Material Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos/Chapter 11

The geographical knowledge of the Iglulik Eskimos has already been referred to in the foregoing. Time is divided according to the heavenly bodies, sun and moon. The year is divided up into: Ukioq, winter, from about December to April; Upernagssaq, spring, end of April to beginning of July; Aujaq, summer, July to end of August; Ukiagssaq, autumn, September to November. The year is also divided into months according to the moon, these having names which are usually taken from some event in the animal kingdom:

The months (taqaq) are divided according to the moon, whose phases are used in the division: Tuatukululertoq (new moon), tualilertoq, nungulertoq qutdleqortôq (first quarter), alungertoq, naqoq (full moon), naqolertôq, quidleqortôq (last quarter), siliksilertoq, taqinissartoq (almost disappeared), taqilârtoq (no moon).

The day is split up into: ublaq, from the time when the sun rises til noon: Qiterqartoq, noon. Ublume, from noon to sunset: Únuks​saq, twilight; Únuk, night; Unilertoq, sunrise. An eclipse of the sun is called taqilarugtoq, a shooting star is ubloriaq anartoq. Many stars and constellations have names: the polar star: Nutuitsoq; Sirius: Singoreq; the belt of Orion: Uglertut; Charles's wain: Tugtortjuit: Arcturus: Siudleq; Vega: Kiudleq; Cassopeia: Amarotjuit; the Pleiades: Agiátat: Aldebaran: Kajorssuk; the constellation formed of Castor, Pollux, Kapella and Beta aurigae: Qitortjuk.

Numbers up to twenty have the same names as in Greenland; twenty is called inuit (man — his fingers and toes); higher numbers are given in "men".

The Peck Syllabic Writing (titarqat) has spread widely among the Iglulik Eskimos, where the mothers teach it to their children and the latter teach each other; most Iglulik Eskimos can read and write this fairly simple but rather imperfect language and they often write letters to each other; pencils and pocket-books are consequently in great demand among them.

Morals. The loose sexual conditions have been mentioned; but otherwise the morals of these people seem on the whole to be good, and best among those who have been least in contact with the whalers. On the whole the Iglulik Eskimos were honest, reliable, faithful, helpful and hospitable; theft was a very rare occurrence, even though one now and then could not resist the temptation of the presence of all our trade goods. Theft among themselves was also very rare; I did hear, however, of a man on Southampton Island who, in gratitude for having been given meat all the winter by another man, stole five of the latter's fox skins. Nor is murder so common as among the tribes more to the west. At Iglulik, however, there were two murderers and at Ponds Inlet there was an Eskimo who had shot a white man.

As a rule, old people and the sick are treated well. At Iglulik there lived a married couple who were both blind; they had their own house, in which they lived, and had meat sent in to them by the others; the wife could sew a little and the man could carve. In the summer of 1923 they were even taken along on a trading journey to Ponds Inlet simply for their pleasure, and the next year they were given an infant child. But in case of illness and need the old and the weak are naturally the first to suffer, so that in such cases one gets a rather less favourable impression of them, as did Parry,^[1] who however on the other hand acknowledges their honesty. Prevarication is resorted to now and then, but mostly among those who have been in contact with white men. Lyon^[2] says that the women in ​Image missingFig. 201.Walrus tusk, used by a shaman. particular are untruthful, but I have heard just as many examples of it among the men.

Hospitality and helpfulness towards us white men were very marked, although I will readily admit that the motives were not always unselfish. While we were poor and dependent upon the Eskimos on Southampton Island, and could only pay them with promises. their behaviour towards us was rather different to when we were great and mighty people who possessed many things and with whom it would pay to be on a good footing.

Religion. I will not venture upon a description of the old religious ideas of the Iglulik Eskimos — the shamanism, taboo rules, amulets, legends and songs I will not touch upon, as they are outside the scope of this work and will be dealt with by the one who has made a special study of them, Dr. Knud Rasmussen. Many of them have a very great influence upon the daily life of the Eskimos, this being true particularly of shamanism and the innumerable taboo rules, among which the sharp differentiation between what concerns land and sea is especially of great importance.

