see captionFig. 539.The man in the moonwhipping Qaudjaqdjuq.see captionFig. 540.Qaudjaqdjuqhas become Qaudjuqdjuaq.He returned to the moon, but Qaudjaqdjuq, who had now become Qaudjuqdjuaq (the big Qaudjaqdjuq), returned home tossing the stones with his feet and making them fly to the right and to the left. At night he lay down again among the dogs to sleep. Next morning he awaited the bears, and, indeed, three large animals soon made their appearance, frightening all the men, who did not dare to leave the huts.Then Qaudjuqdjuaq put on his boots and ran down to the ice. The men who looked out of the window hole said, “Look here, isnot that Qaudjaqdjuq? The bears will soon make way with him.” But he seized the first by its hind legs and smashed its head on an iceberg, near which it happened to stand. The other one fared no better; the third, however, he carried up to the village and slew some of his persecutors with it. Others he pressed to death with his hands or tore off their heads (Fig. 541), crying: “That is for abusing me; that is for your maltreating me.” Those whom he did not kill ran away, never to return. Only a few who had been kind to him while he had been poor little Qaudjaqdjuq were spared, among them the girl who had given him the knife. Qaudjuqdjuaq lived to be a great hunter and traveled all over the country, accomplishing many exploits.see captionFig. 541.Qaudjuqdjuaq killing his enemies.IGIMARASUGDJUQDJUAQ THE CANNIBAL.Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq was a very huge and bad man, who had committed many murders and eaten the victims after he had cut them up with his knife. Once upon a time his sister-in-law came to visit his wife, but scarcely had she entered the hut before Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq killed her and commanded his wife to cook her.His wife was very much frightened, fearing that she herself would be the next victim, and resolved to make her escape. When Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq had left to go hunting she gathered heather, stuffed her jacket with it, and placed the figure in a sitting position upon the bed. Then she ran away as fast as she could and suc-ceededin reaching a village. When her husband came home and saw the jacket he believed that it was a stranger who had come to visit him and stabbed him through the body. When he discovered, however, that his wife had deceived and left him, he fell into a passion and pursued her.He came to the village and said: “Have you seen my wife? She has run away.” The Inuit did not tell him that she was staying with them, but concealed her from his wrath. At last Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq gave her up for lost and returned home.The Inuit, however, resolved to revenge the many outrages which he had wrought upon them. They went to visit him and met him on the ice just below the hut. When he told them he was going bear hunting they said: “Let us see your spear.” This spear had a stout and sharp walrus tusk for a point. “Ah,” said they; “that is good for bear hunting; how sharp it is. You must hit him just this way.” And so saying they struck his brow, the point of the spear entering his brain, and then cut the body up with their knives.THE TORNIT.13In olden times the Inuit were not the only inhabitants of the country in which they live at the present time. Another tribe similar to them shared their hunting ground. But they were on good terms, both tribes living in harmony in the villages. The Tornit were much taller than the Inuit and had very long legs and arms. Almost all of them were blear eyed. They were extremely strong and could lift large bowlders, which were by far too heavy for the Inuit. But even the Inuit of that time were much stronger than those of to-day, and some large stones are shown on the plain of Miliaqdjuin, in Cumberland Sound, with which the ancient Inuit used to play, throwing them great distances. Even the strongest men of the present generations are scarcely able to lift them, much less to swing them or throw them any distance.see captionFig. 542.Tumiujangor lamp of the Tornit.(Museum für Volkerkunde,Berlin IV, A 6848.)The Tornit lived on walrus, seals, and deer, just as the Eskimo do nowadays, but their methods of hunting were different. The principal part of their winter dress was a long and wide coat of deerskins,similar to the jumper of the Eskimo, but reaching down to the knees and trimmed with leather straps. When sealing in winter they wore this garment, the lower edge of which was fastened on the snow by means of pegs. Under the jacket they carried a small lamp, called tumiujang (literally, resembling a footprint) or quming (Fig. 542), over which they melted snow in a small pot. Some Eskimo say that they opened the seals as soon as they were caught and cooked some meat over these lamps. When the seal blew in the hole they whispered, “Kapatipara” (I shall stab it) and, when they had hit it, “Igdluiliq.” Frequently they forgot about the lamp and in throwing the harpoon upset it and burned their skin.All their weapons were made of stone. For the blades of their knives they used green slate (uluqsaq, literally material for women’s knives), which was fastened by ivory pins to a bone or ivory handle.The points of their harpoons were made of bone, ivory, or slate; those of their lances, of flint or quartz, which was also used for drillheads; and they made neither kayaks nor bows.Their method of hunting deer was remarkable. In a deer pass, where the game could not escape, they erected a file of cairns across the valley and connected them by ropes. Some of the hunters hid behind the cairns, while others drove the deer toward them. As the animals were unable to pass the rope they fled along it, looking for an exit, and while attempting to pass a cairn were lanced by the waiting hunter, who seized the body by the hind legs and drew it behind the line.This tale is related as a proof of their enormous strength and it is said that they were able to hold a harpooned walrus as the Eskimo hold a seal.The Tornit could not clean the sealskins so well as the Inuit, but worked them up with part of the blubber attached. Their way of preparing meat was disgusting, since they let it become putrid and placed it between the thigh and the belly to warm it.The old stone houses of the Tornit can be seen everywhere. Generally they did not build snow houses, but lived the whole winter in stone buildings, the roofs of which were frequently supported by whale ribs. Though the Eskimo built similar structures they can be easily distinguished from one another, the bed of their huts being much larger than that of the Tornit.Though both tribes lived on very good terms, the Inuit did not like to play at ball with the Tornit, as they were too strong and used large balls, with which they hurt their playfellows severely.A remarkable tradition is told referring to the emigration of this people.The Tornit did not build any kayaks, but as they were aware of the advantages afforded by their use in hunting they stole the boats from the Inuit, who did not dare to defend their property, theTornit being by far their superiors in strength. Once upon a time a young Tuniq had taken the kayak of a young Inung without asking him and had injured it by knocking in the bottom. The Inung got very angry and ran a knife into the nape of the Tuniq’s neck while he was sleeping. (According to another tradition he drilled a hole into his head; this form is also recorded in Labrador.) The Tornit then became afraid that the Inuit would kill them all and preferred to leave the country for good. They assembled at Qernirtung (a place in Cumberland Sound), and in order to deceive any pursuers they cut off the tails of their jumpers and tied their hair into a bunch protruding from the crown of the head.In another form of the tradition it is said that while playing with the Tornit a young Inung fell down and broke his neck. The Tornit feared that the Inuit might take revenge upon them and left the country.Many old ditties are sung which either treat of the Tornit or are reported to have been sung by them. Some of them will be found in the linguistic account connected with my journey.THE WOMAN AND THE SPIRIT OF THE SINGING HOUSE.Once upon a time a woman entered the singing house when it was quite dark. For a long time she had wished to see the spirit of the house, and though the Inuit had warned her of the impending danger she had insisted upon her undertaking.She summoned the spirit, saying, “If you are in the house, come here.” As she could not see him, she cried, “No spirit is here; he will not come.” But the spirit, though yet invisible, said, “Here I am; there I am.” Then the woman asked, “Where are your feet; where are your shins; where are your thighs; where are your hips; where are your loins?” Every time the spirit answered, “Here they are; there they are.” And she asked further, “Where is your belly?” “Here it is,” answered