The Cordova daily times., 1921-05-24
Peculiar Religious Beliefs Among Eskimo Tribes
 R. DANIEL NEUMAN IN
By DIR. DANIEL S. NEUMAN, IN THE PATHFINDER

it. Is it for us to dispute their wis dom?"
 The Ongutkuk was accredited with having intercourse not only with the evil spirit, but also with the soul of the departed ones. I have never been able to find any old time Eski- mo who believed that the doctor had any connection with anything
 but evil. In olden times the Eskimos firmly
 believed that the Ongutkuk in a very short space of time could travel to the moon or the sun In my collec- tion I have several pictorial records which elaborately describe these dis tant flights. I have also an ivory record where there are numerous
 symbols to designate the remarkable | cures which he has affected Ap-
 parently he attributed them to the healing power of spirits.
 A good deal of property was given
 to the Ongutkuks for their hunting songs, which in their simplicity they believed brought success in hunting and fishing. To my own knowledge there were many idols on Diomede
 and St. Lawrence islands. These dols had separate names and each one was accredited with a special power. I have in my collection an immense face which, apparently, was carved by nature. It was the idol of the Diomede islands and was' worshipped under the name of "Ageu- lak." For a good many hundreds of years it occupied the place of honor n the front of their meeting house md was given credit on many differ ant occasions for saving the islanders rom great dangers by it's presence. physically i'll and deformed. The idol received an offering of meat from the spells. In later years it became fam ous as the healer of the sick, and dozens of oomlaks made pilgrimages l in the summer time, bringing those physically ill and deformed The ido became so noted that the Little bio
 mede inhabitants grew jealous and 1 carved similar one, initiating the
 original Ageulak which they placed
 in the entrance to their Casino. That | idol is also ill my possession. Both
 are hideous in the extreme with hair | lip and cross-eyed. On the same isl and there were minor twin idols called "Aikakut," which were sus-
 pended on walrus tongues inside the
 meeting house. The "Onkutkuks" for
 bade the people to make an offering
 to them with anything but whale meat.
 l The Big Diomede still possessed
 one more idol called "Kusinzak,"
 which 1 was also able to add to my collection. It is carved to represent
 whale with human face in the cen.
 ter and was used in early spring
 when the boats were first lowered into the water. Usually it was at tached to the bottom of the boat. The offering to this idol was only seal meat. Alaska natives also worshipped both the whale and the moon. Sacri- fees were thrown in the water and air for both at periods.
 A good many fetishes, such as carved animals, birds, tufts of feath- CTS, smoked topaz, and many others were also possibly considered semi divine, although. personally, I am of the opinion of w. T. Lopp, that these were merely good-luck pieces, and their belief in them was similar to
 the white mans faith in the horse
 shoe
 The entire absence among the older Eskimos of any conception of God has made their descendants extreme- ly eager to join the different churches. Indeed, as they were not called upon to discard any heather gods, the Christian religion appealed l to them probably more powerfully than to any other primitive race. AS it removed from their minds all the foreboding horror of unfriendly and evil spirits, it is quite obvious that it added tremendously to their spiritual comfort and well-being
 Kodak finishing ScarhorOugh