NOTES ON THE NUNAMIUT ESKIMO AND MAMMALS OF ... - arctic

102 ’SHE NUNARTIUT ESKIMO AND MAhlMALS OF THE ANAKTUVUK PASS RF,GION
snare was placed at a distance above the ground equal to the height of a man’s
knee plus the width of the hand with thumb extended, and the loop itself was
large enough to enclose the antlers of a large bull. The corral, or kangigak,
was constructed along a river where a low ridge prevented the caribou seeing
it until too late for them to turn back, and was used year after year. It
consisted of an enclosure of rocks and willow branches. The side walls were
single, but the far end consisted of rows of alternate walls and openings in
which the snares were set. Piles of sod diverged from the corral mouth for
several miles, and the animals were driven by runners, called tovoksiroak. The
people were careful to stay away from the front of the corral, or the caribou
might detect the human scent. Once the caribou had forded the stream, they
would not ordinarily return. Blinds were prepared at the mouth of the
corral, and men waited in these while the drivers forced the animals over the
ridge at high speed, into the mouth of the corral. The men then rushed from
the blinds to close the entrance, shooting at the milling animals with the bow.
Ailany were killed by arrows while those trying to escape through the openings
of the back walls were snared.
The kangigak was last used about seventy-five years ago, when the parents
of the men now living were young. The remains of an old corral are still
visible near Tulugak Creek, just north of Tulugak Lake, and others are
found on the Killik River and near Chandler Lake, such as the one at Okominilaga.
Stefansson (1914, p. 385) gives a diagram of a corral similar to this, the
details of which he got from a Tigiragmiut man.
The importance of the caribou to the Nunamiut is very evident. It is not
surprising that three of their “moons” of the year are named for something to
do with caribou. Thus, June is called E1*iknzivik (“fawning time”); September,
Amigaiksivik (“time velvet is lost from antlers”); and October is called
Nuliakvik (“time of rut”).
Through their long dependence upon the caribou, the Nunamiut have
gained a thorough understanding of its habits. These men would be of great
aid as observers in any intensive study of caribou, since there is probably no
white man living who knows the animal as well.
The Nunamiut names for animals of the various ages are as follows:
Nogak-calf.
Angayukliakruk-yearling 8.
Nukatagak-young 8 .
Nukatagakruk-3-year-old 8 .
Puknikruak-4-year-old 8 .
Puknik-bull, 5 years and older.
Kulavak-cow.
Five skulls, from near Tulugak
National Museum.
Lake, have been deposited in the US.
Ovibos moschatus ?moschatus (Zimmermann) . Umikmk (umik, “beard”;
-rnuk, variant of -puk or -vuk, “big”). Muskox.
During the spring of 1951 Mr. John Krog, of the Arctic Health Research
Center, picked up a badly-weathered muskox skull while making ornithological