THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE ESKIMO 33 



occupied in hunting ; journeys are difficult, also 

 the Eskimo are naturally peaceable and kind, so it 

 comes to pass that warfare is almost unknown, and 

 captives are not taken. Servants there are, usually 

 cripples or unfortunate men who have lost their 

 dogs, sledges, and hunting apparatus. 



The Eskimo have some religious ideas concern 

 ing a good spirit &quot; Sedna,&quot; to whom they pray for 

 success in hunting. This goddess is supposed to 

 have created all animal life, and her special care 

 is the protection of Eskimo people, who have many 

 stories and legends concerning the goodness and 

 bounty of their protectress. Almost all people 

 believe that there is some part of a man which 

 lives after the body is dead, and the Eskimo are 

 no exception to the general rule, for they have 

 distinct ideas of heaven ruled over by Sedna. As a 

 matter of fact, there are thought to be four heavens, 

 or at any rate four stages through which the soul 

 has to travel before it reaches the &quot; good land &quot; 

 where it will be for ever happy. Some people 

 are not good enough to go to the &quot; good land &quot; 

 where summer is continuous, so they wander about 

 in the first three stages of the journey ; and so low 

 is the roof of each of these first stages, that a man 

 has to bend very low all the time he is travelling. 



The Eskimo have some very clear rules for the 

 division of game and the restoration of lost property 

 to its owner, but there are no kings, chiefs, judges, 

 or law courts, so justice and punishment are in the 

 hands of the whole settlement. Murder is not 

 common, but when it does occur there is a terrible 

 blood feud between the two families, and thirst 



