FOOTNOTES:[1]This characterization applies to the Alaskan Eskimo only; so far as is now known the other Eskimo branches do not have totemic dances.[2]While the northern and southern tribes have the same general movements for their ordinary dances, they give a very different presentation of the festival dance-songs. The northerners leap and stamp about the kásgi until overcome with exhaustion; while in the south the performers sit or kneel on the floor, adorned with an abundance of streaming furs and feathers, sweep their hands through the air in graceful unison. It is a difference between rude vigor and dramatic art.[3]This custom appears to be widespread. Low writes of the Hudson Bay Eskimo: “During the absence of the men on hunting expeditions, the women sometimes amuse themselves by a sort of female “angekoking.” This amusement is accompanied by a number of very obscene rites....” Low, The Cruise of the Neptune, p. 177.[4]Literally “Heads” or directors of the feasts.[5]The order of the seating on the inǵlak of invited guests is a matter of great concern to the Eskimo, as it is an indication of worth.Children purchase their right to a seat in the kásgi by making presents, through their parents, to all the inmates, kásgimiut.Until they do so they have no right to enter. For the same reason strangers on entering the kásgi offer a small present to the headman, who divides it among the people.[6]Tcáuyak, Yukon dialect.[7]Lóftak, Yukon dialect.[8]Múmra, Yukon dialect.[9]Tungrálik, Yukon dialect.[10]Tungrániyak, Yukon dialect.[11]These are the northern names. In the southern or Yukon dialect black is Túnguli; white Katughúli; red, Kauigúli; green, Tcunungúli.The endings and pronunciation of similar Eskimo words are somewhat different in Arctic Alaska and on the Yukon River; sufficiently so as to produce two distinct dialects. For this reason I have given the forms from both sections.[12]Red is obtained from red ochre; white from white clay; black from soot or ashes; green from oxide of copper.[13]The Asking Stick is also used in the Inviting-In Feast (Aithúkaguk).[14]This is a liquor distilled from flour and molasses. In the operation an old cask and a gun barrel are used. The liquid is fermented with sour dough and allowed to distill through the barrel. The Eskimo had no liquor prior to the advent of the whalers, who supplied them with the materials and probably taught them the art of distilling. The U. S. Revenue Cutter “Bear” has been active in breaking up the practice. In 1909, six illicit stills were seized on the Diomede Islands.[15]The first night of the feast the men and older boys meet in the kásgi, and two boys named the Raven (Tulukaúguk) and the Hawk (Teibúriak) mix the paint and assist the men in ornamenting themselves.[16]See Hans Egede, Det Gamle Grönlands Nye Perlustration, p. 78.[17]The mothers also preserve with greatest care the bladders of the mice, ground squirrels, and other small animals killed by the children. These are purified at the same time.[18]The number four appears to have a sacred significance among the Alaskan Eskimo. The Raven Father (Tulukaúguk) waves his wings four times over the objects of his creation; the heroes of ancient legends take four steps and are transported great distances; and important events occur on the fourth night. I understand that the four men who gather the wild parsnips represent the four clans of the tribe.[19]The shapes of animals are thought by the Alaskan Eskimo to be like those of men, and in ancient times animals possessed the power of changing their forms at will. This was effected by pulling the muzzle up over the head to become people or of pulling it down again to regain their original form.[20]The first child born in the village after his death becomes the deceased’s namesake. However, if born in camp, its mother gives it the name of the first natural object to catch her eye.[21]Childless people provide for this contingency by adoption.[22]One who has made himself odious to his fellow villagers is purposely neglected in the feasts to the dead.[23]During the inter-tribal festivals, guests are given seats of honor next to the headman of the village according to the distance from which they have come. The back of the room (káan), the place of honor, is reserved for this purpose.[24]The same arrangement characterizes the finger masks of the Inviting-In Dance. (Kiggilúnok), meaning wand, in southern dialect.[25]Southern dialect. Akkizhzhígik, Ptarmigan. Teibúviak, hawk; Tulukaúguk, meaning raven.[26]Canadian Geological Survey. Memoir 45. The “Inviting-In” Feast of the Alaskan Eskimo.
