Weather, Sky, Outdoors, Universe, World — Lla Lla Asirtuq. – The weather is good. The world’s cultures have a great variety of beliefs about the sky. Tlingit people see the sky as an upside-down bowl with a hard surface. Their sky has layers that provide a home for the souls of those who died from […]
Cat — Kuskaq Kuskat qungutuartut.—Cats are pets. The lynx (Lynx canadensis) is the only species of wild cat found in Alaska and it is not indigenous to the Kodiak region. In the Alutiiq world, lynxes are found in the wooded environments of the northern Alaska Peninsula, Kenai Peninsula, and Prince William Sound. They subsist on […]
Fishing Boat — Parag’autaq (N), Parag’uutaq (S) Kugyasigciqukut parag’uutakun. – We are going to go fishing (seining) on the boat. Visit any dock in the Kodiak Archipelago and you will find an array of fishing vessels. Skiffs, seiners, tenders, and crabbers are part of the rhythm of life in Kodiak and its Alutiiq communities. Over […]
String, Twine — IRafkuruaq, IRafkungcuk, WiRufkuruaq IRafkuruanek initalitallriit. – They used string to make clothesline. String games like cats cradle are a popular pastime around the globe. From Australia to Asia, Africa, North America, and the high Arctic, people have long used a simple loop of string and their fingers to make designs. The function […]