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Show i9oo] ESKIMO AND PACIFIC 107 are usually adopted at once by whites or members of other tribes who come among them. The skill of the Eskimo hunter in handling his " kayak" in the pursuit of walrus and seal has become proverbial. Eskimo decorative ait exhibits striking variations, and is one of the phases of culture upon which much has been based in the theories of origin and distribution.- In the eastern and central groups the art is rude and in places may hardly be said to exist. *" As one passes westward it becomes richer and richer, until in Alaska the carving and etching on bone and ivory and the work in basketry of the Aleutian Islanders are among the most beautiful examples of primitive aesthetic and technical production. In this connection, too, should be mentioned the passion for music and the facihty in the composition of songs, which the Eskimo display. These songs are usually occasional or topical. Competitions in versification are frequent and are often used as a means of settling disputes and quarrels even of a serious nature, in which case the audience acts as judge. 1 The cgligion of the Eskimo is animistic and much like that of all American peoples, \ preat numbers of spirits are believed to exist and to exert immediate influence upon human affairs, N Dealings with these spirits are carried on chiefly through the shamans, usually known as " angekoks," who may be of either 1 Cranz, History of Greenland, 178; Nansen, First Crossing of Greenland, 337. |