HOW DID THE INUIT TRAVEL?

A great deal of traveling had been done by the Inuit during the years, seeking animals which were their sources of clothing, light, food, warmth and tools. Their summer travel was either on foot or on water using skin boats. Only one person could utilize the enclosed skin covered boat (kayak); the open skin-covered boat (umiak) carries about twenty people. During the winter months, a large sled (komatik) pulled by a dog team was used. They depended on their dog team not only for transportation, but also for emergency food supply and hunting. For the Inuits' economy, dogs were extremely important.

WHAT KIND OF DIET DID THE INUIT HAVE AND WHAT KIND OF WEAPONRY DID THEY USE FOR THEIR HUNT?

The Inuits had a well-balanced diet, because the sea provided many aquatic animals and birds for the Inuit hunter. Walrus, whale, seals, cod, char and salmon were harvested at different times. A blade of bone, stone and later iron or antlers with a long shaft and a sturdy line (harpoon) was used as a weapon to hunt sea animals. The men hunted these sea animals by kayak or on foot in the winter or spring. The umiak was mainly utilized for large aquatic mammals like the whale and polar bears, a very dangerous hunting pursuit. The spears which were used to catch fish consisted of a large shaft with a sharp point and two side prongs which had small barbs attached at right angles. Once penetrated into the fish, the prongs were pulled by sinew to hold the fish in place, which helped prevent the fish from escaping. Using weirs (piled stones together forming a trap for the fish) and these customized spears, the Innuit could catch several hundred fish in one day. The meat was then dried and cooked for human and dog consumption.

Land animals like the caribou were a very important source of meat to the Inuit and were hunted during the late summer season. Usually, it was the women and the children who drove the caribou from the interior in late summer to a location where the animal would be slaughtered. The place was generally close to their kayaks near rivers and lakes so that it would be easier to carry the carcass. Mostly lances or bows and arrows were utilized for the kill.

The natives were ingenious in product management, making a wide range of utensils. They included: lamps and rectangular pots made out of soapstone, the ulu or circular blade knife women used, mattocks for digging snow, snow beaters made of whale bone for snow removal on clothing and a tool called a bow drill for boring holes in a kayak or umiak frame. They also made endblades, harpoon heads, toggles for their dogs, harnesses and needles.

WHY DID THE INUIT CHOOSE DIFFERENT DWELLINGS
FOR EACH SEASON?

The Inuit lived in three different homes. In the summer it was a skin tent, weighted down by large rocks. In the winter, it was temporary igloos or snow dwellings for hunting purposes, or semi-permanent winter houses of stone and sod. The latter home was dug into the ground for added warmth. The foundation was lined with rock slabs and the framework covered by a skin lining and a sod roof. These dwellings were not only comfortable but also practical, as the Inuit burned seal oil on the flat soapstone for light and heat. The lamp was also utilized for heating and thawing their food. It was the women's most prized possession, and generally when a woman died, it was placed in her grave with a hole drilled into it, so that the spirit could join her in eternity.

WHAT KIND OF RELIGION DID THE INUIT PRACTICE?

According to Lucien Turner, who wrote Indians and Eskimo in the Quebec-Labrador Peninsula, the Inuit believed that after death the soul and the material body were separated. The spirit of the soul rose up to the sky, Keluk, and the body into the earth, Nuna. They felt that the two classes of spirits could communicate with each other. The souls of those who died by starvation, childbirth or violence, would rise to the region above, yet the Inuit wanted their souls to go to the lower region, because they believe those spirits communicated with the living, a privilege denied to those who rose above.

In Inuit religion, all of life's affairs are controled by the spirits, with different spirits associated with every element in life. All were under the direction of one great spirit, Tung Ak (Lucien Turner, 1979). Each person had a guardian who was malignant in character, ready to harm the person it accompanied. Therefore, the Inuit had to strive for its goodwill by offering the spirit food, clothing and water.

