Whale's Tail Festival full of tradition

November 25th 5:29 pm | Leo Kinneeveack

The bowhead whale hunters in Point Hope, Alaska ("Tikigaq," the home of the whale bone arches), do not hunt whale anymore in the fall time. Not for a long time.

But there was a "whale's tail festival" held in Point Hope on October 27, 2011. It's a tradition that's been held for centuries.

In the spring bowhead whale hunt, three whales were caught. After the flippers are removed, the whale is towed upon the sea ice with block and tackle to be cut up. This is when the whale's tail is cut off and stored away in the food cellar, "sigluaq," for fermentation and its delicacy - yummy yum yum.

You know after spring seal hunting, the bearded seal hunting, walruses, sea birds and beluga hunting, about this time of year in Tikigaq you start to crave muktuk. Talk about the best time to "amu," to pull out the whale's tail.

Although three bowhead whales were caught in the spring whale hunt, one whale's tail was pulled out. Traditionally, for centuries, a successful whaling captain who'd caught less than five whales pulled out the whale's tail when the young ice forms along the shoreline of the ocean.

In this case, Herbert, "Popsy" Kinneeveack, Jr. pulled out the whale's tail since he's caught less than five whales during his role as a whaling captain. The other two successful whaling captains will have to wait until March since they've caught five or more whales — that's Eunice Cane and Isaac Killigvuk, Sr.

The whale's tail is taken to the community hall and each household brings a dish or a pan to be filled by the whaling crew. Anyone is welcome.

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Copyright 2012 The Arctic Sounder is a publication of Alaska Media, LLC. This article is © 2012 and limited reproduction rights for personal use are granted for this printing only. This article, in any form, may not be further reproduced without written permission of the publisher and owner, including duplication for not-for-profit purposes. Portions of this article may belong to other agencies; those sections are reproduced here with permission and Alaska Media, LLC makes no provisions for further distribution.