the spirit. “Where is your breast; where are your shoulders; where is your neck; where is your head?” “Here it is; there it is;” but in touching the head the woman all of a sudden fell dead. It had no bones and no hair (p. 597).THE CONSTELLATION UDLEQDJUN.Three men went bear hunting with a sledge and took a young boy with them. When they approached the edge of the floe they saw a bear and went in pursuit. Though the dogs ran fast they could not get nearer and all of a sudden they observed that the bear was lifted up and their sledge followed. At this moment the boy lost one of his mittens and in the attempt to pick it up fell from the sledge. There he saw the men ascending higher and higher, finally being transformed into stars. The bear became the star Nanuqdjung(Betelgeuse); the pursuers, Udleqdjun (Orion’s belt); and the sledge, Kamutiqdjung (Orion’s sword). The men continue the pursuit up to this day; the boy, however, returned to the village and told how the men were lost.ORIGIN OF THE ADLET AND OF THE QADLUNAIT.Savirqong, an old man, lived alone with his daughter. Her name was Niviarsiang (i.e., the girl), but as she would not take a husband she was also called Uinigumissuitung (she who would not take a husband). She refused all her suitors, but at last a dog, spotted white and red, whose name was Ijirqang, won her affection and she took him for a husband. They had ten children, five of whom were Adlet and five dogs. The lower part of the body of the Adlet was that of a dog and hairy all over, the soles excepted, while the upper part was that of a man. When the children grew up they became very voracious, and as the dog Ijirqang did not go out hunting at all, but let his father in law provide for the whole family, it was difficult for Savirqong to feed them. Moreover, the children were awfully clamorous and noisy; so at last the grandfather got tired of it, put the whole family into his boat, and carried them to a small island. He told the dog Ijirqang to come every day and fetch meat.Niviarsiang hung a pair of boots round his neck and he swam across the narrow channel. But Savirqong, instead of giving him meat, filled the boots with heavy stones, which drowned Ijirqang when he attempted to return to the island.The daughter thought of revenging the death of her husband. She sent the young dogs to her father’s hut and let them gnaw off his feet and hands. In return Savirqong, when Niviarsiang happened to be in his boat, threw her overboard and cut off her fingers when she held to the gunwale. As they fell into the sea they were transformed into seals and whales. At last he allowed her to climb into the boat.As she feared that her father might think of killing or maiming her children, she ordered the Adlet to go inland, where they became the ancestors of a numerous people. She made a boat for the young dogs, setting up two sticks for masts in the soles of her boots, and sent the puppies across the ocean. She sang: “Angnaijaja. When you arrive there across the ocean you will make many things giving you joy. Angnaija.” They arrived in the land beyond the sea and became the ancestors of the Europeans.THE GREAT FLOOD.A long time ago the ocean suddenly began to rise, until it covered the whole land. The water even rose to the top of the mountains and the ice drifted over them. When the flood had subsided the icestranded and ever since forms an ice cap on the top of the mountains. Many shellfish, fish, seal, and whales were left high and dry and their shells and bones may be seen to this day. A great number of Inuit died during this period, but many others, who had taken to their kayaks when the water commenced to rise, were saved.INUGPAQDJUQDJUALUNG.14In days of yore, an enormous man, whose name was Inugpaqdjuqdjualung, lived in company with many other Inuit in a village on a large fjord. He was so tall that he could straddle the fjord. He used to stand thus every morning and wait for whales to pass beneath him. As soon as one came along he stooped and caught it, just as another man would scoop up some little thing that had fallen into the water, and he ate it as other men eat a small piece of meat.One day all the natives had manned their boats to hunt a whale. Inugpaqdjuqdjualung at the time was sitting lazily near his hut, but when he saw the efforts of the men he scooped both whale and boats from the water and placed them upon the beach.At another time, being tired from running about, he lay down on a high hill to take a nap. The Inuit told him that a couple of huge bears had been seen near the village, but he said he didn’t care, and told his friends to rouse him by throwing large stones upon him if they should see the bears coming. They did so and Inugpaqdjuqdjualung, suddenly starting up, cried: “Where are they? Where are they?” When the Inuit pointed them out he said: “What! those little things? Those are not worth the bustle; they are small foxes, not bears,” and he crushed one between his fingers, while he put the other into the eyelet of his boot and strangled it there.THE BEAR STORY.This story is reprinted from Hall (II, p. 240):Many moons ago, a woman obtained a polar bear cub but two or three days old. Having long desired just such a pet, she gave it her closest attention, as though it were a son, nursing it, making for it a soft warm bed alongside her own, and talking to it as a mother does to her child. She had no living relative, and she and the bear occupied the house alone. Kunikdjuaq, as he grew up, proved that the woman had not taught him in vain, for he early began to hunt seals and salmon, bringing them to his mother before eating any himself, and receiving his share from her hands. She always watched from the hilltop for his return, and if she saw that he had been unsuccessful, she begged from her neighbors blubber for his food. She learned how this was from her lookout, for if successful, he came back in the tracks made on going out, but if unsuccessful always by a different route. Learning to excel the Inuit in hunting, he excited their envy, and, after long years of faithful service, his death was resolved upon. On hearing this, the old woman, overwhelmed with grief, offered to give up her own life if they would but spare him who had so long supported her. Her offer was sternly refused. Upon this, when all his enemieshad retired to their houses, the woman had a long talk with her son—now well grown in years—telling him that wicked men were about to kill him, and that the only way to save his life and hers was for him to go off and not return. At the same time she begged him not to go so far that she could not wander off and meet him, and get from him a seal or something else which she might need. The bear, after listening to what she said with tears streaming down her furrowed cheeks, gently placed one huge paw on her head, and then throwing both around her neck, said, “Good mother, Kunikdjuaq will always be on the lookout for you and serve you as best he can.” Saying this, he took her advice and departed, almost as much to the grief of the children of the village as to the mother.Not long after this, being in need of food, she walked out on the sea ice to see if she could not meet her son, and soon recognized him as one of two bears who were lying down together. He ran to her, and she patted him on the head in her old familiar way, told him her wants, and begged him to hurry away and get something for her. Away ran the bear, and in a few moments the woman looked upon a terrible fight going on between him and his late companion, which, however, to her great relief, was soon ended by her son’s dragging a lifeless body to her feet. With her knife she quickly skinned the dead bear, giving her son large slices of the blubber, and telling him that she would soon return for the meat, which she could not at first carry to her house, and when her supply should again fail she would comeback for his help. This she continued to do for “a long, long time,” the faithful bear always serving her and receiving the same unbroken love of his youth.SUNDRY TALES.(1) Two little girls, while playing about a cliff near Aivillik, with infants in the hoods on their backs, went into an opening between the rocks, which closed upon them before escape was possible. All attempts at rescue were unsuccessful, and the poor children, to whom for a time meat and water were passed, perished in the cliffs (Hall II, p. 222).(2) Opposite to Niutang, a village in Kingnait, Cumberland Sound, there is a vein of diorite resembling a boot, and therefore called Kamingujang. A long time ago two enemies lived in the village. One day they stood on the beach ready to go hunting. Suddenly the one exclaimed, pointing to Kamingujang, “There he blows,” making his enemy believe that a whale was passing up the fjord and inducing him to look out for it. Then he killed him from behind, piercing him with the spear.