6507_2EngCoverspine_bleed2.qxd 5/1/06 10:41 AM Page 1 INTERVIEWINGPerspectives INUIT onELDERS Traditional Health erspectives on Traditional Health P INTERVIEWING INUIT ELDERS Ilisapi Ootoova, Tipuula Qaapik Atagutsiak, Tirisi Ijjangiaq, Jaikku Pitseolak, Aalasi Joamie, Akisu Joamie, Malaija Papatsie 5 Edited by Michèle Therrien and Frédéric Laugrand 6507.5_Fre 5/1/06 9:11 AM Page 239 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page 1 INTERVIEWING INUIT ELDERS Volume 5 Perspectives on Traditional Health Ilisapi Ootoova, Tipuula Qaapik Atagutsiak, Tirisi Ijjangiaq, Jaikku Pitseolak, Aalasi Joamie, Akisu Joamie, Malaija Papatsie Edited by Michèle Therrien and Frédéric Laugrand 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page 2 Interviewing Inuit Elders Volume 5 Perspectives on Traditional Health Copyright © 2001 Nunavut Arctic College, and Ilisapi Ootoova, Tipuula Qaapik Atagutsiak, Tirisi Ijjangiaq, Jaikku Pitseolak, Aalasi Joamie, Akisu Joamie, Malaija Papatsie, Michèle Therrien, Frédéric Laugrand and participating students (as listed within). Photos courtesy: Dr. Andrus Voitk; Dr. Susan Aiken and Dr. Kathy Conlan, Canadian Museum of Nature; Dr. Scott Redhead, Agriculture Canada; and Jane Tagak. Cover illustration “Man and Animals” by Lydia Japoody. Design and production by Nortext (Iqaluit). All rights reserved. The use of any part of this publication, reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system, without written consent of the publisher is an infringement of the copyright law. ISBN 1-896-204-35-X Published by the Language and Culture Program of Nunavut Arctic College, Iqaluit, with the generous support of the Pairijait Tigummivik Elders Society. For order information: Nunavut Arctic College Library Box 600 Iqaluit, Nunavut X0A 0H0 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page i Table of Contents ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS i MAP ii INTRODUCTION: Strong Mind, Resilient Body: A global approach 1 Passing down knowledge orally 3 Value of experience and need for restoring practices 4 The power of words 5 The courses 6 Sharing knowledge 6 Format of the book 7 PART ONE: TUNUNIRMIUT ELDERS (North Baffin) 9 Chapter 1: Sick Body: Diagnoses and Treatments 11 Cuts and wounds 11 The blood and nutrition 20 Lice 22 The use of seal oil for medicinal purposes 24 Midwifery and childbirth 28 Preparing oil for the qulliq 36 Skin diseases 40 Diagnosing sickness in the body 45 Ear and eye ailments 51 Seizures 59 Allergies and infections 63 Medicinal plants 66 Sickness before and after the arrival of the whalers 74 Different categories of illness 77 Chapter 2: Physical Disorders and Mental States: Cultural Representations and Answers 79 Physical and mental resilience 79 Body aches and constipation 92 Narunalattijuq, sickness that travels through the body; depression, and the value of conversation 95 Childrearing 100 The need to return to traditional midwifery 107 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page ii Broken bones and dislocated joints 109 Headaches 113 Swallowing polyps 114 Treating eye infections with lice 114 Hypothermia 115 Sore throats 116 Burns 117 Disabilities and death 119 Pittailiniit, ritual prohibitions; and angakkuuniq, shamanism 121 Dreams 129 Aqtuqsinniq, paralyzing nightmares 130 Beliefs 133 Old sayings 135 Premonitions 140 PART TWO: UQQURMIUT ELDERS (South Baffin) 145 Chapter 3: Aanniasiutigijauvaktuviniit, Materials Used for Healing; and Childbirth 147 Uses of oil 147 Medicinal plants 151 Treating botulism 162 Childbirth 163 Sipiniq, sex transformation 181 Breast milk 182 Menstruation 184 Delivery 186 Premonitions 191 Infrequently used words 192 Chapter 4: Mamisaijjusituqait: Counselling and Healing Practices 195 Different categories of illness 195 Relations between men and women 202 Effects of the weather on the body 205 The relationship between illness and the environment 207 Practices before the introduction of bio-medicine: the uses of amulets and other objects 209 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page iii Uqumangirniq, paralyzing nightmares; and itillimaniq, sleepwalking 219 Remedies for aches and pains 225 Drowning 228 Disinfectants and soaps 231 Slings, splints, and scalpels 233 Lice 238 Chapter 5: The Importance of Thoughts, Feelings, and Words 239 Attitudes towards physical disabilities 239 Hurtful words and social withdrawal 241 Uqaujjigiarutiit, advice on living a good life 256 Chapter 6: Piruqtuit, Plants of the Land 261 Introduction 261 Mosses, lichens, and plants growing on the ground 262 Grasses 266 Shrubs and trees 267 Berries 271 Flowering plants 274 Algae 276 Additional lexicon related to plants 277 Nunaup manningit, earth eggs 279 APPENDIX: Angakkuuniq; Shamanism 281 Naalauttajiit, those predicting the future 281 Tupilait, lost souls 282 Seeking a longer life 284 Sakaniq, a shaman calling for his helping spirits 284 Qaggilutit, gathering in the ceremonial house 285 CONCLUSION 289 GLOSSARY 305 REFERENCES 319 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page iv 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS With much heartfelt gratitude we would like to thank the Pairijait Tigummivik Society for funding the publication costs for this series. Without their contribution this series may not have become a reality. Nick Newbery Nick Newbery d/oic7mE4Lt4 scsy3u[l wo7fy3u[k wo8ix3ioEJ5 kNK5 yM5g6n3F1u d/8N¨DmK5 XwE/w5 tA7uF4f8i4 ®Ns/6bc6t5tJ8N3mb sfx n6rtbsJ8N3i4nzk5. giy8i`Q2Xb sfx WbcoC/`QM5. 