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the one or the other a drawing-book and a pencil for a day, 

 and then have it returned with a couple of drawings of their 

 own making. Some of them could sit for hours and draw with 

 a seriousness, which showed that the work interested and oc- 

 cupied them. Others I saw asking the opinion of the sur- 

 rounding Eskimos, whether this or that position was quite 

 correct, whether the arm was held so far back on swinging 

 the whip and so on. Most of the drawings reproduced here 

 have been reduced. The explanatory text is based on informa- 

 tion, which I sought in every case to obtain as fully as possible 

 by means of the interpreter. 



In the foregoing I have mentioned the feeling of kinship, 

 the comradeship in the hunt, the public opinion and institution 

 of the angakok as the most important, active forces in the 

 primitive Polar Eskimo community. Lastly, a couple of prac- 

 tical statutes were mentioned. But there are others factors, 

 however, which contribute to form the ideas and proceedings 

 of the Polar Eskimos. These are the stories and fables of the 

 tribe, which it has in common with other Eskimo tribes, but 

 in well-marked characteristic variations to an extent which has 

 not yet been sufficiently investigated. Some of these stories 

 and fables are purely descriptive and give an answer to one or 

 other question, for example, the creation of the world; but 

 others contain a rule of life or sketch supernaturally capable 

 hunters or great angakoks, who may stand as examples or types 

 worthy of imitation. 



Lastly, there is a number of traditional customs and forms, 

 which have a regulating and determining influence in many 

 conditions of life. There are somewhat complicated customs 

 with regard to confinement and burial, and there are occasions 

 which require the prohibition of definite kinds of food and 

 certain actions. On the other hand, there are no special cere- 

 monies with regard to marriage. Further, amulets and con- 

 juring formulae are used in certain situations. In regard to 