(3) At Qognung, near the head of Nettilling Fjord, there is a large white stone on each side of the fjord, somewhat resembling a bear. It is said that these stones have been bears which, being pursued by an Eskimo in the water, escaped to the land, but were transformed into these stones.(4) A long time ago a dead boy was buried under a large stone. Before his relatives had returned to their hut the body was transformed into a hare, which jumped forth from the tomb. All hares come from this animal.(5) It is said that albinos of seals and deer spring from an egg of about half a foot in length, which forms itself in the earth. The seal digs an underground passage to the sea, the deer a similar one to a distant part of the country, and there they rise. The albinos are said to be very quick.I will add here an enumeration of the fabulous tribes of which I gained intelligence, but of some of them I only know the names.(1) The Tornit, or, as they are called by the Akudnirmiut, the Tuniqdjuait (p. 634). It is remarkable that this people is considered here, as well as in Labrador, a tribe similar to the Eskimo, with whom they formerly lived in company, but who were subsequently expelled by the latter. In Greenland they are entirely a fabulous tribe, each individual being of enormous size, living inland and seldom hunting in the upper parts of the fjords. While in the western parts of the Eskimo country a more historical form of the tradition is preserved, it is entirely mythical in Greenland.(2) The Adlet or Erqigdlit. In the tradition treating of this tribe a similar change occurs. The Labrador Eskimo call the Indians of the interior Adlet, the tribes west of Hudson Bay call them Erqigdlit. The Baffin Land Eskimo and the Greenlanders have forgotten this relation altogether, but denote with the term a fabulous tribe with dogs’ legs and a human body. The name Adla is used as far north as Cumberland Peninsula, the Akudnirmiut and the more northern tribes using the term Erqigdlit. It is difficult to account for the use of these different terms in both senses.(3) The Ardnainiq, a tribe living in the extreme northwest. The men of this people are small, tiny, like children, but entirely covered with hair. They are carried about in the hoods of their wives, just like children. The women are of normal size. They do all the work, going out hunting in the kayaks and providing for the men.(4) The Inuarudligang, dwarfs living in the cliffs near the shore.(5) The Igdlungajung, a bandy legged people living inland.(6) The Uissuit, dwarfs living in the depth of the sea (p. 621).(7) The Ijirang.(8) The Qailerte´tang, a people consisting of women only (p. 605).Finally, I will mention the animals which are only known to the natives by reports of foreign tribes and are described as fabulous creatures. These are the umingmang (the musk ox), which is represented as a fierce animal with black and red streaks and larger than a bear, and the agdlaq (the black bear), which, according to their belief, is also of enormous size. It is said to live inland and to devour everything that comes near it. I am unable to decide whether the report of an enormous fish, the idluk, which is said to live in the lakes, is altogether fabulous. The natives say that if they want to catch the fish they build a snow house on the lake and cut a hole through the ice, into which they sink the hook with a deer’s ham fora bait and a stout thong for a fishing line. Six men hold the line by turns, and as soon as they feel the fish has nibbled they pull it up with all their strength.The fabulous amaroq and avignaq of the Greenlanders are unknown, but the terms denote real animals, the wolf and the lemming.Besides traditions of this kind the Eskimo have a great number of fables. Following is an example.THE OWL AND THE RAVEN.The owl and the raven were fast friends. One day the raven made a new dress, dappled white and black, for the owl, who in return made a pair of boots of whalebone for the raven and then began to make a white dress. But when he was about to try it on, the raven kept hopping about and would not sit still. The owl got angry and said: “Now sit still or I shall pour out the lamp over you.” As the raven continued hopping about, the owl fell into a passion and poured the oil upon it. Then the raven cried “Qaq! Qaq!” and since that day has been black all over.COMPARISON BETWEEN BAFFIN LAND TRADITIONS AND THOSE OF OTHER TRIBES.The similarity of the language and traditions of the Eskimo from Behring Strait to Greenland is remarkable, considering the distance which separates the tribes. Unfortunately the material from other tribes, except the Greenlanders, is very scanty, but it is probable that the same traditions or elements of traditions are known to all the tribes. In the following table the above traditions are compared with Rink’s Tales and Traditions of the Greenlanders and with those of other tribes:Traditions of Greenlanders and other tribes:Traditions of the Central Eskimo:Qagsaqsuq, Rink, p. 93.Qaudjaqdjuq,p. 630.The man who recovered his sight, Rink, p. 99.The origin of the narwhal,p. 625.Igimarasugsuq, Rink, p. 106.Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq,p. 633.The man who mated himself with a sea fowl, Rink, p. 145.Ititaujang,p. 615.Givioq, Rink, pp. 157 and 429.Kiviung,p. 621.Tiggaq, Rink, p. 162.The visitor,p. 627.A lamentable story, Rink, p. 239.No. 1, sundry tales,p. 639.The sun and the moon, Rink, p. 236. (L’homme lunaire, Petitot, Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest, p. 7. Also found by Simpson at Point Barrow.)The sun and the moon,p. 597.The moon, Rink, p. 440.The angakoq’s flight to the moon,p. 598.The Tornit (from Labrador), Rink, p. 469.The Tornit,p. 634.A woman who was mated with a dog, Rink, p. 471.(Fragmentary in J. Murdoch: “A few legendary fragments from the Point Barrow Eskimos,” American Naturalist, p. 594, July, 1886.)Origin of the Adlet and the white men,p. 637.Some of these stories are almost identical in both countries, for instance, Qaudjaqdjuq, the origin of the narwhal, &c., and it is of great interest to learn that some passages, particularly speeches and songs, occur literally in both countries, for instance, the interesting song of Niviarsiang (page 637) and the conclusion of the Kiviung tradition. The tradition of the Tornit and the form of the second tale (origin of the narwhal) resemble much more those of Labrador than those of Greenland. The elements of which the traditions are composed are combined differently in the tales of Baffin Land and Greenland, but most of these elements are identical. I give here a comparative table.Greenland.Baffin Land.Transformation of a man into a seal.Rink, pp. 222, 224, 469.Kiviung,p. 621.Men walking on the surface of the water.Rink, pp. 123, 407.Kiviung,p. 622.Harpooning a witch.Rink, p. 372.Sedna,p. 604.Erqigdlit.Rink, pp. 401 et seq.Adlet,p. 637.Sledge of the man of the moon drawn by one dog.Rink, pp. 401, 442.Qaudjaqdjuq,p. 631, and The flight to the moon,p. 598.Origin of the salmon.Cranz, p. 262.Ititaujang,p. 617.Arnaquagsaq.Rink, pp. 150, 326, 466.Sedna,p. 583.Origin of the thunder.Cranz, p. 233; Egede, p. 207.Kadlu,p. 600.The following is a comparison between traditions from Alaska and the Mackenzie and those of the Central Eskimo:Traditions from Alaska and the Mackenzie:Traditions of the Central Eskimo:Men as descendants of a dog, Murdoch, op. cit., 594.Origin of the Adlet and white men,p. 637.The origin of reindeer, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.Origin of the reindeer and walrus,p. 587.The origin of the fishes, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.Ititaujang,p. 617.Thunder and lightning, Murdoch, op. cit., p. s595.Kadlu the thunderer,p. 600.Sun and moon, Petitot, op. cit., p. 7.Sun and moon,p. 597.Orion, Simpson, p. 940.Orion,p. 636.The table shows that the following ideas are known to all tribes from Alaska to Greenland: The sun myth, representing the sun as the brother of the moon; the legend of the descent of man from a dog; the origin of thunder by rubbing a deerskin; the origin of fish from chips of wood; and the story of the origin of deer.It must be regretted that very few traditions have as yet been collected in Alaska, as the study of such material would best enable us to decide upon the question of the origin of the Eskimo.SCIENCE AND THE ARTS.GEOGRAPHY AND NAVIGATION.The Eskimo exhibit a thorough knowledge of the geography of their country. I have already treated of their migrations and mentioned that the area they travel over is of considerable extent. They have a very clear conception of all the countries they have seen or heard of, knowing the distances by day’s journeys, or, as they say, by sleeps, and the directions by the cardinal points. So far as I know, all these tribes call true south piningnang, while the other points are called according to the weather prevailing while the wind blows from the different quarters. In Cumberland Sound uangnang is west-northwest; qaningnang (that is, snow