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IKALUKTUTIAK/CAMBRIDGE BAY
Many people are familiar with the qulliq and probably know how to use one but not everyone has the skills to carve one out of soapstone.

Annie Atigihioyak tends the qulliq lamp inside an iglu built on the outskirts of Cambridge Bay late last month. She was one of about seven elders participating in a traditional lamp- and pot-making workshop at the Kitikmeot Heritage Society in early February. - photo courtesy of Brendan Griebel

The Kitikmeot Heritage Society held a traditional lamp and pot-making workshop from Feb. 6 to 10, equipment they then used in an iglu-making workshop held later in the month. About seven elders and one youth carved and polished two traditional lamps – or qulliit – and one pot out of soapstone.

Trisha Ogina, 28, helped the elders carve, something she said she very much enjoyed. In the process, she added she learned a lot.

"It was a really good experience for me to see something like that. I have never seen it done before and it was very interesting to see how they made the qulliqs," she said. "I've always only seen the finished product. I've never seen it being made before so it was really interesting for me to be able to be a part of it."

The youth intern at the Kitikmeot Heritage Society said she learned how to shape out the soapstone, carve and polish it and then learned how to use the qulliq in the iglu. Ogina said carving the qulliqs was not difficult, although it was her first time. She remarked all the elders participating in the workshop were women.

One of those women was Mary Avalak, a Cambridge Bay resident. The 65-year-old said she enjoyed the workshop because she used to carve qulliit and pots a long time ago.

"I had fun. That was something I used to do a long time ago when I was growing up," she said, adding it was important for her to participate as she hadn't done it since she was a "little girl."

Brendan Griebel said the elders spoke about the stone and how to find the lamp and pot shape inside it as well as reminisce on the usage of qulliit and the traditional tools used for carving. The researcher at the society added narwhal fat was used in qullit to warm and provide light in igluit.

"It went great," he said. "We had a bit of trouble with the pot but the lamps worked out really well."

Griebel said the stone was not a good shape for a standard pot so they opted to make it smaller.

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