Qammaq and Kayak

Description

Condition:          No condition noted.

Description by Artist:     No description by artist found.

Notes from DaVic Gallery:   Hunter preparing his qammaq and resting his kayak and hunting tools.

The qammaq is an insulated winter dwelling.  The floor is the first part of the qammaq to be made from flat rocks covered with arctic heather. Sods are cut from the tundra to build the base of the qammaq into which the frame would be placed. The frame is traditionally be made of whale rib bones. The whale stomach would be used to make a window. Seal skin would be used to cover the outside walls. Insulation of the qammaq would be made from arctic heather or moss sod. The inner walls would be covered with stretched out intestines of seal, bearded walrus, narwhale, or beluga.

For most hunters a kayak was probably their first major piece of equipment, and acquiring one involved great effort. The hunter first had to kill four or five bearded seals to make the kayak covering and also collect enough wood to build the frame. Preparing the skins and sewing them onto the frame was women’s work and involved a day or more of effort by five to eight women.

An Inuk with a kayak could hunt more efficiently because he was no longer restricted to hunting seals at the edge of the icepack, and he could also hunt walrus on the islands. Successful hunters could eventually acquire enough skins to make a tent and a family boat called an umiaq.

Complete set of hunting tools typically used, including bird spear, a harpoon for spearing larger game such as seals and belugas, seal hook and a float that prevented the game from sinking.

Sun with smiling face preserves Simon’s usual “good mood” and pleasure drawn from every activity and event in the arctic as noted in most of his works.