BOAK] KEI.KJKJl-S IDEAS. 595 



Altliuugli witcliciat't uccupied a promiueut jilace iu tlie belief of 

 the Greenlanders I could only find very faint traces of it in Baffin 

 Land, to wit, the opinion that a man has the power of injuring a dis- 

 tant enemy by some means the details of which I did not learn. 



I shall add here the numerous regulations referring to eating and 

 working, many of which are connected with the Sedna tradition, and 

 the observance of which is watched by the angakut. As all sea ani- 

 mals have originated from her fingers the Eskimo must make an 

 atonement for every animal he kills. When a seal is brought into 

 the hut the women must stop working until it is cut up. After the 

 capture of a ground seal, wali'us, or whale they must rest for three 

 days. Not all kinds of work, however, are forbidden, for they are 

 allowed to mend articles made of sealskin, but they must not make 

 anything new. For instance, an old tent cover may be enlarged in 

 order to build a larger hut, but it is not permitted to make a new one. 

 Working on new deerskins is strictly forbidden. No skins of this 

 kind obtained' in summer may be prepared before the ice has formed 

 and the first seal is caught with the harpoon. Later, as soon as the 

 first walrus is caught, tlic wc.rk must stci)i again until the next fall. 

 For this I'casoii all laiiiilics arc ca^;!'!- \i< tiiiisli the work on deerskins 

 as quickly as possililc. as the walrusiiig season is not commenced 

 until that is done. 



The laws prohibiting contact with deer and sea animals at the same 

 time are very strict. According to the Eskiiim tliciiisch-es Sedna 

 dislikes the deer (probably for some reasdn rniiinMtrd witli the tra- 

 dition of its origin,) and therefore they are iml alldweil to bring it in 

 contact with her favorites. The meat of the whale, seal, or walrus 

 must not be eaten on the same day with venison. It is not i^ermitted 

 that 1 II itl L s( )rts of meat lie on the floor of the hut or behind the lamps 

 at till' same time. If a man who has eaten venison in the morning 

 liapp(^iis t( I enter a hut in which seal meat is being cooked he is allowed 

 to eat venison on the bc^d. Init it must be wrajjped up before being car- 

 ried into the hut and he must take care to keep clear of the floor. 

 Before changing from one food to the other the Eskimo miist wash 

 themselves. For the same reason walrus hide must not be carried to 

 Lake Nettilling, which is considered the domain of deer. 



A similar custom requires that the Ukusiksalirmiut carry salmon 

 into a hut by a separate entrance, for it miist not pass through the 

 same one as seal oil. Besides, the fish must only be cooked at the 

 distance of a day's journey from the place where they have been 

 caught. If eaten on the spot they must be eaten raw (Klutschak. 

 p. 158). 



Their customs referring to hunting are manifold. When skinning 

 a deer they must not break a single bone : then they cut oft' bits of 

 different parts of the animal and bury them in the ground or under 

 stones (Hall I. p. 386). I have never noticed this custom myself. 



