Animals, and even lifeless things, are thought to have a spirit which goes to some sort of heaven, so we understand why a hunter’s property is buried with him; his relations think he will need it in the next world. A very wonderful man among the Eskimo is a person whom they call “angakok,” a priest or “medicine man,” who goes through some very strange performances, during which he claims to have a talk with ghosts who tell him how to cure diseases, or in what way some misfortune can be averted. Dr. Boas tells us that: “The lamps being lowered, the ‘angakok’ strips off his outer jacket, places the hood over his head, and sits down in the back part of the hut, facing the wall. He claps his hands, which are covered with mittens, and shaking his whole body utters sounds which one would scarcely recognise as human.” After this performance he pretends to summon to his aid the spirit of an animal which is supposed to be his particular helper and guardian. Then all in the hut join in a chorus, following which the patient is questioned: “Did you eat when it was forbidden?” “Did you work when it was forbidden?” and perhaps the sick man is obliged to admit that he has broken some tribal law. The “angakok” may impose some rules on the whole community; perhaps he forbids every one to eat the flesh of the deer, or he may command a general cleansing of the hut; some orders are very sensible, others just foolish and superstitious.
Perhaps the efforts of the medicine man are all in vain, and when death seems certain the patient is carried to a small skin tent or snow hut, where he is left alone to die; for if death should occur in the ordinary dwelling, everything within would have to be broken and thrown away. The Eskimo are terrified of a dead body, but the dying person is said to be very courageous, and not at all unwilling to leave this world; one young girl asked for some tobacco and meat which she wished to take to her mother, who had died a few weeks before.
The body, wrapped in deer skin, is buried at once, and if the season is summer, a pile of stones is erected, great care being taken that these do not rest over the body, for their weight would be thought to hinder the journey of a soul in the next world. Evidently the Eskimo believes that life in the next world is very like existence here, for with a man is buried a variety of hunting implements; a dead woman requires pots, lamps, and knives; while toys are always placed with the body of a little child. The nearest relatives always pull the body to the burial-ground; dogs may not be used on such solemn occasions, and the sledge used must always be left by the grave. Silently the friends return to their hut, where for three days and nights they mourn for the dead person.
Sitting around their tiny lamp, the Eskimo hear the raging of the storm, and with awe listen to the terrible noises of shrieking winds or crunching ice. For these are said to be the voices of spirits who knock wildly at the huts and pursue the dogs; terrible is the fate of a poor Eskimo who falls into their grip.
CHAPTER V
The Eskimo as a Hunter
The Algonkin Indians were so disgusted with the habits of life adopted by the Innuit, that they called them “Eskimo,” a name which means “eater of raw flesh.” It would be difficult to find a much better description, for so barren is the snow-clad country, and so intense the cold, that the Eskimo has no opportunities for practising agriculture; neither would vegetable food sustain life in this inhospitable region.
The fatty diet is obtained chiefly from the seal, whale, and walrus, while the reindeer, together with an abundant supply of sea birds and fish, furnish food and clothing. An encounter with polar bears is not looked upon as a regular part of the hunter’s life, and a successful combat with one of these animals is an event talked about during many a long winter evening. So proud is the hunter, that he tattoos himself with special marks indicating how many whales or polar bears he has taken; one great hunter had across his chest tattooed marks in the form of the flukes on the tail of a whale. These showed that he had killed seven of these creatures; and such was the pride of his wife, that she had tattooed herself in the same way.
Seal hunting is perhaps the most common means of obtaining a large supply of food and material for clothing, and usually the animal is harpooned, though the method of capture depends on the season of the year and the condition of the ice.
The shaft of the harpoon, to which a line is attached, is made of wood, strengthened by a thong of reindeer hide. The head consists of a sharply pointed piece of ivory, probably obtained from the tusks of the walrus; and in order that the sharp point may detach itself in the wounded animal, the head fits very loosely in the shaft, to which it is fastened by a strong thong of reindeer sinew. The floating wooden shaft, to which a bladder is fastened, is plainly seen each time the wounded animal comes up to breathe. The whole proceeding has been described by Dr. Boas, who says: