206 Canadian Arctic Expedition, 1913-18 



The winter of 1915-16 was unusually stormy, and for days at a time the 

 Eskimos were confined to their houses and prevented from sealing. _ On February 

 3rd, a man named Utugaum held a s6ance with the object of petitioning Kanna- 

 kapfaluk to stop the bUzzards and let the people go sealing again. He opened 

 with a long oration — about two ducks in some place or other, a giant fish m 

 Lake AkuUiakattak, two men living near some islands, another man at Ummg- 

 maktok (Kent peninsula) who had knocked down two poles, and about some 



Fig. 59. Tokalluak, a Coppermine river shaman 



one in the moon. He used vague and mysterious words, and his audience had 

 to puzzle out his meaning, partly from his words, and partly from the gestures 

 that accompanied them. In this case, as often, no one had any idea of what 

 he was talking about. His oration lasted fully twenty minutes, then he stooped 

 down and began to speak in a thin piping voice, quite unlike the strident tones 

 in which his oration had been delivered. He now said that he was no longer 

 a man, but an animal (my notes do not say what animal). He was searching for 

 Kannakapfaluk, he said, so that he might drag her up to the surface, but he 

 could not find her. Thus he stood for about two minutes, then straightened up, 

 pressed his hand to his forehead, heaved a few sighs and closed the performance. 

 There were a few interesting features in connection with it. At the commence- 

 ment all the little children were sent to the back of the dance-house. My inter- 

 preter Patsy was playing and laughing with them till the old shaman Anauyuk 

 turned around and scolded them, saying that they should on no account laugh 

 during a stance; however, they appeared to take very little notice of his warn- 

 ing. I moved to leave the dance-house as soon as the performance was over 

 and one of the natives stopped me, saying, "You mustn't go out while the sha- 



