60 G. Holm. 



and live with the families of their wives. As long as the father is 

 alive, he retains his paternal authority over the sons who live with 

 him. Where there is no son in the family, his place is taken by a 

 foster-son or son-in-law. 



House life. — Women spend the greater part of their time on 

 the platform, where they sit with their legs crossed, wearing no 

 clothing but their natit. Here they sit hour after hour preparing 

 skins, twisting sinew thread and cord, sewing clothes and doing 

 embroidery. They frequently wash themselves in the urine tubs; 

 they wash not merely their head but their whole body, and do up 

 their hair in a pretty top knot. They look after their children and 

 attend to the cooking pot, if it is hanging over the lamp; they are 

 never without employment, for if they have no other occupation 

 they busy themselves wnth the lamp-trimmer so as to keep the 

 lamp burning with a beautiful bright flame. These lamps burn 

 day and night, however light and warm it may be. Although the 

 many lamps and the many people produce a stifling heat in the 

 house, the air is nevertheless by no means as foul as might be 

 expected, when one bears in mind that blubber and half-rotten 

 meat as well as urine are to be found inside; the fact is, the low 

 passage-way ensures a good ventilation, without preventing the 

 warmth from escaping. 



The fathers of families sit on the border of the platform with 

 their feet on the chest in front of it, while the unmarried men sit 

 on the window-platform. The people often sit on the floor on ac- 

 count of the great heat in the house. If they have work to do on 

 their kaiak and it is cold out-of-doors, they take it into the house, 

 where it takes up nearly half the floor. When the men are not 

 working at their implements or utensils, they usually do nothing 

 but eat, sleep, relate their hunting adventures, or practise drum- 

 singing if they are going to take part in a match. They always 

 accompany their stories of the chase with extraordinarely lively and 

 significant gestures with their hands and arms. Every movement 

 of the seal, every movement of the hunter, is mentioned and de- 

 scribed. The left hand represents in mimicry the movements of 

 the seal, and the right hand those of the hunter, — showing not 

 only how he uses his weapons but also the manoeuvres of the 

 kaiak. Their pantomimic skill is often so great that a spectator 

 who understands only a few words of their language can follow the 

 description notwithstanding. When there are good hunting prospects, 

 the men are naturally out the greater part of the day. 



The natives are much infected with parasites in their hair. 



