[originaltext] An unusual form of legal system prevailed in Eskimo societies

An unusual form of legal system prevailed in Eskimo societies in the harsh Arctic regions. Eskimo societies were organized into local groups that lacked any real form of government, although they had a headman who led the group. The headman had no legal or judicial authority, and there were very few laws in these cultures. The Eskimos also recognized few crimes against property because people did not own land. The custom of freely borrowing goods from each other also discouraged stealing.
    In the past, certain Eskimo cultures permitted some forms of homicide, including the killing of sickly infants, senile or sickly elderly persons, and invalids. These actions were approved so that the society’s resources could be used to support the healthy. Access to modern transportation and medicine has greatly changed this situation.
    In the Eskimos’ cultures, wife stealing was not a crime, and it was usually committed by a man who sought to outrank socially the man whose wife was stolen. Legal disputes, such as wife stealing, were settled by the murder of the offender (and the risk of a possible feud with the offender’s relatives) or by a song contest during which each party insulted the other. The winner is determined by whoever received the most applause.