THE SINGING HOUSE. 



603 



end of each verse. The dancer remains on one spot only, stamiiiut;- 

 r\i;hmicaUy with the feet, swinging the upper part of liis K. .,ly. and 

 at the same time plajdng the kilaut. While dancing he al ways st viim 

 the upper part of the body, keeping on only trousers and boots. Sing- 

 ing and dancing are alternated with wrestling matches and playing 

 at hook and crook. Almost every great success in hi;nting is cele- 

 brated in the qaggi, and especially the capture of a whale. Such 

 a feast has been described by Parry. 



Fig. 5»1 



supposed qaggic or singing houses. (From PaiTj- H, p. 302.) 



The stone foundations observed by Parry and copied here (Fig. 534) 

 are probably the remains of singing houses. Parry's description is 

 as follows (II, p. 363): 



It appears that the whole whale or a princiijal part of it is dragged into the en- 

 closure, where some of the men are employed in cutting it up and throwing the 

 l)ieces over the waU to the rest, who stand ready to receive them outside; while witliin 

 tlie women range themselves in a cii-cle around the whale and continue singing 

 dvu-ing the operation. * * * Each of these structures * * * was the distinct 

 property of a particular individual : and had probably, in its turn, been the seat of 

 feasting and meiTiment either to the present owner, or those from whom he had in- 

 herited it. 



Great feasts closely connected with the Sedna tradition are cele- 

 brated every fall. 



When late in the fall storms rage over the land and release the sea 

 from tile icy fetters by which it is as yet but slightly bound, when the 

 loosened H(ies ai'c drivcn one against the other and break up with 

 loud crashes, when the cakes of ice are piled in wild di.sorder one 

 upon another, the Eskimo believes he hears the voices of spirits which 

 inhabit the mischief laden air. 



The spirits of the dead, the tupilaq, knock wildly at the huts, which 

 they cannot enter, and woe to the unhappy person whom they can 

 lay hold of. He immediately sickens and a speedy death is regarded 

 as sure to come. The wicked qiqirn pursues the dogs, which die with 

 convulsions and cramps as soon as they see him. All the countless 

 spirits of evil are aroused, striving to bring sickness and death, bad 

 weather, and failure in hunting. The worst visitors are Sedna. mis- 

 tress of the imder world, and her father, to whose share the dead 



