Introduction-E

We’ll be asking some questions on words we didn’t understand.
Paniaq: She (Elisapee) will be able to answer your questions.
What do you mean by aksunnguqtuq?
Paniaq: When the child is no longer crawling, has been walking around for awhile...
like a toddler, I guess.
What about the word you used, savvi&&aqpaa?
Paniaq: Taking a knife that he’ll use to scare someone with. The man was going through
a depression as he had lost a child. He was grieving for the child. They had a tent away
from the other tents as he couldn’t stand being around noises.
You mentioned earlier about, aniattunik, letting go.
Elisapee: Yes. People go through healing today to get rid of their pain. They talk about
the bad things they have done, admitting they’re sorry and seeking forgiveness, letting
go of their wrongdoings.
Was that also practiced before Christianity came?
Elisapee: It has been practiced since the beginning of time. They used to be told by
elders to make sure they admitted anything that they did so they would not end up
being ill.
For example, if I were to abstain from eating raw meat and I
ate it anyway, I would have to admit that?
Elisapee: Yes, exactly. If a woman has a child and the child was experiencing difficulty
and she had broken a taboo she had to confess, was made to confess that and this was
called aniattuq and that’s what was called pain.
Were there any warnings like, “If you haven’t confessed when
you die, this will happen to you...”?
Elisapee: I may think that I don’t have a problem and yet have one at the back of my
head. You have to go ahead and admit your wrongdoings for your own good. Even if
you are scared to confess, you have to or you may shorten your life. That’s the teaching
that was given by elders.
Life Stories – Hervé Paniaq 59