MURDOCH. ] INCANTATION. 433 
the village, women were standing at the doors of the houses armed 
with snow-knives and clubs with which they made passes over the en- 
trance when the people inside called out. He entered one house and 
found a woman vigorously driving the tuena out of every corner with 
a knife. They then repaired to the kidyigi, where there were ten or 
twelve people, each of whom, to quote from Lieut. Ray’s note book, 
“made a charge against the evil spirit, telling what injuries they had 
received from it.” Then they went into the open air, where a fire had 
been built in front of the entrance, and formed a half circle around the 
fire. Each then went up and made a speech, bending over the fire 
(according to Simpson, who describes a similar ceremony at Nuwik on p. 
274 of his paper, coaxing the turiia to come under the fire to warm him- 
self). Then they brought out a large tub full of urine, to which, Simp- 
son says, each man present had contributed, and held it ready near the 
fire, while two men stood with their rifles in readiness, and a boy stood 
near the fire with a large stone in his hands, bracing himself firmly 
with his feet spread apart for a vigorous throw. Then they chanted as 
follows (the words of this chant were obtained afterward by the 
writer): 
Tak tak tak toha! 
Niju’a ha! 
He! he! he! 
Haiyahe! 
Yaiyahe! 
Hwi1! 
And instantly the contents of the tub were dashed on the fire, the 
stone thrown into the embers, and both men discharged their rifles, one 
into the embers, and one into the cloud of steam as it rose. Then all 
brushed their clothes violently and shouted, and the turfa was killed. 
By a fortunate coincidence, the next day was the finest we had had 
for a long time. 
Sacrifices are also occasionally made to these supernatural beings as 
in Greenland “gifts were offered to the inue of certain rocks, capes and 
ice firths, principally when traveling and passing those places.” ! 
Capt. Herendeen, in the fall of 1882, went to the rivers in company 
with one of the “doctors.” When they arrived at the river Kuaru, 
where the latter intended to stay for the fishing, he got out his drum and 
“talked” for a long time, and breaking off very small pieces of tobacco 
threw them into the air, crying out, “‘Tuvna, turna, I give you tobacco! 
give me plenty of fish.” When they passed the dead men at the 
cemetery, he gave them tobacco in the same way, asking them also for 
fish.2 We noticed but few other superstitious observances which have 
not been already described. As in Greenland and elsewhere, super- 
stition requires certain persons to abstain from certain kinds of food. 
2 When an Innuit passes the place where a relative has died, he pauses and deposits a piece of meat 
near by.’”’ Baffin Land, Hall, Artic Researches, p. 574. 
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