n seats of
honor next to the headman of the village according to the distance
from which they have come. The back of the room (kaan), the place of
honor, is reserved for this purpose.

As soon as all are gathered in the kasgi, a feast is brought in for
the tired travelers. Kantags of sealmeat, the blackskin of the
bowhead, salmon berries swimming in oil, greens from the hillsides,
and pot after pot of tea take off the edge of hunger. After gorging
themselves, the guests seem incapable of further exertion, and the
remainder of the day is spent in visiting.

THE FEAST GIVERS

The feast givers or n['ae]skut assemble in the kasgi the second day,
and the ceremony proper begins. They range themselves around the
pugyarok or entrance, the chorus and guests occupying the back of the
room and the spectators packing themselves against the walls.

Each feast giver is garbed according to the sex of his dead relative,
not his own, so that some men wear women's clothes and vice versa.
Each bears in his right hand a wand about two feet long
(Kelezruk).[24] This is a small stick of wood surmounted with tufts of
down from ptarmigan (Okozregewik). All are dressed to represent the
totem to which the deceased belongs. One wears a fillet and armlet of
wolfskin (Egoalik); others wear armlets of ermine (Tareak); still
others are crowned with feathers of the raven (Tulua) or the hawk
(Tciakauret).[25] After a short dance they withdraw and the day's
ceremony is finished.

[24] The same arrangement characterizes the finger masks of the
Inviting-In Dance. (Kiggilunok), meaning wand, in southern dialect.

[25] Southern dialect. Akkizhzhigik, Ptarmigan. Teibuviak, hawk;
Tulukauguk, meaning raven.

The following day the n['ae]skut assemble again, but they have doffed
their fine feathers, and are dressed in their oldest clothes. The
suits of the day before they carry in a grass sack. They wear
raincoats of sealgut tied about the waist with a belt of dogskin, and
enter the kasgi with eyes cast on the floor. Even in the dances they
keep their faces from the audience.

This attitude of humility is in accord with Eskimo ethics. They say
that if they adopt a boastful air and fail to give as many presents as
the other n['ae]skut they will be ashamed. So they safeguard themselves
in advance.

THE RITUAL

Advancing with downcast eyes, the n['ae]skut creep softly across the
kasgi and take their places before the funeral lamps. T