Mitiarjuk Nappaaluk - Sanaaq - An Inuit Novel

“You’re really hurtful! She’s not to be humiliated, for she’s mine and mine alone!” said Aqiarulaaq, who then went home, the little girls doing likewise.

Ningiukuluk was cooking outside. She was preparing aqiluqi and was bothered by the smoke. When the pieces of meat were done just right, she pulled them out with a fork. She did not follow the example of Makutsialutjuaq who, according to legend, burned her hands when pulling the pieces out with her fingers. Onto a plate she put the various pieces. There were pieces with bones: siqruit, kuutsinaat, akuit, taliit, qimminguat, kiasiit, sakiat, tunirjuit, tulimaat, kujapigait, kuutsiniit, niaquit, alliruit, qungisiit, ittunguat, pamialluit, akitsirait, and ulunnguat. She also cooked the guts: kanivaut, tinguit, aqiaruit, qitsalikaat, qinirsikallait, matsait, qinirsiit, inaluat, uummatit, qalluviat, pavviit, umirquit, qaritait, puvait, iggiat, and turqujaat. .. These were the pieces that she boiled.

She called for everyone to come. “ Uujun-ukua! ”

Sanaaq and all of her camp mates gathered for a community feast. Qumaq got a rear flipper and Akutsiaq a front flipper. Qumaq was keen on saving the little bones from her share of the meat, Akutsiaq likewise.

“I’m collecting my little bones!” said Qumaq. “We’re each going to do that, ai! Akutsiaq! We’ll play a game of pulling bones out of a mitten, by using a sinew with a noose at the end!”

After eating her rear flipper, Qumaq saved the following little bones: a qimminguat, arnanguat, an iglitikallak, a paannguaq, a natsinguaq, a qajuuttalutuq, a sirpalutuq, an illiti, an utsuluttuq, and an angutinnguaq. Akutsiaq, Qumaq’s partner, saved the following little bones: a qimminguat, an aquviartulutuq, a sappa, a qulliq, a kaivvasuk, an illaulusuk, an utsulutuq, and a kuutsitualik. They would now play the bone game.

“Akutsiaq!” said Qumaq. “Use the sinew noose to pull some little bones out of a mitten ai! ”

Qumaq began pulling some bones out with the noose. “ Aa! I caught one!”

They each took turns.

“ Irq! Autualu! I’ve just been pulling for nothing! Look, Qumaq! I i i! ” She laughed. “I haven’t caught anything at all! You’re so lucky. You’ve caught a lot, Qumaq!”

With their little bones, they each made the outline of a snow house and a meat cache. Qumaq tried to break into Akutsiaq’s meat cache while Akutsiaq’s pawn was asleep. She was careful not to make any noise, but Akutsiaq, who was being very attentive, said, “Listen! What’s it doing, that one there?”

“Over there! There goes a mouse!” answered Qumaq through her pawn. “It’s gone in to hide… I’m going to look for it!”

Qumaq’s pawn lied to conceal its intention to steal what was in the cache and because it had been taken by surprise. The two pawns were now going to fight each other. They were tossed into the air and the one that fell convex-side down was the loser… That was the bone game.

Spring had come. Qumaq and Akutsiaq went to gather some airait.

“Akutsiaq!” said Qumaq. “We’re going to gather some airait on the plateau!”

“Sure! Wait ai! I’ll first look for something to dig the ground with and a bag to put them in.”

“Sure, go ahead! Hurry before night falls!”

Akutsiaq went home for what she needed. On her way she walked through a patch of soft snow and got her boots wet. As she came in, she said, “Mother! Qumaq and I are going for a walk. We’re going to gather some airait. Give me something to put them in and a digging tool!”

“To dig with,” answered her mother, “take the old file. And to carry them, take the little bag.”

Akutsiaq rushed to catch up to Qumaq, who had already set off.

“Qumaq!” she shouted to her. “Wait for me!”

They harvested many airait on the little flat mounds where the snow had melted.

“Here’s an airaq! ” said Qumaq. “I’m going to dig it out… It’s really a fine airaq! ”

She unearthed it by digging all around it and then yanking it out. She then cut the stem off with a stone, on a rock, and put it into her bag. She and Akutsiaq kept digging the ground up for more airait. They chatted.

“We’ve got enough!” said Qumaq. “Are we going home ai? ”

“Yes!” said her companion. “Look, Qumaq! Some people with a sled are approaching… They’ve been hunting on the sinaa. .. Let’s go! Let’s hurry over to them!”

They ran down the slope. The snow, however, had turned quite soft and when Qumaq sank into it she was flung forward with all of the airait she had gathered raining over the snow. She began to cry with grief, for having lost all of her airait. Her companion picked them up.

“Qumaq!” she said. “Don’t cry, little one! Here they are. Put them into your bag. Look, over there, the people on the sled. They’re almost here… Don’t cry anymore! They’ve been hunting on the sinaa. ”

The two girls arrived home.

“Here are some airait! ” said Qumaq, tossing them at her mother on the ungati.

The girls ran off to meet the new arrivals. The sled passed Akutsiaq but caught Qumaq by her feet in the tuglines and dragged her along in the snow. Qalingu and his companion, who were bringing back an ujjuk, both used their feet to brake.

“ Au! ” yelled Qalingu.

Qumaq was dragged over the bumps and hollows of the ice. When they finally came to a stop, she freed herself and walked to the sled… Akutsiaq joined her. The men got moving again, arriving at home shortly after and unharnessing the dogs.

“You’re going to have kujapik meat to eat!” announced Qalingu. “I’ve killed an ujjuk! ”

They finished unharnessing the dogs and rolled up the tuglines. Once free, the dogs lapped up little mouthfuls of snow, having become thirsty from the blood they had drunk.

Qalingu and his companion carried in the pieces of meat. Maatiusi received a shoulder as his share. This was the portion that usually went to the hunting companion of the person who killed the animal. Though not required, it was customary for him to get a shoulder. If he did not want it, he could choose another piece more to his liking. As for the others, the ones given ordinary shares, they could receive a thigh or short ribs, or spare ribs with their vertebrae. To Qalingu went the other shoulder with the head attached. Sanaaq was preparing to take a share to someone.

“A knife!” Qalingu asked her. “I’ll first cut some handholds into it!”

Between the two of them they carried a kiataq and an aksunaaksat. Only for the purpose of making leather straps would the chest skin be removed from an ujjuk. Maatiusi received an aksunaaksaq. The hunting companion who is entitled to this piece is called an aksunajjatuq. The others, the ones who did not take part in the hunt, have no right to these pieces although they may, as a favour, be given some. Similarly, they have no right to a share of the small intestine, unless offered a share.

Sanaaq laid the kujapiit on a mangittaq and called out to her camp mates, “Here are some kujapiit! ”

“Yes!” they answered.

Aqiarulaaq, her ulu in hand, hurried over to this small feast for the women. Sanaaq sharpened her ulu and, once the cutting edge was honed, began to eat. Aqiarulaaq cut off a thoracic vertebra by slicing through a joint and ate its meat, adding some pieces from the heart. After scraping the meat off a vertebra, she threw the bone away and it was immediately fought over by the dogs. Meanwhile, the men were eating meat from the kuutsiniit. Once they had finished, they rinsed their hands in a bowl and dried them off… They were done.