In North America and East Siberia, husbands exchange their wives for a period of time in order to boggle any evils spirits that know their identity to escape from catastrophe. It might sound strange but is a true tradition still in practice.
They believe that by exchanging wives, they can change the individual’s identity and confuse the evil spirits during a catastrophe.
An Eskimo can also choose to exchange his wife at varying periods. For instance, when an Eskimo is going off for a hunt and his wife is not very well, he simply goes to another Eskimo and they exchange wives for the time being.
An Eskimo can also choose to permit another man to have s*xual access to his wife at any time. This can be done with or without the consent of the woman involved.
Institutional homos*xuality is also widely prevalent among them. A father indulges in intercourse with his underage son’s wife and raises any offspring that may result.
A woman may be severely punished by her husband for having extramarital s*xual relations, not because the act in itself is a moral transgression or indicates unfaithfulness, but because he has not given her permission for that behavior. The s*xual potential of the wife is considered almost as a property right of the male and is indicative of his superior position.
Siberian Eskimos believe that contact with a menstruating woman may be contaminating. It may cause a man to drown at sea.
The custom of having multiple wives and multiple husbands is also prevalent among them. They use powered bird beaks as an aphrodisiac.
