TIBDIoB: The Urban Inuksuk

A couple of years ago, I told Keane I wanted to make an inuksuk. (According to Wikipedia, "inukshuk" is a mispronunciation and"inuksuk" is the preferred spelling. The weird thing is that it seems that what I wanted to make is actually an "inunnguaq" because I wanted to make a cairn representing a human figure. But, "inuksuk" means "something which acts for or performs the function of a person," so why is a person shaped inuksuk supposed to have a different name? I'm afraid the discussion page on Wikipedia is no help on this question and only goes over the "s" or "sh" spelling battle.)

Unlike on the barren tundra, flat rocks are hard to come across here in the centre of Ottawa. So I decided to use urban materials. Keane happily agreed to help me in the quest and between the two of us we amassed a good collection that was kept, of course, in my basement.

Because of the decluttering mission, today was building day. Keane came over, we carried the pieces out to the driveway and we put it together. We could have consulted a reference on building inuksuit, but it was obvious how everything should go together.

We took photos, and then took the head off and waited in the driveway to get sunset pictures. (We took the head off because it belongs to Kaye and she'd be upset if it fell off and broke. We stayed in the driveway because Keane felt that people would steal the pieces of the inuksuk. I thought he was imagining things, but it is garbage night here and there were a bunch of guys on bicycles who kept circling past. They could have been fans of cultural art.)

Quite a few cars stopped. Some people took pictures. A couple of kids really liked it. "It's a robot," one shouted.

I didn't want to contradict him and maybe turn him off Inuit art, so I said "Not a very smart robot."

"But it's cool," said the kid.

I thanked him for the compliment.

Finally the sun got low in the sky, we took our final shots and then brought the pieces back into the house.