter who single-mindedly does what she wants but thinks over her mistakes and tries to correct them. All of these female characters, through their weaknesses, set off Sanaaq's rich personality.

Except for old Taqriasuk, the most elderly man in the camp, whose knowledge and advice are appreciated, the male characters appear to be lightweights. They try to perform their role of provider, while plagued by numerous blunders and gaffes (Irsutualuk is rejected by Sanaaq, who stands up to Qalingu, her husband), by tragedies (Jiimialuk's death), by fears (panic of Maatiusi and Ilaijja), and by distress (possession of Maatiusi by a succubus after he suffers disappointment in love). The White men hardly fare any better with their rather futile religious quarrels, their maladjustment to the cold and to the North, and their loose relations with Inuit women (harassment of Arnatuinnaq by store employees).

In all this we have an original female viewpoint on Inuit life and psychology — too often described by men and by people from outside Inuit culture who have underestimated the contribution of women and ignored their viewpoint.

To conclude, I will say that Mitiarjuk always attached much importance to her language and its proper usage. Instead of getting by with a kind of pidgin English when seeking to be understood by
Qallunaat,
like many fellow Inuit, she always insisted on correcting mistakes and giving the exact term or the correct grammatical form.
Sanaaq
attests to this rigour, as well as to a lively imagination without limits. It will always be a reference book for coming generations of Aboriginal men and women. For non-Aboriginals, it will be an invaluable introduction to a culture that is so captivating and has changed so much.

On May 14, 2004, Mitiarjuk received her investiture as a Member of the Order of Canada from the Right Honourable Adrienne Clarkson, Governor General of Canada, with the following citation:

One of the most respected elders in Nunavik, Mitiarjuk Attasie Nappaaluk is committed to sharing her knowledge and to preserving the Inuit culture. As a young woman, she taught missionaries her language and, in return, she was taught to write syllabic script. Thus, her life as a writer and teacher began. Since then, she has authored twenty-two books that have served as teaching tools, has overseen teacher training and has helped develop a curriculum for the Kativik School Board. As well, she wrote
Sanaaq,
the first novel written in Inuktitut. Also involved in municipal and health issues, she is the recipient of a National Aboriginal Achievement Award.

She was now in poor health. Back in her community and surrounded by her beloved family, she passed away in May 2007, one year after I had last visited her.

Thanks go to two of my old friends: Peter Frost, PhD, my former student at Laval University, for his professional translation into English, and Christopher Trott, PhD, Warden and Vice-Chancellor, St. John's College, University of Manitoba, for his enthusiastic efforts with the University of Manitoba Press and with Avataq Cultural Institute to promote this English edition and unique piece of Inuit literature. A thousand new pages were written in syllabics by Mitiarjuk at my request and are waiting to be published for the benefit of the Inuit people and the rest of the world. This should be an exciting challenge…

Bernard Saladin d'Anglure, CM, PhD

Professor emeritus

Centre interuniversitaire d'études et de recherches autochtones (CIÉRA) University Laval, Quebec City

SANAAQ

A woman, Sanaaq, was getting ready to go and gather branches for mat-making. This is what she did. Before leaving, she assembled a tumpline to carry the load, her ulu to cut the shrubs, and a glove to yank them out of the ground. She also filled a small bag with provisions: tea, meat, and blubber, as well as her pipe, matches, and chewing tobacco.

Sanaaq set off across a wide plain and then through a long stretch of foothills. She kept walking further and further from home, followed by her two dogs, Kajualuk and Qirniq. On the way she saw some
aqiggiit
and prepared to kill them with a few well-aimed stones. But the dogs ran after the birds. Sanaaq tried her best to stop the dogs, yelling at the top of her voice, “
Hau! Hau!
Kajualuk
hau! hau!
”

Her shouting was to no avail and the dogs continued to give chase. The ptarmigans flew off. Very much annoyed, she continued on her way and came to the end of her journey.

There, she busied herself preparing an
ullugummitaaq
and making a fire. Her teapot was a small metal bucket and the water came from a small pool. She placed a few stones around the fireplace for shelter from the wind and gathered some heather to keep the fire going. She now waited for the tea to boil, eating some meat and blubber. The dogs, no longer asleep and rolled up into furry balls, were foraging for her scraps of meat and bone. Suddenly one of them, Kajualuk, started choking on a bone. Sanaaq was panic-stricken. What to do? Thinking fast, she remembered the leftover pieces of blubber: “If I can make it swallow some large chunks of blubber, that might help it get rid of the bone.”

