424 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



narrow islands. I can describe this region from per.sonal observa- 

 tions. 



The Oqom inf. —The Eskimo of Davis Strait call tlie tribes of 

 Cumberland Sound and Saiimia by the name of Oqomiut. The 

 whole of the land from Prince Regent Inlet to the plateau of Nugu- 

 miut is divided by the Eskimo into three parts, Aggo, Akudnirn. 

 and Oqo — i. e., the weather side, the center, and the lee side — and 

 accordingly the tribes are called the Aggomiut, Akudnirmiut, and 

 Oqomiut. 



Unquestionably the whole of Cumberland Sound and the coast of 

 Davis Strait from Cape Mercy to Exeter Sound belong to the Oqo of 

 the Northern Eskimo. Farther north, the inhabitants of Padli ex- 

 tend their migrations from Qarmaqdjuin to Qivitung. These people 

 occiipy an intermediate position between the Akudnirmiut and tlie 

 Oqomiut, having easy communication with both, and consequently 

 it is doubtful to which they belong, so that the determination of the 

 boundary between Oqo and Akudnirn remains arbitrary. In regard 

 to their customs and from the position of the land, however, they 

 may be more properly joined to the Akudnirmiut, of whom they 

 would form a subdivision. 



The names Oqo, Akiidnirn, and Aggo must not lie iinderstood as 

 respectively meaning a re,i;-i<)n stri<-tly liniiti'd: tlic\- (Icnote rather 

 directions and the intervals l)cf wren tlic loc-ilitics sit uated in these 

 directions. In asking for tlic position of (_»qo one would 1)e directed 

 southeast, as this is considered the lee side; in the same way, if 

 asking for Aggo, one would be directed to the shore of Prince Regent 

 Inlet, the farthest land in the northwest, the weather side. In Cum- 

 berland Sound the natives of Iglulik are considered Aggomiut, 

 while in Pond Bay they are known as a separate tribe. In the 

 southern jiarts the whole of the northern region is comprised in the 

 name Aggo; in the north Oqo means the whole of the southeastern 

 regions. 



Formerly, the Oqomiut were divided into four subtribes: the Ta- 

 lirpingmiut, on the west shore of Cumberland Sound ; the Qingua- 

 miut, at the head of it; the Kingnaitmiut, on the east shore; and the 

 Saumingmiut. on the southeastern slope of the highland of Saumia. 

 The names are derived from the districts which they inhabit, respect- 

 ively. As the head of every fjord is called "qingua" (its head), the 

 upper part of the large Cumberland Sound is also so named. The 

 Qingua region may be limited by Imigen on the Avestern shore and 

 Ussnalung on the eastern shore, though the name is applied to a re- 

 gion farther north; indeed, the name covers the whole district at the 

 head of the saund. In looking from the head to the entrance of the 

 sound the coasts are called according to their position: the south- 

 western Talirpia, i. e.. its right one, and the northeastern Saumia, 

 i. e., its left one; between Saumia and Qingua the highland King- 



