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 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 space than two, backward and forward.
[ BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. V]
