With the Harmony to Labrador: Notes of a visit to the Moravian mission stations on the north-east coast of LabradorLa Trobe, Benjamin
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With the Harmony to Labrador: Notes of a visit to the Moravian mission stations on the north-east coast of Labrador
La Trobe, Benjamin
Indians of North America -- Missions; Inuit -- Missions; Labrador (N.L.) -- Description and travel; Moravian Indians -- Missions
Now we come to the dwelling of the oldest couple, William and Hulda,
whose heathen names were Nochasak and Aksuana. They are, respectively,
fifty-five and fifty, but look older. Two sons live with them, of whom
the elder is married. Both parents are at home, and the
daughter-in-law with her first baby in her arms. Here first I notice
the curious lamp, a sort of dish hollowed out in a soft stone. The
wick is a kind of moss which floats in seal-oil, and gives a feeble
flame apparently more for warmth than for light, for the houses are
not dark.
Next to William's stand the roofless remains of an unoccupied
dwelling, which may serve to show how these huts are built. It is a
square enclosure three or four feet in height; the back is dug out of
the sloping bank, the front wall is built up with turf. Put a roof
over this and your house will be made. Two upright posts in the
middle, about seven feet in height, will serve as the supports for the
frame of your roof, which will also be covered with turf. The low door
must be in front, facing the bay, and, both for warmth and as a
shelter for the dogs, must invariably be protected by a low covered
porch. Whether he be dwelling in his turf hut or sheltering in some
snow hut, quickly built for a night away from home, the Eskimo enters
his abode by a little tunnel, at the further end of which is the door.
Just above this comes the window-frame, sometimes on a slant, better
perpendicular. The window of his turf hut is semi-transparent seal
bladder unless the owner of the mansion can afford and obtain glass.
Now your house is complete, but lacks interior fittings. If you are an
Eskimo, you do not want many. Your two poles supporting the roof may
help you to partition off the sleeping places, either with boards or
with curtains. These are raised about a foot from the ground, and the
edge of the bed is the general seat.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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