Chukchi societies is a further testament to this claim: bowheads were intensively
whaled between the ninth to the fifteenth centuries, reflected by large numbers of
bowhead remains in ancient settlements, in oral traditions, rock paintings, sculptures
and amulets. Even though only scattered records of whale festivals and rituals exist,
Igor Krupnik concludes that “the symbolic role of the bowhead whale seems to have
been extremely important in both Eskimo and Maritime Chukchi cultures. During
specific periods, it reached a particularly high level of elaboration, as judged by
complex ceremonial centers.”
5
Not surprisingly, polar bears have also been important for the inhabitants of the
Arctic. Before contact with European colonisers and the associated trade in modern
weaponry, the hunt for polar bears was an extremely dangerous endeavour. After all,
polar bears are extremely defensive of their pups and when attacked. Consequently,
hunting polar bears did not reach the same levels as seals or whales. Polar bears were
only hunted to provide for extra food or clothing. During the hunts, extensive usage
of sled dogs was made that encircled the bear until the hunter was in reach to kill it
with spears or bow and arrow. Another technique was killing the bear during
hibernation in its den before it awoke. However, polar bears lose significant amounts
of body mass during the time of hibernation. Consequently, killing polar bears that
were not in hibernation was, from a nutritional perspective, more efficient. Even
though polar bears did not occupy the same place as whales and seals on a day-today basis, their role in the cosmology and religious practices in Inuit cultures is
undisputed. Reference to polar bears or polar bear skins is a commonly recurring
element of oral traditions.
3.2.2 The North Atlantic
It is easy to depict Old Norse as the brute seafarers, violently subjugating entire
regions such as Normandy in France. Common representation of the ‘Vikings’ fuel
this image although, to be fair, in recent years the representation of the ancient Norse
has become more nuanced. After all, the Norse were not only warriors, but primarily
skilled traders. Their trade network stretched from the North Atlantic, to Western
Europe and into the contemporary Baltic states and probably even further towards
the East along the main waterways. While marine mammals did not play an
overarching role in the trade towards the East and West, they still constituted an
important element of trade as well as a resource for settlement in the North Atlantic.
We must bear in mind that it was the Vikings from Denmark and Norway that
landed on the shores of the Hebrides, Orkney, the Shetlands, the Faroe Islands,
Iceland and, for a limited period of time, Greenland. Viking remains were even
found on the northern tips of Newfoundland, Canada. In other words, Viking settlers
landed all over the North Atlantic. The hunt for marine mammals played an integral
role in the survival strategies of the Norse and archaeological evidence shows that
5 Krupnik (1987), p. 21.
40
3 Marine Mammals and Humans
whaled between the ninth to the fifteenth centuries, reflected by large numbers of
bowhead remains in ancient settlements, in oral traditions, rock paintings, sculptures
and amulets. Even though only scattered records of whale festivals and rituals exist,
Igor Krupnik concludes that “the symbolic role of the bowhead whale seems to have
been extremely important in both Eskimo and Maritime Chukchi cultures. During
specific periods, it reached a particularly high level of elaboration, as judged by
complex ceremonial centers.”
5
Not surprisingly, polar bears have also been important for the inhabitants of the
Arctic. Before contact with European colonisers and the associated trade in modern
weaponry, the hunt for polar bears was an extremely dangerous endeavour. After all,
polar bears are extremely defensive of their pups and when attacked. Consequently,
hunting polar bears did not reach the same levels as seals or whales. Polar bears were
only hunted to provide for extra food or clothing. During the hunts, extensive usage
of sled dogs was made that encircled the bear until the hunter was in reach to kill it
with spears or bow and arrow. Another technique was killing the bear during
hibernation in its den before it awoke. However, polar bears lose significant amounts
of body mass during the time of hibernation. Consequently, killing polar bears that
were not in hibernation was, from a nutritional perspective, more efficient. Even
though polar bears did not occupy the same place as whales and seals on a day-today basis, their role in the cosmology and religious practices in Inuit cultures is
undisputed. Reference to polar bears or polar bear skins is a commonly recurring
element of oral traditions.
3.2.2 The North Atlantic
It is easy to depict Old Norse as the brute seafarers, violently subjugating entire
regions such as Normandy in France. Common representation of the ‘Vikings’ fuel
this image although, to be fair, in recent years the representation of the ancient Norse
has become more nuanced. After all, the Norse were not only warriors, but primarily
skilled traders. Their trade network stretched from the North Atlantic, to Western
Europe and into the contemporary Baltic states and probably even further towards
the East along the main waterways. While marine mammals did not play an
overarching role in the trade towards the East and West, they still constituted an
important element of trade as well as a resource for settlement in the North Atlantic.
We must bear in mind that it was the Vikings from Denmark and Norway that
landed on the shores of the Hebrides, Orkney, the Shetlands, the Faroe Islands,
Iceland and, for a limited period of time, Greenland. Viking remains were even
found on the northern tips of Newfoundland, Canada. In other words, Viking settlers
landed all over the North Atlantic. The hunt for marine mammals played an integral
role in the survival strategies of the Norse and archaeological evidence shows that
5 Krupnik (1987), p. 21.
40
3 Marine Mammals and Humans