BOAS. I SOCIAL ORDER AND LAWS. 5^X 



with tlie ijareiits. Sons and daughters having Jiousehokls of their 

 own do not participate in tlie inheritance. An elder adopted son has 

 a preference over a younger son born of the marriage. Details of 

 the laws which relate to inheritance are unknown to me. 



Sometimes men are adopted who may almost be considered serv- 

 ants. Particularly bachelors withoiit any relations, cripples who 

 are not able to provide for themselves, or men who have lost their 

 sledges and dogs are found in this position. They fulfill minor occii- 

 pations, mend the hunting implements, fit out the sledges, feed the 

 dogs, &c. ; sometimes, however, they join the hunters. They follow 

 the master of the house when he removes from one place to another, 

 make journeys in order to do his commissions, and so on. The po- 

 sition, however, is a voluntary one, and therefore these men are not 

 less esteemed than the self dependent providers. 



Strangers visiting their friends for a season are generally in a sim- 

 ilar position, though they receive a wife if the host happens to have 

 more than one; if the friend has hunting gear, a sledge, and dogs 

 of his own. he can arrange a separate fireplace in the hut. 



In summer most families have each their own tent, but in the fall 

 from two to four join in building a house. Frequently the parents 

 live on one side, the family of the son-in-law on the other, and a 

 friend or relative in a small recess. Sometimes two houses have a 

 common entrance or the passages communicate with one another. 

 The inhabitants of both parts usually live quite independently of one 

 another, while the oldest man of every house has some influence 

 over his hoiisemates. 



If thf ilislaiicc between the winter and the summer settlement is 

 very '^vr;[\ i<v \\ hm any particular knowledge is required to find out 

 the haunts uf game, there is a kind of chief in the settlement, whose 

 acknowledged authority is, however, very limited. He is called the 

 pimain (i. e., he who knows everything best) or the issumautang. 

 His authority is virtiaally limited to the right of deciding on the 

 proper time to shift the huts from one place to the other, but the 

 families are not obliged to follow him. At some places it seems to 

 be considered proper to ask the pimain before moving to another 

 settlement and leaving the rest of the tribe. He may ask some men 

 to go door hunting, others to go sealing, but there is not the slightest 

 obligation to olicy his orders. 



Every family is allowed to settle wherever it likes, visiting a strange 

 tribe being the only exception. In siich a case the newcomer has 

 to undergo a ceremony which consists chiefly in a duel between a 

 native of the place and himself. If he is defeated he runs the risk 

 of being killed by those among whom he has come (see pp. 4G5, G09). 



There are niimerous regulations governing hunting, determining 

 to whom the game belongs, the obligations of the successful hunter 

 towards the inhabitants of the village, &c. 



