ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS 14:3 SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO KWAKIUTL BY RONALD L. OLSON UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES 1954 SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO KWAKIUTL BY RONALD L. OLSON ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Vol. 14, No. 3 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS EDITORS (BERKELEY): R. L. OLSON, R. F. HEIZER, T. D. MCCOWN, J.H. ROWE Volume I4, No. 3, PP. 213-260,4 figs., I map Submitted by editors January 21, 1954 Issued August 15, I954 Price, 75 cents UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS LONDON, ENGLAND MANUFACTURED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOREWORD The data in the present paper were obtained in the course of two visits to the north- ern British Columbia coast. The first, made in 1935, aimed at a study of the social structure of the Haisla of Kitimat. At that time some information on the Owikeno was recorded at times when Haisla informants were not available. In 1949, a second visit to the area was made, with the purpose of securing materials on the Haihais (or Xai- xais) of Klemtu. However, I found that the only Haihais still living who might aid in reconstructing the past were too far gone in the twilight of life to be useful as inform- ants. Accordingly I returned to Rivers Inlet to record further information on the Owi- keno; and the greater part of the information of this report was obtained at that time. The title of this paper may seem misleading when its content is compared with the full reports of, say, Boas and McIlwraith on tribes of the same area. I can only plead that Boas worked in the region while the old culture still flourished; McIlwraith's Bella Coola are still numerous and a considerable number of able informants were available to him. Owikeno culture, on the other hand, has long since disintegrated. Only about fifty members of the "tribe" survive and none of these is old enough to remember back of about 1910. In 1935 there were still a few old men remaining, but all of these passed on before my 1949 visit. A disastrous fire in 1935 was the final blow to the old way of life, for the fire de- stroyed, not only the old-style houses, but all ceremonial regalia and other treasures and heirlooms. Only vestiges of the old culture remain and the potlatches, dances, and other overt features of the old life survive only in what are mere token observances. So I offer the materials which follow with a clear recognition that they are fragmentary and perhaps even somewhat inaccurate in part, but they represent most of what can be salvaged at the present time. Those of us who by choice or circumstance work among remnant groups can but envy our more fortunate colleagues whose good fortune allows them to do other than what could be called "social archaeology." I would like to express my thanks and appreciation to the many people of tiie Britisni Columbia coast whose kindness, hospitality, and aid made my stay in the field possible and pleasant: the staff of the R. W. Large Memorial Hospital at Bella Bella; the Rever- end Peter Kelly of the mission boat "Thomas Crosby"; Mr. and Mrs. Charles Lord, of Rivers Inlet Cannery; the managers and staffs of the canneries at Klemtu, Goose Bay, Namu, and Beaver. Thanks are also due my many Indian friends scattered from Kitimat to Alert Bay. My brief stay at Bella Coola was made enjoyable by the hospitality of Mr. and Mrs. Pruden, and of many members of the Native Brotherhood. I would like to ex- press special gratitude to Mr. David Bernard. Patient informant and interpreter, this study would have been quite impossible without his co6peration. INFORMANTS The greater part of my information was obtained from David Bernard. (DB in the following pages.) He also served as interpreter on some occasions. Older informants of 1935 included Joe Chamberlain (JC) and Cap'n Johnson (CJ). Jack Johnson (JJ) and Alfred Thompson (AT) were willing informants but available only for brief periods. Henry Hanuse served for a time but his information required careful checking and con- firmation from others before I felt that it should be used. His are the only data in which "editing" and selection were advisable. In some instances I have referred to persons by false initials, letters, or fictitious names in order to avoid possible embarrassment to individuals or families. PHONETIC KEY I have not had training in linguistics or phonetic transcription. In addition, my ear for native words is not particularly keen. My phonetic renditions therefore range from accurate to reasonable approximations. Where my renditions differ from Drucker's I think mine are nearer to accuracy. Vowels are long unless otherwise indicated and have the Continental (or Spanish) value. Capital letters in the body of a word indicate whispered sounds (as, PUKS). a as in hat ai as in English high e as in met au as in how 1 as in it explosive k or q u as in put . glottal stop a obscure vowel of but or idea accented syllable g as in gig + prolonged sound L surd 1 (except as initial letter of proper name) CONTENTS Page Informants .......... iv Phonetic key .......... iv Introduction ............................................ 213 Villages, septs, crests, lineages, and council . .......... 214 Wars and feuds ........................................... 218 Social classes ........................................... 220 Marriage and family relations ............................. 223 Miscellaneous practices ..................... 226 Death and mourning ....................... 227 Inheritance and succession . ................... 229 Totem poles, house posts, and coppers . ............. 232 Potlatches .............................................. 234 The winter ceremonials ............... ................... 239 The Tsaika series of dances . ................. 242 The Tanis (Hamatsa) dance . ................. 243 The Glualaxa dances ..................... 246 Religion .............................................. 250 Shamanism ......................... 250 Magic ...................................... 251 Appendix A: The kinship system ........................... 253 Appendix B: Miscellaneous tales .......................... 256 The beginning of the Haisla ............................. 256 Cannibal woman .............................. 257 The four brothers . .............................. 258 Bibliography ....... ....................... 259 MAP Owikeno Territory and Settlements ..... .......... facing p. 213 FIGURES 1. Seating arrangement in gift-giving ...... ................ 236 2. Seating arrangement for the Cannibal dance .............. 244 3. Seating arrangement for the Glualaxa dances ............. 246 4. Genealogical chart .................................... 254 I I I I I I I. (I) SOUND 0 en 04 -3 t. i. 9 w ?01 a SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO KWAKIUTL BY RONALD L. OLSON INTRODUCTION The material presented in the following pages is an uattempt to reconstruct, as far as is possible at this late date, something of the social structure and social life of e people of the Rivers Inlet and Owikeno Lake area. ough I refer to them as "the Owikeno" they do not onstitute a "tribe" in the usual meaning of the term. mon language, common culture, and a geographical a alone dictate treating them as a tribe. In their own village and lineage (or family) loom largest. There no over-all tribal organization and the term "Owi- "(Phonetically, u ik! inuh) is used only for conven- e. Actually it meant only the people of the house ters along the Wannock River. tough only vestiges of the old culture survive, I used the historical present tense in my account ex- where the past tense is used for the sake of clarity make a definite time-reference. I have used the "Owikeno Kwakiutl" in the title for the sake of geo- cal reference. Technically the term "Kwakiutl" L) refers only to the people of the Fort Rupert but in common usage it means the Kwakiutl-speaking han) tribes in about the same sense that Tlingit, and Tsimshian are used to designate groups of of the same linguistic affiliation. Owikeno were less maritime in their culture and orld view than many of the Northwest Coast tribes. their villages was located on the salt water; all n rivers or on the lake. The people of the upper n particular, were almost "interior" in their out- erhaps making a salt water excursion only once e a year. Goat hunting probably loomed larger in le life than in any other Northwest Coast people e time has long since passed for an appraisal or tion of this part of the culture. The economic activities begin about March when the eulachon run comes in. About a month or even two is in- volved in catching the fish (by conical traps and the long eulachon nets) and rendering the oil. At this same time some few persons may gather herring eggs in the area around the mouth of the inlet.' The first salmon are taken in May. These are eaten fresh as they are too fat for dry- ing. May is also the time for gathering seaweed around Cape Calvert. June is the season for gathering and dry- ing the cambium layer of hemlock.2 Goats are hunted dur- ing July and August, since only during these months does the very heavy snowfall melt away enough to permit hunt- ing at the higher altitudes. This is also the berrying sea- son. Most of the salmon for drying are of the red (sock- eye) species and most are taken late in the season when they spawn in the streams running into the lake. But the Owikeno of today secure a livelihood chiefly in the fisheries industry. The men operate their own motor boats or work at the heavier tasks in the canneries; the women are hired during the fishing season as cannery hands, chiefly at cleaning the fish after the fish have gone through the "iron chink." There is but little hunting or trapping done. The netting of eulachon and rendering of the oil has been nearly abandoned. Even the catching and processing of salmon in the old fashion has given way to dependence on supplies obtained at the stores maintained at the canneries. 1 It is believed that the herring meet the eulachon at the mouth of the inlet and say to them, "You may give your grease to them now. We have given them our eggs." 2 The cambium layer of cottonwood is also eaten, but is used fresh as it is said to turn sour if kept more than three days. [213] VILLAGES, SEPTS, CRESTS, LINEAGES, AND COUNCIL As previously noted, the Owikeno do not constitute a In addition to the river settlements, the Owiken "tribe" in the conventional sense. There is no term to permanent (year-round) villages at the places liste designate all the groups of river and lake villages. The low. English place names and anglicized native na several villages, and to some extent the household and are taken from British Columbia Department of L lineage groups, are the units which are paramount in the Preliminary Map, Bella Coola, 1924. Owing to the minds of the people. Probably the majority of the popu- mation of the tribe and the death of all those whose lation was always concentrated along the upper two miles ories extended beyond 1900, it has become impossi of the Wannock River. (The Wannock River is some four to estimate the size of these settlements. It is like miles long and drains Owikeno Lake into Rivers Inlet. It impossible at this late date to secure more than fra averages about 200 feet in width and at low water is per- mentary data on the house names, the lineages, the, haps six feet deep at midchannel.) This concentration was or lineage chiefs, and other matters which would p sometimes called la'xlagwis ("many houses"). an adequate description of the social structure. I h The people of the villages of the upper lake were some- numbered the villages, camps and other spots of s times called u'itlalla (residents or people of the "inside" note to facilitate reference to the accompanying ma or interior). There were no houses on the lower two (facing p. 213). The numbers correspond to those on miles of the river and none at the head of Rivers Inlet. - map: This is because the lower river is affected by the tides and only the upper river is suitable for the salmon traps. 1. La'xlagwis or k! e tit. The river settlements From about 1900 to 1935 all of the Owikeno were con- mentioned above. centrated in a village of perhaps a dozen houses on the 2. K' wa'pax. A permanent village at the mouth o tiny islet called Ke'tTt ("grassy islet") about two hundred Ambock Creek. As the population of the tribe yards from the foot of the lake. In the spring of 1935 just dlined, this village was deserted, the inhabit before my visit this village was totally destroyed by a moving to the settlements along the river. fire and the people moved into the one- and two-room 3. Asxwilam. This village was at the mouth of S cabins built for the summer workers at Rivers Inlet Can- lulm Creek. The village was closely associate nery. About 1940 six small houses were built (with gov- (by kin ties ?) with no. 4. ernment aid) on the north bank of the river about two and 4. Nu xants. Located at the moutn of Neechanz R one-half miles from the river's mouth. Here live the 5. Su'mxuL. At the mouth of Shemmahaut River. half-dozen families who constitute the survivors of a was the largest village on the lake. It is said tribe probably numbering over five hundred a century about 1880 there were six large houses and abo ago. A half-dozen members of the tribe are scattered three hundred people at this place. from Bella Bella to Alert Bay. 6. Tsi'u. At the mouth of the Tzeo River. These Formerly there were some villages along the Koey people were the "aristocrats" of the lake viliag River (kwe'h) and on the lake of that name. These people, From this village there was contact with the TaL however, were a distinct "tribe." By the Owikeno they Bella Coola at the head of South Bentinck Arm, were regarded as "half Heiltsuk [Bella Bella] half Owi- only some twenty miles distant. At one spot mid keno." Among the Koey are found the last vestiges of the way along the connecting trail there is an over- clan organization of the northern tribes. These nonexoga- hanging cliff which features some pictographs. mous crest groups (as among the Bella Bella tribes) The extreme upper lake (above t-he second nai were the following: rows) freezes over in winter and in November th people of this village moved down to Nuxants and wi'gwatanux ("Eagle people") Sumxul for the winter. gui'tanux ("Raven people") 7. GilVdalah ("long river"). This village was locate ha haitanux ("Killer Whale' or "Blackfish people") at the Indian reservation about two miles above t gwi yaktanux ("Whale people") mouth of the Kilbella River flowing into Kilbella Bay. Among my Owikeno informants only JJ named these crest groups for the Owikeno. Other informants ascribed There seem to have been no villages in Rivers Inlet his statements to the fact that his fathe- derived from proper, or on Moses Inlet or Draney's Inlet. Koey. The Koey people are now extinct as a group, the The following places were temporary villages, canr survivors evidently merging with near-by tribes. or for varibus reasons had a special interest for the Traditionally the people of the river villages or house- people: holds were Eagle and Whale. Some of the lake groups were also Eagle. The Blackfish crest derived from inter- 8. Kwa'kumi ("hole at a point"). A camping place c marriage with the Nimkish of Alert Bay. There was also Walbran Island. Here people went to gather hern a Wolf crest, but my information does not go beyond its eggs, seaweed, and other sea foods. (So much f mere mention. water flows into many inlets of the Northwest C These names of crests were not used as group desig- that shellfish are not found near the heads of the nations by the Owikeno. Among the Koey the children of inlets, even where sand and gravel beaches are a couple could belong to different crest groups and the posed at low tide.) Here occurred a bloody mass crest could derive from either the father's or mother's by the Heiltsuk Kwakiutl, and the place is usuall lineage or family. Thus, JJ counts himself as Eagle, his called Slaughter Ilihee ("place of killing") in the brother as Wolf. Chinook jargon. [214] A e Ly, I~~~~~~~~~ OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO 9. A camp at the southern tip of Calvert Island. 10. A camp at the head of Moses Inlet. 11. Gla'glaxetL ("portage"). The head of Goose Bay. The land route across the peninsula to Smith Sound was sometimes taken to avoid the heavy seas sweep- ing in from Queen Charlotte Sound. Each village has its tradition of origin, usually with me supernatural element involved. I have but two of ese legends, probably both very incomplete. The Origin of Tsiu A man named Tsu.a'gilakU was carried (?) by an eagle who sat down on the top of a mountain called ts! i'u. From there he saw smoke far away. When he got back to his home, he told of it and his parents said, "Go there and see if you can get something which we could use to help us." So he took his adze and went into the woods and came to a place called Ta'lu [the head of South Bentinck Arm]. Four others there were, the other four being Lu'pakela, Na'.as, E k! yalalis, and a little girl named Gwa'liLkes. There he built a house. ,$He gave a feast and invited the Ta'luwitXU whose chief -was Pa'tsxaLant and the NuikitXU3 whose chief was Nu'kulalaixL. The Origin of Sumxul A man named Na' .utsuwis was taken down from the ky by Kwa'nkwanxwaligeh to a river below. There he tayed for a time with people. Then he hired Masma- wah and his brother Nu'ak! awa to go with him the Sumxul River. Their canoe was made of cedar was named k'ugwa'us (sawbill duck). They stopped a place called T.i'nas where they had to portage the e over the skidway. Then they came on down the r to near Sumxul. There he built his house and ed the place A'xyadih. When his house was finished, canoe" left him. The canoe-bird laid eggs. This it is that we have sawbill ducks now. tribal and sept social structure is rather loose, or ill-defined is a better term. No tribal member a clear picture of the organization. Thus it is vaguely felt that the villages of the upper lake are a distinct tribe. There was little or no sense of y. And what I have called the septs are likewise -iportance. The family lines within the sept and seem to be the things uppermost in the native mind. erm for family, in the extended family sense, or ge, is mani'ma, but it refers vaguely to "those Yu" and only to those living. It means, in the d, "descended from one ancestor.' m for sept is da'nXU and the question regard- embership would be asked as, "Of what sept The person questioned would reply "Wiu'mas- something. This answer would refer to his indi- st or su'ya.ema (prerogative) (see p. 220). Thus ht give his sept as Wiumaskam whereas each of rs might give a different answer, depending on ma each of thetn claimed. JC calls himself a n, which was the sept of his father, but he also s" to suyaema in the MA'nkenux. He said that o such a question would depend on the sept of ner. If the latter were of the Mankenux, JC ,that as his sept; if he were, for instance, the Bella Coola village of NuikW (McIlwraith, 1948, 1:14). Gwid'anoa, JC would give that reply. The probable ex- planation is that every individual would have certain rights to suyaema from all septs. Without clear-cut mem- bership in these groups there is, of course, no rule of exogamy or endogamy. The ideal marriage, aside from the question of rank, was one in which the suyaema of the two mates interlocked, so that their children would have "strong" claims to these prerogatives. A man meeting a stranger establishes social relations not by asking about the other's family, sept, or tribe but by saying "Ma' .atestXU xwas" (lit., "of what people are you? "). This carries the implication of village or locality and the answer would be, e.g., "Sumxul." One might say that the Owikeno exhibit one last vestige of the maternal clan organization of Haida, Tsimshian, and Haisla, and Kitlope-Kemano Kwakiutl. In ceremonies involving the assumption of suyaema the "history" of the suyaema is told by the a'lkU (speaker). If it comes from the mother's side, he concludes, "And it comes from the proper direction" (meaning from the mother's lineage). This is not said when it derives from the father's line. None of my informants could give an explanation for this distinction. There are four septs in the tribe, but one or two of these are extinct. It is difficult to give clear-cut facts about them because they are obscure in nature. In villages each house is assigned to a sept, but only because the head or chief of that house assigns himself to a sept. Some of the points in the subsequent discussion may clarify the situation. One definition given me was that these groups are merely those who sit together in feasts. Perhaps it is as good as any, since they are not lineages, clans, crest, or marriage groups. In fact, it is said -tat many persoils do not know the septs of others until the seating in the feasts takes place. The four septs and their meanings are these: 1. Wa'wikam. ("Partly Owikeno" ?) 2. Wao'kwitam or wao'gwitami. (Referring to the face. Perhaps "broad face.") 3. Gi'g1lkAm. ("those who receive first.") 4. Gwi'danoa. ("attached to the other septs.") Perhaps "those from the north" is a possible meaning since Gwi'tala means "people from the north" and the sept name has the same root. This sept occupied a unique place in the ceremonial season. They may be Tsimshian-derived (see below). Probably not all these septs were represented in all the villages but are present in the consolidated village of recent times. It is said that in potlatches and feasts the Gigilkam are always given the seats of honor_,at the "head" (rear) of the house. In some fashion they are said to de- rive from the grizzly bear, yet this is not the crest of all those who would or might call themselves Gigilkam. The following is a partial list of the houses and their names in the village of Ketit, which was founded perhaps about 1900. The village was on a small island at the foot of the lake. The list begins at the upper end of the village. 1. Kwa'.moa ("seat of the Eagle"). The name is also that of the mountain at the head of Rivers Inlet. The house chief is Kwa'geaxtuis and his sept is Wawikam. 2. Kya'naxsala ("bullhead adorned"). Its entrance is through a hole in a totem pole carved with the bull- head. People of both the Gigilkam and Waogwitami septs lived in this house. The chief was Ya'kaLnala ("ever in the midst of goods," or, "goods are a part of his body"). The members of the house were some- 215 216 ANTHROPOLOGIN times called wa'waxsutam ("two-faced" or "facing two ways") because of the two-sept situation. 3. Ku'as ("whale's blowhole"). A house of the Wawi- kam sept; the chief is Kla'klilik! la ("he who invites you in"). 4. Kalu'Ldala ("protruding"). The name is from the fact that it jutted out from the line of the rest of the houses. The chief was Ba'slaL ("one who is always giving potlatches"), the sept Wawikam. 5. Mi'nats' ih ("house of the porcupine"). The chief is Gu kwilnKIH ("dreamed of building a house"), the sept is Wawikam. 6. K! li'k!alala ("beams held on hands," from the house posts so carved). The sept is Wawikam. The chief was Gwa.e'xdas ("he who causes chafed rumps"). He had a camp at Fish Inlet where he secured great numbers of seals. With these he gave so many feasts that people got sore behinds from attending them. 7. Lu.wa'skam ("the sky is the roof," so named because it is the custom to remove the roof planks in feasts). The old chief was Lalkawilas ("he who feasts people until morning"). He, however, was on the decline so Wa'kes ("Flow! Respected river") came from Nuxants, a village of the upper lake, to act as house chief. The sept is Wawikam. 8. Ti'hkaxtih ("whale's tail"). The sept is Wawikam. The chief is La kayuakli ("roof of an overhanging rock"). This refers to a rock near Koey and the people of the house derive in part from Koey. In addition to the foregoing, there were four Gwidanoa houses, which faced in the opposite direction. The Gigilkam and Waokwitam have no sept houses, but live among the other septs. I have the following further information on certain of the septs. The Wawikam (Eagle) Sept.-The name is said to be in some way related to "Owikeno," perhaps meaning "part Owikeno." The following is the legend of the origin of the sept. K'wa'giaxtu ("sitting on the fish weir") lived on the Wannock River, where he had a fish weir. Eagle came to rest on the mountain at the head of the inlet on the north side. Kwagiaxtu said to him, "Where would you like to settle and found a colony (lineage or sept)? " Eagle stated he would like to settle here. Then Kwag- iaxtu said, "You shall share my fish,' Eagle took off his feathered robe and became a man. In time he came to "own" a part of the river. One day Kwagiaxtu said to Eagle, "I would like to see you perform as an eagle. As it is, I supply all the fish while you do nothing." Eagle said, half to himself, "Yes, I can do things. It is as well that I do them now. Then he donned his eagle costume and sat on his house peak facing the river. Whenever he saw a salmon, he dove and caught it and brought it to Kwagiaxtu. Then the two made a pact to share equally. Kwagiaxtu said, "Now we will never be hungry, for you can catch fish in your way and I in mine.' From this time on whenever no fish were being caught in the weir, Eagle would don his costume and bring in fish. This worked more to the benefit of Kwag- iaxtu than of Eagle, for there were times when no fish could be caught in the weir. They came to call each other manima ("brother"). Eagle-man now thought of getting married and Kwag- iaxtu said it was a good idea so that there would be CAL RECORDS children to carry on the line. He promised to hunt a wife for Eagle-man. There was a man named Wa'nux ("owner of the river." Wannock is the name usually given to the riv on maps) who had four daughters. Kwagiaxtu brought'. these to Eagle-man for his inspection. Eagle-man chose the youngest for wife. The others went back home. The next day she bore Eagle-man a son [for a dayl is a year in these legends], and he was named Wi'k ("greatly-respected Eagle," from wiVkXU, "eagle"). One day the father said to his son, "About my costuI shall I take it to my grave or pass it on to you? " The son replied, "Give it to me, so that my child will know of [remember] their grandfather:' In time the Wawikam grew in numbers until they were a large sept. (This is the origin of the Wawikam and their eagle crest. CJ.) The Gwidanoa Sept.-The legendary ancestor of this sept was a man named Gwi'no who is said to have belon to the Owi'tliXU tribe of the Bella Bella (or Tsimshian group of tribes. Some of his descendants settled among the Owikeno at Surnxul. It is said that originally the sep had none of the prerogatives of the Tsai'ka dance serie although thay later acquired some through marriage. While the Tsaika series was in progress, they were counted as PUKS (uninitiated). In the Glu.ala'xa series-. they had their Own dance, often performed in their own house. The Mani xtuis ("people at the head of the valley") lineage has the following semihistorical origin. A man who was an eldest son from one of the Bella Bella tribes came here and married a high-rank girl of the Mankenu lineage. When his wife redeemed herself, she gave to him the desirable name Manixtuis. Later (probably in historic times) the family moved to Bella Bella where some of their descendants live today. In an obscure way the children of this marriage were not only human but ku'lus (an eaglelike mythical bird) a well. These creatures used to swim up and down the Sumxul River. They could change from bird to human form at will, merely by changing costumes. Later they became human and the kulus became the crest of the family. The family gradually moved down the river and eventually reached the lake. Among those who came from the north to marry thes famous ones was a man named K! u'msxklala, who brou some of his relatives with him. The Nau'djuis ("covering the whole of the sky") linea was the first group to descend the Sumxul Valley. He (Naudjuis) was originally a kulus bird, and this is the crest of the lineage. The Thunderbird escorted him froze the sky world to the earth.4 Naudjuis had several children. 1. Gya 'giklaxstugumih was the eldest son. (The name refers in some way to gik! la, an endearing name for a son.) Some years ago my informant, JC, "brought out" this name in a Glualaxa dance. He wore a headdress in the form of a kulus nest with young kulus sitting around the edge of the nest. 2. K! o'kwagilayogwa'h ("woman producing a calm") was the second child. She was so pampered that 4 I am not certain how the following fits into this scheme:. Nuakawa and Masmasalawah were the first humans on the earth. They often aid the ancestors in their travels and also created game for the ancestors, The ancestors are also said to be the offspring of these two men. I I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO she cried whenever she felt a draught. Then she was screened by blankets to keep her warm. 3. E'gwaxts!oa ("loved voice") was the third child, a son. 4. The youngest was Yai' dak!yalatsawaks. Like her sister, she was pampered. She cried for the cam- bium layer of cottonwood, various berries, the fat of goats, and so on. And each time Nuakawa and his brother created them for her. But the first goat thus created did not come to life but remained a white stone which can be seen today in the Sumxul Valley. The third lineage of the Gwidanoa is called T!i'xklala from the ancestor of that name. This ancestor was made a hunter so that he might supply the game created by Nuakawa and his brother. He always wore a headdress of cedar bark and carried a walking stick decorated with deer hoofs and eagle beaks. A member of the Wawikam sept (CJ) said this about the Gwidanoa. The Gwidanoa could claim no supernatural origin. Their ancestors were mere humans who migrated here from the north (and interior?). They even kept some of 3their northern customs, and for a long time kept their town language [Tsimshian ? ]. In the modern village on e island at the foot of the lake the houses of the Gwida- a faced in the opposite direction from those of the er septs. None of their houses was decorated with rvings or paintings. Their only suyaema was the xa'nis dance and its songs. The dancers numbered ht to twelve persons dressed in gaudy costumes rep- senting these spirits (which were spirits from the rh). The words of the songs were in the Tsimshian Se. (The word Kitxanis may well be only a corruption of tksan7 the name of the Tsimshian of the Upper Skeena.) The Owikeno of the upper lake probably had more con- with the Bella Coola groups, especially those of h Bentinck Arm, than with the tribes of the open st. A trail ran between the head of canoe navigation he Tzeo River at the head of the lake to the head of Bentinck Arm. The Owikeno traded chiefly dried eye salmon (which, I believe, do not run in the Sjuth inck rivers) for clover roots and swamp cranberries. e Bella Coola of South Bentinck are called Ta'luwit- S (This place on current maps is called Tal-lo-mey.) e of Bella Coola (North Bentinck Arm) are called lgmiXU, from the river of that name. The Kimsquit Coola are called K! lmxkwitXU. e suffix -XU means "people." The Council.