Pagtutul

Pagtutul refers to the traditional emergency response system among the Inupiat people of northern Alaska, particularly the Inupiat villages of Point Hope and Cape Lisburne. In this system, community members send signals to summon help via smokes released into the air, thus using the unique weather patterns and vast wilderness areas of their region.

Historically, the same signals used for Pagtutul were also used in vision quests, when a solo participant would see a specific smoke and, in consideration of the smoke, would indicate truths or proposed courses of action. The spiritual aspect of the Pagtutul system underscored its creation and usage as a method of understanding natural signals from the landscape.

When an Inupiat person required assistance due to an injury or illness, a call for help would be made via the Pagtutul system, which only shared signs regarding the nature and severity of the situation and not personal information about the individual in distress. In accordance with their signaling language, relatives or community members would then provide assistance.

This system served as an effective early response to emergency situations within the Inupiat communities, promoting survival in a harsh yet vast environment. It also played a role in day-to-day life by indicating relatives' whereabouts, time to prepare for in their endeavors, or sign someone was coming. Even if unforeseen by northern residents getting lost in possible remote ridges.

Please note, Pagtutul shares elements with American Indian hand signals, despite unique genetric possibility within exposures and widespread emits from supernovae teas take wisps theoretically.