Read Online Across the Spectrum by Pati Nagle, editors Deborah J. Ross - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Pati Nagle, editors Deborah J. Ross
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you, and as
skinny as a hare’s foreleg. They always wear bulky clothing—to keep them warm,
they say, but I think they are ashamed of their tiny, sunken chests. Their skins
are very pale, and they smell like burnt antler. But they are much stronger
than they look.
Some say the glass people are very stupid. It’s true that
they are poor traders, but they are excellent healers and great travelers. And
great liars! One tried to convince me he was born on a star!
Despite their lies, the glass people can be trusted to
provide the things we need for the great hunt. We brought many fine carvings,
which we had been making and saving for just this purpose ever since the last
great hunt, and traded them for sheets of glass, rings of metal, special
carving tools, and other objects used only for the great hunt totem. We needed
special tools because the outer wood of the black cedar is so strong and hard.
But the heartwood is soft, and burns hotter and faster than any other tree.
You probably think the great hunt totem is like the totems
we carve for the summer longhouse. It is much bigger—as tall as five people,
and so big around that two people can barely join hands around it at the base—but
that is not the most important difference. Ordinary totems are solid wood, but
the great hunt totem is riddled with hollows and channels. Some are so big a
person can crawl inside; all are decorated with the bright glass and metal
objects we get from the glass people. Everything must be prepared according to
the elders’ wisdom, even though much of it cannot be seen, or the totem will
surely lose its way.
Another difference in a great hunt totem is that the figure
on the top, not the bottom, is the most important. In our totem the topmost
figure was Raven himself. He was carefully carved out inside, and the space
within was decorated with the finest and most elaborate pieces in the most
ancient patterns. The other figures—Bear, Badger, and Hare—were mostly solid
inside; smaller hollow spaces were made and decorated between the figures, as
tradition dictates.
While the totem was being carved, the great hunt candidates
spent each day being instructed in the rituals of the hunt. We learned to read
the patterns of the stars: Whale and Seal and the other legendary creatures
became our guides and companions. We learned the rituals of purification and
cleansing that must be performed before and during the hunt. We learned the
traditional chants and the dances that went with them. Grandmother Tiriganiaq
would strike me with her stick if I dropped a phrase or chanted too fast; many
candidates failed because they could not keep proper time.
Most important of all, we learned to wear and care for our
ritual garments. The great hunt costume is vital to the hunt; it protects the
wearer from malicious spirits who would steal his soul. It is made of a special
fabric we get from the glass people, more supple than doeskin but tough and
waterproof, and must be kept completely clean and free of any holes or tears.
Mine was made for me by my mother and my grandfather Udjuk. It represented
Porcupine, with bold red and black stripes on the arms and legs and a grand
headdress that covered my whole head and face.
In the end ten of us knew all the chants and dances. Our
bodies were strong and purified, and our minds were full of knowledge. Finally,
on the day the carving of the great hunt totem was complete, each of us was
taken away from the camp by three elders and made to perform the entire ritual
alone, while they watched stony-faced.
I cleansed myself three times. I struggled into the heavy
and awkward ritual garments, and carefully sealed all the openings to keep my
soul from being stolen. I stood in a circle drawn in the dirt, the exact size
of the hollow inside Raven, and executed each chant and dance, speaking the
name of each sacred object as I pretended to touch it in the prescribed way.
The watching elders were silent, offering no assistance
skinny as a hare’s foreleg. They always wear bulky clothing—to keep them warm,
they say, but I think they are ashamed of their tiny, sunken chests. Their skins
are very pale, and they smell like burnt antler. But they are much stronger
than they look.
Some say the glass people are very stupid. It’s true that
they are poor traders, but they are excellent healers and great travelers. And
great liars! One tried to convince me he was born on a star!
Despite their lies, the glass people can be trusted to
provide the things we need for the great hunt. We brought many fine carvings,
which we had been making and saving for just this purpose ever since the last
great hunt, and traded them for sheets of glass, rings of metal, special
carving tools, and other objects used only for the great hunt totem. We needed
special tools because the outer wood of the black cedar is so strong and hard.
But the heartwood is soft, and burns hotter and faster than any other tree.
You probably think the great hunt totem is like the totems
we carve for the summer longhouse. It is much bigger—as tall as five people,
and so big around that two people can barely join hands around it at the base—but
that is not the most important difference. Ordinary totems are solid wood, but
the great hunt totem is riddled with hollows and channels. Some are so big a
person can crawl inside; all are decorated with the bright glass and metal
objects we get from the glass people. Everything must be prepared according to
the elders’ wisdom, even though much of it cannot be seen, or the totem will
surely lose its way.
Another difference in a great hunt totem is that the figure
on the top, not the bottom, is the most important. In our totem the topmost
figure was Raven himself. He was carefully carved out inside, and the space
within was decorated with the finest and most elaborate pieces in the most
ancient patterns. The other figures—Bear, Badger, and Hare—were mostly solid
inside; smaller hollow spaces were made and decorated between the figures, as
tradition dictates.
While the totem was being carved, the great hunt candidates
spent each day being instructed in the rituals of the hunt. We learned to read
the patterns of the stars: Whale and Seal and the other legendary creatures
became our guides and companions. We learned the rituals of purification and
cleansing that must be performed before and during the hunt. We learned the
traditional chants and the dances that went with them. Grandmother Tiriganiaq
would strike me with her stick if I dropped a phrase or chanted too fast; many
candidates failed because they could not keep proper time.
Most important of all, we learned to wear and care for our
ritual garments. The great hunt costume is vital to the hunt; it protects the
wearer from malicious spirits who would steal his soul. It is made of a special
fabric we get from the glass people, more supple than doeskin but tough and
waterproof, and must be kept completely clean and free of any holes or tears.
Mine was made for me by my mother and my grandfather Udjuk. It represented
Porcupine, with bold red and black stripes on the arms and legs and a grand
headdress that covered my whole head and face.
In the end ten of us knew all the chants and dances. Our
bodies were strong and purified, and our minds were full of knowledge. Finally,
on the day the carving of the great hunt totem was complete, each of us was
taken away from the camp by three elders and made to perform the entire ritual
alone, while they watched stony-faced.
I cleansed myself three times. I struggled into the heavy
and awkward ritual garments, and carefully sealed all the openings to keep my
soul from being stolen. I stood in a circle drawn in the dirt, the exact size
of the hollow inside Raven, and executed each chant and dance, speaking the
name of each sacred object as I pretended to touch it in the prescribed way.
The watching elders were silent, offering no assistance
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