Qudliparmiut (heaven) is upward. Everybody happy there. All the time light; no snow, no ice, no storms; always pleasant; no trouble; never tired; sing and play all the time—all this to continue without end.Adliparmiut (hell) is downward. Always dark there. No sun; trouble there continually; snow flying all the time, terrible storms; cold, very cold; and a great deal of ice there. All who go there must always remain.All Inuit who have been good go to Qudliparmiut; that is, who have been kind to the poor and hungry, all who have been happy while living on this earth. Any one who has been killed by accident, or who has committed suicide, certainly goes to the happy place.All Inuit who have been bad—that is, unkind one to another—all who have been unhappy while on this earth, will go to Adliparmiut. If an Inung kills another because he is mad at him, he will certainly go to Adliparmiut.Kumlien’s remarks on this subject, as well as on other ethnographic subjects, are not trustworthy. He has transferred Greenland tales to Cumberland Sound, though the traditions of these tribes differ materially one from the other. I tried hard to corroborate his statements concerning the amaroq and the tornarsuq, concerning certain customs, &c., and am convinced that they are totally unknown to all the natives of Baffin Land from Nugumiut to Tununirn.Kumlien states that the better land is below the surface of the earth and that those who are killed by violence descend after death. According to Hall and to replies to my own inquiries, it is quite the reverse. Lyon’s report is extremely interesting, particularly his description of the stages of the nether world, of which I could only find a scanty hint in the names. He says (p. 372):There are two places appointed to receive the souls of the good: one of these is in the center of the earth, the other in qilaq, or heaven. To the latter place, such as are drowned at sea, starved to death, murdered, or killed by walruses or bears, are instantly wafted, and dwell in a charming country, which, however, has never been seen by any angakoq.***The place of souls in the world below is called Adli generally; but there are, properly, four distinct states of blessedness, and each rank has a world to itself, the lowest land being the last and best, which all hope to reach. The day on which a good person dies and is buried, the soul goes to a land immediately under the visible world; and, still descending, it arrives the second day at one yet lower; the third day it goes farther yet; and on the fourth it finds, “below the lowest deep, a deeper still.” This is the “good land,” and the soul which reaches it is for ever happy. The three first stages are bad uncomfortable places for in each the sky is so close to the earth, that a man cannot walk erect: yet these regions are inhabited; and the good soul, in passing through them, sees multitudes of the dead, who, having losttheir way, or, not being entitled to the “good land,” are always wandering about and in great distress. Whether these unhappy souls are in purgatory or not, I was unable to learn; but they suffer no other pain than what we would call the “fidgets.” In the lowest Adli a perpetual and delightful summer prevails.The belief of these tribes undoubtedly is that all who die by accident or by violence and women who die in childbirth are taken to the upper world. I never heard a different opinion expressed by any native. I do not know whether they believe in a series of upper worlds similar to the nether worlds of the Iglulirmiut, but it is probable, from the names Qudlivun and Qudliparmiut. In the Greenland tradition the upper world is represented as a country with hills and valleys, over which the solid blue sky is expanded. Sedna of the Oqomiut lives in Adlivun, and here the souls must stay one year after death. Everybody who dies from disease or who has offended Sedna by infringing her orders is taken to her. The Eskimo are in great fear of the terrors of her abode. Murderers and offenders against human laws, after they have entered Sedna’s house, will never leave it; the other souls, however, are taken to the Adliparmiut, where they live comparatively at their ease, although they are not nearly so blessed as the Qudliparmiut. They hunt whales and walrus and are almost always troubled by ice and snow.The older authors on Greenland mythology state that the conceptions of the natives do not coincide (Cranz). According to one tradition the good land is below, and tornarsuq, the supreme tornaq, is master of it. Here continuous summer prevails and there is plenty of fresh water, with a profusion of game. Only those people are allowed to come here who have been good hunters and workers, who have accomplished great exploits, caught many seals, who have suffered much, or have died by violence or in childbirth. The souls of the deceased must slide for five days, or even longer, down a steep rock, which has become quite slippery from the blood which has been sprinkled over it. Those who have been lazy and unfit for working go to the upper world, where they suffer from scarcity of food. Particularly the bad and witches are taken to this country, where they are tormented by ravens.Another tradition places the good land in heaven. The souls travel on the rainbow to the moon, near which they find a large lake abounding with fowls and fish. Rink gives the following statement on this subject (p. 37):After death, human souls either go to the upper or to the under world. The latter is decidedly to be preferred, as being warm and rich in food. There are the dwellings of the happy dead called arsissut,—viz, those who live in abundance. On the contrary, those who go to the upper world will suffer from cold and famine; and these are called the arssartut, or ball players, on account of their playing at ball with a walrus head, which gives rise to the aurora borealis.While the Iglulirmiut believe that the soul leaves the body immediately after death and descends to Adli, the tribes of Davis Straitsuppose that it lingers three days around the body, unable to leave it. Then it descends to Sedna’s house. During its stay in Adlivun the soul is called tupilaq, which is represented by the figure of a man with wide, loose, shabby clothing. It is looked upon as a malevolent spirit, frequently roaming around the villages. The tupilaq is not allowed to enter the houses, and if the angakoq perceives and announces his presence no one would dare to leave the houses. His touch kills men at once, the sight of him causes sickness and mischief. As soon as the soul has become an adliparmio, it is at rest and ceases to be feared as a tupilaq.It is worth remarking that the Greenlanders designate with the name of tupilaq a supernatural being made by men for the purpose of destroying their enemies (Rink, p. 53). It is composed of various parts of different animals and is enabled to act in the shape of any of them at will. I have not found any trace of this idea among the Central Eskimo.THE TORNAIT AND THE ANGAKUT.A consideration of the religious ideas of the Eskimo shows that the tornait, the invisible rulers of every object, are the most remarkable beings next to Sedna. Everything has its inua (owner), which may become the genius of man who thus obtains the qualities of angakunirn. I am not quite sure that every inua can become the tornaq of a man, though with the Greenlanders this was possible. I learned of three kinds of spirits only, who are protectors of angakut: those in the shape of men, of stones, and of bears. These spirits enable the angakut to have intercourse with the others who are considered malevolent to mankind, and though those three species are kind to their angakut they would hurt strangers who might happen to see them. The bear seems to be the most powerful among these spirits. The tornait of the stones live in the large bowlders scattered over the country. The Eskimo believe that these rocks are hollow and form a nice house, the entrance of which is only visible to the angakoq whose genius lives in the stone. The tornaq is a woman with only one eye, in the middle of the brow. Another kind of tornaq lives in the stones that roll down the hills in spring when the snow begins to melt. If a native happens to meet such a stone, which is about to become his tornaq, the latter addresses him: “I jumped down in long leaps from my place on the cliff. As the snow melts, as water is formed on the hills, I jump down.” Then it asks the native whether he is willing to have it for his tornaq, and if he answers in the affirmative it accompanies him, wabbling along, as it has no legs.The bear tornaq is represented as a huge animal without any hair except on the points of the ears and of the tail and at the mouth. If a man wishes to obtain a bear for his tornaq he must travel all aloneto the edge of the land floe and summon the bears. Then a large herd will approach and frighten him almost to death. He falls down at once. Should he fall backward he would die at once. If he falls upon his face, however, one bear out of the herd steps forward and asks him if he wishes him to become his tornaq. He then recovers and takes the bear for his spirit and is accompanied by him on the return journey. On the way home, they pass a seal hole and the bear captures the animal for his master. The Eskimo is now a great angakoq, and whenever he wants help he is sure to get it from his bear.The Eskimo do not make images of the tornait or other supernatural beings in whom they believe, but use to a great extent amulets (arngoaq), some of which are given by the tornait, while others are inherited. The most common varieties of amulets are the feather of an owl, a bear’s tooth, and the like, which are always worn on the middle of the back of the inner jacket. Rare minerals (e.g., iron) sewed up in a piece of skin are sometimes used for the same purpose. A small part of the first gown worn by a child is considered a powerful amulet and is preserved for this reason. It is worn at the point of the hood at a great feast celebrated every fall (see pp.604,611) and is called koukparmiutang.Lyon (p. 367) gives the following account of the use of amulets in Iglulik:Bones and teeth of animals, hanging as solitary pendants, or strung in great numbers, have peculiar virtues, and the bones of the feet of the kabliaqdjuq, which I imagine to be the wolverine, are the most in request. The front teeth of musk oxen are considered as jewels, while the grinders, one or two together, are much esteemed as tassels for the strings used to tie up the breeches of the women. Eye teeth of foxes are sometimes seen to the number of hundreds, neatly perforated and arranged as a kind of fringe round caps or dresses, and even the bones and teeth of fish have their value.Leather cases of the size of a quill, and containing small pieces of deer’s or other flesh, are frequently attached to the caps or hoods of children, but whether to render them expert hunters, or to preserve their health, I could not discover. I was assured that broken spear heads, and other equally cumbrous pendants, worn round the necks of young girls, were spells for the preservation of their chastity, while the same ornaments caused the women to be prolific.The principal office of the angakut is to find out the reason of sickness and death or of any other misfortune visiting the natives.The Eskimo believes that he is obliged to answer the angakoq’s questions truthfully. The lamps being lowered, the angakoq strips off his outer jacket, pulls the hood over his head, and sits down in the back part of the hut facing the wall. He claps his hands, which are covered with mittens, and, shaking his whole body, utters sounds which one would hardly recognize as human.Thus he invokes his tornaq, singing and shouting alternately, the listeners, who sit on the edge of the bed, joining the chorus andanswering his questions. Then he asks the sick person: “Did you work when it was forbidden?” “Did you eat when you were not allowed to eat?” And if the poor fellow happens to remember any transgression of such laws, he cries: “Yes, I have worked.” “Yes, I have eaten.” And the angakoq rejoins “I thought so” and issues his commands as to the manner of atonement.These are manifold. Exchange of wives between two men or adoption of a sick child by another family in order to save its life are frequently demanded. The inhabitants of a village are forbidden to wash themselves for a number of days, to scrape the ice from the windows, and