Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk - Sanaaq - An Inuit Novel

“We’ll probably lose our snow house today,” she said, “because the air is getting warmer… Arnatuinnaq! Make a sunshade out of some bedcovers. Also put anything wet out to dry… I’m going to stay indoors for a while.”

Qalingu was hunting uuttuq. He prepared his hunting screen while his companion, Maatiusi, stayed with the dogs to keep them in place. Qalingu bent over double and advanced unnoticed to an uuttuq. It suspected nothing. He aimed carefully and fired. He made a hit and ran to the animal. When he got there, he smelled a strong odour and said, “It stinks like a male seal in rut! It’s really a male seal in rut!”

The odour was very strong. Maatiusi heard the gunshot and set out at full speed by dog team. When he arrived, he said, “Thank goodness, you’ve caught a seal! Its blubber will provide our dogs with something to eat!”

“It’s a male seal in rut! Skin it, Maatiusi!”

His companion opened it up lengthwise and the two of them tried to eat it. Even though it was not to their liking, they ate it, for want of other food. Maatiusi said jokingly, “What a nice-tasting seal! It really has a very strong taste.”

Because they had eaten so much meat all day long, their belches stank of it. After they finished eating, they went back to watching the ice from atop a hill. While they were busy looking, their dogs, now hungry, began plundering the load of meat on the sled. Qalingu heard the noise they were making as they tussled with each other. He said, “Maatiusi! Sounds like they’re after the load on our sled! Go quickly because they’re stripping us of everything.”

* * *

Spring had arrived. It was the season of the belugas. Maatiusi and Qalingu prepared to go hunting again on the sinaa. Qalingu said, “Maatiusi! Get ready! I’m going to take a look from the lookout… Put paw protectors on the dogs! Palungattak won’t be coming with us.”

He climbed the inuksuk and scanned the sinaa with a telescope. He spotted something in a patch of open water, between the ice floes.

“Look at that!” he said.

He hurried off because he had just seen some qilalukkaanaq carried on the backs of their mothers. He scrambled down the hill, sinking into the snow with every step. Meanwhile, Maatiusi had harnessed the dogs and put paw protectors on them, one after another. There were five dogs. He then had his going-away meal and quickly gulped down his tea in one long swig. Qalingu, who had just come down the hill, said, “Hurry up! I saw a large number of belugas in a patch of open water, between the ice floes, a whole pod of belugas!”

They got their dog team going and quickly headed to the sinaa. On arriving, they took up position behind an ice hummock, after taking care to avoid making any noise while walking. They were now in a good position to fire. When the belugas surfaced, all at once, they made a big noise with their blowholes. Qalingu raised his rifle, aimed, and fired. He hit a beluga and shouted, “ Ii! Autualu! It’s sinking straight down!”

Maatiusi in turn fired and struck dead on, fatally hitting a pregnant female that rose back to the surface. His face flushed red with emotion, for it was the first beluga he had killed. His whole body was shaking. Qalingu said, “ Suvakkualuk! Just look at that!”

Qalingu nervously grasped the shaft of his harpoon, attaching the head and the harpoon line. He then threw it at the wounded animal… The harpoon head hit the animal hard but slipped on a bone… Qalingu thought his prey was going to sink. But it soon resurfaced and he immediately reattached the head to the harpoon and threw a second time. The harpoon struck home. He said, “Maatiusi ai! It’s your first beluga!”

Maatiusi smiled slightly in response. A profound quivering ran through his entire body, probably out of gratitude or satisfaction. With the assistance of the dogs, they tried to haul the animal out of the water and onto the ice. Maatiusi stood in front of the dogs to urge them on. “ Hau! Hau! ” he called to them.

But suddenly the leather rope snapped, lashing Qalingu in the face. He screamed, “ Aatataa! My face!” His cheek was bleeding profusely, and he saw many flashes of light.

Maatiusi was very afraid, and thought, “Had I not killed the beluga, he wouldn’t have hurt himself…” He was full of remorse.

When Qalingu’s pain began to subside, the two men started hauling the beluga again. With the ice chisel, they bashed away at the bumps in the ice that stood in the animal’s way and managed to haul it up and onto the sled, then set out for home. The load being a heavy one, they advanced very slowly and had to walk beside the sled, pushing it continually. They could not keep it from rolling over whenever it crossed an ice ridge, and could set it right again only with great effort… They finally crossed the land-fast ice and were almost home when their folks saw them and said, “ Aa! They’ve killed a beluga!”

“We’re going to have mattaq to eat!” shouted Arnatuinnaq joyfully.

Qalingu called to Ningiukuluk, the midwife who had delivered Maatiusi, “Your angusiaq deserves our gratitude. Today he killed his first beluga… As for me, I lost mine and it sank! And when the nuvviti snapped in two, I was almost killed right then and there. I saw many flashes of light and was hurt in the face!”

Ningiukuluk was delighted by the feat of her angusiaq who had killed a beluga. Though old, she began to jump for joy and, suddenly feeling full of fervour, called out to everyone present, “But what do all these men do who stay home and do nothing? Haven’t you just been delivered from starvation?”

They now cut the animal up into portions while putting the sinewy meat aside. Ningiukuluk, meanwhile, continued to extol her angusiaq. When the cutting was done, gifts would be distributed to one and all by throwing them out to the crowd. In the meantime, Ningiukuluk would apportion the four sinewy pieces of meat among the women, after cutting them with her ulu. Sanaaq exclaimed, “I’m going to remove the sinews from my share of the meat!”

Arnatuinnaq, Akutsiak, and Qumaq munched on raw cartilage — pieces of the beluga’s larynx. They also ate the qalluviaq of the heart, and pieces from the rear flipper. Sanaaq removed the sinews by ripping them out with her ulu. She cleaned them off, using her teeth to remove the remaining meat, and set them out to dry. Aqiarulaaq did likewise. She then called out to the others, “Come and eat the beluga’s tail!”

Everyone came to the feast. They were very cheerful, holding their ulu or knife for a piece of the meat. Qumaq had a piece of mattaq cut out by her mother. Arnatuinnaq too removed the sinews from her share of the meat, using a small piece of cloth, but she had trouble removing them. The sinews were fresh and still a bit alive.

“It’s really very difficult,” she said. “I can’t quite yank this one out!” The cause of her anger was a little sinew with meat attached. “I’ll try again ai! ” She began again, trying with all her might… but to no avail. “That’s alright! I don’t want to try anymore. I’m afraid it would just make me angry!”

“You’re really stupid, Arnatuinnaq!” said Sanaaq, insulting her younger sister. “What a display of intelligence!”

They now brought together all the little gifts to be thrown out to the crowd. Ningiukuluk, who had delivered Maatiusi, was full of enthusiasm.

“ Aa! Look at all the stuff!” said Sanaaq. “There are even bars of soap. How nice! Toss some over here, to my side.”

After catching what had been thrown to the crowd, everyone went home, their arms loaded with the meat that had been divided up and the gifts that had been distributed. Tobacco… Matches…