Synopses & Reviews
Anthropologist Jean L. Briggs spent seventeen months living on a remote Arctic shore as the "adopted daughter" of an Eskimo family. Through vignettes of daily life she unfolds a warm and perceptive tale of the behavioral patterns of the Utku, their way of training children, and their handling of deviations from desired behavior.
Review
Absorbingly and affectingly written. A remarkable book...one that bids to become an anthropological classic. -- Journal of American History
Synopsis
Jean Briggs journeyed to the Canadian Northwest Territories in the summer of 1963 to begin a seventeen-month anthropological field study of the small group of Eskimos who live at the mouth of the Back River, northwest of Hudson Bay. Living with an Eskimo family as their "adopted" daughter--sharing their iglu during the winter and pitching her tent next to theirs in the summer--Miss Briggs observed the emotional patterns of the Eskimos in the context of their daily life. In this perceptive and highly enjoyable volume the author presents a behavioral description of Eskimo character through a series of vignettes of individuals interacting with members of their family and with their neighbors. Finding herself at times the object of instruction, she describes the training of the child toward achievement of the proper adult personality and the handling of deviations from this desired behavior.
Synopsis
In the summer of 1963, anthropologist Jean Briggs journeyed to the Canadian Northwest Territories (now Nunavut) to begin a seventeen-month field study of the Utku, a small group of Inuit First Nations people who live at the mouth of the Back River, northwest of Hudson Bay. Living with a family as their "adopted" daughter--sharing their iglu during the winter and pitching her tent next to theirs in the summer--Briggs observed the emotional patterns of the Utku in the context of their daily life.
In this perceptive and highly enjoyable volume the author presents a behavioral description of the Utku through a series of vignettes of individuals interacting with members of their family and with their neighbors. Finding herself at times the object of instruction, she describes the training of the child toward achievement of the proper adult personality and the handling of deviations from this desired behavior.
Table of Contents
Spelling and Pronunciation Note
People
Introduction
I. The Study
II. The Setting
III. Arrival
IV. The Seasons
V. Nomadism
VI. The Society
Chapter 1: Inuttiaq
I. Dominance and Intensity
II. Religious Leader: Assertiveness
III. Father to Kapluna: Protective Dominance
IV. Father to His Own Children: Affection
Chapter 2: Family Life: Expressions of Closeness
I. The Inner Circle: Intimacy and Informality
II. Men and Women: The Warmth and Luxury of Male Dominance
Chapter 3: Inuttiaq's Children
I. Saarak: Temper and Reason in Child Nature
II. Saarak's Charm: Spontaneity; The Expression of Affection toward Small Children
III. Raigili's Charm: Mildness
IV. Raigili and Her Family: The Expression of Affection toward Older Children
V. The Lives of Children: Sibling Relationships
VI. Raigili and Saarak: Sibling Friction
VII. Raigili's Troubles: Hostility in Older Children
VIII. Saarak's Changing World: Recalcitrance in Small Children
IX. Saarak's Crisis: Loss of Mother's Closeness
X. No Longer a Baby: Transition to Older Childhood
Chapter 4: Two Kin Groups: Expressions of Separateness and Hostility
Chapter 5: Nilak's Family
I. Unpleasant People: Utku Dislike of Volatility
II. Outsiders All: My Ambivalence toward the Disliked
III. Loneliness and Isolation
IV. Stinginess and Greed
V. Ostracism and Confrontation
Chapter 6: Kapluna Daughter
I. Stranger and Guest: Graciousness
II. Family Living: Covert Conflicts
III. Recalcitrant Child: Open Conflict and Attempts to Educate
IV. The Fishermen: Crisis
V. Persona Non Grata: Ostracism
VI. A Vicious Circle: Depression and Hostility
VII. Reconciliation
AppendixesI. Emotion Concepts
Affection: unga; niviuq; aqaq; iva; huqu; nakilk
Kindness and Gratitude: hatuq; quya
Happiness: quvia
Ill Temper and jealousy: huaq; ningaq; qiquq; urtslu; piyuma; tuhuu; hujuujaq
Humor: tiphi; takhaungngittuq
Fear: kappia; iqhi; ilira; tupak
Anxiety: huqu; ujjiq
Shyness: kanngu
Loneliness: hujuujaq; pai; turnak
Evaluative Words: ihluaq; ihluit; naamak; pittau; pittiaq
Reason: ihuma; nutaraqpaluktuq; ayuq
II: Table of Seasonal Activities
III. Composition of Families
Glossaries
I. Eskimo Terms Other than Emotion Terms II. Emotion Terms
References
Maps
Spelling and Pronunciation Note
People
Introduction
I. The Study
II. The Setting
III. Arrival
IV. The Seasons
V. Nomadism
VI. The Society
Chapter 1: Inuttiaq
I. Dominance and Intensity
II. Religious Leader: Assertiveness
III. Father to Kapluna: Protective Dominance
IV. Father to His Own Children: Affection
Chapter 2: Family Life: Expressions of Closeness
I. The Inner Circle: Intimacy and Informality
II. Men and Women: The Warmth and Luxury of Male Dominance
Chapter 3: Inuttiaq's Children
I. Saarak: Temper and Reason in Child Nature
II. Saarak's Charm: Spontaneity; The Expression of Affection toward Small Children
III. Raigili's Charm: Mildness
IV. Raigili and Her Family: The Expression of Affection toward Older Children
V. The Lives of Children: Sibling Relationships
VI. Raigili and Saarak: Sibling Friction
VII. Raigili's Troubles: Hostility in Older Children
VIII. Saarak's Changing World: Recalcitrance in Small Children
IX. Saarak's Crisis: Loss of Mother's Closeness
X. No Longer a Baby: Transition to Older Childhood
Chapter 4: Two Kin Groups: Expressions of Separateness and Hostility
Chapter 5: Nilak's Family
I. Unpleasant People: Utku Dislike of Volatility
II. Outsiders All: My Ambivalence toward the Disliked
III. Loneliness and Isolation
IV. Stinginess and Greed
V. Ostracism and Confrontation
Chapter 6: Kapluna Daughter
I. Stranger and Guest: Graciousness
II. Family Living: Covert Conflicts
III. Recalcitrant Child: Open Conflict and Attempts to Educate
IV. The Fishermen: Crisis
V. Persona Non Grata: Ostracism
VI. A Vicious Circle: Depression and Hostility
VII. Reconciliation
AppendixesI. Emotion Concepts
Affection: unga; niviuq; aqaq; iva; huqu; nakilk
Kindness and Gratitude: hatuq; quya
Happiness: quvia
Ill Temper and jealousy: huaq; ningaq; qiquq; urtslu; piyuma; tuhuu; hujuujaq
Humor: tiphi; takhaungngittuq
Fear: kappia; iqhi; ilira; tupak
Anxiety: huqu; ujjiq
Shyness: kanngu
Loneliness: hujuujaq; pai; turnak
Evaluative Words: ihluaq; ihluit; naamak; pittau; pittiaq
Reason: ihuma; nutaraqpaluktuq; ayuq
II: Table of Seasonal Activities
III. Composition of Families
Glossaries
I. Eskimo Terms Other than Emotion Terms II. Emotion Terms
References
MapsI. The Canadian Arctic II. The Annual Migration Area of the Utkuhikhalingmiut: Campsites
DiagramInuttiaq's Tent and Iglu