to clean their urine pots before sunrise. Sometimes the angakoq commands that the clothing be thrown away or gives regulations for diet, particularly forbidding the eating of venison, working on deerskins, filing iron, &c.Disorders of women are considered as a punishment for the neglect to observe the regulations referring to their behavior at certain periods, which regulations were established by Sedna. The same is stated by Lyon (p. 363).A method of finding out the reason of a disease is by “head lifting.” A thong is tied round the head of the sick person or of a relative, who must lie down on the bed, the angakoq holding the thong. Then he asks his tornaq the reason of the sickness and the remedy. If the tornaq answers a question of the angakoq in the affirmative the head is easily lifted. In the other case it feels so heavy that he is unable to move it. Another method is by lifting a boot or a stone, which has been placed under the pillow of the patient. The angakut believe that the boot or stone becomes heavy and cannot be lifted when the tornaq answers their incantations.At the beginning of some of their performances I have observed the angakoq crawling about in the passage of the hut, howling and shouting, while those inside kept on singing. Then he entered the hut and continued the incantations on the back part of the bed.Sometimes their cure for sickness is laying a piece of burning wick upon the diseased part of the body and blowing it up into the air or merely blowing upon it.Storm and bad weather, when lasting a long time and causing want of food, are conjured by making a large whip of seaweed, stepping to the beach, and striking out in the direction whence the wind blows, at the same time crying Taba (It is enough).A great number of the performances of the angakut require much skill and expertness. Thus in invoking a tornaq or flying to a distant place they can imitate a distant voice by a sort of ventriloquism. In these performances they always have the lamps extinguished and hide themselves behind a screen hung up in the back part of the hut. The tornaq, being invoked, is heard approaching and shaking the hut. The angakoq believes that it is unroofed and flies withhis spirit to their place of destination, to propitiate the wrath of a hostile tornaq, to visit the moon or Sedna’s dismal abode.Part of their performances might almost be called juggling. Hall (II, p. 101) describes one of these performances:The angakoq (Ar-too-a) now made use of three walrus spears. One of these he thrust into the wall of the snow house, and***ran with it outside of the igdlu [house] where his ejaculations were responded to by the party inside with the cries of “Atte! Atte!” [Go on! Go on!]. Returning with his spear to the door, he had a severe wrestling match with four of the men, who overcame him. But coming again into the central igdlu, and having the lights which had been at the first patted down, relit, he showed the points of two spears apparently covered with fresh blood, which he held up in the presence of all.The performance of the angakut in the Sedna feast, which will be described hereafter (p. 604) is quite astonishing. Some pierce their bodies with harpoons, evidently having bladders filled with blood fastened under their jackets beforehand, and bleed profusely as they enter the hut. (See Appendix,Note 5.)A memorable ceremony has been described by Hall (I, p. 469):I heard a loud shout just outside [the hut]. As quick as thought, the Eskimo sprang for the long knives lying around, and hid them wherever they could find places.***Immediately there came crawling into the low entrance to the hut a man with long hair completely covering his face and eyes. He remained on his knees on the floor of the hut, feeling round like a blind man at each side of the entrance, back of the firelight, the place where meat is usually kept, and where knives may generally be found. Not finding any, the angakoq slowly withdrew.***If he had found a knife he would have stabbed himself in the breast.It is one of their favorite tricks to have their hands tied up and a thong fastened around their knees and neck. Then they begin invoking their tornaq, and all of a sudden the body lies motionless while the soul flies to any place which they wish to visit. After returning, the thongs are found untied, though they had been fastened by firm knots. The resemblance of this performance to the experiments of modern spiritualists is striking.The angakut use a sacred language in their songs and incantations. A great number of words have a symbolic meaning, but others are old roots, which have been lost from common use in the lapse of time. These archaic words are very interesting from a linguistic point of view. Indeed, some are found which are still in use in Greenland, though lost in the other dialects, and others which are only used in Alaska.I ought to add here that most of the angakut themselves believe in their performances, as by continued shouting and invoking they fall into an ecstasy and really imagine they accomplish the flights and see the spirits.The angakoq, who must be paid at once for curing a sick person, receives pretty large fees for services of this kind.Although witchcraft occupied a prominent place in the belief of the Greenlanders I could only find very faint traces of it in Baffin Land, to wit, the opinion that a man has the power of injuring a distant enemy by some means the details of which I did not learn.I shall add here the numerous regulations referring to eating and working, many of which are connected with the Sedna tradition, and the observance of which is watched by the angakut. As all sea animals have originated from her fingers the Eskimo must make an atonement for every animal he kills. When a seal is brought into the hut the women must stop working until it is cut up. After the capture of a ground seal, walrus, or whale they must rest for three days. Not all kinds of work, however, are forbidden, for they are allowed to mend articles made of sealskin, but they must not make anything new. For instance, an old tent cover may be enlarged in order to build a larger hut, but it is not permitted to make a new one. Working on new deerskins is strictly forbidden. No skins of this kind obtained in summer may be prepared before the ice has formed and the first seal is caught with the harpoon. Later, as soon as the first walrus is caught, the work must stop again until the next fall. For this reason all families are eager to finish the work on deerskins as quickly as possible, as the walrusing season is not commenced until that is done.The laws prohibiting contact with deer and sea animals at the same time are very strict. According to the Eskimo themselves Sedna dislikes the deer (probably for some reason connected with the tradition of its origin,) and therefore they are not allowed to bring it in contact with her favorites. The meat of the whale, seal, or walrus must not be eaten on the same day with venison. It is not permitted that both sorts of meat lie on the floor of the hut or behind the lamps at the same time. If a man who has eaten venison in the morning happens to enter a hut in which seal meat is being cooked he is allowed to eat venison on the bed, but it must be wrapped up before being carried into the hut and he must take care to keep clear of the floor. Before changing from one food to the other the Eskimo must wash themselves. For the same reason walrus hide must not be carried to Lake Nettilling, which is considered the domain of deer.A similar custom requires that the Ukusiksalirmiut carry salmon into a hut by a separate entrance, for it must not pass through the same one as seal oil. Besides, the fish must only be cooked at the distance of a day’s journey from the place where they have been caught. If eaten on the spot they must be eaten raw (Klutschak, p. 158).Their customs referring to hunting are manifold. When skinning a deer they must not break a single bone; then, they cut off bits of different parts of the animal and bury them in the ground or under stones (Hall I, p. 386). I have never noticed this custom myself.On the west shore of Hudson Bay dogs are not allowed to gnaw deer bones during the deer hunting season or seal bones during the sealing season (Klutschak, p. 123). Deer bones must not be broken while walrus are hunted (Hall II, p. 155).When the men go out hunting in their kayaks the women of the Aivillirmiut take a cup down to the shore and leave it there, believing that it will bring luck (Hall II, p. 103). On Davis Strait they throw a piece of seal’s blubber on their husband’s kayak when he is about to go hunting (Kumlien, p. 45). After the capture of a whale the Aivillirmiut are not allowed to burn shrubs, but use bones of the whale instead, which are mixed with blubber (Hall II, p. 364). If an animal that is with young is killed the fetus must not be taken and used for food (Hall II, p. 253). When a bear is caught the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut are accustomed to fasten its bladder to a stick which is placed upright near the hut or encampment for three days.When a house is deserted the Aivillirmiut are in the habit of carrying all the bones lying inside to some distance and putting them upon the ice (Hall II, p. 175). If they intend to move to a place some distance away they are in the habit of burying some of their clothing. Klutschak observed this custom among the Netchillirmiut; I myself, among the Akudnirmiut. If a great number of families leave a village those who remain build new houses, as they believe that they would otherwise have bad luck in hunting.A great number of regulations refer to the behavior of women during menstruation. They are not allowed to eat raw meat, they must cook in separate pots, and are not permitted to join in festivals, being looked upon as unclean during this period. Customs referring to childbirth and sickness will be found further on (seep. 609).When a traveling party visits a neighboring tribe it is obliged to adopt the customs and regulations of the latter.This account does not by any means include all the peculiar customs of these people, for they are so numerous and the difficulty of finding out anything pertaining to this subject is so great that it is probable that the greater part of them have escaped notice.I shall also mention a few customs that are peculiar to certain places. At Qeqertelung, east of Naujateling, in Cumberland Sound, the Eskimo dig potstone, but must buy it from the rock: that is, having dug out a piece, they must give the rock something in exchange; for example, ivory carvings, beads, food, or the like.At Arligaulik, near Wager River, the Eskimo address a large rock and bid it farewell when passing (Hall II, p. 174).In Cumberland Sound there is a cape called Iliqimisarbing, i.e., the place of headshaking. The place is very dangerous, as heavy squalls sweep down the steep rocks and slides frequently occur. Therefore the natives never pass it without shaking their heads, at the same time uttering a deep murmur.Besides the tornait already mentioned, a number of others are known which cannot become genii of men. A spirit of the sea, Kalopaling or Mitiling, is described in a tradition (seep. 620). In Erdmann’s Wörterbuch des Labradordialectes “Mitiling” is translated Gespenst, i.e., ghost. No doubt it is the name of the same spirit or at least of a similar one which is recognized among the northern tribes, the literal translation being “with eider ducks.” Another spirit of which the natives are in great fear is Qiqirn, a phantom in the shape of a huge dog almost without hair. Like the bear which has been alluded to, it has hair only at the mouth, the feet, and the points of the ears and the tail. If it comes near dogs or men they fall into fits and only recover when Qiqirn has left. It is exceedingly afraid of men and runs away as soon as an angakoq descries it.A very remarkable tornaq is the qaggim inua, i.e., master of the dancing house. The natives build large houses for feasting, singing, and dancing, which are devoted to spirits. This tornaq has the shape of a bandy legged man, his knees being bent outward and forward. He has not a single hair upon his entire body and no bones at the back of his head. To touch him would result in immediate death (seep. 636).Besides these tornait, more powerful supernatural beings are known, who are “owners” (inua) of the stars and constellations and of meteorologic processes. Moon and sun