ulu
{{Short description|Traditional all-purpose knife of Inuit, Yupik and Aleut women}}
{{About|an all-purpose knife|other uses|Ulu (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2024}}
{{Use Canadian English|date=January 2024}}
{{Expand Ukrainian|date=March 2024}}
File:Inuit_Ulu.JPG style]]
An ulu ({{langx|iu|ᐅᓗ}}; plural: uluit; sometimes referred to as 'woman's knife') is an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Inuit, Iñupiat, Yupik, and Aleut women. It is used in applications as diverse as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child's hair, cutting food, and sometimes even trimming blocks of snow and ice used to build an igloo.{{Cite web |date=8 February 2019 |title=The Ulu: Chemistry and Inuit women's culture |url=https://uwaterloo.ca/chem13-news-magazine/march-2019/feature/ulu-chemistry-and-inuit-womens-culture |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=Chem 13 News Magazine}} They are widely sold as souvenirs in Alaska.
Name
In the Nunatsiavummiutut variety of Inuttitut, which is spoken in Nunatsiavut (Northern Labrador), the word is spelled {{lang|iu|uluk}}, and in Tunumiisut (East Greenlandic) it is {{lang|kl|sakiaq}} or {{lang|kl|saakiq}}.{{Cite web |title=Hafted Scraper |url=https://stonetoolsmuseum.com/artefact/north-america/hafted-scraper/1840/ |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=Museum of Stone Tools}}
The following chart lists both Eskaleut terms as well as two terms for the same tool in Athabaskan languages, which are an unrelated language family spoken by non-Inuit-Iñupiat-Aleut Alaska Natives.
Materials
Traditionally the ulu was made with a caribou antler,{{Cite web |title=35. Artifacts {{!}} The Nick Newbery Photo Collection |url=https://www.newberyphotoarchives.ca/en/photos/35-artifacts |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=www.newberyphotoarchives.ca}} muskox horn,{{Cite web |title=ulu {{!}} British Museum |url=https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/E_2012-2021-1 |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=The British Museum}} or walrus ivory{{Cite web |title=1190 – Ulu handle for a slate/flint blade |url=https://www.sainsburycentre.ac.uk/art-and-objects/1190-handle-decorated-with-bird-like-heads/ |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=Sainsbury Centre}} handle and slate cutting surface, due to the lack of metal smelting technology in the Arctic.{{cite web |title=Civilization.ca – Nadlok – Glossary – Ulu |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/archeo/nadlok/nglos19e.shtml |access-date=15 October 2015 |work=civilization.ca}} The handle could also be carved from bone, and wood was sometimes used when it was available.{{Cite web |date=13 October 2023 |title=Hooper Bay's dunes, home to the community's cultural history, are slipping into the sea |url=https://www.kyuk.org/arts-culture-community-features/2023-10-13/hooper-bays-dunes-home-to-the-communitys-cultural-history-are-slipping-into-the-sea |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=KYUK}} In certain areas, such as Ulukhaktok ("where there is material for ulus"),{{cite web|url=https://www.pwnhc.ca/cultural-places/geographic-names/community-names/#4/65.98/-119.97 |title= Northwest Territories Official Community Names and Pronunciation Guide|website=Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre|publisher=Education, Culture and Employment, Government of the Northwest Territories|location=Yellowknife|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160113110003/http://www.pwnhc.ca/cultural-places/geographic-names/community-names/|archive-date=13 January 2016|url-status=live|access-date=10 January 2024}} Northwest Territories, copper was used for the cutting surface.{{Cite web |title=Ulu with a musk ox horn handle |url=https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/ulu-with-a-musk-ox-horn-handle/0QHhqGiIYbyFIg |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=Google Arts & Culture}}
The modern ulu is still often made with a caribou antler handle but the blade is usually made of steel. The steel is often obtained by purchasing a hand saw or wood saw and cutting the blade to the correct shape. A hardwood called {{lang|iu-Latn|sisattaq}} is also used for handles. Uluit are often home made, but there is also an industry of commercially produced uluit, sometimes made with a plastic handle and complete with a cutting board.{{Cite web |last=Ulu Factory |title=Specializing in the Manufacture of Ulu Knives, Handle Assembling & Packaging for Distribution |url=https://theulufactory.com/}}
The Copper Inuit of Victoria Island used copper they mined to make ulu blades.{{Cite journal |last=Morrison |first=David A. |date=January 1987 |title=Thule and Historic Copper Use in the Copper Inuit Area |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/281056 |journal=American Antiquity |volume=52 |issue=1 |page=5 |doi=10.2307/281056 |jstor=281056 |s2cid=163911997 |url-access=subscription }} When slate and copper were scarce, some Inuit turned to whale baleen or ivory for the blades.
