268 W. THALBITZER. 
NOTES. — 1-4. gitoarter, cf. WGr. qitup'oq ‘is rather pliable, has nothing 
stiff in it” Here, the talk is about the curved parts of the boat, especially of 
the framework of the gunwale and the prow, and of the joinings which are 
responsible for the elasticity of the boat, and for its ability to ride well on 
the water. — 4. qajiwaq or [q@iwdr], which is the chief component in qaji- 
wartiwag, taboo word for a common seal, and in qaijua'wån, taboo word 
for a kind of beetle in fresh water. It is uncertain what is meant here. To 
me it would not seem in accordance with Eskimo train of thought to compare 
the boat with a seal (there is even less talk of a name for the boat, as it is 
quite unknown to give boats or implements names). Perhaps the word is. 
entirely misunderstood. Could it be gajag, ‘а kaiak’, which is meant? Could 
the formula, I wonder, have originated in the days when this word was still 
known at Ammassalik, or at any rate used in a magic formula? If so, the 
fact that Kattuarajee could believe that the formula concerned an umiak 
would be a proof that the original significance had been completely for- 
gotten in this place after gajaq had been replaced by sargit. 
No. 80. Over an Umiak Amulet. 
Kattuarajee. 
Magic formula over an amulet which Kättuarajee placed in his umiak 
in order to make the boat glide easily. The amulet consisted of the head and 
the feet of a loon (qa'rte"me'rtoq). He first chanted his formula over the 
bird’s head, holding it in his hands, and then made it fast in the stem, as. 
an amulet. Thereupon he chanted his formula over the feet, holding them 
in his hands, and then made them fast astern. Then, for the first time, he 
pushed the boat into the water. This formula he also bought from Akernilik, 
giving (him) in payment the flesh of a common seal. Presumably the amulet 
has proved efficacious in giving speed to the boat, as, later on, he gave Aker- 
nilik a seal-skin into the bargain, large enough to make a pair of trousers. 
ea, ea ertarpa'na 1 It gives me full speed to travel, 
ea, ea ertarpa'na 2 It gives me full speed to travel, 
ea, ea eertiwar ertarpa 3 The craft(?), it gives it full speed. 
ea, ea 
NOTES. — 1-3. The subject ‘it’ probably refers to the amulet. — 3. ee'rli- 
war was more distinctly pronounced as ige'rlivar, but otherwise has the 
form e'rtivar ‘the great forward-mover, or (boat) which moves forward’ < 
WGr. inertawog. This term for an umiak belongs to the angakok language, 
and takes the place of the usual EGr. word for the same kind of boat, viz., 
awta'rit, literally ‘a thing in which one travels.’ 
No. 81. Over the Hunter’s Throwing-board. 
Keersagaq. 
Magic formula recited over the throwing board (throwing stick) when: 
one takes hold of it. It is to secure the hunter from missing his cast at the 
emerging seal. 
