Introduction-E

So that’s Qaaqiuq’s song.
Elisapee: I will sing the song but some of the words have been changed.
Alianaittuqaqpuq inuunialirama ulluq suli tauva
I’m so glad I’ll be alive with the daylight out there
Ajajaajaajaa ajajaajaajaa
akuttujuuk anngutivuuk ulluq suli tauva
The two with a lot of space have caught up
Ajajaajaajaa ajajaajaajaa
quviasuliqpunga inuuniarama
I am happy that I’ll be living
Ajajaajaajaa ajajaajaajaa
That’s the song that he sang, for he’d be living again after the dark and cold. It’s not easy
to find the seal breathing holes and to hunt caribou in the dark when caribou are hard
to see. It gets really dark around our land, and it’s colder than Iqaluit. Though we can
still survive, even when it’s like that.
Yes, I was up there in the winter. What do you mean they were able
to nikpaq-?
Elisapee: Around our land there is a lot of snow. The hard surface of the ice is hidden
by soft snow. When it’s like that, they have the dogs sniff it to find the seal holes. Once
they’re found, they use the harpoon to find the hole, and set up to wait for the seal. They
can stand and wait up to an hour, just standing there waiting for a seal, ready to harpoon
it. Even though it’s very cold, they stand on rabbit skin for warmth and to keep their feet
from making any sound. Even if the seal is not present, they cannot make any sound at
all with their feet. They are doing everything they can so they can provide food for their
family and also for their dogs. If they have no dogs, the area is too broad to hunt on foot
and it requires too much time. They loved their dogs too. Paniaq probably knows that
he loves his dogs as he loves humans. Dogs were his means of providing survival. If they
are sick or if they have a problem he loves them less than humans. But he doesn’t want
them to go hungry. He really wants them to eat. When we started having qallunaat
supplies, this is how we used to be. When a seal was caught, we’d keep just enough to
cook and gave the rest to the dogs, as we could have tea and bannock. So it wasn’t so
important that we had the whole thing. As long as we had food in our stomach, our
husbands didn’t seem to make us their priority, knowing that we wouldn’t starve. The
seals used to be caught by being harpooned, prior to our time. By the time we were
around, there were rifles so it wasn’t too hard for us. The spears would be attached to
the rifles, and when the breath of the seal was heard, it was shot, if it wasn’t actually up
30 Introduction to the Oral Traditions