ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Volume 26! SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT IN ALASKA BY R. L. OLSON UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY AND LOS ANGELES 1967 SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT IN ALASKA SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT IN ALASKA BY R. L. OLSON ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Volume 26 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Advisory Editors: M. A. Baumhoff, D. J. Crowley, C. J. Erasmus, T. D. McCown, C. W. Meighan, H. P. Phillips, M. G. Smith Volume 26 Approved for publication April 14, 1967 Issued December 29, 1967 Price, $3.00 University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles California Cambridge University Press London, England O 1967 by The Regents of the University of California Manufactured in the United States of America PREFACE The following materials on the Tlingit tribes were secured during a series of visits, each in the summer season, in the years 1933, 1934, 1949, and 1954. My chief concern was a study of the structure and function- ing of the complex social life, but I include some addi- tional data on other aspects of Tlingit life which came to my attention in rather incidental ways. I make no claim that my picture of the social life is complete, for even in 1933 the Tlingit culture was only a memory and my information was secured only through long days and endless hours of questioning of the few surviving elders. I questioned those whose memories reached back to the 1880's and 1890's before the Tlingit way of life had been overwhelmed by the flood of settlers and adventurers which quickly followed the discovery of gold in the Klon- dike. Up to that time (ca. 1899) white contact with the Tlingit was limited. The Russians had established settle- ments (really trading posts) at Sitka and Wrangell (1802) but their influence on Tlingit life was negligible. Most of the Tlingit merely came to these posts on annual trading voyages from their isolated towns. Contact with the English and Americans was almost wholly through the trading vessels operating out of Nootka Sound. Early attempts to Christianize the natives likewise had little effect on Tlingit life. Veniaminoff established a mission at Sitka in 1820 and several American mis- sions were started in the 1870's. But like the traders these men seem to have made little effort to learn the native language or to understand the native way of life. The Tlingit language is an extremely difficult one and trader and missionary alike depended on the Chinook jargon. While this served admirably for purposes of trading, attempts to explain Christianity by means of it must have been merely ridiculous. What holds true of these early traders and missionaries is also true today. Ihave never met a white person in Alaska who knew more than a few Tlingit words or who had more than the vaguest knowledge of the native social structure. In 1890 the white population of Alaska was about 6,000; in 1900 it was well above 30,000, most of the flood arriv- ing after the Klondike gold discoveries in 1896-97. The undermining of Tlingit culture had been slow up to the time of the gold rush. But the boom was now on and the native way of life began to disintegrate rapidly. Many of the Tlingit flocked to the new boom towns of Skagway and Dyea. Some worked packing goods over the Chilkoot and White passes. For some, both men and women, there was seasonal work in the fisheries. More missionaries arrived and with more zeal than understanding preached against potlatches, against drinking, against shamanism and everything "heathen." The white man's diseases took their toll. The white man also offered a new set of values which the natives, with a sort of group inferiority com- plex, tried to adopt but could not understand. Many of the bidians moved to such towns as Sitka, Juneau, Wrangel, d Ketchikan. Individualism triumphed over the old clan collectivism. Nearly everywhere the Indians of today live single-family houses instead of in the old multiple- ly units grouped by clans. Little attention is paid to e clan hunting-fishing areas. Each man now aspires to [ v the ownership of a fishing boat which he can operate dur- ing the fishing season. Most of the women find work in the canneries during the summer months. The disappear- ance of the old way of life has been hastened somewhat by the activities of the Alaska Native Bru-therhood (Drucker 1958). This organization, founded about 1920, has been active in defending the legal rights of its mem- bers and in discouraging some of the old customs (such as potlatching) which are at variance with adjustment to the American way. The most persistent elements of Tlingit culture are the language, a belief in witchcraft, and the old maternal clan organization in a dilute form. Another generation will probably see the extinction of the native tongue and with it the clan relationships will undoubtedly disappear (since the Tlingit kinship designations are the frame- work on which so many social customs depend). How long belief in witchcraft will persist is another matter. (After all it persists in our own culture after centuries of "civili- zation.") As recently as 1957 the village of Angoon was in a state of mass hysteria over charges of witchcraft. European contact with the Tlingit began in 1741 when Chirikof, a member of the Bering expedition and com- mander of the ship "St. Paul," lost two boatloads of his crew who had been sent ashore for fresh water. From this time onward contacts were more and more frequent until visits by English and American fur traders had be- come common and regular by 1810. The Russian settle- ment at Sitka dates from 1802. A bibliography of men- tions and descriptions of the Tlingit runs to hundreds of titles but the earliest systematic study of Tlingit culture was that of Krause, whose Die Tlinkit Indianer was pub- lished in 1885. Swanton was the first ethnologist to make a study of the social structure of the Tlingit (1904, see bibliography). Others who have done fairly intensive work are F. de Laguna and V. Garfield. W. Goldschmidt and T. Haas have made a study of land ownership by the various tribes and clans. I regret that lack of library facilities at this writing makes it impossible for me to make detailed references to sources other than those listed in the bibliography. A continuing source of regret in my work has been that the Tlingit way of life is a thing of the past and that descriptions of it must be dredged from the memories of the few who still remember the ancient ways. By the time of my last visit in 1954 few such persons remained alive. Among the younger Tlingit there is an increasing tendency to regard the past with indifference or even scorn. However, although the time of my visits was late in terms of the disappearing culture I did have one advan- tage over earlier investigators: I was made a member of Tlingit society by adoption. This was done without any formality, by Mrs. John Benson of Klukwan, a high caste member of the Ganaxtedi (Raven moiety) clan. She sim- ply stated that I was now her grandson and that she was naming me Yetkadinakeh. This was a name of fairly high rank and derived of course from her family line; that is it was a name "owned" by her family-household. The Tlingit from that time on treated me more or less as one of themselves. By using kin terms, in obtaining in- formants and so on, I was able to secure information which otherwise might have been withheld. The only handicap was that it precluded my using Raven women of my own generation as informants, for these were my "sisters" and Tlingit custom forbids even conversation between brothers and sisters who are beyond the age of childhood. In 1934 I was in the village of Klawak when the coast- wise maritime strike stopped all communications with the outside world. Food supplies ran short and we had to depend almost wholly on salmon. Since the local area, including the salmon stream, was the property of the Ganaxadi (the equivalent of the Chilkat Ganaxtedih) I had the necessary right to harpoon salmon there. I was also able to borrow a harpoon from a Tlokwahaddih man who was, of course, my "brother-in-law." Had he refused it would have shown how little he respected my wife who was automatically a Kagwantan Wolf and his "sister." Seeing his lack of respect for her, I might have divorced her, causing her clan to lose face. This is the Tlingit attitude. He could not refuse the loan so long as he had a harpoon which he was not using at the time. Had I been counted as a Wolf I could then have gone to a "brother-in- law" Ganaxadi and asked his permission to spear salmon in his stream. For a like reason he could not have re- fused. All in all, the rivalry between the moieties is largely ceremonial in nature. The reciprocal rights and obligations are and were operative to a far greater de- gree. In early times every Tlingit was a unit in an intricate web of relationships which included every Tlingit from Yakutat Bay to Dundas Island. Members of the high castes, especially, stored in their memories a vast body of genea- logical information which knitted these elements together and placed every individual in a relation to every other in terms of tribe, town, clan and moiety, household, and social rank. Thus when I arrived at a new place to begin work I merely had to go to a man and introduce myself, giving my native name. He would then make himself known and give his relationship to me. My name identi- fied me as a Raven of Raven House of Klukwan and a grandson of Denkutlat (J.B.) a high-caste woman who was the widow of Yisya't, the chief of Tligucihit (Killer Whale's Dorsal Fin House). My new friend would then take me through the village, introducing me to all the adults and we would exchange kin terms which would form the basis for any future meetings and social relationships. (It was, of course, impossible for me, without much knowledge of the language, to carry these out properly but this was taken into account.) I would be told of the clan property of the area, the history of the various houses of "my" clan where I could have stayed as a brother or nephew as long as I wished. So detailed was all this genealogical knowledge that J B was able to give me accurate information on many hundreds of persons, not only from her own clan and tribe but also from tribes as distant as the Stikine. The genealogical charts I constructed reached through twelve generations and meshed perfectly with data I obtained from other informants. It was said of the really high- caste people, especially those of Chilkat, that they would lie awake at night for long hours thinking on the great names and great deeds of those "through whom they had come. " The following tale will illustrate some of these points: Once, long ago, a group of Tlingit was traveling up a stream. Ahead, seated on a rock, was a young man. When they came to him they asked, "What is your clan?" He seemed not to understand so they phrased it otherwise but still he could give no answer. So they asked, "What, then, is your name?" He replied, "My name is Nitckakau." But this was not a name that anyone knew. It belonged to no family line, no clan. So it had come to mean "child of nowhere" or "child of nobody" (Swanton trans- lates it as "child of the rocks"). To this day to call a person a nitchkakau is worse than our "bastard" or "son-of-a-bitch." And to add the suffix klen ("big") is the ultimate in insults. It is expectable that a dozen Tlingit tribes spread across more than four hundred miles of southeast Alaska would show some cultural differences. This is true, but all in all, the culture was remarkably uniform, owing in part to frequent trade contacts, and, perhaps more, to a large number of intertribal marriages, particularly be- tween persons of the upper class. I was increasingly aware that no study of Tlingit society at this late date could ever be thorough or complete, and that I could at best merely hope to supplement the earlier researches of Krause and Swanton. If my account contains more details and presents certain nuances that their de- scriptions lack it may be because I was at least a quasi- Tlingit and because, so far as possible, I wrote down much of the material verbatim. The informants I used were for the most part excellent. All my major informants except Mrs. John Benson (Den- kutleit, referred to herein as J.B.) and Mrs. Don Cameron could speak English. I can speak only in high praise for the willingness and patience of Mrs. John Benson of Klukwan, Joe Wright of Juneau, Don Cameron* of Sitka, John Darrow and Billy Benson of Klawak and Robert Blake of Wrangell. To these and to the many other Tlingit friends who aided me I wish to express my thanks. Many of these and other informants are referred to by their initials in the text. In the writing of this account a persistent problem arises: Whether to use the historical present tense or to phrase the material in the past tense. I find it impossible to be consistent. That part of Tlingit life which is a thing of the past can only be described as being in the past, whereas those elements which are still viable should be, I feel, described in the present tense. I trust that the reader will understand these difficulties. The Tlingit have little sense of history in the European sense. Thus there is little interest in such past events as the Haida northward expansion, the coming of the whites, the purchase of Alaska and so on. To the Tlingit, history begins in a mythological past and this gradually blends into a semihistoric period and this into the recent past. Perhaps, in part, this may be because of the lack of a sense of tribal solidarity. The clan and lineage were the important things, and events tend to be clustered around noted characters in the ancestry, but within the clan. This view of the past may be likened to that of the Greeks of Homeric times. Probably to a greater extent than others who have done work among the Tlingit I have relied on notes taken down while working with informants. Except for the necessary changes to conform to fair English, most of the materials I offer are verbatim accounts and statements. Such ver- batim recording and the full use of anecdotal material, will, I hope, throw some light on the nuances of the cul- ture from the Tlingit point of view. *He served as Swanton's interpreter in 1904. Although he lived at Sitka his home was Klukwan. Vi PREFACE accurate, but at least the Tlingit were able to understand my pronunciation, given according to the phonetic render- ing indicated below. I have had little training in linguistics or phonetic transcription. In addition my ear for native words is not especially keen. Accordingly I have thought it best to render the native words in a somewhat simplified ortho- graphy. Phonetic Key Vowels are long unless otherwise indicated and have Continental values. Capital letters in the body of a word indicate whispered sounds. Where my renditions differ from those of other sources (e.g., those of Swanton, de Laguna, Krause, and others) I think my orthography is nearer the correct one, since I spent a much longer time among the people. By the end of my stay I was able to understand a measure of Tlingit and was even able to speak it to a very limited extent. The research was done under the auspices of the University of California, Berkeley; the necessary ex- penses were supplied from the research funds of the Department of Anthropology, Berkeley. Altogether I wrote something over 1500 pages of notes in the field. Since I used a dozen or so informants it is to be expected that some of the data are at variance with others. There are even some contradictions. I have tried to iron out some of these difficulties by giving weight to the statements of the more reliable and knowledgeable informants. The original field notes will be placed on deposit in the library of the Department of Anthropology at Berkeley. Perhaps in the future, when "primitive" peoples are no longer a part of the world scene, some student may find in these notes and genealogies material for who knows what type of study of the human animal. In the original notes, too, there are some data which have not been incorporated in this report for various reasons. Some are items derived from casual informants, some not very reliable or knowledgeable. Others are ele- ments which would have needlessly complicated attempts to set down a fairly well-ordered presentation. Some of these oddments may prove of interest. It seems that every worker among the Tlingit has had difficulty with the rendition of native words. Even the professional anthropologists have fared little better than the layman. Some of the renditions of native names and words are weird indeed. I make no claim that mine are a as in hat e as in met I as in it u as in put a obscure vowel as in but or idea tl the surd or lateral 1 ai as in English high au c G as in h9w as in shall explosive glottal stop accented syllable prolonged sound (dot under letter) guttural PREFACE .ii CONTENTS TRIBES, TOWNS, AND HOUSEHOLDS ................................... 1 The Tribes ................................................... 2 The Yakutat. 2 The Chilkat. 2 The Hoona. 2 The Auk. 2 The Taku .2 The Killisnoo ............................................... 2 The Sitka .................................................. 3 The Kake. 3 The Stikine ................................................. 3 The Klawak. 3 The Tantakwan. 3 The Sanyakwan. 3 The Tahltan ................................................ 4 The Town and the Household. 5 The Town of Klukwan .......................................... 6 The Town of Chilkoot .......................................... 9 The Origin of Valley House ...................................... 10 House groups of the Tantakwan ................................... 10 The Aukkwan clans and houses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 House life ................................................. . 11 Property in land ....... . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . 12 Social relations. 12 The Kinship system and kinship usages ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 PERSONAL QUARRELS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 Liability in accidents ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 Injury ........ .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . .. . . . 19 MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Remarriage .20 THE CLANS AND CLAN LEGENDS .23 The Origin of the Cangukedih ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 The Origin of the Ganaxtedih ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 The Origin of the name Ganaxtedih .27 Legends relating to the Tcucanedih .27 The Man who killed his own sleep .27 The Origin of the Daklawedih Clan .28 Legendary history of the Daklawedih Clan (second version) .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 Origin of the Daklawedih (third version) ............................... . 30 The Origins of the Kagwantan. 30 A Katcadi Clan legend ........................................... . 30 The Origin of the Kaskwakwedih Clan ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 The Origin of the Sitka Kiksadi. 31 The Origin of the Nanyaayih Clan ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 The Origin of the Tlokwaxadi Clan ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 The Daklawedih legend ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 The Origin of the Tihittan Clan. 33 The Origin of the Lokaxadih ....................................... . 33 The Sanyakwan.33 The Nexadi Clan of the Sanyakwan. 33 Nexadi Clan legend. 34 The Flood comes to the Sanyakwan ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 The Origin of a mourning song ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 CLAN EMBLEMS AND OTHER CLAN PROPERTY .......................... . 37 Intangibles .38 Origins of certain clan crests .38 The Origin of a house-post carving ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 Origin of the Kiksadi frog crest .39 How the Tekwedih and Daklawedih came to own the killer whale crest .... . . . . . . 39 The Thunderbird crest ........ . . . . .. . . . . .. . . . .. . . . .. . . . . .. . . . . . 40 Origin of the bear crest of the Kagwantan ............................ . 40 [ ix ] x CONTENTS How the Xashittan acquired the eagle crest ........................... . 40 The Kagwantan of Sitka take the wolf crest .42 The Eagle crest of the Kagwantan .42 The Porpoise crest of the Tcucanedi ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 Origin of the wolf crest of the Yenyedih .43 Origin of the sun crest of the Dakistenh ..... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 The "Cow" crest of the Xashittan .44 Ganaxtedih crests ....... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . . . . . . 44 The Origin of a Kiksadi song .44 A Dispute over a crest ...... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Totem Poles .45 CASTE, RANK, AND CLASSES. 47 Slavery .53 THE OWNERSHIP OF TERRITORY .55 Clan territory of the Sitkakwan..55 Ownership in the Tantakwan tribe.56 Clan territory of the Stikinkwan.57 POTLATCHES............... 58 Details of specific potlatches .66 Eating contests.67 Potlatches given to honor children.68 FEUDS, RAIDS, AND WARS .69 Trouble over a crest .72 A Blood feud .72 A Feud over trade and wealth ..73 A "Practice" killing starts a war .73 The Sanyakwan war with the Haida .73 A War between the Kiksadi and Decitan .75 An Attempted raid for plunder .77 A Multiclan war. 77 The War between the Wrangell Nanyaayih and the Sitka Kagwantan .... . . . . . . . . . . 78 A Raid for slaves . 79 A War captive is ransomed .79 The Theft of a slave .80 A War with the Tsimshian .80 The Peace ceremonies .81 THE HISTORY OF THE TANTAKWAN .82 War with the Haida .94 Peace with the Xetlkwan .95 The Feud within the Ganaxadi Clan .96 Peace with the Sitka Kagwantan .98 The Spirit dances. 98 INCIDENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE KLAWAKKWAN .103 The Origin of Klawak .103 The Origin of the Gonakadet (sea monster) crest .105 The Wolves aid an orphan .106 The Origin of the octopus crest of the Tlinedih Clan of Shakan .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 The War between the Henyakwan and the Stikinekwan .107 The Place name Sakah .108 The Origin of the name Sinaxehh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 The Klawak people of Drifted Ashore House ............................ . 109 Houses of the village of Takdjikan (Tuxekan). 110 RELIGION, SHAMANISM, AND TOTEMISM. 110 Shamanism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 The Shaman of Cat Island .112 The Shaman Nuwat .113 The Shaman Gaanisten-Gakkaxwan ................................. 113 A Tantakwan woman shaman .115 Sorcery, witchcraft, and black magic. 115 Necromancy and necrophilia .116 Totemism .117 Dance societies .118 Miscellaneous beliefs 121 The Land across the ocean 122 BIBLIOGRAPHY .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .123 SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT IN ALASKA BY R. L. OLSON TRIBES, TOWNS, AND HOUSEHOLDS It should be borne in mind that though the Tlingit are often referred to as a "tribe" this term is only a means of reference. It is true that they themselves used the term "Tlingit" (meaning "people") to set themselves apart from Haida, Tsimshian, and Gunana, but in reference mainly to language and perhaps to the area they con- sidered their own. Within the Tlingit area were a dozen or so areas occupied by groups which could be called "tribes" but only to designate the people of those areas. There were no tribal organizations, no tribal chiefs, no tribal councils. The really important features of Tlingit society were the maternal clans or sibs and the moieties. There were clan chiefs, clan houses, clan territories for hunting and fishing. There was also a host of other things which were associated with or owned by the clans: sets of personal names, legends of origin and migration, songs, dances, ceremonial objects (such as masks and dishes), and the very important crests in the way of face paintings, wall paintings, house-post carvings, the figures on memorial posts (totem poles), and many others. It was said that the people of the upper class of Klukwan would wake in the middle of the night and not go back to sleep for thinking of the great names in their clans, of the great things their clan had done, and for laying plans for adding to the luster of their house, family line, and clan. Within each tribe these clans were grouped into two divisions (moities, or phratries) which were rigidly exo- gamous (the clans derivatively so).' Among the northern groups these moieties were called Eagle and Raven, in the south Wolf and Raven (though either set of terms was understood regardless of area). The moieties, aside from the regulation of marriage, functioned as reciprocal groups in the potlatch festivities, burial ceremonies, house construction, carving of totem poles and in a host of other customs and usages. In theory, feuds and wars were always between clans of opposite moieties. (In reality feuds sometimes arose between clans of the same moiety, even within the town or tribe.) Kinship terms, likewise, were determined by moiety. By means of them a Tlingit from, for example, Klukwan, could establish social relations with any other, even as far away as Sitka or Tongass. When strangers met one would ask the other, "What is your clan?" Where this was established the proper behavior could be set up. There was no mechanism for punishment of wrongs or crimes within the clan. But between clans there could 'There was one exception to this in the case of one clan of one tribe. This anomaly is discussed further below. arise blood feuds, demands for blood price, and the like. Intent or lack of it was not considered. For this reason a man who asked others to go hunting or a woman who organized a berry-picking party chose only members of his or her clan, lest in case of accident the clan of the leader be held liable. Other features of the clan and moiety organization are discussed in the several sections. The Tlingit, then, are not a single tribe but a group of tribes (geographical divisions) who occupied the southeast coast of Alaska from Yakutat Bay in the north (actually from the mouth of the Copper River) to Dundas Island a little below the Canadian boundary in the south. The tribes numbered fourteen with one, two, or more bringing groups who were semi-Tlingit. These were the Eskimo-Eyak- Tlingit around the mouth of the Copper River, the Dene at the head of Portland Canal and the Dene groups inland from the Chilkat, Taku, and Stikine Tlingit tribes. Swan- ton (1904, p. 396) mentions one other Tlingit tribe or clan (the Xelkwan) on Revillagigedo Island, but I believe this an error. The Ganaxada clan of the Tsimpshian are almost cer- tainly the descendants of a Tlingit group which migrated there and became wholly Tsimshianized. The Nexadi clan of the Sanya Tlingit are certainly of Tsimshian origin. They stand out from both Raven and Eagle-Wolf moieties of the Tlingit, marrying into either group (to their great shame and the contempt of other Tlingit). Probably be- ginning before 1800 several groups of Haida moved north- ward to the area around southern Prince of Wales Island. Their chief towns were Kasaan and Hydaburg. Through war, intermarriage, and trade there was quite intimate contact among Tlingit, Tsimshian, and Haida. Songs, dances, legends, and even personal names were exchanged or borrowed. All this has served to modify to some extent the "pure Tlingit" culture. The Tlingit to some degree equated their clans with those of Tsimshian, Haida, and Gunana, and this often served to ease relations with those groups. The Tlingit "tribes" are merely geographical groups. A Tlingit thinks of himself largely as a member of a clan, not of a tribe. Neither tribe nor town had, or has, any formal organization, and ownership of land was by clans and households rather than by tribe. Thus the term "tribal territory" does not apply in the usual sense. The chiefs were clan chiefs, not tribal chiefs. If some outranked others in influence it was because of greater wealth, and more numerous clansmen, plus a greater degree of "high- bornedness" through a line of distinguished ancestors within the maternal line. Ancestry on the father's side [ 1 1 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS counted little, though because of caste endogamy there was aristocracy on the paternal side also. There was no tribal council but clan chiefs (i.e., house chiefs) might meet to decide matters of moment. THE TRIBES The following tribes2 were clearly Tlingit, not mixed with neighboring groups. The Yakutat The Yakudatkwan had their main settlements in Yakutat Bay, where they had two villages, one at the present site of Yakutat, the other probably on Knight Island. At least seasonally some of them occupied houses at Chilkat at the mouth of the Copper River, at Yakataga, in Dry Bay, and Lituya Bay. The word Yakudatkwan is said to mean "skin canoe people" and refers to their use of boats made of skins (though they traded with the other Tlingit for dug- outs). The skin boats may reflect an old Eskimolike cul- ture or Eskimo population which became submerged by the Tlingit (cf. Swanton, 1904, p. 414). One informant stated that the Chilkat traded with the Yakutat for some of these skin boats, which the Chilkat knocked down, por- taged over Chilkoot Pass and reassembled on Lake Ben- net. This enabled them to carry on their trade with the Athapaskans of the interior, probably as far down river as Dawson. (In 1852 the Chilkat destroyed the Hudson's Bay Company's Fort Selkirk.) I was also told that the Chilkat traded with the Yakutat at Dry Bay and Yakutat via overland routes from Klukwan over Chilkat (Dalton) Pass. Krause (p. 66) gives the Yakutat population as 820, including the mixed group of Eskimo-Tlingit at the mouth of the Copper River. The Chilkat The Djilkatkwan (people of Chilkat) were probably the most numerous and powerful of the Tlingit tribes. They were reputedly also the most warlike. Their territory was the area around the northern part of Lynn Canal. The largest settlement was at Klukwan ("Renowned town" or "Old town") some 22 miles up the Chilkat River. About four miles downstream was Kakwatltu' (also known as Klaktfi) and near the mouth of the river was Yandestake. Chilkoot (Djiku't) was situated at the mouth of the river of that name. Of these only Klukwan is occupied at the present time. Some of the present-day Chilkoot have settled at Haines, Juneau, and Sitka. Some Tlingit are in- clined to class the Chilkoot (Djilkutkwan) as a separate tribe. The Chilkoot controlled the trade routes over Chil- koot Pass and White Pass while the people of Klukwan traded over Chilkat (Dalton) Pass. Krause gives the 1880 census number of Chilkat as 988, of which 565 lived at Klukwan. Klukwan, in particular, remained the most conserva- tive of the Tlingit towns since it had less intimate contact with the trading vessels of the English and Americans, and the Russian posts at Sitka and Wrangell were far away. 2Goldschmidt and Haas have given detailed information by texts and maps of the Tlingit area by tribe and clan. I see no reason to repeat this information. The Hoona The Hunakwan occupied the area around Icy Strait and Glacier Bay. Evidently about 1875 they began to encroach on Yakutat territory and claimed Lituya Bay and Dry Bay. In 1880 the Hoona numbered about 900. At that time (and since) the only important town was Hoona. Bartlett Cove, Glacier Bay, and Dundas Bay are old and important areas and a number of clan origin legends have their locale in these places. The Auk The Auk-kwan (Lake People) were one of the smaller Tlingit tribes, numbering only about 600 in 1880. Their territory included the southern part of Lynn Canal and the northern part of Admiralty Island. The main town was at Point Louisa. Other towns probably were in Auk Bay and at the mouth of the Eagle River, but it is doubtful if more than one site was occupied at any one time. About 1880 many Auk moved to Juneau and worked in the famous Treadwell mine. By 1920 the Auk had disappeared as a tribe. The Taku The Takukwan (Winter People), like the Auk, were a small group, numbering only 269 in 1880. Their territory lay to the south of the Auk and included Gambier Bay and Endicott Arm in Stephens Passage. The main village was on the Taku R.ver near the international boundary. With the coming of the fur traders settlements were established at Taku Point and Bishops Point. Other villages were on Snettisham Arm and at the junction of Tracy Arm and Endicott Arm. These last two are sometimes classed as a separate tribe-the Sumdum, Sundown, or Samdan, from the village Saodan downstream from Sumdum glacier. The Killisnoo The name of this tribe is somewhat confusing, being variously given as (among others) Killisnoo, Chutstakon, Chutsinu, Xutsnuwukwan, Angoon, Kootznakoo, Chutznou, Hoots-a-tar-kwan, Koohznahoo, and Xutsnuwuwedi.3 The last is preferable, meaning "People of Brown Bear's Fort." In general their territory lies along Chatham Strait and the eastern part of Peril Strait. The largest town was Angoon ("Isthmus Town") with a population of 420 in 1880. Neltushkin (Natltu kan, "Town on outside of point") on Whitewater Bay had 246 inhabitants in 1880. Perhaps the chief claim to fame for Hootsnuwn is the following: I was told (by G.M.) that about 1870 an Ameri- can soldier who was stationed at Port Tongass married a Tlingit woman. He was able to secure his discharge at the local fort and moved with his wife to her native village of Hootsnuwn. He taught the natives how to distill liquor, using sugar, molasses, dried fruit and anything else fer- mentable. Stills were constructed and even kelp stems and gun barrels were used for the worms or coils of the stills. This beverage came to be known as "hoochenoo," later shortened to "hooch."4 From here the art of brew- ing and distilling spread rapidly to all the tribes of 3See also De Laguna, 1960, p. 25 et passim. 4See also De Laguna, p. 159; Clark, p. 91. 2 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT the northwest, immensely hastening their demoraliza- tion and remaining a problem to the present day. The Sitka The Citkakwan (people behind Ci, i.e., Baranof Island)5 occupied the western half of Baranof Island and the south- west part of Chichgof Island. They numbered about nine hundred, most of them at Sitka. Sitka was established as a Russian settlement in 1802. From the outset there was trouble with the natives and this continued until about 1880. In fact, as was mentioned earlier, Chirikoff had two boatloads of his men disappear without a trace in 1741, undoubtedly captured by the natives. Swanton (1904, p. 397) lists eight other Sitka towns but early in the his- toric period most of these had disappeared. The Kake The Kek-wan occupied the western part of Kupreanof Island and all of Kuiu Island, and held rather indefinite areas on the mainland shore of Frederick Sound and some of the nearer parts of Baranof and Prince of Wales islands. At one time these boundaries were probably definite but it is difficult to assess them at the present time. In fact it is not certain whether the people of Kuiu Island were a separate tribe; if so they have lost their tribal identity and I group them with the Kekwan (also known by variants of this name). In 1880 they numbered a little more than five hundred. Krause (p. 73) is probably in error in ascribing 800 persons to the Kuiukwan. This number seems excessive and I believe it must, if approximate, be the population of the combined Kake-Kuiu people. At present the only settlement of significance is Kake, on Kupreanof Island. The Stikine The Stikinkwan (people of the Stikine) occupied the mainland coast from Cape Fanshaw to about the mid point of the Cleavland Peninsula. Their territory included about the eastern half of Kupreanof Island, the east coast of Prince of Wales Island from Red Bay to Thorne Bay and all of Mitkof, Zarembo, and Etolin islands. In 1882 they numbered about one thousand. Next to the Chilkat they were counted as the most powerful and warlike of the Tlingit tribes. Probably more than any other tribe they were a riverine people and their settlements and summer camps extended up-river as far as Telegraph Creek, or a little beyond. They carried on an extensive trade with the people of the interior, the Gunana ("strange people" or "other people"). Although the census of 1880 lists eight villages, the names given are merely those of clan chiefs and are meaningless as settlement designations. Vancouver in 1794 visited a village in Port Stewart in Behm Canal. This location is traditionally the place of origin of all the "ganax" clans (the Ganaxadi and Ganax- tedih), ganax probably being the native designation of Port Stewart (though possibly Helm Bay is the native ganax). The Russians established a fort at Wrangell in 1834, having forced its evacuation by.the Hudson's Bay Com- pany which had set up a post there in 1802. The Russians in turn abandoned it to the English in 1839. The Ameri- 5Krause, p. 70, gives "Forested Island" as the meaning of Ci. cans again established a fort there in 1867. Throughout its history Wrangell, like Port Simpson on the Skeena River, was an important point of rendezvous for Indians of various tribes, and an important port in the fur trade. The Klawak The Klawak-kwan are also known as the Henyakwan (also Hengakwan). In 1880 they numbered about five hun- dred. The chief settlements were Shakan, Tuxekan, and Klawak. Their territory included the southwestern tip of Kuiu Island and the western part of Prince of Wales Island as far south as Meares Pass. (From this point south lived the Haida-speaking Kaigani whose chief towns were modern Hydaburg and Kasaan. The Haida moved northward, probably during the eighteenth century, cer- tainly displacing the Tantakwan Tlingit and probably pressing the Klawak northward also.) The Tantakwan Usually called the Tongas-kwan (Swanton, 1904: p. 396) the members of this tribe call themselves Tantakwan. Tan ("sea-lion") is the name for Prince of Wales Island. Properly they are the Tanyata.k-kwan ("People of the head part of Sea Lion Island." The "head" part of the sea lion being counted as the southern tip of the island.) Tradi- tionally their earliest home village was in Stone Rock Bay but possibly in Moira Sound. This is the only Tlingit tribe which was wholly displaced by the Haida. From Prince of Wales Island they moved repeatedly, to Duke, Anette, Dundas, Cat, and other islands. Probably about 1880 they established their town on Tongass Island and so came to be called the Tongass Tribe. In 1880 they numbered only 173. (I have recorded a long traditional history for this group. See the section, "History of the Tautakwan.") The Sanyakwan The Sanya are often referred to as the Cape Fox Indians, since they had a village, named Gac, at that place. In 1893 all moved to Saxman. In 1880 they numbered only about 100. The Sanya were probably the weakest of the Tlingit groups and were subject to pressures from the Tsimshian, Haida, and the Tlingit Tantakwan. Certainly Tongass Island was Sanya territory until the Tantakwan made it their own. The Sanya are the butt of ridicule by the other Tlingit because one of the Sanya clans (the Nexadi) is counted as of the Eagle-Wolf moiety by the other Tlingit tribes but among the Sanya its members marry either Raven or Eagle-Wolf. The Nexadi are almost certainly of Tsimshian origin, which would explain this since the Tsimshian do not have the moiety organization, exogamy being clan associated. On Sanyakwan clans and houses, I have only the following data. Nexadi Houses.- 1. Tcak!kuhlt ("eagle's fan house"). The "fan" (tail) of the eagle was painted on the rear wall. 2. Tcak!k!uslrhrt ("eagle's feet house"). Eagle's feet were carved at the top of the house posts so that the beams were held by the feet. 3. K!eduhrt (beaver "dam house"). The beaver was the special crest of this house. 4. Tcak!kuttih1t ("eagle's nest house"). 