Tupou L. (Qipuk) Pulu

Ruth (Tatqavin) Ramoth-Sampson

Angeline (Ipiixik) Newlin

Dinah (Aviq) Frankson

Whaling: A Way of Life (Abvibich Iglaunifat Niginmun "the whales [their] journey to the north") has given us, the authors, a great deal of happiness as we labored to complete it. David and Dinah Frankson (Umigluglu Aviglu) of Tikibaq (Point Hope) carefully taught us for many months with patience and love. We are indebted to them for their willingness to leave Point Hope and work closely with us at the Center in the production of this book. They have given us, and to all who are interested in their culture, the knowledge of a fast disappearing way of life. Hopefully, their contribution of this knowledge, recorded here in this book, will help to deter the current erosion of cultural information that is plagueing every Native village in rural Alaska.

We are also very grateful to Thomas F. Johnston of the Music Department and the Center for Cross Cultural Studies at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, for his transcriptions of the nalukataq songs in this book. The recording of these songs in musical notations is of paramount importance. It ensures their preservation for everyone to enjoy many years hence.

For the Tikibabmiut, the people of Point Hope, and other coastal Eskimos, their whole social structure was, and still is to a great extent, dependent on the capture of the bowhead whales and its associated activities. The whaling captain and his crew members become the core around whom life's activities revolve. From the preparation of their hunting gear, to the hunt, to the distribution of the whale shares, and to the various celebrations held throughout the year, the whaling captain and his crew play very important roles. Their roles with each activitiy have been prescribed by ancient customs and traditions to emphasize a spirit of sharing and caring for each other's welfare.

The whaling customs and traditions of the Tikigagmiut were passed on from generation to generation through oral repetitions done in community halls called the qalgich. Originally, when the point of the land now known as Point Hope, or Tikibaq, was larger and it extended further out into the ocean, six qalgich were located there. There was a name for each one. They were Qalgibruk, Agraktabvik, Saugvik, Ufasiksikaaq, Qabmaqtuuq, and Kafixiqpak.

It was to these halls that the older men and the younger men of each clan went to work on their various hunting tools, to relate stories of successful hunts, to recall comical events and to teach the young people through stories, songs and dances the value systems, and the history of their own people. Now the rough waves of the Chukchi Sea have eroded away much of the land upon which some of these qalgich stood, and thereby inadvertently dissolved their people. Only two out of the original six qalgich still remain today, Ufasiksikaaq and Qagmaqtuuq. The people of the other four qalgich have, over the years, joined themselves to the two remaining qalgik. Although the nonexistent qalgich have survived through the remnants of their people, they have all but lost completely their individual identities as expressed in their songs, dances, and other cultural information.

Today Ufasiksikaaq and Qagmaqtuuq are carrying on only a part of their original functions. The activities of their people are presently dictated by outside commercial and cultural influences. They have now evolved into ceremonial houses and function only during times of celebrations which are held at certain times of the year. They have ceased to be the great cultural centers they once were. How long will these qalgik remain intact? No one really knows. Only the old ruins of the qalgich can still be found at the old site on the point. The celebration ground still exists, but the people are now using a new place close to their new village site.

Any prediction as to the survival of the qalgik with their cultural heritage based on the ceremonial activities is made more difficult now with the current bowhead whale controversy. Up to the mid-1970's, the Eskimos have methodically gone about with their subsistence hunts. They were not aware of a mounting concern for the effective control of world wide whaling activities on the part of an organization called the International Whaling Commission. They were not aware of campaigns to end all whaling by some people from different parts of the world. They were not aware that something was going to interfere with their traditional way of obtaining their major source of food from the whales that come yearly to their shores.

There is a video tape accompanying this book on the activities of nalukataq in Point Hope. An audio cassette of the nalukataq songs in this book is also available. These should assist teachers in making the material more meaningful for students.

David Frankson, Umigluk, was born on the 30th of September, 1903 in the village of Tikibaq (Point Hope), Alaska. His parents were Abviqsiea (Frank) and Aqpayuk (Lizzie) Frankson. He had two sisters, lpiixik (Annie) and Asaqpana (Rose). Both of these sisters have died. Only one of his two brothers, Qufuyuk (Alec) is still living today in Tikibaq. The other brother, Qalayuaq (Andrew), died long ago.

Umigluk had lots of fun when he was growing up in Tikibaq. He had lots of friends who went to school together with him. School was not very easy for them, however, as the teacher, Reverend Hall, spoke only English, and they spoke only Inupiat. Learning to read andwrite in a language that was very different for them did not make any sense. They took three years to study one book. It got to be very boring to look at the same thing year after year, but finally, they acquired some mastery of the content of the book.

On the 26th of October, 1924, David married Dinah Aviq Qalayuaq. She was the daughter of Bob and Alice Oviuk (Uvigaq and Tarruq). She also grew up in Tikibaq. She too had to study the same book for three years in school. She learned more, however, from listening to the fourth and fifth graders than she did from the book and the teacher. English language study was very difficult for Dinah. It just took along time to learn new words in English, especially when there was no chance to practice them.

Dinah's brother, Kirk (Tigluk) Oviuk still lives in Tikibaq. Her uncles, Samaruna and Isigraktuaq, who often took her hunting and fishing when she was growing up, have passed away.

