Tuktu- 11- The Big Seal (How to seal hunt the Inuit way)

[Music] I want to tell you a story of the old days when people were different from now as you know Eskimos are great see matters in the past the seal gave to us most of what we needed to live through the long winter from the seal we had oil for cooking his meat fed us and his skin made warm clothes to cover our bodies it would take a long time to tell about all the wealth all the useful things we received from net circ truly he is our greatest friend and without him we would all perish there are terrible stories I could tell of such bad times of the killing of dogs and the death from hunger of our children our land is beautiful but it is also harsh in winter and without nets at the seal life for the Eskimo in far-off times was not possible [Music] I remember a long time ago when I was a young boy the winter had been long and seals were not plentiful but one day my father returned from the hunt with a good big seal the first in many weeks I remember how happy we were as we saw him from a long way off pulling the seal across the snow my father made a song about those far-off times and this storm I still remember I walked on the ice of the sea all was lonely all was quiet I heard only the sighing of the wind as I walked on the ice of the sea I walked on the ice of the sea ceil were blowing at the blow holes with joy I felt the harpoon strike now I bring you a gift from the depths of the sea my father was a great hunter of med-surg I lived through him and see because of his eyes I grew up to tread the same path and in my time I have killed many seals but it was my father who taught me the secrets of Netzer he taught me how to use dogs to find the blowholes he told me that net circ was a creature of silence that he could hear the slightest noise netzer can hear a flea jumping on the dog's back he said of course he was joking but at the time I almost believed him I remember thinking that if Netzer could hear one free then our dogs who had many fleas would surely drive him away [Music] a seal must come up through the ice to breathe or he will drown when the snow is deep his breathing holes are hidden from the eyes of the hunter but not from the sharp nose of a good eskimo dog beneath the deep silence of winter snow a seal will come up through the ice and the dogs will tell the hunter where the blow hole is [Music] in those far-off days my father made many poems and some he gave to me he said if the sea goddess gives the hunter one of her creatures let the hunter be thankful and his mouth blow a song in her honor all creatures of the deep belong to Sedna the sea goddess she is jealous for them she will give up her children only to a skillful hunter only to the hunter who is clever will she give up her children in times of her anger there is famine in the land but in times of her friendship they receive meat for everyone [Music] there are dangers in the Arctic even for the hardy Eskimo my mother and her sisters would say nothing but I remember even as a child waiting for my father and how anxiously the women searched with their eyes for the first sign of a returning hunter a sudden gale or blizzard an open crevasse in the ice an ice floe splitting up without warning all these bad things can happen and send an Eskimo to his death our history is full of such tragedies but when the hunters returned there was much rejoicing now the great hunger was over and the cooking-pots would boil again [Music] all families share in the good fortune of the hunter my father's igloo became a meeting place after the hunt and my mother gave to each person a fair share of the seal a visitor would stand by the entrance and call out here by somebody comes visiting and the visitor was then made welcome my father was a good host he took pride in saving the best pieces of meat for his friends and no one in need left our igloo empty-handed my father said if the sea goddess gives the hunter a seal let the hunter be thankful let the hunter honor the memory of Netzer come to my igloo and share with me the bounty of Sedna the sea goddess come to my igloo and feast with me the oil under the pot burns brightly let the children sleep with full bellies with the return of warmer weather net sook will leave the water and bask on the open ice the hunters will then look for his dark shape sometimes they will probe the snow for his blow holes and wait patiently nearby for him to appear now is the time for the hunter to think like net circ to have thoughts in his head like the thoughts of a seal my father told me once about a very big seal always managed to elude the harpoon his tough old skin was said to be covered with scars from the many wounds he had received in his long life said my father I do not know how true this is or whether such a seal ever lived but one thing I can be sure of I remember once trying to harpoon a certain big seal it happened a long time ago I had climbed to the top of a snow hill and looked over the frozen sea I noticed the seal on the ice a big one carefully I watched him every now and then he would raise his head to make sure that no danger threat then he would sleep for a little while [Music] this was a fine big CU full of good meat and oil as I told you a hunter must think like a seal a seal has poor eyesight but if the upright shape of a man comes toward him the seal will slide quickly into the water and the hunter will go hungry you must act like a Cu you must pretend to grow flipper at a tail you must raise your head and look about then pretend to sleep all these tricks are used as I crept closer and closer to net sir [Music] at this moment I am your brother do not leave me I am like you I sleep on the ice I raise my head wearily I look about for enemies but see only my brother do not leave me I come closer and closer to you like a seal I raise my head do not be alarmed at this moment I am your brother do not be afraid as I come to you do not leave me at this moment I am net circ do not leave me do not slide quickly into the water do not be afraid as I come to you do not leave me quietly silently I come to you [Music] but when I struck with the harpoon I missed net circ was too quick for me and vanished into the sea but he came up to breathe again in another place that far away I struck quickly this time I had him [Music] oh he was large and strong as a bear he tried hard to free himself but I was strong too and managed to pull him out alas with a sudden twist he tore himself free down he slid into the water I saw the scars on his body and knew well enough who he was mine was not the first harpoon to fail I never saw him again nor did I ever hear of him being caught the next day I killed a different scene he was smaller but he was fat enough and in the evening I invited my friends to share the feast [Music] and that is the way we used to live [Music]

Channel: Alaska Extreme

Views: 1,265,874

Keywords: tuktu, eskimo, eskimo culture, inuit culture, inupiaq culture, eskimo igloo, how to make an igloo, eskimo joes, eskimo pie, native pride, indigenous, homesteading, hunters and gatherers, native americans, alaska history, canadian history, native canadians, yupik culture, native american history, seal hunting, a tribe called red, pumyua, supaman, igloo

Id: Z824vCrG5iQ

Length: 14min 19sec (859 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 25 2017

Reddit Comments

[u/Tagliarini295]

Bro this got me so mad, this guy was creeping for so long then just started running at him.