3 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS 5. Tcak!hrt ("eagles' house"). Two eagles facing each other were painted above the door. 6. Yichrt ("crab house"). This crab is not the edible species. 7. Xethrt ("shell house"). The name refers to the monster clam of the tale. 8. Tclakhrt ("halibut house"). Tekwedih Houses.- 1-3. Xutshrt (brown "bear house"). It seems there were three houses with the same name. 4. Tlltkahit ("dorsal fin mountain house"). Named from a mountain on the Unuk River the peak of which resembles a dorsal fin. Kiks adi Houses. - 1. Wekhrt ("bullhead house"). 2. Tittlasahrt ("whale's blowhole house"). Named from a rock near Cape Fox where at half tide the waves run into a cave and come out of a hole at the top so it resembles the vapor com- ing from a whale's blowhole. The Sanyakwan "owned" Behm Canal and Boca de Quadra. They held the coast to the mouth of Portland Inlet, including Duke and Pearse islands; but when the Tantakwan moved to Port Tongass they took over the claim. Portland Canal was freely used by Tsimshian, Sanyakwan, and Tantakwan. (The Tsetsaut Gunana occu- pied the head of Portland Canal and are said to have lived on Behn Canal until driven out by the Sanyakwan.) The Sanyakwan also evidently counted the east shores of Tongass Narrows and Revillagigedo Channel as theirs, except as noted for the Tantakwan. Within this territory certain spots were "owned" by clans and individuals. The Kiksadi clan claimed the area around Port Tongass. The stream at Ketchikan, noted for its run of humpback salmon, was a Nexadi camping place. But about 1800 it passed to the Tantakwan as a gift; a Nexadi chief named Kuka'k married a Tantakwan woman of the Ganaxadi clan, and at her death he gave it to his brothers-in-law at the mourning potlatch. One informant gave the following list of the places and areas " owned" by various groups. The Tekwedih are said to have once been very numer- ous and owned many places: (1) Unuk River and all its watershed. (Djunanax shortened to djunax means "by dream" for it was discovered by a man dreaming of it.) (2) Chickamin River. The river is called Xetl (foam). The same man as in the preceding dreamed of it and in the dream great heaps of foam were floating down. Some of the Wrangell people (a subdivision of the Tekwedih clan) are called Xetltekwedih and they claimed it. (3) Walker Cove (kena'xkt). (4) Yes Bay (ye'ic gi'h, the name of the stream flowing from Lake McDonald). (5) Spacious Bay (wac). (6) Gedney Passage (kAgr't). The Nexadi clan owned the following places: (1) Rud- yard Bay (xena'). (2) Smeaton Bay (xan). (3) Naha Bay (Loring area). The Kiksadi owned: (1) Boca de Quadra and its arms. (2) Neets Bay (glhdu'naxdeh). (3) The area from around Cape Fox to Portland Canal, including Nakat, Willard, and Fillmore inlets; also Wales and Pearse islands. Within the general Sanyakwan area certain places were owned by the Stikinkwan (Wrangell). These in- cluded: (1) Snail Rocks (sik!ganax) and the channel leading to Ketchikan. (2) Port Steward (ganax) in Behm Canal. This is the traditional starting place or earliest settlement of all the Ganaxadi and Ganaxtedi clans of all the tribes. It came to belong to the Wran- gell Kiksadi. (3) Helm Bay (kiks) belonged to the Wrangell Kiksadi. This is probably the traditional home of all the Kiksadi clans. (4) Traitor's Cove (kuna'x). This had belonged to the Kiksadi but it was given to the Wrangell Xetltekwedih. (5) Bell Arm and Behm Narrows. These (and possibly the Chickamin River) were owned by the Wrangell Xetltekwedih, who are regarded as an offshoot of the Sanyakwan Tekwedih. The Tahltan The following notes on the Tahltan were secured rather incidentally and I merely set them down for the record. All groups of the interior people were called by the Tlingit "Gunana." This has been translated as "strange people," but "other people" is perhaps a better rendition. Of the Tlingit groups it was mainly the Chilkat, Taku, and Stikine who had some intimate knowledge of the people of the in- terior. In the days of the fur trade the Tlingit exploited them unmercifully, trading various goods for the superior furs of the interior, then re-trading the furs to the Euro- pean traders at a handsome profit. The rights to the trade routes were jealously guarded properties of certain clans and households. The Tlingit of Wrangell6 gave me some information on the Tahltan of the upper Stikine. They are said to have five clans assigned to the Raven and Wolf moieties as follows: Nanyaayih (Wolf), Daklawedih (Wolf), K! akakwafi (Wolf), Katca'dih (Raven), Tlkahittan (Raven). The Tlkahit- tan are a subdivision of the Katcadih. They lived in a house with the Katcadih, but they were such inveterate gamblers that the others told them to move out and build a house of their own. Thus they came to be called the Tlkahittan ("gambling house people"). The K!akakwafi are really the same as the Saklawedih but their houses are built on a point of land so they are called K!lakakwan ("on the point people"). The Raven and Wolf sides are exogamous. The following is the legend of the origin of the Katcadih: There was a Nanyaahih chief named Kad- jrvktla'h who used to take his family up the Stikine for the summer's fishing to TAtAtrfi, near Telegraph Creek. His wife was of the Katcadih clan of Kake. Their daughter was named Adjl't. One summer the girl was kidnapped by the Gunana. Several summers later the chief again went up the river. For some reason he whipped one of his slaves, named Zus. The slave ran away. He came to a place where he looked down on a village. The Gunana saw him and chased him. He wore a sealskin coat which smelled so strong they were able to follow and capture him! In the village he saw his master's daughter. The Gunana chief was named Katone'h. His son Kanatl was already married to the girl and they had children. Zus had a bow and arrows. The Tahltan had none but saw how valuable they were. They gave him a pile of furs as high as the bow in exchange. They sent him back to his master, with men to carry the furs. The father was happy to learn that his daughter was alive and well. The slave bought his freedom with the furs. The girl's children and grandchildren down the genera- tions became the Gunana Katcadih. 6Data from Charley Jones. 4 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT The Town and the Household All the Tlingit tribes followed the settlement pattern of the northern part of the Northwest Coast Area. Per- manent towns were relatively few, varying from one to four or five for each tribe. These became reduced in number among some tribes after European contact. In part this was owing to decimation of the population, in part to a desire on the part of the Indians to move to the settlements established by Europeans. By 1900 only the Chilkat had more than one "winter" town. These aboriginal permanent towns were occupied by the entire tribal population only during the winter months, from about the beginning of November to May. From May or June to October nearly everyone went to the fishing-hunting- berrying camps owned by clans, households, families, or individuals. The smallest of the winter towns had as few as four or five houses, with a population of less than a hundred. The largest had as many as 25 houses with populations of nearly a thousand.7 The houses usually were arranged in a single row spaced at intervals of from 50 to 100 feet, though some might form a separate cluster a little distance from the others. The units occupied by the different clans were always placed in a group. Where there were more than two clans the grouping was by clans rather than by moie- ties. Thus at Klukwan, with 23 houses, the arrangement from upriver down was as follows: 6 Daklawedih (Wolf moiety) houses, 2 houses of the Klilkukedi clan (Raven moiety), 6 Ganaxtedi houses (Raven moiety), 6 Kagwantan houses (Wolf moiety), and 3 houses of the Dakistenah clan (Wolf moiety). The village "street," a wide path (in re- cent times a wide board walk), ran from one end of the village to the other; in fact it was a part of the trail along the river bank which ran from Haines to the interior over Chilkat Pass. In front of each house, near the water's edge, was a smokehouse, perhaps 20 by 25 feet. In 1933 these smoke- houses were the only buildings constructed in the old manner with posts, beams, and adzed planks. The household usually consisted of from two to six or even eight families. Since marriage was patrilocal and the houses were "owned" by the clan or, more prop- erly, by the males of the household, it follows that all the wives and children of the household belonged to clans of the opposite moiety (descent and clan membership being matrilineal). However, it was customary for lads of seven or eight years to be sent to live with the mother's brother so that all males of the household above this age belonged to the clan "owning" the house. The wives, un- married daughters and young boys accordingly belonged to other clans. This was on occasion a disruptive factor within the family and household, for in the event of clan feuds those of the house belonging to the "enemy" clan fled to the houses of their own clan. Even those not of the enemy's clan moved out so as not to be in danger. Each house had a house chief, usually the eldest of a group of brothers, who was the heir (nephew, sister's son) of the last house chief. One such house chief was regarded as of higher rank than the other house chiefs of the clan and he was the "clan chief" of that tribe or village. There was no special title for this office, but everyone knew which chief it was. In theory, the chief of the same house was clan chief through the generations; 7Swanton (1904; pp. 405-407) lists 36 houses at Sitka but the post-European settlement at Sitka represents a merging of groups from various tribes and towns and is atypical. in practice it shifted from house to house according to prestige based on potlatching and so on. In other words, the position was not strictly hereditary. In modern times the decline in population and the extinction of lineages had brought on the necessity of transferring the leader- ship. Thus, Chief Johnson of Kidjuk House has no heirs so he has named GM of Drifting Ashore House to take his place . It is said that in case of interclan trouble, such as a feud, the house chief of highest rank, that is, the clan chief, could decide whether or not to fight. If there was reluctance on the part of some he might call his clan- mates "cowards" (uk!atxa'n). Each married man of the household, together with his wife, their young children, and his nephews occupied a section of the house. The assignment of place in the house was in part on the basis of social rank of the men. The place of honor, of highest rank, was the center section at the rear ("head") of the house opposite the door. This was the area of the house chief, where he could observe the comings of visitors. The rear corners were occupied by those next in rank. Just inside the door on either side were places of low rank, occupied by slaves, persons of low rank, or hangers-on. Sleeping rooms for the family units were often built on the wide, highest platform of the house. In very large houses each family might have its own fire in front of its area but for the most part a single central fire sufficed. The men of the household were various combinations of brothers, married nephews of these, or men considered as "children of sisters" (wucklauya'dki or sucna.nadedAnA '- ke).8 The women of a house were also often "children of sisters" (see below under Frog House). It was considered best that men of the household should marry sisters or clan "sisters." When this occurred the sons of such women would normally go to live with their mother's brothers, who would often be members of the same household. I give some examples of these usages. DC is one of seven brothers. His maternal uncle is DH of Klukwan. About 1930 the latter wrote DC, asking that he come to Klukwan to take charge of his property, but DC did not reply. This was because DH shirked his duties when DC and his brothers were lads. DH should have taken the boys into his house, especially since their mother had died shortly after the birth of the youngest. Now three of the brothers survive and when DH dies these three will be duty-bound to take over Eagle's Nest House at Klukwan. In recent years there is an increasing tendency for a man to make a will leaving much of his property to his sons instead of his nephews. However, there are certain things which must go to the nephews, or to other heirs within the clan. Such items as houses, house sites, and some other things are not personal property but belong to the clan and cannot be alienated. Some bitter feelings have grown out of the conflict be- tween European and native customs in this respect. In some instances American courts have ruled in favor of sons but, even so, in the Tlingit mind the property in question still is not theirs. Some years ago (about 1920) LS bargained to sell to a certain museum the fine house posts and other ceremonial items from Whale House at Klukwan which belonged to the Ganaxtedih clan of the Raven moiety. But LS is of the Wolf moiety and although 83These terms are evidently somewhat loosely used. The first probably translates literally as "together sisters' children" or "mutually the children of sisters." I do not find either term in Swanton or Durlach. 5 ANTHROPOLOGIC his father had properly inherited the position of house chief of Whale House he was not the owner in the Euro- pean sense. The house belongs to the men of the house- hold and secondarily to the clan. LS is in the bad graces of nearly everyone because of this attempt to take some- thing not his. And he is doubly criticized because he took his latest wife from a clan other than that of her predecessor. The Kagwantan chief Tlanti'tc had three nephews (sons of his sister) in his house when he died at an advanced age. But they had done little to help him in his old age. In another house lived a "clan" nephew, Canuk!usa'gih, who always saw to it that Tlantitc had firewood and food. When Tlantitc felt he was about to die he made a will (in the American fashion) giving Canukusagih his house and name. The case was taken to court (American) with the Tluknahadi clan seated on one side, the Kiksadi on the other and the Kagwantan in the center. GM acted as inter- preter. A Kagwantan chief asked the other two clans to choose a successor. They chose the eldest of the three brothers. But Canukusagih brought out the will and the judge ruled in his favor. According to custom (not Ameri- can law) the eldest real nephew would have been chosen (evidently because the office must remain in the same household if an heir is available). But if, before he died, the chief had publicly chosen his successor within the clan his word would have been followed, even if the heir- designate were from a different house and not a sister's son. A potential heir who was rich would be preferred over one who was merely wise and the "wise" one would be appointed "speaker." Yet in the native mind this would be an extremely unlikely situation, for if a man is wise he will also be wealthy! If the true heir (the sister's son) is too young, too inexperienced to carry out the feasts properly, and so on, a house chief from another house is chosen to make the speeches, manage the ceremonies and the like, lest the novice shame his clan by making blunders. When GM's mother died, GM was a mere lad and a great uncle made the necessary speeches for him in the feasts, but the answering speeches were addressed to GM. It could happen that a very rich and famous chief would have two heirs, brothers, each getting one or more of his names and other prerogatives. The two would have equal authority in feasts and the like. When one of the brothers died his eldest nephew would inherit his place and become the equal of the surviving brother. When a house chief died his successor was chosen from among his housemates on the basis of wealth and wisdom. But the nephew was usually the heir designate. If there were no such clearly logical or designated heir a meeting of the whole clan would be called and the suc- cessor chosen. The one designated might be a brother, nephew, great-nephew, or even a clan "brother" of the same house. Thus when Kacekc died there were two grand-nephews eligible, Charley Johnson and his much younger brother Joseph. The latter had much more wealth and the clan chose him. When Joseph died the clan chose Charley, but aided him with funds for festi- vals so that the prestige of the house and clan would not suffer. It is difficult to state categorically to what extent Tlingit "names" among the aristocracy represent names and to what degree they are rather titles. The name- titles were primarily the property of households and lineages within the clan. But each name carried with it a fairly definite social rank or value. However a name- title could rise or decline according to the deeds of the 'AL RECORDS holder. Before assuming a new name the rightful heir to it must give a ceremony (a potlatch) and validate his claim to the title. Further details of these features are given in several later sections of this account. In recent times the decline in population has created some difficulties. There are more "high" names avail- able than there are rightful heirs. Furthermore, the de- cline in the ability or willingness to give the necessary ceremonials has resulted in many of the titles remaining unused. Some persons have assumed names which they have not "earned" by sponsoring the ceremonies. Most Tlingit villages are now patterned on the Ameri- can style. Households are usually made up of the nuclear family-man, wife, and children. In some families an aged parent may be cared for when he or she is unable to work. In former times each household formed a close- knit social and economic unit. The household groups re- sembled extended families except that emphasis was placed on clan membership of the heads of families. The house chief was the guiding spirit of this group. Coopera- tion within the household was taken for granted. The new household pattern plus the white man's em- phasis on individualism has resulted in a nearly complete breakdown of the old spirit of cooperation within the house group. BB was not far wrong when he gave jealousy and selfishness as outstanding features of native character. He cited the case of a Klawak young man who hoped to secure American medical training; he was regarded as "high hat" and people even resented and were jealous of his ambition. BB also cited an occasion when after a house burned he went to every family in the village soli- citing contributions for the destitute family. From about 75 families he collected a total of about ten dollars, and those who contributed fifty cents or a dollar gave him "hard words" before making the donation. Not only was there cooperation within the old house- hold but houses of the same clan cooperated to some de- gree. BB stated that nowadays the only intraclan "coopera- tion" occurs at a death when clan-mates of the deceased donate for the funeral feasts, but "only to raise their names," so that at the feasts it will be announced, "so and so gave fifty dollars." I do not have a complete list of the Tlingit towns by tribes and at this late date it would be impossible to com- pile such a list. Both tradition and history verify that townsites were often abandoned, the entire population moving to a new location. From the time of the earliest European settlements this mobility became more pro- nounced and places such as Sitka, Juneau, and Wrangell attracted many of the Tlingit, though those who moved were usually groups of the area of the modern towns. The data that follow on some of the Tlingit towns are offered to amplify what has been said about settlement patterns and to indicate in some detail the pattern within the town. Swanton (1904, pp. 400-407) has given lists of house groups by tribe and clan which are probably more com- plete than can be obtained at the present day. His list for Sitka should be taken with reservations, for certainly the houses were less numerous and grouped differently in pre-European times. Elsewhere in my account are data which supplement Swanton's lists. The Town of Klukwan Most of the Tlingit settlement patterns have become disrupted in recent times. At the time of my visit in'1933 the town of Klukwan was probably the least disturbed of OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT the old settlements. JB was able to give a complete list of the houses and the names of most of the heads of families and other adult occupants of each house. I have recorded her information in order to give factual data on the composition of village, house clusters by clans, and households. The list of houses and inmates which follows is more or less a town census of Klakwan in the period from 1880 to perhaps 1895. The houses are given in order beginning at the up-river (north) end of town and are numbered in roman numerals. The names of occupants are more or less in order of social importance or rank of the "house" (meaning that of the inmates), the names, clan and tribal affiliations of the wives, and some other information are sometimes given. My list differs from that given by Swanton (1904, p. 404) and is probably more accurate, being obtained from an informant born and reared at Klukwan. The number of houses and the number of residents in each represents a likely norm for a large winter town in the period before the settlement pattern was changed by white iinfluences. Klukwan houses, households, and residents as of about 1880-1895 were as follows: I. Daklawe'di Clan Houses (Wolf Moiety). 1. Kitk!luthrt ("Killer Whales Tongue House"). a. Ke'tlkawa (or Xoletsa') and his wife Xexaute'h of Eye House. b. Tlauati'k, and his wife Ge-agi'h, the daughter of Xexautah. c. Klattlanga'x, and his wife Gudjak!tlikla'h of the Katca'dih clan of Kake. d. Kiuliuxgu't and his wife (his father's sister) Kasi'iat of Frog House. (The foregoing four were full brothers.) e. Cakaku'nuih (the mother's sister's son of a, b, c, and d) and his wife Citlti'n of the Decitan clan of Angoon. f. Tlgutse'k (the brother of e) and his wife Katsali'KW of Frog House of the Katcadi of Stikine. (Besides the foregoing families there were a number of young men, nephews [sister's sons] of a, b, c, d, e, and f and a few who lived in the house. In addition there was one slave.) 2. Staki'nhit ("Ice House" or "Glacier House"). This house was sometimes referred to as be- longing to the Nesadi clan, but Nesadi, Tagwanedi, and Daklawedi "are really the same clan." a. Klukcan and his wife Gathi't of Small Creek House. 3. Tc!ithrt ("Murrelet House"). a. Kaste'x and his wife Kuhdeya'k of Frog House. b. Tutca'n and his wife Caxak!ekla' of the Dak- dentan clan of Hoona. c. Klacana'gih and his wife K!adjati'h of the Tlukwah'b'di clan of Chilkoot. d. Gutcki' (or Sitkd') and his wife Ta'ts of the Decitan clan of Angoon. e. Dakdjitlsa'k (the brother of d) and his wife Catkigu'x of Frog House. f. Nitckuha't. g. Hrtla'sa. (My informant had forgotten the names and clan affiliation of the wives of f and g. But all the foregoing men were the children of sisters [wucklauya'dki or wucyanadedana'ki]. Several nephews of the men also lived in the house.) 4. I' kdehit ("Downstream House"). a. Kugu'h and his wife Tlaiyedusti'n of Frog House. After her death he married Xwatl of the Decitan clan of Angoon. b. Kla'kcan and his wife Kasaiyetliy.at of Frog House. c. CAk.A.AXW and his wife Kayiga'h of Frog House. 5. Kitgucihrt ("Killer-whale's -dorsal-fin House," literally, "Killer-whale's Thumb House"). a. Guckle'n ("big thumb") and his wife Katckutlge'x of Valley House. b. Sakki's (the elder brother of a) and his wife Tsetinkla' of Mountain House. c. Gahhayi' and his wife Katsali'kW of Frog House. d. Kaxhana'h (sister's son of a and b, brother of c) and his wife Xesni'tc of Frog House (parallel cousin through sisters of Katsali'kW). e. Kago'xk (younger brother of a and b) and his wife Cudusge'h of Whale House. f. Gatchut (sister's daughter's son of a) and his wife Guciwa.'k of Valley House. g. Gacana'gi (his mother was sister of f) and his wife Sayu'kh of Frog House. After her death he married Nuteyi'h of Raven House. 6. Kle'tluhit ("Butterfly House"). This had been a "high, " i.e., "noble" house but all the men had died and by 1885 there remained only: a. Katla'h (a widow, of the Daklawedi). b. Katuwa'h (the daughter of a). c. Kauwuye'tl, and d. Tlgunxoa't. These two young men wer e of the same clan but not the children of a. These men spent most of their time in the interior, trapping and trading to get money to rebuild the house, for at this time (ca. 1800) the roof had fallen in and the two women were living in a small bark hut built within the walls. II. Ktl!rtlku'kedi Clan Houses (Raven Moiety). It is said that the people of this clan were the origi- nal settlers at Klukwan, and were there when the Ganaxtedi came. But the clan may also be called Ganaxtedi. 7. Cahl't ("Mountain House"). In 1865 the house was abandoned and in ruins, but it was rebuilt about 1880. 8. Xixtc'hit ( "Frog House"). These people, like those of house 7, came to be called Ganaxtedi. Five young men pooled their resources and rebuilt this house about 1875. The house was first built by a man named Yandekenye'tl of Raven House. Dissen- sion within the house group caused him to move out and build Frog House. a. Aya'kW and his wife Djill'k of Green Spruce House. b. Kaudesah and his wife Santa's of the Kagwantan clan of Sitka. c. Cduwu's and his wife Kakwe't-. d. Kekana-e'n and his wife Xe'sge of Killer Whale House. e. K!axwa'nk! and his wife Kanax duta's. (The wives of b, d, e, and f are children of sisters [wucklauyadkih] from Sitka.) 7 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS III. Ganaxtedih Clan Houses (Raven Moiety) 9. Katishlt ("Eye" or "Looking House"). A century ago this was a high-ranking house ("noble"). But the later generations have fallen from high estate through laziness. (The Tlingit have the concept, "three generations from shirt- sleeves to shirtsleeves"). The families of recent times were: a. Ts!awa'x and his wife, a Dakistenah. b. Tsetr"n and his wife Goxgowa'tsi, a Kagwantan. c. Ca'x and his wife Gutckla' (wolf's mother) of the Kagwantan of Sitka. d. Yikdaxne'x and his wife Wuedaxta's, sister of the wife of c. e. Tandage'x and his wife Kutsu'h of the Kag- wantan. Of these men d and e were brothers, all were wucklayadki ("children of sisters"). 10. Yetlhft ("Raven House"). About 1870 this house was not occupied and only the posts and beams of the frame remained. It had been rebuilt eight times up to then, by the following series of house chiefs Kaka'yih, Gus, Gananisti'h, Ganah.a't, Yetlgoxo'h (Yetlkadnake'h), Kindaxgu'c, Yetlka'k, and Kindaxgu'c (II). But in 1870 there were no adult male heirs so three widows, Kintu, Xeni't, and Yutaha'n got funds from their kin and the estates of their husbands and rebuilt. A fourth woman, Yetkati's, left her husband and joined them. After the death of Kintu her son Kindaguc U rebuilt in another location. Also living in the house was his mother's sister's son, Yetlkak (II). Kindaguc died and the new house chief (owner) was Yetlkak II. 11. and 12. Kakhit and kakhitya'kti (Small Valley House and Smaller Valley House). These two houses were built before the whites came and their builders were men from Raven House. There had been trouble among the resi- dents of Raven House and these moved out. The first builder of 1 1 was Kadodadji'h. 13. Yaihrt ("Whale House"). This is the famed Whale House described by George T. Emmons.9 At the last rebuilding by K!ettsuTh (f below) there was a great eating contest between two teams of guests. As of ca. 1895 there were the following families in the house: a. Skitlaka'h and his wife Kadu'x. b. Tsagwacah and his wife Xesge'h. c. Tsikwe't and his wife Cannatlka'k of the Dakistenah. d. Tlkena'h and his wife Tlakcadusti'h of the Kagwantan of Sitka. e. Gus and his wife Kudeyaxdasket of the Kagwantan. f. K!ettsu'h and his wife Xatyodutlse'h of the Kagwantan. g. Skuwe'tl and his wife Hinco'tll of the Kagwantan of Sitka. (All the foregoing males are classed as "chil- dren of sisters.") 14. Yetlkitcihrt ("Raven's Wing House"). This house was abandoned about 1875, the few survivors moving to Raven House. 9The Whale House of the Chilkat. See Bibliography. IV. Kagwantan Clan Houses (Wolf Moiety). 15. TcA!kuthrt ("Eagle's Nest House"). a. Tlgmnauwuse'h and his wives T-txkagu't and Goxgegi'h, both of Eye House (or Looking House). b. Gune't and his wife Sista'n of Raven Wing House. c. Stuoka' and his wife Xwatl of Eye House. d. Negu't and his wife Yetuska.'h of Raven Wing House. 16. Gauhrt ("Drum House," so named because when firewood was thrown on the floor it sounded like a box drum). This house was built by the people of Bear House as a special potlatch house, but it was also used as a dwelling. a. Yatadutltci'c and his wife Ankinge'h of Ganaxtedi. b. Kadjusa' and his wives (sisters) Xesni'tc and Tce'tl. c. Djakkle'n and his wife Kintu'h. d. Lulstih and his wife Catkego'x of Frog House. e. Utcadutl we' s and his wife KudedetlA't of Small Creek House. f. Yanko'h and his wife Anyauwusgu't of Frog House. g. Yanatltci'n and his wife Kak!atlsin of Small Creek House. h. Stiya't and his wife Gwe'tl of Eye House. i. Ski'na'h and his wife Sa's of Frog House. j. Kasa'nk- and his wife Xwasanikla'h of the Kluwahaddi clan of the village of KlaLktu or Katlkwatu (just below Klukwan). 17. Gutchrt ("Wolf House"). a. Gulell'k and his wife Tce'tl of Frog House. b. Kaknu'ko and his wife Gisa'kXW of Frog House. c. Canuksai'yih and his wife ItrxkuwAsgi't of Frog House. Canuksai'yih inherited the house at the death of a, and d moved in. d. Datxagu'tltca and his wife Xusti'n of Raven House. 18. Tligucihrt ("Killer Whale's Long Dorsal Fin House") (cf. number 5). This house was built as a potlatch house but was later used as a dwelling. a. Tlathl'tcxA and his wife Katchl'ktc of Whale House. b. Kaucte' (sister's son of a) and his wife Wucteyah of Frog House. c. Ki'tck!A (or Danawaki'c) and his wife Ka4axwe of the Kluknahadi clan of Sitka. The house passed from a to b, then to d who was b's sister's son. d. Yisya't and his wife Xatltsu'h (the daughter of b). After her death he married Denktlat (JB, my informant). Yisya't willed the house to his wife but she was ashamed to accept it because it was a clan house of Kagwantan and she is a Ganaxtedi of Raven House. She agreed that the rightful maternal heirs, Stuoka', YanaxnSh and Gicaktl should have it, provided they would care for her in her old age.10 loHere is a conflict between the old maternal system and the American scheme of inheritance. As was mentioned earlier, there was also trouble regarding the ownership of Whale House. A son of the last house chief agreed to sell the house posts and other parts to a certain museum. But he was a Kagwantan and had no rights to the house (in the native mind). The furor and indignation forced him to leave Klukwan. 8 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT 19. Xutshlit ("Bear House"). This is the Alaska Brown or Kodiak bear. a. Katldja'ge and his wife Yedakdatan of Raven House. b. Kakayi'tc and his wife Hesnlhtc of Raven House. c. Gune't- and his wife Yetkati's. 20. Kithrt ("Killer Whale House"). a. Tuska'tta (or Kannatlse'tl) and his wife Nex of Raven House. b. Yanaxnahu'h and his wife of the Klukwaha'ddi clan of Klaktu. c. Kudennaha' inherited from a, who was his mother's mother's brother. d. Datkutsa'xw the brother of c. e. Yadi'ndutle'n. The wife of c greedily laid claim to the house at his death, though he had willed it to his sister' s sons. To make matters worse, she was only his common-law wife, the marriage ceremony never having been performed. V. Dak'stena'h Clan Houses (Wolf Moiety). 21. Xetlhit ("Thunder House"). Xetl is also translated as "Foam" or, better, as "Thunderbird." a. Gaicaiyikle'n ("big eagle head") and his wife Kla.kxo'h of the Dukdentan clan of Hoona. b. Gaicaiy.A'ddih ("little eagle head") and his wife Kadjakgwe'x of Frog House. c. Tlkakucha.'ntc and his wife Caudage'h of Small Creek House. d. Katldja'ke and his wife K!wetlkla' of Eye House. e. Gayatkusati'n and his wife Yexahetckla' of the Kluknahaddi clan of Sitka. f. Kutce'n and his wife Catkego'x of the Dak- dentan clan of Hoona. 22. Clskahrt ("Green Spruce House"). a. Skandu-u'h and his wife Xatltsu of Frog House. b. Katlgeh. He was a's sister's son and at the death of a he inherited the wife. c. K!aca'ck and his wife Kandja'kU of Frog House. d. Yindeyank! and his wife Ki'ntsu of Frog House. (b, c, and d were brothers) e. Kutlna'tlk and Iiis wives Kitctukla' and Yedeki'n of the Katka-ayi'h clan of Sitka. The two were mother and daughter. f. Katckutaka'h and his wive Xana'x of the Kluknahaddi clan of Yandestakyah. g. K!atlaxe'tl and his wife Cudisge'h of Raven House. 23. Hakka'tcadutana (hrt) ("Leaving against the Plain House"). The people of this house "owned" the trail up-river leading to the interior and the name (somehow) refers to this. a. Tukwa-ayi'h and his wives Si'tsa and her older sister's daughter Kwe'tlkla. Both are of Eye House. b. Nitcka'KW and his wife DAk!rska'h of Frog House. c. Tukwa-ayi'h (named after a) and his wife Ste'k! of Raven's Wing House. d. Tsitinr'c- and his wife WuctinaxdsaXkU of Small Creek House. e. Klmdage'h and his wife Sa aXO of Frog House. Another informant, Dan Katseek of the Daklawedi clan, gave a somewhat different list of houses. His information probably represents the village during the years 1900-1910. Between the period represented in the census above and this later period the population had declined, the old cul- ture had disintegrated and many of the old houses had been abandoned. The following is his list, beginning at the upper end of the village: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. Kitk!luhit Stakinhit Tcithit Kitgucihit (5 of the first list) Kletluhit Tushit ("Shark House." Not in the first list). Cahit Xixtc!hit Tcak!kuhit (15 of the first list). Gauhit (16 of the first list). Kakhit Kuctahit ("Other House." A Ganaxtedi or Tidedi clan house. Not in the first list). Kutishit (9 of the first list). Yetlhit (10 of the first list). Haihit (13 of the first list). Tligucihit (18 of the first list). Xutshit (19 of the first list). Kithit (20 of the first list). Ciskahit (22 of the first list). Xetlhit (21 of the first list). The Chilkat tribe had two other permanent villages, Klaktu'h and Yandesta'kyah. The former was located about three miles below Klukwan on the laft bank of the Chilkat River, the latter about four miles from Haines (Chilkoot Barracks), also on the left bank. Klaktuh was abandoned by 1875, Yandestakyah about 1910. I have no information on Klaktuh houses and only the following on Yandestakyah. About 1900 there were these (named) houses at the town of Yandestakyah (beginning at the upper end of the village): 1. TukaiyehIt of the Cangukedih clan 2. KayAhaiyahrt of the Cangukedih clan 3. K!akhrt ("Small Creek House") of the Tlokwaha'di clan 4. Yetlhrt ("Raven House") of the Tlokwaha'di clan 5. Ge'Xtlukhit (named from a nearby mountain) of the Tlokwaha'di clan 6. Yetlkrtchit ("Raven's Wing House") of the Tlokwaha'di clan 7. Kauga'nihit ("Burned House") of the Kagwantan clan The town was considered as "owned" by the Tlokwaha'di clan. The Town of Chilkoot The Chilkoot (tcitlkutkwan) are sometimes grouped with the Chilkat, sometimes viewed as a separate tribe or division. They were one of the smaller groups. Krause gives eight houses and 120 inhabitants for the census of 1880. There was only one village, located on the south bank of the river below the lake. In 1890 the number at Chilkoot Mission was 106. The village was abandoned, probably in the years immediately following the Klondike 9 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS gold rush. The "head" clan was the Klokwaha dih (Raven) and this clan "owned" the town, traditionally because they had come there first (i.e., had "discovered" the place). Only two other clans, the Kagwantan and Cangukedih (both Wolf) were present. My informant" gave four large houses for the village as of ca. 1895. These were, beginning at the upper end of the village: 1. Tcakhit ("Eagle House") of the Wolf moiety. Four families lived in this house. 2. Kucdahit ("Otter House") of the Raven moiety. Four families lived in this house. 3. Cahit ("Mountain House") of the Raven moiety. Two families lived here. 4. Kaugiaiyahit ("Lowered-it-down House." So named because the sun had lowered the first house from the sky) of the Wolf moiety. Four families lived here. The foregoing four were "high rank" houses and the only ones bearing names. Scattered between them were nine other houses without names, each occupied by a single family. The Klokwahadih clan "owned" the river and lake. The people of Chilkoot and Yandestakyah are said to have "owned" the trails to the interior over Dyea and White Passes. The Tlingit view is that each house has a "history" back of it which accounts for or explains its name and the special features that set it apart (such as carvings, paintings, and so on). Only the persons of the house would know the details of this history and the recitation of these at ceremonies constituted a validation. The same concept underlies the titles to or ownership of clan territory and the legends, songs, dances, personal names, and other things constituting ownership of both tangible and incor- poreal things. Nonmembers of the owning group would never repeat these validations publicly lest they be thought of as presuming a claim to the things in question. This attitude made it difficult to secure relevant information from an informant on things not relating to his clan or household. I interpolate here a fairly typical legend of the origin of a house name.'2 The Origin of Valley House There was a man who spent all his time gambling. He would scarcely take time to eat but would merely warm a little dried fish, eat it, and then return to his gambling. One day as he was eating his little lunch the house chief said to his (own) wife, "If that man [pointing his finger at the gambler's back]'3 were living in his own house instead of depending on others he would have nothing." The gam- bler' s wife overheard this and that night she told him of it, adding, "Why don't you stop gambling? Why don't you hunt food and cut wood?" The gambler felt insulted and the next day moved his family out of the house and built a little shack down in a gully. It came to be known as Kakhit (Valley or Gulch House). Later when the family again moved to the village their house was still-called Kakhit. Some of the legends of other house names and house groups will be found in other parts of this account. Many are inseparable from clan histories. "Mrs. Paddy Ganat. She was born at Chilkoot about 1880. "2Told by Ed Warren of Klukwan. 13To point at the back of a person in this manner is an insult. House Groups of the Tantakwan The Tantakwan village of Katdukgun, founded about 1875, had seventeen houses of which eleven (eight?) were evi- dently Ganaxadi, six (four?) Tekwedih and three Daklawedih. Five Tekwedih houses and the one Daklawedih were built in one winter. The first to be completed was Xutshit (Bear House), built by Keya'-u. This house served as both dwelling and dance house while the others were being built. The other five built that year were said by GM to have been started, in the ceremonial sense, on successive days. As each house chief performed the breaking of the bow rite he was followed by another house chief who picked up the bow, thas signifying he, too, was starting a house. Each in turn also made the cry "I am drifting with the tide" in the necessary form. The houses were begun in this order (after Bear House) Xetlhit, Hinkahit, Katshit, Kithit, Canahit. All except Xelhit had totem poles in front. The entire work of building was done by the members of the Raven clans (Ganaxadi and Xashittan). Even children of five years were given "work" to do and everyone, includ- ing the children, was feasted and paid at the proper times. The Ganaxadi clan of the Tantakwan had the houses listed below. (The list differs somewhat from that given by Swanton, 1904, p. 400.) 