Introduction-E

She went out while she was asleep?
Paniaq: It seems that way. It must have been while she was sleeping, because the
clothing which she used for a pillow was still inside the iglu. She had dressed outside
in her thin summer clothing. She asked him if he wanted her to enter or not, and he
wanted her to enter. Had he refused her she would have disappeared. We can see that
some entity loved her and was taking care of her. Yes, she went through an experience
that no one else has gone through.
How did your grandfather lose his eye?
Paniaq: He was probably born like that.
I didn’t understand what you meant by “nagliktau-”.
Paniaq: It’s a term that was used but I really don’t know the meaning behind it.
I did not understand allijjivik either.
Paniaq: You will understand. When an iglu was built, there was a section where you
would put items that were not going inside the iglu. That part was called the allijjivik.
An area where you put things that you don’t want the dogs to get at?
Paniaq: To keep things like our ropes away from the dogs. We can still do it that way if
we’re going to leave our dogs loose. We can make it big or small depending on the
amount of supplies on the qamutik. That’s called allijjivik.
You don’t really understand siqqiqtiq either?
I understand that a bit now, but I don’t really understand what you considered a
miracle.
Elisapee: That woman is the only one who went through that experience. Something
helped her to survive. I can’t understand that myself either, but I have heard of her
experience.
I assume that your grandparents experienced the traditional ways of
life and avoided the things that were considered taboos?
Elisapee: Yes, they certainly did. Even our grandmothers delivered their babies in their
tiny iglus. Our mothers did not experience it for they grew up after siqqiqtiq had taken
place. They started bearing children when the Inuit weren’t following the traditional
Life Stories – Hervé Paniaq 55