Usage and styles
File:Maktaaq_Feast_1_1997-05-07.jpg with uluit in use: The woman on the right is using an ulu to cut muktuk; a larger ulu is lying on the cardboard in front of her. (1997)]]The size of the ulu typically reflects its usage. An ulu with a {{cvt|5|cm}} blade would be used as part of a sewing kit to cut sinew or for cutting out patterns from animal skins to make Inuit clothing and kamiit (shoes). An ulu with a {{cvt|15|cm}} blade would be used for general purposes. Occasionally, uluit can be found with blades as large as {{cvt|30|cm}}.{{Cite web |last=Abdullah |date=3 February 2023 |title=7 Detailed Ulu Knife Uses{{!}}Types, Steps, History & Guidance (2023) |url=https://knifeflow.com/ulu-knife-uses/ |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=KnifeFlow}}{{Cite web |title=Ulu Knife crafted by Northern Alaska Native Artists |url=https://www.arcticspiritgallery.com/ulu-knife/ |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=www.arcticspiritgallery.com |archive-date=1 December 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181201043359/http://www.arcticspiritgallery.com/ulu-knife/ |url-status=dead }}
The ulu comes in four distinct styles, the Iñupiat (or Alaskan), Canadian, Kalaallit (West Greenlandic) and Tunumiit (East Greenlandic). With the Iñupiat style ulu, the blade has a centre piece cut out and both ends of the blade fit into the handle.{{Cite web |title=External image on the Inuipat style ulu |url=http://www.theulufactory.com/Graphics/large_ulu.jpg |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060615162102/http://www.theulufactory.com/Graphics/large_ulu.jpg |archive-date=15 June 2006 |access-date=2 January 2006}} In Canada, the blade more often is attached to the handle by a single stem in the centre. In the western areas of the Canadian Arctic, the blade of the ulu tends to be of a triangular shape, while in the eastern Arctic, the ends of the blade tend to be more pointed.{{cite web |title=Civilization.ca – Nadlok – Artifacts – Ulus |url=http://www.civilization.ca/cmc/exhibitions/archeo/nadlok/nauluse.shtml |access-date=15 October 2015 |work=civilization.ca}}{{Cite web |date= |title=Ulu – Contemporary Canadian Native, Inuit & Aboriginal Art – Bearclaw Gallery |url=https://www.bearclawgallery.com/Gifts.aspx?GiftID=35 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130605074004/https://www.bearclawgallery.com/Gifts.aspx?GiftID=35 |archive-date=5 June 2013 |access-date=16 October 2023 }}
The shape of the ulu ensures that the force is centred more over the middle of the blade than with an ordinary knife. This makes the ulu easier to use when cutting hard objects such as bone. Because the rocking motion used when cutting on a plate or board with an ulu pins down the food being cut, it is also easier to use an ulu one-handed (a typical steak knife, in contrast, requires a fork).{{Cite web |last=Sun |first=Xuemei |date=15 February 2021 |title=What is the Ulu used for? |url=https://proudlyindigenouscrafts.com/2021/02/15/what-is-the-ulu-used-for-2/ |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=Proudly Indigenous Crafts & Designs}}
Uluit are sometimes used for purposes other than their original intent. Because of their cultural symbolism throughout the Arctic, they are sometimes presented to people who have accomplished significant achievements in fields such as sports or education. Specifically, the Arctic Winter Games presents ulu-shaped medals to successful athletes, acting in place of a regular medal.{{Cite web |date=31 January 2023 |title=Arctic Winter Games: Tuesday, January 31 – Team Alaska collects 8 ulu medals |url=https://www.knba.org/news/2023-01-31/arctic-winter-games-tuesday-team-alaska-collects-8-ulu-medals |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=KNBA}}
