624 POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



EELIGIOUS BELIEFS OF THE CENTRAL ESKIMO.* 



By Professor FRANZ BOAS. 



THE Eskimo who inhabit the coasts of Arctic America subsist 

 mainly by the chase of sea-mammals, such as seals of various 

 kinds, walruses and whales. Whenever this source of supply is cur- 

 tailed, want and famine set in. The huts are cold and dark — for heat 

 and light are obtained by burning the blubber of seals and wAales — and 

 soon the people succumb to hunger and to the terrors of the rigorous 

 climate. For this reason the native does everything in his power to 

 gain the good-will of the sea-mammals and to insure success in hunting. 

 All his thoughts are bent upon treating them in such a manner that 

 they may allow themselves to be caught. On this account they form 

 one of the main subjects of his religious beliefs and customs. They 

 play a most important part in his mythology, and a well-nigh endless 

 series of observances regulates their treatment. 



The mythological explanation of all the prevailing customs in re- 

 gard to sea-mammals is contained in a tale which describes their origin: 



"A girl named Avilayuk refused all her suitors, and for this reason 

 she was also called 'She who does not want to marry.' There was a 

 stone near the village where she lived. It was speckled white and red. 

 The stone transformed itself into a dog and took the girl to wife. 



"She had many children, some of whom became the ancestors of 

 various fabulous tribes. The children made a great deal of noise, 

 which annoyed Avilayuk's father, so that he finally took them across the 

 water to a small island. Every day the dog swam across to the old 

 man's hut to get meat for his family. His wife hung around his neck 

 a pair of boots that were fastened to a string. The old man filled the 

 boots with meat, and the dog took them back to the island. 



"One day, while the dog was gone for meat, a man came to the island 

 in his kayak t and called the young woman. 'Take your bag and 

 come with me,' he shouted. He had the appearance of a good-looking, 

 tall man, and the woman was well pleased with him. She took her bag, 

 went down to the kayak, and the man paddled away with her. After 

 they had gone some distance, they came to a cake of floating ice. The 



* A description of the religious beliefs of the Central Eskimo, based upon observations made 

 by the writer, was published in the Sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. The fol- 

 lowing account embodies observations which Capt. James S. Mutch, of Peterhead, Scotland, fol- 

 lowing a suggestion of the writer, had the kindness to make. The material for this study was 

 collected by Capt. Mutch during a long-continued stay in Cumberland Sound. 



t The one-man hunting canoe of the Eskimo. 