[1]This characterization applies to the Alaskan Eskimo only; so far as is now known the other Eskimo branches do not have totemic dances.
[1]This characterization applies to the Alaskan Eskimo only; so far as is now known the other Eskimo branches do not have totemic dances.
[2]While the northern and southern tribes have the same general movements for their ordinary dances, they give a very different presentation of the festival dance-songs. The northerners leap and stamp about the kásgi until overcome with exhaustion; while in the south the performers sit or kneel on the floor, adorned with an abundance of streaming furs and feathers, sweep their hands through the air in graceful unison. It is a difference between rude vigor and dramatic art.
[2]While the northern and southern tribes have the same general movements for their ordinary dances, they give a very different presentation of the festival dance-songs. The northerners leap and stamp about the kásgi until overcome with exhaustion; while in the south the performers sit or kneel on the floor, adorned with an abundance of streaming furs and feathers, sweep their hands through the air in graceful unison. It is a difference between rude vigor and dramatic art.
[3]This custom appears to be widespread. Low writes of the Hudson Bay Eskimo: “During the absence of the men on hunting expeditions, the women sometimes amuse themselves by a sort of female “angekoking.” This amusement is accompanied by a number of very obscene rites....” Low, The Cruise of the Neptune, p. 177.
[3]This custom appears to be widespread. Low writes of the Hudson Bay Eskimo: “During the absence of the men on hunting expeditions, the women sometimes amuse themselves by a sort of female “angekoking.” This amusement is accompanied by a number of very obscene rites....” Low, The Cruise of the Neptune, p. 177.
[4]Literally “Heads” or directors of the feasts.
[4]Literally “Heads” or directors of the feasts.
[5]The order of the seating on the inǵlak of invited guests is a matter of great concern to the Eskimo, as it is an indication of worth.Children purchase their right to a seat in the kásgi by making presents, through their parents, to all the inmates, kásgimiut.Until they do so they have no right to enter. For the same reason strangers on entering the kásgi offer a small present to the headman, who divides it among the people.
[5]The order of the seating on the inǵlak of invited guests is a matter of great concern to the Eskimo, as it is an indication of worth.
Children purchase their right to a seat in the kásgi by making presents, through their parents, to all the inmates, kásgimiut.
Until they do so they have no right to enter. For the same reason strangers on entering the kásgi offer a small present to the headman, who divides it among the people.
[6]Tcáuyak, Yukon dialect.
[6]Tcáuyak, Yukon dialect.
[7]Lóftak, Yukon dialect.
[7]Lóftak, Yukon dialect.
[8]Múmra, Yukon dialect.
[8]Múmra, Yukon dialect.
[9]Tungrálik, Yukon dialect.
[9]Tungrálik, Yukon dialect.
[10]Tungrániyak, Yukon dialect.
[10]Tungrániyak, Yukon dialect.
[11]These are the northern names. In the southern or Yukon dialect black is Túnguli; white Katughúli; red, Kauigúli; green, Tcunungúli.The endings and pronunciation of similar Eskimo words are somewhat different in Arctic Alaska and on the Yukon River; sufficiently so as to produce two distinct dialects. For this reason I have given the forms from both sections.
[11]These are the northern names. In the southern or Yukon dialect black is Túnguli; white Katughúli; red, Kauigúli; green, Tcunungúli.
The endings and pronunciation of similar Eskimo words are somewhat different in Arctic Alaska and on the Yukon River; sufficiently so as to produce two distinct dialects. For this reason I have given the forms from both sections.
[12]Red is obtained from red ochre; white from white clay; black from soot or ashes; green from oxide of copper.
[12]Red is obtained from red ochre; white from white clay; black from soot or ashes; green from oxide of copper.
[13]The Asking Stick is also used in the Inviting-In Feast (Aithúkaguk).
[13]The Asking Stick is also used in the Inviting-In Feast (Aithúkaguk).
[14]This is a liquor distilled from flour and molasses. In the operation an old cask and a gun barrel are used. The liquid is fermented with sour dough and allowed to distill through the barrel. The Eskimo had no liquor prior to the advent of the whalers, who supplied them with the materials and probably taught them the art of distilling. The U. S. Revenue Cutter “Bear” has been active in breaking up the practice. In 1909, six illicit stills were seized on the Diomede Islands.