Uluit are also used as an educational resource, as they can useful in teaching geometry, the history of circumpolar peoples, the role of Inuit women, an understanding Inuit culture, and traditional tool use.{{Cite web |last=Lynch |first=Matthew |date=4 September 2023 |title=Unleashing the Educational Potential of the Ulu |url=https://www.theedadvocate.org/unleashing-the-educational-potential-of-the-ulu/ |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=The Edvocate}}
History
Uluit have been found that date back to as early as 2500 BCE.{{Cite web |last=Library and Archives Canada Blog |date=25 February 2019 |title=The Inuit Ulu – Diverse, Strong, Spiritual |url=https://thediscoverblog.com/2019/02/25/the-arctic-inuit-ulu-diverse-strong-spiritual/ |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=Library and Archives Canada Blog }}
Blades of the first uluit were made out of stone,{{Cite web |title=Alutiiq Museum : Word of the Week : Ulu [AM888.444] |url=https://alutiiqmuseum.org/collection/index.php/Detail/word/520 |access-date=15 October 2023|website=alutiiqmuseum.org}} but after making contact with whalers in the 19th century, the material used for blades changed quickly to steel.{{Cite journal |last=Button Kambic |first=Emily |date=2015 |title=The Changing Lives of Women's Knives: 'Ulus', Travel, and Transformation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24757024 |journal=Historical Archaeology |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=39–40 |jstor=24757024 }} By the 1880s in Alaska, the Iñupiat began to frequently transform steel saw blades into ulu blades.{{Cite journal |last=Button Kambic |first=Emily |date=2015 |title=The Changing Lives of Women's Knives: 'Ulus', Travel, and Transformation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24757024 |journal=Historical Archaeology |volume=49 |issue=3 |page=40 |jstor=24757024 }}
In the early 20th century ulu collections were displayed to the American public, lending support to an interest in Arctic exploration and in studying the culture of indigenous people of the north. Later, the uluit were also produced as souvenirs for the exchange of goods with sailors, and could often have no utilitarian value.{{Cite journal |last=Button Kambic |first=Emily |date=2015 |title=The Changing Lives of Women's Knives: 'Ulus', Travel, and Transformation |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/24757024 |journal=Historical Archaeology |volume=49 |issue=3 |pages=42–47 |jstor=24757024 }}
Since 1970, in the Arctic Winter Games small ulu-shaped medals have been given to the winners.{{Cite news |last=Adderley |first=Jack |date=9 March 1970 |title=We're going to have a Winner |page=2 |work=The Ulu News |url=https://arcticwintergames.net/ULU-News/1970/03/09/March-9-No-1?gameid=1970%20Yellowknife}} There are gold and silver ulu medals, as well as bronze ones,{{Cite web |date=13 March 2006 |title=Arctic Winter Games 2006: Medal standings |url=http://awg2006.kimik-it.gl/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128020221/http://awg2006.kimik-it.gl/ |archive-date=28 January 2017 |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=awg2006.kimik-it.gl |url-status=dead }} which replaced the formerly used copper ulu medals.{{Cite book |last1=Hopwoad |first1=John |url=https://www.arcticwintergames.org/AWG%20YUKON%20ARCHIVE/1970,%20AWG.pdf |title=Arctic Winter Games |last2=McAleer |first2=Wes |publisher=Arctic Winter Games Corporation |year=1970 |location=Yellowknife, Northwest Territories |page=21}}
In 2019 Robin Anna Smith won third place in The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards for 2019 of The Heron's Nest magazine,{{Cite web |title=The Heron's Nest – Awards & Contests, 2019 |url=https://theheronsnest.com/awards/awards_2019.html |access-date=16 October 2023 |website=theheronsnest.com}} with an English-language haiku about an ulu:
the snow
ulu moon.
