![Abraham Ulrikab](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Abraham_Ulrikab.jpg)
Abraham Ulrikab
(January 29, 1845
– January 13, 1881) was an
Inuk
Inuit (; iu, ᐃᓄᐃᑦ 'the people', singular: Inuk, , dual: Inuuk, ) are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic and subarctic regions of Greenland, Labrador, Quebec, Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, and ...
from
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
,
Labrador
, nickname = "The Big Land"
, etymology =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = Canada
, subdivision_type1 = Province
, subdivision_name1 ...
, in the present-day province of
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic Canada, Atlantic region. The province comprises t ...
, Canada, who – along with his family and four other Inuit – agreed to become the latest attraction in the ethnographical shows organized by
Carl Hagenbeck, owner of the
Tierpark Hagenbeck
The Tierpark Hagenbeck is a zoo in Stellingen, Hamburg, Germany. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. (1810–1887), a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Ca ...
, a zoo in
Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
.
Name origin
Before 1893, the Inuit of northern Labrador did not use patrilineal surnames.
Instead, the surnames of married couples would usually be their spouse's given name followed by the suffix "-b" or "-ib", if the name did not end with a vowel. It is possible that Ulrikab's surname was actually "Ulrikeb", as "Ulrike" was his wife's name. His wife's full name was therefore likely "Ulrike Abrahamib". Children used the surname of the parent of the opposite gender before marriage, so their children were likely named "Sara Ulrikeb" and "Maria Ulrikeb".
The Inuit are exhibited in Europe (September 1880–January 1881)
The eight Inuit were from two families. Their approximate ages upon arrival in Europe were as follows:
* The Christian family
** Abraham, 35,
** Ulrike, 24, his wife
** Sara, 3, daughter
** Maria, infant daughter, 10 months
** Tobias, 20, a young unmarried man.
* The non-Christian family
** Tigianniak, about 45, father
** Paingu, as old as 50, wife
** Nuggasak, their teenage daughter about 15.
Abraham was literate, an accomplished
violin
The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...
player and a devout
Christian. He became the natural leader of the eight and, despite the Moravian missionaries's opposition, Abraham agreed to go to Europe. The money he was to earn would enable him to repay his, and his late father's, debt to the
Moravian mission store in Hebron. He was also curious to visit Europe and was looking forward to see some of the Moravian missionaries he had befriended in Labrador. But soon after their arrival in Europe, the Inuit realized they had made a mistake in coming and they longed to return to Labrador.
On August 26, 1880, all eight Inuit boarded the
schooner ''Eisbär'' (which means "
polar bear" in German) and headed to Europe. They arrived in Hamburg on September 24, 1880. Their show at the Tierpark Hagenbeck opened on October 2, 1880. On October 15, the group was moved to Berlin, where they were exhibited at the
Berlin zoo until November 14. They then traveled to
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and List of cities in the Czech Republic, largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 milli ...
followed by
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
and
Darmstadt. Here, Nuggasak died suddenly on December 14. The group moved on to
Crefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...
, where Paingu died on December 27. It wasn't until little Sara showed symptoms that the doctors were finally able to diagnose the sickness that was affecting the Inuit: smallpox. It was with a broken heart that Abraham and Ulrike had to entrust Sara to the hospital in Krefeld, as the group had to depart for their next destination, Paris. Sara died on December 31, 1880, as her parents arrived in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
.
The five survivors were vaccinated against smallpox on January 1, 1881, but it was too late. The group was exhibited at the
Jardin d'Acclimation in the
Bois de Boulogne
The Bois de Boulogne (, "Boulogne woodland") is a large public park located along the western edge of the 16th arrondissement of Paris, near the suburb of Boulogne-Billancourt and Neuilly-sur-Seine. The land was ceded to the city of Paris by t ...
for about a week. Then, on January 9, 1881, they were admitted to
Hôpital Saint-Louis
Hôpital Saint-Louis is a hospital in Paris, France. It was built in 1611 by architect Claude Vellefaux at the request of Henry IV of France. It is part of the Assistance publique - Hôpitaux de Paris hospital system, and it is located at 1 avenue ...
, where they all died within the next week. Maria died on January 10, 1881. Tigianniak on January 11. Tobias and Abraham died on January 13, and Ulrike, the last to live, died January 16, 1881.
Norwegian
Johan Adrian Jacobsen, who had recruited them on behalf of Carl Hagenbeck, had omitted to have them vaccinated against smallpox, even though it was required by German law. In his diary, Jacobsen admitted that he had forgotten about it.