wind), east-northeast; nigirn, southeast; and aqsardnirn, the fohn-like wind blowing from the fjords of the east coast. On Nettilling these names are the same, the east-northeast only being called qanara (that is, is it snow?) In Akudnirn uangnang is west-southwest; ikirtsuq (i.e., the wind of the open sea), east-northeast; oqurtsuq (i.e., the wind of the land Oqo or of the lee side, southeast; and avangnanirn (i.e., from the north side along the shore), the northwestern gales. According to Parry the same names as in Cumberland Sound are used in Iglulik.If the weather is clear the Eskimo use the positions of the sun, of the dawn, or of the moon and stars for steering, and find their way pretty well, as they know the direction of their point of destination exactly. If the weather is thick they steer by the wind, or, if it is calm, they do not travel at all. After a gale they feel their way by observing the direction of the snowdrifts.They distinguish quite a number of constellations, the most important of which are Tuktuqdjung (the deer), our Ursa Major; the Pleiades, Sakietaun; and the belt of Orion, Udleqdjun.BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IVsee captionCUMBERLAND PENINSULA, DRAWN BY ARANIN, A SAUMINGNIO.ESKIMO DRAWINGS.As their knowledge of all the directions is very detailed and they are skillful draftsmen they can draw very good charts. If a man intends to visit a country little known to him, he has a map drawn in the snow by some one well acquainted there and these maps are so good that every point can be recognized. Their way of drawingis first to mark some points the relative positions of which are well known. They like to stand on a hill and to look around in order to place these correctly. This done, the details are inserted. It is remarkable that their ideas of the relative position and direction of coasts far distant one from another are so very clear. Copies of some charts drawn by Eskimo of Cumberland Sound and Davis Strait are here introduced (Plate IV, p. 643, and Figs. 543–546). A comparison between the maps and these charts will prove their correctness. Frequently the draftsman makes his own country, with which he is best acquainted, too large; if some principal points are marked first, he will avoid this mistake. The distance between the extreme points represented in the first chart (Fig. 543) is about five hundred miles.see captionFig. 543.Cumberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio.(Original in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)see captionFig. 544.Cumberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Sunapignang, an Oqomio.see captionFig. 545.Cumberland Sound, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio.see captionFig. 546.Peninsula of Qivitung, drawn by Angutuqdjuaq, a Padlimio.The Eskimo have a sort of calendar. They divide the year into thirteen months, the names of which vary a great deal, according to the tribes and according to the latitude of the place. The surplus isbalanced by leaving out a month every few years, to wit, the month siringilang (without sun), which is of indefinite duration, the name covering the whole time of the year when the sun does not rise and there is scarcely any dawn. Thus every few years this month is totally omitted, when the new moon and the winter solstice coincide. The name qaumartenga is applied only to the days without sun but with dawn, while the rest of the same moon is called siriniktenga. The days of the month are very exactly designated by the age of the moon. Years are not reckoned for a longer space than two, backward and forward.BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. Vsee captionsee captionsee captionsee captiona,b,c,eDrawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.see captionsee captionsee captiond,f,gDrawn by Maleki, a native of Imigen.ESKIMO DRAWINGS.Original layout of Plate V:thumbnail of Plate VBUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIsee captionsee captionDrawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.ESKIMO DRAWINGS.The Eskimo are excellent draftsmen and carvers. Most of the drawings are similar to the bear and deer shown on Plate V (Figs.dandg) or to the illustrations of the Qaudjaqdjuq tale (see Figs.537–541, pp. 631–633.) The rest, on Plates VI and VII, are excellently made, and by far superior to any I have seen made by other Eskimo of these regions. A number of carvings are represented on Plates VIII and IX. The narwhal and the whale are particularly admirable. Among the implements represented in this paper there are many of beautiful and artistic design.BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIIsee captionDrawn by Aise´ang, a native of Nuvujen.ESKIMO DRAWING.BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIIIsee captionCarving representing whale. (In the possession of Mrs. Adams, Washington.) 1/1see captionCarving representing whale. (National Museum, Washington. 29998.) 1/1see captionCarving representing seal. (National Museum, Washington. 29991.) 1/1ESKIMO CARVINGS.I also add a number of engravings of implements plainly showing the influence of European patterns (Plate X).BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IXsee captionCarving representing narwhal. (In the possession of Capt. John O. Spicer, Groton. Conn.). ½see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionWalrus head. (National Museum, Washington. 10414.) 1/1see captionPolar bear. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSealskin float. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionKnife. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSpyglass. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1ESKIMO CARVINGS.BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. Xsee captionsee captionsee captionsee captionsee caption(National Museum, Washington.a, 10395;b, 68146;c, 10396;e, 10394.)MODERN IMPLEMENTSPOETRY AND MUSIC.Among the arts of the Eskimo poetry and music are by far the most prominent. The tales which have been related are only a small part of their stock of traditions. Besides the contents their form also is very interesting, as most of them have been handed down in unchanged form and their narration demands a great deal of art. Many traditions are told in a very abridged form, the substance being supposed to be known. A specimen of this kind is the Sedna tradition (p. 604). All these tales must be considered recitatives, many of them beginning with a musical phrase and continuing as a rhythmic recitation, others being recited in rhythmic phrases throughout. Other traditions are told in a more detailed and prosaic manner, songs or recitations, however, being sometimes included. Ititaujang, for instance, in traveling into the country looking for his wife, sings the song No. XIII, and in the Kalopaling tradition the boy, on seeing the two Inuit coming, sings:Inung-- maqong-- tikitong-- aipa-- kapiteling aipa-- mirqosailing
see captionFig. 539.The man in the moonwhipping Qaudjaqdjuq.see captionFig. 540.Qaudjaqdjuqhas become Qaudjuqdjuaq.
see captionFig. 539.The man in the moonwhipping Qaudjaqdjuq.
see caption
Fig. 539.The man in the moonwhipping Qaudjaqdjuq.
see captionFig. 540.Qaudjaqdjuqhas become Qaudjuqdjuaq.
see caption
Fig. 540.Qaudjaqdjuqhas become Qaudjuqdjuaq.
He returned to the moon, but Qaudjaqdjuq, who had now become Qaudjuqdjuaq (the big Qaudjaqdjuq), returned home tossing the stones with his feet and making them fly to the right and to the left. At night he lay down again among the dogs to sleep. Next morning he awaited the bears, and, indeed, three large animals soon made their appearance, frightening all the men, who did not dare to leave the huts.
Then Qaudjuqdjuaq put on his boots and ran down to the ice. The men who looked out of the window hole said, “Look here, isnot that Qaudjaqdjuq? The bears will soon make way with him.” But he seized the first by its hind legs and smashed its head on an iceberg, near which it happened to stand. The other one fared no better; the third, however, he carried up to the village and slew some of his persecutors with it. Others he pressed to death with his hands or tore off their heads (Fig. 541), crying: “That is for abusing me; that is for your maltreating me.” Those whom he did not kill ran away, never to return. Only a few who had been kind to him while he had been poor little Qaudjaqdjuq were spared, among them the girl who had given him the knife. Qaudjuqdjuaq lived to be a great hunter and traveled all over the country, accomplishing many exploits.
see caption
Fig. 541.Qaudjuqdjuaq killing his enemies.
Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq was a very huge and bad man, who had committed many murders and eaten the victims after he had cut them up with his knife. Once upon a time his sister-in-law came to visit his wife, but scarcely had she entered the hut before Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq killed her and commanded his wife to cook her.
