Technology

It is thought that Inuit adapted the keeping of fire or aumalijaq technology from First Nations.

However, with much of this kind of transfer of knowledge, it is difficult to know if the technology developed simultaneously in these groups or if it was transferred and which way that transfer went.

Aumalijaq was a technology used a long time ago when they need fire, or when Inuit were to make something hot.

The quickest way to light a fire was to use ashes from a previous fire. Embers would be kept and when a new fire was needed they would blow on the ember to get the fire going. They would feed the ember with fuel. This fuel was called aumalijaq because they have to be auma or lit first. When traveling, these embers were carried in a small leather pouch. This is what was used to make fire before there were any matches.