Those Who Dwell Below
Those Who Dwell Below
It wasn’t just the loss of Taktuq and Saima. His little brother, Atiq, had lost his childhood, having had to take on more responsibility in anticipation of losing Pitu again. His little sister, Arnaapik, was getting closer and closer to marriage and caring for a family of her own. Among his friends, Pitu felt alone, his youth lost. Now he held great power and status in the village. No one wanted to interact with him, afraid to become the audience of the spirits, to experience the supernatural world.
Pitu could remember the fear of the spirits he had felt before he became a shaman. It was nothing compared to the constant fear he had now, but it had seemed all-encompassing before. Throughout his childhood, Pitu’s parents and older siblings often told him of all the respect he needed to have for the spirits, to avoid angering them. This was ingrained into each child as they grew.
Day-to-day life in the harsh reality of the world was a precarious thing, subject to the whims of those who cannot be seen. If one failed to pay respect to the spirits, there would be backlash: starvation, bad weather, illness, death. He couldn’t blame the villagers for their avoidance; he’d have done the same thing. There was an infinitesimal separation between the world of humans and the world of spirits, and often they intricately overlapped.
“We have the same conversation every day, my friend,” Tagaaq said. “It seems you are still thinking that things will go back to the way they were before you left, but it will never be the same. You have changed. The longer you mourn the past, the longer it will take for things to move forward.
It was true that they had been carrying on this conversation for weeks now. Pitu wondered endlessly when things would go back to normal, when Atiq would be restless and rowdy, when people wouldn’t look at Pitu with fear and respect in their eyes, when the marriage between Saima and Ijiraq would be cancelled.
Pitu has experienced the spirit world firsthand and now wishes only to fit in with the others in his village and resume a normal life. He has taken on the role of shaman and realizes that he has a great deal to learn about this new position. Word reaches Pitu’s village that people in a nearby village are starving and dying, and he understands that it is up to him to visit them and to do his best to appease the spirits who have become angry and vindictive. Visiting the village is not enough, however, and Pitu finds that he must travel to the bottom of the ocean to meet Nuliajuk if he is to save the village and bring some sort of peace to his own community. Thus Pitu prepares himself for a face-to-face encounter with the creatures ‘who dwell below’.
Once again readers accompany Pitu on his journey of learning as he assumes a leadership role. He must overcome his natural fears and misgivings in order to be of service to others. In the first book of this series, Those Who Run in the Sky, Pitu hones his hunting skills as well as spending time in the spirit world. Now he must turn his attention to his role as a shaman and his calling to help others. Pitu learns more about his inherent reserves of strength and becomes more able to focus his skills where and when they are needed. Not only does he learn from the spirits and mythological creatures, but he also learns from the people around him. As Pitu continues his coming-of-age journey, he begins to sense not only which people may turn against him but also what has happened to them to give them such unhappy and vengeful personalities.
Aviaq Johnston, a young Inuit author who grew up in Igloolik, Nunavut, has received awards and recognition for her writing for young adult readers. Her writing, which includes traditional culture and mythology, opens the door to an entirely new world for her southern Canadian audience. She helps her readers travel to a part of Canada which most of us will never experience firsthand. She introduces readers to the sights and sounds and smells of the Arctic as well as to traditional culture. Inuktitut words are sprinkled through the text, and a glossary at the end of the book helps with meanings and pronunciations. The descriptions are detailed and exact, bringing the Arctic to life, aided by the illustrations of Toma Feizo Gas which add interest and depth to the story.
Those Who Dwell Below encompasses both fantasy and adventure and hints of romance as well. While Pitu is a teenage boy, there are many strong female role models in the book, and so its contents will appeal to young adult readers of both genders. At the end of the story, Qajaarjuaq has been banished from the village due to his many wrongdoings, but the spirits visit Pitu to warn him that this banishment may not be enough to restore peace and calm to the community. Thus Aviaq Johnston opens the door for yet another novel in this delightful series.
Ann Ketcheson, a retired secondary school teacher-librarian and classroom teacher of English and French, lives in Ottawa, Ontario.