46 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY 



Eskimo s life, and is a great event for all his family. Hall 

 relates that the mother of a boy came to him, her whole frame 

 shaking with joy, while she told the news she had just heard, 

 that her son had harpooned and killed a seal.&quot; (26:171.) 

 This is the Eskimo mode of &quot;initiation into manhood&quot; (they 

 have no so-called &quot;puberty rites,&quot; at least not for boys.) Crantz 

 thus describes the scene : 



&quot;Of the first seal which he catches, an entertainment is given to 

 the neighbors and inmates of the family, during which the young adven 

 turer relates how he accomplished his exploit. The guests express their 

 surprise at his dexterity, and praise the flesh as peculiarly excellent. 

 And the females afterwards begin to choose a wife for him.&quot; (1: 150.) 



The dutiful attitude toward parents does not cease with child 

 hood. Valuable on this point is the testimony of Crantz, as he 

 will not be accused of exaggerating &quot;heathen&quot; virtues. &quot;In 

 gratitude in grown-up children toward their old decepit parents 

 is scarcely ever exemplified among them.&quot; (1: 150.) Similarly 

 Holm writes, &quot;Grown-up children have great affection for their 

 parents, and show them care and devotion&quot; (cf. 48: 46; 30: 93), 

 even in the case of an unworthy parent. 



I am not sure but what Nansen s statement, &quot;reverence for 

 the aged is not a prominent feature of the Eskimo character&quot; 

 does some injustice to the people of whom this writer is such a 

 staunch friend. We have already pointed out the place of the 

 elders in the social order. The aged are the objects of marks 

 of special honor. (See e.g., 42 : 359 ; 4 : 389.) Turner speaks of 

 men who attain eighty years of age and have great-grand 

 children, and &quot;these never fail to show respect for their 

 ancestor.&quot; (66:190.) The old people of the community are 

 in a way the link which connects the present generation with the 

 revered ancestors, and with the latter they share in supreme 

 degree the attributes of wisdom and trustworthiness. &quot;Old 

 women do not fling their words about without meaning, and we 

 believe them. There are no lies with age.&quot; (50; cf. 5:605.) 

 In a folk-tale a grandfather, &quot;a wise man/ admonishes his 

 grandson &quot;never to be uncivil towards old people, not even on 

 being reproved by them.&quot; (53:414.) 



That there are those who do not live up to this high standard 

 in their behavior toward the aged, even their own parents, 

 is very probable. It very likely happens that people too old 



