Taissumani, March 2

Inuit in northern Baffin Island and the Igloolik area converted to Christianity in the early 1920s, but it would be 1929 before the first missionaries arrived in Pond Inlet.

In Cumberland Sound missionary activity began in the 1890s, and in the Repulse Bay area in the nineteen-teens.

Prior to the coming of Christianity, life had been governed by a system of taboos – proscriptions on what kind of behaviour was allowed and what was not. Behaviour that would offend the spirits was to be avoided, as it would surely bring on inclement weather, bad hunting, illness or death.

Early non-Inuit observers of the life of the Inuit during these times sometimes commented on the effects of these taboos. To outsiders it seemed that, in a time of rapid cultural change, the list of taboos was proliferating at an alarming rate. Some felt that the observance, rather than the breaking, of this long list of taboos might threaten Inuit survival.

Knud Rasmussen documented a number of taboos when he lived and travelled among the Inuit of the Repulse Bay and Iglulik areas in the early 1920s. Arriving at the same time as the wholesale conversion to Christianity, Rasmussen had a perfect opportunity to comment on these cultural traits.

In remarking on these rules of life, he noted that angering the spirits can “give rise to suffering and hardship, not only for the person who has offended, but for the whole village. Obligations towards the higher powers are thus not a private matter, but one affecting the entire community.”

He described the rules as “numerous and irksome,” but nonetheless mandatory. The most important ones dealt with times when help was most needed – during pregnancy, at birth, in infancy, at the time of the transition from childhood to adulthood, during sickness, at the hour of death, and most importantly, while hunting.
Here are some of the taboos he documented. These ones deal with pregnancy:

When a young woman in her first pregnancy feels the life of the child in her body, she must undo her hair and tie it at the back of the neck, so that it hangs down loose from the neckband. She must wear it this way for three days. This gives a speedy delivery.

A pregnant woman must be quick to run out of the house or tent whenever she is called from outside. She will then have a speedy delivery.

If she is quick to help others, such as people preparing for a journey, then her child will turn out to be a helpful man or woman.

Pregnant women must not eat animals shot through the heart.

A pregnant woman must never go outside without her mittens on.

A live bee must be rolled over the back of a pregnant woman and afterwards kept. When she has given birth to her child, this bee should be fastened on top of the head in a hair band, as an amulet to give the child long life.

These rules, odd as they may seem today, were the rules that had to be followed by pregnant women so as not to offend the spirits that rule over the Inuit world. Next week we will look at some of the numerous taboos surrounding childbirth.

Taissumani recounts a specific event of historic interest. Kenn Harper is a historian, writer and linguist who lives in Iqaluit. Feedback? Send your comments and questions to kennharper@hotmail.com.