(;04 THF. CKNTRAI. ESKIMO. 



limit full. While the other spirits iill tjie ;iir and the water, .slie 

 rises from under the ground. 



It is then a busy season foi' the wizards. In every hut we may 

 hear them singing and praying; conjuring of the sijirits is going on 

 in every house. Tlie lamps bui-n low. The wizard sits in a mystic 

 gloom in the rear of the hut. He has thrown off his outer coat and 

 drawn the hood of his inner garment over his head, while he mut- 

 ters indescribable sounds, unnatural to a human voice. At last the 

 j^-iiariliaii si)irit respuiids to the invocation. The angakoq lies in 

 a Irani-.' ami w lnMi he ((Hues to himself he promises in incoherent 

 phi-ascs thf help nf till' i;'")d spirit against the tupilaq and informs 

 the credulous, affrighted Inuit how they can escaj^e from the dreaded 



The hardest task, that of driving away Sedna, is reserved for the 

 most powerful angakoq. A rope is coiled on the floor of a large hut 

 in such a manner as to leave a small opening at the top, which repre- 

 sents the breathing hole of a seal. Two angakut stand by the side of 

 it, one of them holding the seal spear in his left hand, as if he were 

 watching at the seal hole in the winter, the other holding the harpoon 

 line. Another angakoq, whose office it is to lure Sedna up with a 

 magic song, sits at the back of the hut. At last she comes up through 

 the hard rocks and the wizard hears her heavy breathing; now she 

 emerges from the ground and meets the angakoq waiting at the hole. 

 She is harpooned and sinks away in angry haste, drawing after her 

 the harpoon, to which the two men hold with all their strength. Only 

 by a desperate effort does she tear herself away from it and return to 

 her dwelling in Adlivun. Nothing is left with the two men but the 

 blood sprinkled harpoon, which they proudly show to the Inuit. 



Sedna and the other evil spirits are at last driven away, and on the 

 following day a great festival for young and old is celebrated in honor 

 of the event. But they must still be careful, for the wounded Sedna 

 is greatly enraged and will seize any one whom slu' can find out of his 

 hut: so on this day they all wear protecting ainulfN ( koukjiarniiu- 

 tang) on the tops of their hoods. Parts of the tirs1 gaiaiicnt which 

 they wore after birth are used for this purpose. 



The men assemble early in the morning in the middle of the settle- 

 ment. As soon as they have all got together they run screaming 

 and jumping around the houses, following the course of the sun 

 (nunajisartung or kaivitijung). A few, dressed in women's jackets, 

 run in the opposite direction. These are those who were l)orn in 

 abnormal presentations. The circuit made, they visit every hut, 

 and the woman of the house must always be in waiting for them. 

 When she hears the noise of the band she comes out and throws a 

 dish containing little gifts of meat, ivory trinkets, and articles of 

 sealskin into the yelling crowd, of which each one helps himself to 

 what he can get. No hut is omitted in this round (irqatatung). 



