I have seen and have helped to build among the Aivilingmiut, and also some among the Iglulingmiut and the Arviligjuarmiut, have all been built in a regular spiral.
The Coast Pâdlimiut observe certain rules when building snow huts. Whether they are also observed by other Caribou Eskimos I do not know; on the other hand they are known to the Aivilingmiut. The Image missingFig. 13.Snow shovel. rules are followed in order that the children of the builder may be more skilful than those of other people. When a block is fitted into place, all the chips from it are thrown out of the house; it does not matter, however, that any pieces of a block already fixed fall inside. When a row of blocks has been cut ready in the snow and a side row is to be commenced, the first block must not be stabbed loose but must be entirely cut out, and such a block must only be used in the side walls of the house. The final block in the dome must be so laid that its softest end (the end that faced downwards) faces the back of the house. If sons are desired, it must be made bigger than the last block but one.
Should there be more than one to build the house, the helper begins to stop the chinks between the blocks as the wall gradually rises. Large holes are closed with a piece af snow; the chinks are closed by his scraping some of the fixed blocks with the snow knife and pressing the loose snow firmly into the crack with the gloved left hand. Finally, it is the women's task to throw loose snow up against the lowest part of the wall. This is done with the snow shovel [poalrit]. A Harvaqtôrmiut snow shovel from the settlement Nahiktartorvik (P 28: 78; fig. 13) consists of two short boards which are placed edge to edge and bound together with sinew thread; at the top the boards are narrowed towards the handle, which is of antler and split into two branches, between which the wood of the blade is spliced and fastened with iron pegs. On the fore end a sharp edging of antler is fastened with sinew thread, and this edging has also been lashed together after a fracture. On the upper side of the blade there is a hand loop of musk-ox horn which is gripped with the left hand, whilst the handle is held in the right. Length 80 cm, breadth 26 cm. Boas also mentions snow shovels from the Barren