are considered brother and sister, and in this the tradition of the Central Eskimo exactly corresponds with that of the Greenlanders. It is even known among the Eskimo of Point Barrow (Simpson, p. 940). From Repulse Bay (Aivillirmiut) a few scanty traces of this tradition are recorded by Rae (I, p. 79). He relates as follows:It is said that many years ago, not long after the creation of the world, there was a mighty conjurer, who gained so much power that at last he raised himself up into the heavens, taking with him his sister (a beautiful girl) and a fire. To the latter he added great quantities of fuel, which thus formed the sun. For some time he and his sister lived in great harmony, but at last they disagreed, and he, in addition to maltreating the lady in many ways, at last scorched the side of her face. She had suffered patiently all sorts of indignities, but the spoiling of her beauty was not to be borne; she therefore ran away from him and formed the moon, and continues so until this day. Her brother is still in chase of her, but although he gets near, he will never overtake her. When it is new moon, the burnt side of the face is towards us; when full moon, the reverse is the case.The following form of the legend, which I received from some Akudnirmiut and Oqomiut, is almost identical with the Greenland one:In olden times a brother and his sister lived in a large village in which there was a singing house, and every night the sister with her playfellows enjoyed themselves in this house. Once upon a time, when all the lamps in the singing house were extinguished, somebody came in and outraged her. She was unable to recognize him; butshe blackened her hands with soot and when the same again happened besmeared the man’s back with it. When the lamps were relighted she saw that the violator was her brother. In great anger she sharpened a knife and cut off her breasts, which she offered to him, saying: “Since you seem to relish me, eat this.” Her brother fell into a passion and she fled from him, running about the room. She seized a piece of wood (with which the lamps are kept in order) which was burning brightly and rushed out of the house. The brother took another one, but in his pursuit he fell down and extinguished his light, which continued to glow only faintly. Gradually both were lifted up and continued their course in the sky, the sister being transformed into the sun, the brother into the moon. Whenever the new moon first appears she sings:Aningaga tapika, takirn tapika qaumidjatedlirpoq; qaumatitaudle.Aningaga tapika, tikipoq tapika.(My brother up there, the moon up there begins to shine; he will be bright.My brother up there, he is coming up there.)THE FLIGHT TO THE MOON.There exists another tradition in regard to the spirit of the moon, which is also known to the Greenlanders. While in the first tradition the moon is a man carrying a glowing light, in the other she is the moon man’s house (Rink, p. 440). The legend, as told by the Oqomiut and Akudnirmiut, is the narrative of the flight of an angakoq to the moon and is as follows:A mighty angakoq, who had a bear for his tornaq, resolved to pay a visit to the moon. He sat down in the rear of his hut, turning his back toward the lamps, which had been extinguished. He had his hands tied up and a thong fastened around his knees and neck. Then he summoned his tornaq, which carried him rapidly through the air and brought him to the moon. He observed that the moon was a house, nicely covered with white deerskins, which the man in the moon used to dry near it. On each side of the entrance was the upper portion of the body of an enormous walrus, which threatened to tear in pieces the bold intruder. Though it was dangerous to pass by the fierce animals, the angakoq, by help of his tornaq, succeeded in entering the house.In the passage he saw the only dog of the man of the moon, which is called Tirie´tiang and is dappled white and red. On entering the main room he perceived, to the left, a small additional building, in which a beautiful woman, the sun, sat before her lamp. As soon as she saw the angakoq entering she blew her fire, behind the blaze of which she hid herself. The man in the moon came to meet him kindly, stepping from the seat on the ledge and bidding the stranger welcome. Behind the lamps great heaps of venison and seal meat were piled up, but the man of the moon did not yet offer him anything.He said: “My wife, Ululiernang, will soon enter and we will perform a dance. Mind that you do not laugh, else she will slit open your belly with her knife, take out your intestines, and give them to my ermine which lives in yon little house outside.”Before long a woman entered carrying an oblong vessel in which her ulo (seep. 518) lay. She put it on the floor and stooped forward, turning the vessel like a whirligig. Then she commenced dancing, and when she turned her back toward the angakoq it was made manifest that she was hollow. She had no back, backbone, or entrails, but only lungs and heart.The man joined her dance and their attitudes and grimaces looked so funny that the angakoq could scarcely keep from laughing. But just at the right moment he called to mind the warnings of the man in the moon and rushed out of the house. The man cried after him, “Uqsureliktaleqdjuin” (“Provide yourself with your large white bear tornaq”).7Thus he escaped unhurt.Upon another visit he succeeded in mastering his inclination to laugh and was hospitably received by the man after the performance was finished. He showed him all around the house and let him look into a small additional building near the entrance. There he saw large herds of deer apparently roaming over vast plains, and the man of the moon allowed him to choose one animal, which fell immediately through a hole upon the earth. In another building he saw a profusion of seals swimming in an ocean and was allowed to pick out one of these also. At last the man in the moon sent him away, when his tornaq carried him back to his hut as quickly as he had left it.During his visit to the moon his body had lain motionless and soulless, but now it revived. The thongs with which his hands had been fastened had fallen down, though they had been tied in firm knots. The angakoq felt almost exhausted, and when the lamps were relighted he related to the eagerly listening men his adventures during his flight to the moon.It is related in the course of this tradition that the man in the moon has a qaumat, some kind of light or fire, but I could not reach a satisfactory understanding of the meaning of this word. It is derived from qauq (daylight) and is used in Greenland for the moon herself. Among the Eskimo of Baffin Land it is only employed in the angakoq language, in which the moon is called qaumavun, the sun qaumativun. Another name of the moon is aninga (her brother), in reference to the first legend. The natives also believe that the man in the moon makes the snow. He is generally considered a protector of orphans and of the poor, and sometimes descends from his house on a sledge drawn by his dog, Tirie´tiang, in order to help them (see the tradition of Qaudjaqdjuq,p. 630).KADLU THE THUNDERER.It is said that three sisters make the lightning, the thunder, and the rain. The names of two of them are Ingnirtung (the one who strikes the fire) and Udluqtung (the one who rubs the skins), whose second name is Kadlu (thunder), while that of the third I could not ascertain. They live in a large house the walls of which are supported by whale ribs. It stands in the far west, at a great distance from the sea, as Kadlu and her sisters do not like to go near it. If an Eskimo should happen to enter the house he must hasten away or Ingnirtung will immediately kill him with her lightning. Even the stones are afraid of her and jump down the hills whenever they see the lightning and hear the thunder. The faces of the sisters are entirely black and they wear no clothes at all.(?) Ingnirtung makes the lightning by striking two red stones together (flint). Kadlu makes the thunder by rubbing sealskins and singing. The third sister makes the rain by urinating. They procure food by striking reindeer with the lightning, which singes their skins and roasts their flesh. The Akudnirmiut say that beyond Iglulik, on the continent of America, a large tribe of Eskimo live whom they call Kakī´joq. The women of the tribe are said to have rings tattooed round their eyes. These natives offer the dried skins of a species of small seals to Kadlu, who uses them for making the thunder.FEASTS, RELIGIOUS AND SECULAR.The Eskimo have some very interesting feasts, most of which are closely connected with their religious notions. In summer feasts are celebrated in the open air, but in winter a house, called qaggi, or, as we may call it, singing house, is built for that purpose.see captionFig. 531.Diagram showing interior of qaggi or singing house among eastern tribes.The plan of the house which is used by the eastern tribes is represented in Fig. 531. It is a large snow dome about fifteen feet inheight and twenty feet in diameter, without any lining. In the center there is a snow pillar five feet high, on which the lamps stand. When the inhabitants of a village assemble in this building for singing and dancing the married women stand in a row next the wall. The unmarried women form a circle inside the former, while the men sit in the innermost row. The children stand in two groups, one at each side of the door. When the feast begins, a man takes up the drum (kilaut), which will be described presently, steps into the open space next the door, and begins singing and dancing. Among the stone foundations of Niutang, in Kingnait (Cumberland Sound), there is a qaggi built on the same plan as the snow structure. Probably it was covered with a snow roof when in use.see captionFig. 532.Plan of Hudson Bay qaggi or singing house. (From Hall II, p. 220.)Hall gives the plan of the Hudson Bay qaggi (Fig. 532), a copy of which is here introduced, as well as his description of the drum (Fig. 533), which I have never seen made (Hall II, p. 96):see captionFig. 533.Kilaut or drum.The drum is made from the skin of the deer [or seal], which is stretched over a hoop made of wood, or of bone from the fin of a whale, by the use of a strong, braided cord of sinew passed around a groove on the outside. The hoop is about 2½ inches wide, 1½ inches thick, and 3 feet in diameter, the whole instrument weighing about 4 pounds. The wooden drumstick, 10 inches in length and 3 inches in diameter, is called a kentun.***The deerskin which is to be the head of the instrument is kept frozen when not in use. It is then thoroughly saturated with water, drawn over the hoop, and temporarily fastened in its place by a piece of sinew. A line of heavy, twisted sinew, about 50 feet long, is now wound tightly on the groove on the outside of the hoop, binding down the skin. This cord is fastened to the handle of the kilaut [drum], which is made to turn by the force of several men (while its other end isheld firmly), and the line eased out as required. To do this a man sits on the bed-platform, “having one or two turns of the line about his body, which is encased in furred deerskins, and empaled by four upright pieces of wood.” Tension is secured by using a round stick of wood as a lever on the edge of the skin, drawing it from beneath the cord. When any whirring sound is heard, little whisps of reindeer hair are tucked in between the skin and the hoop, until the head is as tight as a drum.performer, who strikes the edge of the rim opposite that over which the skin is stretched. He holds the drum in different positions, but keeps it in a constant fan-like motion by his hand and by the blows of the kentun struck alternately on the opposite sides of the edge. Skillfully keeping the drum vibrating on the handle, he accompanies this with grotesque motions of the body, and at intervals with a song, while the women keep up their own Inuit songs, one after another, through the whole performance.The feast is described as follows:As usual the women sat on the platform Turk fashion; the men, behind them with extended legs. The women were gayly dressed. They wore on each side of the face an enormous pigtail, made by wrapping their hair on a small wooden roller a foot in length; strips of reindeer-fur being wrapped with the hair [seep. 559]. These were black and white for those who had sons and black only for those who had none. Shining ornaments were worn on the head and on the breast they had masonic-like aprons, the groundwork of which was of a flaming red color, ornamented with glass beads of many colors.In Cumberland Sound the women also wear pigtails at the celebration of these feasts. The drum is sometimes played with the wrist of the right hand instead of the beater.Every singing house is dedicated to a tornaq, the qaggim inua, as mentioned above. For this reason all these performances may be considered religious feasts.The songs are always composed by the singer himself. Satiric songs are great favorites on these occasions. While the men listen in silence the women join in the chorus, amna aya, the never failingend of each verse. The dancer remains on one spot only, stampingrhythmicallywith the feet, swinging the upper part of his body, and at the same time playing the kilaut. While dancing he always strips the upper part of the body, keeping on only trousers and boots. Singing and dancing are alternated with wrestling matches and playing at hook and crook. Almost every great success in hunting is celebrated in the qaggi, and especially the capture of a whale. Such a feast has been described by Parry.see captionFig. 