In treating of the single tribes, the routes were mentioned which are
followed by the natives as they travel from shore to shore and from
settlement to settlement. These routes are established by tradition and
the Eskimo never stray from them. In order to obtain a more thorough
understanding of the migrations of single individuals and of families,
the relations between the tribes and the settlements must be discussed.
By the lively intercourse which is always kept up between the
settlements, it cannot fail that marriages between members of different
tribes should be of frequent occurrence and that many ties of affinity
and consanguinity should thus be created. These relations, however,
as distances increase, quickly become less common. For instance, in
Cumberland Sound three people are found belonging to Tununirn, about ten
belonging to Akudnirn, and quite a number coming from Padli. Also, two
Sikosuilarmiut live there, a few natives of Akuliaq and Qaumauang, and
very many Nugumiut. Hall’s accounts concerning the Nugumiut and the
Aivillirmiut prove a similar proportion of strange natives among these
tribes. Every tribe may be said to bring together its immediate
neighbors, as it is closely related to them, while those which are
separated by the tribe itself are strangers to one another. The
importance of this mediate position is regulated by the strength of the
tribe, by the significance of the country in reference to its produce,
and by the routes crossing it.
Thus, the Sikosuilarmiut and the Nuratamiut are closely connected, and
may be considered as forming one group with the Akuliarmiut. The
Sikosuilarmiut have intercourse with the Igdlumiut, the inhabitants of
the northern shore of Labrador. According to Lucien M. Turner, three
tribes may be distinguished there as inhabiting the shores of Ungava Bay
and the eastern shore of Hudson Bay. This report differs somewhat from
the accounts of the Moravian missionaries who have intercourse with the
inhabitants of Ungava Bay near Cape Chidleigh. From their reports four
tribes may be distinguished: the Kangivamiut of George River, the
Kouksoarmiut of Big River, the Ungavamiut of Hope Advance Bay (which is
properly named Ungava), and the Itivimiut of Hudson Bay. I am rather
undecided whether Ungava is a bay or a large strait separating Cape
Wolstenholme and the adjacent land from the continent, as the name
Ungava is also reported south of Cape Wolstenholme. The inhabitants of
this shore are the Itivimiut of the Labrador Eskimo and the Igdlumiut of
the natives of Baffin Land. Probably the intercourse between Sikosuilaq
and Cape Wolstenholme is of no great importance. The Sikosuilarmiut
visit Trinity Islands (Nannuragassain) in skin boats to hunt walrus and
cross by the three islands Tudjaraaq´djung, Akugdlirn, and
Tudjaqdjuara´lung to the opposite shore of Hudson Strait. The passage
across the strait is considered very dangerous, and therefore is rarely
undertaken. The natives do not utter a single word during the long
passage; they believe a destructive gale might be conjured up if they
did. Only once have natives been met with on Salisbury Island (Lyon,
Attempt to reach Repulse Bay, p. 128), but it is doubtful whether they
belonged to the northern or to the southern shore of the strait. As for
the rest, the passage is only known to me by reports I received in
Cumberland Sound, which were confirmed by the whalers visiting the
northern shore of Hudson Strait. I do not know whether any intercourse
exists between Sikosuilaq and Southampton Island. It is worth remarking
that on Mansfield Island numerous ruins of Eskimo habitations have been
found (Gordon, Report on the Hudson’s Bay Expedition, 1884, p. 38).
The Qaumauangmiut are connected with the Nugumiut in the same manner as
with the Akuliarmiut, and many are said to winter near North Bay, which
is also visited by the Akuliarmiut. From Hall’s reports it would appear
that many are settled in Frobisher Bay.
