Arctic Survival
Whaling Season's Over, Now Comes the Great Celebration, the Kaqruq
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
The whaling season at Pt. Hope
has now drawn to a close. Moments
of high excitement and spine-ting
ling, hard, precisioned pursuits for
the great bowhead whale are over
jfor this year. The time of anxious
waiting, watching, hoping, sighting,
the chase are gone along with the
drama of the hunt and its violent
action. Now, the first week of June,
the people rest and prepare for
whaling festivfticj. Whaling has
been rewarding to some villages
that hunt whales. Others were not,
so lucky. Hunting conditions, more
than anything else, gage the out
come of a season. When weather is
unfavorable, it limits the takes;
when favorable, it is an assurance
that some will be taken.
f Moderate Success
Due to adverse hunting condi
tions, the village of Pt. Hope had
only moderately successful season
this spring. Heavy gales and south
wind closed the leads and hampered
whaling. Pt. Hope whalers got three
whales, all small ones in the neigh
borhood of 30 feet long. In this vil
lage, this take is an ample reason
for the inhabitants to stage the ex
citing celebration of the Kaqruq, a
festival at the end of each success
ful whaling season.
Tradition
Kaqruq is an ancient tradition
established by the whalers of long
ego. In their struggle for survival
they learned to whale. And having
found it good, they established the
Festival of the Kaqruq, a celebra
tion to commemorate a bountiful
spring whale hunt and to honor the
whaling god who dwelt on the
moon.
In the present day the festival
is much the same but most of the
people have become devout Chris
tians and thank God for a bountiful
season.
Around the end of May, the sea
ice gets rotten from the warming
of the weather and is no longer
safe. It is time for the w'halers to
debark their camps, terminating
the month and a half long whaling
season.
Each crew takes down its camp
cn the ice and loads up its gear in
to an umiak that had been equipped
with a special low sled for trans
portation. The crew, following more
solid ice. makes its way toward the
beach near the village. Upon reach
ing the beach, those w'ho have failed
to get whales during the season put
their whaling equipment away for
the season.
But the crews of the successful
whalers, according to custom, place
their umiaks on anchored ice just
off the beach and elevate them on
hummocked ice. There they are left
until the beginning of the festivi
ties.
Ancient Ritual
On the first day of the celebra
tion, a centuries-old ritual is per
formed. The crews of successful
whalers on both sides, the Ungasa
qsiqaaq and the Kaqmaqtuuq, be
gin to pull their umiaks ashore
ever the beach and on to solid
ground.
Ungasaqsiqaaq, the south side,
find Kaqmaqtuuq, the north side,
are two ancient organizations that
have been formed to provide and
sustain a friendly rivalry among
Pt. Hopers as they hunt whales.
Each side tries to outdo the other
in catches.
Once the umiaks are on the
ground the men elevate them about
two and a half feet on low sleds
turned on their sides. The paddles
are then placed upright with the
flaring angle of the sides of the
umiak over the gunwhale with the
end of the handle of the paddle
"wedged behind the brace that runs
along the length and middle of the
umiak frameribs. The blades of the
paddles are placed verticle to the
length of the umiat.
On the prow, a pole is placed
on which an American flag has been
strung. Thus the craft of the whal
ers are staged to denote their suc
cess during the season just passed.
The flags fly night and day because
| the sun never sets during this time
of the year in the Arctic. If there
were three successful crews on the
north side, they are staged side by
side all in the same manner.
Thrilling To See
There is something quietly thril
ling to see whaling boats put up
in this manner. They sit there for
all the village to see, proud and
brave. They look fragile and small,
but they personify the whaling cap
tains and their crews who go after
the great bowhead whale with dar
ing and nerve. .
The flags that fly over them re
flect the love of the people for their
country and the land from which
they reap the bounty for their livli
hood.
To the people of the village, the
whaling umiaks elevated on their
sled platforms with sprays of pad
dles angling skyward and the flags
waving above them, are thrilling
and significant reminders of the
Festival of the Kaqruq to take
place the first or second week of
June.
Preparations
In the meantime the women of
the village, especially the wives
and daughters of the successful
whaling captains, begin to make
preparations for the festival. Ornate
clothing, parkas, and fancy mukluks
are sewn for the members of their
families. Kaqruq, to them, is an
auspicious occasion, a deep-seated
tradition established centuries be
fore for the observance of a boun
tiful whaling season.
