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JUL 29 1914

Some Ethical Phases of Eskimo

Culture

BY

ALBERT NICOLAY GILBERTSON, A. M.

Fellow in Anthropology, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
CLARK UNIVERSITY, WORCESTER, MASS., IN
PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, AND
ACCEPTED ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF
ALEXANDER F. CHAMBERLAIN, CHIEF INSTRUCTOR

UNIVERSITY J

OF ..*. /

Reprinted from the JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY, Volume VI, No. 4,

October, 1913, pp. 321-374 and Volume VII, No. 1,

January, 1914, pp. 45-74.

Some Ethical Phases of Eskimo

Culture

BY
ALBERT NICOLAY GILBERTSON, A. M.

Fellow in Anthropology, Clark University, Worcester, Massachusetts

A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF
CLARK UNIVERSITY, WORCESTER, MASS., IN
PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY, AND
ACCEPTED ON THE RECOMMENDATION OF
ALEXANDER F. CHAMBERLAIN, CHIEF INSTRUCTOR

Reprinted from the JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY, Volume VI, No. 4,

October, 1913, pp. 321-374 and Volume VII, No. 1,

January, 1914, pp. 45-74.

0CU

SOME ETHICAL PHASES OF ESKIMO CULTURE

BY ALBERT NICOLAY GILBERTSON, A. M.,

Fellow in Anthropology, Clarlc University, Worcester, Mass.

OUTLINE

1. Introduction.

2. General Description.

3. Social Order.

4. Custom in Relation to Morality.

5. ' ' Ethnocentrism. ' '

6. Taboos and Their Relation to Religion.

7. " Liberalism. "

8. Law and Punishment.

9. Sociability and Politeness.

10. Sense of Justice and Mercy.

11. Homicide and War.

12. Truthfulness and Good Faith.

13. Gratitude.

14. Parent and Child.

15. Cannibalism.

16. Property and Trade.

17. Inheritance.

18. Theft.

19. Begging.

20. Gambling.

21. Marriage and Divorce.

22. Extra-nuptial Relations.

23. Position and Treatment of Women.

24. Conclusion.

25. Bibliography.

The writer desires to express his thanks to Dr. A. F. Chamberlain, under
whom this study was made, for advice and criticism; and to Dr. Louis N.
Wilson, Librarian of the University for his kindness in making available liter
ature, otherwise inacessible.

I. INTRODUCTION

A very common attitude toward the moral life of primitive
peoples is that illustrated by the English gentleman, who, accord
ing to the story, wrote a book about certain tribes which he had

4 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

visited, one chapter of which, dealing with "customs and
manners, ' ' consisted of four words : ' ' Customs, beastly ; man
ners, none." But a broader, truer view is fortunately coming
to prevail, the result of study at once scientific and sympathetic,
of peoples whose practices and standards differ from our own.
A slight contribution to the understanding and appreciation of
some ethical phases of the culture of one of the most interesting
of the world's peoples is the aim of this study of the Eskimo.

In the study of morality, as well as of other phases of human
culture, there are two general methods of investigation and
presentation. One of these methods is best represented, in the
field within which the present inquiry falls, by Westermarck's
great work, Origin and Development of Moral Ideas. Thomas
aptly compares this method to that developed by Pitt-Rivers
for arranging specimens in a museum. By the Pitt-Rivers
method,

' ' All the knives, throwing sticks, and other articles of a particular
kind were brought together in one place, with a view to exhibiting the
steps in the development of this article — and some very pretty effects
were secured. " (64: 857.)

But, as this authority goes on to say :

' ' Our great museums are now recognizing that it is, on the whole better
to arrange materials on the principle of presenting the culture of a given
region as a whole. No object can be completely understood when separ
ated from the whole culture of which it is a part."

For a keen criticism of the first method, which is that employed
by Spencer, Frazer, and many others, especially earlier writers,
reference may be made to Dewey's essay on "The Interpretation
of the Savage Mind." The advantages of the regional study
of cultures is coming to be generally recognized. Cultural
phenomena should be studied "in situ," in connection with the
physical and social environment in which they are found.
Haddon well sums up this position, in the conclusion of his
History of Anthropology (23: 154) :

' ' Comparisons made within a given area or among cognate peoples
have a greater value than those drawn from various parts of the world.
What is most needed at the present day is intensive study of limited areas. ' '

In the present study, the writer has endeavored to present the
moral ideas and practices of the Eskimo in their relations to each
other and to the physical, social and economic conditions. While

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 5

it is hoped that the facts recorded may be of value in throwing
some light on the deeper and larger problems of the moral life
of mankind, I have studiously tried to avoid alike unnecessary
theoretical assumptions and conclusions unjustified by our
present state of knowledge. "Premature generalizations"
Haddon rightly regards as "the chief danger" to which anthro
pology is at present liable. It was Tylor who said that

11 It is of as little use to be a good reasoner when there are no facts
to reason upon, as it is to be a good bricklayer when there are no bricks
to build with." (68: 56.)

It is sometimes painfully evident that those are not wanting who
proceed upon the contrary supposition in many an erudite pre
tentious discourse on "primitive man" (i.e., what, according to
the particular pet scientifico-philosophical scheme, he must
logically have been).

The data used have been gathered largely from the accounts
of men who write from personal experience with various branches
of the Eskimo stock. Of course, no one man ever has, or likely
ever will, come in actual contact with the Eskimo in all parts
of their domain. The authorities are chiefly of two classes,
Christian missionaries and Arctic explorers, among whom we
include trained ethnologists, who went mainly, or exclusively,
for purposes of anthropological investigation, as, for example,
Boas. The literature on the Eskimo is perhaps, on the whole,
more trustworthy than that on most of the other North American
aborigines, as the geographical location and climatic conditions
of their habitat have prevented the influx of the "summer
vacation" type, hence there is not such an abundance of mere
"travelers' tales." But even here fact and fancy are undoubt
edly mixed in ways which it is often difficult or impossible to
determine. The available material is of very uneven value for
scientific purposes. I have taken into account factors which
might influence the accuracy of the reports given, such as
religious or racial prejudices, expert training and critical method,
opportunities for observation, etc.

Another source from which material has been drawn is Eskimo
folk-lore. Matthews says that (41: 2) "perhaps the safest way
to discover the ethical notions of savages is by the study of their
myths and traditions; but," he adds, "even here we must pro
ceed with caution and employ the critical methods of modern

O JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

science. " As to the value of folk-lore for the study of historical
events there is the widest difference of opinion. (See 55: 307.)
But, be that as it may; let us take, for the sake of argument,
so to speak, Swanton's view that

"The major part of these tales record, not objective fact, but sub
jective belief, the popular conception of what ought to have happened,
the sense of 'poetic justice' as it existed in the tribe from which it was
obtained" (62: 4.),

and the importance of their study for our present purpose is as
evident as if every detail had happened "just so." Also, to
quote Rivers,

' The significance of the social setting and of incidental references to
social events is very great, is obvious and generally admitted." (55: 311.)

So, all questions of history aside, folk-lore reflects the life of
the people from which it sprang and reveals the ethical ideas of
that people, although to interpret it correctly in this latter
respect may often be difficult. I believe it was Ruskin who said
that more important than the question whether there was a
real Cincinnatus who left the plough in the furrow at a particu
lar time is the knowledge about the ideas of manhood and
patriotism of the ancient Romans Avhich we get from that
legend, if such it be.

The folk-lore of the Eskimo is peculiarly susceptible to this
kind of study, for, as Boas has pointed out, in his excellent dis
cussion of the general character of Eskimo folk-lore, "the most
striking feature of Eskimo folk-lore is its thoroughly human
character." With few exceptions, "the events which form the
subject of their traditions occur in human society as it exists
now." (7:2.)

A word may be said of the copious use of the extracts in the
ipsissima verla of the sources of my information. One reason
for this has been to present an author's meaning in the most
unambiguous way, and avoid possible misconstructions of his
words. If the present writer has misunderstood any statement,
the original will enable the reader to make necessary corrections.
Then, too, as Haddon has expressed it, "a quotation brings one
more face to face with the author than does a mere abstract"
(Evolution in Art, Preface, p. vi).

Also I have not hesitated to give numerous concrete examples
from Eskimo life, letting the Eskimo speak for themselves in

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 7

word and action whenever possible. Marett gives a quotation
from Seligman, in which a Vedda cave-dweller says:

"It is pleasant for us to go out and dig yams, and come home wet,
and see the fire burning in the cave, and sit round it."

Upon this Marett comments thus:

' ' That sort of remark shows more light on the anthropology of cave-
life than all the bones and stones that I have helpd to dig out of our
Mousterian caves in Jersey."

He emphasizes the importance of such "human documents," in
these words:

"We need to supplement the books of abstract theory with much
sympathetic insight directed towards men and women in their concrete
selfhood. To study the plot without studying the characters will never
make sense of the drama of human life." (39: 242, 243.)

2. GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The Eskimoan linguistic stock is the northernmost branch of
the human race. It is also one of the widest distributed of the
world's peoples. Its territory extends from the east coast of
Greenland and Labrador to the eastern part of Siberia, a dis
tance of 5,000 miles. Thus, in the language of Latham (quoted,
15 : 261) "the Eskimo is the only population clearly and indubit
ably common to the two Worlds, the Old and the New." The
present study is confined to the Eskimo proper, not including the
cognate Yuits of Siberia, or the natives of the Aleutian Islands.

The Eskimo were the first American aborigines to come in
contact with Europeans. It is now the general consensus of
authorities that the SkraUinger, described by the early Norse
discoverers, were Eskimo.

The two leading theories of the original home of the Eskimo
are that of Rink, who regards it as the interior of Alaska, and
that of Boas, who considers it probable that it was in the region
west of Hudson Bay. The latter is now the more commonly
accepted view.

Mason recognizes on the American continent, north of Mexico,
twelve "ethnic environments" (28. 1 : 427-430), in each of which
there is "an ensemble of qualities that impressed themselves on
their inhabitants and differentiated them." The characteristics
of the Arctic environment, inhabitated by the Eskimo include

8 JOURNAJL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

"an intensely cold climate; about six months day and six months night;
predominance of ice and snow; immense archipelagos, and no accessible
elevations; good stone for lamps and tools; driftwood, but no timber, and
little fruit; polar bear, blue fox, aquatic mammals in profusion, migratory
birds, and fish, supplying food, clothing, fire, light, and other wants of
an exacting climate."

In this environment, in the words of Chamberlain :

"The Eskimo have conquered a severe and thankless climate by the
invention and perfection of the snow-house, the dog-sled, the oil-lamps
(creating and sustaining social life and making extensive migrations pos
sible), the harpoon and the Icayak or skin-boat (the acme of adaptation
of individual skill to environmental demands)." (14: 468.)

Their ability to successfully master such an environment has
aroused the wonder and admiration of all who have studied them.

"We should be wrong" declares Amundsen, "if from the weapons,
implements and domestic appliances of these people, we were to argue
that they were of low intelligence. Their implements, apparently so
very primitive, proved to be as well adapted to their existing requirements
and conditions as experience and the careful tests of many centuries
could have made them." (1. 1: 294.)

And the world will never forget that of the six human beings
who first reached the earth's north pole, four were Eskimo, and
Peary voices the conviction of explorers of the frozen north when
he says that " no more effective instruments for Arctic work
could be imagined ' ' and ' ' their help is one of the elements with
out which it is possible that the North Pole might never have
been reached." (48:42, 47.)

There is good reason for Haberlandt's opinion that

"When we consider their technical and nautical skill, their peaceful
companionship and their works of art, it is impossible to regard the
Eskimo as one of the lower types of civilization." (22: 144.)

A sympathetic, yet impartial, survey of the life of this people,
will, I think, force everyone to agree with Chamberlain that
"to the student of America's past, there can be no tribe, ncr
nation, so interesting" as the Eskimo. (15:261.)

3. SOCIAL ORDER

The conditions of their habitat and the struggle for existence
have necessitated, if the Eskimo were to survive, the two most
salient features of their social order — isolation and solidarity,

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 9

that is, living in small scattered groups, the members of each of
which are bound together by intense unity. As Nansen says

"The men of some tribes or races are driven to combine with each
other by the pressure of human enemies, others by inhospitable natural
surroundings. The latter has been the case with the Eskimo." (43:
119.)

And the scarcity of the food-supply likewise forces them to
observe the rule, "Divide et impera." Sutherland, in his
ingenious and suggestive classification of the world's peoples
(61. 1: 104), puts the Eskimo together with most of the North
American aborigines, in the class of "higher savages," who,
according to his scheme, live in groups of 50 to 200. The number
given is, I believe, fairly correct for the Eskimo communities.

The gentile system of social organization, so prominent among
many Indian stocks, seems to be foreign to Eskimo culture
(42:42; 35:21; 17:145). With the possible exception of the
Western Eskimo, Rink regards its maintenance as "incompatible
with the extraordinary dispersion, the scanty intercourse between
the small communities into which the nation always tends to
divide" (52:22), also,

"a, strict rule of a married couple living with either the relatives of the
husband or the wife, could not be preserved by people whose sustenance
was dependent on choosing the most favorable hunting stations." (52: 23.)

Nelson claims to have found among certain Alaskan Eskimo "a
regular system of totem marks and the accompanying subdivision
of the people into gentes" (p. 322; for his evidence see pp.
322-27). This, especially in the presence of contradictory evi
dence, does not seem to be conclusive. (See 42: 42; 35: 21;
17: 145; 3.) Even less probable is Gordon's -theory that the
custom of tattooing employed by the Eskimo is "a surviving
evidence of a full totemic system." (Quoted by Chamberlain,
Journal of American Folklore, vol. 20, p. 80.)

Consequently, when we speak of "tribes" among the Eskimo,
we do not use that term in the sense of an organization built
on a certain relation between clans or gentes. The usage is
primarily geographical. To quote from Rink's Eskimo Tribes,
"as to the Eskimo it will imply the possession of a territory and
generally of a dialect in the strictest sense." (52: 24; see also
3. Introduction, xii; 30: 143.)

Peary's statement that the Eskimo are nomads, and "seldom

10 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

live more than a year or two in one place" (48:42), does not
seem to hold as a general characterization. Rather it appears
more correct to hold, with Barnum that, while * ' on acount of the
difficulty of obtaining food, the Innuit are forced to travel about
a great deal, yet they are not a nomadic race" (3. xii). So too
Rink asserts that

"the Eskimo may more properly be classed among the people having
fixed dwellings than among the wandering nations, because they gen
erally winter the same places through even more than one generation, so
that love of their birthplace is a rather predominant feature in their char
acter." (53. 9; for a use of love of home in folk-lore see 53: 466.)

Crantz suggests that their belief that the soul may remain at
home, while the man is away on the chase, is due to home
sickness.

The subdivisions of Eskimo society fall under three heads, the
family, the housemates, and the place-fellows.

The family consists of the parents and children, together with
relatives by adoption, also by marriage, whenever a married
child remains in the parental home. The father is regarded as
the head of the family, but as Murdoch says, his rule is ' ' founded
more on respect and mutual agreement than on despotic
authority." (42:427; cf. 66:190.)

Boas emphasizes the place of kinship in Eskimo society when
he says, "the social order of the Eskimo is entirely founded on
the ties of consanguinity and affinity between the individual
families" (5: 578). According to Holm, "the bond of blood is
regarded as an obligation to stand by each other under all
circumstances." (30: 87.) Rink cites the rather complicated
system of kinship terms and the ability to remember rela
tives several generations back as evidence of the importance
of relationship to Eskimo thought. (52:22.) Even if the
family is divided by removals to distant settlements, the obliga
tions of kinship are in force whenever mutual aid is required.
^(See 53:25.)

Holm narrates an incident from real life, illustrating the
bond between brothers and sisters.

A hunter at a village named Nojarik had caught a narwhal. In a
village called Sennilik he had a married sister. In the winter no one
goes to visit between these two places. But this brother undertook the
long and perilous journey, carrying a large package of meat in a band
about the forehead. "He was very much afraid that she should suffer

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 11

want, while he had abundance." In a sharp north wind and over a
difficult country, he covered the 8 miles (Danish). It was toward evening
when he came to the lodge of the Danish expedition. He was invited
to remain over night. "He did not have time to stay, but continued his
way into the falling darkness." (30: 174.)

Folk-lore also gives frequent expression to this feeling. The
beginning of a Greenland tale, "Several brothers had an only
sister, whom they loved dearly and were very loth to part with'
(53:404), is typical. In another,

A young wife, who has given birth to her first-born, on being asked
why she looked so sad, said, "It is because of our baby boy; I would
like him so much to go and see his mother's brothers. I cannot forget
those dear ones, and that is why I have grown so silent." When her
brothers were informed of her arrival at the old home, "each of them
cried, 'Oh, my dear sister! ye have not cared for her as I have! ye have
not missed her so much neither; ye have not longed so much for her as I
have done/ And each of them wanted to be the first to greet ber, and
to take hold of her. . . . The brothers stayed at home all day,
and for joy at the meeting could do naught but sit down together and
regard each other lovingly." (53: 209, 211.)

Folk-lore also tells of brothers who defend their sister against
her husband. (53: 431.)

An interesting custom is reported from Bering Strait. In
warfare, "if a man had relatives in the opposing party, and for
this reason did not wish to take part in the battle, he would
blacken his face with charcoal and remain a non-combatant, both
sides respecting his neutrality." (45:329.)

For further data on kinship see under "Children," "Mar
riage/' "Punishment."

The second kind of community comprises the housemates. In
this case more than one family live in the same house. For such
a plan to be carried out, the agreement of all the families con
cerned is required. As a general custom, this form of community
seems to be confined to Greenland, where it has been described
by numerous writers. (16. 1 : 165, 170 ; 53 : 26 ; 52 : 25 ; 54 : 142 ;
30:85; 43:79.) The most highly developed form of this com
munity-house is found in East Greenland, where there is only
one house at each settlement. There is thus no difference between
housemates and place-fellows. The number of inmates in one
house described by Holm ran as high as 58. The Greenland
common house consists of only one room, marked off for the

12 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

several families. In a space four feet wide lived a man with
two wives and seven children.

Each family maintains its own household, but "among the
heads of the several families one was generally found who was
held in higher esteem than the rest by all the housemates."
(53: 26.) This man acts as a kind of head of the house-
community. "His position rests mostly on a tacit recognition
of his authority." (30: 86.) He is generally the oldest man,
if this particular person is or has been a good hunter or has
sons who are good hunters. He is regarded as the host when
visitors come to the house; he determines the dividing and
ordering of the house. He enjoins when they are to move into
the house in the autumn, "for all the families must move in
simultaneously, in order to warm up the house." (30: 86.)
In the summer, when the Eskimo live in tents, the families have
separate quarters. (See also 16. 1: 165; 52: 24-26.)

The third and largest community is made up of the place-
fellows, that is, inhabitants of the same village or wintering
station. According to Rink,

"still less than among the housemates was any one belonging to such
a place to be considered as chief, or as endowed with any authority to
command his place-mates."

He points out that

1 The folk-lore in many cases shows how men who had succeeded in
acquiring such power were considered as usurpers of undue authority, and
vanquishing or killing them ranked as a benefit to the community in
general." (53: 27.)

Nelson states,

"The Alaskan Eskimo have no recognized chiefs, except such as gain
a certain influence over their fellow-villagers through superior shrewd
ness, wisdom, age, wealth, or shamanism. The old men are listened to
with respect, and there are usually one or more in each village who by
their extended acquaintance with the traditions, customs, and rites con
nected with the festivals, as well as being possessed of an unusual degree
of common sense, are deferred to and act as chief advisers of the com
munity." Such a leader is known by a term, meaning "the one to
whom all listen." (45: 304.)

'All Eskimo villages have a headman, whose influence is obtained
through the general belief of his fellow villagers in his superior ability
and good judgment. These men possess no fixed authority, but are
respected, and their directions are generally heeded." (To the same
effect, 42: 427; 66: 193.)

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 13

Nelson adds that, "in some cases, a headman may be suc
ceeded by his son" — note this clause — "when the latter has the
necessary qualities." Boas reports that on the west coast of
Hudson Bay cases are known where the leadership passed from
father to son ; but there, too, the latter succeeds as leader ' * on
account of his ability. ' ' The blessing invoked by an aged leader
on his grandson was ' ' that he might become a great hunter and
whaleman." (6: 115.) Nowhere does there appear any leader
ship by right of birth. Holmberg's statement about "hereditary
chiefs," among certain Alaskan tribes, can be accepted only
as perhaps referring to cases like those recorded by Nelson and
Boas. (32:78. See also 47. 2:236; 3. Introduction, xii;
1. 2:27; 21:390; 48:65.)

