384 



sciEJsrcu. 



[Vol. IX , No. 220 



It was in the midst of winter that I heard this 

 song for the first time. After a long and lone- 

 some journey over the ragged highlands which 

 form the west coast of Davis Strait, almost "ex- 

 hausted by want of food and the exertions of 

 driving and hauling the heavy sledge over rocks 

 and steep snowr-banks, we had arrived on the 

 coast of Davis Strait, and struck a track that led 

 to the Eskimo village. No white man had ever 

 visited this part of the coast, and, the men being 

 out hunting, the women and children, who had 

 frequently heard of the Kadlunait (' the whites '), 

 rushed out of the huts when they saw the sledge 

 coming with an unknovs^n dog-team and an un- 

 known driver. When they discovered him to be 

 a white man, their excitement reached the highest 

 pitch, and they burst out in a wild dance and 



chorus, singing the joyful song of summer. This 

 song was the most popular one at the time. It 

 was composed by an Eskimo living farther north, 

 ' Snowwind ' (Kenningnang) by name, and had 

 spread rapidly over all the settlements. 



This man belonged to a family of poets. His 

 nephew, Utityak, had composed a well-known 

 satirical song. One fall, when hunting on the ice, 

 a strong gale set in, and the ice broke up, separating 

 the unfortunate youth from the land and from his 

 companions. Several days he drifted on the floe 

 at the mercy of the winds. Heavy snow-falls 

 covered the drifting ice, the swell broke up the 

 floe, and death stared at him continually. Yet he 

 did not despair, nor even lose his temper, but, in 

 mockery of his own misfortune, he composed the 

 following song : — 



— I — 



-0 — 



this 



— I— 



--A ^- 



— I 1 — 



-0 0— 



.0 1 — 0— 



nice in - deed, 



yes, 



:EEEE 



:* 



li^ii 



this is nice in - deed, this is 



' Aya! 



It's glorious ou the ice ! 

 Here it's nice ! 

 Behold my lonesome path, 

 All snow and slush and ice ! 

 This is nice ! 



' Aya ! 



It's glorious on the ice ! 

 Here it's nice ! 

 Behold my native land ! 

 It's snow and slush and ice ! 

 This is nice ! 



'Aya! 

 Awaking from my slumbers in the dawn, 

 Monotonous fields of ice 

 And gloomy lanes Of water 

 I toehold. 



'Aya! 

 Oh, when I reach the land 

 It will be nice. 



When will this roaming end ? 

 When will I be at home? 

 Then it's nice ! " 



Besides these modern songs, the Eskimos have 

 many ancient ones, some of which are incanta- 

 tions, while others form part of the old traditions. 

 Most of these are mere recitativos, as the song of 

 the boy who was stolen by the sea-monster Kal- 

 opaling. He was playing on the ice near a crack, 

 and when he saw a man and a woman who in- 

 tended to recover him, he sang, — 





In 



ung. 



ma - qong 



lairqosailiug. 



i.e., 'Two men are coming, one with a jacket, the 

 other with a bird-skin dress ; ' upon which Kalopa- 

 ling came and took him to the bottom of the sea. 

 Some other songs are lullabies, or sung while play- 

 ing ball. 



During the festivals, singing is one of the prin- 

 cipal amusements. Duels in singing are fought, 

 each man trying to outdo the other. Then the 

 singer strips off his jacket, takes the hand-drum, 



the edge of which he beats with his wrist or a 

 small drum-stick, and, swinging his body accord- 

 ing to the rhythm, sings the song he has composed 

 for the purpose, or mocks his opponents by prais- 

 ing his own exploits and skill, and making 

 fun of their awkwardness and laziness. Then the 

 women, who sit nearest the wall of the snow-hut, 

 join the chorus, ' Aya, aya,' while the men sit 

 silent, and, as their turn comes, take the stand. 



