xxii ICE-BOUND ON KOLGUEV 



The Russian name of the curious people who call 

 themselves 'Nyanitz' has been much discussed. That 

 the word is simply Samo-yedi, i.e. self-eaters, is the 

 common view in Russia. The peasants and small 



4 



traders of Arctic Russia — men who have lived for 

 generations among the Samoyeds, and are well beyond 

 the reach of books and theories — gave me this explana- 

 tion as one which admitted of no question. They said 

 that the Russians had ' always ' called the Samoyeds by 

 that name 'because they used to be cannibals.' And the 

 Samoyeds, when we asked them, always agreed. The 

 words of On Tipa the Samoyed, when we talked it over 

 in Alexander's hut, were ' Da, da-Pravdah. Tepair nieto, 

 nieto-Davno, davno ! ' i.e. 'Yes, truly. But not now, no, 

 no, longf. lone: aoo!' At the same time it would seem 

 not impossible that the idea may have originated from 

 their habit of eating raw llesh. The Russians of the 

 Petchora familiarly address these people as ' Samodine.' 

 This I take to be a diminutive. When speaking of them 

 in the common colloquial way they say ' Sam-yad,' 

 because, as Alexander explained, it is said 'more quickly.' 

 My own imperfect knowledge of the subject does not 

 entitle me to an opinion ; so with this I leave the word 

 to the ethnologist. 



