[Transcriber’s Note:
The HTML version of this etext includes all music in MIDI format.
Each piece is a separate file in the /music directory. Filenames are
given here in brackets as [central648] or [eskimo2].
The “killer” in no. I. is a killer whale (_arluk_, gen. _arluup_
or _arlum_).]
Among the arts of the Eskimo poetry and music are by far the most
prominent. The tales which have been related are only a small part of
their stock of traditions. Besides the contents their form also is very
interesting, as most of them have been handed down in unchanged form and
their narration demands a great deal of art. Many traditions are told in
a very abridged form, the substance being supposed to be known.
A specimen of this kind is the Sedna tradition (p. 604). All these tales
must be considered recitatives, many of them beginning with a musical
phrase and continuing as a rhythmic recitation, others being recited in
rhythmic phrases throughout. Other traditions are told in a more
detailed and prosaic manner, songs or recitations, however, being
sometimes included. Ititaujang, for instance, in traveling into the
country looking for his wife, sings the song No. XIII, and in the
Kalopaling tradition the boy, on seeing the two Inuit coming, sings:
[Music [central648]:
Inung-- maqong-- tikitong-- aipa-- kapiteling aipa-- mirqosailing]
[Illustration: BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY SIXTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. V
_a_, _b_, _c_, _e_ Drawn by Aisē´ang, a native of Nuvujen.
_d_, _f_, _g_ Drawn by Maleki, a native of Imigen.