1. G6.nwutlAcihr`t ("Pulling Ashore House" or "Drifted Ashore House"). Legend has it that this is the oldest house group of the clan, going back to the time of Raven. 2. Yetlhrt ("Raven House"). The two rear posts were carved with figures of Raven. This house group grew out of Pulling Ashore House. 3. Sakhrt ("Starfish House"). Three starfish were painted on its front. This household grew out of Raven House. The foregoing three houses are regarded as really one "household." The houses were always built with two ter- races inside, a hereditary right, a crest. As these people grew in number the people who formed Raven's Bones House and Skin House (below) wished to move out. They were given the right to build houses with one terrace. 4. Yetlsaxkihrt ("Raven's Bones House." This was also called Waktlde'dih (people of Waktl, Dundas Island). 5. Nuhrt ("Fort House"). This is merely a subdivi- sion of Raven's Bones House, the two counting as one "household." 6. Krdjiihrt ("Kidju House"). The kidju is a mythical bird, the "mother" of Thunderbird. 7. Tanhrt ("Sea Lion House") Also called Xatinne tihit, from Xatinneti, the name of Hall Cove on Duke Island. 8. Xashrt ("Skin House"). This group was often spoken of as the Xashittan and was probably well on the way to becoming a distinct clan; but in feasts they were spoken of as Ganaxadi or Ganwutlacihittan. Traditionally they are an off- shoot of house 1 The word Xas is a confusing one, even to the Tlingit. It has been variously translated as "moose," "cow," and "skin." Thus the Ganaxadi are regarded as consisting of four, possibly five, house groups. Numbers 1-3 constitute one such, 4 and 5 another, 6 another, 7 another. It seems that 8 is also thought of as such a group. There seems to be no name for such suprahouse units, and I know of no social 10 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT function they possess. They probably are taken into account in certain rights, names, and prerogatives. Thus, 1, 2, and 3 could build two-terrace houses, while 4, 5, and 8 could build houses with only one terrace. The following were given as the Tekwedih houses: 1. Katshit ("Kats-House"). Kats was the man who married a bear. A bear was carved on the planks or post over the door and a carved bear was placed at each end of the smoke hole. These last were called Gankahuttsi (smoke hole bears) and were a special property of this house. 2. Ganaxhrt (" Valley House"). This house derived from Katshit. Its special possession was kuwixu tsih (under-water bear), a mythical creature like a bear, but with two fins like killer whale dorsal fins. 3. Xutxhit ("Bear House"). Its special feature was a bear carved on the righthand corner post. 4. Xetlxit ("Thunderbird House"). A huge painting of the Thunderbird was on the house front. The Daklawedih clan had the following houses: 1. Kithit ("Killer Whale House"). Its special feature was a carved killer whale at either end of the smoke hole. 2. Gutchit ("Wolf House"). The two rear posts had wolf carvings. 3. Gaskohl"t ("Gasko House"). Gasko is the name of an island, probably Long Island, to the west of Prince of Wales Island. The name probably reflects the fact that this area was Tantakwan before the Haida moved into Alaska. The Aukkwan Clans and Houses The Aukkwan ("Lake People") clans evidently num- bered but two: K!linedi'h. Raven moiety. Their special crest is Dogfish. K!enta'n. Wolf moiety (probably Klentan, big house people) known as Wuckitan at Angoon. Their special crest is Shark. The only Auk village was Anskbuh (moved back) though Swanton (1904- p. 397) lists Tsantikihin at modern Juneau as a second. Auk village was probably abandoned about 1900. My informant, Charley Rudolph, remembered a few facts about it as of about 1885. At that time there were thirteen houses, eight of them bearing names. I have little informa- tion beyond this. The tribe is virtually extinct. The list of houses and the moiety affiliation is given, and the prob- able clan: 1. Kukhrt ("Box House"). Wolf moiety. Kukhittan clan. 2. Xutshrt ("Bear House"). Wolf moiety. Kagwan- tan clan. 3. Xetlhrt ("Thunderbird House"). Wolf moiety. 4. Gonakade'thft ("Water Monster House"). Wolf moiety. 5. Tuchrt ("Shark House"). Wolf moiety. 6. Kata hit ("Trap-for-Raven House"). Raven moiety. 7. Yaxtahit ("Great Dipper House"). Raven moiety. 8. Titlhit ("Dog Salmon House"). Raven moiety. There were also two large houses, unnamed, but affiliated with Great Dipper House. In addition there were two small houses of the Raven moiety. House Life The men of a household usually went together in a canoe to hunt, fish, gather wood, and so on. They were essentially a team but there was the further factor of liability in case of accident where other houses or clans were involved. Within the household no such liabilities could develop. Although women did most of the household tasks, the boys were expected to help, especially while the men were away. They carried water, took the food dishes and containers to the beach or river and washed them, and might even help with the cooking. Men returning from a trip expected to be able to sit around the fire and eat. Women were expected to keep the house clean. The sand around the fire should be renewed about every second day. A good housewife worked at these tasks even though she was the chief's wife. Boys liked to come to visit in the house of a good hostess. There the host lads would show them various things, such as heirlooms, and talk about them. A good housewife always fed the children. If such young visitors became a nuisance the hostess would say, "This house doesn't belong to you. Go to your uncle's house. Carry water for them and help them." Within the household there was real communism in food. For that matter no one, even an outsider, would be refused food and shelter. All Ravens are "brothers" and could not be refused. All Wolves are "brothers-in-law" to Ravens and likewise could not be refused. This was true of things other than food; for example, no one would refuse to lend a harpoon or a canoe not in active use. Even a lazy man would not be denied food within the house for he might go to another house of his clan, ask for food, and thus disgrace those of his own household. But if year after year a man persisted in being slothful then one of his kinsmen might upbraid him, telling him he would not feed him another winter; that he was a dis- grace to his house and clan; that he would become like a slave, depending on others for food; that he would be a disgrace to his grandchildren; that when his descendants stood up to "talk strong" (make a speech) to the people someone might stand up and say, "Why, I (or my grand- father) used to feed your grandfather." This should suc- ceed in shaming such a person. The descendants of a sluggard must be careful of their speech and behavior lest someone refer to their unworthy ancestor. There once lived a lazy man of the Nuhittan. One of his descendants became rich. Once when a visitor came to the house the host said, "I get so hungry I'm even willing to do my own cooking"-as if his parents and ancestors had always had slaves for such work. This has become a saying often spoken in jest and refers to the foolish talk of that man. There is a Tsimshian tale with a moral that also re- fers to the virtues of industry: A certain mother and daughter were inclined to laziness. The daughter mar- ried and moved away. She dried no fish. When asked why she was not preparing for winter she replied, "Oh, mother always dries fish for me." And the mother said her daugh- ter was drying fish for both of them. Winter came and it was a year of famine. These two were among the first to die. Although there was no debt slavery as such, it might happen that a ne'er-do-well could become so obligated that he was almost a slave. If such a one was in the wrong in injury or murder a kinsman would have to pay. Then the wrongdoer must go to his benefactor's house where he would be treated almost as a slave. If he had children, 1 1 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS other children would taunt them, or even call them the children of a slave. Property in Land Sunimer camps at special places for fishing and hunt- ing were usually "owned" by the house chiefs. The other men of the house were not obliged to accompany the house chief to the summer camps. Each man could go where he pleased, though not to "owned" places. The men of a household usually talked over their plans for the summer. Ownership of summer places was often based on the tra- dition that a great-uncle or some other clan ancestor or relative had "discovered the place." House chiefs often had a summer shack or a shelter at a favorite spot. Such an owner could not refuse his house- or clan-mates ac- cess to the place. In reality such an "owner" was merely a trustee. The people of a household customarily went to a certain place or to certain places. Everyone knew this and would re- spect their rights. Sockeye (red) salmon spawn only in streams where there is an accessible fresh water lake and such streams were considered of special worth. Dog salmon and humpback salmon spawn in almost every stream and such places were regarded as hardly worth the trouble of claiming ownership. Clan or family ownership of a place was based on a story or legend that "explained" the name. Outsiders not knowing these details could thus not back any claims they might put forward. For example, Indian River at Sitka is "owned" by the Kiksadi clan. Its name is Kasdehin (Kasde stream). Kasde was the name of the stream among the Frog People. One day a canoe entered the stream at high tide. The wind was blowing upstream. A man on the bank shouted, "Gudax yaku sawe h" ("Where from canoe come?"). A (frog) woman in the canoe answered, "Tca-u han a i ya'h kasdehinedi'h ca-a ya-uha'n" ("It is we, kasde stream people women we are," i.e., We are just the women from Kasdeh River). The moment this was said all the women disappeared into the water and the canoe had become only a log. So it is that the Frog People gave the name to the stream. And so it is that the Kiksadi can back their claims to the other places they own. Only they know the stories be- hind the names. If a man was camped at a creek claimed by his clan and household and a man of the opposite moiety came there, the visitor was not openly told of the ownership. He was invited in, feasted, and told how the hosts' ances- tors always came there to fish. A small gift was made to the visitor. This was, in effect, telling him the creek was claimed. The feast and the gift "made the visitor feel good." The guest might ask permission to fish a day or two, for example, to get a few red salmon to dry, if his own creek yielded only other salmon. He would never, as "brother-in-law," be denied such a favor. If a man came to another's creek while the owner was absent he might stay a day or two, but if the "owner" came the poacher was feasted and given a gift to serve notice that a prior claim existed. This held only between moieties, and it was evident that members of Wolf clans had rights to creeks regardless of individual clan mem- bership and regardless of tribe. The same held for Raven clans. Thus I was counted a "member" of the Ganaxtedih clan of Chilkat but there was never a question of my rights to sockeye salmon in the stream at Klawak, owned by the Ganaxadi. As a "brother" these rights were taken for granted. Had I been a member of a Wolf side I could have merely asked permission to fish and as a "brother- in-law" I could not be refused. To refuse me would be an insult to my clan and my wife. But a brother-in-law was expected to ask permission and his rights depended on consent, really upon his wife's membership in the owning clan. To some extent certain small creeks were the special preserves of individuals, usually house chiefs. Household groups, usually several families, went to certain places as a unit and the house chief was thought of as "owning" such a place. The larger and more important creeks were clan or moiety owned. The larger rivers such as the Chilkat, Taku, and Stikine were not "owned" in the same sense. Rather, clans and families had certain spots or branch streams that were owned. In any case "title" to hunting and fishing places was not absolute. Rather, only a nobody, a nitchkakau, would violate the traditional rights, whether of persons, households, or clans. I give two examples of these traditional rights: A chief of the Kaiyackittitan clan named Wanga'n owned the fishing stream called Yetl hi'nago ("Raven Stream") near Glenora on the Stikine. There he built a salmon weir nanmed Xutsca'tl ("Bear Trap"). Its posts were carved. He had many slaves, among them two women of the Siknaxa'ddi clan who were freed when the weir was finished. They were sent to the Clearwater branch of the Stikine where the Siknaxaddi had a fishing camp. In later times Yetlhinago came to be owned by Shakes the elder ("Old Shakes") of the Nanyaayih clan. Certain small streams were "owned" by certain clans for purely ceremonial purposes. Thus the creek called Tsikhi'ni near Klukwan14 was owned by the Ganaxtedih. If a person of the other moiety roiled this stream the Ganaxtedih would pretend to be angry. When next they gave a feast the offender was given an excessive amount of food and eulachon oil. He must consume all of it as a punishment. A person sometimes violated the rule as a sort of horseplay. Of course it served to call attention to him at the time of the feast. The Kagwantan clan had a similar ceremonial stream; the Dakistenah owned the one called Tsaxkwoh; and the Daklawedih claimed one called Dakcana'x. Social Relations If a man came to a strange town where he knew no one it was considered good form for him to say nothing until someone spoke to him. He would be asked, for example, "Where do you come from?" (Gudax sa hat keya h tin). If he were from Klukwan he would answer "Nakilh" (in- land, Klukwan being the only "inland" Tlingit town). This would also indicate that he was of the Ganaxtedih clan, that clan being considered as "owning" Klukwan through original or prior settlement there. The questioner, if of the Raven side, might then say, perhaps,"Xat suyel aiya'h" (I am Raven also) or name his clan. Or he might call the visitor by a kin term ("brother") to indicate his own clan. The visitor might then be asked, "Wa sas at yati'h naki'h" (How are things there?), and the visitor would give news of deaths, troubles, and so on. When a man came to a strange town it was only neces- sary for him to tell his name and the name of his father. This information would indicate his clan, his social status, and of what clan he was "child," that is, his father's clan and pedigree. Persons of any account would know all about his ancestry. 14The name comes from tsi' ku, the fish which is caught ear- liest in the year. 1 2 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT It was formerly customary to offer tobacco to all visitors. It is said that once upon a time a young man went to visit his sister's husband, and although he stayed on he was given no tobacco. At last he thought, "I guess he is not going to give me tobacco. Perhaps he has none." He got up to go, and as he passed the hearth where the day's clean gravel had been spread he picked up a pebble and put it in his mouth as if it were a cud of tobacco. This he did so he could go to the other houses and it would look as if he had tobacco in his mouth which his brother-in-law had given him. Since that time a host is always careful to keep tobacco on hand for visitors. The following tale is ascribed to the Tsimshian but is as much Tlingit as Tsimshian: A young man who lived with his uncle fell in love with his uncle's daughter. The two became lovers and this "made them bashful toward each other." When it came time to eat the young man would go to his mother's house. When she asked, "Will you eat?" he would reply, "No, I just ate." When he re- turned, his uncle's wife would say, "Why don't you eat?" and he would say, "I just ate." At night after putting out the fire he would go out of doors, then sneak into the girl's bedroom for the night. But he got so little to eat he became weak. One night after putting out the fire he saw a basket of mussels at the door. He ate some, but swallowed a splin- ter of shell. The sharp shell cut his insides so that he fell over and died. They found him in the morning and saw what he had done. The uncle went to his sister and asked if he ever ate at her house. Finally the girl con- fessed they had been lovers and were ashamed to eat together. From that time on it has been a rule that if a caller comes while the family is eating the visitor must eat; the host must get up and give his visitor food. If two persons meet a third who is a stranger to one of the two the common friend introduces them by saying, for example, "Kagwantan ahe'h" (Kagwantan he [or she] is). A man returning to his home village after an absence goes first to visit his sister's husband and the people of that house. Then he visits his uncles and aunts within his clan. If he is a prominent person his uncles or brothers arrange a small feast celebrating his return, inviting guests from both moieties. When a man of high rank makes a speech to his clan it is good manners to say, "We are all poor" (icanuh xan, poor we are). But LS, a Kagwantan of Klukwan, always addresses a gathering by saying "anya'dki kusitih tsu nitcka.ka'u wuh" (high caste there are and there are low people). This usually offends some persons in the audi- ence and these give him "hard words." They tell him who they are, that everyone knows everyone else and that there is no need for him to speak thus. The following tale is ascribed to the Tsimshian but the moral was accepted by the Tlingit: There was a certain (Tsimshian) chief who had twenty wives.15 He needed so many because he was famous for his hospitality and the numerous wives were necessary in order that there always might be plenty of food of all kinds and help to prepare it. He trusted his women to have all possible kinds of food on hand. One time he in- vited some visiting chiefs in. The house was full of food. He was a very proud man. He asked one wife for a dried salmon but she replied she had none. He asked the others one by one, but none had any. Now he also had many slaves and one female slave lived at the door. She, seeing his 151t is said Tlingit chiefs never had more than two wives. embarrassment, held up a half of a dried salmon and said, "Here, master, is a half salmon. Use it." But there was only enough for a tiny piece for each guest. Each piece was put on a huge platter and served. But the chiefs ate it as if it were a great deal. This they did to honor their host. When the guests had gone he ordered all twenty wives to go back to their people. And he married the slave woman. When she prepared a meal she would place it before him and say, "Master, it is ready now." The moral is that not only should a wife be a good manager, but also she should respect her husband as master. If a daughter be- came unruly she was told, "A woman must be afraid of her husband just as a slave should be afraid of her mas- ter. n (Tsimshian women address their husbands as na.xa'h [master] whereas Tlingit women address them as ax-xo'h [husband], not as aksa'tti [my master]. The last term is used by slaves in addressing their masters.) The Kinship System and Kinship Usages I made no attempt to record a complete list of kinship terms, since these were recorded by Swanton (1904) and treated in detail by Durlach (1928). I give a few additional terms, chiefly those referring to groups or categories of persons. In actual practice the Tlingit do not follow the formal scheme very consistently. Thus at Klawak I was always addressed as "my uncle" (akka'k) by a man 25 years my senior. He did so because he had had, about 1900, a real mother's brother who bore the same per- sonal name as my Tlingit name. Durlach cites many instances where there were variations from the abstract system. The term aknaxsatiyi'h kunahi t (lit., my close family real are) denotes the nuclear family of father, mother, and siblings. However, in practice it was generally used to mean the members of a household. The term given me as used by a man in addressing (in speeches) a group of persons of the opposite moiety is aksa.niha's, akdaketki' (lit., my father's brothers, my outside). Swanton (1904, p. 424) gives the term gonetkana'yi as meaning "opposites" or "my outside shell." Actually the word daketki' means "container" or "outside" and is also used for "womb, " "box," 1" shell, " or even " coffin." Metaphorically it means "those from whom I am born" (i.e., those of the opposite moiety, the father's moiety). The opposite moiety is sometimes referred to as gunatkahnayi'h (guna, "the other"; na, "clan"). A man of the Wolf (Eagle) moiety speaking to a group of persons of his own moiety addresses them, "Cangukedi'h yi-idek!akwata'n" (Men of Canku, to all of you I will speak). Or he may, among the northern tribes, vary this, as, "Kagwantan, yi-idekakwatan." This reflects the fact that in recent times, beginning perhaps a century ago, the Kagwantan clan has grown in prestige so that all persons of the Wolf moiety, regardless of clan, tend to refer to themselves as Kagwantan. This as an in- clusive term is also often used by persons of the Raven moiety when speaking of or to persons of the Wolf side. In similar situations a Raven man addresses his own moiety members as, "Kledena' yiidekakwatan" (all one people, to all of you I will speak). The translation of kledena as "all one people" is inadequate, but I could get no English counterpart. JB stated that the Raven moiety could be called Tlaiyenedih or Tlainedi'h. This, he said, meant "Underneath People," as under the shelter of a windfall log. 1 3 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS One informant stated that axhuni'h, "my friends," was used when speaking to a group which includes persons of several clans whether of the same moiety or not. Axnayi h or axnasAtti'h, "my clansmen," was used in address- ing a group made up of one's own clansmen, or in speaking of one's own clan. Other terms given me as applying to clan or moiety were the following: oha'nhas (opposite are), akikn'nAha (my opposites), xas.awe'h (op- posite people), xaxonke'h (our friends, i.e., of our moiety). DC stated that in former times in ceremonials an Eagle chief would address his side as "yiguhaya'x kwan kagwantan" (courageous people of Kagwantan). This state- ment may reflect the face that DC counts himself as a Kagwantan. Actually he is Nastedih. But, as mentioned above, the tendency among the northern Tlingit in recent generations has been to call all Wolf (Eagle) side people "Kagwantan. " A person trying to make peace between feuding indi- viduals or groups appeals to one (or both) of the parties by saying, "Have pity on my children," that is, provided he stands in a relationship allowing it. This appeal is called yaka!k!a' (good speech?). The usual term used in addressing a father's sister is aka't. But if what the man is going to say is something important to her he says "akatga'tsguh" (my auntie, or my little aunt). When two men of the same moiety meet after they have not seen each other for some time, they greet each other with the word tcaka'h, meaning "the same (moiety)." If one is Raven, the other Wolf, the greeting is tcagwa'ts- guh (opposite small). Kla.kguna'h cuwu'h (kinsmen through ancestors). This is a term applied to a group, usually for ceremonial pur- poses. Thus the Wolf clan of the Nass Tsimshian invited the Tantakwan Ganaxadi to a funeral potlatch because they counted each other as "kinsmen through ancestors," that is, through a marriage between the two some genera- tions back. Wucklauya'dki, used reciprocally between persons who are children of sisters; or between the children of female parallel cousins through sisters; or between two where the mother of one is the mother's mother's sister of the second. The term is used between males, between females, and between males and females. Wucklak!yadki is also a term used between persons who have an "aunt" in common. Akxu'nk!ih (my friends, or those I love) is not a kin- ship term but is used to denote one's close friends with- out reference to clan or moiety. The joking relationship is called yek! Aka'h (saying that to each other). The joking kin are called wutcinaya'dki (together persons children of). Teknonymy. -I do not know to what extent teknonymous terms or names were used in former times. DK gave his father's name as Ta'nkU, "but he was also called Tsai i'C ('father of Tsai')." A woman was often called similarly "mother of so and so." Kinship usages and customs.-It is only expectable that a people who emphasize kin and clan relationships as much as do the Tlingit should have a great many kin- ship usages. The Tlingit bear out such an expectation. A host of duties, rights, obligations, and social relation- ships are involved in the give-and-take of both everyday and what may be called ceremonial life. Swanton (1904, pp. 423-425) and Durlach have discussed some of these. But it would be necessary to have a long acquaintance with and intimate knowledge of Tlingit society to learn all of them and the intricacies of custom involved. The following items will serve to illustrate some of these further. Joking relationships.-Public joking and ribbing be- tween certain persons is expected, almost obligatory. Men whose fathers are of the same clan or women in a like relationship may exchange "insults." But badinage between a man and a woman is not good taste, except between a man and woman of the same age group and opposite moieties and therefore potential mates. Thus, A may refer to B as "a well-known necromancer." B may reply, "How is it that you were caught on the grave too?" Neither is insulted and those overhearing this are highly amused. Or at a potlatch X may relate how when he and Y were in Wrangell they met a woman and her child and the child called Y "papa." Y may have to wait until a favorable time comes to even this score but even- tually might relate how on that same trip they met a colored woman carrying a half-blood Indian child and that this child called X "papa." But there are certain vague bounds to such joking as regards house and clan affiliation. The jokers must be regarded as fairly close relatives. A and B may joke if the father of one is "child"'6of Kiksadi (Raven), the other a Ganaxtedi (Raven) of Sitka. But a "child" of Kagwantan from Klukwan may not thus joke with a "child" of Nan- yaayih of Wrangell; "they are to remotely related," though of the same moiety. Nor would a "child" of any Wolf moiety clan joke with a "child" of Tcucanedih, be- cause this clan is regarded as of low rank. A man was expected to advise a son-in-law freely. The two frequently were of the same clan, intermarrying clans and families being a usual thing. Women of the father's clan joke freely with the men who are "brothers-in-law" or otherwise potential mates. When GM was a lad the women of his father's clan would often say, "Hurry and grow up, George." (The slightly veiled meaning was that the woman making the remark wished he were grown so she could marry him or sleep with him.) GM always pretended he didn't get the meaning. But when he reached adolescence he used to tease these same women by saying, "Auntie, have pity on me." Or the two might tease each other by one' s remarking that the other had a nose or a face like his or hers. (This is a form of joking and teasing rather difficult for a non-Tlingit to comprehend but was a frequent verbal device.) Thus if a Raven man meets a Kagwantan (Wolf) woman he may say, "Kagwantan, the face." This creates glee all around. Some of the women of my age group whom I addressed as " sister-in-law" would sometimes publicly remark how much they would like to have a child with my blue eyes. This was never said except when it could be overheard and thus create merriment among the listeners. At Klawak, if my wife and I were walking down the village street, a man 25 years my senior loved to greet me from afar with, "Uncle, I wish you would hurry up and die so that I could marry your young wife." Men calling each other reciprocally "brother-in-law" joke with each other. Should they fail to do so, they become "ashamed," one thinking the other is too proud to joke. A man cannot joke or talk (except guardedly) with his sister. "Children" of the same clan (those whose fathers be- long to the same clan) joke with each other. A favorite way is to make remarks about the other's looks. "A person says he is "child" of, for example, Ganaxtedi if his father is of that clan. 14 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT A man and woman of opposite moieties may joke with each other to some extent. But between a man and a woman of his father's clan it is expected, even obligatory. The woman does it to show the honor in which she holds her clan's "child." Since the clans of the various tribes are equated, it means that such joking may obtain be- tween individuals of, say, Klawak and Yakutat, or even with non-Tlingit groups such as Haida and Tsimshian. A man or woman jokes with a brother's children. A favorite way is to call such a child some term such as "long nose" or "big eyes," especially if the uncle or aunt is reputed to have such a feature. The child usually makes no reply, but is happy, knowing the remarks re- fer to a trait of the speaker, thus showing he is a "child" of their clan. GM, a Ganaxadi "child" of Tekwedih, met aTekwedih and asked, "Do you know any good news?" The other replied, "Yes. I hear that so-and-so [a Tekwedih] has one eye which is drying up." This was a joke. A man also jokes with his daughter-in-law. This often takes the form of saying in jest what he could not say in seriousness. Thus if the wife is thought inconsiderate of her husband, the father-in-law will wait for a chance to wisecrack at her in the presence of his clansmen. For example, he may say that a certain young man of his own clan is flirting with her. Or he may remark that the daughter-in-law is trying to flirt with so and so, a wholly innocent member of his clan. Or he might say, "I'm after her; too, but she always turns me down." This greatly delights the clansmen and the daughter-in-law is also expected to laugh and take it in good part. But if her flirtations are serious the father-in-law may say, "Yes, she chases me too. I don't often accept but I like to sleep with her now and then." The father's clansmen regard his son as a "son" and for love of him try to straighten out the ways of the wife. If the father- in-law is a very old man he may say (publicly) that he would like to sleep with his daughter-in-law. She is ex- pected to answer that he is "too young." Though not on the joking level, there is another re- ciprocal relationship between brothers-in-law, real or otherwise. Thus a man's wife may say to him, "Let us give some food to so and so," naming her real brother and one she calls "brother." The food is taken to them and each recipient returns a gift, sometimes a valuable one, to the husband. This sort of gift is called sik-ka'ddi, "on the dish," because it is always placed on the empty dish when given. Related to the preceding is the following custom. When a near kinsman of a woman, say an uncle, comes to visit at her village she may say to her husband, "My uncle has just come. Why don't you give something to him?" She (or he) then takes a platter of food to the uncle, or they invite the uncle to their house and make the gift to him there. The uncle asks, "Who is this from?" The wife answers, "From your brother-in-law." When he has finished eating he sends a gift back with the dish, per- haps ten blankets or even a gun or canoe. The uncle does this to show his pleasure that his niece and her husband married in the proper way and not foolishly and he shows "respect" for his "brother-in-law" and, since his niece cannot do her share in getting wealth, he helps her and her husband. A man must invite his wife's brother now and then and give a small feast for him, especially if the brother-in- law has been away for a time. In return the guest gives his brother-in-law a gift. This may be small or large, say a fine rifle. The recipient should not store this away but should show it around and tell who gave it. The gift is made to "show respect" for his sister through her husband, because her brother may not speak to her. Kinship taboos.-Avoidance relationships include brother and sister and a man and his mother-in-law. The first is most rigorous and is extended to all of the speaker's generation within the moiety, but with less rigor. Thus a man may speak reservedly to his mother's sister's daughter (if she is younger) for purposes of in- struction or admonition. This avoidance is called akutli'ke dugla'k! (or dudi'k) (embarassed his sister, or brother). A violation calls for the censure, dugla'k! ktlel aku'tlka (to his sister not bashful); or it may lead to an even harsher phrase, ya.hiXkU asiH adjayu!yek uwanuk (he is a sorcerer; that is why he does it). I am counted as Raven by the Tlingit, because I was given a Raven name. In numerous instances my Wolf brothers-in-law introduced me to their wives, my "sis- ters." In no instance did any of the acknowledge the introduction or speak to me, but looked at their toes instead. It was stated to me as follows, "Brother and sister do not speak to each other after the age of ten or twelve" (or probably after the boy goes to live with his uncle). If one or both are married, they converse through the spouse or other third person. Or, again, brother-sister taboo could be described thus: After puberty brother and sister must be very circumspect. They must not speak or converse except about important or necessary things. Since a boy usually lived with his mother's brother while a girl remained with her parents, this was not too great a hardship. Al- though the primary taboo was between brother and sister, it also applied within the clan and moiety, all men and women of the same generation and moiety being counted as brothers and sisters. FW stated the avoidance custom thus: The taboo opera- tive between blood brother and sister is extended to all clan "sisters" but is less stringent. Conversation between clan brother and sister is restricted but not rigidly taboo, the explanation being that speech may be carried on guardedly "if it is necessary." FW stated that the taboo between a female and her mother's brother was as rigid as between brother and sister. She also stated that there is an equally rigorous taboo between a grown male and his mother. Thus, she said, her son would not help her across the street, but might ask someone else to do so. The following anecdote, a real event to the Tlingit, was related to illustrate the brother-sister taboo. It also is an example of the feeling that the totem animals are regarded as kin, and in a sense as persons.'7 A group of Tekwedih women once went on a berrying trip in a canoe. After they had filled their baskets they started back along the trail to the beach where they had left the canoe. One of the women tripped and spilled her basket of berries. She stopped to pick them up, while the others went on. As she stood up to go she heard a huffing and puffing immediately behind her. She knew it was a bear, so close she could almost feel his breath on her neck. She was very frightened but had the presence of mind to turn her head and say, "Brother! What are you doing following me, your sister!" On hearing this, the bear felt so ashamed that his ear dropped and he turned and walked back the way he had come. (The Tekwedih, the clan of this women, were regarded as especially"close" to the bear, the bear being their chief crest. However, the bear was derivatively the "brother" of all persons of 17There is also the feeling that all animals are "animal- people." They can understand the Tlingit or other Indian tongues but not the language of non-Indians. 1 5 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS the Wolf-Eagle moiety and accordingly the brother-in-law of all Raven side persons.) The mother-in-law taboo is stringent. LS and his wive lived in a two-room house in Sitka. If LS returned home while his wife was absent, he and his mother-in-law car- ried on any necessary conversation by the fiction of "speaking through" the daughter. For example, the mother would say, "Daughter, ask your husband if he had luck hunting today." LS might reply, "Wife, tell your mother that I saw a deer but could not kill it." Usually when a man enters a house and finds only his mother-in- law present he turns and goes out without a word. There is no comparable taboo between a woman and her parents-in-law, though she must act with great re- serve toward them.'8 If a man comes to a village where he is a stranger, good form or manners dictate that he say nothing until someone asks him where he comes from or some other relevant question which will call forth a relevant reply. Thus a Ganaxtedih from Klukwan arriving in Sitka would wait until someone said, "Gudax sa hat keya tin" (where from to here you come?). The reply could be "naki"' (inside)'9 or "naki' klakwa'n." This would indicate not only his town but also his clan, since the Ganaxtedih are considered to "own" Klukwan. Or he might reply, "Caka- kwan hat" (head of the river people I am), "Was sas at yati naki?" (How are things acting inside?, i.e., How are things at Klukwan?), and the visitor would give news of deaths, marriages, troubles, and so on. Early in the questioning the clan affiliation of both parties becomes known. Our Ganaxtedih visitor may give his personal name. Since all such are "owned" by lineages (households or "families"), the other would at once know his clan, house affiliation, and his social status as well. If the other is likewise Raven he may say, "Xatsu yetl aiya"' (I am Raven also). He would then probably give his own name. The two could then use kin terms such as "brother" or "uncle" in addressing each other. If the two men are not of the same moiety the Sitka man would say at some point that he was Wolf (Eagle) or give his clan or name. Or a man coming to a village for the first time asks for someone he knows or where a house of his own clan may be found. Thus he is among "friends." If his clan is not represented in the town he might ask for a house of his moiety or the house of his wife's or father's clan. No Tlingit could possibly find himself in a world of strangers. There would always be some individual or group to tie with, even though the ties might be tenuous from our point of view, or involve relationships several generations back. A brash individual might reply to a question by giving his moiety or clan, as, "yetl ayaxa t" (Raven I am) or "ganaxtedi'h ayaxa t" (I am of the Ganaxtedih clan). My impression is that Durlach's statement (p. 32) that "between the ages of twenty and forty people are very reserved [conservative] in their use of relationship terms" hardly fits actual practice. Nearly all the Tlingit with whom I was well acquainted addressed me by kin terms rather than by my Tlingit name, and I reciprocated to the extent of my knowledge. Women of the same clan are said to get along well with each other "because they love each other." But some women of different clans often quarrel with each other. Thus sisters-in-law, co-wives, and the wives of two brothers are sometimes called duatAca (hating wives, or hating women) if they are of a quarrelsome 15Cf. Durlach, pp. 36-37. 