When we arrive on the second day of Quaraq, much work has been done to the site. Wind breaks have been erected for the comfort of the participants---and I might add, they were heartily welcomed. Even though it was a partly sunny day, the wind was blowing and it was rather nippy without the protection of the windbreaks.
This day is marked with blessings from several pastors, once again giving thanks for the bounty and "gift of the whale" bestowed upon the community. The village is a ghost town as the entire community has gathered for the festivities. All of the umailiks speak to the people gathered. Each has a message of humble thanks to God, to their crews, to the community for their support and the message conveying the tradition of sharing with the community. While they are speaking, the wind is gusting and they must project their voices to be heard by the crowd that has gathered. The raspiness in their voices are indicators of the non-stop work they have been involved in during the past week. Consider how exhausted these folks are. They have been preparing for days for the feast and most have gotten little if any sleep. The women have been cooking, the men have either been hunting or most recently constructing the windbreak structures.
There is much anticipation in the crowd, as there will be distribution of more of the whale harvest. Of note in my observations was the traditional dress worn by several members of the community. Fur parkas, maklaks, and atiqluks were in abundance.
On this day, each of the whaling crews distribute the meat from the tale of the whales they have caught.
Before anyone arrived that morning, crew members had delivered the whale tails to the feast site. After the thanksgiving speeches were completed, they broke out their knives and began slicing the tails into individual portions. First of all, take a close look at those knives. They are extremely sharp. We actually found one just like this on the beach last summer. We asked our neighbor what the protocol was in such a find and he basically said, "finders keepers." The crew members work furiously, slicing the tails into individual portions. They must work quickly as the main event on this day is the distribution of the slices to the crowd. It doesn't surprise me how quickly they slices are cut, I noticed this furious workpace last fall when we noted that the three whales caught in Barrow had been totally butchered in the space of 4 hours.
Once there are ample slices to distribute, the umailiks and their wives call out to the crowd for either individuals or certain groups to come up and get a share. Individuals might be called as they are special friends, respected colleagues, relatives...whatever. Groups included pastors, families, folks who had never caught a whale, folks who had...pretty much anything they thought up. As we had been told by our guides, the protocol was to get your slice and take a bite as you walked back to your seat...showing your appreciation.
Finally, near the end of the distribution, apples and oranges and sodas were handed out by crew members. These were particularly enjoyed by the children among us!
When we arrive on the second day of Quaraq, much work has been done to the site. Wind breaks have been erected for the comfort of the participants---and I might add, they were heartily welcomed. Even though it was a partly sunny day, the wind was blowing and it was rather nippy without the protection of the windbreaks.
This day is marked with blessings from several pastors, once again giving thanks for the bounty and "gift of the whale" bestowed upon the community. The village is a ghost town as the entire community has gathered for the festivities. All of the umailiks speak to the people gathered. Each has a message of humble thanks to God, to their crews, to the community for their support and the message conveying the tradition of sharing with the community. While they are speaking, the wind is gusting and they must project their voices to be heard by the crowd that has gathered. The raspiness in their voices are indicators of the non-stop work they have been involved in during the past week. Consider how exhausted these folks are. They have been preparing for days for the feast and most have gotten little if any sleep. The women have been cooking, the men have either been hunting or most recently constructing the windbreak structures.
There is much anticipation in the crowd, as there will be distribution of more of the whale harvest. Of note in my observations was the traditional dress worn by several members of the community. Fur parkas, maklaks, and atiqluks were in abundance. 
On this day, each of the whaling crews distribute the meat from the tale of the whales they have caught. 
Before anyone arrived that morning, crew members had delivered the whale tails to the feast site. After the thanksgiving speeches were completed, they broke out their knives and began slicing the tails into individual portions. First of all, take a close look at those knives. They are extremely sharp. We actually found one just like this on the beach last summer. We asked our neighbor what the protocol was in such a find and he basically said, "finders keepers." The crew members work furiously, slicing the tails into individual portions. They must work quickly as the main event on this day is the distribution of the slices to the crowd. It doesn't surprise me how quickly they slices are cut, I noticed this furious workpace last fall when we noted that the three whales caught in Barrow had been totally butchered in the space of 4 hours.
Once there are ample slices to distribute, the umailiks and their wives call out to the crowd for either individuals or certain groups to come up and get a share. Individuals might be called as they are special friends, respected colleagues, relatives...whatever. Groups included pastors, families, folks who had never caught a whale, folks who had...pretty much anything they thought up. As we had been told by our guides, the protocol was to get your slice and take a bite as you walked back to your seat...showing your appreciation.
Finally, near the end of the distribution, apples and oranges and sodas were handed out by crew members. These were particularly enjoyed by the children among us!
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