4. CUSTOM IN RELATION TO MORALITY

The study of morality is intimately bound up with that of
custom. As we know, the term "ethics" comes from the Greek
"ethos," meaning custom or usage. Of like signification is the
Latin "mores," from which we have our word "moral." As
Westermarck says, "Society is the birthplace of the moral con
sciousness," and "tribal custom was the earliest rule of duty."
(71. 1: 118-119.) We should, however, be rather critical toward
attempts to draw distinctions between "primitive" and "civil
ized" people on the basis of the relative importance of instinct,
custom, and reason in determining conduct. (See Kroeber,
36 : 437. ) This is not to deny the force of custom in primitive
society, but to point out its operation in civilization as well.

The adherence of the Eskimo to custom has been noted by
most observers of their culture. For example, Rasmussen states
that they

"base their ideas of life on a series of legends and customs which have
been handed down by oral tradition for untold generations. Their dead
forefathers, they said, enshrined all their experiences in what they related
to those who come after them. And none may accuse the dead of
untrustworthiness. Wisdom goes in retrograde direction [italics mine] ;
none can measure himself with the fathers of the race, none can defy
sickness and misfortune, and therefore people are still subject to the old
prohibitions. " (50: 99.)

Nelson says,

' f The only feeling of conscience or moral duty noted seemed an in
stinctive desire to do that which was most conducive to the general good

14 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

of the community, as looked at from their point of view. Whatever
experience has taught them to be best is done, guided by superstitious
usages and customs." (45: 294.)

The Greenlanders ' conception of evil, was, to quote Eink

' ' all that was contrary to the laws and customs, as regulated by the
angakoks." So when the Danish missionaries presented to them the
Christian views, the Eskimo " conceived the idea of virtue and sin as
what was pleasing or displeasing to the Europeans, as according or dis
according with their customs and laws." (51: 201.)

The Eskimo are pronounced a very conservative people. In
the words of Boas,

' ' The language, as well as the traditions of the Eskimo, points out
an exceptionally high degree of conservatism among this people. The
tenacity with which small peculiarities in the type of implements are
retained by each tribe throws a new light upon this conservatism, which,
while characteristic of most primitive people, is in few cases as well
developed as among the Eskimo." (6: 375; Cf. 33: 316; 3. Introduction,
xvii.).

5. " ETHNOCENTRISM "

Closely connected with this conservatism is the trait which
Sumner has called * ' ethnocentrism, ' ' the basis of what is known
in civilized countries as patriotism, with its perversions in
' ' chauvinism ' ' and ' ' jingoism. ' '

Peary remarks:

1 ' Much nonsense has been told by travelers in remote lands about the
aborigines' regarding as gods the white men who come to them, but I
have never placed much credence in these stories. My own experience
has been that the aborigine is just as content with his own way as we
are with ours, just as convinced of his own superior knowledge, and that
he adjusts himself with his knowledge in regard to things in the same
way that we do."

It is a question how much racial egotism should be read into
the well-nigh universal usage of an ethnic group's calling itself
"human beings" or "people," in the Eskimo language, Innuit.
It is perhaps only a natural and convenient term for designating
their own folk, sometimes the only human being of whom they
know. Among the Point Barrow Eskimo, "Inuin" includes
white men as well as Eskimo, and Murdoch is of the opinion that
this is true everywhere (42:42), even though there are special
names for other nations, the most common word for Europeans
or white men being "Kablunak." Language does undoubtedly

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 15

reveal a mental attitude in such cases, as at Norton Sound, where
the Eskimo speak of themselves as the "fine or complete people,"
and their neighbors, the Tinne Indians, by a name meaning
"louse-egg." Cartwright considered it the highest honor that
could be paid him by the natives of Labrador when they dubbed
him an Eskimo. (12:110.)
Crantz says,

"The Greenlanders consider themselves as the only civilized nation in

the world " (16: 149); "they are far superior in their own estimation

to the Europeans, who supply an inexhaustible subject of raillery for
their social parties." (16. 125.)

The Eskimo of Point Barrow consider themselves the equals if
not the superiors of the white men with whom they have to
deal;

1 ' they do not appreciate the attitude of arrogant superiority adopted by
many white men in their intercourse with so-called savages." (42: 42.)

Even Nature is regarded as partial to the Eskimo. "Our world
up here does not love strangers," they told Rasmussen; that was
the reason the water did not freeze over at the usual and desired
season. (50:83.)

There is also a disposition for a local group to look down upon
other Eskimo; there is what we would call sectionalism. Of
course one factor here may be ignorance, re-enforced by imagina
tion, as in Stefansson's experience. (59: 176.) "Only here
in this place are to be found the big storytellers," of a song
recorded by Thalbitzer (63 : 309), is typical of a common Eskimo
attitude. The following curious experience of Holm is a propos.

' ' Before we reached Angmagsalik, the other Eastlanders told us that
only bad people lived there. When we came to Tasinsarsik on the Ang
magsalik fjord, the inhabitants said that the people on the other side
of the fjord were bad people. . . . When we later spoke with the
inhabitants of the other part of the fjord, we were told that at their
settlement there were only good people, but that people we had not yet
seen were bad. At last, it turned out that there were only good people
on Angmagsalik fjord, and that the bad ones were dead or had moved
to Sermiligak." (30; 167.)

Several writers admit that, even from a Kabluna point of view,
there is not a little justification for the Eskimo's self-esteem.
Crantz, who is not disposed to exaggerate the Eskimo's good
qualities, gives as the reason of their sense of superiority that
"many improprieties which they observe too frequently in the

16 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

conduct of Europeans, seldom or never occur amongst them."
He assigns this as the cause of their ''usual remark on seeing a
foreigner of gentle and modest manners : ' He is almost as well-
bred as we, ' or ' He begins to be a man, ' that is, a Greenlander. ' '
(16. 1:126.) In like manner, Paul Egede, also a missionary,
observes that

' ' they lived less culpably than most of the Christians sent here, ' ; and
quotes an Eskimo as saying, "Perhaps if we got the knowledge you
have, we would become as bad as your people. ' '

Egede adds:

' ' They have even thought there could not be found decent people
among us, unless they had been some months in Greenland and learned
good manners, and it is certain that these heathen put many of our Chris
tians to shame by their good behavior.'7 (20: 150; cf. 49.)

The " ethnocentrism " of the Eskimo, like their other mental
traits, is bound up with what Dewey has described as the hunting
psychosis, which is one type of what we may designate the occu
pational psychosis. This furnishes the key to many otherwise
puzzling ideas and practices. They make ability in the
sphere of their peculiar activities the standard of both individual
and national worth. Of the Greenlanders we are told that

" their own inimitable dexterity in seal-catching, the main business of
their lives, and the only pursuit which is indispensably necessary to them,
supplies sufficient food for their over-weening self-conceit." (16. 1: 125.)

In order to be respected, Europeans had to learn their arts,
especially the use of the kayak with Eskimo dexterity. They
inquired if the king of Denmark and Norway had captured many
whales, or if he was a great angakok, the two supreme attain
ments known to them. (20: 30; cf. 12: 123; 46: 52, comments
by Eskimo.)

6. TABOOS AND THEIR EELATION TO RELIGION

A prominent place in the customary morality of the Eskimo
is occupied by the prohibitions known as taboos. They are
restrictions chiefly of diet and work, food-taboos and rest-taboos.
The occasions which are hedged about with taboos are various
critical events, such as birth, death, and the chase. So-called
puberty rites, with accompanying taboos, seem to be unknown, ex
cept among certain Alaskan Eskimo, and then only pertaining to

GILBEBTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 17

girls. (2. 1 : 82 ; 32 : 121 ; 45 : 291.) Holmberg states that the cus
toms he describes are identical with those of the Tlinkit Indians,
and like so many other features of Alaskan culture, they are likely
borrowed from the neighboring peoples. The behavior of women
during pregnancy (6:143) and menstruation (5:516; 6:120,
150, 478; 20:116; 32:122) is strictly regulated. Rules about
the conduct of women after child-birth are numerous and com
plicated. (5:610; 6:125, 143, 158, 484, 514; 26:217, 351;
19 : 115 ; 42 : 415 ; 53 : 54 ; 16. 1 : 199 ; 34 : 233.) Premature birth
calls for particularly rigid rules. (6: 121, 125, 358, 504.) The
occasion for more taboos, perhaps, than any other event, is death.
(5 : 610, 613 ; 6 : 120, 125, 144, 148 ; 53 : 299 ; 30 : 105, 113 ; 19 : 82 ;
16. 1:216; 26:186, 265; 43:137; 34:207; 66:191; 32:122;
42 : 424 ; 1. 1 : 334. ) Lastly, there are regulations immediately
connected with the chase, aside from taboos prescribed for other
occasions, affecting the activities of the hunter. (5:578, 587,
596; 6:147, 149, 595; 42:264, 274, 434; 26:64; 69:432, 440;
16. 1:199; 34:123; 30:76; 66:201; 1. 1:277.) We cannot
enter into any detailed description of these unnumbered taboos.
Reference must be made to the original sources for such informa
tion. But we will, however, touch upon some of the reasons
assigned for these rules, as being of interest to our present study.

This leads to a consideration of the religious beliefs of the
Eskimo, as far as these are related to the customs we are now
considering. In the words of Rasmussen, ' * These rules form the
nucleus of their religious ideas." (50:83; cf. 53:63.)

The beliefs of the Eskimo about the supernatural are
extremely difficult to determine, both because of the inherent
difficulty of learning their exact thoughts on this matter, and
the apparent vagueness and fluidity of their concepts about
the extramundane world.

They have no idea of a creator, or one supreme being ( 19 : 108 ;
69:437; 45:427), but have a belief in a multitude of super
natural beings. The most important of these are known as
* ' inua, ' ' or owners, a word which has a common derivation with
innuit. (See 43:225; 69:437; 42:430; 19:110; 66:193;
45:427.)

1 ' Some of these spirits are more powerful than others just as some
men are more skilful and shrewd than others. Their ideas of the invisible
world are based on conditions of the present life with which they are
familiar." (45: 428.)

18 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

The "inua" are imperceptible to the ordinary organs of sense,
except in rare instances. They manifest themselves to particu
larly gifted persons, such as the angakoks, or to animals, that are
endowed with a peculiar sense, described by a word meaning
literally "not being unconscious of anything." (53: 43.) Rink
says:

"Strictly speaking, any object, or combination of objects, existing

either in a physical or spiritual point of view, may be said to have its

inua, if only, in some way or other, it can be said to form a separate
idea." (53: 37; cf. 43: 225.)

The angakoks, or magicians, have intercourse with the super
natural world by the aid of familiar spirits, called tornaks.
There are traces of a rather indefinite belief in a great spirit,
who has minor tornaks under his control. He is called Tor-
narsuk. Nansen thinks that the identification of this being with
the devil by the missionaries has a great deal to do with his
exalted position in Eskimo thought. Paul Egede tells of a
dispute concerning Tornarsuk's immortality, some saying he
cannot die, others holding that he can be killed; special care
must be taken during incantations not to cause his death.
(43:73, 197.)

The most conspicuous character in Eskimo mythology is a
woman, generally known, from her name among some of the
Central tribes, as Sedna. One of the most widespread of Eskimo
myths is that of the origin of Sedna. She is said to have refused
to marry the man selected for her by her father, so the latter
threw her overboard. When she tried to save herself, he cut off
her fingers. These became various marine animals. She lives
at the bottom of the sea and, to use the words of Boas, "she has
supreme sway over the destinies of mankind," (6: 119) through
her control of the offshoots of her hand, which are the Eskimo's
principal means of subsistence. (19 : 111 ; 69 : 440 ; 33 : 43 ;
30 : 114 ; 52 : 17 ; 5 : 583 ; 43 : 150 ; see Miss Wardle's study of the
Sedna cycle, 71:568-580.)

A large place is held also by the souls of the dead. Honor,
must be paid to them and the death-taboos must be observed, for
the dead are very powerful. A human being, according to the
Eskimo, consists of at least two parts, body and soul. Sometimes
a third part is spoken of, identified with the name. Also there
is found a belief in several souls. Thus in East Greenland,

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 19

"a man has many souls. The largest dwell in the larynx and in the left
side, and are tiny men about the size of a sparrow. The other souls dwell
in other parts of the body and are the size of a finger joint. If one of
them is taken away, its particular member sickens." (30: 112.)

The soul can be seen under certain conditions by the angakoks.
There is evidence, linguistic and otherwise, connecting the soul
with the shadow and the breath. (43 : 226.) The soul can leave
the body, as in dreams. It can be lost, or stolen by witchcraft.
Refusal to be photographed can be thus explained. Nelson tells
an incident where an Eskimo, on seeing the figures on the ground
glass of a camera, shouted to his fellows, ''He has all of your
shades in his box, ' ' whereupon ' ' a panic ensued among the group
and in an instant they disappeared in their houses." (45: 422;
cf . 1. 2:11; 33 : 41. For similar fear of having writing in a book
in their presence, see 4: 396.) The loss of the soul results in ill
ness, which can be cured by the angakok's fetching the soul back
again :

"The strangest thing of all is that the soul could not only be lost
in its entirety, but that pieces of it could also go astray; and tthe
angakok had to be called to patch it up." (43: 228; cf. 50: 101.)

Animals too have their souls, with similar attributes to the
human. (45: 423; 50: 111.) Indeed the two soul-species, if we
may so call them, appear to be interchangeable. The angakoks
sometimes provide a man whose soul has been lost beyond
recovery, with a new one obtained from some animal. (43 : 228.)

Now the animals, like the souls of the dead, are offended by
the transgression of taboos. The best account of this feature, in
its relation to the Sedna belief, is given by Boas, in his descrip
tion of the Eskimo of Cumberland Sound and Hudson Bay. The
violation of a taboo, proscribed after the killing of certain sea-
animals, becomes attached to the soul of the slain animal, that
takes it down to Sedna. The attachments cause her pain, for
which she punishes the guilty people, by sending them sickness,
bad weather, and starvation.

"If, on the other hand, all taboos have been observed, the sea-animals
will allow themselves to be caught : they will even come to meet hunters. ' '

This shows as Boas points out, that

"The object of the innumerable taboos that are in force after the killing
of these sea-animals is to keep their souls free from attachments that
would hurt their souls as well as Sedna" (6: 120).

20 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

But not only offences which directly pertain to the animals
bring about these consequences. Among all the Eskimo is found
the dread of touching dead bodies and rules for those who have
from necessity or accident done so.

"The souls of the sea-animals are endowed with greater powers than
those of ordinary human beings. They can see the effect of contact with
a corpse, which causes objects touched by it to appear dark in color;
and they can see the effect of flowing human blood, from which a vapor
arises that surrounds the bleeding person and is communicated to every
one and every thing that comes in contact with such a person. This
vapor and the dark color of death are exceedingly unpleasant to the
souls of the sea-animals, that will not come near a hunter thus affected.
The hunter must therefore avoid contact with people who have touched
a body, or with those who are bleeding, more particularly wdth menstru
ating women and or with those who have recently given birth. If any
one who has touched a body or who is bleeding should allow others to
come in contact with him, he would cause them to become distasteful to
the seals, and therefore to Sedna as well. For this reason custo|m
demands that every person must at once announce if he has touched a
body, and that women must make known when they are menstruating
or when they have had a miscarriage. If they do not do so, they will
bring ill luck to all the hunters." (Cf. 5: 583-595.)

"The transgressions of taboos do not affect the souls of game alone.
It has already been stated that the sea-mammals see their effect upon
man also, who appears to them of a dark color, or surrounded by a
vapor which is invisible to ordinary man. This means, of course, that
the transgression also affects the soul of the evil-doer. It becomes
attached to it, and makes him sick. The angakok is able to see these
attachments with the help of his guardian spirit, and is able to free
the soul from them. If this is not done, the person must die. In many
cases the transgressions become fastened also to persons who come in
contact with the evil-doer. This is especially true of children, to whose
souls the sins of their parents, and particularly of their mothers, become
readily attached. Therefore, when a child is sick, the angakok, first of
all asks its mother if she has transgressed any taboos." (Cf. 26: 243.)

"One of the most remarkable traits among the Central
Eskimo," as Boas calls it, is the belief that "a transgression, or
as we might say, a sin, can be atoned for by confession. " ( 5 : 121,
cf. 5:491, 504, 512; 6: 592.) He notes some features of Green
land religious beliefs, which indicate a similar faith in the
efficacy of confession. (53 : 45, 391, 440.) The angiak, or spirit
of a child born prematurely, he regards as "originally identical
with attachment of the soul produced by transgression, more

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 21

particularly with that produced by the unconfessed secret abor
tion among the central Eskimo." (6:358.) The dire conse
quences of concealing or denying crimes other than taboo-
violations, in this case murder, is illustrated in a tale recorded by
Rasmussen. (50:128.)

Boas is of the opinion that this idea that the confession in
itself is the atonement for transgression has been derived from
4 'the importance of the confession of a transgression, with a
view to warning others to keep at a distance from the trans
gressor," in order to avoid contamination in the way we have
noted. (6:121.)

He concludes that "among all the Eskimo tribes the under
lying idea of the taboo is the protection of the souls of the dead,
men as well as animals." He observes that, while taboos are
found in all parts of the earth, ''they are not, however, always
primarily connected with the idea of protecting the souls of the
deceased." He recognizes, therefore, in the Eskimo belief

"a specialized form of a more general belief. It must have existed
in this specialized form among the ancestors of all the Eskimo tribes,
since it is found now among all the tribes of this people."

"Among the Central tribes this group of beliefs appears still more
systematized by combining the idea of the protection of the soul with
that of a protectress of the sea-animals. Not only is the soul of the
dead animal hurt by the infraction of the taboo, but the protectress of
the animal herself is affected." (p. 365.)

The historical origins of the taboos are hid in obscurity. The
Eskimo themselves rarely have any tradition as to how they arose.
As we have seen, their all-sufficient answer is the immemorial
usage of their ancestors. One tradition is reported from Cum
berland Sound, according to which "in the early times of our
world two beings gave advice to the people, saying that when
they should become numerous they would have to obey certain
customs." (6:143.)

One striking feature of the Eskimo taboos we may note here.
As Boas says, "it seems that practically everywhere among the
Eskimo a considerable number of taboos have the effect of pre
venting contact between land-animals- and sea-animals." (6:
569.) There is a tradition among the central Eskimo which
accounts for the origin of the walrus and the caribou and a
supposed dislike between these two animals. (6: 122.)

22 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

Boas has presented what, he himself rightly says, "seems an
attractive hypothesis" (6:570), and it may be added, a very
suggestive one, for the explanation for this group of taboos. To
state it in his own words :

"The Eskimo taboo forbidding the use of caribou and of seal on
the same day may be due to the alternating inland and coast life of
the people. When they hunt inland, they have no seals, and conse
quently can eat only caribou, and of course, when they hunt sea-animals,
this is reversed.

"From the simple fact that for a long period the two kinds of meat
could not be eaten at the same time, the law developed that the two
kinds of meat must not be eaten at the same time." (9: 222.)

A good summary of the fundamental ideas of the Eskimo on
the raison d'etre of this striking feature of their moral and
religious life is furnished in the explanations given Rasmussen.

"We do not believe in any God, as you do," the Eskimo said. "We
do not all understand the hidden things, but we believe people who say
they do. We believe our magicians, and we believe them because we
wish to live long, and because we do not want to expose ourselves to the
danger of famine and starvation. We believe, in order to make our lives
and our food secure. If we did not believe the magicians, the animals
we hunt would make themselves invisible to us; if we did not follow their
advice, we should fall ill and die." (50: 123.)

"We observe our old customs, in order to hold the world up, for the
powers must not be offended. . . . We observe our customs in order
to hold each other up; we are afraid of the great evil. Men are so help
less in face of illness. The people here do penance, because the dead are
strong in their vital sap, and boundless in their might. If we did not
take these precautions we believe that great masses of snow would slide
down and destroy us, that snowstorms would lay us waste, that the sea
would rise in violent waves while we are out in our kayaks, or that a
flood would sweep our houses out into the sea." (50: 124.)

Typical of the legends which are related to show "the recoil
of the action on the doer," as it is aptly called, is one recorded
by Rasmussen, * ' The man who did not perform his penance. ' '

This individual had buried his wife, "but refused to observe the penances
that are imposed on those who have handled corpses. He did not believe
in the precepts of his forefathers, he said." He deliberately did many
things which he was forbidden to do, in order "to fling defiance at what
his countrymen believed. It was all lies, he said." But one day he was
found torn to pieces, "just as the spirits always do treat people," so
the tale ends, "who will not believe in the traditions of their fathers."
(50: 133.)