The Franksons had four children but only on-e survived to adulthood. This is their son, Theodore (Teddy). Now they have fourteen grandchildren, and twelve great grandchildren. Most of their family live in Tikibaq close to them. They assisted in rearing seven of their grandchildren.

Umigluk worked at different jobs to obtain money for the welfare of the family. He worked as clerk for the native store in Tikibaq. He was an interpreter for the church, the Episcopal Church. He was a part-time teacher at the school. He was also the selective service agent for the public welfare assistance program. He was the clerk for the Reindeer Company in Kivalina and Point Hope. From 1928 to 1968, he served as the postmaster for Tikibaq. After his retirement from the postal service, he served as magistrate for five years in Tikibaq.

Whaling activities began for Umigluk in 1929. Long before this, however, he had many years of training from his own father and his father's crew on what gear to use, how to prepare them, and how to go out on whale hunting trips. He was an aqpaaqtuaq, or qalugialguruaq, many times. Most of his learning was done through close observation and active participation in the activities connected with whaling. The rest of the learning about whaling came from listening to the stories, explanations, and instructions given by the experts in the qalgi.

The first whale in 1931 was caught on May 2nd. It was an ifutuq approximately twenty eight feet in length. Everyone was excited about the catch especially the captain and his crew. Unfortunately, Dinah was in the hospital when her crew caught the whale, but she did make it back for the fall celebration. Her sister carried out all of Dinah's responsibilities towards their crew for her.

After the first catch, Umigluk bought out James' share of their whaling equipment and went to hunting by himself and his crew. All together, he had a total of eleven whales. This is no small catch as very few whalers can boast of such a number. With all the excitement and the prestige one derives from being an umialik, Umigluk decided to give up whaling in 1966. Therefore, he gave his gear and boat to his son, Teddy.

Teddy took the gear and boat and hunted in 1966. He was not successful that year, but in 1967, he caught a whale. Unlike his father, however, Teddy ceased to continue with the whaling hunt tradition. Now the umiaq rests on the umiivik (the boat rack) without its skin, its bare ribs exposedtothe harshness of the Arctic elements. How long will it be before the umiaq will get its needed new skin? Umigluk and Aviq wonder too.

Eskimos of Tikibaq (Point Hope) who have hunted the bowhead whales for at least a thousand years have different names for them. These names are related to sex, size, and age. The newly born calf which travels with its mother is called abvaaq. The baby female whale is called ifutugrauraq and the baby male whale is called usiffuagrauraq.

The next size female whale after being weaned is called the abvalutauraq. It is fat and its meat is not yet completely dark.

The next size of young whales which travel by themselves are called by two names. The young female is called ifutuq, andl the young male is called usiffuatchiaq. The average length of these whales is twenty-five to thirty feet. The Native whalers estimated the age of these whales to be fifteen to eighteen months.

The oldest of the female whales is called ifutualuk. The older more mature male is called usiffuabaaluk. Another name for a very old male whale is aapsavaaluk. A mature male whale with white afirruk, the section of the tail between the base of the flukes and the anal pore, is called qabixik.

When a female whale travels with its baby, it is called abvaalik, meaning 'one with a calf'. An ifutuvak is a fat, mature female whale with a flat nose, not curved. When a pair of adults, perhaps a mating pair or a mother with a young whale, are sighted, they are referred to as alupaabik.

A group of whales which surface together and blow together is referred to as puiyaqtuat. The last group of whales to pass Tikibaq (Point Hope) in the spring as the animals migrate northward is called by the same name as the old male whale, aapsavaaluk. This group consists of large, mature whales.

When the people of Tikibaq hunt the bowheads, they prefer to catch the ifutuq and the ifutualuk, the young female, and the mature female respectively. These two have very tender meat. The usiffuatchiaq, the young male whale, as well as the older more matured whales are not as delicious and tender as the females. According to observations made by Foote in the spring of 1962 in Point Hope on two male whales which measured between twenty-six and twenty-eight feet, and being identified as one from each of the two kinds of whales, the ifutuq and the usiffuatchiaq, he noted the following:

Igutuq

Body: straight, thing

Whereas Foote ascribed differences to possible differences in species, David Frankson insisted on these differences being based on sex. Results of preliminary biochemical-genetic studies, the analysis of blood protein, liver enzyme electrophoresis and karyotyping, suggest that ifuntuq is not a separate species from the usiffuatchiaq.

The ribs are used for fences and as posts for tying things on to, but their main use was for rafters of the traditional sod houses and for fences around the graveyard. They were also used for arrow points and spear points. They can still be used for fish net sinkers, handles of ulut (plural for ulu, woman's knife, woman's knives) and other knives and as back ends of seal spears. Along with the shoulder blades, they were also used to pack down the moss and mud of the sod houses.

In the semi-subterranean sod houses of the old days, the shoulder blade played an important part in the ventilation of the home. As a piiqsi, it was placed by the pallichat, the outside entrance into the iglu, and deflected the wind into the house when the house was too warm or humid. It was placed on the other side of the pallitchat to prevent the draft from coming in. The position of the piiqsi depended on the wind direction. The shoulder blade can also be used as a door mat outside of a house.

