The Central Eskimo Part 27

Origin of the salmon.

Cranz, p. 262.

It.i.taujang, 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.

It.i.taujang, p. 617.

Thunder and lightning, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.

Kadlu the thunderer, p. 600.

Sun and moon, Pet.i.tot, op. cit., p. 7.

Sun and moon, p. 597.

Orion, Simpson, p. 940.

Orion, p. 636.

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IV

c.u.mBERLAND PENINSULA, DRAWN BY ARANIN, A SAUMINGNIO.

ESKIMO DRAWINGS.]

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 c.u.mberland 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 sh.o.r.e), the northwestern gales. According to Parry the same names as in c.u.mberland 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.

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 drawing is 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 c.u.mberland 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 princ.i.p.al 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.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 543. c.u.mberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio. (Original in the Museum fur Volkerkunde, Berlin.)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 544. c.u.mberland Sound and Frobisher Bay, drawn by Sunapignang, an Oqomio.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 545. c.u.mberland Sound, drawn by Itu, a Nugumio.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: 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 lat.i.tude of the place. The surplus is balanced 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 s.p.a.ce than two, backward and forward.

The Eskimo are excellent draftsmen and carvers. Most of the drawings are similar to the bear and deer shown on Plate V (Figs. _d_ and _g_) or to the ill.u.s.trations 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.

I also add a number of engravings of implements plainly showing the influence of European patterns (Plate X).

POETRY AND MUSIC.

[Transcriber's Note: The HTML version of this etext includes all music in MIDI format.

Each piece is a separate file in the /music directory. Filenames are given here in brackets as [central648] or [eskimo2].

The "killer" in no. I. is a killer whale (_arluk_, gen. _arluup_ or _arlum_).]

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. It.i.taujang, 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:

[Music [central648]: Inung-- maqong-- tikitong-- aipa-- kapiteling aipa-- mirqosailing]

[Ill.u.s.tration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. V

_a_, _b_, _c_, _e_ Drawn by Aise'ang, a native of Nuvujen.