-There is no formal organization which can really be termed a council. But in matters concern- ing the two dance series (which involves the rights, the dances and rules concerning them, potlatching and the like), things are decided by the older men of rank. There is no name for the group and it has no real or formalized authority (and no chief has such, either).6 But only a fool would cross the decisions reached, and the rulings, even the opinions, of this group carried such weight that they had the power of law. Thus when DB wished to sponsor a dance, he went to JC and told him what his intentions were. JC called a meeting with the other elders of rank and the matter was discussed. Their favorable decision was given to DB by JC. This group may on occasion mete out punishments for violations of the taboos and rules of the Tsaika dances. Thus on one occasion the local people were invited to an affair at Smith's Inlet. Now, one man of the Smith's Inlet group made a nuisance of himself by shooting a rifle at nothing at all while a dance was in progress. The dance being given was the Grizzly Bear. The dancer's attend- ants had just gone to "capture" him when the shots were fired. The culprit had done this at a previous dance, but it was overlooked. This time, with a visiting tribe pres- ent, the council decided to act. They met and agreed that the fellow should be killed. The culprit was persuaded to come into the dance house. Just inside the door the shaman-executioner was seated and as the victim entered someone shouted "Wai ya" ("Let go your power"). The shaman "threw" his power over his shoulder and the culprit fell down, blood streaming from his mouth. The shaman then "pushed aside" his power, but the victim soon died. When AT was being instructed in his adolescence rites, the speaker of the occasion told him, "Do not disregard the rules [of the dances] because, if you do, things may happen to you." He then related the foregoing incident. The council has no power to punish a wrongdoer. In case of murder it can give permission to the wronged kin group to exact blood revenge. A chief (who is of course a member of such a council) can more or less get things done which are for the general welfare. Thus one chief got people to clear out the trail along the river. But he fed everyone who worked at it. A chief, however, could not order such work done or order any person to join in. 6 This is not quite true. The council is sometimes called nu'LilakU (lit., "made a fool") and refers to those who have danced the Fool Dance (nu nLsYstalaL) in the Tsaika series. Since this is a high-ranking dance, it means that the council members are those whose rank is high enough to have among their prerogatives the right to this dance. 217 WARS AND FEUDS The Owikeno were not warlike, and I learned of no instances where they were the aggressors. "War" as such was in the form of raids and feuds. There was no sense of tribal unity or organization even in times of trouble. This is the general pattern for all tribes of the area. Raids or feuds which exacted a toll were regarded as the affair of the house-group or lineage (or sept ?) involved and those outside these units felt no call to come to the aid of the injured group. Living along the river and on the lake, the Owikeno were less open to raids by the more warlike groups to the north than were the villages on the salt water. JJ related the following account of a Haida raid on a village at Koey. The date is probably about 1850. Two old people (a brother and a sister) were paddling up the Koey River. They heard suspicious sounds from an island in the river. They investigated and found concealed Haida canoes. (For Haida it was, and they had come to raid for dried salmon.) Now the woman had once been captured in a raid and taken to Skidegate where she learned the Haida tongue. She heard the chief of the Haida order his men to shoot. (They had Hudson's Bay Company guns.) But she called out in the Haida tongue not to shoot. At this the chief told his men to hold their fire and the two paddled on. The Haida (who had many canoes) fol- lowed at a distance. When the two came to the village Teklis on the island in the river near the lake, the woman warned the people of her sept of the raid. There were three houses there. [Note that the oeople of other villages or house groups were not warned.] The people were on their guard. But one old woman (who was taking care of her eight-year-old grand- daughter) went to the creek to fetch water. As she did so, two hidden Haida seized her and killed her, while a third seized the girl. A man named Ai'gak!u saw this and ran to tell the other men. They ran after the Haida, shooting as they ran. Most of the local people had hidden in the woods. They found that two were missing. These missing ones were a little girl (who hid in a cradle-box in one of the bedroom cubi- cles) and a boy of twelve who hid in a hollow log lying on the river beach. The Haida started carrying away the dried salmon. In the house where the girl was hidden the Haida chief sat down by the fire to warm himself, watched by the girl. She was able to run to the woods, where she came on her father and told him where the Haida chief was. Her father came and shot at the chief, but the gun partly misfired and the Haida was only wounded. The father and girl escaped across the river. The other Haida, coming to investigate, found the wounded chief and carried him toward their canoes. Aigaku and three other men followed the Haida and when the latter got in their canoes, the men fired, killing the four Haida in the first of the four canoes. [Note the recur- ring use of the ceremonial number four.] Aigaku and his men ran down the river to ambush the escaping Haida at the rapids called Gu'stais. One of the young men with him was at the time going through the Grizzly Bear dance of the Tsaika series and had been wearing a grizzly bear blanket. But this I he had lost in escaping and he now saw that one of t Haida was wearing the robe. This one he shot. All Haida in this canoe were killed. Soon the second c load of Haida came down the river. These, too, we all killed. When the third and fourth canoes came d the men in these, too, were all killed. Now some of the Haida had remained at the islan to guard the war canoes. [Evidently captured small river canoes were used on the upriver raid.] The K men warned these to go back home. This the Haida As they passed Bella Bella, there were two Bella B men working on the beach. One of them shouted at "Tawawikai" (meaning perhaps, "Where are the res of you? "). The Haida answered that they didn't know In one of the canoes was a wounded Haida who ha a pistol. The elder Bella Bella told his brother to watch out. As the wounded Haida reached for his pis this one shot and killed him. [I am uncertain of the nificance of this part of the account. Perhaps the H feeling he was going to die, was determined to acqu at least some honor for himself as a dying gesture.] The term "feud" would describe these conflicts mor accurately. Kin groups, families, or perhaps village groups were the contending parties. The following acco illustrates the absence of organized war on a tribal basi The date is probably about 1860-1870.7 A high-caste man from Koey named La'kayuakli ("shade over canoe moored in the water") came with some relatives to spend the winter dance season at Ketit, where he had kinsmen. He was a Ta nis dance and while here he became possessed. He offended some of the Owikeno by singing many of his Cannibal Dance songs. [Evidently some of these songs were claimed by the local people, or he sang certain songs the local people felt did not properly belong in this dance.] It was decided that he should be killed, and this was done by a shaman using his shaman's power. Some of the dead man's kin went back to Koey and reported what had happened. Now the Koey people were really one-half Bella Bella and one-half Owikeno and so the dead man had kin at Bella Bella and these planned revenge. They decided to lure the Owikeno by inviting them to a Glualaxa dance series at Bella Bell These came to Ketit, sounding the Glualaxa horns fro their canoes. Now they had left some of their party at the place called Kwakumi in Schooner Passage. This place is now called Slaughter Ilihee in the jargon. The Bella Bella "hosts" manoeuvered things for a night's camping at Kwakumi. Just as the Owikeno canoes cam in to the beach, the hidden Bella Bella opened fire (wit muskets). The water turned red with the blood of the slain. Only a few Owikeno canoes escaped, because they had been warned by some of the Bella Bella who were their relatives. The Bella Bella now went back to Ketit and killed many of the old people and women who had remained at home. Some tried to escape across the river, but in their panic had left the canoe paddles and poles on the beach. The Bella Bella then went into the houses 7Two Bella Bella versions of this episode are given by Boas (1928, 125-135). [218] I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO and began feasting. But some of these were killed by returning escapees. [Some of the Bella Bella, those called the U'lawitXU, took no part in all this but even rescued and sheltered a number of the Owikeno.] Murder is punished by the kin of the murdered man. or example, about 1850 there was a young man who fell adly in love with a married woman. She encouraged m by suggestive signs and erotic exposures of her per- n. Finally she said, "If you love me, kill my husband.' is he did. The injured kin went to one of the chiefs who led the council (nulilaku). Since the killing was without cause, they approved blood revenge. The kin persuaded a beautiful girl to steal his affections. When she had suc- ceeded, she persuaded him to take her to Kildalla berry- picking (to get him away from his kin). The injured kin followed and killed him there. This ended the matter. If a person accidentally injures another (physically), it is customary to give a small feast for the injured party and perhaps to give over a minor name-title. If the injury inflicts a disability, one should give the in- jured one a gift from time to time. But there is no hard and fast obligation to do either. 219 SOCIAL CLASSES All the tribes of the Northwest Coast recognize and emphasize differences in rank or caste level. The Owikeno are no exception. But perhaps their social classes are not as rigid as among some other groups. As will be seen below, a person may by diligence better his status or, by sloth, fall in the social scale. Station in life is determined in part by birth and probably all those of really high rank must have high hereditary rights to begin with. But these rights do not accrue and attach to an individual automatically. Each must be claimed or taken possession of by means of a public festival such as a dance performance, a potlatch, or other public validation. They have often been called "prerogatives" but the term is inadequate. A word much in the mind of the Owikeno and often on their lips is "suyaema" and it is a thing difficult to translate and explain. It means "privileges," "preroga- tives," "rights," but also "obligations:' The term is very inclusive and is sometimes translated by informants as, "those things you can take hold of" (or "grasp" or "seize"). Often the word is accompanied by the gesture of an up- ward, grasping movement of the hand, as if one were taking hold of something above and thereby raising one- self up. These prerogatives vary in social value and in number, and the right to assume them depends on a num- ber of things. They are intricately interwoven with the whole pattern and system of name-titles, crests, the dancing societies, ownership of hunting- and berrying- grounds, and many other things. Most suyaema are linked with inherited rights, but others may be acquired through marriage. Where in- heritance is involved, a oerson's rights may be clear and definite, tentative or tenuous. In fact, many marri- ages are entered into in order to acquire the prerogatives or titles in question. Parents often arrange marriages after long and careful planning so that the hoped-for off- spring of the potential mates may have a strengthened claim to certain prerogatives. In cases where the claim is not clear-cut, the advice of an informal council is sought before the necessary ceremonial validation is arranged. Nearly every suyaema has its legend (nu'yam), which is related at its validation. It usually tells how the ances- tors came by it and how and through whom it was passed on. To the outsider certain tales may seem identical (e.g., certain crests or name-titles) but they will differ in, for example, the place where the ancestor had his supernatural experience or in some other significant detail. The highest class is that of the chiefs (or nobles), who are called hi'.mas (p1., hi'.imas). Women of this rank are called u maks (pl., wiumaks). Commoners are u'ama and might be called a middle class. Included are younger brothers, even of the highest chiefs. An alternative designation is gu kalut. Low class or ne er- do-wells are called xa 'mala (pl., xa 'xamala) and are just above slaves. The latter are called k' a'ku and are usually war captives. If slaves are freed, they are then classed as xamala. It should be emphasized that these classes are not rigid. A man is born with certain potentialities. Whether he rises to these or falls below his potential rank depends in part how well his parents (or other kin) start him out in life in the years before he is able to help himself; but I above all, he must be industrious and ambitious. Other wise even an eldest son of high birth may come to be r garded as only a commoner. On the other hand, a com-- moner (say, a younger brother) by striving, by potlatc ing, or by a good marriage, or several such marriage may rise to the chief's class. Very important is the nu' ber of times he "wears the bark.'' (i.e., dances) in the important dances and takes on the names and other kuda which are associated with them. Thus a man got the better of even a haughty Cannibal dancer in an argumen by saying, "I have worn more bark than you." (See p. 24 Even a person born of xamala parents could rise above his station. In other words, caste is neither rigid nor dependent solely on birth. An ambitious man ordinarily needs help in his climb upward, unless he is born to wealth and high station. Even so, his parents and later he himself ordinarily ke essentially poor by potlatching away wealth. For wealth is of no use except as employed in this fashion. As for women, they are regarded mainly as possible steppingstones for the upward climb. A man may marry solely to acquire the wealth of the "buying-out" and the prerogatives which may come to him and his children through the marriage. These things brought to a husban redound to the credit of the wife; they "make her heavy." Of course a man must be eligible for the prerogativel he assumes (except for those acquired through marriage After a man has given a number of potlatches, he may aspire to a certain title. But unless he is very high-born his right to the prerogatives in question may be uncertai If his right is doubtful, he secures the services of a speaker, who arranges a meeting of the men of quality (a council). At this meeting the speaker sketches the career of the candidate, what potlatches he has given, what titles he has assumed so far, how he came by them, and so on. His rights are discussed pro and con, and it is decided whether or not he is attempting something beyond his rights. No man would dare presume too much or go against the decision of this informal "council." It should be noted that not all men of the "chief" class are equal. Those who are chiefs by hereditary right and who have properly potlatched rank above those who have risen by means of potlatches but whose hereditary rank is less high. Thus among the Owikeno of two generations back there were but two top-ranking chiefs, Naudjuis of the village of Sumxul and Baslal of the river settlements. These two men, however, had no special title. Everyone simply knew that they ranked all others. Rank and potential rank are not merely a question of being high-born but also of order of birth. The rule of primogeniture is operative-the eldest son is heir to the prized name-titles and other prerogatives. Only in the event of the elder's utter sloth and disregard of his priv- ileges may a younger and more ambitious younger brothe aspire to his brother's birthright. This operates down the generations. Thus the eldest son of an eldest son out- ranks the eldest son of a father who was not an eldest son, In the complexities of relationships down through the gen- erations it is inevitable that disputes arise over prioritieu In earlier times such rivalries would have been discussed and settled by the informal council of elders of rank. But in post-European times the decimation of the tribe and the over-all decadence of the culture have led to a situa- tion in which no one is altogether sure who may lay claim [220] I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO to what. There is also the fact that many prerogatives lie dormant, so to speak, and even lesser claimants may lay hold of them, always provided they are willing to undertake the necessary potlatching involved. Aside from the prime rights of the eldest son, there are few concepts regarding the rank of the younger sons. However, there is always "something special" reserved for the youngest son (amainXe, "smallest in the line") and his prerogatives may rank nearly equal to those of his senior brother. Thus in the family line shown in figure 4, the office of speaker descended from No. 4 to his youngest son, then to his youngest son, and so on. The younger brothers are expected to do willingly and gladly all they can to aid their eldest brother in his long and expensive climb up the social ladder. For this they receive no public credit, and financial or other aid thus rendered is not publicly acknowledged. But the elder brother is properly expected to sponsor his nephews and nieces, to "bring them out," e.g., to see them through i some of the minor dances and so on. The eldest brother can in no wise force his junior t.siblings to render aid; they are expected to do so gladly, out of "respect" for him. But an ambitious younger brother may assume the place of his senior in the event that the latter is lacking in ambition and industry or interest in his potential position. In a group of, say, five brothers, numbers 2 to 5 would not be ranked in at order but the number 2 spot would go to the one howing the greatest ambition and aggressiveness, the one most willing to strive to become a "big wheel." * Here is an example of how these affairs may work t. TH and JJ were children of two sisters, TH of the ider. But TH on his father's side traced back to a unger brother, while JJ on his father's side had an destbrother in his ancestry. Both men had some claim the Fire-throwing dance in the Tsaika series from th their father's and mother's lines. JJ finally pet- rmed the dance and assumed the name-title which companied it; this despite the fact that TH was an dest son while JJ was the youngest in his series of others. Furthermore, the dance and its title which J acquired were from his mother's rather than his ther's line. (The two prerogatives in this case are identical, the dancers being from different families.) In some instances two men may be of a rank so nearly ual that they alternate in being of higher rank. Such relationship is called nu laimt.ala ("alternating eldest others"). Unless the one potlatches more than the er, they are counted as equals. I did not hear of any ighting with property" or feuding by means of potlatches gain ascendancy. To indicate how a person can better himself by interest these things and by effort or, on the other hand, re- n low class by sloth, I was told the following. A woman who was usually called merely "Granny" s classed almost as a xamala (very low class) because e did no dancing except the Salmon dance of the Tsaika ries. She was never asked to take part in women's af- rs. She had some worth-while suyaema in her line, but dnothing with them. She once danced on the canoe plat- rm but was asked to do so only because no one else was gible and available. What is emphasized is hustle and ition. There are those whose pedigree gives them estige and helps them to rise in the world, but such ple almost always have pride of class to spur them on. DB's mother had kinship ties at Blunden Harbour, where was reckoned as descended (on her mother's side) m an eldest brother instead of, as here, from a younger ther. Thus her potential rank was higher there than locally. The people of Blunden Harbour often urged her to return there, where they would "hold her up on the palms of their hands so that she would never touch the ground" (k! la'talgila). At the time of my first visit to the Owikeno in 1935, AH was the head chief and bore the name-title Baslal ("one who is always giving potlatches"). However, these things were said of him: there is somewhat of a blot on his rank. In part, this is due to the fact that he was born before the marriage of his parents was complete, though the engagement arrangements and payments had been made; his father died before the final ceremonies. (This should never be mentioned in public.) AH will not be able to pass his name-title on since he has no heirs. All his suyaema will be buried with him. He could give a potlatch and ask dancers to display them and the speaker could "praise" him, but it would be only a display. (This shows that the prerogatives are not individually owned in our sense of ownership, since the individual cannot give them away at will. He is rather the mortal trustee of things which can be kept alive only when passed to a rightful heir.) The last of the "truly great" chiefs here bore the title pu tlas ("from whom one gets a full belly").8 He always had a number of people eating at his house. Young fellows always got wood and water for him. He did not work him- self and people gladly did his work for him. He died about 1890 and left no heirs. In the days before the decline of the population and the disintegration of the culture there were scores, perhaps hundreds, of these names, each associated with many things: legends which validated the rights, offices or duties in the ceremonials, and so on. The population is now less than one-tenth of what it was a century ago and this has created confusion. The following anecdote is an indication of this, relating a series of incidents and situa- tions which probably would never have occurred in the old days, or which certainly would have been kept in hand by the informal council of the men of rank: LW tried to persuade DB's mother to arrange a match between LW's daughter (V) and DB, saying, "I am loaded down with suyaema and we can cover him with them.' But the match fell through and V married AT. By him she had a son, and LW arranged to give the boy the title Maxua (which is DB's by hereditary right). Before doing so, however, she rather lamely explained that the name Maxua which was being given was not the same Maxua to which DB had the right. (The name Maxua occurs in most of the Kwakiutl-speaking tribes.) The naming took place at a potlatch given at the setting up of a tombstone. But when LW related the legend behind the name, it turned out to be DB's Maxua name after all, as the legend showed. But by then it was too late to do anything about it; not even the chiefs could alter things. But the father of the pre- tender knew that the thing was not cricket and never re- ferred to his son as Maxua. DB once told him, "Just don't refer to your son as Maxua.' AT was agreeable and the two remained friends. In a case like this the rightful owner of the name may say, "They scalped me." In such circumstances if DB should speak to LW of her "shame" (ga`x.la) or if he were to complain publicly, then LW could give a potlatch and "wash off" the shame or insult. However, the whole affair was a source of gossip, and someone once referred to LW publicly as a sa'kaksala ("one who throws things around," as in the Fire-throwing I It is said that, despite the fact that this is a prime title among the Bella Coola, this title and the word itself derive from the Fort Rupert Kwakiutl. I cannot vouch for this; it seems unlikely. The chief in ques- tion is said to have been half Owikeno, half Bella Coola. a' 221 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS dance). This was a barbed pun on the word sa'waksala (i"one who grabs everything towards himself"). LW's son heard this remark and bowed his head in shame. Highly desirable titles can be acquired by other ir- regular means, as the following illustrates (it also illus- trates the power of a shaman): There was a shaman named Hai'clamas ("he who makes things right") and he coveted the title wantuk ("owner of the river") which was the highest title among the groups living along the river. He was a powerful shaman and much feared by everyone. Now the prime rights to this title belonged at the time in the family line of a woman who was married to a Smith's Inlet man and resided there. She intended to pass the title to her son. But the shaman went to her and asked to "borrow" the title for a time, at the same time voicing veiled threats that he would use his "power" against her if she refused. So she consented under this duress and the shaman took the name. The woman later died, so did her son, the shaman kept the name. It, however, has never been "shown" since. Some distant relatives of the woman still survive and one of them could, theoretically, assume the title, were he so inclined. When prerogatives are taken by someone without rights to them, there is little that the rightful owners can do. The "grab" is made at a potlatch by the culprit, often without a hint of intentions, and it is a fait accompli. The feeling or almost the rule is that "he who gives the pot- latch has the upper hand." Nowadays there is even a sort of "black market" in prerogatives (Olson, 1950, pp. 78-80). X of Smith's Inlet knows many of the local songs and legends which serve, in a sense, as proof of the rights to suyaema. These are sung and recited at the potlatch validating the claim. In fact, they form the most important part of the proof of right. Now some of the people of Alert Bay, Fort Rupert, and so on, are anxious to acquire local suyaema. But assumption of them necessitates detailed, exact knowledge of the accompanying songs and legends. (Of course many of the songs and legends are very similar from tribe to tribe, differing chiefly in mentions of place names, etc.) For a fee, so it is said, X supplies these outsiders with the necessary songs, and the details of the legends. But there is little that the injured parties can do, especially since the prerogatives in question lie dormant, not having been assumed by the rightful owners for one reason or another. Slaves.-The slave class is called k! a ku, but slaves are few in number. One chief of about a hundred years ago is said to have owned four Nawitti slaves, who were killed at his death. There are some vague memories of the ing of slaves at potlatches. If a person accidentally hurts a child, he immedia calls himself a "low-down slave" (k. akubatlu) for do" the injury. In all ceremonies seats are assigned to important sons. In part this is on the basis of location within t house. The four walls of the house are "ranked" mue ours are at the theater or at some sporting events. 1. u'gwiwiL (lit., "forehead side") is the end op the door, the side of highest rank. Also called "front" side. 2. na watiwiL ("upriver side"). Obviously this wo differ according to which side of the river the h was located. 3. xai'sutwiL ("downriver side"). 4. u.stuiL ("gap:" [i.e., "door"] side"). When DB's mother was trying to persuade him to quit Alert Bay Mission school and return home to take his place in going through the dances, one argument she was, "Unless you go through these dances, you will a have to sit at the door side." Seating arrangements differ somewhat for the two dance series and for feasts and gift potlatches. The ar rangements are shown in figures 1-3. In the gift-giving part of a ceremony, usually at the end of a festival, recipients receive in the order of r and in amounts according to rank. Some years ago DBa changed this for his potlatches, giving the same amoun to all present but retaining the principle of giving in sequence according to rank. There has been some gru ling at this. There is little or no profanity or obscenity in our a In anger one may call another wa .ats ("dog"). The vice of this insult may then call on the other to mind his ma ners or may say to him yaxba'Los ("You are no good")t Worse yet is to call a person a "nobody" (xamala), or worst of all a "slave" (kaku). But these terms may be used between good friends in a joking sense, as we may say to a friend, "You old so-and-so." One may also "swear" at oneself, for instance, when one misses an easy shot at game, one might say "U'alar wa.u'sit" ("I am a real pack of dogs.") Among the Haisla it ib baid that one may jokinigly swear at another by calling him ak! a'at ("big rectum"), but here the opposite to XUkat ("small rectum") is used A local man once called a Haisla the latter. This the Haisla took as a deadly affront and tried to get a constal to arrest the man. The constable of course refused and the Haisla was depressed for a week. 222 -I MARRIAGE AND FAMILY RELATIONS In some way the ideal marriage is thought to be that the groom's kin shout of second cousins.9 They are spoken of as ta'ngowiL At the end of the fou ("very close together"). This is not a kin term but evi- side orders the singerr dently relates to the strengthening of the suyaema of fifth song is sung; this the two for their offspring. It is like the practice of line- point the fastest runner breeding among animal fanciers with the idea of clinch- street and beach, scatt ing and strengthening certain desirable traits. The term groom. The children s is used in discussions of potential marriages. In such At this point some o marriages, too, there is no danger of dispute regarding given to the bride's kin succession in the prerogatives. Such an "ideal" marriage ("holding each other"). was long planned by DB and his wife between his step- house and these goods daughter and the girl's mother's mother's brother's son's who now double the amr son. Not only are certain suyaema "strengthened," i.e., bride, and this "handin Kcome from both sides, but there will be more of them for (the "passing over"). Ithe children, since each of the two have claims to certain Later that day, or p ones not in the line of the other. In this union the wife women call on the bridi mes from the younger branch of the ancestry. 