KABLOONAS

KABLOONAS
Burial of John Franklin. Author: me

KABLOONAS

Kabloonas is the way in which the Inuit who live in the north part of Canada call those who haven´t their same ascendency.

The first time i read this word was in the book "Fatal Passage" by Ken McGoogan, when, as the result of the conversations between John Rae and some inuit, and trying to find any evidence of the ill-fated Sir John Franklin Expedition, some of then mentioned that they watched how some kabloonas walked to die in the proximities of the river Great Fish.

I wish to publish this blog to order and share all those anecdotes that I´ve been finding in the arctic literature about arctic expeditions. My interest began more than 15 years ago reading a little book of my brother about north and south pole expeditions. I began reading almost all the bibliography about Antarctic expeditions and the superknown expeditions of Scott, Amundsen, Shackleton, etc. After I was captured by the Nansen, Nobile and Engineer Andree. But the most disturbing thing in that little book, full of pictures, was the two pages dedicated to the last Franklin expedition of the S.XIX, on that moment I thought that given the time on which this and others expeditions happened, few or any additional information could be obtained about it. I couldn´t imagine that after those two pages It would be a huge iceberg full of stories, unresolved misteries, anecdotes, etc. I believe that this iceberg, on the contrary than others, would continue growing instead melting.



miércoles, 20 de junio de 2012

ROBERT HOOD TODAVÍA ESTÁ ALLÍ/ ROBERT HOOD IS STILL THERE

Nadie podría haber previsto el día 26 de agosto de 1821, mientras Robert Hood y George Back pintaban las cascadas Wilbeforce de una manera sublime, que apenas un mes después iban a ser los protagonistas de en una de las mayores tragedias de las expediciones polares de la época.

Robert Hood fué asesinado por Michel Terohaute el 20 de octubre de 1821 tras sostener una fuerte discusión. El cadaver de Robert Hood fue depositado entre unos sauces detrás de la tienda de campaña del campamento que el Dr. Richardson, Hepburn y Hood montaron tras decidir esperar a que Franklin les enviase ayuda desde Fort Enterprise. Robert Hood durante su estancia en el norte de Canadá se enamoró de una india llamada Green Stockings y llego incluso a tenr un hijo con ella (del que no he conseguido averiguar nada todavía).

En el relato del Dr. Richardson extraido de la narración de Franklin no se menciona enterramiento alguno. Probablemente debido al estado de debilidad de los restantes miembros de la expedición, estos no procedieron a enterrar sus restros, simplemente lo depositaron sobre la nieve.

Pero en realidad, con el título de este comentario no me estoy refiriendo a que los restos de este hombre permanecen aún allí entre aquel conjunto de pequeños sauces, sino a que su espiritu, el espíritu de un artista cuya obra ha milagrosamente sobrevivido y que el amor, por el que sufrió hasta el punto de retar a muerte a uno de sus compañeros de viaje, sigue presente en ese país.

El porque este libro está disponible libremente en la web, para mí es una incognita, pero también un hallazgo de cierto valor. A northern love. Probablemente la propia Universidad publica los ensayos de sus investigadores. No lo sé.

Aunque no estoy particularmente interesado en el tema "base" del libro, "Una exploración de la masculinidad Canadiense" si me ha llamado la atención el entorno en el que se ha planteado profundizar en este tema, la intimidad de los últimos años de vida de Robert Hood en el ártico Canadiense y su relación con Green Stockings.

El autor, en un momento convulso en el cual se debate la soberanía del paso del noroeste, previo a su desencarcelamiento definitivo de hielo, prefiere adentrarse en el laberíntico mundo del amor, más allá de cuestiones como el control político o el poder económico, profundizando en el aspecto psicológico de las relaciones creadas entre mundos tan distintos.
Paul Nonnekes, el autor es profesor asociado de la universidad de Athabasca. Sus investigaciones se centran en temas de género y sexualidad, especificamente en psicoanálisis  y amor, y teoría crítica.

Y, si, me lo voy a leer, aunque no creo que pueda entender la parte técnica del contenido.

Nobody could have ever predicted the day 26th of august of 1821, while Robert Hood and George Back painted the Wilbeforce falls on such sublime way, that just a month after, they would be the main actors of one of the biggest tragedies of the arctic exploration histories.

Robert Hood was killed by Michel Terohaute the 20 th of October of 1821 after manteining a strong argument with him. The corpse of Robert Hood was deposited between some little willows behind the tent  where Dr. Richardson, Hepburn and Hood were encamped after deciding to stay there till  Franklin sent them some help from Fort Enterprise. Robert Hood during his stay in the north of Canada fallen in love of an Indian girl called Green Stockings and even they gave birth a child (of this child I’ve can´t get any information yet).
In the narrative from Dr.- Richardson extracted from the Narrative of Franklin there is no mention to any burial. Likely, because their weakened state of the rest of the members of the expedition, they didn´t proceed to bury his remains, they simply let him on the snow.
 
But really, with the title of this comment, I do not mean that the remains of this man are already there between that little group of willows, but that his spirit, the spirit of an artist whose work has miraculously survived the time  and that the love which caught him and the cause of much suffering till the point to challenge to a duel one of his mates, are still present on that country. 

The reason why this book is available freely on the web, is an incognita to me, but it is also a finding of some value. The book is called A northern love. (Likely  the same University publish the essays o his own researches. I don´t know).
Though I am not particularly interested on the main subject of the book "An exploration of the Canadian masculinity" the environment selected to deep in this thing is really interesting to me, the intimacy of the last years of Robert Hood life in the Canadian arctic and his relationship with Green Stockings.

The author, in a convulse moment  when the sovereignty of the northwest passage is under debate, before its laberinthyc course  finally was released of its hail of ice, he has prefered to get into the laberynthic world of the love further of questions as the political control or the economical power, deeping in the psychological aspect of the relationships between so different worlds.
Paul Nonnekes, the author is a professor in the Athabasca University. His researches are focused in subjects of gender and sexuality, specifically on psychoanalysis and love, and critical theory.

And yes I am going to read it, though I think that I'm not going to understand the technical part of the content.

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