ETHNOGRAPHY OF ARCTIC EURASIA 1 93 



especially in extreme northeastern Siberia. Polar hysteria attacks 

 mostly women, sometimes the whole female population, being asso- 

 ciated like other hysteria with the function of sex. In its weaker 

 forms it is somewhat similar to that of the Russian klikusha (a woman 

 possessed of the devil). More serious forms are similar to epilepsy and 

 not seldom result in temporary insanity. 



Temperament 



As to the temperament and mood of the Arctic tribes, pushed 

 off into the far northern latitudes, living under hard conditions in 

 tragically bare surroundings, one might expect to find a certain 

 melancholy. However, such an expectation is not confirmed by 

 the facts. Thus the Eskimos, as has been commonly reported by 

 explorers, are as much given to merriment and laughter as are the 

 primitive tribes of southern and tropical countries. In their folklore 

 a prominent place is occupied by ironical songs composed for a given 

 occasion and sung by young men and girls. Such ironical songs are 

 also met with among the Chukchis and Lapps as well as among the 

 Russian immigrants on the lower Kolyma and Anadyr. The Chuk- 

 chis have always been distinguished by an indomitable character, 

 and in the defense of their independence they have been not less 

 persistent than the New Zealand Maoris and the Chilean Araucanians. 

 Only such tribes as the Ostyaks and tundra Yukagirs, oppressed and 

 facing extinction, exhibit a sad or melancholy mood. 



For artistic genius the Arctic tribes, as is shown by their em- 

 broidery, drawings, sculpture, and carving, can well sustain compari- 

 son with the tribes living in the south. 



Material Culture: The Role of the Reindeer and Dog 



Turning now to a discussion of material culture, we shall take 

 up in order the role of the reindeer and the dog in that culture, hunt- 

 ing, clothing, food, housing, and tools and weapons. 



In the sphere of animal domestication, the polar culture is charac- 

 terized by the breeding of reindeer and dogs. These are hardly found 

 elsewhere than in Arctic and sub-Arctic latitudes — reindeer breeding 

 in the Old World only, dog breeding in the Old as well as in the New 

 World. 



There are three types of reindeer breeding, two of them connected 

 with sled driving and the third with deerback riding. The two types 

 connected with sled driving are practiced on the coast of the Arctic 

 Sea, the Yenisei River being the boundary between them. The west- 

 ern of these two types is characterized by the use of a shepherd dog 

 to guard the herds, this usage being evidence of a higher degree of cul- 



