ARCTIC SURVIVAL
WHALING REQUIRED EXTENSIVE PREPARATIONS, GREAT PRECISION
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
The great tradition of whaling on
the Arctic coast of Alaska remained,
from the past to the present, as a
time of expectancy and keen excite
ment. It has been looked upon with
a sense of reverence because it has
afforded to whaling communities a
key to survival. A bountiful season
means food for a year. It also af
fords a great challenge and a dang
erous one.
The very size of the animal de
manded respect and the great whale
had to be hunted with precision.
Little room was left for mistakes.
Mistakes meant real danger to life
and limb.
The type of whale the coastal Es
kimos hunt is the bowhead. This
monstrous marine animal has been
taken up to 65 to 70 tons, perhaps
even larger. The baleen on the
large ones caught has measured up
to 15 feet and jawbones up to 21
feet. It is little wonder that ex
treme care has to be taken in hunt
ing these titans of the sea. To err
means disaster.
Preparation
March is the month of the year
When whaling preparations usually
began. Equipment is looked over
and repaired. New gear is made and
made carefully so it can be used to
the fullest possible effectiveness.
Women skin seals taking the entire
flesh and bone out of it using only
the neck opening to operate through
and leaving only the last knuckle
bones in the flippers.
These are made into seal skin
floats, a great necessity., because a
whale when killed sinks to the
bottom. It has to be kept afloat
with the use of the inflated seal
skins.
Old Whalers Consulted
During the preparations old whal
ers, usually retired whaling' cap
tains who were too old to hunt any
longer, were consulted for advice.
More often than not they volun
teered their eservices to younger
whalers. Their knowledge of whal
ing procedures was invaluable. They
have had vital practical experiences.
Proper procedure in whaling has
always been the first law of the
hunt. The position of the umiak has
a great bearing on the safety of
the crew and is the product of time
of experience of the ancient whal
ers. What was gained through ex
perience and proven to be valuable
was carefully handed down for the
benefit of the younger generations.
The manner of paddling the
umiak without making bubbling
sounds with the paddle is one of the
important things the men have to
do. The whale has keen hearing
ability while submerged. The pad
dle must never touch the gunwliale
of the umiak.
The vital spots on which to
strike the whale also were of great
importance. Precision, coolness, and
presence of mind were emphasized
before, during, and after the whale
had been struck. The nature and
pattern of the thrashing flukes were
discussed so that the hunters would
best be able to avoid the deadly
sweeps.
Vtniak, The Skin Boat
The most vital need of the whal
ers was the umiak. This craft was
made especially for whaling but it
was also used extensively for other
purposes, such as a means of ma
rine transportation or for traveling
up rivers.
Its vital importance was for whal
| ing purposes, of course. Its design
| was made for easy paddling, the
only means of propulsion the an
cient whalers had. (Present day
whalers still use paddles. It is the
best way to apporach whales sil
ently, wit.hout alerting them by
noises.1
The lines of the umiak were made
so that six or seven men could pad
dle the craft to easily overtake the
whale.
Every few years whaling umiaks
had to be re-covered with oogruk
skins because, in time, the sinew
threading began to wear out and
the stitches began to open up. Also,
after being used for going up rivers
the skin on the bottom of the boat
got deep scratches from striking
against sharp rocks.
The umiak may have looked fra
gile but it was not. It was a re
markably sturdy craft. One reason i
for this was that it had the give
which made it absorb shocks sur
prisingly well.
Six Oogruk Skins
It took six oogruk skins to cover
a whaling umiak about 24-feet long.
The whaling captain’s wife us
ually took charge of the sewing of
the skins. She called in about six
women, usually her close friends
or those women who were excep
tionally good at sewing.
The skins used were cured until
the hair peeled off. They trimmed
the edges and commenced to sew
the skins together.
This operation was usually a
light-hearted affair where the
women stopped occasionally for
snacks, bantered, gossiped and
laughed.
They used waterproof stitches on
the outside, or water side of the
skin, leaving an overlap of about
an inch and half on the inside. This
overlap was sewn using the same
stitch for insurance against leak
age. After completing the sewing,
the women made small slits all
around the cover so it could be
laced to the umiak frame with raw
hide thong.
Men’s Turn
When the women completed then
work, it was the men’s turn to fin
ish covering the umiak.
The sewn skins were rolled from
the stern end to the bow and taken
out of the house to where the frame
of the umiak had been suspended
upside down on racks about two
and a half feet off the ground.