The Inuit also had other classes of spirits: of the sea, sky, winds, land, clouds and everything in nature. The conjurer (angakut) alone was the only person able to contact Tung Ak for any assistance the people might have needed. Of course, some of the conjurers were also excellent hunters. They studied the habits of the animals and could anticipate their future movements, influenced highly by the weather. That is why the people relied for their survival on the great hunters and their communication skills with the animals. For example, the Great Spirit controlled the caribou and took the form of a huge, white bear. It was the conjurer who had the power to influence that spirit to send deer to the Inuit when they were starving.

It was not until 1771, when the mission fields of the Moravians in Northeast Labrador began to take place of the conjurer (angakut) in the minds of the Inuit that Christianity became an accepted religion among them. Many tasks like medical treatment, were formerly accomplished by the conjurer, were taken over by the missionary.

How did this new religion become so active and why did the Moravians establish their mission in Labrador?

According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, the Bohemian Brethren and Moravian Brethren are the current suited names of the Unitas Fratrum, founded in Bohemia in 1457, renewed by Count Zinzendorf in 1722, and still active today.

The Moravian was a member of a Hussite Protestant sect reconstituted in 1722 due to different religious beliefs. Although there was a linkage with the Catholic rulers, because of differences of opinion in religious beliefs, the Bohemian rejected the Church's authority and became the Hussite sect. Divisions at once arose amongst its members. Some completely set aside the authority of the Church and admitted no other rule than the Bible; others demanded communion under both kinds for the laymen, along with free preaching of the Gospel and some minor reforms.

Of course, these differences ultimately led to political feuds, mainly due to the concessions made by the Caliztine parte (i.e. the party of Chalice). The small remnant, too insignificant to play a role in politics, withdrew into private life, devoting all their energies to religion. In 1457, the members formed a separate body under the name of the Brethren's Union (Unitas Fratrum), which is now generally spoken of as the Bohemian Brethren.

In 1464 the Bohemian Brethren and the Moravian united to form their own basis of their faith and charity, where they gave up private property for the benefit of the Brotherhood. This was the beginning of order and at that time they were called "the primitive Church." The governing power centred in a council presided over by a judge; but four elders, or seniors, held the principle power. The priests had no land and were encouraged not to marry. The strictest morality and lack of vanity were exacted from the faithful, and all acts dependent on luxury were forbidden. Oaths and military service were only permitted in exceptional cases, and public sins had to be publicly confessed. Eventually, this belief spread into England and a fruitful friendship sprung up. In around 1730 missionaries and immigrants were sent to America. Their mission was to evangelize and colonize the so-called savages, a task at once performed vigorously. Thus began the Moravian Brethren, or Unitax Frabun, doctrinal position in Labrador. It was not until 1771 the mission localities of the Moravians began in North America.

A book called Our Footprints Are Everywhere, written by the Labrador Inuit Association, claims that during 1400 - 1700, in the early period, the Inuit population expanded as far south as Hamilton Inlet in Labrador. Even though the nations had no permanent settlement south of Hamilton Inlet, the archeologists know that the Innuit sometimes journeyed to the Strait of Belle Isle to trade, hunt and raid camps of European fishermen, including the 16th century Basque (Portuguese) whaling stations. Apparently they had some contact with European explorers and whaling ships along the northern coast, but this did affect their way of life to the extent that it did in the later years (Labrador Inuit Association, 1977).

WHAT KIND OF CLOTHING DID THE INUIT WEAR?

Inuit clothing consisted of a hooded coat, trousers, knee high boots, and mittens. The boots, made of sealskin, were worn year round. The clothing was generally made from caribou or seal skin. Two layers of clothing were worn in the winter months: the first layer was worn inside out, with the hair against the skin to provide insulation and protection from the dampness caused by perspiration, and the second layer was used for protection from the cold.

Inuit life during the early days reflects the powerful relationship between them and their physical environment. They depended chiefly on the animals and sea mammals for their livelihood during the difficult seasonal weather.

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