10 groom's house. The fo The following is the usual procedure followed in mar- one in front of her, ono giage. There is little or no courtship, though the groom- The speaker invites thE -be may make a secret present to the bride-to-be before the wedding feast. This ceremony takes place. Mates are chosen by the kin of into one's stomach"). e two, chiefly on the basis of how the suyaema of the moniously placed in fr( o mesh. Or an ambitious man may strive to secure food than.can possibly specially desirable prerogatives by marrying somewhat and bowls of it. ye his station. If the preliminary negotiations are The groom's kin nov cessful, one of the village chiefs with pleasant man- finery. Her kin make p s is asked by the groom's kin to go from house to ment for their having t se to announce the engagement. This he does by re- future-for she is, in n rking, "Nu.namas klints" ("Old men we will be"). Finally the bride is har se wishing to attend then gather at the groom's house. belongings are handed ( idren do not attend.) The chief extols the good auali- her hat, this is her ma - of the groom, who says nothing. His kin may put in food." Actually, money rd for him. If things are satisfactory, the bride's The bride is now giP say, "We agree with what is said. Go on." The kin be used by the groom a e bride now receive money and goods, such persons her. She now bears the chosen on the basis of their probable ability to re- kauwhXU) plus her new this with one hundred per cent interest when the Last, a sum of mon e is "bought out." This first payment is called called gwi xu (referrin alam ("to purchase with intent to marry") or out to seek). If this is keLa ("payment in part"). The betrothed are now the groom now receive, d wawakyu'ala ("sweethearts"), the term implies perhaps this is postpon elations, which are now permitted. (kuti xa). e kin of the groom are now especially nice to the The "buying-out," w es kin, helping them in such things as wood- and year, is very importan -getting. This is a sort of trial marriage period done, she can be proud may last a week, a month, or even a year. If the riage is then terminate Id they are not suited to each other, the affair is be proud of having beer ated. In such an event the money paid is returned Some men make a s t interest. During this time both reside in their and from the money an ctive homes. selves into fame, for tl e actual marriage ceremony is called k! wala' (lit., least double the bride-l ed together"). Again the chief invites the guests. is a mere child and the eremony is usually held out-of-doors. The kin of ment" type. Then the" D form two groups, with singers in a third. There ized, for it "made her ecial marriage dances by one or two women, who a woman may throw in iature wooden coppers in their hands. These heavier than you." B are hereditary rights. At the end of each song But this buying-out i band. It supplies him M d cousins usually use the brother-sister kin terms, as do first him to give a potlatch, The marriage of first cousins, however, is regarded as shame- that of blood brother and sister). But marriage of second cousins career. This is often ti arded as incestuous. Glualaxa dance, which derives from the youngest of the "four brothers," p. 254. In some suchsa affair heay point of view is reminiscent of Polynesia, where the number of dances; and perhaps th ancestors counts heavily. well, those who have h( "Uwi+" four times. irth song the speaker on the bride's s to be seated. But now and then a is "playing hard to get." At this r in the village dashes along the tering small gifts furnished by the ;cramble for these. )ther token goods or money are L. This is called ga'lgapyu.walayu The party now enters the groom's are returned to the groom's kin, Lount and return it to the kin of the ig over" is called k! wa'taLmut :erhaps the next day, four chosen te and kin and invite them to the iur women walk in with the bride, e in back, and one on either side. e people to the groom's house for s is called tsage'sa (lit., "to drop At its end a dish of food is cere- ont of the bride's kin. Much more be eaten is supplied, great dishes w dress the bride in all possible :ayments to the groom's kin, pay- -o wash and cook for her in the make-believe, good for nothing. nded over to the groom and her over with the statement, "This is .t, and this is her lunch box full of y and goods are handed over. ven her big name, supposedly to .nd his kinsmen when they speak to > title of "married woman" (ka'niL- W name. Ley is given the groom, this being ig to bringing back what one goes an upperclass or noble wedding, bs a big name from her line, or ied until she "buys herself out" 'hich takes place any time after a -t in a woman's career. If this is I of it for all time, and if the mar- zd, she does not feel jilted but can n the wife of a great man. ,eries of "investment marriages" Ld titles thus gained potlatch them- -he buying-out price must be at price. In many instances the "bride" marriage is avowedly of the "invest- 'bride's" parents do not feel victim- heavy." In quarrels or arguments the teeth of her opponent, "I am is also very important for the hus- with money or wealth which enables probably the greatest one of his he occasion for his sponsoring a will give him great prestige. At 'bring out" his children in the e children of some of his kin as elped him. [223] ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS A wife may be redeemed "in pieces," if her family is short of capital. Thus, DB bought out one leg of his sister so that her husband's family could properly bury a daugh- ter. A poor man's marriage may be financed by his more affluent kin. He may not even return the funds expended for him. In this case, of course, the bride is from the commoner class. Whether there are offspring or not has no effect on the buying-out of the wife. The buying-out ceremony is carefully planned by both groups of kin and involves, if possible, a gli'ala potlatch, which follows an important dance. The wife's kin announce the affair and invite the guests some time beforehand. If weather permits, the ceremony is held outdoors. The cash- to be repaid is announced, the goods are displayed, and the name-titles involved are declared. (If the ceremony is held indoors, the goods are piled at the "upper" side of the house near the door.) The wife may say a few words, but the speaker (master of ceremonies) does most of the talking for her and her kin. After the payment of the money and goods to the husband, the "extras" are given him, theoretically for services done by the husband or for things he has given his wife (many of them imaginary). For example, "Here is the money for the basket of berries you gave her," and, "This is for sweeping her floor," and so on. Finally the wife "buys" each one of the children from the husband. Theoretically, the wife is now "free" and the marriage is terminated. This may actually be the case-if, for example, the husband has ambitions to ac- quire more wealth and new prerogatives by means of another marriage. In reality husband and wife are often closer than ever, as is shown by their careful planning of dances and potlatches to be sponsored by the husband and for the children. But the firtion of separation mray be carried on. The wife's kin may prepare canoes with a platform across them. On the platform are displayed the goods she is "taking home." The wife now goes aboard the canoe-plat- form ready to depart (if she is from another village). But the speaker calls her back and the husband re-buys her, but for a nominal sum. This payment is the prop- erty of the wife and it is never again mentioned. The wife's kin may at this time give the husband another name-title as a "parting" or extra gift. It sometimes happens that there is bad feeling between a wife and her in-laws. They may, for example, give her a derogatory nickname such as "Tubby" or "Crane" (if she has a thin neck). If so, she may retaliate and state at the buying-out, "And this money is for the name 'Tubby' you have called me. Now I have paid for it." Now it will not be a nickname or derogatory term, "since she has paid for it." A special part of the marriage ritual is followed when either family has special rights to goat-hunting places.1 The girl is placed at the peak of the roof and a plank is placed angling steeply from the ground to where she stands. All eligible males make the attempt to climb up to her. But by prearrangement only the groom is success- ful. The inference is that the best climber, the best goat- hunter gets the girl. This ceremony is called na'xa ("to climb a mountain for goats"). When some young blade (not the groom) gets too enthusiastic and makes the climb, the "mistake" is simply ignored. In earlier days a young man was often married first to a middle-aged woman, chosen on the basis of industry " This is also true of the Smith's Inlet Kwakiutl. and ambition. She was to "make a man of him.' She selected by the young man's parents for her know-ho zeal in such things as the harvest of seaweed, eulac herring eggs, salmon, and the general business of ning a household. Such marriages were never intend to be permanent. Commoners who cannot afford the expense of the f mal rituals may set up a household by merely living gether. This is called k! apia'La. There is no stigmR attached either to the couple or their children. It happens that husband and wife may part because quarrels. This is called kwapa'h. If the husband wis a reconciliation, he then goes to the wife's kin with or money. If they persuade the wife to return, the hu band is given an equivalent amount. This he gives aw in a small potlatch celebrating, as it were, the reuni The ordinary or "regular" type of marriage is cal hai'sku ("the state of being married"). The form kno as "investment marriage" is called ku'masa and affor a method of acquiring capital, for the "marriage" is entered into with the avowed intention of getting back double the bride-price at her buying-out. These affair commonly involve a very young girl or a child, the "groom" being possibly an elderly man. This is the surest and easiest way for an ambitious man of rank to acquire capital and the prerogatives which form a part of the dowry. Several generations ago an ambitious an ruthless man from the north (named Hamdzi't ?) came down the coast, marrying a woman in nearly every trib then discarding her when she was bought out. He thus acquired wealth and prerogatives. He then moved on to another group and a new wife. Thus he parlayed his wealth and rank, and the higher his rank was reckoned, the more difficult it became to refuse a bride to him, even though it became iinown that he was following a definite and long term policy. Here is an example of one of these "investment" mar riages. About 1928 Chief AH had some $200. At the tim he did not feel inclined to potlatch. So he too1' this mon and "invested" it in DB's stepdaughter, who was at tha time six years old. About three years later AH announc that he was of a mind to finance a Cannibal Dance. This forced the hand of DB, who now was honor-bound to "bl out" the girl. She was redeemed with $610 in cash and $740 in yard goods and other gifts for women, plus a name which was of high value. The high price was in pa given to "shame" AH, since he had given too small an amount for a girl so highly born. This buying-out ended the whole affair. AH was under no obligation of any kind in the matter of repayment. At the time of the buying-out ceremony the brother-in law of AH waxed eloquent, remarking that it was wonder-. ful how one man (AH) could do so much. But this was countered by a kinsman of the "bride" who remarked, "He [AH] didn't do it quite alone. Brownie [AH's dog] helped." This was, of course, a dig at AH. But again AH "bought a part" of the girl. Later when DB was putting a small son through one of the Tsaika dances, AH came to the father and said, "I wish to help my brother-in-law," and gave DB $50. Now if AH wishes to give a potlatch, DB will be obliged to return $100, because this is some-. how regarded as an "investment" loan. DB has two sisters who, as children, were bought as investments. Their buying-out cost the family heavily. So when DB was about twelve, they bought him a "wife" of five years. But when the time came to buy her out, her family failed and gave back less than the original payment., Her family's prestige was badly damaged by this derelic- tion. 224 OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO Now and then a man without ambition or foresight fails to take advantage of the capital gain of the buying- out. Thus, NJ married DB's stepdaughter, paying a bride-price of $100. DB bought her out for $300. NJ failed to make use of this for potlatching and instead allowed the money to sift through his fingers. Now the money is lost and he will be hard put to raise a like amount. Should a wife die before the buying-out, her kin feel honor-bound to complete the cycle and buy her out even ough she is dead. DB's wife's mother was thus bought ut by her widowed mother and her maternal uncle. If the husband dies before the buying-out, it is likewise e thing to do to complete the cycle. Once a widow bought rself out, giving the money to her deceased husband's ther, who was planning a potlatch. Although chastity and virginity are highly regarded, 8 is largely an abstract view, more honored in the each than in reality. Few girls reach marriageable as virgins and few married women would scorn a fee for their favors. There was once a girl who was regarded as very de- able, but she sucessfully resisted all attempts at se- t. Finally, however, she succumbed. Her lover ed a composer to make up a song, the theme of which "And now her hymen is rolling from roof to roof." irla who become pregnant pose a problem for the t. If the father of the child is unwilling or unable ry her, they try to get a man to pose as husband e child is born, "so that the child will have a " This is called kapiala ("living together." See ove, p. 224). Should they fail in this, they may hide the disgrace by taking her away for a time. s first wife died when their daughter was about rs old. The girl was very fond of DB and the two probably have married for love, but AH's second a very ambitious for the girl, referred to DB as ner and a half-blood, and although the chief not have objected to the match, he could not or wish to run afoul of his shrewish wife. Finally became pregnant and the parents took her to the the lake. When the child was born, it was put out and the afterbirth hidden away in a bundle. 12 er this bundle was found by the dogs of a hunt- and the hunters knew the answer almost for In later years the girl (now a woman) used to t how lucky she had been not to have been e ordeal of childbirth. But on one such occa- ene said, "What about that bundle which the fighting over at Suxmul ? " This silenced her. t that a husband should be the dominant mem- pair. He should now and then "tame" his wife her. This, however, is not regarded as cruel- he unduly abuses the privilege. In that event, ts may threaten to bring her back home. This ra.taxut ("to pull away"). ves feel it necessary to watch their hus- r carefully to reduce at least the number fairs. Usually a wife accompanies her the toilet (the beach) lest he meet another re by arrangement. (Actually, it is cus- a couple to go on these errands together.) even went with him to the beach when he so treated is thought to induce sterility. The afterbirth buried within the house. went to cut wood,13 but the old roue always faced the vil- lage so he could flirt with the passing women and girls. Nonetheless, he was regarded as being henpecked and gen- erally bossed by this second wife. On one occasion a lad came to his house and asked for food. Mrs. AH, instead of acting the hostess, told AH, "Feed him yourself." Jealous husbands are called kwa.u k ("afraid about wife") and will often carry home long pieces of wood to the house and cut them there instead of on the beach. A flirt is called k! asats. Jealous wives are called ba%bal- ask! iku ("in the habit of being jealous"). Men say of women that their gossip about men is much more common and open than men's gossip about women; that men are less overt in this. Folk knowledge is that while the man is boss of the family in theory, in practice it is not usually true-and this the women also say. X gets in the doghouse if he spends too much time among his white friends, in which event he keeps pretty quiet until the air clears. When Y's wife gets too much for him, he simply walks out and visits a friend or takes a spin in his canoe. If things are the same on his return, he repeats the absentee treatment. Most quarrels between spouses are over real or imagined flirtations or affairs by one or the other or involve in-laws who are prone to med- dle unduly. "Time heals" is said of minor disagreements. Serious quarrels may involve getting a go-between to at- tempt to patch things up. This is called kli'xala. There is a sharp distinction between a woman who gives her favors without payment and one who does so only in return for money. At her first menses a girl is told, "Now men will be after you. Be careful. But if you must submit, demand payment, because, if you do not, you are a whore [nu'lsam, lit., "crazy," i.e., "loose" or "promiscuous"]. And don't submit if a man says, 'I'll pay you later,' because he will not, all men being liars in such matters." If a girl or woman can show she is getting well paid for her favors, there is no stigma and she is not counted a loose woman. Lovers may agree on the payment of a lump sum to cover a given period of time, but nevertheless in such instances, a right-thinking female demands at least a token payment at each rendezvous. This is somehow a hint that the meetings should be more frequent. Thus, TH's wife at the time she redeemed herself gave away great bales of Hudson's Bay blankets, which she openly stated she had "earned" in Vancouver. On another occasion a certain chief was planning a potlatch but was having some difficulty raising the necessary funds. The fifteen-year-old daughter of a kinswoman came to him and handed over a considerable sum of cash. He complimented her, remarking, "Well, you are asking a high price." Children often play "husband and wife," this often in- volving childish sex relations. But these "do not count" and not until a girl's adolescence is she guarded against lovers. There is no overt or formal sex instruction by elders. Children are told to avoid persons who nourish hate. To do otherwise will offend "the One to whom we pray" (i.e., the Sun). Never return evil for evil. Be kind to birds and animals lest tsi'slayatskeh [the Keeper of all living things] punish you. Girls should remember always that they should be kind and sociable toward everyone (even those of ugly visage.) 1 Wood-cutting, of logs and driftwood, takes up a considerable amount of time, for fires are burning in each house continually. 225 MISCELLANEOUS PRACTICES Mutilations.-The ears of infants are pierced at the age of three months. There is no ceremony involved. It is done by any experienced person, who receives a gift for the service. The ears are pierced with a porcupine quill, which is then trimmed and left in until healing is complete. Males have the nasal septum pierced during boyhood. They are "talked into it" by being told that in the next world those with pierced noses eat well, while the un- pierced live on a diet of snakes and toads. At death a ring is placed in the nose, for ghosts come to inspect the newly dead and, if the nose is unpierced, the new ghost becomes an outcast. Shamans have heard the ghosts inspect bodies and remark, "He has no hole in his septum; he doesn't matter." The forehead of infants is flattened by means of a flat pad bound on while the child is in the cradle. Flat faces and flat foreheads are admired and a person with- out the flattened forehead is ridiculed and called ko'kwiuh ("bulging forehead"). Some of the people of the interior are called pa.hLk! eyah ("flat heads") because their fore- heads are flattened to an extreme degree. Boys' friendships.-Boys sometimes form palships and call each other k! wais ("my chum") and refer to themselves (to others) as k! unkwatsuala. The basis of such a relationship may be that the two went through a dance or a dance series at the same time. Or it may be based on similar physical afflictions or even on shared special abilities. No ceremony is involved but the two often refer to the relationship and often give small pres- ents to each other. The relationship fades with time and by middle life is largely forgotten. There is nothing equi- valent among girls. Twins.-A woman who bears twins is called mita h and the twins mAda'm. They have a special relation to salmon or are almost literally salmon. The parents and the twins usually go to a camping spot on Moses Inlet because of the supernatural power of the twins. Twins have the power of sending fish away, also of bringing in a run of fish. Once a twin was playing on the river beach wb the people were awaiting the eulachon run. A ma scolded him, but the boy said nothing. That night boy told the people to set the nets. The next mor only the man who had scolded him had a full net. other nets were but one-third full. But the full ne only herring in it. Each morning for a week this pened. Then the boy's mother told him that he ha ished the man enough. Thereafter this man's net also full of eulachon. The mother of twins, when paddling on the river, a special paddle with a hole in the blade through whi salmon can pass. It is said that when twins begin to t it becomes evident whether they have been salmon be birth. One twin related how he had been here before a salmon) and had been caught, canned, and sent far In one case the parents had a naming ceremony fo a few months old. The father, reflecting the dread o said, "You may think I'm doing this for these new on it is not so. This potlatch is for this child" (a boy seV years old). But the twins understood and started scre and soon fell into a coma and died. Twins were buried special place apart from other children. Adoption.-Children are often reared by grandpare A couple often adopts a child who bears a real or fancil resemblance to a deceased child. The parents then are usually willing to part with the child. Thus two Bella Coola lads of ten and twelve years were adopted locally because of a likeness to the sons of a bereaved couple. Sometimes (but not always) the adopted one is regarded as the reincarnation of the deceased. Nicknames.-These may be acquired in a number of ways. One young fellow is called "Soap" because he one went into a cannery store and tried to buy a special kin( of soap for his sweetheart. Calling him "Soap" is cause for merriment on both sides. But if a person acquires X nickname which he doesn't like, he can give a little pot latch and "bring out" the name. It can then no longer be used as a nickname "because it has been paid for." .1 [226] DEATH AND MOURNING At death the body is prepared by anyone willing to do mething for the deceased. They, however, will be paid t hese services. 14 The body is then placed in the box ffin which is set at the "head" of the house. (See further tails in the section on the burial potlatch, p. 235). The day after the death of a husband the widow takes leat in the corner of the house. She rests her feet on ;r shiny black pebbles 15 and wears the hat of her late Dband. On the fifth morning four attendants, who have n widowed, take her to a bathing spot. There they her, rubbing the right side of her body with the four les. In washing the head, the face is kept upturned. ttendants then make four hoops of hemlock boughs these are passed upwards over her body. A hoop is made of her blanket or robe and this is passed up- around her. The attendants have brought new cloth- and they dress her in this. She now discards on a log lothing which she has worn during marriage. The dants may take any of this or her robe for themselves. e end the attendants try their utmost to make her osmile. e customs for widowers are the same except that ebbles are not used and the attendant bathers are men and two women (widowers and widows ?). her practices include the following: All dishes used surviving spouse are marked and other people do e them. The bereaved must never be the first of usehold to arise lest he (she) "tread on the necks tives," bringing bad luck or death. Food should ewed only with the right side of the mouth. He (she) sleep on the right side. A widow must do no cook- Each month during the waxing of the moon the be- d spouse bathes daily for four days. At the end of onths all personal clothing and utensils are dis- d at the bathing place, the utensils ulpside down. ends the purification rites. wever, during this ten-month period a widow or er must not travel on the Wannock River but must .by the trail along the shore. For that matter, they avoid any food-producing place. For example, some ago it happened that AT had been a widower for six s when eulachon time came. The people had driven akes, set the nets, and on two successive nights had od catches. Then AT set his net. Thereafter not lachon was caught! In 1948 two men were practicing raft with a corpse at the head of the river-and no on were caught. In 1949 two men were drowned in er-and again no eulachon were caught. ial is regularly in coffin-boxes which are raised in Markers or posts are sometimes placed near. There remation but food and some personal effects are at the grave. Children are buried in a separate y cemetery because children are from above and are y pure. The spirits of all children come from the fact, until a child can speak he is regarded (in a as a spirit. days the handling of the dead has been almost commercialized by Bella. When a death occurs at the hospital there, the local people transport the body to the home village, where the kin of the de- expected to pay handsomely for the service. pebbles signify her desire to remarry. JC was once lost in the After some days his spouse took her seat in the corner with In after years he used to tease her, "You old thing! So you still h to marry again.' " Ghosts sometimes return to bother the living, making a whistling sound in the house or outside. Food is then placed in the fire for them or gunpowder is lighted to drive them away. As recently as 1947 an Owikeno died at the Bella Bella hospital. The body was brought back to Rivers Inlet for burial. The missionary who was to preach the funeral sermon wished to perform the services at the cemetery. The relatives of the deceased wished to take the body into the house of the deceased in order to carry out some of the old rites. The missionary finally agreed that five minutes could be granted for this purpose. The funeral was then conducted at the cemetery. But the next day, after the missionary's departure, the coffin was brought back to the house and the entire "native" ritual performed. A year or more, sometimes several years, after a death, there may be a mourning potlatch.16 For this four men are chosen from among the relatives of the deceased to compose songs which refer to the deceased and his ancestors. At the ceremony these lead the sing- ing and the rest of the company joins in. The composer- singers are paid for this, in addition to the regular pot- latch gifts they receive. The invitation to a ceremony is stated as, "We are going to cry with so and so," naming the survivor. On the fifth day there is a potlatch with gifts for all those present. A grave post may be un- veiled in the house at this time. One widow financed a ceremony of this sort in honor of her late husband, because she had no male kin to sponsor the affair. It is one of the very few instances when a female acted as host or sponsor. At such a potlatch payments are also made to those who cared for the body, prepared the coffin, placed the grave-marker, or erected the tombstone. Thus when DB sponsored the ceremony for his mother, the speaker (who really is in charge of the whole affair) said there was enough money for four songs. On this occasion two of the family-owned mourning songs were sung and two which were from related families. At the memorial potlatch for Chief AH in 1948 the "four" mourning songs were: (1) His own family song, (2) a specially composed song, (3) two Owikeno "public" songs, and (4) two songs from the Smith's Inlet Kwakiutl, sung by a chief from that place. (Although financed by DB, this potlatch was credited to his stepson and served to "bring out" several persons.) Suicide.-Suicide is not institutionalized but may occur for a variety of motivations, such as thwarted love, infidelity of the spouse, or finances. The word tu'hsa signifies "to walk away with the intention of never returning." In such suicide the person simply goes into the mountains and is never seen again. Suicides by hang- ing oneself 17 is "more a woman's way." One man "walked away" because his wife was unfaithful. There is a story of a young couple desperately in love whose parents had other plans. The young man said to his love, "Let us go get some cedar bark." He selected a tree at the edge of a cliff. When he had started a strip of bark, he called on the girl to help him. They both took hold, swung out 1 This form of potlatch has the name kwasa ("cry potlatch"). 