Sanaaq (6 page)

Dawn roused the people at the camp from their slumber. Arnatuinnaq stood up, shivering with cold as frost crystals fell from the tent ceiling. A coating of hoarfrost had formed overnight on the tent's inner surface. The girl was so cold that her teeth were chattering.

“I can barely get my boots on!” she said. “They're frozen rock-hard.”

She hurried to light some brushwood in the small stove cut out from a barrel. The water pail had frozen to the bottom and offered only a trickle of water. No one felt like sleeping anymore and they all got dressed. Qalingu went out for some good snow. In his hand was a snow knife and on his arms
airqavaak.
As for Sanaaq, she had been too busy yesterday to do all she had wanted to do.

“I'll go fetch the brushwood I stored away,” she announced. “We'll need it because we probably won't be able to move today.”

She left, taking with her the skin of a young
utjuk
to use as a sled, a leather strap to tow her load, and a stick to knock the snow off the wood.

Arnatuinnaq told her, “I'm going to stop up the cracks on the outside of the igloo. Qumaq will stay at someone else's place while I plug the holes because I'm afraid she'll get cold.”

Qalingu dug a hole in the snow, but it was not good snow. He said, “It isn't any good, so I'll make the igloo out of packed snow... We'll trample it today to pack it together. It will harden overnight.”

He cut out a large number of blocks that he broke up with his snow knife. Arnatuinnaq then used her feet to pack the snow. Qalingu told her, “We're going to be very cold tonight. I probably won't be able to start building our igloo before tomorrow.”

“The snow is very powdery. It will take long to harden,” replied Arnatuinnaq. “There's some wet snow a bit further away...”

“It should harden with this cold,” said Qalingu. “It's going to get really cold.”

Sanaaq was walking up the hill, a snow stick in her hand. Once she arrived at her woodpile, she removed the covering of vegetation she had placed over the brush. A few dwarf willows had been left exposed, however, and were covered with icicles. She beat them with the snow stick and piled them onto the
utjuk
skin. She stacked her load, tied it up, slipped the snow stick under the
utjuk
skin, and began pulling the make-do sled home, laden with firewood.

An idea crossed her mind. She hitched her dog to the sled and called out, “
Uit!
Uit!
” to make it go forward. The dog jumped to its feet and started off. And so she pressed on, alone with her dog. Suddenly, however, she spotted a polar bear. She was not far from home and, though terrified, fought back the urge to scream. The polar bear being still unaware of her presence, she tried to make her way home by the other side of the hill, while abandoning the dog and the load of wood... She ran ahead, stifling the slightest cry of panic.

Her dog came to the bear tracks and, without showing any sign of fear, bounded off in hot pursuit. The dog, Kajualuk, was barking loudly and sniffing the ground with its snout. “
Muu muu!
” was its muffled grunting.

Meanwhile its master was running silently, as fast as she could, holding back her fear. A short distance from home, she yelled, “
Nanualuk!
A big polar bear! My kinfolk!”

Qalingu heard.

“Listen!” He went outside to look. “Listen! She says there's a polar bear!”

“Yes!” said Arnatuinnaq. “She says there's a big polar bear. Up there, look at her run...
Ii!
”

Qalingu grabbed his rifle and rushed to meet her. The “old woman” and her “old man” finally caught up to each other. Sanaaq explained what had happened. “I saw a big polar bear... The only reason it didn't kill me is because I went by the other side of the hill... But Kajualuk ran after the bear and has probably caught up to it.”

With his rifle in hand, Qalingu hurried to the bear and the dog. He soon saw them and drew closer. The bear was cornered, the dog nipping the back of its knees whenever it tried to move away. The bear was growling loudly but could not bite the dog, which nimbly ducked every swipe of the bear's claws and teeth. The dog had not been hurt in the slightest.

Qalingu stopped to take aim.
Tikkuu!
— the gun went off. He fired several times but failed to reach his target. He was still too far away.
Tikkuu!
Tikkuu!
He fired repeatedly and, despite his poor aim, finally heard a bullet strike home. Though hurt, the bear was not dead. It tried to nurse its wound, nibbling on the flesh. Qalingu drew nearer and shot again, this time fatally. Sanaaq's dog lapped the blood oozing from the wound. Once he knew the bear was dead, Qalingu went home for a sled and for help with skinning. The sun was still out when he arrived home and walked in. He said, “I killed the bear... Almost ran out of bullets because I missed it so many times... I've come for a sled and for help with skinning.”

“That's great news!” said Sanaaq. “We're going to have plenty of bear meat! We've got to let our camp mates know. I'll go myself and tell them!”

Arnatuinnaq was rummaging around for the harness.