19A person from the south would say "ikki' ." disposition. To lessen the hazard of such enmity co-wives should be sisters and brothers should marry into the same clan. If the people of a household marry properly, with due regard for these considerations, the men of the house- hold will be wucklauyadki (children of sisters, or the equivalent) to each other, as will the wives be to each other. (See the list of house inmates given for Klukwan, pp. 31-38). A special relationship holds between a person and his father's clansmen. Thus, if I, a Ganaxtedih, meet a mem- ber of the Wolf moiety whose father is Ganaxtedih I say to him, for example, "kitgucihittan, ganaxtedih ya'dki" (person of Killer Whale's Fin House, child of Ganaxtedih). He will then give me a small gift. The greeting form is always employed but a gift is given or expected only at the first meeting or later infrequent meetings. This rela- tionship is called kunA'x yawaka'h, equivalent to "close friends." This relationship may also be on a joking plane. Thus a person might say to his father's brother (or any- one he called by the same term), "Ho+, Kagwantan yaddi, duwa'h" (child of Kagwantan, his face). This was making fun of the face of the person addressed, teasing him. If he resented it he might reply, "Tea! yituta.'x xwaiya'h" (from among you, I look the same). Persons whose fathers belong to the same clan are expected to rib each other when they meet. There are patterned jokes between women, men, and men and women who stand in such a relationship. A man might say to a woman, "yatleka'h" (face of a man), and she to him, "yetlicawa't" (face of a woman). Other jokes might refer to personal habits and many would be classed as obsceni- ties in our culture. Between men the joking may involve reviling each other or making a pretence of quarreling. Obligatory giving.-There is a type of obligatory giving which is called ke'nas. It is an exchange of gifts between men of opposite moieties given by or through a sister or niece or other female relative who is married to the second man. Thus, if A and B are clan brother and sister and C is married to B the gift exchange will be, first B to A, then A to B with the second gift (A to B) always of much greater value. An actual instance will illustrate the way it operates and some variants of the usual procedure. In the days of the Klondike gold rush, DC was making fabulous wages packing in from Dyea to the head of Lake Bennet. He bought a revolver, holster, and shell belt.20 A woman of his clan, the Nastedih, came to him, gave him $ 1.50, saying as she did so, "This is kenas." He asked what she wished for her husband in return. She named the gun, holster, and belt, at that time worth between fifteen and twenty dollars. He was obligated to give them to her (for her husband). Had he not done so, she would have walked away in a huff and would have been offended for life. And her husband would probably have divorced her, seeing how little her kin thought of their "sister." The kenas giving is "all through love" and it shows "respect." A woman's clan brother is her xwaye'h (dear- est friend, despite the taboo on familiarity between them). To avoid direct contact between blood brother and sister the following procedure may be followed: A and B are brother and sister; C is married to B; A is married to D (who is not C's sister). C gives a little calico as a kenas gift to D. Through D, A must then give whatever had been 20This was the year (1899?) when the rate for this carry was one dollar per pound. DC would carry a load from Dyea to Ben- net in one day. Then he would rest a few hours before trotting back. After a few more hours' rest he would make another trip, earning $100 per day. 16 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT asked for as the kenas return gift.2' However, one must not overdo the thing; perhaps once in a year or two may be often enough. Sometimes the husband may make the first gift directly to his brother-in-law. The exchange need not be between real brothers-in-law, but between a man and any member of his wife's clan. Kenas also operates between a husband and his wife' s uncle (mother's brother). Thus a Kiksadi man named Hrmse-xt was married to a woman of Wuckitan. He sent her to her uncle with a kenas gift and she asked for two of his slaves. He had to give them "to show respect for his niece." But a man would not try to work the kenas racket to such an extent with a wife' s clansman who was not her close blood relative. The kenas principle, however, may be used to some extent with any person of the wife' s moiety. Thus, I am counted as of the Ganaxtedih (Raven) clan. DC is married to a Kiksadi (Raven) woman who is therefore my (moiety) "sister." One day he came to me with a salmon lure, say- ing, "Brother-in-law, for kenas wouldn't you like to have this salmon spoon which I myself made?" I had to reply, "Why, of course, brother-in-law, I would like to have it. How much?" He named a price about ten times its actual value and I paid-to save face and "to show respect" for my "sister." In the spring of 1934 a certain Kiksadi woman of Sax- man brought a gift to JJ, saying, "This is a kenas gift for your daughter." He had to accept it, though it was but a cheap calico dress worth $1.50. In return she asked for a certain skiff worth perhaps $30. This was for her husband and he had no choice but to give it to her, for to refuse would have been an insult to his sister. A man wishes to give a potlatch but would like more wealth before doing so. He sends his wife to her clansmen with small gifts. Before the time for the potlatch they send their "brother-in-law" return gifts amounting to many times the value of the gifts they received. PERSONAL QUARRELS All insults (xwe) passed between men call for settlement but quarrels among women do not. The worst insults are references to "bought back" or "descendant of slave," where there is such a stigma in the ancestry of the per- son addressed. The sting of these demand revenge. (Less serious bickerings may be forgotten after the heat of argument has passed.) The insulted man goes to his clans- man and says, "I was insulted (by so-and-so). I am going to die." He goes about armed, prepared to avenge the insult and when next he meets his opponent he kills or is killed. He never kills from ambush but face to face. The other, knowing he has passed the insult, also goes prepared. In such a case no blood price is paid, since everyone knows of the insult. Rarely, however, an inter- clan feud may develop. Only a killing will wipe off the stain of an insult. An insult even by a clansman calls for killing. If a man insults a woman her brother or other close kin is expected to avenge her. If such a killing is interclan a peace ceremony is necessary. If woman insults woman the two fight (no killings are remembered). If the insulted one wins, the matter is settled, the score even; but if she is bested the grudge remains. Minor quarrels between men were settled by inviting the injured party and a few of his clansmen to a small feast where gifts were also given. The injured party gave a return feast. X and Y are of the same clan; in a drunken brawl X bit off Y's ear; X gave such a feast and paid Y quite a sum of money for the injury. Men seldom get into petty quarrels the way women do but theirs are more serious and may lead to killings and feuds. The most serious of these are between members of different moieties, but interclan troubles within the moiety do occur, though not so often. For example A might say to B in anger, "Your ancestors owe us (our clan) so much money and so many slaves," or "Your ancestors were slaves." This last is called wu'dduwaxwe'h and is the dead- liest insult possible when addressed to a high caste person. (Those of low caste would pay little attention.) It would in- 21LWhen the first gift is made the giver says, "aka h ixxwa'h ke'nas" (for from you to get kenas). volve the whole membership of both clans and lead to kill- ings or at least to fights. Settlement can be achieved only by a peace ceremony, as in war. Even after such a cere- mony the thing is remembered for generations. But if women hurl these same insults the results are less violent and the settlement is achieved by a minor ceremony. Quarrels between a man and a woman (not his wife) in the same house may involve a formal settlement if they are high caste. Quarrels between men of the same house are usually settled by a mere exchange of small gifts. But if the two remain sullen and stubborn the people of another clan invite the clan of the two to a house and seat them next to each other. The chief or speaker of the host clan makes a speech and the chief may perform a dance. The host group gives each of the two a gift. After returning home the two men are expected to exchange gifts. The one to blame is thought of as having been punished, because he forced an outside clan to effect a settlement. The outside clan performs the service "for the honor of their brothers- in-law," that is, the clan of the disputants. Some time afterward the man most at fault may invite the outside clan to his house to receive gifts. If two men of different clans quarrel and part with bad feeling, the two do not look at each other or speak until the thing is settled. For example, if A "hits B with words" (says something offensive), B must not make any over- tures toward patching up the quarrel; such overtures must come from A. But if A has good sense he will go to his house chief and tell him the story. The house chief then sends him to the clan "speaker" and A repeats the story to him in a low humble tone. The speaker then goes to A's house chief and the whole clan assembles there to discuss the matter. B's whole clan is then invited to A's house and A gives B a present of perhaps from twenty to fifty blankets. The two speakers make a speech. The fol- lowing day B's clan invites A's clan and B gives A a re- turn gift. (Clansmen may have aided both A and B in the gifts.) For such an affair there is no feasting, but dances are sometimes performed. If men of the same clan quarrel, the one at fault (as above) gets his house mates together and they go to the 1 7 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS other's house. Food is given the visitors and the two principals exchange small gifts. This ends the matter. The following incident would probably never have occurred in the days before commercial fishing, but it illustrates the readiness to take up the challenge of an insult, the premium put on proper behavior. A young man of the Tantakwan was fishing for a cannery at a cer- tain creek. His uncle (mother's brother) asked him to throw some fish ashore so he could dry them. The nephew replied, "I can't give you fish, I sell them. Go up there and catch some for yourself." No right-thinking nephew would treat his uncle in this manner. So the two armed themselves. One day in the house of the uncle the nephew killed his uncle, but the latter killed the nephew as he fell. The creek "belonged" to the uncle and the nephew would have inherited it. To this day no Tantakwan will fish in that stream, for they say the two killed each other over the stream, not over the salmon, and the stream was their property. Women are regarded as being much more quarrel- some than men and may fight over trifles. They may fight by scratching, biting, or pulling hair. But the usual en- counter involves hurling insults. Bad blood may arise even between women of the same household. Incidents given me as examples included the following: one woman receives a larger gift at a potlatch than the other; one receives a name at a potlatch, and the other does not. The slighted one makes derogatory remarks in public. Or the child of M strikes or takes a toy from the child of N and the mothers exchange left-handed compliments, always in public. After this initial encounter the two do not speak until the affair is settled. To make peace one of them goes to a male go-between from her clan. He goes to the other and states that a settlement is desired. The go-between invites the woman and a few of her fe- male kin to a small feast. A return feast is also in order. It is in their nature for women to quarrel, even over petty things. The usual form is to throw insults about blots on the family escutcheon, such as slavery or witch- craft. A quarrelsome woman sometimes hurls epithets and insults at a man-again always in public. But a man takes no notice, pretends not to hear, and simply walks away. It may happen that two women of different clans get into a quarrel. A says bitter things to B. She can get the best of A as follows: B, without mentioning the affair to her husband, goes to the men of her clan, tells them what A has done and gives them gifts called kis. They now out- do themselves in giving gifts to B's husband. With this property he gives a potlatch. Since everyone will know the source of the wealth, A's clan is outdone, beaten, and B and her clan have gained much face. When children quarrel the elders pay little or no atten- tion, for children "don't know what they are talking about." Children should be trained not to reply to the foolish words of another child. Wise parents pay no attention to what gossip the children may carry to them and will tell the children to hear gossip "only outside," that is, not to carry it inside the house. The following moralistic tale is related: Once upon a time there lived in the village of Kake two men of the same clan but of different houses. One became very ill and in his delirium dreamed that the other was working sorcery to cause his illness. The next day he told his wife the dream. His small daughter over- heard. The next day the little girl and the small daughter of the other were playing and in a childish tiff the second struck the first. The injured one told the other what her father had said and the other carried the tale to her father. He dressed in his war costume and came to the sick one. Both were hardboiled veterans of a war with the Haida. The sick man donned his war outfit and, since he could not stand up, got the other to sit on a box. With their respective nephews standing by as "seconds," each stabbed at the other until both fainted. When they came to they resumed fighting until both were dead. This was watched from the door by the people of another clan. The chief of this clan then harangued (hit with words) the two nephews, so they did not pick up the quarrel. The daugh- ter of the one was at fault for telling what her father had said; the other girl was at fault for repeating it. Both sets of parents were at fault for not training the children better. This tale is told as an example of the trouble which improperly brought-up children may cause. Parents should tell their children, "If you carry tales; if you don't do as we tell you, you will not live long." And so it is. Elsewhere (Olson in Haring, 1956, pp. 675-687) I have gone into some detail about child rearing and education. Mrs. Q has a reputation for quarreling at the slightest provocation. She tried to lay a part claim to Mountain House in which Mrs. DC has an interest, the latter being a Kiksadi. Mrs. Q's claim is false because she is of Wolf House, but her father was a Kiksadi. Mrs. DC caused her to lose much face in the quarrel by saying, "From among your house-people your aunt was shot at in the graveyard. I don't consider you as high caste as myself." (For witch- craft in the family drags down or disgraces the kin, just as the black sheep or criminal in a good family reflects on the kin in our own society.) LIABILITY IN ACCIDENTS As was mentioned, when men go on a hunting party or women on a berrying trip, care is taken that all belong to the same clan and if possible to the same household. For if there is an accident to an outsider the clan of the leader of the party is held liable. If the accident occurs on land no serious consequences may arise. The rationale is that in a land accident it is possible "to see where it happened" and a payment for injury would settle the matter. Of course ordinarily such groups belong to the same clan or more commonly to the same household, and in such cases there is no claim of liability. But in accidents at sea that involve loss of life, the clan losing a member has a claim against the other. The fol- lowing actual case will illustrate, and it will show to what extent clan interests outweigh family interests and how the concept of "getting even" in terms of money or lives affects clan and family life. The following took place about 1915: DC, my Sitka informant, was married to a woman of the Kiksadi clan. When their son was about fifteen, DC took him and a second lad out trolling for salmon in DC's salmon boat. A storm blew up and they ran for shelter behind St. Lazaria Island. There they anchored and DC and his son were put ashore to hunt gull eggs, the second lad taking the skiff back to remain on board. After gather- ing eggs, father and son returned to the beach and hailed the boat. The lad on the boat made the tragic mistake of not securing the skiff before he stepped into it and somehow it was carried away. He was unable to start the motor and the son decided, against his father's advice, to swim out, start the motor, and retrieve the skiff. But a swift tidal current was running, he misjudged his course and was carried past the boat. The frantic father signalled the lad aboard to cut the anchor line, which he did. But 1 8 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT boat, boy, and skiff were only drifting, and in the icy waters the son was soon helpless and was drowned. The father could do nothing, since it would have been hope- less for him to make any rescue attempts. Eventually the boat drifted ashore and was wrecked but the lad aboard managed to save himself. Two days later boats left Sitka to search for the miss- ing party and eventually found father and the castaway lad. The boat was a toatl wreck. The body of the son was never found. Now a part of Tlingit belief about death is that land otters somehow know about imminent drownings and rush toward the drowning person. If they reach him he turns into a land otter spirit. Accordingly every effort is bent toward recovery of the body of the drowned person. In accordance with this, as well as the more understandable hope of being able to carry out the normal ceremonies, the father offered a high reward for the recovery of the body. By Tlingit law the father and his clan (the Nastedih) were liable. The Kiksadi clan had lost a member and could demand indemnity. The Kiksadi held a meeting and after long deliberation decided not to levy a price on the father and his clan. They arrived at this consensus be- cause the father had offered the reward for the finding of the body. Also he had lost a boat valued at about four thousand dollars. But in Tlingit law, the father and his clan were liable and had the Kiksadi decided on compen- sation there would have been no way out but to meet the obligation. INJURY The following was told as an actual incident, which is slightly involved: a man, A, of the Ganaxadi clan was married to B, a Tekwedih woman. C, a Ganaxadi woman, was married to D, a Tekwedih man. D's nephew, E, lived with him. C, D, and E went to visit A and B. While there they got drunk and E cut D's face. B was angry at what he had done, especially since he did it while a guest at her house. So she cut E's face. Later she went to her uncles and told of it. The uncles collected considerable property and gave it to both D and E, thus "covering them with property." This was done to protect the honor of the Ganaxadi clan. The foregoing settlement with much property would be possible only for the rich. Small gifts without for- malities would have sufficed had the participants been poor. MARRIAGE AND DIVORCE The basic rule regarding marriage is that the spouses must be of opposite moieties.22 This is understandable in that age (generation) mates within the moiety use the brother-sister terms, or may do so. This is the only stringent marriage rule. Marriages should also be within the social class, but since these classes are not sharply divided and are to a certain extent flexible this intraclass endogamy is merely a strong tendency, not an arbitrary 'law." In the old days when several primary families occupied a single house there was a strong feeling that all the married women of the house should be sisters or at least clan sisters. It was believed that there would be less tendency for the women to quarrel if they were thus related. One informant (BB) explained the rule of moiety exogamy as follows. When Raven created Eagle he said to him, "Now I am going to make you with your head and tail white but your body black. When you fly about it will be a sign to people, 'You must marry a different color' (wutc guna'deh, i.e., a different clan).23 When an intra- moiety marriage takes place, as it does extremely rarely, it is said of the persons, "Look at that white eagle." The Nexadi clan of the Sanya tribe is regarded by the other tribes as being really of the Eagle (Wolf) moiety. Yet the Nexadi marry into both the Tekwedih (Eagle-Wolf) and the Ganaxadi (Raven) clans. Because of this they are some- times referred to as "white eagles" (glettcak). 22The only exception is among the Sanya tribe (Sanyakwan) in which the Nexadi clan may marry either into the Tekwedih or Ganaxadi. However, the Nexadi never speak of themselves as Raven or Wolf but as Eagle. (See the section on the Nexadi clan.) 23This may reflect an ancient association of the moieties with colors. It should be remembered also that among the northern Tlingit the Wolf moiety is called Eagle. Among the very highest nobles marriage was usually arranged with a family of comparable rank in another tribe. Thus the parents of Yisyat, a young man of the Kagwantan clan of Klukwan picked Nuteyi'h, a girl of the Ganaxtedih of Wrangell, as a worthy mate. Her mother had married chief K!oxcuTh, a Nanyaayih. Several canoes made the trip to Wrangell. (Preliminary arrangements had already been made and Nuteyih's parents had con- sented to the marriage.) The visitors went to Koxcuh's house and waited with their gifts of coppers and slaves. Koxcuh called his daughter out of her room. As she came out her father and his clansmen sang a song in the Tsimshian tongue. At the end of the song the bride was led to a seat at the groom's side. He presented her with a copper half a fathom long, valued at eight slaves. Her father gave her a second of equal value. He also gave the groom a song valued at one slave. I do not have further data on the gifts. If the bride's father was rich and had a number of slaves, he assigned one of them to carry the bride's blankets and other possessions to her new home. He might also give this slave to the daughter. In either case the status of the family, especially that of the bride, was raised. It would long be remembered and spoken of as guxtc wu tilnnah du gatlna'tanih (a slave carried her pos- sessions). In quarrels, especially between women, the one whose family had done such a thing would say to the other, "In your family did a slave carry a daughter's possessions ? " Marriage arrangements and ceremonies for commoners were less formal and less elaborate than those of the no- bility. It must be remembered that there were many social ranks, from low to high, rather than fixed classes or castes. Most marriages were between partners of approxi- mately equal status. It should also be kept in mind that 1 9 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS there were several types of preferential mating, such as between a man and his mother's brother's daughter. But such preferred mates were not always available. Many marriages were run-of-the-mill affairs, with only rank and moiety considered. But there was a decided tendency for certain clans to intermarry. A man would be hesitant about marrying a woman of a higher rank than himself, lest in a quarrel she throw it up to him. He would also hesitate to marry a woman of lower caste. In former times these decisions were considered by the parents, who arranged such things. Parents were inclined to plan a marriage while the potential mates were mere children. Thus in the 1930's Mr. and Mrs. T. of Klawak made periodic visits to Kake, partly in order that their daughter of seven might keep acquainted with "her future husband," a lad of ten, the son of Mrs. T.'s brother. Thus many children grew up with the expectation of marrying a person already chosen by the parents. Romantic love in our sense counted but little, though love-matches were known. Thus a young man who fancied a certain girl for wife would (or might) speak to his father. The father and mother would talk the matter over, and if they agreed to the match they paid a visit to the girl's parents. There the father spoke to the girl's father as follows: "My friend, I'd like to talk to you about my son. He would like to take your daughter." There would be no reply until the girl's parents talked over the matter. The girl would be asked if she were willing. If she refused or was disinclined this ended the matter, but if she agreed the marriage arrangements were carried out. The groom's clansmen were expected to contribute but most of the brideprice was supplied by the groom's father or probably more often by his uncle. Some time later (or even as soon as the next day) the groom's party, consisting of perhaps ten or twenty people of his clan went to the bride's house. They took with them perhaps a hundred blankets, a gun, and some other gifts. The bride and her parents seated themselves at the head of the house, the groom's party at the door end. The groom's maternal uncle made a speech addressed to the bride's father: "My friend, my nephew wishes to marry your daughter. I know that he is healthy, smart, ambitious for wealth, a good workman, and a good hunter. She will therefore never be poor. I have watched him through the years. I hope they will marry. That is the reason I have come with him." The bride's father then answered in kind, "I believe what you say. I understand about your nephew marrying my daughter. My daughter, too, is good. Your nephew will never be poor if he marries her, my friend. Now I let go of my daughter." He then called his daughter to stand in front of him. He then said to the groom, "Come and stand here beside my daughter." Four men of the groom's party then took the gifts and placed them in the left rear corner. They counted out the blankets and placed them in piles of ten. Then they called out the gun and other gifts. The bride's father gave his approval of the amount and the groom's party, including the groom, went home. The next day the bride's father sent word he wished to see his daughter's husband. In the meantime he (the bride's father) had counted out perhaps forty blankets. The father now addressed his son-in-law as nephew (a reflection perhaps of the fact that ideally the son-in-law would be the nephew): "My nephew, I am glad you are married to my daughter. Remember me, my nephew. I am old. I can no longer make money. You are to help me. In the summer you will help me with the fishing and in the winter with getting wood." The groom then answered, "Yes, my uncle, I will." The father-in-law then took one blanket from the pile of forty and put it around the groom's shoulders and gave him the other thirty-nine. The son-in- law then thanked his father-in-law. It was formerly customary for the newlyweds to live a part of the year with the bride's parents, a part of the time at the groom's house. Where the young man lived with his maternal uncle and married the daughter, resi- dence presented no problems. When the wedded pair were of different villages, the bride went to live with the hus- band. In such marriages fairly lengthy visits to her family were customary. In former times incest (marriage or elopement within the moiety) was punished by death. In recent times some cases have occurred. X of Sitka married a woman of his own moiety but of a different clan. Both are high caste but the children have only American names. Their clans- men will not even talk to them or recognize them. Only their mother or mother's mother could give them names but the grandmother refuses to do so. When the grand- mother dies the mother may attempt to give them names but no one will give recognition to the names. So these valuable names will be lost, since the wife has no sisters. In another instance a Sitka Gutchittan woman married a Tcucanedih man of Hoona; she died soon after. It is be- lieved that in such marriages the wife will not live long or the children are likely to be deformed. Even when slaves were allowed to marry it was ar- ranged that they marry in the proper way. But incestuous love affairs, although not common, did occur despite the vigilance of parents. A Tsimshian man, PS, married a Sitka Kiksadi woman and came to live in Sitka. Their son, LS, named Skauwutlye'tl (who of course is a Kiksadi), married a Kiksadi girl named Anwugi'k. They have (now) three children; but these children can never receive native names. Names must come from the mother's clan but none of the family will allow the mother or her mother to give names because she married within her clan. So the high names the chil- dren should have will pass outside the family. One of the high names is Katlia'n. The Kagwantan would not allow this name to be given either, because Katlian's father was a Kagwantan. JD began an affair with a girl of the Tiyinedih Raven clan. (He is of the Ganaxadi so the two were "brother and sister.") It started by her crawling into his bed. She mar- ried soon after but the child she bore was his. The two carried on the affair for many years. She is now a widow and still loves him. In public she swears at him, curses him, and makes fun of him (to divert suspicion). In pri- vate she makes love to him, often sticking out her tongue, asking to be kissed.24 Each Christmas he gives her a gift of money and she gives him a present. JD's wife knows of the presents to him, but not of his to her. She is some- what annoyed and jealous. JD on two occasions gave the woman's father over $100, so he became friendly and felt that the disgrace was "washed off." In earlier times the boy' s father and uncles would have paid heavily to wipe out the disgrace. REMARRIAGE The following was the ancient usage in remarriage of the surviving spouse: After the four "sorrow" feasts for the deceased have been given, the surviving spouse tells the clan chief of the deceased to call his clan together;- 24JD claims that kissing is pre-European, and that the woman always kisses first and teaches the man. 20 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT that there are a few gifts to give. The chief sends a young man to his clansmen to tell them. They gather in the chief's house, or if the deceased was a house chief, in that house. If the deceased was a husband, his widow now gives away most of the household goods. The men get her husband's personal effects, the women get dishes, baskets, and so on, even some of the widow's own clothes. A widower (after notifying his wife' s clan chief) likewise gives property away. The clan gathers in the widower's house and he gives away her personal property and some household goods to them. If he wishes to show deep grief, he may give away some of his own property, such as a gun or a canoe. Clan-owned property such as ceremonial regalia, the house, and so on are not given away. The recipients of such gifts are to prepare for the four "joy" feasts and they aid in accordance. If the de- ceased was a man of note, the widow gives his clan chief a large gift, perhaps a canoe and 200 blankets. This is a sign that the recipient is expected to build a new house or raise a memorial pole for the deceased. (This would ordinarily be the nephew-heir of the deceased.) But if the recipient fails to do so, some one of his near kins- men must carry it through, even though he received no goods. The kin group may share the cost. When the thing is finished, the bereaved one is satisfied. The surviving spouse is expected to make a speech at the end of the four "joy" feasts, saying "I am in your hands," that is, the clan of the deceased mate is to fur- nish a new spouse. That clan is now referred to by the survivor as aksatkiga n (lit., my masters or owners). The clan is referred to as tlisattica'wat (master of woman) or the comparable masculine equivalent if the survivor is the husband. This means it is left to the clan to supply the spouse, that the survivor controls nothing, is not free until given a new mate. If a widow is given a young man as a mate, he is expected to "finish the dead body," that is, to pay for and to carry out the remaining feasts. (This would be true only for a house chief.) He then gets control of the house, the ceremonial regalia, and the name of the deceased. If a nephew is available, he is the heir-designate. A wise widow waits until the clan of her late husband acts. She would refuse a man who came to ask her to marry him. She would refuse to have an affair but would say, "No. I am in the hands of-my masters." If she is un- chaste, her late husband's clan put red paint on her, thus setting her free. If the clan fails to provide a mate, it is a disgrace to them and marks them as low. If the widow or widower eventually marries out of that clan, it shows resentment against the clan for their failure to provide a mate. A certain man of the Dukdentan clan in Sitka was mar- ried to a Kagwantan woman who died. Her clan made no move toward getting him a new mate. In the end a Tekwedih woman came to live with him. Then there came three Kagwantan women, bringing with them a young woman of their clan. They threw out the Tekwedih woman bodily, allowing her to take only a few personal effects. The man had to accept the new bride, for now he could be proud that his late wife's clan had treated him prop- erly. But he had forced their hand. Marriage of a man to his deceased mother's brother's widow is now largely obsolescent. But marriages with a mother's brother's daughter or with an elder brother's daughter are still common. Such marriages make for closer ties and the family or person is not "lost" to an- other clan. As mentioned earlier, men of the same house usually married women who were sisters or belonged to the same household or clan, since it was believed that such wives would get along better than if they were of different clans. This custom is seldom followed nowadays. A man's heir is the sister's son, the eldest son pre- ferably.25 This nephew inherits the uncle's entire social position: his name, his house (if the uncle is head of a house), his other goods, and even the uncle's wife. How- ever, the widow is asked whom she wants in place of her deceased husband. But she is expected to name the nephew. In case the nephew is married to the widow's daughter the widow may decide not to name him. She then names an eligible near kinsman of the deceased. If he is named, the nephew may refuse to marry the widow, but this would show disrespect for the deceased uncle. If the nephew re- fuses to marry the widow she may then choose a husband from a clan other than that of the late husband. This, how- ever, is a disgrace or near insult to the clan of the de- ceased, for she "belongs" to that clan, but they have re- fused to take her. And the widow may afterward say, "Yi k!enax yeskaxatl tsakdji'n (in your mouth trying to push myself down; i.e., Don't talk. I've tried to shove myself down your throats but you refused me). This makes the whole clan ashamed. They feel shamefaced when meeting members of the clan into which the widow marries. Another informant phrased it this way: Even if the nephew is already married and has children, he is expected to marry his uncle's widow. But in this case his clan gives the young wife many presents for the support of the children and to "make her mouth heavy" so she doesn't speak too harshly of him. But she is now entitled to her husband's brother for a new spouse. This one is supposed to offer himself, saying, "I'll take my brother's wife. I do not wish those children to grow up without a father." If the nephew is married to a woman of a clan different from that of the uncle's widow, this clan feels slighted because the heir preferred to follow his uncle's will and marry the widow. But if a brother marries the abandoned wife all is well. If there is no such brother, the nephew's mother's sister's sons are expected to fill in. It is a great disgrace for children and even for their children to grow up "without a father." DC and JK called each other "uncle" and "nephew" respectively, though they were only "clan" uncle and nephew. When the latter was on his deathbed his wife said to DC (in the hearing of JK), "I'm looking to you after the old man dies." Although this was spoken in half jest, it would have been different in the old days and DC would have been obliged to marry her, or get a clansman to do so. In no case is a man's mother's brother's daughter thrown over for her mother,26 and the two would never be co-wives. The widow is expected to marry, if not a brother, than a clansman of the deceased, even should the eligible one be a mere boy. The widow would say, "Just so he can carry water for me." In the old days when polygyny was quite common it was considered that the second wife should be of the same clan as the first, and preferably a blood sister. If the two 25Since this type of inheritance is still followed for many things, I use the present tense. To pass on certain types of prop- erty from a man to his own children would put it in the hands of another clan. However, nowadays there has arisen conflict with European custom and a man often designates that his son inherit such things as a fishing boat or other items individually owned. But group (clan) ownership is still the rule for such things as names, crests, and the like. "This contradicts the statement above, but is probably nearer the facts. After all it would be a strange mother who would de- prive her own daughter of a husband. 