The blubber is used for food. Its other use was in the oil lamps which were used for light and heat. The pieces of blubber were skewered on a stick above the lamp. The lamp had a small wick made of moss called maniq. The oil from the blubber dripped down to the light below and the rendered piece that was left was called tafibnieiq. Tafibnieiq was delicious to eat. The burnt oil formed a gummy substance that ran down the side of the lamp. It was called anfuk. This was usually thrown away but sometimes it was mixed with goose down and chewed as gum by the children. According to legend, it was also the substance used to rub the gifts from the Atallich, the Sky People, in order to keep them. If the gifts from the Atallich were not rubbed with this substance, as soon as the Atallich left, the gifts disappeared. Today, blubber is used much like firewood where it is fed directly into a fire. With the scarcity of wood in the whaling camps, it is an important source of fuel.

The preparation of whaling equipment was a task that most whaling captains and their crew members took very seriously. Without the proper equipment, whalers did not dare go out to hunt the largest mammal on earth. So everything must be in readiness before the hunting season arrives. If there is no boat yet for a new crew, that is the first thing they must try to prepare. The whaling captain is usually the owner of the boat. He is called umialik, the one with a boat, or the leader. Umialik also means a rich man.

The whaling boat is usually made from five walrus or ugruk skins. It is called an umiaqtuun and this is different from the nine ugruk skin boat called umiavak, the seven skin boat called the umiavauraq, and the smaller two skin, or one skin boats called umiabiuraq. The umiaqtuun is strictly a whaling boat without any sail.

The frame of the whaling boat, umiam saunfa, is made from wood, usually drift wood, but the skins are obtained by the prospective captain by going out and hunting for ugruk, or bearded seals. After he brings them home, his wife works very carefully to skin them so there will be no holes in them. After she skins the carcasses, she works on them again for about two to three weeks. She scrapes off all the fat and takes out the bones from the flippers. Then she hangs them up to dry partially. After that, she rolls them up from two sides to the middle and ties them. These bundles are taken and stored in the ice cellar, the sibluaq. There they will stay until March.

In early March, the captain's wife goes out and brings the skins from the sibluaq. She makes a hole in the ice on the water by the beach and immerses the skins there. She leaves the skins soaking in the salt water for about seven to ten days. She checks them only once before she takes them home to work on them again.

After the skin is lashed on, the men put two brace boards on each side of the boat running parallel to the gunwales and placed about half-way between the top of the gunwale and the center board on the keel of the boat. The brace board on the outside is called tunusigaq. The inside brace board which is placed exactly opposite the outside board is called tuulvik. When the men have lashed the skin on the boat, they are the tuuttuat. The name for the line is tugrun. The diagram below shows the parts of the boat.

When the boat is made, the first part to be laid in place is the keel which is called kuyaaq. Two boards are placed on either side of the keel. These boards are called akkuk. They are held in place by short braces that cross over the keel These braces are called nanmit. The ribs are attached to the keel over the akkuk. They are called tulimaat now, as they are curved, but they used to be called naparut, which is also the word used to describe the straight ribs of a sled. The top runner, or gunwale, is called quli. The bow is called sivu. The stern is called aqu. There is a hole formed at the bow of the boat by the boards in the shape of a v or a u. It is called kiglu. When the boat is carried anywhere, one of the men puts his head through that hole and lets the poles rest on his shoulders. Two other men carry the back and they take the boat wherever it is to be taken.

The captain will sit in the aqu seat. The harpooner will sit in the sivu seat. The rest of the seats will be occupied by the rest of the crew members. Each one has his specific job to do during the hunt. The captain will give the commands. The harpooner will throw the harpoon. The paddlers will paddle.

As soon as the skin is on the frame and is completely lashed on, the men will take it to the umiivik. The umiivik is the boat place where the boat is placed upside down. It consists of four posts made from the jaw bones of the whales. These bones are buried with the curved part faced towards the center. Two drift wood pieces are laid on the long sides of the poles. The boat is placed upside down on the rack and lashed on to the wood to prevent the wind from blowing it away.

As soon as the boat is placed on the umiïvik, the captain's wife gives candies, or doughnuts, and maktak to all children who play around that area either watching the men work on lashing on the skin, or following them over to the umiivik. Long ago, the children used to hang around outside the snow house where the men were working on the boat waiting for the captain's wife's treat. She used to give them maktak. The old people believed that feeding the children at this particular time brings them luck with their hunting endeavors. The children's 'wish' is powerful enough to bring success to the hunters who will use the new boat.

After the tuuttuat secure the boat on the umiivik, they go over to the captain's house for a feast. They are usually served some special thing like fresh fruit plus maktak and frozen meat. Now-a-days they are also served pies and cakes.

The paddles and the oars for the boat will be shaven to make them look new. This is called nutaqsi-. Each member of the crew works on his own paddle and completes it in a short time. Work on other needed equipment will also be done shortly.

After getting the male seals, care must be taken in skinning them. The captain's wife does the cutting of the skins by cutting below and around the blubber. This type of cutting is called nayuk-. She loosens the skin by cutting around it and pulling the skin back over the body and loosening the flippers. She scrapes off the fat from the skin. After that is done, she turns the fur out the right way, and dips the whole thing in cold water. She washes it really good. Then she ties a string to the head part and takes it outside.

In the qanitchaq, the skins will freeze and remain until March. On the first day of the new moon in March, that is the time of avataqpagriubvik, the time to make and prepare avatqpak, or floats. When the captain thinks it is time to make the floats, he brings the skins into his house early in the morning. His wife starts to work on them, and she hangs them up and thaws them out.

