Page:Material Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos.djvu/222

Like the other Eskimo tribes, the Iglulik Eskimos form no political or social unity. They are only a group of families, related by the same manner of living, the same forms of implements and clothing, the same methods and customs, to some extent connected by blood ties. There is no superior authority, but custom and habit and tradition provide certain rules which must be observed. In particular it is the numerous taboo regulations which have a profound effect upon their manner of living, some of them being general, having become established upon tradition from generation to generation, others imposed temporarily by a shaman for a particular occasion, to heal a sick person, to ensure good hunting, and so on. If these regulations are broken, the person concerned is regarded as one who, by his behaviour, has been the cause of new misfortunes; but he is not punished in any other manner. There is no executive authority, but on the other hand there is a sort of judicial authority: the shaman.

Within each settlement, which as a rule comprises a few families, often connected by kinship, there is as a rule an older man who enjoys the respect of the others and who decides when a move is to be made to another hunting centre, when a hunt is to be started, how the spoils are to be divided, when the dogs are to be fed, etc. He is called isumaitoq, “he who thinks". It is not always the oldest man, but as a rule an elderly man who is a clever hunter or, as head of a large family, exercises great authority. He cannot be called a chief; there is no obligation to follow his counsel; but they do so in most cases, partly because they rely upon his experience, partly because it pays to be on good terms with this man. At Itibdjeriang, Ingnertoq and Iglulik older men were isumaitoqa; on Southampton Island Audlanâq, who was only 35 years old, had attained that dignity by his skill.

In the family circle the husband is usually the one to decide: there are, however, examples to the contrary.

The distribution of labour between man and woman — for there is no other distribution of labour — is at once apparent: the man