2 1 ANTHROPOLOG: were sisters, the second was spoken of as duka'wu duwaca'h (his next to her married). This refers to the fact that the second (or third and other) wife was never the equal of the first. Men sometimes married secondary wives to gain wealth. Sometimes such secondary mar- riages resulted from flirting or infidelity on the part of the first wife; in such instances her clan often gave the husband a second wife and some goods with her. If the second wife quarreled with other women these might say of or to her "akadeska'u diyi't" (on to her he reached over). This referred to the fact that when eating, the first wife sat beside the husband and the other wife or wives sat to the rear and to get food from the common dish must reach over. There was a very strong feeling that all the women of a household should be of the same clan. This extended beyond the household to the entire clan and resulted in a majority of the marriages being between two clans, for example, Ganaxtedih and Kagwantan among the Chilkat. The reason is the one cited earlier-that if the women of a house are of different clans they will be inclined to quarrel; this is spoken of as wutcatAca'kuw.Afi (together get along women cannot). Even though the old house-groups have disappeared and nearly all houses are those of indi- vidual families, the same attitude prevails at the present time. If the wives of two men are of the same clan, it is believed that the men will get on with each other better than if the women are of different clans. Men whose wives are of the same clan greet each other with "akatca'h" (my same woman) when they meet. Failure to take a second spouse from the clan of the deceased creates bad feelings, even in modern times. About 1925 LS married a second time. (I do not have data on his first marriage.) This second wife died and at her funeral, when the "workers" were being paid, he stood up and said to the people of her clan, "I have been in your hands. I am still in your hands. Do whatever you wish with me now" (i.e., they were to choose a new wife for him from their clan, which was Katkaayih). The clan spokesman was expected to say to him, "We will do whatever you say." But it so happened that there was no Katkaayih girl avail- able. Somehow the mother-in-law got the notion that she would marry him (i.e., take her daughter's place). The two lived in the same house and soon she was speaking of him as "the children's father," as if she were his wife. The two even went berry picking together. The Katkaayih tried to get him to marry a Hoona girl of that clan, but he would have none of it. He began flirting with a Kiksadi woman who was al- ready married and had children. He (LS) finally financed her divorce and married her. The former mother-in-law then moved out of his house, and the new wife moved in. This marriage outside the Katkaayih clan annoys the members of that clan, and especially the women make slurring remarks about the new wife, that she is low caste, and so forth. And the Kluknahadi of Sitka and Ganaxtedi of Klukwan join in this because they feel closer to the Kat- kaayih clan than to the Kiksadi. But these remarks are pure slander. The woman is really of good stock. For her mother's father gave a big potlatch when she (the woman's mother) was to have her hands tattooed. (Only the rich can afford to do this for their children. In this and in ear piercing the expense is borne by the father.) If the father's mother's husband died, a single man might marry the widow (his grandmother) provided she were still of child-bearing age. The father might ask his son to do so, to keep the widow from having affairs. But such marriages would be arranged only when the deceased ICAL RECORDS and the young man were of the same clan. The parents would talk it over, and if it seemed desirable the wife went to her mother-in-law and said, "It is better that my son catch salmon and bring wood and water for you." Th widow would probably say, "If he so wishes. I'll take car of him as if he were my child." The mother would then talk it over with her son. He would ponder the advantage of taking a wife who could still bear a child or two, then be free from the disabilities of menstruation; one who would be willing to observe continence while he "trained" for hunting or war. If the marriage took place, the father called his own son axsa'ni (my stepfather). This term is also used for father' s brother and for all men of the moie ty of the father's generation (Swanton, 1904, p. 424). If the woman died, the widower married a woman of her clan, but never her daughter by the earlier marriage. JD was sent as a boy to live with his uncle Tiget who had two Gangukedih sisters as wives. Tiget regularly sle in a bed at the center of the left platform, with the wive's beds on either side. JD slept in one or the other of the beds at the ends of the platform. The uncle seldom slept with the older wife and never had intercourse with her. During cold weather the uncle usually slept in the bed of the younger wife. The older wife often asked JD if he were cold and invited him to her bed where she would cuddle him like a child. When JD was about eighteen the uncle, the younger wife, and their children went to the Nass. JD went hunting. On his return he found the elder wife bathin He had never seen her naked before. She told him she was man-hungry because her husband never came near her. He too took a bath. Then they dressed the skin of the bear he had killed. His mother and her sisters came to take home some of the meat. That night the wife's mother (who lived in the house) went to bed, as did JD. The wife went out to pull the canoe above high tide. When she came in she came to his bed. She knew at once that she was pregnant. In the morning she told her mother and JD's mother and the latter's sisters. And that same morning JD called the woman's mother "mother-in-law." It was agreed that the wife should tell her husband and argue that since the husband never slept with her, he should give her to his nephew (JD) as wife, for thus it was often done in the old days. JD was somewhat afraid but excited. So the wife told her husband. He was not angry, though some uncles did object in such cases. Later, on a hunting trip, the uncle told JD the two could set up housekeeping whenever they liked. JD did not reply, but a few days later he said to the uncle that people might tease the uncle about the nephew's "stealing" his wife so the matter was left in status quo. In nine months the woman had a child. She died a few years later. JD never again slept with her because he didn't wish to have many children before his uncle died. When the uncle died, JD, as heir, wished to marry the younger wife but she refused because he had first loved her elder sister. About this time JD was sentenced to three years for a feud killing. When he returned the young wife wished to marry him but he was committed to another. His child by the elder wife was reared by him. In the old days JD would have married the elder sister and a clansman the younger; or an elder clansman the elder and JD the younger. A husband sometimes killed an unfaithful wife, but his clan was bound to pay for her life. There was no blood feud as it was considered that she had disgraced her clan. If the guilty pair were taken in the act, the husband might kill both, and if the paramour was of a clan different from that of the husband, payment for him would be made. If the seducer was of the same clan as the husband, the 22 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT 23 trouble would be settled without payment. A payment to of the exposure of her person, she emptied her basket the clan of the guilty wife wiped out their disgrace. of berries on the log. So it is said of a wife who has If a wife was free with her husband's brother or strayed from the path of virtue, "She is not putting ber- nephew, nothing would be done about it and no one would ries on the log she crossed." be angry. (Both these were potential mates of the woman.) JD, a Raven, and a girl of the Wolf moiety were born In fact this was common in the old days. It is all "within the same day. As they grew up they came to love each the family," within the household. Of this it is said, other but decided not to marry until they were 18 or 20 tcdu wdya'h k! ek s ! kax AtxA,h years old, so they "would have many strong children." But the girl's parents made other arrangements with the Just like one dish out of eating parents of another man. The girl learned of this but wanted y6ah yatiTh to bear a child by JD. So the two went together on a week's together it is. hunting trip and he killed ten bear and some otter and If a wife's infidelities were with a manofaclanother beaver. When they returned he put half of the kill in her Ifan wife'usbinfideities wfferded withs mangof a clan o father's house, secretly by night. In the morning the par- thante sband's, the ofnd spouse m gon a ents asked where the game came from and the girl told Thunger strike. Her cla n woyhduldthe give h h mfany gfts them. The parents wept, but they had already accepted This~~~~~~~~ ~ is spkno.sdy' uk yhwc' fc h twenty-five blankets and a gun from the parents of the skin passed by), that is, these things given to hide the other. husband's shame. The husband kept none of these gifts thegm but gave them out to his clansmen. His clan then gave a feast to the wife's clan. (The culprit must be known be- was JD's. As the boy grew up he came to resemble JD fore these thnswredn.Tegiso much that her husband asked and the wife told whose fsor these things werment,but done T guilty ma, cl ansm child it was. She added that she and JD had always loved shame. aa each other but her parents had fooled them. She told him If the wife had a child by a man other than her husband, to make no trouble and say nothing of it. He never men- tioned the affair to JD. The two (JD and the wife) remained ia a i e a y. fond of each other and once when faintly tipsy she offered JD volunteered the following as illustrating that infi- herself to him. delity on the part of a wife was not taken too seriously Divorce was a mere separation. However, it was a provided her affair was with a brother or other near kins- thing to be avoided. Incompatibility and infidelity were man of the husband. JD's mother's brother married a the usual grounds. It is said that in the old days divorce woman of the Gangukei c . Awas rare. The separation was arranged (usually) by the girl, was born the husband went to Victoria for a year. parents of the couple. A meeting of the two families was While he was away the wife became "hungry for a man" held, with guests to serve as witnesses. The couple was and slept with her husband' s brother. She was pregnant then bound to refrain from harsh words about the matter. when her husband returned. Her brothers wished to kill This is called duqaka.' datlix nasti'tc (mouth heavy makes her for this but her mother's brother advised giving the it). The children of a divorced couple were the ones to wife's younger sister as a second wife, and this was done. suffer, as they were regarded as of little account; as When the first wife's child, a son, was born the husband being almost low caste. In a quarrel it might be said, treated it as his own, because his own brother was the "Your father threw your mother away with you." This father. For two years the husband slept between the two . v v a ., . . . . ~~~~~~~~was an insult and could bring on a more serious quarrel. women without having sex relations with the younger. Finally the elder asked him why this was and he answered If the wife was unfaithful and was found out, she could that he wanted her assent first. She replied that it was all go to her mother who would call a meeting of the clan. A .^, , ~~~~feast was arranged at which there would be an attempt at right, that she had erred. And that if he were to have a reconciliation. The same held true in the case of an er- child by the second wife, it would make his brothers-in- rant husband. One or two indiscretions were usually for- law "feel good" and "wash out the shame" of her own given, but frequent or repeated infidelities would almost affair. certainly lead to divorce. A tale is told of a girl who went picking berries with cerily lad to divorce. her friends. She stepped across a log. Then, thinking THE CLANS AND CLAN LEGENDS Each moiety, Raven and Wolf-Eagle, was composed of a number of clans. In the smaller tribes, for example the Aukkwan, the clans numbered only two, one for each moiety. The larger tribes had as many as ten. The num- ber belonging to each moiety was not always equal; thus among the yakutat there were four Raven clans but only one Wolf clan. Swanton (1904, pp. 398-400) lists a total of 70 clans of which 35 are Raven and 34 Wolf, and one is the Nexadi clan of the Sanyakwan, which is counted as Eagle but belongs to neither moiety.27 It is impossible at this late date to secure either a full or accurate listing of the clans, tribe by tribe. A number of the clans are of fairly recent origin; others are classed as separate by one informant, as a distinct clan by another. Or an informant may say that a clan is "the same as" (i.e., a part of) another. 27For a discussion of the problem of the Nexadi, see section on the Nexadi clan. ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS The Tlingit think of all members of a clan as having belonged originally to one household. This is indicated by the fact that many clan names terminate in "'-hrttan" (" -house people"). If a clan had more than one house it was because it had become so numerous that additional houses were necessary. If the same clan was found in several tribes or villages, it was owing to some moving away from the original home, because of quarrels or for other reasons. Most of the clan names are compounds that are based on root-words referring either to legendary place of ori- gin, a house name with the suffix -tan ("people of") added, or to some event in the history of the group. Thus the Ganaxtedi are the "People of Ganax" (Port Stewart in Behm Canal), the Tihittan are the "Bark House People," and the Kagwantan (kaugakahittan) are the "Burned House People," from an event in the clan history.28 The Tlingit explain the many clans and different clan names within each moiety as the result of the breakup of clan groups through quarrels-many of which were be- tween women or because of them. I was told, "Were it not for troubles because of women there would be but one Raven and one Wolf clan." There was a rule that a group moving away because of a quarrel could not retain the old clan name but must take a new one. Although this may not account for all the various names, it undoubtedly explains many-at least this is native theory. It would be difficult to imagine a culture where the dignity of the individual is more highly valued than among the Tlingit. This applies especially to upper-class persons. They are quick to resent slurs and insults. Such resentment even today often breaks up fami- lies and other groups. Many of the actual and legendary instances I have recorded reflect this extreme pride, touchiness, and determination not to "lose face." I have no doubt that many of these legends have a basis in fact, and that intraclan troubles often led certain family groups or households to move away from the parent group. To a certain extent the clans were ranked as "high" or "low." This ranking was based on a number of factors: numbers and therefore strength, success in war, the num- ber and greatness of potlatches given in recent genera- tions, and even certain legendary events. GB related that on one occasion Chief Katishan and Chief Kudoat of Wrangell became involved in a friendly argument as to which was the higher clan, the Kagwantan of Chilkat or the Nanyaayih of Wrangell. They agreed that Kudoat was to begin. (He was of the Kagwantan [Wolf] clan whereas Katishan was of the Kaskakwedh, a Raven clan.) Kudoat named the various crests, houses, canoes, dishes, face-paintings, and so on of the Kagwantan. Kati- shan then named the Nanyaayih claims to comparable things-and there were twice as many! In addition he mentioned that of all the clans only the Nanyaayih had the moose skin with the perforated corners, used to carry distinguished guests from their canoes to the house of the host. Then the two started singing the clan songs. There were twice as many Nanyaayih songs! At this a third chief, who had been listening, advised Kudoat to give up, for he was beaten. GB was a member of the Tihittan clan, of the Raven moiety. He ranked the clans of the various Tlingit tribes in the following order, beginning with the highest or "most powerful": Nanyaayih (Wolf) of Wrangell, Kluknaxaddi (Raven) of Yakutat (and Sitka), Ganaxtedih (Raven) of 28The suffix -di, as in "Kiksadi," means literally "men" or "man" (of Kiks), and a female of that clan is spoken of as Kikca'. Chilkat, Kagwantan (Wolf) of Chilkat, and Tekwedih (Wolf) of the Tantakwan. His ranking was near to correct, but perhaps colored somewhat by his being of Wrangell. It is generally admitted that the Kagwantan ranks high among the northern tribes, the Nanyaayih among the southern groups. But no Ganaxtedih would ever agree that the Kagwantan was above or better or stronger than his clan. The clans were in many respects the most important social groups. The moieties were too large to function as units and were of course found in all tribes and villages. The chief functions of the moieties were the regulation of marriage (moiety exogamy) and determination of certain kinship usages. For the most part a given clan with its distinctive name and special crests is found in only one of the tribes, though a few specific clan names occur in several tribes. But in native theory and probably histori- cally such clans have a common and fairly recent origin. The Tlingit were a restless people. Whole tribes often moved their winter villages from one location to another, chiefly within the limits of the tribal area. House groups or other segments of clans quite often moved away, usually taking a new clan name and eventually coming to be re- garded as a distinct clan. In the legends of migrations, of the origin of songs, of names, and so on there are abun- dant references to such processes. Although marriages, potlatches, funerals, and some other ceremonial features operated on intermoiety lines, in reality they were largely interclan. Although a certain chief was the host for a potlatch, the affair was thought of as being hosted by the entire clan. The chief was natur- ally the largest contributor and the organizer. The mem- bers of his household were expected to aid him to a greater extent than persons of the other houses of his clan but for all major affairs all members of the clan were asked and expected to help. The grandeur of the potlatch was the concern of all clan members. This, in part, explains how it was that certain clans were regarded as "high" or "strong." A clan whose members numbered in the hun- dreds could naturally afford more lavish ceremonies than a clan that had relatively few members to share in the expense. In war, likewise, the larger clans were usually more successful. In potlatches the members of other clans of the moiety were not expected to or asked to aid. Clan rather than moiety references were the usual thing in speeches and songs, and clan groups rather than moieties were the items of reference in estimates of rank and strength. This probably reflects the fact that the moieties were too large, too amorphous, and too scattered to function as social groups. Group affiliation was (and is) usually stated in terms of clan, not household or moiety. Just as the moiety was too large to be a functioning social unit, so the clan was in most respects too large to func- tion as an economic unit in everyday life. Although sum- mer fishing places and so on were often spoken of as "be- longing" to a certain clan, in practice such localities were thought of as owned by a certain "house" or by the chief of that house. Swanton (1904, pp. 407-408) states that "the Tlingit quite uniformly trace the origin of nearly all their clans to the Tsimshian coast," but this is not so. I think this misstatement may be due to one of his chief informants having been Chief Katishan of Wrangell, whose family boasted some Tsimshian blood. Places of origin of vari- ous clans are located from Yakutat Bay in the north to Tsimshian territory. Certain of the clans, such as the Nastedi and Nexadi, are almost certainly Tsimshian in origin, just as it is very likely true that the Ganaxada clan of the Tsimshian is Tlingit (Ganaxadi) in origin. With patrilocal residence and maternal descent it was almost 24 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT inevitable that clan names and even the maternal clans themselves would spread from tribe to tribe. This un- doubtedly accounts for maternal clans among the northern- most Kwakiutl. Most of the legends of clan origins are, at best, only semihistorical and the same clan may have several legends of place of origin. Thus the Klawak Ganaxadi trace their origin to Kanaganut Island whereas the Tantakwan Ganaxadi believe they came originally from the Taku River. Yet both claim to come from Ganax (Port Stewart) in Behm Canal! At the present time many of the clan legends have been forgotten and others are known only in mutilated forms. Both migration and subdivision must be taken into ac- count, as well as the changes in clan names, such as the tendency among the northern tribes for certain of the Wolf (Eagle) clans to rename themselves Kagwantan. It seems to me that the basis of all the clan systems of the area is the moiety organization, and that the vari- ous clans have derived from the moieties through sub- division, different places of residence, and the like. The situation is further complicated by the fact that in post- European times a number of groups have moved to such white settlements as Sitka, Juneau, Wrangell, and Ketchi- kan and have lost their tribal identity. Some tribal groups such as the Aukkwan, Sumdum, and perhaps others have become extinct. The result is that we have neither a com- plete series of origin legends of the clans nor even a com- plete list of such clans. BB was of the opinion that the Ganaxtedi and its south- ern equivalent Ganaxadi are the oldest of the Raven clans, because only these two have the ceremonial Raven Hat and the song that goes with it. There may be some founda- tion in fact for this belief. Of these two the Ganaxadi was the original. The tradition is as follows: The Ganaxadi of the Sanyakwan were living at a place called Gana'x ("side of the mountain") near Port Simpson (possibly Needle Mountain is the place). The clan had one house and the house mates were eating around the central fire. There had been some jealousy and bickering among them. A piece of burning coal exploded from the fire and fell in a man's dish. He thought a man on the other side of the fire had thrown it and he killed him. So a part of the people moved out, to become the Ganaxadi of Klawak and the Ganaxtedih of Klukwan. (This tradition differs from the usual one, which derives the clan from Ganax in Port Stewart in Behm Canal.) A compilation of all the clan legends would entail hun- dreds of pages, since each clan had legends of its origin, its migrations, the background material explaining its titles, its house names, its songs and the other materials which constituted the clan "property." It was these legends that served to validate the clan's rights to these things. The following are only a few of these legends and should not be regarded as more than examples of the clan legends. Swanton has recorded more than a hundred in his "Tlingit Myths and Texts." THE ORIGIN OF THE CANGUKEDIH The Cangukedih people29 were set down ("planted") at tplace called Gadi'kc south of Ketchikan. A war started ,2Told by Moses Klukshan, a Daklawedih of the Wolf phratry the village of Yandestakyah. It should be noted that in cere- onial speeches all persons and clans of the Wolf-Eagle moiety ere referred to as Cangukedih. Another legend has it that the angukedih came from Canku located either across from St. lip Island or in San Cristoval Channel. and everyone in the village was killed save a woman named Kathtu'n and her daughter. These two escaped to the woods. They wandered wildly about, weeping and look- ing for food. The mother cried aloud, wishing for a hus- band for her daughter. A being heard her. He said, "How about me marrying your daughter?" The mother asked, 'What do you do?" He replied, "I am proud of myself when I climb a tree and curl up at the top without falling" (for he was Squirrel). But the mother was not satisfied. Again she cried her wish aloud. There came a being like a man who asked the same as the other had. The mother said, "What do you do?" He said, "When I peek through the dark clouds I feel like boiling the oceans and rivers and burning the trees." This satisfied the mother who said, "You may marry my daughter." (This being was Sun.) The couple built a house and in time had seven sons and one daughter. The daughter was thought of little ac- count. One day the father opened the clouds (for they lived above) and showed them where the war had been and how everyone had been kilied. He said he was going to lower them to the earth in a big stone pot (mortar? a tah). The sons did not want their sister with them. But the father told them she would be of use in case of another war. So he put her in. They were lowered to earth. They picked up stones and with them built a house. They kept the ves- sel in which they had been lowered. One day a canoe-load of people came by. These saw the house and said of the people there, "It is only the ghosts of the Cangukedih." The canoe went on and the occupants told their people, "Some of the Cangukedih still live. We have seen the house. Now we must go back and kill them." Now Sun had taught his daughter how to fight with her hand (i.e., to "pull" at the clouds). The enemy came back in hundreds (sic) of canoes. The brothers were afraid and hid in the house. But the girl began to do as her father had taught her. Soon the clouds opened. The bay began to steam and boil (from the heat of the sun). The canoes sank and all the attackers were drowned. The sea was full of foam from the boiling. This is how it is that the Cangukedih claim the sun as their own. And in potlatches Cangukedih girls pull at the guests (in fun) as the girl had done. Finally they left that place and came to Klukwan. The great stone vessel was kept for a long time but was buried by a landslide about 200 years ago. JW gives the following legendary history of some of the clans of the Tlingit: The people lived in Glacier Bay where they had a town on the river Gathi'nih ("sockeye salmon river," probably Bartlett River). The town was called K!locacakea'n ("sand hill town"). It was close to the glacier. Here they lived for a long time. The Wolf side highest chief was K!atce- tak!ena'h. At the upper end of the village were the houses of the Tcucanedih clan. Below were the houses of the Kagwantan and Kluknahadi. The river Tcucanhi ni ("grassy stream") was owned by the Tcucanedih. The Kluknahadi owned the salmon stream called K!lsti'h flowing into Dun- das Bay. In the town of Kloccakean a certain woman was in her menstrual lodge. She secretly called to the glacier to come closer (as if calling a dog). Each year the glacier came closer. Finally the people decided to move. The Tcucanedih moved to Hoona. The other two clans moved to a place across the straits from Hoona (probably Ex- cursion Inlet) and founded the town Kaknuwu ("grouse fort place"). Here they lived until the whites came, when they all, except one household, moved to Sitka. 25 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS THE ORIGIN OF THE GANAXTEDIH The ancestors of the Ganaxtedi3o first lived south of Klawak at Taukwani'h ("winter camp place"). They were called the Takkwanedi'h. One of their chiefs was K!aihl- tetsu'h. He had a daughter named K!lak!adju'uh. It was winter and the chief's men were cutting wood. The daugh- ter was watching. She found a bluish worm in a chip. She picked up the worm, wrapped it up and took it home to play with. She fed it oil and it began to grow. She was al- ways playing with the worm and nursed it.3' The worm grew to a foot in length and finally to six feet long. Now it would eat a whole box of oil at one feeding. She fed it all her father's oil. Her father did not notice this until the oil was gone. Then she took to going to other houses to get more oil. These people could not stop her, for her father was a chief. She treated the worm as if it were a baby and would chide it when it misbehaved. She would say, "Kliyek! Ts!r`sku!"' (Be still! Moose will get you!). And she made up a lullaby about her "baby" moving its head, how his face was growing, how his mouth was growing, and so on. If she had to leave him for a time she sang, "Stay here, stay here; give me your hand, give me your hand; your face is shiny with oil, your face is shiny with oil; I can see your mouth, I can see your mouth; give me your hand, give me your hand." The people decided to kill the worm. They got hard- wood spears and hardened them by boiling them in oil. When they were ready they got the girl' s mother' s brother to call her to his house, ostensibly to sew a marten blanket. As she was sewing she heard the noise of the men killing her "son." One came to her and said, "They have killed your 'son'." Then she got up, put the marten blanket around herself and sang, "I am going away, I am going to die." Because of this "trouble" some of the people, those who had clubbed at the worm's head, moved away. These became the Ganaxtedih. Those who had clubbed the worm's body remained. Both carved the worm to use as a crest. On the way north the migrants killed a whale and they used this for a crest. They came to a place without a name and camped there. A girl was playing outside the camp. Some geese flew overhead. She looked up and said, "I wish I could fly away with you." When she came to herself she was with the geese. Her people stayed in the camp, looking for her. They built houses of cedar bark. Her parents watched for her from the roof of their houses. One day a flock of geese flew over and they saw their daughter among them. There was no food in camp but the geese brought them dried eulachon. From here some of the people moved on, leaving the parents of the girl and some close kin behind. They went to a place between Hoona and Sitka called T!ikka'h (ice point). Here some stayed and became the Tikkedi'h. Finally the geese brought the girl back. She had married and had a gosling for a baby. So the goose became a crest of the Tikkedih. Some of the people moved on north. They camped for one night at a place called Tlaway 'k and from this some of them got the name Tlokedi'h. Finally they came to the Chilkat River. They went up this river and built a village 30 Told by JB. The Ganaxtedih and the Ganaxhadi are one and the same, the latter name being used among the southern Tlingit. 31It is for this reason that it is said that all Ganaxtedih women have large breasts. called K!lahi'niwat (sand river fork, where the Klehini River meets the Chilkat). The town was among the jack pines (k!ll'tlgu) and so the people were called K!lrtlgu- kedifh (jack pine people). This was before they took the name Ganaxtedih. The following sketch of the history of the Ganaxtedih of Klukwan was told by JT, a member of the Katcadi (Raven) clan of Kake. She, however, was born and reared at Klukwan. I offer it as an addendum to other data on the Ganaxtedih. The Ganaxtedih of Klukwan are the same as the Ganaxadi of Taku, Klawak, and Tongass. When the Ganaxtedih first came to the Chilkat country from Klawak they built a house on a knoll called Taiyayih (alongside a rocky bluff), on the bank of the stream Gahini across from Klukwan. The house was named Ickahi't (deep pool house) from the swirling pool in front. From Chilkat some of the clan moved to Taku (where they are called Ganaxadi). Others moved to the country of the Tantakwan.32 Later the Chilkat Ganaxtedih made their crest hat, Raven hat, inlaid with abalone shell. They displayed this to the people, freeing a girl slave named Catgflhgo'xo (young woman slave). The clan still owns this hat as a woman' s name in memory of the event. But the Tluknahaddi of Yakutat disputed the right of the Ganaxtedih to the raven crest. A Tluknahaddi chief named Yetlkle'n (big raven) claimed that his clan alone had a right to the crest. But Chief Nahweh of the Ganaxtedih said, "We have a right to the raven crest. One time Raven was thrown into the Killer Whale people's sweathouse named Kitkana'tlxe. They were trying to smother him. But Raven managed to escape and as he crawled out he said, "It is because of the strength [help] of the Ganaxtedih that I have come out and to this upper Ganaxtedih village." Thus he spoke to the Tliknahaddi. Therefore we have a right to the raven crest, because of that time we helped Raven. But the Tluknahaddi went to war and tried to raid the Ganaxtedih village. On one such raid they were attacked on the Chilkat River. The Ganaxtedih killed many, cut off their heads and threw them in the river. The skulls floated downstream and drifted ashore at Kackutlnuk!a'k!u (skull point). The white of the skulls can be seen there to this day. On a cliff nearby the Ganaxtedih painted picto- graphs with the blood, and the place is called Kaudjihit- kiya'h (painted with blood place). During one phase of the war the Ganaxtedih had built a fort. The Tluknahaddi came, but before attacking asked if Chief Tawa'h (a famed warrior) was in the fort. When the defenders said he was, the raiders said among them- selves, "We will not be able to capture the fort." After this peace was made. There was an overland trail which led from Klukwan up the Klahini River to a place called TcanwukVh and on to Atlse'x at the head of the Alsek River. This was a trade route and the Ganaxtedih often sent leaf tobacco wrapped in cottonwood leaves as part of the gift-trade goods.33 It 32Cf. the Tantakwan legend. 33It is said that the Chilkat used to leave for Hoona to trade and visit in the spring when the tobacco plants were six inches high. One year some Tsimshian came to Klukwan while the people were away. That year there came an unseasonable snow, killing all the tobacco plants. It must have been due to Tsim- shian sorcery. The Chilkat never again grew tobacco. 26 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT is said that one Tluknahaddi, upon receiving a gift of this tobacco, said, "When I smell this bundle it is as if I were again seeing Chilkat." He said, "This tobacco was sent by the Ganaxtedih, and I am going to share it with all of you." He held a tobacco ceremony (potlatch). THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME GANAXTEDIH The Killer Whale People caught Raven.34 They put hot stones into a storage cellar. Then they threw Raven in and poured water on the stones. But Raven put his beak through a crack and was able to breathe. When they opened the cellar he came out alive and sang: Caka Ganaxtedih Head of Ganaxtedih Anax keycwagu't! Away I came out of xadtsatyi tc am I natlkehaynlh killer whale's cellar. The Tluknahadih of (near) Sitka and the CakAkwa n of Klukwan35 quarreled over the right to the raven crest. The two groups met at Klukwan to settle the affair. The Cakakwan asked the others if they knew the raven song and could thus prove their right to the raven crest. The Tluknahadih sang the frog song instead. When they were told this they stopped the frog song and began singing the song Raven sang when he brought fire to his people. Then the Tluknahadih asked the Cakakwan to sing their raven song. The latter sang the same song as the Tluknahadih had sung, but the words and the tune were different (sic). Then the Cakakwan sang the song that Raven had sung when he escaped from the cellar (above). At this the two clans agreed to share the raven crest. The foregoing refers to the fact that a Chilkat Ganax- tedih, if asked what clan he belonged to, would often reply "Cakakwan xAt" (head of the river people I am), meaning the Chilkat River. Klukwan was the only Tlingit winter town situated a considerable distance (25 miles) from salt water. So "head of the river" meant Klukwan and since the Ganaxtedih were considered to have "discovered" Klukwan and therefore to "own" it, the reference was to this clan, not to any other. And Raven had used the name Ganaxtedih (people of Ganax) in his song. LEGENDS RELATING TO THE TCUCANEDIH Long ago one of the chiefs of the Tcucanedih clan of Hoona was named TaxantA n. (He was an ancestor of Chief Shakes of the Stikinekwan.) He had a camp above Glacier Point in Icy Straits (Spence's Point?). At that time the Hoona (or the Tcucanedih clan of the Hoona?) were at war with the Henyakwan of Klawak. A Tcucanedih man named Tcitki! was a great hunter, famed for his ability to climb steep cliffs. He and another man went hunting The tobacco is said to have been cured by a smoking pro- cess. After being dried it was wrapped in bundles. It is said the tobacco seeds were of marble size. The seeds were en- closed in leaves bunched like brussels sprouts. These tender leaves were the best. The larger leaves were ground in a mor- tar, mixed with lime from burned shells, and a pellet made by wrapping this mixture in the small tobacco leaves. 34Told by JB. 351 cannot identify the Cakakwan. They are evidently a Raven moiety clan. The name translates as "head people," perhaps explained through their claiming to "own" most of the Chilkat territory. at sea. Before leaving he said, "If I see any of the Klawak people I will make a smoke signal at Gautakans (Hoona Point). Then be ready. " Tcitk was captured by the Klawak. As they neared Hoona Point they said to him, " Tcitk, you have the repu- tation of being a good climber. Now we will test you. Let us see if you can climb to where that log hangs on the cliff." So they put him ashore. He climbed halfway, then pretended to become afraid and came down. He said, "Give me my snowshoes with claws [crampons] on them, and a bag of oil and a flint stone. Then you will see me climb!" When he was given these things he jumped ashore and swiftly climbed the cliff, imitating the sound of a grouse (kakakakak) as he ran. He did not stop at the log but climbed on to the top. There he turned, put his hand out in an insulting gesture, and shouted down to the Klawak, "NainaTh" (low clan). Then he disappeared. The Klawak blamed each other for giving him the snowshoes. On the top of the cliff he climbed trees, broke off branches [to make smoke] and started a fire. His people at Spence's Point saw the smoke and started out in search of the Klawak canoes. They came on them while the raiders were all asleep. One of the Hoona chiefs had a carved wooden figure [of a man?] which had a mink "yet" (spirit) in it which could make the figure come to life. At last one of the Klawak warriors hurled a club which struck the now alive figure and the figure fell down. The Klawak took the figure and split it in pieces. But when they had gone away the figure came to life again. The chief sent the mink spirit to where the Klawak were camped and the spirit put them all to sleep. Then the Hoona came and killed many. Only one canoe-load of the raiders escaped because the chief of this canoe had not touched the spirit figure.36 This chief came past the Hoona village and was invited in and feasted because he had not touched the spirit figure. This chief went toward Klawak. On the way he met some of his tribesmen and told them that all the other raiders had died from eating a land otter which they had found drifted ashore. This episode ended the war. According to JD, the Tagwanedi'h clan37 came from TakUani'h (winter town people; possibly, king salmon town people) on the Skeena, in Tsimshian territory. It was there that the girl nursed the woodworm. (This is a Klawak Ganaxtedih legend, that would indicate that this clan is an offshoot of the Ganaxadi or Ganaxtedih.) They moved to Takwan on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. Here trouble arose because of an unfaithful wife and one group moved to Chilkat where they became the Ganaxtedih. THE MAN WHO KILLED HIS OWN SLEEP The following tale was related by DC. It is known throughout the Tlingit area. Its application as an explana- tion of why the Tcucanedih clan is not regarded as high caste is, of course, a rationalization, as will be seen by the explanatory elements that follow the tale. A man named Kakektr'h and his two brothers were sealing off the coast near Hoona. They had been out a long time and were very weary and sleepy. They started 360ne chief had a woman slave with him who was used as an "anchor" when the canoe was beached. 37Swanton's TakUane'di ("winter people"). JD stated that the clan names Wak!inedi'h and Tanhittan are other names for the same clan. JD believed that this clan is the parent of the Ganaxadi and Ganaxtedih, but I think this unlikely. 27 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS for home. In the night they heard a sound ts! ts! ts! just overhead. (It was a bird.38) At first they paid no attention, but again they heard it. This time the brother in the stern swung his paddle over his head, saying as he did so, "What is this thing making a noise over our heads?" The others heard something fall into the canoe. The one who had struck had fallen into a deep sleep. The second brother dragged the steersman forward and took his place. He picked up the bird and saw that its eyebrows (lids?) hung over its eyes. It was "sleep" (duyatayih, "his own sleep"). Immediately he, too, fell asleep. Kakektih saw what had happened but he paddled to the village, now not far off. Kakektih took the dead bird and went from house to house, showing the bird and telling what had happened. But in each house all the inmates fell asleep. Now he knew that he would never again be able to sleep, for he had been in the canoe when the bird was killed. Then he put on his best clothes, took an axe, his bow and arrows, and flint (da'dzih) for making fire. He traveled to the northwest, overland. He walked for many days and finally came to a stream called NagAkhifn (running past moun- tain river). On the banks of this stream he saw snares and in nearly every one a eulachon was caught. He went back into the woods and slept that night in a tree with many branches. At daybreak he heard people at the river. They spoke in a strange language. Theywent to the snares, took out the fish and put them in bags called tcuge 'tl. Then they went back up-river. That evening he went to the river and made a small fish trap and set it in the water. In a few minutes it was full of eulachon. He dug a pit in the sand and dumped the fish into it. He hid the trap. The next morning the people again came. When they saw the pit full of eulachon they wondered where they had come from. They carried them upstream. That evening Kakektih dug a bigger hole and filled both this and the first one with eulachon. The next morning when the people came and saw the fish they said, "What can this be? There must be a person who is doing this. We will bring that young girl who is still 'behind the curtain,' the rich man' s daughter." The next morning when they came to get fish they brought the girl and hid her. As soon as the people had gone away, Kakektih came out. The girl seized him and would not let him go until he promised to show her how he caught the eulachon. He made a larger trap to show her and set it in the water. In a few minutes it was full of fish. He dug several holes and filled them with fish. The next morning when the people came the girl held on to him so he couldn't escape. She told her people how he had caught the fish. They had all they could carry. Ka- kektih went with them and the girl's father accepted him as a son-in-law. The girl's people gave a great feast for him. He stayed with these Gunana at Nagakhin for several years. FVinally he told his wife and her brothers that he had been there long enough, that he must go back home to see if his own people were still living. When he and his wife were ready to leave, her brothers and friends brought many coppers and valuable furs. There were so many gifts that some others went with the couple to help carry the goods. They traveled many days. Finally they came to the river called Tcucanhini ("grassy river," probably the stream flowing into Excursion Inlet). Along this river were several villages. The upper one was the village of the Tcucanedih. 