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 23

7. "LIBERALISM"

It would not be fair, however, to leave the consideration of
the attitude of the Eskimo on customs at this point, as many
are inclined to do, in the case of the Eskimo, as of primitive
peoples in general. For there is another side to the matter. The
Eskimo mind is not so "ethnocentric" and "conservative,"
unsusceptible to new influences or unappreciative of the good
in others, as the foregoing might lead one to conclude, if that
were all that was said. First, what is the cause of conservatism
among them? Is it the inherent state of the brain of primitive
man? The answer is rather that we must look for it in the
conditions of their environment and history. In their hand-to-
hand struggle for existence it is indispensable to survival that
they adhere to those things which have been tried by the experi
ence of generations. "Is it not wiser to bow to it, and obey,
when you are too ignorant to draw up anything better for
yourself." (50:99.) They admit that even their wisest
angakoks are not omniscient nor the traditional means of con
trolling destiny infallible. As Rasmussen tells us, their religious
conceptions "are to them, not the only possible ones, but merely
the lest that they knoiv, through the traditions of their fore
fathers." (50: 124.) He quotes the Eskimo as saying;

"If any one with a better teaching would come to us and demand that
we believe his words, we would do so willingly, if we saw that his teach
ing was really better than ours. Yes, tell us the right, and convince us
that it is right, and we will believe you."

Appreciation of the advantages of the white men is not want
ing. They confided to Paul Egede :

"You know so much, for you go about the whole world both by land
and water. We know nothing but what our ancestors have told us.'7
(20: 164; cf. 20: 23; 46; 52; 12: 123; 16. 1: 125.)

The Eskimo are noted for two traits which are avenues of new
influences, curiosity and imitativeness. Murdoch writes of the
natives of Point Barrow, "Their curiosity is unbounded and
they have no hesitation in gratifying it by unlimited question
ing." (42:42.) Their extreme politeness tends to counteract
the expression of their curiosity. Stefansson found Eskimo who
had not been in contact with white men, did not pry into others'
affairs. (58: 200.) Peary says that

24 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

"an intense and restless curiosity is one of the peculiar characteristics
of these people. If confronted with a package containing various sup
plies unknown to them, they will not rest until they have examined every
article of the lot, touched it, turned it over, and even tasted it." An old
woman walked a hundred miles to see a white woman (Mrs. Peary).
(48: 45.)

The same authority attributes to them a * ' marked capacity for
imitation." (48:61.) They very soon master the use of the
tools and mechanical arts of civilized people, and readily adopt
such as serve their purposes, as for instance, the rifle. Their
ability "to do the white man's work with the white man's tools,"
as Peary puts it, has been an indispensable factor in Arctic ex
ploration. (48:62, see also 30:181; 42:41.) Dewey's words,
concerning the mind of a hunting people, can be applied literally
to the Eskimo:

1 ' Their attention is mobile and fluid as is their life ; they are eager
to the point of greed for anything which will fit into their dramatic
situations so as to intensify skill and increase emotion." (18: 225.)

Hutton speaks of their imitativeness as

"a peg to hang things on in teaching them new ways." He exclaims,
4 ' Imitate ! I have never seen any one to equal them, and they imitate
so thoroughly too." (33: 313.)

Indeed, there appears to be more danger from too ready
imitation of the not always desirable traits of the white men
than from too great adherence to their own time-honored ways.
(See 30:172; 1. 2:62, 91.)

That the Eskimo manifest not only imitativeness, but inventive
ness, no one will question who is familiar with their remarkable
triumphs in that line, an inventiveness no less, when their
environment and resources are considered, than that of our own
branch of mankind. They are even experimenters in theoretical
problems, as is evidenced by an account given by Mason.

"They often make invention a part of their sport. They go out to
certain difficult places, and having imagined themselves in certain straits,
they compare notes as to what each one would do. They actually make
experiments, setting one another problems in invention." (40: 23).

Our position that it is environment and not heredity, to use
that much overworked antithesis, which accounts for their con
servatism, especially in matters of religious belief and practice,
where it is most pronounced, is strikingly supported by Ras-

GILBEKTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 25

mussen 's account of the breakdown of the ancient religion among
the natives of the extreme north of Greenland.

While "the great majority," writes Easmussen, still "believe blindly
in the magician's capacity to make use of supernatural forces, and the
few sceptics who, in an ordinary way, represent a certain opposition, are
equally keen adherents of the mysteries at crucial moments [italics
mine], yet "their magic arts are degenerating and growing more and
more simplified. The Polar Eskimo are well-to-do folk; there are animals
enough in the sea and meat in abundance; they are strong, healthy,
energetic people, possessing a sufficiency of the necessities of life as
demanded by an existence which is, according to their ideas, free from
care. This state of things is doubtless the reason why the angakok system
is not so highly developed there as, for instance, it has been on the
east coast, where the struggle for existence seems to be much more severe,
and where the failure of the fishery, and as a consequence famine, have
been more frequent."

"The Polar Eskimo do not require to make constant appeals to the
supernatural powers, and that is why their magicians have gradually for
gotten the magic arts of their fathers." (50: 156.)

8. LAW AND PUNISHMENT

The Eskimo have, of course, no documentary code of laws,
nor have they any established tribunals of administration and
judication. But, among them, " customs have, by their long
standing, acquired the force of laws." (16. 1:168.) With
regard to the execution of these traditional laws we may quote
Rink (53:32; cf. 52:24):

' ' With the exception of the part of the angakoks, or the relatives of
the offended person, took in inflicting punishment upon the delinquent,
public opinion formed the judgment seat." (Italics mine.)

The common method of punishment is the putting of the
offender to shame in the eyes of the public ; in some more serious
cases, he is expelled from the community; only in rare and
extreme cases are forcible measures taken. It is, however, in
correct to say that "crimes, if committed, go unpunished."
(24:80.)

The chief reason for adhering to custom, even when the indi
vidual may doubt the efficiency of some of the traditional rules
is given as "fear of ill report" among his fellows. (16. 1: 168;
25 : 569. ) The Eskimo are said to be very sensitive to the
opinions of others. According to Nansen:

26 JOUKNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

' ' It now and then happens that some one or other wounded, perhaps,
by a single word from one of his kinsfolk, runs away to the mountains,
and is lost for several days." (43: 267; cf. 16. 1: 157; 45: 300.)

A remarkable and effective method of putting offenders to
shame is the "drum-dance" or singing combat, described by
many writers on Greenland. (19 : 85 ; 52 : 24 ; 53 : 53 ; 51 : 141,
150 ; 30 : 87, 157 ; 16. 1 : 164 ; 43 : 186. )

"The so-called nith-songs were used for settling all sorts of crimes
or breaches of public order or custom, with the exception of those which
could only be expiated by death." (Rink, 52: 24.)

These contests took place at "the public meetings or parties,
which at the same time supplied the national sports and enter
tainments." (52:24.)

The procedure was briefly as follows: If a person (women
as well as men could carry on the contest) felt himself aggrieved
by another, he challenged the offender to meet him at a certain
time and place to hold a singing combat. Each of the parties
then prepared satirical songs about his opponent. At the
appointed time, before the assembled people, the contestants, by
turns, attacked each other by these satires, until one or the
other had exhausted his resources. In the words of Rink, "the
cheering or dissent of the assembly at once represented the judg
ment as well as the punishment." (53 : 34.) It appears that, in
East Greenland at least, the issue is not always decided by one
performance, but the contest is repeated, so that it can stretch
over many years. (30: 7, 157.)

On the value of this judicial system, it is interesting to note
the verdict of the Moravian Crantz (16. 1: 161.) :

' ' It is an excellent opportunity of putting immorality to the blush,
and cherishing virtuous principles. Nothing so effectually restrains a
Greenlander from vice as the dread of public disgrace, and this pleasant
way of revenge even prevents many from wreaking their malice in acts
of violence or bloodshed. Here they cite each other to appear without
risking their lives in the duel, or wounding each other with envenomed
pen. ' '

In an East Greenland tale (31:257), the parties in a blood-
revenge agree not to kill each other, but settle the matter with a
drum-dance.

While, in the contest, they are at liberty to lampoon each other
to their hearts' content, as soon as the performance is over they

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 27

must not let it appear that there has been any trouble between
them. Also before and during the contests no bitter feeling must
be manifested. It happens that one plays the part of host to his
opponent. (30:87.) An appearance of perfect calm should
be maintained by the one under fire. One "made his indifference
known by calling on the spectators to shout and amuse themselves
over him." (53:332.)

The word "nith-song" is of Norse derivation. Tylor was of
the opinion that the institution itself had been introduced into
Greenland by the Norwegian colonists. (See 67:353.) Its
native origin is now generally accepted. (For similar customs
among the western Eskimo, see 52 : 30 ; 45 : 347. Consult also
Chamberlain, 28. 2 : 77 ; for examples of nith-songs see 11 : 287 ;
63:305; 31:330.)

A drastic measure for maintaining order and punishing
delinquency, and one very rarely employed, is expulsion.
Typical is the case of a young man who was turned out of the
house in the middle of winter. (52:26.) Rink says, "As
to the possibility of maintaining the authority of law, it must
be remembered that the members in these isolated communities
are more immediately dependent on their fellowmen than the
members of a civilized society, and that what is considered at
the most a trifling inconvenience in the latter, may be a severe
punishment in the former" (52:24), and we must agree with
him that few punishments could be more severe than "being
suddenly abandoned without shelter in the depths of an Arctic
winter ; ' ' between this and ' ' the disagreeableness of being shamed
by a song in an assembly, several degrees of punishment may be
imagined sufficient to deter malicious individuals from ordinary
offences or disturbances of order and peace." (52: 26.)

Crimes involving punishment by death, of which practically
the only ones are murder and witchcraft (which latter, accord
ing to Eskimo belief, may cause death) are dealt with in one of
two ways; usually by blood-revenge on the part of the kindred
of the victim, or, in a few cases, by the concerted action of the
whole community.

Blood-revenge is considered a duty, as well as a right, among
all Eskimo. It is one phase of their conception of justice. What
Kropotkin says of the Dayak "head-hunter" may be said also
of the Eskimo.

28 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

' ' The avenger is not actuated by personal passion. . . . He acts
under what he considers as a moral obligation, just as the European judge
who, in obedience to the same principle of 'blood for blood,' hands over
the condemned murderer to the hangman." (38: 109.)

There is a belief that the soul of the murdered person does
not get rest till he is avenged. (66 : 186.)

The proper agent of revenge is the nearest male relative of the
victim, although other relatives and even place-fellows may join.
( 5 : 582 ; 53 : 35, 287, 446 ; 19 : 69 ; 50 : 61 ; 45 : 292. ) The primary
object of the revenge is the death of the murderer himself. It
is said to be usual for the avenger to explain to the murderer
the reason for his taking-off. ( 16. 1 : 177. ) But, especially if
the slayer cannot be apprehended, some of his relatives are also
liable to be put to death. There appears to be a definite idea
of personal responsibility, although with that goes communal
liability also. Rink classes revenge carried out on some kindred
or place-fellow as "neither decidedly admissive nor altogether
unlawful." (53 : 35.) If a murdered man leaves an infant son,
the latter is obliged to avenge his father's death as soon as he
arrives at puberty. (45:292.) This is a frequent theme in
folk-lore, (e. g., 53:368, 450.) The boy's training has this
as its chief end. ' ' Now thou hast seen thy father killed, it will
not do for thee to grow up in idleness," is a grandfather's
admonition. (53 : 355.) At the conclusion of a tale of this type,
Rink gives us what he calls the "very characteristic remark"
of the native narrator:

"It is generally supposed that if his foster-father had not continually
excited him [to revenge the murder of his parents], he would scarcely
have grown to be so immensely strong." (53: 207.)

Boas tells us of a strange method of executing the blood-
revenge among the central Eskimo.

' ' Strange as it may seem, a murderer will come to visit the relatives
of his victim (though he knows that they are allowed to kill him in
revenge) and will settle with them. He is kindly welcomed and some
times lives quietly for weeks and months. Then he is suddenly challenged
to a wrestling match, and if defeated, is killed, or if victorious he may
kill one of the opposite party, or when hunting he is suddenly attacked
by his companions and slain/' (5: 582; cf. 53: 340.)

Often the blood-feud consists of a long series of retaliations,
the first revenge calling forth another, and so on. It may even

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 29

be handed down to successive generations. (5: 582; 16. 1: 178;
45 : 293 ; 50 : 62. ) Rink is of the opinion that continued blood-
revenge is less decidedly admissible than the first retaliation.
(53: 35.) Such a feud may be concluded by mutual agreement.
(5:582; 34:70.)

In a Greenland tale, a man planning revenge was advised by an old
bachelor, ' ' Thou hadst better give it up and leave thy father alone. He
was only paid back according to his deserts, being himself a man-slayer. ' '
And the son replied, "Let it be as thou proposest; perhaps I shall only
get new foes if I carry out my thoughts of vengeance, ' ' and so the parties
were reconciled. (53: 340.)

Capital punishment, as the result of deliberation by the com
munity, was inflicted on witches, and persons regarded as danger
ous to public welfare. (53: 35; 6: 117.) According to Nansen,
"in cases of extreme atrocity, the men of the village have been
known to make common cause against a murderer, and kill him."
(43:163.) A very interesting procedure is described by Boas,

"If a man has committed a murder or made himself odious by other
outrages he may be killed by anyone simply as a matter of justice. The
man who intends to take revenge on him must ask his countrymen singly
if each agrees in the opinion that the offender is a bad man deserving
death. If all answer in the affirmative he may kill the man thus con
demned and no one is allowed to revenge the murder." (5: 582.)

As stated before, the Eskimo believe that people may be killed
by witchcraft, so that witches would be only a special class of
homicides. (16. 1:177; 19:113; 6:117.) A missionary was
explaining how God punishes wicked people, when an Eskimo
remarked that "in that respect he was like God, for he had
killed three women who were witches." (43: 170.)

9. SOCIABILITY AND POLITENESS

"If we take the term savage to imply a brutal, unsocial, and cruel
disposition, the Greenlanders are not entitled to the appellation. They
are not untractable, wild, or barbarous; but a mild, quiet, and good-
natured people." These words of Crantz (16. 1: 169-70) are borne out
by the unanimous testimony of all students of the Eskimo. Their ex
perience has been comparable to that of Cartwright, who, on leaving for
Labrador, noted that the Eskimo "have always been accounted the most
savage people upon the whole continent of America." (12: 13.) At the
end of his sixteen years' sojourn among them he wrote in his journal,
"They are the best tempered people I ever met with, and the most
docile."

30 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

As an example of their disposition we may cite their behavior
in the communal houses, such as those of East Greenland. In
one such house, Holm found thirty-eight persons, of eight differ
ent families. This room, be it remembered, was the only refuge
of all these people during the long darkness of the Arctic winter,
here they did their sleeping, cooking, eating, working, dancing
and merrymaking.

' ' And yet, ' ' we are assured, ' ' no quarrel disturbs the peace, there is
no dispute about the use of the narrow space. Scolding or even unkind
words are considered a misdemeanor when not produced under the legal
form of process, viz., the nith-song." (52: 26; 30: 74; 20: 150.)

Crantz declares

' ' There is less noise and confusion in a Greenland house inhabited by
ten couples with numerous children of different ages, than in a single
European one, where only two relations reside with their families. ' ' ( 16. 1 :
156.)

Nansen writes,

"The Greenlander is of all God's creatures gifted with the best dis
position. Good humor, peaceableness, and evenness of temper are the most
prominent features in his character. He is eager to stand on as good
a footing as possible with his fellow-men, and therefore refrains from
offending them and much more from using coarse terms of abuse. He
is very loth to contradict another even should he be saying what he
knows to be false; if he does so, he takes care to word his remonstrance
in the mildest possible form, and it would be very hard indeed for
him to say right out that the other was lying. He is chary of telling
other people truths which he thinks will be unpleasant to them; in such
cases he chooses the vaguest expressions, even with reference to such
indifferent things as, for example, wind and weather. His peaceableness
even goes so far that wrhen anything is stolen from him, which seldom
happens, he does not as a rule reclaim it even if he knows who has taken
it." (43: 101; cf. 30: 182; 4: 372, 385; 21: 385; 66: 180.)

So, too, Crantz says that "they are patient of injuries, and will
concede their manifest rights rather than engage in dispute.'*
(16. 1:126.) "No one interrupts another in the course of a
conversation, nor do they willingly contradict each other, much
less give way to clamorous brawling." (16. 1: 157.)
Of the Eskimo at Point Barrow, Murdoch states :

"They are generally peacable. We did not witness a single quarrel
among the men during the two years of our stay." He had reports of
fights, due to white men's liquor. "Many of them show a grace of
manner and natural delicacy and politeness which is quite surprising. I

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 31

have known a young Eskimo so polite that in conversing with Lieut. Ray
he would take pains to mispronounce his words in the same way as the
latter did, so as not to hurt his feelings by correcting him bluntly." (42:
41 sqq.)

It is said that the Eskimo language does not contain a single
epithet of reproach or abuse. (16. 1 : 158, 170 ; 19 : 69.) On this
point, Hutton writes :

' ' However aggravating the seals may be, an Eskimo does not lose his
temper over his hunting; and as for swearing — why, the Eskimo language
contains no oaths, and the few mild remarks that an Eskimo can make
in his own language as ' Kappianarmgk ' (how dreadful) or ' ai>ai-kulluk '
(that miserable thing), he makes where they can be applied literally.
Useless expletives are as foreign to his nature as to his vocabulary." (33:
247.)

Some of their customs are indicative of their civility. Thus
they never enter another's house without being invited. When
they come in they do not sit down till the host assigns them a
seat, (19 : 70.) The guests do not enter the house until the host
has gone in first. (30 : 173.) When a stranger comes to a house,
he must never ask for food, no matter how hungry he may
be. Nor is this necessary, on account of the universal hospitality.
When food is set before the visitor, he does not begin to eat
immediately, lest he be thought gluttonous. All the people of
the house must retire before the guest takes to his sleeping-place.
"It is regarded ill for the guest to retire before the host."
( 19 : 70. ) Also it is not polite to depart while the host is awake.
* ' When the host began to snore, the guests crept quietly away, ' '
says Rasmussen (50:42.)

A common form of salutation is rubbing of noses, a custom
which is falling into disuse (42:422; 2. 1: 67) ; also embracing
and caressing (1. 1: 116, 122, 160). Salutations of welcome are
not known in East Greenland, but farewell greetings are common,
such as "Be careful on the journey," or "May you sail in open
water." (30:173.)

We have already referred to the Eskimo's patience under
injury. Now the cause of this is not insensitivity to the opinions
of others, for as we have pointed out, the Eskimo seems to be
very sensitive. But any expression of wounded feelings, outside
the drum-dance, is inhibited in the interests of public peace and
concord. Crantz' statement that "When a Greenlander considers
himself injured by a neighbor, he retires without reprisals into

32 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

another part of the house" (16. 1: 156), is significant as show
ing their manner both of suppressing their own feelings and of
preventing trouble. Rink strikingly sums up the matter when
he says, ''The general mode of uttering annoyance at an offence
is by silence." (Cf. 1. 1:62.)

Hans Egede tells us that when they saw the sailors quarrel
and fight they regarded their conduct as inhuman. "They do
not consider each other as human beings," they said. When
an officer struck one of his subordinates they said, "He treats
his fellow-men as dogs." (19:69.) A Cumberland Sound
tale gives an example of how they regard ill-humored and
quarrelsome people. (6:285.)

Their disinclination to dispute an argument leads to an
appearance of great credulity, even when they themselves have
their doubts. Paul Egede relates an incident when, "from
courtesy, everybody believed all I said. Then women requested
needles from me for their willingness to believe." (20:123;
cf. 19:126.) When a missionary expressed skepticism about
their assertion that they had killed a bear which was so big that
the ice on its back never melted, they said, "We have believed
what you tell us, but you will not believe what we tell you."
(43:310.)

10. SENSE OF JUSTICE AND MERCY

We find evidence not only of forbearance with injuries but
actual forgiveness, even in cases where severe punishment would
be justifiable. Hall tells us of an old man who confessed the
wrong he had done another years ago (deserting him when starv
ing). The latter avowed that he no longer retained any ill-
feeling. "Then the two men sealed their renewed friendship
with jests." (26:278.) Two Greenland tales strikingly illus
trate the principle of returning good for evil.

