1(5 



the most part animals and mythological beings grouped together 

 and fastened with admirable taste and care to the surface of 

 wooden implements. 



Religion and Folklore. 



In a stage of culture like that of the Eskimo, religion and 

 folklore are closely connected. The traditional tales are interwoven 

 with religious ideas and religion is chiefly imbibed through the 

 folklore which may be said to represent the elements of science 

 and knowledge as a whole. Some light has recently been thrown 

 on the religious ideas of the Alaska Eskimo, especially by Dall 

 in his excellent work on masks and labrets and by A. Jacobsen 

 in the description he gives of festivals and mortuary customs 

 in the account of his journey. We learn that even one of the 

 poorest tribes is possessed of monumental burial places ex- 

 hibiting wooden statues, models of kayaks and such like, as 

 well as coloured paintings on wood and thereby sacrificial gifts 

 to the souls of the deceased. 



The RELIGIOUS FESTIVALS WITH THE USE OF MASKS annually 

 celebrated in Alaska have chiefly the aim of propitiating and in 

 some cases scaring demons, especially those which are thought 

 to control the coming' to the shores or up the rivers of sea 

 animals. The masks are fitted with symbolic signs for this 

 aim, and regular sacrifices as well as general distributions of 

 gifts are instituted. 



East of Alaska the mortuary customs just mentioned dis- 

 appear and also the festivals are seen gradually to be set aside. 

 In Baffin's Land, according to Boas, the latter are still held 

 in autumn and have a similar religious character. But in Green- 

 land very little of this kind is known ever to have existed. On 

 the other hand, especially as concerns the invisible powers who 

 rule over the riches of the sea, the angakoks OR SHAMANS HAVE 

 WHOLLY TAKEN THE CARE OF PROPITIATING them. In Greenland 



