#inughuit

Consider another hunter-gatherer society closely observed in modern times: the Agta of the Philippines. The Agta are short-statured people who live on an isolated peninsula of Luzon Island.

A kayaker, working as a spotter during a narwhal hunt off the coast of Qeqertarsuaq, or Herbert Island, about 750 miles north of the Arctic Circle. (National Geographic) Photo: Kiliii Yuyan

November is National Native American Heritage Month!

The indigenous people of Greenland are Inuit. At 89%, they make up the majority of the Greenlandic population. Collectively, they are called Kalaallit Nunaat, and consist of three groups; Kalaallit (of western Greenland) being the largest, the Tunumiit (from eastern Greenland) and finally the Inughuit (of north Greenland, about 1% of the population of Greenland).

Greenland had actually been settled multiple times previous to this, always by boat from Canada. First was the Independence I/Saqqaq culture (2500-700 BCE). They were replaced by the Early Dorset (700 BCE-1 CE). The Late Dorset recolonized the northeastern part of the island in 700 CE.

In 980 CE, the first Norse arrived on Greenland (the first true European discovery of the Americas--500 years before Columbus). It was between 1000-1400 CE that the Thule began to settle Greenland. The Thule are the ancestors of modern Greenlandic Inuit.

It’s Black History Month and we’re celebrating Matthew Henson, the famous African American Arctic explorer who co-discovered the North Pole! Henson was a master craftsman with expertise in building and driving sledges. He was able to quickly integrate into the Inuit culture of Northwest Greenland, and learned to speak their language. Despite his many accomplishments, Henson was unacknowledged for many years because of his race.

When is Greenlandic not Greenlandic? One answer is when it is Inuktun, the Inuit dialect spoken in the far north-west of Greenland by the approximately 800 people who call themselves the Inughuit (the spelling Inugguit is also seen, lit. “the big people”). Perhaps datedly, they are also referred to in the work referenced below as the Polar Eskimo, which at least correctly reflects their position as the most northerly permanent inhabitants of the world (save perhaps for those living in Ny Ålesund, Svalbard?).

In this post I’ll look at a very short extract from “Inuktun – An Introduction to the Language of Qaanaaq, Thule” by Eskimologist Michael Fortescue. It’s part of a short text spoken by Qaanaaq resident Minik Daorana and presumably transcribed by Fortescue himself. As the above book notes, there is no official way to transcribe Inuktun, and so Fortescue has created his own orthography, which deliberately reflects the close connection between Inuktun and the very closely related Inuktitut across Baffin Bay in Canada. This is because the Inughuit in fact represent the most recent wave of Inuit immigration to Greenland, arriving significantly later than the current West Greenlanders (the Kalaallit) and East Greenlanders (the Tunumiit). In a sense, Inuktun is a bridge between the two, sharing some of the innovations of West Greenlandic Inuit but retaining some of the “older” forms seen in Inuktitut and other Inuit dialects to the West, such as the preservation of certain consonant clusters.

And, as a bonus, I’ll acquaint you with the longest naturally-formed Inuit word I’ve encountered yet – at 49 letters long! The translations in English and Danish are directly from the book; the word by word analysis is mine.

Walrus hunting

Aivvaqatauqattarhamahukkalaanga ilaanni, qanuq aggurnighaa taunna, aavirhuup – amirlahiunguqpaghuaqatauqattarhamanngitsurhuugama – naluhurhuiga. Kihiani nalunngikkalaariga, inughuit amirlahiurhuit ningirhariginnariaqaraat aaviq. Tassa nalunngitsurhuighi, hihamaugainni, hihamanngurlugu aggurhinnarialik aaviq. Aivvaktup talia igluanik pijagaa, haniraa ilanngullugu, haamia kihiani, tassa hiullirhiit pissuhituqarhaangat, piniagarhiinnguuq haamighuummata. Aivvaktup, ughuktulluunniit haamia talia pijagaa.

