INNUIT CHARACTER, CUSTOMS, ETC. 



571 



are none now. There is absolutely no political organization 

 among them. In every community, with them as with all the 

 rest of the world, there is some one who, in consideration of his 

 age, shrewdness, or personal prowess, is looked up to, and whose 

 opinions are received with more than usual deference ; but he has 

 no authority whatever, and an Innuit is subject to no man's con- 

 trol. The people are not naturally quarrelsome, and theft and 

 murder are almost unknown. When a quarrel arises, the two 

 parties keep aloof from each other, sometimes for a long time. 

 Sometimes, however, a mutual and elderly friend arranges the 

 matter, and then a quiet talk often shows that the quarrel — with 

 them as with us — was the result of an entire misunderstanding of 

 words reported by gossiping tongues. If a murder is committed, 

 it appears, from what the Innuits say, that the nearest relative or 

 most intimate friend of the slain has a right to kill the murderer ; 

 but this crime is very rare. 



Innuit opinions upon theological questions are not easily ob- 

 tained in an intelligible form. Their belief on some points may 

 thus be very generally stated : There is one Supreme Being, call- 

 ed by them Ang-u-ta, who created the earth, sea, and heavenly bod- 

 ies. There is also a secondary divinity, a woman, the daughter 

 of Anguta, who is called Sid-ne. She is supposed to have created 

 all things having life, animal and vegetable. She is regarded also 

 as the protecting divinity of the Innuit people. To her their sup- 

 plications are addressed; to her their offerings are made; while 

 most of their religious rites and superstitious observances have 

 reference to her. 



The Innuits believe in a heaven and a hell, though their no- 

 tions as to what is to constitute their happiness or misery here- 

 after are varied as one meets with different communities. Too- 

 koolito says : 



" My people think this way : Kood-le-par-mi-ung (heaven) is up- 

 ward. Every body happy there. All the time light ; no snow, 

 no ice, no storms ; always pleasant ; no trouble ; never tired ; sing 

 and play all the time — all this to continue without end. 



" Ad-le-par-me-un (hell) is downward. Always dark there. No 

 sun ; trouble there continually ; snow flying all the time ; terri- 

 ble storms ; cold, very cold ; and a great deal of ice there. All 

 who go there must always remain. 



"All Innuits who have been good go to Koodleparmiung ; that 

 is, who have been kind to the poor and hungry — all who have 



