Qulliq
The qulliq is the crescent-shaped soapstone lamp of the Inuit, burned with seal oil and a wick of moss or Arctic cotton, the only source of light and heat inside the snow house through the long polar night. It was tended by the women of the household, who trimmed the wick to keep the flame steady, melted snow for drinking water, dried clothes and boots over its warmth, and cooked simple meals beside it; a well-managed flame was a mark of a skilled housewife. The lamp gave the igloo its glow and its life, and the word qulliq itself is the everyday name for light in many Inuit languages. When th