I may, however, describe one or two specimens in the collection which illustrate religious matters:

Fig. 201 (Iglulik) is a walrus tusk used by a shaman; two of these are used during a séance, being placed in his mouth to represent a walrus; it is of ivory, 17½ cm long, pointed, blunt, rather curved; at the thick end is a large hole. A similar one, from Chesterfield Inlet, is of wood, with no hole in the root end, 17½ cm long.

Fig. 202 (Ponds Inlet and Iglulik) are two small knives of ivory which have hung at a shaman's belt; 1. represents a broad, two-edged knife, about 5.1 cm long. 2. represents a snow-knife. single-edged, 7.0 cm long.

From Ponds Inlet there is an old figure of a bird (tingmiujaq), the head being broken off; it is pierced by a hole in which is fastened a skin strap; it has apparently been used as an amulet.

I might also add something about the first appearance of Christianity among the Iglulik Eskimos.

In 1912 the Catholic Mission started a station at Chesterfield Inlet, under the leadership of Father H. Turquetil. but its influence did not become greater ​than over a very few proselytes among the Aiviliks there; at Repulse Bay there was thus only one family that joined Turquetil's congregation.

A movement from the north became much more widespread. In 1919 some bibles came to Ponds Inlet, printed in the Peck syllabic language with which the Eskimos were already familiar; they had been sent from Cumberland Gulf, where the missionary Peck had worked many years. These bibles were studied by the Eskimos and one of them, Uming, acted as prophet and taught the new gospel. When in 1920 his son had shot a white man at Ponds Inlet, they Image missingFig. 203.Ivory crusifix. fled together to Iglulik, where he appeared as a great preacher. When we came to Ingnertoq, the most southerly settlement of the Iglulingmiut, in the winter of 1921–22, we saw a white rag on a pole outside the snow house and, when we arrived at the place we were surprised by the inhabitants shaking hands with us; even the tiniest child had to do it. Inside the snow house the crucifix fig. 203 was hanging; it is carved in ivory on the European pattern, with head-covering, beard, loin-cloth, outstretched arms and the feet crossed; 7.7 cm long. We wished to buy it, but they were unwilling as they said it was a very powerful amulet. We met the same white flag and the same hand-shake at the more northerly places, Pingerqalik and Iglulik, signs that the inhabitants belonged to Uming's congregation. At Iglulik we met the prophet, Uming, himself, an elderly, intelligent man who ruled there absolutely.

Besides the hand-shake and the white flag, his religion included abstention from work on Sundays, gathering now and then in his snow house and singing hymns which he had taught them, and, what is more, the hunters were to bring their booty to him and he would distribute it. His son, the murderer Noqatdlaq, acted as a sort of assistant priest and did not lift a finger in hunting either. When people arrived at the settlement or departed from it, all the inhabitants gathered and sang a hymn, after which the hand-shaking commenced; even the dogs' paws were taken. Uming was also a liberal man, permitted polygamy, offered to "lend" us his wife during our stay at Iglulik and continued to exchange wives for a year at a time with another man.

In a flash the whole of the Iglulik district was won over to Uming's religion, even though some of the older people carped at it; and he said that he would undoubtedly win over those living further south, Aua and his family at Itibdjeriang.

​In the spring of 1922, when the Igluliks were on a trading journey to Repulse Bay, the hand-shake, the white flag and the hymns spread to the Aiviliks, many of whom at once went over to the new faith; Aua was converted after his eldest son had dreamt that it was the true faith. Many old people, however, regarded it with scepticism. "Apaq has become a Christian for her food" said old Takornaq of a young woman who, on account of a birth, was under restraint by the many food prohibitions but now enthusiastically took to the new religion and discarded the old taboo rules. It had not reached Southampton Island in the winter of 1922–23; but Angutimarik had heard of it through his stepson, Audlanâq, who brought us back to Danish Island, and he expressed his distrust of it.

If no reinforcements in the form of missionaries arrive for this new "religion", if this collection of half digested or undigested maxims can be called a religion, it will presumably disappear just as quickly as it came when it no longer has the interest of novelty.