“I have to hurry up and get the dogs harnessed! But where's the
nuvviti?
”

“Over there,” said Qalingu. “I'm finishing my tea!”

Two of the dogs were missing and Arnatuinnaq called out, “
Hau
!
Hau!
Hau!
” But both had gone running after Qalingu.

Meanwhile Sanaaq was going from one tent to another.
“
Jiimialuk! We need your help. Qalingu has killed a polar bear!”

“I'll help!” answered Jiimialuk.

“Oh!
Suvakkualuk!
” exclaimed Aqiarulaaq
.
“
Qatannguuk!
Were you almost devoured by the bear?”

“Yes! Barely got away... I left my firewood behind while the dog I had with me went after it... I was so afraid, I didn't utter a single word... Qumaq was all I could think about. I told myself, ‘If I am eaten by the bear, she'll no longer be properly taken care of. Her boots will be in poor shape and, when she feels down, people will make her cry for no good reason. She'll also be scolded often and neglected… When hungry, she'll not be given food like the others.' That's what I thought,
qatannguuk!
”

“
Suvakkualuk!
To think that you went there alone, when I should have gone with you,
qatannguuk
ai!
Have a little tea! It's a bit weak because we're almost out... You're really lucky not to have been eaten by the bear. Without you, Qalingu wouldn't have been able to kill the bear!”

“It's really the first time in my life I've been so afraid. I thought I was done for!”

“
Uit!
uit!
” shouted Jiimialuk and Qalingu. They were getting their dog team going again.

Jiimialuk was pulling on the
nuvviti
to help the dogs climb the hill.

“
Uuppaa! Uuppaa!
” he yelled, throwing a rock at the dogs to quicken their pace. He remarked, “
Ai!
I got burned just a short time ago and here I am going to get some bear meat... Good thing I didn't die back then!” he said jokingly. “I lost an eye while boiling some meat and though missing a lens I'm still alive!”

He came to the dead bear and prepared to help with the skinning.

“Jiimialuk
ai!
” said Qalingu
.
“Let's start skinning!”

While they were skinning the bear, their dogs, still tied up, grew restless. Five of the dogs harassed them as they worked. Jiimialuk had a piece of the bear's heart snatched away. As soon as one dog bit into it, the others became even more restless. They were wild with hunger.

“Uai!
” screamed Jiimialuk
.
“Pack of no-good mutts! Should I feed them the viscera
ai,
after removing the stomach and setting it aside?”

“Yes, do that,” answered Qalingu. “They shouldn't eat too much, or else they won't feel like pulling very hard!”

“Right! Only some of the viscera then,
ai
?
”

“You've got it!”

They skinned the bear by cutting its joints apart and dismembering it. When they were done, they loaded the pieces onto the sled. Their hands were very dirty now, so they cleaned them off in the damp, slushy snow. They then tied the load down with a strap. They were stretching the
naqitarvik
when it snapped. Jiimialuk, who had been stretching with all his might, was suddenly thrown to the ground and hit his tailbone on a stone.

“
Iirq!
Autualu!
Aatataa!
I've hurt my tailbone... How am I going to make this strap longer?”

“Make a knot, after loosening it a little here!”

Once he had knotted it together, they continued to tie down the load. Qalingu unfastened the tuglines from the sled. The dogs had been running back and forth while the bear was being skinned and had made a complete mess of their tuglines. He untangled the lines while talking to the dogs.

“Au
!
Stop moving around! I can't unravel your lines because you've tangled them all together!”

Jiimialuk came to help. The dogs were keen to get going and, once untangled, raced off. Jiimialuk ran after them, shouting “
Hau!
Hau!
” but in his haste fell head over heels into a patch of marshy ground.

“Iikikii!
I tripped and fell... My knees are soaking wet!
Iikikii!
”

He stood up and began to run again. “
Hau!
hau!
” He caught up to the dogs, pulled them back by their tuglines, and slid the loops of the lines onto the
nuvviti.
Then the two of them got the dog team moving. The load was heavy, forcing them to push the sled on both sides, for the snow had melted away in many places.

They were almost home when Qumaq came running out to them. She caught her feet in the tuglines, however, and was dragged along the ground by the dogs. Jiimialuk used his feet to brake the sled with all his strength.

Now Qalingu came running out. He was shouting. “
Hau!
They're going way too fast!”

Qumaq was crying. No wonder, she had scraped her cheeks while being dragged on the ground.

“Aatataa!
Aatataa!
” She was crying in Qalingu's arms. “
Aappuu!
” And screaming too. “
Aatataa!
Aappuu!
” She wanted to be made
aappuu.
She wished to be consoled as one would console a child. They finally arrived home.

