Inukshuks

[HappyCynic]

Here are a couple of inukshuk shots. Near Sochi House (aka Science World), there's a rocky area by the water that's lined with inukshuks.

No Elephants - It's Inukshuks All The Way Down...



The Inukshuk Family at the Beach

[Adsos Letter]

1. Cool! What do the Inukshuks represent (other than "Inukshuks")

In Switzerland people around Zermatt set up stone piles to mimic the the Kleine Matterhorn, a motif they also work into some of their buildings.

[HappyCynic]

2. Function

Apparently, I got the plural wrong... The plural of inukshuk is inuksuit. I blame late night posting for my error...

Anyways, the inuksuit are used as both landmarks (for hunting grounds, navigational aids, etc.) as well as cairn markers. According to Wiki:
The word inuksuk means "something which acts for or performs the function of a person." The word comes from the morphemes inuk ("person") and -suk ("ersatz" or "substitute").
And:
A structure similar to an inuksuk but meant to represent a human figure, called an inunnguaq ("imitation of a person", plural inunnguat), has become widely familiar to non-Inuit. However, it is not the most common type of inuksuk and is distinguished from inuksuit in general.

So, the inukshuk used as the Olympic symbol is really an inunnguaq. Incidentally, there was initially some dissent on using the inukshuk/inunnguaq as the symbol. The people against it argued that it represented the northern indigenous people but not the many southern tribes. Given the vast array of cultures, I think it would have been impossible to find something that represented all or even the majority. Possibly due to the lack of such a unifying alternative, the objections were overruled and the inukshuk/inunnguaq was used.

One other side note: The preferred Inuit form of the word is "inuksuk" and is also the form promoted by the government.

[Adsos Letter]

3. Interesting. This part I can certainly relate to:

"the inuksuit are used as both landmarks (for hunting grounds, navigational aids, etc.) as well as cairn markers."

We learned to use those types of 3-stone piles as navigational aids in Boy Scouts. They are still used to mark trails for hikers/backpackers across rocky, granite terrain, where no visible "trail" exists; this is especially the case above the timber line.

[HarveyDarkey]

4. I had to google it

I found this interesting from one site:

At one time the Inuit built inukshuit in long lines on each side of the Caribou trail. The woman and children would hide behind the inukshuk until the caribou herd came between the lines. The women and children would stand and start making noise and the caribou wold start running in straight lines to avoid the people on both sides. The inukshuk made it look like there were many people. The caribou would then run right to the end of the trail were they would be killed by the hunters with bows and arrows.

[JeffR]

5. Wow!

The sparkling water in the second one makes a fine backdrop. Would love to see more.

[HappyCynic]

6. A few more...

Here are the only other decent shots I have of inuksuit:

Balanced Composition


Waiting for Physics to Intervene


Fashionable


Clash of the Not-So-Titans

[JeffR]

9. Excellent!

Waiting for Physics to Intervene is perfect for the second one. Looks like a sneeze could bring them down.

[Tindalos]

7. They're built by a guy called Ziggy

He's spending 12 hours a day building them and now others are adding to the collection.

http://www.metroblenznewssquad.com/2010/02/23/tourists-are-fuelling-the-inukshukathon/



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[HappyCynic]

8. Thanks for the info

His work is just amazing. When I was passing by, there were a fair number of people creating their own. I wasn't aware that there was one guy who created a lot of them and has dedicated a large amount of his time to do so.