Dawn of a new year

The lights are off in Igloolik’s gymnasium, recreating the darkness community residents have experienced since the sun last set in mid-December. A spotlight shines on a winter scene, with some stars and an igloo, and an old tune is being sung — slowly at first, and then getting louder and louder.

Residents have waited all winter for this moment — for the return of the sun. In honour of the first sunrise of the new year, people of the Amittuq region celebrate with a festival. In Igloolik, the Return of the Sun Festival is known as Qaggiq.

The festival was started in 1994 by the Inullariit Society, a cultural group that works to preserve language and record traditional knowledge. This year’s theme is New Beginning — Nunagiksarniq.

After a series of opening remarks, there is a ceremony to welcome the new year. Last year’s qulliq is extinguished, and as a symbol that renewal has begun, the qulliq is lit again.

This year, three elders, Sipporah Innuksuk, George Kappianaq and Rachel Uyarasuk, were recognized for their contributions toward preserving the Inuit culture.

“I don’t want the culture to be forgotten. A lot of the loss is due to modern education,” Kappianaq said. “The knowledge that I possess I’ve been passing on, whether we’re in meetings or elsewhere. It’s very important that they remain in our lives and not be forgotten. I’ve been recording both on audio and on paper of this knowledge so that they are passed on.”

Sipporah Innuksuk also spoke of time gone by. “The old value systems that we had to live by are not being practised anymore,” she said. “For example, we just didn’t have to make fun of a person who made a mistake; there were principles we had to live by. It’s these principles and values that we don’t practise anymore.”

She said the annual January celebration is a time to reflect on the past and learn from it. “I support the Return of the Sun Festival, especially the idea that each year’s theme is different from the previous one,” she said. “Once a theme is picked, then we can learn more on a subject or an aspect of that [theme]. I think it’s beneficial for everyone.”

The festivities included drum dancing, dog mushing calls, throat singing and animal calls, as well as a fashion show of traditional and contemporary Inuit clothing.

Louis Illupalik, the chairperson of Inullariit Society, said the festivities went really well. The community members of Igloolik came out to watch the festivities and they really enjoyed them.

“The highlight of the festivities was the head start students, aged three and four years, performing a skit,” he said. “They had a little speaker and when the little speaker said to drum dance, the rest of them would drum, and when the speaker said to do some throat singing, then they did some throat singing and so on. Everyone absolutely enjoyed that.”

Celebrations marking the return of the sun are part of Amittuq tradition. Illupalik hopes to study the ancient practices and incorporate them into the modern festival.

“People know of our Return of the Sun Festival, and as a result other communities are doing it now, too,” said Terry Iyerak, coordinator of the Inullariit Society. “It’s wonderful that Inuit are keeping their traditions alive. I encourage them to practice their traditions. It’s absolutely fabulous.”