Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Of Elders, Ulus and Amoutiqs


                                               

Here you see a collection of ulus which belong to Seepa -you will see more of them and her in my next post. FYI  the ulu is the most used tool of women in Arctic culture. There are ulus for eating, ulus for cleaning hides, and ulus for almost any kind of food preparation. They are very sharp and require a degree of skill for use. When you see this skill in action it looks deceptively easy (many women have the scars to prove it too!)


Well after a weekend of the famous Pang wind, there is a distinct difference in the feel and color of this hamlet ...there is more brown each day. The ice on the Cumberland Sound is beginning to show a lot more wet spots and we can see from here that even though there is still the splash and streak of the snow machines on the fjord the snow is slowly beginning to bid us adieu (never thought I would catch myself saying that but I sort of like the snow here...guess it is what I expected ) My song might be different if I was here to welcome the long dark hours of the winter.



We are still making regular visits to the Elders center and Jim is getting better at the Inuit card game each day see his blog here



Yesterday was fun for me at the center too as I got to speak with some of the ladies who go regularly we combed through photos and artifacts and they convinced me to try on an amoutiq. My goodness we all laughed so hard at the crazy Qallunaat (southerner,me) getting into the sealskin outfit. These women work so hard and are so talented at what they do ...the Lady in red you see in the picture below is the one who actually made this amoutiq.



Hannah, the lady in the blue top is what I consider my cultural guide ...she is slowly teaching me a lot of what life is like here today and in the past.

Remember yoginies and yogies........Breathe, Relax, Feel, Watch, Allow!

Love and light
Chris






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