20 UNIVERSITY MUSEUM ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATION VOL. 



VI 



of these dances. Where missionary sentiment is overwhelming 

 they are gradually being abandoned; where there is a mistaken 

 opinion in regard to their use, they have been given up altogether; 

 but the tenacity with which the Eskimo clings to these ancient 

 observances, even in places where they have been nominal 

 Christians for years, is an evidence of the vitality of these ancient 

 rites and their adaptation to the native mind. 



The festivals vary considerably according to locality, but 

 their essential features are the same. Taken in order of cele- 

 bration they are as follows 



Local Festivals. 



1. The Aiyaguk or Asking Festival. 



2. The Tcauiyuk or Bladder Feast. 



3. The Ailfgi or Annual Feast to the Dead. 



Intertribal Festivals. 



4. The Aithukatukhtuk or Great Feast to the Dead. 



5. The Aithukuguk or Inviting-In Feast. 



The Asking Festival, which begins the round of feasting 

 and dancing, takes place during the November moon. It is a 

 local ceremony in which gifts are exchanged between the men 

 and women of the village, which result in offers of temporary 

 marriage. It takes its name from the Aiyaguk or Asking Stick, 1 

 which is the wand of office of the messenger or go-between. 

 The Annual Feast to the Dead is held during the December moon, 

 and may be repeated again in spring after the Bladder Feast, 

 if a large number of Eskimos have died in the interim. It con- 

 sists of songs and dances accompanied by offerings of food and 



'The Asking Stick is also used in the Inviting-In Feast (Aithukaguk). 



