NiJq-29 Boulder Hill Village
This site is the remains of a type of cold weather Thule village in a boulder field and consists of circular tent depressions, as well as stone stab kayak caches, meat caches and a conical fox trap.
Because it was never my land I don’t know it that well but I used to go to the river a few times when I was a child.
I’ve heard that the river had cache at one time, but this Tunnik that just had her baby went in the water and that is why the river is the way it is. And that is when they could not use haputs any more.
Now today we can use boats in the river and there is no way to put haput any more. There use to be a haput there but not any more. It flooded and now it is always like that.
The seals are always going up the river and sometimes the seal would spend the winter there, which is why it is call Netsilik.
I’ve heard stories about people who used to make war or that would kill other people. Some of the names were kujagasak and Pojatak. When Pujatak and family were waiting at their camp and fishing by a narrow part of the river someone, I forget the name, used a bow and arrow and hit him and that is when he went home with wounds. I think is Kujagaksaqs relative, but I’m not sure.
There was this bear that always get the meats that are cached for the winter, so Kiveok wanted to be buried so that the bear would think he was meat.
So when he was buried the bear started to dig him out.
Stories of Fighting
The Inuit before us were very no good, they were very bad, but today some people don’t like some people but they are much better Inuit now that there are laws. They don’t kill each other any more. I’ve heard that the Inuit from long ago killed each other without hesitation. That’s how they were. That is how I’ve heard it.
Men in those days use to hit each other by the head to fight for women. Even stab each other for woman. The Inuit long ago use to throw newborn baby girls and they fought for them, the men were fighting for women and killing them when they born if they were not boys. That is how they were.
If there was a man that is a good hunter he could be killed for that reason too. If a person is killed and his family heard that this person killed him they would also get revenge. That is how Inuit use to be, but today because there are policemen it has changed. Even though some of us think they are bad. Even though they don’t always be nice to each other. But the people before us use to even stab each other, not with panas or metal but with antlers, they must get them really sharp. I now that the bones can get sharp. But the antlers must get sharp too. Just cause they know how they can get sharp from experience. They’ve been using them for knifes for so long, I’ve heard that they use them for killing people too. Some times when this person is to big for this person to kill, they would have another man or two other men help him kill the man. That is how they use to be the Inuit before us.
We Inuit would have been more today if there was not so much killing. Stabbing each other and using harpoons using bow and arrows, that is how they killed each other.
That is how I’ve heard it; it must have been scary at the time.
Site Field Notes
This site consists of a complex of tent rings, caches, and kayak caches that are indicated by depressions, cavities, and clearings in the boulders and slabs. The kayak caches are pointed at both ends, like a kayak, and are about 30 to 40 cm deep. Circular clearings and shallow depressions in the boulder slabs indicate the tent rings. As well there is a larger more rectangular clearing that may indicate a larger dwelling or a dance tent.
There is also a conical dry masonry fox trap that has partly collapsed inward. NiJq-29 and NiJq-28 and NiJq-30 are all located in an area called Nabloq by Qaqortingneq in Rasmussen’s 1931 report.
Site Description
Historic Association: unknown
Representativeness: Thule
Type/Function: tent rings, caches, kayak
caches and fox trap
Rarity: rare
Integrity: good
Preservation: no artifacts or bones observed
on surface
Artifact and feature density: high feature
density
Human Remains and Burials: no human remains
observed, NiJq-28, about 500 m to east, is probably associated with this
site.