17 Called mu'kwa, lit., "to tie." [227] I 228 ANTHROPOLC over the cliff, and as the strip tore loose, fell to their death. In recent years, X killed himself with a high- powered rifle because his wife was having an affair. More recently his brother, Y, attempted suicide (but used only a .22 caliber' ) because his mother refused to let him have money when he asked for it. Z had been committed for insanity but was later released. Not long after, he heard a rumor that he was to be confined again, )GICA kL RECORDS so killed himself. W attempted suicide because common-law wife was having an affair. W had "married" the girl in the first place because sh was pregnant by another man and needed a "fat for her child. The child died soon after birth, whereupon she left W to live with J at Bella Bel After eight years she "eloped" with still another man. INHERITANCE AND SUCCESSION Material wealth, such as houses, canoes, and so on, is of secondary importance in the native mind. Far more important are the prerogatives (suyaema), which include such things as name-titles, rights to certain dances, to hunting grounds, and an almost endless list of both ma- terial and nonmaterial items. For women there are like- wise many prerogatives, though they are of less impor- tance than those of men. Primogeniture looms large in inheritance and suc- cession. The eldest son outranks his brothers and the j.amount of "first-bornness" also counts. Thus the eldest !.son of an eldest son and so on back through several gen- lerations is of highest rank. In some families certain prerogatives pass to a youngest son, then to his youngest :son, and so on. Most of the prerogatives seem to be :associated with the name-titles, as some of the follow- ing accounts show. Most of the surviving Owikeno trace their ancestry to four brothers who date back to about 1800. Obviously there is not the interest in genealogies which charac- erizes the clan-organized tribes to the north. Thus, aong the Tlingit I was able to trace about twelve gen- erations with considerable accuracy, the accuracy being cecked with several informants from several tribes. Te genealogy of most of the persons mentioned herein s shown on the chart (fig. 4). There seems to be a firm et of rights which in subsequent generations depend on e order of birth stemming from these four brothers. at is, the eldest, second, third, and fourth sons have their suyaema the traditional privileges which belonged each of this series of brothers. For example, the name i'ksiwalis ("the fourth," "youngest:'' of these four) rries with it certain rights. He is speaker for his elder other. His youngest son would inherit this same right. In this same lineage the eldest son of the eldest son tomatically bears the infant's name Na'.as. Thus when 's eldest was about four years old, he was due to re- ive in a potlatch. DB protested that the child had not en given a birth-name potlatch and so was not eligible eing theoretically nameless). But the host of the forth- ming potlatch said that the child was named Na.as and s accordingly an eligible recipient. In most family lines there are some hereditary rights certain goat-hunting and berrying places. The former scend from father to son, the latter from mother to ghter. (Fishing spots for eulachon are also owned, se being usually the river area opposite the house, ere basketry traps and nets were used. There was no ership of salmon fishing grounds.) These are counted suyaema and the right to them is usually announced ng with the birth-name; in fact, they are often asso- ted with certain name-titles. Thus the best spot for ting goats is up the Kildalla River and is the property the man bearing the name Ayu'Ltala. In actual prac- e goats are hunted by a party of men, led by the owner the favored spot. For berrying, women likewise make a party organized by the woman who owns the grounds ere they go. The following incident may illustrate one mechanism ereby name-titles pass from tribe to tribe and explain the same ones may occur in a number of tribes (e.g., mdzi't, Ma'xwa, Ceks or Seks, the last being known m the Tlingit to the Haisla) (Boas, 1897; Olson, 1940). [2 A local young man was very ambitious. He wished to have a name-title which was higher than he had any rights to, locally. But his mother was a Bella Coola. He asked her Bella Coola kin for the loan of the name pu'tlas, which ranked among the highest in that tribe (McIlwraith, 1948, 1:121, 175). They consented, but it was not to be a permanent loan. The borrower thus acquired it, but, having no children, passed it to his sister's son who was also the head "fool" in the Tsaika dance series. This one likewise had no children, so the name died out. (I doubt if it would ever have been returned to Bella Coola if there had been survivors.) One of SW's ceremonial names is Katxu n but his right to it is somewhat clouded for the following reason. From north beyond the Kwakiutl-speaking tribes a chief named Katxun (probably Tsimshian, perhaps Haida) used to or- ganize raids on the villages on this part of the coast. Finally he was killed. Long afterward SW's mother be- stowed the name on her son, financing a feast to do so. But since the name is not one of the family suyaema, she told no legend ("history") of its origin, merely pointed to him and gave him the name. The guests were surprised, but they felt it was accounted for only by the fact that she was known to be eccentric. One of the many name-titles owned by the late chief Albert Harry was that of Ya'kas ("ugly face"). The fol- lowing legend is told as its validation. They lived at Sumxul village, where there were many eligible girls. But these would have nothing to do with Yakas because he was so repulsive. He used to follow the women and girls when they went berry- picking. There was a woman named Te'anksta ("lip- less" ? ) and only she would make up to him ("sleep with him" ? ). Yakas' father told him to bathe and scrub himself with hemlock boughs. This he did. Then his father gave him a peeled elderberry cane and told him to go up the river. "But," said he, "don't forget to sing and call to Ai'kiyats (a shaman who lived up the river) as you go along." So he traveled, swinging his cane and singing "Ai'kiasLan" as he went. As he traveled, his cane-wand became shorter, and he then would get a new one of the same wood. Finally he came near to Ai'kadjuis (a place ?). There he heard a noise and saw a man standing beside the trail. This one (who was Aikiyats) said to him, "Keep on traveling. You will come to a house. When you go in, be careful. Be sure to go along the right side wall as you enter." He came to the house and as he opened the door, he saw along each side nau'alaku (spirits). Those on the right called out slowly, "Gai na, gai'na" ("come in, come in"). The spirits on the left side were ugly, with crooked faces, and called out "Gaina, gaina" rapidly (eagerly). But he remembered the instructions and turned to the right. When he got to the corner, they gave him a mat to sit on. The shaman of that side "doctored" his face and made his whole body the color of the stick which he carried. The spirits of that side said to him, "When you go out, be sure not to look back." He did as he was told and started back, singing as he went, "I have been to '29] ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS that place. I have been cured." When he came back to the river, he looked back and called out,"K! axala" ("I came down"). And that is the name of the mountain to this day. He followed down the river and reached his village at dusk. He bedded with the woman with the missing lip, who was very glad to see him. The next morning his father called in all the people to show off his now-handsome son. When everyone had gathered, he brought Yakas out. Now many of the girls who had shunned him wished to marry him. But Yakas would have only the lipless one. He said, "It will be a long time before I marry any other." But eventually he did marry one of the girls, and the lipless one stayed on and became like a mother to him. When Chief AH died unexpectedly, there arose the problem of a successor to this highest rank (he being childless). During his life he had mentioned two pos- sibilities, PC and DW. The latter's father claimed that AH had publicly said to him, "All that I have will go to your children." 18 Several persons protested that this was not so. There has been much discussion over priority of rights as between PC and DW. After all, it seems that PC is one generation closer to the eldest of the four brother ancestors (see p. 229) than is DW. However, it now (1949) appears that the rank will go to DW. The os- tensible reason is that DW has been put through a series of dances sponsored by AH and TH. The latter is the grandfather (m's. f.) of DW and AH's wife is TH's sister. The last is the aggressive, bossy wife of AH mentioned on p. 225, and she reputedly nagged him into "doing some- thing" for her brother's grandson. Over all this there has been much talk and trouble. There may be some deviations from the ordinary rules of succession or acquisition of suyaema. Thus, TH and one J had a common source of prerogatives from the elder of the four brothers in their ancestry. J, however, had first claim. But J was a ne'er-do-well and it was obvious that he would never take advantage of his rights. TH, on the other hand, was a go-getter and from time to time dipped into and acquired some of these things (evidently without protest from J). The following is the account of the origin of the name Pa'lakKU (referring, somehow, to a plank). It was one of the suyaema of JJ's mother's family and was passed down to JJ's brother's daughter. As in all such rights, the relating of the account with its details in public and the public bestowing of the name validated the right to the name and to whatever prerogatives were associated with it. The story is associated with this family in the villages of the upper lake. There lived a man and his wife who had a baby daughter named Palakku. When the sockeye salmon were spawning in the stream, the mother was dress- ing them for smoking. One of them carried her away and, when the fish died, so died the woman. The father was fishing for cohoe salmon and as he speared one, it carried him away. She was adopted by a man and woman who were relatives. One day, when she was about eight years old, a gossipy old woman of the village told her that she was an orphan. "Those people," she said, "are not your father and mother." Palakku came home crying and told her foster-parents. But the foster-mother told her, "I am your mother and there is your father." The 1 It should be remembered that of all one's possessions the suyaema are regarded as the things of most importance. next day Palakku asked the old woman about it and was told how her parents had died. And again she was told that the foster-parents were just that. Then Palakku went home and said, "You are not my mother and he is not my father." The foster-mother said, "That woman lies. Look at your father's face. It is like yours." But Palakku said, "No, my parents died long ago," and began to cry. To pacify her, her foster- father made her a toy bow and arrows. Palakku went down to the beach, lay down beside a big log and fell asleep. Her foster-parents looked for her, finally found her and took her home. Again the next day she went out. This time she shot an arrow, into the air. It fell behind the log where she had lain. As it struck, she heard something cry out. When she looked, she saw that it had struck a rotten fish. But this "fish" spoke to her and told her, "Your mother is a sockeye, and your father is a cohoe." And he told her what she must do to find them: that she must have] made for her a screened bed where she must lie for four days; that she must have a canoe full of food and a crew; that she must prepare four magical things; toxsu [clover roots], trout called gu'lisih, k! asa'm [an edible root], and bullhead. And these things they got ready for her, and she and the men started on the journey. For now Palakku was a glu'gwalla [shaman] and her power was wi'wixeaks. When the canoe was shak and the word "Wai" uttered, the canoe went of itself and the men had only to hold their paddles. They went out to the west, traveling toward the sunset each day. [She had been told by the "fish" what she would en- counter and how she must use the magical things.] Finally [the fourth day, probably] they came to a hole [pass] in the land. She told the men, "Go through the pass, but watch out for Kwasuis" [Bald Eagle, who sat on a cliff at one side]. She took one of her "medicines" and threw it at Eagle. He fell asleep and when he came to, the canoe was far past. Finally they came to a fine beach and there they saw smoke from houses. She told the men to go in. There they found a woman who was hugely fat and had a big belly. She was Red Cod Woman. They asked her "Are there any people here besides yourself ? " She replied that there were, but that they must watch out for the natives had Kingfisher as watchman. And she asked if the travelers had the necessary magical things. She told them that in the first village they would come to the people who were very tall. She was asked, "Are there any other people [beyond] ? " Cod Woman said, "Yes, in the third village are the Sock- eye people." "Any others ? " "Yes, in the fourth vill live the Cohoe people." And she warned them to be careful. [Then Palakku knew that her parents lived in these villages.] They paid Cod Woman with eagle down and red-dyed cedar bark. They went on and came to a point where Kingfishe sat. He uttered his cry. But Palakku said to him, "Here are four trout if you will be quiet." A being came around the point and asked Kingfisher what was wrong. But Kingfisher was now full of trout and he answered, "Oh, I just cried out as I woke up." They went on across the bay and, when they came, to the second point, Mallard (who was sentry there) started to give warning. But Palakku told him, "Here are clover roots for you." Mallard came and ate the He told them to hide. Again a being came and asked Mallard what was wrong, but Mallard told him, "I w merely dreaming." U 230 OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO They came to a third point where Goose was sentry. He cried a warning but they bribed him with the klsam roots and he hid them. When the being came to ask what the trouble was, Goose told him, "I merely shouted because I felt so good." Again they went on and came to a fourth point. There Crane was sentry. When he gave his warning cry, Palakku bribed him with four bullheads. When the man [being] came to inquire, Crane gave him an offhand explanation. Now they had passed the four watchmen. When they rounded the next point, they saw a big bay with many houses on the beach. When they came to the beach, the people came out and Palakku tried to talk to them. But the people only laughed and laughed. For they were gwaxamis [dog salmon]. That's why dog salmon have big teeth-from laughing. Again they rounded a point and came to a village on the beach. The people here were k! la'walamas [steelhead] and were fine tall people. (So it is that dog salmon start up the streams earliest but amuse themselves along the way, so steelhead come up the streams first.) Palakku asked them if there were other people beyond and was told, "Yes, in the next bay a woman lives." Palakku paid them with mats. Once again they rounded a point and came to a vil- lage. The people here were misi'k (sockeye people). The Sockeye people saw the canoe and wondered at it-for the Sockeye have no canoes for travel but merely put on their clothes and jump in the water. They tried to drive the canoe away by shooting magical [invisible] arrows at it. But Palakku threw her sleep-making power at them and they all fell down asleep. Then Palakku and four of her crew jumped ashore and began looking for her mother. They found her in the farthest house. She was married now. Palakku rubbed her with shredded yellow cedar bark and took her to the canoe. She tried to jump overboard, but Palakku assigned one of the young men to watch her. The other Sockeye people tried to rescue her but could not. They rounded another point and came to the village of Cohoe (dju wan) people. Here again Palakku put the people asleep and they found the father. Again, as with the mother, Palakku did not recognize him but her men did. [For Palakku was only an infant when they died.] As they started back, Palakku took the sleep power from the Cohoe people. She took eagle down from the box and blew it in the air. At the Sockeye village she did the same. As the down settled on the water, the sockeye struck at it [as a trout strikes at a fly]. They started for the "hole" [pass] through which they had come. All the way a curtain as of smoke or fog fol- lowed behind. The canoe now traveled under its magic power. When they got back to Cod Woman's house, they told her they had found the father and mother. When they passed Eagle at the entrance to the pass, they again put him asleep and headed for home. The father and mother were different in appearance from what they-had been before as people. At first they were afraid when people came near them. But finally they got used to human beings (i.e., they grad- ually became wholly human again). 231 TOTEM POLES, HOUSE POSTS, AND COPPERS The Owikeno had no poles as elaborate as those of the Alert Bay Kwakiutl or the Haida. Most were plain poles with a single figure or merely a sphere at the top. They were called tso'waxsi ("something placed in ground in front of house"). I was able to learn of but six poles, as follows. 1. Max'bik (Maxua's pole). This is now one of the prerogatives of DB. It is placed on a plot of land called Go'klias at the head of the river on the south bank. Here there stood a group of houses occupied by the Go'klaxtanXU (the people of Gok- lias). Its only ornament was a wooden ball at the top. 2. Ge'nalabik (Genala game pole). The pole is like the preceding. A feature of the Glualaxa dances was a pushing game in which, at the end, the pole struck the screen so as to awaken the spirits (p. 247). The totem pole merely represents the game. 3. Gli'abik. One family erected this, a pole with ball at top, after giving a Gliala potlatch (p. 237). But not all those giving this potlatch had the right to erect such a pole. 4. Nuala xbik. The man highest of those "made a fool," the nulilaku, had the right to this. It is carved as a man holding a knife and wearing a cedar head- ring. 5. The Yaxtsi pole is described in the legend of that character below. 6. The tsu'nugwa (tsonoqwa) of Alert Bay is here called adzi'h. She is the Cannibal Woman, always represented as having large pendulous breasts. A pole carved in her likeness was put up about 1900 by SW's father. It was called ni.i'sbik. However, it is avowedly derived from the Nimkish, the owner deriving in part from the Nimkish. House posts are sometimes carved; the figures mentioned are beaver, raven, killer whale, and Canni- bal Woman. The last is constructed so that it can "speak." When the owner gives a potlatch, he arranges with someone to call out from the pole some phrase, as, "More eulachon oil! " The host will, of course, then produce it. One house post is called ni.i'sbik ("tethering pole") because dried salmon are tied to it. It commemorates the time when the first human caught salmon in the Wannock River. Totem poles, as such, are not often placed at graves but, instead, such things as painted boards or carved house posts may be employed. Among those at the ceme- tery across from Ketit are: a painted board depicting an archer shooting at a mountain goat; a post with the shapes of seven coppers attached, to signify the number of times the deceased used coppers in potlatches; a whale doing his last dive (a suyaema of the deceased). In recent years some marble tombstones have been erected, often near the family house of the deceased rather than at the grave. These are manufactured in Vancouver, usually from a carved wooden model, and usually depict one of the crests. A ceremony and potlatch accompany the placing of the stone. The speaker tells the I history of the stone, usually claiming that the stone comes from such and such a place-the place of origi the ancestors of the deceased (a fiction, of course). The following legend is told of the origin of the tot pole which JJ's father had the right to erect. The loci is Koey. JJ's father (or his ancestors) came from t tribe. This pole is among those now set up in Stanley Park, Vancouver. The uppermost figure is Eagle, th' lowermost is Octopus. The latter dragged up on the beach the creatures seen by Eagle. The figures in bez tween these two (I was unable to get a list of them) "praised" Eagle and Octopus for doing these things. of JJ's feast names is Yaxtsi ("bad one"), from the h of the tale. The telling of the tale, the knowledge of it details, validates the right to the name and the pole. name has since been passed (by giving a feast) to JJ's son. They lived [so the tale goes] at Kwe [Koey] at th mouth of the river along the sandy beach. Among them was a young man named Yaxtsi who had a pas- sion for gambling. So great was this mania that he allowed himself to become lousy, so lousy that his hair stood out and he was scabby from the lice. P ple remarked about him and his father became ashamed of him. One day the father sent Yaxtsi up the river to cat Cohoe salmon. While he was gone, his father told th people to pack up, that they were going to move and leave this worthless fellow behind. The grandmother (whose name was A 'gwani) told. the younger brother [of Yaxtsi] about this, that they were going to move to axai ["the hole," Hakai Pass] The following day Yaxtsi was again sent to catch salmon. While he was gone, the people moved all their things, leaving only the houses. The following day Yaxtsi was again sent for salmon. This time the people removed the houses, burned what was left, moved to Hakai Pass. Now, the younger brother had told the grandmoth that he was going to stay with his brother. The old woman made a punk of saigam [a root] so they would have fire. This she put in a clam shell and hid it by post, telling the boy not to forget it. While the canoe was being loaded the lad held a bundle of arrows in his arms and got into the stern o the canoe. When the canoe was pushed into the surf, he jumped out, ran back and hid in the woods. When the convoy of canoes was halfway across the sound, Yaxtsi returned to find all the houses burned, the fires all out, and all the people gone. The younge brother watched him as he sat down and cried. At th i the younger brother came to him and said, "Don't c Our father was ashamed of your lousiness, so they went away. But I jumped out and came back because I' wanted to stay with you. Don't cry." Then the two built a shelter of poles and hemlock branches. Then they cooked the fish which Yaxtsi had taken and went to sleep. The next morning the fish they had not eaten were all gone. Something or some- one had taken them. That day Yaxtsi again went for salmon but caught only a few. These they cooked, but again in the morn- [232] OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO ing the surplus was gone. (An adji h, a Cannibal Woman, had taken them.) Again Yaxtsi went for salm- on but took only four. Two of these they ate, but in the morning the remaining two had been stolen. (The younger brother had said they would watch for the thief, but they had fallen asleep.) The next time Yaxtsi caught only two salmon. They ate one of these, put the other away. That night they watched and about the middle of the night heard some- one walking on the beach. Yaxtsi woke. As she [the Cannibal Woman] reached for the fish, one of her pendulous breasts came through a hole in the shelter. The younger brother shot her. The next morning they found her body. They pulled out the arrow and kept it. That day Yaxtsi went fishing but caught nothing and they had left food for only two days. Two days later they were hungry and Yaxtsi was becoming weak. The younger brother made some : bird [blunt] arrows. Yaxtsi was too weak to hunt. i.The younger brother shot two wrens and fed them to Yaxtsi. Each day for four days he did this. Now Yaxtsi felt stronger and he went to a pool to bathe and scrub himself with hemlock to rid himself of the lice and scabs. The next morning they heard an eagle scream from the top of a big spruce at the beach. Yaxtsi said, "Get up and see what Eagle is talking about. He must see something on the beach." The brother went, found a crayfish on the beach, which they cooked and ate. The next morning the eagle again screamed. This time they found a big ling cod on the [beach. Each day now Yaxtsi went to the pool to bathe. 'e third morning the eagle again screamed, and ts time there was a big halibut on the beach. Now they had plenty of food. The fourth morning Eagle again screamed, and they found a whale on the beach. This they cut up d dried plenty of the meat. The next morning the boys woke up and they were a fine house. For during the night Ku'mugwah, ea Monster, had brought them to this, his house, d had gone away. In the house was a girl (Kumug- Ih's daughter). Yaxtsi married her. In the house as a magical box which yielded everything and never ecame empty. Outside the house was a pole with the gle who screamed at the beach at the top. At the ttom was Octopus (who had dragged the things up the beach). Between were other figures constantly oving as they "praised" Eagle and Octopus for doing ese things. Now Yaxtsi had a fine house, a wife, and each day kinds of food drifted in. The young brother busied self drying and storing food. In the new village in Hakai Pass the grandmother h day walked on the beach to wail for her grand- There came a gull which lighted on the beach. grandmother threw a pebble at it and spoke to it her grandson. The gull spoke to her and told her about Yaxtsi, his house, his wife, and the totem ee. She sent the gull to tell Yaxtsi about herself. ien Yaxtsi heard this, he told Gull to get someone bring the grandmother to Koey, and sent back to a piece of sea lion meat. e grandmother went to her house and made a t, under which she hid the meat. Now, the people the village were starving. They could find nothing -eat. But one day some of them saw the grandmother ting and asked her where she got the food. She merely said she wanted to go back to Koey. Three boys took her to Koey and there Yaxtsi told them to return and tell the people to come back to Koey, all except the father. Yaxtsi did not wish his father to come. Yaxtsi had now given the younger brother the name Ka kabisila ("he who turns canoes upside down"). He also "doctored" his grandmother so that she became young again. The grandmother now started making baskets, drying food, and so on. Soon one of the store- rooms was full of food. Soon the canoes started coming from Hakai Pass. Yaxtsi had ordered his brother to swim out and over- turn each canoe as it neared the beach. This he did, and the people had to swim to shore. They all huddled under the front of the house. The last canoe to arrive was that of the father. Yaxtsi said to Kakabisila, "Don't turn that one over; just shove it back out. Don't let him come in." This the brother did. Each time the father tried to come ashore, his canoe was shoved back. Finally Yaxtsi told the brother to turn it over as he had done with the others. The people now lived, huddled, hungry, and cold, under the front of the house. They wished to come in, but Yaxtsi would not allow it. Finally one morning Yaxtsi told his brother to call them in. Inside they were seated and Yaxtsi started feasting them. He piled food high in front of them and they felt good. Soon the people built houses alongside that of Yaxtsi. Every four days he feasted them, for the magic box never became empty. But Yaxtsi started having affairs with various women. One day his wife took the magic box and went down to the edge of the water. Here she lifted up the edge of the water and walked down under. She went back to her father. At this all the figures on the totem pole stopped moving and became lifeless. This is the origin of these suyaema in the Owikeno tribe. The right to them comes through the line from Koey. Coppers.-At this late date it is impossible to secure more than fragmentary data on these ceremonial objects. Certainly they were not employed as blue chips in any elaborate game of finance as they were among the Alert Bay (Nimkish) and Fort Rupert Kwakiutl (Boas, 1897; Codere, n.d.; Ford, 1941). All coppers, however, had names. DB's father once borrowed a copper from AT's father to use in a potlatch. At the same time he borrowed money and blankets. He did not give the copper away in the potlatch, merely displayed it, for it was something of an honor for a man to be able to say that he had "handled" a copper in a potlatch. The loan involved the return of the copper, plus a payment for its use. The following is an incident relating to coppers. A certain Kingcombe Inlet chief wished to give a potlatch but was short of wealth. He borrowed a copper from a local man, SW. The latter mentioned from time to time that he wished his copper returned, but the Kingcombe chief kept putting him off. Several years later SW gave a mourning potlatch for his sister. Among the guests were people from Smith's Inlet, Seymour Inlet, and King- combe Inlet. In a speech SW made as if he were holding a copper and said to this chief, "Here is the copper you returned to me. It is yours now." Then he made as if breaking it and throwing it away. This, of course, caused the Kingcombe chief to lose face. 233 POTLATCHES The term "potlatch" is the Chinook jargon word mean- ing "to give" and implies the ceremonies varying from a minor feast to the great affairs involving dances, feast- ings, and lavish distributions of property. The Owikeno word is gwai'ninuku, which can scarcely be translated except perhaps "to do," or "to have done something" (worth while). This meaning carries the sense of better- ing oneself by giving the necessary festivals, dances, etc. In the main it is the host who gets the lion's share of the credit for the potlatch, but those he sponsors, those who participate in the dances, those who are given names, and so on, also benefit. These active participants also "wear the bark" and can count it to their credit. The Owikeno never carried the potlatch system to the extremes of the Southern Kwakiutl or took to "fighting with property." Nor is the potlatch an "interest-bearing investment." One acquires the wealth for a potlatch by hust- ling and diligence. Investment marriages and real marriages are a source of revenue when the wife is "redeemed" or "bought out." Additional funds are secured by making interest-bearing loans to relatives chiefly, to friends or other tribesmen occasionally. These recognize the motive but, if not actually glad to borrow, at least do not feel they are imposed on (Barnett, 1938; Codere, n.d.). There is no obligation to return a potlatch gift, much less with the amount doubled, but those able to give a pot- latch, chiefly the upper class, have a moral obligation to do so. These receive the largest gifts and will return in kind. But everyone at a potlatch receives, and perhaps only one in four of these ever reciprocates. As the guests from other villages and tribes arrive at the village, they align themselves opposite the host group, dance, and "throw" spirit power back and forth (ma kampt). Finally the host falls over in a mock faint and then rises wearing a spirit mask. The guests are then invited in. On this first occasion they are seated as in the actual potlatch or gift-giving (fig. 1). The following were given to me as forms or occasions of potlatch distinct from the "great" potlatches involving the dance series or other very costly affairs. Except as noted, these would normally take place during the life of anyone of the middle or upper class or otherwise eligible or able. I list them and discuss them by number merely for the sake of clarity. They are not thought of as the "ten potlatches of one's life" nor are they all given in sequence. Throughout, it should be borne in mind that these potlatches are not "interest-bearing investments" but affairs when the sponsor is giving food and gifts to guests in order that they may witness or serve as wit- nesses of something which is worth the trouble and ex- pense of the festival, something which will benefit the sponsor or other members of the host group (such as the "bringing out" of a name or dance). 2. 3. 4. 5. 1. Prenatal potlatch. At perhaps the sixth month of a woman's pregnancy the husband plans what is called ku talisa ("guessing what is inside"). That is, there is guessing as to the sex of the unborn child. (Males are thought to be more active.) A name is bestowed according to the guessed sex. If the sex seems un- certain, both masculine and feminine names are given. Everyone in the village is invited and there is a small feast and gifts for all. DB was called klu'hya ("he who appears well-groomed") as a prenatal desig- nation. (It would have been klu'yakka for a female.) Soon after the birth of the child, another small potlatch is given. If the sex of the child is not guessed correctly in no. 1, the name is now changed. In any event, the first real prerogatives are now given to the child, the future hunting-grounds for a boy, the berry- patches for a girl. Puberty potlatch. This is called tu'gwaliL ("to stand up to walk"). It is held soon after a girl's first menses or when a boy is twelve to fifteen years old. For a girl this ceremony may be called ya.e'xansila ("hand- ling the menstruant"). At this time there is given the first potlatch name, i.e., the one which will be called out when gifts are given. Again there are a gathering, a feast, and gifts. Sometimes the principal is paraded around the house or through the village on this occa- sion. Not all families can afford this affair for an adolescent child. DB and his wife recently gave a small puberty pot- latch for a daughter who at the time was away at school in Alert Bay. To this only the local people were invited. But the following summer they gave a larger affair in her honor at the Goose Bay cannery. At this time the guests included the people of Fort Rupert, Blunden Harbour, and Alert Bay. At this time the girl received three new names. One was given by a woman from Blunden Harbour who counts herself as kin of the girl's father's mother. A second was given by a woman from Alert Bay who also counts herself as kin. The affair cost about two hundred dollars. "Made a fool" potlatch (nulilaku). When this is given for a person (either male or female and at any age from four years upward), it makes him immune, so to speak, from some of the hazards and taboos of the dance times and other functions. Or should he transgress some of the Tsaika taboos, his punishment would be mild. The right to give this potlatch is a prerogative, not in the possession of all families. The person (principal) in- volved is thereafter permitted, e.g., to shoot firearms or bang on the walls during a dance or at a "buying-out" festival. If he does so, the attendants go outside to see what the rumpus is and come in to report it as the doings of the nulilaku, who then comes in wearing his elaborate bark headgear from which dangle four ermine tassels. His face is blackened and he carries a wooden "knife" painted red, as if bloody. His entrance interrupts the current performance, and he then and there gives a little potlatch of his own. Should he violate some of the harsh rules of the higher Tsaika dances, he need not perform the Tsaika dance in question in order to save his life. "Made a Tsaika" potlatch (tsai'kilakU). This means that one is possessed of (one or more ?) Tsaika spirits without going through the usual required dances. The right to this is again (like no. 4) a family prerogative. If one of the family's prerogatives, it is usually given while the recipient is still a child. The potlatch must be repeated for four successive years; it is therefore expensive and is equated with high rank in the dance series. A person going through this would not (ordi- narily) also be involved in no. 4. This potlatch would [2341 OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO not be given during the Tsaika season. Like no. 4, it permits certain violations of the Tsaika taboos. 