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/0610:22AMPagevi ii 1 19 18 17 16 8 20 2 6 3 11 25 9 Map 12 4 24 22 23 10 21 26 5 7 13 14 15 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/0610:22AMPagevii 1 nirlx6 Sanikiluaq Sanikiluaq 14 u5tmbo4 Pond Inlet Mittimatalik 2 r7uD5 Kimmirut Kimmirut 15 NiyF4 Nanisivik Nanisivik 3 wclw5 Iqaluit Iqaluit 16 w[loÛ3J4 Chesterfield Inlet Igluligaarjuk 4 X8i6©6 Pangnirtung Panniqtuuq 17 vq 6Oi6 Rankin Inlet Kangiq&iniq 5 er6b3Jx6 Qikiqtarjuaq Qikiqtarjuaq 18 trC3Jx6 Whale Cove Tikirarjuaq 6 r`Zw5 Cape Dorset Kinngait 19 x3Fx5 Arviat Arviat 7 vq6gÛW4 Clyde River Kangiqtugaapik 20 cmi5gx6 Baker Lake Qamanittuaq 8 n9o6 Coral Harbour Salliq 21 bl3Jx6 Taloyoak Talurjuaq 9 niC/4 Hall Beach Sanirajak 22 s6h6©6 Gjoa Haven Uqsuqtuuq 10 w[lo4 Igloolik Iglulik 23 wcl4©4tx6 Cambridge Bay Iqaluktuuttiaq 11 Ns÷5 Repulse Bay Naujaat 24 su1m4©6 Bay Chimo Umingmaktuuq 12 x3Fo[Jx6 Pelly Bay Arviligjuaq 25 ezs4 Bathurst Inlet Kingauk 13 gkiDy6 Arctic Bay Tununirusiq 26 d3l6g6 Kugluktuk Qurluqtuq 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page viii 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page 1 Introduction “The mind is so powerful that it can take over the body” (Akisu Joamie) Strong Mind, Resilient Body: A global approach hile discussing traditional health practices and medical knowledge, one could expect elders to give a list of the best techniques to cure sickness depending Won the various types of health problems or injuries they were facing in the past: how to deal with boils, infections, fever, eye infections colds, broken bones, drowning, and so on. But the Inuit perspective encompasses much more. Along with techniques to heal cuts and wounds, and to cure sicknesses (see also Meeko, 1989; Anonymous, 1998), elders discussed recollections of how to develop a strong mind and a resilient body. It is important to make clear that in Inuit societies medical knowledge never existed as an autonomous and formal body of knowledge as in modern Western societies. Though many practices are described in detail in this book, most of the elders’ testimonies are of a more general nature, the main concern being life and consciousness in all their dimensions. Specific techniques are therefore part of a broader discourse, for the elders describe and comment on inherited conceptions or values: a complete cosmology is made available in which life and health are approached globally (see also Therrien and Qumaq, 1995). Elders stress that only a strong mind allows for a healthy body. The body is hence to be put in close relation with all human experiences including quality of interpersonal relationships, quality of the relations to the environment and game, and quality of relations to the deceased and the spirits. Regarding the last point, dreams, for example, are still considered most important, according to the elders. In fact, health is conceived less as a personal matter, as in Western societies, than as a harmonious order in which the person is integrated in an encompassing social, temporal, spiritual and non-empirical environment. Conversely, when elders differentiate between body and mind, they tend to underline their complementarity and to stress their close interrelationship, because every person is linked to a broader physical, animal and social environment. If mind and body are so deeply bound together, it can then be easily understood why biological disorders are often interpreted as the expression of social-order deterioration. One can also understand why Inuit still consider an animal substance such as seal oil as having both the ability to energize the body by warming it up and to prevent or heal many health problems. According to the Introduction 1 6507_2EnglishVol_5.qxd 5/1/06 10:22 AM Page 2 elders, seal oil appears essential for health, especially because “marine mammal oil is well recognized by the body” and, on a larger scale, because seal oil plays a key role in Inuit tradition: Seal oil is still used today. Amongst all the animals, the seal is the most useful. Although the seal is really small compared to some animals, it is extremely useful. It is the most abundant. It is easier to catch than many other animals. Its blubber is used for food, and for heat. Seal oil is used to waterproof kamiik and of course for healing. (Tipuula Qaapik Atagutsiak) As a rule, providing specific desired foods to a sick person was considered very helpful in the past: For example, if a sick person desired aged meat or fish, even if they didn’t have any personally, the family would seek what the person wanted to eat from neighbours.