In one a father had been tormented by suitors for his daughter, be
cause he would not give her up. The family had to move away. But
' ' intelligence reached them that the men who had once scorned and abused
them were living in great want, and the old man determined to help
them, ' ' which he did. ' ' Ye said that ye would deny me your assistance
if ever I came in want, now help yourself, if ye please, and eat as much
as ever ye like." (53: 185.) Another tells of a poor orphan boy, whom
a wicked man scorned and scared. The boy, by magic, secured the man's
harpoon and hunting bladder. He invited all the men to come to a

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 33

feast, the bad man among them. He had hung up the bladder-float along
with the harpoon-line on the peg in the wall, and while the old man was
prating of his chase and loss, he pointed to them, saying, "Look, there
are all thy hunting tools, and thou canst take them away with thee when
thou goest home." "The old man looked quite abased iand left the
party in a somewhat confused state. " (53: 124-126.) A primitive David
and Saul motive.

As showing their sense of both justice and mercy, some
recorded conversations are instructive.

They asked Paul Egede, if the new religion was so essential, why God
had not given them the instruction before, so that their fathers could
have come to heaven (20:24). The missionary said that perhaps God
had seen that they would not accept the Word, but rather despise it,
and thereby become more guilty. One old man said he had known many
excellent people; his own father had been a pious man.

They could not understand how the sin which Adam and Eve com
mitted could be so great as to involve such dire consequences, as that
all mankind should be condemned on account of it. l ' Since God knew
all things, why did he permit the first man and woman to sin?" they
asked. On the other hand, they were of the opinion that Adam and
Eve were very foolish to chatter with a serpent and "they must have
been very fond of fruit since they would rather die and suffer pain than
forego a few big berries." But then it was just like the Kablunas;
"these greedy people never have enough; they have, and ;they want
to have, more than they require."

They inquired why God did not help the children of Israel to over
come their enemies, the Egyptians, and spare the Canaanites, who had
done nothing against them. (20: 162.)

They also wanted to know if God can't do what he wants men to do,
viz., forgive offenses, without such terrible punishments. (20: 17.) One
said if the Son of God is such a terrible being as to put people in ever
lasting fire he did not want to go to heaven. (16. 2: 41,) Others thought
the Son must be matchlessly good, but the Father have a hard and
ferocious disposition. (20: 17.)

A girl told a missionary she could not believe that God was so cruel
as he represented him to be; he had said that all her forefathers were
to be tormented to all eternity, because they did not know God. She
defended them on the ground that they did not know any better and
finally said "it was horrible for her to learn that God was so terribly
angry with those who sinned that he could never forgive them, as even
wicked men sometimes do." (20: 221.)

An angakok came to Paul Egede and said, "I have heard tell of a
virgin in your land who had a son, who was a great angakok and could
do wonderful things, cure all kinds of diseases, and even make the dead
alive again, and that your forefathers have slain this great angakok, and
that he later became living, and went to heaven. Had he come here
to us, we should have loved him and been obedient to him. So crazy

34 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

people we haven't among us. What madmen to kill one who could bring
the dead to life! Why did he not kill these bad people, and come over
to us, we should have better appreciated him." (20: 20.)

An experience of some Eskimo in Copenhagen also shows
their view of the justice of human affairs :

Nearly the wrhole city came to look at these strange people. When
they saw the porter taking money to let people in, they thought it was
they who should have the money who were being looked at. They ought
also, they said, to have something for so often hearing that they were not
handsome. In Denmark there must be a different custom than in their
country. There the small girls call through the windows to the others,
"You are pretty," and the answer from within is, "Come in." Then
the girls outside give a present. ' ' But here it is always, ' You are ugly, '
and to get in to see us, they give the porter money, which we ought to
have for our ugliness, since it is so strange among you to see ugly people. ' '
(20: 39.)

The following incident shows their fine sense of sympathy :

Several of the Eskimo Cartwright brought to England died on the
voyage, much to his sorrow as well as that of their relatives and friends
in Labrador. But the latter, so he tells us, ' ( no sooner observed my
emotion, than, mistaking it for the apprehension which I was under for
fear of their resentment, they instantly seemed to forget their own feel
ings, to relieve those of mine. They pressed round me, clasped my hands,
and said and did all in their power to convince me that they did not
entertain any suspicion of my conduct toward their departed friends. ' '
(12: 139.)

Their fellow-feeling even with the brute creation is shown in
their words at seeing a man on horseback. They expressed
"great compassion for the poor beast, whose unfortunate lot
it was to carry so great a weight at such a rate. " ( 12 : 128. )

11. HOMICIDE AND WAR

From the peaceable nature of the Eskimo, we would expect to
find homicide of infrequent occurrence, and the evidence bears
out this supposition. Nansen says, ' ' Murder is very rare. They
hold it atrocious to kill a fellow-creature." (43: 162.) Important
is the testimony of Hans Hendrik, the Christian Eskimo from
the Moravian mission, who found to his surprise and relief,
when among non-Christian tribes, that "notwithstanding their
being unbaptized, they abhor manslaughter." (27:42.)

A dissenting opinion is expressed by Holm ; of the East Green-
landers he says that "murder is frequent when one takes into

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 35

account the sparseness of the population." (30:87.) It does
not appear that he is here speaking as an eye-witness. And, in
another place, in relating several accounts of murders, given him
by the natives, he says that the stories are possibly only legends,
embodying the accumulated and exaggerated events of hundreds
of years. He also states that frequently they accuse each other
in their nith-songs of attempts at murder, with no basis in fact.
These considerations tend to throw doubt upon the accuracy of
his first statement.

But, of course, it would be running in the teeth of facts to
assert that murders never take place. As Rink says, "the
passions of the people tending to ambition, domineering, or the
mere fancy for making themselves feared, sometimes gave rise
to violence and murder. " ( 53 : 34. ) In another connection
we discuss the punishments for murder. The place it occupies
in their criminal law is shown from the fact that it is practically
the only offense punishable by death. Nelson tells us that "a
man who has killed another can be recognized by the restless
expression of his eye." (45:293.)

Folk-lore abounds in stories of homicide and its revenge. But
this is no index to a corresponding frequency in real life. As
Matthews well says,

''It is nothing to us that a horrid crime (as we regard it) is described
in a tale, for the story-tellers of all ages and of all races have delighted
to thrill their hearers with such tales, and, as civilization advances, this
delight seems to increase rather than to diminish." (41: 2.)

We may here say a few words about war and the Eskimo.
There is scanty support among this people for the thesis, "War
is the normal condition of savagery." (Mooney, Catholic En
cyclopedia, VII, 751.) Paul Egede, long ago, wrote that "the
Oreenlanders do not know of war, and therefore have no word
for it." (20:138.) According to Nansen,

"War is in their eyes incomprehensible and repulsive; . . . soldiers
and officers, brought up in the trade of killing, they regard as mere
butchers." (43: 162.)

An instructive incident is told by Amundsen:

An Eskimo, who had agreed to go with the expedition, suddenly be
came melancholy, and sobbing bitterly said he did not want to go to
the land of the white men, as they might kill him. Assurances were of
no avail, "he would not be convinced, and pointed to some pictures of
the Boer War." (1. 2: 92.)

36 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

We find in this respect, as in so many others, the western
Eskimo an exception. They have engaged in wars between the
tribes as well as with the Indians. (45 : 327 ; 32 : 130 ; 34 : 150 ;
21:388.) Sometimes a certain number of men were chosen on
either side to fight it out as representatives of the tribe, the
rest of the tribe remaining at peace. (34: 227.)

As Eink points out, among the western Eskimo, "in connec
tion with warfare among the tribes it has even led to the keeping
of slaves, of all habits the one apparently most at variance with
Eskimo social life." (52:28; cf. 32:78.) The evidence from
the Eskimo supports Westermarck 's position that "the earliest
source of slavery was war or conquest." (71. 1: 674.)

It might be supposed that the Eskimo's aversion to strife
would be coupled with a lack of courage. But facts show that
such is not the case. In the western tribes, who engage in war
with each other and the Indians, martial courage is not wanting.
But even to that great majority who live in peace with all men,
no one would deny the possession of courage, who knows the
bravery of the undaunted hunters of land and sea. (See 42 : 42 ;
5 : 574. ) As Crantz says of the kayaker, * ' He dreads no storm ;
as long as a ship can carry its topsails, he braves the mountain
ous billows." (16. 1 : 139.) The Eskimo in his kayak is not onty
"an object of wonder and delight," as Crantz calls him, for his
marvellous skill, but also one of the sublimest examples of human
daring and self-reliance, of personal courage vastly greater than
that required to keep step with an army to the field of battle.
Alone he courts the dangers of the icy deep and challenges and
conquers, single-handed, the dread powers of nature.

12. TRUTHFULNESS AND GOOD FAITH
Says Nansen:

"One of the most prominent and attractive traits in the Eskimo is
certainly his integrity. If some Europeans have denied him this virtue,
it can only be I am sure, because these gentlemen have not taken the
trouble to place themselves in sympathy with his modes of thought, and
to realize what he regards as dishonorable. It is of special importance
for the Eskimo that he should be able to rely with confidence upon
his neighbors and his fellow-men; it is the first condition of this mutual
confidence, on which depends all united action in the battle of life, that
every man shall be upright in his dealings with his neighbors." (43:
157 sq.)

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 37

He quotes Dalager to the effect that they "shrink from relating
anything which they are unable to substantiate." (43:126.)
The last-named authority gives the women a less clean record
in this regard than the men, a view which is also held by Crantz.
(16. 1:175.)

Murdoch found the Eskimo "generally truthful, though a
detected lie is hardly considered more than a good joke."
(42:41.) The context seems to indicate this last clause refers
particularly to their relation with foreigners. It may be noted
that Amundsen and Stefansson, who both had opportunity to
observe many different tribes, agree that natives who have not
been in contact with white men are more truthful and honor
able in every respect. (58:200.)

It is undeniably true that some Eskimo resort to deception
in their relations with foreigners, particularly in trading-
transactions. Holm found it one of their practices to offer
the poorest things first. (30:168.) Some natives tried to sell
Beechey's party fish skins "ingeniously put together, so as to
represent a whole fish, although totally deprived of their interior
substance." (4:391.) Similar tricks were tried on the Point
Barrow expedition. "They brought over the carcass of a dog,
with the skin, head, feet, and tail removed, and tried to sell
it for a young reindeer, ' ' and again when the party were buying
seal oil from the Eskimo, "one woman brought over a tin can
nearly filled with ice, with merely a layer of oil on top." Also
clothing and other articles made for sale to the visitors were
carelessly made, compared with the care they put on their own
things. (42:41.) It is only fair and perhaps significant to
compare with these reports the experience of Dalager, one of
the first Danish merchants in Greenland:

"In describing a thing to another person, they are very careful not
to paint it in brighter colors than it deserves; especially in the sale of
an object which the buyer has not seen, even though the seller may be
anxious to get rid of it, he will depreciate it rather than overpraise it."
(Quoted 43: 158.)

Turner testifies to their respect for probity in others :

"They form a permanent attachment for the white man who deals
honestly and truthfully with them, but if he attempts any deception or
trickery, they are certain to be ever suspicious of him, and it is diffir
cult to regain their favor." (66: 180.)

38 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

How untruthfulness is regarded as a disgrace is strikingly
shown in an incident related by Cartwright. After the Eskimo
he brought to London had seen St. Paul's, he asked them how
they would describe the cathedral to their countrymen in
Labrador ; to which they replied that they would mention neither
it, nor many other things that they had seen, lest they be called
liars, from the seeming impossibility of such facts. (12:124;
cf. 26 : 348.) There is truth as well as poetry in an Eskimo song,
whose burden is, * ' We are accustomed to have trustworthiness. ' '
(63:309.) Tales like "The woman who told a lie," show the
Eskimo attitude reflected in folk-lore. (50: 60.)

Especially do the Eskimo appear in a favorable light in their
faithfulness to a promise or contract. Peary asserts, "An
Eskimo never forgets a broken promise — nor a fulfilled one."
I have not discovered a single charge against an Eskimo of
breach of good faith, using this last term in the sense of ' ' fidelity
to promises, which should make facts correspond with our em
phatic assertions as to our conduct in the future." (71. 2: 72.)

Rink's statement that "nothing was sold on credit, at least not
without being paid for very soon" (53:29) is uncorroborated
by other authorities. According to Crantz, "the purchaser can
take a thing on credit if he has not the means of payment."
And that considerable time is allowed for payment may be
inferred from the fact that if the debtor dies before the debt is
discharged,

' ' The creditor must not afflict the disconsolate mourners by remem
brance of the deceased, but after some interval he may reclaim the article
bartered, provided it is not lost in the scramble which usually succeeds
the funeral. This lenient system goes so far that, if a person loses or
breaks an article taken upon credit, he is not held to his agreement."
(16: 1: 167; cf. Dalager, quoted 43: 111.)

The Eskimo of Bering Strait commonly demanded their pay
in advance when asked to do anything for white men, and
hesitated or even refused to give white men any article of value
without being paid at the time. Nelson attributes this to a
distrust of strangers ; is this another instance of unpleasant
memories 1 Amundsen tells us his credit among the Nechilli was
1 ' really flattering. " "In the beginning the Eskimo were rather
astonished at receiving a piece of paper instead of a knife or
fifty cartridges, but when they understood the meaning of it my
paper was always accepted as good as payment." Some were

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 39

presented a whole year later, when they were honored "to their
great delight." (1. 2:64; cf. 3:299.) Among the very same
Eskimo spoken of above as so distrustful of the whites, Nelson
states that it was

' ' A constant practice to obtain credit at the trading stations to be paid
for when they should have procured the necessary skins/' And he adds
that they were "very honest, paying all debts contracted in this way,"
in many cases when the trader would have had no means of obtaining
his pay. He remarks that * ' a curious part of this custom was that very
often the same Eskimo who would be perfectly honest and go to great
trouble and exertion to settle a debt, would not hesitate to steal from
the same trader. " (45: 294.)

I find in this fact an illustration of their strict fidelity to a
promise, as compared with a rather disrespectful attitude toward
uncovenanted property. Cartwright relates a striking and
significant incident ; an Eskimo ' ' absolutely refused to part with
a bundle of whalebone, which he brought to pay a debt with;
notwithstanding I assured him that the person to whom he owed
it was not in this country, nor would ever return to it."
(12:296.) Amundsen tells of a native mail-carrier, who
although urged by his family to remain at home to take care
of an injury,

"withstood all temptations, and continued on his route. . . . He

was stimulated by a desire to prove that he was a man of his word. He

was especially delighted at the praise I gave him for his integrity and
sense of honor." (1. 2: 76; cf. 1.1: 196.)

Westermarck says that ' ' the regard in which truth is held by
the Eskimo seems to vary among different tribes." (71. 2: 75.)
There is no reason why such a statement may not be made of
different individuals of the same tribe- Because a traveler
happens to encounter an honest man in New York and a dis
honest one in Chicago, it would hardly do to say that American
cities differ in honesty. Indeed, we have evidence that quite
opposite types of character may be found in one and the same
Eskimo community. Even allowing full face value to all damag
ing evidence, after a careful consideration of all available data
I think there is no reason why we may not say of the Eskimo
what Matthews does of the Indians, that they are " not less
truthful than the average of our race. ' ' Also it is well to bear
in mind, what this same writer reminds us of, that "all people,
in all times, have found it convenient to condone a certain

40 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

amount of falsehood. The ethical boundaries of veracity have
never been exactly defined." (41: 5; italics mine.)

We may consider here briefly a phase which is of special
importance in connection with their religious and social life,
namely the honesty of the magicians or angakoks in their rela
tions with the people and with the spirit-world. Some, like
Crantz, believe that "the coarse imposture of the whole process
is palpably manifest;" "the great majority of the angakoks are
doubtless mere jugglers ; ' ' although he admits that

"the class includes a few persons of real talent and penetration and
perhaps a greater number of genuine phantasts, whose understanding has
been subverted by some impression strongly working on their fervid
imagination." (16. 1: 196.)

He tells us that ' ' with regard to their own practices, they readily
admit that their intercourse is merely pretense to deceive the
simple." (16. 1:197.) Now this is a grave charge to bring
against a class and a system, as central in Eskimo life as that
of the angakoks. The affinity of this view with the priestcraft-
theory of the origin of religions might suffice to show its un-
tenability. But there is direct evidence from Eskimo life itself.
Holm tells us of angakoks' freely expressing unbelief in their
powers. (30:127.) But, he says in another place (30:135):
' ' It is not impossible that their confession of their own impotence as
angakoks is only an expression of the extraordinary modesty, with which
the Eskimo speak of themselves. . . It is very possible that the

angakoks in reality believe in their own relations with the spirit-world."

He notes the significant fact that while denying his own powers,
an angakok always expresses faith in his fellow-magicians.
(30: 127, sqq.) Even more positive testimony of the same effect
is given by Rasmussen. After relating his encounter with an
angakok who was exclaiming, * ' all foolery, silly humbug ! Noth
ing but lies ! " he states :

"A magician always precedes his conjurations with a few depreciating
words about himself and his powers, and the more highly esteemed he
is, the more anxious he is to pretend that his words are lies." (50: 17 sq.)

Our conclusion, I think, must be that expressed by
Rasmussen when he declares :

' ' The magicians themselves are undoubtedly self -deceived in the con
duct of their incantations; I do not believe that they consciously lie.
Otherwise, why should they, when they themselves fall ill, seek the help
of the spirits?" (50: 156.)

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 41

13. GRATITUDE

After stating that, according to travelers ' accounts, the feeling
of gratitude is "lacking in many uncivilized races," Wester-
marck quotes the following from Lyon, concerning the Eskimo :

"Gratitude is not only rare, but absolutely unknown amongst them,
either by action, word, or look, beyond the first outcry of satisfaction."
(71. 2: 155; cf. 16. 1: 174.)

A quite different, and I am sure more just, view is presented
by Murdoch (this, it should be said, is also quoted by Wester-
marck, 71. 2:162):

"Some seemed to feel truly grateful for the benefits and gifts received,
and endeavored by their general behavior as well as in more substantial
ways to make some adequate return. Others appeared to think only of
what they might receive." (42: 42.)

This would do very well as a description of a high-class civilized
community.

A favorite point for moralists with linguistic proclivities is
to deny the existence of a word for this or that virtue, in the
language of a primitive people. Among these "gratitude" is
one often found missing. Now we hold, to use the language of
"Wundt:

"The phenomena of language do not admit of direct translation back
again into ethical processes; the ideas themselves are different from their
vehicles of expression, and here as everywhere the external mark is later
than the internal act for which it stands." (72: 44.)

But it may be of interest to note that a word, given by
Amundsen as "koyenna," meaning "thanks," which a mission
ary in Alaska claimed was of Christian origin was found in
Greenland (spelled by Crantz "kujonak"), when the first
modern missionaries arrived there.

Peary writes of his Eskimo acquaintance that "their feeling
for me is a blending of gratitude and confidence" (48: 48) and
"they are keenly appreciative of kindness." (48:51.) Holm
says that the sick, when helped by the Danish expedition, were
very grateful and the patient's housemates "showered us with
thanks and gifts." He adds that this may not have been so
much from gratitude, as from the feeling the angokoks had
instilled in them, that all aid must be paid for. The explanation
is dubious. He himself gives other instances of thankfulness
where no such interpretation is admissible. (30:173.)

42 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

Amundsen expresses "great pleasure to see how happy they
were with their gifts" (1. 2: 78), and that they thought of other
than what they could get is shown by their actions when the
Norwegian expedition was ready to sail. Their Eskimo friends
presented them with "no less than seventy fine salmon, weighing
from six to eleven pounds each, one in fact weighed over seven
teen pounds." (1. 2:94.) This represented toil and self-
sacrifice, and was certainly not for the sake of future reward.
(See also 1. 2:107; cf. 4:402.)

The importance attached to gratitude, as well as benevolence,
by folk-lore is well illustrated in the tale of Kumagdlat.
(53: 115.) A story from real life which shows how deep-seated
in human nature is the response of gratitude, is that of the
orphan boy, narrated by Easmussen. (50:51.) "A gift
always opens the door of an Eskimo heart," remarks this author,
' ' Thou gavest ; see, I give too, ' ' is the key thought.

14. PARENT AND CHILD

The desire for offspring is one of the most dominant traits of
the Eskimo and one having far-reaching consequence. As is
noted in another section, it is a potent cause of divorce, polyg
amy, and wife-exchanging. "The chief end of marriage," says
Nansen, "is undoubtedly the procreation of children."
(43 : 150 ; cf. 56 : 176.) Childlessness exposes the husband to the
derision of his fellows. "Having no children, he has no sense,"
says a nith-song. (63:295.) But even more unfortunate is
the barren wife. Kasmussen declares, * ' There is only one woman
whom I pity among the Polar Eskimo — the woman who has
no children. " ( 50 : 65. ) He relates a pathetic story, which is
only one of many of like nature from life and folk-lore (53 : 181,
441), describing the shame and suffering of the childless woman.
The following by Nansen is worth noting in this connection:

"If a Greenlander's wife does not bear children, his marriage fails
of its chief purpose. Their treatment of barren women seems to us
wanton and immoral; but when we remember that the production of off
spring is the great end and aim of their conduct, and reflect what an
all-important matter it is to them, we may perhaps pass a somewhat
milder judgment." (43: 171-172; cf. 30: 96.)

