Abraham Ulrikab was an Inuk

Inuit

The Inuit are a group of culturally similar indigenous peoples inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada , Denmark , Russia and the United States . Inuit means “the people” in the Inuktitut language...

 from Hebron

Hebron, Newfoundland and Labrador

Hebron is the name of a former Moravian mission that was the northernmost settlement in Labrador. Founded in 1831, the mission disbanded in 1959. Abraham Ulrikab and his family were from Hebron and they were exhibited in zoos in Europe in 1880....

, Labrador

Labrador

Labrador is the distinct, northerly region of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It comprises the mainland portion of the province, separated from the island of Newfoundland by the Strait of Belle Isle...

, in the present day province of Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador

Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...

, Canada

Canada

Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...

, who — along with his family — was to become a zoo

Zoo

A zoological garden, zoological park, menagerie, or zoo is a facility in which animals are confined within enclosures, displayed to the public, and in which they may also be bred....

 exhibit in Europe in 1880 as an attraction at the Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

, Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

 public zoo.

Ulrikab, along with his wife and two daughters and four other Inuit, had agreed to become the newest attractions in the Hamburg Zoo

Tierpark Hagenbeck

The Tierpark Hagenbeck is a zoo in Stellingen, now a quarter in Hamburg, Germany. The collection began in 1863 with animals that belonged to Carl Hagenbeck Sr. , a fishmonger who became an amateur animal collector. The park itself was founded by Carl Hagenbeck Jr. in 1907...

. On August 26, 1880, all eight Inuit from Labrador boarded the schooner

Schooner

A schooner is a type of sailing vessel characterized by the use of fore-and-aft sails on two or more masts with the forward mast being no taller than the rear masts....

 Eisbär (which means "polar bear

Polar Bear

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...

" in German) to take part in a supposed display of the native way of the Inuit in northern communities. As instructed by zoo keepers, they simply had to walk, talk, wear their fur parkas and throw the odd harpoon

Harpoon

A harpoon is a long spear-like instrument used in fishing to catch fish or large marine mammals such as whales. It accomplishes this task by impaling the target animal, allowing the fishermen to use a rope or chain attached to the butt of the projectile to catch the animal...

 to earn their keep.

The eight Inuit were from two families. Their approximate ages upon arrival in Europe were as follows:

• Ulrikab's family
  • Abraham, 35,
  • Ulrike, 24, his wife
  • Sara, 4, daughter
  • Maria, infant daughter
  • Tobias, 20, Ulrike's unmarried nephew.
• The other family, whose surname is unknown
  • Terrianiak, about 40, father
  • Paingo, as old as 50, wife
  • Noggasak, their teenage daughter.

Ulrikab was literate, an accomplished violin

Violin

The violin is a string instrument, usually with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest, highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which includes the viola and cello....

 player and a devout Christian

Christianity

Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...

. He became the natural leader of the eight and had agreed to perform in this fashion to repay a debt of £

Pound sterling

The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...

10 to the Moravian mission in Hebron. Within weeks of arriving in Europe and taking up residence in the zoo, the families realized they had made a mistake in coming.

The Inuit arrived in Hamburg on September 24, 1880 and were immediately put on display at the zoo. On October 2, 1880 they were moved to the Berlin zoo, where they remained until November 14, 1880, and then were sent on a European tour. They were to be vaccinated

Vaccination

Vaccination is the administration of antigenic material to stimulate the immune system of an individual to develop adaptive immunity to a disease. Vaccines can prevent or ameliorate the effects of infection by many pathogens...

 against smallpox

Smallpox

Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...

 prior to leaving Canada, but as there were no facilities in Hebron, it fell to the Germans to do this, yet this was never done. The first to fall ill were misdiagnosed by doctors as having a non-fatal malady. Not until three of the Inuit had died did the remaining Inuit get vaccinated, on January 1, 1881. This came too late, however, and by January 16, 1881, five months after their arrival, they were all dead.

Ulrikab kept a diary

Diary

A diary is a record with discrete entries arranged by date reporting on what has happened over the course of a day or other period. A personal diary may include a person's experiences, and/or thoughts or feelings, including comment on current events outside the writer's direct experience. Someone...

 written in his native Inuktitut

Inuktitut

Inuktitut or Eastern Canadian Inuktitut, Eastern Canadian Inuit language is the name of some of the Inuit languages spoken in Canada...

; it was among Abraham's possessions which was sent back to the Moravian mission in Hebron after his death. In the diary he described in detail the hardships and humiliation each of the Inuit had endured and the terrible beatings received by Tobias, who was beaten with a dogwhip by their master, Adrian Jacobsen, a Norwegian

Norway

Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...

 trader of ethnographic artifacts.

Abraham died January 13, and his wife, Ulrike, the last to live, died January 16, 1881. The location of their graves is unknown.

Books published on Abraham Ulrikab

Year	Title	ISBN
2005	Blohm, Hans Hans Blohm Hans-Ludwig Blohm is a photographer and author. Over three decades, he has criss-crossed the Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska, capturing images and stories of the Inuit. He has driven 16 times from his home in Ottawa to different parts of the North logging from 20 500 to 25 000 km each trip... , Alootook Ipellie Alootook Ipellie Alootook Ipellie was an Inuit illustrator and writer. He specialized in black and white line drawings and illustrations. He is survived by his daughter, Taina Ipellie.-Publications:-External links:***...  and Hartmut Lutz Hartmut Lutz Hartmut Lutz is professor of American and Canadian studies at the University of Greifswald, Germany, with a special interest in Native American and Native Canadian studies.-Life:Lutz was born in Rendsburg, Germany, and studied at the University of Kiel... . The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab. Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press University of Ottawa Press The University of Ottawa Press 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 bilingual university publishing house in Canada...	978-0-7766-0602-6
2007	Lutz, Hartmut Hartmut Lutz Hartmut Lutz is professor of American and Canadian studies at the University of Greifswald, Germany, with a special interest in Native American and Native Canadian studies.-Life:Lutz was born in Rendsburg, Germany, and studied at the University of Kiel... , Kathrin Grollmuß, Hans Blohm Hans Blohm Hans-Ludwig Blohm is a photographer and author. Over three decades, he has criss-crossed the Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska, capturing images and stories of the Inuit. He has driven 16 times from his home in Ottawa to different parts of the North logging from 20 500 to 25 000 km each trip...  and Alootook Ipellie Alootook Ipellie Alootook Ipellie was an Inuit illustrator and writer. He specialized in black and white line drawings and illustrations. He is survived by his daughter, Taina Ipellie.-Publications:-External links:***... . Abraham Ulrikab im Zoo: Tagebuch eines Inuk 1880/81. Wesee (Germany): vdL:Verlag. German translation of The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab.	978-3-9263-0810-8

External links

• Nunatsiaq News Item
• Heritage Newfoundland article on native Inuit of Labrador
• Heritage Newfoundland article on the Moravian Mission in Labrador
• "The Diary of Abraham Ulrikab" ISBN 0776606026 University of Ottawa Press, ISBN 0-7766-0602-6
• Abraham's diary - A 2-hour documentary feature by Battery Radio aired on CBC Radio One