192 



Morten P. Porsild. 



of a Caribou, but is often, also, a bone^ fashioned for the purpose. 

 Fig. 39 shows handle, mouth-piece and bone point; all of antler, 

 Hunde Eiland. 



Knives. 



The word savik, 316, common to all Eskimo, everywhere means 

 both iron and knife, a man's knife in particular. The question is, 

 which meaning is the older. The idea that 

 savik originally meant "something cutting" conse- 

 quently "knife" is supported by Kleinschmidt in 

 his well-known dictionary, and as Kleinschmidt 

 indisputably is that author who has had the most 

 profound understanding of the Eskimo language it 

 might seem bold to hold other views. It seems to 

 me, however, that the following circumstances 

 speak in favour of the idea that savik originally 

 meant iron. 



1. In most of the derivatives of the word men- 

 tioned by Kleinschmidt it is the iron and not 

 something cutting which is thought of. 



2. In the place-names which are generally very 

 old words, and often contain archaic roots incompre- 

 hensible to the present generation, savik or forms 

 of it are often found to be a designation for places 

 where there is meteoric or telluric iron, but never 

 for places where a special abundance of material 

 for stone knives exists. 



3. With implements and weapons where a 

 cutting blade of harder material is inserted (arrows, 

 harpoons, lances, etc.), for instance a blade of 

 ivory, stone or metal, this blade is never called 

 "5арш" but always "м/ма," so that the primary 

 signification of "something cutting" seems to be the 

 ulo which now is the designation of the woman's knife. 



1 Ryder shows in his Fig. 22 a fragment of an imple- 

 ment from East Greenland which he understands to be the 

 handle of a bow-drill. This however is scarcely correct. 

 The line has gone out through a hole at the end of the 

 piece and the edges of the bone hereabouts are rounded off, 

 so that there is the least possib-e difference in thickness 

 between the bone-piece and the line. All this is character- 

 istic of a pâguaq, the side of the angle beneath the buoy. 

 In the bow-drill this construction would be useless, and even 

 detrimental to the line, here the holes are bored transversely 

 near the end. I mention this because the V formed pâguaq used at Disco Bay is 

 not mentioned by Holm from Angmagsalik, while another implement also found 

 on the bladders from South Greenland is indicated (Tab. XIV.). 



Fig. 39. Handle, 

 mouth-piece and 

 bone point of bow- 

 drill. 



