ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT. XLI 



and plants, as well as inorganic objects, are endowed, in the 

 minds of the believers, with supernatural powers; and some 

 animal — in this case the spider — is regarded as the founder or 

 progenitor of the material universe; and about this niicleal 

 concept the minor features of belief and ceremonial cluster. 



Several peculiar cult societies exist among the Sia. The 

 ceremonial rites of these societies, which are performed for vari- 

 ous purposes — such as healing the sick and bringing rain — ai'e 

 described in detail, and translations of songs and praj^ers used 

 in connection with theurgic or shamanistic rites are for the first 

 time published. The mortuary customs are set forth fully, 

 and an important part of the work relates to the rites con- 

 nected with man-iage and childbirth, such information being 

 obtainable only by a woman living in friendly sympathy with 

 the Sia women, as Mrs. Stevenson was able to do. The fact 

 that she shared the daily life and habits of the Sia people for 

 long periods gave her indeed the inestimable advantage of 

 fully comprehending their idiosyncracies and esoteric concepts, 

 and enabled her to jjresent details which otherwise would have 

 been unobtainable. 



The full statement of belief and ceremonial among the Sia 

 will undoubtedly be found of special interest to students of 

 primitive institutions, and even the casual reader can hardly 

 fail to be impressed by the inherent evidence of accuracy and 

 genuineness of the details now first made known, and both 

 students and laymen will undoubtedly be suqjrised at the 

 elaborateness of religious and ceremonial detail among a people 

 almost unknown and of whom only a remnant exists, their life 

 rivalino- in mystical features thai of ancient nations as recorded 

 in sacred and secular literature. 



ETHNOLOGY OF THE UNGAVA DISTRICT, BY LUCIEN M.TURNER. 



From May, 1874, to Septemljer, 1884, Mr. Lucien M. 

 Turner was engaged, with slight intermissions, under the 

 direction of the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, in 

 the study of the Innuit and the tribes adjoining that people. 

 He commenced with investigations in Alaska, and his later 

 explorations, which were in Hudson Bay temtory and which 