6. Accident potlatch. This potlatch is motivated not so much because there is a feeling that an accident in- volves any disgrace as because it gives an excuse for a potlatch, which always adds to one's prestige or merit. The festival, with feasting and gifts, should follow the accident fairly soon. An example is this: In the winter of 1948, AT had a fall in which he cut his forehead, which left a scar. Soon he gave a pot- latch in which he took the name "Scar-face" plus, or compounded with, his father's name. Now, if in a quarrel or otherwise, someone were to call him, "You scar-faced so and so," he could reply, "O. K. Remem- ber I potlatched to be called 'Scar-face."' 7. I do not quite know how to describe the motivation of this potlatch. It is given or held when one feels that he has "lost face." This restores "face." If I were to fall from the dock into the water, if I were to get into a fight and get bested, the way out-the thing to do- would be to give (or rather have a relative give) a pot- latch. This would save my face and no one at any time could ever make a slurring remark about the incident. I give an incident: At the finish of the sockeye season on Rivers Inlet in 1935, all the fishermen were paid for the year's catch. Some of the Indians bought rum from bootleggers (at $7.00 per "coke" bottle! ). There were the inevitable hassles and fights. One lad of about twenty years from Fort Rupert was terribly beaten in one of the fights. I have never seen a more horribly swollen and purpled face than he exhibited the next day. But his parents "washed it off" by that morning giving a potlatch at which his mother sang songs, constantly making the washing gesture across the face. The principal, throughout, sat wiping his face and eyes, which streamed from the beating. In the end everyone present, including myself, was given two dollars. If I ever meet the young man again, I could only say, "Yes, I remember you. We met at Kildalla Cannery in 1935.' He wo'uld then say, "Yes, we should remember that time!' Never could I mention the unfor- tunate circumstances or incidents involved. His "face" was saved for all time. (I am not sure whether he was given a new name at this time, but I think he was.) S. Burial potlatch. At the death of an adult, his body is placed at the "head" of the house, i.e., opposite the door, with a board screen in front. Then the relatives come in. The "horns" of the Glualaxa dances sound to signify that they have come to claim their own.19 All the people of the village then gather (summoned by the speaker) and the mourning songs of the deceased are sung. Then from behind the screen is heard the sound of the spirit (the horn). The four Glualaxa attendants then announce that the body has become a spirit (nau- alaku), and the spirit is named, according to what spirit the deceased has in his suyaema. (The sound of the particular "horn" is in imitation of the sound of the spirit animal.) The "body" is at this time simu- lated by a roll of blankets, which is picked up by one of those attending. For instance, DB saw a ceremony in which a youngster dressed in the costume of the eagle was lowered down through the smoke hole of the house. He walked toward the casket and took the "body" (actually only an empty roll of blankets) and then was again pulled through the smoke hole. 19 I wish that I had inquired further into this relation between these con- cepts and the dance organization, but I did not at the time. The spirits of the Tsaika dances never "claim" a body. In the event, for instance, that the deceased had the Blackfish crest or prerogative, a dancer comes in wearing the blackfish costume (always with four dorsal fins) and performs a dance, finally going out the door carrying the "body" (again, only a roll of blankets). Then the sounds of the horns (the voices of the souls or spirits) are heard outside four times. It is announced that the soul has been seen to enter the water. The attendants now come in and call on -the wi'umaks (ladies of rank) to lament and sing the mourning songs (k! wa'sa). The male relatives of the deceased now sing a special chant-song called the ski'mLa (this again being a suyaema). During this the women who are present hide their faces and lament. The theme of these songs is, "So and so [the deceased] has gone across to the other side." In the land of the dead the older souls are for a time somewhat in awe of the newcomer, especially if he has amounted to something on earth. (This, as announced, pleases the family of the deceased.) In some of the mourning songs it may be repeated, "Come back! Come back! " Finally the chief attendant says, "Enough! " (lit., "Bite it in two! "). Then the giving of gifts (potlatch) takes place. During all this time the coffin is still in the house, the simulated carryings-out having been just ceremonial. There is one thing about which I am not sure. At one point tne speaker says, "The spirit has come to claim the body," and the implication (somehow) is that the deceased has striven during his life to do his best. The soul or spirit is thus called by a special term (k! a'latla) only at a funeral. It is somehow dis- tinct from the soul which gives life. At the end there is a speech by the speaker who gives the life story of the deceased, most of which is fact, emphasizing how "high he has climbed" by, of course, giving potlatches, and so on. Now his succes- sor can be named and it can be told what name-title he will assume, when, as, and if he assumes it. Then the speaker says, "Now, young men, come tomorrow and we will hide the box." (This is the coffin, which is supposedly empty-the spirit and body having gone.) The next day the coffin (with the body inside) is taken to the cemetery. A special area is reserved as a cemetery for chil- dren. Until the age of five to seven years children are regarded as not quite human and are "pure" in the mystic sense. They have not yet learned to lie or slander. (Yet there is no sense of "sin" in the Chris- tian sense.) For children there is little or no burial ritual. The body is merely placed in a box and carried to a cemetery somewhat removed from that of adults. 9. Nau'6lakslistA potlatch (referring somehow to "the ancestors now become visible"). Sometimes after one of these affairs is over, when it,seems as if there can be nothing more and the speaker has said regarding his host, "K! waLamudiL" ("there is nothing more"), there is heard outside the door a spirit. The attendants go to investigate, come in, and announce, "The ances- tors of this person [the host] are now going to do some- thing!' The "ancestors" wish to come in. They are told it is not appropriate. Again they ask but are told, "The house is not yet quite finished." Finally they are called in, always in the evening-the actual giving-away having taken place in the afternoon. If there is a "Fool Dancer" in the family's prerogatives, he will come in first. Then 235 236 ANTHROPOLOGIC all the dancers seat themselves, backs to the fire. Then one end of the curtain is raised and the Fool Dancer comes in wearing a mask and other finery. The curtain is then pulled again and a second dancer comes out. Next, the Tanis (Cannibal) dancer comes (doing his dance with palms upward, signifying that he is now human). Now the speaker outdoes himself in his "praise" of the host and at the end of each of his perorations, the host throws gifts at him until he is "smothered" with these gifts (called udzu'h, the platform on which one dances). These may amount to quite a sum, and afterward gifts are handed around to all those present. In all, these last donations may amount to as much as nearly one-fourth of the total sum given and are intended to show that the host is still not bankrupt. It is as if one were to throw a hundred-dollar bill oh the bar and say, "Drink it up, boys," then at the end toss on a twenty or a fifty with the implication, "There's more where that came from." This is the real spirit of the potlatch. 10. "Fireman" potlatch. With the open fires it is a fairly common occurrence that the roof planks catch fire at the edge of the smoke hole. If this happens during a masked dance, only one man, who has the title xo'la- las, is permitted to leave the house to put out the fire. No one else may move during the dance. If the xolalas puts out the fire, he must give a potlatch when the dance is finished. The speaker says of the goods, "These are the extra clothing while putting out the fire.' With the reduced number of people in the tribe, such offices may be held by children, the present holder having filled the post since he was a mere lad. The marks of office are a bearskin cape and a cedar head- ring. __ _ "Lower " side of house 1 4 F I 4 E AL RECORDS Once the host of a potlatch to come has collected necessary wealth, he gives it over to those who will arrange and manage the affair for him. In fact, I was repeatedly told, once the money is amassed, it is no longer the property of the host but is regarded as public property. The speaker is a manager of this so who throughout will take every opportunity to praise host. The amount he receives for this depends in part on how well he performs. Another man calls out who i to receive a gift and the amount. He must be careful that the gifts are given out in proper order, for those rank are very jealous of the order of giving. The task' somewhat simplified by a definite seating arrangemen (or "seats") on the basis of rank (figs. 1, 2, 3). The gift is handed to one of the young men helpers, who carries it to the recipient. For all this there is a tall man with tally sticks who keeps careful account. (In recent years some men have been eager to be tallyme so they could filch a little.) At the end the tallyman ca out to ask if anyone has been overlooked. If someone been missed he keeps silent, but someone near calls o his name. (Sometimes gifts are called out for persons not even present.) There is always a surplus to take care of such contingencies. This surplus is sometimes enough to pay the speaker and other helpers; but some hosts make these payments beforehand. At the end the speaker may say to the host, "Now if you have a grudge against anyone, sock it to him." Thi1 means that if there is a considerable sum left, a last gift to someone would obligate him to give a like amou to the host at some future time or lose face. This would apply, of course, only to persons of rank who gave pot- latches. 2 3 "Upper" side oF house 3 2 4 5 Fig. 1. Seating arrangement in gift-giving. 1. Highest chief and his wife 2. Lesser chiefs and their wives 3. High-class young men 4. Commoners and their families 5. The host, his speaker, and the host's helpers - I I .'i j i OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO The praising by the speaker in the beginning speech tells of the host's ancestors, what he has done in danc- ing, in potlatching, etc. The concluding speech again praises the host and there is an admonition to those present to do likewise. The donations in the "main" potlatch are to men. But in the meantime the host's wife is usually acting as host- ess in a donation to women, the women's presents being usually yard goods, which have been on display. She has a woman speaker and one who keeps tally. Everyone present receives a gift. Children who have i started up the social ladder (especially through dances in one series or the other) receive with the adults. Even a boy of twelve might receive with the chiefs, provided he had been "brought out" in the dances sufficiently. Girls' rank, like that of boys, depends on their name- .titles, acquired in dances and potlatches. Other children receive last. The recipient of a gift sometimes thanks the giver, referring to himself as of low rank and saying, perhaps, "I do not receive this for nothing. I shall make use of it." But chiefs would not do this. The potlatch which terminates an important Glualaxa dance is called gliala. Usually only one is given in any ear. This is often the high point in a man's career. any years of work, saving, and planning go into it. It usually arranged to take place after the wife has bought erself out so that the capital gain involved in that trans- tion will be available. The children of the couple, and ally nephews and nieces, will perform some of the nor dances. The sponsor (host) will perform his high ce in the series and assume the appropriate name- le. This name is often one which he receives as a part the buying-out payment and one which was a part of the rriage bargain. Only an eldest brother can give such estival. It is the duty of his younger brothers (and er near kin) to help him in all things connected with ces and potlatches. In return the eldest brother will that their children are given a start in life by spon- ng them in at least some minor dances. These investment loans mentioned above constitute, refore (aside from the buying-out payments by a es kin), the chief means of acquiring or accumulating al for a potlatch. The monies acquired in this way in a sense, almost public property; that is, the re- ent is morally obligated to dispense such capital. rwise, people would gossip and his reputation would r. Even if the borrower is not planning a potlatch eeds the funds for ordinary purposes, he is still r obligation to pay back double. This one hundred ent "interest" is the same whether the money is ned within a month, or not for several years. Even the money is borrowed from a friend or relative, olds true. e following incidents and accounts may serve to rate the wide variety of practices and procedures wed in such "investments". 's classificatory "sister" was involved in a potlatch gement. In public she stated that she was temporarily of funds. She then pulled a hair from her head, said, one of my 'brothers' buy this? " DB did so, for $50. years later she paid it back, plus $50 more. Ac- . she had not needed the money in the first place, en merely trying to "help" him. He should therefore used this $100 for a potlatch but failed to do so. of Blunden Harbour married DB's classificatory r" of Smith's Inlet. Some time later TJ came to d said, "You were not present when I married your so here is $20.' DB could not refuse the money, and the next time TJ was ready to potlatch DB paid him back, $40. TJ did not have to "dun" DB and would not have done so. JC was noted for his somewhat sharp practices in financial matters. One day he invited DB to his house. The latter noted that JC 's wife was not about and was told the two had quarreled and the wife had gone off in a huff. DB said a little sweet talk would bring her back. So he went to the woman and persuaded her to come back. For this little service JC gave him $20. This gift could not be refused. About six months later JC sent word that he was planning a little potlatch and there was that matter of $20. So DB had to return $40, even though this was not quite cricket. I would again emphasize that the idea of the potlatch (for the Owikeno) is not to show liberality. It represents a striving to better oneself, but not financially. One pot- latches as often as possible to bring out names and the mrany other things which constitute the suyaema. There is a saying, "No chief ever dies with anything"-because he will have potlatched as much as possible. The idea of hoarding or accumulating wealth for any other purpose except to give it away would be regarded as abnormal, and is unthinkable, incomprehensible. Now and then through misfortune or otherwise, even an aggressive and hard-working man may find himself in financial straits. He then refrains from potlatching until his affairs are in better order. However, if he has debts, these must be paid and one way of accomplishing this is as follows: If A owes B $10020 and B intends to potlatch, A must find the $100 or lose face. He may raise the money by publicly pulling a hair from his head and saying, "Who will give me $100 for this hair?" C, who has been forewarned by A, will make the offer of the loan (which must be repaid with $200). This causes B to lose a little face, for A is demonstrating his good credit. C will probably be a near kinsman. A person may "sell" a part of his body in the same way to obtain funds, but this is not so common. There are a few social functions which are essentially for men, although there is no overt policy of exclusion of women. These are the following. The host of a potlatch invites the men of the village to the current potlatch house for a breakfast on each morn- ing of the four or five festival days. This he does if he is "anyone at all." i.e., has pride in his station. When a festival, for instance a dance, is being planned, the sponsor calls in those men who are to help him: those who are to supply firewood, to cook,21 and those who are to compose the songs, the singers and those who are to act as attendants to the dancer. At this meeting the whole affair is carefully planned so that there will be no hitch in the dance. This is called the kli'Lsut. Those few women who are to prepare the ceremonial cedar bark are also present at the gathering. The magical tricks of a dance are gone into and re- hearsed at a special meeting. The call to this is made by the speaker going from house to house and mentioning "kwa " k! wak."' The word means "to eat smoked salmon" prepared in a special way, but those in the know under- stand the hidden meaning. It is customary for a man who has had exceptional luck in hunting to invite all the men of the village to a little informal feast. The women of the host's household may 20 The original loan, if "public," or of the investment type, would have been $50. If a purely personal one, it may have been $100. 21 It still seems to be customary for men to do the main part of the cooking at large gatherings, as at the annual conventions of the Native Brotherhood. 237 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS remain in the house during this gathering. Men sometimes have a feast by themselves distinct from the foregoing, a mere "stag party.' What food re- mains is given to the man with the largest family. But the girls of his family must not eat of it, lest in later life men pass them by with a single look. I suppose the potlatch system is largely responsible for the fact that the people of the Northwest Coast have been represented as mean, mercenary, arrogant, grasp- ing, and so on. And I suppose that casual students of the culture will go on holding this view to the end of time. It is, nevertheless, an incorrect one. Money- and prop- erty-minded these people certainly are. But wealth and goods are of use only to be given away in the endless striving of the ambitious, those who wish to "better themselves!' "A true chief always dies poor.' The giving of a potlatch is not an obligation to be avoided, but rather a privilege to be exercised as often as possible, provided, of course, that one has the means. Thus a man enhances his own prestige and that of his family. The ideal man looks for an "excuse" to give a potlatch and almost any excuse will serve. Thus, a few years ago DB's stepson fell from the fish ladder into the water at the Goose Bay cannery, an accident of a type common enough. DB thereupon invited all the nati workers of the cannery to a potlatch. These included people from Smith's Inlet, Blunden Harbour, and othe He gave away $100 "to wash it off," even though no inju was involved. It would have involved no loss of face ha he ignored the incident, but it was an opportunity to do something for the lad (and for himself). Children are told that they should save and be fruga to budget so they will not have to worry and will have peace of mind. The ideal man is generous above all. E always has guests. He always invites in anyone passin by. He has a ready smile. He is industrious. (The em phasis is not on planning and scheming but on work.) Thus, JC used to advise DB when the latter was a boy: "You are not high-born but birth is not everythin You can raise yourself high by potlatching. You hav health and two hands and you can climb up. Chiefs have no more than these things and for all their pre rogatives, these will be of no use unless they potlat4 for them [validate them]. Every person can make something of himself." 238 4 THE WINTER CEREMONIALS Although the year among the Owikeno may be described as being divided into a season of economic activities con- nected with making a living and a ceremonial season, it would be wrong to state that the two involve different social structures such as Boas has described for the Kwagul of Fort Rupert and the Nimkish of Alert Bay (Boas, 1897, p. 418). Instead, the winter ceremonial season is merely the time of dances and the potlatches which invariably accom- pany these. To the Owikeno this is the time of "bringing out" or "showing" the prerogatives (suyaema) of those actively participating in the festivals. In fact, the whole object of the various dances is to lay claim to prerogatives and publicly validate them by the potlatch which follows (Barnett, 1938). Certain prerogatives may be claimed at other times during the year, but the most important ones, especially those involving the highest name-titles, seem lto be always linked with the winter ceremonials. Neither is there a division within the societies on the ibasis of age or sex, as among the people of Fort Rupert and Alert Bay. Before the decimation of the tribe it was robably true that certain of the higher dances were per- orned exclusively by men, without, however, age being e determining factor in the right to perform a given ce. Yet it was uridoubtedly true that children or even hs would not be assigned the rights to the higher dances. Marriages are sometimes arranged so as to give the om certain highly prized prerogatives from the bride's ily, these being involved in the bargain. But many ers pass from father to son (or daughter) or from er to daughter (or son). There is no acquisition of rogatives by killing their owner. A prerogative once suned remains the property of the possessor until he ses it on during his life or it becomes a part of his ate" at death. But in either event, the prerogative can- be assumed without a potlatch, or, in the case of se associated with the dancing societies, the dance and latch. No prerogative is divisible. That is, it may be held by one person. This point needs some clarification since, identical name-titles occur in tribe after tribe and right to a certain dance may be held by several line- in the same tribe. This is explained or rationalized e fact that for each prerogative there is an associated d; and since such items as the places where events e legend took place differ in the various legends, the gatives are regarded as different in origin. th the decimation of the tribe many of the prerogatives ormant,"' so to speak (for no prerogative ever passes existence), since the few survivors have not the necessary to assume all those once active.22 Many se have become but dimly remembered and many will ly be forgotten altogether as the culture continues ocess of breakdown.23 e dancing societies, despite the fact that a very few s are not eligible for membership, are not to be ded as a disruptive feature of the culture. Dancers oud of the number of times they have danced. The ring of a child or other kinsman in a dance is a this situation which probably lies back of one informant's state- y suyaema are without number." aituation has resulted in a certain amount of selling preroga- alien tribes by persons who sometimes have no right to them. un, 1950. means of giving him a start in life, just as we give a child a college education, technical training, or set him up in business. Nonmembers are not pushed around beyond be- ing forced to observe certain rules (taboos) during the dancing periods. The dances and the accompanying pot- latches are things to strive toward. They give meaning, purpose, and incentive to the business of living. This is at least the Owikeno attitude. Owikeno culture has not been lived on the old plane for a half-century or more. This, plus the fact that all of the elders of the tribe have passed on, makes it impossible at this late date to give a complete or even always accu- rate account of the social life and structure, and applies particularly to the activities of the ceremonial season. Many of the dances have not been given or held in decades, and those which are still performed are sadly watered- down remnants of their earlier forms. This should be kept in mind in reading the following description of the winter ceremonials.24 I agree with Drucker that the "Secret Societies" de- scribed by Boas are not secret organizations at all but are merely dances. The only "secrets" are those which involve a magical trick as one feature in some of the dances and the fact that the whistles and horns are, to the uninitiated, the voices or breathings of the spirit. But the uninitiated are only the very young and a very few adults and even these are allowed to witness the final night's performance, by far the most spectacular. For these reasons I do not feel that the appellation "secret society" is deserved at all, though Drucker applies the term to each of the two dance series. The ceremonial season is divided into two parts or two series of dances. The first is that of the month or so when the Tsaika series (called the "Shaman's series" by Drucker) is held; the second is that of the Glualaxa (the "dlflwulaxa" of Drucker). This second series begins perhaps a week (sometimes a month) after the first and in ancient times probably lasted a month. Nowadays both the seasons and the individual dances are much abbreviated. Each year there is a ceremony called ya'yumala("greet- ing with your presence"), which takes place at the time when the snow line approaches the village. It ushers in the time of the winter dances, though it is not connected with either of the dance series. The snow is regarded as a spirit. The saying is, "He is coming closer" (meaning the snow line comes lower). When the snow line reaches the village, a great fire is built in each house and people go to the stream or lake and take a ceremonial bath. At this time the council meets and decides when the Tsaika dance series should begin. The season when the winter dance4 are given is called tso.a'nxala (from tsoa, "winter" and xala, "to act the giver") and means literally, "Winter giving away time." It is the sacred season in a vague way. It should be borne in mind that the dances are primarily concerned with bring- ing out or "showing" prerogatives (suyaema) and giving of the potlatch which validates these prerogatives (Barnett, 1938). The spirits associated with the dances arrive as the snow creeps down the mountains to the village. 