Two small floats and one big float are needed. The two small floats are called kanasiqqak. The big float is called kirfu. Only three floats are needed per harpoon. The crew members usually make two extra floats, however, in case they lose the others during the hunt. Today, most of the whalers are using commercially prepared floats. No longer do the wives of whaling captains work on seal skins for floats. No longer do the crew members work together during the avataqpagriubvik to prepare their floats in the old way. The magic of avataqpagriubvik and its spirit are almost gone, or can it be revived again?

Eight paddles called afuutit are made from drift wood. The blade is shaped very carefully about eighteen inches by eight inches wide at the base where it blends into the handle. The handle is about five to six feet long and two to three inches in diameter. Two pulling-oars with blades that are almost straight and much longer handles are prepared. The former are used for paddling around looking for whales, but the latter are used when the crew is in a hurry to get to where they are going. Where as the paddles with the wide blades are used without rowlocks, the oars must have rowlocks made of hides. There is also one steering-oar for guiding the boat in the direction it should go. This steering-oar is sturdier than the others. It has a six foot handle on it, and its blade is wider than the others. (See the diagrams below.)

This is called ieeisauraq 'a small drying rack'. Each clan used to have such markings on their hunting tools to distinguish them from other clans' markings. On a harpoon, the marking was placed on the head, and it became very important to have it there for this reason. When a man harpooned a whale and it got away, if a another man captured the whale and the harpoon head with the marking of the first man who speared it was there, the whale belonged to the first man. Currently, the people are using their names' initials as identifying marks. Old ivory which are found by the people now show clearly some of the ancient clan markings, but no one knows much about them any more. It would be of great interest to make collections of the crafts made by certain clans by identifying them with their markings. Here are only a few of the markings that have been preserved in old ivory work:

Two kinds of knives are taken as part of the tools for whaling. The first was used to be made from slate or jade long ago. It consists of a blade about 1 1 /2' long and 3' wide. The end is attached to a wooden handle that is eight feet long. Since the coming of the whiteman, the Inupiat started to use steel blades for their knives. This butchering knife is called kaugaq. The second kind of knife is made of bone. There are two kinds; one has a blade that is long and thin, and the other has a rounded blade more like a spatula. The long bladed one is used for scraping the sides of the boat when the ice collects on them. The other is for digging under the accumulated ice on the sides of the boat. They are both called sikuiyaun. The knife blades are usually protected in sheaths. (See the diagrams below.)

There are two kinds of hooks needed for the whaling hunt. One is called the niksik, and the other is the algagruaq. The niksik has one single point. This point used to be made from bone, ivory, or jade. The hook point is attached to a wooden handle which is about eight feet long. On the opposite end of the handle, and on the opposite side from where the hook point is placed, a piece of caribou or reindeer horn is attached for the thrower to hold on to. Closest to the end of the long handle and behind the horn, a small hole is drilled. A rope is tied to the end of this hole, and that is how the niksik is retrieved after it is thrown at a target. All one has to do is pull back the rope, and the hook will return. The niksik is used for hooking up anything that has fallen into the water. It is also used for hooking up the fins to be morticed and reeved before towing the whale to the butchering place. It is very much like a gaff.

The algagruaq looks very similar to a rake with three six to eight inch prongs on it. The handle is made of wood and it is also eight feet in length. The hook points like in the niksik are lashed with fine seal sinew to the handle. It is used for pulling the meat off the vertebrae of the whale. (See the

After getting the tools ready, the captain and his wife will call the crew together again to help shave all the handles of their equipment. Once again, they nutagsi-, as they did with the paddles. They shave the handles using a shaving knife called a millik. This millik is made of iron now but it used to be made from flint or jade. Jade was preferable. The handle was made from bone, and the lashing was done with sinew. (See the diagram below.)

The fresh water bag was made from the back flippers of the seal. The bag was called imigagvik. When a crew member was ready to go whaling, he filled it with cold water and put it inside his parka. Then he tied his belt tightly below it. By doing this, he kept the water from freezing, and he was able to drink it whenever he was thirsty. If the whaling crew stayed out very long, and he ran out of water, he filled his bag with fresh snow. He placed the bag inside his parka again. His body heat melted the snow so he had water for drinking again.

The crew also took along a big round bucket called a gattag which was whaling food. The bucket was about eighteen inches in diameter and twenty-four inches deep with a handle on each side. It was made from wood. The captain's wife cut maktak, fish, and whale meat and filled this container. This was the only food the crew took with them, for in the old days, the crew members did not camp out on the ice to do their hunting. They went out early in the morning and returned home at night. The only time they stayed away was when they killed a whale. They would stay out there then until they completed the butchering of their catch.

