James Mooney - Native Americans - 22 Books on History, Mythology, Culture & Linguistic Studies

When a house is deserted the Aivillirmiut are in the habit of carrying all the bones lying inside to some distance and putting them upon the ice (Hall II, p. 175). If they intend to move to a place some distance away they are in the habit of burying some of their clothing. Klutschak observed this custom among the Netchillirmiut; I myself, among the Akudnirmiut. If a great number of families leave a village those who remain build new houses, as they believe that they would otherwise have bad luck in hunting.

A great number of regulations refer to the behavior of women during menstruation. They are not allowed to eat raw meat, they must cook in separate pots, and are not permitted to join in festivals, being looked upon as unclean during this period. Customs referring to childbirth and sickness will be found further on (see p. 609).

When a traveling party visits a neighboring tribe it is obliged to adopt the customs and regulations of the latter.

This account does not by any means include all the peculiar customs of these people, for they are so numerous and the difficulty of finding out anything pertaining to this subject is so great that it is probable that the greater part of them have escaped notice.

I shall also mention a few customs that are peculiar to certain places. At Qeqertelung, east of Naujateling, in Cumberland Sound, the Eskimo dig potstone, but must buy it from the rock: that is, having dug out a piece, they must give the rock something in exchange; for example, ivory carvings, beads, food, or the like.

At Arligaulik, near Wager River, the Eskimo address a large rock and bid it farewell when passing (Hall II, p. 174).

In Cumberland Sound there is a cape called Iliqimisarbing, i.e., the place of headshaking. The place is very dangerous, as heavy squalls sweep down the steep rocks and slides frequently occur. Therefore the natives never pass it without shaking their heads, at the same time uttering a deep murmur.

Besides the tornait already mentioned, a number of others are known which cannot become genii of men. A spirit of the sea, Kalopaling or Mitiling, is described in a tradition (see p. 620). In Erdmann’s Wörterbuch des Labradordialectes “Mitiling” is translated Gespenst, i.e., ghost. No doubt it is the name of the same spirit or at least of a similar one which is recognized among the northern tribes, the literal translation being “with eider ducks.” Another spirit of which the natives are in great fear is Qiqirn, a phantom in the shape of a huge dog almost without hair. Like the bear which has been alluded to, it has hair only at the mouth, the feet, and the points of the ears and the tail. If it comes near dogs or men they fall into fits and only recover when Qiqirn has left. It is exceedingly afraid of men and runs away as soon as an angakoq descries it.

A very remarkable tornaq is the qaggim inua, i.e., master of the dancing house. The natives build large houses for feasting, singing, and dancing, which are devoted to spirits. This tornaq has the shape of a bandy legged man, his knees being bent outward and forward. He has not a single hair upon his entire body and no bones at the back of his head. To touch him would result in immediate death (see p. 636).

Besides these tornait, more powerful supernatural beings are known, who are “owners” (inua) of the stars and constellations and of meteorologic processes. Moon and sun are considered brother and sister, and in this the tradition of the Central Eskimo exactly corresponds with that of the Greenlanders. It is even known among the Eskimo of Point Barrow (Simpson, p. 940). From Repulse Bay (Aivillirmiut) a few scanty traces of this tradition are recorded by Rae (I, p. 79). He relates as follows:

It is said that many years ago, not long after the creation of the world, there was a mighty conjurer, who gained so much power that at last he raised himself up into the heavens, taking with him his sister (a beautiful girl) and a fire. To the latter he added great quantities of fuel, which thus formed the sun. For some time he and his sister lived in great harmony, but at last they disagreed, and he, in addition to maltreating the lady in many ways, at last scorched the side of her face. She had suffered patiently all sorts of indignities, but the spoiling of her beauty was not to be borne; she therefore ran away from him and formed the moon, and continues so until this day. Her brother is still in chase of her, but although he gets near, he will never overtake her. When it is new moon, the burnt side of the face is towards us; when full moon, the reverse is the case.

The following form of the legend, which I received from some Akudnirmiut and Oqomiut, is almost identical with the Greenland one:

In olden times a brother and his sister lived in a large village in which there was a singing house, and every night the sister with her playfellows enjoyed themselves in this house. Once upon a time, when all the lamps in the singing house were extinguished, somebody came in and outraged her. She was unable to recognize him; but she blackened her hands with soot and when the same again happened besmeared the man’s back with it. When the lamps were relighted she saw that the violator was her brother. In great anger she sharpened a knife and cut off her breasts, which she offered to him, saying: “Since you seem to relish me, eat this.” Her brother fell into a passion and she fled from him, running about the room. She seized a piece of wood (with which the lamps are kept in order) which was burning brightly and rushed out of the house. The brother took another one, but in his pursuit he fell down and extinguished his light, which continued to glow only faintly. Gradually both were lifted up and continued their course in the sky, the sister being transformed into the sun, the brother into the moon. Whenever the new moon first appears she sings:

Aningaga tapika, takirn tapika qaumidjatedlirpoq; qaumatitaudle.

Aningaga tapika, tikipoq tapika.

(My brother up there, the moon up there begins to shine; he will be bright.

My brother up there, he is coming up there.)

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There exists another tradition in regard to the spirit of the moon, which is also known to the Greenlanders. While in the first tradition the moon is a man carrying a glowing light, in the other she is the moon man’s house (Rink, p. 440). The legend, as told by the Oqomiut and Akudnirmiut, is the narrative of the flight of an angakoq to the moon and is as follows:

A mighty angakoq, who had a bear for his tornaq, resolved to pay a visit to the moon. He sat down in the rear of his hut, turning his back toward the lamps, which had been extinguished. He had his hands tied up and a thong fastened around his knees and neck. Then he summoned his tornaq, which carried him rapidly through the air and brought him to the moon. He observed that the moon was a house, nicely covered with white deerskins, which the man in the moon used to dry near it. On each side of the entrance was the upper portion of the body of an enormous walrus, which threatened to tear in pieces the bold intruder. Though it was dangerous to pass by the fierce animals, the angakoq, by help of his tornaq, succeeded in entering the house.

In the passage he saw the only dog of the man of the moon, which is called Tirie´tiang and is dappled white and red. On entering the main room he perceived, to the left, a small additional building, in which a beautiful woman, the sun, sat before her lamp. As soon as she saw the angakoq entering she blew her fire, behind the blaze of which she hid herself. The man in the moon came to meet him kindly, stepping from the seat on the ledge and bidding the stranger welcome. Behind the lamps great heaps of venison and seal meat were piled up, but the man of the moon did not yet offer him anything. He said: “My wife, Ululiernang, will soon enter and we will perform a dance. Mind that you do not laugh, else she will slit open your belly with her knife, take out your intestines, and give them to my ermine which lives in yon little house outside.”