In this connection it might be noted that the Eskimo do not
appear to be a fertile race. The number of children born to

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 43

one woman is, as a rule, small, and complete barrenness is not
uncommon. (43:150; 30:96; 42:414; 66:189; 16. 1:149;
45:29.)

The chief practical consideration is to have children for sup
port in old age. Therefore married couples who remain childless
frequently adopt children. Sometimes there is an exchange of
children; "somebody wanting a boy hands over a superfluous
girl in exchange." (33:80.) The adopted children receive
the same treatment and have the same rights as children born
of the marriage. (42 : 419 ; 5 : 580 ; 53 : 221 ; see also 1. 1:311;
2:205; 16. 1:155; 30:88; 6:115.)

This intense desire for offspring is coupled with a strong
affection for children. On this point all authorities are in com
plete agreement:

''The affection of parents for their children is extreme, " (42: 417);
"Love of offspring is of the deepest and purest character/' (55: 191);
"Parents have an indescribable love for their children," (30: 92); are
representive statements from different parts of the Eskimo area. Boas
says, "The parents are very fond of their children and treat them kindly.
They are never beaten and rarely scolded." (5: 566.) Holm tells of a
man of whom the only good thing that could be said was that he had a
notable love for his children. (30: 96; see also 19: 81; 16. 1: 149, 174;
43: 153; 13: 127, 179.)

In the desire for, and, though to a lesser degree, in the care
of, children preference is shown for boys. Nansen's statement,
"When a man-child is born, the father is jubilant, and the
mother beams with pride, while if it be a girl, they both weep,
or are, at any rate, very ill content" (43: 135), is undoubtedly
often applicable, though it must admit of many exceptions. The
preference for boys is shown by a belief that a boy may be
changed to a girl after birth, as punishment for not observing
the birth-taboos. (20:130.) According to Holm, the pregnant
wife uses amulets to assure the child's being a boy. (30:90.
For illustrations in folk-lore see 53: 390, 456, 458.)

The reason for this attitude is not far to seek. The solution
is suggested in Holm's statement, "As soon as the wife becomes
pregnant, her husband regards her as the mother of the future
hunter." (30:90; italics mine.) As Nansen puts it:

"The boy is regarded as the kayak-man and hunter of the future, the
support of the family in the old age of the parents, in short as a direct
addition to the working capital." (43: 135; cf. 1. 2: 205; 16. 1: 155.)

44 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

Yet there is undoubtedly much truth in these words of Murdoch :

' ' "While a boy is desired, since he will be the support of his father
when the latter grows too old to hunt, a girl is almost as highly prized,
for not only will she help her mother with the cares of housekeeping
when she grows up, but she is likely to obtain a good husband who
may be induced to become a member of his father-in-law's family."
(42: 419.)

The difference in the valuation put upon boys and girls is
shown in the case of orphaned children. Of these Nansen says :

"If a boy's parents die, his position is never a whit the worse, for
all the neighbors are quite willing to receive him into their houses, and
do all they can to make a man of him. With the girls it is different;
if they lose their parents and have no relations, they can always, indeed,
have plenty of food, but they have often to put up with the most miser
able clothing." (43: 135.)

Such neglect of orphan girls must, however, be far from uni
versal, as shown in numerous stories in folk-lore. This same
authority also adds:

"When they come to marriageable age, they stand on pretty much the
same level as girls who have been more fortunately situated; for no
such thing as a dowry is known, and their chances simply depend upon
beauty and solidity, which shall secure them favor in the eyes of men."

The position of the orphan boy in Eskimo folk-lore is an
exceedingly interesting theme.

He is the hero par excellence; his struggles against difficulties and
final triumphs form a favorite subject. In the tale, "The Little Angakoks
from the North Land" (63: 281 sqq.) two orphans secured seals for
the people, after all the old angakoks had failed. A frequent theme is
that of an orphan boy, who has been neglected or tormented, becoming
a strong man and taking fatal revenge, often by the aid of supernatural
powers. In one story, the hero killed all his persecutors, "only the poor
people who had been kind to him he spared." (53: 98.) In another
he "slaughtered all but the little girl who had befriended him. She
became his wife." ((66: 265.) The words of one orphan-hero is the
keynote in most of these stories, "They had no mercy on me when I was
weak, now that I am strong, I will have my revenge. ' '

Rink points out that this class of tales has "a moral tendency,
bringing before us the idea of a superior power protecting the
helpless, and avenging mercilessness and cruelty/' (53:92;
cf. 3 : 272.) They are closely akin to the belief that

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 45

"There is a spirit who comes and frightens people to death when
orphan babies scream. There is also a risk of the dead mother herself
coming back. Once upon a time an orphan baby was allowed to scream,
and no one tried to quiet it; then suddenly the dead mother appeared in
the doorway and frightened all to death." (50: 137.)

The kindness which is undoubtedly often shown orphans is
strikingly illustrated in several folk-tales.

One tells how the hunters, on their return from the chase, ''always
used to give to the orphans a plentiful repast, and had special stores
of provisions set apart for orphan children against hard times." (53:
334.)

In another, an orphan boy offered some brothers to barter his
little dog for a pair of boots. One of the brothers said, "Well,
thou art a hearty little fellow for thy age," and gave him two
pairs of boots without taking his dog. All the other brothers
likewise loaded him with presents of various kinds. ( 53 : 408
sqq.)

Notwithstanding "the most unbounded freedom," to use
Holm's expression (30: 92), in which Eskimo children grow up,
our evidence is, without exception, in favor of their excellent
behavior. "The children were what we would call in Europe
well brought up, though they got no bringing up at all," is
Nordenskiold's way of putting it. (47. 2:236.) " One must
admire how well-bred the little ones are," says Holm. (Cf.
19:82; 42:417.) After speaking of the absence of restraint
and punishment, Nansen says:

' l With such an upbringing, one might expect that the Greenland children
would be naughty and intractable. This is not at all the case. When
they are old enough to understand, a gentle hint from father or mother
is enough to make them desist from anything forbidden. I have never
seen Eskimo children quarreling, either indoors or in the open air ; not
even talking angrily to each other, much less fighting." (43: 154; cf.
45: 191.)

Children early begin to learn the activities which are to be
their life-work, the boys as hunters, the girls as housekeepers.
But "they still have plenty of leisure to play with other children
until they are old enough to marry." (42:417.) Indeed, they
get their training largely through play. Among the boys'
favorite playthings are toy harpoons and bird-darts. (43: 156.)
Then one day * * it dawns upon him that his childish play can be
taken in earnest." (50: 117.) That day marks an epoch in the

46 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

Eskimo's life, and is a great event for all his family. Hall
relates that the mother of a boy came to him, ' ' her whole frame
shaking with joy, while she told the news she had just heard,
that her son had harpooned and killed a seal." (26:171.)
This is the Eskimo mode of "initiation into manhood" (they
have no so-called "puberty rites," at least not for boys.) Crantz
thus describes the scene :

"Of the first seal which he catches, an entertainment is given to
the neighbors and inmates of the family, during which the young adven
turer relates how he accomplished his exploit. The guests express their
surprise at his dexterity, and praise the flesh as peculiarly excellent.
And the females afterwards begin to choose a wife for him." (1: 150.)

The dutiful attitude toward parents does not cease with child
hood. Valuable on this point is the testimony of Crantz, as he
will not be accused of exaggerating "heathen" virtues. "In
gratitude in grown-up children toward their old decepit parents
is scarcely ever exemplified among them." (1: 150.) Similarly
Holm writes, "Grown-up children have great affection for their
parents, and show them care and devotion" (cf. 48: 46; 30: 93),
even in the case of an unworthy parent.

I am not sure but what Nansen's statement, "reverence for
the aged is not a prominent feature of the Eskimo character"
does some injustice to the people of whom this writer is such a
staunch friend. We have already pointed out the place of the
elders in the social order. The aged are the objects of marks
of special honor. (See e.g., 42 : 359 ; 4 : 389.) Turner speaks of
men who attain eighty years of age and have great-grand
children, and "these never fail to show respect for their
ancestor." (66:190.) The old people of the community are
in a way the link which connects the present generation with the
revered ancestors, and with the latter they share in supreme
degree the attributes of wisdom and trustworthiness. "Old
women do not fling their words about without meaning, and we
believe them. There are no lies with age." (50; cf. 5:605.)
In a folk-tale a grandfather, "a wise man/' admonishes his
grandson "never to be uncivil towards old people, not even on
being reproved by them." (53:414.)

That there are those who do not live up to this high standard
in their behavior toward the aged, even their own parents,
is very probable. It very likely happens that people too old

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 47

to take care of themselves are neglected or treated with slight
consideration. (See 43 : 177 ; 20 : 101 ; 66 : 178 ; 30 : 181.)

A practice found among the Eskimo which at first sight
outrages our moral sensibility is the abandoning and killing of
aged parents. They are sometimes put to death by their
own children; how can that be harmonized with that affection
for parents which we have described? The same treatment
may be dealt out to the sick and insane. As all these cases have
the same causes, we will treat of them together.

The fundamental explanation for these acts must be sought,
not in any "corruption of the heart" of the Eskimo nor their
heathenism, but in the grim necessities of the struggle for
existence. It is the demand for the sacrifice of the individual
life that the group may survive. The scarcity of the food supply
or the hardship of the march may require that those who only
consume or who retard the progress be abandoned or dispatched.
This is well illustrated in an account by Boas :

"When a traveling party runs short of provisions, they sometimes
leave a woman or an old person, who may hinder their progress in a
small snow hut, in which such a person is walled up. In case the party
succeed in reaching their destination and replenishing their stock of
provisions, they return for the deserted one." (6: 117.)

Sometimes the aged and sick themselves ask to be killed. A
young man told Hall, "with tears in his eyes" that "it had
been his duty" to put his parents to death "as it was at their
request." (26:277.) An incident, which Nansen uses as an
illustration of the fact that "the conceptions of good and evil
in this world are exceedingly divergent" (43 : 170) is as follows:
A missionary spoke to a girl of the love of God and neighbor,
when she said to him :

"I have given proof of love for my neighbor. Once an old woman,
who was ill, but could not die, offered to pay me if I would lead her
to the top of the steep cliff from which our people have always thrown
themselves when they are tired of living; but I, having always loved my
neighbors, led her thither without payment, and cast her over the cliff."
(See also 43: 163; 42: 331; 17: 385; 6: 499.)

Infanticide is practised under similar conditions from like
motives. They often kill children who are deformed or those
so feeble that they are not likely to live, and those whose mothers
die in childbirth and who have no one to nurse them. (43 :151 ;

48 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

20: 107; 30: 91.) A motherless infant, says Crantz, is "buried
alive by the desperate father, when he can no longer endure the
sight of its misery," And he adds, "The heartrending anguish
of this task must be left to the imagination to conceive."
(1. 61 : 218.) Paul Egede tells of a deeply grieved widower who
had thrown his new-born child from a high cliff, with closed
eyes, so as not to see its end. He explained that its mother
was dead, there was no one to nurse it. It had to die slowly,
but now it died quickly, he sighed. (20: 107. See also 6: 117;
5: 580; 48: 66; 45: 289; 53: 35.)

But fortunately extremities which necessitate such actions are
comparatively rare. Murdoch writes, "We never heard of a
single case of infanticide." (42:416.) According to AVald-
mann, not even feeble or premature children were exposed, by
the Labrador natives among whom he lived. (69: 431.) Patient
efforts are used to preserve the life of the child when possible.
Folk-lore tells of a woman who miscarried and the child "was
swaddled in the skin of the eider-duck, and had to be fostered
with the utmost care to keep it alive." It became "one of the
most powerful of men." (53:453.) Amundsen relates a case,
where parents had drawn their son, lame from childhood, along
on a seal-skin, for many years. The explorer's gift of a sledge
was a welcome aid. (1. 2:79.)

Examples could be multiplied showing the devotion of parents
to their children in the face of death. Dalager says, "What
chiefly cuts their hearts is to see their children starving. They
give food to their children even if they themselves are ready to
die of hunger." (Quoted 43:103.) Parental love and grief
of an Eskimo affected Paul Egede more perhaps than the strict
logic of his theology would permit, when a man came to him
and asked if his dead son was in heaven. Egede notes in his
journal (remember father and son were both heathen) : "I
could not but answer him that the good God, who is the Father
of all, prepares a fitting place for His children." This com
forted the stricken man, but he remarked, "Still it is hard to
lose mine, and not see them again in this world." (20:96.)
The value attached to the preservation of a child is illustrated
by two folk-tales.

In one, a man having slain a murderer, was asked by the latter 's wife,
"Are you going to kill me too?" To which the avenger replied, "No!
Pualuna [the youngest son] is not big enough to do without you." (50:

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 49

132.) In another a second wife killed the first, of whom the husband
had not informed her. She took the slain woman's child. The man
"was not angry with her on account of the murder because she had let
the boy live." (53: 276.)

Finally we may refer to an account by Khitschak.

The expedition of which he was a member (Schwatka's) had secured an
Eskimo and his wife to accompany them. The couple had a girl five or
six years' old, who, according to common usage, was "betrothed" to an
adult. The latter demanded the child as a hostage, lest they would not
return. "It was a painful situation for Nalijau and his wife. On the
one hand was a better, care-free, easier life without their beloved child —
on the other, the most wretched conditions with their child." But after
a long struggle, the father came and announced that they had decided
to remain. "The love of the parents for their child had won in the
struggle with the prospect of a better life." And the author adds that
this decision met with the general approval of the other Eskimo. (34: 169.)

I think facts like these throw more light, than would a long
discussion, on the psychology and ethics of infanticide among
the Eskimo. ( See also 9 : 192 ; 66 : 192 ; 42 : 415. )

Fceticide would be very difficult for an observer to discover.
From the desire of the Eskimo for children we would suppose it
to be very rare. Of a case described by Holm, that author says
that it was * ' a great offense ' ' to the other Eskimo.

15. CANNIBALISM

Deniker enumerates as causes of anthropophagy, or cannibal
ism, necessity, gluttony, and superstition. (17a:147.) Of the
second of these, no instance has been found among the Eskimo.
The third is given as a reason in only two reported cases.
In Greenland, according to Rink, "a slain man is said to have
the power to avenge himself by 'rushing into him/ which can
only be prevented by eating a piece of his liver." (53:45.)
At Bering Strait, Nelson informs us,

"when young men fought in their first battle each was given to drink
some of the blood, and made to eat a small piece of the first enemy
killed by them, in order to render them brave." (45: 328.)

But there are many cases recorded of the eating of human
flesh under the pressure of imminent starvation — necessity —
that force which we saw to be cause of the killing of children,
sick and aged. (6:144, 258, 278, 489, 494; 1. 1:278, 281;
30: 162.) Generally it is only bodies already dead from disease

50 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

or famine which are thus appropriated. Sometimes, however,
people are killed, to preserve the existence of the group, by
replenishing the food supply. (6:574; 50:33.) Such actions,
even the consuming of the dead, are resorted to only after every
other means has proved futile; Turner says " after eating their
dogs and the clothing and other articles made of skins." (55:
187.)

Boas says * * all these occurrences are spoken of with the utmost
horror. " (5 : 574.) The effect upon the mind of such an experi
ence is well illustrated in an incident given by Amundsen
(1. 1:278; 281):

A man had died while on a fishing expedition. His wife and sons,
who were with him, being unable to procure any other food, were forced,
in order to save their lives, to partake of the dead man's body. "This
dreadful tragedy seemed to cast a cloak of melancholy over old Navija.
She was naturally very bright and gay, but at times had fits of the
deepest melancholy, during which she tenaciously clung to her boy."

In East Greenland, those who have been forced to eat human
flesh refrain from ever speaking of it. (30: 165.) On the west
coast of Hudson Bay, cannibalism should not be mentioned in
the hearing of women. (6:503.) The Eskimo attitude is well
manifested in the custom that

"a. person who during a famine has eaten human flesh, should never
afterwards eat bear meat, because it is believed that bear meat resembles
that of man, and that to eat it will keep alive the desire for human
flesh." (6: 149, 489.)

This acquisition of a "taste" is referred to in an East Green
land tale. (31:323.)

Cannibalism is frequently dealt with in folk-lore, but always
to emphasize the abhorrence of the narrators for the act. Any
interpretation of these tales as traditions of an earlier general
cannibalism is out of the question.

16. PROPERTY AND TRADE
Nansen says that the Eskimo,

"like all nations of hunters, have a very restricted sense of property;
but it is mistake to suppose it entirely non-existing. As regards the great
majority of things, a certain communism prevails; but this is always
limited to wider or narrower circles according to the nature of the thing
in question."

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 51

In these words he well sums up the main features of the
economic system of the Eskimo. (43:108; cf. 53:9; 52:23.)
We have already discussed the various subdivisions of Eskimo
society. These are well worth bearing in mind in considering
the matter of property, as we find a perfect correlation between
the ownership of property and the individuals or groups who
make use of the things in question. Among the Eskimo there
is a complete application of the principle, which is the central
idea of modern socialism, what is individually used should be
individually owned, what is collectively used should be collec
tively owned.

Strictly personal property is practically limited to the things
which the individual, man or woman, employs in his or her
particular work. According to Nansen, it is

"most fully recognized in the kayak, the kayak-dress, and the hunting
weapons, which belong to the hunter alone, and which no one must touch.
With them he supports himself and his family, and he must therefore
always be sure of finding them where he last laid them; it is seldom that
they are even lent to others."

The woman likewise owns the necessary household articles,
besides her clothing and ornaments. (43: 108; cf. 42: 328.)

The possession by an individual of more than a certain amount
of this kind of property is jealously restricted by public opinion.
These specifically personal articles were, to quote Rink, "even
regarded as having a kind of supernatural relation to the owner,
reminding us of that between the body and the soul," But if
a man owned more suits than usual, "public opinion would
compel him to allow others to make use of them. " ( 53 : 30. )
A few hunters have two kayaks; but if one happens to have
three, "he would be obliged to lend one of them to some relative
or housemate, and sooner or later he would lose it." The
Eskimo attitude is strikingly shown in the rule that a borrowed
article, if lost or damaged, need not be compensated to the
owner, since the very fact that he could afford to lend it, proved
he did not need; hence it is "not held with the same right of
possession as his more necessary belongings, but ranked among
those goods which were possessed in common with others."
( 53 : 29, 30 ; cf . 45 : 294. ) Another interesting view is given us
by Boas;

"A person who has unwittingly damaged the property of another
regrets that he has been the cause of loss, particularly if the owner

52 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

should comfort him by minimizing the importance of the accident. If,
on the other hand, if the owner should express his annoyance, the offender
will take comfort, because it is sufficient for one person to feel annoyed."
(6: 116.)

Among the Alaskan Eskimo, the idea of individual ownership
appears to be more strongly developed than elsewhere. Murdoch
believes that

"there is no limit to the amount of property which an individual, at
least the head of a family, may accumulate. This has given rise to a
regular wealthy or aristocratic class, who, however, are not yet sufficiently
differentiated from the poorer people, to refuse to associate with them
on any terms but those of social equality. >;

Leadership in trading with whites is one cause of the rise of this
class. (42:429.) But even in this region the ancient order
cannot be abrogated with facility or impunity. Nelson writes
of this as follows:

"The Eskimo are very jealous of anyone who accumulates much prop
erty and in order to retain the public good will, are forced to be open-
handed with the community. . . . Whenever a successful trader ac
cumulates property and food, and is known to work solely for his own
welfare, and is careless of his fellow villagers, he becomes the object of
envy and hatred which ends in one of two ways. The villagers may
compel him to make a feast and distribute his goods, or they may kill
him and divide his property among themselves." (45: 305.)

The next class of property is that which belongs to the whole
family. Rink enumerates under this head the family-boat and
tent, provisions collected during the summer, and stores of skin
and other articles for family use or for barter.

The third class is the property belonging to the house-mates,
including the large house and the supply of meat for certain com
mon meals. A fourth class comprises the things shared by all
the place-fellows, such as the flesh and blubber derived from
the seals caught during the stay in winter-quarters. And a
fifth and last class, consisting of the food-supplies which, either
on account of the size of the animal, or owing to scarcity and
famine, were shared by the inhabitants of neighboring settle
ments, (53:30.)

