Page:Eskimo Life.djvu/195

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LOVE AND MARRIAGE
153

home in his kaiak with his booty, rush up to his home, and there consume a biscuit, standing between his mother's knees, and drinking, from time to time, from her breast.

All the children of Christian Greenlanders are of course christened and given names. The original Greenland names however, have, owing to the influence of the missionaries, almost entirely died out. In their stead are used all possible Biblical names from both the Old and the New Testament. No where in the world, probably, is one surer to meet with the whole dramatis personæ of the Scriptures, right from Father Adam down to Peter and Paul. Our notable friend Dalager does not seem to have liked this misuse of the Bible, and therefore, he says, 'I once asked a certain missionary why a Greenlander, when he was christened, could not be allowed to retain his former name, which was probably a very natural and good one. "It sounds ill" he replied, "to have a Christian called after a seal or a sea-bird." I smiled and answered that at home there were plenty of Ravens, Hawks, and Crows, who passed for excellent people none the less.' On this point I cannot but agree with Dalager.

The Greenlanders are exceedingly fond of their children and do everything to make them happy, especially if they are boys. These little tyrants will