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Yup´ik Yurapiaq and the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance
  • Yupik dance
  • Yupik dance

My great-grandmother, Anrutaq, was born in the now-famous village of Napaskiaq, where a lot of well-known masks in the world’s museums originated. One of these masks is at the Louvre in Paris. My grandmother, Auguilnguk, or Minnie Carter, was born shortly before 1900 at the ancient site known as Agalik, just south of Quinhagak in southwestern Alaska, so she was known as Agaligmiut. She was born into the traditional Yup´ik way of life. She witnessed dance, séances, and shamanism, all of which were integral to the Yup´ik dance system. “They would close their eyes,” she said, “and dance in unison.” That summarizes traditional Yup´ik dance.

We Yup´ik still have our terms for dance, and it’s important to remember them. Yuraq is the word for dance in the Yup´ik language, and the suffix …piaq means real. Therefore yurapiaq means “real, genuine, dance.” Other Yup´ik words for dance are: yagira, meaning “arm movements in a gesture of reaching out”; angala, “swaying from one side to the other”; arula, “pure movements”; and nayangaq, “head motions.”

Most dancing was done in the winter, when people could devote time to ceremonial activities. Winter was a time of thanking the universe for providing sustenance from the land, sea, and sky. Yup´ik villages throughout the Kuskokwim Bay region hosted festivals in their ceremonial houses, some lasting a week. Invited emissaries would travel to each village. People dressed up in elaborate clothing and used ornate dance implements. Once I asked my grandmother why Yup´iks decorated themselves to dance. She said, “It is important for us to look beautiful for our ancestors. When we dress up in all our fine regalia, it makes our ancestors extremely happy. That is why we Yup´iks decorate ourselves in full to dance.”

One dance that my mother taught me, and that my dance troupe performs today, is the Quyana (Thank You) Song Dance. The words of the song are:

    Thank you, for I have received my labret.
    Thank you, for I have seen into the distance.
    And thank you for my nose septum decorations and for all my beautiful necklaces.

This thank you song is essentially about growing up. It came originally from my maternal great-grandmother, and my mother learned it from her mother. As we grow up we receive more and more responsibilities. The ornaments referred to in the song, the ornaments Yup´ik dancers wear, are the physical manifestations of their responsibilities. So the message of the Quyana Song is that Yup´iks ought to be thankful for the responsibilities bestowed upon them. This is the same for men and women. Songs such as the Thank You Song were and are sung by a host of drummers.

My mother also described the dance of the morning star. A young maiden’s grandmother bathed her, braided her hair, and gave her two sets of parkas to wear. The simple parka was an inner layer, and the outer garment was a very traditional, fancy parka. The grandmother gave the young woman beautiful boots and a headdress, put beads in her hair, and then placed labrets on her chin. She gave the girl ivory rings and a very rare copper bracelet. Then they went outside, and she instructed her granddaughter to climb on top of their little house. The grandmother began to sing slowly, playing the drum and circling the house, while the girl danced. The villagers noticed the pair and began to watch intently. The drumming got faster and faster, and the grandmother sang louder and louder. At the crescendo of the dance, the young woman flew into the sky and became the morning star, all dressed up in her fine parka with all her dance accoutrements.

Another type of Yup´ik dance is qavaruaq, which means “pretend to sleep.” These dances were done mainly in the summer. Without any dance paraphernalia, people dancing individually would make motions depicting everyday activities such as cleaning the house, cutting fish, picking berries. Ingula dances, yet another type, were done at food-gathering festivals at the conclusion of the summer season. These dances depicted ancient events.

An elriq was a feast in remembrance of the dead. Songs were sung, and food was brought to the ceremonial house, with the idea that sharing food with others is a way of sharing food with departed loved ones. Aviuqaq means “food offerings for the dead.”

Kevgiq means “everybody helping each other out.” This was a time when people exchanged gifts with each other. There was great feasting and dancing. Villages took turns inviting one another to these events, sending messengers with invitations—hence the commonly used term is “messenger feast.”

