Monday, July 4, 2011

Chow Time!

 Often, in the morning, I was the second or third one up and about. Hanko was always first up and always (bless him) had a pot of coffee made. Uvlaalluataq (good morning) he would greet me as I walked into the kitchen tent (which is where he and our other guide slept). On our second morning he pointed out the ring around the sun, what I know as a sun dog. "It's going to get windy today", he said. "That's what that means. Also if you see a mirage of mountains above the mountains, it also means it will get windy". This may not be how you normally get your weather predictions, but I learned Hanko's methods were more reliable than the weather service!

The first two days we camped, the weather was nice, prompting the morning greeting of "aarigaa sila" [it's very good weather]. We had Stevie's young daughter (aged 9) with us at camp for several days and she seemed fascinated with the bugs and spiders she was trying to oust from the kitchen tent. On our third night there, she killed a spider. Stevie told her she shouldn't kill the spiders because that would bring rain. Hmm, I'd never heard that one before (must live a sheltered life as many of my fellow campers had heard of it). That night the pitter patter of raindrops could be heard on our tents. The next day it poured! I donned full rain gear and vowed never to kill another spider (at least while out camping).

I had to laugh as we had spam and eggs for breakfast on our first day camping. I laugh only because Spam is the butt of many jokes here in Alaska. I must say, it tasted particularly good that day. Everything tastes better when you are camping...it's a good thing, as we tasted many different things while on our trip.

That brings me to the polar bear. First I should remind you that we are camping in the middle of two bodies of water. We could hear a fair amount of gunshots as natchiq (hair seal) and ugruk (bearded seal) were spotted. The hunters were intent on catching as many as they could since Qagruk (the celebration of the whales caught in the Spring) was just days away and the community needed to be fed. Naturally, all this catching of seals also attracted polar bears. One morning we heard one had been caught as it was swimming to shore. I was thankful to that hunter as I've never been particularly anxious to have my first encounter with a polar bear.
That night, I had my first taste of polar bear meat. (Our instructor had been to town visiting friends and relatives and was gifted with some meat from the bear that was caught). Yes, I was a little hesitant, but how do you know what it's like if you don't try, and try I did. It does not taste like chicken! It tastes like red meat with a hint of sea food flavor...just a hint. I actually thought it was quite tasty. It's very tender. I later found out the meat has to be cooked for at least two hours to avoid trichinosis. In fact, one can die from eating even the very smallest bit of the polar bear liver.

Lest we think it is an easy feat to catch a polar bear, consider the following:

An Eskimo hunter once saw a polar bear far off across flat ice, where he couldnít stalk it without being seen.  But he knew an old technique of mimicking a seal.  He lay down in plain sight, conspicuous in his dark parka and pants, then lifted and dropped his head like a seal, scratched the ice and imitated flippers with his hands. The bear mistook his pursuer for prey. Each time the hunter lifted his head the animal kept still; whenever the hunter was still, the bear crept closer. When it came near enough, a gunshot pierced the snowy silence. That night, polar bear meat was shared among the villagers. 
 
A traditional hunter plumbs the depth of his intellect - his capacity to manipulate complex knowledge.  But he also delves into his animal nature, drawing from intuitions of sense and body and heart; feeling the winds touch, listening for the tick of moving ice, peering from crannies, hiding himself as if he were the hunted. He moves in a world of eyes, where everything watches - the bear, the seal, the wind, the moon and stars, the drifting ice, the silent waters below. He is beholden to powers greater than his own.
(excerpted from www.alaskanativescience.org)

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