Ethnological Sketch of the Angmagsalik Eskimo. 



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period only lasts one or 1луо da^^s. Those who do not strictly be- 

 long to the family of the deceased, — thus, e. g. members of the 

 family by marriage — do not take any part in the groanings and 

 lamentations, in fact appear to be quite indifferent to them. Thus, 

 for instance, a married woman came to visit us while her husband 

 was indulging in the most violent exhibition of mourning over the 

 death of near relations; she spoke of the matter as of something 

 that did not concern her. 



As might be expected, outsiders, even if thej^ have known the 

 deceased very well indeed, take the mourning with even more com- 



Fig. 40. Ukutiak (Knutsen phot. 1885). 



posure, going as far as to make jokes at his expense, and speak of 

 the family he (or she) has left behind in the most callous manner 

 possible. 



The Angmagsaliks have, all in all, a considerable number of 

 mourning customs. I shall now proceed to mention those to which 

 a widower is obliged to conform. 



A very shrewd and lively man of about the age of thirty-five, 

 whose name was Ukutiak, lost his wife in the month of April; she 

 died after a lingering chest-complaint. A fortnight later, leaving his 

 home Kumarmiut, he started off for Kulusuk with intent to marry 

 a quite young girl. It happened, however, that as he was dragging 

 her out of the house, she injured her leg, and so he had to go 

 back again with his errand unaccomplished. A few days after he 



