However, the name is one that makes you think of getting on the ice floes, especially without a rubber survival suit, or an astronaut's space-suit, even. "Ivujivik" is actually a piece of water that's located behind the village. A lot of elders now say that the people who first settled here had no engineering technical plans in mind for the poor descendents who have now to figure a way of getting to the nearest good quality drinking water, what with all this rocky, hilly surface to overcome. But it's the ice that is scary, in terms of survival thoughts on it. I know of at least three deaths contributed to the dangers of the floes in my lifetime.
In terms of the food-chains, even nature gets back to the basic water that is swirling around these parts. It's the krill, or "kinguitt" (one kinuk, two kinguuk) that may be the most obvious small food that starts everything else. Then it's maybe the "quleeligyte" (one quleeligaq, two quleeligaak) that the thick-billed murre (one akpak, two akpaak, three or more akpyte).
Come to think of it, there are surprising salt-sea mammals and creatures that are really quite abundant among these waters. I'm quite convinced that it's the actual swiftness of the waters that attract so much wildlife: Atlantic cod (one uugaq, two uugaak, three or more uuqyte), ringed seals (one nutchirq, two nutcheek, three or more nutcheett), beluga whale or white whale (one qilalugarq, two qilalugaak, three or more qilalugyte).
This particular place is the beginning of the really high and dangerous rocky cliffs that run up and down true verticals. What lays beneaths is first the ice, in winter and spring that one may fall into and injure himself or even plunge to his death. Then it's the dark, dark, unforgiving, extremely cold "imaq" or "imaqbik" (big water).
The respectful hunter came to the ice in the natural rocky harbour to listen first to the seals by placing the "unaaq" to the ice surface to determine the species around. Or he simplay hiked from the iglu and searched for the aglu. After which he waited most of the day for his kill that he's bring to his proud wife and children. At no time did he comtenplate on getting stuck on moving floe ice - that was guaranteed death. It was always a good idea to keep dry, on land, ice, qayaq or umiak.
This is the area that Inuit hunters developed into fishing place for the iqaluit that came by migrating from close-by rivers in the spring, developed into trapping area for the silver, red, black, white and cross-fox, developed into a perfect whale hunting ground, because one could always resort to using the hook to retrieve the sunken whale in the relatively shallow water of the harbour.
In the Ivujivik area, though, behind the village, where Inuit used to compete for women in the hummaq built for that activity, the water was extremely dangerous. The water, even mixed with small ice floes, would be whirling around a lot, especially with the winds contributing to the chaos of the weather - it was then that even your deep hunger could not assist you to retrieve the qilalugaq which got caught in such a whirl-pool, which then brought it to the depths of the unknown.
Gigantic glaciers or "piqaluyite" used to stay in one place all year, until the ice beneath it had been eaten away by the currents and then, with very little respect for anything around it, just decided that it was time to completly topple over revealing it's other side. Even the most seasoned hunter knew the power of such a force and would not dare to foolishly get on it without first making darned sure of any glimpse of safety.
Many a woman have opted to first hike to the "Itivia" (entrance) before continuing on by boat to places of camping in order to avoid the waters that appeared to be boiling in white water. The cape of the village is known to come alive with the slightest development of a breeze during the summer months. It is the beginning of awesomely deep areas, where only the hardiest of birds, seals and whales reside. Man is no match for it's wild and untamed behaviours.
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