The bowhead whales start appearing at Tikibaq (Point Hope) during their northward spring migration around the middle of April. Long before this arrival of the whales, however, the Tikigagmiut practiced sigieeialiq, the ritual of watching the sun rise over certain mountain peaks between lmnaich (Cape Thompson) and Uivvaq (Cape Lisborne) on its return journeyto its northern summer solstice. The whaling captain would take his wife early in the morning and go out on top of their iglu to sit on the pallitchat, the drift wood frame of the entrance way. They would wait there, along with other captains and their wives at their own pallitchat, and in the stillness of the early morning await the first ray of the sun. A spirit of rivalry existed as each couple carefully screened the horizon at the expected place where the sun would rise for each couple would like to be the one to qatchalaaq-.That means as soon as they saw the first ray of the sun, they would yell, "Ui! Ui! Ui!". This happy expression is also used by men when they are filled with happiness during dancing. Sometimes, a young son was taken along, packed on the back inside his mother's parka, to watch the sun rise. Boys of four to six years old were regularly taken along to sigieeiaq-. After the sun rose, the little boys that were able to, were allowed to run around and relieve themselves. They were taken along for training as well as for praying during siqinnialiq. It was their parents' wish that they would grow up to be good and successful hunters. The parents wished for them that they would acquire the habit of rising with the sun and going out to hunt for whales and other animals. Successful hunts were often conducted in the early part of the morning.

After sipinnialig in the old days, the mars would go to the qalgi. His wife would return to their house and prepare a meal for her husband. Then she took this meal over to her husband in the qalgi. All other wives would do the same for their husbands.

Wives of the men in Tikibaq also carried out monthly supplication to the man on the moon at new moon. Each time there was a new moon beginning in the fall time, the woman of the house took her immiun, a small wooden bowl which she used for giving drinks to animals which her husband brought home from his hunts. She gave water to sea mammals, and seal oil to the land animals. She did this because, even though the animals were physically dead, their spirits were still alive and must be given a drinkwhentheycometo her house. Itwas this same bowl that she filled with about an inch of water and taking it outside, held it up above her head with both hands towards the moon. She said something typical of the following while she held up the bowl to the new moon:

These were called qieeuaqtuutit and were mainly of those three types. The wives of the captains asked for whales in the spring before the whaling season. The other women asked for game animals and good health every new moon all year long.

The man in the moon was said to sit there with a skin covering the moon. New moon came about when this man, Alifnaq, uncovered the moon slowly by drawing the skin back a little at a time. When the women prayed to him, some of the bowls they held came up close to him. He took from his store of

goods and gave to them according to their prayers. Sometimes he gave more than they asked for. Some women's bowls were too far away and Alifnaq could not do anything for those people. Whatever Alifnaq put in a woman's bowl, that was what her husband would get during his hunting activities. If he put in two whales in her bowl, her husband would kill two whales in the next whaling season, and so on. Therefore, the people not only watched the sunrise and meditated in prayer as husband and wife, or as a family group, but the wife, sometimes joined by her children and grandchildren, also prayed monthly to the man on the moon for their daily needs and their health.

All Tikigagmiut watched the position of the sunrise each morning, and points along the coastal hills were named identically with the appearance of the sun there. These points are Ayapiqtuq, lmnaqpaksiuqtuq, Saligvik (Saligvikun nuiruq), lealurratigun nuiruq, Auksaaqiakun nuiruq, Qaiqsukun nuiruq, Pugguk. and Qufisiuq. Each of these place names has its own meaning as in the following:

As soon as the sun approached its rising position at Qugisiuq, the people got very excited for it was at Qufisiuq that the earliest recorded whale of the whaling season was ever caught. This catch was made by Uivvaqtaaluk, and this solar position probably corresponds to mid-March. The occasion so impressed the Tikibabmiut that the story of Uivvaqtaaluk and his whale catch at Qufisiuq was told to every little boy when it got to be about that time of the year. It was the wish of every whaling captain to be so lucky as to catch a whale as early as when the 'sun comes up through Qufisiuq.' No one has ever caught a whale any earlier than Uivvaqtaaluk. Uivvaqtaaluk and his brother, Qiqiaq, were great whale hunters. They caught a whale every season they hunted. They are still remembered today and their graves can still be identified at the old whaling cemetry in Tikibaq.

To catch the first whale in the season is called to anuyaaq-. Everyone wants to anuyaaq-, so he can fill the stomachs of the hungry people in the village. The people's food caches are usually very low at this time of the year. So an early catch of the whale can bring joy to all the people as they will eat their fill and replenish their low, or perhaps, empty food cellars. The coming of the whale is awaited with great anticipation and hope.

Whaling takes place only on the south side of the land fast ice. If the wind is blowing from the south, however, the south side of the land fast ice is closed and the whales will migrate straight through on their way north without coming close to shore to be hunted. There were times, however, when there were small open holes in the ice during the south winds. Whales used these holes for breathing, and they were sometimes killed at these holes as they came up for air. These holes are called imaurat.

The north side of the point is open during a south wind but no one hunts whales there because the whales do not come around there. In the old days, however, when the point of the land was further out in the ocean, the people actually killed whales on the northern side. The following diagram shows the names of the winds that the Tikigagmiut recognize:

Clouds and their movements are closely associated with the winds and the Tikibabmiut watch them too to determine the weather. All clouds are called nuviyat. Stratus clouds, described as being clouds that are stretched out and pulled tightly, are called saffitchut 'tightening up'. They are indicative of up-coming strong winds. Cumulus clouds are called ugruurat, described as looking like 'fat ugruks', and when they start to form, they are indicative of strong south, or north winds coming up soon. Altocumulus clouds, little feather clouds that are wavy and curly, are called kixgaviurat. They show that it is windy up in the sky. Cumulonimbus clouds are called qaliquttat. These are the kinds of clouds that seem to remain stationary over the hills even though the wind may be blowing very hard over the hills from Cape Thompson to Cape Lisburne. As soon as the clouds move out and dissipate from this area, the wind dies down.

