Sunday, September 30, 2012
Just thinking back on the day, I still can’t believe what I
saw today. Walking back to school from Father Quang’s house from our weekly
lunch at the church, Ashley and I were told by some local people that some men
were coming back on their boats, with their catch.....two beluga whales. Beluga
whale is widely eaten, when available, by the Inuit people and has been for over 4000 years. Whale hunting cannot be hunted for commercial reasons, but only as food for the Inuit. It is said that the
whale blubber is good for your health, and help keep the body warm during the
winter season. You may not think that whale blubber sounds appealing, but the
locals love it. The blubber is also eaten raw. Yummy!
Now, with that being said, Ashley and I jetted back to the
school, grabbed our cameras and ran towards the RCMP station where we were told
the belugas whales would be. As we power walked down the road, you can tell the
news definitely had spread around town because it seemed like half the town was
making their way to the beach. When we saw the crowd on the beach, there they
were.....two belugas whales being skinned right in front of us. The surrounding
water had turned red from all of the blood. Tons of people with plastic bags
surrounded the whales as they were waiting their turn to get the next piece of
blubber. What I found amazing was that the whales were shared amongst everyone
in the community. Ashley and I thought it was strange that we didn’t have to pay
for the whale, but rather it was given to us. A couple weeks ago, we tried
beluga at a friend’s house. The thing with beluga is that it is extremely hard
to chew. It’s hard to describe the texture but it reminded me of eating squid
but ten times harder to chew. I found myself chewing on the same piece (a small
1cm square piece) for over ten minutes, in which my jaw was still sore from
chewing a few hours later. Besides the texture, there isn’t much flavour to the
blubber, but there is a bit of a fishy taste. Blubber is extremely oily! You
can literally squeeze out drops of oil from one small piece! After that first,
Ashley was a big fan. I, on the other hand, fulfilled my goal of trying
something new but would not complain if I never have it again.
Looking back at the many photos I took during this event, I
can definitely say that it was less unpleasant to see in person. That sounds
strange, doesn’t it? Even though looking at the photos gross me out now, I
found myself excited, and intrigued during this cultural experience I will
never forget. The excitement from the crowd, the non-stop picture taking, and my overall curiosity shielded me from the realization that, "Holy crap! Those are beluga whales right in front of us!"
WARNING!!! The photos below are extremely graphic. If you
have a weak stomach or have a strong love for whales, they might not be right
for you.
No comments:
Post a Comment