A Hunting Memory from Ivaluardjuk Tribe

Reading the poem, symbolism is awkward. Ice usually represents cold, apathy, harshness and several derogatory connotations in Standard English Poems. In this poem "ice" is a fulfilling ideal potentially representing strength, nature. Another poem "My Breath" from Orpingalik Tribe states, "Firm and safe as the winter-ice." Notes in "Eskimo Poems from Canada and Greenland" verify diversity in interpretation between tribes; however, it clarifies ice is good. Additional notes clarify various arenas of composition. Mosquitoes imply springtime, when ice is melting. The use of, "Aja-aja-ja," implies enthusiasm. The song is lively as it is sung.

Written by an Eskimo it takes time imagining their daily life. A field of ice provokes the same emotion as a meadow. Ice is strong allowing access to fishing and hunting grounds. It is a barrier between life and death. On top of the ice equals living, while falling into the water equals death. Lying on top of melting ice brings about images of barely surviving. Being ice brings about ideas of mental and physical strength.

Part of the first stanza of "a Hunting Memory" reads:

I lie down on the ice,
I lie down on the ice and snow
So my jaws chatter.
This is I!
Aja-aja-ja.

As it unfolds the singer is in a, "search for words." Writing songs is a spiritual event. Eskimos wait for clarity of a situation to become inspired. In this instance, the hunter sees a reindeer and successfully spears it in the lions to share the meat with everyone in the tribe. This is a notable achievement. The book suggests tools and animals are as directly stated in songs. Yet there is a sense of linking the activity of writing songs and hunting animals, as though they are similar achievements. At the end they state, "Here is the memory. It's only I who sings."

At first, I thought, "It's only I who sings" related to empathy for the reindeer. Though the hunter showed superior strength, he was empathetic and both are similar to ice. This is a potential interpretation. Details produce a branching affect of plots and storylines, like poetry frequently does; however, it is more likely that the hunter is ice, the reindeer is nourishment.

A loose interpretation of the song inspires several outcomes, though emotion is cohesive. It relates to being unsure and then a solution miraculously appears. Being skillful in taking action, there is rejoicing when succeeding to continuing singing another day. It also promotes an ideal of remaining alert and calm to overcome hardship.

Quirky Books
Eskimo Poems from Canada and Greenland by Knud Rasmussen