At present the intercourse between the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut is of no
significance, as many years may pass without a journey being made from
one tribe to the other. Formerly, when many whalers visited Cumberland
Sound and Field Bay, a number of Nugumiut immigrated to the sound, and
consequently almost half of the Eskimo now settled on the western shore
of Cumberland Sound were born in Nugumiut or Ukadliq. At the same time
many Oqomiut settled among the Nugumiut. That period was doubtless an
exceptional one; at any rate, the long stretch of uninhabited shore
between the settlements of the two tribes is not favorable to intimate
intercourse. Indeed, even now the Nugumiut are considered strangers in
the sound, and, notwithstanding the existence of many intermarriages
between the tribes, a number of families are not at all acquainted with
one another. It is remarkable that the number of natives born in
Nugumiut is much larger on the western shore than on the eastern. They
seem to have joined their nearest neighbors, the southern Talirpingmiut,
perhaps for the reason that in their district the geographic character
of the land is most similar to that of Frobisher Bay. The number of
Nugumiut settled among the inhabitants of Nettilling Fjord and among the
Kingnaitmiut is far less. Among the Saumingmiut there is no one who has
traveled beyond Naujateling, and in Padli or farther north there are
very few individuals who have been south of Cumberland Sound. It is only
by careful consideration of the birthplace of the different individuals
who are members of the settlements of Cumberland Sound that it is
possible at the present time to detect the former division of the
Oqomiut into subtribes. The inhabitants of the eastern shore are related
to the Padlimiut and the Akudnirmiut; those of the western shore, to the
Nugumiut. In 1840 a brisk intercourse existed between Padli and the
sound (Eenoolooapik, p. 81), and probably sledges crossed the peninsula
every winter. Though the intercourse is not so intimate to-day as it is
between the settlements of the sound, it is yet active. The Kingnaitmiut
form the medium of the regular intercourse between Saumia and Padli,
while families removing to Akudnirn travel along the shore of Davis
Strait. Among the subtribes of the Oqomiut the Saumingmiut are most
nearly related to the Padlimiut and extend their migrations farthest to
the north.
The Akudnirmiut, who are closely connected with the Padlimiut, are
considered strangers by the Oqomiut. The intercourse between the
Akudnirmiut and the Aggomiut is not very frequent, and seems to be
maintained as irregularly as that between the Nugumiut and the Oqomiut.
The inhabitants of the northern sounds and of Fury and Hecla Strait
frequently visit one another. Parry mentions a number of journeys in
each direction (II, p. 436). Hall found natives of Tununirn and
Tununirusirn settled in Iglulik (II, p. 356). I myself found two
Iglulirmiut among the Akudnirmiut. The intercourse seems to have been
always very active, and consequently those tribes may be considered as
one group.
The inhabitants of North Devon belong to the Tununirusirmiut, a few
families of this tribe sometimes settling on the island and after a few
years’ absence returning to their former home.
From Parry’s, Hall’s, and Schwatka’s reports it appears that the
Aivillirmiut are closely related to the Iglulirmiut, while the Eskimo of
Chesterfield Inlet, the Agutit or Kinipetu, form a separate group.
It is remarkable that between the tribes of Hudson Bay and the more
western ones a deep distrust exists, which prevents a frequent and
unlimited intercourse. The Sinimiut and Netchillirmiut are feared by the
Aivillirmiut, though intermarriages and removals from one tribe to the
other are not rare. No doubt they are less closely related than are the
neighboring tribes hitherto mentioned. Unfortunately, too little is
known of the western tribes to admit of a decided opinion whether or not
there exists an important difference in customs and habits. The
Sinimiut, the Netchillirmiut, and the Ugjulirmiut may be comprised in
one group, for they all hold frequent intercourse with one another and
the last two even inhabit the same region at the present time. The
change which the relations between these tribes have undergone since
1833 has already been referred to, as has their intercourse with the
Ukusiksalirmiut. Schwatka (Science, Vol. IV, p. 543) states that they
occasionally meet the Qidneliq of Coronation Bay, but that both tribes
distrust each other. Our knowledge about the migrations from North Devon
to Ellesmere Land and North Greenland is very scanty, but it is
necessary to mention its existence.
