The Roanoke times. [volume] (Roanoke, Va.) 1890-1895, 1892-04-15
CUSTOMS OF THE esoUIMAux.
How They Marry. Their Religion and
Love for ThcatrIcaIs.


Love for Thcatr1cals. \
There is no special ceremony connect
I'd with marriage among them, says the
boston Transcript. In some tribes the
husband joins the wife's relatives and
is expected to hunt and fish for Them.
If he is lazy or refuses to give the furs
he gets to his father in-law he is likely
to be bounced, and some one more ac-
tive and obedient installed in his place
as husband. Sometimes it happens that
II girl has ten or twelve husbands in.
succession before she finally settles
down to permanent conjugal state.
Virtue is not remarkably developed.
among the women, nor is sentiment int
regard to chastity particularly keen,
Men sometimes exchange wives for a.
time, and they have been known to rent
their spouses to white miners for a sea-
son. Polygamy prevails to limited,
extent.
Children are very commonly sold, the.
price for little girl being sealsl1in
bag of oil or an old suit of clothes. The
religion of the natives is merely belief,
in witchcraft and evil spirits Mystery
men attend to driving away bad spirits.
and to the curing of illnesses caused by,
these diabolical agencies. When the:
sick are near death, they arc usually
carried to an clubhouse to die, though
often they are killed by the mystery,
man in attendance, with q stab in the.
temple or breast. Frequently the agedi
and helpless are slain at their own re-
quest. The dead are wrapped in skins
and placed on elevated scaffolds, to
keep them from wild animals, thought
some tribes throw out their corpses to
be devourcd by the dogs. ::
Both sexes among the Esquimaux are
tattooed. L3brets are favorite orna-
ments. In early youth n cut is made in
the lower lip and 4 small wooden plug
introduced to keep it from closing.
Gradually it is enlarged, and the adult
is decorated with n labret of jade, ivory,
bone or glass, shaped like a miniature,
the rim being inside the mouth to hold
it. Girls have their ears and sometimes
their noses pierced for chains or other
such ornaments. Along the Arctic
coast men cut off the hair on top of
their heads so that they look like monks,
the object being to avoid soaring the
caribou by the hutter of their locks.
The Esquimaux are fond of eggs not
yet Matched but about to be. They are
much addicted to both liquor and to-
bacco, and it is common thing to see
a nursing infant with guild of tobacco
in its mouth.
The natives are very fond of theatre
calls. They mimic all sorts of animals
wonderfully, and the man who can do
this best is considered great actor.
This sort of mimicry is woven into the
shape of dramatic entertainments. One
performer will be n bear, for example,
clad in appropriate skins, while the
others hunt him. Commonly the hunt
winds up with the death Of the bear or
seal; which is stabbed with knife or
spear, the blood gushing out of con-
eealed bladder SO as to produce real
istic effect. Then the dead animal gets
up and bows to the audience, which mp
plauds wildly. The Esquimaux are
merry people. They are fond of snow
balling and football, playing the latter
game with a ball made of skin stuffed
with hair. They make grotesque masks
to brighten each other with, and the lit
tie girls are devoted to dolls