August 2006 - Interview with Pien Penashue

Innu-aimun Translator: Rose Gregoire
Interviewers: Franziska von Rosen and Trudy Sable
Place: Sheshatshiu, Labrador

Franziska von Rosen: Could you please tell us your name and bit about your background?

Rose Gregoire: He said my name is Pien Penashue. He was born over in the Mealy Mountains.

FvR: When did he become aware of drumming?

RG: Even as a child he often saw people playing the drum. At that time he was too young to play. What he did was to help the elder to fix the drum, and to help him set it up. His wife’s father told Pien to play the drum, even though he never dreamt about the drum. Because he was asked by his father-in-law, he picked up the drum and learned the songs.

FvR: Could you ask him about the songs that he sings? What would they be used for?

Hear Pien Song #1
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Hear Pien Song #2
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Hear Pien Song #3
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RG: Many of Pien’s songs are about early in the morning when the sun comes up. He is in the tent when hunting; he puts on his clothes and getting ready to go, and when he stands up to go out of the tent, that was what he was singing about. “I am going out” or he is going hunting.

FvR: Are there other songs for other aspects of the hunt?

RG: Pien has a lot of songs. There is a song that he sings about what he thinks of the animals, the animals that he is hunting for. He sings songs about the headmasters of the animals, headmaster of the fish, of the caribou, the fox, and other different kinds of animal. He sings about the masters of those animals.

FvR: Is there a different song for each kind of animal?

RG: Yes, there is a different one for every kind of animal.

FvR: Can you ask him where he gets his songs? Are they his own unique songs or are these songs shared with other hunters?

RG: He makes up those songs himself. His wife’s father was a shaman and he had his own songs too. He died a long time ago. Pien says he has his own songs about what he thinks about the animals.

FvR: Are songs also inherited from father to son?

RG: Every master of a type of animal has a set of keys. Each animal spirit is just like here. He dreamt about keys one time. The animal that he tried to kill, he could not get him. He kept hunting, but he could not get him. Someone said to him, the post office is closed, but it will be open later. Then his brother Jerome told him, turn over those keys, your name is on them too. That means Pien will have some kind of keys to be the boss, over animals, over hunting.

He dreamt about a boat too. They were hunting on the Mealy Mountains. The boat was going forward. In his dream it opened from the back. There were boxes and boxes of stuff coming out. And Pien opened one. Those boxes were full of caribou meat. And he told the people that they were with that he had a dream. And that day when they were hunting they killed about twenty caribou, so this was his vision of that hunt. He always believes in his dreams. They are very important to him.

FvR: So he is a hunter as well as a drummer.

RG: Yes.

FvR: Do women ever drum?

RG: He has never seen a woman drum. Women are welcome to dance when there is a drummer and to sing and celebrate.

FvR: How important is it to have women there for the success of the hunt?

RG: Of course, when women dance while Pien is playing the drum, that really helps in getting the vision as to where the animals are. Women clean the caribou skin, put away the meat, and dry the meat. Sometimes women dream and their dreams are important too. They may speak to their husband or other hunters about them.

FvR: So women have hunting dreams?

RG: Yes. Women do all the work of cleaning the animals, and putting away the meat. That helps the hunter.

Trudy Sable: One of your songs, I think you said, was to a female caribou master.  Is that correct?

RG: Those female caribou are very, very important. They have a special name for them, oitamiteiskueu, which means “outdoor woman.” They are constantly outdoors, particularly if they have young ones. And women are very important because of cleaning the animals. Women are the ones who do work like making moccasins, cleaning the caribou skins, making clothing for the men, so they can continue hunting. Also women are the ones who give life.  All female animals are very important because they have young ones.

The man hunts for the family. His wife is part of that and can be called a hunter because she does all the work alongside the hunter. Children who are around watch their parents during the hunt.

TS: Can he talk about his first vision when he drummed?

RG: The first time he beat the drum there was not much of a vision because his wife’s father had been playing the drum and he handed it over to Pien. He said: “It is your turn to sing. Pick up the drum.” Pien did not know that much about the drum then, but he picked it up. He learned the songs, because when he picked up the drum he was constantly thinking about the animals. He made up songs for himself.

An elder once told him that if he dreamed something negative, not to bother with it, but if you dream about positive things, then take it. That is what he has been doing. If his dreams are negative, he does not bother about it because that was what he was told by an elder.

One time they were in the country traveling down to the community. And one of the men dreamt one of you will not make it home. He took it seriously. These other elders said you should not have paid any attention to it. When he came into the community he could never return to it. This was his dream and his son is still living, but he never did go back into the country. He died here because he took his dream seriously. His wife’s father said that he should never have taken his dream seriously. Her father was a very good teacher. Pien really believed in his father-in-law.

FvR: Can one share one’s dreams?

RG: Yes, just like you have heard about the boat and the keys of the master animals.

RG: Here he was thinking and singing about his hunting. It was a song about a woman, a woman who always needs to be respected. He was singing about the female caribou.

He hopes that one of his grandchildren will live for a long time. He has given the grandchild a nickname. When the grandchild is given a nickname, the person will live longer. He gives names to young people. People ask him to give nicknames to the children so that they will live longer. There are two grandchildren and one neighbour who have grown up now [with these nicknames]. A lot of children here in the community have asked Pien to give them names and that is what he has been doing.

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This project was made possible with the support of the Department of Canadian Heritage through Canadian Culture Online

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