Between tribes that are strangers to one another ceremonies of greeting
are customary which are not adapted to facilitate intercourse. The
ceremonies will be described further on (see p. 609). For the present it
will be sufficient to say that duels, with varying details, are common
between a stranger and a man of the tribe, and these sometimes result in
the death of the former.
Among neighboring tribes these ceremonies are dispensed with, for
instance, between the Padlimiut and Oqomiut, Padlimiut and Akudnirmiut,
while a Nugumio or an Akudnirmio unknown in Oqo has there to go through
the whole of the performance. The exception in favor of the former
tribes is doubtless due to the frequent intermarriages with those
tribes, whereby a constant acquaintance is kept up.
Real wars or fights between settlements, I believe, have never happened,
but contests have always been confined to single families. The last
instance of a feud which has come to my knowledge occurred about seventy
years ago. At that time a great number of Eskimo lived at Niutang, in
Kingnait Fjord, and many men of this settlement had been murdered by a
Qinguamio of Anarnitung. For this reason the men of Niutang united in a
sledge journey to Anarnitung to revenge the death of their companions.
They hid themselves behind the ground ice and killed the returning
hunter with their arrows. All hostilities have probably been of a
similar character.
One tradition only refers to a real fight between the tribes. On the
steep island Sagdluaqdjung, near Naujateling, ruins of huts are found on
the level summit. They are said to have been built by Eskimo who lived
by the seashore and were attacked by a hostile tribe of inlanders. The
tradition says that they defended themselves with bows and arrows, and
with bowlders which they rolled down upon the enemy. The occurrence of
huts upon the top of an island is very unusual, and this tradition is
the only one referring to any kind of fights or wars. Even the tradition
of the expulsion of the Tornit a fabulous tribe said to have lived with
the Eskimo on these shores, does not refer to a combat. The details of
this tradition will be found in a subsequent chapter.
I wish to state here that my inquiries and my understanding of the facts
as they have been reported by other travelers do not agree with the
opinions given by Klutschak (Deutsche Rundschau für Geographie und
Statistik, III, p. 418), who claims for the Eskimo of the west shore of
Hudson Bay reservations which are limited by precise lines of
demarkation. In comparing this statement with his own and with Gilder’s
narratives I am led to believe that the relations between the tribes are
the same in these regions as they are farther east. This opinion is
strengthened by Dall’s remarks on the Alaska tribes (Science, p. 228,
1885).
The reasons for the frequent removals of individual Eskimo to strange
tribes are to be looked for in the customs of the natives. I can only
mention here that intermarriage, adoption, and the fear of blood
vengeance are the principal ones.
It is peculiar to the migratory habits of the Eskimo that almost without
exception the old man returns to the country of his youth, and
consequently by far the greater part of the old people live in their
native districts.
During the last decades the most important inducement to removals has
been the presence of the whalers in certain parts of the country. Since
the beginning of our century their fleets have visited the west shore of
Baffin Bay and Davis Strait, and thus European manufactures have found
their way to the inhospitable shores of the Arctic Sea. The most
valuable objects which were bartered were metals and wood. The value of
the former may be seen in its economical application for knives and
harpoon heads. By means of this trade the Akudnirmiut and the
Tununirmiut became far superior to the Oqomiut and the Iglulirmiut, with
whom they traded extensively in dogs, skins, &c. The Akuliarmiut and the
Qaumauangmiut also enjoyed the advantages which accrued from trade with
the ships of the Hudson Bay Company.
When the whalers became better acquainted with the natives and the
peculiar jargon which is still in use was developed, the traffic became
very active, and reached its height after Cumberland Sound was
rediscovered by Penny. As soon as the whalers began to winter in the
sound and to employ the natives the latter received firearms and
European boats in exchange for their wares, and then their modes of
living became materially changed. The immense quantity of European
manufactured articles which thus came into the possession of the natives
induced the removal of many families to the favored region. Particularly
did the Nugumiut and the Akudnirmiut migrate during that period. When in
the course of time the Bay of Nugumiut was visited by the whalers
removals of members of this tribe became less frequent.
