CHAPTER IV
THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE ESKIMO
Long before daybreak the Eskimo housewife rises, and at once supplies the lamp with a new wick and more blubber; and while the breakfast of seal’s flesh is being prepared, the hunter removes the block of snow constituting a door; then, making his way along the under-snow passage where the sleeping dogs lie, he emerges into the open, at which point a piercing Arctic wind greets him. The sledge is cut loose from its ice fetters, and the dogs are harnessed ready for an immediate start.
The women who stay at home are occupied in making boots and clothing by sewing skins of the seal, reindeer, or walrus; children and puppies have to be fed and played with; then, of course, there is the hunter’s evening meal to prepare: the raw liver of a seal caught during the day is regarded as a great delicacy. A strange superstition demands that women shall do no work while the spoils are being unloaded from the sledge, for it is thought that the supreme goddess Sedna, who created all sea animals, will be extremely angry if some mark of respect is not shown to her dead creatures. Seal and walrus soups constitute the first part of the evening meal, but of these the women do not partake, and as a rule they share only in the last course, consisting of large quantities of frozen meat. The soup is generally passed round in a large horn cup, from which each takes a drink, a proceeding which is followed by the introduction of a large mass of meat that is passed round and bitten by each in turn. A person retiring to rest always takes the precaution of leaving meat near the snow couch, so that he may refresh himself if awake during the night. The Eskimo are, of course, hunters and nothing more; upon animal life they depend entirely for food, clothing, weapons, and locomotion; the cold is intense, the hours of work long and laborious, so it comes to pass that enormous quantities of animal food are essential.
An American explorer who spent many evenings with the Eskimo, who are very hospitable, says: “The men visit one another and spend the evening in talking, singing, gambling, and telling stories. The events of the day are talked over, success in hunting is compared, the hunting tools requiring mending are set in order, and the lines are dried and softened. Some busy themselves in cutting new ivory implements and seal lines.... During these social visits, the host places a large lump of frozen meat and a knife on the side bench behind the lamp, and every one is welcome to help himself to as much as he likes. The first comers sit down on the ledge, while those entering later stand or squat in the passage. When any one addresses the whole assembly, he always turns his face to the wall, and avoids facing the listeners.” The young children are not required to go to bed early, so they have a good time playing on the snow couches, which are covered with skins.
“The women sit on the bed in front of their lamps, with their legs under them, working continually on their own clothing or on that of the men, drying the wet foot-gear and mittens, and softening the leather by chewing and rubbing. If there is a litter of pups, it is the women’s business to look after them, to keep them warm, and to feed them regularly. Generally the pups are put into small harness, and are allowed to crawl about the side of the bed, where they are tied to the wall by a trace.”
Games, such as cat’s-cradle and gambling with dice, are numerous; there is no money among the Eskimo, trade is by barter, so when gambling, the stakes are articles of clothing, weapons, and food. Several summer games are played with a ball of deerskin, which is thrown among players, who keep it in motion by means of whips or blows from the hand, the object frequently being to prevent the ball from touching the ground; meanwhile various merry little songs are sung. Toy sledges, kayaks, bows, and dolls are very popular with the children, who soon make a wooden figure clad in a little pair of deerskin trousers, which are a good imitation of the clothing of their own parents.
Winter, during which all bays and inlets are frozen, is a good time for visiting friends, because a sledge journey over the ice is a very easy means of travelling many miles. A journey of 100 miles is not uncommon, and when so great a distance has been accomplished, the visitors make a long stay of almost a year, though it is understood that they must help readily with all the hunting and domestic work. During the great war “communal kitchens” were established in many places, and it is thought that by having one central cooking-place there is a great saving in food, fuel, and labour. The Eskimo have a similar arrangement in their summer encampment, where each family in turn will take a whole day, during which they are responsible for the collection of fuel and the cooking of food for the whole encampment. When the meal is prepared, the master of the duty household shouts “Ujo! Ujo!” (boiled meat), and the hungry Eskimo emerge from their huts, each man carrying a large knife with which he cuts a portion for his family.
The education of Eskimo children consists entirely of learning the occupations which will have to be undertaken in later years. Girls practise sewing and preparation of skin garments, while very young boys accompany hunters, and soon become expert in the management of dogs, fishing tackle, and hunting appliances of every type. As soon as a boy shows that he is able to support a wife, he is at liberty to marry; and though adults frequently arrange that certain children shall marry when grown up, these early contracts are not binding, and there is a good deal of freedom in choosing a wife or husband. In general the husband goes to live with his wife’s parents, and so becomes one of the family, which he must help to support; if the suitor comes from another tribe he may not take his wife to his own people, but is expected to settle with her kindred. After the death of his wife’s parents a young man may live where he pleases, but he must always be kind to his wife and treat her well, or she is free to leave him and marry some one else.
Children are affectionately treated, and according to one traveller are “never scolded or whipped.” Sometimes it has been said that people of certain tribes kill their children; such a dreadful proceeding is extremely rare, and happens only when food is very scarce. The Greenland Eskimo say that if a child were killed, its spirit would come back to haunt them. Some people are unable to provide food for the children, then the youngsters are adopted by a relative or friend. Among the Eskimo there are no slaves, some reasons being that time is fully occupied in hunting; journeys are difficult, also the Eskimo are naturally peaceable and kind, so it comes to pass that warfare is almost unknown, and captives are not taken. Servants there are, usually cripples or unfortunate men who have lost their dogs, sledges, and hunting apparatus.
The Eskimo have some religious ideas concerning a good spirit “Sedna,” to whom they pray for success in hunting. This goddess is supposed to have created all animal life, and her special care is the protection of Eskimo people, who have many stories and legends concerning the goodness and bounty of their protectress. Almost all people believe that there is some part of a man which lives after the body is dead, and the Eskimo are no exception to the general rule, for they have distinct ideas of heaven ruled over by Sedna. As a matter of fact, there are thought to be four heavens, or at any rate four stages through which the soul has to travel before it reaches the “good land” where it will be for ever happy. Some people are not good enough to go to the “good land” where summer is continuous, so they wander about in the first three stages of the journey; and so low is the roof of each of these first stages, that a man has to bend very low all the time he is travelling.
The Eskimo have some very clear rules for the division of game and the restoration of lost property to its owner, but there are no kings, chiefs, judges, or law courts, so justice and punishment are in the hands of the whole settlement. Murder is not common, but when it does occur there is a terrible blood feud between the two families, and thirst for revenge may continue for many, many years, unless the murderer, or one of his relatives, is killed as a punishment for the crime.
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.
