The Material Culture of the Eskimo in West Greenland. 151 



bone edgings the whole way round. The furrow is deep, the qilik has 

 fallen out and the notch for the forefinger is so deep that the finger 

 almost entirely disappears in it. A transition to the forms where this 

 hole lies quite inside the edge, which occurs with special frequency among 

 the American tribes. ^ 



Hunde Eiland in an old grave. 



Fig. 16, a — e are some forms of old "feathers" (sulussai, 346) 

 for ernangnaq, all of a whale's bone. All have holes for the nails which 

 held them in place, and some, in addition, have a hole above for a strong 

 bone nail, thereby adding increased strength. The hindmost point is 

 often ornamented, in that, here, a circular dial is marked out, or else 

 it is cleft like a fish-tail or a seal's hind-quarter. The lowest point of 

 the stem, also, is frequently more complicated, and so arranged as to 

 be partly grooved down into the shaft. On d the stem is broken, on 

 e the fore end is sharpened, and the sulussaq is used in that form as a 

 skin scraper {kiliortut, 177). 



a, The shore. North Disco ; b — c, Hunde Eiland ; d, Skansen ; e, Sarqaq. 



Fig. 16, / — h are various forms of ice-beaters for kayak {serrmaut or 

 sermersiut, 319) all of whale's bone, i is the broken off handle of a fourth. 

 Often, for fun, they have the form of a sabre, see for instance Fig. 16, h. 

 Sometimes they were shaped like a dagger and were then also used for 

 giving the coup de grâce to the wounded game. 



/ — g. Hunde Eiland; h — i. Kronprinsens Eiland. 



Fig. 16, к is the right leg (niulua, 250) for a line rack {asatdlut, 43), 

 This is of wood, below is a crook for the harpoon-shaft to rest on, above, 

 it is cleft for the reception of the bone ring (qildungiissâ, 142) of the 

 rack. Disco Fjord. 



Fig. 16, / is the one piece of that angle of bone {pagiiai, 269), which 

 lies beneath the great bladder {avataq, 62). The two rods have been 

 riveted together with iron nails. Into the other end goes that piece 

 of line which holds it to the bladder, out of a terminal hole with well- 

 rounded edges, while the knot is kept in a lateral hole. This peculiar 

 construction has great significance, because the angle of bone has been 

 inserted under that cross-strap of the kayak which lies just behind the 

 hunter, and cannot from here be washed down by the beat of the 

 waves; but immediately the harpoon has struck, the bladder must be 

 thrown out, and in such a manner that no obstruction is possible. 

 Broken, disinterred pieces of a pâguaq are sometimes misinterpreted 

 for the handle of a bow-drill (as by Ryder, p. 323), but a drill-handle 

 has not this construction, the holes being simply lateral. 



Hunde Eiland. Whale's bone. 



^ Throwing sticks with a hole inside the edge for the insertion of the fore- 

 finger are also found in Greenland. But although they give a firmer grip of 

 the throwing stick, they are not liked, especially in the northern parts of the 

 country, because the hunter prefers to keep on his mitten in throwing. 