After the Eskimo had become acquainted with the advantages of firearms
the natives of Davis Strait also began to trade bearskins for guns and
ammunition, having learned how highly they were prized in Cumberland
Sound. Besides, they received, in exchange for seals and walrus blubber
put up for the whalers, tobacco, pipes, coffee, boxes, &c. In a similar
way the Saumingmiut barter with the whalers of Cumberland Sound, whom
they visit during the winter, carrying heavy loads of bearskins to the
stations.
A brief sketch of the way in which the whaling and the trade with the
Eskimo in Cumberland Sound are carried on may be of interest at this
point. Two of the whaling stations are still kept up. They are situated
on Qeqerten, the settlement of the Kingnaitmiut. When the Eskimo who
have spent the summer inland return at the beginning of October they
eagerly offer their services at the stations, for they receive in
payment for a half year’s work a gun, a harmonium or something of that
nature, and a ration of provisions for their families, with tobacco
every week. Every Saturday the women come into the house of the station,
at the blowing of the horn, to receive their bread, coffee, sirup, and
the precious tobacco. In return the Eskimo is expected to deliver in the
kitchen of the station a piece of every seal he catches.
The time for the fall fishing commences as soon as the ice begins to
form. If the weather, which is generally stormy, permits it, the boats
leave the harbor to look out for the whales which pass along the east
shore of the sound toward the north. During the last few years the catch
has been very unprofitable, only a few whales having been seen. As the
ice forms quickly the boats must be brought back about the end of
October or the beginning of November. Since the whale fishery has become
unprofitable the stations have followed the business of collecting seal
blubber and skins, which they buy from the Eskimo. (See Appendix,
Note 1.)
A lively traffic springs up as soon as the ice becomes strong enough to
allow sledges to pass from shore to shore. The sledges of the stations
are sent from one settlement to another to exchange tobacco, matches,
coffee, bread, &c. for skins and the spare blubber which the Eskimo have
carefully saved up. On the other hand, those natives who require useful
articles, such as cooking pots, lamps, &c., collect quantities of hides
and blubber and go to Qeqerten to supply their wants. The winter passes
quickly amid the stir of business, till everything comes to a stop at
the end of March, when the young sealing season fairly opens.
When the sun has reached such a height that the snow begins to melt in
favored spots, a new life begins at the stations. The skins which have
been collected in the winter and become frozen are brought out of the
store room and exposed to the sun’s rays. Some of the women busy
themselves, with their crescent shaped knives, in cutting the blubber
from the skins and putting it away in casks. Others clean and salt the
skins, which are likewise packed away. The men also find enough work to
do after the young sealing is over, for the whale boats must be got
ready for the spring fishing. Strangers whose services have been engaged
by the station for the next few months arrive daily with their families
and all their goods to take up their abode on Qeqerten. The boats are
dug out of the deep snow, the oars and sails are looked after, the
harpoons are cleaned up and sharpened, and everything is in busy
preparation. The boats are made as comfortable as possible with awnings
and level floors, for the crews are not to come to the shore for about
six weeks.
By the beginning of May, the arrangements having been completed, the
boats are put upon the sledges, which, under the direction of native
drivers, are drawn by dog teams, with their crews, to the floe edge. The
sledges being heavily laden and food for the dogs having to be provided
by hunting, each day’s stage is rather short. Arriving at the floe edge
the sledges are unloaded and the boats are launched. Seals and birds of
all kinds are now found in profusion and the chase is opened without
delay upon everything that is useful and can be shot. Sledges are
regularly sent back to Qeqerten with skins and meat for the families of
the Eskimo, while the blubber is packed in casks, which are kept ready
on the spot.
