28 



houses are made from "living" snow (caftu'ila'ktaq) , i.e., snow 

 which will adhere when the blocks are placed together, such as is 

 found in a newly-made drift which has just begun to harden. 

 The blocks themselves are termed carilu'ktaq, from caruya 

 "cutting out." The key piece which fits in the roof is the 

 qu'dlik. 



THE ESKIMO YEAR. 



The Labrador Eskimo, like their congeners in other sections, 

 divide the year into seasons corresponding to the appearance of 

 game or other natural conditions. These divisions do not cor- 

 respond exactly with our monthly divisions, but are near enough 

 for purposes of comparison. There is no attempt to equalize 

 the lunar with the sidereal year, and the divisions, as their names 

 indicate, are governed by the conditions of climate and the 

 appearance of game. 



On the east (Atlantic) Labrador coast, the following months 

 are named : 



si"ka-lu-t, "ice-forming month," December. 



neldkai'tu-k, "coldest month for frost," January. 



kcrblu-t, "ground cracked by frost," February. 



netcd'lu-t, "the month of the young Jar seal (ne'tceq)," March. 



teYe'l-u-lu"t, "the month of the young Bearded seal (teYel'ut)," 

 April. 



no'Yalu-t, "month of fawning" (noyoq, "fawn"), May. 



kuciYi'alu-t, "the month of the young Ranger seal (kuciYiuk- 

 ciuk), June. 



According to my informant, the summer months were 

 bunched into one season. He said there were many kinds of 

 game then, and no necessity for distinguishing the season of any 

 particular one. 



From Ungava the following divisions, which distinguish the 

 summer months, were obtained. 



The months were said to be the same as given above until 

 the month of June. (The young of the Ranger or Freshwater 

 seal, kuciYiu'ciuk, from which the month of June takes its name 

 on the east coast, is not found in Ungava.) Beginning, then, 

 with June, we have. 



