616 THE CENTRAL ESKIMO. 



brother, who was playing before the hut, and said, "Go to your 

 sister and ask lier if she will marry me." The boy ran to his sister 

 and delivered the message. The young girl sent him back and bade 

 him ask the name of her suitor. When she heard that his name 

 was Ititaujang she told him to go away and look for another wife, 

 as she was not willing to marry a man with such an ugly name. ' But 

 Ititaujang did not submit and sent the boy once- more to his sister. 

 "Tell her that Nettirsuaqdjung is my other name," said he. The 

 boy, however, said upon entering, ' ' Ititaujang is standing before 

 the doorway and wants to marry you." Again the sister said " I will 

 not have a man with that ugly name." When the boy returned to 

 Ititaujang and repeated his sister's speech, he sent him back once 

 more and said, "Tell her that Nettirsuaqdjung is my other name." 

 Again tlu- iM.y cutiTod and said, "Ititaujang is standing before the 

 doorway .■iiid wants to marry you." The sister answei'ed, " I will not 

 have a ni;iii with that ugly name." When the boy returned to Iti- 

 taujang and told him to go away, he was sent in the third time on 

 the same commission, but to no better effect. Again the young girl 

 declined his offer, and upon that Ititaujang went away in great anger. 

 He did not care for any other girl of his tribe, but left the country 

 altogether and wandered over hills and through valleys nj) the coun- 

 try many days and many nights. 



At -last he arrived in the land of the birds and saw a lakelet in 

 which many geese were swimming. On the shore he saw a great 

 number of boots; cautiously he crept nearer and stole as many as he 

 could get hold of. A short time after the birds left the water and 

 finding the boots gone became greatly alarmed and flew away. Only 

 one of the flock remained behind, crying, " I want to have my boots; 

 I want to have my boots. " Ititaujang came forth now and answered, 

 "I will give you your boots if you will become my wife." She ob- 

 jected, but when Ititaujang turned round to go away with the boots 

 she agreed, though rather reluctantly. 



Having put on the boots she was transformed into a woman and 

 they wandered down to the seaside, where they settled in a large 

 village. Here they lived together for some years and had a son. 

 In time Ititaujang became a highly respected man, as he was by far 

 the best whaler among the Inuit. 



Once upon a time the Inuit had killed a whale and were busy 

 cutting it up and carrying the meat and the blubber to their huts. 

 Though Ititaujang was hard at work his wife stood lazily by. When 

 he called her and asked her to help as the other women did she ob- 

 jected, crying, "My food is not from the sea; my food is from the 

 land; I will not eat the meat of a whale ; I will not help." 



' Ititaujang means "similar to the anus." This tradition is curtailed, as some 

 parts were considered inappropriate for this publication. The full text will be 

 found in the Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft f iir Anthropologie, Etlmologie 

 und Urgeschichte, Berlin, 1888. 