Laced
The men placed the rolled skin on
top of the bow, fitted the skin on it,
and then unrolled it to fit the stern.
After the skin had been draped in
that manner on the boat frame, it
was time to lace it on.
Two men got under the bow and
fastened the ends of two long oog
ruk rawhide lines and commenced
to lace on the skin by putting the
line through the slits on and around
a horizontal brace that went the
full length of the umiak frame.
The two men coordinated the lac
ing on opposite sides and pulled the
line as taut as possible as they
worked toward the stern. When this
was completed the newly draped
skin was as tight as a drum.
Ancient Custom
During this operation there fol
lowed one of the ancient customs.
When the sewn skins were brought
out of the house by the men, it was
a signal for the children of the vil
lage to flock to the skin covering
operation.
This was the time for the whaling
captain's wife to bring out tidbits
that had been previously prepared
to pass around to the children in
honor of the occasion. In the old
days these consisted of pieces of
muktuk, frozen whale meat, akutuq
(Eskimo icecream), or pieces of
cooked caribou.
In the present day this custom
has changed a great deal. The chil
dren have been educated to goodies
like candy bars, koolaid, and cook
ies, so that is what the captains’
wives are now giving the children.
The reason for this custom prob
ably sprang from the ancient Es
kimo's attempt to allay the moods
of their whaling god. Some villages
apparently had different gods. The
Point Hopers had one whom they
called Allingnuk, the whaling god
who dwelled on the moon.
Goodness Meant Children
The philosophy of the Eskimos
leaned strongly toward kindness and
goodness to children. While they
didn't coddle them to an extensive
degree (there are exceptions, of
course), there was a strong family
bond. A spoiled child is looked on
with disfavor by the people.
In the eyes of the ancient Eski
mos. children were good and in
treating them in a klindly manner
in the eyes of their whaling god,
was to instill kind feelings so that
he might reward them with a boun
tiful season.
When the newly covered skin was
done, it was put up on high racks
to keep it out of reach of loose 1
dogs and to be dried by the wind
and sun. When thoroughly dried,
the skin took on an almost cream
white shade.
Ice Trail
After the whale hunting equip
ment has been prepared/ the men
turn their thoughts to preparing a
trail to the leads, or water that open
with the currents and the north
wind, between the main ice off
shore and the cleavage line of the
moving ice.
Between the cleavage line and
the shore there are usually stretches
of rough hummocked ice that are
impossible to skirt unless the men
travel great distances to do so. The
thing they must do is to chop a
trail so the umiaks on low sleds,
pulled by teams of dogs or the men,
could be transported to hunting lo
cations on the edge of the lead.
At the junction of the trail from
the village and the open water each
crew launches its umiak, loads it,
and paddles southward or north
ward and picks out its camping lo
cation, a site the captain thinks as
a likely place.
These whaling camps might be
from quarter of a mile to half a
mile apart and stretch for several
miles along the lead.
Strangely Exciting
The preparation for whaling has
been made and now it is time for
the strangely exciting, exhilerating
moments of nervous tension, hopes
for safety, and above all, hopes for
a bountiful season.
Thus the mood of the whole vil
lage changed. The hunt was on. The
people who must stay home in the
village, women children, old
women, old men, nursed tensions,
no less than their men who were
actually on the hunt.
They hoped for their men’s safety.
This would come from the men’s
skill, courage, and their presence of
mind under dangerous situations.
They expected of their men all
these qualities and fortunately they
possessed them.
Preparations for the great whale
hunt is one of the great chapters
of survival of man in the Arctic.
LEGEND OF KOTZEBUE
Second Husband Bows Out;
Hero and Wife Reunited
(Editor's Note: Emily Ivanoff .
Brown is a widely known teacher
in Alaska. Mrs. Brown is now
studying at the University of
Alaska. The following is the con
cluding chapter of the Legend of
Kotzebue Village written by Mrs.
Brown. Kotzebue is one of the
largest Eskimo settlements in the
Arctic today.)
By Emily Ivanoff Brown
Nupug'iak who was now an ani
mal, traveled along one moonlit
night toward the village where his
wife was waiting for him. He was
thankful that at last home was near.
Not even a dog was in sight as he
climbed in the sled. He felt very
comfortable inside of his warm
parka. Passing of time didn’t matter
much to him now. He was safely
settled in his new home.
He slept very comfortably during
the night. This was the beginning
of his hibernation. His wife took
care of him for a whole year. She
was comforted and knew he would
soon become a man and live with
her someday.