Abraham's diary
During his travels in Europe, Abraham kept a
diary
A diary is a written or audiovisual record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. Diaries have traditionally been handwritten but are now also often digital. A personal ...
written in his native
Inuktitut; it was among his possessions that were sent back to his relatives in
Hebron
Hebron ( ar, الخليل or ; he, חֶבְרוֹן ) is a Palestinian. city in the southern West Bank, south of Jerusalem. Nestled in the Judaean Mountains, it lies above sea level. The second-largest city in the West Bank (after Eas ...
after his death.
In Hebron, Moravian missionary Carl Gottlieb Kretschmer, who had tried to dissuade the Inuit from going to Europe, translated Abraham's diary to German.
English and French translations were also published in the 19th century Moravian Church publications. Then, the story fell into oblivion for a century.
In 1980, Abraham's diary resurfaced when Canadian ethnologist Dr. James Garth Taylor discovered a copy of Kretschmer's German translation in the archives of the Moravian Church located in
Bethlehem, Pennsylvania
Bethlehem is a city in Northampton and Lehigh Counties in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 census, Bethlehem had a total population of 75,781. Of this, 55,639 were in Northampton County and 19, ...
. Through the article Dr. Taylor published in 1981 in
Canadian Geographic
''Canadian Geographic'' is a magazine published by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society, (RCGS) based in Ottawa, Ontario.
History and profile
After the Society was founded in 1929, the magazine was established the next year in May 1930 unde ...
,
the story of the eight Labrador Inuit was unveiled to the 20th century public.
Over the next 25 years, a few individuals looked into this tragedy, including German ethnologist Hilke Thode-Arora
and Professor
Hartmut Lutz Hartmut Lutz (born April 26, 1945) is professor emeritus and former chair of American and Canadian studies: Anglophone literatures and cultures of North America at the University of Greifswald, Germany. He is the founder of the Institut für Anglist ...
assisted by his students at the
University of Greifswald
The University of Greifswald (; german: Universität Greifswald), formerly also known as “Ernst-Moritz-Arndt University of Greifswald“, is a public research university located in Greifswald, Germany, in the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pom ...
, Germany. They contextualized Abraham's diary with data gathered from the Moravian archives, from 19th century newspapers as well as from the archives of
Carl Hagenbeck and
Johan Adrian Jacobsen.
In 2005, the
University of Ottawa Press
The University of Ottawa Press (french: Les Presses de l'Université d'Ottawa) is a bilingual university press located in Ottawa, Ontario. It publishes approximately 25-30 books annually in both English and French. The UOP is the only fully ...
published the work of Hartmut Lutz, and of his students, under the title ''The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab: Text and Context''. At last, Abraham's diary was in book form ensuring that his words and story would find their way to today's Labrador Inuit.
Abraham's diary is significant because it is the only extant account of one of Carl Hagenbeck's European ethnological exhibition (
human zoo
Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called "natural" or "primitive" state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries. These displays sometimes emphasized the sup ...
) by one of the ''ethnic'' participants.
It is also one of the first autobiographies by an Inuk; Greenlander
Hans Hendrik
Hans Hendrik ( kl, Suersaq, i=no; 2 June 1832 – 11 August 1889) was a Kalaallit interpreter, Arctic explorer, and the first Inuk to publish an account of his travels. He was born in the southern settlement of Fiskenæsset.
Expeditions ...
having preceded him by 2 years. Unfortunately, Abraham's original diary in Inuktitut has yet to be located.
The discovery of the Inuit's remains
In 2009, a French-Canadian, France Rivet, was introduced to Abraham's story by master photographer
Hans Blohm
Hans-Ludwig Blohm (November 12, 1927 – December 4, 2021) was a German-born Canadian photographer and author. Over three decades, he criss-crossed the Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska, capturing images and stories of the Inuit. He drove 16 t ...
. Her reading of the book ''The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab: Text and Context'' left her wondering what had happened to the Inuit in Paris, and what had become of their remains. She promised Blohm and a Labrador Inuk friend that she would investigate. About a year into her research, she uncovered documents about anthropologists in Paris having studied Paingu's skullcap, as well as plaster casts of the brains of Abraham, Ulrike, and Tobias. Wondering if these items could still be in a museum's collection, she sent a few letters to inquire. Soon a reply arrived from the
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...
:
''Mrs. Rivet we have the regret to inform you that we do not have the brain casts, but we do have the skullcap as well as the fully-mounted skeletons of the five Labrador Inuit who died in Paris in January 1881.''
This totally unexpected news triggered a four-year research to fully document the Inuit's story as well as discussions with authorities in
Nunatsiavut
Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inui ...
, Canada, and France in order to prepare the remains' eventual coming home.
