BOAS.J COiMPAKISON OF BAFFIN LAND AND GREENLAND MYTHS. 641 



a bait and a stout thong for a fishing line. Six men hold the line hy 

 turns, and as soon as they feel the fish has nibbled they pull it up 

 with all their strength. 



The fabulous amai'oq and avignaq of the Greenlanders are- nn- 

 kuown, but the terms denote real animals, the wol^' :*nd the lemming. 



Besides traditions of this kind the Eskimo h a a great number of 

 fables. Following is an exam])le. 



THE OWL AND THE EAVF . 



The owl and the r:i\-i'n were fast friends. One day the raven made 

 a new dress. <l,ij)|il('il wjiite and black, for the owl, who in return 

 made a pair ot li.iots <>f whalebone for the raven and then began to 

 make a white dress. But when he was about to try it on, the raven 

 kept hopping about and would not sit still. The owl got angry and 

 said : " Now sit still or I shall pour out the lamp over you." As 

 the raven continued hopping about, the owl fell into a passion and 

 poured the oil upon it. Then the raven cried "' Qaq! Qaq!" and 

 since that day has been black all over. 



COMPARISON BETWEEN BAFFIN LAND TRADITIONS AND THOSE OF 

 OTHER TRIBES. 



The similarity of the language and traditions of the Eskimo from 

 Behring Strait to Greenland is remarkable, considering the distance 

 which separates the tribes. Unfortunately the material from other 

 tribes, except the Greenlanders, is very scanty, but it is probable 

 that the same traditions or elements of traditions are known to all 

 the tribes. In the following table the above traditions are compared 

 with Rink's Tales and Traditions of the Greenlanders and with 

 those of other tribes : 



Traditions of Greenlanders and other Ti-aditions of the Central Eskimo: 



tribes : 



Qagsaqsuq, Rmk, p. 93. Qaudjaqdjuq, p. 630. 



The blind man wlio recovered his sight. Tlie origin of the narwhal, p. 635. 

 Rink. p. 99. 



Igimarasugsuq, Rink, p. 106. Igimarasugd.iuqdjuaci, p. 633. 



The man who mated himself with a sea Ititaujang, p. 615. 

 fowl. Rink, p. 145. 



Givioq, Rmk, pp. 157 and 439. Kiviung, p. 631. 



Tiggaq, Rink, p. 162. The visitor, p. 627. 



A lamentable story, Rink, p. 239. No. 1, sundry tales, p. 639. 



The sun and the moon. Rink. p. 336. The sun and the moon, p. 597. 



(L'homme lunaire, Petitot, Ti'aditions 

 indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest, p. 7. 

 Also found by Simpson at Point Bar- 

 row.) 



6 ETH-- 41 



