Post by blackcrowheart on Dec 16, 2005 0:20:21 GMT -5
Whistling language remains a mystery
Friday, December 9, 2005 - by Natasha Rasheed
www.ktuu.com/cms/templates/master.asp?articleid=2541&zoneid=1
Savoonga, Alaska - There are over 6,800 languages the world. Most are
spoken, but some have a rather unique form of delivery, including
whistling. More than 1,000 miles from Anchorage, in the village of
Savoonga, which is located on Saint Lawrence Island, some claim an
ancient form of communication still exists.
At 89, Ora Gologergen is the oldest living woman in Savoonga. She has
raised a family, seen her children grow and move away and now spends her
days with old friends in a place she loves. Although Gologergen has
never heard of using whistling as a form of communication, she believes
one of her friends, another elder, may know about it. But it was not so.
?
“He doesn’t know about that, he never heard,” said Gologergen (right).
Frustrated but determined, we pressed on. Billy Noongwook hadn’t heard
of it.
“They haven’t told me that story,” said Noongwook.
But finally, there was the possibility of a clue.
?
“That’s a code word, you know. Morse Code, we use, we use Morse Code,”
said Jonathan Annogiyauk (left).
Barbara Kogassagoon is another elder in the village and she learned to
whistle Morse Code when she was a girl.
“If somebody spells my name when they whistle, I know that they want
me,” said Kogassagoon.
?
However, it's not something she uses anymore. Kogassagoon says it was
never a recognized language that was frequently used throughout the
village.
Believing we had found an answer to the mystery of the whistling
language, we returned to Anchorage. But then we met Yaari Kingeekuk and
Marisa Jackson. Originally from Savoonga, Kingeekuk says when she was
growing up, the language was used throughout the village and it’s not
Morse Code. There is even a name for it: Kookameegeenuk.
?
“We use it to communicate when my friends or relatives were a distance
away and I wanted to communicate with them,” said Kingeekuk.
According to Kingeekuk, the language was used most frequently when the
men were out hunting, to keep track of each other and communicate
messages.
Jackson (pictured at left) also grew up in Savoonga and considers the
language to be a big part of her daily life. She and Yaari use it often
to keep track of each other when they go to the mall.
?
“She asked me what I was going to do tomorrow,” said Jackson.
“She said she is going to be cooking,” said Kingeekuk (far right). “I
enjoy using it as a source of communication and I would think it would
be really interesting to pass it on to a younger generations.”
Passing on the whistling language is exactly what Yaari hopes to do with
her children. She knows that the only way to keep it alive is to do just
that. For what was once commonly used during her upbringing is now
starting to fade away, with many of the secrets perhaps tucked under
this small Bering Sea Island, where the snow covers questions that may
never be answered about a language only a handful of people still know.
?
According to linguist professors at both the University of Alaska
Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks, they have never heard of
the language. That does not mean, however, that it does not exist. One
professor told us that he thinks it has just never really been
researched, so the mystery continues.
Friday, December 9, 2005 - by Natasha Rasheed
www.ktuu.com/cms/templates/master.asp?articleid=2541&zoneid=1
Savoonga, Alaska - There are over 6,800 languages the world. Most are
spoken, but some have a rather unique form of delivery, including
whistling. More than 1,000 miles from Anchorage, in the village of
Savoonga, which is located on Saint Lawrence Island, some claim an
ancient form of communication still exists.
At 89, Ora Gologergen is the oldest living woman in Savoonga. She has
raised a family, seen her children grow and move away and now spends her
days with old friends in a place she loves. Although Gologergen has
never heard of using whistling as a form of communication, she believes
one of her friends, another elder, may know about it. But it was not so.
?
“He doesn’t know about that, he never heard,” said Gologergen (right).
Frustrated but determined, we pressed on. Billy Noongwook hadn’t heard
of it.
“They haven’t told me that story,” said Noongwook.
But finally, there was the possibility of a clue.
?
“That’s a code word, you know. Morse Code, we use, we use Morse Code,”
said Jonathan Annogiyauk (left).
Barbara Kogassagoon is another elder in the village and she learned to
whistle Morse Code when she was a girl.
“If somebody spells my name when they whistle, I know that they want
me,” said Kogassagoon.
?
However, it's not something she uses anymore. Kogassagoon says it was
never a recognized language that was frequently used throughout the
village.
Believing we had found an answer to the mystery of the whistling
language, we returned to Anchorage. But then we met Yaari Kingeekuk and
Marisa Jackson. Originally from Savoonga, Kingeekuk says when she was
growing up, the language was used throughout the village and it’s not
Morse Code. There is even a name for it: Kookameegeenuk.
?
“We use it to communicate when my friends or relatives were a distance
away and I wanted to communicate with them,” said Kingeekuk.
According to Kingeekuk, the language was used most frequently when the
men were out hunting, to keep track of each other and communicate
messages.
Jackson (pictured at left) also grew up in Savoonga and considers the
language to be a big part of her daily life. She and Yaari use it often
to keep track of each other when they go to the mall.
?
“She asked me what I was going to do tomorrow,” said Jackson.
“She said she is going to be cooking,” said Kingeekuk (far right). “I
enjoy using it as a source of communication and I would think it would
be really interesting to pass it on to a younger generations.”
Passing on the whistling language is exactly what Yaari hopes to do with
her children. She knows that the only way to keep it alive is to do just
that. For what was once commonly used during her upbringing is now
starting to fade away, with many of the secrets perhaps tucked under
this small Bering Sea Island, where the snow covers questions that may
never be answered about a language only a handful of people still know.
?
According to linguist professors at both the University of Alaska
Anchorage and University of Alaska Fairbanks, they have never heard of
the language. That does not mean, however, that it does not exist. One
professor told us that he thinks it has just never really been
researched, so the mystery continues.