Ethnographical collections from East Greenland. 



655 



a b 



Fig. 379. Spindle buzzes (a Holm coll., 

 b Amdrup coll.). ^U. 



buzzes. The main stick is a thin wooden cylinder, the one end of 

 which is firmly inserted into the central perforation of the heavy 

 fly-wheel-like stone (soap-stone or a bone-block) while the other end 

 is provided with a hard knob of bone. A short bone handle 

 (the thigh of a seal) is able to 

 glide up and down the main 

 stick by means of a wide hole 

 at its one end. To this toy 

 belongs also a raw-hide string 

 with a small handle in the end 

 used for setting the toy in mo- 

 tion. This is used as follows. 

 The string is wound round the 

 top of the stick right under the 

 bone-knob and from there twist- 

 ed spirally downwards almost to 

 the middle of the stick or a little 

 further. The handle is now grasp- 

 ed by the left hand so that the 

 position of the stick is almost 

 horizontal and by a vigorous, 

 long pull of the right hand the string is drawn off. The stick and 

 the firm stone-wheel now buzz round in the hole of the handle for 



almost half a minute with a roaring noise. 



The fly-wheel of the specimen seen by me 

 was made of soap-stone, in one case cut out of 

 a large bone (fig. 379 b). One of the stone-wheels 

 had some holes in it as if it had been used pre- 

 viously for some other purpose and was provided 

 with a piece of lead to make it heavier. 



Ring and pin^) or ajagaq {ajagaq 'that which 

 is pushed up ' p. 63, figs. 381 and 388) is played 

 with a hollow bone, a dog's, fox's or seal's arm 

 or thigh-bone, or with some flat bone (e. g. the 

 shoulder-blade of a seal or dog) in which several 

 holes are made ; also the wing-bone of a raven 

 may be used. By means of a short string it is 

 bound to a pointed, prong-like bone-stick (ajaawtaa) and the game 

 now consists in catching the hollow bone when it comes down to- 

 wards the stick after being thrown up in the air. The end of the 

 stick is sometimes forked so that it has two points. It is connected 



Fig. 380. Spindle buzz. 

 (Petersen coll.). ^U. 



^) This name is more to the point than the "cup and ball" given on p. 63. 



