Finally, Going to Sleep in the Igloo!!

I could not believe my good luck. After last weekend, which was the last weekend that we could arrange for me to be off call, and the blizzards that happened that week, there definitely seemed to be little chance of me going out and sleeping in the igloo. Then the Midwifery Supervisor said to me…”of course, we will try and arrange it. We can have a nurse go on call for you”. The excitement was palpable, except that after all the hype I really thought it would not happen, again.

Luckily I was wrong. Where the previous weekend, which was Easter we had planned to go on Friday, with a default on Saturday, and another on Sunday, this time, we were going Saturday after activities that needed doing. It meant not leaving until 17:00. Late, I thought.

So at 17:00 I went over to Dawn’s home. She and Leslie were coming along with Taffy, one of the dogs. Originally Dawn said we would take Mitzi as well, for our own entertainment. Mitzi is a puppy, about 6-8 months old. It would have been hilarious watching her help pull the komatik (sled), as she LOVED to pull, but had no idea about anything except playing with other dogs. However, she was having her first heat, so that would not work with the other dogs, many of whom were still male.

Dawn and Leslie had everything packed, so we moved it all (food, clothing, rifle, first aid kit, etc) out to the sled and the skido, which Leslie was riding, and packed it down. We then untied Taffy, said goodbye to Mitzi and Jack (another dog), and pulled the sled behind the skido to the dog lot.

The sled dogs heard us coming and were so excited. They always are. These dogs love to race or pull, depending on their strength and the length of their legs. Those with longer legs and shorter fur usually race (and are known for being less smart). Those with longer fur usually pull. We repacked everything onto the komatik and the skido (although I had unpacked the skido thinking we were all going on the komatik, and then it was repacked). The dogs were put into harnesses and then ran, or were walked to their places. Dawn ran to the back of the komatik and we were off.

We raced out of Johnson’s Cove and around the bend, then as the dogs had finished their initial burst of energy we went past Rankin, and through the skido racing area. The sun was beautiful and sun dogs were present as we rode along. Due to the blizzards that week the sea ice was quite rough. We had to watch where we were going as the komatik was up and down with the drifts. The dogs tried to go around most of them, or avoid areas with unstable drifts totally. This is one of the jobs of the lead dogs, to sort the exact route.

About two hours later, we could see a group of rocks ahead of us. It did not look like there was any way through the rocks. The skido came over and Leslie asked where the route was. As we got closer it was obvious, and, of course, the dogs knew exactly where they were going. Through the rocks and the cabin was soon visible. The igloo was built behind the cabin, so that persons going on Toomie tours could have the opportunity of staying overnight.

We arrived at about 20:00. It was beautiful. The sun was still relatively high in the sky. The sundogs were around the sun. The snow was brilliant. We tethered the dogs, except Taffy. She had free range as she was the look out. If a polar bear came nearby she would warn us, and Dawn could go out with rifle and scare them away. The rifle was strictly for protection on this trip. We then went around the cabin and down to get ice for water and check out the igloo.

It was sad. You could tell where it had been, and that it was not in good shape. Dawn put a foot on the top and it caved. It is not supposed to do that, but the sun had been so hot that it had melted. We could see the furs still in there, where we would have slept. Apparently they were well used, as the dogs, Taffy and Jack, had been loose on a previous trip and had decided to sleep on them, and bite them, and tear them apart. So, really there were bits of fur on the sleeping ledges. I took some pictures and accepted the fact that we would be sleeping in the cabin that night.

As we went back Dawn picked up a piece of ice, slung it over her shoulder and walked. A very funny sight, sort of like a caveman, with his ice over his shoulder. This though was ice from a lake that had been cut especially for water, and we would be melting it on the coleman stove. It was our water supply for the night.

We went inside. The cabin is small. It is one room, with a small loft for sleeping, which would not be good if you were claustrophobic. The ceiling was about 3 feet high above the sleeping pad, in the middle. Sleeping bags were good to 100 below 0 so we knew we would be warm. Needless to say, when we finally went to bed, we did wear hats, sweaters and long underwear, and took hot water bottles.

But first, we had to warm up. The cabin heated up remarkably quickly with the coleman stove. We started out in jackets, vests, sweaters, scarves and slowly took everything off. The water was melted, and we also had tea left in the thermos, so fortified tea was the first order. Then we had supper...rockin morrocan stew...a mix of yams and chick peas with assorted other veggies. By 21:30 it was dark. We went outside and were greeted by the Northern Lights. This is not usually a good time for them, but they were gamboling across the sky beautifully, just for our night out. While we were out Taffy decided to get off the fur of the komatik and come and visit, or maybe pretend that she was guarding us well.

(One of the questions everyone has is about voiding when you are out. There are no facilities. It is -10 or colder. What do you do? You find a place downwind, and you are FAST. Everyone is concerned about how cold they will get, but really, it is your hands that get cold. Everything else stays okay for the one or two minutes you are bare.)

We played Sequencing, a good card game that is easily played by the light of a Coleman lamp, and then decided to retire.

There was no noise at all. In the forest you hear the trees shuffling in the wind. You hear birds singing, and animals pawing. In the snow above the tree line, you hear nothing. Luckily, for us, we continued to hear nothing through the night, there were no polar bears.

Morning came, but not so early. We were up about 7am. Time for breakfast...eggs, bannock, toast and oatmeal. Delicious. We messed around in the cabin, cleaning for the next folks to use it, talking, laughing and then packed up.

I had been trying, for several weeks, to take a video of the dogs, as they left. They are so excited and cannot wait to get going. As we packed the komatik the dogs started to stand up and get excited. Some started to shake. They knew what was happening. After everything was packed up, we attached them to their ropes, fan style. One needs to understand that this has to be a very fast process. The brakes on the komatik will not necessarily hold back the dogs, as they love to run. Once the last dog is in their place, everyone has to be in their places except the musher. They then have to run to the back of the komatik, release the brake, or untie the sled and you are off. And it is fast.