24 Drucker (1940) has given a brief account of Owikeno dances. His and mine are not in complete agreement and the two should be regarded as complementary to each other. The discrepancies can probably never be resolved. [239] ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS In the work of many kinds involved in getting ready for these festivals the word "hire" hai'liala) is not used, but the word k! la.o'xwa is used instead. This means to hire in the special sense of preparing for the festivals-for all this work must be paid for at the potlatches which follow the respective dances. The theory of each dance is that at some time in the past an ancestor of the dancer had a supernatural exper- ience with the spirit who taught him the dance, the songs, and gave him the paraphernalia used (or showed him these). The right to the dance in question thus came to be passed on to the descendants of this ancestor. The dances vary in rank as high or minor but not in a very definite order except for those of greatest importance. Thus a person must have danced at least once before he would be admitted to the house to witness some of the higher dances, especially the Cannibal dance, except on the final night of the dance. Should one of the uninitiated see some of the "secrets," e.g., the workings of the magi- cal tricks or that the whistles are not the voices of spirits, he would, or might be, killed, theoretically by shaman's magic. Actually, at least in recent times, even a small child may be credited with the highest dances, with an adult carrying out the dance in his stead. After some of the dances in both series which involve a magical trick, one of the attendants may burlesque the trick. This is another indication that these dances, or, for that matter, the series, are not "secret societies" at all but merely a method of "bringing out" the prerogatives of the dancer. Thus, following the fire-walking, one of the attendants, wearing heavy boots, performs on (in) the fire box with its secret plank covering the coals and hot stones. He pretends to be terribly burned! Following the water-walking trick (in which a secretly placed plank lies just under the surface of the water), an attendant jumps "onto" the water, but instead of walking on the water, he makes a tremendous splash! In the trick where a dead salmon comes to life, the burlesque of it is that the salm- on remains very much dead. These burlesques, naturally, vastly amuse the spectators. Following the Thunderbird dance, with its stately rendition of the behavior of that mythical bird, there is a parody of it by one of the attend- ants. (I do not know where this dance fits into either series. It is said that it was borrowed from the Bella Coola and that the words of its songs are in that tongue, but I find it neither in Drucker's nor my lists. I believe it forms a part of the Glualaxa series.) It is not correct to state that rank depends on the order or rank of the dance which one has achieved. The number of times that one has danced counts as much. Thus, on one occasion two men got into a hassle about something. One was a Tanis (the highest rank in the Tsaika); the other had danced onlyin the lower dances. The Tanis referred to his having danced this dance. The other countered by saying, "I have more cedar bark (k!la'kut)thanyou." He had danced nine times, the Tanis but three. Thus he bested the Tanis. JC had danced thirteen times in the Tsaika series but never the Tanis dance. Yet he was regarded as the equal of a Tanis dancer because of the large number of times he had danced. Both series of dances are administered or the arrange- ments approved by a sort of council (p. 217). Its members are such by hereditary right, usually chiefs, and are always nulilaku ("made a fool"), which means that they are not subject to the taboos of the Tsaika series. A pot- latch validating the "office" is necessary. (DB thus named his three-year-old son to the position.) A chief function of this group is to see that all the Tsaika rules are followed. In one instance the Tanis (Cannibal dancer) was known to be sleeping with a woman during the time of his dancin The council met and decided it was a capital offence. The secured the services of a shaman and the following night as the Tanis finished his dance and started into the cubic (1 in fig. 2), the shaman "shot" his power into the offende who immediately fell dead. In another episode involving breaking the same taboo, the dancer was killed as he ap- peared out of the woods on the river beach across from the village. In the invitation to the Tsaika dances the speaker goes' from door to door calling out, "Attendants of the Tanis (hai'likaila), ladies of rank (wiumaks), you nu.4nLa'm and you u.ulalau', 25 we are going to beat sticks and sing (klixitiklusxants) for So and So and So and So." On the final night of a dance, however, when the dancers are masked (i.e., are spirits, not merely possessed by spir he merely goes down the street, inviting everyone. But the PUKS (children and others who have not danced or those who are not eligible to dance) must be escorted or chaperoned by members. During the Tsaika series the house in which the dances are held is called tsaika'tsi, meaning that the Tsaika taboos are in force. Various subterfuges are used in the preliminaries of the higher Tsaika dances to indicate "nomination." Thus on one occasion a girl went berry-picking with two wome After a time the two women were seen and heard, shoutin and screaming in excitement. One of the nulilaku went about announcing that "something must have happened." People went to meet the two, who related that a spirit came and possessed the girl, who ran away. The two wer, set upon, scratched and beaten (in mock seriousness). From time to time during the next two weeks the girl was, seen at daybreak on the river bank across from the village singing her spirit song, and the (whistle) voices of the spirits were heard. But she eluded attempts to capture her until, of course, the fourth attempt. Although the Glualaxa dances seem to rank higher than those of the Tsaika (for example, in certain ceremonies and in ceremonial or formal address the Glualaxa rather than the Tsaika names are used), the rules of the Tsaika series are more rigorous. This is especially true as re--; gards taboos. Some of these are the following (in addition, to those cited elsewhere). During the Tsaika dances no one may laugh, talk, go in or out of the house. Quiet and decorum must be main- tained by all not actually performing. The uninitiated (children and other Puks) must not pass the Tsaika house by the street but must go down along the beach. During the dance season the young bloods (those of the" more important dances, their attendants and perhaps others) make the dance house their headquarters. They are called ma'madzilhi ("covetous noses") and if they choose, they get a man who holds the office of kwe'kwasa' laL with them and demand in a chant whatever it is they wish. It is bound to be given to them. Thus they go from house to house, getting food for the most part. During the four days of the Cannibal dance the word "hamatsa" (from ham, "to eat") is taboo and the dancer is called the Tanis, or, equally often, the Glugwalla ("shaman"). The Fire-throwing dancer (Nunlsisti) is also referred to as Glugwalla. These are the only two dancers in the Tsaika series who are so referred to. The four days of the three highest dances are referred to as the hai'lika (the period of healing). These are the dances in which there are special attendants called he'lik (healers). 25 These two groups are those who have danced only once or twice yet are allowed in the dance house. All others are Puks. I i o I 7 240 OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO One of the magical tricks (or "miracles" as they are called) involves "beheading" of the dancer. Drucker places this as a definite dance in the series (Drucker, 1940, p. 202). I did not get it as a part of the series, but the trick was described as follows. A mask, or rather a head, is carved which is a "portrait" of the dancer, and in the dim light of the dance house the uninitiated will see the wooden head as a real one. One of the attendants an- nounces that the dancer has called for a plank and an axe. The attendants crowd round the dancer who disappears into the cubicle. One of the attendants lies down on the plank, bending his head far back into a hole in the plank. The wooden head is placed in position and is then "cut off" and "blood" from concealed bladders squirts from the neck. The "severed" head is now exhibited and is placed on a shelf at the wall of the cubicle. The dancer now gets under this shelf and puts his head through a hole. The wooden head is removed and the spectators are invited to examine the head, which is real flesh and blood! The por- trait head is now carried back to the body. Through more hocus-pocus the dancer finally takes his place on the plank, eventually getting up and dancing, alive and well. In one of the dances (I am not certain which one) there is the firewalking "miracle." An attendant announces that the dancer has called for a box to be filled with red-hot stones. A heavy piece of plank is surreptitiously placed over the stones (of course unseen by the spectators). Not even the dancer always knows that the plank is so placed end may be afraid. But to the spectators the dancer stands dances barefoot on the stones. There is one dance linked with the Tsaika dances which s not properly a part of the series. It is called i'giwaliLa means something like "nonstop from the door to the ead of the house." A person dancing this may be an at- dant to the hamatsa, go into the cubicle, and further y dance the hamatsa as his next dance, if he is eligible. The high dances which involve a disappearance in the ods are called aklakem ("far away gone"). I am not ertain how dance No. 6 in my series conforms with this cept. Most of the high dances are danced by men but in re- t times, because of the decrease of the tribe, an gible man may not be available. So, rather than let valuable prerogative lapse, a woman may be chosen. in this event she is counted as being a man within the iety. A host or sponsor may vary the dance almost at will. s, Chief AH once sponsored one of these dances and two groups of masks (spirits). One group with hideous es ranged along the lower side of the house whereas on upper side were fine-looking spirits. As the dancer e out of the cubicle dancing a dance (step ?) called a'.ikiya (to improve oneself), each group of spirits ed to him "Gaiye'm, gaiye'm" ("come here, come e"). He went to the good-looking spirits and finished e-looking fellow. (Evidently he changed masks so the final one was of a fine appearance. Some other cers had scorned him earlier and thus he shamed e persons. A comparison is made with the story of y. scabby Yaxtsi (p. 232), scorned by his fellow vil- rs.) e following shows how one may become a member e Tsaika higher dances in an unusual way. All this - prearranged, though it must have seemed very real- and terrifying to those not in the know.-SW's father sitting in front of his wife during one of the dances leaned back against her knees. This sort of thing was and the council met to decide on what action to take. decided to dig a hole near the fire and to bury him alive in this by covering him with the ashes and embers of the fire. The pit was dug, he was placed in it (in a squatting posture) and the burying begun. Just as the fire began to burn his blanket, the sound of a Tanis whistle was heard, signifying that this spirit had possessed him. At this the other Tata'nis (those who have previously danced this dance) rushed in and hauled him out, saving him, and he was initiated. The Flirting Dance, which is No. 13 in Drucker's series (1940, p. 202), is not really one of the graded series but fits into the cycle as follows: On the last night of the Tsaika dances, while the Tanis is being tamed, the Tatanis as usual are seated in front of the cubicle. Along the house wall nearest the cubicle are seated certain women who have this hereditary right and who are female healers. Whenever the dancer is in front of these women, everyone is expected to burst forth with his own song,26 creating a bedlam of sound. The Tatanis watch out for anyone not singing and, if they see such dereliction, they signal the k!lu'slaL dancer who comes to the center of the floor where he does a dance imitating the motions of the sexual act. The master of ceremonies thereupon picks out those who have failed to sing. These must now come to the dance floor and also do a similar erotic dance. Should a person refuse, the Tatanis would beat him up. DB's wife, who is extremely shy, was once forced to perform this dance. In all but the minor dances one of the first three nights is called da'tokula. The master of ceremonies calls on all the women present to accompany the songs by humming. While the minor dances are in progress or during a lull, one of the singers may take up the song of any person pres- ent. The owner of this song must then get up and dance. This is called nu'La and is done merely for amusement and to keep things going. Each dance series has distinct sets of "feast" or cere- monial names which are given to the performers at the potlatch following each dance. These are distinct also for men and women. Thus each person has two ceremonial names-one from his last-performed Tsaika dance, the other from his last-performed Glualaxa dance. The femi- nine names of the Tsaika series always (?) refer to male sexual organs, the masculine names to the female organs.27 The Glualaxa name is or may be customarily used in every- day reference and address and in funeral and wedding cere- monies. The Tsaika names, on the other hand, are ordi- narily used only during the period in which those dances are being performed. These names follow family (lineage) lines rather than being owned by the septs. But they can pass from lineage to lineage by marriage. Thus desire to acquire a valuable name (title) may be a factor in the choice of a mate. For example, at the time a wife "redeems" herself she may give her husband the desired name as a part of the redemp- tion payment (p. 223). JJ gives the following account of his dancing "career.' When I was about seven years old, my parents talked to the chiefs about starting me in the dances. They agreed that it was time. They told me to play ball with the other boys. When the ball struck me, I was to fall down as if 26 Except the Puks, who would have no songs. 27 These names, of course, are inherited. Examples are: Haba kkatsi ("container for female pubic hair," a man's name); Kliimklalis ("circum- cised penis placed in the fire," a woman's name; circumcision was not practiced); I xamtah ("Menses," a man's name); Dzaka ls ("exposed female genitals which are the color of blueberries"; this, curiously enough, is a woman's name). There is no thought of these names being "dirty" or ob- scene in our sense. Yet when the "more obscene" (or clever) ones are men- tioned, the spectators cry "iiih" in amusement. 241 242 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS dead. This I did, and they carried me into the house in a blanket. Shamans were called in to see me, and my parents were told to put me behind a cedarbark screen [mat] on a bed about four feet above the floor and to let no one see me. A young man came to care for me [i.e., one who was a "member" of the dance, an attendant] while other dances went on in the dance house. On the fourth day I was given a whistle, and the people were told that the spirit had possessed me. My spirit was the yai'ktualis ["stubborn"] and meant that I was to act mean and throw things around, espe- cially dirt. That night I danced in the dance house and when I finished I was put in the cubicle [of the Tsaika series]. For four nights I danced and each night the women "healers" tamed the spirit. The fourth night28 there was a feast and the gifts were given out [for me] -blankets, sea biscuits, sacks of flour and sugar. I was given the name Yai'kamuyah ["bad,'" "mean," or "crazy"]. For four years I danced this dance. Each time something wrong happened I would become fren- zied and throw dirt about. Or my attendants would take me around to the houses where I would put on my act. Then [the fifth year] I started the nunlsistalal ["crazy," "fool," or "fire-throwing" dance]. For this I was taken to the woods and "trained" for four months. After coming back to the village, my power was so strong that I was tied in the cubicle. In there was a gadget which made a horrible noise [to frighten the uninitiated]. In this dance hot stones and firebrands are thrown around. This dance I danced for four years. Then [the ninth year ? ] I started the hai'likTll [in the Glualaxa series]. This I also danced for four years. In this my name was e'kamuyah ["good"]. In both series of dances the dancers who have per- formed the dances of high rank are for a time (up to a month) regarded as somewhat taboo or sacred, perhaps still somewhat under the spell of the spirit. During this time they are called dji'LiL and must wear the cedar- bark rings which are a part of the dance paraphernalia. An important prerogative like the Cannibal dance or Fool dance must not be allowed to lie dormant. For ex- ample, a Cannibal dancer must always be ready to go into his frenzy (i.e., feign possession) when anything goes awry in the dances or when the taboo word is spoken. This holds for him throughout his life or until he passes the prerogative on. And each time he must be "tamed" and must give a feast at which those who tame him must be paid. THE TSAIKA SERIES OF DANCES The following is the list or order of dances in the Tsaika or Shamans' series of dances. These are some- times referred to as the "earthly dances,' because most of the creatures or spirits represented are of earthly origin rather than coming from the heavens or upper world.29 The list differs somewhat from that given by Drucker, but it is impossible at this late date to deter- mine which list is the more complete or accurate. The 28 He probably means the morning of the fifth day or the fifth day. 29 In all but the first two the spirit possesses the dancer but once. In the Cannibal and Fire-throwing dances the spirit remains in a sort of dormant state, likely to cause a frenzy at any time, such as when the ta- boo word is spoken or when those involved fail to receive food first. I Tsaika dances are (rarely) also called wau'nkastah ("below") and the Glualaxa series is sometimes called ai kastwah ("above"). It is an interesting dichotomy an may possibly represent a feature which was important in the early history of the dances. 1. Cannibal or Tanis dance, Hamatsa (meaning "to eat, or "one who is going to eat"). This is the highest in the Tsaika series. In recent times only four familie (lineages) have this dance among their suyaema, but it is said that in former times the number was large In this the dancer is possessed by the Cannibal Spir (Ba'xbakwalanusiwa) and the fourth night of the dan the dancer wears a costume and mask representing this spirit. Within the dance house the dancer is ne referred to as hamatsa but always as Tanis. A so what detailed description of the Tanis dance follows the end of the list of dances. 2. Crazy or Fool dance (or Fire-throwing dance), Nunl stalal. No mask is worn in the performance of this dance. It ranks as high as the Cannibal dance or nea so. 3. Grizzly Bear dance. Although this dance ranks high the series, it is seldom performed and my informant has seen it but once in his seventy-five years. 4. Skull dance, K! o minuahslax. A mask representing human skull (or a headdress of skulls ?) is worn in this dance. The spirit is somehow associated with (o "friendly" with) the Cannibal spirit. 5. Ghost dance, L5iu'LaL. The dancer or dancers are possessed by spirits of the dead. The headdress is made of hemlock boughs burned enough to remove the leaves. The following of the Tsaika dances are regarded as o rather minor importance in comparison with the first fiv 6. Ak! la'k! em ("taken into the woods" or "far away gon The performer spends at least ten days in the forest preceding the dance. No mask is worn and the idea of spirit possession is not involved. A part of the dance is a trick or "'miracle" such as the turning of a stick into a frog or causing a stone to float. 7. Sleep dance, k!ya'LkyaLamas ("sleep causing"). In this the dancer projects his spirit or power into the audience causing some of them to fall to the floor in deep sleep, with snoring. When he withdraws the power, they awaken. 8. Salmon dance, mi'alaL. The trick of this dance in- volves a dead salmon which becomes alive. 9. Bird dance, ma tasuh. Although in this dance the spir is a bird, it is regarded as an "earthly" dance "becau the bird is not named." The dancer's power enables h to "pull out" the souls of the onlookers. His spirit pow must be pacified by singing and hand motions by his a t endants. 10. Hai'liktsakstah. At the beginning of this performance- the dancer and his attendants make the round of the village and in every house are given food. On the final night the dancer causes a stone to float in a box of water. 11. Thieving dance, Gilu'tlaL. This dance is much like thl preceding, but in this the dancer and his attendants go- from house to house and in each the dancer goes throuj a mock theft of food, which he shares with his attendai In the final night's performance he performs any one o several magical tricks-causing a stone to float, danci on the water, or fire-walking. I I I o 1. I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO 12. Rat Spirit dance, K!ya'palaL. In this the dancer is possessed by the Rat spirit and goes about tearing the clothing from the backs of spectators, seizing various objects and so on. He gnaws at these or other- wise destroys them. After the dance these things must be replaced. It is said that this dance is unique to the Owikeno, whereas all the other dances are found among neighboring tribes as well. THE TANIS (HAMATSA) DANCE It is no longer possible to secure a detailed description any of the dances and those held nowadays exhibit only mnants of the old performances. Even the names and Laces in the series of some of the dances have been for- otten. The Cannibal dance, being the most important, is emembered best and I give the following description of t Even so, the description is abbreviated and perhaps yen inaccurate in certain details. Many of the songs and er features which are no longer obtainable were un- ubtedly very similar to those described for the Kwaki- by Boas. At the potlatch which follows the four nights of the ce itself, the speaker or master of ceremonies gives e new (Tanis) name of the dancer. He then relates how e dancer came by this. He recites the dancer's geneal- mentioning names and places, and recites the legend uyam) associated with the origin of the dance. It involves e experience of an ancestor with Baxbakwalanusiwa 1"people-eating spirit"). This experience evidently in- volved certain things not mentioned in the legend, but it is related nevertheless as validating the right to the dance.30 The legend obtained is as follows. Nuakawah lived at Nuxants with his wife and four sons. The four were getting ready to hunt goats. The parents begged them not to go but they said they must. So they were told not to go where they saw red smoke [the color of blood] but only where they saw white smoke. To the eldest son, who was the fastest runner, they gave a basket in which there was a whetstone, a comb, a fluff of goat's wool, and eulachon grease in a kelp cup. As they started, it was snowing very hard. They came near a house from which issued white smoke but they did not go to it. Then they came to a house with red smoke and went in. In the house there were two people, a woman and a child. Now one of the lads had hurt himself and was bleeding from the knee. When the child saw this, he kept pointing at it, wanting to lick the blood. The boys knew they were in danger and wondered how they could escape. The eld- est shot an arrow out the door and ran as if to fetch it, but kept on running. The second and third boys did the i same. Finally the youngest shot his arrow and ran after it. At this the woman shouted for her husband (who was Baxbakwalanusiwa),31 "Come quick! Four men we could eat have run away." Four times she shouted this. The boys were running as fast as they could, the youngest bringing up the rear. The canni- bal gained on them and when he had nearly caught them, the eldest threw down the wool. From it there :arose a dense fog which delayed the cannibal. But again [he gained on them and, as he came near, the whetstone was thrown down. This became a mountain and while Boas (1897, pp. 400-401) gives a slightly different version of this, ai. tale likewise lacks the actual account of how the dance and its para- ais were obtained. FThese creatures had human bodies but the heads of animals. the cannibal climbed it, the lads gained. But again the cannibal caught up with them. Now the oil was thrown down and it became a lake. But the creature swam across and again came on them. This time the comb was thrown down and it became a dense thicket which hampered the cannibal. As they neared their own house, the boys shouted, "Your door! Nuakawah! Your door!" [i.e., "Open the door! "I The giant tramped round and round the house for four days. Then Nuakawah called him and invited him and his family to a feast. While the cannibal went home to bring his family, the people dug a hole near the fire, covered it with a skin, and put a seat across it. Now the cannibal and his wife came but left the little boy at home. When the cannibal pair were seated, Nuakawah began a chant, "What story shall I tell these, my grandchildren? " This he sang until the two fell asleep and began to snore. Then they sprang the trap so that the cannibals fell into the pit. Then the family took a plank and raked the fire and the fire stones into the pit. Four days they left them there. Then they dug them out and cut their bodies into small pieces which they scattered about. "These will be mosquitoes now,' said Nuakawah. [For these creatures had liked blood.]32 The following tale (probably somewhat garbled) has to do with both the Cannibal and Fire-throwing dances. It may indicate that the latter was at some time connected with the Dog-eating dance of some of the neighboring tribes. When the Fire-throwing dance began, the dancers ate only dogs. That year they had finished this dance. A man named Mu'dana was sitting in his house with his wife, eating. He had danced the Fire-throwing dance for two years. As they were eating, the spirit Baxbakwalanusiwa came to the door and said, "Now, Mu'dana k! lau [signifying that this was now to be his name], from now on humans instead of dogs will be your food:' Then Mudana went away into the woods to begin to become a Cannibal dancer. [His secular name was HamdzidaukeL.] In some of the minor dances several novices may appear in a single night but in the higher ones (including the Tanis) a single dancer, and only one each year, may perform. It is known, of course, which persons are eligible for the Tanis honor. Since the number of Tanis is limited to four, it depends on one of these being willing to give up his place in favor of a new holder, if possible, a son. The matter is discussed long beforehand by the council, the Tatanis (the other Tanis dancers), and most of all by the sponsor or host, for the last must have avail- able the necessary considerable capital. Some time (probably several months before the dance) a secret meeting of those who will participate is held. Present are the Tatanis, the attendants, the master of ceremonies, the women "healers:" those who are to carve the masks, those who will prepare the paraphernalia, and so on. The whole affair is carefully planned. When, or soon after, the whistles of the spirits are heard, the candidate has a seizure and dashes away shouting, "Ham, ham" ("eat, eat"), his attendants in pursuit. However, he escapes. Somewhere far from the village is a cave or shelter where he stays. (Probably with him is an old Tanis dancer who instructs him in the necessary steps, etc.) 32 This would be the legend related for only one of the Cannibal dancers. Each of the others lays claim to a legend differing in some essential par- ticulars from this. 243 244 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS During the ten days to a month that he is away the minor dances are being performed at the village. On the appointed day at dawn the Tanis is seen on the river beach across from the village. A pair of canoes with planks lashed across has been prepared and the at- tendants and two designated dancers (male and female ?) go across to entice the possessed novice, the dancers singing the songs which he has been heard singing and which will lure him aboard. They conduct him to the dance house and into the cubicle.33 The dancer is fitted with a sort of harness with a rope attached, by means of which his attendants lead him about and restrain him. However, he escapes from time to time, only to be recap- tured and led again into his cubicle and (supposedly) tied to the tethering pole. This is so fixed that it projects through the roof, and those passing the house can see it sway as the Tanis struggles to escape. There is also a device which makes a horrible rasping sound as the pole sways. For three nights the Tanis dances without a mask, holding his arms, one extended, the other carried over the head. On the fourth night (the masked dance) the arms are carried forward bent at right angles at the elbows. In one of the songs sung on each of the first three nights the word lu aL ("corpse") is used. This word throws the Tatanis into a frenzy and they shout, "Ham! Ham! " ("eat, eat"). The Tatanis (attendants) dance per- 3 Drucker (1940, pp. 203-204) gives some additional details of this part of the procedure which I did not obtain. 78 "Lower" j j side of house haps once around the fire, then go outside, come in and follow the Tanis into the cubicle. During this the healers shout repeatedly, "Wai+ yap, Wai+ yap." Wh these phrases have soothed the Tanis and Tatanis s ciently, the dance is over for the night. While the Tanis is in his cubicle on the final night four hamsi'wa (cannibal) spirits appear, two male, female (the males being distinguishable by their long beaks). These are masked dancers. They circle the room once, then enter the cubicle. Now the Tanis co out-wild! He crawls on his belly with quivering out- stretched arms and as he inches along, his breath co in great gasping sounds (the whistles) which grow lou and louder! Finally he gets to his feet and rushes a his attendants trying in vain to hold him. A post is re by means of which he climbs to the rafters and beam and out the smoke hole. Eventually he comes down a only to rush out and through the village. Then he comr back in. During all this only those in the inner circle fail to be terrified and some of them admit to fear. the singers and drummers are immune to his attacks, but actually by pre-arrangement only four persons ar bitten. Again he escapes and rushes about the village, then again enters the house. A council member now speaks up, saying he knows how to pacify the wild thing-with a corpse! The laLuLaye'lks (procurer of the corpse) and his three helpers now take torches and go across to the 6 side of house I Fig. 2. Seating arrangement for the Cannibal dance. 