Sanaaq Read Free Page B

waiting to be published for the benefit of the Inuit people and the rest of the world. This should be an exciting challenge…
    Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, CM, PhD
    Professor emeritus
    Centre interuniversitaire d’études et de recherches autochtones (CIÉRA) University Laval, Quebec City
    1 Out of respect for the Inuit language and in keeping with the practice of the journal over the past forty years, I refer to one Inuit person as an “Inuk” and more than one as “Inuit.” The adjective “Inuit” is invariable, e.g., the Inuit language, the Inuit culture. All authors who speak the Inuit language use this form of writing.
    2 Bernard Saladin d’Anglure, “Le ‘troisième sexe,’ ” July–August 1992, 836–844.

SANAAQ

1
GATHERING DWARF BIRCH
    A woman, Sanaaq, was getting ready to go and gather branches for mat-making. This is what she did. Before leaving, she assembled a tumpline to carry the load, her ulu to cut the shrubs, and a glove to yank them out of the ground. She also filled a small bag with provisions: tea, meat, and blubber, as well as her pipe, matches, and chewing tobacco.
    Sanaaq set off across a wide plain and then through a long stretch of foothills. She kept walking further and further from home, followed by her two dogs, Kajualuk and Qirniq. On the way she saw some aqiggiit and prepared to kill them with a few well-aimed stones. But the dogs ran after the birds. Sanaaq tried her best to stop the dogs, yelling at the top of her voice, “ Hau! Hau! Kajualuk hau! hau! ”
    Her shouting was to no avail and the dogs continued to give chase. The ptarmigans flew off. Very much annoyed, she continued on her way and came to the end of her journey.
    There, she busied herself preparing an ullugummitaaq and making a fire. Her teapot was a small metal bucket and the water came from a small pool. She placed a few stones around the fireplace for shelter from the wind and gathered some heather to keep the fire going. She now waited for the tea to boil, eating some meat and blubber. The dogs, no longer asleep and rolled up into furry balls, were foraging for her scraps of meat and bone. Suddenly one of them, Kajualuk, started choking on a bone. Sanaaq was panic-stricken. What to do? Thinking fast, she remembered the leftover pieces of blubber: “If I can make it swallow some large chunks of blubber, that might help it get rid of the bone.”
    She gave the poor animal what she still had. The chunks of blubber did the job, helping the bone slide down the dog’s throat and letting it breathe freely again. At last she could drink her tea, straight from the small teapot for want of a cup. Soot smudged her hands and mouth, even her cheeks. Unaware (how could she see herself?), she went to gather branches for mat-making. Some dwarf birches looked suitable and she started yanking them out of the ground, using her ulu to cut the more stubborn ones. When one patch of ground had been stripped bare, she moved to the next, leaving behind piles of pulled-up birches. She pulled up more and more, one after another, the sweat streaming down her face… Then she stopped. Stretching her tumpline out on the ground, she bundled the branches for the trip home. There was much to take back and the load would be a heavy one. After tying the bundle up, she lit her pipe and puffed repeatedly, inhaling deep breaths. The provisions were all gone and she was very hungry. She strapped the tumpline around her chest and, laying the bundle on a large rock, finished fastening it to her body to carry in front of her. The load was indeed heavy. She could barely stand up.
    She began the long trip home, foraging for anything edible on the way, although it was now twilight. The route was uphill and so tiring that it was often necessary to stop for rest. Several times she found some wild berries. She picked them as a gift for her daughter, who was minding their home, and