"We, the Yup’ik People, have understood the notion of ceremonial splendour from the very beginning."
—Chuna McIntyre [1]
In today’s technology-centred world, we encounter a myriad of emergent ways to share knowledge and culture, and yet we must also remain mindful to embody subtle and minute elements of our languages, cultures, and ceremonial accoutrements.
In the Yugtun language, originating in southwest Alaska, USA, around the Imarpik (Bering Sea/Pacific Ocean), fed by the Kuigpak and Kusquqvaq Rivers, kenangqayararrput means the distinctive manner in which we remain properly attired in beauty. Kusquqvagmiutaat distinguishes the particular designs, motifs, symbols, and iconography originating from the People of the Kusquqvaq (River) and Kuskokwim Bay. Pikaken, kanavet is an exclamation, “Wow!”, which literally means from up there to down there. The phrase is a celebratory and affirming compliment: a show of admiration for a person’s reflective presentation from head to toe.
Kenangqayararrput traditional accoutrements derive from, incorporate, and embody a certain tenacious Central Yup’ik reality and represent a culture embedded in our Yugtun language of origin. More than mere elegant symbolism, persisting millennia-old designs are visual markers of an ancient way of being. Proper ceremonial garb—still sometimes worn today—serve as vivid reminders of invisible realms pulsing and encircling, offering symbiotic sources of provision, centring, and renewal.
Our Central Yup’ik Realm
Our grandparents and their accumulated kin—born from the late 1800s into the early 1900s—were still fresh from rapid changes, impositions, epidemics, and anomie brought in with outsiders arriving into an abundant Yup’ik realm by sailing ship, tug, scow, dog team, and airplane. Allanret (guests from outside our communities) included extractors (traders, trappers, miners, grave diggers, and fish buyers); and shifters (missionaries, cartographers, geologists, government men like US Marshalls, military representatives, public health and reindeer service officials, mail carriers, anthropologists, and Bureau of Indian Affairs teachers). As grateful survivors of recent and sometimes disturbing encounters, Elders drew attentive youngsters close, fed and clothed us, and spoke quietly in affirming ways in Yugtun to instruct us discreetly and firmly about the art of belonging and continuance.
Chuna McIntyre at a Yup’ik regalia workshop at Cama-i Dance Festival in Bethel, Alaska. COURTESY ANCHORAGE DAILY NEWS PHOTO CREDIT: LISA DEMER IMAGE © ALASKA DISPATCH NEWS Bethel, Alaska, 2017
Chuna Commits to Continuance
Renowned Central Yup’ik Elder Chuna McIntyre, Nengqerralria (his Yugtun name), is a singer and storyteller, choreographer and dancer, skin sewer and beader, linguist and author, independent scholar and curator, multimedia and recording artist, conservator and restoration expert, mask maker and memory keeper, director and producer, elitnaurista (teacher), and mentor.
Chuna is instilled with a deep appreciation for and an extensive knowledge and clear articulation of ancient Yup’ik ethos: proper philosophy, aesthetics, perception, expression, function, design, composition, communication, kinship, relations, and interactions. McIntyre dedicates his life to carrying out cornerstone teachings. A stated personal goal is to ensure the survival of ancient Central Yup’ik aesthetics with the help of modern materials without changing the blueprints.
Through a myriad of expressions, Chuna has made exemplary and long-standing contributions to Alaska Native Arts, the Yugtun language, and our culture. His interdisciplinary work in our homeland and abroad is diverse and prolific. He contributes significantly to contemporary and future understanding and perpetuation of Yup’ik philosophy, ways of knowing and seeing the world, expression, and splendour. His expressions include: art, performance, song, dance, translation, mixed media, and correct identification and contextualization, sharing, production, creation, perpetuation, and restoration of Yup’ik cultural materials.
Named A Living Treasure by his Central Yup’ik community, Chuna’s work is unparalleled in its depth, extent, and wide-sweeping impact in building and expressing understanding in both the Yup’ik homeland and our diaspora. Through lifelong and pivotal roles, Chuna represents Yup’ik principles, aesthetics, cosmology, expression, context, and sensibilities to Yup’ik audiences and to others around the world. His artistic and scholarly articulation reminds, builds in-depth comprehension and—where necessary—corrects historic and current documentation of complex and sophisticated use of ceremony, kinship, language, dance, storytelling, and symbolism that have sustained, and will carry humanity forward.