534.Plans of remains of supposed qaggin or singing houses. (From Parry II, p. 362.)The stone foundations observed by Parry and copied here (Fig. 534) are probably the remains of singing houses. Parry’s description is as follows (II, p. 362):It appears that the whole whale or a principal part of it is dragged into the enclosure, where some of the men are employed in cutting it up and throwing the pieces over the wall to the rest, who stand ready to receive them outside; while within the women range themselves in a circle around the whale and continue singing during the operation. * * * Each of these structures * * * was the distinct property of a particular individual; and had probably, in its turn, been the seat of feasting and merriment either to the present owner, or those from whom he had inherited it.Great feasts closely connected with the Sedna tradition are celebrated every fall.When late in the fall storms rage over the land and release the sea from the icy fetters by which it is as yet but slightly bound, when the loosened floes are driven one against the other and break up with loud crashes, when the cakes of ice are piled in wild disorder one upon another, the Eskimo believes he hears the voices of spirits which inhabit the mischief laden air.The spirits of the dead, the tupilaq, knock wildly at the huts, which they cannot enter, and woe to the unhappy person whom they can lay hold of. He immediately sickens and a speedy death is regarded as sure to come. The wicked qiqirn pursues the dogs, which die with convulsions and cramps as soon as they see him. All the countless spirits of evil are aroused, striving to bring sickness and death, bad weather, and failure in hunting. The worst visitors are Sedna, mistress of the under world, and her father, to whose share the deadInuit fall. While the other spirits fill the air and the water, she rises from under the ground.It is then a busy season for the wizards. In every hut we may hear them singing and praying; conjuring of the spirits is going on in every house. The lamps burn low. The wizard sits in a mystic gloom in the rear of the hut. He has thrown off his outer coat and drawn the hood of his inner garment over his head, while he mutters indescribable sounds, unnatural to a human voice. At last the guardian spirit responds to the invocation. The angakoq lies in a trance and when he comes to himself he promises in incoherent phrases the help of the good spirit against the tupilaq and informs the credulous, affrighted Inuit how they can escape from the dreaded ghosts.The hardest task, that of driving away Sedna, is reserved for the most powerful angakoq. A rope is coiled on the floor of a large hut in such a manner as to leave a small opening at the top, which represents the breathing hole of a seal. Two angakut stand by the side of it, one of them holding the seal spear in his left hand, as if he were watching at the seal hole in the winter, the other holding the harpoon line. Another angakoq, whose office it is to lure Sedna up with a magic song, sits at the back of the hut. At last she comes up through the hard rocks and the wizard hears her heavy breathing; now she emerges from the ground and meets the angakoq waiting at the hole. She is harpooned and sinks away in angry haste, drawing after her the harpoon, to which the two men hold with all their strength. Only by a desperate effort does she tear herself away from it and return to her dwelling in Adlivun. Nothing is left with the two men but the blood sprinkled harpoon, which they proudly show to the Inuit.Sedna and the other evil spirits are at last driven away, and on the following day a great festival for young and old is celebrated in honor of the event. But they must still be careful, for the wounded Sedna is greatly enraged and will seize any one whom she can find out of his hut; so on this day they all wear protecting amulets (koukparmiutang) on the tops of their hoods. Parts of the first garment which they wore after birth are used for this purpose.The men assemble early in the morning in the middle of the settlement. As soon as they have all got together they run screaming and jumping around the houses, following the course of the sun (nunajisartung or kaivitijung). A few, dressed in women’s jackets, run in the opposite direction. These are those who were born in abnormal presentations. The circuit made, they visit every hut, and the woman of the house must always be in waiting for them. When she hears the noise of the band she comes out and throws a dish containing little gifts of meat, ivory trinkets, and articles of sealskin into the yelling crowd, of which each one helps himself to what he can get. No hut is omitted in this round (irqatatung).The crowd next divides itself into two parties, the ptarmigans (aχigirn), those who were born in the winter, and the ducks (aggirn), or the children of summer. A large rope of sealskin is stretched out. One party takes one end of it and tries with all its might to drag the opposite party over to its side. The others hold fast to the rope and try as hard to make ground for themselves. If the ptarmigans give way the summer has won the game and fine weather may be expected to prevail through the winter (nussueraqtung).The contest of the seasons having been decided, the women bring out of a hut a large kettle of water and each person takes his drinking cup. They all stand as near the kettle as possible, while the oldest man among them steps out first. He dips a cup of water from the vessel, sprinkles a few drops on the ground, turns his face toward the home of his youth, and tells his name and the place of his birth (oχsoaχsavepunga——me, I was born in ——). He is followed by an aged woman, who announces her name and home, and then all the others do the same, down to the young children, who are represented by their mothers. Only the parents of children born during the last year are forbidden to partake in this ceremony. As the words of the old are listened to respectfully, so those of the distinguished hunters are received with demonstrative applause and those of the others with varying degrees of attention, in some cases even with joking and raillery (imitijung).Now arises a cry of surprise and all eyes are turned toward a hut out of which stalk two gigantic figures. They wear heavy boots; their legs are swelled out to a wonderful thickness with several pairs of breeches; the shoulders of each are covered by a woman’s over-jacket and the faces by tattooed masks of sealskins. In the right hand each carries the seal spear, on the back of each is an inflated buoy of sealskin, and in the left hand the scraper. Silently, with long strides, the qailertetang (Fig. 535) approach the assembly, who, screaming, press back from them. The pair solemnly lead the men to a suitable spot and set them in a row, and the women in another opposite them. They match the men and women in pairs and these pairs run, pursued by the qailertetang, to the hut of the woman, where they are for the following day and night man and wife (nulianititijung). Having performed this duty, the qailertetang stride down to the shore and invoke the good north wind, which brings fair weather, while they warn off the unfavorable south wind.As soon as the incantation is over, all the men attack the qailertetang with great noise. They act as if they had weapons in their hands and would kill both spirits. One pretends to probe them with a spear, another to stab them with a knife, one to cut off their arms and legs, another to beat them unmercifully on the head. The buoys which they carry on their backs are ripped open and collapse and soon they both lie as if dead beside their broken weapons (pilektung).The Eskimo leave them to get their drinking cups and the qailertetang awake to new life. Each man fills his sealskin with water, passes a cup to them, and inquires about the future, about the fortunes of the hunt and the events of life. The qailertetang answer in murmurs which the questioner must interpret for himself.see captionFig. 535.Qailertetang, a masked figure. (From a sketch by the author.)The evening is spent in playing ball, which is whipped all around the settlement (ajuktaqtung). (See Appendix,Note 6.)This feast is celebrated as here described in Cumberland Sound and Nugumiut. Hall and Kumlien make a few observations in regard to it, but the latter has evidently misunderstood its meaning. His description is as follows (p. 43):An angakoq dresses himself up in the most hideous manner, having several pairs of pants on among the rest, and a horrid looking mask of skins. The men and women now range themselves in separate and opposite ranks, and the angakoq takeshis place between them. He then picks out a man and conducts him to a woman in the opposite ranks. This couple then go to the woman’s hut and have a grand spree for a day or two. This manner of proceeding is kept up till all the women but one are disposed of. This one is always the angakoq’s choice, and her he reserves for himself.Another description by Kumlien (p. 19) evidently refers to the same feast:
Qudliparmiut (heaven) is upward. Everybody happy there. All the time light; no snow, no ice, no storms; always pleasant; no trouble; never tired; sing and play all the time—all this to continue without end.Adliparmiut (hell) is downward. Always dark there. No sun; trouble there continually; snow flying all the time, terrible storms; cold, very cold; and a great deal of ice there. All who go there must always remain.All Inuit who have been good go to Qudliparmiut; that is, who have been kind to the poor and hungry, all who have been happy while living on this earth. Any one who has been killed by accident, or who has committed suicide, certainly goes to the happy place.All Inuit who have been bad—that is, unkind one to another—all who have been unhappy while on this earth, will go to Adliparmiut. If an Inung kills another because he is mad at him, he will certainly go to Adliparmiut.
Qudliparmiut (heaven) is upward. Everybody happy there. All the time light; no snow, no ice, no storms; always pleasant; no trouble; never tired; sing and play all the time—all this to continue without end.
Adliparmiut (hell) is downward. Always dark there. No sun; trouble there continually; snow flying all the time, terrible storms; cold, very cold; and a great deal of ice there. All who go there must always remain.
All Inuit who have been good go to Qudliparmiut; that is, who have been kind to the poor and hungry, all who have been happy while living on this earth. Any one who has been killed by accident, or who has committed suicide, certainly goes to the happy place.
All Inuit who have been bad—that is, unkind one to another—all who have been unhappy while on this earth, will go to Adliparmiut. If an Inung kills another because he is mad at him, he will certainly go to Adliparmiut.
Kumlien’s remarks on this subject, as well as on other ethnographic subjects, are not trustworthy. He has transferred Greenland tales to Cumberland Sound, though the traditions of these tribes differ materially one from the other. I tried hard to corroborate his statements concerning the amaroq and the tornarsuq, concerning certain customs, &c., and am convinced that they are totally unknown to all the natives of Baffin Land from Nugumiut to Tununirn.