His wife was very much frightened, fearing that she herself would be the next victim, and resolved to make her escape. When Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq had left to go hunting she gathered heather, stuffed her jacket with it, and placed the figure in a sitting position upon the bed. Then she ran away as fast as she could and suc-ceededin reaching a village. When her husband came home and saw the jacket he believed that it was a stranger who had come to visit him and stabbed him through the body. When he discovered, however, that his wife had deceived and left him, he fell into a passion and pursued her.
He came to the village and said: “Have you seen my wife? She has run away.” The Inuit did not tell him that she was staying with them, but concealed her from his wrath. At last Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq gave her up for lost and returned home.
The Inuit, however, resolved to revenge the many outrages which he had wrought upon them. They went to visit him and met him on the ice just below the hut. When he told them he was going bear hunting they said: “Let us see your spear.” This spear had a stout and sharp walrus tusk for a point. “Ah,” said they; “that is good for bear hunting; how sharp it is. You must hit him just this way.” And so saying they struck his brow, the point of the spear entering his brain, and then cut the body up with their knives.
In olden times the Inuit were not the only inhabitants of the country in which they live at the present time. Another tribe similar to them shared their hunting ground. But they were on good terms, both tribes living in harmony in the villages. The Tornit were much taller than the Inuit and had very long legs and arms. Almost all of them were blear eyed. They were extremely strong and could lift large bowlders, which were by far too heavy for the Inuit. But even the Inuit of that time were much stronger than those of to-day, and some large stones are shown on the plain of Miliaqdjuin, in Cumberland Sound, with which the ancient Inuit used to play, throwing them great distances. Even the strongest men of the present generations are scarcely able to lift them, much less to swing them or throw them any distance.
see captionFig. 542.Tumiujangor lamp of the Tornit.(Museum für Volkerkunde,Berlin IV, A 6848.)
see caption
Fig. 542.Tumiujangor lamp of the Tornit.(Museum für Volkerkunde,Berlin IV, A 6848.)
The Tornit lived on walrus, seals, and deer, just as the Eskimo do nowadays, but their methods of hunting were different. The principal part of their winter dress was a long and wide coat of deerskins,similar to the jumper of the Eskimo, but reaching down to the knees and trimmed with leather straps. When sealing in winter they wore this garment, the lower edge of which was fastened on the snow by means of pegs. Under the jacket they carried a small lamp, called tumiujang (literally, resembling a footprint) or quming (Fig. 542), over which they melted snow in a small pot. Some Eskimo say that they opened the seals as soon as they were caught and cooked some meat over these lamps. When the seal blew in the hole they whispered, “Kapatipara” (I shall stab it) and, when they had hit it, “Igdluiliq.” Frequently they forgot about the lamp and in throwing the harpoon upset it and burned their skin.
All their weapons were made of stone. For the blades of their knives they used green slate (uluqsaq, literally material for women’s knives), which was fastened by ivory pins to a bone or ivory handle.
The points of their harpoons were made of bone, ivory, or slate; those of their lances, of flint or quartz, which was also used for drillheads; and they made neither kayaks nor bows.
Their method of hunting deer was remarkable. In a deer pass, where the game could not escape, they erected a file of cairns across the valley and connected them by ropes. Some of the hunters hid behind the cairns, while others drove the deer toward them. As the animals were unable to pass the rope they fled along it, looking for an exit, and while attempting to pass a cairn were lanced by the waiting hunter, who seized the body by the hind legs and drew it behind the line.
This tale is related as a proof of their enormous strength and it is said that they were able to hold a harpooned walrus as the Eskimo hold a seal.
The Tornit could not clean the sealskins so well as the Inuit, but worked them up with part of the blubber attached. Their way of preparing meat was disgusting, since they let it become putrid and placed it between the thigh and the belly to warm it.
The old stone houses of the Tornit can be seen everywhere. Generally they did not build snow houses, but lived the whole winter in stone buildings, the roofs of which were frequently supported by whale ribs. Though the Eskimo built similar structures they can be easily distinguished from one another, the bed of their huts being much larger than that of the Tornit.
Though both tribes lived on very good terms, the Inuit did not like to play at ball with the Tornit, as they were too strong and used large balls, with which they hurt their playfellows severely.
A remarkable tradition is told referring to the emigration of this people.
The Tornit did not build any kayaks, but as they were aware of the advantages afforded by their use in hunting they stole the boats from the Inuit, who did not dare to defend their property, theTornit being by far their superiors in strength. Once upon a time a young Tuniq had taken the kayak of a young Inung without asking him and had injured it by knocking in the bottom. The Inung got very angry and ran a knife into the nape of the Tuniq’s neck while he was sleeping. (According to another tradition he drilled a hole into his head; this form is also recorded in Labrador.) The Tornit then became afraid that the Inuit would kill them all and preferred to leave the country for good. They assembled at Qernirtung (a place in Cumberland Sound), and in order to deceive any pursuers they cut off the tails of their jumpers and tied their hair into a bunch protruding from the crown of the head.
In another form of the tradition it is said that while playing with the Tornit a young Inung fell down and broke his neck. The Tornit feared that the Inuit might take revenge upon them and left the country.
Many old ditties are sung which either treat of the Tornit or are reported to have been sung by them. Some of them will be found in the linguistic account connected with my journey.
Once upon a time a woman entered the singing house when it was quite dark. For a long time she had wished to see the spirit of the house, and though the Inuit had warned her of the impending danger she had insisted upon her undertaking.
She summoned the spirit, saying, “If you are in the house, come here.” As she could not see him, she cried, “No spirit is here; he will not come.” But the spirit, though yet invisible, said, “Here I am; there I am.” Then the woman asked, “Where are your feet; where are your shins; where are your thighs; where are your hips; where are your loins?” Every time the spirit answered, “Here they are; there they are.” And she asked further, “Where is your belly?” “Here it is,” answered the spirit. “Where is your breast; where are your shoulders; where is your neck; where is your head?” “Here it is; there it is;” but in touching the head the woman all of a sudden fell dead. It had no bones and no hair (p. 597).
Three men went bear hunting with a sledge and took a young boy with them. When they approached the edge of the floe they saw a bear and went in pursuit. Though the dogs ran fast they could not get nearer and all of a sudden they observed that the bear was lifted up and their sledge followed. At this moment the boy lost one of his mittens and in the attempt to pick it up fell from the sledge. There he saw the men ascending higher and higher, finally being transformed into stars. The bear became the star Nanuqdjung(Betelgeuse); the pursuers, Udleqdjun (Orion’s belt); and the sledge, Kamutiqdjung (Orion’s sword). The men continue the pursuit up to this day; the boy, however, returned to the village and told how the men were lost.
Savirqong, an old man, lived alone with his daughter. Her name was Niviarsiang (i.e., the girl), but as she would not take a husband she was also called Uinigumissuitung (she who would not take a husband). She refused all her suitors, but at last a dog, spotted white and red, whose name was Ijirqang, won her affection and she took him for a husband. They had ten children, five of whom were Adlet and five dogs. The lower part of the body of the Adlet was that of a dog and hairy all over, the soles excepted, while the upper part was that of a man. When the children grew up they became very voracious, and as the dog Ijirqang did not go out hunting at all, but let his father in law provide for the whole family, it was difficult for Savirqong to feed them. Moreover, the children were awfully clamorous and noisy; so at last the grandfather got tired of it, put the whole family into his boat, and carried them to a small island. He told the dog Ijirqang to come every day and fetch meat.
Niviarsiang hung a pair of boots round his neck and he swam across the narrow channel. But Savirqong, instead of giving him meat, filled the boots with heavy stones, which drowned Ijirqang when he attempted to return to the island.
