Page:Material Culture of the Iglulik Eskimos.djvu/51

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Image missingFig. 7.Ice hunting harpoon with head and line. round the iron; these lashings are in most places tightened by means of small wooden wedges. 19–23 cm from the fore end of this wooden shaft there is round it and the iron shaft a strong lashing of sinew-thread which holds a seal-thong loop for the harpoon line, and 26 cm below this lashing is a "tikâgut", finger rest, of ivory. In the prolongation of the wooden shaft there is, at the bottom, a small, bent iron stud, fastened to the iron shaft by a brass band and thus forming an eye for the strap of the line. The lower end of the harpoon iron is a truncated cone in shape.

Fig. 7 b shows the line and head of an ice-hunting harpoon (Ponds Inlet). The line (aleq) is of seal-thong, 7.9 m long, about 0.8 cm wide. In a loop at one end is the harpoon head; this has been filed out of one piece of iron, 7.5 cm long, flat, with two powerful opposite barbs, the line hole parallel to the plane of these, and two powerful bifurcated dorsal spurs. 70 cm from the fore end of the line is fastened a thin strap of seal-thong, 35 cm long, which is drawn through the metal eye of the shaft and thus tightens the line. At the other end the line is furnished with a 15 cm loop, the two ends of which are held by a buckle in the shape of an animal's head with mouth (through which the line emerges). eyes and ears; it is pierced by two holes, one through the entire length of the buckle, the other from the rear end to a hole in the under side, in which the end-knot of the line rests. Through a hole in the thong of this loop is inserted a piece of seal-thong, 13.5 cm long, which ends in a button shaped like a bird, and forming a buckle for holding the coiled line together.

Fig. 8 shows two carefully carved buckles for the end-loop of the line,[1] both of ivory. a (Iglulik) is formed like an animal's head (dog?), b (Repulse Bay) has another shape. Fig. 9a shows the usual form of buckle for holding the coils of the line;[2] this is of ivory; the beak acts as a hook

  1. ↑ Compare Boas 1907 fig. 222 f–g.
  2. ↑ Compare 1. c. fig. 223.
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