gl4 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



they do not dress their hair and they have their nostrils closed with a 

 piece of deerskin. After this they leave the hut forever. The dogs 

 are tlirown into it through the window and allowed to devour what- 

 ever they can get at. For some time afterward the mourners must 

 cook their meals in a separate pot. A strange custom was observed 

 by Hall in Hudson Bay (II, p. 186). The mourners did not smoke. 

 They kept their hoods on from morning till night. To the hood 

 the skin and feathers of the head of Uria grylle were fastened and 

 a feather of the same waterfowl to each arm just above the elbow. 

 All male relatives of the deceased wore a belt around the waist, 

 besides which they constantly wore mittens. It is probable that at 

 the present time all Eskimo when in mourning avoid using imple- 

 ments of European manufacture and suspend the use of tobacco. 

 It has already been stated that women who have lost a child must 

 keep their heads covered. 



Parry, Lyon (p. 369), and Klutschak (p. 301) state that when the 

 Eskimo first hear of the death of a relative they throw themselves 

 upon the ground and cry, not for grief, but as a mourning cere- 

 mony. 



For three or sometimes even four days after a death the inhabitants 

 of a village must not use their dogs, but must walk to the hunting 

 ground, and for one day at least they are not allowed to go hunting 

 at all. The women must stop all kinds of work. 



On the third day after death the relatives visit the tomb and travel 

 around it three times in the same direction as the sun is moving, a^ 

 the same time talking to the deceased and promising that thej 

 will bring him something to eat. According to Lyon the Iglulir- 

 miut chant forth inquiries as to the welfare of the departed soul, 

 whether it has reached the land Adli, if it has plenty of food, &c., 

 at each question stopping at the head of the grave and repeating 

 some ceremonial words (p. 371). 



These visits to the grave are repeated a year after death and when- 

 ever they pass it in traveling. Sometimes they carry food to the 

 deceased, which he is expected to return greatly inci-eased. Hall 

 describes this custom as practiced by the Nugumiut (I, p. -tSG). He 

 says: 



They took down small pieces of [deer] skin with the fur on. and of [fat]. When 

 there they stood around [the] grave [of the -woman] upon which they placed the 

 articles they had brought. Then one of them stepped uj), took a piece of the [deer 

 meat], cut a sUce and ate it, at the same time cutting off another sMce and placing 

 it under a stone by the grave. Then the knife was passed from one hand to the 

 other, both hands being thrown behind the person. This form of shifting the im- 

 plement was continued for perhaps a minute, the motions being accompanied by 

 constant talk with the dead. Then a piece of [deer] fur and some [fat] were placed 

 under the stone with an exclamation signifying, "Here is something to eat and 

 something to keep you warm." Each of the [natives] also went through the same 

 forms. They never visit the grave of a departed friend until some months after 



