610 W. Thalbitzer 



have hardly any other markings than those on the chin, i. e. from 3 to' 6 

 lines arranged in the just-mentioned way (sometimes only one broad line). 

 From St. Lawrence Island a woman is also depicted with curving tattoo 

 markings on the cheek near the ears^). 



Regarding the importance of the women's tattooings the above authors 

 have very little to say. From Ungava Bay on the northern side of Labrador 

 (where tattooing has in comparatively recent times been forbidden for rel- 

 igious reasons by an angakoq) Turner states that "when a girl arrives at 

 puberty she is taken to a secluded locality by some old women" who in the 

 course of four days tattooes her there, "when the girl returns to the tent it 

 is known that she has begun to menstruate" and during the time of men- 

 struation she has to submit to certain customs, as for example that she 

 must not cover the first two joints of each finger but must only use half- 

 gloves % 



From Alaska and far eastwards we hear of men tattooed with lines or 

 dots forming a broad band across each cheek between the mouth and the 

 ears. According to Murdoch this is a mark of distinction which means that 

 the man has captured many whales. The statements vary however and an- 

 other explanation is to the effect, that the marks indicate that the man has 

 murdered one of his fellows (Petitot)^). It is not improbable, that different 

 explanations are required for the various cases but they probably all refer 

 to the souls of the deceased (human beings or animals) or to other common 

 reasons. 



Painting and dyeing. — It has already been mentioned (p. 506), 

 how the Ammassalikers used to dye white skin red by shaping it 

 like a bag and filling this with a kind of bark, which stained the 

 skin red when chewed to pieces and left in the urine tub for some 

 days. They also used blood for dyeing purposes (e. g. beads, see 

 p. 34). Finally they used a kind of red clay, e. g. for dyeing their 

 eye-shades (mentioned p. 21). Unknown among the Eskimo is the 

 painting of face and body known among the Indians. 



Buckles, buttons, belts and beads. — The ornamental dark 

 dots are characteristic not only of the tattooings of the Ammassalik- 

 ers but also of their ornamentation on many small objects carved 

 in ivory. On the ivory objects these dots are made by means of 

 a putty-like mass of oxidized blubber and soot filled into deeply 

 bored holes. The Ammassalikers' taste for fine shapes and patterns 

 is evident in these objects, which form a considerable part of their 

 dress as buckles or are used as playthings for children (fig. 374). 



Figs. 335 a and b are buckles belonging to the dress of the kaiak- 

 man and are used in fastening the toggle-buttons of the two braces 

 w^hich support the kaiak-skirt round the body; these braces are 

 either arranged so as to be drawn through two separate buckles 



1) Nelson (1899) pp. 50-51, figs. 11-13. Cf. also Murdoch (1892) pp. 138-140; 

 Jacobsen (Woldt 1887) p. 288; Hoffman (1897) pp. 781— 782; Amundsen (1907) 

 p. 143; G. Hansen (1912) p. 77, fig. 20. 



2) Turner (1894; pp. 207—208. 



3) Murdoch (1892) p. 139 and note. 



