Section II, 188*7. [ 3S ] Teans. Eoy. Soc Canada. 



III.— 77ie Eskimo. 



By Franz Boas, Ph. D. 



(Communicated by Mr. G. Stewart, May 25, 1887.) 



Although the mythology and traditions of the G-reeulanders have been long known, 

 no effort has been made to study thoroughly the ethnology of the Central Eskimo, and 

 our knowledge is confined to the occasional remarks and observations of travellers. It is 

 worth remarking that since 1822, when Parry and Lyon wintered at Iglulik, no trust- 

 worthy monograph of the Eskimo has been published. I intend to give, in the following 

 remarks, a sketch of the mythology and traditions of the Central Eskimo. Their legends 

 and myths are so numerous, that it is impossible to treat the subject exhaustively ; and I 

 confine myself to describing the religious ideas and the mythology of this people from 

 observations I made during my stay in Baihn Land, in the years 1883 and 1884. There 

 are numerous tribes in Baffin Land and the neighbouring parts of the continent. My col- 

 lections are from three of these tribes : the Oc[omiut, of Cumberland Sound ; the Akudnir- 

 miut, of Baffin Bay, and the Agomiut, of Eclipse Sound. These tribal names mean : " the 

 inhabitants of the lee side," " those in the centre " and " those of the weather side." The 



suffix -mio, plur. -mint, meaning " inhabitants of " ; oqo, " the leeside " ; ago, " the 



weather side," and the stem akiit, " the centre." The same stem is in the name Akuliaq, 

 the place near which one of the Canadian meteorological stations was established. It 

 means " the root of the nose," i.e. between the eyes. 



The folklore and religious ideas of these tribes is substantially identical, though slight 

 differences occur. The foundation of their mythology and of their religious belief, is the 

 Sedna legend, the contents of which I shall briefly relate : — Savirqong and his daughter, 

 Sedna, lived in a lonely place. Many youths came to woo Sedna, but she rejected their 

 offers. At last the fulmar succeeded in winning her affection. She followed him into the 

 land of the birds. When he wooed her, he promised her a tent made of beautiful skins 

 and plenty of good food. But, alas ! his tent was made of ragged fish skins, no blubber 

 for the lamps was in the house, and fish was the only food he offered. Then she repented 

 that she had followed him. Once her father came to visit his daughter; and when he saw 

 how she was being abused by the fulmar, he took her in his boat and returned home, while 

 the fulmar was out fishing. But the bird seeing that his wife had fled, pursued her with 

 his companions. They made a heavy gale, and the small craft was almost upset. The 

 father, to save his life, cast Sedna into the sea. She clung to the boat. He cut off the tops 

 of her fingers. On falling into the sea they were transformed into whales ; and still she 

 clung to the boat. He cut off the second joint of her fingers. They were transformed into 

 seals ; and still she clung to the boat. He cut off the third joint of her fingers, and they 

 became bearded seals. Then he stabbed her in the eyes, killed her, deposited the body 

 on the beach and covered it with a dog-skin. The flood tide covered it. 



