Qaygiq (Men’s House) -  History

by Dr. John Pingayak

The qaygiq (men’s house) was very important in the Cup’ik community. It was where boys and men received formal education. The Elders taught them about survival techniques and trades men needed to know in Cup’ik society. These skills included becoming good hunters, fishermen, carvers, Eskimo dance drummers, and leaders of dances and ceremonies. They also needed to learn about the land and the sea and traditional stories and legends.

Men ate, slept, and took firebaths in the qaygiq. They also practiced Eskimo dances for special celebrations like the bladder festival, described later in this lesson. During every day activities, the qaygiq was reserved for the men. Women showed their faithfulness to their husbands by bringing food to the qaygiq daily; men in turn showed their faithfulness by hunting and providing food for their families.

During festivals and special ceremonies, women were welcomed into the qaygiq. The women were the backbone of special occasions. Without their ability to prepare and weave grass, the ceremonies would not have been complete. In one special gift exchange festival (petugtaryaraq, described later in this lesson), the women took over the qaygiq and prepared dances and songs for the men.

Below we talk first about how the qaygiq was built and then describe more about the qaygiq’s role in Cup’ik society.
 

Construction of the Qaygiq

The qaygiq was a large, semi-subterranean sod house, with a dugout area below ground and a domed roof above ground. All men in the village participated in construction of the qaygiqs. They dug the ground down several feet and then lined the dugout walls by stacking and fitting large, heavy driftwood logs; this required good supervision and management. Then they built a dome-shaped roof with logs inlaid on the sides of the dugout walls. This wood frame is called qerratarutet.

In the center of the roof the men left an opening or window. The window was removable and was made of the intestines of a whale or walrus. The window was removed during firebaths to allow smoke out. During the winter, frost developed on the window, making the qaygiq dim. The men removed the frost by patting the window (pategluku). According to tradition, the men were not to put that frost from the window outside, but rather on the side of the underground passageway (described below). The reason for putting the frost there is not known.

After they had built the driftwood frame, the men would lay grass all over the domed roof, for insulation. The laying of grass is called eviutet. Then they cut strips of high-tundra vegetation, consisting of blackberry bushes and small willow plants, and put those strips on top of the grass, with the vegetated part on the inside. This method of extracting and using high-tundra vegetation is called pakigtaat. The builders placed pakigtaat all over the grass, leaving no large openings. Then they took brown sod, which they had previously cut and made into slabs, and laid the sod over the pakigtaat, starting from the bottom of the frame and working up toward the top. This tough sod, called kiitaat, kept the rain out of the qaygiq. Finally, they filled any remaining gaps with slushy mud (kataneraq).

The qaygiq had two doorways and a fire pit at the center. The kepneq was an above-ground door, used from early spring to late fall and closed off during the winter. The pugyaraq was an underground entryway, used during the winter. The pugyaraq had an opening on the ground level outside and then a passage below ground. At the entrance to the qaygiq from the underground passageway was a burrow step—a step elevated above the passageway floor and with both sides flattened. All qaygiqs had a burrow step, called tutemkaq; the significance of the tutemkaq is not known.

Ivory tusk handles were situated at both sides of the entrance to the qaygiq from the pugyaraq, so people coming through the passageway could lift themselves up into the qaygiq. Younger children had a hard time getting in. Most of the time, they had to grab the handles, put their heads to one side of the entrance, fling their body forward and roll sideways into the qaygiq. Men pulled the smallest boys in and out.

Seating and Sleeping Areas in the Qaygiq

Each man had his place in the qaygiq. At the center was a fire pit, and men and boys of different ages had specific seating and sleeping areas along the walls. The entrance wall (ualirneq) was reserved for the Elders. The boys (ayaakutat or ayagyuga) sat along the walls, the older boy toward the corners and the younger boys toward the center of the walls on either side. The older men sat at the corners. The side walls are called nakirneq. The young unmarried men (nekevyuut) were seated along the farthest wall (egkuq), with the oldest of those at the corners (kangiraq) and the youngest toward the middle. All men learned the seating arrangements, and all men respected each other’s seating and sleeping areas. When a man was not in the qaygiq, others could use his place, but would move when he came in.

Seal oil lamps were put at the middle of both side walls. On either side of the lamps were seated two of the youngest boys. In the center of the farthest wall was another lamp, and on each side of the lamp the youngest nekevyuut were seated.

All the men in the qaygiq had grass mats to sleep on. Women braided the mats from tall bladed grass found around the ponds in highland areas of the tundra. The mats were well cared for, so they would last a long time. The men placed their belongings around their sleeping and seating areas, usually on the wall, or upper ceiling side of the qaygiq. These belongings included the tools each man had—such as carving knives, hand drills, hand chisels, and bow drills.

The drums, made of stomach membrane (intestine) of whale or walrus, had a special place in the qaygiq. Usually, they were placed at the corners, or in other areas where the heat of the fire pit would not affect them. The drums were used in practices for feasts, as well as for shamans’ rituals.
 

Life in The Qaygiq

The men were required to sleep in the qaygiq without any bedding; they had just their parkas and sealskin boots. They trained to survive in the cold day in and day out. They got used to the cold as an everyday condition. Most important, they trained to make their spirits strong. A man’s spirit was critical to helping him survive the cold. Men strengthened their spirits by going through the many hardships of life.

After spending so much time hardening themselves to the cold, the men welcomed warmth as soothing to the body and spirit. They took firebaths in the qayqiq every day or at least every other day. Men donated wood for the firebaths. They chopped the wood in the qaygiq and stacked it in a special arrangement in the center of the fire pit.

When the fire was first lit, the whole building became very smoky, before the smoke escaped through the window at the top of the qaygiq. The men bit special mouthpieces that covered their mouths and noses and prevented the smoke from burning them and going into their lungs. These mouthpieces were made of the fine shavings of driftwood, usually spruce.

Elders’ Teaching

Elders who could no longer hunt or do physical work advised the other men and boys. Elders were well respected, and younger men and boys shared their food with them.

The Elders are called teggneq (one) or teggneret (more than one). In every society, there were two wise men advising the other men and boys. This was true not only in Chevak but in Hooper Bay, Scammon Bay, Tununak, Newtok, and many other places.

The Elders advised the younger generation about their future and disciplined them for wrongdoing. When two Elders spoke, no one disturbed them, talked, or even asked questions. When men sought answers to things the Elders had said, they found these answers by searching within themselves rather than by asking the Elders.

The Elders often taught survival methods, especially about surviving on the ocean, where hunters had to go for the main source of food—seals. Elders taught how to survive in extreme conditions, and often Elders told the men: "Never panic, because it can kill you; always use common sense."