286 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH.ANN. 18 



The men are nearly always to be found in the kashim when in the 

 village, this being their general gathering place, where they work on 

 tools or implements of the chase, or in preparing skins. 



Dances and festivals of all kinds are held in this building, and there 

 the shamans perform some of their most important ceremonies. The 

 eld men gather there and repeat the traditions of their fathers. The 

 younger ones are thus instructed and become familiar with the tales 

 and wisdom of the elders. 



It is the usual place for the reception of guests; and there is scarcely 

 an occurrence of note in the life of an Eskimo man which he can not 

 connect with rites in which the kashim plays an important part. This 

 is essentially the house of the men ; at certain times, and during the 

 performance of certain rites, the women are rigidly excluded, and the 

 men sleep there at all times when their observances require them to 

 keep apart from their wives. 



Games are played there in winter by men and boys, and twice or three 

 times a day food is brought by the women from the surrounding houses. 

 Unmarried men sleep there at all times, as they have no recognized 

 place elsewhere, except as the providers of food for their parents or other 

 relatives dependent on their exertions. The sleeping place, near the 

 oil lamp which burns at the back of the room opposite the summer 

 entrance, is the place of honor, where the wise old men sit with the 

 shamans and best hunters. The place near the entrance on the front 

 side of the room is allotted to the worthless men who are poor and con 

 tribute nothing to the general welfare of the community, also to orphan 

 boys and friendless persons. 



The first time a child is taken into a kashim in the village of its 

 parents, the latter present a gift to each person present at the time 

 as a propitiatory offering and to secure the good will of their neigh 

 bors. A similar custom is observed by all strangers arriving at the 

 village; they are required to dance and sing a little and, if on an ordi 

 nary journey, are supposed to make presents according to their means. 



All messengers who reach villages for the purpose of announcing a 

 festival or an invitation to other observances in their own town, deliver 

 their message in the form of a song while dancing in the kashim. 



In the summer of 1879 a party of Eskimo from East cape, Siberia, 

 and the Diomede islands in Bering strait, came to St Michael. On 

 their arrival they sang and danced in the kashim, making offerings to 

 the people. The songs and dances were very similar to those I had 

 seen performed on Sledge island in honor of the fur trader and myself 

 during our winter visit to that place. 



At the time of this visit we entered the kashim and gave the headman 

 some tobacco to distribute among the men present and some needles 

 for the women. These he divided among them, and afterward the men 

 who took part in the dance as representatives of the community gave 

 us each a small present, which was considered as establishing friendly 



