Whaling

All that blood quickly freezes.



I heard that in the spring hunt, the whaling teams go out in seal skin boats. But for the fall hunt, they go out in normal aluminum boats, like the one pictured above.




After the families of the whaling team get all the meat and muktuk they want, what's remaining is up for grabs. Doreen and Edith started cutting away, first with one of the long handled tools,


then with Doreen's ulu. Doreen said she was told the whale they were cutting from had been 26 feet long.


The meat is so dark. Bloody and black.


Edith was laughing with glee as she cut the meat. "Glory to God," she kept exclaiming. "Glory to God."

The muktuk and meat were pushed into thin plastic bags and later hauled into the back of the van by some men. I managed to get two bags in and they were indeed heavy. Blocks of fat.