Rudder — ARulaq Anguamek aRulallrianga.—I used a paddle as a rudder (to steer). There are many types of rudders found in boat designs around the world and they are all important parts of a boat’s steering system. A rudder is often a vertical blade attached to a boat’s transom, the flat end of the stern. […]
New Year’s Eve — Nuuwikuutam Maqin’ra (N), Snuuwikuutam Maqin’ra (S), Nuta’aq uksugkam Maqin’ra Ernerpak nuta’aq uksugkam Maqin’ra. – Today is New Year’s Eve. A favorite Kodiak New Year’s tradition is the annual masquerade ball. This celebration of renewal occurs on January 14, New Years Day on the Julian Calendar that tracks the Orthodox year. The […]
Pet — Qungutuwaq Qungutuwangq’rtua. – I have a pet. Qungutuwaq is the Alutiiq word for a tame animal. It likely began as a term for a wild animal habituated to people, but it has come to mean all kinds of pets. Tame animals, especially birds and dogs, were part of ancestral Alutiiq villages. Alutiiq people kept […]
Naked — Matarngaluni Atkuinateng, nukallpiat agnguartaallriit, matarngaluteng. – Taking off their clothes, men used to always dance naked. Clothing is an ancient and uniquely human invention. No other species makes and wears clothes. Anthropologists believe that clothing evolved for both practical and social purposes, to protect the human body from weather and to share messages. […]