Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk - Sanaaq - An Inuit Novel

They now took off downhill to the shore and the land-fast ice. Some of the dogs saw their tuglines slip under the runners. Others were almost hit by the sled. Some, finally, were simply dragged along. Qalingu shouted, “ Uai! Pack of bums that let themselves be dragged and do nothing but eat! Shame on you!”

After making their way downhill, they continued across the ice sheets of the foreshore, the tuglines often catching on snags and spurs. Qalingu would go to release the lines. Once freed, the dogs would start trotting, some pulling hard, others less so. The bad pullers waddled as they walked. The good pullers had arched backs, their bodies tightly drawn by the effort. They were heading out to sea now, the two hunters continually darting from one side of the sled to the other, throwing a piece of wood at any dogs that failed to obey their orders. Before arriving at the sinaa, they crossed an area of fresh ice, parts of which were coated with frost crystals. Their progress slowed down considerably.

In the open water, they spotted a puiji. Qalingu saw the top half of the seal emerge and fired. He hit it and it squirmed wildly… Qalingu had killed it. After hauling it onto the ice, he decided to skin it. He cut the animal open lengthwise, skinned it down to the blubber, cleaned the blood-spattered skin with seawater, and divided the seal into many parts to be distributed later. The two of them ate the meat attached to the lumbar vertebrae and prepared the small intestines and liver by setting them out to freeze. They divided up the entire kill to provide all their camp mates with a share. When the liver was frozen solid, Qalingu laid it on top of the qajaq. They would now go home, so they untangled the tuglines. Ilaijja went about this quickly, for the ice was starting to crack and drift.

Back at the camp, their loved ones often climbed the nasivvik in order to look off into the distance. Taqriasuk had a telescope with him. He also had a pipe that he wished to smoke, but no matches for the already filled pipe. He proceeded to chew the pipe’s contents energetically and almost choked. No wonder… Just then he spotted the hunters arriving and, although he had believed they would return empty-handed, he could see them bringing back a heavy catch.

Qumaq was beginning to grow up and had fun cutting out blocks of snow. She was trying to build a snow house. Snow covered her all over and frost coated her manu. From time to time, she would call out, “Oh! I’m having fun building a house with the snow knife!”

Aanikallak, a bit further away, was doing the same. While she and Qumaq amused themselves, each of them building an igloo, they suddenly heard a large plane and were very frightened by the noise it made… They scampered off to their homes. Qumaq tripped and fell several times, so overcome with fright was she. Her mother asked, “What’s with you? Ii! Aalummi! ” and she ran out to see. “Look at the big plane! Qatannguuk! ”

The plane disappeared. The children were still very frightened.

Sanaaq, Arnatuinnaq, Qalingu, and Aqiarulaaq were going fishing for mussels under the qulluniit. Qumaq wanted to come along. Qalingu filed the cutting edge of his ice chisel and then honed it with a stone. Sanaaq prepared to go fishing by putting on her alirtiit and boots. Qumaq was aware that they were preparing to leave. She kept going in and out, following the others. She said, “Mother! I want to go mussel fishing with you!”

“You’re not going down under the ice. We’re the ones going down… You might bang into something… You’re going to stay home with your maternal grandmother!”

“I want to go with you! And I won’t go under the ice!”

“Go then!” answered her mother. “But eat before you leave so you won’t get hungry there… I’m going to breastfeed your little brother!” Sanaaq also changed the baby’s diaper.

Once Qalingu was ready, they set off, taking a bag, the ice chisel, and a bucket. Qumaq followed not far behind. With the sea retreating under the ice, they hurried to the point underneath which the ebbing waters met the shore. Qalingu began bashing away with the ice chisel to open up a tunnel down into a large qulluniq. With his hands he removed the shards of ice. He looked really tired. When the opening was wide enough, he knocked the last shards out and, with the water level no longer falling, everyone rushed to climb down under the ice.

“Let’s go! Let’s go down,” said Arnatuinnaq very happily… And they went down.

“There are a lot of mussels,” said Sanaaq. “Over there on the side of the big rock.”

“There’s another one!” shouted Arnatuinnaq, “ Ii! But I can see big crabs! They’re repulsive!”

“Oh no, not at all!” said Sanaaq. “They’re not at all repulsive! I’ll tear their legs off and eat some crab.”

“I’ll taste a piece,” conceded Arnatuinnaq, “but now I’m disgusted by these kinguit! I want to go back up to the surface.”

“Before you’ve filled the bucket?” asked Sanaaq, teasing her.

Arnatuinnaq tasted some of the crab and wanted to eat some more… She found it good — she who had been so disgusted. She even went looking for other crustaceans… Meanwhile, Qalingu had half-filled the bag with mussels. He had also gathered seaweed, qiqruat, kuanniit, and aliqatsaujait.

It was now time to climb out. Sanaaq was eating mussels while collecting them. When Qalingu reached daylight, before his companions had climbed back up, he looked over the mussels he had gathered. To his great disappointment, some were full of sand… He had picked them up too fast. Since some of the shells he had gathered were empty and his bag was very heavy to carry, he became suspicious and began taking a closer look. When everybody had reached the surface, Qalingu said, “My kinfolk! I’ve gathered only empty shells. I picked them up without even looking!”

Sanaaq and Arnatuinnaq burst out laughing.

“He wanted to do it so fast,” said Sanaaq, “that he gathered only empty shells! It’s because he was in the dark!”

They headed home. When Qumaq saw them, she shouted, “I want to eat mussels!”

“But the mussels I gathered are just empty shells,” answered Qalingu. “They’re full of sand… I’m ashamed. Eat some kelp instead.”

And they went home. Qalingu pulled his load on a little sled. Sanaaq was very thirsty because of the salty taste of the mussels. When they arrived home, Arnatuinnaq took the mussels as a gift to Ningiukuluk, who said, “Thank you so much! There are really a lot of mussels!”

Qalingu ate some mussels with oil. He also opened some for Qumaq. He then went with Qumaq to barter mussels for tea at the store. Qumaq said, “Father! Some sweets too!”

After bartering with the Qallunaat for tea and candy, Qalingu told his family, “This is what I got in exchange!”

The time of the ullutusiit was beginning and soon it would be spring. Qalingu announced that he would go hunting the next day for uuttuq and that some of the things he had just bartered for would be provisions for the trip. He made some wooden stakes for use as upright supports for his seal-hunting screen. Sanaaq also made him a hunting cap out of Arctic hare skin. She cut it out and sewed an inner band to it. At daybreak the hunters prepared to leave. The warming air was causing the snow to shrink and dwindle away. They took their hunting caps. Sanaaq stayed outside a long time with her baby in the amauti.