The most important object of the expedition is the whale. Harpoons and
lines are always in readiness for the contest with the mighty monster.
The boats return to the north with the breaking up of the ice and the
fishing ends in July. The Eskimo are paid off and dismissed and resume
their reindeer hunting, while the whites are glad to enjoy some rest
after the weeks of exhausting labor.
The constant contact between the Eskimo and the whalers has effected a
perfect revolution in the trade between the Eskimo tribes. As the whale
catch in Cumberland Sound has fallen off during the past fifteen years,
a remigration of the population of Davis Strait has occurred, ships
visiting these shores every fall and a regular traffic being kept up.
Therefore many Oqomiut now travel as far as Qivitung in order to trade
there. As Nugumiut is still frequently visited by whalers, there is no
inducement for the inhabitants to leave their country.
Within a few years the Akuliarmiut also have become amply provided with
firearms and European products in general by means of a new whaling
station which has been established in their vicinity.
As to the Iglulirmiut, the importation of European manufactures at Pond
Bay makes the trade with that region even more important than formerly.
The Aivillirmiut and the Kinipetu have immediate intercourse with the
whalers frequenting the western shore of Hudson Bay. Besides, the
southern tribes trade with the stations of the Hudson Bay Company.
The more western tribes of Boothia and its environs are dependent on the
mediation of the Aivillirmiut for their supply of goods, as they
themselves have no chance of communicating with the whites.
Finally, I shall describe the old trading routes which existed between
these tribes before matters were totally changed by the influence of the
Europeans. Two desiderata formed the principal inducement to long
journeys, which sometimes lasted even several years: wood and soapstone.
The shores of Davis Strait and Cumberland Sound are almost destitute of
driftwood, and consequently the natives were obliged to visit distant
regions to obtain that necessary material. Tudjaqdjuaq in particular was
the objective point of their expeditions. Their boats took a southerly
course, and, as the wood was gathered, a portion of it was immediately
manufactured into boat ribs and sledge runners, which were carried back
on the return journey; another portion was used for bows, though these
were also made of deer’s horns ingeniously lashed together. A portion of
the trade in wood seems to have been in the hands of the Nugumiut, who
collected it on Tudjaqdjuaq and took it north. Another necessary and
important article of trade, soapstone, is manufactured into lamps and
pots. It is found in a few places only, and very rarely in pieces large
enough for the manufacture of the articles named. Among the places
visited by the natives for the purpose of obtaining it may be mentioned
Kautaq, east of Naujateling; Qeqertelung, near the former place;
Qarmaqdjuin (Exeter Bay), and Committee Bay. The visitors come from
every part of the country, the soapstone being dug or “traded” from the
rocks by depositing some trifles in exchange. In addition to wood and
soapstone, metals, which were extremely rare in old times, have formed
an important object of trade. They were brought to Baffin Bay either by
the Aivillirmiut, who had obtained them from the Hudson Bay Company and
the Kinipetu, or by the Akuliarmiut. Even when Frobisher visited the
Nugumiut in 1577 he found them in possession of some iron (Frobisher).
The occurrence of flint, which was the material for arrowheads, may have
given some importance to places where it occurs. Formerly an important
trade existed between the Netchillirmiut and the neighboring tribes. As
the district of the former is destitute of driftwood and potstone they
are compelled to buy both articles from their neighbors. In Ross’s time
they got the necessary wood from Ugjulik, the potstone from Aivillik.
They exchanged these articles for native iron (or pyrite), which they
found on the eastern shore of Boothia and which was used for striking
fire. After having collected a sufficient stock of it during several
years, they traveled to the neighboring tribes. For reasons which have
been mentioned this trade is now essentially changed. According to
Schwatka there is a mutual distrust between the Ugjulirmiut and the
Netchillirmiut on one side and the Qidnelik on the other, for which
reason the intercourse between these tribes is very limited.