Kumlien states that the better land is below the surface of the earth and that those who are killed by violence descend after death. According to Hall and to replies to my own inquiries, it is quite the reverse. Lyon’s report is extremely interesting, particularly his description of the stages of the nether world, of which I could only find a scanty hint in the names. He says (p. 372):
There are two places appointed to receive the souls of the good: one of these is in the center of the earth, the other in qilaq, or heaven. To the latter place, such as are drowned at sea, starved to death, murdered, or killed by walruses or bears, are instantly wafted, and dwell in a charming country, which, however, has never been seen by any angakoq.***The place of souls in the world below is called Adli generally; but there are, properly, four distinct states of blessedness, and each rank has a world to itself, the lowest land being the last and best, which all hope to reach. The day on which a good person dies and is buried, the soul goes to a land immediately under the visible world; and, still descending, it arrives the second day at one yet lower; the third day it goes farther yet; and on the fourth it finds, “below the lowest deep, a deeper still.” This is the “good land,” and the soul which reaches it is for ever happy. The three first stages are bad uncomfortable places for in each the sky is so close to the earth, that a man cannot walk erect: yet these regions are inhabited; and the good soul, in passing through them, sees multitudes of the dead, who, having losttheir way, or, not being entitled to the “good land,” are always wandering about and in great distress. Whether these unhappy souls are in purgatory or not, I was unable to learn; but they suffer no other pain than what we would call the “fidgets.” In the lowest Adli a perpetual and delightful summer prevails.
There are two places appointed to receive the souls of the good: one of these is in the center of the earth, the other in qilaq, or heaven. To the latter place, such as are drowned at sea, starved to death, murdered, or killed by walruses or bears, are instantly wafted, and dwell in a charming country, which, however, has never been seen by any angakoq.***
The place of souls in the world below is called Adli generally; but there are, properly, four distinct states of blessedness, and each rank has a world to itself, the lowest land being the last and best, which all hope to reach. The day on which a good person dies and is buried, the soul goes to a land immediately under the visible world; and, still descending, it arrives the second day at one yet lower; the third day it goes farther yet; and on the fourth it finds, “below the lowest deep, a deeper still.” This is the “good land,” and the soul which reaches it is for ever happy. The three first stages are bad uncomfortable places for in each the sky is so close to the earth, that a man cannot walk erect: yet these regions are inhabited; and the good soul, in passing through them, sees multitudes of the dead, who, having losttheir way, or, not being entitled to the “good land,” are always wandering about and in great distress. Whether these unhappy souls are in purgatory or not, I was unable to learn; but they suffer no other pain than what we would call the “fidgets.” In the lowest Adli a perpetual and delightful summer prevails.
The belief of these tribes undoubtedly is that all who die by accident or by violence and women who die in childbirth are taken to the upper world. I never heard a different opinion expressed by any native. I do not know whether they believe in a series of upper worlds similar to the nether worlds of the Iglulirmiut, but it is probable, from the names Qudlivun and Qudliparmiut. In the Greenland tradition the upper world is represented as a country with hills and valleys, over which the solid blue sky is expanded. Sedna of the Oqomiut lives in Adlivun, and here the souls must stay one year after death. Everybody who dies from disease or who has offended Sedna by infringing her orders is taken to her. The Eskimo are in great fear of the terrors of her abode. Murderers and offenders against human laws, after they have entered Sedna’s house, will never leave it; the other souls, however, are taken to the Adliparmiut, where they live comparatively at their ease, although they are not nearly so blessed as the Qudliparmiut. They hunt whales and walrus and are almost always troubled by ice and snow.
The older authors on Greenland mythology state that the conceptions of the natives do not coincide (Cranz). According to one tradition the good land is below, and tornarsuq, the supreme tornaq, is master of it. Here continuous summer prevails and there is plenty of fresh water, with a profusion of game. Only those people are allowed to come here who have been good hunters and workers, who have accomplished great exploits, caught many seals, who have suffered much, or have died by violence or in childbirth. The souls of the deceased must slide for five days, or even longer, down a steep rock, which has become quite slippery from the blood which has been sprinkled over it. Those who have been lazy and unfit for working go to the upper world, where they suffer from scarcity of food. Particularly the bad and witches are taken to this country, where they are tormented by ravens.
Another tradition places the good land in heaven. The souls travel on the rainbow to the moon, near which they find a large lake abounding with fowls and fish. Rink gives the following statement on this subject (p. 37):
After death, human souls either go to the upper or to the under world. The latter is decidedly to be preferred, as being warm and rich in food. There are the dwellings of the happy dead called arsissut,—viz, those who live in abundance. On the contrary, those who go to the upper world will suffer from cold and famine; and these are called the arssartut, or ball players, on account of their playing at ball with a walrus head, which gives rise to the aurora borealis.
While the Iglulirmiut believe that the soul leaves the body immediately after death and descends to Adli, the tribes of Davis Straitsuppose that it lingers three days around the body, unable to leave it. Then it descends to Sedna’s house. During its stay in Adlivun the soul is called tupilaq, which is represented by the figure of a man with wide, loose, shabby clothing. It is looked upon as a malevolent spirit, frequently roaming around the villages. The tupilaq is not allowed to enter the houses, and if the angakoq perceives and announces his presence no one would dare to leave the houses. His touch kills men at once, the sight of him causes sickness and mischief. As soon as the soul has become an adliparmio, it is at rest and ceases to be feared as a tupilaq.
It is worth remarking that the Greenlanders designate with the name of tupilaq a supernatural being made by men for the purpose of destroying their enemies (Rink, p. 53). It is composed of various parts of different animals and is enabled to act in the shape of any of them at will. I have not found any trace of this idea among the Central Eskimo.
A consideration of the religious ideas of the Eskimo shows that the tornait, the invisible rulers of every object, are the most remarkable beings next to Sedna. Everything has its inua (owner), which may become the genius of man who thus obtains the qualities of angakunirn. I am not quite sure that every inua can become the tornaq of a man, though with the Greenlanders this was possible. I learned of three kinds of spirits only, who are protectors of angakut: those in the shape of men, of stones, and of bears. These spirits enable the angakut to have intercourse with the others who are considered malevolent to mankind, and though those three species are kind to their angakut they would hurt strangers who might happen to see them. The bear seems to be the most powerful among these spirits. The tornait of the stones live in the large bowlders scattered over the country. The Eskimo believe that these rocks are hollow and form a nice house, the entrance of which is only visible to the angakoq whose genius lives in the stone. The tornaq is a woman with only one eye, in the middle of the brow. Another kind of tornaq lives in the stones that roll down the hills in spring when the snow begins to melt. If a native happens to meet such a stone, which is about to become his tornaq, the latter addresses him: “I jumped down in long leaps from my place on the cliff. As the snow melts, as water is formed on the hills, I jump down.” Then it asks the native whether he is willing to have it for his tornaq, and if he answers in the affirmative it accompanies him, wabbling along, as it has no legs.
The bear tornaq is represented as a huge animal without any hair except on the points of the ears and of the tail and at the mouth. If a man wishes to obtain a bear for his tornaq he must travel all aloneto the edge of the land floe and summon the bears. Then a large herd will approach and frighten him almost to death. He falls down at once. Should he fall backward he would die at once. If he falls upon his face, however, one bear out of the herd steps forward and asks him if he wishes him to become his tornaq. He then recovers and takes the bear for his spirit and is accompanied by him on the return journey. On the way home, they pass a seal hole and the bear captures the animal for his master. The Eskimo is now a great angakoq, and whenever he wants help he is sure to get it from his bear.
The Eskimo do not make images of the tornait or other supernatural beings in whom they believe, but use to a great extent amulets (arngoaq), some of which are given by the tornait, while others are inherited. The most common varieties of amulets are the feather of an owl, a bear’s tooth, and the like, which are always worn on the middle of the back of the inner jacket. Rare minerals (e.g., iron) sewed up in a piece of skin are sometimes used for the same purpose. A small part of the first gown worn by a child is considered a powerful amulet and is preserved for this reason. It is worn at the point of the hood at a great feast celebrated every fall (see pp.604,611) and is called koukparmiutang.
Lyon (p. 367) gives the following account of the use of amulets in Iglulik:
Bones and teeth of animals, hanging as solitary pendants, or strung in great numbers, have peculiar virtues, and the bones of the feet of the kabliaqdjuq, which I imagine to be the wolverine, are the most in request. The front teeth of musk oxen are considered as jewels, while the grinders, one or two together, are much esteemed as tassels for the strings used to tie up the breeches of the women. Eye teeth of foxes are sometimes seen to the number of hundreds, neatly perforated and arranged as a kind of fringe round caps or dresses, and even the bones and teeth of fish have their value.Leather cases of the size of a quill, and containing small pieces of deer’s or other flesh, are frequently attached to the caps or hoods of children, but whether to render them expert hunters, or to preserve their health, I could not discover. I was assured that broken spear heads, and other equally cumbrous pendants, worn round the necks of young girls, were spells for the preservation of their chastity, while the same ornaments caused the women to be prolific.
Bones and teeth of animals, hanging as solitary pendants, or strung in great numbers, have peculiar virtues, and the bones of the feet of the kabliaqdjuq, which I imagine to be the wolverine, are the most in request. The front teeth of musk oxen are considered as jewels, while the grinders, one or two together, are much esteemed as tassels for the strings used to tie up the breeches of the women. Eye teeth of foxes are sometimes seen to the number of hundreds, neatly perforated and arranged as a kind of fringe round caps or dresses, and even the bones and teeth of fish have their value.
Leather cases of the size of a quill, and containing small pieces of deer’s or other flesh, are frequently attached to the caps or hoods of children, but whether to render them expert hunters, or to preserve their health, I could not discover. I was assured that broken spear heads, and other equally cumbrous pendants, worn round the necks of young girls, were spells for the preservation of their chastity, while the same ornaments caused the women to be prolific.
The principal office of the angakut is to find out the reason of sickness and death or of any other misfortune visiting the natives.
The Eskimo believes that he is obliged to answer the angakoq’s questions truthfully. The lamps being lowered, the angakoq strips off his outer jacket, pulls the hood over his head, and sits down in the back part of the hut facing the wall. He claps his hands, which are covered with mittens, and, shaking his whole body, utters sounds which one would hardly recognize as human.
Thus he invokes his tornaq, singing and shouting alternately, the listeners, who sit on the edge of the bed, joining the chorus andanswering his questions. Then he asks the sick person: “Did you work when it was forbidden?” “Did you eat when you were not allowed to eat?” And if the poor fellow happens to remember any transgression of such laws, he cries: “Yes, I have worked.” “Yes, I have eaten.” And the angakoq rejoins “I thought so” and issues his commands as to the manner of atonement.
