May 17, 1889.] 



SCIENCE. 



585 



size is only 1,604 millimetres on 'he east coast, and 1,547 on the 

 west coast. The people of East Greenland are not as dolicho- 

 cephalic as those of other regions, the length-width index of men 

 being 76.9 ; that of women, 75.6. The face is oval, the lower part 

 being comparatively large. The superior facial index is 103.8 ; the 

 gonio-zygomatic index, 82. 3, — two important figures, as they are 

 the highest of all known indices. The form of the nose varies con- 

 siderably, but is generally narrow and prominent, frequently aqui- 

 line. 



Capt. Holm's description of the customs of this. people is full of 

 interest. His graphic description is made still more useful by a 

 number of excellent lithographic plates, in which implements and 

 works of art are represented. 



During winter, the people of this region inhabit stone houses. 

 In each inhabited place there is only one house, in which as many 

 as ten families dwell. The oldest man acts as chief, as he is or 

 has been a good hunter, and has sons who are good hunters. This 

 position of senior chief rests probably upon a tacit acknowledg- 

 ment of his authority, which is shown by the fact that he receives 

 visitors, and represents all the inhabitants of the house. The ties 

 of consanguinity are considered as imposing the duty of mutual 

 assistance. Marriage, on the other hand, is not considered a bind- 

 ing tie. It is only after she has had children, that the wife's posi- 

 tion becomes somewhat more firmly established. The husband is 

 the chief of the family. Next to him are his sons, even when quite 

 young, because they are considered the future hunters, who pro- 

 vide for the wants of their parents in old age. While the parents 

 are aHve, the sons live with them, and feed and clothe them. 



The natives of this region frequently marry before they are 

 grown up, as soon as a young man is able to provide for his wife. 

 Good hunters have frequently two wives. As one woman cannot 

 prepare all the skins obtained by the hunter, he frequently takes a 

 second wife at the demand of the first. Sometimes his object in 

 taking a second wife is to have two oarsmen for his boat. No in- 

 stance is known of a man having more than two wives. 



After death, the corpse is clothed in the best winter garments. 

 Men are clothed in their kayak jacket. The head is covered with a 

 hood, the limbs are tied up, and the corpse is dragged without any 

 ceremony through the long passage of the house, or, if this is too 

 difficult, it is removed through the window. If one of his ancestors 

 has perished in the kayak, the corpse is thrown into the sea or de- 

 posited on the beach, where it is covered by the rising tide. In 

 winter it is thrown through a hole cut through the ict. Some- 

 times, at least in former times, the dead were buried under bowl- 

 ders. The principal implements of the dead are deposited by the 

 side of the grave. 



The natives have numerous mourning ceremonies, which consist 

 principally in lamentations and in abstaining from certain kinds of 

 food. The name of the deceased is never mentioned. For this 

 reason, if two men have the same name, the survivor must take a 

 nev\' one. If the deceased had the name of an animal or some 

 other object, the word designating this animal must be changed. 

 Thus the language undergoes material changes, as these new 

 words are adopted by the whole population. But the old words 

 frequently re-appear when the dead one has been forgotten. 



Man is believed to be composed of three parts, — the body, the 

 soul, and the name. The soul is small, not larger than a finger, 

 and lives in the body of the man. When it falls sick, the man also 

 falls sick ; and if it dies, the man also dies. After the death of a 

 man, his soul revives, either in heaven or in the sea. Both lives 

 after death are considered good, but the former is preferable. 



The name is as large as a man, and enters the child when, after 

 birth, it is wiped with some water around the mouth, the names of 

 the deceased after whom it is to be called being pronounced at the 

 same time. When a man dies, the name remains near the corpse, 

 in the water or on the land, until a child receives the name of the 

 deceased. Then it enters the child, and there continues to exist. 

 Still-born children are in heaven, where they produce the northern 

 lights. 



The Eskimo of East Greenland believe in a great number of 

 spirits, which, however, are visible only to the angekok, the sha- 

 mans of the Eskimo. The sea-animals are governed by a giant 

 woman, in whose hair hang seals, narwhals, and other animals. 



