AĠVIQ – The Bowhead Whale
Whaling is the center of our culture and values.
Whaling keeps our community working together and because one person or family alone cannot hunt a whale alone and therefore when problems arise, most are quickly resolved with conflict resolution to keep unity in our community.
It is with Humility that a Captain of a whaling crew earns the respect of his crewmembers, the community and the same with the crewmembers from the Captain. There is also a great respect for the elements we hunt in, the ice conditions could change in minutes.
Before the whalers go out on the ice, there is a church service to ask for blessing and safety for our hunters. Then when a whale is landed, the first thing a crew does is to say a prayer of thanksgiving and again for safety to get the whale distributed. – thus our Spirituality
We share when a whale is caught with the whole community and even with family and friends around the State and Nation. There is also compassion on the widows or families that do not have hunters providing for them and thus the whale is shared.
There is cooperation in the harvest and butchering of the whale where everyone that helps gets a share. It is also a time to learn some Inupiaq Language while there is humor and joy in the air because God has provided us and blessed us with sustenance and we yell YAY HEY HEY!!!!
Our culture and values in a nutshell.