Agayu means “requesting (praying for) abundance.” These dances were accompanied by masks. During this time Yup´iks asked the universe for the things that they needed, such as food or clothing. This dance also marked a time of reflection.

All Yup´ik dance is accompanied by cauyaq (drumming) and yuarutet (singing). A cauyaq is a tambour-style drum with a driftwood frame and a membrane made of walrus stomach, which is beaten with a slender wooden wand. The dancers perform with taruyamaarutek (“finger masks”), a pair of hand-held dance fans made from carved and painted wood, bird feathers, and tufts of caribou fur. In modern times, taruyamaarutek also are made from woven grass and caribou fur. The dancers wear a nasqurrun, or festive headdress, made from furs—such as wolf, wolverine, land otter, or seal—and bone beads. Today, the nasqurrun may be made from fabric, yarn, and glass beads. They also wear a naqugut’piaq, a “real, genuine” belt that is usually made from sealskin and decorated with furs (including the paws and tails) of such animals as wolves and wolverines; bits of copper (traditionally a rare and valued commodity); glass beads; and yarn. And the dancers wear a uyamiit, a necklace made of different types of beads, as well as an uliqutaq, a gorget or neck blanket that is traditionally made of sealskin and beads.

—Chuna McIntyre, with assistance from Yup´ik linguist Vernon Chimegalrea (Yup´ik)

Chuna McIntyre (Central Yup´ik Eskimo) was born and raised in the tiny village of Eek, Alaska, Kuskokwim Bay, on the shores of the Bering Sea. It was there Chuna learned from his grandmother the songs, dances, and stories of his Eskimo ancestors. He is the founder and director of Nunamta (Of Our Land) Yup´ik Eskimo Singers and Dancers. They have traveled worldwide, sharing their Yup´ik cultural heritage. Chuna holds a B.A. degree in Studio Art and Native American Studies from California’s Sonoma State University.

Yup´ik dancers dress to please their ancestors. During their midwinter ceremonies, they wear their finest fur parkas. This parka, decorated with glass beads, is made from several furs, including Arctic squirrel, land otter, wolf, and wolverine. Though the parka is relatively recently made, the style is an ancient one. The furs imbue the wearer with the essential qualities of the animals represented. Handheld caribou-hair fans accentuate the fluid movements of the female dancer’s upper body and arms. Said to represent the human spirit itself, they are an essential part of Yup´ik dance regalia.

1980–2012. Made by Chuna McIntyre. Alaska. Wolf and wolverine fur, cotton, glass beads. 1960–1980. Alaska. Arctic squirrel, land otter, wolf, wolverine furs; calf skin, glass beads, yarn, wolf paw. Mukluks, ca. 1990. Made by Elena McIntyre. Kuskokwim Bay, Alaska. Calf and seal skin. Finger fans, ca. 1970. Alaska. Caribou hair, beach grass, dye. 25/8687. Leggings, ca. 1960. Made by Auguilnguk (Minnie Carter). Kuskokwim Bay, Alaska. Caribou and wolf fur. All items except finger fans from the collection of Chuna McIntyre–NuNamta Yup´ik Eskimo Singers and Dancers. Photograph by Ernest Amoroso, NMAI.

  • Yupik dancers

    Yup´ik dancers, Cama-i Dance Festival, Bethel, Alaska, 1998. Courtesy of photographer James H. Barker

  • Yupik dancers

    Yup´ik dancers, Cama-i Dance Festival, Bethel, Alaska, 1998. Courtesy of photographer James H. Barker

  • Yupik dancers

    Yup´ik dancers, Cama-i Dance Festival, Bethel, Alaska, 1998. Courtesy of photographer James H. Barker

  • Yupik dancers

    Yup´ik dancers, Cama-i Dance Festival, Bethel, Alaska, 1998. Courtesy of photographer James H. Barker

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