LITMIR.BIZ

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At Qognung, near the head of Nettilling Fjord, there is a large white stone on each side of the fjord, somewhat resembling a bear. It is said that these stones have been bears which, being pursued by an Eskimo in the water, escaped to the land, but were transformed into these stones.

      (4) A long time ago a dead boy was buried under a large stone. Before his relatives had returned to their hut the body was transformed into a hare, which jumped forth from the tomb. All hares come from this animal.

      (5) It is said that albinos of seals and deer spring from an egg of about half a foot in length, which forms itself in the earth. The seal digs an underground passage to the sea, the deer a similar one to a distant part of the country, and there they rise. The albinos are said to be very quick.

      I will add here an enumeration of the fabulous tribes of which I gained intelligence, but of some of them I only know the names.

      (1) The Tornit, or, as they are called by the Akudnirmiut, the Tuniqdjuait (p. 634). It is remarkable that this people is considered here, as well as in Labrador, a tribe similar to the Eskimo, with whom they formerly lived in company, but who were subsequently expelled by the latter. In Greenland they are entirely a fabulous tribe, each individual being of enormous size, living inland and seldom hunting in the upper parts of the fjords. While in the western parts of the Eskimo country a more historical form of the tradition is preserved, it is entirely mythical in Greenland.

      (2) The Adlet or Erqigdlit. In the tradition treating of this tribe a similar change occurs. The Labrador Eskimo call the Indians of the interior Adlet, the tribes west of Hudson Bay call them Erqigdlit. The Baffin Land Eskimo and the Greenlanders have forgotten this relation altogether, but denote with the term a fabulous tribe with dogs’ legs and a human body. The name Adla is used as far north as Cumberland Peninsula, the Akudnirmiut and the more northern tribes using the term Erqigdlit. It is difficult to account for the use of these different terms in both senses.

      (3) The Ardnainiq, a tribe living in the extreme northwest. The men of this people are small, tiny, like children, but entirely covered with hair. They are carried about in the hoods of their wives, just like children. The women are of normal size. They do all the work, going out hunting in the kayaks and providing for the men.

      (4) The Inuarudligang, dwarfs living in the cliffs near the shore.

      (5) The Igdlungajung, a bandy legged people living inland.

      (6) The Uissuit, dwarfs living in the depth of the sea (p. 621).

      (7) The Ijirang.

      (8) The Qailerte´tang, a people consisting of women only (p. 605).

Finally, I will mention the animals which are only known to the natives by reports of foreign tribes and are described as fabulous creatures. These are the umingmang (the musk ox), which is represented as a fierce animal with black and red streaks and larger than a bear, and the agdlaq (the black bear), which, according to their belief, is also of enormous size. It is said to live inland and to devour everything that comes near it. I am unable to decide whether the report of an enormous fish, the idluk, which is said to live in the lakes, is altogether fabulous. The natives say that if they want to catch the fish they build a snow house on the lake and cut a hole through the ice, into which they sink the hook with a deer’s ham for a bait and a stout thong for a fishing line. Six men hold the line by turns, and as soon as they feel the fish has nibbled they pull it up with all their strength.

      The fabulous amaroq and avignaq of the Greenlanders are unknown, but the terms denote real animals, the wolf and the lemming.

      Besides traditions of this kind the Eskimo have a great number of fables. Following is an example.

      The Owl and the Raven

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      The owl and the raven were fast friends. One day the raven made a new dress, dappled white and black, for the owl, who in return made a pair of boots of whalebone for the raven and then began to make a white dress. But when he was about to try it on, the raven kept hopping about and would not sit still. The owl got angry and said: “Now sit still or I shall pour out the lamp over you.” As the raven continued hopping about, the owl fell into a passion and poured the oil upon it. Then the raven cried “Qaq! Qaq!” and since that day has been black all over.

      Comparison Between Baffin Land Traditions and those of Other Tribes

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      The similarity of the language and traditions of the Eskimo from Behring Strait to Greenland is remarkable, considering the distance which separates the tribes. Unfortunately the material from other tribes, except the Greenlanders, is very scanty, but it is probable that the same traditions or elements of traditions are known to all the tribes. In the following table the above traditions are compared with Rink’s Tales and Traditions of the Greenlanders and with those of other tribes:

Traditions of Greenlanders and other tribes:	Traditions of the Central Eskimo:
Qagsaqsuq, Rink, p. 93.	Qaudjaqdjuq, p. 630.
The man who recovered his sight, Rink, p. 99.	The origin of the narwhal, p. 625.
Igimarasugsuq, Rink, p. 106.	Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq, p. 633.
The man who mated himself with a sea fowl, Rink, p. 145.	Ititaujang, p. 615.
Givioq, Rink, pp. 157 and 429.	Kiviung, p. 621.
Tiggaq, Rink, p. 162.	The visitor, p. 627.
A lamentable story, Rink, p. 239.	No. 1, sundry tales, p. 639.
The sun and the moon, Rink, p. 236. (L’homme lunaire, Petitot, Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest, p. 7. Also found by Simpson at Point Barrow.)	The sun and the moon, p. 597.
The moon, Rink, p. 440.	The angakoq’s flight to the moon, p. 598.
The Tornit (from Labrador), Rink, p. 469.	The Tornit, p. 634.
A woman who was mated with a dog, Rink, p. 471. (Fragmentary in J. Murdoch: “A few legendary fragments from the Point Barrow Eskimos,” American Naturalist, p. 594, July, 1886.)	Origin of the Adlet and the white men, p. 637.

      Some

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