Northwest Passage – Day 8 on the ship – Pond Inlet

After two days of sailing we reached the top of Baffin Bay where we headed onto the zodiacs for a visit ashore, to Pond Inlet in the Nunavut territory. Sir John Ross (1777-1856), the Scottish explorer, named the waterway between Bylot Island and the top right of Baffin Bay as Pond’s Bay. In 1921 the Hudson’s Bay Company set up a trading post in the area, which became Pond Inlet. Today it is a small hamlet with around 1,500, mainly Inuit, people. 

Our first stop was to drink tea, prepared on a fire fuelled with Arctic Heather. When I asked if this was a hot drink made with Greenlandic flora, our host replied: “No it is Tetley’s finest,”. I think she was kidding as the ‘cuppa’ tasted of rather smoky hot water.

She then walked us to the local museum while explaining that the temperatures can reach as low as -75 degrees Celsius, and that 20 degrees is rather warm for those living in the area. She also told us her son was working at the nearby iron mine. Mining is a controversial subject. It provides jobs, income and sometimes improved amenities, but recent attempts to expand the mine have proved a hot issue not least for its environmental impact on land and marine (with its need for increased transportation by ships). Keep in mind also that hunting on land and fishing are major sources of food for the Inuit communities.

A favourite type of entertainment for visitors and the community is a display of Arctic Games exercises. These are performed competitively but also to provide physical activity and strength, essential for hunting and general wellbeing. The Arctic Winter Games were set up in 1969 and the ‘games’, as demonstrated, are tough. They include extremely high kicking where the foot touches a hanging object at least 5 feet in the air. The record is 8 feet 8 inches using two feet, and 7 feet 10 inches using one foot while the hand holds the other. There were no volunteers from the audience!

Also demonstrated was a head pull where two competitors try to pull the other’s head around. This is worsened when one realises they have their fingers in each other’s mouths to pull via the cheek. I feel uneasy just recalling the memory.

There are finger pulls where two competitors pull each other’s fingers at the same time and use their strength and pain tolerance to see who gives in first. Then there is the race across the floor, easy until one realises this is to be done lying on the floor holding the plank position and resting on one’s clenched fists and toes. This is referred to as the knuckle hop. On the word ‘go’ or the Inuit equivalent, competitors race across the floor to see who comes first. Again this is an exercise of extreme strength and pain. All of these exercises and more were demonstrated to us with pride and excitement.

We were then entertained with drum playing and traditional dancing. The drum playing was a continuous beat, somewhat soporific and again is strenuous for the player who has to dance, bend the top half of his body over the drum, and play. This is always carried out in the same way and the drummer explained to us how difficult it is to do and a strain on the back. Children often start playing this style of drum from around six years old and one youngster of 10 years was following in his community’s traditions during the performance acting out some of the exercises and drumming techniques.

These activities were all carried out by the males. The females entertained us with group singing and, as pairs, throat singing. The latter we had heard on a previous trip to the Arctic, but is always a source of amazement. It is carried out using short rhythmic inhalations and exhalations of breath, deep within the throat. Two women face each other when performing throat singing, their rhythmic tones being influenced by one another. A performance, lasting two or three minutes always ends when the first person laughs. One of the entertainers said she had been performing for the past three days and was a little hoarse. 

This is a traditional form of entertainment originally played by women during the long winter nights while their menfolk were away hunting. It was banned by Christian missionaries in the 20th century who saw it as satanic, but eventually lifted in the 1980s. It was enlightening to see that the Inuit communities are trying to keep their traditions alive. 

Some of the entertainers wore the amauti, a parka-style coat. This includes a large hood, which can appear to hold a child. Actually, the child is carried on the mother’s back in pig-a-back style. The enlarged garment is secured at the waist and other areas with a tie to prevent the child slipping down. The amauti is big enough for the mother to manoeuvre the child to the front for feeding, keeping her offspring safe from the cold and frostbite.

One of the ladies performing had a child on her back throughout and despite her bending and shaking the child was held firmly. The mother later told us her daughter was four and a half years old, and preferred being transported this way. That was exceptional and must have felt like a daily workout. Most children are held like this until they are two years old. 

Copyright: Words and photos Sue Barnard 2022