Chapter 2:
"Uki! I'm about to make dinner. Do you want to come and help?" my mom called.
"Okay, coming!" I yelled back, and said goodbye to Toklo and Panuk before running back to my house.
"What are we having for dinner tonight, mom?" I asked.
"We're going to make some caribou suaasat," she replied.
"Oh, yummy! That's my favourite! Do you have a favourite food, mom?" I asked.
"I'd say my favourite would be the bowhead whale. It tastes good no matter how you cook it!" she said happily.
"Wow! Bowhead whale? I've never heard of that before!" I exclaimed.
"Yeah, they banned the hunting of those a couple years back, I miss having it though. Your grandmother would make the best soup out of it!" my mom replied wistfully.
"Aww man, I wish I could try it... how big is a bowhead whale?" I asked, curiously.
"They're really big! I'd say if ten of me lay down head to toe in a straight line, that would be how long the bowhead whale is." my mom explained.
"That big?!" my eyes widened, staring down at the seemingly small chunk of caribou meat. "How did you even catch one of those!?!"
"When we needed to hunt whales, such as the bowhead, we'd get into a boat called an umiak. They were made of driftwood or whale bones," mom said.
"So," I said, wiggling my eyebrows, "they killed whales while in a dead whale?"
"I guess so," she chuckled, shaking her head. "Anyway, when we spotted a whale's spout, we would get close, and use a harpoon to kill it. It takes a lot of work to kill a huge whale, though. We needed a lot of teamwork and cooperation, as well as a lot of beforehand planning." she continued.
"Holy guacamole! That's a lot of work just to kill one whale!" I exclaimed. "Did you eat the whale by itself, or did you eat it with other meats as well?"
"Whales are sea animals as well, honey. So the rules about not eating sea meat and land meat at the same meal still apply."
"Oh yeah, I forgot," I said.
"Another thing to consider though, is the fact that whales are gigantic creatures! One whale alone could feed our whole entire tribe for several months if needed!" she told me.
"Wow. All of this talk about food is making me REALLY hungry!" I exclaimed, rubbing my stomach.
"So, let's get started on the suaasat, shall we?"
"Okay mom."
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Uki the Inuit
Ficción históricaUki is a twelve year old girl, part of an Inuit tribe in Nunavut, Canada. Follow her through her experience as an Inuit, learning about her past and different ceremonies and traditions. Fictional characters, but non-fictional cultures. Short 5-chapt...