38This bird, like the thunderbird, is a mythical one. It is said that until this time the Tcucanedih, the Kagwantan, and all the other Eagle (Wolf) clans lived along this river. When Kakektih and his party came to the Tcucanedih, these said, "Un.anakwe h yika'h atuhacgu n (Not us for you to cut.)39 Go on down. The people below are the ones who have been making medicine and wishing for riches and wishing to see you people come to trade." So they went to the next village where they were welcomed. Here lived those who were to become the Kagwantan. A great feast was held in honor of Kakektih and his party. And Kakektih, because he had come back alive and was well treated, gave a great potlatch, giving away the coppers and furs. That is why the Tcucanedih, no matter how rich they may become, are never regarded as high caste, because they threw away the chance to receive Kakektih and sent him on to another place. People say of the Tcucanedih, "Gunana skikada'x akka danayidja'h" (Gunana across him sent away, that is the reason). So the present-day Tcucanedih well know why they are low caste-because this happened. (And this includes the Gaiyeshittan also, for they are merely Tcucanedih who found the iron, put it on their house, and began calling themselves "Iron House People.") If a Tcucanedih gets a bit puffed up and begins to talk "high" someone makes the statement given above to him. There is no answer to this. Today the Tcucanedih are often asked to serve as messengers by the other Eagle clans, to invite guests to feasts, and the like, as if they were boys. Now it is the general custom to ask brothers-in-law (who are of the opposite moiety) to serve in such a capacity. But the other Eagle clans wish this on the Tcucanedih (who are Wolf-Eagle) because they are held in low esteem. But nowadays it is becoming difficult to get them to serve, for in recent years they have come to think of themselves as equal to the other clans and so resent being used as " errand boys. " THE ORIGIN OF THE DAKLAWEDIH CLAN The ancestors of this clan came from the interior, up the Stikine River.40 They were few in number. They were moving down the river but came to where the river ran under a glacier that reached across the valley. They sent a young man to see if the glacier could be crossed. He found where the river ran from under the glacier. The people camped and argued and quarreled about what they should do. There were two old women41 among them and it was decided to send them into the tunnel-channel to test it. They said to these, "We have chosen you. Will you go or not? If you refuse, we will kill you." So the old women had no choice. They got into the skin-covered canoe and told two young men to get them two canoe poles. These they decorated with feathers. They put spruce twigs and feathers in their hair; this was to test the head-room of the ice roof of the channel. The two women got in the canoe, said their farewells, and as they held the canoe with the poles they sang a song 39A person wishing for wealth would catch a crow or frog, cut it open, and put inside a certain leaf or flower, tie up the animal and wish, "I want to be rich. I want slaves," and so on. The animal would be carried as an amulet. It was to this "cut- ting" that the Tcucanedih referred. 41Told by Moses KIukshan; see note 29 above. 4"One was named Awaste'. 28 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT which is still used by the clan as a song when a clans- man is about to die: Wuckedakyatan, gatacanyawaka', Push it off from the shore, let the young get old, Yiskunga-owekah, Let the young find a new home, Wuckedakyatan, Push it off from the shore gatacanyAwaka', let the young get old, he o ha. The same young man as before was sent across the glacier to see if the old women emerged and he saw that they came through without their headdresses being damaged. (This headdress is placed on those of the clan as they are about to die.) The old women shouted to him, "It's safe! You can go through." So he went back with this message. The group decided to take the chance (for his message sounded true), calling themselves cowards for their fear and what they had done. So they passed through under the glacier and gave thanks for the new land they had found. They sang: acAk!gatlike&h Respect the new country adadece datuwiyehi k Why be sorry for the old dena'kW moving there denatl killer whale. They lived for quite a time at a place on the river called Cagwa'tsan. Then they decided to move down to the salt water. But while they were still at Cagwatsan this happened: There was a young man of the Daklawedih clan who fell in love with his mother's brother's wife. The young man lived in the house called Cakagwathit (bundled or folded house) and his uncle in Nana-ayehit (on the north side house). The uncle came to suspect that something was wrong. The uncle was a great hunter. Now his wife pre- tended to be ill and insisted on having a bedroom (cubicle) to herself. Each time her husband asked to spend the night with her she would say, "No. I am too ill." One night he walked around, thinking of the matter. On the side of the house where the wife's bedroom was he saw an open- ing large enough for a man. He told his nephew that when he went hunting he would be home before dark unless something was wrong. One day instead of going hunting he took his horn knife and hid in the woods near the secret door. He heard whispers and giggling inside the bedroom. He waited. After a time the nephew emerged headfirst. The uncle took his knife, stabbed him and cut off his head. Then he took the head and hung it over the door- way of his house. The younger brother of the dead man came to build a fire for his uncle. He saw the head of his brother and went home and told of it. Then the feuds started and the people scattered to different parts of southeast Alaska. Many of the Daklawedih moved to Kake. One of the Daklawedih was named Natlsftlaneh. He was the first to carve the killer whale totem. He was hated by his brothers-in-law. [Another tale was interpolated here. ] The people traveled and moved toward the north several times. But they could find only poor salmon (i.e., no red salmon). When some of them came to Klukwan they found that both sockeye and king salmon ran in the river. Here they settled. But the Nanyaayih remained at Wran- gell. LEGENDARY HISTORY OF THE DAKLAWEDIH CLAN (Second Version) It is said that an older name for the clan is Takwanedi h and that they are nearly the same as the Nesadih." At first this clan lived at Taki n or Tliktakat ("no sockeye salmon") at the foot of Chilkat Lake. They still own the point of land where the village stood, while the Cangukedih own the river. But since only dog salmon run in that stream, they moved to Klukwan where they built houses up-river from the others. They also had a few houses a half mile above Klukwan. But long ago the Daklawedih lived far up the Stikine River at a town named Daxk!le'o."3 At that time the Tsim- shian, Haida, and Tlingit all spoke the same language. (Now the Haida Daklawedih are called Dakina and those who are Tsimshian are called Tsutsh.an.) In their migra- tion north some of the Tlingit Daklawedih also stopped at Kilisnoo (Angoon). The people moved from the Stikine because one sum- mer morning a glacier moved and blocked the river below the town. As the waters rose the people became excited. The next morning two old men went out to observe the level of the water. The others stayed in the houses out of fear. They began to make up packs. They called a meet- ing to decide what they should do. Two old men took long poles and went out. The others asked, "Where are you going?" "We wish to test the glacier where the river flows in," they said. Then they got a canoe and called the people. The old men sang, "Listen to us! Listen to this song! After we have passed away remember this song." The people wept. The old men got in the canoe and held it with the poles. The one in the stern said to the other, "What to you think? I am ready to die." The people knew that the lives of all were in the hands of these two. The old men put foot-long twigs in their hair. Then they went into the hole where the river ran. It was dark inside but they did not feel the twigs touch the ice above. Afterward two fleet-footed lads ran across the glacier to find the bodies. But instead they saw the old men sitting in the canoe, their faces painted, and they were singing. The country was fine, the weather quiet, the water salt. The boys called to them and the old men laughed. Then all the people (Haida, Tsimshian, and Tlingit) moved to the new place. Later they scattered to Metlakatla, Kasaan, and Ketchikan. But they all remem- bered the song of the old men. It is still sung at funerals; it honors the old people. The Daklawedih eventually moved to Takin on the Chil- koot River. The Nanyaayih of Wrangell are the same people (i.e., they remained behind). Both use the killer whale crest. It was over the use of this crest that the Kagwantan of Sitka and Klukwan fought the Nanyaayih of Wrangell. (The Daklawedih of Klukwan were not involved.) This war occurred about 100 years ago (1830). The Ne- sadih acted as peacemakers at the end of the war. In the peace ceremony four men from each side danced. But one of the Kagwantan hostages, named Katla, had a knife hidden under a "bandage" around his middle. He claimed he had an open sore and put rotten clams in the wrappings to cause a smell like a putrid wound. The chief of the Sitka Kagwantan, named Yakwa n, had a long-standing grudge against the Nanyaayih because his grandfather had been killed by them. His mother cried 42Told by Dan Katzeek of Klukwan. 43 This is said to be the origin of the clan name. 29 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS and mourned for her father over the years. But until her son was grown she did not tell him of the slaughter of all his kin. He determined he would avenge him. He "trained" for years. When he was about forty years old he gave notice of war. Now the Nanyaayih were afraid to come to Sitka be- cause they had won the earlier war and they thought that their Sitka enemies were out to even the score of killings. But the Sitka Kagwantan schemed, offering them trade advantages and other inducements. Finally many of the Nanyaayih came to Sitka and a peace dance was arranged. Yakwan disguised himself and hid a knife and a short spear under his blanket. At the height of the dance Yakwan gave a signal, threw off his blanket. He speared two men, stabbed two others. All the Kagwantan (including Katla) joined in. All the Nanyaayih in the house were killed. To- day very few of them are left at Wrangell. ORIGIN OF THE DAKLAWEDIH (Third Version) The people were living far up the Stikine River where there was an ice dam across the valley.44 No one had ever been below this and they didn't know of the coast. The people decided to move downstream. There were two men too old to be of much use. These two went under the natural arch in a canoe. They had things tied to poles to measure the ceiling. One was named Kuwasi'ka, the other Wuwutcdrte'h. As they shoved off, the two men sang, "Ah+ yi, srtyi nax xatgwatlihac" (Free may we float out from under this barrier). The nephew of Wuwutcditeh, named Nase,xo'h, was a swift runner. He ran across the barrier and met the old men as they emerged. When the people learned that the men had gone through safely they all moved downstream to a place called Tasa- yayika'n (big sandy place?). From there some moved to the Nass. These were called the Xangi'k and they became the Tsimshian. Others moved to Angoon, keeping the name Daklawedih. Others moved to Kake and took the name Nesadi. Some stayed on at Tasayayikan for a time. They used to sing a song which ran, "When was there ever held a potlatch at Tasayayikan?" Later some of these moved to Katltsakkan near Wrangell and became the Nanyaayih. Some others moved to Klukwan. THE ORIGINS OF THE KAGWANTAN The people who were to become the Kagwantan lived on the Nass River and were called the K!idickwan.4 A certain chief named Kaucte'h found that his wife was having an affair. So he and the others moved away, leaving the woman and her lover behind. They traveled to the north, explor- ing the rivers and inlets they came to. Near Wrangell they came to the inlet called Daksi't. There some of them stayed and came to be known as the Daklstena' (the people "Told by DB of the Ganaxtedih clan of Klukwan. By repute the Daklawedih were great thieves and their name was used in a sort of pun. If a person missed something, he would say, "His rectum (dWk) swallowed it." The name comes from dak (interior) and K!lewa (sand), so means "people of the interior sandy place." But this may be folk etymology. 45Told by JB. The story is probably much condensed, being told by a person of the Raven side. I record it because it con- tains some elements not included in other accounts. The name Kagwantan is often used in the north to include all Wolf side clans. of Daksit). Wherever the people stopped those who re- mained behind were named for that place. That is how it is that there are so many clans. While they were at Daksit a certain man went to the beach. He put his hand under the shell of a giant clam. The creature held him fast. He sang a song. His friends tried to free him but could not. So they inflated a halibut stomach and put it over his head. But as the tide rose higher the water covered him and the stomach floated to the surface. Some of the people moved on and came to a place called Xaknuwu'h. There some remained and were called the Xanukedi'h. Some went on to Tcucanhi'ni (grassy river) not far from Hoona. Here they found other people living. All came to be called Tcucanedih ("grass people"). Near this place the migrants built a house. This house burned and the people were called Kaugandhrtta'n (burned house people) which came to be shortened to Kagwantan. The chief of this house was Xa'tsdge'ih. He owned a dance hat named tc!itsa'tXW (murrelet hat) which was burned in the house. The people of the house made up a song which ran, 'We had just come here, to the house which Kitsa'XW (killer whale hat) built for himself. Then it burned itself down." From there some of the people moved to Kak!nuwu' north of Hoona. Others moved to Yandestakyah where they built a house called Kayahai'yihit (person's likeness house, probably from a face painted on the front). These people are the Kagwantan of Yandestakyah and Klukwan. Most of them moved to Klukwan where they were safer from raids and the taking of salmon was easier. In Klukwan they built Bear House, Killer Whale House, Killer Whale's Fin House, Drum House, Box House, and Eagle's Nest House. Another legend relating to the Kagwantan is the fol- lowing: At one time all the Wolf (Eagle) clans were called the Wuckitan, or at least allthose inthe North. At Klocacakian (town on a sandy hill) the Wuckitan was the major clan. But a fire carried by a high wind destroyed the town. A man named Krt!kd' was the first to build a house and it was below the old site. His nephews decorated the two huge roof beams by burning them (in bands?) in memory of the burned village. So the people of that house came to be called Kauwaganakhtta'n (burned house people) and this is shortened to Kagwantan.46 A KATCADI CLAN LEGEND The Stikine Katcadi (Raven moiety) are derived from the town of Kake on Kupreanof Island.47 At the time of the flood their ancestors climbed the mountain called Tax on Baranof Island. When the waters receded, they settled in Pybus Bay (Katc) on the southern end of Admiralty Island. There they lived a long time. Another clan called the Sakatla'di, from Baranof Island, joined them and eventu- ally merged with the Katcadi. A chief named Adjr't, of the Nanyaayih clan of the Stikinekwan, came to Katc (Pybus Bay) and married a girl of the Katcadi clan. This chief owned a fishing camp up the Stikine at Tatcatr"n (Six Mile Creek) below Telegraph Creek. When they were there one summer the chief's 4"Adjeya' yehadu wasa'k Kagwantan" -"This is the reason we are called Kagwantan," DC. Another informant, JB, stated that the Kagwantan were also called Kaiknukedi'h (Grouse Fort People) from the town Kiknuwu (Grouse Fort Place). 47Told by Jennie Thomas, a Katcadi of Wrangell. She was born at Klukwan, her father being of the Daklawedih clan of the Chilkat. 30 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT daughter went one day with other girls to pick berries. But the others returned without her; she had disappeared. At this time the Stikine did not know that the Tahltan (Gunana) had a village at Tahltan. The Tahltan had cap- tured her. The girl's people searched for her, but in vain. One day Chief Adjit scolded one of his slaves (named Dzus) and the latter took his bow and arrows and ran away. He traveled up-river and finally came to the edge of a canyon and saw a village below. He went down to the village and was made welcome. But he was wearing stink- ing clothes of sealskin. The people bathed him and gave him new clothes. At the village the chief' s daughter recog- nized him. She told her captors, "That is my father's servant." (She used the word kokena, servant, not the word for slave, gux.) The slave had his bow and arrows and the Gunana marvelled at them, for at that time they had none. They wanted his and gave him furs piled as high as the bow in exchange. Then they sent him home. His master freed him [because of the furs he brought?]. The Gunana composed a song about the slave which ran, "What is that which smells so strong?" (referring to his filthy costume). This is sung by the Wolf clans of the Stikinekwan. The girl remnained with the Tahltan and became the ancestress of the Katcadi clan among them. This is how it is that Katcadi are found at Kake, Wrangell, and among the Tahltan. But when the Kiksadi tell this story they say, "It was a Kiksadi named Djus who discovered the Tahltan Gunana." But they do not mention that Djus was a slave. THE ORIGIN OF THE KASKWAKWEDIH CLAN The Kaskwakwedi'h clan of Wrangell came originally from the Queen Charlotte Islands where they called them- selves the W1ihtcmn1`na'h.48 They moved from there, one group settling at Kasaan [Haida], the other moving to the Tlingit village of Tcukwa'san at Mill Creek. At this vil- lage were the Nanyaayih, Siknahaddih, Tihittan, Kiksadi, and Katcadih. These refused to admit the newcomers, saying they smelled too strongly of salmon eggs. So they went on and settled at Kask!le'k (in Brown's Cove, near Dry Island). They later moved to Anstaga'ku across the channel from Petersburg. After the coming of the whites they moved to Wrangell. The ancestors of the Kaiyac krttitan clan once lived at Port Snettisham above Sumdum Bay where they had a village called Srtko'h (glacier place). At that time the clan was called Sltkwedih (glacier people). The clan di- vided. Some moved to Kake where they are still called the Sitkwedih. Another group moved to the Stikine area where they took the new name. The Srtkwedih may be one of the really ancient names and ancient clans, for at Wrangell the entire assemblage of Wolf moiety clans may be addressed as Sitkwedih. "Even the Namyaahih sometimes called themselves Sit- kwedih or Siknaha'ddi." In the Wrangell area the clan owned the following places: 1. Yeyanko'h (inland place), Aaron Creek. 2. Ana'n (sit down town), Anan Creek. The name comes from the fact that in the morning people 4 Told by GB. would go out of doors and sit down to talk things over (sic). This was a great salmon-fishing place. THE ORIGIN OF THE SITKA KIKSADI There is a bay in the Nass estuary called Kiks and it is from there that we Kiksadi come.49 As we moved north some groups moved to different places. At first we decided to go to Chilkat. But there was disagreement and some stopped at Wrangell. Again there was trouble, this time over a woman, and some moved here and named this island Ci. (Crtka, Sitka, means "on Ci.") As these groups moved they sang a song which runs ha ye'tsku50 tsitlka't guceh, yetl Ha yetsku Chilkat I wonder, Raven tlakana'x na - a't gux. through the mouth going through, Slaves duyeyi'h ahead for them tld-uku'h whatever comes Those who came here built their houses on the hill here in Sitka where the "castle" now stands. They called the village Nukle'n (big fort). The Stikinekwan say that at Wrangell there are two Kiksadi clan lineages. The one line comes from Sitka. The other is descended from a slave girl who was part Tsimshian. This girl was owned by a chief who had a stupid wife who did not know how to manage her house- hold. There came a time of near famine and the slave girl fed the household from food she had prepared and stored. One day some visitors came from Klukwan. The chief was embarrassed, thinking he could not invite them in because he had no food. But the slave girl whispered to him that she had food enough. The visitors were invited in and she served them. The chief sent the visitors away that same night, pleading a press of affairs. The next morning he called his other slaves and or- dered them to bathe the girl, thus "washing her slavery away." He also gave away and destroyed property. He ordered that henceforth no one was to call her a slave, and that he was taking her for a wife. However, the first lineage (from Sitka) regards this second lineage as somewhat besmirched. They claim the second has the brown instead of the black bear as a crest, and that they are somewhat "crazy" or foolish. THE ORIGIN OF THE NANYAAYIH CLAN When the flood came the Nanyaayih climbed the moun- tain called Sekutle'h on the south bank of the Stikine (east of the international boundary).5' A white Kodiak bear led the way and the people followed his trail. The signs of this trek can still be seen. On the mountain have been seen the decayed remnants of a mat and of a rope which was used to moor the raft that was used. (There is a song '*Told by Mrs. DC of the Kiksadi clan of Sitka. She was very well versed in ancient things such as genealogies. Unfortunately she spoke no English. 0This is a Tsimshian word. 5 Told by Charley Jones of the Nanyaayih clan. George Blake, interpreter. 3 1 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS about the bear which was composed then.) The Nanyaayih claim the mountain. As the waters rose many animals climbed up to escape. The people built a sort of fort of stone and from this would spear the animals. Many people were lost, for the fren- zied animals tried to climb aboard the canoes, upsetting them. When the "tide" (flood) receded the people were in great distress. They had no fire and tried to eat raw meat, but would vomit it up. Only the flesh of the porcupine could be retained on the stomach. All their stored food and all their goods had been destroyed by the flood. At this time the people of the various clans became scattered. The current carried the Nanyaayih to the Taku River. There they and others built a village called Yai- yawa'w. The village was on the bank of the river, all the houses in a row. The house of the Nanyaayih was called Hitkle'n (big house) and was the one farthest up-stream. When visitors came to the village they would ask where this house was and would be told "nana'h" (upstream, or farthest upstream). From this the clan came to be called Nanyaayih. Trouble arose between the people of the house. The chief was Kitudah. His wife was having an affair with another man of the house. Over this they split into fac- tions. The Nanyaayih [i.e., those who became the Nan- yaayih] came to the Stikine. The Wuckitan went to Auk. The Yenyedih stayed at Taku. All three have as a crest the same screen or painted board (k!in) on which are painted mountains. (Since that time the Yenyedih never object if their wives have affairs with other men of the clan, for they remember that their ancestors had trouble because of jealousy.) The Nanyaayih started south. Not far from Taku is a stream called S`kndx where good whetstones may be found One canoe went there to get some of these. The others waited for them, but after a time said, "Let them stay there." Since that time these laggards have been called the SiknaxA'ddi, but they ar- really a branch of the Nan- yaayih. The Nanyaayih first landed in Shumacher Bay (where Wrangell Institute now stands) and built a village named K!ecangitaa'n (willows inside bay town). But they tired of that place and moved to Mill Creek where they built Tcukasa'n. Other clans came to this place, making up the [tribe] Stikinekwan. They had summer fishing places here and there, especially along the Stikine. Again the Nanyaayih tired of the place and with the other clans built Old Town (Old Wrangell) and called it Kasakla'n. It was while they lived here that the war with the Tsimshian occurred. It was then, in the peace ceremonies, that the Nanyaayih were given the name Cekc (Shakes) by the Tsimshian. The name is said to mean "giant tree" in the Tsimshian tongue (or Cekckle'n in the Tlingit).52 The Nanyaayih have four main crests: the white "brown" bear from the time of the flood; the killer whale, acquired from the Tsimshian in the war; the dogfish hat, which they had when they were at Taku; and the marmot hat. At the time when Cekc got this name he was the richest man of all the Tlingit. He had two wives. One was Yuduha'n, the sister of Chief Yetlkak of Klukwan; the other was a Tihittan woman named Djunkla'n. 52This title occurs as Seks or Wise's among the Kitimat Kwakiutl. It illustrates how features of the culture spread from tribe to tribe THE ORIGIN OF THE TLOKWAXADI CLAN The Tlokwaxa'di of the town of Yandestakyah came first from Tlokwa'h in the bay across Wrangell Narrows from Petersburg. The name means "quickly cooked people" or "quick (cook) people." They are also called Tatlkwedi'h from Tatlku'h (Tatl Bay) across the narrows from Petersburg. When they moved to Yandestakyah they built a house which was barely finished when an eagle flew over, making the sound gih gih. From this the town was sometimes called Gisana'n (eagle's cry town). The mountain back of the town was called Gisa'n. According to another informant, the clan moved from Tlokwah to Kuye'k, a town or place in Icy Strait. THE DAKLAWEDIH LEGEND The Daklawedih clan was the predominant (owning) one of Etolin Island and part of Prince of Wales Island. Many pictographs of the killer whale, their principal crest, may be seen in that area. Their chief village was Tutxa'nk! below Lake Bay. The legendary home of the clan was far up the Stikine, about a hundred and fifty miles. Their village, still occu- pied by a few of the clan, was called Takun. In their mi- gration they came down the river on a raft and reached a point where a glacier blocked the valley.53 Here they sent an elderly couple down on a raft to see if the tunnel under the glacier could be negotiated. They stood up a small tree with feathers tied to the tip to test the height of the passage.. As the two set forth they sang a song. The passage was negotiated safely and the rest of the people followed. With the Daklawedih clan were the Nesadi of Kake and the Nexadi of the Sanyakwan. The Nexadi settled first at a place on the Stikine near Boundary. Later they moved to the Sanya (Cape Fox) area. The Daklawedih settled at Tutxank. At that place an incident occurred which caused the clan to split. A young man named Gatke'h was having an affair with the wife of a chief. She schemed as to how she might trick her hus- band. She put clams under her clothing. These began to smell in a few days and she went to her husband and said, "I am sick. You can smell for yourself. Put me out-of- doors. Build me a little house where a shaman can treat me." She installed herself in the retreat so her lover could visit her each night. The lover told his brother he was going away, adding, "If I'm not back before daylight, look for me." That night the chief heard giggling from the wife's house. He wondered about this and became suspi- cious. He told his slaves, "Get dry clamshells from the beach. Put them around my wife's house." That night he listened. He heard the shells crunch. He took his stone club, went to the shelter and found the lovers. He killed the lover, cut off his head and hung it above the door in his house. The brother noted that his brother did not return. Near daylight he took a torch and went searching for him. When he came to the chief's house he put out the light and went in, saying, "I came for a light. My torch went out." He relighted the torch at the fireplace. On the way out some- thing (blood) dropped on his hand. He looked up and saw 53This and the incident of the unfaithful wife which follows vary in some details from similar themes in the traditions of other clans. Told by GB. 32 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT his brother's head. He went and reported to the people of his house. The groups (the two clans) lived on opposite sides of the stream and they could walk across at low tide. The two groups had a blood feud. After the fighting was over both sides went out into the channel. They wept because they were going to separate. One group pointed with their paddles to the south. They went that way and gave rise to the Tantakwan. The other group pointed to the north and went that way. They became the Daklawedih of Angoon and Klukwan. THE ORIGIN OF THE TIHITTAN CLAN The Tihittan were first called Gitkci'c or Gogan.54 These are Tsimshian names and they had a village at the mouth of the Nass which was called tsacaidaktlan (seal head village).55 But there was a quarrel and some of the group moved to Old Wrangell. Later they went back to the Nass to demand payment for an old man who had been killed in the quarrel. As payment they received Raven Hat called takxwanyetli [in the Tsimshian?] or Yetlsa'xw [in Tlingit]. At Klawak there are Tihittan who call themselves Tinedi'h (bark people). They split off from the Tihittan (bark house people) after the move to Old Wrangell. The Gitkcic [Tsimshian] now live at Port Simpson. They and the Tihittan call each other brothers [akkikhas, my brother it is] and stay in each other' s houses when visiting. THE ORIGIN OF THE LOKAXADIH The Lokaxaddih of Yandestake on the Chilkat are an offshoot of the Talkwedih of Wrangell.5 The name comes from a little stream in Duncan Canal called Lokax. The split was over a woman's infidelity. The Talkwedih had a village called Tatlkukaa'n (Tatlkuk Bay mouth town) in Thomas Bay near Petersburg. At that time they owned from Cape Fanshaw to a point 16 miles up the Stikine River. At that point on the river was a village called Klukwan (old or ancient village). A man of the clan named Cite'k was having an affair with a Nanyaayih woman named Wutcgadya'k. When her husband found her out the Lokahaddih [his household] decided to move away. The woman schemed to take her lover with her. She put him in a big box. As they were loading the canoes a certain man was called on to carry this box. He had a stone club. As he carried the box he said, "It seems as if there is someone inside this." Then he dropped it on a rock. The box split open. Then he clubbed the lover and thus avenged his people. Then the Lokahaddih moved to Chilkat. THE SANYAKWAN Less seems to be known about the Sanya than about the other Tlingit tribes. In view of the anomalous position of the Nexadi clan among them I give all possible informa- tion about them. However, only a few Sanya now survive 54Told by GB, a Tihittan of Wrangell. 55Gitkcic is undoubtedly the Gitsi's (Sealtrap people) of the Tsimshian (Garfield, 1939, 176). 56Told by GB. There are slight differences in pronunciation by various Tlingit tribes. I record the names as they were given to me. and these few seem to have little interest in or knowledge of their past. It was, accordingly, difficult to secure much information on this group. They were reluctant to give data about the Nexadi clan-understandable in view of the ridicule heaped on them by the other Tlingit groups. THE NEXADI CLAN OF THE SANYAKWAN The Nexadi clan occupies a rather unique place in the Tlingit social structure.Y7 It is the one clan among ali the Glingit tribes which is not classed as either Wolf (Eagle) or Raven. The clan crests include those of both moieties. Thus a crest from the "Wolf" side of other tribes is eagle; whereas their beaver and halibut crest are the property of the "Raven" side in the other tribes. Although among other tribes there are but two exogamous groups, the two moieties, among the Sanyakwan there are three, these being the three clans, Nexadi, Tekwedih, and Kiksadi. The last two are found as clans among a number of other Tlingit tribes but the Nexadi is known only among the Sanyakwan. This unusual deviation from the system of the other Tlingit tribes has led to considerable speculation and theorizing. Boas has argued that a three-fold rather than a dual grouping may have been the archaic type among all the clan tribes of the area (1916, 478-488). The Nexadi themselves are quite aware of this unique position as well as conscious that the other Tlingit tribes hold them up to ridicule, considering that they "marry their sisters." The result is that the Nexadi are a bit touchy on the subject. My attempts to get information from Billy Johnson did not get very far. As the hours passed he evidenced in- creasing reluctance and annoyance. And the subject was causing embarrassment to my interpreter, GM, who was my excellent Tantakwan informant. The following additional data may help to solve this perplexing problem when further data on the neighboring groups are available. GM thought that the Sanyakwan adopted this "strange" type of marriage only after the war between the Tantakwan and Sanyakwan which left but a few survivors among the adult Sanyakwan. But I con- sider this unlikely. The Nexadi equate themselves with the Eagle Clan (Laxski'k) of the Tsimshian. They are quite aware that among the Tsimshian the four clans are the exogamous units. I think it most probable that the Sanyakwan, near- est Tlingit neighbors of the Tsimshian, have merely adopted the Tsimshian system. The Nexadi claim that the beaver crest is very ancient among them, that they had this crest before they owned the giant clam and halibut crests. They also claim that the eagle crest is ancient among them, that they had this crest before the Kagwantan had it.- Their beaver crest included also a beaver hat, made with the skull fitted in and with the tail at the front. The people of Naha Bay, the Na-a'dih used the beaver skin as a ceremonial head- band. 57Most of my information is from Billy Johnson, a member of the clan. 5BJ also cited the fact that at least two personal names, Wuckina' (above each other-from the way eagles sit in a tree) and TcatkAda'h (eagle sitting on halibut) are shared by Nexadi and Kagwantan. The Nexadi also claim that the Kagwantan did not have the eagle crest until relatively late, when they took a young eagle, raised it, then took the crest. "But they had no right to it. " 33 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS The name "Nexadi" means "people of Nex" but my informant knew of no place called Nex in their territory. There is a place, Nex, near Kake and BJ thought "per- haps" they came from there. But the clan origin legend begins at Gaxatelh in Karta Bay near New Kasaan. (There is also a Gaxateh [Kadake] Bay near Kake). One subdivi- sion (subclan) of the Nexadi is called Gadakekwan. This may be a clue. When the Nexadi gave feasts without guests from other tribes the Kiksadi were seated on one side of the house, the Tekwedih on the other. To the other Tlingit this seemed a ridiculous and impossible situation, to see a Raven clan (Kiksadi) seated opposite a Wolf clan (Tekwedih). When the Sanyakwan gave a local feast with the Tekwedih as hosts Kiksadi and Nexadi sat opposite each other. When the Kiksadi were hosts the Nexadi and Tekwedih sat opposite each other. The clear concept of clan rather than moiety exogamy is indicated by the following statement: "The great chief Kashakes (a Nexadi) married his own father's brother's daughter. But he paid no attention to this. He only knew that he was a Nexadi while she was a Tekwedih." Thus a Kiksadi could marry a Nexadi even though both were "children" of Tekwedih; a Tekwedih could marry a Nexadi even though both were "children" of Kiksadi. BJ has seen three chiefs, Antwa h (Tekwedih), Tclrkat (Nexadi) and Anda'h (a Tsimshian "Tekwedih," i.e., "Bear," probably Gispawadweda) sit and joke over the fact that all three were "children" of Drifting Ashore House of the Tantak- wan Ganaxadi. It seems unnecessary to bring in obscure concepts such as a former tripartite organization among the tribes of the area, as Boas has done. Much more likely is that the Nexadi clan originated by the simple fact of a Tlingit man of the Sanya tribe marrying a Tsimshian woman. She, with her ideas of clan rather than moiety exogamy, could easily become the ancestress of a new clan. It is clear that this very sort of thing happened re- peatedly in the area and explains the proliferation of clans among the Tlingit. But with the basic moiety sys- tem the idea of clan rather than moiety exogamy did not take hold. But the Sanya, nearest neighbors of the Tsim- shian, evidently adopted the idea of clan exogamy. The Nexadi never speak of themselves as of the Wolf moiety. If asked whether they belong to Raven or Wolf, they are quick to state that they are neither, but are Eagle. This same explanation makes plausible the name Ganaxada among the Tsimshian; simply that a Tlingit woman of the Ganaxadi clan married into the Tsimshian tribe and that her descendants were of that clan, even though the name is meaningless in Tsimshian. Furthermore, as for the Nexadi ("Eagle") of the Sanya, their crests agree closely with the "Eagle" clan of the Tsimshian. This same manner of the "export" of social structure is seen in the adoption of the maternal clans of the Tsimshian by the northern Kwakintl tribes (the Haisla and Kitlope).59 It could even happen that a host in a feast might give a name to his own wife, since both might be "children" of the same clan. And it made it possible that no matter which of the three Sanyakwan clans was host, and the other two guest clans, husband and wife might belong, re- spectively, to one or the other of the guest clans and thus both receive gifts. As GM remarked, "This looks very strange" (i.e., to other Tlingit). GM, a Tantakwan, equated the Nexadi with the Kagwan- tan, as Eagle or Wolf. In his opinion Tekwedih should not 59Olson, 1940. marry Nexadi, though it would be proper for Kiksadi or Ganaxadi or any other Raven moiety clan member to do so. NEXADI CLAN LEGEND The following "history" of the clan begins with episodes from the mythical past and ends with events within the memory of the narrator60 (compare the Ganaxadi Tanta- kwan "history," which opens with an episode from the Raven cycle): The Nexadi lived at the village called Gaxatelh (the name of a creek) in Karta Bay near New Kasaan. One family there consisted of a man, his wife, and a ten-year- old son. One winter day the boy asked his mother for a piece of dried salmon. She gave him one which was moldy at the tail end. The first time he let it pass, but again she gave him one like it. He got angry, threw it in the fire and said, "Why do you give me only salmon with a moldy tail end?" The next summer he was out gaffing dog salmon. He hooked one, but slipped and the pole was pulled out of his hand. He went into the water after it but fell into a deep hole and knew nothing more. The mother and father went out to search, but found no trace of him. When the boy came to, he found himself among what seemed to be persons, who had a village a long way out at sea. But he had nothing to eat and was very hungry. Finally he went to the beach, found some soggy salmon eggs and ate them. Every now and then he went there and ate eggs. Finally a man saw him and shouted out: "That fellow is eating all the human dung down here." The salmon people called him Canga.hkla` (Moldy End). The time went by and he wasn't conscious of it but all at once the town "people" started packing up; they got in their canoes to go to some creeks. They were very happy. He went along. He had a copper neck band, bracelets, and anklets. They went toward the mainland. There was an old (human) woman among them and she asked the lad, "Do you know what people you're staying among? These people are the Salmon People. You did wrong to them, so they captured you. They are going to the land, to the creeks, each canoe to a different creek. But the canoe you are in will go back to where your people live." As they went along they would say, "Someone get up and see where we are." (That is why the salmon jump-they want to see how far they have gone.) A long time they traveled. They kept saying, "You'll see your parents," and again and again he jumped. Finally they came to mouth of a creek where they massed thick. They sent three or four young men up to see if the weir (which they called a "fort") was finished. A second time they sent young men and this time they said it was finished. Then they all jumped, happy be- cause the "fort" was ready. It was summer. At last they saw a man and woman on the bank. She was cutting salmon. It seemed to the salmon people that the human people were naked. One of the salmon told him to go over there to see his mother. The couple had a little canoe tied there and he lay in the shadow of it. He heard the woman say to her husband, "There is a fine salmon here. Get your spear." Then he knew that he was a salmon. But when the man reached for the spear he swam away to a deep place, and went back among the salmon people. They asked him if he had gone to his parents. He said he had but that he had become frightened when his father reached for the spear. A second time he asked the salmon, 6"Related by Billy Johnson (caguk, referring to "eagles eat- ing") a Nexadi living in Saxman. GM served as interpreter. 