Alaska Native Collections – Sharing Knowledge

2002

Identifying

Aron Crowell: So, could we talk first of all, what all these different furs are?

John Phillip, Sr.: Wolverine-am terikanira-am pamyua.

(It is a wolverine’s tail.)

Neva Rivers: Mana-ll’ reindeer-am.

(This is reindeer.)

John Phillip, Sr.: Qanganaat. Canek-im squirrel-anek pilaqait?

(Squirrels. What do they call squirrels?)

Joan Hamilton: Ground squirrel, qanganaat.

Aron Crowell: Okay, so this is reindeer, ground squirrel, and wolverine tail. How about these little tassels here?

Nena Rivers: Qavcikuyuuyugnarquq.

(I think its pieces of wolverine.)

Joan Hamilton: Tungulria cauga [What is the black part]?

John Phillip, Sr.: Qecuillil.

(It’s probably skin.)

Nena Rivers: Wallu-qaa tengmiam tukullekai? . . . Qugyuut tukullgitneng pingqetulriit. Kenugucitulriit. Qugyuut tukullrit amiirluki tungulria.

(Or could it be bird feet? . . . They used to have ones with swan feet. They made decorations. They removed the black part of the swan feet.)

John Phillip, Sr.: Ii-i. Meqcirat-ll’, atak tuaten ilait ayuqelallrulriit nayiit, issurit-llu. Qeciit tuaten tunguluteng.

(Yes. The aged skins, I bet some looked like that, the hair seals and spotted seals. Their skin was black.) (1)

Nena Rivers: Looks like qugyuk [swan]. Qugyuum tukullrim pikaa tauna.

(That one is swan’s foot.)

John Phillip, Sr.: Mengtutatii cuqeqnganateng-wa itgaita qeciita.

(Seems like it was measured, the skin of the foot.)

Nena Rivers: I think that’s the kind they use only to make it look fancier.

Tinting

Virginia Minock: The white part, that’s colored.

Neva Rivers: The ones that were kept, were kept for a long time. . . Maybe by the time they are going to sell them they tinted it.

Aron Crowell: With alder?

Joan Hamilton: With natural colors.

Difference between caribou and reindeer

Virginia Minock: Tuntupik is ‘reindeer.‘ (2)

John Phillip, Sr.: Tuntuviit [moose] . . . . Caribou-at allaugut, reindeer-at tuntut . . . . Caribou-t tuntuyagarnek pilarait augkut . . . Tuntupiatun ayuq . . . tuntupianek pilaryaqut, qanlaryaaqut taugaam wii cauciitelaranka . . . . Caucingeksaitanka niitnaraaqa. Taugaam ukut wani-w’ tuntut caribou-t nallunritanka ayuqenritut.

(Caribou is different and reindeer are tuntut . . . . They call the caribou small reindeer. . . They are the same as caribou. . . they call them tuntupiaq and speak of them, but I don’ t know what it is . . . . I never figured out what a tuntupik is but I hear of them. I know what a reindeer is and a caribou and they are not the same.)

Joan Hamilton: Qangvaq taugaam Nunivamun ayautellruatki? Akaurcessiyaallrunrituq. Imumi tuntut anguyaggarluki tamani pillruyukluki? Wallu-q’ civuani tuntungqellruut?

(When did they take them to Nunivak? It’s not too long ago. I thought the reindeer were brought after the war? Or did they have reindeer before that time?)

John Phillip, Sr.: Maaten ellangua tuntutarluni.

(When I became aware of life there were reindeer.)

Joan Hamilton: Qangvaq yurtellrusit?

(When were you born?)

John Phillip, Sr.: 1925.

Function

Aron Crowell: Who would wear this? Is this for a man or a woman?

Virginia Minock: Angutem-w’ pillikii. Nunivaarmiut-wa nallukeput.

(It is probably for men. We don’t know the people of Nunivak.)

John Phillip, Sr.: Makuciturluteng wani Nunivaarmiut tekitelallruut kiagungraan, angutet.

