The tupiq (plural: ''tupiit'',

Inuktitut syllabics Inuktitut syllabics ( iu, ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ, qaniujaaqpait, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik and Nunatsiavut regions of Quebec and Labrador ...

: ᑐᐱᖅ) is a traditional

Inuit Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territorie ...

tent made from seal or caribou skin. An Inuk was required to kill five to ten ''ugjuk'' (

bearded seal The bearded seal (''Erignathus barbatus''), also called the square flipper seal, is a medium-sized pinniped that is found in and near to the Arctic Ocean. It gets its generic name from two Greek words (''eri'' and ''gnathos'') that refer to its ...

s) to make a sealskin tent. When a man went hunting he would bring a small tent made out of five ''ugjuit''. A family tent would be made of ten or more ''ugjuit''.

Fabrication and use

After the bearded seal is killed, its fat is scraped off, then the skin is stretched to dry. Finally, women will sew it together to make a tent. Layers can be added by laying heather on top of the outer skin and wrapping another skin around the tent. Franz Boas among the Inuit of Baffin Island, 1883-1884: Journals and Letters, Edited and introduced by Ludger Müller-Wille, Translated by William Barr, p. 130, "Today they covered their Tupiks icwith heather and pulled abother skin over it. The tupiq was used on the land not on the sea ice. It was portable for travel and lasted several years. When stored over the winter, the tupiq had to be kept away from dogs. In the summer the tupiq was used as shelter, then in the fall when it got colder, the Inuit moved into a '' qarmaq'', a type of sod house, and the tupiq was used for the roof. In winter, the Inuit lived in '' igluit'' when the snow was good enough to build them. Then in the spring when the iglu melted, they moved back into the tupiq. The tupiq was important traditionally, but is rarely used in modern times. Today most Inuit use canvas tents called ''tupikhaq''.

References

House types Inuit culture Buildings and structures in Nunavut Buildings and structures in the Northwest Territories Tents Indigenous architecture of the Americas {{Canada-struct-stub