The daughter thought of revenging the death of her husband. She sent the young dogs to her father’s hut and let them gnaw off his feet and hands. In return Savirqong, when Niviarsiang happened to be in his boat, threw her overboard and cut off her fingers when she held to the gunwale. As they fell into the sea they were transformed into seals and whales. At last he allowed her to climb into the boat.
As she feared that her father might think of killing or maiming her children, she ordered the Adlet to go inland, where they became the ancestors of a numerous people. She made a boat for the young dogs, setting up two sticks for masts in the soles of her boots, and sent the puppies across the ocean. She sang: “Angnaijaja. When you arrive there across the ocean you will make many things giving you joy. Angnaija.” They arrived in the land beyond the sea and became the ancestors of the Europeans.
A long time ago the ocean suddenly began to rise, until it covered the whole land. The water even rose to the top of the mountains and the ice drifted over them. When the flood had subsided the icestranded and ever since forms an ice cap on the top of the mountains. Many shellfish, fish, seal, and whales were left high and dry and their shells and bones may be seen to this day. A great number of Inuit died during this period, but many others, who had taken to their kayaks when the water commenced to rise, were saved.
In days of yore, an enormous man, whose name was Inugpaqdjuqdjualung, lived in company with many other Inuit in a village on a large fjord. He was so tall that he could straddle the fjord. He used to stand thus every morning and wait for whales to pass beneath him. As soon as one came along he stooped and caught it, just as another man would scoop up some little thing that had fallen into the water, and he ate it as other men eat a small piece of meat.
One day all the natives had manned their boats to hunt a whale. Inugpaqdjuqdjualung at the time was sitting lazily near his hut, but when he saw the efforts of the men he scooped both whale and boats from the water and placed them upon the beach.
At another time, being tired from running about, he lay down on a high hill to take a nap. The Inuit told him that a couple of huge bears had been seen near the village, but he said he didn’t care, and told his friends to rouse him by throwing large stones upon him if they should see the bears coming. They did so and Inugpaqdjuqdjualung, suddenly starting up, cried: “Where are they? Where are they?” When the Inuit pointed them out he said: “What! those little things? Those are not worth the bustle; they are small foxes, not bears,” and he crushed one between his fingers, while he put the other into the eyelet of his boot and strangled it there.
This story is reprinted from Hall (II, p. 240):
Many moons ago, a woman obtained a polar bear cub but two or three days old. Having long desired just such a pet, she gave it her closest attention, as though it were a son, nursing it, making for it a soft warm bed alongside her own, and talking to it as a mother does to her child. She had no living relative, and she and the bear occupied the house alone. Kunikdjuaq, as he grew up, proved that the woman had not taught him in vain, for he early began to hunt seals and salmon, bringing them to his mother before eating any himself, and receiving his share from her hands. She always watched from the hilltop for his return, and if she saw that he had been unsuccessful, she begged from her neighbors blubber for his food. She learned how this was from her lookout, for if successful, he came back in the tracks made on going out, but if unsuccessful always by a different route. Learning to excel the Inuit in hunting, he excited their envy, and, after long years of faithful service, his death was resolved upon. On hearing this, the old woman, overwhelmed with grief, offered to give up her own life if they would but spare him who had so long supported her. Her offer was sternly refused. Upon this, when all his enemieshad retired to their houses, the woman had a long talk with her son—now well grown in years—telling him that wicked men were about to kill him, and that the only way to save his life and hers was for him to go off and not return. At the same time she begged him not to go so far that she could not wander off and meet him, and get from him a seal or something else which she might need. The bear, after listening to what she said with tears streaming down her furrowed cheeks, gently placed one huge paw on her head, and then throwing both around her neck, said, “Good mother, Kunikdjuaq will always be on the lookout for you and serve you as best he can.” Saying this, he took her advice and departed, almost as much to the grief of the children of the village as to the mother.Not long after this, being in need of food, she walked out on the sea ice to see if she could not meet her son, and soon recognized him as one of two bears who were lying down together. He ran to her, and she patted him on the head in her old familiar way, told him her wants, and begged him to hurry away and get something for her. Away ran the bear, and in a few moments the woman looked upon a terrible fight going on between him and his late companion, which, however, to her great relief, was soon ended by her son’s dragging a lifeless body to her feet. With her knife she quickly skinned the dead bear, giving her son large slices of the blubber, and telling him that she would soon return for the meat, which she could not at first carry to her house, and when her supply should again fail she would comeback for his help. This she continued to do for “a long, long time,” the faithful bear always serving her and receiving the same unbroken love of his youth.
Many moons ago, a woman obtained a polar bear cub but two or three days old. Having long desired just such a pet, she gave it her closest attention, as though it were a son, nursing it, making for it a soft warm bed alongside her own, and talking to it as a mother does to her child. She had no living relative, and she and the bear occupied the house alone. Kunikdjuaq, as he grew up, proved that the woman had not taught him in vain, for he early began to hunt seals and salmon, bringing them to his mother before eating any himself, and receiving his share from her hands. She always watched from the hilltop for his return, and if she saw that he had been unsuccessful, she begged from her neighbors blubber for his food. She learned how this was from her lookout, for if successful, he came back in the tracks made on going out, but if unsuccessful always by a different route. Learning to excel the Inuit in hunting, he excited their envy, and, after long years of faithful service, his death was resolved upon. On hearing this, the old woman, overwhelmed with grief, offered to give up her own life if they would but spare him who had so long supported her. Her offer was sternly refused. Upon this, when all his enemieshad retired to their houses, the woman had a long talk with her son—now well grown in years—telling him that wicked men were about to kill him, and that the only way to save his life and hers was for him to go off and not return. At the same time she begged him not to go so far that she could not wander off and meet him, and get from him a seal or something else which she might need. The bear, after listening to what she said with tears streaming down her furrowed cheeks, gently placed one huge paw on her head, and then throwing both around her neck, said, “Good mother, Kunikdjuaq will always be on the lookout for you and serve you as best he can.” Saying this, he took her advice and departed, almost as much to the grief of the children of the village as to the mother.
Not long after this, being in need of food, she walked out on the sea ice to see if she could not meet her son, and soon recognized him as one of two bears who were lying down together. He ran to her, and she patted him on the head in her old familiar way, told him her wants, and begged him to hurry away and get something for her. Away ran the bear, and in a few moments the woman looked upon a terrible fight going on between him and his late companion, which, however, to her great relief, was soon ended by her son’s dragging a lifeless body to her feet. With her knife she quickly skinned the dead bear, giving her son large slices of the blubber, and telling him that she would soon return for the meat, which she could not at first carry to her house, and when her supply should again fail she would comeback for his help. This she continued to do for “a long, long time,” the faithful bear always serving her and receiving the same unbroken love of his youth.
(1) Two little girls, while playing about a cliff near Aivillik, with infants in the hoods on their backs, went into an opening between the rocks, which closed upon them before escape was possible. All attempts at rescue were unsuccessful, and the poor children, to whom for a time meat and water were passed, perished in the cliffs (Hall II, p. 222).
(2) Opposite to Niutang, a village in Kingnait, Cumberland Sound, there is a vein of diorite resembling a boot, and therefore called Kamingujang. A long time ago two enemies lived in the village. One day they stood on the beach ready to go hunting. Suddenly the one exclaimed, pointing to Kamingujang, “There he blows,” making his enemy believe that a whale was passing up the fjord and inducing him to look out for it. Then he killed him from behind, piercing him with the spear.
