336 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETH.ANN.IS 



conspicuous marks are made on the snow or ground which, serve as 

 goals, the players stand each by their goal and the ball is tossed upon 

 the ground midway between them; a rush is then made, each side 

 striving to drive the ball across its adversaries line. 



Another football game is begun by the men standing in two close, 

 parallel lines midway between the goals, their legs and bodies forming 

 two walls. The ball is then thrown between them and driven back 

 and forth by kicks and blows until it passes through one of the Hues; 

 as soon as this occurs all rush to drive it to one or the other of the 

 goals. 



The northern lights (aurora) of winter are said by these people to be 

 boys playing this game; others say that it is a game being played by 

 shades using walrus skulls as balls. 



WOMEN S FOOTBALL (iln-Ml -u-gHt] (St Michael and neighboring 

 coast region, both north and south). This game is played by women 

 usually during the fall and winter. The ball used is generally consid 

 erably larger than the one used in the men s game. The four players 

 stand opposite each other, thus 



Each pair has a ball, which is thrown or driven back and forth across 

 the square. The ball is thrown upon the ground midway between the 

 players, so that it shall bound toward the opposite one. She strikes the 

 ball down and back toward her partner with the palm of her open hand. 

 Sometimes the ball is caught on the toe or hand and tossed up and 

 struck or kicked back toward the other side. The person who misses 

 least or has fewer &quot; dead&quot; balls on her side wins. At times this game 

 is played by only two women. 



HAND BALL (kai-tal -il-g tt) (St Michael). The ball used in this 

 game is a rounded rectangular leather bag about three by six inches, 

 filled with sand or earth. This bag is called Jcai -tuJc. The young men 

 of the village form one side in this game, tossing the ball from one to 

 the other, while the young women are on the opposite side and strive 

 to secure the bag and keep it going among themselves. A player on 

 the same side as another is called i-li -ka (plural, i-li -put) and the oppo 

 nents are called i-li-Ml -u-^fn. It is played in May and June, during the 

 long, pleasant twilight nights, sometimes lasting the entire night. 



When one of the young men has chanced not to have the ball in his 

 hand for a long time, his comrades cry out that he is &quot;hungry &quot; and try 

 to get the ball to him. The women exert every effort to intercept it and 