(The Nunivak men would arrive wearing these kinds even in the summer.)

Joan Hamilton: Angayuqaungameng-qaa pilallruut? Wallu-q’ tamalk . . . piciatun-qaa aturyuumaluki?

(They did that because they were the leaders? Or did all … anyone was able to wear them?

John Phillip, Sr.: Nalqigcesscigatanka Nunivaarmiunguvkenii tua wii wani-wa. Piciatun kiuyumiitua wiinga.

(I can’t explain because I am not from Nunivak. I don’t want to give just any answer.)

Joan Hamilton: Kina tua ilumun tua, kina tua uumeng, makucimeng aturluni tekiskan una tangerrluku camiungullra nallunricaran.

(It is true that if someone came wearing certain clothing you would recognize where he is from by the type of clothing he wore.)

John Phillip, Sr.: Ii-i. Taugaam taktuaneng wani tangeqsaitellruunga taktalrianek taugaam nanillritnek.

(Yes. I never saw long ones. I saw shorter ones than these.)

Neva Rivers: Maybe this was supposed to be for the dressing up for dancing, or something—celebrating.

Joan Hamilton: It’s possible . . . When you look at it, it looks like it would get in the way of mobility. So, automatically you think its for some kind ceremonial use. Because, like [John] said, they wore shorter ones, [that were] functional. . . . And it’s the same thing with the placement of the decorations, its family and regional distinctions.

Trade

Joan Hamilton: Cayarturluteng tekitlallruat? Naverniarluteng? . . . Caneng naverniarluteng?

(What was the reason they went there? To trade? . . . What did they trade?)

John Phillip, Sr.: Seal, oil, seal oil, trading it to Bethel to take it over . . . imkunek-llu [also those] walrus, walrus flippers

Joan Hamilton: Ii-i [yes], walrus flippers. Coastal food that’s not readily available upriver.

Aron Crowell: So they’d be bringing that from Nunivak and what would they be taking home?

John Phillip, Sr.: Trade-arluteng. Wagguq [ ] akluteng pilallrukait neqaullrutaitnek iliini. . . Taugken iliini akinek akinek trade-arluteng piaqluteng akikartangellrani. . . .

akirarnun ilait tamakut uqut, putukuat-ll’ imkut naverutaqluki. Tuaten ayuqellruut.

(They traded. They [traded] their clothing and their kinds of food sometimes. Sometimes they traded for money after money became available. . . . some traded for a little bit of money for seal oil, and traded for flippers. That is how it was.)

Joan Hamilton: Putukuat [their feet]. Oh, ii-i [yes]. It was more with trading food and clothing. Later on, money. . . G.od, it’s so beautiful. Cuna-w’ waten pitullrulriakut tangerrsugnaqelrianeng. . . . Mana tau-g tangraqamki cuna-w’ tau niitlalriaten maani artwork. Tuaten tava tangraqamki makut umyuateqnaurtua.

(I didn’t know we had such beautiful things like this that are beautiful to look at. . . . When I see this it’s what you hear of artwork. When I see them I think of that.)

[From discussions with Joan Hamilton (Yupiit Piciryarait Cultural Center and Museum), Virginia Minock, John Phillip, Sr. and Neva Rivers at the National Museum of Natural History and National Museum of the American Indian, 4/22/2002-4/26/2002. Also participating: Aron L. Crowell, William Fitzhugh, and Stephen Loring (NMNH), Suzi Jones (Anchorage Museum), and Ann Fienup-Riordan.]

According to the Yup’ik Eskimo Dictionary, meqciraq—singular of meqcirat—means “skin soaked so that the hair will come off,” a process often referred to as “aging” a skin.

According to the Yup’ik Eskimo Dictionary, a tuntu is a “caribou” and also “reindeer” [singular; plural is tuntu]. To distinguish between the two, a caribou is sometimes called tuntupik or tuntupiaq [literally, ‘genuine caribou’] and tuntu is applied to reindeer. Tuntuvak is “moose.”