Chuna is a recipient of a 2025-2026 Rome Prize together with collaborator Sean Mooney. The prize from the American Academy in Rome acknowledges Chuna’s lifelong efforts to create, share, and contextualize. At the invitation of the Museo Etnologico ‘Anima Mundi’ of the Vatican Museums, McIntyre and Mooney are examining Yup’ik dance regalia and ceremonial masks collected by Jesuit Catholic missionaries to Alaska in the early twentieth century. Their concentrated study will result in the documentation of Chuna’s lifetime of accumulated knowledge and a draft “catalogue raisonné” of Yup’ik masks.
Chuna has chosen to entrust the author to help record an introductory compendium of Kusquqvagmiutaat Proto-Eskimoan ceremonial accoutrements known to greet, affirm, and draw in ciuliaput (our forebears).
Qugcigyugluni (in this reverent manner), Chuna continues to mindfully codify intellectual property embedded in a sincere pursuit to enact and share ancient teachings, including blessings of gifts and wisdom bestowed by his late grandmother Augilnguq (Bloodless One) or Minnie Carter, herself a prescient and esteemed Kusquqvaq Bay culture bearer.
Deep Knowledge Embedded in the Yugtun Language
As the Yugtun title Kenangqayararrput and subtitle Kusquqvagmiutaat: pikaken, kanavet suggest, the splendour of a particular style of ceremonial attire is embedded in and celebrated within our language.
Elders recount deeds spoken and understood in the now-threatened Yugtun language. Old folks who helped raise us—ceaselessly, incessantly, confidently, and without worry—taught us that while we may not fully understand right away, if we keep listening carefully and remain attentive, as time ripens (when the knowledge is required), we will recognize and draw upon tenets painstakingly imprinted within us. This introductory compendium is a thin slice of laden instructions given within stories pulsing from bodily and familial senses to cosmological spheres.
This writing means to exemplify the sumptuous and detailed language Yupiaq use to describe ceremonial splendour and to record against accelerating Yugtun language and concept loss, and therefore the looming dangers of imposed vulnerability, sloppy distortion, and manufactured loss of important age-old artforms and elements of culture.
We are among the people who prefer not to carry forward alarming, stilted, generic, and now commodified descriptors like “mukluks,” whose Yugtun origin could be the maklak (bearded seal) whose dehaired hide is carefully shaped and crimped to create soles of various fur boot designs.
Yup’ik teachings are introduced using the imported English language for the sake of our young, who unfortunately show they may not have experienced the full benefits of day-to-day learning through intergenerational knowledge-sharing and practice. In this manner, we emerge to counter the displacement of our culture and art forms and the erosion of our Yugtun language. Please note, our complex languages are not soundbites and our art forms and culture cannot be surmised in a reel; our languages take up space and lessons for mastery take time and concerted effort.
This offering is an opportunity to acknowledge and describe “our stuff” with specific terms informed by knowledge embedded in our language of origin.
Paitaput
Art forms are given to us as a birthright. We remain intact as we carefully dress with affection in ceremonial garb to draw in positive ethereal and ancestral communication. Visual, gestural, and voiced portrayals of our cosmology and essence coalesce to reveal thresholds to pathways to unseen realms of being.
Conveners gather in familial and communal ceremonial places to imbue a bounty of interconnectedness and shared relation. Paitaput (our inheritance) comes down to us in reverberations as we adorn ourselves to sing and dance to return a steady, reverberating drummed cadence.
Paivciuk
Paivciuk: puts something out to be seen and used. Celebrants dance and sing while wearing artfully composed regalia recognizable to our ancestors. Sublime art forms offer detailed statements of Yup’ik industry, beliefs, family, places of origin, and connection. They employ celebratory assemblages of carefully placed and reverberating light and dark elements. Silhouettes of scrupulously adorned supplicants manifest provisions of care and belonging.
Abundance Abounds
Yupiit meticulously adorn one another in multitudes of natural materials derived from an abundance provided by the lands, waters, and skies—which are sources of both our emergence and continuance. Trade goods are now incorporated, too.
Skins and furs: wolf, wolverine, lynx, mink, fox, muskrat, beaver, land otter, seal.
Ground squirrel (marmot), weasel, ermine, rabbit. Caribou, moose, bear, muskox, reindeer.
Feathers and plumes of migrating and overwintering birds: Tulukaruq (raven). Snowy owl, tundra swan, Arctic loon, sandhill crane, goose, duck, ptarmigan. Puffin beaks. Swan feet.
Five species of once-staple life-giving salmon.
Enduring walrus ivory and bone with vibrant patinas, morphing across time.
