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



Iii the evening of this day the men are gathered in the kashini and 

 the women in their houses, as on the preceding night. The man who 

 prepared the wand takes it in his hand and stands with it in the middle 

 of the room; any man in the community has the privilege of telling 

 him the name of any article he wishes, sometimes giving him the name 

 of the woman from whom he desires to obtain it. The wand-bearer 

 then goes to the house of the woman named and stands before her, 

 swinging the hanging globes on the wand, at the same time telling 

 her what he has come for, and then stands waiting. The woman thinks 

 of something which she desires in return and tells the wand-bearer, 

 whereupon he returns to the kashim and, swinging the globes before the 

 one who sent him, tells what is desired in return for the object he 

 demanded. In this way every one in the village asks for something. 

 When the messenger has completed his task, the men go to their houses 

 and bring the articles for which they were asked, and when all have 

 returned to the kashim a dance is performed. 



The women then come, bringing with them the things asked for, and 

 the exchange is made through the messenger, who must have his face 

 blackened and wear a fishskiu coat, or some other poor dress, having a 

 dogskin belt with the tail fastened on behind. If any article is desired 

 which the person asked does not possess, he is bound by custom to 

 obtain it as soon as possible after the festival and present it to the one 

 who wishes it. The two exchanging presents in this way are considered 

 to hold a certain temporary relationship, termed i-lo -y uk. Formerly 

 those once made i-lo -g uk exchanged presents each succeeding year at 

 this festival, but that custom is now less strictly observed. 



At the time of this festival any man had a right to request the 

 messenger to inform the woman he named, if she was unmarried, that 

 he wished to share her bed that night. The woman returned answer 

 that he must bring a deerskin for the bedding. When all were gath 

 ered in the kashim he gave her the deerskin, and after the festival was 

 ended remained with her for the night. 



After the wand has been used while conveying the messages of the 

 different people, it is hung in a conspicuous place in the kashim and kept 

 there until the festival is ended. This instrument is much respected 

 by the community, and it is considered shameful to refuse the requests 

 made with it, and a person doing this would be despised by every one. 

 In some districts this festival is observed by asking presents between 

 persons of the same sex. It exists substantially as described from the 

 vicinity of Bering strait to the mouth of Kuskokwim river, although 

 each locality varies slightly the details and rites performed. 



The custom of the men taking women during the night of this festi 

 val is observed throughout this district. One variation of the festival 

 is for the messenger to be told secretly the desire of each person, and 

 until all meet in the kashim no one knows with whom he is to exchange. 

 On the lower Yukon and in the adjacent districts to the southward this 



