NELSON] NATAL CUSTOMS 289 
together with the stock of seal oil, dried salmon, and other articles of 
domestic economy, are kept at one side of the platform or in a corner 
of the room devoted to this purpose. 
When the time approaches for the preparation of a meal, a fire is 
built in the middle of the room and the food made ready, after which 
each woman places a quantity in one or more wooden dishes, takes it to 
the kashim, and sets it beside her husband, father, or whoever she has 
provided for. 
CHILDBIRTIL 
During childbirth old women who are reputed to have skill in such 
matters act as midwives. Formerly, among the Unalit, when a woman 
was confined with her first child she was considered unclean and put out 
in a tent or other shelter by herself for a certain period. This custom is 
now becoming obsolete, but it 1s still observed by the Eskimo of 
Kaviak peninsula, by the Malemut, and by other remote tribes. In one 
case that came to ny knowledge a young Malemut woman was confined 
with her first child at a village on the lower Yukon. It was midwinter, 
but she was put outside in a small brush hut covered with snow and 
her food handed her by her husband through a small opening. Despite 
the intensely cold weather, she was kept there for about two months. 
When a child is born it is given the name of the last person who 
died in the village, or the name of a deceased relative who may have 
lived in another place. The child thus becomes the namesake and 
representative of the dead person at the feast to the dead, as described 
under the heading of that festival. In case the child is born away 
from the village, at a camp or on the tundra, it is commonly given the 
name of the first object that catches its mother’s eyes, such as a bush 
or other plant, a mountain, lake, or other natural object. 
The name thus given is sometimes changed. When a person becomes 
old he takes a new name, hoping thereby to obtain an extension of life. 
The new name given is usually indicative of some personal peculiarity, 
and, after a person makes a change of this kind, it is considered 
improper to mention the former one. Some of the Malemut dislike 
very much to pronounce their own names, and if a man be asked his 
name he will appear confused and will generally turn to a bystander, 
asking him to give the desired information. 
Formerly it was a common custom to kill female children at birth if 
they were not wanted, and girls were often killed when from 4 to 6 
years of age. Children of this sex are looked upon as a burden, since 
they are not capable of contributing to the food supply of the family, 
while they add to the number of persons to be maintained. When 
infants are killed they are taken out naked to the graveyard and there 
exposed to the cold, their mouths being filled with snow, so that they 
will freeze to death quickly. 
Near St Michael I saw a young Malemut girl of 10 or 12 years, 
18 EtH——19 
