Sent: 12 Feb 2018
Received 01.03.2018
Travel Time:17 days
Sender Maureen from Anchorage, Alaska - via postcrossing.com platform - Thank you so much!
Nalukataq : naluk- 'to throw it underhand; to toss it up' + kataq) is the spring whaling festival of the Iñupiat Eskimos of Northern Alaska, especially the North Slope Borough. It is characterized by its namesake, the dramatic Eskimo blanket toss. "Marking the end of the spring whaling season," Nalukataq creates, "a sense of being for the entire community and for all who want a little muktuk or to take part in the blanket toss....At no time, however, does Nalukataq relinquish its original purpose, which is to recognize the annual success and prowess of each umialik, or whaling crew captain....Nalukataq [traditions] have always reflected the process of survival inherent in sharing...crucial to...the Arctic."
After the spring whale hunting season, successful crews celebrate with a Nalukataq festival. Associated with the summer solstice, these take place in June, and are scheduled to avoid conflicts between villages in order to allow friends and relatives from distant communities to share the bounty and the fun. In Barrow, for example, Nalukataq is usually held in the third week of June. Other villages may be in the week before or the week after. Scheduling depends on how many whales were caught as well as other factors. (wiki)
It is interesting that now this activity is a fun game, but in the past was an activity specific for Eskimo Hunt. The blanket toss is now conducted as entertainment, but it didn’t originate that way. The Iñupiaq hunter would be tossed in the air, enabling them to see across the horizon to hunt game. Now thirty or more Iñupiaq gather in a circle, holding the edges of a large skin made from walrus hides, and toss someone into the air as high as possible. The person being tossed throws gifts into the crowd and loses their turn when they lose their balance. The object: to maintain balance and return to the blanket without falling over.
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