362 THE ESKIMO ABOUT BERING STRAIT [ETR. ANN. 18 
about their heads fillets made of skin from the throats of reindeer, so 
arranged that the long hairs stood up, looking like crowns. 
When the guests were close to the house of the feast giver they 
stopped and two drums were taken out to them by messengers. Then, 
while the villagers where the feast was given stoodin front of their houses 
looking at the guests, the latter sang and danced on the ice for a few 
minutes. After they stopped the people of the trader’s village danced 
and sang a welcome. The dancing and singing of the guests was a 
propitiatory ceremony, such as is customary with strangers on first 
entering a kashim, while the dance of the hosts was one of welcome. 
Then the guests came forward, passing by their hosts without a word, 
and went into the kashim. As soon as they were seated, the host, or 
chief naskuk, brought in and gave them the articles requested of the 
messenger when he went out on the ice to meet them. After this, food 
was distributed to every one. In the evening the “ heads” took into 
the kashim the skins or other articles they had brought. Each naskuk 
must bring at least one of the skins of the kind named by the messengers 
in the invitation to the feast or he would be shamed. They usually 
try, in defense of honor, to bring as many skins as possible of each kind 
requested. 
While these skins are being brought in the hosts are seated at one 
side of the room, beating drums and singing. As the naskuk to whom 
the messenger went first in the village goes in with his furs, the host or 
chief naskuk of the entertainers meets him as the most important guest 
and puts upon him a new fur coat as a mark of honor. Then as each 
headman goes in and throws down his skins he executes a short dance 
in time with the drums, giving a pantomime representing some exploit 
of his father or of his own, and singing at the same time in praise of the 
person represented. After this the young men who came on the gen- 
eral invitation bring in their furs, each having at least one skin of the 
kind desired, but as it is a distinction to bring more, some of them have 
quite a number; these are thrown in a heap near the lamp at the head 
of the room. When all of the guests have brought in their skins they 
sit about the room for a time and sing, The host then takes out the 
skins brought by the other headmen. He soon returns, bringing to 
one of the headmen the articles requested of the messenger, these being 
a fair equivalent for the furs he had brought to the trader. At the 
same time the host throws down near the lamp some articles of value 
and dances for a short time. He then goes out and returns with 
the articles desired by the second headman, and so on until all have 
received the things they desired. By this time the heap of articles 
near the lamp has been augmented by the host on each return to the 
kashim until there is an equivalent for the pile of furs brought by the 
young men, when it is distributed among them. Then the host enter- 
tains the guests by songs and dances and the festival is ended by the 
distribution of food. 
