Sanaaq (14 page)

After another hunt for bearded seals,
kujapiit
were once again placed on a
mangittaq.
The invited women came together to feast on heart,
qalluviaq,
and
qiaq.
Akutsiaq removed the peritoneum from the
ujjuk'
s small intestines using a sinew. When she was done, they ate it.

“Is it ever good!” exclaimed Sanaaq.

After eating, they rinsed and dried their hands.

Meanwhile, Qalingu was carrying stones to the hilltop to build an inuksuk. When he was finished, he wiped his telescope with an Arctic hare's foot and looked through it at the surrounding landscape. Something caught his eye.

“It's probably an
ujjuk,
” he thought. “Down there, near the ice crack... I can't make it out very well because of the columns of warm air... I'll get a better look from further below... The two of us will go down to the ice floes!”

He drew closer as he descended and, looking again through the telescope, he could clearly make out the form of an
utjuk.
He went to his hunting companion and said, “There's an
uuttuq
out there! It's an
utjuk!
I'll try to get nearer... Stay here and watch! If I am carried away on the drifting ice, you'll come and look for me in a
qajaq!
”

He made ready to leave with his harpoon and white hunting cap. He set off, carrying the harpoon line and the harpoon head on his back. He crossed the land-fast ice and headed to the ice floes that had come in with the rising tide. When he had almost reached the
utjuk,
he stopped momentarily to rest and watch from atop an ice cake, using a hummock in the ice to judge his distance. There was no mistaking it. He was next to the
uuttuq.
He drew nearer, but it was asleep and completely unaware of him. He caught its attention by making some noise... The
utjuk
raised its head... and Qalingu fired his rifle... He hit it and started running straight to the animal. He was glad that it was not in a hazardous spot.

Taqriasuk, his camp mate, had followed everything from the lookout. He began to descend on foot.

“Maatiusi! Qalingu
has killed an
utjuk!
Take the dogs to him. He's not far off!”

Maatiusi harnessed the dogs. “
Ha!
Ha!
Hau!
Hau!
” But they were in a poor mood for pulling, their paw pads being in bad shape. He finished harnessing them and set off, holding the lead dog's tugline and letting the others follow. Eventually he came to the edge of the ice crack. He halted for a while, scared to go across. The ice had shifted considerably. He finally stepped over the crack, taking care to follow Qalingu's footprints. His dogs followed the footprints until they came within sight of the prey and picked up its scent, whereupon they bounded ahead at full speed — the very same dogs that were previously so loath to get going.

On arriving, Maatiusi said, “I took my time because for a long while I thought I wouldn't be able to cross the big ice crack, which seems to have widened!…”

“
Ai!
” said Qalingu. “Not surprising. Let's go! We'll let the dogs pull it...Hurry, there's a dark cloud, a sign that an
uanniq
is coming
Uit!
Uit!
”

They set off in the direction of dry land. Qalingu wielded his ice chisel to smash away hummocks in the ice that hindered the passage of the
utjuk.
They advanced toward the coast, above which loomed a large and increasingly visible blue-black cloud.

“Maatiusi
ai!
” said Qalingu. “Don't be afraid! We won't be carried off with the ice.”

“But we will! I'm afraid! We're drifting with it!”

“We aren't! There's just a little stretch of open water... When the tide comes in later today, it will push the drift ice to shore and we'll cross straight onto the land-fast ice.”

They were separated from the land-fast ice by a narrow stretch of water. They weren't afraid, for the sea was very calm. As they whiled away the time, waiting for the rising tide to bring them to shore, they saw a large number of
puiji.
The open water shrank to nothing and they were finally able to cross over. Their dogs were panting, their tongues hanging out.

On arriving home, Qalingu said, “For some time it was no longer possible for us to cross over to the land-fast ice!”

“But over there,” replied Sanaaq, “to the south, there isn't any open water... You could have come back that way.”

“Time to sharpen my skinning knife! I'll skin the animal and make straps out of its skin... Its guts have probably begun to putrefy and its flesh has become all soft.”

