SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Taikkuaguuq is an Inuktitut word used to begin a traditional Inuit legend.

Elisha Kilabuk is a lifelong storyteller and throatsinger who shares his words and songs with audiences throughout Iqaluit. He is scheduled to sing with Annabella Piugattuk at the Unikkarrvik Visitor's Centre at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26. - photo courtesy of Steven Curley

"It means 'once there were'," explained Elisha Kilabuk. "It's like 'once upon a time'. Most legends start like that."

The Iqaluit-born storyteller often uses the word to draw listeners into the Inuit legends he presents at events organized through elementary schools, Inuit organizations, the territorial government and the Nunavut teaching education program at Nunavut Arctic College.

"For me, these stories are very important because most of them are not written," Kilabuk said. "Because these stories were passed down orally from generation to generation I think it's important for us to learn them and know them. We're losing our language. It's important to keep the Inuit legends in order to keep the language preserved."

Nunavut Commissioner Ann Meekitjuk Hanson said she has long respected the story teller for his extensive knowledge and dedication to Inuit oral tradition.

"Very early on most of us older people were amazed by how much of the traditional songs and storytelling he knew at a very young age," she recalled. "We were blown away the first time we heard him in public."

Hanson honoured Kilabuk with the territory's Acquisition of Special Skills award in 2006 for the way he helps the older generation remember their past while introducing children and youth to traditional Inuit stories and songs.

Kilabuk learned his stories from his late mother, Mukpaloo Kilabuk, who learned the stories from his late grandfather, Inuksiaq.

"I've been hearing stories and telling them most of my life," he said. "When I was growing up as a child we did not have video games so we spent most of our time outside playing. When the weather was bad we would sometimes run around in the house and when my mother got tired of us running around the house she would sing a song. A song was a sign she was going to tell a story."

When Mukpaloo sang, Kilabuk and the other children would gather on the sitting room floor.

"It's like watching a movie when you're hearing a story of legends," he said. "The legends are mostly of orphans who lived with their grandparents and overcame all kinds of trouble and how animals and birds and the weather came to be. The stories teach of discipline and how you have to treat other people and how people can retaliate even though they're smaller than a person who is important and much bigger. They teach you how to treat people nicely. Those are the legends that I learned from my mother that I tell to people."

Kilabuk recorded the legend of Lumaauaq, about a blind boy mistreated by his mother, for the nationally-broadcast CBC radio program, Ideas, a few years ago. His voice has subsequently been added to a CD of stories, titled Inuit Legends II, that is available through Arctic Ventures in Iqaluit. Another talent

Kilabuk also learned to throatsing at a very young age. He was introduced to the art by watching his aunt, Timangiaq Petaulassie of Cape Dorset. He began singing with his cousin at age six.

He has brought his voice to festivals in the Yukon, southern Canada and the U.S. He has also taught throat singing to children through the Iqaluit Music Society's annual summer camp.

Two of his former students, Ida Kanayuk and Margaret Sikkinerk, perform throat singing in the community at various events and functions.

"I taught them when they were about 10 or 11," Kilabuk said. "I'm proud when I see them performing."

Kanayuk, 17, is now a junior instructor for younger throat singers. She remembers getting her start with Kilabuk's guidance.

"I tried to learn by myself but that wasn't that successful," she said. "Elisha brought me experience and knowledge from our culture and basically brought joy. He taught me most of the songs that I know right now."

This summer, Kilabuk shared his stories and songs with audiences at the Unikkarrvik Visitor's Centre. The performances were part of the Inuit Art Experience, a program sponsored through the department of Language Culture, Elders and Youth and Nunavut Tourism that showcases work by Inuit artists in the community.

"People were just captivated right away," said co-ordinator Steven Curley. "It's like they were watching TV. They could barely blink. He could just go on for hours with the stories he knows. He is a very talented Inuit artist. We're very fortunate to have him in Iqaluit."

Kilabuk is scheduled to throat sing with Annabella Piugattuk at the visitor's centre at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 26 for the second-last Inuit Art Experience event of the season.

Kilabuk uses his performances to encourage Inuk youth to become listeners and tellers of traditional stories.

"If your parents or your grandparents have any stories or myths they learned please try and learn them because they are a part of our heritage and culture," he said.

"When you're done with a story, at the end you always say Tavva Isua. That means 'the end'."