1. The dancer's cubicle 2. Seat of those who have danced the Cannibal and Fool dances 3. The "healers" (attendants) 4. The four female attendants 5. Male singers and time-beaters 6. Drummer 7. Children and teen-agers seated on platform 8. Women, seated on floor 9. Fire-tenders, cooks, etc. t .7 I i OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO cemetery to get a body. 34 During all this the Tanis con- tinues his wild antics. He climbs on the roof, tearing at the planks, and now and then comes down through the smoke hole. Finally the corpse is carried in. The Tanis gets first chance at it, but at the sight of it, the old Tanis dancers (the Tatanis) also go into a frenzy and they all tear and eat at it. (I have conflicting statements as to whether or not the flesh is actually eaten or whether bits are merely held in the teeth, then adroitly dropped inside the blanket.) The "eating" of the corpse tames the dancer and the Tatanis. This is indicated by a change in the tone of the whistles, the rasping, gasping "breathing" of the spirit becoming somewhat subdued.35 The master of ceremonies now speaks up, saying, "We are saved! There will be no more damage! " A designated man who has the hereditary ,right now takes the Tanis by the hair and leads him into the cubicle. This he does also to each of the Tatanis in rn, chanting the special song of the Tanis. But now the Tanis may have another seizure and dash adly about, in and out of the dance house, followed by s "healers," who finally capture him and put him into s harness and tie him to the tethering pole. He is then (the fourth morning) roughly escorted to the each, still held in his harness and tethering rope. He is ersed in the icy water, then turned around. Four kings and four turnings make the purification complete. le this is going on, the tethering pole is taken down, into four pieces, and thrown on the fire. Once more dancer is taken into the cubicle, where he is dressed a dance apron and a bearskin robe. Around his neck is ge cedarbark ring, and other rings on head, arms, legs. He now dances in an almost normal (human) ion. Again he is returned to the cubicle. The female ndants enter and pacify him with songs and by blowing his body. The male attendants aid in the taming by ;ing in unison four times, "Wai+ yap! " At intervals those in the house create an uproar by each singing Tsaika song. It is evidently at this point that a further re of the purification takes place in the cubicle. This cled ga'lxwa ("to cause to vomit"), and, in theory, vomiting is the spirit coming out. I have no further Is. last the Tanis emerges from the cubicle and seats elf on the bench with the Tatanis (i.e., those who danced in previous years). There is now the guess- of the taboo word by the Tatanis. After seemingly m guesses, one of them "comes close" to the real -E.g., if the word is "ant," the word "insect" will e the Tanis to shudder. Guided by his actions, the is finally spoken (as by prearrangement) by one of atanis. This throws the Tanis into a frenzy, but this he is quickly tamed. The people are warned never to the word in his hearing; throughout his life the sound will throw him into a frenzy.36 The one who guesses ord then gives a feast. Sometimes a friend or rela- may be asked to speak the taboo word. He must then a feast-which is to his credit and that of the ''owner'' tually, the body has been prepared and brought into the cubicle yB before. The corpse is that of a relative of the Tanis (to avoid the feelings of others) and should be that of one who died a "na- dath rather than from disease. relates how he was an attendant to a Tanis dancer who put on such acing act that he, DB, was carried away and actually wept in sym- fear. mples of taboo words are raven, snail, and maggot. They are ly chosen at random. The person uttering the word (sometimes lly) must give a feast. of the word. Taboo words are also a part of some of the other high dances. The Tanis is not the only dancer who may go into a frenzy. Thus, on one occasion something went amiss in the dance house and all the Tatanis went into a frenzy and were taken into the cubicle to be tamed. Also sitting on the bench was a Fire-thrower, but he remained quiet. Soon one of the attendants came out and put a pot on the fire, purposely setting it so that it would tip over. When it upset, the Fire-thrower dancer went into a terrible tantrum. He threw hot ashes and burning brands around the house, many of them over the partition and into the cubicle. Finally his attendants were able to tame him. A favorite bit of "play" by the Tanis is for him to have an especially violent seizure when something goes wrong in the dance house, usually by prearrangement. He may then seize a spectator by the foot to drag him away (to eat him, of course! ). At this those near the victim try to pre- vent his being taken away. Children in the audience usually cry in fear at this exhibition, for the Tanis seems truly frenzied. If the Tanis carries things too far, one man who has danced a certain dance (I do not know which one) is called upon. He seizes the Tanis by the hair, sings his own song and, with no make-believe, drags the Tanis over to the cubicle. The Tanis dance is supposed to be repeated three times. That is, it should be danced in four successive years. If it is the fourth dance, the Tatanis, attendants, master of ceremonies, and others who have helped have a meeting a few days after the dance is over. They chant their personal Tsaika songs, and as they do so, burn the cannibal masks. One informant stated that the use of a corpse in the dance also takes place only the fourth year. The dancer of the fourth year now becomes a Tatanis. The following day the potlatch, which is really a part of the ceremony, is held and the Tanis name of the dancer is given. The speaker tells the legend which proves the right of the dancer to the dance and his new name. A sort of second Tanis series may be given for another four years. (Drucker records that still a third four-year series may be given.) During all of the dances of the Tsaika series, the Ta- tanis watch the spectacle. Should anything go awry or should a taboo be violated, they all cry "Ham, ham" re- peatedly and breathe gaspingly. The attendants surrepti- tiously hand each a whistle, which is blown, to simulate the breathing or voice of the spirits.37 After the Tsaika dances are finished, all those who have danced must wear the cedarbark rings on head, neck, ankles, and wrists for about ten days. During this period they are called dzi'Lil and are somewhat sacred (or im- pure ?). I have no further details. I believe the same rules apply to the period following the Glualaxa series. In the first part of the Tsaika season when the lower rank (beginning) dances are being held, as many as four initiates may dance in one night, all of them being financed (sponsored) by one man. These initiates might include his own children, his nephews, and nieces, and perhaps others. The kin of all these help with the expenses. The names and the funds are given out by the sponsor (actually by the speaker). While these minor dances are being held, the novices of the higher dances are in their retreats. 37 The whistle is called ha'sbis ("my breath") but the word is seldom used, for the uninitiated are to believe that the whistle is actually the breathing of the spirits. 245 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS THE GLUALAXA DANCES Like the Tsaika dances, these constitute a graded series but the two series are not related. A person may have danced a dozen of these yet may not be permitted even to attend a Tsaika performance, this privilege de- pending upon the performance of at least some of the lower grade Tsaika dances. And even a Tanis may be a nobody in the Glualaxa, unless he has gone through the preliminaries in this series. The word "Glu.hla'xa" means literally "descended again" or "come down again'' and refers to the fact that most of the spirits represented are those of birds, and that in these the performers dis- appear some time beforehand, then return. Supposedly they are taken to the upper world by the (bird) spirits, then return to perform the dance. The series is some- times called, accordingly, the "Heavenly Dances." Another name for the Glualaxa series is aikastwah ("above") or e k!xtwalla ("traveling high"). The corres- ponding term for the Tsaika series is waunkastah ("below'). Some of the spirits involved are those of earth or sea and when this is so, the performers do not disappear be- fore the dance begins. The Glualaxa dances begin some time, perhaps. ten days, after the Tsaika series has been completed. But, in any event, these dances must be per- formed in a different house from that used for the Tsaika. In the Tsaika series the sound of the spirits is made with a whistle, but in this series of dances a tube or trumpet is used. This is made of two thin pieces of cedar and is really a trumpet rather than a whistle. "Lower"' side oF house 5 3 These trumpets38 are blown at dawn each day during th performances. As in the Tsaika series a common feature of each dance is a "trick" or sleight-of-hand performance. Thi "secret" is supposedly known only to the performer an those who have previously danced the dance in questioni As in the Tsaika series, several dancers may per- form the same night for the minor dances, but for sev-i eral of the highest a single dancer is involved for four successive nights. The only inkling the uninitiated (the Puks) have that the Tsaika series is at an end is when they hear the wo ha yiLglilis ("to make the end good") in the song of the last dancer. This last dance is not necessarily the Can bal dance even though it ranks highest. The place in th series of the Cannibal dance may be at any point, de- pending on when the Tanis is available. That same nigh sometimes immediately after this last dance, the horn of the Glualaxa dance series are heard. These are bla beginning at the lowest (downriver) house and proceedi up the village at about one-second intervals. These are the voices of the spirits, but are of course blown by pe sons, stationed on the roofs of the houses. The dancer of the Glualaxa dances are often referred to as GlualaxI when speaking of them, but in direct address are calle mi'tla. 3 These whistles and horns or trumpets are like those illustrated in Mcllwraith, 1948, Vol. 11, p1. 3. The three on the left are like the horn of the Glualaxa, the four whistles on the right are the type used in the Tsaika dances. 5 3 2 2 1 2 2 4 "Upper" side of house Fig. 3. Seating arrangement for the Glualaxa dances. 1. Women of high rank 2. Women of lesser rank 3. Singers 4. The host and his helpers 5. Area behind screen where novices stay; their "house" I i, 246 I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO The spirits of the Glualaxa dances are called mi'tla- gilA 39 or sometimes by the general term for spirits, naualaku. After this first sign that the spirits are pres- ent several days or as much as two weeks may pass be- fore anything overt happens. But then the horns are again heard. Now the speakers (or the nulilaku, see p. 240) go from one end of the village to the other, warning with the cry, "Beware! [yai'ka salis]. Beware! Use any medicine! But the best is ma'dzam! " [salmon-egg cheese].40 This is supposed to prevent possession of children by the spirits, but is half a hazing of these poor innocents for all chil- dren are smeared with this by their parents. This same night the "healers," attendants, and others who are to participate in the ceremonies meet in a cer- tain house and make final arrangements. The attendants now go from house to house; when they enter, a certain (prearranged) question is put to any child candidate pres- ent. No matter what the answer, the attendants state, "He said so and so." The "reply" indicates that the child is possessed. In the meantime those with the horns have been sounding off outside. If the child is to perform a dance involving a novitiate in the woods, he is now taken along. As the attendants emerge they cry, "ye+" (indi- kcating that something-i.e., the child-is lost). Thus they go to each house where there is a child who is to disap- Hpear. These are then taken to the prepared place where they are instructed in all features of the performance. Those children who are to perform the dances not in- ,volving this "carrying above by the spirits" are nonethe- less "possessed." They are also taken, but to the house ere the dances are to be "shown" and put behind the screen at the "head" of the house, i.e., opposite the door (see fig. 3). The next night these novices can begin the ances indicated for each. These dances continue for ree days before the fourth, mask-wearing, dance. hen not dancing, they stay behind the screen, lying on elves or bunks in a sort of stupor from being possessed. The fourth night one of the guests suggests that games e played. The first game is usually a sort of tug-of-war h two men holding a short stick. Others of each team e up behind, each grasping in turn the team-mate ahead und the waist. This is called ge'nala. This is followed other games and various stunts. The last game is called tsai gala and consists of two ms of perhaps six men, each grasping in series a long e and pushing, one team toward the door, one toward "head" of the house. At a given signal those pushing ward the door give way and the pole end is driven hard inst the planks of the screen. This blow wakens the vices who "turn over" (li'Lla) on their bunks. Immedi- ly the "horns" of the spirits are heard (a different one each spirit). These are blown by the attendants who e with the dancers behind the screen. At this the singers strike up a new set of songs, and masked dances begin. The dancers now represent the rits instead of merely being possessed by them. (In , the masks and the masked dancers are spoken of tein the spirits.) It is difficult to find just how this term relates to the dances. Mitla ve to miss," gila, "causing," So the term means to do wrongly, to wrong intentionally. During the dances the performer is often ad- med by his attendants as mitla, "one who misses" or "you who miss." what is "missed" I could never quite ascertain. My best informant- preter could give no clue. Mi'La is said to mean "to tease" in the Rupert dialect, but there is no evident relation to this. The term may rely a homonym. To guess wrongly, as at cards, or to miss the tar- r game in shooting is also called mitla. Salmon eggs in a seal's stomach allowed to ripen for six months or e Like limburger cheese, only more so. There need not be any fixed order for these minor dances and the following was given merely as an example. The TSUkla lla ("poking the fire") might be the first of these dances. (I cannot place it in the general Glualaxa series. It is evidently a clowning dance which is not a part of the regular series.) The masked dancer comes out clowning. He huffs, puffs, pokes at the fire as if fix- ing it, but ends with it being merely smoking, scattered embers. There is much laughing at his buffoonery. The attendants now come from behind the screen and hustle him out the door. As they come back in, they remark how "that will take care of him." But he is seen sneaking in behind them. This again amuses the spectators. When the attendants go behind the screen, he again clowns at the fire. Again the attendants manhandle him to the door. This whole procedure may be repeated several times, depending somewhat on'the amount of merriment pro- duced. Soon a group of singers is heard outside the door. (These would be the Kitxanis dancers. This dance is said to be Tsimshian and does not really belong in the Glualaxa series except inma special way.) An attendant goes to the door. He may tell them they may not come in and the audience may protest, so they are admitted. Or they may be actually sent away. Their dance differs from all other (Owikeno) dances. The costumes are all women's and are very beautifully done. All wear masks, none of which is grotesque. As they dance they sing a song, the only words of which are "wi ai haw." (This is doubtful as the words are said to be in the Tsimshian tongue.) At the end of the dance they say "Gu gu gu gu+" and exit. On the fourth night of each of these minor dances the spirits are taken out of the dancers. The noises and "voices" of the spirits are heard behind the screeni. Finally one of the attendants (healers) comes out and announces, "So and so is now normal [human] again," and tells someone to call him by name. This person then says, "Yau, so and so," and the dancer named replies in a high pitch, "Uuuuh." 41 His recognition of his own name shows he is again normal. (This is evidently done for each of the dancers.) During all these dances the War dancer has been seated on the bench near the screen or going about seeing that everything is going in the proper way. In the meantime the other novices are still in their retreat (carried away by their spirits). The next morning evidently their dances begin. Very early in the morning the voices of the spirits (the horns) are heard in the woods across the river from the village. One by one the dancers appear on the shore, naked and flapping their arms as if they were wings. (This is linked with the concept that their spirits are from the upper world where they have taken the novices.) Those chosen now cross the river on a craft of two canoes with planks lashed across them. On the platform and in the canoes are the chosen attendants who chant the songs of the dances. One among them dances. He or she must be one high in Glualaxa and is called "Yuxweya'h" ("he who dances above the others," referring to dancing on the platform.) The novices are taken on the platform, enticed by the songs, and the party comes back to the village and goes into the dance house and behind the screen. Now follow the days of dancing for this group, the masked dances being "shown" on the fourth day of each dance. 4 This "Yau" and "U+" are the call and reply used in everyday life (as in a party of berry-pickers) and is roughly like our, "Halloo, where are you! " "Here, over here!" 247 248 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS There is one person of the dance series whose functions are unique. He is the kl'msliLa ("fool dancer on the floor," said to be so called because his movements are quick and jerky). He calls out a series of masked dancers from be- hind the screen, all men. The last of the dozen or so is called "pregnant woman." He "gives birth" to four children, in the meantime uttering cries from the pain of "childbirth:' A "midwife" is in attendance. The four "children" are chil- dren wearing the appropriate masks of salmonberry, wild parsnip, gla'glanuL (?) and rose hips, this being the order of their ripening. The Kincombe Inlet Kwakiutl also have this dance, having acquired it from the Owikeno through marriage. The following list gives the ranking order of the Glual- axa dances, beginning with the highest. As in the Tsaika series, the lower rank dances are performed first and the series culminates in the Uwi'nalaL. My list involves nine- teen dances and is not complete, but nearly so, the unremem- bered dances being several minor ones. Again my list dif- fers from Drucker's but is longer, just as his Tsaika list is more complete than mine. 1. War dance (UwinalaL). The owner of this dance ranks more or less as the Tanis (Hamatsa) does in the Tsaika series. He wears no mask but carries a club carved in the form of a sea lion, a sea serpent (si'siuL) or other creature, depending on the crest of his family. During the performance of the other dances of the series he sits on the bench in front of the screen at the rear (head) of the house and watches the performers. If things go awry or if he is not given the first bite of food, he has a seizure. The spirit within him cries "Hu.u"' and he strikes the offenders with his club. On occasion such incidents may be prearranged. Like those bitten by the Tanis, those struck must be paid at the end of the dance. At a given point in the actual dance by the War dancer, he becomes possessed and rushes through the village and into every house breaking things. These things must all be replaced when the series is over, so he uses some discretion. Should a thing be placed in his way, he is obligated to break it. Some persons may take advantage of this and intentionally leave old things about, say, an old sewing-machine or an old storage box. These he must break, then replace them with new ones. 2. Healing dance (Hai'likl1A). During this dance "insiders" or claques in the audience feign possession by evil spirits which the dancer exorcises. The "healing" qualities of this spirit make it natural that those who have performed this dance often act as attendants to the Tanis in the Tsaika series. Some time before the dance begins the principal disappears (is taken to the heavens by the spirit). Just before the dance begins he is seen wander- ing aimlessly on the beach. Those who are to attend him then lash two canoes together, place a platform of planks across them as a dancing platform and go out to bring him to the ceremonial house. 3. Land Otter dance (wua laL). Just before this perform- ance begins a land otter (mock-up) is seen swimming in front of the village. The Hailikila dancer goes out to spear it. The Land Otter dancer goes to retrieve it, but as he touches it, it disappears and the attendants are possessed by its power. They dash madly about but even- tually enter the dance house where they all fall to the floor. The Hailikila dancer drags them to a spot on the floor where the Land Otter dancer exorcises the spirit and they return to normal. But the spirit now enters him. Some of the onlookers also have seizures, but the spirit finally settles in the chief dancer. 4. Urinating dance (Ha'gwagweh). Some days before dance the principal disappears and when he returns from the sky, the dance begins. The spirit within is inordinately thirsty and the dancer "drinks" gall of water, then "urinates" continuously as he dances round the house. (The "trick" is that he has a con- cealed container under his blanket. From this a tu leads out, enabling him to simulate urination.) 5. Eagle dance. The spirit of this dance is not really eagle like a mythical eagle-like bird called gani'slk joah ("screaming in the sky") or kulus. Instead of feathers, the body is covered with down. Before the dance the novice is carried away to the sky and on return is seen near the village. His attendants brii him in dancing on the platform of lashed canoes (se above). He is naked and blows the horn of the dance he comes in. On the fourth day of the dance he danc wearing the bird costume. 6. Raven dance (Gu.i'h). This dance is regarded as rel tively unimportant. As in most of the other dances, the novice spends some time before the dance in iso lation, supposedly carried to the sky by the spirit. the final (fourth) night the dancer wears a raven cos (mask). 7. Monster-in-human-form dance (Pu'ktus. The wordi whispered). Here again the novice is carried to hea to return possessed. In the final dance the monster- costume is worn. It has hands of wood. He digs a cockle clam from the earth of the floor. But since th body (foot) of the clam moves, he does not eat it. (N is the cockle eaten in everyday life for the same rea it is said.) 8. Monster-under-the-sea dance (K! u'mAgwa). This is known as the "heavy mi tlAgila" spirit. In this the novice is not carried away beforehand. The dancer I forms once, then goes out the secret door behind the screen. One of his attendants puts on the mask-head dress, but he is possessed by a "phony" spirit and p forms a parody of the real dance. Soon the horn is heard, muffled as if under water. At its sound the at tendants return to normal and question each other a their recent antics. One of them is chosen to call the monster in. He asks the Hailikila (healer) dancer for aid. A woman aide, called k! e'lakhutsas, then utters a long cry, which is heard by the spirit. She and the attendants face the door and begin a chant. This is rl peated four times and each time the voice of the spir is heard nearer. They call for blankets which they throw around the dancer (spirit) as he enters. At the end of the dance he disappears behind the screen. 9. Monster-who-swallows-canoes dance (Ha'nak! atsa). This dance differs but little from the preceding one except in the props involved. 10. Blackfish dance. 11. Whale dance. 12. Echo dance (sp! ah). The dancer remains in view in th house and imitates whatever (spirit ?) sound is heard outside. This is accompanied by rapid surreptitious changes of masks, which are held in place by a mouth- piece. Four masks depict Spring Salmon, Frog, Xawa' (Crack-in-the-rock), and Starfish. The following dances are of minor importance. 13. Beaver dance (Kuln). 14. Kitxanis. This is a dance derived from the north. (Thel name is probably Tsimshian. See p. 217.) In it a dozen or so performers wearing masks join hands and circle I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO round the fire, now and then reversing direction. This is also said to be a special dance of the Gwidanoa sept, which they sometimes performed in a separate house during a feast to which they had not been invited. The accompanying song is said to be merely the meaning- less phrase "wi ai haw" (repeated over and over) end- ing with "gugugu wah+. " 15. Xwa niah. This is much like the foregoing. The dan- cers are usually children. 16. Weather-spirit dance (Ai'kyaiyuli sanah). The dancer first disappears, i.e., is taken to the Sky-world. When he wears a scowling mask, the weather is bad; when wearing a friendly face, the weather is fine. 17. U'makamL dance. (From u'max, someone well ad- vanced in the Glualaxa dance series.) Four different masks are worn in as many dance steps. 18. Brant dance. 19. Crow dance. For each of the dancers in the series the sponsor gives a feast and a potlatch on the day following the last night of dancing. For the very high dancer of this series this may be the biggest affair of his life; it is often given shortly after his wife buys herself out. He will now have not only his own capital, but also that involved in the buying-out. He often will assume the high name which is given him as a part of the marriage bargain and is often a dance name, so it involves the dance as well. He may also "bring out" various suyaema, often dances, for his children, nephews, nieces, or other kin. At the end of the giving, the host may announce that he is completely "broke." But, on the side, just before this, his speaker has said to him, "Now! Jf you have it in for anyone, give him the works! " A host and his speaker usually figure it out so that after all the giving there will be quite a lump sum left. This can then be given to a visit- ing man of high rank or a rival, in addition to what he had already been given, so that when he gives a potlatch, he will be honor-bound to give a gift of equal size to his recent host. Let me emphasize that he need not give this amount doubled, or even the same amount. But there is the moral commitment. Should his gift be less, equal, or less than double, he would lose face. This is not an "in- terest-bearing investment." It is merely as if A feasts B and relatives on filet-mignon; B is "cheap" if he returns with a feast at which the cheapest of hamburger is served. 249 RELIGION There is no belief in a Supreme Being or High God. The nearest concept is a rather vague one involving a Being called Nuakawa, "He who knows thoughts" or "He whose thoughts are above others." This Being in a way provides everything for people. No prayers are made to him. Prayers are offered to the sun but there is no "sun worship." At sunset one might say, "Look back to us before you disappear." A Being known as NaMnkyuplis travels up and down the coast in a huge canoe which anchors at night in front of a village. Usually he appears near mid-winter after the dance season. When a shaman sees this canoe, the children are taken to bathe ceremonially on the follow- ing morning. At this bathing they wear cedarbark rings around their necks. About mid-day the shaman takes them into a (his ?) house. Here he inspects their souls (he'Layu, "that thing which causes you to be alive"). Each child is given a baton, and they beat time while the shaman sings songs and a drummer at the door does his part. Those children whose souls have strayed are put in a separate group. The children then throw their cedar- bark rings into the fire and how each burns is an indica- tion of the condition of the soul of the child who wore it. Now the shaman takes a "soul catcher," made of cedar and funnel-shaped, and keeps watching the smoke hole. His singing and the drumming become frenzied. As each lost soul comes down, he captures it and puts it back in the body to which it belongs. If a child whose soul has wandered fails to perform this ceremony, his soul will remain absent and he will soon die. This same Being brings whatever is to grow during the coming year, e. g., he gives "permission" for the berry bushes to grow and bear. At the time of his visit some souls may decide to go away with him. Souls may also go astray in the following manner. When there is thunder in the summer,42 it is Thunder- bird inviting everyone to a great feast in the sky where a great river flows. Thunder in the winter is his second invitation and this some souls accept and leave their owners. Shamans can see these souls floundering in the water and can send their power to bring them back. Still another spirit is rather specialized in the sense that its presence or "ownership" is a suyaema. This is the spirit haiVyaLgligalis ("he who repairs the damages of the year"). The inclusion of the name in a song marks the end of the Tsaika dance series. The dance and song, like all others, are owned. The souls of the dead go to the underworld, which lies in four strata. Those recently dead live in the uppermost, but as time passes, they gradually sink to the lowest level. There is no sickness among them. Ghosts are evidently distinguished from the souls of the living and are called PUwa ni. At death the spirit goes back to the ancestors or to supernatural animals asso- ciated with the ancestors. Those handling the dead or even making the coffin must take care lest their own souls become enclosed in the box. To avert this danger, the coffin is handled ceremonially three times. The fourth time the lid is held ready and the coffin is struck a sharp blow to cause any souls inside to come out. 42 A rather rare phenomenon on the Northwest Coast. SHAMANISM A shaman is called glugwalla, literally one who has o controls a spirit power (glu'gwi). The word tsaika also means a shaman but with the meaning that he can perfor sleight-of-hand. This last title is used mainly in connec tion with the Tsaika dance series, which is sometimes called the "Shamans' Series." On the night that the danc ers perform their tricks, they are called tsi'tsixet. Professional or practicing shamans are both benefici4 and dangerous. They have the power to cure but also has the power to work black magic and even to kill by shootu or throwing their power. No one should pass in front of shaman while he is eating, for the soul of a person pre- cedes his body and there is danger that the shaman may swallow the soul with his food. Shamans are sometimes called on to punish those wha violate the taboos of the winter ceremonials. Shamans usually acquire their power by means of a supernatural experience following or during a severe ill- ness. The following incidents are examples. There was a man of the village of Tsiu who became very ill. No shaman could help him. Finally someone told him, "You will never get well so long as you stay in this smelly place." His friends took him away from the village and built a shelter for him. After four daya he heard wolves howling. They came near and circled him four times. Then they came up to him in the guisE of men. They built a huge fire and threw the sick man into it. After a time they took him out and cut him open. Then they cleaned and replaced his viscera. When they had sewed him up, they told him to stand. They then sang shamans' songs to him and had him repeat them. He was given the name O magila ("one who causes pain to cease"). When the people of the village came to see him, he told what had happened. Back at the village he sang his songs for four days, In this he had helpers. This ceremony is called gla'ddluXsilA ("attending the shaman"). Now he was a shaman. There was a man of the village of Sumxul who fell very ill. His body was covered with sores. When he was nearly dead, there came to him four small frogs who told him to isolate himself. These frogs took him across the lake and as they turned to leave, he saw that they were not frogs but four beautiful girls. That first day geese circled him four times, then came down to his bed in the guise of humans. They darkene their eyebrows to improve their appearance. Then th left. The next day a loon circled him four times and then landed near by in his "canoe" [the body of the loa Loon now told him to come into his canoe. The sick man stepped on the gunwale without tipping it. The nei day he heard wolves howling. They came to his bed and circled it four times. Then they came to him in the form of men. They built a great fire and threw hiu into it. Then they cut him open, stripped his intestinel clean, and licked his sores. While they were closing his body, they sensed a human approaching so they di a hurried job. The man's father (for it was he approa ing) took him home where for four days he sang his medicine songs. Now he was a healer. [250] I 'j i i I i f I I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO About seventy-five years ago there was a local sha- man named kwali kalagila ("he who gives the sick the thought of making an effort to live"). He presided in the dut.kwiliL ceremony (the annual ceremony of in- specting the souls of the people, see p. 250). He wished to assume the title wanuk and threatened harm to the man who "owned" the right to this name. So the man lent it to him, but eventually the rightful owner got the name back. MAGIC Black magic is ordinarily of the "sympathetic" or "contagious" type and often involves the use of the dead or dying. The following accounts illustrate the techniques and purposes. It is necessary that some objects such as clothing or hair belonging to the victim be obtained. These are placed in a magic bundle (now usually referred to as a "masachi box"). I do not know if magical formulas are