Element-cured driftwood. Teeth. Hooves. Horn. Innards (“Gut”). Sinew. Blood. Urine.
Reminiscent uiteraq (red ocher). Maraq (clay). Coveted puneq/punerneq (copper). Willow bark. Grasses. Tundra fibres.
Qumaiyat/Qelamayuruat (dentalia). Prized glass trade beads. Imported calfskin, mouton, supple commercial leather, fabrics, woven trims, buttons, yarn. Bold, aesthetically pleasing glass, crystal, gemstone. Binding blood (succulent salmonberry and nourishing salmon roe) reds. Mysterious night sky blacks. Moonlit, snowy, celestial whites. Pure sunlit summer sky blues. Pleasing pearls. Tinkling bells. Nucleated washers. Toothed escape wheels exemplifying cardinal directions. Each borrowed exemplar is upcycled to echo familiar motifs.
We select complementary materials by hue, scale, shape, sound, source, and texture, join us together with affinity and inventive creativity in alluring amalgamations. Concentric circles, a common dot-and-circle motif of Yup’ik adornments and implements, echo symmetries of reverberating realms.
From womb to universe, we enjoin our lineage of grateful supplications—adorned, drummed, sung, and danced for both living celebrants and ancestors known to visit and witness: See.
Icugg’, alerquuteput
Recall precepts and unambiguous advice given to us.
Munalriit (esteemed masterful makers) across generations and genders measure and trace designs from contoured and proportionate familial patterns, painstakingly refined. Skillful makers mindfully collect, cut, and piece materials in proper directions, following a natural flow, with the utmost attention; resulting garments of care are, therefore, pleasing, enduring, well-made, and well-fit.
Each element is hand-crafted by unhurried hands, stitch-by-mindful-stitch. Crimpers crimp and incise precisely; skin sewers attach right-sized alngat (overlaying tassels) appropriately; beaders pace and cleanly tie off beads in signifying block patterns by ritual singles, duos, threes, fours, fives, and sevens—in solo, double, and multi-strands—stabilized by evenly punctured de-haired sealskin (or upcycled plastic) lateral spacers. Respected makers avoid careless distortions and rushed negligence. Learners bring their early attempts to gently ask experts, “Check me on the front and back sides”. Beginners hear suggestions, make corrections, and abstain from boasting.
Tang, kinguvarcimakevut, pikaken, kanavet
Through a meticulous, intergenerational practice, drummers, singers, and dancers prepare to enter ritual spaces, properly adorned in beauty to invoke, placate, and express joyful gratitude. Look (see)! Our (ceremonial) birthrights pass across generations and are complete from up there to down there.
A summary of symbolizing elements of a proper assemblage are catalogued in an array from head to toe.
Nasqurrun is an elaborately embellished dance headdress; an encircling halo (or crown) with an array of uplifting ochered fur and swaying beaded fringes. Some nasqurrun are highlighted by snowy owl feathers, winter caribou beard, prized wolverine rump, and emulate an ellanguaq (dot and concentric ring motif mimicking personal to universal realms).
Camataq/Camarvak come from somewhere below or underneath. This processional headdress features a copper (or brass) frontispiece with beaded temporal fringes and multi-strands cascading to accommodate outstretched handheld gestures.
Nacarpiaq is a fanciful fur hat donned by drummers upon entering ceremonial spaces.
Mellkegun is a headband.
Cukluq are beaded forelock ornaments.
Ayakakutartet are temple tattoos denoting mindfulness.
Cigvik are beautifying nasal septum beads.
As’utet are carved walrus ivory hook earrings, commonly called “hooks.”
Aqlitet are single to multi-stand earrings hung from hooks” (or metal wires).
Aqlilugpak is a large-sized earring prominently hung from a piercing in a man’s left earlobe during dance.
Agluarun/Agluirutet are jaw-framing, sway-fully beautifying single to multi-strand beads connected ear-to-ear to replicate a rainbow’s reflection while encapsulating a wearer’s agluquq (jawline) to accentuate a person’s countenance and draw attention to a wearer’s grace in motion. Shorter men’s versions hug chin lines.
Nuyitek are hair beads to complete a coiffure.
Taq’utak are binders for braided hair.
Tuutat are labrets (flanged curved plugs worn in stretched piercings, below the lower lip or flanking a mouth). Tuutat were commonly worn by women and men, pre-contact, and early post-contact; sometimes with an embedded stone or bead and with attached beads. Tuutat represent wisdom and esteem.
Caqiqsiik are side labrets connoting the revered status of elders.
