![]() ![]() We pick up the story of the hotel at the tail end of it’s “first life.” The family who owns it (and lived there, recognising only much later what a mistake it was to raise a family in a hotel) is forced to sell due to tax issues arising from the drift of management and the death of the Weissberg patriarch. Her dying friend Kutuguk wishes to come along as a last request, knowing she will die there, and her young grandson Maniq also insists on going, hoping to learn from his beloved grandmother more of the skills to become a man, as well as to look out for the two women. Ningiuq, an old woman in the village, volunteers for the duty, which means being alone for several months. They decide to dry their catches on a remote island, away from predatory animals. They are in a celebratory mood, having recently acquired some needles and cups from white traders they encountered (in exchange for allowing the women to sleep with them) as well as having abundant food for the winter. We join the tribe in summer, at the end of a hunt. ![]() The small society works well thanks to the values of shared work and reward everyone, even the kids, have jobs to do. Their world was incredibly small, from a tiny village off to nearby islands to hunt. The story is set in 1840, when the Inuit were still extremely limited in their contact with the white settlers further south.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |