Sanaaq: An Inuit NovelSanaaq is an intimate story of an Inuit family negotiating the changes brought into their community by the coming of the qallunaat, the white people, in the mid-nineteenth century. Composed in 48 episodes, it recounts the daily life of Sanaaq, a strong and outspoken young widow, her daughter Qumaq, and their small semi-nomadic community in northern Quebec. Here they live their lives hunting seal, repairing their kayak, and gathering mussels under blue sea ice before the tide comes in. These are ordinary extraordinary lives: marriages are made and unmade, children are born and named, violence appears in the form of a fearful husband or a hungry polar bear. Here the spirit world is alive and relations with non-humans are never taken lightly. And under it all, the growing intrusion of the qallunaat and the battle for souls between the Catholic and Anglican missionaries threatens to forever change the way of life of Sanaaq and her young family. |
Contents
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| 3 | |
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The First Qallunaat Arrive | |
Qalingu Tries out the Qajaq | |
From Tent to Igloo | |
Jiimialuks Fatal Accident | |
A Harsh Winter in the Igloo | |
Sanaaq Gives Birth to a | |
Trip Inland | |
Hunters Caught in a Blizzard | |
Spring Hunting on the Sinaa | |
Mussel Fishing under the | |
A Daughter Is Adopted | |
An Unsuccessful Hunt in the Qajaq | |
Sanaaq Meets a Polar Bear | |
Arnatuinnaq Catches Her First Gull | |
Spring Hunt | |
Scenes of Summer Life | |
The Legend of Lumaajuq | |