Amusements 225 



other, thus making her a "dancing-associate." AUikammik then retired to the 

 ring again, and the two women ratified their friendship by shaking their noses 

 within an inch of each other. 



During all this time the singing had continued uninterruptedly, though 

 Higilak had lowered her drum and stopped beating. She now resumed her dance, 

 and as soon as it was ended handed the drum to AUikammik and executed an 

 impromptu jig on her own account, accompanied by wild whoops that testified 

 to her joy at the meeting. It was now Allikammik's turn. She was very angular 

 in figure, and danced awkwardly, with many jerks and spasms. She laboured, 

 too, under the difficulty of dancing without a full chorus, for the song she started 

 was known only to her husband (and perhaps also to Imerak, but he did not 

 attempt to sing). Ikpakhuak and Higilak gallantly attempted to pick up the 

 tune out of courtesy, but all the rest stood around in silence. AUikammik 

 returned Higilak's compliment by calling her out to run around her, as she had 

 done before. Afterwards some of the Puivlik natives privately ridiculed her 

 dancing, and made rather a laughing-stock of her, but this was partly due to 

 Higilak, who was somewhat jealous of the attentions that AUikammik paid to 

 Ikpakhuak. 



Ikpakhuak then took the drum and entered the ring. He was a celebrated 

 dancer, and with lively but graceful movements sprang round and round the 

 ring, leaping on alternate feet, and whirling the great drum to and fro while 

 the. low canvas roof puffed up and down with its wind. He struck the drum on 

 the far side of the handle, then, as he swung it back, brought it to a stop on the 

 stick with very little noise; other natives who were less expert made the return 

 swing resound almost as much as the full stroke itself. At the beginning of his 

 dance he called AlUkammik out to run around him, then a little later both her 

 and her husband Kunana: the latter, according to custom, took the inside 

 course, the place of honour, allowing his wife to drop back into the ring while 

 he ran back in the opposite direction. He succeeded Ikpakhuak with the drum, 

 for it is the prerogative of two "dancing-associates" to follow one another. 

 Nearly everyone in the company knew his song, so the chorus swelled with some 

 volume; but he was not nearly so skilful a dancer as Ikpakhuak, and moved 

 about very little. During his dance he called out Ikpakhuak and Higilak to run 

 around him, the latter, like AlHkammik, running on the outside and leaving 

 her husband to return alone. 



The ceremonial portion of the program was now ended, for the visitors had 

 received their formal welcome. It would have been very unnatural, however, 

 to stop a dance in which everyone was finding so much enjoyment, so Okalluk 

 took the drum and entered the ring. His voice was very hoarse and raucous, 

 and he moved about very little, but he compensated for this by fiourishing the 

 drum with great vigour and banging it till we were all nearly deafened. Higilak 

 left the dance-house at this stage to attend to her cooking in the camp above. 



KesuUik followed Okalluk, and, after him, Kanneyuk; the former was 

 called out by Avranna. He forgot the words of his song in the very middle 

 and broke down for a moment, but recovered again amid a good deal of laughter. 

 The drum, which had been made by Ikpakhuak, was obviously too big and 

 heavy for him, and he handled it rather awkwardly, keeping his feet widely 

 apart and jerking his body spasmodically. Kanneyuk, though a mere child, 

 was much more skilful, and even though she had to lower the drum from time to 

 time on account of its weight, her dancing never stopped for a moment and she 

 continued to beat it just the same. 



Avranna took the drum when she had finished, but his dance had hardly 

 started when a sled was sighted and everyone rushed out to welcome the new- 

 comers. It was too late in the day to begin another formal dance, so this was 

 postponed until the morrow. Some of the Puivlik natives, however, went back 



23335—15 



