Memories of Ministry in the North

Back in 1963, Bishop Donald Marsh sent the material for a Church Hall to Puvirnituq (known to most as “POV”) via Roger Briggs in Great Whale River. This was in the days when ministers would receive buildings in pieces and have to figure out how to put them together! As we were assembling the used government building, Isa Qupirkqualuk asked me what we should use the Hall for.

We talked about Sunday School, Vestry meetings, community feasts and so on. Then I asked Isa if there was anything from the Inuit culture that could be done there as well. He thought for a moment and said “katajjaniq!” – throat singing! He explainted to me that when the men went off hunting from their various camps, the women and children were left behind. The women would do throatsinging during these times. It usually involved an older woman teaching a young girls to make the distinctive sounds – seeing how long their breath lasted before they both burst out laughing!

This became one of many uses of the newlyassembled Church Hall in POV, and, to my knowledge, the Rev. Isa Qupirkqualuk was among the first to re-introduce throat-singing to Nunavik.

Shortly afterwards, when I had to go to a TB Sanatorium in the South, there were recordings made of the throat-singing in POV, and now throat-singing is recognized around the world as a unique Inuit art form.

Now, as Akinisie Sivuarapik from Puvirnituq has been recognized with cultural awards as a teacher and preserver of this precious Inuit art-form, it’s important for people to know the role that the church and Rev. Isa played in reinvigorating this tradition and keeping this important part of Inuit culture alive!

Share your memories of the Arctic in a future issue!