ᓂᐲᑦ ᐃᓄᒃᑎᑐᑦ Atanarjuat Song, 5:10, Inuktitut, sung by a Pond Inlet woman named Paingut Peterloosie. READ BELOW the words translated in English by Zacharias Kunuk. Camera, Zacharias Kunuk, Editor, Carol Kunnuk.
I’m going to sing my Ayaya song.
I recorded it once, thinking I would lose the tune. I broke it into segments and found out it’s a tune sung by Atanarjuat. I’m going to sing a segment now.
Aya. I found it beautiful, just beautiful, as we started travelling inland.
Dog teaming on the land, it’s hard to sit on the sled as you move across the land.
Running along now through this wet snow, we don’t think of how tiring it is.
We travelled on land and passed the black mountain (Mary River). What a beautiful site, this beautiful land.
I remembered my childhood. But when I tried to sleep I couldn't.
When our men went hunting, it’s lonely in this beautiful land. Was I afraid to be alone? My cousin and I are alone now.
When my cousin went outside, I was alone. I was afraid.
I then asked my cousin, “Where are you going?”
When she didn’t answer, I was afraid. Are you leaving because I’m afraid?
When I went outside, I saw my cousin standing behind the tent.
When I saw her, I was glad. When I became happy, I started just laughing.
This is a true story; my song happened.
We travelled by dog team in the summer to hunt caribou from Arctic Bay.
Duration: 5m 10s
