TUPUURUQ – AXE TUPUURULLEQ YAAMAMEK CANAMAUQ. — THE OLD AXE IS MADE OUT OF STONE. Today, Alutiiq speakers refer to axes and adzes with the term tupuuRuq, a word derived from the Russian term for an axe. However, historic sources reveal that there were once distinct Alutiiq terms for different types of adzes. The verb cikllarluku means to […]
QUIRIQ – HOARY MARMOT QUIRIT QUILITARTUT. – MARMOTS ARE FAT. The Alutiiq word for marmot may come from quili- a root word meaning fat. This in an apt description. Hoary marmots are the largest member of the squirrel family. These plump mammals that can weigh over ten pounds and eat heartily during the summer to fatten up […]
NASQUALEK – ALEUT TOWN CUUMI SUUGET NASQUALEGMI ETAALLRIIT. – PEOPLE USED TO LIVE IN ALEUT TOWN. Afognak Village grew from a pair neighboring towns—Russian Town and Aleut Town. These small communities were built about a mile apart on the western shore of Afognak Bay. At the south end of the area lay Rutkovsky village, also […]
KAUGCIRLUNI – TO HAIL LLAAMI KAUGCIRTUQ. – IT IS HAILING OUTSIDE. Hail is precipitation that forms in storm clouds and falls to Earth as pieces of ice. Hailstones are created when updrafts carry water droplets into cold air. The droplets freeze and stick to each other as air currents repeatedly cycle them through clouds. Each cycle […]