INNUIT LIFE AND LAND. 391 



say, a living frame to the animated picture within. The less mo- 

 tion a dancer displays the greater his skill. There is nothing inde- 

 cent in the dances of our sea-board natives. The dancing dress of 

 the men consists of short tight drawers made of white reindeer- 

 skin and the summer boots of soft moose-hide, while the women 

 on those occasions only add ornaments, such as rings and bracelets 

 and bead-pendants, to their common dress, frequently weighting 

 themselves down with ten or fifteen pounds of these baubles. 



An entertainment of the women was described by Zagoskin as 

 follows : 



" We entered the kashga by the common passage and found the 

 guests already assembled, but of the landladies nothing was to be 

 seen. On three sides of the apartment stone lamps were lighted ; 

 the fire-hole was covered with boards, one of them having a circular 

 opening, through which the women were to make their appear- 

 ance. Two other burning lamps were placed in front of the fire- 

 hole. The guests then formed a chorus and began to sing to the 

 sound of the drum, two men keeping them in order by beating time 

 with sticks adorned with wolfs' tails and gulls' wings. Thus a good 

 half-hour passed by. Of the song my interpreter told me that it 

 consisted of pleasantry directed against the women ; that it was evi- 

 dent they had nothing to give, as they had not shown themselves 

 for so long a time. Another song praised the housewifely accom- 

 plishments of some woman whose appearance was impatiently ex- 

 pected with a promised trencher of the mixed mess of reindeer-fat 

 and berries. No sooner was this song finished than that woman ap- 

 peared and was received with the greatest enthusiasm. The dish 

 was set before the men, and she retreated amid vociferous com- 

 pliments on her culinary skill. She was followed by another wom- 

 an. The beating of drums increased in violence and the word- 

 ing of the song was changed. Standing up in the centre of the 

 circle this woman began to relate, in mimicry and gesture, how she 

 obtained the fat, how she stored it in various receptacles, how she 

 cleansed and melted it, and then, placing a kantag upon her head, 

 she invited the spectators with gestures to approach. The song 

 went on, while eagerness to partake of the promised luxury lighted 

 up the faces of the crowd. At last the wooden spoons were dis- 

 tributed, one to each man, and nothing was heard for a time but the 

 guzzling of the luscious fluid. Another woman advanced, followed 

 still by another, and luxuries of all kinds were produced in quick 



