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

Now arises a cry of surprise and all eyes are turned toward a hut out of which stalk two gigantic figures. They wear heavy boots; their legs are swelled out to a wonderful thickness with several pairs of breeches; the shoulders of each are covered by a woman’s over-jacket and the faces by tattooed masks of sealskins. In the right hand each carries the seal spear, on the back of each is an inflated buoy of sealskin, and in the left hand the scraper. Silently, with long strides, the qailertetang (Fig. 535) approach the assembly, who, screaming, press back from them. The pair solemnly lead the men to a suitable spot and set them in a row, and the women in another opposite them. They match the men and women in pairs and these pairs run, pursued by the qailertetang, to the hut of the woman, where they are for the following day and night man and wife (nulianititijung). Having performed this duty, the qailertetang stride down to the shore and invoke the good north wind, which brings fair weather, while they warn off the unfavorable south wind.

As soon as the incantation is over, all the men attack the qailertetang with great noise. They act as if they had weapons in their hands and would kill both spirits. One pretends to probe them with a spear, another to stab them with a knife, one to cut off their arms and legs, another to beat them unmercifully on the head. The buoys which they carry on their backs are ripped open and collapse and soon they both lie as if dead beside their broken weapons (pilektung). The Eskimo leave them to get their drinking cups and the qailertetang awake to new life. Each man fills his sealskin with water, passes a cup to them, and inquires about the future, about the fortunes of the hunt and the events of life. The qailertetang answer in murmurs which the questioner must interpret for himself.

Fig. 535. Qailertetang, a masked figure. (From a sketch by the author.)

The evening is spent in playing ball, which is whipped all around the settlement (ajuktaqtung). (See Appendix, Note 6.)

This feast is celebrated as here described in Cumberland Sound and Nugumiut. Hall and Kumlien make a few observations in regard to it, but the latter has evidently misunderstood its meaning. His description is as follows (p. 43):

An angakoq dresses himself up in the most hideous manner, having several pairs of pants on among the rest, and a horrid looking mask of skins. The men and women now range themselves in separate and opposite ranks, and the angakoq takes his place between them. He then picks out a man and conducts him to a woman in the opposite ranks. This couple then go to the woman’s hut and have a grand spree for a day or two. This manner of proceeding is kept up till all the women but one are disposed of. This one is always the angakoq’s choice, and her he reserves for himself.

Another description by Kumlien (p. 19) evidently refers to the same feast:

They have an interesting custom or superstition, namely, the killing of the evil spirit of the deer; sometime during the winter or early in spring, at any rate before they can go deer hunting, they congregate together and dispose of this imaginary evil. The chief ancut [angakoq], or medicine man, is the main performer. He goes through a number of gyrations and contortions, constantly hallooing and calling, till suddenly the imaginary deer is among them. Now begins a lively time. Every one is screaming, running, jumping, spearing, and stabbing at the imaginary deer, till one would think a whole madhouse was let loose. Often this deer proves very agile, and must be hard to kill, for I have known them to keep this performance up for days; in fact, till they were completely exhausted.

During one of these performances an old man speared the deer, another knocked out an eye, a third stabbed him, and so on till he was dead. Those who are able or fortunate enough to inflict some injury on this bad deer, especially he who inflicts the death blow, is considered extremely lucky, as he will have no difficulty in procuring as many deer as he wants, for there is no longer an evil spirit to turn his bullets or arrows from their course.

I could not learn anything about this ceremony, though I asked all the persons with whom Kumlien had had intercourse. Probably there was some misunderstanding as to the meaning of their feast during the autumn which induced him to give this report.

Hall describes the feast as celebrated by the Nugumiut (I, p. 528), as follows:

At a time of the year apparently answering to our Christmas, they have a general meeting in a large igdlu [snow house] on a certain evening. There the angakoq prays on behalf of the people for the public prosperity through the subsequent year. Then follows something like a feast. The next day all go out into the open air and form in a circle; in the centre is placed a vessel of water, and each member of the company brings a piece of meat, the kind being immaterial. The circle being formed, each person eats his or her meat in silence, thinking of Sedna, and wishing for good things. Then one in the circle takes a cup, dips up some of the water, all the time thinking of Sedna, and drinks it; and then, before passing the cup to another, states audibly the time and the place of his or her birth. This ceremony is performed by all in succession. Finally, presents of various articles are thrown from one to another, with the idea that each will receive of Sedna good things in proportion to the liberality here shown.

Soon after this occasion, at a time which answers to our New Year’s day, two men start out, one of them being dressed to represent a woman, and go to every house in the village, blowing out the light in each. The lights are afterwards rekindled from a fresh fire. When Taqulitu [Hall’s well known companion in his journeys] was asked the meaning of this, she replied, “New sun—new light,” implying a belief that the sun was at that time renewed for the year.

Inasmuch as Hall did not see the feast himself, but had only a description by an Eskimo, into which he introduced points of similarity with Christian feasts, it may be looked upon as fairly agreeing with the feast of the Oqomiut. The latter part corresponds to the celebration of the feast as it is celebrated in Akudnirn. 8

According to a statement in the journal of Hall’s second expedition (II, p. 219) masks are also used on the western shore of Hudson Bay, where it seems that all the natives disguise themselves on this occasion.

The Akudnirmiut celebrate the feast in the following way: The qailertetang do not act a part there, but other masks take their place. They are called mirqussang and represent a man and his wife. They wear masks of the skin of the ground seal, only that of the woman being tattooed. The hair of the man is arranged in a bunch protruding from the forehead (sulubaut), that of the woman in a pigtail on each side and a large knot at the back of the head. Their left legs are tied up by a thong running around the neck and the knee, compelling them to hobble. They have neither seal float and spear nor inflated legs, but carry the skin scraper. They must try to enter the huts while the Inuit hold a long sealskin thong before them to keep them off. If they fall down in the attempt to cross it they are thoroughly beaten with a short whip or with sticks. After having succeeded in entering the huts they blow out all the fires.

The parts of the feast already described as celebrated in Cumberland Sound seem not to be customary in Akudnirn, the conjuration of Sedna and the exchanges of wives excepted, which are also practiced here. Sometimes the latter ceremony takes place the night before the feast. It is called suluiting or quvietung.