As the time went on. another man
courted her and wanted to marry
lier. She confided this problem to
fter infant husband. He said to her, I
cant bunt {ar yummy non, You]
I
and I must have food for subsis
tence. You can marry him so he
can take care of us. Some day I will
return to you.”
She consented to his request.
She married the young hunter. He
took good care of her, and she in
return made many beautiful clothes
for him.
One late evening she and her
husband were leisurely lounging
around their igloo, a man entered.
He was a stranger to him, but not
to her.
“Welcome, and sit down, my wife
will give you some food to eat.” as
he gestured with his hands for her
to carry out his wishes.
She didn't move but sat with a
smile on her face as she finally
spoke to her second husband, “This
is my former husband, a hero who
has sacrificed his life to kill both
of our enemies the Ongilug'nylok.”
Without any comments, her sec
ond husband gathered his personal
belongings and peaceably walked
out of their igloo.
It was a happy reunion for Nu
pug’iak and his wife. They lived an
undisturbed life with the people of
the first settlers of Kunigmute, the
ancestors of KUdk’tufrunmute.
(peopte «f StfntyMfr
REALLY SOMETHING
The Hunter Who Got a White Arctic Fox
With a Little White Ball as Bait
By Howard Rock
Times Editor
Uncle Nayukuk was a quiet man.
and somewhat lazy, a fact which
sometimes made Aunt Muman
geena furious.
While other men went out hunt
ing. Nayukuk would say he did not
feel well or he would make some
other excuse so weak it was laugh
able. These were times Aunt Mum
angeena got furious.
Nayukuk was a fine hunter when
he did hunt. When he felt like it, he
was probably the equal of any
great hunter that ever lived. But
his spurts of hunting inspiration did
not prevail, so in the eyes of his
fellow villagers he was just a “so
so” hunter. The tag his village
hung on him never seemed to bother
Uncle Nayukuk. He just kept right
on being himself.
Uncle Nayukuk was quite famous
too. He wasn't looking for fame but
it just happened that way. When
the old people he knew were re
minded cf it, they smiled with
amusement and, I'm sure, with some
feeling of awe.
Uncle Nayukuk is known to have
killed probably the largest polar
bear that was ever taken in his
village. When he dove toward a
snarling and roaring 12-foot plus
bear and lived to tell the tale, he
wag Ml exactly a weakling. But let i
us not get involved in that story.
We can keep it for a later time.
One day, under the prodding of
Aunt Mumangeena, Nayukuk set
out to find the missionary, to trade
two seal skins for some coffee and
tea and whatever else he could get.
Uncle Nayukuk came home with
a package under his arm and my
aunt and I at once commenced to
see what was in it. There was coffee
and tea and few other little things.
There was also a small bag with
white round pellets in it.
Mumangeena asked Nayukuk
what they were and he said,
“Amai.” (I don’t know).
We looked at them but the first
thing we found was that the pellets
had a strong cdor. Upon smelling
them Mumangeena said, “Aqaa
makua.” (They smell bad).
As hard as we tried, we could
not figure out what they were for.
They weren’t good to eat because
Uncle Nayukuk broke one between
his teeth and grimaced with dis
taste.
After a while Aunt Mumangeena
and I forgot about the pellets and
went on about our business, but
not Uncle Nayukuk. However, he
didn’t tell us what he had in mind.
Surprisingly, early the next
morning he went out to hunt. When
he came back, he had gotten a seal.
®bo neat morning, to our amaze*,
ment, he again went hunting. To us,
for some unknown reason, he
seemed unusually anxious to hunt.
Uncle Nayukuk was not the kind
of man to elaborate.
At my aunt's bidding. I was chop
ping driftwood for firewood when
I noticed Nayukuk coming home
from the hunt. Something white was
dangling out of his seal skin pack
bag.
I ran up on the roof of our sod
igloo and hollered down through the
oogruk gut skylight window to
Mumangeena that Nayukuk was
coming home and that he was pack
ing something white.
“Well, go and see what he is
carrying,” Aunt Mumangeena hol
lered back.
I ran to meet Nayukuk and when
I got to him I found that the white
object that dangled ou tof his bag
was the tail of an Arctic white fox.
Mumangeena was, of course, a
picture of happiness. In those days
white fox pelt sold for about $35 or
more. I think she was made more
happy because Uncle Nayukuk was
behaving more like a hunter.
A hunter getting a fox is quite a
routine matter in th.s Arctic but
Uncle Nayukuk was probably tha
only man in the world who ever
caught one baiting his trap with a
mothball!