Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-08-07
QUEER TASTES IN CLOTHES RELIGION OF THE MASKANS
MYTHOLOGY OF ABORIGINEs
OF ARCTIC TERRITORY.
Russian Missionary, an Archiman-
drite of Greek Church in Alaska,
Writes of Natives.

From the Literary Digest.
There are several we'll known books
which inform rs concerning the religious
beliefs Of the North American Red In
dams the aborigines of South America
and even of Labrador and the subarctic
and arctic regions of this continent But
there has hitherto been only scanty notice
given to the mythology of those vino in
habit the vast peninsula of Alaska. We
owe our more recent knowledge TO the
work of a Russian missionary, Anatoi,
an archimandrite director of mission
Of the Greek Church in Alaska. In his
book ''Indiane Alaska he details all that
is at present to be known about the re-
ligion, mythology and superstition Of one
of the NEST interesting branches of what
popularity style the Indians Of the
North American continent. This writer
has lived many years among these In
dams. race. he says, who are bound 10
be eventually extngushed. and, while
they have played great part in the
history of the world. present a subject of
keen interest to the ethnologist and stu
dent of comparative religion.
Alaskans' Supreme Being.
The Alaskans believe in the existence of
a Supreme Being, declares Archimandrte
Anatoli from whose book. recently pub
lished in Odessa We derive all the infor-
nation contained in this article. They
call him ki-Ankaose. He lives on sum
nit of mountain. arctic Olympus.
where fresh breZe is always blowing. Per
petual verdure and clumps of azure flow
ers cover the slopes of his abode. Silence,
,InDroken even by the murmur of waves,
surrounds his dwelling. He is not the
creator OF he world. nor does he rule 1t by
his providence. Two other gods are the
maker and preserVer of all. kanouk, the
Il
of the gods. His name means 1.-THE man
who is throned forever. He is the Sat
urn and Jehovah Of Alaska. When there
was neither sun. moon. nor stars. and on
the earth neither lakes. rivers, plants. nor
animals kanouk released them from the
box i'm which gigantic demigOd confined
them While kanouk is always represent
ed with the form and feature of man
he is a Proteus I'm his power of metamor-
phosis Sometimes he is a crow, some
times an invisible spirit. lie is a faithful
friend of men, but sometimes Furnishes
them for their want of belief In HIM
Tie Alaskans believe in future life.
This life begins Immediately on the death
OF the individual. The terrestrial sphere
and that beyond the tomb are held to he
so closely united that the passage from
the one to the other is the most natural
thing in the world. Ii is considered that
the best of all deaths Is that on the field
of battle. The souls of warriors enter
at once into the domain of the spirits
who inhabit heaven and have for their
slaves and servants the enemies they
have conquered.
, Cremate the Dead.
The Alaskans jewellers in the realm of
cold always cremate their dead. SO that
they may not suffer from cold in passing
from one world to the other. Those who
have not passed through the fire. as
Dante did. have not tlfe right. in their
final abode, to draw near to the common
hearth. at which cremated souls warm
themselves. but their teeth ever chatter
with the cold as they cast envious looks
of longing at those who warm them
selves at the fire. On this point the
Archmand,tte Anatoli says:
"A missionary constantly threaten
ing his impenitent converts with the
flames of hell But he noticed that this
threat. instead of filling them with ter
ror. was exceedingly agreea BILE to them
next world filled them with JOY The
missionary made complaint on this
point To the bishop. who understood at
once that a northern hell must he rep
resented differently. He therefore told
the missionary to teach his people to
expect hell of frost where the cold is
ten times intense as upon earth This
freezing Gehenna terroriZed them. and
the refractory ones were soon reduced to
Obedience
They also teach. part of their re-
ligion, the fear of Sorcery. and when
sorcerer is detected in his nefarious prac
tices he is treated like the witches of
Salem were treated They leave him on
Al isolated rock, which the tide has left
round him. His only hope IF rescue Is