Certain places are also watched in order to predict the weather. One of these places is the valley called Kapittuuraq which is between two mountains above Aqalulik Creek. It is above Cape Lisburne. It is a narrow valley and when it is filled with fog, a strong wind can be anticipated. Fog is called taktuk, and when one can see blowing snow through the fog, one can be sure that strong winds will soon hit Point Hope.

When big black clouds appear, bad weather is to be expected and strong winds will soon arise. If there is a cloudless sky but the wind is increasing in speed, soon the sky will turn color. This is called isugluk, and no one goes hunting.

Whaling captains must be very aware of the current and the tide. The word for current is sabvaq. Two tides are recognized: high tide is called ulititkaa, and low tide is called ulinfaigaa or immaiqpakkaa. Three types of waves are known: ifiulikpaich, or big waves, ifiulik, medium sized wave, and ifiullaat, or small waves. Hunting is done only when there are ifiullaat, or when the seas are light, or relatively calm. If a strong current is running causing a whirlpool, the ice might break anytime so it is best to get out of the water. This kind of condition is called utkusigauraq. It is a very dangerous situation.

siku, a general term for ice;

qinu, slush or new ice in the fall time;

kisitchat, ice that piles up in shallow water on the point where the houses used to be located, about six feet deep;

ivuniqpaich, ice that piles up on the beach along the west coast of the point;

tuvaq, solid ice which extends out one to two miles into the ocean and it is found among the ivuniqpaich;

sarrik, pack ice which retreats along the edge of the lead;

The whalers have to keep a watch out for sarrik and move further back onto the landfast ice to avoid them. If they hit, there is no telling how much damage they can do to the edge of the landfast ice, and one better not be caught in such a dangerous position.

Snow terms that whalers must be acquainted with include the following: aniu or apun, general terms for snow that has fallen; qannik, falling snow, snowflake; misulik, wet snow sleet; natatqubnaurat, hail stones; afniq, blizzard, snowstorm; natabvik, blowing snow on the ground; apuyyaq, snow along banks or slopes used for building emergency shelters; qimugruk, snow drift, and nikuvlalaaq, corn snow with ice crystals which makes it ideal for drinking snow.

TO THE HUNT

 

The crew members take down the boat, the umiaqtuun, from its rack, the umiivik. Then they start checking the gear. They check the niksik, the algagruat, the knives, the lances, the spades, the harpoons, and tie these securely to the bottom of the skinboat. They prepare the bomb-lance-gun and the shoulder gun but they are not loaded until they are on the ice. The paddles and oars are also tied together and placed in the boat.

The floats are taken down and filled with air. After they are inflated, they are taken outside. A twenty-five fathom manila rope about 1 /2 inche in diameter is stretched and one end of it is tied to the sitqut, or the lower flippers. The other end is tied to the darting gun and the harpoon.

Then they measure nine fathoms from the harpoon and tie the two small floats there. They twist the rope around the middle of the kiiju and leave about four feet of rope length hanging loose while they take up the rest of the rope and place it on the hold in the boat to prevent it from slipping off. The rope of the two small floats is wound and placed behind the harpooner's seat, and the second seat, the bowman's seat. The big seal float, the kigu, is placed behind the bowman's seat and in front of the midship-oarsman, or the third seat. In Native, the second seat is qugialik, and the midshipoarsman's seat is the qitiq. Qurgialik is the name of the part of the boat next to the bow, and all its gear is ready to

After the boat is on its way, the rest of the supplies and a tent are packed and taken along to set up camp in a place close to the open lead. The lead is called uinig. The captain determines where the camp is to be placed and that is usually about a few yards from where their umiaqtuun is going to be kept. This is usually in a little sheltered bay called a kaffieiq.

(diagram of kaffieiq)

All the trails from the village and the various camp sites meet at a place by the open lead. This place is called pituqqiq. It is usually a large flat place on the land fast ice where the captains can bring their tents to and set up camp as soon as the ice starts closing in in the lead.

No one has a designated place to put up camp. Camp sites are available on a first come first served basis. The bay like area is the most desirable as whales are most likely to appear coming around the ice point or land protrusion further down from the little bay area. The point that juts out into the lead is called nuvugraurag, a little point. If it is big, it is called nuvugrag.

Camp is established once the tent is firmly staked into the ice. Supplies are unpacked and stored away. There must be coffee, tea, sugar, canned milk, flour, salt, pepper, onion, rice, bread, oatmeal, or other cereals, and lots of other canned food. Every camp has a cook, who is called kukik. There is also a helper who was called kivgaluuraq, but now called boyyaurap. The kivgaluurag is usually a young boy who is old enough to wash dishes, chop wood for the fire, and get snow for water. The whaling crew used to take coal along with them for their fire. This was burned in a kerosene can which acted as their hearth. The sides were slit open through which a rack was placed about one foot from the bottom of the can. Then a hole about nine inches square was cut three inches from the bottom of the can on one side of it. This was where the fuel was fed into the fire. The top of the can was open. Before the fire was built in the can, dirt was placed on th bottom of the can. This acted as insulation, and it was also used to retard the fire when it burned too fast, especially when whale blubber was used as fuel. People now are using portable stoves.

