The warmth of cold!

Very few forms or methods of lifestyle can be more challenging than the life in an igloo! It is a whole different experience for the people who love an adventurous environment for sustenance of life! The temporary shelter of an igloo is very common in the tribal groups of Canada’s Central Arctic and Greenland.

The concept of an igloo is relevant only during the winters. In these regions of Greenland, one finds 6 months of sunlight and 6 months of darkness and building a shelter made of ice is the only practical solution. It will amaze you how normal activities of everyday life are maintained perfectly smoothly in the cold shelter of an igloo. Living in an igloo, sure has a lot of challenges, but it forms an exciting take on life in the cold and deserted.

All the supplies are stored inside an igloo. One half of the ice house is kept separately for cooking and eating, aided solely by an oil lamp, providing light and more importantly, heat! The residents hunt down seals, caribous and fish, which are usually cooked over an oil lamp and sometimes frozen meat is eaten raw.  Sleeping arrangements inside an igloo require particular attention to details. A mattress made of willow twigs, and protected from the cold by animal fur is what serves the purpose. An igloo is the only perfect solution to protection from the severe cold in the Arctic regions.

An igloo paints the perfect picture of a life led in sufficing necessities. For us, in the times of urban lifestyle development, it is difficult to imagine a life like the Eskimos, but they have a totally different definition of life. They are deprived of the luxuries of urban lifestyle, but for them, ‘fulfillment of necessities’ is what gains primary importance. They do not have exquisite edibles, or fancy clothing, or even luxurious activities to engage themselves in. Life in an igloo means wearing animal skin clothing, eating the bare minimum animal meat, cooked in the most basic form, and spending their spare time with their fellow residents, protecting one another from the cold.

In our urban lifestyle, we tend to compartmentalize time in different aspects of life and fail to realize time with our loved ones. There is no one to blame. We are kept busy in all the various activities that cloud around our time. We spend more time on things in this world, rather than our fellow human beings. In case of an Eskimo, whose world has a small radius, his life runs along the circumference of the circle of the loved ones and living life with people, instead of things.

The interaction of the Eskimos with the external world, and their concept of an intrinsically simple life set this group of dwellers apart. With small ice shelters, animal skin and animal meat, they live a life of self sufficiency, echoed through the disciplines of an environment of harmony and simple living.