Two women, quarreling with their husbands, fled to live alone at Igdluqdjuaq. There, they built a sturdy house of whale bones, sod, and turf. Sustaining themselves by trapping foxes, scavenging seal carcasses, and fishing, they thrived without men. Their fathers eventually found them but left, marveling at their independence. The house remains a testament to their resilience, giving the place its name, “The Large House.”
Source:
The Central Eskimo
by Franz Boas
[Bureau of American Ethnology]
Sixth Annual Report
Washington, 1888
► Themes of the story
Conflict with Authority: The women challenge traditional gender roles and societal expectations by leaving their husbands and choosing to live independently.
Community and Isolation: The narrative explores the women’s transition from their community to isolation, highlighting their ability to create a self-sustaining life apart from society.
Harmony with Nature: The women demonstrate a deep connection with their environment, utilizing natural resources for shelter and sustenance, embodying a harmonious existence with nature.
► From the same Region or People
Learn more about Inuit peoples
Once upon a time two women who were with child quarreled with their husbands and fled from their families and friends to live by themselves. After having traveled a long distance they came to a place called Igdluqdjuaq, where they resolved to stay. It was summer when they arrived. They found plenty of sod and turf and large whale ribs bleaching on the beach. They erected a firm structure of bones and filled the interstices with sod and turf. Thus they had a good house to live in. In order to obtain skins they made traps, in which they caught foxes in sufficient numbers for their dresses. Sometimes they found carcasses of ground seals or of whales which had drifted to the shore, of which they ate the meat and burnt the blubber.
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There was also a deep and narrow deer pass near the hut. Across this they stretched a rope and when the deer passed by they became entangled in it and strangled themselves. Besides, there was a salmon creek near the house and this likewise furnished them with an abundance of food.
In winter their fathers came in search of their lost daughters. When they saw the sledge coming they began to cry, as they were unwilling to return to their husbands. The men, however, were glad to find them comfortable, and having staid two nights at their daughters’ house they returned home, where they told the strange story that two women without the company of any men lived all by themselves and were never in want.
Though this happened a long time ago the house may still be seen and therefore the place is called Igdluqdjuaq (The Large House).
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