(3) At Qognung, near the head of Nettilling Fjord, there is a large white stone on each side of the fjord, somewhat resembling a bear. It is said that these stones have been bears which, being pursued by an Eskimo in the water, escaped to the land, but were transformed into these stones.
(4) A long time ago a dead boy was buried under a large stone. Before his relatives had returned to their hut the body was transformed into a hare, which jumped forth from the tomb. All hares come from this animal.
(5) It is said that albinos of seals and deer spring from an egg of about half a foot in length, which forms itself in the earth. The seal digs an underground passage to the sea, the deer a similar one to a distant part of the country, and there they rise. The albinos are said to be very quick.
I will add here an enumeration of the fabulous tribes of which I gained intelligence, but of some of them I only know the names.
(1) The Tornit, or, as they are called by the Akudnirmiut, the Tuniqdjuait (p. 634). It is remarkable that this people is considered here, as well as in Labrador, a tribe similar to the Eskimo, with whom they formerly lived in company, but who were subsequently expelled by the latter. In Greenland they are entirely a fabulous tribe, each individual being of enormous size, living inland and seldom hunting in the upper parts of the fjords. While in the western parts of the Eskimo country a more historical form of the tradition is preserved, it is entirely mythical in Greenland.
(2) The Adlet or Erqigdlit. In the tradition treating of this tribe a similar change occurs. The Labrador Eskimo call the Indians of the interior Adlet, the tribes west of Hudson Bay call them Erqigdlit. The Baffin Land Eskimo and the Greenlanders have forgotten this relation altogether, but denote with the term a fabulous tribe with dogs’ legs and a human body. The name Adla is used as far north as Cumberland Peninsula, the Akudnirmiut and the more northern tribes using the term Erqigdlit. It is difficult to account for the use of these different terms in both senses.
(3) The Ardnainiq, a tribe living in the extreme northwest. The men of this people are small, tiny, like children, but entirely covered with hair. They are carried about in the hoods of their wives, just like children. The women are of normal size. They do all the work, going out hunting in the kayaks and providing for the men.
(4) The Inuarudligang, dwarfs living in the cliffs near the shore.
(5) The Igdlungajung, a bandy legged people living inland.
(6) The Uissuit, dwarfs living in the depth of the sea (p. 621).
(7) The Ijirang.
(8) The Qailerte´tang, a people consisting of women only (p. 605).
Finally, I will mention the animals which are only known to the natives by reports of foreign tribes and are described as fabulous creatures. These are the umingmang (the musk ox), which is represented as a fierce animal with black and red streaks and larger than a bear, and the agdlaq (the black bear), which, according to their belief, is also of enormous size. It is said to live inland and to devour everything that comes near it. I am unable to decide whether the report of an enormous fish, the idluk, which is said to live in the lakes, is altogether fabulous. The natives say that if they want to catch the fish they build a snow house on the lake and cut a hole through the ice, into which they sink the hook with a deer’s ham fora bait and a stout thong for a fishing line. Six men hold the line by turns, and as soon as they feel the fish has nibbled they pull it up with all their strength.
The fabulous amaroq and avignaq of the Greenlanders are unknown, but the terms denote real animals, the wolf and the lemming.
Besides traditions of this kind the Eskimo have a great number of fables. Following is an example.
The owl and the raven were fast friends. One day the raven made a new dress, dappled white and black, for the owl, who in return made a pair of boots of whalebone for the raven and then began to make a white dress. But when he was about to try it on, the raven kept hopping about and would not sit still. The owl got angry and said: “Now sit still or I shall pour out the lamp over you.” As the raven continued hopping about, the owl fell into a passion and poured the oil upon it. Then the raven cried “Qaq! Qaq!” and since that day has been black all over.
The similarity of the language and traditions of the Eskimo from Behring Strait to Greenland is remarkable, considering the distance which separates the tribes. Unfortunately the material from other tribes, except the Greenlanders, is very scanty, but it is probable that the same traditions or elements of traditions are known to all the tribes. In the following table the above traditions are compared with Rink’s Tales and Traditions of the Greenlanders and with those of other tribes:
Qaudjaqdjuq,p. 630.
The man who recovered his sight, Rink, p. 99.
The origin of the narwhal,p. 625.
Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq,p. 633.
The man who mated himself with a sea fowl, Rink, p. 145.
Ititaujang,p. 615.
Givioq, Rink, pp. 157 and 429.
Kiviung,p. 621.
The visitor,p. 627.
A lamentable story, Rink, p. 239.
No. 1, sundry tales,p. 639.
The sun and the moon, Rink, p. 236. (L’homme lunaire, Petitot, Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest, p. 7. Also found by Simpson at Point Barrow.)
The sun and the moon,p. 597.
The angakoq’s flight to the moon,p. 598.
The Tornit (from Labrador), Rink, p. 469.
The Tornit,p. 634.
A woman who was mated with a dog, Rink, p. 471.
(Fragmentary in J. Murdoch: “A few legendary fragments from the Point Barrow Eskimos,” American Naturalist, p. 594, July, 1886.)
Origin of the Adlet and the white men,p. 637.
Some of these stories are almost identical in both countries, for instance, Qaudjaqdjuq, the origin of the narwhal, &c., and it is of great interest to learn that some passages, particularly speeches and songs, occur literally in both countries, for instance, the interesting song of Niviarsiang (page 637) and the conclusion of the Kiviung tradition. The tradition of the Tornit and the form of the second tale (origin of the narwhal) resemble much more those of Labrador than those of Greenland. The elements of which the traditions are composed are combined differently in the tales of Baffin Land and Greenland, but most of these elements are identical. I give here a comparative table.
Transformation of a man into a seal.
Kiviung,p. 621.
Men walking on the surface of the water.
Kiviung,p. 622.
Sedna,p. 604.
Adlet,p. 637.
Sledge of the man of the moon drawn by one dog.
Qaudjaqdjuq,p. 631, and The flight to the moon,p. 598.
Ititaujang,p. 617.
Sedna,p. 583.
Kadlu,p. 600.
The following is a comparison between traditions from Alaska and the Mackenzie and those of the Central Eskimo:
Traditions from Alaska and the Mackenzie:
Traditions of the Central Eskimo:
Men as descendants of a dog, Murdoch, op. cit., 594.
Origin of the Adlet and white men,p. 637.
The origin of reindeer, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.
Origin of the reindeer and walrus,p. 587.
The origin of the fishes, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.
Ititaujang,p. 617.
Thunder and lightning, Murdoch, op. cit., p. s595.
Kadlu the thunderer,p. 600.
Sun and moon, Petitot, op. cit., p. 7.
Sun and moon,p. 597.
Orion,p. 636.
The table shows that the following ideas are known to all tribes from Alaska to Greenland: The sun myth, representing the sun as the brother of the moon; the legend of the descent of man from a dog; the origin of thunder by rubbing a deerskin; the origin of fish from chips of wood; and the story of the origin of deer.
It must be regretted that very few traditions have as yet been collected in Alaska, as the study of such material would best enable us to decide upon the question of the origin of the Eskimo.
The Eskimo exhibit a thorough knowledge of the geography of their country. I have already treated of their migrations and mentioned that the area they travel over is of considerable extent. They have a very clear conception of all the countries they have seen or heard of, knowing the distances by day’s journeys, or, as they say, by sleeps, and the directions by the cardinal points. So far as I know, all these tribes call true south piningnang, while the other points are called according to the weather prevailing while the wind blows from the different quarters. In Cumberland Sound uangnang is west-northwest; qaningnang (that is, snow wind), east-northeast; nigirn, southeast; and aqsardnirn, the fohn-like wind blowing from the fjords of the east coast. On Nettilling these names are the same, the east-northeast only being called qanara (that is, is it snow?) In Akudnirn uangnang is west-southwest; ikirtsuq (i.e., the wind of the open sea), east-northeast; oqurtsuq (i.e., the wind of the land Oqo or of the lee side, southeast; and avangnanirn (i.e., from the north side along the shore), the northwestern gales. According to Parry the same names as in Cumberland Sound are used in Iglulik.