When the men complete staging
the whaling umiaks the wives of the
whaling captains take muktiik and
meat to them. This includes miktaq,
whale meat that had been cured
to a tangy tasts especially made to
feed the men and other people on
this particular ritual and the whal
ing feast two days later.
This ritual is the only event on
the first day of the Kaqruq. Ac
cording to custom, the second day
is one of considerable activity,
readying the Kaqruq grounds for
the celebration. Tents and canvases,
camp stoves, pots and pans, caribou
skins for mats or seat covers and
whatever things that will be needed
are brought to the Kaqruq area.
Early on the third day the whal
ing captains and their wives and
helpers descend on the grounds.
The umiaks are taken down from
the platforms and moved to celebra
tion area and propped on their
sides for wind shelter. Tents are
raised for the cooks of the feast.
Flukes for the Feast
| Whaling captains and members of
I their crews go to the siqlorqs (un
derground caches! and bring out
the flukes or flippers of their
whales, the main item in the
course of the Kaqruq.
Around 9:30 in the morning the
main body of the population begin
to converge on the Kaqruq grounds
dressed in their best fineries. The
festivities officially start with an
invocation by a minister or an elder
of the church. Foods of all kinds are
served thereafter, caribou meat,
berries, boiled bowhead whale
tongue, rnuktuk, mikiaq. Eskimo
doughnuts, sourdough hotcakes,
homemade bread, and Eskimo ice
cream.
Everyone sits down with friends
and Yelatives to eat and visit. Pres
ently, the successful whalers bring
to the center of the assemblage the
whale flukes and commence to slice
them into half inch thicknesses.
When a sufficient number of slices
have been cut, it is time for the
first whaling captain and his wife,
from whose whale the flukes had
been sliced, td come iorward to the
center of the grounds.
Gifts for All
The captain makes a brief address
expressing his thanks to God for his
success in the season just passed.
He then picks up a slice of the
fluke and calls out a name of a
person, usually his best friend or
cronie, and says something like this,
“Kakairnok, a highly valued friend,
over whose foot I tripped half a
year ago and fell into the sea. I give
this piece of avahrak (slice of
fluke) for his enjoyment.”
Thus the captain and his wife
pass out the slices of flukes making
remarks of appreciation for serv
ices rendered, calling a widowed
woman and adding, “My wife will
give you some muktuk and meat
from our cache.” But most of the
time this ritual is a light-hearted
affair with the captain and his wife
making joking and amusing re
marks.
When the first captain and his
wife are through, it is the turn of
the second captain and his wife. To
save time, couples sometimes per
form simultaneously. When this is
over, people settle down to eat
more of the ample supply of food
that is never allowed to run out
by many women who cook for the
occasion.
Nalukatuk
While the feast continues, the
crews of the whalers begin to as
semble the walrus skin nalukatuk.
the tossing skin, looping hand grins
of thong or half-inch hemp rope. On
the bottom of it they fashion a cra
dle of heavy rope with four long
lines branching from it. Each one
of these ropes are tied to each of
the four tripods of whale jawbones.
The nalukatuk is centered and the
ropes are pulled tight and tied on
the tripods. The tossing skin is thus
suspended about three feet off the
ground. This is done so the person
tossed in the air may not toueh the
hard ground beneath and break an
ankle or worse.
Children Perform
As soon as the men finished set
ting the nalukatuk. children from
seven to thirteen years of age make
a dash to do the nalukatuk. They
are allowed to do this for about a
half hour or more. They have great
and noisy fun in the process and
always provide comical and amus
ing antics as they toss some young
and unpracticed performer. As the
youngsters are tossed they land on
the nalukatuk in all positions, on
their backs, upside down, and oc
casionally right side up.
Adult's Turn
The children are told to hand
the nalukatuk over to the grown
ups who take their positions around
it. If some of the whaling captains
are young enough, they are some
times thrown on the nalukatuk bod
ily and made to perform. They are
not always the best and their in
eptness usually provides a highly
comical spectacle. This sets off a
loud chorus of laughter.
When nalukatuk gets going in
earnest, the best performers partic
ipate. It is beautiful to see them
tossed 20 feet in the air in an up
right position and come down land
ing on their feet.
The best performers are usually
women who seem to have a better
sense of balance. One rule is not
to look down while being tossed.