The Eskimo do not, as a rule have any definite idea of prop
erty in land, yet priority of occupation carries with it certain
privileges. Thus it is a recognized rule that "no one shall
pitch a tent or build a house where people are already settled

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 53

without obtaining their consent." (43 : 109 ; cf. 16. 1 : 166 ; 30.)
But,

''beyond the confines of such places as are already inhabited, every one
was at liberty to put up his house and go hunting and fishing whenever
he chose." (53: 27.)

Nansen says that perhaps the rudiments of the idea of private
property in land is found in what he believes to be a fact, that

tc where dams have been built in a salmon river to gather the fish together,
it is not regarded as the right thing if strangers come and interfere with
the dams or fish with nets in the dammed-up waters." (43: 110.)

He says that this is also mentioned by Dalager. The contrary
is given by Rink,

"not even where others had first established a fishing place, by making
weirs across a river, would any objections be made to other parties using
these or even injuring them." (53: 27; for a similar rule about fox-traps
see 16. 1: 167; 53: 29.)

This is in substantial agreement with Crantz, who concludes;

' ( Should a stranger disturb the prior occupant, he [the latter] will
rather go away and starve than engage in a quarrel." (16. 1: 167.)

Nelson 's observations indicate that in Alaska the idea of private
property in natural resources is pretty well developed, one of
the many respects in which the culture of that region differs
from that of the other parts of the Eskimo area. The right to
use certain places for setting seal and salmon nets

"is regarded as personal property, and it is handed down from father
to son. If anyone else puts a net in one of these places the original
owner is permitted to take it out and put down his own. These nets are
sometimes rented or given out on shares, when the man who allows an
other to use his place is entitled to half the catch." (45: 307.)

There do not seem to be any definite boundaries between the
hunting grounds of various tribes. According to Amundsen,
it very frequently happens that two tribes meet while out
hunting. "Such an encounter far from leading to strife and
bloodshed, is the signal for a round of festivities." (1. 2:45.)

The Eskimo have a great many rules governing the disposition
of the booty of the chase. (6:116, 210; 5:582; 42:275, 427;
16. 1:167; 53:27, 29, 136; 30:76; 69:433; 33:223; 43:113.)
Among these are the following, the particular one applying in
a given case depending upon particular circumstances, including
the kind of animal involved ; they also differ in detail in various

54 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

localities. The right to the animal belongs either to the one who
first sees it, or the one who first wounds it (no matter who fires
the fatal shot), or, if several shoot at once, the one who comes
nearest a vital spot. Eeferring to this last rule, Crantz remarks
that since the introduction of muskets, many disputes arise
which are not easily settled since no one knows his own bullet.
(16. 1:67.) A case of what a jurist would call "conflict of
laws" is given in a Cumberland Sound tale.

All the people shot arrows at a caribou and killed it. One shouted,
"I hit it first;" another, "It was my arrow that killed it." Finally
one of the party grew so angry that he took the caribou by the hind
legs and dashed it to pieces on the rocks. ' ' Then nobody dared to claim
it." (6: 284.)

How detailed the principles of division sometimes are is shown
by a rule from the west coast of Hudson Bay:

"The hunter who first strikes a walrus receives the tusks and one of
the forequarters. The person who comes to his assistance receives the
other forequarter; the next man, the neck and head; the following the
belly, and each of the next two, one of the hindquarters." (6: 116.)

Also, in some cases, all who participate in the expedition share
in the booty; again all who see the capture of the animal have
this right. Under certain conditions, all rights of acquisition
are suspended and the captured animal regarded as the common
property of the whole community. This is true of all booty in
time of scarcity. And at all times, according to Rink, * * animals
rare on account of their size or other unusual circumstances,
were, more than ordinary species, considered common property. ' r
(53:28.) This holds universally of the whale. (For the
description of a "whale-party," see 16. 1:167.)

If an animal gets away with the harpoon sticking in it, the
finder is entitled to the animal, but the harpoon is returned
to the proper owner, if he announces himself. (53:28;
16. 1: 167.) On Hudson Bay the finder is allowed to keep the
harpoon also. (5:582.)

Boas has discussed the property marks of the Alaskan Eskimo.
These are found

"almost exclusively on weapons used in hunting, which after being dis
patched, remain in the bodies of large game. Their purpose is to secure
property-right in the animal in which the weapon is found." (10: 601.)

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 55

Such marks are not found among any other branch of the
Eskimo. He concludes that

"this fact, taken in connection with the form and occurrence of such
marks among the northeastern tribes of Asia, suggests that this custom
like so many peculiarities of Alaskan Eskimo life, may be due to contact
with Asiatic tribes." (10: 613.)

Anyone picking up driftwood is entitled to its possession. To
make sure his right, all he has to do is to carry it above the
high water line, and mark it in some way, such as putting a stone
on it or cutting a notch in it. (53:28; 42:428; 16. 1:167;
43:110.)

"For this form of property the Eskimo has the greatest respect," says
Nansen, "and one who has left a piece of driftwood on the shore may
be sure of finding it again even several years after, unless Europeans
have come along in the meantime. Anyone taking it would be regarded
as a scoundrel." Nansen emphasizes this custom "as a proof of the
Eskimo's scrupulous respect for the moral law which he recognizes." (43:
162.)

Somlo has shown that among peoples of the most primitive
types of culture (e.g., Tasmanians, Botocudos, Negritos, Seri
Indians, etc.), trade ("Giiterverkehr") is carried on both intra-
and inter-tribally. (57:155.) So, too, " notwithstanding their
very limited feeling as to the accumulation of property, the
Eskimo have carried on a kind of trade among themselves. "
(53: 11.) It has been discovered that articles have travelled all
the way from Asia to Davis Strait or Hudson Bay. But as a
practical necessity, each community has to depend upon itself
for the staples of life. The articles of commerce are compara
tively few. They are especially desirous of procuring things
made of metal, for use in their weapons and tools. Well might
the Greenlanders laugh when they were offered gold and silver
coins, but they were eager for objects of steel. (40a: 192.) The
Eskimo were the first American aborigines to become acquainted
with smelted iron, from the Norse discoverers and settlers.
(40a:201.)

" Their trading negotiations," says Crantz, "are simply and
concisely conducted. They make mutual exchanges with each
other for what they need." (16. 1:160.) Amundsen credits
them with ' ' sharp business instinct. ' ' From his liberal presents
to them in return for their gifts, they "soon discovered that it
was more remunerative to bring their goods as gifts." He was

56 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

therefore "obliged to decline all gifts, and introduce regular
trading instead." (1. 1:179.) One Eskimo, who would get
rich quick in more southerly parts of the continent, "noticed
that I liked to have neatly sewn clothes ; so he bought garments
from some of his friends and sold them to me at a large profit. ' '
(1. 2:55.)

If an Eskimo repents of a bargain, he has a right to return
the purchased article and take back his equivalent, even after
considerable time. (53 : 29 ; 16. 1 : 167 ; 43 : 111.) Another in
teresting trait is brought out by Holm's experience. He says,
"When we had traded with one, the others regarded it as their
right, that we trade with them and give them the same as the
first. ' ' For instance, a man asked and received a piece of arrow-
iron for a piece of driftwood. Then another came with an old
board and asked for a like piece of iron. "He explained that
they always gave people what they asked for." (30: 168.) A
curious trading custom is reported from Alaska. It is called
"patukhtuk," and is described as follows:

"When a person wants to start one of these he takes some article into
the kashim [men's house] and gives it to the man with whom he wishes
to trade, saying at the same time, 'It is a patukhtuk. ' The other is
bound to receive it, and give in return some article of about equal value;
tne first man then brings in something else, and so they alternate until,
sometimes, two men will exchange nearly everything they originally pos
sessed; the man who received the first present being bound to continue
until the originator wishes to stop." (45: 309.)

PART II
SOME ETHICAL PHASES OF ESKIMO CULTURE

BY ALBERT NICOLAY GILBERTSON, A.M.,
Fellow in Anthropology, Clark University, Worcester, Mass.

17. INHERITANCE

When we consider the small amount of property which an
individual among the Eskimo can acquire, we realize that the
question of inheritance is not a very important one in their
economy. Another circumstance, which decreases the amount
of transmissible property, is the custom of destroying or plac
ing by the grave of a large part of the property of the de
ceased. Boas enumerates as objects which may be acquired
by inheritance, the gun, harpoon, sledge, dogs, kayak, boat, and
tent-poles of the man, and the lamps and pots of the woman.
(5:580.)

The immediate heir is the oldest son living with the parents.
Nothing falls directly to the widow, except the articles she
brought in marriage. Adopted children are on the same foot
ing as blood-descendants. Thus an elder foster-son has prior
right over a younger son born of the marriage. If there are
no children in the family, a relative, such as a brother, becomes
the heir. (53:25; 16,1:176.)

It should be borne in mind that, with the right of inheri
tance, goes the obligation of providing for the dependent sur
vivors. So that, as Rink says, it "represents a question of
obligations and burdens rather than of personal gain." (53 :25.)

For rules of inheritance apparently peculiar to Alaska, see
Nelson's monograph. (45.)

18. THEFT

From the nature of the case, private property being so lim
ited, crimes "in violation of the rights of property can only
have been trifling," as Rink points out. (53:34.) Conflicting
reports are given as to Eskimo tendency to theft, especially
in dealing with strangers.

It is the almost unanimous testimony that stealing is very

58 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

rare among members of the same community, and when it does
occur, is condemned. Nansen says:

"The Eskimo regards it as in the highest degree dishonorable to steal
from his housemates or from his fellow-villagers, and it is seldom that
anything of the sort occurs/' (43: 158.)

Hans Egede testifies that "they rarely steal from one another.
\Vherefore they let their goods lie exposed to everyone, with
out fear of anyone stealing or taking away the least bit of
them. Indeed, this vice is so repulsive to them that if a girl
steals, she thereby loses the chance of a good marriage."
(19:69.) So too Crantz states, "They have no disposition to
overreach each other, still less to steal, which is considered ex
cessively disgraceful." (16.1:160.) Holm says that among
the East Greenlanders, "theft is not uncommon," but adds
that the causes are principally revenge or necessity. (30:87.)
The report, given by other Eskimo to Hall, that the Nechilli
"will steal whenever they can get a chance, even one Innuit
from another" (26:421) was a rumor of the same status as
that told Stefansson of a distant tribe's eating all strangers.
(59.) Exceptional, indeed, if correctly reported, is the situa
tion at Point Barrow, where "men, who were said to be thieves,
did not appear to lose any social consideration." (42:41.)
Among the nearby tribes studied by Nelson,

"stealing from people of the same village is regarded as wrong. The
thief is shamed by being talked of in the kashim. An incorrigible thief
is held and beaten on the back."

An effective insurance method is reported by Murdoch :

' ' Before starting for the deer the hunters generally take the movable
property which they do not mean to carry with them out of the house and
bury it in the snow for safe keeping, apparently thinking that while a
dishonest person might help himself to small articles left around the house,
he could hardly go to work and dig up a cache without attracting the
attention of the neighbors." (42: 261.)

There appears to be truth in Nansen 's statement that "the
Eskimo's conception of his duties towards strangers, especially
toward white people, is not quite so strict." (43:159.) "To
steal from a stranger or from people of another tribe is not con
sidered wrong so long as it does not bring trouble to the com
munity," according to Nelson. (45.293; cf. 16.1:160; 19:69.)
Cases of thieving are frequently reported in the literature.

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 59

(30.171, 176; 56:187; 4:389, 398; 1.1:174, 181; 2:60; 42:41;
19:136.)

The actions of the thieves when detected throw light on their
feelings about the matter. Murdoch says "the thieves when
detected seemed to have no feeling of shame." (42:41.) Still
a certain shame, even if not sense of guilt, is not wanting.
According to Holm, "their blushes always betrayed them,"
when interrogated about thefts. (30:177.) Amundsen says of
some detected thieves that they "slunk away sheepishly."
(1.1:282.) Others appear to regard the matter as a good joke.
Beechey relates that when thefts were detected, the goods were
immediately returned, "with a hearty laugh in addition."
(4:395.) Similar behavior is common in natives who indulge
in fraud in trading. Amundsen speaks of a man who ' ' grinned
all over his face with glee, at having, as he thought, so suc
cessfully tricked me." And when discovered, he "could not
help laughing at his failure." (1.2:56.) A woman, "when she
saw she was found out, burst out laughing heartily, all the rest
joining in." (1.1:173.)

Again they try to throw off suspicion by friendly actions,
or if convicted, to offer excuses. Some Eskimo were suspected
of stealing flour from the Beechey expedition, and the suspicion
was strengthened by their unusual and conciliatory conduct.
Also they

"protested that they were innocent of the theft, and as proof that they
could not possibly have committed it, they spat into the sea with disgust,
in order to show how much they disliked the taste of the material, little
considering that the fact of their knowing it to be nauseous was a proof
of their having tasted it." (4: 389.)

An East Greenlander, who, in buying knives, took two, one on
top of the other, assured Holm that it had happened by mis
take "as the knives were so thin." Later he confessed that a
neighbor had whispered to him to act thus, "for it would not
be discovered." (30:177.) A woman told Paul Egede that
she had stolen a knife from a ship; but she became dizzy, as
a result of her act she thought, and went back and put the
knife where she had taken it. Another Eskimo interjected
that he had stolen many times from the Dutch and had always
felt well afterwards. But then he did not think God cared
for the Dutch, nor they for him; they did not say grace at

60 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

meals as the Danish missionaries did, nor had they morning
and evening prayer. (19:98.)
We are told by Murdoch that

"there was seldom any difficulty in obtaining restitution of stolen articles,
as the thief's comrades would not attempt to shield him, but often volun
tarily betrayed him." (42: 41.)

According to Holm, they informed about each other for fear
of themselves being apprehended. Some sought reward for
acting as informers. "When a man was accused of stealing,
the first question was always who had reported him." (30:
177.) This is significant as indicating that, while stealing from
foreigners may not be condemned among them, on the other
hand the thief acts only in his individual capacity at his own
risk, not being able to claim the support or protection of his
fellows.

There is evidence to show that this thieving habit is far
from universal. Murdoch says there were many who resisted
the temptation to steal. Other writers too speak very highly
of some natives, even whole tribes. Amundsen found the
Nechilli very trustworthy in this respect. He placed his depot
under their care. (1.1:281.) Beechey speaks of one group as
"exceedingly honest." (4:378; cf. 391.) Cartwright, after
sixteen years among the Eskimo of Labrador, goes on record
that "there is not a nation under the sun, with which I would
sooner trust my person and property." (12.)

Still, it is doubtless true that a certain double standard with
respect to the appropriation of other men's goods is found among
the Eskimo. One cause is probably to be found in one phase
of their ' ' ethnocentrism. " Says Nansen:

"We must remember that a foreigner is to him an indifferent object; it
matters little to him whether he can rely on the foreigner or not, since he
has not got to live with him. Thus he does not always find it inconsistent
with his interests to appropriate a little of the foreigner's property, if he
thinks it can be of use to him." (43: 159.)

Another consideration which enters in to determine their ac
tions is the treatment the Eskimo, like other primitive peoples
have been subjected to by representatives of "civilization." A
rehearsal of the records of injustice, robbery and fraud per
petrated on the Eskimo alone would stretch this discussion to
unwarranted length; besides it would not be a discussion of

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 61

ESKIMO morality. For a few cases, see 43:159-161. To quote
just one sentence from this authority:

"Let us suppose that it had been the Eskimo who came and planted
themselves upon our shores, and behaved as we did in Greenland— would
it then have been altogether inconsistent with our moral code to rob and
filch from them whatever we could ?" (43: 160.)

One suspects that past experience has something to do with
such behavior as that described by Beechey. Notwithstanding
good treatment by his expedition, the Eskimo required

"much persuasion to induce them to come upon the deck, and even when
some of them were prevailed upon to do so, they took the precaution of
leaving with their comrades in the boat every valuable article which they
had about their persons/* (4: 402.)

Then, a third, and it may well be the most important rea
son, may be found in the state of the property-sense and
property-order among the Eskimo, a subject we have just
discussed. With our insanely overwrought sense of the " sanc
tity " and (( rights" of property, it is difficult to realize the
Eskimo point of view. Their economic system is based on a
practical application of the idea of the absolute subordination
of material means to human and social ends. We have noted
the principle on which they place restrictions on possession of
unnecessary wealth. Now, as Nansen points out,

"it must be taken into account that in comparison with the Eskimo the
Europeans possess property in superabundance. According to Eskimo
morality, therefore, it appears that we ought to be able to disperse with
some of our superfluity, and if we decline to do so, we are miserly and
selfish. " {43:160.)

19. BEGGING

We will mention briefly another practice, namely begging.
Explorers frequently complain of this among the Eskimo. It
is practically certain, however, that this is due to contact with
the whites. According to Nelson, "begging is common only
among Eskimo who have had considerable intercourse with
white men/' People not accustomed to meeting white men
he found little addicted to it, and "their manner usually more
frank and attractive." (45:295.) He believes that this habit
has come about through indiscriminate giving of presents. This
view agrees exactly with the experience and opinion of Ste-
fansson. He found no begging among the Eskimo he discov-

62 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

ered. He relates that, at one place, he made a present of one
needle to each of over two score married women.

"Of course 1 kept no books, but I feel certain that every one of these
women brought me something with which to pay for the needle, most of
them saying that they did not want me to think that they were people
who accepted gifts.7' (58: 200.)

In Alaska he found just the opposite condition.

20. GAMBLING

According to Boas, "In winter gambling is one of the fa
vorite amusements of the Eskimo." (5:567.) He describes
a game of chance which looks innocent enough. (5:569.) Mur
doch reports "only one game which appears to be of the nature
of gambling"; it is "a very popular amusement." (42:364.)
Certain Alaskan natives are described by Holmberg as "pas
sionate gamblers." It is "not rare for them to lose all their
belongings in this way." (32:123.) In the Ungava district,
it is said that

' ' gambling is carried on to such a degree among both sexes that even their
own lives are staked upon the issue of a game. The winner often obtains
the wife of his opponent, and holds her until some tempting offer is made
for her return. The only article they possess is frequently wagered, and
when they lose they are greeted with derision. The women especially,
stake their only garments rather than be without an opportunity to play. ' '
(66:178.)

The methods, and probably the extent, of gambling have been
influenced by the white men. (See 66:178; 42:364.) Peary
found no gambling among the Eskimo with whom he came in
contact. (48:47.)

21. MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE

As we have already noted, the Eskimo have no clan organi
zation. The selection of conjugal partners is restricted only
by certain degree of kinship. First cousins are prohibited from
intermarrying. (19 :79 ; 16.1 :147 ; 43 :175 ; 5 :579 ; 6 :158.) The
same prohibition seems to apply to a boy and girl who have
been reared in the same family, they being regarded practically
as brother and sister. An exception to the latter rule is noted
from East Greenland. (30:94.) Waldmann says that in Lab
rador marriage was often contracted between first cousins.
(69:435.) There are also traces of prohibition of marriage

GILBEETSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 63

between legal relatives. Thus, Crantz says that rarely did a
man marry two sisters or a mother and her daughter; "such a
contract draws down general odium upon the parties con
cerned." (16.1:147; 30:95.) On the other hand, Boas found
no rule against a man's marrying two sisters among the Cen
tral Eskimo. (5:579.) Folk-lore tells of troubles resulting
from efforts to marry sister-in-law and daughter-in-law, but
it is doubtful whether the relationship of the parties plays
any part in the narrator's mind. (53:397; 6:286.)

Nansen says that, in Greenland, "a man should, if possible,
seek his wife in another village." (43:175.) Neither descrip
tions nor folk-lore give the impression that this is any wide
spread rule. The close kinship of fellow-villagers may lead
to such conditions. Turner speaks of a group in which, al
though the females outnumber the males, the relationship is so
close that many seek their wives from other localities. (66 :189.)

There are frequent references in folk-lore to marriages within
the prohibited degrees. This does not imply a similar fre
quency in real life. The contrary seems to be true. The most
prominent incest-motive in Eskimo mythology is the story of
the origin of the sun and moon. A man had sexual relations
with his sister, who blackened his face with soot. He pursued
her into the sky, where she became the sun, and he, with the
sooty face, the moon. (20:54; 63:275; 6:173; 37:179; 30:99;
31:268.) A Cumberland Sound tale relates how a man was
hated because he cohabited with his mother; he was killed by
his brother (6:283); similar, with foster-mother (6:297). In
a Greenland tale, a couple thought that the cause of their chil
dren's dying was "perhaps we are too near kin." (53:391.)
Turner reports a case where a son took his mother for wife,
apparently at her wish, but "the sentiment of the community
compelled him to discard her." (66:180.)

