E. W. HAWKES THE DANCE FESTIVALS OF THE ALASKAN ESKIMO 23 



their iglus secure against the storms of the coming winter. 

 So, with caches full of fish, and houses packed with trade goods 

 after a successful season at the southern camps, they must 

 wait until the shifting ice pack settles and the winter hunting 

 begins. Such enforced inaction is irksome to the Eskimo, who 

 does not partake of the stolidity of the Indian, but like a nervous 

 child must be continually employed or amused. So this festival, 

 which is of a purely social character, has grown up. 



My first intimation that there was a celebration taking place 

 was being attracted by a tremendous uproar in the native village 

 just as darkness had fallen. Suspecting that the Eskimo were 

 making merry over a native brew, called "hoosch," 1 1 slipped down 

 to the village to see what was the matter. I was met by the 

 queerest procession I have ever seen. A long line of men and 

 boys, entirely naked and daubed over with dots and figures of 

 mingled oil and charcoal, 2 were proceeding from house to house 

 with bowls in their hands. At each entrance they filed in, 

 howling, stamping and grunting, holding out their dishes until 

 they were filled by the women of the house. 



All this time they were careful to keep their faces averted 

 so that they would not be recognized. This is termed the 

 "Tutuuk" or "going around." Returning to the kasgi they 

 washed off their marks with urine, and sat down to feast on their 

 plunder. 



1 This is a liquor distilled from flour and molasses. In the operation an old cask and a gun 

 barrel are used. The liquid is fermented with sour dough and allowed to distill through the 

 barrel. The Eskimo had no liquor prior to the advent of the whalers, who supplied them with the 

 materials and probably taught them the art of distilling. The U. S. Revenue Cutter "Bear" 

 has been active in breaking up the practice. In 1909, six illicit stills were seized on the Diomede 

 Islands. 



2 The first night of the feast the men and older boys meet in the kasgi, and two boys named 

 the Raven (Tulukauguk) and the Hawk (Tciburiak) mix the paint and assist the men in 

 ornamenting themselves. 



