The Central Eskimo Part 20

Before long a woman entered carrying an oblong vessel in which her ulo (see p. 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 att.i.tudes 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").[7] Thus he escaped unhurt.

[Footnote 7: Uqsurelik, with blubber, signifies in the language of the angakut the white bear; lauk, large; -leqdjorpoq, he provides himself with.]

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 Kaki'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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 in height 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 a.s.semble 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 s.p.a.ce next the door, and begins singing and dancing. Among the stone foundations of Niutang, in Kingnait (c.u.mberland 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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):

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 pa.s.sed around a groove on the outside. The hoop is about 2 inches wide, 1 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 is held 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 533. Kilaut or drum.]

When the drum is played, the drum handle is held in the left hand of the 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 [see p. 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 ap.r.o.ns, the groundwork of which was of a flaming red color, ornamented with gla.s.s beads of many colors.

In c.u.mberland 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 failing end of each verse.

The dancer remains on one spot only, stamping rhythmically with 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 princ.i.p.al 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 dead Inuit 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 a.s.semble 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 (a?igirn), 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 (o?soa?savepunga----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 sc.r.a.per. Silently, with long strides, the qailertetang (Fig. 535) approach the a.s.sembly, 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 (nulianit.i.tijung). Having performed this duty, the qailertetang stride down to the sh.o.r.e 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, pa.s.ses 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 c.u.mberland Sound and Nugumiut. Hall and k.u.mlien 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 takes his 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 k.u.mlien (p. 19) evidently refers to the same feast:

They have an interesting custom or superst.i.tion, namely, the killing of the evil spirit of the deer; sometime during the winter or early in spring, at any rate before they can go deer hunting, they congregate together and dispose of this imaginary evil. The chief ancut [angakoq], or medicine man, is the main performer. He goes through a number of gyrations and contortions, constantly hallooing and calling, till suddenly the imaginary deer is among them. Now begins a lively time. Every one is screaming, running, jumping, spearing, and stabbing at the imaginary deer, till one would think a whole madhouse was let loose. Often this deer proves very agile, and must be hard to kill, for I have known them to keep this performance up for days; in fact, till they were completely exhausted.

During one of these performances an old man speared the deer, another knocked out an eye, a third stabbed him, and so on till he was dead. Those who are able or fortunate enough to inflict some injury on this bad deer, especially he who inflicts the death blow, is considered extremely lucky, as he will have no difficulty in procuring as many deer as he wants, for there is no longer an evil spirit to turn his bullets or arrows from their course.