soft hands (aka a whale of a time)

James and Rebecca went out and killed a whale yesterday. I wasn’t able to go with them but I got to help out when they got back to town. Belugas come into the bay around Tuk because there is shallow water where they feed. I haven’t been out to see the whales this year but I have been told that they are easy to spot. This population of belugas is very healthy in terms of number of individuals and the hunters have been saying that the whales are fat and healthy this year (thick blubber). When James and Rebecca went out they saw a female with a calf and left it alone before finding one to kill. James drove the boat and Rebecca stood in the front with a harpoon. As the whales swim underwater it is possible to follow their air bubbles that come to the surface. Eventually they come up for air and provide an opportunity for hunters. You have to harpoon them before shooting because they sink immediately after being killed. Once the harpoon (with a float attached to a long rope) is in they let the beluga swim for a bit to tire it out. James was the one who shot the whale (near the blowhole to make it quick). Once the whale was killed, they dragged it to an island in the bay where there is a research station. At the station they took various samples and measurements. After that, slabs of the whale’s flesh were cut off (roughly 2x2 foot sections) as well as the meat, fins and tail. The rest of the carcass was dragged out from shore and sunk. At this point, they came back to town.

I started helping when they got back. The slabs of flesh that were cut off include the outer skin and blubber – this is called muktuk. Ingeniously, they cut a slit in each slab that is used as a handle to carry the slabs. We transferred the muktuk, meat, fins and tail to a trailer and hauled it up to the Pokiaks’ smoke house. The muktuk was covered and left overnight to age. Rebecca and Maureen (Rebecca’s mom) sliced and hung the meat to make drymeat. A little fire burned continually to make smoke that kept flies away and flavours the meat. There is a surprisingly small amount of meat on a beluga. (I have pictures that will help demonstrate but I am not posting them here for those who may not wish to see). That was day one. The whole processes lasts for 3 or 4 days.

Today was day 2 and we spent 6 or 7 hours cutting up the muktuk. Sinew had to be cut off the inner layer of the blubber and then another 1 to 1.4 inches of blubber was cut off. The blubber is called uqsuq. My understanding is that the most literal translation of uqsuq is ‘butter’ and refers to blubber from any animal. My job was to cut the uqsuq into strips that were left in buckets to dissolve. Over a number of days the uqsuq turns itself into oil – some just has to stir the buckets once or twice a day (I am not sure how long it will take). By the end of the day I had filled 4 buckets with strips of uqsuq. While I was doing that, the muqtuk (that still had1 to 2 inches of uqsuq) was cut and hung (again, with smoke). Some muktuk was put in bags to be frozen immediately and will be eaten raw. That was it for today. It took a bit longer than normal because there were lots of distractions. The flies were everywhere but it was amazing how well they stayed away from smoke.

The uqsuq is incredibly rich. Everyone wears clothes that won’t be used for anything but whale processes because it is impossible to wash the oil out. After a day of having my hands covered in the rich oil my hands are smooth and soft.