LABRADOR ESKIMO

#16 Respect for the Aged
     (Ernest W. Hawkes, 1914)

The aged are treated with great respect, and the word of the old men and women is final. The Eskimo say that they have lived a long time and understand things in general better. They also feel that in the aged is embodied the wisdom of their ancestors. This does not prevent them, however, from putting the old folks out of the way, when life has become a burden to them, but the act is usually done in accordance with the wishes of the persons concerned and is thought to be a proof of devotion…

[#16] E. W. Hawkes, The Labrador Eskimo (Canada Department of Mines, Geological Survey, Memoir 91, Ottawa: Government Printing Bureau, 1916): 117-18, 136-37.

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