If the weather is clear the Eskimo use the positions of the sun, of the dawn, or of the moon and stars for steering, and find their way pretty well, as they know the direction of their point of destination exactly. If the weather is thick they steer by the wind, or, if it is calm, they do not travel at all. After a gale they feel their way by observing the direction of the snowdrifts.
They distinguish quite a number of constellations, the most important of which are Tuktuqdjung (the deer), our Ursa Major; the Pleiades, Sakietaun; and the belt of Orion, Udleqdjun.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IVsee captionCUMBERLAND PENINSULA, DRAWN BY ARANIN, A SAUMINGNIO.ESKIMO DRAWINGS.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IV
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CUMBERLAND PENINSULA, DRAWN BY ARANIN, A SAUMINGNIO.
ESKIMO DRAWINGS.
As their knowledge of all the directions is very detailed and they are skillful draftsmen they can draw very good charts. If a man intends to visit a country little known to him, he has a map drawn in the snow by some one well acquainted there and these maps are so good that every point can be recognized. Their way of drawingis first to mark some points the relative positions of which are well known. They like to stand on a hill and to look around in order to place these correctly. This done, the details are inserted. It is remarkable that their ideas of the relative position and direction of coasts far distant one from another are so very clear. Copies of some charts drawn by Eskimo of Cumberland Sound and Davis Strait are here introduced (Plate IV, p. 643, and Figs. 543–546). A comparison between the maps and these charts will prove their correctness. Frequently the draftsman makes his own country, with which he is best acquainted, too large; if some principal points are marked first, he will avoid this mistake. The distance between the extreme points represented in the first chart (Fig. 543) is about five hundred miles.
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Fig. 543.Cumberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio.(Original in the Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.)
see captionFig. 544.Cumberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Sunapignang, an Oqomio.see captionFig. 545.Cumberland Sound, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio.see captionFig. 546.Peninsula of Qivitung, drawn by Angutuqdjuaq, a Padlimio.
see captionFig. 544.Cumberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Sunapignang, an Oqomio.
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Fig. 544.Cumberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Sunapignang, an Oqomio.
see captionFig. 545.Cumberland Sound, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio.
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Fig. 545.Cumberland Sound, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio.
see captionFig. 546.Peninsula of Qivitung, drawn by Angutuqdjuaq, a Padlimio.
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Fig. 546.Peninsula of Qivitung, drawn by Angutuqdjuaq, a Padlimio.
The Eskimo have a sort of calendar. They divide the year into thirteen months, the names of which vary a great deal, according to the tribes and according to the latitude of the place. The surplus isbalanced by leaving out a month every few years, to wit, the month siringilang (without sun), which is of indefinite duration, the name covering the whole time of the year when the sun does not rise and there is scarcely any dawn. Thus every few years this month is totally omitted, when the new moon and the winter solstice coincide. The name qaumartenga is applied only to the days without sun but with dawn, while the rest of the same moon is called siriniktenga. The days of the month are very exactly designated by the age of the moon. Years are not reckoned for a longer space than two, backward and forward.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. Vsee captionsee captionsee captionsee captiona,b,c,eDrawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.see captionsee captionsee captiond,f,gDrawn by Maleki, a native of Imigen.ESKIMO DRAWINGS.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. V
see captionsee captionsee captionsee captiona,b,c,eDrawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.
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a,b,c,eDrawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.
see captionsee captionsee captiond,f,gDrawn by Maleki, a native of Imigen.
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d,f,gDrawn by Maleki, a native of Imigen.
ESKIMO DRAWINGS.
Original layout of Plate V:thumbnail of Plate V
Original layout of Plate V:
thumbnail of Plate V
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIsee captionsee captionDrawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.ESKIMO DRAWINGS.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VI
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Drawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.
ESKIMO DRAWINGS.
The Eskimo are excellent draftsmen and carvers. Most of the drawings are similar to the bear and deer shown on Plate V (Figs.dandg) or to the illustrations of the Qaudjaqdjuq tale (see Figs.537–541, pp. 631–633.) The rest, on Plates VI and VII, are excellently made, and by far superior to any I have seen made by other Eskimo of these regions. A number of carvings are represented on Plates VIII and IX. The narwhal and the whale are particularly admirable. Among the implements represented in this paper there are many of beautiful and artistic design.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIIsee captionDrawn by Aise´ang, a native of Nuvujen.ESKIMO DRAWING.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VII
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Drawn by Aise´ang, a native of Nuvujen.
ESKIMO DRAWING.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIIIsee captionCarving representing whale. (In the possession of Mrs. Adams, Washington.) 1/1see captionCarving representing whale. (National Museum, Washington. 29998.) 1/1see captionCarving representing seal. (National Museum, Washington. 29991.) 1/1ESKIMO CARVINGS.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. VIII
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Carving representing whale. (In the possession of Mrs. Adams, Washington.) 1/1
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Carving representing whale. (National Museum, Washington. 29998.) 1/1
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Carving representing seal. (National Museum, Washington. 29991.) 1/1
ESKIMO CARVINGS.
I also add a number of engravings of implements plainly showing the influence of European patterns (Plate X).
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IXsee captionCarving representing narwhal. (In the possession of Capt. John O. Spicer, Groton. Conn.). ½see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionWalrus head. (National Museum, Washington. 10414.) 1/1see captionPolar bear. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSealskin float. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionKnife. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSpyglass. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1ESKIMO CARVINGS.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IX
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Carving representing narwhal. (In the possession of Capt. John O. Spicer, Groton. Conn.). ½
see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionWalrus head. (National Museum, Washington. 10414.) 1/1
see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
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Seal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
see captionWalrus head. (National Museum, Washington. 10414.) 1/1
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Walrus head. (National Museum, Washington. 10414.) 1/1
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Polar bear. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
see captionSealskin float. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionKnife. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSpyglass. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
see captionSealskin float. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionKnife. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
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Sealskin float. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
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Knife. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
see captionSeal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1see captionSpyglass. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
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Seal. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
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Spyglass. (Museum für Völkerkunde, Berlin.) 1/1
ESKIMO CARVINGS.
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. Xsee captionsee captionsee captionsee captionsee caption(National Museum, Washington.a, 10395;b, 68146;c, 10396;e, 10394.)MODERN IMPLEMENTS
BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. X
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(National Museum, Washington.a, 10395;b, 68146;c, 10396;e, 10394.)
MODERN IMPLEMENTS
Among the arts of the Eskimo poetry and music are by far the most prominent. The tales which have been related are only a small part of their stock of traditions. Besides the contents their form also is very interesting, as most of them have been handed down in unchanged form and their narration demands a great deal of art. Many traditions are told in a very abridged form, the substance being supposed to be known. A specimen of this kind is the Sedna tradition (p. 604). All these tales must be considered recitatives, many of them beginning with a musical phrase and continuing as a rhythmic recitation, others being recited in rhythmic phrases throughout. Other traditions are told in a more detailed and prosaic manner, songs or recitations, however, being sometimes included. Ititaujang, for instance, in traveling into the country looking for his wife, sings the song No. XIII, and in the Kalopaling tradition the boy, on seeing the two Inuit coming, sings:
Inung-- maqong-- tikitong-- aipa-- kapiteling aipa-- mirqosailing