used. AH and PW, it is alleged, took a corpse from one of the boxes in the cemetery at the foot of the lake. This they placed in the water at the head of the river, head downstream, and with the skull just showing above the water. Every day at dusk they went to it. A woman ques- tioned them and they admitted they were "doing something" but warned her that if she told of it, they would kill her. Soon after this a great snow avalanche roared down the mountain at night and carried a part of the cemetery into the lake. A great rushing wind accompanied it. Early the next morning the two went to the place, saw what had happened, and wept. Their working this magic is thought to be the cause of their death by drowning soon after. A woman we shall call L has the reputation of employ- ing black magic. Some years ago she predicted the im- minent death of four of the villagers. Now all are dead and the supposition is that she is responsible. Later she threatened the death of four others, but something went wrong (with her magic) and two of them are still alive. Some years ago, when one of her daughters lay dying, she sent everyone out of her house, including her son, her daughter, and her daughter-in-law. When they re- turned, she said she had bathed and dressed the body for burial. But one of the dead woman's daughters sensed that something was wrong. (The old woman supposedly had taken things from persons she wished to harm and placed these in the mouth and vagina of the newly dead woman.) when burial took place two days later, rigor mortis had not yet set in and the body was not entirely cold. A case is also cited of a man doing this with the body of his newly dead wife. The intended victims felt dull and "dopey." They went to the body and removed the things. Soon they felt well again. At Smith's Inlet a man was known to be working magic with a corpse. People found the corpse. Here and there on the body were limpit shells and inside were pieces of clothing and a towel belonging to his two intended victims. The body was taken to a stream and weighted down. The objects were washed to purify them. A month later the magician drowned. Some few persons have dreams about the future. These are not formalized or interpreted; the persons merely re- mark, "I dreamed such and such." The dreamed-of event is expected to occur. Body-twitchings (mata'h) foretell events, such as death. Twitchings portending ill are called yai Xanala ("to sense something bad"). The pattern of twitches and their meanings are different for each person, who learns about them as time goes on. When a thing is correct or right or when a thing is done for good luck, it is said to come from the right side of the body (hai'LguLna). If a person sleeps on his right side, he will have no bad dreams. A twitching of the right arm means good luck, that of the left portends bad luck, even death. Good fortune or good luck is associated with spirits and is called glugwi. It may be personified or not. Thus, a glugwi is the spirit which comes into the house when a dancer performs. But it is also the good fortune of having a child, or good luck in fishing. Certain figures on totem poles are glugwi, and also the good fortune to have the right to erect a totem pole. In the story of Yaxtsi (p. 232), the eagle on the pole was his glugwi, but the sea monster figure was not; it was a suyaema instead, "because one can dance the sea monster dance." The spirits of the dances of the winter ceremonials should be mentioned in this connection. These are called ki'su and are counted as suyaema. (The KwaguL of Fort Rupert evidently refer to all prerogatives as kisu.) Thus, a kisu is a spirit or supernatural being or a representa- tion of something supernatural which is a part of one's suyaema. The concept is rather obscure. All kisu are a part of one's suyaema, but not all suyaema are kisu. The dance itself, the mask worn, and the dance name (e.g., mu'dan, "ate four") are kisu, but ordinary name-titles such as Wakes are not kisu but are suyaema. The kisu are thus not merely a part of the religion but are elements of social rank and structure as well. When the first salmon of the year is taken (usually in April), it is decorated with eagle down, then cooked. The highest ranking chief must eat the first bite. The first eulachon are likewise treated. Eulachon must not be dried, but used only as fresh cooked or for oil. If a eulachon is caught which has a fleck of blood in the eye, it is a sign that someone has broken the taboo on menstruating women being present in the vicinity at the time of the run. 251 APPENDIX A THE KINSHIP SYSTEM The following terms are those whic but in actual usage there are marke the abstract system. Often the reas' iations are vague or unknown. One ele the relative age of connecting relative ump. abu'k . hunu'k . sasu m . anims . E oLa'mn - nu'la .................... ts! a'y.h ................. nu'lakami manu'yah. nu'lakami wakwa'h. ts! aya'yas mAnu'yah..... ts! aya'ya wakwa'h ...... nulayas manuyaks........ nulakami'yas wakwa'h ... wawxu 'ya ................ wiwawkwa'h.............. wixu'yaks................ gaga mp ................. tso tlama ................ asikwi'L ................. nu'la .................... ts! a'yah ................. tawu nam ................ gana m.................. yaka'ta .................. gi.l' mp .................. naku mp ................. awawdzuh ................ apadzuh .................. wisAmas glul ............. ganamas glul ............. xungu'h .................. a'djidah ................. ch should be used, bd deviations from ons for these dev- zment involved is -s several genera- tions removed. Following the list of terms are a number of examples of actual usage. The list combines terms secured by Drucker (personal communication) and my own list. There are probably other terms overlooked by both of us. father mother child (terms for "male" or "female" added explanatorily) children father's sister, mother's sister father's brother, mother's brother (seldom used, the term "father" being usually applied) elder sibling, vocative younger sibling, vocative (the sibling terms are used for cousins, even for second and third cousins and perhaps beyond these. The term "elder" or "younger" depends not on the respective ages of the living but on the relative ages of the connecting relatives, who may be siblings several generations back.) elder brother, male speaking elder brother, female speaking younger brother, male speaking younger brother, female speaking elder sister, male speaking elder sister, female speaking brothers, male speaking, without age distinctions brothers, female speaking; sisters, male speaking (siblings of sex opposite to that of speaker) siblings of same sex as speaker grandparent grandchild great-grandparent, great-grandchild (lit., "person across the house," i.e., against the opposite wall) great-great-grandparent (see "elder sibling") great- great- grandchild (see "younger sibling") husband wife man's sister's husband, wife's brother woman's sister's husband, wife's sister, brother's wife, husband's brother parent-in-law, child-in-law (reciprocal) aunt's husband, stepfather uncle's wife, stepmother nephew niece spouse's nephew or niece, stepchild elder brother or elder sister (an endearing or "pet" term used by children) The following terms seem to be employed only in ceremonial speeches: ga5 l gilis ... .... most remote ancestor (lit., first this earth) gi'gllgalis. ....... ancestors, male and female ai'ambiL ....... those before you (i.e., ancestors, referring to them as though they were in a house) [253] JL vA-JC AsI P.. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. . ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Children often use the endearing term agwani for grandfather and its equivalent numat.tsa for grand- mother. After a person becomes a grandparent the terms nu'mas (old man) and Lkwa'ni (old woman) are often employed. These are terms of respect. In the event that a child is named for a deceased grandparent, he may be called "grandfather" or "grand- mother" even if he is only a few years old. Anyone might call a boy ade'h, a girl klta'h, as en- dearing terms more or less equivalent to "little one," " sonny," or "little girl:' The terms actually used often fail to conform to the standard or theory and make little sense to the outsider; informants themselves are often unable to explain why a particular term is employed. The following are ex- amples. The numbers refer to the numbers assigned to individuals in the genealogical chart (fig. 4). The term abu k ("mother") may be used for mother's or father's sister. I The term ump ("father") may be used for father's or mother's brother. DB (20) calls 18 and his siblings "elder brother (or sister)" even though DB is in his fifties and 18 and his siblings range in age from three to twenty years of age. The usage reflects the fact that 20 is descended from 4 who was the younger brother of 3, the great-grandfathe of 18. DB is a grandson of 4 and is accordingly of the next ascending generation in relation to 18. DB calls JC (8) "xolamp" ("uncle"), though the latter is actually DB's mother's father's brother's son. A woman of Blunden Harbour who is about forty year. of age calls DB's daughter of two years "mother." This8 is because the child bears the name of a deceased woma of Blunden Harbour who was kin of DB's mother and the deceased was called "mother" by the woman in question. Mrs. DB (21) calls her mother's brother's children "elder brother [or sister]" because her mother was the younger of the two. DB also uses these same terms for I I I 072 Y=-l ?; r--I--I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 1 Fig. 4. Genealogical chart. 1. Xe'xlamas ("He who makes things correct") 2. Nu maskas ("Grand old man") 3. U'gwallas ("where things are placed for safe keeping") 4. Dji 'kswalis ("spearing salmon place owner") 5. Tommy Hyclamas 6. Lila (only d. of [5]) 7. Simon Wakes 8. Joe Chamberlain 9. Louis Chamberlain 10. Peter Chamberlain 11. Susan 12. Hannah 13. Cap'n Johnson 14. Edith Johnson 15. Matthew Johnson 16. Jack Johnson 17. Mary Johnson 18. Norman Johnson 19. Henry Hanuse 20. Dave Bernard 21. Maggie Bernard 22. Patricia Thompson 23. Agnes 254 Y I is O'Oc9 E I I I I OLSON: SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO the children, though he doesn't know his exact relation- ,hip to them. HH (19) called his wife (17) nu'la ("elder sister") ,before they were married. She called him ts! a'yah ("younger brother.") This is because she is descended "from 3, he from 4. Twenty-one calls 14, 15, 16, and 17 by elder brother -elder sister terms because their father was older than her mother. Twenty also uses the same terms for them, but doesn't know why. Twenty called 21 (his wife) anis ("aunt") before he married her. 255 | APPENDIX B MISCELLANEOUS TALES THE BEGINNING OF THE HAISLA The following legend is the Owikeno version of Kitimat (or rather of the origins of the Haisla tribe). It was re- lated by JJ. I set it down for comparison with the com- parable one I recorded among the Haisla themselves (Olson, 194G, pp. 187-189). Ha'ntlikwinas lived at a place called Chinici where Genesee Creek flows from Walkus Lake. There was only one house and Hantlikwinas lived there with his wife and three sons. He had once been a great hunter but now he was old and blind as well. One day the wife saw a black bear across the creek from the house. She came in and told him and added, "I wish you could hunt like you used to." He told her he could if she would aim for him. "Point the arrow at his heart," he said. This she did, and when he shot he heard the bear snarl in pain. Hantlikwinas said, "I think I got him; I hear him." But his wife said, "No. You missed him." Then she led her husband into the house. (But the bear was dead.) She took the boys across the creek to the bear and they took the bear to a sandbar where she skinned and dressed him. Then she dug a pit, put stones in it, and built a fire on the stones. When these were hot, she put the meat on them, covered it with brush, leaves, a mat, and sand. While it was cooking, she scraped the hide. As the fat collected in the musselshell scraper, she ate it. When the meat was done the four ate. The woman told the boys not to tell the father about the bear. But the youngest boy hid some of the meat under his arm. This lad played for a while, then ran to his father and gave him the meat. But the old man would not eat it. When it was dark, the wife and the two older boys came in. The youngest boy slept with his father. The old man asked him, "Do you think you can guide me to the lake [Walkus Lake]? " The lad answered, "Yes, I know the trail." "We will start in the morning," the father said. (Now, at that lake there was a [supernatural] loon which Hantlikwinas knew about.) During the night he kept asking the lad, "Is it light yet ? " At daybreak they started. They took along a quiver of arrows and a fine bow. The quiver was inlaid with shell. The lad led the old man, who from time to time asked where they were. Finally they came near the lake and heard Loon (hawi) cry. Four times they heard Loon cry. Then Hantlikwinas called to the loon and told him he wanted help. The lad sat behind him. Loon came to them and asked what was wrong, and Hantlikwinas told him of his blindness. Loon promised to help him. Loon told him to take off his clothes and they would dive in the lake. "When you can stay down no longer," he said, "pinch me and we will come up. Are you ready?" So they dove. In the first dive Hantlikwinas was able to stay under only a short time. When they came up, Loon spewed water in his face. They dived again, this time longer. Again Loon spewed water in his face when they came up. The third time they dived they swam all the way around the lake under water. Again Loon spewed water in his face as they came up and said, "Now you will be able to see." The fourth time they dived they swam twice around the lake. Again Loon spewed water in his face and asked, "Can you [256 see now? " Hantlikwinas answered, "A little." They con- tinued this until they could swim four times around the lake under water. Then Hantlikwinas could see as well as a young man. He told Loon this and called him "bro- ther." Then he went back to his son. Hantlikwinas asked Loon, "What shall I pay you?" Loon said, "Give me that inlaid quiver." This he did and; Loon put it on his back where you can see it to this day. Then they said goodbye. As the two reached the big flat, Hantlikwinas asked the boy, "Do you like your mother?" And the boy said, "No." "Do you like your eldest brother?" The boy said, "No." "Do you like your second brother?" The boy said, "No." "That is good," said Hantlikwinas, "because I am going to kill them when I get back." When they got to the house, Hantlikwinas killed his wife and the two elder boys. Thus he paid his wife for what she had done. Four days later he went away [hunt- ing], leaving the lad behind. He went across Owikeno Lake to the big slide called Kex.xi. Then he climbed the mountain and came to the head of the Chuckwalla River. There he saw a huge mountain goat which he followed. The goat kept looking back at him. The goat went toward the Tsaigwalla River. At that place there is a sloping cliff with a ledge along its face which leads to a cave. The goat disappeared into this cave. Hantlikwinas fol- lowed him. The cliff was really a tunnel which led throug the mountain and they came out the other side. Again they came to a cliff in which there was a cave into which the goat went. Inside this cave was a huge house, the home of the goats. At the entrance to the cave Hantlikwinas tore off a piece of his robe to mark the spot, Then he came back and went down to the river and fol- lowed along it. At the mouth there was a village. Three boys came across to ferry him over. They took him to the chief's house. The chief had a beautiful daughter and Hantlikwinas married her. Soon they had a baby daughter His wife had four brothers. The youngest always carried the baby about and took care of her. The other boys were jealous. Hantlikwinas named the baby Tsaikiasgah. One day he called the alku ["speaker"] to his house and said, "Go around to the people today and tell them this: I am going to do something [give a feast] for my daughter. To morrow afternoon everyone must watch the river. Every one must have his canoe ready and be prepared to get the, things which will come floating down." This the alku did. The next morning b.efore daylight Hantlikwinas climbe the mountain to where he had seen the house of the goats, He looked in and saw that it was full of goats. Then he built a fire at the mouth of the cave with his fire drill. H stationed himself on the trail from the house. Soon the smoke inside was thick and the goats started coming out. As each one came to the spot, Hantlikwinas kicked it ove the cliff where it rolled into the river and floated down. The last to come out were the goat he had first seen and his mate. The male had only one horn, in the center of his skull. These two he let go by. At the village the people watched and soon saw the goats floating down. They brought them to the beach. There were hundreds of goats. That night Hantlikwinas came home. q OLSON: THE SOCIAL LIFE OF THE OWIKENO Now, there was a monster at the mouth of the river who often swallowed canoes as they came down the river. He told his brothers-in-law that the next day he would kill this monster. They told him he could not. "Tomor- row we will try," he said. The next day he went in his canoe, taking along four lads to hold the canoe steady as he shot. The monster came up and Hantlikwinas shot four arrows into his mouth. The monster sank out of sight. Thus he "beat" his brothers-in-law. The next night the three eldest plotted again. They told him of four giant sea lions who lived on the Virgin Rocks [off Calvert Island]. "You can't get past them," they said. But Hantlikwinas said he could. The next day they started out, the three acting as crew, but leaving the youngest to care for the baby. His wife warned him that the three were plotting against him. But he told her, "If they desert me out there, I'll still come back." At the rocks they saw the giant sea lions lying in a line. Hantlikwinas landed and got within range. Then he [shot and his arrow went through all four. This made the brothers angry. He dressed the sea lions and tied the eieces to the line which the brothers heaved ashore. Then they hauled the meat through the surf to the canoe. When was all loaded, they told him to let go the line. Now his be was still in the canoe. This they threw ashore to im and paddled out. He thought they would come back r him, for the day was fine. But when the canoe passed of sight, he knew they had deserted him. Then he mbed to the top of the rock and sat down and wept. nally he fell asleep. Something came and tugged at him and said, "You, you. e up! [ti hitli]." Then this being ran into a small hole. kwinas looked, but could see nothing. Again he wept again fell asleep. Again he was awakened the same .A third time the same thing happened. Then he made le in his robe through which he could watch. Soon he a little being [man] come out of the hole. Just before uched him Hantlikwinas said, "Don't run away. I see now." is being was Mouse, named yai'hamoigalagah and alku ["speaker"] for the chief ama'xkliaslisoh dung-of-the-sea-lion"]. Now Mouse told him to his back, that they would go to see the chief. "But:'' e, "watch out as we go in. The doors will be open must jump through them fast. And watch out inside e there is a big halibut." So they went through the S. jumped onto the halibut, and slid down to the door chief's house. e chief said, "What's wrong with you?" and Hantlik- told him how his brothers-in-law had deserted him. ief told him to sit by the fire. Walking around the were seals (which were the "dogs" of the chief). The asked him, "Will you eat my dogs?" Hantlikwinas would. Then the chief told his alku to kill some and cook them. Hantlikwinas felt depressed and sat holding his his hands. The chief had a small son. This lad d over the visitor examining him. He said, "This different. He has holes in his body." He called winas "Gwi'nax." The chief told the boy, "Don't to my brother," (for this he now called him) so the him alone. they were going to eat the "dogs" and dried hali- ey gave Hantlikwinas a small dish of grease to dip at in. Each dip emptied it but it immediately became an. r eating, the chief said, "Do you wish to go home?" tlikwinas said he did. The chief asked if he could use the seals [as canoes] to go home on [for seals can go through the surf even in heavy weather]. But Hantlikwinas was afraid so the chief said, "You had better use my big canoe." This was the stomach of a sea lion. He got in and tied the opening on the inside so he could get out. The chief told him, "If something bumps the canoe, strike the top to scare the thing away. You must say 'Yi'hnis' as you drift. Then you will land at Yihnis on Calvert Island:' Ail this he did and at last heard the surf. The "canoe" went through the surf. He landed, untied the opening, and pulled the canoe above high tide [where it can be seen to this day]. He walked toward the south and came to Rocky Bay. There he came on the village of the U'igaitXU ["outside people"]. There he married again and his wife had three brothers. Soon they had a baby. But he wanted to go back to Chuckwalla to avenge himself on his brothers-in-law there. He got his new brothers-in-law to take him there. There they landed him on the beach and went back. He waited until dark to go to his house. Inside he could hear his wife in her room, crying [wailing] for him. He knocked on the planks outside her room and she got up and let him in without his being seen. In her room they started making love and she laughed. Her three brothers heard her and said, "What are you laughing at? Have you got your husband there?" Again she laughed, and this time the youngest of the four came and saw them. He told the three elder brothers but they did not believe him. They went to look and saw him there. They seemed glad to see him back and called him out to eat. After eating, he and his wife went back to her room. Then he asked her if she cared for her three brothers. She said she did not, and he told her he was going to get even with them for what they had done to him. Then he went out with his bow and arrows and shot the three. The youngest he spared. Then he went back to his wife's cubicle, said goodbye to his wife and daughter and told them he would not be back. He went back to Calvert Island where he gave a big potlatch. Then he went away toward the north. He came to Klemtu and went on to Kitimat [which he founded]. CANNIBAL WOMAN' A certain man died and his grave-box was placed in a tree. The next morning it was noticed that something was amiss and inspection showed the box to be empty. Some time later the same thing happened again. Now there were two youths who were friends. One told the other of his plan to feign death and be "buried" in the tree. "Nothing will happen to me," he said. So it was done and his friend took two other lads to help with the box. When the box was slung our hero climbed in. The others wrapped a cloth around his head. That night the cannibal woman (adji h) came, climbed the tree and cut the lashing ropes with her knife. She somehow felt something was wrong and put her hand on the lad's chest to see if he were breathing. When he could scarcely hold his breath longer, she took her hand away. Then she put the "body" in her basket and started toward her house. (Now the lad had told his friends, "As soon as daylight breaks, go to such and such a place near the cannibal's house and wait for me.") X Told by Joe Chamberlain. This and the tale of the Four Brothers were recorded on an occasion when the only interpreter available was a girl of twelve years whose knowledge of the old culture was insufficient to enable her to translate adequately. 257 258 ANTHROPOLOG At a certain spot on the trail the cannibal walked under a windfall and as she did so, the lad seized a branch and held it for a time so that the cannibal fell down and the basket fell over her head. She said to herself, "That's funny; that's the first time that ever happened." And again she felt the lad's chest to see if he were breathing. Farther on again the trail led under a log and again the lad caused her to fall by holding on to a branch. This time she said to herself, "It's strange what this fellow is doing. It seems almost as if he were alive." Again she felt his chest. At daybreak they came to her house, which was in a cave high on a mountain. There she laid him on the plat- form. Her two children now came over and began playing with his privates. But the cannibal told them to leave him be because he was acting strangely. When he had the chance, the lad looked and saw hang- ing on the wall at the head of the house the clothing of the two men whose bodies had disappeared. Now the cannibal took her knife and started cutting him open. She began at his throat and cut slowly down. But the lad didn't move, for he wanted his people to see the cut so that they would believe his story. When the cut reached halfway down his chest, the lad jumped up sud- denly. At this the cannibal fell over in a faint. The lad then took a long knife from the wall and started running toward home. As he did so, the blood ran down his chest. After a time the cannibal came to and started in pursuit. When he reached the mouth of the Wannock River, he started shouting to the people of the village. Then the cannibal turned back. The lad told the people all about his adventure. The people decided to go to the cannibal's house. They started early the following morning, guided by the one who had feigned death. When they came near to the cave, they became faint and could not go on, for the cannibal "let out" her power. But they took a medicine called hi'kU [a plant ?], put it on the end of a long pole, set fire to it and pushed it toward the mouth of the cave. Thus the cannibal was killed. They cut her body into small pieces and threw them about and said thus there would always be cannibal women. Now long before the cannibal had kidnaped a little girl. The cannibal fed her goat tallow and this (?) caused roots to grow out of her rectum into the ground where she sat so that she could not move. The people tried to dig to the end of the "root" but could not. They decided to cut the "root" off. But when they did so, the girl died. THE FOUR BROTHERS There were four brothers who had a house on Wannock River. The three elder brothers went up the mountain to hunt goats. While they were gone, the youngest roasted and ate some salmon. The brothers returned empty- handed. [For it is taboo for salmon to be thus cooked while a goat hunt is in progress.] They asked the young- est if he had cooked fish while they were gone, but he denied doing so. Early the next morning the three eldest again went goat hunting and again the lad cooked salmon. At dusk the three returned empty-handed. Again the youngest denied cooking salmon. But now they were cross and told him they were going to desert him. So they put out the fire and went away. IIC AL RECORDS When it became dark the youngest cried at being lef alone. But he dug a hole in the warm earth of the fire- place and lined it with grass. Then he covered himself with skins and again began to cry. A spirit came into house and told him not to cry but to get ready to meet canoe which was coming for him. The lad quickly un- covered his face but could see no one. Again he covere his face and cried. Again the spirit voice told him the same thing. Now he made a hole in the robe and then spirit spoke again saying he (the spirit) would not disa pear because now he had been seen. The spirit said, " to the point and sit there and when you see a canoe co you must say three times, 'Come closer."' The lad did as he was directed, and the canoe came to shore, those in it saying, "Wai, wai, wai" as they paddled. As the canoe touched land, he stepped aboard and seated himself beside the chief. In front of the chi was a box. The chief asked him if he wanted a beautifu stone with magical powers which, if placed in the water would turn into a salmon weir. The lad said, "No." Th the chief asked him if he wanted anything in the way of spirits and magical powers and the lad answered, "No Then the chief opened the box and inside was his da ter. The daughter was to be a wife for the lad, the chie said. And he told where the two were to build a house took them to the spot. The chief gave them the box and told them to strike the box when they wanted a house. they did as they stepped ashore and immediately a hou appeared, ready for them. In front of it was a totem po with the figure of an eagle at the top. When they wanted fish to eat, the wife struck the box and all manner of fish came out of the sea onto the bea Again one of them struck the box and many whales cam onto the beach. One day the husband saw a gull overhead. He wished that the gull were a person. At this the gull said he was a person. The gull alighted and the man gave the gull food which he was to take to the grandmother. This the gull did and told her about her grandson-how he had magical power and all manner of food at his house. So the people of his old village began to move to that place. Each time there came a canoeload, the man struck the box and a new house appeared for them to live in. Fina the next youngest brother moved. But the two eldest brothers remained behind, for they hated him. At the new village the people were very busy drying all manner of fish, seal, and so on; all of which came to the beach of their own accord. Now the eldest brother decided to make a raid on the new village. But as the raiders approached, the younge brother struck the box and there came a swift current which swept the canoe out to sea. Again the canoe tried to come in, but again the man struck the box and the canoe was carried out. A third time they tried, and this time the current spun the canoe around and overturned it and all the occupants were drowned. The high-class families began giving the couple chil- dren to adopt, but this spoiled things. One day the hus- band went to the river to get water, carrying his own daughter. On the way back she accidentally scratched him on the neck and some blood fell into the water he was carrying. His wife asked him what he had been doing that he was bloody. [She suspected him of an affair.] Then she put her baby into the magic box and walked down to the river. There she lifted up the edge of the water and walked under as if it were a blanket.. Barnett, H. G. 1938. Boas, Franz 1897. 1928. Codere, Helen n. d. Drucker, Philip 1940. Ford, Clellan S. 1941. McIlwraith, T. F. 1948. Olson, Ronald L. 1940. 1950. BIBLIOGRAPHY The Nature of the Potlatch. Amer. Anthro., 40:349-358. The Social Organization and Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl. U.S. Nat. Mus. Rept. (1895). Bella Bella Texts. Columbia Univ. Contr. Anthro. V. Fighting with Property. Monogr. Amer. Ethnol. Soc., XVIII. New York. Kwakiutl Dancing Societies. Univ. Calif. Publ. Anthro. Rec., 2:201-230. Smoke from Their Fires, The Life of a Kwakiutl Chief. New Haven. The Bella Coola Indians. 2 vols. Toronto. The Social Organization of the Haisla of British Columbia. Univ. Calif. Publ. Anthro. Rec., 2:169-200. Black Market in Prerogatives among the Northern Kwakiutl. Kroeber Anthro. Soc. Pap., No. 1, pp. 78-80. [259]