The Aiyaguk or Asking Festival is the first of the local feasts. It
occurs about the middle of November when the Eskimo have all returned
from their summer travels and made their iglus secure against the
storms of the coming winter. So, with caches full of fish, and houses
packed with trade goods after a successful season at the southern
camps, they must wait until the shifting ice pack settles and the
winter hunting begins. Such enforced inaction is irksome to the
Eskimo, who does not partake of the stolidity of the Indian, but like
a nervous child must be continually employed or amused. So this
festival, which is of a purely social character, has grown up.
My first intimation that there was a celebration taking place was
being attracted by a tremendous uproar in the native village just as
darkness had fallen. Suspecting that the Eskimo were making merry over
a native brew, called "hoosch,"[14] I slipped down to the village to
see what was the matter. I was met by the queerest procession I have
ever seen. A long line of men and boys, entirely naked and daubed over
with dots and figures of mingled oil and charcoal,[15] were proceeding
from house to house with bowls in their hands. At each entrance they
filed in, howling, stamping and grunting, holding out their dishes
until they were filled by the women of the house.
All this time they were careful to keep their faces averted so that
they would not be recognized. This is termed the "Tutuuk" or "going
around." Returning to the kasgi they washed off their marks with
urine, and sat down to feast on their plunder.
[14] This is a liquor distilled from flour and molasses. In the
operation an old cask and a gun barrel are used. The liquid is
fermented with sour dough and allowed to distill through the barrel.
The Eskimo had no liquor prior to the advent of the whalers, who
supplied them with the materials and probably taught them the art of
distilling. The U. S. Revenue Cutter "Bear" has been active in
breaking up the practice. In 1909, six illicit stills were seized on
the Diomede Islands.
[15] The first night of the feast the men and older boys meet in the
kasgi, and two boys named the Raven (Tulukauguk) and the Hawk
(Teiburiak) mix the paint and assist the men in ornamenting
themselves.
The next day the men gathered again in the kasgi and the Aiyaguk or
Asking Stick was constructed. It was made by a man especially chosen
for the purpose. It was a slender wand about three feet long with
three globes made of thin strips of wood hanging by a strip of
o['k]linok from the smaller end. It was carried by the messenger
between the men and women during the feast, and was the visible sign
of his authority. It was treated with scrupulous respect by the Eskimo
and to disregard the wishes conveyed by means of it during the feast
would have been considered a lasting disgrace. When not in use it was
hung over the entrance to the kasgi.
The wand maker, having finished the Asking Stick, took his stand in
the center of the room, and swaying the globes, to and fro, asked the
men to state their wishes. Then any man present had the privilege of
telling him of an article he wished and the name of the woman from
whom he wished it. (Among the southern tribes the men made small
wooden models of the objects they wished which were hung on the end of
the Asking Stick.) The messenger then proceeded to the house of the
woman in question, swinging the globes in front of her, repeated the
wish and stood waiting for her answer. She in turn recollected
something that she desired and told it to the messenger. Thereupon he
returned to the kasgi, and standing in front of the first party, swung
the globes, and told him what was desired in return. In this way he
made the round of the village. The men then returned to their homes
for the article desired, while the messenger blackened his face with
charcoal and donned a costume betoking humility. This was considered
the only proper attitude in presenting gifts. The costume consisted of
wornout clothing, of which a disreputable raincoat (Kamleika) and a
dogskin belt with the tail behind were indispensable parts.
Then the men and women gathered in the kasgi where the exchanges were
made through the messenger. If anyone did not have the gift requested
he was in honor bound to secure it as soon as possible and present it
to his partner. Those exchanging gifts entered a relationship termed
o[=i]lo['g]uk, and among the northern tribes where the ancient forms
persevere, they continued to exchange presents throughout succeeding
festivals.
After this exchange, a dance was performed by the women. They stripped
to the waist, and taking their places on the i['n]glak, went through a
series of motions in unison. These varied considerably in time and
movement from the conventional women's dance.
According to custom at the conclusion of the dance any man has the
privilege of asking any unmarried woman through the messenger, if he
might share her bed that night. If favorably inclined, she replies
that he must bring a deerskin for bedding. He procures the deerskin,
and presents it to her, and after the feast is over remains with her
for the night.
Whether these temporary unions lead to permanent marriage I was unable
to find out. The gift of reindeer skin is very like the suit of
clothing given in betrothal and would furnish material for the parka
which the husband presents to his bride. The fact that the privilege
is limited to unmarried women might be also urged in turn. As the
system of exchanging wives was formerly common among the Alaskan
Eskimo, and as they distribute their favors at will, it is rather
remarkable that the married women are not included, as in the
licentious feasts recorded of the Greenlanders.[16] From talks with
some of the older Eskimo I am led to regard this as a relic of an
ancient custom similar to those which have been observed among many
nations of antiquity, in which a woman is open to violation at certain
feasts. This privilege is taken advantage of, and may become a
preliminary to marriage.
[16] See Hans Egede, Det Gamle Groenlands Nye Perlustration, p. 78.