THE FRIENDLY ARCTIC 413 



of these words but with the "possession" of them. Illun explained 

 that he had not yet given me possession of the charm although I 

 already knew it, but said that he would do so now. We then went 

 outdoors and to such a distance from the house that words spoken 

 in an ordinary tone could not have reached the ears of any one 

 listening. Illun planted a small stick in the snow and asked me 

 to stand motionless and keep my eyes fixed on the stick. He 

 then went to one side mumbling some words which I could not 

 catch. In a minute or so he told me that now he had transferred 

 the charm to the stick and if I would go and pick up the stick 

 the charm would be transferred from the stick to me. After pick- 

 ing it up I was allowed to throw it away immediately, for the 

 transfer had been completed. 



Afterwards Illun cautioned me very solemnly about the use 

 of the charm. It must be employed only if death seemed imminent. 

 Every word must be pronounced exactly right. Here I asked about 

 my accent. He said that that did not matter, for my accent did 

 not differ more from his than the accent of one tribe differed from 

 that of another, and he knew that this charm was in use by people 

 belonging to various groups. But no syllable must be omitted 

 and the words must not be pronounced in incorrect sequence. 



He gave further directions that he had not previously explained. 

 The woman to be benefited must be by herself in a hut that had 

 been specially constructed for her. At the commencement of the 

 charm you must be standing at the right side of the door from the 

 point of view of the woman if she were looking out from the house. 

 You must begin saying the first word as you lift your foot for the 

 first step, and should finish the last word exactly as you arrive back 

 at the left side of the door. He emphasized that if anything was 

 done incorrectly I should suffer some serious misfortune and should 

 probably die within the year. I asked if the woman or child would 

 suffer through an incorrect performance, but he said they would 

 not except to the extent that the charm would not help them. 



In connection with this charm Illun told me that his father had 

 possessed a man-killing spell (inuksiun). He had been a man of 

 very even temper and had never had occasion to use it. Illun 

 himself was quick-tempered, and when his father offered to teach 

 him the charm he refused on the ground that it might be too great 

 a temptation sometime if he were angry, leading him to commit 

 murder. Illun further said that before he became a Christian he 

 had controlled several wicked charms but had "thrown them away" 

 and completely forgotten them. The one he taught me he did not 



