Tipatshimuna 
Description:
In traditional Innu culture, one of the most important events was the communal feast known as the makushan, in which caribou meat and wax-like cakes of atiku-pimi (fat from the caribou long bones) would be served. Before settlement, makushan was held regularly throughout the winter to please the caribou master, ensure future success in hunting and reinforce the value of sharing.
Mishtiku-emikuan is a wooden ladle that would be used to skim off the fat (grease) from a pot of crushed and boiled leg bones in preparation for the feast. Georg Henriksen, who lived with the Innu in northern Labrador between 1966 and 1968, explained that “extreme caution is taken so that no fat whatsoever is spilled. The spoon used for the skimming is licked clean and brushed through the man’s hair before he puts it away.”
For more information and images of a wooden spoons, ladle, ice scoop or canoe bailer, search the Material Culture section of this website.
Stories:
Gallery:
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- Tanien Poker crushing caribou leg bones at Ashuapun in preparation for makushan. Photo by Proter Poker
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- Wooden spoon. Musée ilnu de Mashteuiatsh collection
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- Wooden ladle/spoon. The Rooms, Provincial Museum Division, Newfoundland and Labrador
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- Wooden ice scoop or canoe bailer. The Rooms, Provincial Museum Division, Newfoundland and Labrador
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- Emikuan used for scooping out the grease from boiled crushed bones. Peenamin Mackenzie School collection
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- Carved wooden spoon or ice scoop. The Rooms, Provincial Museum Division, Newfoundland and Labrador