Harpoon of the Hunter This page intentionally left blank Harpoon of the Hunter by Markoosie illustrations by Germaine Arnaktauyok McGILL-QUEEN'S UNIVERSITY PRESS MONTREAL AND KINGSTON • LONDON • BUFFALO ©1970 McGill-Queen's University Press First published 1970 Reprinted 1971, 1974, 1976, 1982, 1990 First published in paperbound edition 1974 Reprinted 1976,1982,1990 ISBN 0-7735-0102-9 (cloth) ISBN 0-7735-0232-7 (paper) LC 73 138463 Design by Ib S. Kristensen PRINTED IN CANADA FOREWORD To SOUTHERN EYES, the setting of this book is a barren land, a lunarscape of snowswept black rocks and of sea-ice wracked into a wilderness of strange and jumbled dolmens and pressure ridges. But there is life hidden everywhere, bird, animal, and marine life, and human life depending on the rest for its survival. This is the land of the Eskimos, the timeless wanderers who understand it and love it with an intensity shared by no other race on earth. There are two seasons in this land: a long winter with endless, dark nights, and a brief, bright summer of a few weeks, when the sun shines all night and nature renews itself. Summer is not a time for storytelling because everyone is too busy. Winter, when the snow beats against the windows and the wind hums and howls around the houses, is the time for the telling of stories. Resolute is the only settlement on Cornwallis Island, and it is home to Markoosie, the author of this story. Like his forefathers, he uses only one name. His wife is Zipporah, and his little son is called Ipellie. He is proud of them and especially of Ipellie, for a son is the extension of the father and the continuation of the Esk- imo race, who number only sixteen thousand in all the vast north- land of Canada. Resolute has a small airport and a sign that states it is the 'Crossroads of the Arctic'. A De Havilland Twin Engined Otter often lands on the short landing strip. Markoosie is an arctic pilot. When he flies charter trips for his employer, he is very much aware that he is covering in hours distances that took months when his father and grandfather travelled by dog team. The past is never far away. When flying over this seemingly trackless land near the magnetic pole, Markoosie sees landmarks known to the eye of every Eskimo hunter. They have names recall- ing long-ago camps, killing grounds, and meeting places. It is nat- ural for him to become introspective at times and to remember ancient tales and traditions. He advances two steps farther—he creates his own stories and he writes them down. Eskimo traditional stories and legends are unique, having few parallels in the folklore of other peoples. The language is rich in imagery, a perfect vehicle for the storyteller. Unfortunately, few southerners have been able to translate completely or to commit these stories to writing in such a way that they could become part of the world's popular literature. The late Knud Rasmussen was an exception, but he had learned the language at his mother's knee. Markoosie has the rare ability to tell a story in his own tongue and in ours. He is all Eskimo but, having a good knowledge of English, has a foot in the southern world too. I had studied the folklore and traditions of the northern people from as many written sources as I could find before going to the Arctic for the first time. But books are usually far different from real life, especially in a fast-changing society such as the modern north. To my great joy, however, I discovered that storytelling is still a real and living art. The older people went out of their way to tell me stories. They were anxious that the legends should not die. I was excited. Eskimo literature could spring, as English and other literatures have done, from oral tradition. But we had to hurry. Back in Ottawa, we revived the long-dormant newsletter Inutti- tuul (Eskimo Way), resolving to make it entirely Eskimo in con- tent. Because we could not wait for a perfected writing system, we used the syllabics introduced by the missionaries and used for Bible translations. Because we wanted to publish as soon as pos- sible, we were prepared to carry only folk tales at first. After the second issue of the magazine had reached its readers, material began to come in—not only legends, but biography, poet- ry, songs, humour. It was the first step from an oral to a written literature which could reach beyond the circle of the firelight. Then came our first original story written in Eskimo. When 'Harpoon of the Hunter' arrived we could not hide our excite- ment. We ran the story as a serial in Inuttituut, and we encouraged Markoosie to translate it into English. Here, for the first time, was a story of life in the old days, not as it has appeared to southern eyes, but as it has survived in the memory of the Eskimos them- selves. James H. McNeill Literature Development Specialist Cultural Development Division Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development a page from the eskimo version of 'harpoon of the hunter', published in inuttituut. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author and publisher wish to thank the Honourable Jean Chretien and members of the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, not only for the financial support which has made publication of this work possible but for the interest and concern which has discovered and encouraged talent among the Eskimos of the Canadian North. Our special thanks go to James McNeill, who brought together author, artist, and publisher. Modest and self-effacing, he has nevertheless inspired us all with his enthusiasm for the project, and has provided generous help and practical guidance at every stage in the production of this book.