34 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT "What do you do when they spear you?" They were glad he asked. "When you see your father get his spear poised then put your spirit into your tail and it won't hurt you." The people were hungry. Again he went to the canoe. Again his mother saw him. "Get your harpoon," she said to her husband, "here is a salmon that is still bright (fresh)." The man did and as he poised the spear the "salmon" put his spirit into his tail. He was conscious of being gaffed, of being dragged ashore, of his father clubbing him, but it didn't hurt. They laid him on the bank. The woman told her husband to boil some water. He went into the house. She tried to cut the head off with a mussel shell knife, but couldn't. The knife was dull. She opened the cut and saw copper. Then she remem- bered about her son's necklace and began to cry out. The husband ran out, asking if she had cut her hand. She said no but that this salmon had her son's neckband on. They both wailed and the people came out to find what was wrong. The people came to mourn with them. The old people advised that they put the salmon on a clean mat and put eagle feathers on the cut; then they should lay the salmon on the sunny side of the roof for a day, then on the other side. It was in their minds that something might happen. The couple slept directly under where the salmon lay. That night the woman heard a tapping. She nudged her husband and he heard it too. The tapping got louder and louder. By daylight the whole house was shaking. The tapping was like that of a shaman. In the morning when the first bird sounded they heard a voice. It ordered that the men, but no women should come out. When the men came out they saw a man. He had his copper ornaments on. He was a shaman now. But the skin and the bone of the salmon were still there on his body. His name was now Canaukkla (Moldy End), given to him by his spirit. He came to be a great shaman. He would count the salmon in the hole below the dam. There were eight traps for the salmon. Always they sent the slaves to build them and always sent them off toward Wrangell-for they came from there. Even the ancestors of Chief Shakes were sent over there. Eight slaves were sent each year. Moldy End (for that was his name) did many wonderful things. In that bay were many kutstiyat (water monsters). Two of them were shaped like giant red snappers which would go under canoes, drive their spines through and eat the occupants. There were also giant porpoises. But he killed them all. Chief Shakes' (cekc) ancestor was Skantl.at-he was one who had been sent as a freed slave from that creek. But later on Shakes' forefathers lived at a place called Katlsatl.tan near Wrangell and were rich. Shakes became the richest highest chief of the Nanyaayih clan. Beside his house were two others, full of slaves. His own house was called Hitkle'n (big or great house). The Sanyakwan Nexadi had made his ancestor free. Dakde'n was one of the line who came to be a great man. Old Shakes6' never came in front of a town except at noon, to show how proud he was. And his slaves paddled by the rhythm "hed huh" instead of the usual "huh huh." Always he came by a town in the middle of the day so people could see how he was traveling. Now there was a Nexadi named Xutsca'n at Gac (Cape Fox) who had his canoe ready on the beach. One time Shakes came by (he never landed where he might be expected to but went on past to show off). As soon as the canoe disappeared round the point Xutscan and his men started in pursuit. He came alongside and grabbed Shake's canoe. Xutscan (dressed as for war) got 6'An ancestor of the line of chiefs bearing the same name. up and said, "Shakes, is this your way of showing your pride? It's not for that that my ancestors made your great uncles free. You'd better come back and stop at my vil- lage." Now Shakes knew about the slaves in his ancestry so said, "That's my master speaking. Turn back." When they came in Xutscan treated him as a chief should and danced the yetu tti dance (a Tsimshian dance) for him. After Shakes had eaten he spoke out, called Xutscan, "Master," thanked him and said, "I want to see you next year." Then Shakes went back to his own village. There he called the whole village in, told what had hap- pened, and said, "Just like a swing, what his ancestors did to me swung before my eyes. But now he has made it like a (continuous) picture before my eyes. He has put black on my face. I will bring enough slaves in a canoe. If he should even ask for these two houses full of slaves I'll give them to him to erase that black from my face." The Nexadi were living at Eskutua n in Kashakes cove just north of Gac. Shakes came down there the next year. Xutscan entertained him. Then Shakes said, "I'm going to speak to you tomorrow noon." Shakes invited all the people of the town the next day and fed them food he had brought along. Then he stood by the door (the slaves place) and said, "Xutscan, I want to move out of this place. Whatever you say I am willing to pay you back. You're my master but I want to buy myself free." The Sanyakwan were silent for a long time-for it was strange to hear a great chief speak thus. Finally Xutscan said, "Ankau (chief) Shakes! Look around and count the people here. You see old and young. They are my great uncle's grandchildren, and my great uncle's children. So I can do nothing with your speech. If I answer 'yes' I will make all these great uncle's chil- dren's children come to nothing. You ask to be free-after my ancestors have freed you. It wouldn't do to free you again. You are free now. If I were to free you again I would disgrace my grandchildren." Thus he "beat" Shakes with a speech. Shakes' house could be seen from a long way, as soon as one came out of the narrows. He sent to the Nexadi a name Natlgededuhti n (house seen from afar), and this is the name of BJ's father. So all the Sanyakwan are Shakes' "grandchildren. " For long afterward-when people came with slaves to sell, Old Shakes would ask where the slaves were from. Once a Tsimshian chief came to Wrangell. He wanted to sell some slaves. Shakes first asked their names. The Tsimshian chief mentioned a female named Ka'wAga (a Tekwedih of Sanyakwan-the name means "the channels change" [or separate] and refers to the shifting channels of the Unuk River, which belongs to the Sanyakwan.) Shakes knew that she was of the Wolf-Eagle moiety and therefore of his moiety (both the Nanyaayih and Tekwedih having the Bear Crest), and he didn't want her to be sold elsewhere. She was a virgin. So he bought her. He used to take her on hunting trips, and so on. She became preg- nant, had a child by him. (This violated the "brother- sister" taboo, both being of the same moiety.) The Wrangell people moved to the mouth of the Stikine in the spring for the eulachon run, to Sakanihta k. There a man named Gutcca'kk!oh was a great gambler so he was called Atlkasahti as a nickname. Once he was gam- bling with a man and the two got into an argument. Gutc- cakko struck him with a knife, so that he fell down as if dead. They carried him to his house. The man's kin sur- rounded Gutcakko's house and he promised to come out to be killed if the man died. So they waited. Suddenly Gutccakko's wife fell ill and died. Then he changed his mind and said that he'd give property instead of his life. 35 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS In a few days the man died. So Gutccakko gave the kin of the dead man all his property so that they were nearly satisfied. In the fall the Wrangell people went back to Katlsatlan. There the murdered man's clan remembered their anger and wanted to kill Gutccakko. He knew he would be killed, but refused to come out. He went to Shakes' house, sat in the slaves corner, and said, "I come to your presence, to take care of your daughter. I want you to save my breath of life." He promised to care for the daughter as a slave would. (That is, he chose slavery instead of death.) Shakes accepted. The enemies were shooting at Gutccakko's house. Shakes told them, "Save your ammunition. Gutc- cakko is going to 'pick up my daughter.' Go to your houses. I will pay for your kinsman." Next day they chose the "deer" and Shakes gave each of the injured clan a slave and property. Shakes asked if they were satisfied. He said, "I will pay more 'to pick up my daughter.' So if you are not satisfied, say so." The idea in Gutccakko's mind was to work and earn enough to buy himself back to freedom. But before he could get together enough Shakes himself got into trouble by having a child by a woman of his own clan (i.e., moiety), named Kwanga, and he was puzzled what to do. Finally he had the idea that he would have Gutccakko raise the child. So he called the men of his clan together and told them of the disgrace he was in by having a child by his "sister." He said to Gutccakko that he wanted him to marry Kawanga and raise the child. Gutccakko was not really a slave. Shakes had merely bought a clansman's life. So disgrace equalled disgrace. The two were married. The child was a girl. This kind of a birth where the parents are of the same moiety is called duwakusti' (his face born in). The following data on the Nexadi clan were obtained from Charley Jones of the Nanyaayih clan of Wrangell. This tale is almost identical with the legend of the Daklawedih clan told by GB. There was a settlement at Lake Bay on Prince of Wales Island. Living there were people of the Nexadi, Nesadi, Daklawedih, and Katkaayih clans. Part of the settlement [or another village?] was below Lake Bay where there is a narrow channel. There were houses on both sides and a bridge across. On one side lived a chief who had two wives. A man named Gatk! of the other side was carrying on an affair with one of the wives. This woman fooled her husband by hiding clams under her clothes so that she smelled. She let him sniff so he could tell she was sick and got him to build a little isolation hut near his house. Here her lover came at night. The lover would tell his brother, "I am going over there. If I should not return by daybreak, come to see what is the matter." One night the chief heard talking and laughing in the hut. That night he heard the shells crunch as someone walked on them. He called his nephews and they went to the hut. As the lover tried to escape they killed him and cut off his head. They hung it by the hair from the gable of the house. The dead man's brother came to search for his brother, who had failed to return. He came to the chief's house, using the excuse that he wished a light for his torch. As he entered, a drop of blood fell on his bare foot. He got the light and on the way out looked up and saw his brother Gatk's head. The next day the people [clans] from the opposite sides of the creek got ready and the battle began as the tide was low. Many were killed and many bodies floated on the in- coming tide. The fight went on for several days. After the fighting the clans dispersed. Some of the Katkaayih went to Sitka, another group to the south where they became one of the clans of the Tsimshian (prob- ably the Ganaxada). Some of the Nexadi came to Wran- gell; others went to the Sanya tribe. THE FLOOD COMES TO THE SANYAKWAN Along Djunak (Unuk River) there were five villages.62 The houses of the Tekwedih were always at the upper end of each village. The village farthest upstream was at the foot of a high mountain. The waters started rising. The people got a canoe ready and put supplies in it. All could have been saved but foam came up and they were also blinded by the tops of trees. Bears and wolves tried to climb into the canoes, capsizing them. So only a few people were saved. Trees floating capsized others. Some of the people had their dogs in the canoes and the dogs scared the animals away. Those saved thought the "tide" (flood) would soon sub- side, but it rose instead. Inland was a high mountain called cakle'n (big mountain). When the water reached its foot the people lost hope. They didn't know what to do. Some followed the canyon of a creek to escape the trees. All the animals were climbing the mountain. A wise man said they should twist a long rope to make an anchor line. Then the people composed a song for their "grand- children," in case anyone survived. The words ran, "Let the line be twisted and ready. He hi hi hi." When the water had nearly reached the top of the mountain they added the words, "Let everyone be ready to walk on the top. He hi hi hi. " At the top two men took a log and weighted it down with stones. A storm arose, but the canoes were on the lee side. The top of the mountain was full of escaping animals. The women kept on making the anchor line longer and longer. Some say the mountain was finally covered; others say not. The survivors were saved on three different mountains: the Tekwedi on Mount Stoeckl up the Unuk River, the Nexadi on the mountain called Gweka'h at the head of Rudyerd Bay, and the Kiksadi on the mountain called Watsdek up Boca de Quadra. [Not long ago (i.e., in modern times) a Nexadi man named Stact (Starfish), who was a good climber, wished to see the place where the Nexadi were saved. He climbed the mountain. At the top he found the anchor line still tied to the log. He ran down the mountain, for a dense fog comes whenever the mountain is climbed. The fog overtook him. It is not stated if he survived.] The Tekweidh had noted which way they had come and when the waters receded they came this way (toward Ketchikan). On the way they sang a song, "I don't believe the place is dry where I am going to walk." Some of the people (clans) were not able to find their original homes but they did find the five old villages. They rebuilt their homes at these places. (The sites of these can still be seen.) The Tekwedih went to the mouth of the Unuk River and built at the creek called Y6ic Gfhin (Yes Bay). Some settled at Yetlgunfiuk (Raven ?) just above Anchor Passage. Here they were living when the whites came. THE ORIGIN OF A MORNING SONG JW related the legend which follows of the origin of the chief mourning song of the Tekwedih and Nexadi clans 62 Told by Billy Johnson. 36 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT of the Sanya Tlingit. As with all such privileges and crests an intimate knowledge of the details proves or validates the right of a group to the thing in question. Others have no right to tell the story of the origin and in theory do not know the necessary details. A man of the Nexadi clan named Kats was living at Xetl (foam), a camp near Nex at the mouth of the Unuk River. He was a hunter. One day he found a bear's "house" (den). It was raining and he went in and sat down. Bear was in the back room and she watched him. After a time she rushed out and forced him tnto the back room. She took off her bear robe and was like a woman, except that her eyes were different from human eyes. The bear woman brought him food and fed him. The two slept together. After a few days his family searched for him with dogs but could not find him. Kats was forced to stay with the bear woman, for each time she went fishing she blocked the doorway so he could not get out. At the end of a year the bear woman had a baby. In another year she had a second. Kats' family by now had given him up for dead and held the mourning ceremonies. At the end of the third year a third bear child was born. That spring four men again went hunting and the dogs found the den. The dogs went into the en- trance and Kats saw his own dog among the others. He called his name in a whisper, "Caisw6.h, CaiswWh," and the dog whined. Bear-woman held Kats so he could not escape. The men heard him call to his dog, but could do nothing, so they went home. But the people came again, twenty men and their dogs. The bear woman put Kats in the back room. Then she caught the dog, Caiswaih, and gave him to Kats. The dog licked his master's face and Kats petted him. The people finally went home. But when his "wife" was in the back room one day, Kats sneaked out, taking the three children with him. Kats built a stone salmon weir at the mouth of the stream called Xetl. There he caught fish and fed his chil- dren. Then the children went home to their bear mother and Kats went to his village. There he told what had hap- pened to him. One day Kats said, "I want two men to come with me. I wish to feed my children." The "children" knew he was coming and ran to the weir. The two men stayed in the canoe for they were afraid of the bears. But Kats caught fish and fed the children.63 Everyday Kats came, caught fish, and fed them. Finally the children were grown and Kats found it difficult to get men to go to the weir with him. The bear woman was pleased with Kats. But finally he decided to get married (to a human). Bear woman knew of this. The next time Kats came to the weir she hid in the bushes. She told the children, "Catch your father and kill him." The children bit and cuffed him so that he died. Then the bear woman walked slowly home, followed by the three boys. Halfway home she rose on her hind legs like a person, her hands at her sides and her ears droop- ing. The men in the canoe saw her and heard her sing: Het het het ahdt. Het het het ahat. Het het het ahat. Tcak6h akna' k niyah. Gut ah akXoh akXoh. The meaning is, "I go back to my country. I go back to my home. My husband has another wife. So I told the boys to kill him." This is the mourning song still sung by the Nexadi and the Tekwedih. (When Kats returned from the years with the bear he looked almost like a bear. And he told how bear, when they begin the winter's hibernation, stuff a wad of soft grass in the rectum. In the spring the bear eats the skin of the pads of his paws as a laxative.) CLAN EMBLEMS AND OTHER CLAN PROPERTY Things claimed by the various clans range from clan em- blems and crests to "real estate" and intangibles such as house and personal names, legends, songs, dances, and so on. It is not always possible to distinguish what things are more or less the property of the entire moiety (Wolf or Raven), which are strictly clan property, which belong to certain lineages or households, and which are the spe- cial property of individuals. A further complication is that some things claimed or ascribed to individuals are not always in reality owned by such individuals, since they may be merely the trustees of the property. At least in many cases they cannot sell or otherwise dispose of such things without the consent of others. To a certain extent clan emblems of all kinds are a part of the totemic complex, but the Tlingit make a dis- tinction between the crest animals themselves and their representations. The living animals are referred to as cagun (ancestors, or perhaps relatives), whereas the carvings, paintings, and other representations of the crests-those things "not alive" -are called ati uk. In theory the emblems used by the respective moieties are different and certain ones were the common property of everyone of the proper moiety. Thus the Raven motif could be used by all Ravens, the Eagle or Wolf by all per- sons of the Wolf (Eagle) side. But in a sense the wolf em- blem was the "special" crest of the Nanyaayih of the Stikinekwan (Wrangell) tribe and the eagle was the special crest of the Nexadi clan of the Sanyakwan. A further com- plication arises from the fact that a crest might be "bor- rowed" from the opposite moiety by a man because his father or a grandfather belonged to that moiety. In theory the right to use the emblem terminated with the death of the borrower, but in practice this was not always so. Change of a crest or emblem from one clan or moiety to another has also come about through gift (usually in settle- ment of a debt or other obligation), by seizure for failure to pay a claim, or in war. Things which are or may be claimed by moiety, clan, household, lineage, or even individuals are the following: Items on which the crests are carved, painted, or woven: totem poles, house posts, screens and room par- titions, dance hats, "war" hats or helmets, blankets, shirts, dance batons, drums, boxes, canoes, paddles, 63They were like bears, yet like persons. Again there is this difficulty of human-animals. 37 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS face paintings, and any other thing decorated with a crest. "Real estate": houses, berry patches, certain (but not all) salmon streams and ocean fishing areas (usually linked with the adjacent fishing area), and streams that are "owned" only for ceremonial purposes. It is the duty of women to dress and otherwise prepare fish for drying and smoking. The salmon are split down the back and the backbone and part of the ribs removed, leaving the filleted flesh and skin in one piece. At this point the clan mark is put on each piece. If she is of the Raven moiety she cuts a + or * into the flesh. Women of the Wolf moiety mark with three horizontal slashes at the same point. So far as I know those are not individual marks but merely designate the moiety-clan affiliation of the owner. Meat strips such as those of deer are marked in the same way. Each woman customarily marked in a definite part of each piece so that her mark and its position served as a property mark. INTANGIBLES The most important of these are house names and per- sonal names, the latter usually following lineages. Others are the "copyright" to certain legends, songs, and dances. Still others are of a miscellaneous character-the right to depict a certain mountain, ice, or snow, or the right to build an especially big fire in ceremonies. Certain seem- ingly incongruous figures (usually on totem poles) repre- sent "firsts." The first chief of a tribe to see a sailing vessel put it on a totem pole. The first chief to own a pig (which he kept as a pet) erected a pole with the figure of a pig when the animal died. These would in time become "crests" of the clan.64 The right or title to each clan emblem and other clan property, in fact to anything other than personal effects belonging to individual, lineage, or household, is in the native mind based on a legend of its origin. This legend may tell of a supernatural experience, of a "discovery," or tell of a real or fictitious happening in the recent or distant past. It is felt that only the person or persons of the group really know the authentic version of the legend and that the legend itself is owned. The result is that per- sons outside the group in question usually claim ignorance of the legend, or state outright that they have no right to tell it. Certain ceremonial things, such as named dishes, baskets, or canoes, are regarded as the property of one house group of a clan. But one person, usually a male, is the custodian. This is even true of the famed Chilkat blankets which were made by women. Thus a certain such blanket is in the charge of Chief Danawak. But he is old and recently called in several close clan kin for their advice as to the disposal of the trusteeship. It was de- cided that the blanket should pass to the eldest surviving male of the house Hlnk!6hYt (house by the stream). For ceremonial purposes certain clans sometimes "owned" small creeks of no practical value. At Yandestakyah the Klokwahadi clan "owned" such a stream at the vil- lage. On certain occasions persons of the other moiety refer to this creek in a slighting manner. At this the clan invite all the members of the clan that has ridiculed the stream to a feast. The amount of food provided is enor- mous and the guests must eat all of it. This overfeeding "In late times the purely crest nature of the totem poles changed somewhat and figures carved for ridicule, revenge, or for other motives became fairly common, as Barbeau has shown (Barbeau, Totem Poles, pp. 399-411). is to even the score of the "insult." But the overfeeding is in itself an insult. So the guests are given money in compensation. Should the money not be given, the guests may even take one of the crests of the host clan. The pro- cedure may be used, of course, to insure the giving of a feast and money to the offenders' clan, so they stand to gain. The foregoing is a general statement of concepts of clan (or other) emblems and property. What follows are concrete examples of these concepts and usages. ORIGINS OF CERTAIN CLAN CRESTS The Origin of a House-Post Carving One of the carved posts in Whale House at Klukwan shows a man tearing a sea lion apart. The following tale explains its origin.65 Ten generations back K!letidusu' was the chief of Ra- ven House. He it was who originated the ceremony of putting a hat on boys and girls at adolescence, giving each a new name and formally making them clan mem- bers. He also originated the "training" of youths, making them strong by bathing them in cold water and whipping them. One high caste young man of Eye (Looking) House was bathing in the ocean and came upon a sea lion. He seized the animal by the tail to rend it, but it was too strong and it killed him instead. The other men of the village started training to get strength to tear this sea lion in two. There was rivalry to see who would be strongest and bravest. Among them was a poor man named Gutlwe't. He took to rising long before the others, taking his bath and returning before they were awake. One morning as he was bathing, a being, Strong Wind, drifted down the river and whipped him so that he fell into the water. At first he couldn't stand because of the whipping but later he could. One morning he climbed a spruce tree. As he came down he pulled out the limbs, then struck them back in and they "froze" into place. Now he knew that he would be the strongest of all. When he came back to camp he lay down to sleep. The others woke up and kicked him and made fun of him for not training. Then the others went' to bathe. Afterward one of them climbed the same spruce and broke off one of the replaced limbs. The others tried but could not pull off the branches. The one who succeeded was sure he could best the sea lion. When they started out they refused to let Gutlwet ac- company them, because they thought he was not "trained." Gutlwet then went to his mother and got an ermine skin. Then he jumped into the canoe, saying he could at least bail for them. When they came to the sea lions the one who thought he was strongest went overboard and seized one of the animals. But the animal bested him and he was killed. Then Gutlwet stood up and shouted, "Ho4 Ho! Who is the fellow who thought he pulled out the limb?" He walked toward the bow and so strong was he that the thwarts broke as he stepped on them. Then he tied tthe ermine skin around his head and dove in. He seized the biggest sea lion by the tail and tore him from tail to head. Now this sea lion had killed many high caste Raven people. So Chief Kletedusu decided to have a carving made to show the event. So he sent for a carver named Kadjisdu'4 and told him the story. The carving he made is the one used in Whale House to this day. "Told by "Old Man" White of KIukwan; cf. Swanton, 1909, pp. 289-291. The carving is described by Emmons, 1916. 38 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT Origin of the Kiksadi Frog Crest A chief named Nixha na took his nephews fishing for halibut."" One of them hooked something big. It was a giant frog. When they had hauled it near the surface a great stream of water flowed into the creature's mouth. They became frightened and cut the line. The frog sank and the fishermen came home. That night the chief had a dream. A "man" came to him and said, "Why did you let me go? Why were you frightened? I wanted to give you good luck." Nixhana de- cided to use the frog he had seen as a crest and had made a carving, painted and inlaid with abalone shell. Then the frog gave him good luck and he became rich. In the trouble between the Tluknahaddi and Kiksadi over the use of the frog crest the Kiksadi felt rather bitter toward Jim the Silversmith because he had done the carving.67 He was of the Xashittan clan,6" his wife of the Kukhittan clan. But her father was of the Kiksadi clan, making her "child of Kiksadi" and accordingly he should not have done the carving. Some of the Tluknahaddi were Kiksadi datcxd'n (grand- children of Kiksadi) and these were opposed to the Tlukna- haddi project. In the peace ceremony between the two clans one of the "deer" was Sitka Charley (Xa'sagoh), a Tluknahaddi. Each morning the "deer" must sing a song, and before he sang his song Charley "scolded" his own clansmen by making this little speech: "Before I start singing I will say that I am a 'grandchild of Kiksadi. I am not ashamed, because both high caste and low caste have carried water from Indian River, which belongs to the Kiksadi, of which I am a grandchild." How the Tekwedih and Daklawedih Came to Own the Killer Whale Crest The Tcagwvedih clan lived in Tcagwah Bay (Chaik Bay) south of Kilisnoo.69 (This clan is the same as the Tekwedih, or closely related.) One of the women had a husband named Natcftlane h who was from the interior (a Gunana). She had four brothers, the youngest of whom was about twelve years. These five "trained" by bathing, etc.) to go hunting sea lions. They trained almost a year. The rock islet they went to was full of sea lion, hair seal, fur seal, and sea otter. The dung of these animals made the rock slippery. The eldest tried to climb from the canoe but he slipped on the dung. The second also tried. The third almost succeeded but he too fell back. Then the brothers were ashamed. The brother-in-law knew how to use snowshoes and he had a small pair with him. He put these on and climbed the rock. He took his club and climbed to the top. This made the four brothers jealous and angry. They said "Let us leave him on this rock." One said, "But what shall we tell our sister?" The other answered, "We will say that he fell off the rock." At this the youngest tried to paddle to the rock but his brothers took the paddle away. Then they warned him that he, too, must say that the man fell. "Told by Rudolph Walton, a Kiksadi of Sitka. 67In another account the frog crest was painted on the house front. "This is really a subdivision of the Koskedih clan among the Sitka tribe. Among the Tantakwan it is an offshoot (or a subdivision) of the Ganaxadi. "Told by JW. When the brothers came home the wife said, "Where is my husband? Where is your brother-in-law?" They told her he had climbed high on the rock, then had slipped and fallen. She wept and mourned. (They had one child.) Now Natcitlaneh was on the rock and he had only his club for a weapon and only a skin robe for clothing. Sea lion were all around him but he let them be, for he had no way to make fire. That night he slept under his skin robe. The next day he walked around the rock. The fourth morning he awoke but kept his eyes closed. The sun came out. He heard someone call, "Natcitlaneh, I want you!" He peeped from under his cape but saw nothing. Three times he heard the call. Then he made a hole in his cape and watched through it. He saw only a cormorant but the bird looked like a man. This being came close and called again. Then Natcitlaneh threw back his cape and said, "Who wants me?" "My grandfather wants you," said the being. (For he was Sea Lion's daughter's son.) So Natcit- laneh went with him down the rock. They came to a cave and the being said, "Go in." Inside there was a room (house) and a big fire. A huge sea lion was the chief and other sea lions were all about. They fed him dried black cod. On one wall was a big painting and the man was sur- prised. It was a painting of an hlnthgi eci'h (an animal with a sharp shell?). On the right wall was a painting of a killer whale. (This was Tankwa'nih, "sea lion people place," and the sea lions spoke Tlingit.) The "chief" asked him if he would like to go home, and of course he said yes. The chief took him to a huge sea lion stomach and told him to get into it. Then the chief put in a number of inflated seal stomachs. The chief told him that when he got home he was to make a carving like the killer whale painting he had seen. And he was told that he must say over and over, "I'm going ashore." So they put the craft in the water and there came a west wind which drove it landward. But on the way Natcitlaneh thought of the sea lion rock and the craft returned to the rock. But they set him adrift again and warned him again to keep his thoughts on the shore. Soon he heard the surf and soon he came to a beach. He went ashore, put his "boat" back in the water and it disappeared. It was now dusk and he hid under the roots of a hollow tree. The next morning he made his way to the little bay near the village. Each morning his wife took their little son to a point there where she would weep and wail. Early the next morning he hid near the village. He saw his wife come by and sit down to keen. He threw a chip at her, hitting her in the back. She looked around and finally saw him. He motioned that she must be quiet. She tried to come to him but he said, "Don't touch me. I am different. The sea lions told me to stay away from women." Then he told her to be very careful not to let her brothers know he had returned. "And bring me my tool box," he said, "but don't let anyone see you." This she did and he again warned her to tell no one about him. Then he went back to the little cove. He ate mussels and clams, but he wasn't really hungry. He had in mind the killer whale painting he had seen. He took hemlock and carved eight small killer whales about six inches long and painted them. He drilled a hole in each dorsal fin and painted a white band on each. He painted the eyes blue, the bellies white, and the rest of the body black. Then he placed them near the water and said, "Jump in the water." They jumped in and dove, then floated up dead. So he took spruce and carved the figures as before, but again they dove only once, then died. Then he tried other kinds of wood but with each the same thing happened. Finally he tried white cedar (xai). This time the figures jumped quickly in and dove four times. Then he took them 3 9 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS out. The next morning before daylight he again put them at the edge of the water. They jumped in and swam away. The little killer whales grew rapidly and in two weeks were nearly full adult size. Each evening they returned, bringing him halibut, flounder, and codfish which he cooked for himself. And each evening his wife came to see him. The eighth day he asked her, "When are your brothers going hunting?" She said they were going two days later. Now his pet killer whales were getting big and rather fierce. They were bringing him big fish and even seals. These he dried. One evening his wife said the brothers were going sea lion hunting the following day and that she would go with them. He told her to be careful and to watch over the youngest brother, and that he was going to "send some- thing" to the other brothers. The next day when he saw their canoe he said to his killer whales, "Get ready now! Go out and smash that canoe." They rushed to the canoe, broke it in two, and bit the men. Only one half the canoe remained. Two of the killer whales got under this and carried it across their backs. In this half were the wife, her child, and the youngest brother. The killer whales brought the canoe to him and the occupants came ashore. Then Natcitlaneh called the killer whales to shore and said to them, "Now, my sons, you will live in the sea. But never bother people. Don't bite them. Eat anything living in the water. If you see a man and he says to you, 'Kit, xadawu h' ('Killer Whale, help me'), you are to help him. Then he will give you something." Then they swam away and Natcitlaneh took his wife, his son, and his brother-in- law home. This is how it is that the Daklawedih and Tekwedih have the killer whale crest, and the Daklawedih have Killer Whale House and the Tekwedih have Killer Whale Fin House. For the two clans were once one. The Kagwantan got the killer whale crest from them. The Nesadi clan also stemmed from the Daklawedih. The Thunderbird Crest The special crest of the Cangukedi (Wolf Moiety) is the Thunderbird and it was acquired as follows: A certain man went hunting deer on the mountain back of Canku. He killed several deer near the top. Then he saw a huge bird standing in a little pocket in the rock, with its wings spread out. The day was fine, without wind or clouds. He looked at the bird and marvelled at its size and beauty. He stood looking, half afraid. Then he went to dress the deer. But as he touched one of the deer the bird moved its wings slightly. Suddenly there was a great blast of wind, rain, and a roar of thunder. He ran and hid behind some rocks. Again there was sudden wind, rain, and thun- der. Then Tunder (the bird) walked slowly away as again the storm struck, but as the bird got farther away the storm lessened. The man then went to get his deer, but they had disappeared and not a bone remained. But where he had left them there was a pile of foam (xetl) about six feet high. He looked at this, then put some in his hat and took it home. He was shaking with fear. He told the people what he had seen. The wise people told him, "You mtust fast for four days. And rub the foam over you, then bathe." This he did, but he put some of the foam in a birch bark container and saved it. (So it is, if you have a strange ex- perience you must fast