QALUTAQ – DIPPER, LADLE, BAILER MAQIWIGMI QALUTAT ATURTAAPET. – WE USE DIPPERS IN THE BANYA. Enter an Alutiiq steam bath and you will find an assortment of tools for bathing. Adjacent to a wood-burning stove fashioned from a fifty-five-gallon oil drum are large metal tubs for storing, heating, and mixing water; tongs for loading the stove […]
MAITAQ – SEPTUM PIERCING MAITARTUUMARTAALLRIIT ARNAT. – WOMEN USED TO WEAR SEPTUM PIERCINGS. In classical Alutiiq society, men, women, and children often wore nose rings. The placed these decorations through a perforation in the nasal septum, the piece of cartilage that divides the nose. In Alutiiq the septum is known as kucurwik, a word derived from […]
PAMYULEK – METEOR AKGUA’AQ PAMYULEGMEK TANGELLRIANGA. – THE OTHER NIGHT I SAW A METEOR. A meteor is a piece of space rock that burns as it falls through the Earth’s atmosphere, creating a bright streak in the night sky. The Alutiiq term for meteor—pamyulek—comes from the word pamyuq for tail or handle; something that extends […]
CISLLAT – PEG CALENDAR PAAPUKA GUI CISLLANGQ’RTAALLIA. – MY GRANDMOTHER HAD A PEG CALENDAR. Charting the passage of time was once a relative process. Alutiiq people noted the seasons by following changes in the natural environment and in the economic and social activities that accompanied the yearly cycle. With the introduction of Russian Orthodoxy, however, the Alutiiq […]
YAASIIK – BOX CAQINKA YAASIIMEN LLIITAANKA. – I PUT MY STUFF IN BOXES. In classical Alutiiq society, craftsmen fashioned wooden boxes in many shapes and sizes to hold food, water, and objects. Hunters carried small rectangular boxes packed with supplies in their kayaks. Women cooked traditional dishes by dropping hot stones into oval wooden containers […]
UYAMILLQUAQ – NECKLACE UYAMILLQUAN QUP’ARTLLRIA. – YOUR NECKLACE GOT BROKEN. In classical Alutiiq society, jewelry was an important means of social and personal expression. Decorative lip plugs, nose pins, ear ornaments, bracelets, arm bands, belts, pendants, and necklaces were worn by both men and women, providing outward signs of the wearer’s place in society. Jewelry […]
ATUUN, ATUUTEQ – SONG KAS’AQ AMLESQANEK ATUUTET NALLUNITUQ. – THE PRIEST KNOWS MANY SONGS. Singing is a favorite pastime in Alutiiq communities. People of all ages enjoy sharing a tune or learning an Elder’s favorite melody. In addition to expressing joy and companionship, songs are a form of storytelling. They record community history, express values, […]
ILUWAQ – COUSIN AMLESQANEK ILUWANGQ’RTUA. – I HAVE MANY COUSINS. The term cousin can be applied to a confusing array of relatives. In American society, a cousin is any child of an aunt or an uncle. However, cultures around the world differentiate between types of cousins, especially parallel and cross cousins. Parallel cousins are the […]
NUYAT – HAIR SUK UKSURTUWIQAMI NUYAI QAT’RITAARTUT. – WHEN A PERSON GETS TO BE AN ELDER THEIR HAIR TURNS GRAY (WHITE). Before the adoption of western hairstyles in the mid-nineteenth century, Alutiiq men and women wore their hair long. Men typically cut their hair at the shoulders and braided it. Women cut bangs across their […]