Coming out to the cabin had not been such fun for the dogs. The temperature was almost up to 0 degrees, and they are not as comfortable in that. This morning it was -10 and that is a very happy temperature for them.

Dawn jumped on the komatik, yelled "ati", although that was almost unnecessary. The dogs can feel as soon as the sled is loose and are off.

We passed all the same sights, in reverse. I had given my camera to Leslie and she took some good pictures and videos of us riding back to town. We had brilliant sunshine again, and another beautiful Arctic day. The sea ice was no smoother, the skido riders were practicing, and the dogs were happy.

We unloaded everything, put the dogs back in their places in the dog lot, and left them very happy. We all headed home for showers and late lunches.

Although sleeping in an igloo had been a great dream, the trip itself was amazing. One day, I may be lucky enough to actually sleep in an igloo, but for the moment, dog sled rides, and being "on the land" is enough. It was a fine adventure.

The Drumdancer Competition

THE DRUMDANCER COMPETITION.

Drums have always been one of my favourite things. Most people seem to feel the same way. Nothing is better than bagpipes and drums, except perhaps drums by themselves, although the bagpipes add such an eeriness that you feel your kundalini energy rising in your backbone when you listen to them.

So, when I heard there was a drumdancer competition coming to Rankin I was totally excited. And then I heard it would be after I left. Yes, "I heard" is the correct way to describe this event. Nobody seemed to know about it until a few days before it was announced, other than that there was to be one. One of the reasons, for sure, that people did not know about it, is that many of my friends do not speak Inuktituk, and so do not listen to local radio, which they could not understand, but which makes all the announcements for the community. (Local radio is great.)

You can phone in with an announcement at any time. They will put it on, and replies, may come in. Some divers wanted meat...it was put on the air, and they received muskox, caribou, whale. I wanted a bear carving, so another midwife put out the announcement that if you had a really nice bear carving to come to the Wellness centre the next day at 11. My carving arrived. It works very well. You can also hear announcements like...Lila Tatty, phone home. Local radio is a great communication tool.

One of the Midwives mentioned at work one day that the Drumdancer competition started that evening. Okay, what time...don't know, where...community centre, and they would listen to the announcements and let me know.

That afternoon we learned it started at 6:00. When would it end....when it did!! Obvious. So that night I went over to the community centre at 7:30 and it was in full swing. At first it was interesting to watch everything that was going on.

The drumdancers and singers themselves sat at the end of the centre and in chairs in the middle of the centre. Observers sat around the edges and some on the floor, mostly children. There were many elders that I had not seen previously, and everybody also brought their children. So, lots of activity was happening.

The first night I was mesmerized by the singers and the drumming itself. There were about 6-10 singers that rotated in and out. They sang different chants, which I later learned were the stories that the drummers were acting out. The singers ranged in age from teenagers to elders.

There were also a few women. The Midwives said that it was actually traditional for some women, but not many to be storytellers.

The drumdancers, I later learned, did not actually hit the fabric part of their drums, but rather the frame. The frames were moved back and forth so they could hit first one side and then the other.

After the competition was over one of the Midwives was travelling, and taking a drum to a friend. She told me that she had helped make it and it took at least four people. You had to take the wood and bend it, by hand, to form a ring, and then cover it with fabric. They were all fabric, although older pictures show them as fur. Drumdancing is quite strenuous, and a fur drum would be heavy and harder to use.

At the end of the evening I left with many questions. Most of the answers came from our receptionists and Midwives the next day. One of the most important questions was about shamanism in the North. Drumdancers, though, are not shamans, but story tellers. There have always been a few female drumdancers. They dance to various legends, and talk about hunts, but different areas have different costumes, different looking drums, and different types of legends.

One of the dances was done by an elder man and woman team. The woman was dancing and the man singing and drumming. After a time they switched places.

The competition went on for four nights. The third night it was followed by a square dance. Wanting to see this for myself, as there were many reports about them, I went to the community centre at 21:30. It was supposed to start at 21:00. Many adults were there, from teens to elders to dance, but the dance had not started. The drumdancers were putting on an impromptu performance, as there were so many people there, and no dancing yet. The square dances do not have callers. Many people say they are more like jigs, in that everyone knows the moves and goes out and dances. Apparently they are strenuous and everyone is in a sweat within five minutes of the start, and each dance goes on for at least twenty minutes. One of the nurses told me she had been asked to dance, and had literally been manoeuvred around the floor by all the dancers in her square. She said it was very hectic, and much fun.

The Friday night there was a community feast. I had been to two previously and knew that was not a place for a vegetarian (me), so had not gone. Feasts had changed somewhat in my nine months in the north. They now usually had servers. This one did not, and was much more traditional than most. The floor was laid out with large pieces of cardboard and the meat was placed on it for everyone to eat. The meat was raw or frozen, as is traditional, and you cut off what you want with your ulu, and usually eat it with your hands. I later wished that I had been there, since this does not happen all the time, but was similar to the Elder's picnic that was held just after my arrival in this community.

The feast was to be the end of the celebration, however, it turned out that there was lots of drumdancing after the feast.

The last night seemed to be the best of the best. It included a demonstation of dancers from Cambridge Bay. This area in the western Arctic has quite different story telling than the east. They had three teens doing the demonstration, two girls and a guy. They took turns dancing, singing and drumming.

This last evening a dance done by a father and son team, with the son, about 6-8 years old was repeated. The young boy danced with his eyes closed, making appropriate yells and screechs in all the right places. They were quite amazing.

I felt very privileged to have been able to attend this event.