These are manifold. Exchange of wives between two men or adoption of a sick child by another family in order to save its life are frequently demanded. The inhabitants of a village are forbidden to wash themselves for a number of days, to scrape the ice from the windows, and to clean their urine pots before sunrise. Sometimes the angakoq commands that the clothing be thrown away or gives regulations for diet, particularly forbidding the eating of venison, working on deerskins, filing iron, &c.
Disorders of women are considered as a punishment for the neglect to observe the regulations referring to their behavior at certain periods, which regulations were established by Sedna. The same is stated by Lyon (p. 363).
A method of finding out the reason of a disease is by “head lifting.” A thong is tied round the head of the sick person or of a relative, who must lie down on the bed, the angakoq holding the thong. Then he asks his tornaq the reason of the sickness and the remedy. If the tornaq answers a question of the angakoq in the affirmative the head is easily lifted. In the other case it feels so heavy that he is unable to move it. Another method is by lifting a boot or a stone, which has been placed under the pillow of the patient. The angakut believe that the boot or stone becomes heavy and cannot be lifted when the tornaq answers their incantations.
At the beginning of some of their performances I have observed the angakoq crawling about in the passage of the hut, howling and shouting, while those inside kept on singing. Then he entered the hut and continued the incantations on the back part of the bed.
Sometimes their cure for sickness is laying a piece of burning wick upon the diseased part of the body and blowing it up into the air or merely blowing upon it.
Storm and bad weather, when lasting a long time and causing want of food, are conjured by making a large whip of seaweed, stepping to the beach, and striking out in the direction whence the wind blows, at the same time crying Taba (It is enough).
A great number of the performances of the angakut require much skill and expertness. Thus in invoking a tornaq or flying to a distant place they can imitate a distant voice by a sort of ventriloquism. In these performances they always have the lamps extinguished and hide themselves behind a screen hung up in the back part of the hut. The tornaq, being invoked, is heard approaching and shaking the hut. The angakoq believes that it is unroofed and flies withhis spirit to their place of destination, to propitiate the wrath of a hostile tornaq, to visit the moon or Sedna’s dismal abode.
Part of their performances might almost be called juggling. Hall (II, p. 101) describes one of these performances:
The angakoq (Ar-too-a) now made use of three walrus spears. One of these he thrust into the wall of the snow house, and***ran with it outside of the igdlu [house] where his ejaculations were responded to by the party inside with the cries of “Atte! Atte!” [Go on! Go on!]. Returning with his spear to the door, he had a severe wrestling match with four of the men, who overcame him. But coming again into the central igdlu, and having the lights which had been at the first patted down, relit, he showed the points of two spears apparently covered with fresh blood, which he held up in the presence of all.
The performance of the angakut in the Sedna feast, which will be described hereafter (p. 604) is quite astonishing. Some pierce their bodies with harpoons, evidently having bladders filled with blood fastened under their jackets beforehand, and bleed profusely as they enter the hut. (See Appendix,Note 5.)
A memorable ceremony has been described by Hall (I, p. 469):
I heard a loud shout just outside [the hut]. As quick as thought, the Eskimo sprang for the long knives lying around, and hid them wherever they could find places.***Immediately there came crawling into the low entrance to the hut a man with long hair completely covering his face and eyes. He remained on his knees on the floor of the hut, feeling round like a blind man at each side of the entrance, back of the firelight, the place where meat is usually kept, and where knives may generally be found. Not finding any, the angakoq slowly withdrew.***If he had found a knife he would have stabbed himself in the breast.
It is one of their favorite tricks to have their hands tied up and a thong fastened around their knees and neck. Then they begin invoking their tornaq, and all of a sudden the body lies motionless while the soul flies to any place which they wish to visit. After returning, the thongs are found untied, though they had been fastened by firm knots. The resemblance of this performance to the experiments of modern spiritualists is striking.
The angakut use a sacred language in their songs and incantations. A great number of words have a symbolic meaning, but others are old roots, which have been lost from common use in the lapse of time. These archaic words are very interesting from a linguistic point of view. Indeed, some are found which are still in use in Greenland, though lost in the other dialects, and others which are only used in Alaska.
I ought to add here that most of the angakut themselves believe in their performances, as by continued shouting and invoking they fall into an ecstasy and really imagine they accomplish the flights and see the spirits.
The angakoq, who must be paid at once for curing a sick person, receives pretty large fees for services of this kind.
Although witchcraft occupied a prominent place in the belief of the Greenlanders I could only find very faint traces of it in Baffin Land, to wit, the opinion that a man has the power of injuring a distant enemy by some means the details of which I did not learn.
I shall add here the numerous regulations referring to eating and working, many of which are connected with the Sedna tradition, and the observance of which is watched by the angakut. As all sea animals have originated from her fingers the Eskimo must make an atonement for every animal he kills. When a seal is brought into the hut the women must stop working until it is cut up. After the capture of a ground seal, walrus, or whale they must rest for three days. Not all kinds of work, however, are forbidden, for they are allowed to mend articles made of sealskin, but they must not make anything new. For instance, an old tent cover may be enlarged in order to build a larger hut, but it is not permitted to make a new one. Working on new deerskins is strictly forbidden. No skins of this kind obtained in summer may be prepared before the ice has formed and the first seal is caught with the harpoon. Later, as soon as the first walrus is caught, the work must stop again until the next fall. For this reason all families are eager to finish the work on deerskins as quickly as possible, as the walrusing season is not commenced until that is done.
The laws prohibiting contact with deer and sea animals at the same time are very strict. According to the Eskimo themselves Sedna dislikes the deer (probably for some reason connected with the tradition of its origin,) and therefore they are not allowed to bring it in contact with her favorites. The meat of the whale, seal, or walrus must not be eaten on the same day with venison. It is not permitted that both sorts of meat lie on the floor of the hut or behind the lamps at the same time. If a man who has eaten venison in the morning happens to enter a hut in which seal meat is being cooked he is allowed to eat venison on the bed, but it must be wrapped up before being carried into the hut and he must take care to keep clear of the floor. Before changing from one food to the other the Eskimo must wash themselves. For the same reason walrus hide must not be carried to Lake Nettilling, which is considered the domain of deer.
A similar custom requires that the Ukusiksalirmiut carry salmon into a hut by a separate entrance, for it must not pass through the same one as seal oil. Besides, the fish must only be cooked at the distance of a day’s journey from the place where they have been caught. If eaten on the spot they must be eaten raw (Klutschak, p. 158).
Their customs referring to hunting are manifold. When skinning a deer they must not break a single bone; then, they cut off bits of different parts of the animal and bury them in the ground or under stones (Hall I, p. 386). I have never noticed this custom myself.On the west shore of Hudson Bay dogs are not allowed to gnaw deer bones during the deer hunting season or seal bones during the sealing season (Klutschak, p. 123). Deer bones must not be broken while walrus are hunted (Hall II, p. 155).
When the men go out hunting in their kayaks the women of the Aivillirmiut take a cup down to the shore and leave it there, believing that it will bring luck (Hall II, p. 103). On Davis Strait they throw a piece of seal’s blubber on their husband’s kayak when he is about to go hunting (Kumlien, p. 45). After the capture of a whale the Aivillirmiut are not allowed to burn shrubs, but use bones of the whale instead, which are mixed with blubber (Hall II, p. 364). If an animal that is with young is killed the fetus must not be taken and used for food (Hall II, p. 253). When a bear is caught the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut are accustomed to fasten its bladder to a stick which is placed upright near the hut or encampment for three days.
When a house is deserted the Aivillirmiut are in the habit of carrying all the bones lying inside to some distance and putting them upon the ice (Hall II, p. 175). If they intend to move to a place some distance away they are in the habit of burying some of their clothing. Klutschak observed this custom among the Netchillirmiut; I myself, among the Akudnirmiut. If a great number of families leave a village those who remain build new houses, as they believe that they would otherwise have bad luck in hunting.
A great number of regulations refer to the behavior of women during menstruation. They are not allowed to eat raw meat, they must cook in separate pots, and are not permitted to join in festivals, being looked upon as unclean during this period. Customs referring to childbirth and sickness will be found further on (seep. 609).
When a traveling party visits a neighboring tribe it is obliged to adopt the customs and regulations of the latter.
This account does not by any means include all the peculiar customs of these people, for they are so numerous and the difficulty of finding out anything pertaining to this subject is so great that it is probable that the greater part of them have escaped notice.
I shall also mention a few customs that are peculiar to certain places. At Qeqertelung, east of Naujateling, in Cumberland Sound, the Eskimo dig potstone, but must buy it from the rock: that is, having dug out a piece, they must give the rock something in exchange; for example, ivory carvings, beads, food, or the like.
At Arligaulik, near Wager River, the Eskimo address a large rock and bid it farewell when passing (Hall II, p. 174).
In Cumberland Sound there is a cape called Iliqimisarbing, i.e., the place of headshaking. The place is very dangerous, as heavy squalls sweep down the steep rocks and slides frequently occur. Therefore the natives never pass it without shaking their heads, at the same time uttering a deep murmur.
Besides the tornait already mentioned, a number of others are known which cannot become genii of men. A spirit of the sea, Kalopaling or Mitiling, is described in a tradition (seep. 620). In Erdmann’s Wörterbuch des Labradordialectes “Mitiling” is translated Gespenst, i.e., ghost. No doubt it is the name of the same spirit or at least of a similar one which is recognized among the northern tribes, the literal translation being “with eider ducks.” Another spirit of which the natives are in great fear is Qiqirn, a phantom in the shape of a huge dog almost without hair. Like the bear which has been alluded to, it has hair only at the mouth, the feet, and the points of the ears and the tail. If it comes near dogs or men they fall into fits and only recover when Qiqirn has left. It is exceedingly afraid of men and runs away as soon as an angakoq descries it.
A very remarkable tornaq is the qaggim inua, i.e., master of the dancing house. The natives build large houses for feasting, singing, and dancing, which are devoted to spirits. This tornaq has the shape of a bandy legged man, his knees being bent outward and forward. He has not a single hair upon his entire body and no bones at the back of his head. To touch him would result in immediate death (seep. 636).
