Childhood

'Spearing the seal' game

Inuit, Baffin Island, Nunavut Territory, Canada

Pre-1927

Seal skin, wood, bone

Rev JW Bilby

This Inuit game, from Canada, is a good example of how children can learn some of the skills they will need as an adult through playing.

The object of this skill-testing game was to spear a seal through the 'breathing holes' in the ice, represented by the perforated white scapula (shoulder blade). A hit with the wooden harpoon in one of the holes in each seal skin may have scored points, with some locations being more successful in bringing down the animal than others. The game was not only a fun way to pass the time, but also served to teach a child necessary hunting skills.

The game was based on the principle that when seals have been swimming for a long time, they have to come up to the surface to breathe. Hunters take advantage of this by cutting a hole in the ice and waiting with their harpoon ready until the seal appears. This form of hunting takes great patience. Hunters will often wait motionless for hours over the breathing holes - any movement they make can alert the seal to the hunter's presence.

This game is on display in the Reveal permanent exhibition at the National Conservation Centre, which opens on 16 June 2006. You can try out more traditional games from different cultures around the world in the Weston Discovery Centre at World Museum Liverpool.

In this section

• the next item in this section is: Child’s toy lion ‘Fido’
• Childhood online exhibition main page.

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