[14]This is a liquor distilled from flour and molasses. In the operation an old cask and a gun barrel are used. The liquid is fermented with sour dough and allowed to distill through the barrel. The Eskimo had no liquor prior to the advent of the whalers, who supplied them with the materials and probably taught them the art of distilling. The U. S. Revenue Cutter “Bear” has been active in breaking up the practice. In 1909, six illicit stills were seized on the Diomede Islands.
[15]The first night of the feast the men and older boys meet in the kásgi, and two boys named the Raven (Tulukaúguk) and the Hawk (Teibúriak) mix the paint and assist the men in ornamenting themselves.
[15]The first night of the feast the men and older boys meet in the kásgi, and two boys named the Raven (Tulukaúguk) and the Hawk (Teibúriak) mix the paint and assist the men in ornamenting themselves.
[16]See Hans Egede, Det Gamle Grönlands Nye Perlustration, p. 78.
[16]See Hans Egede, Det Gamle Grönlands Nye Perlustration, p. 78.
[17]The mothers also preserve with greatest care the bladders of the mice, ground squirrels, and other small animals killed by the children. These are purified at the same time.
[17]The mothers also preserve with greatest care the bladders of the mice, ground squirrels, and other small animals killed by the children. These are purified at the same time.
[18]The number four appears to have a sacred significance among the Alaskan Eskimo. The Raven Father (Tulukaúguk) waves his wings four times over the objects of his creation; the heroes of ancient legends take four steps and are transported great distances; and important events occur on the fourth night. I understand that the four men who gather the wild parsnips represent the four clans of the tribe.
[18]The number four appears to have a sacred significance among the Alaskan Eskimo. The Raven Father (Tulukaúguk) waves his wings four times over the objects of his creation; the heroes of ancient legends take four steps and are transported great distances; and important events occur on the fourth night. I understand that the four men who gather the wild parsnips represent the four clans of the tribe.
[19]The shapes of animals are thought by the Alaskan Eskimo to be like those of men, and in ancient times animals possessed the power of changing their forms at will. This was effected by pulling the muzzle up over the head to become people or of pulling it down again to regain their original form.
[19]The shapes of animals are thought by the Alaskan Eskimo to be like those of men, and in ancient times animals possessed the power of changing their forms at will. This was effected by pulling the muzzle up over the head to become people or of pulling it down again to regain their original form.
[20]The first child born in the village after his death becomes the deceased’s namesake. However, if born in camp, its mother gives it the name of the first natural object to catch her eye.
[20]The first child born in the village after his death becomes the deceased’s namesake. However, if born in camp, its mother gives it the name of the first natural object to catch her eye.
[21]Childless people provide for this contingency by adoption.
[21]Childless people provide for this contingency by adoption.
[22]One who has made himself odious to his fellow villagers is purposely neglected in the feasts to the dead.
[22]One who has made himself odious to his fellow villagers is purposely neglected in the feasts to the dead.
[23]During the inter-tribal festivals, guests are given seats of honor next to the headman of the village according to the distance from which they have come. The back of the room (káan), the place of honor, is reserved for this purpose.
[23]During the inter-tribal festivals, guests are given seats of honor next to the headman of the village according to the distance from which they have come. The back of the room (káan), the place of honor, is reserved for this purpose.
[24]The same arrangement characterizes the finger masks of the Inviting-In Dance. (Kiggilúnok), meaning wand, in southern dialect.
[24]The same arrangement characterizes the finger masks of the Inviting-In Dance. (Kiggilúnok), meaning wand, in southern dialect.
[25]Southern dialect. Akkizhzhígik, Ptarmigan. Teibúviak, hawk; Tulukaúguk, meaning raven.
[25]Southern dialect. Akkizhzhígik, Ptarmigan. Teibúviak, hawk; Tulukaúguk, meaning raven.
[26]Canadian Geological Survey. Memoir 45. The “Inviting-In” Feast of the Alaskan Eskimo.
[26]Canadian Geological Survey. Memoir 45. The “Inviting-In” Feast of the Alaskan Eskimo.