388 THE POINT BARROW ESKIMO. 



thick stick of ivory resembling that used by the eastern Eskimo. We 

 brought home two of these sticks, both of which belong with the drum 

 No. 50743 [31]. Fig. 386o. (No. 56540 [- 51]) is a roughly cylindrical rod 

 of ivory with a hole for a lanyard. The larger end is ornamented by 

 rudely incised and darkened lines which represent the eyes and outline 

 of the mouth of a &quot;bow-head&quot; whale. Fig. 386ft (No. 50540 [31,]) is a 

 plain round stick of ivory 9-4 inches long. It is rather roughly made 

 and somewhat warped. The use of the long stick is perhaps derived 

 from Siberia, where the short thick stick does not appear to be used. 2 

 Holes in the membrane of the drum are sometimes mended with 

 pieces of the crop of the ptarmigan. At any rate, this is what I was told 

 by a native, who begged from me the crops of two of these birds that I 

 was skinning, saying that he wanted them to mend his drum. These 

 drums are always beaten as an accompaniment to invocations of spirits 

 or incantations. This practice is so common that some authors are in 

 the habit of always speaking of them as &quot; shaman drums&quot;. As I have 



6 



FIG. 386. Ivory drumsticks. 



already stated, their most common use? is purely as a musical instru 

 ment, and they are used not only by the so-called &quot;shamans&quot; but by 

 everybody. 



Character and frequency of music. Their music consists of monoto 

 nous chants, usually with very little perceptible air, and pitched gener 

 ally in a minor key. I could not perceive that they had any idea of 

 &quot; tune,&quot; in the musical sense, but when several sang together each 

 pitched the tune to suit himself. They, however, keep excellent time. 

 The ordinary songs are in &quot; common&quot; or \ time. 3 The words are often 

 extemporaneous, and at tolerably regular intervals comes the refrain, 

 &quot; A yafia yafia, a yana ya,&quot; which takes the place of the &quot; amua aja&quot; 

 of the eastern Eskimo. Sometimes, when they are humming or singing 

 to themselves, the words are nothing but this refrain. Their voices^ 

 as a general thing, are musical. 



Like all Eskimo, they are very fond of music, and are constantly 



1 See, for example, Bessell s Naturalist, vol. 18. pt. 9, p. 881. (The people of Smith Sound use the 

 femur of a walrus or seal. Cf. C apt. Lyou s picture. Parry s 2d Voyage, pi. opposite p. 530. and 

 (lilder, Schwatka s Search, p. 43, where the jK-oplc of the west shore of Hudson Hay are desrrihed as 

 using a &quot;wooden drumstick shaped like a potato-m;iMher. ) 



2 See Hooper, Tents, etc., p. 51, and Nordenskiold, Vejja, vol. 2, pp. 23 and 128; figure on p. 24. 



Compare Crantz, vol. 1, p. 176. 



