Going even further, it is notable that in the language of the Inuit—Inuktitut—the
similarity between ‘meat’ and ‘eating’ is striking: niqi versus niri. At the same time,
contrary to the English language, for example, where there is only one word for ‘fat’,
Inuktitut distinguishes between fat from the sea (uksuk) and fat from the land
(tunnuk). Without further having to delve into the normative aspects of language it
becomes clear that marine mammals have played a significant role in Inuit societies.
It was such an important contributor to human survival in the harsh conditions of the
Arctic, it also affected social and cultural practices. When the first Europeans entered
the scene in the North and started to explore and exploit the Arctic, they were quickly
faced with the difficult dietary needs human beings face in the cold. It soon became
clear that sufficient provisions of fresh meat from seals and whales enabled
overwintering and prevented the outbreak of scurvy. In other words, without meat
human survival would not have been possible in the Arctic. Indeed, ethnographer
Franz Boas went as far as to call seals the ‘staple food’ of the Inuit.
4 Its dietary
importance is further underlined by a common depiction of the Inuit seal hunt: a
hunter standing in a bent-over position over a breathing hole of a seal, harpoon in his
hand, waiting for the seal to surface in order to strike it. This extremely uncomfortable position could last for hours, aggravated by cold winds and bad weather. It
nevertheless underlines how vital seals were as a source of food.
In order to maximise their hunting efficiency, Inuit developed sophisticated
technology in their pursuit of marine mammals. In seal hunting, for example,
harpoons with detachable heads were used, linked to the hunter by a long string.
The small, light boats from which seals were hunted in the sea are still in use today—
qajaq or kayaks. This Inuit invention that is also part of our Western culture is a
direct result of the hunts for marine mammals in the Arctic. In whale hunting, heavy
harpoons, also with detachable heads, were thrust into the whale, which in turn was
attached to several buoys made of inflated seal skins that prevented it from diving
and escaping.
Social practices such as sharing, which can be found in indigenous societies all
over the circumpolar North ensure the survival of all. Ongoing trade between
different social and cultural groups enabled a variety in diet and goods, proving,
once again, to be an important mechanism for human survival. In Chukotka—the far
east of Russia—, for example, trade in goods was ongoing long before the region
was colonised by Russians and coastal Chukchi and Yup’ik conducted trade with
reindeer herding Chukchi of the inland and, in fact, all over the Arctic. Since certain
seal species, as well as the walrus, followed the abundant sea ice and polynyas, seal
and walrus hunters were forced to follow them. Settlement patterns were therefore
not static but directly dependent on the availability of prey species. Marine mammals
are also reflected in the cosmology of the Chukchi in which seals and walruses take a
crucial place. Cosmological figures that are based on marine mammals, in turn, serve
as names for places and children, once again underlining the normative importance
of marine mammals in these societies. The normative role of the bowhead whale for
4 Boas (1888/1964), p. 63.
3.2 Marine Mammals and Human Societies
39
similarity between ‘meat’ and ‘eating’ is striking: niqi versus niri. At the same time,
contrary to the English language, for example, where there is only one word for ‘fat’,
Inuktitut distinguishes between fat from the sea (uksuk) and fat from the land
(tunnuk). Without further having to delve into the normative aspects of language it
becomes clear that marine mammals have played a significant role in Inuit societies.
It was such an important contributor to human survival in the harsh conditions of the
Arctic, it also affected social and cultural practices. When the first Europeans entered
the scene in the North and started to explore and exploit the Arctic, they were quickly
faced with the difficult dietary needs human beings face in the cold. It soon became
clear that sufficient provisions of fresh meat from seals and whales enabled
overwintering and prevented the outbreak of scurvy. In other words, without meat
human survival would not have been possible in the Arctic. Indeed, ethnographer
Franz Boas went as far as to call seals the ‘staple food’ of the Inuit.
4 Its dietary
importance is further underlined by a common depiction of the Inuit seal hunt: a
hunter standing in a bent-over position over a breathing hole of a seal, harpoon in his
hand, waiting for the seal to surface in order to strike it. This extremely uncomfortable position could last for hours, aggravated by cold winds and bad weather. It
nevertheless underlines how vital seals were as a source of food.
In order to maximise their hunting efficiency, Inuit developed sophisticated
technology in their pursuit of marine mammals. In seal hunting, for example,
harpoons with detachable heads were used, linked to the hunter by a long string.
The small, light boats from which seals were hunted in the sea are still in use today—
qajaq or kayaks. This Inuit invention that is also part of our Western culture is a
direct result of the hunts for marine mammals in the Arctic. In whale hunting, heavy
harpoons, also with detachable heads, were thrust into the whale, which in turn was
attached to several buoys made of inflated seal skins that prevented it from diving
and escaping.
Social practices such as sharing, which can be found in indigenous societies all
over the circumpolar North ensure the survival of all. Ongoing trade between
different social and cultural groups enabled a variety in diet and goods, proving,
once again, to be an important mechanism for human survival. In Chukotka—the far
east of Russia—, for example, trade in goods was ongoing long before the region
was colonised by Russians and coastal Chukchi and Yup’ik conducted trade with
reindeer herding Chukchi of the inland and, in fact, all over the Arctic. Since certain
seal species, as well as the walrus, followed the abundant sea ice and polynyas, seal
and walrus hunters were forced to follow them. Settlement patterns were therefore
not static but directly dependent on the availability of prey species. Marine mammals
are also reflected in the cosmology of the Chukchi in which seals and walruses take a
crucial place. Cosmological figures that are based on marine mammals, in turn, serve
as names for places and children, once again underlining the normative importance
of marine mammals in these societies. The normative role of the bowhead whale for
4 Boas (1888/1964), p. 63.
3.2 Marine Mammals and Human Societies
39