E. W. HAWKES THE DANCE FESTIVALS OF THE ALASKAN ESKIMO 21 



drink to the dead. It is a temporary arrangement for keeping the 

 dead supplied with sustenance (they are thought to imbibe the 

 spiritual essence of the offerings) until the great Feast to the 

 Dead takes place. 



This is held whenever the relatives of the deceased have 

 accumulated sufficient food, skins and other goods to entertain 

 the countryside and are able to properly honor the deceased. 

 At the same time the namesakes of the dead are richly clothed 

 from head to foot and showered with presents. As this prodigal 

 generosity entails the savings of years on the part of the feast 

 givers (naskut), the feast occurs only at irregular intervals of 

 several years. It has been termed the Ten Year Feast by the 

 traders (Kagruska), but so far as I have been able to inquire, 

 it has no fixed date among the Eskimo. It is by far the most 

 important event in the life of the Alaskan native. JBy it he dis- 

 charges all debts of honor to the dead, past, present and future. 

 He is not obliged to take part in another festival of the kind unless 

 another near relative dies. He pays off all old scores of hos- 

 pitality and lays his friends under future obligations by his 

 presents. He is often beggared by this prodigality, but he can 

 be sure of welcome and entertainment wherever he goes, for he 

 is a man who has discharged all his debts to society and is 

 therefore deserving of honor for the rest of his days. 



In the Bladder Feast which takes place in January, the 

 bladders of the animals slain during the past season, in which 

 the spirits of the animals are supposed to reside, are returned 

 to the sea, after appropriate ceremonies in the kasgi. There 

 they are thought to attract others of their kind and bring an 

 increase to the village. This is essentially a coast festival. 

 Among the tribes of the islands of Bering Sea and the Siberian 

 Coast this festival is repeated in March, in conjunction with a 