Besides these tornait, more powerful supernatural beings are known, who are “owners” (inua) of the stars and constellations and of meteorologic processes. Moon and sun are considered brother and sister, and in this the tradition of the Central Eskimo exactly corresponds with that of the Greenlanders. It is even known among the Eskimo of Point Barrow (Simpson, p. 940). From Repulse Bay (Aivillirmiut) a few scanty traces of this tradition are recorded by Rae (I, p. 79). He relates as follows:
It is said that many years ago, not long after the creation of the world, there was a mighty conjurer, who gained so much power that at last he raised himself up into the heavens, taking with him his sister (a beautiful girl) and a fire. To the latter he added great quantities of fuel, which thus formed the sun. For some time he and his sister lived in great harmony, but at last they disagreed, and he, in addition to maltreating the lady in many ways, at last scorched the side of her face. She had suffered patiently all sorts of indignities, but the spoiling of her beauty was not to be borne; she therefore ran away from him and formed the moon, and continues so until this day. Her brother is still in chase of her, but although he gets near, he will never overtake her. When it is new moon, the burnt side of the face is towards us; when full moon, the reverse is the case.
The following form of the legend, which I received from some Akudnirmiut and Oqomiut, is almost identical with the Greenland one:
In olden times a brother and his sister lived in a large village in which there was a singing house, and every night the sister with her playfellows enjoyed themselves in this house. Once upon a time, when all the lamps in the singing house were extinguished, somebody came in and outraged her. She was unable to recognize him; butshe blackened her hands with soot and when the same again happened besmeared the man’s back with it. When the lamps were relighted she saw that the violator was her brother. In great anger she sharpened a knife and cut off her breasts, which she offered to him, saying: “Since you seem to relish me, eat this.” Her brother fell into a passion and she fled from him, running about the room. She seized a piece of wood (with which the lamps are kept in order) which was burning brightly and rushed out of the house. The brother took another one, but in his pursuit he fell down and extinguished his light, which continued to glow only faintly. Gradually both were lifted up and continued their course in the sky, the sister being transformed into the sun, the brother into the moon. Whenever the new moon first appears she sings:
Aningaga tapika, takirn tapika qaumidjatedlirpoq; qaumatitaudle.Aningaga tapika, tikipoq tapika.
Aningaga tapika, takirn tapika qaumidjatedlirpoq; qaumatitaudle.
Aningaga tapika, tikipoq tapika.
(My brother up there, the moon up there begins to shine; he will be bright.My brother up there, he is coming up there.)
(My brother up there, the moon up there begins to shine; he will be bright.
My brother up there, he is coming up there.)
There exists another tradition in regard to the spirit of the moon, which is also known to the Greenlanders. While in the first tradition the moon is a man carrying a glowing light, in the other she is the moon man’s house (Rink, p. 440). The legend, as told by the Oqomiut and Akudnirmiut, is the narrative of the flight of an angakoq to the moon and is as follows:
A mighty angakoq, who had a bear for his tornaq, resolved to pay a visit to the moon. He sat down in the rear of his hut, turning his back toward the lamps, which had been extinguished. He had his hands tied up and a thong fastened around his knees and neck. Then he summoned his tornaq, which carried him rapidly through the air and brought him to the moon. He observed that the moon was a house, nicely covered with white deerskins, which the man in the moon used to dry near it. On each side of the entrance was the upper portion of the body of an enormous walrus, which threatened to tear in pieces the bold intruder. Though it was dangerous to pass by the fierce animals, the angakoq, by help of his tornaq, succeeded in entering the house.
In the passage he saw the only dog of the man of the moon, which is called Tirie´tiang and is dappled white and red. On entering the main room he perceived, to the left, a small additional building, in which a beautiful woman, the sun, sat before her lamp. As soon as she saw the angakoq entering she blew her fire, behind the blaze of which she hid herself. The man in the moon came to meet him kindly, stepping from the seat on the ledge and bidding the stranger welcome. Behind the lamps great heaps of venison and seal meat were piled up, but the man of the moon did not yet offer him anything.He said: “My wife, Ululiernang, will soon enter and we will perform a dance. Mind that you do not laugh, else she will slit open your belly with her knife, take out your intestines, and give them to my ermine which lives in yon little house outside.”
Before long a woman entered carrying an oblong vessel in which her ulo (seep. 518) lay. She put it on the floor and stooped forward, turning the vessel like a whirligig. Then she commenced dancing, and when she turned her back toward the angakoq it was made manifest that she was hollow. She had no back, backbone, or entrails, but only lungs and heart.
The man joined her dance and their attitudes and grimaces looked so funny that the angakoq could scarcely keep from laughing. But just at the right moment he called to mind the warnings of the man in the moon and rushed out of the house. The man cried after him, “Uqsureliktaleqdjuin” (“Provide yourself with your large white bear tornaq”).7Thus he escaped unhurt.
Upon another visit he succeeded in mastering his inclination to laugh and was hospitably received by the man after the performance was finished. He showed him all around the house and let him look into a small additional building near the entrance. There he saw large herds of deer apparently roaming over vast plains, and the man of the moon allowed him to choose one animal, which fell immediately through a hole upon the earth. In another building he saw a profusion of seals swimming in an ocean and was allowed to pick out one of these also. At last the man in the moon sent him away, when his tornaq carried him back to his hut as quickly as he had left it.
During his visit to the moon his body had lain motionless and soulless, but now it revived. The thongs with which his hands had been fastened had fallen down, though they had been tied in firm knots. The angakoq felt almost exhausted, and when the lamps were relighted he related to the eagerly listening men his adventures during his flight to the moon.
It is related in the course of this tradition that the man in the moon has a qaumat, some kind of light or fire, but I could not reach a satisfactory understanding of the meaning of this word. It is derived from qauq (daylight) and is used in Greenland for the moon herself. Among the Eskimo of Baffin Land it is only employed in the angakoq language, in which the moon is called qaumavun, the sun qaumativun. Another name of the moon is aninga (her brother), in reference to the first legend. The natives also believe that the man in the moon makes the snow. He is generally considered a protector of orphans and of the poor, and sometimes descends from his house on a sledge drawn by his dog, Tirie´tiang, in order to help them (see the tradition of Qaudjaqdjuq,p. 630).
It is said that three sisters make the lightning, the thunder, and the rain. The names of two of them are Ingnirtung (the one who strikes the fire) and Udluqtung (the one who rubs the skins), whose second name is Kadlu (thunder), while that of the third I could not ascertain. They live in a large house the walls of which are supported by whale ribs. It stands in the far west, at a great distance from the sea, as Kadlu and her sisters do not like to go near it. If an Eskimo should happen to enter the house he must hasten away or Ingnirtung will immediately kill him with her lightning. Even the stones are afraid of her and jump down the hills whenever they see the lightning and hear the thunder. The faces of the sisters are entirely black and they wear no clothes at all.(?) Ingnirtung makes the lightning by striking two red stones together (flint). Kadlu makes the thunder by rubbing sealskins and singing. The third sister makes the rain by urinating. They procure food by striking reindeer with the lightning, which singes their skins and roasts their flesh. The Akudnirmiut say that beyond Iglulik, on the continent of America, a large tribe of Eskimo live whom they call Kakī´joq. The women of the tribe are said to have rings tattooed round their eyes. These natives offer the dried skins of a species of small seals to Kadlu, who uses them for making the thunder.
The Eskimo have some very interesting feasts, most of which are closely connected with their religious notions. In summer feasts are celebrated in the open air, but in winter a house, called qaggi, or, as we may call it, singing house, is built for that purpose.
see caption
Fig. 531.Diagram showing interior of qaggi or singing house among eastern tribes.
The plan of the house which is used by the eastern tribes is represented in Fig. 531. It is a large snow dome about fifteen feet inheight and twenty feet in diameter, without any lining. In the center there is a snow pillar five feet high, on which the lamps stand. When the inhabitants of a village assemble in this building for singing and dancing the married women stand in a row next the wall. The unmarried women form a circle inside the former, while the men sit in the innermost row. The children stand in two groups, one at each side of the door. When the feast begins, a man takes up the drum (kilaut), which will be described presently, steps into the open space next the door, and begins singing and dancing. Among the stone foundations of Niutang, in Kingnait (Cumberland Sound), there is a qaggi built on the same plan as the snow structure. Probably it was covered with a snow roof when in use.
see caption
Fig. 532.Plan of Hudson Bay qaggi or singing house. (From Hall II, p. 220.)
Hall gives the plan of the Hudson Bay qaggi (Fig. 532), a copy of which is here introduced, as well as his description of the drum (Fig. 533), which I have never seen made (Hall II, p. 96):
see captionFig. 533.Kilaut or drum.
see caption
Fig. 533.Kilaut or drum.
The drum is made from the skin of the deer [or seal], which is stretched over a hoop made of wood, or of bone from the fin of a whale, by the use of a strong, braided cord of sinew passed around a groove on the outside. The hoop is about 2½ inches wide, 1½ inches thick, and 3 feet in diameter, the whole instrument weighing about 4 pounds. The wooden drumstick, 10 inches in length and 3 inches in diameter, is called a kentun.***The deerskin which is to be the head of the instrument is kept frozen when not in use. It is then thoroughly saturated with water, drawn over the hoop, and temporarily fastened in its place by a piece of sinew. A line of heavy, twisted sinew, about 50 feet long, is now wound tightly on the groove on the outside of the hoop, binding down the skin. This cord is fastened to the handle of the kilaut [drum], which is made to turn by the force of several men (while its other end isheld firmly), and the line eased out as required. To do this a man sits on the bed-platform, “having one or two turns of the line about his body, which is encased in furred deerskins, and empaled by four upright pieces of wood.” Tension is secured by using a round stick of wood as a lever on the edge of the skin, drawing it from beneath the cord. When any whirring sound is heard, little whisps of reindeer hair are tucked in between the skin and the hoop, until the head is as tight as a drum.performer, who strikes the edge of the rim opposite that over which the skin is stretched. He holds the drum in different positions, but keeps it in a constant fan-like motion by his hand and by the blows of the kentun struck alternately on the opposite sides of the edge. Skillfully keeping the drum vibrating on the handle, he accompanies this with grotesque motions of the body, and at intervals with a song, while the women keep up their own Inuit songs, one after another, through the whole performance.