Necessity appears to be an extenuating circumstance. The
natives of Southampton Island ascribe their ancestry to a man,
who was driven to the island, where he married his daughter;
"the people are the descendants of this couple." (6:478.)
According to a Greenland tradition, a man married his adopted
sister; for they lived alone. (53:170.) A somewhat different
situation was that of the giant who married his sister, "because
she was the only woman tall enough for him." (6:292.) No

64 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

credence can be given Langsdorff's statement that certain Alas
kan Eskimo " cohabit promiscuously, brothers and sisters, pa
rents and children" (quoted 2.1:81), except that he may have
heard of some cases.

A practice which seems to have been prevalent among the
Eskimo is child-betrothal, decided by agreement of the parents.
(53:23; 16.1:146; 42:410; 47:26; 25:567.) This may even go
so far that "two friends, desirous of cementing their tie of
fellowship, engage that their children yet unborn shall be
mated." (66:188.) However, "these engagements not being
strictly binding, may be broken off at any time." (5:578;
cf. 48:60.) In some cases one of the parties may be an adult,
the other a mere child, the arrangements being made by the
latter 's parents. (42:410; 1.1:307.)

Early marriages are the rule. (30:94; 69:434; 43:139;
42:411; 66:188.) Marriage may take place even before pu
berty. Holm says that in East Greenland it is not rare that
young people marry three or four times before that age.
Crantz' statement that "a man seldom thinks of marriage till
he is twenty years of age" (16.1:145) does not seem to hold.
The requisite qualification for the male is that he is a suffi
ciently able hunter to provide for the female, and "has the
requisite strength to force her to become his wife," as Turner
adds. She must be proficient in the arts which pertain to
woman. (66:188; 43:138; 30:94; 42:410.)

As to the motives for marriage, Murdoch writes, "As far
as we could learn, marriage was entered upon generally from
reasons of interest or convenience, with very little regard for
affection, as we understand it." He acknowledges, however,
that "there were some indications that real love matches some
times took place. " (42 :410 ; see also 16.1 :145 ; 30 :94. ) The de
nial of the possession by primitive peoples of what is called
"romantic love" is a favorite proposition with some writers,
as for instance, Finck. But folk-lore and real life furnish
evidence of its presence among the Eskimo. (5:615; 31:320.)
Nansen's words are well chosen:

"Love is by no means unknown in Greenland; but the Greenland variety
of it is a simple impulse of nature. It does not make the lover sick of
soul, but drives him to the sea, to the chase; it strengthens his arm and
sharpens his sight ; for his one desire is to become an expert hunter, so that
he can lead his Naia home as his bride, and support a family. " (43: 138.)

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 65

Worthy of being noted here is a romance revealed by Peary's
words (48:52):

"Hot-hearted young Ooqueah of my North Pole party fought his way
with me to the goal for the posse8sion of the daughter of old Ikwa.v. This
young knight of the northland is an illustration of the fact that some
times an Eskimo man or woman may be as intense in his or her affairs
of the heart as we are."

The usual principals in the preliminaries of marriage are
the prospective bridegroom and the young woman's parents,
or, if they are dead, her brothers. The advice of the man's
parents is also given consideration. (19:79; 69:434; 53:397;
30:94; 16.1:145.) The services of mediators are sometimes
enlisted in winning the desired maiden. (53:23; 69:434; 16.1:
145.) Probably the employment of these third parties is not
at all common. The dashing young Eskimo hunter ordinarily
prefers to do his own wooing. In a folk tale we are told that
the reason a youth sent a mediator was that he was "bashful
and afraid to speak for himself." (5:615.)

There does not appear to be any regular system of purchase-
money or of dowry, though traces of both are found. Holm
says that ''the young man must sometimes pay the father to
get his daughter in marriage," but also, "good hunters are
paid by fathers to marry their daughters." (30 :96 ; cf. 55 :188 ;
43:135.) A young man, who did not possess the necessary
wherewithal to indemnify the parents secured the girl on credit,
and "he owes them still," remarks Waldmann, who relates the
case. ( 69 :434. ) It is customary for the woman to bring with
her certain household utensils, besides her clothing. These
things remain her own property. (16.1:145; 53:24; 42:414.)

Kink's view that marriage was rarely consummated "with
out some degree of force having been practiced upon the b»ide ' '
(53:23; cf. 43:139) seems to be well substantiated, though there
are undoubtedly not a few exceptions. Wife-capture is a fa
vorite theme in folk-lore. (52:323, 450, 453.) The abduction
may be without the knowledge and consent of the girl's pa
rents. (1.146.) But ordinarily the marriage has been duly
arranged, and the only resistant is the bride-elect. (16.2:105;
20 :28 ; 42 :412.) WThile to all appearances, the abduction is much
against the girl's will, it seems that appearances are in this
case often deceptive. Crantz says that, on hearing the pro
posal,

66 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

"the damsel directly falls into the greatest apparent consternation, for
single women always affect the utmost bashfulness and aversion to any
proposal of marriage, lest they should lost their reputation for modesty,
though their destined husbands be previously well assured of their acquies
cence/' (16, 1: 146; cf. 19: 79.)

Paul Egede tells of a bride who ran away from the man's
house several times, always, however, "where she expected to
be found." (20:28.) Nansen's comment on this custom is
interesting :

"In Greenland, as in other parts of the world, good taste demanded that
the lady in question should on no account let it appear that she was a
consenting party, however favorably disposed towards her wooer she might
be in her heart. The Eskimo bride was bound to struggle against her
captor, and to wail and bemoan herself as much as ever she could. When
they first saw marriages conducted after the European fashion, they
thought it very shocking that the bride, when asked if she would have the
bridegroom for her husband, should answer Yes. According to their ideas,
it would be much more becoming for her to answer No. When assured that
this was the custom among us, they were of the opinion that our women
must be devoid of modesty." (43: 140.)

However, "it sometimes happens that the young woman really
objects to her wooer." (43:141.) In such cases, she either
has her way (16.1:146) or she is taken against her will, when
she may give the man visible remembrances of a strenuous
fight. (66:181.)

More informal ways (for forcible abduction is "good form")
obtain, however, in which the young people decide the matter
between themselves. (53:263, 406.) Crantz' assertion that a
woman "can never make choice of a husband" (16.1:159)
must admit of exceptions. There are several instances on
record where the girl has a definite choice in the matter (66:
188; 50:55; 53:208.) One of Cartwright's experiences shows
that independence of spirit and action is not entirely wanting
among Eskimo women. A man arranged with this English
gentleman to give the latter one of his wives, a young woman
of sixteen. All her relatives "expressed great pleasure at the
honor of the alliance." But the woman thought otherwise.
"You are an old fellow and I will have nothing to say to
you," was her verdict. "So there ended my courtship," re
marks the author. Like independence was shown by a widow
who, according to a tale, "greatly harassed by the persecutions
of a man who wanted to marry her, fled to the inland with

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 67

her little son, whom she educated with the view of making him
a hater of the male sex." (53:462.)

It happens that a suitor encounters not only the objections
of the girl or her parents or both, but also those of rivals.
Peary reports that

1 ' if two men want to marry the same woman, they settle the question by
a trial of strength, and the better man has his way. These struggles are
not fights, as the disputants are amiable."

Another method is reported by Boas (6:466); the woman is
made to stand in the center of a hut, where the older people
assemble, and the several suitors try to get possession of her,
the strongest being allowed to marry her. "In one of these
cases, two men struggled for a woman, and when they were
tired out, a third man rushed in and carried her off." This
custom is known also among the neighboring Athapascan In
dians. A gentler method was that adopted by two Green-
landers who agreed to make the test a kayak race. (53:170.)
Marriage ceremonies seem to be almost unknown among the
Eskimo. Rink's statement that "the wedding was performed
without any special ceremony" appears to indicate the general
rule. Hans Egede states that "well-to-do parents have a feast
for their son 's wedding. " (19 :80. ) Murdoch reports a celebra
tion in the home of the bride's parents. (42:411.) Bancroft
does not give the authority for a description of an Alaskan
marriage ceremonial. (2.1:83.) Hans Egede states that there
was also a feast "the day after the bridegroom slept with the
bride." (19:80.) This suggests a postponement of the con
summation of the marriage. Light may perhaps be cast on
this obscure passage by a remark by Paul Egede that a day
or two should, according to custom, elapse after the bride had
been brought to the man's house. (20:28.) These are the
only references I have found to any such custom among the
Eskimo. This people are singularly free from sexual rites and
taboos, of the sort which fill Crawley's volume, The Mystic
Rose. Evidence from Eskimo society tends to support Wester-
marek's very moderately expressed opinion that Crawley has
"somewhat exaggerated" the danger attributed to sexual inter
course. (71.2:415.) Murdoch well states the Eskimo conception
of marriage as far as its social relations are concerned: "The
marriage bond was regarded simply as a contract entered into

68 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

by agreement of the contracting parties." (42:411.) The ab
sence of ceremonial reflects this attitude of non-interference by
the group.

The prevailing form of marriage is monogamy, but polygamy
and even polyandry are allowed and practiced. (6:115, 466;
5:579; 50:65; 33:41; 16.1:147; 45:292; 19:77; 66:188; 63:276;
53:23; 43:145; 30:95; 42:411.) Polygamy is conditioned on a
man's possession of sufficient wealth to support more than one
wife; hence it is possible only for the ablest hunters. Thus it
may be regarded as a mark of honor. Another condition in
fluencing the form of marriage is the numerical ratio between
the sexes in any given group. Thus, among the Polar Eskimo,
polygamy is very rare, as there are more men than women.
(50:65; cf. 30:96.) Another factor to be taken into account
is the custom of the man's becoming a member of his wife's
family. As Boas points out, this would serve as a check to
polygamy. "It is only when the new family settles on its own
account that a man is at full liberty to take additional wives."
( 5:579; cf. 42:410.) This custom is not universal, nor even
usual, as far as our evidence tends to show. It appears to be
more common for the young couple to live with the husband's
parents. (See e.g., 6:115.) When free from obligations to
support relatives, the couple ordinarily maintain separate
households.

Among the motives for polygamy, the desire for offspring
plays the most important role, although Rink's statement that
polygamy was "only approved by public opinion in so far as
it aimed at the propagation of .male descendants" is to be re
garded as too sweeping. He makes the same assertion in regard
to divorce and wife-exchanging, in which cases the exceptions
to the rule he lays down are even more numerous. (53:23.)
But we can accept Crantz' statement that

"since it is esteemed a disgrace to have no children, and especially no
son to support their declining age, such childless Greenlanders as are
competent to maintain several wives, will seldom restrict themselves to
one." (16. 1: 147; cf. 30: 97.)

Relief from further child-bearing on the part of the first wife
may also be a desideratum. A woman, on being asked why
her husband had taken another wife, replied, "I asked him to
myself, for I'm tired of bearing children." (43:144; cf.
16.1:147.)

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 69

Another motive is desire for additional help in the female
branch of the domestic economy. Thus we are told of a man
who "married a young wife, so as to have somebody at home
to do the work," his first wife being old and feeble. (33:41.)
The wife herself sometimes suggests the second marriage, in
order that she may have help in her household work. (43:
144; cf. 55:189; 30:95.)

Hans Egede found, what he considered remarkable, that,
before the preaching of the missionaries, there was no jealousy
connected with the plural marriages. (19:78.) There are
cases, however, where the women regard each other as rivals.
(30:103; 63:276.) But as a rule they get along well together.

The first wife retains a primacy in the direction of the house
hold. (19:78; 69:435; 53:25; 16.1:148.) This is true even
if the husband shows a preference for the second. (43:145.)

Divorce is unrestricted, and as unceremonious as is the con
tracting of marriage. The causes of separation are legion, in
fact, anything which either party may regard as sufficient.
In this respect, wives are as free to suit themselves as are
husbands. According to Peary, what he calls "trial mar
riage," is

' ' an ineradicable custom among the Eskimo. If a young man and woman
are not suited with each other they try again, and sometimes several times,
but when they find mates to whom they are adapted, the arrangement is
generally permanent. ... If a man grows tired of his wife, he simply
tells her there is not room for her in the igloo. She may return to her
parents, if they are living; she may go to a brother or a sister; or she
may send word to some man in the tribe that she is now at liberty and
willing to start life again.'7 (48: 59.)

Murdoch says that marriage is easily dissolved, "on account
of incompatibility of temper, or even on account of temporary
disagreement." One wife was discarded because of "a dis
agreeable and querulous temper." The husband married an
other woman, but "his second matrimonial venture was no
more successful than his first, for his young wife proved to
be a great talker." He said "she talked all the time, so that
he could not eat and could not sleep." So he sent her away,
and tried his luck a third time. Another man, who had two
wives, divorced the younger one. "The reason he assigned was
that she was lazy, would not make her own clothes, and was
disobedient to the older wife to whom he was much attached."

70 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

(42:411; cf. 45:392; 5:579.) Crantz writes that the husband
only gives an undesirable wife a sour look, and then absents
himself for a few days.

''She immediately takes the hint, packs up her effects, and withdraws to
her relatives, demeaning herself in the future, as discreetly as possible, in
order to chagrin him, and bring scandal upon his conduct/' (16, 1: 147;
cf. 43: 143.)

Desire for children, which we have seen to be perhaps the
chief reason for polygamy, is also a potent cause of divorce.
Crantz says that a childless wife lives "in continual dread of
divorce" (16.1:151), while

''it rarely happens that a separation takes place when they have children,
and especially sons, who are their greatest treasure, and best security
against future want." (16, 1: 148.)

Holm says that in East Greenland, disagreements between
married people are usually settled without rupture of the mar
riage relation,

"especially if the woman has children. If she has no children it is not
infrequent that the woman or the man, when opportunity offers, leaves
without saying anything." (3D: 97.)

The author just quoted enumerates an interesting and repre
sentative list of grounds for divorce, including the following:
They had tired of each other, the wife was a poor seamstress,
the wife wanted to live where her family lived, her husband's
family neglected her. One man gave as his reason that "she
ate so much that he didn't get enough to eat." (30:100.) As
illustrating the frequency of divorce in some cases, he mentions
one woman, twenty years old, who had had six husbands, and
had just married the seventh. (30:101.) Another, after hav
ing tried eight husbands, remarried No. 6, whom she pronounced
"the best of her husbands"; although he had struck and
whipped her, "she longed so for him that she couldn't sleep at
night." (30:103.)

Folk-lore, in this feature as in all others, truthfully reflects
Eskimo life. Characteristic is the tale of a man who separated
from three wives, with each of whom he lived only a month
or two. Two of these he had divorced "because they didn't
keep his boots in order." (31 :329 ; see also 53 :255, 303.) Boas
records a tale, indicating that ideas of "emancipated women"
are not unknown among the Eskimo. (5:628.)

GILBEBTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 71

Two women deserted their husbands, with whom they quarreled, and went
to live by themselves. The husbands, wishing their wives back again,
sent the women's fathers after them. But these found the women unwil
ling to return. The men ' ' told the strange story that two women >?ithout
the company of any men lived all by themselves, and were never in want."

It appears that primitive Enoch Ardens are to be found
among the Eskimo. This theme is also dealt with in folk-lore.

In one tale, the first husbands return to find their wives
married to other men. The women are given back to the for
mer, who say to the second husbands, "Many thanks to you
that ye have provided so well for our relatives." Certainly a
philosophic attitude. (53:196; see also 31:298.)

Similar tactics to those pursued when two men wanted the
same girl, seem to be resorted to if a man wants another's wife.
Peary tells us that the former simply says to the husband, "I
am the better man," and the husband has then either to prove
his superiority in strength or surrender the woman. (48:59.)
So also Nansen says, "If a man takes a fancy to another man's
wife, he takes her without ceremony, if he happens to be the
stronger." (43:143; cf. 30:96; 31:330; 20:65:) Sometimes a
wife is carried away by another man, at the request of her
family, that she may get better support. (30:100.) Cartwright
gives an account, perhaps somewhat overdrawn, of a bloody
struggle resulting from an affair of this kind. (12.328.) Nel
son states that formerly, at Bering Strait, the husband and his
rival were "disarmed by the neighbors and then settled the
trouble with their fists or by wrestling, the victor taking the
woman." (49:292.) More subtle methods may be pursued.
According to Turner, a man may bribe an angakok to get a
woman from her husband "under threats of supernatural evil."
(66:189.) Designing women are not above pursuing similar
tactics to get husbands away from their wives. (66:189.)

22. EXTRA-NUPTIAL RELATIONS

Many writers speak of the freedom enjoyed by the unmarried
of both sexes among the Eskimo. For instance, Murdoch writes
as follows:

"As to the relations between the sexes there seems to be the most com
plete absence of what we consider moral feelings. Promiscuous sexual
intercourse between married and unmarried people, or even among chil
dren, appears to be looked upon simply as a matter for amusement. As

72 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

far as we could learn, unchastity in a girl was considered nothing against
her." (42:419.)

Turner says :

"Many of the girls bear children before they are taken for wives, but as
such incidents do not destroy the respectability of the mother, the girl
does not experience any difficulty in procuring a husband. (66: 189; see
also 30: 96; 45: 292.)

On the other hand, Hans Egede, who was certainly not want
ing in strictness as to the seventh commandment, says of the
Greenlanders of his day (he was the first white man to live
among them in modern times) :

' * Young women and girls are modest enough, as we have never seen them
have any wanton relations with young men, or give the least indication of
such conduct, either in word or deed. During the fifteen years I was in
Greenland I knew of only two or three girls who became pregnant outside
of marriage; for this is held to be a great disgrace." (19: 78.)

Dalager, an early authority, says of Eskimo girls that "in
their first years of maturity they bear themselves very chastely,
for otherwise they are certain to spoil their chances of mar
riage." (Quoted 43:167.) Of the Greenlanders in general
he says that they are not so much given to incontinence as are
ether nations. It may be noted that Nansen accepts the above
testimony of these two authorities, as substantially accurate.
Crantz says, in one place, that

"however careful their young and single people may be to avoid all open
irregularity in their deportment, they are in secret quite as licentious as
those of other nations" (16. 1: 175),

but in another place he writes that

' ' the women are seldom guilty of incontinence, with the exception of young
widows and those divorced from their husbands. Single persons of both
sexes have rarely any connections." (16. 1: 145.)

<W«fc4 IY ****$ -

The authority last quoted states that "there are among them

harlots by profession, though a single woman will seldom follow
this infamous trade." (16.1:176.) No matter what may be
the exact condition of sexual morality in general, it is fairly
certain that prostitution, when found among the Eskimo, is
attributable to foreign influence. If Crantz' observation is cor
rect, the cases he refers to may well have been due to contact
with traders. Murdoch states that prostitution "is carried to

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 73

a most shameless extent with the sailors of the whaling fleet
by many of the women" (46:420, cf. 54; also 1.1:202, 310),
but among the natives themselves, " prostitution for gain is
unknown." (Ibid.) Of the natives of Labrador we are told
by Waldmann that "since they have been in contact with the
fisherman, there has been a relaxation of their morals."
(69:435.) Nansen discusses at length the effect in this regard
of European occupation of West Greenland, which he regards
as decidedly detrimental, in spite of the efforts of the mission
aries. (43:163.) He says a young native woman "positively
glories" in illicit relations with a European, and "seems to
procure additional consideration among her female friends."
Trebitsch received just the opposite impression, namely, that
"girls who cohabit with Europeans are derided by the na
tives." (65:50.) He gives samples of satirical songs about such
girls. He also believes that "prostitution is unknown in all
Greenland." (65:16.)

Without attempting to resolve the contradictions in the evi
dence, I think we can conclude as true of the Eskimo in general,
what Murdoch declares concerning the natives of Point Barrow,
that while their sexual laxity "seems too purely animal and
natural to be of recent growth," and hence can hardly be said
to have been introduced by the whites (Holm's statement about
the East Greenlanders is of special importance on this point,
30:96), yet this laxity has undoubtedly been encouraged by the
whites, and, finally, these "taught them prostitution for gain."
(42:420.)

There is more agreement of observers as to the extra-nuptial
intercourse of married people than as to the sexual relations
of the unmarried. To quote Nansen:

"The strict morality which obtained among the unmarried youths and!
maidens on the west coast in the heathen days [he follows Hans Egede,
quoted above], seems to have been considerably relaxed when once they
were married. The men, at any rate, had then the most unrestricted free
dom." (43:167.)