The repatriation of the Inuit's remains
In fall 2014, the publication of the book ''In the Footsteps of Abraham Ulrikab'' revealed the results of this investigation and publicly released the news that the Inuit's remains had been located. The skeletons of Abraham, of his wife Ulrike, of their daughter Maria, of young Tobias and of Tigianniak were located in the biological anthropology collections of the
Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle
The French National Museum of Natural History, known in French as the ' (abbreviation MNHN), is the national natural history museum of France and a ' of higher education part of Sorbonne Universities. The main museum, with four galleries, is loc ...
managed by the
Musée de l'Homme
The Musée de l'Homme (French, "Museum of Mankind" or "Museum of Humanity") is an anthropology museum in Paris, France. It was established in 1937 by Paul Rivet for the 1937 ''Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne ...
in Paris. The
skullcap
Skullcap or skull cap usually refers to various types of headgear. Specifically it may refer to:
Headwear
* Beanie (seamed cap)
* Biretta, forming part of some clerical, academic or legal dress
* Calotte (Belgium), a skullcap worn by students at ...
of Paingu, which had been taken by
Jacobsen during her autopsy in
Krefeld
Krefeld ( , ; li, Krieëvel ), also spelled Crefeld until 1925 (though the spelling was still being used in British papers throughout the Second World War), is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located northwest of Düsseldorf, i ...
is also part of the Muséum's collection. Lastly, the skull of Sara was located in Berlin.
The Muséum's Collections Director, Michel Guiraud, has confirmed that they stand at the ready to return the remains to the Labrador Inuit.
On June 14, 2013, through the signature of the ''Canada-France Enhanced Cooperation Agenda'', the Canadian and French governments have confirmed they will assist by ''working with the appropriate authorities to help to repatriate Inuit bones from French museum collections to Canada''.
The authorities and the people of
Nunatsiavut
Nunatsiavut (; iu, italics=no, ᓄᓇᑦᓯᐊᕗᑦ) is an autonomous area claimed by the Inuit in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. The settlement area includes territory in Labrador extending to the Quebec border. In 2002, the Labrador Inui ...
have started their reflection as to whether or not the remains should be brought back to Canada.
In summer 2015, the Nunatsiavut Government has launched a series of public consultations on the development of its policy on the repatriation of human remains and burial objects from archeological sites in Nunatsiavut.
Film about Abraham Ulrikab
A documentary film, ''Trapped in a Human Zoo: Based on Abraham's Diary'', juxtaposing Abraham's story, with the search for his remains, and the Labrador Inuit's quest to bring the remains home aired in February 2016 on
CBC Television's ''
The Nature of Things
''The Nature of Things'' (also, ''The Nature of Things with David Suzuki'') is a Canadian television series of documentary programs. It debuted on CBC Television on 6 November 1960. Many of the programs document nature and the effect that hu ...
''. This documentary is produced by Pix3 Films. In 2017, the documentary received two nominations at the
5th Canadian Screen Awards
The 5th annual Canadian Screen Awards were held on March 12, 2017, to honour achievements in Canadian film, television, and digital media production in 2016. Nominations were announced on January 17, 2017.
Awards in many of the technical catego ...
: ''Best Science or Nature Documentary Program or Series'' and the ''Barbara Sears Award for Best Editorial Research''.
Books published on Abraham Ulrikab
See also
*
List of people of Newfoundland and Labrador
A ''list'' is any set of items in a row. List or lists may also refer to:
People
* List (surname)
Organizations
* List College, an undergraduate division of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America
* SC Germania List, German rugby unio ...
References and notes
External links
''When Inuit become zoo curiosities'' – Nunatsiaq News, 2005-09-23*
ttp://www.heritage.nf.ca/society/moravian.html ''Heritage Newfoundland'' article on the Moravian Mission in Labrador''The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab'' University of Ottawa Press
*
ttp://www.abrahamulrikab.com ''In the Footsteps of Abraham Ulrikab Research project''''A long road home: Reclaiming human remains kept in foreign museums is not easy'' – The Economist, 2015-02-28''Homecoming'' – World Policy Institute, 2015-08-05''Abraham Ulrikab: The Filming of the Documentary'' – Above & Beyond Magazine, 2015-10-29''The Long Journey Home: More than 130 later, Abraham Ulrikab's remains may finally return to Labrador'' – Up Here magazine, 2015-11''Shocking history of Inuit trapped in 'human zoos' revealed in documentary'' – Interview with Johannes Lampe and France Rivet aired on ''CBC The Current'', 2016-02-11''Trapped in a Human Zoo: Nain man retraces steps of Labrador Inuit in documentary'' – CBC News, 2016-02-11
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ulrikab, Abraham
1881 deaths
Deaths from smallpox
Inuit from Newfoundland and Labrador
People from Labrador
Tourist attractions in Hamburg
1845 births