by Brandon Trail

           Most of the songs, dances, and drumming of the Eskimos has to do with social and religious functions.  In the northwest coastal communities, whaling religious festivals.  Songs were thought to ensure the effectiveness of the harpoons, lines, and floats that were used for the whale hunts (Oxford University Press). Songs were also sung to control the weather and to attract the whales.  Traditional festivals involved social dancing, whale meat distribution, masked dances, and a blanket toss that involved throwing an individual into the air with a walrus skin to the accompaniment of a song (Oxford University Press).

            Another extremely important ceremony was called the Messenger Feast. These required extensive preparation of food, gifts, songs, dances, costumes, and training (Oxford University Press). Messengers were sent from one village to the next inviting them to the feast with song and dance invitations. The festival included extensive greetings, footraces, stomping dances with a box drum, gifts, games, and dances.

            Whaling rituals in the southwest culminated in the Bladder Festival.  Over the course of a month, the spirits of the animals that were hunted were honored.  The purposed of the ritual was for a rebirth of the animals that were harvested.  An ancient Feast for the Dead was similar to this Bladder Festival where songs were sung to honor the spirits of the dead and encourage their return (Oxford University Press).

            In addition to the festivals, songs were also used for non-secular purposes such as control of weather, encourage game, and seek protection (Oxford University Press). Some of these songs and dances were not composed, but completely improvised. Some of the choreography in the dances is completely fixed and rehearsed.  Some dances involve unchoreographed stomping or arm waving (Oxford University Press).