Here Comes The Sun

Team Rabbit

Every year in January, the sun begins to make its return to the community of Arctic Bay.  The days begin to get longer with the arrival of sunlight at noon.  The sun, on the other hand, hides behind the mountains.  This continues until February 6, when the sun finally climbs over the mountaintops and shines brightly for all to see.  This event is treated as a celebration for the Inuit people.  For the staff & students of Inuujaq School, the festivities would take place on February 4 & 5.

            

February 4 was a day of preparation.  Instead of afternoon classes, students were divided into their spirit teams.  The teams contain students across all grades and are named after animals found in the Arctic: Rabbit, Ptarmigan, Killer Whales, Baby Geese, Eagles, Falcons, Huskies, Polar Bears, and Narwhal.  I was assigned Team Rabbit.  "What's up Doc?" 

            

To prepare for the main event, each spirit team needed to create a mural that depicted team members welcoming the sun back to the community.  Using markers and cardboard paper, the students of Team Rabbit created an expansive landscape on a long piece of white mural paper, drawing mountains, the sun, and a colourful sky.  To represent themselves, the students drew themselves on cardboard paper, cut them out, and then glued them onto the mural.  When the mural was completed, I made sure to set it aside so that it wouldn't get damaged.

            

Only third period classes after lunch were cancelled the next day (February 5).  Instead, spirit teams were first instructed to assemble in their designated classrooms.  'Here Comes the Sun' by The Beatles played over the intercom.  When all teams were assembled, an announcement was made for everyone to head to the gym.  I brought my camera along to take pictures.  All the murals were taped on the gym's walls.  Naturally, since I had only been in town for a week, hundreds of eyes were staring at me when I entered the gymnasium.   

            

Principal Abdus Salam addresses
students and teachers.

The festivities began with the singing of 'You Are My Sunshine' in Inuktitut.  I lip-synced.  Then each spirit team's mural was judged and a winner was chosen.  Unfortunately, Team Rabbit lost and I can't remember which team won.  After the winning team was declared, team pictures were taken.  It wouldn't be a celebration without treats, so each team received an assorted amount of candy, all happily pitched by one of the Inuit teachers.  The celebration ended with another Inuktitut rendition of 'You Are My Sunshine'.  While students were exiting the gym to go back to class, I quickly snapped photos of the other murals before they were taken down.  The murals would be pasted all over the school.  Team Rabbit's mural is in my classroom above the main door.    

            

February 5 was the first day of my guitar class.  For the first class I had three students but I was told that a fourth student may enroll later.  The opening lesson focused on the course outline, parts of the guitar, how to read guitar tablature, and plucking a few notes on the strings.  I also had my students write down a list of artists they listen to so that I could transcribe some of their songs onto guitar tab.  Teaching them how to read traditional notation would come later.  The brand new tuned guitars worked fine except the sides of the frets needed filing.  If this wasn't done, then my students would get finger cuts.               

Community Hall (aka 'C Hall')

The community was also celebrating the return of the sun by having an evening feast at the Community Hall.  The feast would feature country foods - caribou, and fresh & aged narwhal.  I was hoping for seal meat but none was available.  The feast was scheduled to start at 6pm but participants were encouraged to arrive thirty minutes earlier to get a good seat.  To make sure I wouldn't cause a scene, I swallowed a Gravol pill before leaving my residence. 

            

I arrived at 5:45, not knowing what to expect.  This was my first community feast.  There probably were a few in Iqaluit but I never found the time to attend.  Inside the recently built facility, chairs were placed in a square formation around a large open space in the centre.  As more and more people continued to arrive, a large ground sheet was unrolled in the centre; this is where all the meat would be placed.  When 6pm arrived, hunters began bringing in large bags filled with caribou & narwhal.  The bags were opened and their frozen contents were dumped onto the large ground sheet.  The narwhal emitted a stinky smell but it didn't bother me because of the Gravol I consumed.  Until the word was given, no one was allowed to take anything.

            

I chatted with Barb and several high school students while the people around us got ready.  Many were holding plastic bags and large pieces of cardboard.  I brought two zip lock bags and a multi-tool.  What surprised me was the discipline of the children.  None of them touched the frozen meats on display.  I was expecting some of them to sneak away a piece but instead they played games or strategized on which pieces of meat they would take.             

The feast began with speeches from the hunters followed by a prayer in Inuktitut.  And then everyone pounced on the caribou and narwhal meats in the centre of the room.  There was no limit as to how many pieces you could take but you had to be quick because it was a free-for-all.  Don't worry, no fists were thrown.  I was able to grab one piece of frozen caribou and frozen narwhal.  I didn't go after the aged narwhal because it looked green.  I later learned that it gets this colour from being buried in the ground.

            

Many families left to eat at home but many also stayed to eat at the Community Hall.  Traditionally, the Inuit eat on the floor.  The pieces of cardboard are used as a mat for the food.  I was called over by a group of Inuit teachers who asked if I wanted to try the frozen meats?  I happily agreed and joined their circle.  I watched as they cut the raw frozen meats with their ulus.  With their curious eyes watching me, I, the Qallunaaq newcomer from down south, tried the raw caribou . . . and liked it.  Prior to this, I don't think I've ever consumed raw meat as a main course.  Eating some more, I looked around the large room, gazing at all the Inuit happily eating raw meat.  I can get used to this, I thought.

            

Next, I tried the narwhal and it was . . . an interesting taste.  Keeping a straight face, I concluded that it would take more time for my body and taste buds to accept it.  The teachers advised me to eat the narwhal with soya sauce.  As for the caribou meat, they said there were many possibilities, such as, stew and bacon wrapped roast.   

            

At around noon on February 6th, the sun made its first appearance in Arctic Bay for the 2013 year.  I made sure to capture it on camera.  From now on, the sun would rise above the mountains 10 minutes earlier everyday.