There are many duties for the kivgaluurag. He is also tlmessenger boy. He keeps the whalers warm and happy t giving them coffee and tea every hour. He works constantly keep the crew well fed while they are busy keeping a looko for the whales in the open lead. He makes sure he has a war place for the men that are not looking for whales. They need warm place where they can rest. No one takes off his cloth during the rest period, though. The only thing they remove their mukluks which they remove and place in a certain way dry out. They are put in a place where they can be quick slipped on in case they are called to chase a whale.

The watch for the whales is kept round the clock. Everyoi takes his turn watching. In the evening, the younger cre members watch in the early hours while the older men slee They can wake up any one to replace them when they feel tl need for some sleep. As soon as a whale is sighted, the crE closest to the ocean signals other boat crews by waving paddle from the top of a small pressure ridge. The message passed on in the same manner from crew to crew. Then the sleepers are awakened by being pulled on the arm. No words are spoken as they quickly slip on their mukluks and launch their umiaqtuun into the icy water. Everyone knows his place and in no time at all, the captain gives his command and away their boat speeds when the oars are skillfully dipped in and raised out of the water. If the whale is far away, the pulling oars are used. So into the quiet darkness of the open lead, the captain and his crew slip ever closer and closer to their prey.

Everything has been done in accordance with ancient customs up to this point to ensure a successful hunt. The crew members have all worn new mukluks and new mittens. They have been blessed by the priest. Anciently, they were blessed by their own afatkuq who sang a magic song full of power on their behalf. Upon sighting a mother whale with a calf, an advaalik, they sang a song called a qagrugautaiyaun. It was a song sung to the mother whale to cause her baby to slide off her back more often, and thus slowed down her progress so they could catch her. Today, no one sings the ancient songs anymore. All they do now is try to get within a few feet of the whale if they are using an ordinary harpoon.

Once they are within range, the harpooner pokes the whale with all his might. Then he twists the handle to break it off while the paddlers paddle furiously to keep the boat from being pushed back by the impact of the harpoon as it penetrates the whale. (With the darting gun and the bomb, the boat can be at a distance of fifty feet.) The harpooner hopes with all his heart that the harpoon had hit the whale below the rib cage, or some other place where the bones will not stop the penetration of the harpoon. (The best place to aim for is directly at the joint of the head and the spinal column.) So as soon as he throws the harpoon, he sits down and says a silent prayer. In the old days, he, or the captain, untied their mukluk strings as the floats were thrown into the water. The untying of the harpooner's mukluk strings assured the whalers that the whale would not sound taking all the rope out until it was taut. The crew hoped that it would only run a short way and leave a lot of slack in their rope. Then the next thing that the crew did was to start singing an avataqsiun, referring to means by which the seal floats were retrieved. This song was sung to weaken the whale and to slow it down, bringing it to surface closer to the hunters again. When the avatapsiun was effective, the whale soon surfaced close to the hunters and it was killed immediately by the crew. They used their hand lances, or their qalugiat to stab the whale. Presently, no one knows any avatagsiutit, a very regrettable thing indeed.

There are no signals used to show a boat has a whale. Whaling crews used to keep a lookout for each other and especially for a crew which was way out from the land fast ice. When the dart gun was used, no sound could be heard, but the loud singing of an avataqsiun was a signal for the others that a whale was struck. Now the use of a bomb lance gun allows the other whaling crews to hear the explosion and go out as fast as they can to the scene ofthe kill. Everyone assists for the whale is not the killers' alone to keep. The whale will be shared and enjoyed throughout the coming year not only by those in the village of the hunters but by all their relatives and friends in other villages.

DISTRIBUTION OF THE WHALE SHARES

 

Today, the messenger travels swiftly with a snowmachine. In the old days, the piece of avarraq was attached to the blade of one of the paddles. The messenger, or qalugialguruaq, now called aqpaaqtuaq or runner, took the paddle and quickly departed for the village. He took the paddle over to the skylight of the captain's house and poked it down partially through the skylight. The captain's wife took the meat from the paddle and licked it. Then she put it away. Meanwhile, the qalugialguruaq took the paddle and placed it outside by the door of the house. Then he entered the house and had something to eat. Today, the wife of the captain continues to only lick the piece of avarraq. Other people come to observe the piece of avarraq to determine whether or not it belongs to an ifutuq or another type of whale.

The word of the successful hunt spreads like crushed ice at breakup time. Everyone in the village gets his bag ready with the necessary knives, or ulut, that will be needed for cutting the meat. Sleds are taken along to be used in hauling the meat back to the sibluaq. Everyone, big and small, heads out to the place where the whale is to be butchered. In the old days, dog teams were not allowed over the ice while the men were hunting for the whale. The old people believed that the noise would scare away the animals. The only times they allowed them on the ice was when-it was time to haul thewhale meat. Today, they believe that the poor catches of whales lately are due to all the noise the snowmobiles are making over the ice.

After the people reach the whale butchering place, the whale has already been marked for distribution. Some lines divide two or three shares, as the line dividing the tapsieaaq from the qimibluich and the sixviich. The captains of the various whaling crews, or some people with authority representing each crew make sure that they all agree where the line will be marked. They dothis by pullingthewhale along side the ice bank and marking the dorsal side with their spades or knives. After the top is marked, they roll the whale over and mark the ventral half. Each captain marks his own share.

