Introduction-E

The deceased was buried right away?
Pauloosie: Yes.
If the person died in the evening, wouldn’t they wait until the
next day to bury them?
Pauloosie: Yes, but they did not keep it for days and days.
It was kept in the house or... where was it kept?
Pauloosie: When it was taken out, it was put in a grave right away.
Was it put in a plywood coffin?
Pauloosie: Anything was used because there was no plywood back then. There used to
be long wooden crates used for building materials which the doctors would have
ordered, and these would be used as coffins before there was plywood available.
How about the family members? Would they be sent for when you
were living in the outpost camps?
Pauloosie: Maybe it happened on rare occasions. I never encountered a situation where
someone was awaited (before the funeral).
I’m going back to Christmas. Did the people living in the outpost camps
go to Pangniqtuuq to celebrate Christmas?
Pauloosie: Yes, they used to come. We used to go to Pangniqtuuq by dogteam if the trail
was good for travelling. But if the trail was not good then it was not possible. Not
everyone would go, but when the trail was good, people from the outpost camps would
go to Pangniqtuuq now and then.
Were there lots of people gathered for Christmas in Pangniqtuuq?
Pauloosie: Yes, many used to gather in Pangniqtuuq.
Did they also gather for Good Friday and Easter in Pangniqtuuq?
Pauloosie: Only sometimes, I think, not all the time. Only if it was convenient.
Sometimes we went there to trade at the same time, because Pangniqtuuq was the only
place we could go to trade. Shortly after, there were qallunaat in Pangniqtuuq. The
person for whom I am named Ammaalik used to have his own small shop when we
were living in our camp. He used to store goods to sell. He did this for some years until
the government stopped him, saying that they did not want an Inuk to have a store.
Life Stories – Pauloosie Angmarlik 111