ESKIMO MUSIC 



amusements, such as music or dancing, and, after some 

 difficulty, succeeded in persuading two of the strangers, 

 who, we were made to understand, were nephews of Ervik, 

 to give us a specimen of their dancing. One of them 

 accordingly began immediately to distort his face, and turn 

 up his eyes so exactly resembling the appearance of a 

 person in a fit of epilepsy, that we were convinced this 

 accident had happened, and I was about to call for assist- 

 ance from the surgeon. I was, however, soon undeceived, 

 as he immediately proceeded to execute, in succession, a 

 variety of extraordinary gestures and attitudes, accom- 

 panied by the most hideous distortions of countenance. 

 Like the similar amusements of very different climates, 

 these contained the indecent allusions which are well known 

 to form an essential feature in the dances of many nations, 

 in other respects far advanced in civilization. The body 

 was generally in a stooping posture and the hands resting 

 on the knees. After a few minutes the performer began 

 to sing ' Amnah ajah/ and in a very short time the second 

 performer, who had been looking at the other in silence, 

 began, as if inspired, to distort his face, and imitate the 

 indelicate attitudes of the first, and soon after to sing as 

 chorus, " Hejaw, hejaw." After this had continued with 

 increasing energy for ten minutes, the tune was suddenly 

 changed to a shrill note, in which the words " Weehee, we- 

 hee," were uttered with great rapidity. They then ap- 

 proached each other, by slipping their feet forward, grin- 

 ning, and in great agitation, until their noses touched, when 

 a savage laugh ended this extraordinary performance." 



Kane, who visited the tribe in 1853-55, describes a similar 

 song: 



" They sang ' Amna Ayah ' for us, their rude monoton- 

 ous song, till our ears cracked with the discord; and im- 

 provised a special eulogistic chant, which they repeated over 



Am - na - yah, Am - na - yah, Am - na - yah, Am - na - yah. 



and over again with laughable gravity of utterance, sub- 

 siding always into the refrain of " Nalegak! nalegak! na- 

 legak-soak!" ("Captain! captain! great captain!") 

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