The flukes, or avarrak, are cut and removed if they have not done this before towing in the whale. The avarrak are a part of the captain's shares. The captain saves them for the Spring festival when he will give them to the people. So after the flukes are removed, a block and tackle are attached to the tail and everyone has a tug-of-war with the whale. While the people are straining to haul their mountain of meat on to the top of the ice, they chant in time with their pulling effort, "Kaapia! Kaapia! Kaapia! Kaapia!" This means that they want some coffee to drink after their work. In the old days, the work chant was, "Tirrabiiq! Tirrabiiq! Tirrabiiq!" This was to indicate their desire to eat cooked maktak which the captain's wife and her lady helpers cooked and fed to all the people who helped with the whale. Now, the captain's wife and her assistants cook the maktak and serve it along with coffee and doughnuts or crackers. This beautiful custom of serving the food to all who lend a hand is still carried on today. The people enjoy this meal like a picnic on the arctic ice while theywait for the men to butcher the whale.

For the seasoned captain's catch, beginning from the tail, the captain receives the flukes, the avarrak, as it has been explained above.

The next share is the afirruk. This is the rest of the tail up to the anal pore. This is also the captain's share which he keeps for a feast which is held in the fall with the sighting of thefirst slush ice if he has caught fewer than five whales, or in the spring just before the whaling season if he has caught five or more whales.

The captain also gets the uatit. This is the section that runs from the ifi, or anal pore, to about six inches below the navel. He keeps this too for the celebrations.

A strip about one foot wide is cut six inches below the navel and six inches above it, and all the way around the girth of the whale. This is the tapsieiaaq. This share is given to the two boats that got to the whale last after it was killed. They divide this share between them. In the absence of a measuring stick, the captain of the two boats with the biggest foot steps sideways on the whale to mark off their share.

Then another cut is made slightly above the eye running parallel to the spinal column all the way to the tapsigaaq marking. The dorsal part is called qimibluich. The ventral section is called sixviich. (See the diagram below.)

Qimibluich is the share belonging to the captain's crew.

Sixviich is the share of the first two boats that arrived at the scene of the kill, or who assisted in killing the whale. This is the Number One and Number Two boats' share.

Small portions of the flippers, or teliguk, called taliqqum iuvua, are cutoff as indicated in the diagram above, and given D the crews of the Number One and Number Two boats. The 'e8t of the flippers are given to the captain, who usually gives .hem to either an elderly or young crew member.

In the old days, when the captain received the ifi, he gave half to his afatkuq. The rest he kept for qakummisaaliq and his crew, and they ate them during holidays. Since there are no afatkut now, the captain can givethe ifi to anyone. Some give this share to their two oldest crew members. If the same crew is successful again on the next season, the next oldest crew members will get these parts, and so on.

The next section is cut from the corners of the mouth to the previous marking for qimibluich and sixviïch. The top part includes the blowhole, qifaq, and the upper jaw. It is called niksiutaq. It has only maktak without meat. It is given to the boat that has no other share in the whale.

The lower part of the mouth is cut into three sections as shown in the diagram above. The part containing the tongue is given to the Number Three and Number Four boats. This part is called qaa. It is divided lenghwise and is a very good part. The maktak is delicious and the meat, called utchik, is different from the rest of the whale meat. It is mixed with fat and it is very tasty, especially that of the usiffuatchiaq.

The third piece is the small part that looks like a triangle. It is called tirrabiigraq. This piece is cut up and distributed to all the various whaling crews who did not get any where near the kill. They get the maktak and meat to eat at their camp sites.

If there were not enough whaling crews numbering from one to nine, the share called tapsilaag is divided in half. One portion is given to the captain who got uatit, and the other is given to the Number Three and Number Four whaling crews who received the silvüch share and also the captain's crew who received the gimigluich share.

The new captain's whale is distributed in this way: the uatit share goes to the Number One and Number Two boats. These two crews cut off a piece one foot wide from the top of the uatit and give it to the captain. As soon as the captain receives this portion, he cuts it up into small pieces of maktak and blubber and distributes them to every house where the old people live in the village. This share he receives from the Number One and Number Two boats is called tunmibaq. Number One and Number Two boats give the captain another piece from uatit. This piece is called mikigagraq. The captain will use this portion to make mikigaq for his celebration in the spring whaling festival. These two crews must also give the captain a part of the intestine from their own share.

Boats Number Three and Four receive the Sixviich share. Boats Number Five and Six receive qaa, but they must give a piece of it to the captain. Qaa is the collective name for the maktak, blubber and the tongue of the whale's tongue. The piece that is given to the captain from the qaa share is called utchik, which is a piece of the tongue proper consisting of meat, and blubber but without the maktak. The captain is to cook this and feed it to everyone during the spring celebration.

Boat Number Seven receives one qablu. The captain receives the other qablu in addition to the heart, the stomach, and part of the kidneys which are his traditional shares of the new whale.

The lasttwo boats, Number Eight, and Number Nine, receive tapsieaaq. This is how the new captain's whale is divided up and distributed among the whaling crews. Once again, in the event there are no number eight and nine boats, the tapsinaaq is split among those who received uatit, sixviich and qimibluich.

Long ago, it was permissable for the older women, widows, and older men to pixaaq- the captain's shares. This meant that the women with their fatherless children could cut off the scraps of meat that were hung on to the larger chunks of the shares as they were being dragge