When the angekok is led to her by his guardian spirit, and he 

 combs her hair, the animals come to the coast. Another impor- 

 tant spirit is Tornarsuk, who also lives in the sea. He is described 

 as being as tall as a large seal, and partly resembles a seal, partly 

 a man. He swims rapidly through the depths of the sea. 



There is an interesting legend which is found all over arctic 

 America. It refers to the Erkilik, the upper part of whom is of 

 human shape, while their feet are those of dogs. It is said that 

 these Erkilik and the Europeans are the descendants of a woman 

 who had married a dog. 



These spirits, and the many others of whom the Eskimo tell, are 

 not the subjects of any worship ; but, in order to prevent them 

 from doing harm to man, amulets are worn, which are believed 

 to be a means of protection against sickness, and which secure 

 long life to the wearer. Besides this, magic formulas are used in 

 cases of sickness or to avert dangers. These formulas are also 

 used to do harm to one's enemies. They are very ancient, and are 

 transmitted from generation to generation. They are considered 

 particularly effective when applied for the first time by a certain 

 individual, while in course of time they lose in value and power. 

 For this reason they are recited only in cases of imminent danger. 

 They are spoken slowly, and in a low voice. The meaning of the 

 words is entirely unknown. 



Every angekok has his Tornarsuk and a being that is intermedi- 

 ate between himself and this Tornarsuk. In order to be a skilful 

 angekok, it is necessary to have command over a great number of 

 spirits. Besides, the angekok must be an expert in jugglery, he 

 must have always a ready answer, and be able to make a diabolical 

 impression upon his audience so as to strongly excite their nerves. 

 The help of the angekok is asked for securing good luck in hunt- 

 ing, to procure favorable winds, and to cure sickness. They are 

 not conversant, however, with the medicinal properties of any plant 

 or mineral, but their operations are confined to treating the soul 

 of the sick person. 



It is the belief of the Eskimo that all diseases are due to the soul, 

 which may be hurt or stolen by a sorcerer or by an angekok. It 

 becomes, therefore, the duty of the angekok to find its whereabouts. 

 His guardian spirit informs him of the cause of the disease, and of 

 what has happened to the soul. If it has left the body, the ange- 

 kok, by the help of his guardian spirit, makes marvellous journeys 

 to recover it. 



Besides the angekok, there are real sorcerers, whose principal 

 object it is to do harm to their enemies. They are particularly able 

 to construct the Tupilak, — a fabulous animal, artificially made of 

 bone, skin, and flesh, which is to destroy the enemy of its master. 

 The practices of sorcery of these men are numerous and of varied 

 description ; but the greater number are wholly imaginary. They 

 have still other means of doing damage to their enemies ; for in- 

 stance, by using the fliesh of a corpse. A man may be a sorcerer 

 without carrying out his art, but then he is liable to fall into fits. 

 In such cases he is slowly starved, and heavy stones are placed on 

 his belly until he dies. This torture is often shortened by throw- 

 ing the sick one into the sea. The only means of one escaping 

 this treatment is by confessing that he is a sorcerer, and telling all 

 his real and imaginary crimes. It is believed that thus he loses his 

 supernatural powers. 



The natives of the east coast of Greenland have an interesting 

 tale stating that Greenland is an island. They say that long ago a 

 man named Uyartek made a journey around the island. In the 

 tale of this voyage, a point is named the end of the land. Ac- 

 cording to the description, this point is in about 68*° north latitude. 

 Before coming there, a large fiord is said to intersect the coast. 



They account for the existence of glaciers in the following way : 

 When the land first made its appearance, there were neither sea 

 nor mountains, but all was an enormous plain. As man was bad, 

 the one in heaven destroyed the earth. Chasms opened, in which 

 man perished. Then the water covered every thing. When land 

 appeared for the second time, it was covered all over with glaciers. 

 Two beings fell from heaven, who repeopled the earth. Since that 

 time the glaciers have continually retreated. There are many 

 places in which traces of their having been once covered by the 

 sea may be seen. 



The art of carving is very highly developed. It is a remarkable 