They started skinning and everyone received a portion of the meat. Qalingu and his hunting companion had killed many
utjuit
that spring, thereby procuring large amounts of
kiatat
and
aksunaaksat.

The dogs fought over the scraps on the skinning site.

“Maatiusi!” said Qalingu. “Empty the small intestines and the stomach too. They might contain deadly parasites... Empty them into an ice crack. I'll make a float out of them for my harpoon!”

“
Ii!
They're disgusting,” shouted Maatiusi, emptying the contents. “All these dirty
amaukkaluit!
”

“There's really nothing to be disgusted about,” said Qalingu. “Hurry up!”

When he was done, he rinsed his hands several times in a little pool of water.

The temperature turned colder that evening and the mushy snow froze again. They went to sleep at nightfall and awoke the next morning. Sanaaq lit her oil lamp and, while still in bed, prepared the morning breakfast by making tea. When done lighting her lamp, she fell back into a deep sleep... only to wake up again.

“
Ii!
Our lamp is smoking! Wake up! The bottom of the teapot is covered with a thick layer of soot! The poker has almost completely burned up!”

It was morning, so everyone woke up. Arnatuinnaq went outside the roofed snow house and called out, “Sounds like a ptarmigan up there. It's chattering
a a a
!
”

Qalingu rushed to give chase. “Get me my cartridges!” he shouted. He went after them and took aim at the ptarmigans several times, killing four.

On his return, Sanaaq and Arnatuinnaq skinned the birds for eating. Sanaaq ripped open the breast of one. She removed the heart and offered it raw to her little boy, who tore into it with his teeth. They then ate the different pieces: the keel of the breast, the back, the drumsticks, the appendix and, finally, the gizzard — after removing its internal membrane...

“Mother!” exclaimed Qumaq. “Give me the head to eat! Give me also the wings with their skin, and I'll eat the marrow. I want to make chewing gum out of the marrow and little feathers.”

Qumaq prepared the
qaunnaq.
She plucked little feathers from a ptarmigan skin and began chewing on them. She then added oil residues from the lamp and some boiled blood. She was now chewing her gum.

“Give me some, little sister!” asked her little brother several times.

She gave him some, but he soon swallowed whatever he was chewing.

“Give me more!” he said.

“
Ii!
” said Qumaq. “You've been swallowing so much that almost none is left!” Despite the little one's crying, she refused to waver. “I won't give you any more because it's almost all gone!”

Sanaaq, once again, tried to console him by diverting his attention. “Let's go for a walk
ai!
I'll carry you on my back. We'll go up the hill and from there we'll be able to look at everything around us and we'll make some tea outdoors!”

Qumaq, her mother, and her family went for a walk while Aqiarulaaq prepared boiled meat outside, using driftwood as fuel.

“The pieces I've been boiling have become very tender. I only wanted them half-done... They've been in too long!”

Qalingu and his companions had stayed home. They played cards for a long time and enjoyed themselves considerably. They did not even notice that a fine powdery snow was falling outside, nor that Sanaaq and those with her had failed to come back yet. Suddenly the dogs began to bark loudly... Maatiusi went out to see what was going on and saw the dogs fleeing in all directions. He immediately came back in, saying, “A polar bear has just wandered in here!”

His card partner jumped to his feet...

“Get my rifle!” he said.

“Where's the bear?”

“It's over there!”

They fired several shots, but it got away.

“It's a shame,” said Qalingu, “that we let that big male slip away because of our clumsiness! What a shame!”

Akutsiaq was trembling with fear, shivering and crying. Aqiarulaaq ran away from where she had been preparing her boiled meat, and the dogs pounced on the opportunity by wolfing down the pieces of meat... It was unfortunate because she no longer had any fuel left. She went back out to see what was happening. She said, “The pieces I was boiling are gone! They've been devoured by the dogs... We won't be having any boiled meat. Not the tiniest morsel remains! My pot has rolled over down there. The dogs have eaten everything, so I won't be cooking any more. Dirty dogs! They're still all excited!”

It was daytime and Sanaaq was making boots. Qumaq moistened the portion to be sewn by chewing on it. Sanaaq asked, “Isn't it moist enough for me to make a
sulluniq?
”

“No, it's not soggy enough yet. I'm going to moisten it more.”