“Who hurt my daughter?” shouted Sanaaq.

“She got caught in the tuglines,” answered Qalingu. “She was dragged on the ground when those dirty dogs picked up speed!”

“But why hasn't anyone taken care of her?”

The sea had not completely frozen over yet. This provided Arnatuinnaq with a chance to hunt gulls on the water with an
ii.
She recited the following charm: “My
ii,
my
ii,
swallow it, make a mouthful of it, stuff your beak with it, even if you have begun to spit it out! Stick into the inside of its throat, stick into it!”

This is what the Inuit recite when they hunt gulls with an
ii.
They say they want to make it swallow the
ii.

“I got a big gull to swallow the
ii
!
” said Arnatuinnaq to herself. “Several times it tried to fly away, but it was firmly hooked to my
ii!
”

Here is how an
ii
is used. It is set down on the foreshore and attached to a long line anchored by a stone. A little piece of wood will keep it afloat and the hook is a metal nail smeared with blubber.

Arnatuinnaq headed to the big gull and took it back to shore. When she came home, Sanaaq said to her, “Arnatuinnaq! Is it really the first gull you've caught?”

“Yes! It's the first gull I've caught!”

Sanaaq exclaimed, “We'll quarter it! Let's go!”

Qalingu went outside holding the gull in his hand and shouting to his camp mates, “Come and quarter!”

“Yes, we're coming right away!” replied Aqiarulaaq.

And she added, speaking to her old man, “He's asking that we come and quarter!”

“Yes, with great pleasure!” answered Taqriasuk

All the people were outside and they began to quarter the bird: Taqriasuk and Jiimialuk each held down one of its feet, Aqiarulaaq grabbed a wing and Sanaaq the other wing, Qalingu held its tail, and Arnatuinnaq its head. Arnatuinnaq shouted, “Let's go! Everyone pull on our side! This is really fun!
i i i i i!
But I haven't got anything! It's a really tough one to quarter,
i i i
!
”

All the participants laughed heartily. Taqriasuk, the oldest of the group, got a foot and started to eat it raw while boasting, “I'm eating raw foot...
uumm!
Is it ever good!”

But no sooner had he eaten some of it than he felt sickened by the gull's taste and began to throw up uncontrollably.

“
Ua!
ua!
Ua!
ua!
Water! I really feel sick to my stomach... I threw up something that's got an awful gull taste... It's really not meant to be eaten raw!”

Once they were done, the participants went home and undressed for bed.

At that moment Ningiukuluk's family arrived within view of the camp, having been overtaken by nightfall during their move to the campsite.

In her tent, Aqiarulaaq was scolding her adopted child, Aanikallak, who, though already a big girl, frequently wet her bed and still had fleas. “Aanikallak! Undress for bed and, since you often wet your bed, take this dog skin to put under yourself!”

They all undressed for bed. As they were falling asleep, their dogs began to howl in the black night, “
Muu, muu,
miuu,
miuu!
”… disturbed as they were by the arrival of strangers. Ningiukuluk's family was approaching. Qalingu heard something and said, “Listen! There are dogs barking loudly. Sounds like harnessed dogs pulling on their lines!”

The members of Ningiukuluk's family were pitching camp in the dead of night. They were erecting their tent, for the snow had melted in spots following a rise in temperature. Ningiukuluk said, “The moon is bright! Let's put the tent up quickly. We'll get our things in order tomorrow at daylight!”

Akutsiak and her younger sister were shivering with cold, having travelled at night. After raising the tent, they took their things in. Irsutualuk, their old man, was there too. They unharnessed their dogs, settled in, and undressed for bed, but not before having the tea they had made over a small fireplace for want of a camp stove.

At daylight, they were visited by Aqiarulaaq, who exclaimed, “Why did you do that? Why didn't you come and have an arrival meal? You arrived without my even noticing!”

“We refrained from having one so as not to wake you up!” answered Ningiukuluk
.

Meanwhile, everyone having left Aqiarulaaq's tent, it was now being invaded by the dogs.

“Listen!” said Aqiarulaaq. “Sounds like the dogs have gone into someone's tent... Yes! It's mine they've gone into! Our home is full of dogs!” She chased the plunderers away. “
Uuit!
Pack of no-good mutts!”

She hit the dogs with a stick, seriously hurting one of them in the spine, one of Irsutualuk's dogs. She was very embarrassed about the injury and did not dare talk about it. Irsutualuk went to Aqiarulaaq's place in a fit of anger.

“Who hurt our dog? Our only good dog… Someone had better get me another one! Were you the one who hurt it?”

“I hurt it, but not on purpose, when I was chasing away the dogs that had invaded my home!”