Ethnological results of the Point Barrow expedition: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1888, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1892, pages 3-442Murdoch, John
History
Ethnological results of the Point Barrow expedition: Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1887-1888, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1892, pages 3-442
Murdoch, John
Eskimos -- Alaska -- Barrow, Point, Region
_Finger-rings._--Both sexes now frequently wear brass finger-rings,
called katû´kqlĕrûñ, from katû´kqlûñ, the middle finger, upon which
the ring is always worn.
MISCELLANEOUS ORNAMENTS.
[Illustration: FIG. 97.--Beads of amber.]
_Beads._--In addition to the ornaments already described, the women
use short strings of beads, buttons, etc., to ornament various parts
of the dress, especially the outer side of the inner frock (i´lupa),
and strings of beads are often attached to various objects, such as
pipes, tobacco pouches, etc. One or two women were also observed to
wear large bunches of beads and buttons attached to the inner girdle
in front so as to hang down between the legs inside of the pantaloons.
A similar strange custom was observed by Beechey at Hotham Inlet,
where a young woman wore a good-sized metal bell in the same
uncomfortable manner.[N271] These people appear to have attempted the
manufacture of beads in former times, when they were not so easily
obtained as at present. There is in the collection a string of four
small beads made from amber picked up on the beach (Fig. 97, No. 89700
[1716]). They are of dark honey-colored transparent amber, about
one-third inch long and one-half inch diameter at the base. Such beads
are very rare at the present day. The above specimens were the only
ones seen.
[Footnote N271: Voyage, p. 295.]
TOILET ARTICLES.
The only object in use among these people that can be considered a
toilet article is the small hair comb (ĭ^{d}lai´utĭn), usually made of
walrus ivory.
The collection contains ten specimens, from which No. 56566_b_ [182]
(Fig. 98_a_) has been selected as the type. It is made of walrus ivory
(from near the root of the tusk). When in use, it is held with the tip
of the forefinger in the ring, the thumb and middle finger resting on
each side of the neck. This is perhaps the commonest form of the comb,
though it is often made with two curved arms at the top instead of a
ring, as in Fig. 98_b_, No. 56569 [194], or sometimes with a plain
top, like No. 56572 [210] (Fig. 98_c_). Nine of the ten combs, all
from Utkiavwĭñ, are of walrus ivory, but No. 89785 [1006], which was
the property of Ilû´bwga, the Nunatañmiun, who spent the winter of
1882-’83 at Utkiavwĭñ, is made of reindeer antler. This was probably
made in the interior, where antler is more plentiful than ivory. All
these combs are made with great care and patience. The teeth are
usually cut with a saw, but on one specimen the maker used the sharp
edge of a piece of tin, as we had refused to loan him a fine saw. This
kind of comb is very like that described by Parry from Iglulik.[N272]
[Footnote N272: 2nd Voyage, p. 194, Fig. 12, Pl. opp. p. 548.]
[Illustration: FIG. 98.--Hair combs.]
IMPLEMENTS FOR GENERAL USE.
TOOLS.
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