The similarity of the language and traditions of the Eskimo from Behring
Strait to Greenland is remarkable, considering the distance which
separates the tribes. Unfortunately the material from other tribes,
except the Greenlanders, is very scanty, but it is probable that the
same traditions or elements of traditions are known to all the tribes.
In the following table the above traditions are compared with Rink’s
Tales and Traditions of the Greenlanders and with those of other tribes:
Traditions of Greenlanders and other tribes:
Traditions of the Central Eskimo:
Qagsaqsuq, Rink, p. 93.
Qaudjaqdjuq, p. 630.
The man who recovered his sight, Rink, p. 99.
The origin of the narwhal, p. 625.
Igimarasugsuq, Rink, p. 106.
Igimarasugdjuqdjuaq, p. 633.
The man who mated himself with a sea fowl, Rink, p. 145.
Ititaujang, p. 615.
Givioq, Rink, pp. 157 and 429.
Kiviung, p. 621.
Tiggaq, Rink, p. 162.
The visitor, p. 627.
A lamentable story, Rink, p. 239.
No. 1, sundry tales, p. 639.
The sun and the moon, Rink, p. 236. (L’homme lunaire, Petitot,
Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest, p. 7. Also found by Simpson
at Point Barrow.)
The sun and the moon, p. 597.
The moon, Rink, p. 440.
The angakoq’s flight to the moon, p. 598.
The Tornit (from Labrador), Rink, p. 469.
The Tornit, p. 634.
A woman who was mated with a dog, Rink, p. 471.
(Fragmentary in J. Murdoch: “A few legendary fragments from the
Point Barrow Eskimos,” American Naturalist, p. 594, July, 1886.)
Origin of the Adlet and the white men, p. 637.
Some of these stories are almost identical in both countries, for
instance, Qaudjaqdjuq, the origin of the narwhal, &c., and it is of
great interest to learn that some passages, particularly speeches and
songs, occur literally in both countries, for instance, the interesting
song of Niviarsiang (page 637) and the conclusion of the Kiviung
tradition. The tradition of the Tornit and the form of the second tale
(origin of the narwhal) resemble much more those of Labrador than those
of Greenland. The elements of which the traditions are composed are
combined differently in the tales of Baffin Land and Greenland, but most
of these elements are identical. I give here a comparative table.
Greenland.
Baffin Land.
Transformation of a man into a seal.
Rink, pp. 222, 224, 469.
Kiviung, p. 621.
Men walking on the surface of the water.
Rink, pp. 123, 407.
Kiviung, p. 622.
Harpooning a witch.
Rink, p. 372.
Sedna, p. 604.
Erqigdlit.
Rink, pp. 401 et seq.
Adlet, p. 637.
Sledge of the man of the moon drawn by one dog.
Rink, pp. 401, 442.
Qaudjaqdjuq, p. 631, and The flight to the moon, p. 598.
Origin of the salmon.
Cranz, p. 262.
Ititaujang, p. 617.
Arnaquagsaq.
Rink, pp. 150, 326, 466.
Sedna, p. 583.
Origin of the thunder.
Cranz, p. 233; Egede, p. 207.
Kadlu, p. 600.
The following is a comparison between traditions from Alaska and the
Mackenzie and those of the Central Eskimo:
Traditions from Alaska and the Mackenzie:
Traditions of the Central Eskimo:
Men as descendants of a dog, Murdoch, op. cit., 594.
Origin of the Adlet and white men, p. 637.
The origin of reindeer, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.
Origin of the reindeer and walrus, p. 587.
The origin of the fishes, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.
Ititaujang, p. 617.
Thunder and lightning, Murdoch, op. cit., p. 595.
Kadlu the thunderer, p. 600.
Sun and moon, Petitot, op. cit., p. 7.
Sun and moon, p. 597.
Orion, Simpson, p. 940.
Orion, p. 636.
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. IV