The Iñupiat Eskimo Seasons
January: Si Khin ah rook rook - “The sun is beginning to rise higher and higher after it has been really low in the last new moon before this one.” January is a cold month. There is little heat from the sun. Temperatures can drop to as low as 70 degrees below zero depending on the wind child factor. men trap fur-bearing animals during the winter. Furs are sold or used to make clothing. Wolverine is used for ruffs on parkas.
February: Koo rhu Auk Toek Vik - “The sun is high enough so the snow is being melted by the sun and the water is now dripping from the tree branches and from the high river banks, and then it is frozen into icicles towards evening.” February is another cold month. Women fish through holes cut in the ice. Men trap and hunt, watching the weather closely.
March: Khil ghich tut Kat - “The summer hawk has come.” Days are longer and warmer in March, but there are still frequent snowstorms. In early Spring, Eskimos travel to neighboring villages to visit friends and relatives. In the Spring, there are dog team and snowmobile races.
April: Ting mat Tut Kat - “The geese have come, and different species of water fowl are also beginning to come.” Daylight lasts the whole day,m and it is warmer. Spring gales can be bitterly cold. Birds migrate into the Arctic. Caribou appear in large herds. Boys hunt Arctic hare and ptarmigan.
May: Si Qucik Vik - “The ice has gone out.” The snow melts. Ice rots and breaks up on the river. The tundra is wet. Eskimos wear rubber boots to walk across mud and slush. At breakup, school is out. Eskimo families climb into their umiats or wooden boats and go to summer camp.
June: Ig nyi Vik - “The geese and ducks and other birds are now laying their eggs.” Families enjoy summer camp. Women fish. Men hunt for seal and beluga. Boys shoot ducks, geese, and ptarmigan. Girls collect eggs and berries. Bears roam, looking for berries, too. Plants grow rapidly, and Arctic animals molt and wear summer disguises. The sun shines even at night, and no one is sleepy.
July: Ting ee Vik - “The geese and ducks and other water fowl are now flying.” July is warm, perhaps 70 degrees. July is known as the mosquito month. Mosquitoes are large, and they swarm around every living thing in thick, annoying clouds. Men hunt caribou. Women fish. Children collect salmonberries.
August: Ah mi ayk si Vik - “The caribou, moose, and other animals with horns are now peeling off the skin of their antlers.” Men hunt for caribou and moose. Boys hunt ducks and geese. Women gather roots, sometimes from underground caches belonging to mice. Food is stocked for the long winter.
September: Ovie rhaum tut ka - “the last summer month before freeze-up.” Men hunt for caribou and moose. Boys hunt ducks and geese. Women gather roots, sometimes from underground caches belonging to mice. Food is stocked for the long winter.
October: Si Koo Vik - “Freeze-up season.” Migratory birds fly south. Arctic animals grow fat and change to winter white. The rivers, lakes, and ponds freeze over. The ground and houses are covered with snow. Men continue to hunt caribou. Women split and gut whitefish and hang them over racks to dry outside. The mosquitoes are gone.
November: Nulak Vik - “The mountain sheep are mating.” Eskimos jig for fish in favorite places. Nets are set in holes cut in the ice. Men hunt for seal. Days become very short. On Thanksgiving, there is a feast at the church. Meat is stored in a food cache, a small structure on stilts, to keep food away from animals. Popular Eskimo meats are caribou, moose, reindeer, bear, beaver, beluga, muskrat, rabbit, seal, squirrel, walrus, and baleen from the whale. Diet depends on the location of the bush village.
December: Si khin ah chak - “the sun rises and stays up only a short time.” It is dark in December. Children go to school in the dark and come home in the dark. The days are very short, and there are days the sun doesn’t even show on the horizon. Women sew skins, tan hides, knit mittens and blankets, make caribou mukluks. Men carve ivory, soapstone, or jade, making miniature animals or jewelry. Clothing is repaired. Tools are put in order. On Christmas day, there is a feast at the church. Presents are exchanged. Eskimo games are played. There might be singing or Eskimo dancing.
Iñupiat Vocabulary:
Uulaatautaq: Good morning
Igloo: An igloo is a small house made of driftwood, whalebone, and sod. Canadian Eskimos, rather than Alaskan Eskimos, made the typical snow houses. Alaskan Eskimos, however, build temporary shelters and storehouses out of snow or ice.
Cache: a cache (pronounced “cash”) is a small, outside storage shed built on pilings out of reach from village dogs, bears, and any straying wildlife looking for food. In the winter, the cache is used like a freezer.
