The only object in use among these people that can be considered a
toilet article is the small hair comb (ĭ^{d}lai´utĭn), usually made of
walrus ivory.
The collection contains ten specimens, from which No. 56566_b_ [182]
(Fig. 98_a_) has been selected as the type. It is made of walrus ivory
(from near the root of the tusk). When in use, it is held with the tip
of the forefinger in the ring, the thumb and middle finger resting on
each side of the neck. This is perhaps the commonest form of the comb,
though it is often made with two curved arms at the top instead of a
ring, as in Fig. 98_b_, No. 56569 [194], or sometimes with a plain
top, like No. 56572 [210] (Fig. 98_c_). Nine of the ten combs, all
from Utkiavwĭñ, are of walrus ivory, but No. 89785 [1006], which was
the property of Ilû´bwga, the Nunatañmiun, who spent the winter of
1882-’83 at Utkiavwĭñ, is made of reindeer antler. This was probably
made in the interior, where antler is more plentiful than ivory. All
these combs are made with great care and patience. The teeth are
usually cut with a saw, but on one specimen the maker used the sharp
edge of a piece of tin, as we had refused to loan him a fine saw. This
kind of comb is very like that described by Parry from Iglulik.[N272]
[Footnote N272: 2nd Voyage, p. 194, Fig. 12, Pl. opp. p. 548.]
[Illustration: FIG. 98.--Hair combs.]