Urumiit or uruniit (

Inuktitut syllabics Inuktitut syllabics ( iu, ᖃᓂᐅᔮᖅᐸᐃᑦ, qaniujaaqpait, or , ) is an abugida-type writing system used in Canada by the Inuktitut-speaking Inuit of the territory of Nunavut and the Nunavik and Nunatsiavut regions of Quebec and Labra ...

: ᐅᕈᓅᑦ, ''uruniit''; Greenlandic: ''urumiit'') is a term used by native

Inuit 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 ...

Greenland Greenland ( kl, Kalaallit Nunaat, ; da, Grønland, ) is an island country in North America that is part of the Kingdom of Denmark. It is located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Greenland is t ...

and the Canadian High Arctic to refer to the

feces Feces ( or faeces), known colloquially and in slang as poo and poop, are the solid or semi-solid remains of food that was not digested in the small intestine, and has been broken down by bacteria in the large intestine. Feces contain a relati ...

of the

rock ptarmigan The rock ptarmigan (''Lagopus muta'') is a medium-sized game bird in the grouse family. It is known simply as the ptarmigan in the UK. It is the official bird for the Canadian territory of Nunavut, where it is known as the ''aqiggiq'' (ᐊᕿ� ...

(''Lagopus muta'') and the

willow ptarmigan The willow ptarmigan () (''Lagopus lagopus'') is a bird in the grouse subfamily Tetraoninae of the pheasant family Phasianidae. It is also known as the willow grouse and in Ireland and Britain, where the subspecies '' L. l. scotica'' was previo ...

(''Lagopus lagopus''), which are considered a delicacy in their food cultures. The droppings are collected when they have dried out during the winter months (fresh droppings in the summer are thought to be unpleasant to eat), a time in which food sources are scarce, especially on land, so the pre-digested willow and birch plant matter in ptarmigan scat provides a much needed source of nutrition in a harsh environment. One ptarmigan may defecate as many as 50 times in one spot, so ''urumiit'' is very plentiful and easy to gather. The pellet-shaped droppings are generally cooked in rancidified seal fat before eating; sometimes mixed with seal or ptarmigan meat or blood. Historically in some areas, the meat cooked with ''urumiit'' is prepared by being pre-chewed by the women of a household. The smell of cooked ''urumiit'' in rancid fat has been compared to that of

Gorgonzola Gorgonzola (; ) is a veined blue cheese, originally from Italy, made from unskimmed cow's milk. It can be buttery or firm, crumbly and quite salty, with a "bite" from its blue veining. History Historically, gorgonzola has been produced for ...

cheese. It has been cited as a dish which non-Inuit are particularly likely to find disgusting, and as an example how much taste in food can vary between cultural contexts.

References

Inuit cuisine Foods and drinks produced with excrement {{food-stub

See also

References