Traditional all-purpose knife of Inuit, Yupik and Aleut women
This article is about an all-purpose knife. For other uses, seeUlu (disambiguation).
You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Ukrainian. (March 2024)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia.
Consideradding a topic to this template: there are already 326 articles in themain category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization.
Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article.
Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Ukrainian Wikipedia article at [[:uk:Улю]]; see its history for attribution.
You may also add the template{{Translated|uk|Улю}} to thetalk page.
Anulu (Inuktitut:ᐅᓗ; plural:uluit; sometimes referred to as 'woman's knife') is an all-purpose knife traditionally used byInuit,Iñupiat,Yupik, andAleut 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 anigloo.[1] They are widely sold as souvenirs in Alaska.
In the Nunatsiavummiutut variety ofInuttitut, which is spoken inNunatsiavut (Northern Labrador), the word is spelleduluk, and inTunumiisut (East Greenlandic) it issakiaq orsaakiq.[2]
The following chart lists bothEskaleut terms as well as two terms for the same tool inAthabaskan languages, which are an unrelated language family spoken by non-Inuit-Iñupiat-AleutAlaska Natives.
Traditionally the ulu was made with acaribou antler,[11]muskox horn,[12] orwalrus ivory[13] handle andslate cutting surface, due to the lack of metal smelting technology in theArctic.[14] The handle could also be carved from bone, and wood was sometimes used when it was available.[15] In certain areas, such asUlukhaktok ("where there is material for ulus"),[16]Northwest Territories, copper was used for the cutting surface.[17]
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 ahand saw or wood saw and cutting the blade to the correct shape.[18] Ahardwood calledsisattaq 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 acutting board.[19]
Feast ofmuktuk 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 5 cm (2.0 in) blade would be used as part of a sewing kit to cutsinew or for cutting out patterns from animal skins to makeInuit clothing andkamiit (shoes). An ulu with a 15 cm (5.9 in) blade would be used for general purposes. Occasionally, uluit can be found with blades as large as 30 cm (12 in).[22][23]
The ulu comes in four distinct styles, theIñupiat (orAlaskan), Canadian,Kalaallit (West Greenlandic) andTunumiit (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.[24] In Canada, the blade more often is attached to the handle by a single stem in the centre. In the western areas of theCanadian 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.[25][26]
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 typicalsteak knife, in contrast, requires a fork).[27]
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, theArctic Winter Games presents ulu-shaped medals to successful athletes, acting in place of a regular medal.[28]
Uluit are also used as an educational resource, as they can useful in teaching geometry, the history ofcircumpolar peoples, the role ofInuit women, an understandingInuit culture, and traditional tool use.[29]
Uluit have been found that date back to as early as 2500 BCE.[21]
Blades of the first uluit were made out of stone,[30] but after making contact withwhalers in the 19th century, the material used for blades changed quickly to steel.[31] By the 1880s in Alaska, the Iñupiat began to frequently transform steelsaw blades into ulu blades.[18]
In the early 20th century ulu collections were displayed to the American public, lending support to an interest inArctic 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.[32]
Since 1970, in theArctic Winter Games small ulu-shaped medals have been given to the winners.[33] There are gold and silver ulu medals, as well asbronze ones,[34] which replaced the formerly used copper ulu medals.[35]
In 2019 Robin Anna Smith won third place in The Peggy Willis Lyles Haiku Awards for 2019 ofThe Heron's Nest magazine,[36] with anEnglish-language haiku about an ulu:
carving the snow ulu moon.
Ulu knives are widely sold to tourists as souvenirs throughout Alaska.[37]
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 theCriminal Code[38] specifically exempt the "aboriginal 'ulu' knife" from this prohibition.[39]
In the United States uluit are not allowed on commercial airline flights as carry-on luggage, though they can be inchecked baggage.[40]
^Ohokak, Gwen; Kadlun, Margo; Harnum, Betty (2012). Angulalik, Gwen (ed.).Inuinnaqtun English Dictionary (in English and Western Canadian Inuktitut). Inhabit Media Inc. p. 97.ISBN978-1-92709-524-9. Retrieved10 January 2024.
^Mennecier, Philippe (1995).Le Tunumiisut, dialecte Inuit du Groenland oriental. Description et analyse (in French and Kalaallisut) (1st ed.). Klincksieck. p. 244.ISBN978-2-252-03042-4.
^Jones, Eliza (1978).Junior Dictionary for Central Koyukon Athabaskan. National Bilingual Materials Development Center, Rural Education, University of Alaska. p. 181.
YouTubevideo titled "The Fastest Woman with an Ulu" featuring Marjorie Tahbone, who wonfirst place in fish-cutting competition at theWorld Eskimo Indian Olympics in 2016, showing her fast-cutting abilities
YouTubevideo showing the full proces of making an ulu knife
YouTubevideo of an Inuk person skinning seal with an ulu