Ulu knives are widely sold to tourists as souvenirs throughout Alaska.{{cite book | last =Spray | first =Zona | authorlink = | title =Food and the Memory: Proceedings of the Oxford Symposium on Food and Cookery, 2000 | chapter = Memories of a Vanishing Eskimo Cuisine |publisher =Prospect Books | series = | volume = | edition = | date =2001 | location = | pages = 264| language = | chapter-url =https://books.google.com/books?id=uRap8THh29gC&dq=Ulu+knife+souvenir&pg=PA264 | doi = | id =9781903018163 | isbn = 978-1-903018-16-3| quote=}}
Legality
Some countries, including Canada, prohibit the possession or carrying of knives where the blade is perpendicular to the handle (intended to limit the use of so-called "push daggers"). However, regulations passed under the Criminal Code{{Cite web |last=Branch |first=Legislative Services |date=22 June 2023 |title=Consolidated federal laws of Canada, Criminal Code |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/C-46/page-67.html |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=laws-lois.justice.gc.ca}} specifically exempt the "aboriginal 'ulu' knife" from this prohibition.{{Cite web |last=Branch |first=Legislative Services |date=1 May 2020 |title=Consolidated federal laws of Canada, Regulations Prescribing Certain Firearms and Other Weapons, Components and Parts of Weapons, Accessories, Cartridge Magazines, Ammunition and Projectiles as Prohibited or Restricted |url=https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-98-462/fulltext.html |access-date=15 October 2023 |website=laws-lois.justice.gc.ca}}
In the United States uluit are not allowed on commercial airline flights as carry-on luggage, though they can be in checked baggage.{{cite web |title=Souvenir ulus among items most caught at TSA checkpoint in Fairbanks |url=http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/souvenir-ulus-among-items-most-caught-at-tsa-checkpoint-in/article_cfa45d02-de54-11e3-a36f-0017a43b2370.html |access-date=15 October 2015 |work=Fairbanks Daily News-Miner|date=18 May 2014 }}
Gallery
File:West_Greenlandic_Ulo.jpg|West Greenlandic (Kalaallit) ulu
File:East_Greenlandic_Ulo.jpg|East Greenlandic (Tunumiit) ulu
File:Un_ulu_d'Alaska_sur_fond_bleu.JPG|A souvenir ulu from Alaska
File:Mannaia_tritacarne_-_Musei_del_cibo_-_Prosciutto_-_0032.tif|19th century Italian knife for meat ({{lang|it|mannaia tritacarne}}), resembling an ulu and having a similar function
See also
References
{{reflist|25em}}
External links
{{Wiktionary|ulu#Inuktitut}}
= Images and collections =
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20170629085329/http://www.nmai.si.edu/searchcollections/results.aspx?objtype=Tools+and+Equipment+%28General%29&objid=Ulu+knife Collection] of uluit in the National Museum of the American Indian
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174956/http://www.mccord-museum.qc.ca/scripts/viewobject.php?section=162&Lang=1&tourID=CW_InuitClothing_IK_EN&seqNumber=8 Images and descriptions] of uluit and other Inuit tools and clothing at McCord Museum
= Demonstrations and tutorials =
- An [https://www.eater.com/23539614/ulu-knife-inuit-indigenous-kitchen-tool article] about Ulu that has a section on how to use it
- YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_ZcT4UDfHM video] demonstrating the usage of an ulu
- YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0EXRKpDVeM video] titled "The Fastest Woman with an Ulu" featuring Marjorie Tahbone, who won [https://www.adn.com/sports/2016/07/23/world-eskimo-indian-olympics-wrap-up-with-record-in-mens-swing-kick/ first place] in fish-cutting competition at the World Eskimo Indian Olympics in 2016, showing her fast-cutting abilities
- YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DEEiYV7pQw video] showing the full proces of making an ulu knife
- YouTube [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=THQqyqk4t8k video] of an Inuk person skinning seal with an ulu
{{Commons category|Uluit}}
{{Knives}}