Okay, before you start, I know that eskimo is a derogatory word for most Inuit. Eskimo Ice cream, though, is the only thing I’ve ever heard anybody call alu. But more on it later.
New Years here is celebrated in the High Arctic’s inimitable style. New Years eve, like most evenings this time of year has games in the Gym. This nights games, run by the District Education Authority, I’m happy to report had more games for children and youth then I’ve seen in sometime. And Leah won a game, basically a race… a nail is tied onto a piece of thread, which is tied to the back of your pants so it hangs down. Then you squat down and pick up an empty pop can with the nail, and cross the gym and back again. Drop the can, you stop and pick it up with the nail once more and continue on. She won some Body Shop soap, but it’s mostly about the glory. No, its the soap.
At 10:30pm there is a church service in the gym, probably even more crowded than the Christmas Service. Scripture (in English and Inuktitut), alternating with hymns (in Inuktitut), then a sermon (Inuktitut) a benediction and then Auld Lang Syne in Inuktitut (okay, that’s a little surreal) over and over until the countdown to midnight. New Years seems to be a sad time for many people here, and there are many tears shed, mostly in remembrance of those that passed away, in the past year and those before that. That moment of midnight, after the cheer of "Happy New Year" goes up… when the tears and crying starts, stands in sharp relief from other celebrations I’ve seen. It strikes me as being a singularly unique moment.
Everyone begins shaking hands and exchanging New Years greetings, lingering for a moment as they seek out friends and others to exchange best wishes. Then there is a mad rush for outside, for everyone is anxious to start the snowmobile parade.
I have no idea how the tradition got started but after midnight here, almost everyone that owns one jumps on their snowmobile (and in some cases ATV) and then they head out on the sea ice out past Uluksan Point. Then they all form a line and snake all over the ice, back to town and then through town. Generally there are three or four cars that join them, and this year there was also a line of cars and trucks following the fire truck around town. It’s pretty cool to see the snowmobiles. This year I counted 65, which was a little down from last year. Travis and I stayed in the comfort of the truck while Leah took her machine out. We met down at Leah’s mom and dad’s afterward for tea before heading home. Travis crashed so I stayed while Leah went to the dance for an hour.
The highlight of New Years day is a country food feast. The gym was crowded by the time we got there. Now, traditionally, country food is eaten on the floor, or the ground. You have to remember that there were no tables up here in peoples homes until recently. At the feast the food is laid out on a large roll of paper in the centre of the gym. Frozen Caribou, Char, Muktaq (Narwhal skin), Iqunaq (fermented meat – usually walrus but in this case muktaq) and seal. There is also pots of boiled Polar Bear at either end of the gym. After grace, the elder’s get their country food and then it becomes sort of a free for all, everyone rushes in and gets some country food and takes it back to their corner of the gym and spreads it out on cardboard or trays and eats. Pieces of meat are sliced off with knives or ulu (traditional women’s knives) and eaten. The frozen meat really just melts in your mouth. Some dip their meat in a garnish (ours was simply chopped onion in oil), but mostly it is just eaten as is. Finger food.
Usually someone brings alu, the aforementioned eskimo ice cream. Mamailu (yum). Alu is caribou fat, that is chopped and whipped up, with berries (and sometimes a little sugar). Very tasty, guaranteed to keep you warm. Usually there is bannock also, but for some reason there wasn’t this year. I should probably confess my deep seated love of bannock right here, right now. My first taste of bannock was in Nelson House Manitoba in 1978, and since that first taste I’ve been hooked. If you want to get my attention, feed me bannock, ideally with raisins but that’s not an absolute requirement.
There is a great love of country food up here, although it is waning amongst some of the young people. It’s not only good, it’s good for you. It is hard for a southerner to realize but traditionally there was virtually no vegetables eaten up here. But the uncooked meat is high in vitamins and other things that are good for you, such as Omega 3 fatty acids. Heart disease was rare in the old days, despite a diet high in fat.
After the feast there are games, of course, and the dance afterward goes to the early morning. I had hoped to get some video of the dance, but it hasn’t happened yet.
Tonight is the second last night for games this season, and hey, I won one. So that means that Travis Leah and I have each one at least one game this year. This wasn’t a really traditional game. They called it Elder’s Fear Factor (Elder?I’m an Elder?). It was for men over 40 and it was a race to see who could eat an orange the fastest. A whole orange, skin and all. Woo hoo, those 6 months at the RCMP Depot speed eating school paid off, I won a nice rifle scope, which, strangely enough, I need.
Comments
9 responses
There are aspects of your celebrations that I am sure that I would not like (dancing and snowmobile noise come to mind) but it made for very interesting reading this morning. It certainly was different than our introduction to the new year. (We went to bed early as usual and slept.)
Great post! I didn’t know “Eskimo” was derogatory… of course it doesn’t come up a lot down here.
I’d love to try all that food. In a way it sounds like the original version of the Atkins diet!
I don’t know many people who usher in the new year by eating polar bear! You’re a prince for continuing to share your rich experience with us, Clare.
Happy New Year.
Another good story Clare. Thanks for sharing your traditions and celebrations with us southerners down here in the little latitudes…
Like Ontario Wanderer, I went to bed early on New Year’s Eve, as is my habit. But I would have stayed up if there’d been a celebration like this one to take part in. Great food–at least food I’ve always wanted to try. And I think tears as well as cheers are just right at the turn of the year.
Happy New Year all.
A note on snowmobiles OW. Up here they aren’t really recreational vehicles but are peoples transportation from November to July. Yes they are noisy, but after awhile it is kind of like the city the noise fades into the background. There is also profound silence to be found up here. A deeper silence than anywhere else I’ve ever experienced, and you don’t have to travel far to find it. And the Inuktitut dancing is really a kick to experience.
Eskimo, is a qallunat word that was derived from what Natives called Inuit. It translated roughly to “raw meat eater” and although that is descriptive, Inuit prefer to call themselves Inuit and find Eskimo derogatory. Eskimo (or Esquimaux) was further shortened to Eski, which became Husky which was what the whaler’s called Inuit. It was used in a more derogatory fashion, but not always. It is also what the dog’s name was derived from.
Polar Bear is a favourite of mine, but only in very small quantities. Very rich for the unaccustomed. I’ve so far balked at Iqunaq, but have decided to give some a try this year. I’ll let you know.
Great story. And congratulations on your win and your daughters win too of course..
Fascinating stuff, Clare. Liked your comment about the silence, too. I can get away from human noise by disappearing into the ranges nearby, but there’s always the sound of wind, and rivers, and birds; sometimes rockfall… I can imagine the silence you’re talking about is something, well, transcendental, I guess.
Your accounts of the holiday celebrations are fascinating. They make me long to live in a place that still has a sense of community and dependence upon each other, as well as a sense of tradition.