According to Crantz, "the married will break their vows
on both sides with the utmost shamelessness. " (16.1:176.) One
restriction to unlimited license is found in the objections of
the husband of the woman in the case, when his consent has
not been given. Nansen is of the opinion that if a heathen
— and in many cases, even a Christian — Greenlander

74 JOUENAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

" refrains from having to do with another man's wife, whom he has looked
upon with favor, it is generally more because he shrinks from quarreling
with the husband than because he regards adultery as morally wrong."
(43: 172; to the same effect, 69: 436.)

Jealousy, in the male, at least, is not unknown. (66:178,
188; 30:97; 5:579.) Holm gives as an illustration of this a
man who became jealous because his young wife smiled at a
member of the expedition. Sometimes "the injured husband
does not seek immediate punishment, but smothers his resent
ment, till he has an opportunity of revenging himself in a
similar manner." Nelson says that the husband "rarely
avenges himself on the man concerned," although the affair
may form the excuse for an affray where there has been pre
vious enmity. He may beat the unfaithful wife. (45:292,
cf. 16.1:147.) The extreme penalty is given in a tale entitled
* * The Faithless Wife, ' ' in which the woman, who by stealth has
had illicit relations, is killed. (53:143; cf. 6:224.) Accord
ing to Turner, "the male offender if notoriously persistent
in his efforts to obtain forbidden favors, is usually slain."
(66:178.) The wives are allowed greater liberty "when they
have no children by their husbands," says Paul Egede.
(20:135.)

It must not be understood that this sexual license is uni
versally indulged in. Nansen, after picturing the present-day
laxity which he finds, says of the married Greenlanders that
"their every-day behavior is, as a rule, quite reputable and
void of offence; on that point all travellers must agree."
(43:172.) Even Crantz admits that, after all, "their connu
bial intercourse is conducted with tolerable decorum."
(16.1:147; see also 42:420.) A saying current in East Green
land, that "the whale, the musk-ox, and the reindeer left the
country because the men had too much to do with other men's
wives," suggests a belief that indulgence in that way is not
quite right. Some of the men, however, declared it was
"because the women were jealous of their husbands." (30:100.)

A custom found among the Eskimo everywhere is the ex
changing and lending of wives. (5 :579 ; 6 :225 ; 66 :189 ; 48 :60 ;
42 :413 ; 43 :148, 169 ; 69 :435 ; 26 :424. )

The exchange is often a sign of friendship. Thus, at Bering
Strait, where it is common for two men in different villages
to become bond-fellows or brothers by adoption, one of them,

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 75

when received as guest by the other, is given the use of his
host's bed with the wife during his stay. When the visit is
returned, the same favor is extended ; as a consequence ' * neither
family knows who is the father of the children." (45:292;
see also 5:579; 42:413.)

Sometimes this expression of good-will is connected with
decided practical advantage. Thus, to quote Rasmussen,

"if a man has to go away on a long hunting expedition, and he wants a
woman with him, he can, if his own wife, for instance on account of preg
nancy, is unfitted to endure the hardships of an expedition by sledge, lend
her to a man who is remaining, and in return receives his."

Also

' ' if a young wife is homesick for friends and family who live a long way
off, if her husband is willing to humor her, but does not himself wish to
undertake the journey, a man fond of travelling will often announce him
self as agreeable to take the other on her visit, leaving his own wife as
hostage." (50:64.)

Murdoch reports a similar case where a man, on going on
a hunting expedition, borrowed his cousin's wife, "as she was
a good shot, and a good hand at deer hunting," while his own
wife went with the other man on a trading expedition.
(42:413.)

A temporary exchange is sometimes made permanent.
(43:148.) Murdoch gives as the reason that "the couples find
themselves better pleased with their new mates than with the
former association." Another reason, given by Holm, is that,
since the men at the same time exchange various things besides
wives, they "do not wish to part with the things they have
come into possession of." (30:98.) But there may be also a
quite different effect. "When marriage is disturbed, the man
often exchanges his wife for an indefinite period," says Ras
mussen, "It is asserted that the two are soon anxious to be
together again, for a man generally discovers that his own
wife is in spite of all the best." (50:64.)

Hans Egede describes a remarkable "game" found among
the Eskimo of West Greenland, for which "married men and
women come together, as to an assembly." After feasting,
singing, and dancing, every man retired with some other man's
wife. "They are held as examples of the best and noblest
disposition who without chagrin, lend their wives to others."

76 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

While "married people see in it nothing to be ashamed of, the
young and unmarried are forbidden by modesty to take part."
(19:78.) Dalager states that this performance is of very rare
occurrence and adds that "a married woman who has duly
become a mother of a family never takes part in it." (Quoted
43:168.) A similar "lamp-extinguishing game" is found in
East Greenland; it is played in the winter when the people
live in the large communal houses." A good host always has
the lamps put out at night when there are guests in the house. ' '
In this game, unlike the one described by Egede, unmarried
people also take part. But, according to Holm, the same limi
tations as to kinship are in force as with regard to contracting
marriage. (30:98.) One man claimed he did not participate
in this game, for if he did, he would have to reciprocate when
he had guests, and he did not like to have other men have
intercourse with his wife. The neighbors denied this story.
It may have been a fabrication with the purpose of appearing
righteous in the eyes of the Europeans according to their stand
ards. (30:99.)

Murdoch reports that, among some Eskimo on Repulse Bay,
there is said to be, at certain times, "a general exchange of
wives throughout the village, each woman passing from man
to man till she has been through the hands of all, and finally
returns to her husband." He gives as his informants "some
of the whalemen who winter in the neighborhood." The char
acter both of the story and the tellers make us look with sus
picion, or at least caution, on such a statement.

In passing, we may refer to Murdoch's opinion that these
wife-exchanging customs "seem to indicate that the Eskimo
have not wholly emerged from the state called communal mar
riage, in which each woman is considered as the wife of every
man in the community." Since Westermarck published his
epoch-making argument against the theory of primitive promis
cuity, we are not so inclined to this interpretation, which, it
should be said, was a prevailing doctrine when Murdoch wrote
the above.

We have noted that one of the principal causes of polygamy
and divorce is desire for offspring. This appears to be a
prominent motive in exchanging and lending of wives also.
True to life is a tale in which the wives of two housemates
could not get children. Therefore, they exchanged wives for

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 77

a time; whereupon both wives became pregnant and bore sons.
(30:263.) Supernatural agencies may be employed in this
connection. Thus in case of barrenness an angakok may take
a trip to the moon, whence a child is thrown down to the
woman, who thereupon becomes pregnant. "After this difficult
journey, the angakok has the right to sleep with the woman"
—a curious transposition of time-relations. (30:131.) The
angakoks can bring about pregnancy, however, without such
magical flights. (53:148.) According to Hans Egede, women
regard it as an honor to cohabit with an angakok. Also

' ' Many husbands even regard this with favor, and will even pay the anga
koks to lie with their wives, particularly if they themselves cannot get
children by them; for they believe that a child begotten of an angakok
will be more capable and fortunate above others." (19: 78.)

Paul Egede, however, found that some Eskimo regarded this
procedure as indecent (20:135), Klutschak alone refers to the
angakoks' having "jus primae noctis." This lone instance may
be due to misinformation, or misinterpretation of some other
event.

The angakoks sometimes, by order of their tornaks, command
other men to exchange wives with each other. (5:579; 6:158;
26:101; 66:179.) "The women must spend the night in the
huts of the men to whom they are assigned. If any woman
refuses to go, she would be sure to be taken sick." (6:158;
from Hudson Bay; at Smith Sound it is the men who exchange
sleeping-places, 50:64).

Rasmussen writes, "It sometimes happens that a woman will
refuse with tears to be exchanged, but this is rare. Then the
husband beats her as a punishment. ' ' ( Other women may take
the leading part in forcing a reluctant wife to yield. See
26:102.) "These conditions," he continues, "give rise to curi
ous ethical ideas among the Eskimo. A man once told me
that he only beat his wife when she would not receive other
men. She would have nothing to do with anyone but him —
and that was her only failing." (50:65.)

After these considerations, we will probably regard Amund
sen as unnecessarily hard on his own race when he finds in a
host's offer of the loan of his wife "another striking proof of
the fact that this tribe had been in contact with 'civilized'
men." (1.1:293.)

78 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

In considering the phases of Eskimo morality brought out
in the foregoing, the following comment by Nansen is worth
noting :

"We should beware how we fix ourselves at one point of view, and un
sparingly condemn ideas and practices which the experience of many
generations has developed among another people, however much they may
conflict with our own. There may be underlying reasons which do not
at once meet the eye, and which place the whole matter in a different
light. . . . Their way of thinking in these matters is less ideal and
more practical than ours, and their point of view entirely different. Their
habit of exchanging wives, for example, and their treatment of barren
women, seems to us wanton and immoral; but when we remember that the
production of offspring is the great end and aim of their conduct, and
reflect what an all-important matter this is for them, we may perhaps
pass a somewhat milder judgment."

He remarks that to the Eskimo the exhortation to increase
and multiply seems to be of greater weight than the prohibition
of the seventh commandment. And he adds a very important
suggestion, "The reason may partly be that his race is by
nature unprolific." (43:169 sq.)

Homosexual practices have been reported by several writers
on the Eskimo. It has been rather prominently noted among
the extreme western tribes. (For details see 32:120; 56:173,
176; 2.1:82.) It is almost entirely confined to males who play
the role of the opposite sex. No cases have been reported from
other sections. Some references in folk-lore may, however, be
of significance. A tale from Cumberland Sound tells of a
woman who transformed herself into a man and married her
adopted daughter. (6:248.) In another from the same region,
one man took another for wife. (6:325.) Still a third, from
Greenland, deals with a woman who disguised herself as a man,
and took her daughter-in-law for wife. Her son killed his
"despicable mother." (53.)

23. POSITION AND TREATMENT OF WOMEN
Several writers speak of the Eskimo women as the "property"
of their husbands (48:60; 43:121, 147; 50:62) ; others of their
life as one of "slavery." (2.1:65; 16.1:151.) But such ex
pressions cannot be taken in a literal or legalistic sense. In
deed, some of the authors referred to above would be among
the first to deny implications which such statements might
convey.

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 79

We have already shown that in the matter of contracting
marriage, the choice or consent of the female is not an alto
gether unknown factor. As to divorce, her rights are the same
as those of the man. The personal property she brings with
her at marriage remains hers inviolate during and after the
union.

As to the husband's power over her person, Rink says "the
husband had the right of punishing his wife by striking her
in the face with just sufficient force to leave visible traces."
(53:25.) Boas^to the contrary, speaking of the Central Es
kimo, holds that "the husband is not allowed to maltreat or
punish his wife." (5:579.) The real state of affairs is prob
ably that there are no "rights" one way or the other. Wife-
beating is often indulged in (6:298, 538; 42:414; 20:123,
195; 30:102; 1.1:307; 50:55) and as we shall see presently,
she reciprocates if she can. If either party doesn't like the
treatment he or she is free to leave. There certainly is no legal
machinery by which either sex can enforce its "rights." It is
a principle among the Eskimo not to interfere in domestic
broils (50:56; 30:102), except in cases where relatives may side
with the wife. (50:61.) But they too may stand idly by, like
the man, who, when Rasmussen appealed to him to help his
own sister, replied that "women must be punished occasionally
to make them obedient." (50:56.)

But, as has been already hinted, the story is not all on one
side. A case reported by Murdoch is not unique: "a stalwart
wife turned the tables on her husband who attempted to abuse
her, giving him a thorough beating and then leaving his house. ' '
(42:414.) Peary speaks of a woman who "proved her right
to independence by blackening the old man's eye." (48:60.)
Amundsen tells of a couple, the female partner of which was
"the biggest and strongest lady of the tribe." "This was a
typical 'happy marriage,' she reigned absolute and he obeyed
blindly." (1.1:307-8.) Rasmussen witnessed a battle between
a man and his wife. "Women's whims! It is quite amusing
to cure them of them!" shouted the man. "Like a flash of
lightning she sprang at him and struck him such a violent blow,
that he fell down with a howl." This caused exceeding mer
riment all through the village. "The strong man has been
knocked down by a woman. Fancy! Ere was thrown by his
wife— pfui, by a woman!" (50:58; cf. 30:97.)

80 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

Such incidents as these seem to make unnecessary Petitot's
theory that the one line of the Eskimo's ancestry came of a
conquered race, which the victors assimilated by marrying and
subjecting their women. "I can explain in no other way the
complete servility of the fair sex." (49:104.)

But such domestic unpleasantnesses need not be supposed to
be common occurrences among the Eskimo. Like similar hap
penings among ourselves, they are of course more likely to get
"in print" than the even tenor of the average home life.
Nearly all who are familiar with the Eskimo would agree with
Holm when he says that "the men as a rule treat their wives
well." (30:96.) Petitot, in the passage referred to above,
compares the general treatment of women by the Eskimo and
by the Indians among whom he worked much to the credit of
the former. Nansen, after describing some turbulent episodes,
adds, "Scenes of this sort, however, are rare among this peace
able people." (43:121, 148.) Murdoch declares "there often
appeared to be a warm attachment between married people."
(42:410; cf. 1.1:308.) Several writers describe scenes of
demonstrative affection. According to Holm, " it is a usual thing
to see married people caressing each other with extraordinary
intimacy." (30:96; cf. 110; also 50:59.) Rasmussen writes:

"On the whole I have retained the pleasantest impression of the mutual
relations between man and woman. . . . We are quick to judge the
men, because they strike; and we are sorry for the women, who get a
black eye now and again as the result of a little temper. But we forget
that we civilized men, by a poisoned word, can often strike harder and
more brutally than the Eskimo with his fist." (50: 63 sqq.)

The mutual affection of married people grows with age. To
quote Dalager, "the longer a married couple live together, the
more closely are they united in affection, until at last they pass
their old age together like innocent children." (43:148; cf.
30:97.) Murdoch points out that marital troubles are chiefly
among young couples. (42:414.)

As to the position of woman in the community, we have
very divergent testimony. Holm, for instance, remarks that
"the women have social importance only in as far as they
give occasion for disagreement among men. Their position can
nearest be regarded as that of servants." (30:87.) But there
are many more witnesses which take a quite different view of
"woman's sphere." Thus Murdoch says:

GILBEBTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 81

"The women appear to stand on a footing of perfect equality with the
men both in the family and in the community. The wife is the constant
and trusted companion of the man in everything except the hunt, and her
opinion is sought in every bargain or other important undertaking."
(See also 46, 1:449; 4: 387, 391; 32: 119; 50: 64.)

Nansen affirms that, if

"the social position occupied by its women affords the best criterion of a
people's place in the scale of civilization [a view which he does not ac
cept; cf. 71, 1: 646] the Eskimo must be allowed to have reached a pretty
high level of development. For the Eskimo woman plays no insignificant a
part in the life of the community." (43: 121; see also 133.)

The facts of the division of labor between the sexes shed
light on this problem, and merit some consideration. Writers
to speak of women's life as "slavery" use that term primarily,
I think, as synonomous with drudgery, although inferiority
and subjection may also be implied. Now no one denies that
the Eskimo woman has a hard task to perform. But are the
men idlers? The principle of division of labor is fundamental
to an understanding of Eskimo social and economic life. As
Nansen puts it, "The employments of the sexes are entirely
distinct," and he goes on to say:

"The Eskimo have not yet attained to the conception that there is little
or no difference between the men and women. They hold that there are,
among other things, certain essential physical differences." (43: 122.)

For an excellent detailed treatment of this subject we refer
to this author's chapter on "The Position and Work of
Women." Without going into detail here, we quote the fol
lowing from Nansen, which is typical of the Eskimo every
where :

"To the man's share falls the laborious life at sea, as hunter and food-
provider; but when he reaches the shore with his booty, he has fulfilled
the most important part of his social function. He is received by his
womenfolk, who help him ashore; and while he has nothing to do but to
look after his kayak and his weapons, it is the part of the women to drag
the booty up to the house. The women flay the seal and cut it up accord
ing to fixed rules, and the mother of the house presides at the division of
it. Further, it is the women's duty to cook the food, to prepare the skins,
to cover the kayaks and woman-boats, to make clothes, and to attend to all
other domestic tasks. In addition to this they build the houses, pitch the
tents, and row the woman-boats." (43: 123; cf. 26: 178; 30: 88; 19: 62;
16. 1: 154.)

82 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

It is also common, on overland journeys, for a woman to act
as leader and guide of the dog-team. (42:274, 359; 26:138,
215, 1.1:175.) In East Greenland the men share in work other
wise performed only by women, such as flensing the seal, put
ting up the tent, and dragging the game to the house.
(30:97.)

The following words of Westermarck are perfectly applicable
to the Eskimo:

' ' It is obvious that this strict division of labor is apt to mislead the
travelling stranger. He sees the women hard at work, and the men look
ing idly on; and it escapes him that the latter will have to be busy in
their turn, within their own sphere of action. . . . The wife is pro
nounced to be an abject slave of her husband, destitute of all right. And
yet the strong differentiation of work, however burdensome it may be to
the wife, is itself a source of rights, giving her authority within a circle
which is exclusively her own." (71, 1: 637.)

This division of labor, based on physical and social condi
tions, has become fixed by custom, so that departure from it
is regarded as a disgrace. As Nansen says, * t it was beneath the
dignity of the hunter to lend a hand" in any work peculiar
to women. (43:123; cf. 69:434.) But it should be added, for
this is liable to be overlooked, that even more disgraceful than
for a man to do a woman's, is it for a man not to do a man's
work. To the point is Crantz' statement that "those unable
to catch seals are held in the greatest contempt." (16.1:151.)
Recall the importance of ability as a hunter as a qualification
for marriage.

A certain distinction between the sexes is seen on some social
occasions. For instance, at meals and banquets, the women do
not eat with the men. They eat either afterwards, or at the
same time by themselves. '( 19:76; 5:563; 1.1:122; 43:134.)
We must be careful not to read too much significance into such
a custom. Certainly, there is no evidence that the Eskimo
women regard this as a sign of social inferiority, as some of
the authorities do. Indeed they may prefer this arrangement.
Dalager relates that the men sit in their place and discuss
their hunting adventures, past and future (a subject more in
teresting to them than to the women), while "the women too
have in the meantime formed a little party by themselves in
another corner." (Quoted 43:134.) We know that women
take part, equally with the men, in important events, like the

GILBERTSON: ESKIMO CULTURE 83

singing contests and the festivals for the dead. Also women,
even little girls, may be angakoks. (43:29; 63:281, 299.)

In concluding this survey of the life of the Eskimo woman
it is well to consider thoughts like these by Rasmussen:

"A superficial consideration of the position of women in Eskimo society
might induce one mistakenly to believe that she leads exclusively a cowed
and unhappy existence. But certainly no one would be more astonished
than herself if any one came to the Eskimo woman and pitied her. . . .
She herself has no consciousness whatever of being man's drudge. . . .
That they are indispensable to the maintenance of the social fabric they
know quite well and are proud of it. ' ' ( 50 : 62 sqq. )

24. CONCLUSION

In closing this study, the writer is keenly aware of its in
completeness and inadequacy. Doubtless, errors of interpreta
tion are not wanting. No one could more eagerly welcome
criticism and correction of any such. He realizes also how
doubtful, in the present state of our knowledge, are many points
of fact. Numerous inconsistencies and contradictions in the
available evidence remain unresolved. To accomplish this, as
well as arrive at a safe interpretation of the older observed
data, recourse must be had to further "careful field work,"
as Boas has emphasized. (8:805.) I think a study of this
kind impresses one with the uncertain and fragmentary nature
of our information even about a people of whom so much has
been written; and the caution necessary in weighing conclu
sions based on "comparative" studies of great numbers of
peoples, about most of whom our accurate knowledge is pain
fully meager. Further, this humble effort, I believe, brings
out the importance of studying ethnological phenomena in the
proper relations to the total cultural complex of which they
are a part. Without a knowledge of such relations, many
features of Eskimo morality would be even less comprehensible
than they now are.

Finally, I may say, that one must be impressed with the in
tense humanness of this people — that "a man's a man for a'
that" — even an Eskimo. And, while it is the business of the
ethnologist to describe and explain, not to praise or censure,
I cannot but express a profound admiration for these "neigh
bors of the north pole." To study their life and character
has been a genuine pleasure. Of those things in their morality

84 JOURNAL OF RELIGIOUS PSYCHOLOGY

which may jar our civilized sensibilities, I can but say with
Osaquaq, the Smith Sound Eskimo,

"Our tales are of men's experiences, and the things one hears of are not
always lovely things. But one cannot deck a tale to make it pleasant, if
at the same time it shall be true. The tongue must echo the event and
cannot adapt itself to taste or caprice."

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