A single drum, held in one hand and struck with a cowhide stick or ‘beater’ with the other, is a monotonous yet mesmerising accompaniment to Tim’s singing.
The words of the mournful repetitive chant are not translated, though our Mi’kmaq singer tells us it is about a significant event in the past.
For us listeners it is obviously about a world that no longer exists. I am enthralled by this performance which I am experiencing on board an expedition ship that has stopped in this distant corner of Canada.
We are in Northern Québec in the Gespeg region and staying overnight before steaming around Labrador and on to Greenland.
When French navigator Jacques Cartier arrived off these beaches in 1534, he would have found a vast seashore with cedar and ash forests virtually tumbling down to the water. And there would have been a multitude of wildlife: white tailed deer, caribou, beaver, wolves, and black bear as well as seals, whales and enormous gannet colonies. Much of the landscape and its inhabitants have changed little over the millennia.
The next morning, I trudge through the snow-lined streets of the small community of Gaspé (as it is March, there is still a great deal of the white stuff about).
I work my way to the Mi’kmaq Interpretive Centre, which is just beyond the town’s border. Though the outside of the building looks rather like an office, just beyond and behind these premises, on the hillside, are historic representations of tents and other types of abodes. Many of these are covered with cedar bark.
This centre represents the Mi’kmaq tribe from 1675 to the present and is a fascinating introduction to the culture which thrives in this lush and productive land. The Mi’kmaq people, one of the largest tribes in this region.
I have a quick look around the boutique at the entrance to the centre. These handcrafted creations are not just products (we are told); but they embody the spirit of the land, the memory of ancestors, and tell a story.
Whether a traditional basket made of cedar or ash, an original piece of porcupine quill or moose antler jewellery, an item derived from medicinal plants or moccasins, they are representative of the Mi’kmaq culture.
I soon meet up with Bianca, one of the English-speaking tour guides here. She will take me, and others, on a tour of the museum where there are many ‘tools of the trade’ on display.
The baskets are particularly attractive though wooden spears, fishing baskets and nets, and bead embellished clothing are all on display and indicative of life on the frontier many hundreds and even thousands of years ago.
Our young guide is excellent, and clearly passionate about passing on knowledge of her culture. We then discover she is learning to be a hunter from the elders of the tribe.
There is a whole array of activities organised by the Mi’kmaq people that visitors can engage in from making a medicine wheel and a porcupine quill necklace, drum making, bead jewellery and cedar basket weaving.
The area also draws those who are interested in road trips, hiking, fishing and indulging in the unique gastronomy of this area.
Book it…
Canada as you like it has 15-night Splendid Québec package priced from £1,910pp. Including flights, accommodation and car hire it includes two nights in Montréal; two nights at Sacacomi, a full service wooden lodge with a spa overlooking the lake and bordering the Mastigouche Wildlife Reserve; the scenery of the Gaspe Peninsula (as you drive to Baie des Chaleurs); and two nights in Perce. Excursion options include a discovery cruise of the majestic Perce Rock and the seabird sanctuary on Bonaventure Island; two nights in Parc de la Gaspesie (with peaks of over 1,000 metres the park is the only place in Québec where caribou, moose and white-tailed deer co-exist); and a stay in Québec City.