Sanaaq made some sewing thread out of sinew. Her son often grabbed her leftover sinews (the child was a real pest!) and stuffed them into his mouth. Sanaaq sewed the
sulluniq.
After attaching the
qalliniq,
she softened and stretched the
atungaksaq,
which she had moistened. She then cut the piece out, notched it to mark where she would sew, and made some tacking stitches. She was making
qaliruat.
When she was finished, she said, “I've done the
silalliq!
”

To make the
ilulliq,
she now removed the leather's
mami
with the ulu.

“Mother!” exclaimed Qumaq. “I want to eat the
mami!
”

“Here, take some!”

“Yes!”

“Qumaq
ai!
Make a little chain out of the seal's small intestine. We're going to make
nikku.
Remove it from the seal.”

Qumaq opened the animal lengthwise with a knife, dirtying her hands as she emptied the contents of the small intestine.

“
Ii!
” she said. “The stuff inside is disgusting! I don't want to continue... Look, it's full of
qumait!
”

“
Ai!
Never mind, leave it! It's a little
siiqrulik!
”

Everyone was now home and Sanaaq went about sewing soles onto the boots she was making. Her son, now awake, was a real nuisance. From a
mangittaq
taken from an old
qajaq
skin, she prepared to cut the soles out. Her pattern was the bottom of a boot. With her ulu, she cut out a piece for the heel and a piece for the soles of the feet. When the cutting was done, she softened the leather with her
kiliutaq
and began sewing, using braided sinews smeared with blubber.

“My son's so tired that he's whimpering all the time,” she said. “I'm going to put him to bed right away. And to top it off, our igloo's getting dangerous and threatening to cave in!”

She put her child to bed and stretched out alongside him. Once he had fallen asleep, she hurried to sew the soles onto the boots.

Sanaaq's snow house was really on the verge of collapse. She was worried and woke her son up. “Son! Wake up!”

“
Aa!
” he moaned, for he was still groggy.

Sanaaq spoke to Arnatuinnaq
.
“Pack our belongings. The dome of the igloo is probably going to fall on our heads!”

“Yes! I'll get packing.
Ii!
It sure is caving in on us... and I haven't finished. Ouch! I've been hurt! I've been hurt in my back!
Aatataa!
”

“I'll give you a rubdown with snow,” said Qalingu. “Bare your back!”

“
Iikikii!
Is it ever cold!”

“Arnatuinnaq! Do you have anything broken?” asked Sanaaq.

“No, I don't think so. But I ache all over!”

Qumaq was constantly going in and out. Her mother warned her. “Stop going in and out like that!”

“Yes,” she agreed, while continuing her coming and going.

“I told you to stop that! You'll get hurt!”

“But I'm collecting my toys!”

“
Uai
!
” said Qalingu. “Those dirty mutts have broken into the entranceway. Hand me a club!” He began clubbing one dog after another.

“We've been robbed! They've taken off with all the meat we had left. We'll pitch our tent
ai!
Over there, where the snow has melted.”

They brought some stones to anchor the guy ropes and others to hold down the base of the tent, then raised the tent. Arnatuinnaq and her companions brought stones while Sanaaq arranged the interior.

“Qumaq! Bring me a stone to hammer with. I want to move that big stone that's in the way.” Sanaaq hammered away at it. “It won't budge! Let it stay put then.”

Qalingu angled the door into place.

“Qumaq!” he said. “Hold the doorframe upright for a moment. I'm going to install the door... Arnatuinnaq! Bring me some nails and a wooden bar.”

“Where are they?”

“In the tin can!”

“There aren't any.”

“Let me see! I'll look for them.”

“Could these be the ones?” asked Sanaaq
.

“Yes! Those are the ones!”

That evening, when they had finished, they undressed for bed. Sanaaq undressed her son and said, “
Ii!
His feet are wet because he's been splashing around... He probably won't be able to wear his boots tomorrow if the weather doesn't dry them out... Son, your feet are soaking wet!”

They then went to sleep.