being drawn in gradually in pyramid shape to a
flat top. In the middle of the top is the [.r]alok or smoke hole, an
opening about two feet square. In a kasgi thirty feet square the ralok
is twenty feet above the floor. It is covered with a translucent
curtain of walrus gut. The dead are always taken out through this
opening, and never by the entrance. The most important feature of the
room is the in['g]lak, a wide shelf supported by posts at intervals.
It stands about five feet high extending around the room. This serves
the double purpose of a seat and bed for the inmates of the kasgi. The
rear, the kaan, is the most desirable position, being the warmest, and
is given to headmen and honored guests.[5] The side portions, kaaklim,
are given to the lesser lights and the women and children; and the
front, the oaklim, being nearest the entrance and therefore cold and
uncomfortable is left for the orphans and worthless men.

[5] The order of the seating on the in['g]lak of invited guests is a
matter of great concern to the Eskimo, as it is an indication of
worth.

Children purchase their right to a seat in the kasgi by making
presents, through their parents, to all the inmates, kasgimiut.

Until they do so they have no right to enter. For the same reason
strangers on entering the kasgi offer a small present to the headman,
who divides it among the people.

The floor of the kasgi is made of rough planking, and the boards in
the center are left loose so that they may be easily removed. These
cover the k[=e]nethluk or fireplace, an excavation four feet square,
and four feet deep, used in the sweat baths. It is thought to be
the place where the spirits sit, when they visit the kasgi, during
festivals held in their honor. Offerings are poured to them through
the cracks in the planks. In the center of the floor is a round hole
about two feet in diameter, called the entrance hole or pugyarok. This
connects with a long tunnel, the a['g]veak, which leads outside. The
tunnel is usually so low that it is necessary to enter in a stooping
position, which the Eskimo does by placing both hands on the sides of
the pugyarok, and drawing himself through. Some dance-houses have
another entrance directly into the room on a level with the ground,
the underground passage being used only in winter. The diagram (Plate
XI) gives an idea of this arrangement.

PARAPHERNALIA

The drum (sauyit)[6] is the only instrument employed