Although I have taken part in walrus hunts I don’t really know about how walruses are divided out since I haven’t taken part in hunts involving many people. However, I do know that many people can get a share when a walrus is bagged. You know, like when there are four people a walrus can be divided into four. The one who caught the walrus gets one of the flippers plus the flank, the left side only – that’s because according to the customs of our forefathers game animals are always left-handed. The one who catches a walrus or a bearded seal will get the left flipper.

Selv om jeg har været med til at fange hvalrosser, ved jeg ikke rigtigt hvordan man fordeler kødet, fordi jeg ikke har deltaget, når der var mange mennesker om det. Jeg ved dog, at mange kan få en fangstpart når der er fanget en hvalros. Så når der er fire mennesker, så kan en hvalros deles i fire parter. Den, der fangede hvalrossen får en af lallerne plus den ene side – kun den venstre side. Det er fordi alle fangstdyr, ifølge vore forfædres tro, er kejthåndede. Den, der fanger en hvalros eller remmesæl, får den venstre lalle.

Vocabulary

aivvaqatauqattarhamahukkalaanga although I have taken part in walrus hunts (aivvaq- hunt walrus, qatau do together, qattar do habitually, hama perfective, hukkalaaq but, although) . In West Greenlandic/Kalaallisut (hereafter: KL) the equivalent word might be aaffaqataasarsimagaluarpunga. NB for these longer equivalent forms I’m simply setting out how the same word would appear with the equivalent Kalaallisut orthography and/or affixes, but it’s possible that a West Greenlander might well express it differently.)

ilaanni some times (KL: also ilaanni)

qanuq how (KL: qanoq)

aggurnighaa its division (occurs) (aggur- divide; KL aggornissaa)

taunna this one (KL: taanna)

aavirhuup (of) a big walrus (relative case) (KL: aaversuup)

amirlahiunguqpaghuaqatauqattarhamanngitsurhuugama because I haven’t taken part in hunts involving many people (amirlahiut several, qpaghuaq extremely qatau do together qattar do habitually hama perfective nngitsur is not one who huugama because I am one who; in KL perhaps amerlasoorpassuaqataasarsimanngitsorsuugama?)

naluhurhuiga I don’t know (it) (KL: naluara)

kihiani but (KL: kisianni)

nalunngikkalaariga I know it, however (KL: nalunngikkaluarpunga)

inughuit people (KL: the literal equivalent would be inussuit (the big people) but in Kalaallisut this would just be expressed as inuit)

amirlahiurhuit many (KL: amerlasuut)

ningirhariginnariaqaraat they can get a share (ningirhaq part of catch, ri/gi have as one’s [noun] ginnariaq can qaraat they…them (not sure of the last suffix here); KL perhaps ningersarisinnaavaat?)

aaviq walrus, absolutive case  (KL: aaveq)

tassa this is (KL: also tassa)

nalunngitsurhuighi you (plural) know (it) (KL nalunngilarsi)

hihamaugainni when one is four (people) (KL: sisamaagaanni)

hihamanngurlugu (with it) becoming four (KL: sisamanngorluni)

aggurhinnarialik one can divide (it) (KL: aggorsinnaavaa)

aivvaktup the one who catches a walrus (relative case) (KL: aaffattup)

talia its hand/arm/flipper (KL: also talia)

igluanik the other side, the one side (KL: illuanik)

pijagaa he gets it, he has it as his catch (KL: pisaraa)

haniraa its side, flank (KL: saneraa)

ilanngullugu including it (KL: also ilanngullugu)

haamia its left side (KL: saamia)

hiullirhiit (our) forefathers’ (relative case) (lit. the ones who came first) (KL: siulliarsuit)

pissuhituqarhaangat (their) customs (pissuhiq behaviour, tuqaq old, rhaaq big (ng)at their) (KL: not sure, maybe ileqqui?)

piniagarhiinnguuq it is said that game animals... (KL: piniagassanngooq)

haamighuummata because they are left-handed (KL: saamiummata)

ughuktulluunniit or one who catches a bearded seal (KL: maybe ussuttulluunniit?)