Schledermann, Peter

English

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394 •  REVIEWSTHE ARCTIC SKY: INUIT ASTRONOMY, STAR LORE,AND LEGEND. By JOHN MACDONALD. Toronto, On-tario: The Royal Ontario Museum and the Nunavut Re-search Institute, 1998. ix + 314 p., colour and b&w illus.,notes, bib., index. Softbound. Cdn$29.95.Based primarily on information about star lore and as-tronomy obtained from interviews with Inuit elders fromIgloolik, The Arctic Sky comprises an impressive body ofdata illustrating the traditional importance of celestialphenomena to the Inuit. That this knowledge has beenrapidly disappearing should come as no surprise and fur-ther validates the timeliness of the study.In the introduction, the author remarks that explorers,ethnographers, and other observers of Inuit peoples havetended to see Inuit astronomy as a relatively unimportantaspect of their culture. Reasons presented to account forthis apparent neglect vary, but tend to focus on the idea thatgeographical and environmental factors, such as starlesssummer skies and frequently hazy winter conditions, greatlydiminished the usefulness of astronomical observations.The author does point out, however, that a number ofprominent scientists, such as Franz Boas, Diamond Jenness,and Therkel Mathiassen, at least attempted to relate Inuitstars and constellations to those observed in Europe. Inchapter 1, the author continues to project some uncertaintyabout the importance of Inuit astronomy by includingstatements such as, “The unfavourable viewing conditionsof the Arctic’s spring and summer skies are in no waybalanced by the region’s comparatively long, dark win-ters. The winter skies above Igloolik are frequently ob-scured or dimmed by a variety of atmospheric conditionsincluding snow, blowing snow, cloud cover, ice fog.…Eventhe stars, through their reflected light, contribute signifi-cantly to their own dimming,…” (p. 11). “These very realpractical drawbacks to stargazing in Arctic regions duringwinter are easily overlooked” (p. 12).At the end of chapter 1, the reader is left with theimpression that there may have been good reasons whyearly investigators paid scant attention to the astronomicalside of Inuit life. On one hand, the author acknowledgesthe “relative impoverishment” of Arctic conditions as faras stargazing is concerned; on the other hand, he empha-sizes that the celestial knowledge of the Inuit was anindispensable part of their worldview. Undoubtedly bothobservations have merit, and both appear to be supportedby data presented in later chapters of the book.Beginning with chapter 3 (Stars, Constellations, andPlanets), the reader is provided with an informative andinteresting description of stars and constellations based onaccounts by Inuit elders from Igloolik. Examples of the useof stars and constellations throughout the Inuit world arepresented. The author states that Aagjuuk (the Europeanconstellation Aquila) was one of the most important con-stellations for all Inuit groups. Ursa Major (Tukturjuit)was similarly important for estimating the passage of timeand finding one’s way. The role of the sun, moon, andeclipses is presented in chapter 4. In addition to discussingInuit creation myths related to the sun and the moon, theauthor provides excerpts from explorers’ and scientists’reports describing feasts, taboos, and special ceremoniesrelated to the two celestial bodies, particularly activitiesassociated with the all-important return of the sun. Inter-esting references are made to various hypotheses putforward to explain the manifestation of Arctic hysteria.Chapter 5 includes a short, informative description of bothWestern and Inuit observation of atmospheric phenomenasuch as meteors, shooting stars, the aurora borealis, sundogs, and rainbows. Not surprisingly, the aurora displayswere most often associated with activities of the spiritworld.The importance of using celestial bodies as a means ofnavigating between camps and hunting areas is discussedin chapter 6. Finding one’s way was often a matter ofsurvival, especially in the dark and on moving sea ice,when stars were used essentially to maintain a particularheading. Referring to Captain George Francis Lyon’sobservations during his wintering in the Igloolik area in1822 – 23, MacDonald emphasizes that no single methodof wayfinding predominates. As one might expect, when itcomes to navigating, the Inuit use all their knowledgeabout the environment. The chapter describes many ele-ments used as navigational aids, including snowdrifts,wind direction, landmarks, vegetation, sea currents, watersky, mirages, and behaviour of sled dogs and other ani-mals. Place names are particularly relevant to the discus-sion about travel and navigation. A friend of mine fromGreenland, Inngi Bisgaard, last year completed an exten-sive kayak trip down the southwest coast of Greenland. Ontheir way south, Inngi and her teammates stopped atvarious settlements to rest and to seek information aboutthe best way to navigate the next stretch. From discussionswith older hunters, they quickly learned that the placenames all provided important, sometimes crucial, infor-mation about potential physical hazards one might en-counter in particular areas. As the author points out, thespatial environment is, or was, part of a person’s cognitivemap; the problem for many younger people today is thatthey lack the knowledge of such place names and are farmore easily lost when traveling.Chapter 7 presents an interesting discussion of time inthe Inuit world before and after the introduction of West-ern clocks and calendars. The position of stars, the cycle ofthe sun and moon, and the migratory habits of animalswere all elements used by the Inuit to judge time. Referringin part to observations made by anthropologist Franz Boasin the Eastern Arctic, the author discusses the ecologicalcalendar of the Inuit, represented by thirteen lunar months,as the primary regulator of Inuit life. A table showing theIglulingmiut calendar provides a excellent aid to the dis-cussion. The progression of day and night was determinedessentially by the position of the stars and the sun, depend-ing on the season and latitude. Among the Iglulingmiutspecial attention was given to the revolving of theREVIEWS • 395constellation Tukturjuit (Ursa Major) around Nutuittuq(Polaris). In addition the easterly rising and westerlysetting of Aagjuuk (Altair and Tarazed) were commonlyused by Inuit across the Arctic to estimate the time of day.The introduction of the Western calendar and observa-tion of special days like Sunday resulted in interestingchanges to Inuit society. The author points out that theconcept of Sunday was quickly transmitted far beyond theregion of direct Western contact, and that the Inuit soonfound it convenient to replace the observation of a numberof taboos with the observation of one single day.In chapter 8, the author presents myths and legendstouching on astronomical significance, as told by Igloolikelders. In chapter 9, the same legends are rendered inInuktitut transcription. A selection of legends more or lesson the same broad theme and representative of the entireInuit world is provided in chapter 10, which demonstratesthe role myths played in sustaining the Inuit perception ofthe Universe. The author cites Knud Rasmussen’s obser-vation about Inuit myths: “If in them there are things whichseem to be contrary to common sense, it is merely becausethe later generations are unable to grasp everything which,to their forebears, were obvious truths” (p. 210).Once past a somewhat confusing beginning, the authorof The Arctic Sky has provided an important contributionto one aspect of Inuit culture often overlooked or at leasttreated in a cursory manner. Considering how often theauthor refers to observations made by early explorers andethnographers, one is not totally convinced that the subjectof Inuit astronomy has been as neglected as is first statedin the introduction. This is a well-researched and worth-while book and should be added to the shelf of any seriousstudent of Inuit culture.Peter SchledermannSenior Research AssociateThe Arctic Institute of North AmericaUniversity of CalgaryCalgary, Alberta, CanadaT2N 1N4

The Arctic Sky: Inuit Astronomy, Star Lore, and Legend, by John Macdonald

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The Arctic Sky: Inuit Astronomy, Star Lore, and Legend, by John Macdonald

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