The drum is made from the skin of the deer [or seal], which is stretched over a hoop made of wood, or of bone from the fin of a whale, by the use of a strong, braided cord of sinew passed around a groove on the outside. The hoop is about 2½ inches wide, 1½ inches thick, and 3 feet in diameter, the whole instrument weighing about 4 pounds. The wooden drumstick, 10 inches in length and 3 inches in diameter, is called a kentun.***
The deerskin which is to be the head of the instrument is kept frozen when not in use. It is then thoroughly saturated with water, drawn over the hoop, and temporarily fastened in its place by a piece of sinew. A line of heavy, twisted sinew, about 50 feet long, is now wound tightly on the groove on the outside of the hoop, binding down the skin. This cord is fastened to the handle of the kilaut [drum], which is made to turn by the force of several men (while its other end isheld firmly), and the line eased out as required. To do this a man sits on the bed-platform, “having one or two turns of the line about his body, which is encased in furred deerskins, and empaled by four upright pieces of wood.” Tension is secured by using a round stick of wood as a lever on the edge of the skin, drawing it from beneath the cord. When any whirring sound is heard, little whisps of reindeer hair are tucked in between the skin and the hoop, until the head is as tight as a drum.
performer, who strikes the edge of the rim opposite that over which the skin is stretched. He holds the drum in different positions, but keeps it in a constant fan-like motion by his hand and by the blows of the kentun struck alternately on the opposite sides of the edge. Skillfully keeping the drum vibrating on the handle, he accompanies this with grotesque motions of the body, and at intervals with a song, while the women keep up their own Inuit songs, one after another, through the whole performance.
The feast is described as follows:
As usual the women sat on the platform Turk fashion; the men, behind them with extended legs. The women were gayly dressed. They wore on each side of the face an enormous pigtail, made by wrapping their hair on a small wooden roller a foot in length; strips of reindeer-fur being wrapped with the hair [seep. 559]. These were black and white for those who had sons and black only for those who had none. Shining ornaments were worn on the head and on the breast they had masonic-like aprons, the groundwork of which was of a flaming red color, ornamented with glass beads of many colors.
In Cumberland Sound the women also wear pigtails at the celebration of these feasts. The drum is sometimes played with the wrist of the right hand instead of the beater.
Every singing house is dedicated to a tornaq, the qaggim inua, as mentioned above. For this reason all these performances may be considered religious feasts.
The songs are always composed by the singer himself. Satiric songs are great favorites on these occasions. While the men listen in silence the women join in the chorus, amna aya, the never failingend of each verse. The dancer remains on one spot only, stampingrhythmicallywith the feet, swinging the upper part of his body, and at the same time playing the kilaut. While dancing he always strips the upper part of the body, keeping on only trousers and boots. Singing and dancing are alternated with wrestling matches and playing at hook and crook. Almost every great success in hunting is celebrated in the qaggi, and especially the capture of a whale. Such a feast has been described by Parry.
see caption
Fig. 534.Plans of remains of supposed qaggin or singing houses. (From Parry II, p. 362.)
The stone foundations observed by Parry and copied here (Fig. 534) are probably the remains of singing houses. Parry’s description is as follows (II, p. 362):
It appears that the whole whale or a principal part of it is dragged into the enclosure, where some of the men are employed in cutting it up and throwing the pieces over the wall to the rest, who stand ready to receive them outside; while within the women range themselves in a circle around the whale and continue singing during the operation. * * * Each of these structures * * * was the distinct property of a particular individual; and had probably, in its turn, been the seat of feasting and merriment either to the present owner, or those from whom he had inherited it.
Great feasts closely connected with the Sedna tradition are celebrated every fall.
When late in the fall storms rage over the land and release the sea from the icy fetters by which it is as yet but slightly bound, when the loosened floes are driven one against the other and break up with loud crashes, when the cakes of ice are piled in wild disorder one upon another, the Eskimo believes he hears the voices of spirits which inhabit the mischief laden air.
The spirits of the dead, the tupilaq, knock wildly at the huts, which they cannot enter, and woe to the unhappy person whom they can lay hold of. He immediately sickens and a speedy death is regarded as sure to come. The wicked qiqirn pursues the dogs, which die with convulsions and cramps as soon as they see him. All the countless spirits of evil are aroused, striving to bring sickness and death, bad weather, and failure in hunting. The worst visitors are Sedna, mistress of the under world, and her father, to whose share the deadInuit fall. While the other spirits fill the air and the water, she rises from under the ground.
It is then a busy season for the wizards. In every hut we may hear them singing and praying; conjuring of the spirits is going on in every house. The lamps burn low. The wizard sits in a mystic gloom in the rear of the hut. He has thrown off his outer coat and drawn the hood of his inner garment over his head, while he mutters indescribable sounds, unnatural to a human voice. At last the guardian spirit responds to the invocation. The angakoq lies in a trance and when he comes to himself he promises in incoherent phrases the help of the good spirit against the tupilaq and informs the credulous, affrighted Inuit how they can escape from the dreaded ghosts.
The hardest task, that of driving away Sedna, is reserved for the most powerful angakoq. A rope is coiled on the floor of a large hut in such a manner as to leave a small opening at the top, which represents the breathing hole of a seal. Two angakut stand by the side of it, one of them holding the seal spear in his left hand, as if he were watching at the seal hole in the winter, the other holding the harpoon line. Another angakoq, whose office it is to lure Sedna up with a magic song, sits at the back of the hut. At last she comes up through the hard rocks and the wizard hears her heavy breathing; now she emerges from the ground and meets the angakoq waiting at the hole. She is harpooned and sinks away in angry haste, drawing after her the harpoon, to which the two men hold with all their strength. Only by a desperate effort does she tear herself away from it and return to her dwelling in Adlivun. Nothing is left with the two men but the blood sprinkled harpoon, which they proudly show to the Inuit.
Sedna and the other evil spirits are at last driven away, and on the following day a great festival for young and old is celebrated in honor of the event. But they must still be careful, for the wounded Sedna is greatly enraged and will seize any one whom she can find out of his hut; so on this day they all wear protecting amulets (koukparmiutang) on the tops of their hoods. Parts of the first garment which they wore after birth are used for this purpose.
The men assemble early in the morning in the middle of the settlement. As soon as they have all got together they run screaming and jumping around the houses, following the course of the sun (nunajisartung or kaivitijung). A few, dressed in women’s jackets, run in the opposite direction. These are those who were born in abnormal presentations. The circuit made, they visit every hut, and the woman of the house must always be in waiting for them. When she hears the noise of the band she comes out and throws a dish containing little gifts of meat, ivory trinkets, and articles of sealskin into the yelling crowd, of which each one helps himself to what he can get. No hut is omitted in this round (irqatatung).
The crowd next divides itself into two parties, the ptarmigans (aχigirn), those who were born in the winter, and the ducks (aggirn), or the children of summer. A large rope of sealskin is stretched out. One party takes one end of it and tries with all its might to drag the opposite party over to its side. The others hold fast to the rope and try as hard to make ground for themselves. If the ptarmigans give way the summer has won the game and fine weather may be expected to prevail through the winter (nussueraqtung).
The contest of the seasons having been decided, the women bring out of a hut a large kettle of water and each person takes his drinking cup. They all stand as near the kettle as possible, while the oldest man among them steps out first. He dips a cup of water from the vessel, sprinkles a few drops on the ground, turns his face toward the home of his youth, and tells his name and the place of his birth (oχsoaχsavepunga——me, I was born in ——). He is followed by an aged woman, who announces her name and home, and then all the others do the same, down to the young children, who are represented by their mothers. Only the parents of children born during the last year are forbidden to partake in this ceremony. As the words of the old are listened to respectfully, so those of the distinguished hunters are received with demonstrative applause and those of the others with varying degrees of attention, in some cases even with joking and raillery (imitijung).
Now arises a cry of surprise and all eyes are turned toward a hut out of which stalk two gigantic figures. They wear heavy boots; their legs are swelled out to a wonderful thickness with several pairs of breeches; the shoulders of each are covered by a woman’s over-jacket and the faces by tattooed masks of sealskins. In the right hand each carries the seal spear, on the back of each is an inflated buoy of sealskin, and in the left hand the scraper. Silently, with long strides, the qailertetang (Fig. 535) approach the assembly, who, screaming, press back from them. The pair solemnly lead the men to a suitable spot and set them in a row, and the women in another opposite them. They match the men and women in pairs and these pairs run, pursued by the qailertetang, to the hut of the woman, where they are for the following day and night man and wife (nulianititijung). Having performed this duty, the qailertetang stride down to the shore and invoke the good north wind, which brings fair weather, while they warn off the unfavorable south wind.
As soon as the incantation is over, all the men attack the qailertetang with great noise. They act as if they had weapons in their hands and would kill both spirits. One pretends to probe them with a spear, another to stab them with a knife, one to cut off their arms and legs, another to beat them unmercifully on the head. The buoys which they carry on their backs are ripped open and collapse and soon they both lie as if dead beside their broken weapons (pilektung).The Eskimo leave them to get their drinking cups and the qailertetang awake to new life. Each man fills his sealskin with water, passes a cup to them, and inquires about the future, about the fortunes of the hunt and the events of life. The qailertetang answer in murmurs which the questioner must interpret for himself.
see caption
Fig. 535.Qailertetang, a masked figure. (From a sketch by the author.)
The evening is spent in playing ball, which is whipped all around the settlement (ajuktaqtung). (See Appendix,Note 6.)
This feast is celebrated as here described in Cumberland Sound and Nugumiut. Hall and Kumlien make a few observations in regard to it, but the latter has evidently misunderstood its meaning. His description is as follows (p. 43):
An angakoq dresses himself up in the most hideous manner, having several pairs of pants on among the rest, and a horrid looking mask of skins. The men and women now range themselves in separate and opposite ranks, and the angakoq takeshis place between them. He then picks out a man and conducts him to a woman in the opposite ranks. This couple then go to the woman’s hut and have a grand spree for a day or two. This manner of proceeding is kept up till all the women but one are disposed of. This one is always the angakoq’s choice, and her he reserves for himself.
Another description by Kumlien (p. 19) evidently refers to the same feast: