IKUMARATTIAQ QAMINGASUKTUQ, the oil lamp with extinguished fire
Geolocation
Relations
Item Relations
| This Item | related through common consecutive operations (sub-procedure): | Item: IKUMARATTIAQ (TAQQUTILIK), the flames of the oil lamp (and the wick tender) |
| Item: IKUMARATTIAQ SUKALIK, the oil lamp with flames on a support | related through common consecutive operations (sub-procedure): | This Item |
Graphical representation of this item’s relations
Citation
Céline Petit, “IKUMARATTIAQ QAMINGASUKTUQ, the oil lamp with extinguished fire,” String figures, accessed February 24, 2026, https://stringfigures.huma-num.fr/items/show/277.
- Overall presentation
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Name : IKUMARATTIAQ QAMINGASUKTUQ, the oil lamp with extinguished fire
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Creator : Céline Petit
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Contributor(s) : Herve PANIAQ, Iglulik, Nunavut, Canada
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Date : 2015-2021
- Information on the string figure
This string figure represents an oil lamp (qulliq) whose flames (ikumat) have been extinguished (qamingajut; qamingajuq - the fire is extinguished).
This figure is also known among Inuit of the South Baffin area. It seems to have been observed mostly in Inuit societies of the Eastern Canadian Arctic.
This figure is also known among Inuit of the South Baffin area. It seems to have been observed mostly in Inuit societies of the Eastern Canadian Arctic.
1. Position I. R1 hooks up L5f (= R1 from the far side picks up L5f) and returns, and L1, moving over L5f-R1f string hooks up [or picks up from the back side] R5f. Extend and release 5 loop.
2. 5 enters proximally into 1 loops and hooks down TV 1f.
3. 2 enters distally (= from the far side) into 1 loops, and hooks up TV 1n. Remove 1.
4. There are two triangles formed at the center of the figure, one at the bottom pointing upward and one at the top pointing downward. 1 picks up the two diagonal strings forming respectively the closest sides of each triangle on its side.
5. Inuit Ending (= 1 enters proximally into 2 loop, Navajo 1 and remove 2).
6. Insert 2 from the far side (= back of the figure) into the « X » formed in the center of the figure (2 pointing towards the body), with 2 being close to the vertical pattern formed on each side. 2 pushes up (to the far side) the upper middle TV string and points upward, then 2 enters distally into 1 loop, picks up 1 n close to 1, and returns through 2 proximal loop. Remove 1.
7. Insert 1 (from the near side and from the centre) into the small loops formed at the bottom on each side of the figure (and running across 5 loop): you might need to adjust the figure to make such a loop appear on the left side. 1 picks up the far string of each loop.
8. Inuit Ending (and proximally transfer 1 loop to 2).
9. 1 hooks down the lower TV (5) string, then remove 5 and extend. This is ikumarattiaq qamingasuktuq.
2. 5 enters proximally into 1 loops and hooks down TV 1f.
3. 2 enters distally (= from the far side) into 1 loops, and hooks up TV 1n. Remove 1.
4. There are two triangles formed at the center of the figure, one at the bottom pointing upward and one at the top pointing downward. 1 picks up the two diagonal strings forming respectively the closest sides of each triangle on its side.
5. Inuit Ending (= 1 enters proximally into 2 loop, Navajo 1 and remove 2).
6. Insert 2 from the far side (= back of the figure) into the « X » formed in the center of the figure (2 pointing towards the body), with 2 being close to the vertical pattern formed on each side. 2 pushes up (to the far side) the upper middle TV string and points upward, then 2 enters distally into 1 loop, picks up 1 n close to 1, and returns through 2 proximal loop. Remove 1.
7. Insert 1 (from the near side and from the centre) into the small loops formed at the bottom on each side of the figure (and running across 5 loop): you might need to adjust the figure to make such a loop appear on the left side. 1 picks up the far string of each loop.
8. Inuit Ending (and proximally transfer 1 loop to 2).
9. 1 hooks down the lower TV (5) string, then remove 5 and extend. This is ikumarattiaq qamingasuktuq.
- Item references
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Key words : String figure; String game; Inuit; Iglulik; Eastern Canada; Arctic
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Publisher : Laboratory SPHERE (UMR 7219, University of Paris & CNRS)
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Rights : Creative Commons / Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike CC BY-NC-SA
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Language : Inuktitut ; English
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Location : Iglulik (Igloolik), Nunavut, Canada
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Description : Iglulingmiut (Amitturmiut) Inuit string figure (Nunavut, Canada): symbolism, method of construction, references to the same figure as documented among different Inuit groups (Alaska, Canada, Greenland)