She gave the poor animal what she still had. The chunks of blubber did the job, helping the bone slide down the dog's throat and letting it breathe freely again. At last she could drink her tea, straight from the small teapot for want of a cup. Soot smudged her hands and mouth, even her cheeks. Unaware (how could she see herself?), she went to gather branches for mat-making. Some dwarf birches looked suitable and she started yanking them out of the ground, using her ulu to cut the more stubborn ones. When one patch of ground had been stripped bare, she moved to the next, leaving behind piles of pulled-up birches. She pulled up more and more, one after another, the sweat streaming down her face… Then she stopped. Stretching her tumpline out on the ground, she bundled the branches for the trip home. There was much to take back and the load would be a heavy one. After tying the bundle up, she lit her pipe and puffed repeatedly, inhaling deep breaths. The provisions were all gone and she was very hungry. She strapped the tumpline around her chest and, laying the bundle on a large rock, finished fastening it to her body to carry in front of her. The load was indeed heavy. She could barely stand up.

She began the long trip home, foraging for anything edible on the way, although it was now twilight. The route was uphill and so tiring that it was often necessary to stop for rest. Several times she found some wild berries. She picked them as a gift for her daughter, who was minding their home, and dropped them into the improvised teapot. The little girl was waiting at home and was increasingly in Sanaaq's thoughts as home drew nearer. Sanaaq was almost there but the two dogs were the first to arrive. She trailed behind, within eyesight.

Her daughter saw her and shouted, “It's Mother! It's Mother!”

The little girl ran out so eagerly that she fell several times, even hitting her face on a rock. Finally the two were together. The mother cuddled her little girl — no wonder, she had just hit her face on a rock — and offered the small berries she had picked for her. She then gave her a
kuni,
murmuring a
mmm.
.. of affection and taking her by the hand. Arriving outside their home and exhausted, Sanaaq put her burden down and crawled in headfirst, pushing the bundle in front of her.

“It's yours to take inside!” she said.

It was taken inside and she was finally home.

A quick arrival meal was made ready. She ate some of the boiled seal — a shoulder blade and a rib — that had been saved on a plate for her return. Her daughter Qumaq — that was her name — sat beside her. Helping herself to the food, Sanaaq exclaimed, “My ulu
,
Qumaq, pass me my ulu!”

The little girl passed it to her and had some of the boiled meat. Sanaaq recounted how their dog had choked on a bone.

“Kajualuk was choking and I tried to get the bone out by getting it to gulp down the pieces of blubber I still had... That was all I had left of my provisions... A bit longer and the dog would've been a goner. For a long time after, it would whimper while I was making tea, because of the bone that had been stuck in its throat.”

Her daughter was curious. “Mother, was it our big dog?”

“Yes!”

Qumaq began to chatter “
Taka taka taka.
..”
while playing on the sleeping platform. Her mother knew it was bedtime.

“Daughter, I'll help you undress and you'll go to bed. It's now quite late... I'll take your boots off.
Iii!
My, my, they're soaking wet! My girl is really getting around! She just got those boots! I'll soak a piece of leather for you to make a new sole. I'll let it soak overnight.”

She put a piece in a plate to soak. Qumaq undressed for bed, talking all the while. “Mother
ai! Apaapa!
I'd like to eat some black crowberries!”

“Take a few, but that's all for today. I don't want you getting sick to your stomach!”

“Yes! By the way, Mother, I don't have a daddy, do I?”

Being just a child, she said whatever crossed her mind. Her mother answered, “No, it's true, you don't. Long ago your father died, a very long time ago. We'll see him only in the hereafter… Long ago he fell into the water while travelling far away... He often told us to behave properly. So you too will try to behave yourself!”

“
Ai!
He died when I was very little!”

Mother and daughter had finished talking to each other and tried to go to sleep. But no sooner had Qumaq fallen asleep than she began to sleepwalk. She stood up and walked, sobbing, “Mother, carry me on your back... Let's both go walking...”

Sanaaq reached out and pulled her daughter close, to put her back to sleep.