Tamlurucet are chin tattoos—incised parallel lines marking milestones and transformations and exemplifying the beauty and agency of womanhood. (There are more kinds of tattoos).
Uyamik is a unisex necklace strung in solo, double, and multi-strands, sometimes reaching past a naval. Uyamit (necklaces) emphasize the familiar flowing rhythm and steady cadence of drummers, singers, dancers, and wearers.
Unermiarun is a string of men’s beads worn under the arm; cast over the left shoulder and draped under the right armpit.
Ulikutaq is a complementary neck blanket (or gorget).
Qesutaq is a body-hugging torso vest.
Talliraq is a bracelet. Talliraat (multiple/stacked bracelets) are worn every day and during dance on both wrists.
Kulun is a ring. Kulucet (rings) are worn on each finger every day and during dance.
Eniraraucet are pointing sticks to politely implore for sustenance and reciprocal generosity.
Taruyamaarutek are painted and carved driftwood finger masks offering homage to celestial beings, universes within and abounding. Protruding feathers, plumes, caribou tufting, and fur radiate beauty and well-being into the known beyond.
Tegumiak are dance fans held in hands with coiled, flat coastal beach rye handles and long winter caribou beard (throat hair) appendages. Sometimes plumed. When danced, tegumiak portray a rippling essence of human spirit into the unseen.
Naqugun is a belt. A Naqugutpiaq is an Ultimate Belt of Esteem. A naqugutpiaq is composed of a wide strip of flanged and embellished sealskin, lashed and draped across a waist, onto quads. The bodyside is slathered with ocher: anointed. The belt is enhanced with wolf or wolverine fur, paws, tails, glass, copper, and yarn on the show side. A variation includes emblazoned rows of caribou incisors stitched to rawhide. Naqugutpiaq could also be fringed with teeth, spent shell casings, and signature trade beads.
Cipnermiutalek is a woman’s belt with extras.
Pamyulek is a men’s version with tails.
Nallkiik are short trousers composed of rabbit and red fox fur.
Ciisqurrilitaq are short leggings made with wolf and caribou leg fur.
Murutek are liners/socks comprised of rabbit and fox fur.
Pinret are fall-dried grass linings for sealskin fur boot soles.
Piluguuk are a pair of crimped sealskin-bottomed fur boots. Pluguuk are often relegated to the watered-down term “mukluks.”
Ciuqalgek are men’s fur boots with front pieces made with wolverine leg fur.
Atrarutek are women’s fur boots with a design going down. Atrarutek are made of white caribou fur (or commercial calfskin) with a shin-line of evenly spaced and embellished land otter tail tufts. Atrarutek are also known as civagualgek (summer flies design).
Adorned in this manner, and with these elements, Kusquqvagmiut celebrants are distinguishable as Yupiit (Genuine Persons).
Made Distinguishable
Each conscious element comprising a Central Yup’ik ceremonial assemblage is a distinct work of art. When worn together by a Yupiaq (real person), “fine” accoutrements exude beauty and recognition of belonging and continuance as one among many across millennia.
Tekitut! Napaut! Nall’artut!
Assembled guests arrive at sacred ritual spaces, well-adorned with emblematic beauty, ready to drum-dance to reciprocating songs of gratitude. A palpable reverence and devotion to thankfulness for prosperity speaks volumes.
Kinguyaqa’aqluta
With our parting glances, we carry a legacy of joyful (ebullient) continuance as preludes to promises of reuniting.
Arcaqakaput
Adoring ourselves towards a complete manifestation is a birthright as we show we are still here with conscious attention and proper consideration.
Quyanarquq
We continue to show each other and our ancestors we remember Ciuliaput (the Magnificent People) who brought us here to carry on in good ways for the next 10,000 years. There is much to be thankful for. Piurci (keep being as one).
Alice Rose Crow Maar’aq in Yugtun, MFA + MBA, is among the kass’ayagat of the Kusquqvagmiut diaspora. She nests in Dena'ina ełnena on a quiet street in Spenard, Anchorage, Alaska, USA. She is the author of Yugtarvik: A Tʌndrə’d Glimp, commissioned by the Anchorage Museum in 2021.
Chuna and Ali acknowledge the critical abilities of Kusquqvagmiutaat speaker and university-trained Eskimoan linguist Vernon Chimegalrea. Uncorrected, clumsy mistakes are Ali’s alone and do not reflect on anyone else, especially Chuna and Vern.
Notes
1 Chuna McIntyre, quoted in “Substance of Stars Exhibition Catalogue” (Heard Museum, 2023), 60.