Blanket toss: The blanket toss is a favorite Eskimo game. A hide or blanket is held by a circle of people who toss someone high in the air until he or she no longer remains upright. The experience resembles that of bouncing on a trampoline.
Aurola borealis: When solar electrons that are trapped in the earth’s magnetic field strike gas particles in the upper atmosphere, colorful lights appear in the northern sky, sometimes green, red, blue, or purple, sometimes gauzy like a sheer, blowing curtain, and sometimes in the form of an arc. Displays are concentrated above the Arctic Circle and occur most often in the spring and fall. Some say these northern lights sound like the rustle of a stiff taffeta skirt.
Breakup: During May, the snow and ice melt in Alaska, and the ice on the river rots and breaks up, often cascading rapidly and noisily and witnessed by everyone in the village. The sound often resembles that of wind chimes.
Mushing: The World Championship Sled Dog Race takes place at the Fur Rendezvous usually held in February. Mushing is sled dog racing. The 1,409 mile Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race from Anchorage to Nome is held in March.
Ano: Dog harness
Kayak: A light one-man boat made of driftwood or willow and skin.
Mukluks: Boots made of caribou or sealskin with thong strings.
Natchiq: Seal
Ulu: Woman’s knife.
Talu: Door
Quipmip: Dog
Matu: Pot cover
Utkusrik: Pot
Amaguq: Wolf
Amiq: Skin
Agnag: Woman
Aktaq: Polar bear
Atigi: Parka or coat.
Niksik: Book
Kukik: Thumb
Qaluk: Fish
uquataaq: blue
kaviqssaq: red
Qatiqtaaq: white
Iliktaq: brown
kaviataaq: orange
tunuaqtaaq: purple
sittvagtruk: white fish
nauriaq: flower
kuspuk: woman’s parka dress
iniat: dried fish
iri: eye
ikun: match
ivaluksraq: thread
ikusrik: elbow
sini: ruff
sallisik: scissors
siqnig: sun
siksrik: squirrel
ivgich: grass
tuttu: caribou
umiat: boat
What Do Iñupiat Eskimos Do? How Do They Live?
Men and boys often carve ivory from walrus tusks or fossils. They make ulu handles, bracelets, cribbage boards, figurines, and dolls. Etching is sometimes done with India ink. this is a form of scrimshaw. They also make jewelry and figurines out of jade and soapstone. They hunt for caribou and moose and other animals. They trap animals like muskrat, beaver, and wolverine. They ride snowmobiles and build umiats and sleds. They train their dogs.
Women and girls knit socks and blankets. They fish, cutting holes in the ice to drop their jigging lines. They split and dry fish on racks or stack fish outside the hut for their dogs. They shop in the native store where they can buy canned and dry goods. They order many supplies by mail from Anchorage. They cook, sew, and take care of the babies. The scrape animal skins and tan hides.
Children listen to elders tell stories of long ago. In most villages, children go to school. Some schools have only one or two teachers. Other schools are larger and even have basketball tournaments. Sometimes they see a movie at the school. Some villages have television, but many do not. They help carry water in buckets from the river or cut ice from inland ponds to melt for water. Villages do not have plumbing or running water.
In the summer, families go to their summer camps for more hunting and fishing. Women and girls gather roots and berries to store for winter. They are on the lookout for bears who have stopped hibernating and are on the prowl.
Iñupiat Eskimo people dress in modern clothes they buy through mail order catalog as well as the traditional Eskimo clothing made my the women. In the winter, it’s important to wear furs to keep warm. Mukluks are made of caribou or sealskin. Many are elegantly embroidered. Parkas, too, have large ruffs to keep the icy winter winds from the face.
Boys especially like basketball since many of the bush villages have schools with an indoor court. It’s so popular that everyone in the village comes to a game.
Many Arctic villages do not have plumbing or electricity. There are no roads, no restaurants, and usually only one small native store. The only way to get from one village to another is by dogma and sled or snowmobile. The mail plane comes when weather permits, bringing news from all parts of Alaska, mail order items, supplies for the store, and offering transportation in or out of the village. Sometimes the mail plan is delayed weeks due to bad weather. Villages along the coast can order supplies brought by barge during the summer.
Many Eskimos are having a difficult time assimilating the modern way of life while maintaining the old, traditional ways. While infiltration from the modern world has brought many benefits, it has also caused problems. An indomitable spirit will assure the Arctic Eskimo’s survival in this confusing collision of cultures.
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