120 



and the body, wrapped in heavy winter deerskins, is placed on 

 this soft bed. Large flat stones and, at a later date, pieces of 

 wood, form a covering over the enclosure. The grave box 

 is then covered with rocks to keep the body from wild beasts 

 and birds. 



On top of the grave are laid the effects of the deceased, 

 such as the lamp, kettle, and dishes of the woman, and the 

 kayak, and weapons of the man. Some of the smaller utensils, 

 as firestones (iron pyrites), toys, knives, needles, etc., are placed 

 inside the graves. 



All the effects of the deceased are broken to liberate the 

 spirit residing there, so that it may be useful to the shade of 

 the owner. The clothes are torn; the dishes split; and holes 

 bored in the soapstone lamps and kettles. 



In winter, when the stones are deep under snow, the bodies 

 are simply laid, out on the snow. The persons present at a 

 burial must stop up the left nostril with reindeer moss to avert 

 the contamination of the presence of the corpse. 



GAMES. 



GAMES OF CHANCE. 



The game of cup and ball (ayayau'k) is played in Labrador 

 as among the Central Eskimo. A rabbit's skull or a cone- 

 shaped piece of ivory is bored full of holes, and a peg of ivory, 

 about 4 inches long, is attached to it by a thong. The game is 

 to pierce the holes with the peg when the skull or ivory piece 

 is swung on the end of the thong. In an old specimen in the 

 Museum, the ivory piece is in the shape of a bear (PlateXXXII a). 

 There is a definite order to the distribution of the holes in the 

 ivory and the way in which they must be pierced. There is a 

 triple line of holes on the abdomen and sides of the bear, but 

 only a single line on the back and throat, and a single hole at 

 the head and tail. During the first ten throws, the player 

 may pierce any hole in the abdomen or sides. Beginning at 

 the hole in front (in the head) he next must pierce the line from 

 the head to the tail. If he misses more than once, he has to give 