If you do, the nalukatuk, ten feet
in diameter, looks like a dime at
the peak of the toss and you will
wonder whether you will get back
down landing in the middle of it.
Erroneous Image
There has been an erroneous
image made of the nalukatuk by
some authors, who says the reason
for the toss is for the person to look
for water leads on the ice. There
is no need to do the nalukatuk to
see leads. They are easily seen even
from the ground level.
STAGING THE WHALING UMIAKS—On the first clay of the Festi
val of the Kaqruq, whaling celebration, the umiaks of the successful
whalers are elevated on low sleds turned up on their sides. The “Old
Glory” waves over each umiak and the spray of paddles angle up
wards to denote the success of the whaling captain and his crew.
—Photo by Rev. J. Keith Lawton
Nalukatuk at Pt. Hope is exclus
ive to the whaling celebration and
is performed only at that particular
occasion. It is a demonstration of
exuberance and a tribute to the
successful whalers. Where people in
other areas toss hats in approval
and tribute, the folks at Pt. Hope
toss people.
The Chant
During the children's nalukatuk.
three or four elderly men sit down
beneath the shelter of one of the
umiaks with their drums and chant
ancient whaling songs. The ancient
chants and the rather soft beating
of the drums in unison is most im
pressive. It lends an esthetic atmos
phere heard in the background of
hilarity and light-heartedness of
the vigorous nalukatuk. The chant
ing is done throughout the perform
ances of the children and adults.
Victory Dance
When it is over, the tossing skin
is dismantled and placed in front
of the chanters and drummers. It
is then time for the chanters to sing
a personal whaling song of one of
the whaling captains. The captain
in question comes forward on to
the nalukatuk and begins his dance
gesticulating almost casually, his
right foot stomping lightly in time
■with the beat.
At the second round of the chant
the drummers beat a heavy roll
then a light one. then a steady
heavy beat. At this the whaling
captain suddenly becomes alive.
His motions become vigorous, his
right foot thumping heavily on the
nalukatuk skin keeping in perfect
time with the chant and the drums.
This is the captain’s victory dance
—vigorous and forecful! Subse
quently, he is joined in the dance
by his wife and relatives. Other
captains take their turns dancing
to their personal songs.
If the first celebration is staged
at Kaqmnqtunq. the north side, the
people will move to Ungasaqsiqaaq,
the south side, the next day. The
festivities will be repeated in the
same manner. But when this one is
completed, there will be games and
contests between the two factions,
starting with a tug of war, Unga
saqsiqaaq against Kaqmaatuuq.
Reverent Occasion
Thus, the great Kaqruq is ob
served each year with all the ser
lousness and pomp it deserves It
is a deeply rooted tradition estab
lished by the Eskimo whalers of
long ago. It is looked upon with
both light-heartedness and sever
ence.
In ancient times it was the rev
erent and grateful people who
staged it to give thanks to their
whaling god, Allingnaq, who dwelt
on the moon, who to them, provided
bountiful gifts of whales that made
it possible for them to survive.
The present-day Eskimos of Pt.
Hope are devout Christians. They
give their thanks to God.
Words of Advice
Perhaps the words of a venerable
old man. Peter Koonooyak, a great
whaler in his younger days, best
describe the meaning of the Knq
ruq. On Koonooyak's retirement,
he said:
“People of Tigara. let us thank
God for his great gifts. Let us thank
our forefathers for establishing this
reverent occasion. In their ordeal
of survival they have\mastered the
art of the great whale hunt that has
made this occasion possible. As we
live one, let us not fail them. It was
they who made it possible for us
Tigara, your forefathers have left
you a rich heritage you should
never forget Keep whaling alive for
your children in the future.
Letter to Editor
Box 773
Nome. Alaska
May 27. 1963
Dear Sir: .
I am one of your newspaper boys
and started off with ten newspapers
and they went so fast I would like
to have fifteen newspapers next
time. Here is the $1 from the other
newspapers.
Sincerely yours,
Jerry Carter
We forget that all men are bro
thers and members of the same
great human family, that other na
tions have an equal right with us
both to life and prosperity, that it
is never lawful nor even wise to
dissociate morality from the affairs
of practical life.—Pope Pius IX.
The effort to truth and under
standing is the strength of any afte
of man.—John Masefield (English
poet).
All mankind are one, and mu
tual rights must be respected —
KORAN.