and bathe.) After two weeks he called his clansmen together and said, "My people, we should make a crest of this thing I saw. Then we will'own' it." They agreed. The next week the man hired a carver, told him what the creature was like, and he carved it in white cedar about half life size. Soon the man built a house and named it Xetlhrt (foam house). One house so named was in Klukwan. (The bird was the thunderbird.) The first time the people of Canku caught a shark was when they were fishing for halibut. The man who caught it cut off the head and brought it to his house. The people wondered what the creature was. They called it tus and decided to use it for a crest. Origin of the Bear Crest of the Kagwantan In Neva Strait near Sitka was a hunting and fishing camp called Klo a cayrkan (end of lagoon place). People went there in early spring to gather herring eggs and catch herring. At one end of the village lived an old widow in a very small house. One night a big bear came to this house, reached in and stole all her drying herring. She didn't know who or what had taken them. She had seen only "a big man's hand" reach in. She hung up more herring and the next night she watched. The bear came again and as he reached in she said, "Who is that with the big wide fingers ? You are a no-good thief." And she cursed him. The bear jumped in and killed her. Then he went to other houses, killing people. They tried to stab him, but he was a "close -ribbed bear" and the weapons would not pierce between his ribs. The bear escaped. The people went to Sitka and told what had hap- pened. All the men of the Kagwantan went to hunt for the bear. Again the bear came to rob. They stabbed him back of his rib "armor." One young man with a spear stabbed him from behind. The bear turned on him and the man stumbled on a root and fell over backwards. As the bear jumped at him he raised his spear, the butt resting on the ground. The bear impaled himself. The others came and stabbed him so that he ran only a little way and died. They skinned him, cut off his ears, knocked out his teeth, and took his claws. (The teeth and claws are often used as part of dance costumes.) Back in Sitka they carved a bear's head in wood and attached the ears. The skin was made into a dance shirt called xutskuda't!s, which is still kept by a Sitka family. This is how it is. The Kagwantan are the only clan which may put the bear at the top of a totem pole, though other Wolf clans may use it elsewhere on a pole. The following is another legend of the origin of the grizzly (Kodiak) bear crest of the Kagwantan: A man named Daktiu'nk of Klukwan went hunting porcupine up a branch of the Chilkat River. A bear attacked him, tore out his left eye and a portion of his scalp, and bit his leg. Then the bear went away. Finally the man was able to get to his canoe and made his way home. There he told what had happened. The people met in Killer Whale House and determined to hunt and kill the bear. (Now this was one of the type of bear calles tsuik!kastu k whose ribs are set so close together that a spear or knife cannot pass between.) They found the bear and killed him with arrows and spears. They were surprised at how his ribs were set edge to edge. They cut off the bear's head, brought it home and set it on a plank. Then they said, "Let's take the bear for a crest." So they did. How the Xashittan Acquired the Eagle Crest In the war between the Tantakwan and the Sanyakwan Nexadi the sister of Chief Nawucketl had been killed by a member of the household of a chief of the Nexadi named 40 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT Kacni'ku. After the Nexadi had moved to Loring, Chief Nawucketl came there and, from his canoe, made a speech asking for payment for his sister. The Nexadi made no reply. After his second speech he heard a sound like an eagle crying, "xai xai." The sound came from Kacniku's house. Nawucketl asked, "What is that sound?" The re- ply came, "Eagle saw a flounder' s head. That' s why he cried. n Then Nawucketl was invited ashore and into Kacniku's house. They placed the Eagle hat in front of him, thus giving him the hat and the Eagle crest. For his sister was a noble, her blood-price was high, and the Nexadi did not have the wealth to pay for her. So the Xashittan of the Tantakwan have the Eagle hat and use the Eagle crest on their totem poles. But they have no Eagle house names or personal names. The Nexadi also have the crest, that is, they did not give away all rights to it. And this is how it is that only the Tantakwan Xashittan have the Eagle, and the Sitka Xashittan do not have it. One time Caklen and his eight good men were hunting sea otter. The leader of the eight was Tcat of Krdjuhit. A ship sailed near them and they were asked aboard. They all spoke in the Chinook jargon. The Tlingit had learned this in Port Simpson and Victoria. The captain asked them to stay aboard and hunt sea otter for him at a monthly wage. The men agreed. They stayed with the vessel several months and voyaged across the ocean. They called at a place called Wawhu' (probably Oahu Island). They learned to say "hello" and "yes," and to shake hands. They saw people called Ga- nAikA [i.e., Kanaka, Hawaiians]. They went to the Philip- pines, where the people spoke a language like birds chirp- ing and where some men wore only a breech clout. The home people did not mourn, for they suspected what had happened. On the homeward voyage a great storm came up. The masts were broken and the superstructure wrecked. Caklen and his men stayed on deck despite orders to re- main below decks. Caklen told Tcat to call on his Mink and Seagull spirits. So Tcat went to the bow and told his spirit helpers to take care of them.70 Almost at once the storm abated and the sea calmed. The captain now "believed" and he put Caklen in charge of everything. Tcat and Caklen were fed at the captain's table, seated one on either side of the captain. When they were becalmed the captain would ask Tcat to call for a breeze and the breeze would spring up. The ship finally anchored off Klawak. It was the first American ship to anchor in Tlingit territory [ ?]. The captain asked Tcat if there was a way around the north of Prince of Wales Island to Duke Island. Tcat took the vessel around that way and to Ship Island at the tip of Cleveland Peninsula. There they were becalmed for a day. But Tcat called for a west wind and they sailed south. The Tlingit were dropped near where they had been picked up. Back home Caklen would often call the people to his house and relate stories of their adventures. They had been gone from April to October. In the latter part of the nineteenth century and until about 1910 some of the Tlingit usually made a trip to Victoria during the summer months, returning in Sep- tember. They usually went in convoys of from ten to twenty canoes. The Kwakiutl (tauyaLt, "flat heads") some- times attacked the convoys but were seldom successful. GM's father made the trip one summer. On the return trip two of the canoes became separated from the others. '0Tcat was not a shaman, but, as anyone can, he called on lhe spirits of his ancestors in time of need or peril. One of these was that of Keyauh, a house chief of the Xashittan; the other belonged to Oxwi's, a Daklawedih chief. The day was calm, there was an east breeze and they were sailing. Oxwis said to Keyauh, "X'unk (younger brother), let's have a good time." (They had rum they had traded for in Victoria.) So they lashed the two canoes to- gether, and everyone had several drinks. In the bow of each canoe was a bundle of spears. As was customary each chief's nephew was bow man. A breeze came up, and in the rough sea the bow line became untied so that the bows of the canoes spread apart. Keyauh's nephew, Kusa k, took a spear and reached across to pull the other canoe in. The other nephew thought Kusak was going to spear him, so he seized a spear and cried, "Guih" [a cry of defiance]. At this Kusak speared him in the side, killing him. The chiefs, being cousins, would not let the quarrel spread. They went ashore, cre- mated the body, put the bones in a box, and continued the voyage. One of the dead man's uncles, named Cak!kih, was at Dashak village on Cat Island. When they told him what had happened he left immediately. He should have waited, for the Tekwedih (Xashittan) intended to pay for the death. Offshore he stood up in his canoe, as if there were war, and made a speech, demanding pay. Gantcu, who was head chief of the Tekwedih, told his clansmen to say nothing in reply. Instead Cakkih was told to come ashore to act as "deer" for a peace ceremony. The kanigan (go-betweens, "brothers-in-law") "captured" him and the peace cere- mony was held. But in capturing him one of the kaniman had slipped and he and Cakkih both fell in the water. 1 Cakkih had two sons in Wrangell, Kagagah and Kad- jrktdake'k.72 In Wrangell, Kagdgah and another man got into a quarrel and the latter said, "Your father tried to act like a great chief. So Gantcu told his men to throw him in the water. After they had thus disgraced him, then they paid for the death. Your father was a poor man." (This was not true.) No one at Cat Island knew of this quarrel until much later. But Kagagah did not forget what the man had said and it rankled. Gantcu went from Cat Island to the village of Gac at Cape Fox to visit Chief Kace'kc. Kagagah went there also, in another canoe. One morning Gantcu came out of the house and was sitting on the platform, talking with his cronies. Kagagah came up and, without warning, shot and killed him. Kagagah and his party then rushed to their canoe and went home. At this time some of the Tekwedih were living at Port Tongass, some on Cat Island. The clan had split because of trouble over two sons of Andaoh, Yacu't and KinnAnuVk. These young fellows used to get drunk and go about the village, kicking at doors and throwing things down smoke holes. They were also very arrogant because of their high rank. But no one could do anything about it because they were very high caste (anya'dki). Gantcu was the younger brother of Andah and resented the actions of the two young fellows. On one occasion he got drunk and attacked Andah with a war knife, upbraiding him for not controlling his sons. He knocked Andah down and slashed him so that part of his viscera came out. Andah recovered, but be- cause of this trouble he and several related house groups moved to Port Tongass. There was no further trouble. With Chief Gantcu dead, all the Tedkwedih moved to Port Tongass, for now Andah was looked upon as the head chief. The Tekwedih sent word to Wrangell that war was 71Ihe peace ceremony should not have been held for an acci- dental killing, especially since those involved were "cousins." 72They were evidently living there with their maternal uncle. 41 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS declared. There followed the usual year of continence and war games. (The date is about 1868.) In the spring they started for Wrangell, two canoe-loads of warriors making up the party. At this time the Tekwedih had no shaman so they hired Yacut (GM' s elder brother) to serve. When they "scared" him,73 his prediction was kiwa xrtc nakwani (above frog is swimming). This meant that the person they would kill would be swimming like a frog. The "above" referred to the belief that the souls of all who die a violent death go to the upper world). At this the others shouted "o+ e+." The war leader (xa cakaddi, "war canoe bow man") of one canoe was Nagu'deklen of Bear House; the other leader was Kuniki'c of ThunderbirdHouse. The Tekwedih of the Sanyakwan sent word they would join, so they stopped by and were joined by five canoes. The convoy traveled north carefully and cautiously, spying and looking for the fort their enemies had built somewhere. Finally they found two deadfalls set for mink, so they knew that people were near and would come to inspect the traps. The war party hid nearby. A man named KAle'h, of Thunderbird House, was named to fire the shot at whoever appeared, for the murdered man (Gantcu) had ransomed from slavery several persons of Thunderbird House. A mock mink made of clay was put at the trap to deceive the trapper. The same day a canoe appeared. In it were a man in warpaint and his wife. She stayed in the canoe while he inspected the traps. He saw that one trap was sprung and called to his wife that he had caught a mink. He did not see those in ambush though they were scarcely hidden, for "his time had come."74 They shot him. His wife shoved the canoe off but instead of paddling she jumped overboard and started swimming. So they killed her in the water, thus fulfilling the shaman' s prophecy. Her husband was wounded but not yet dead; and Tutski!, the brother of the murdered man, was called to give the coup de grace. The raiders took the heads and dashed for home. On the way home the party stopped at the deserted village on Cat Island where they climbed on top of Gantcu' s house and made speeches there. They mounted the heads on the masts of two canoes and shouted "hu++" four times.75 It is said that the cry was heard in Port Tongass, thirty-five miles away! At this time the Tantakwan called Port Tongass their home village. The village was named Katdu`guh (wet tree floating) because balm-of-gilead trees coming down the Nass as driftwood often floated around the island. There were seventeen main houses in the village, each built ac- cording to the ritual. Joseph McKay of Bear House (GM's stepfather) built first. It was at this time that the first American troops came (so the date is about 1868).76 GM's mother told him that the troops first hoisted the flag, then cleared a site and put up tents; and how the bugle was blown and a cannon fired as the flag was raised at sun- rise. [This is mentioned because the troops had a part in the peace ceremony.] Finally a truce was arranged between the Tantakwan and Wrangell people. One of the "deer" for the ceremony 73This is called yekwiudduklaik (spirit frighten?) and causes the spirit to possess the shaman. To do this in a house some- one outside pounds on the wall and cries "Wah+." In a canoe, someone pounds the gunwale with a paddle and cries "Wah+." 74 When a shaman "sees" the persons who will be killed they are already dead, for the shaman has already dispatched the souls. 751his cry is called kekacAgasaxutc (signal for the heads?) and is given when a raid is successful. 76My informant, GM, was born this same year. was bow man on one of the canoes at the time of the Vic- toria trip, and a cousin of Kusak, who had killed the man on that trip. The other chief "deer" was Kunikifc of Thunderbird House, who was chosen because, as was mentioned, Gantcu had once ransomed some people from Thunderbird House. Years earlier Captain Ebbets had given a letter to Negut, "making him a chief." This letter was now in the possession of Andah, and he showed it to the commander of the troops. So the Tantakwan people were taken inside the fort and from its protection they spoke to the Wrangell people. The Tantakwan also had two letters from the com- manding officer at Port Tongass, certifying the peaceful intentions of the Tantakwan. Finally the Wrangell people called on Andah, to "cap- ture" him for a "deer." After some mock fighting Andah was captured. The peace ceremony went off without inci- dent. But each of the persons from Wrangell who had had any part in Gantcu's death had to pay. The total value was the value of eight persons (slaves). When the last payment of 500 blankets was handed over, Gantcu's nephew crossed, his hands on his breast and bowed four times, saying "xwe" each time. (This bowing was done to simulate the casting off of a burden from the shoulders, meaning the payments were finished.) This was the only war the Tantakwan had during their residence at Port Tongass. The Kagwantan of Sitka Take the Wolf Crest The Sitka Kagwantan made a raid on the Kukedih [Kukhittan? ] and Cangukedih who lived at Ca nkU Point near Klawak and killed many. They returned via the Maurelle Islands and passed close to an island called Nac. On the island was a pack of wolves and they succeeded in killing the largest one. They skinned him and cut off his head. The chief liked the look of the head and said, "We ought to use the wolf for a crest. The wolf is strong and will be a good crest for the Kagwantan." The others agreed. The chief cleaned the skull and made a hat of it. He put it in his house in Sitka. Then he called the clan together and they agreed to adopt it as a crest. The chief carved the posts in his house as wolves and called them gutcgats (wolf posts). To this day Nac is called Nactagutccayih (island of the wolf's head). The Eagle Crest of the Kagwantan Near the village of Klocacakean in Icy Straits was a hunting camp. Three youths went hunting and saw eagles eating at something. They wanted to catch an eagle. So they stripped, painted their bodies as if blood were com- ing from wounds, and lay on the beach. Each had a club with which he was going to kill an eagle. But one eagle struck unobserved and killed one of the boys. The other boys jumped up but the eagle flew to a near-by tree. Then the boys went home and told what had happened. The chief said, "Who is going to pay for my nephew? I want that eagle." So he set a trap, caught the eagle and killed it. He said, "This will be a crest for me and my clan." Only one Kagwantan house has the right to the shark crest. This is K!aka'hYt (cliff-edge house). A certain man of this house was fishing for halibut but caught a shark instead. He cut off its head, brought it to his house and put it at the rear corner. The house chief was surprised 42 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT at it, for they had not seen a shark before. The chief said to his housemates, "My people, we should make a carving of that." They agreed, so he hired a carver of the Klukna- hadi clan. The carver took a hemlock log that was red in- side. It took him a month to do the carving. The other households of the Kagwantan were called and the carver was given one slave and two hundred blankets. [The Cangukedi have an almost identical legend of the origin of the crest.] The Tantakwan Tekwedih have as their most important crest the brown or Kodiak bear. Other Tekwedih crests are Dogfish (k!Agu'h) and Thunderbird (xetl). The last is a big bird "like an eagle," and is a girl, that is, it is a combination of human and animal. (It is difficult to assess this common concept of "animals that are like humans" or "humans who are like animals," and which share attri- butes of both.) The Tekwedih also have the rights to the "big fire" in feasts, though this is not a crest in the same sense as the others. Rather it is like the personal names, certain dances, and so on. A Sanyakwan once gave a feast at which an especially hot fire nearly scorched the Nexadi clan song leader, who, by the rules, could not move. Later his elder brother gave a feast and had an unneces- sarily big fire made. Three of the Tekwedih walked out of the feast, despite the fact that the host was "child" of Tekwedih, that is, his father was a Tekwedih. The "big fire" is said to have been a crest among the Tsimshian also. The Sanyakwan Tekwedih also have the right to use the big fire. Kalian's son who was house chief of Valley House (Tekwedih) at Port Tongass died. Cape Fox John of the Sanya Tekwedih wished to come to aid in the feasts, but by the time he arrived the local people had finished. But he gave his own feast and had a big fire made, for he was a "grandchild" of the Valley House People of the Tanta- kwan and therefore could do this. At Auk there lived a Wuckitan chief named Anguda's. He and Chief Yisy"et of the Kagwantan at Klukwan were trading partners (axyaka'wuh). One day Yisyet came to Auk and stayed in the house of Angudas. The visitor wished to dance, so he put on his wolf hat and danced. At the end of the dance the host said, "My friend (axyakawuh), you have a fine hat." (This was a way of really asking for the hat.) The owner said, "No. It belongs to my clan." The other replied, "My axyakawuh, I will give you a slave and fifty blankets for it." Yisyet needed the money so he said, "Let me think it over until tomorrow." The next day Angu- das gave him a fine woman slave and fifty blankets. Thus the Wuckitan got the right to the wolf crest. Since it was sold, the other Kagwantan could not complain. A certain man and his wife went hunting in their canoe early one morning. They saw a t!sit (murrelet?) which was asleep, but swimming. The woman, who was in the stern, shook the canoe as a signal and pointed at the bird. The man caught the bird in his hand. They tied his wings, put a string around his neck, and went home. There the chief asked what it was. The man told how he had caught him. The chief asked, "All the other clans have big things for crests. It would be a good thing for us to have this little thing." So the Wuckitan have the tsit for a crest. The Tcucanedi adopted or appropriated the bear crest as follows: A chief of the Kagwantan, named Taxca', went to marry the daughter of Yanadju k. One canoe load of Tcucanedih accompanied the party. (For the Kagwantan and Tcucanedi were special friends, the latter having aided the former in a war.) Eight slaves were "raised up" (i.e., paid) for the bride. But one of them belonged to the Tcucanedi chief K!ak!sak!a. In the gift exchange Taxca was given five slaves and eight songs. On the way home Kaksaka said, "Think of it! I gave one slave but got nothing in return." After a while he said, "Let's take the bear crest of the Tekwedi" (this being the clan of the bride's father). The bride's father should have given something in return for the one slave. So the Tcucanedi began using the bear crest and also some of the songs given to Taxca. The Porpoise Crest of the Tcucanedi The people of this clan owned a salmon fishing place at Point Carolus near Dundas Bay in Icy Straits. This stream was called Tcucanhi'ni (river of the reeds or grass). A certain chief was camped near Kuknuwuh (box fort). His son went hunting in his canoe and shot a por- poise. He managed to get it into the canoe. When he came home he called his father to see. People had seen por- poise before but no one had ever killed one. Five men carried it into the house and the people came to see it. They wondered at it and asked what it was called. One man said, "Let's call it tcitc." Thus this clan got the por- poise crest. It is said that only the Ganaxtedih of Klukwan and the Kluknahadi of Hoona have the right to use the raven crest at the top of a totem pole, though other clans may use it elsewhere on a pole. These two once fought a war over the crest but in the end both came to use it. The Kluknahadi once lived in a village called KIC'ste, on Salmon River in Dundas Bay to the west of Icy Straits. These people often went out to the open sea. Once during a storm two men were walking on the beach east of Yaku- tat Bay and came on a stranded whale. (At that time they did not know how to capture whales.) On their return one of these men made a carving and a painting of a whale. And he got his wife to weave a hat for him with the design of a whale's head on it. Thus they "own" YaisaXW (whale hat). The Dukdentan of Hoona and the Kluknahadih (Raven moiety) of Chilkook and Yandestakyah were once the same people. The ocean is a crest of the Dukdentan of Hoona because the Hoona people often hunted sea otter. On a totem pole they use there is the figure of a man who re- presents "Ocean." One of their houses at Hoona is called Tak!hrt (Slug House) because salmonberry bushes grew close by, and in their dense shade slugs were numerous.77 Origin of the Wolf Crest of the Yenyedi'h The people of Taku used to make trips to the interior to trade with the Gunana. There they made brush houses like those of the Gunana. On one such trip there were three men and one woman. One night the woman went outside to urinate. She saw a "man" like a Gunana. When the "man" saw her he ran away howling like a wolf, for he was really a wolf-man. Then she was sorry. She told her husband what had happened. The wolf-man did not return. That night the husband dreamed of the wolf-man who said, "Your wife made a mistake. I wanted to help you, to bring you whatever I caught. But I cannot because of "My informant JW states that the Katkaayih of Sitka have one house named Slug House, but I do not find it in Swanton's list. 43 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS what your wife did." [The "mistake" was evidently exposing herself.] The party went home to the coast. There the husband called the Yenyedih together and related what had hap- pened. The chief said, "We should use the wolf for a crest." The people agreed. Origin of the Sun Crest of the Dakistenalh A woman named Katxu'n had a daughter. There came to her many animal-men saying, "I wish to marry your daughter." And each told his qualifications. But she re- fused them all. Finally there came a "man" who was really Sun. He said, "I wish to marry your daughter." The mother said, "What can you do?" He replied, "Each morning I lift myself up in the east. Everyone is glad. I make things dry. I make people warm." So the mother consented. Each morning before sunrise (sic) the husband came to his wife. But no one saw him. And each day a son was born to her until there were four. But one day the wife was unfaithful. Sun saw this and was angry. He took his four sons back to the sky. This is how it is that when it is to be a clear day the sons can be seen. These are the sun's sons [sun dogs or parhelia]. The Ganaxadi clan of the Tantakwan claim the following crests: Raven, Starfish, Whale, Frog, Dog Salmon, and the mythical bird krtdju k (or grdju k). GM stated that the last is a bird like an eagle or hawk. It has a black tail, or the tail is spotted with black. It is found or seen on only one mountain, called KAtdjukca (Kitdjuk Mountain), on the south side of the south arm of Moira Sound. WB of Klukwan states that the bird is the "mother" of Xetl, the thunderbird. But kitdjuk makes no thunder. The Ganaxadi also "own" the "high" totem pole with the kitdjuk at the top. The right to make a ceremonial Raven Hat is said to have been limited to the people of Yetlsaxwhr't (Raven's hat house) until about 1800. But it happened there were so male heirs in that house, so a woman named Duskla h made such a hat and presented it to Caklen, who was a lad of ten years. In honor of this, Caklen's father gave a great feast at which he freed several slaves. The hat was worn in certain dances and in war. The "Cow" Crest of the Xashittan Swanton (1908, p. 400) translates "Xashit" as "Moose House." The name appears as a house (Xashit) in the Koskedi clan of the Huna, the Yakutat, and the Sitka (Swan- ton, 1904, pp. 404, 407). Swanton's informants evidently translated these as Moose House and Cowhide House. My own informants gave cow, moose, horse, and skin. The last is probably correct. Xas is the Chinook jargon word for cow (as is moos moos). GM stated that xas means also "a curtain between." It may also mean a large ani- mal. The Sitka Xashittan paint a cow's head or horns on the front of the house, but this is probably very recent. It seems unlikely that "cow" is the meaning, especially since the Yakutat tribe probably had no knowledge of cows at all, even in very recent times. The Xashittan are re- garded as a subdivision of the Koskedi and Ganaxadi clans, not a "real" clan. But the name illustrates how a house name, plus tan ("people"), can be applied to a group which may, in time and with growth in numbers, come to be re- garded as a clan, in fact had come to be so regarded among the Tantakwan. Ganaxtedih Crests The Ganaxtedih of Klukwan claim the following crests: Raven, Whale, Frog, Woodworm, Goose, Land Otter, Owl, and the stream Tsakhini. A totem pole at Klawak was erected for JD's mother's mother, of the Ganaxadi clan. On it were two figures, the raven at the top, the giant clam below. A second pole was a memorial for JD's mother's brother. Its carving was a raven diving into a whale's mouth.78 A third featured a killer whale (called guciyetl, "dorsal fin raven") with a raven sitting on its dorsal fin and had the figure of a bear below. The Wuckitan clan of Hoona used the shark as a crest and had a house named Tushi"t (Shark House), but it is said that the crest was obtained from a certain man's father's father and was not an "original" crest of the clan. The Klukwaha'ddi (Quick People) claim as crests Raven, k!ak (a lake fish), and Crow (tsaxe'tl). Every song is owned. In native theory the oldest ones are those owned in common by all the clans of a moiety. Others are owned by clans, households, or individuals. Rights to sing a song are involved. If a person or group wishes to use a certain song to which he or they do not have the hereditary right, permission must be asked. This is always granted because before a song is sung its history is outlined and credit given. Kinship with the clan or group owning the song also gives the right to sing it, but permission would usually be asked and the singer would state his relationship to the group. Thus "children," "grandchildren," and so on of a lineage or clan may lay such claims. DC is "grand- child" of Tluknaxadi. His father's mother's brother is Chief Danawak of that clan. DC's children and grand- children could also sing Tluknaxadi songs. Often such songs are sung in ceremonies "to show through whom one comes." DC may also sing Kiksadi songs, because his wife is Kiksadi. The songs of a father's or grandfather's clan are often sung at ceremonies, to back up an argument, aid in mak- ing a settlement, and so on. Thus when the Tluknaxadi tried to use the frog crest of the Kiksadi, Sitka Charley, a Tluknaxadi, sang a Kiksadi song "to show he had come through the Kiksadi." The two clans were in meeting to try to settle the affair. Sitka Charley stood up and said, "I can walk down the street with my head up. I do not feel ashamed. All classes of people, high caste and low caste, have carried water from Indian River to the jail. [Indian River is owned by the Kiksadi. Jail sentences for drunken- ness were common and all clans had had members in the jail.] So I am not ashamed to sing the song of the Kiksadi who own thet river. I am 'grandchild' of Kiksadi." Then he sang a Kiksadi song. The speech and song made the Tluknaxadi feel cheap and raised the Kiksadi in public esteem. Origin of a Kiksadi Song Mrs. DC related the following about the origin of one of the Kiksadi mourning songs. It is an example of how a group validates its claim to ownership. Only the Kiksadi would know the details and esoteric meanings. In former times the Kiksadi usually went to Silver Bay to dry salmon. On this occasion [about 1825] they were there. Among them was a woman named Suksa n. She left there to return to Sitka in her little canoe, taking with her 78This is probably the one pictured in Garfield, 1948, Fig. 42. 44 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT her baby Skuwaye'tl in his cradle. She came to Tawu'tl (Hole in the Rock) and on to Kutsinhuikk!u'h (Mice Cove). There she saw some fine salmonberries and decided to pick some. Leaving the baby in the canoe she pulled it onto the beach but did not tie it. After she had picked some berries she looked and was horrified to see that the tide had come in and carried the canoe out. She ran to the beach but the canoe was too far out and the water too deep for her to reach it. She ran into the woods and started overland for Sitka. There she told her clansmen what had happened. They all went out in canoes to search. But a wind was blowing out of Silver Bay and must have carried the canoe far out. They re- turned to Sitka and the next day continued the search, hunting around a'll the islands. But finally they gave up. At the mourning ceremonies among the other songs was a new one composed by the mother. It ran: AdAsgiTh tunaxdata ntc I think always axyide&h of my son husnuwu s t Ak crab apple point alongside it unyaguctu gu ikakhas yaxlidja k canoe blown up your uncle's I compare you with ayl"kwayawagu t kiankawudeyi'h I think he has gone in God's [the spirit?] road axyit atcgwaih k!tletl katyaxxwadah my son that is why you are no more seen. [The reference to the uncle and his canoe was that in a battle with the Russians a keg of powder in the uncle's canoe had exploded, completely destroying it and killing the occupants.] This song has been handed down and is sung, for ex- ample, at the ceremonies when a house is rebuilt and gifts are made to the guests. The story behind another Kiksadi song is the one which follows. Since this relates of events in the distant past, it is probably much older than the preceding one. The first run of sockeye salmon (the "after the ice sockeye") comes to a creek at Redoubt Bay. Among the Kiksadi there was a man named Kawktle'x. His daughter was "behind the curtain" (i.e., in her first-menses seclu- sion). The people built a weir named gawtc. But it rained continually and the water rose so high that the salmon went over the top of the trap and none were caught. Kawktlex built another trap but caught only sticks in it. The people blamed all this on the fact that the girl was "behind the screen." The talk was so bitter that Kawktlex said to his wife and daughter, "Let us go away to some place where we may die, to get away from this misery of talk." They started to climb the peak back of the bay. Just before they reached the top they turned into three stones which can be seen there to this day. That is why the mountain is still called Awatinika'h (to get away from scolding man). And to this day it is known that one must not point at that mountain lest storms and rain come. In memory of these three persons the Kiksadi com- posed a song which is sung as a mourning song in pot- latches: Yah ah ylhinine eh yah Yah ah yAhina.ne eh yah Yah ah ylhinane eh yah Da-ogo'hyekyia h I wish you would come down iwatkucta nni what you used to do axkakgihas my uncles [Repeat chorus.] TsAsxAtlAtr'nxe All the time I see oga'ct'uxglenu'x it makes me feel good Axkak, duka'si My uncle, his trap. [The meaning is that the singers wish the three persons to come again to see the trap.] A Dispute over a Crest The dispute between the Kiksadi and Tluknahaddi of Sitka over the use of the frog crest is known to all the Tlingit tribes. JW of the Chilkoot group gave the follow- ing version of it. About 1920 the Tluknahaddi of Sitka painted a frog on the front of one of their houses. Not long afterward the Kiksadi took advantage of the absence from Sitka of most of the Tluknahaddi and destroyed (or at least mutilated) the painting. About twenty Kiksadi men went to the house in question, placed a ladder against the front, and one man climbed up and did the damage. Only three Tluknahaddi men were in the house and they dared not defy the twenty. When the other Tluknahaddi returned, a fight threatened, but the U.S. marshal succeeded in averting it. The case came to court, with a lawyer representing each side. A Kiksadi chief spoke of how his "grandfather" [his ancestors] had first used the frog crest. The Tluknahaddi replied that their ancestors, too, had "owned" the frog. The Kiksadi replied that this was true, "but not for a long time" (i.e., that the right had lapsed). They expressed surprise that the Tluknahaddi would even attempt to use this crest. The judge ruled in favor of the Kiksadi. There is still some bad feeling over the affair. Yet JW stated that the Ganaxtedih (at least those of Sitka and Klawak) have the right to use the frog crest. He also claims that the Tluknahaddi once had a house named Frog House, but this was far back in the legendary or semi-historical times of the town of Klocacakean. (Another version of the episode has it that a carved figure rather than a painting was placed on the house front.) TOTEM POLES This is scarcely the place to discuss the long-standing controversy on the origin and antiquity of the totem pole art of the Northwest Coast. The arguments have been sum- marized by Barbeau.79 I agree with him that the Northwest poles in the elaborately carved form date from post-Euro- pean times. But I believe that memorials to the dead, sometimes in the form of simple poles, are pre-European. It is difficult at this late date to secure significant infor- mation from the people themselves. I give the following data for what they are worth-statements given by various informants. Tlingit totem poles should more properly be called mortuary poles, since they seem to have been erected 79Totem Poles, pp. 1-14; cf. Drucker, 1948, pp. 389-397. 45 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS only in memory of the dead. Getting the log, doing the carving, and setting up the pole must always be done by persons of the opposite moiety (the "brothers-in-law") and the food and wealth distributed at the accompanying potlatch go to them also, so it is an expensive affair, not to be entered into lightly. For these services the sponsor pays a high price, for the more he pays the greater the evidence of his high regard for his clan, its crests, the deceased, and the names involved.80 If a man plans to erect a totem pole he first deter- mines what one is missing among those currently in front of the clan houses. He talks things over with the elders and others of his clan. In theory no pole may be erected which has not been put up at some time in the past. (Of course the increase in the number erected in post-European times makes this a theory only. Unusual events such as the first sighting of the ship of an early explorer made such a vessel a "crest" of the discoverer, though it did not serve as the raison d'etre of the pole itself, which, like the others, must be a memorial col- umn.) Once the approval of the clan elders has been se- cured, the sponsor arranges the following: At the last of the four "crying" feasts he stands up and aska a rhe- torical question in a pseudo-riddle form. To his clans- men he says, for example, "Do you know what my great- uncle did in such and such a village?" No one answers, but finally (by prearrangement) one old man stands up and replies, for example, "Your great-uncle at that time put up a memorial pole for his sister." He then goes on to name the pole and to describe it. For each totem pole, like each house, has a name. Some names are descriptive, such as SaxwwAasgifkayetl (Starfish in the mouth of Raven). Others are esoteric, such as Tcucdahke'di (Built his own Casket). This in some obscure way refers to the fact that the man who first put up the pole did so for his own sister but used a crest belong- ing to his mother's father, who would be, of course, of the opposite moiety. I can give an example of this last-mentioned deviation from the rule that a pole depicts only the crests of the sponsor. At the death of Caklen (a Tantakwan Ganaxadi) his younger brother asked the "riddle" and an old man of the Tekwedih clan (of the opposite moiety) answered that Caklen's mother's father had erected a pole with the bear crest, belonging to the Tekwedih, at the top. This indicated that the Ganaxadi has the right to use this crest again for the same purpose. But my informant, GM, added, "No one knows how the Ganaxadi first came by the right to use the bear crest." Sometimes the "riddle" is real in that no one knows just what the chief has in mind and persons in the audi- ence guess, as in the incident just cited. A chief who has sufficient wealth may erect a number of poles, provided his prestige is great enough and he has the hereditary rights in question. Thus Chief Kudena of the Tantakwan Tekwedih had six poles, each different, in front of his house (at Port Tongass ?) . Each had been erected as a memorial to a relative. In the native mind there is no sharp distinction between a totem pole and the paintings on the front of a house, or on its inside walls or the carved house posts. Thus at the rear of Raven House among the Tantakwan was a board (screen?) painted with eight human faces, each represent- "oSome of the white curio dealers have in recent times found it good business to decorate their store fronts with "totem poles" and have expressed astonishment at the fees asked by and paid to native carvers. The high fees are understandable in native terms. ing a slave set free in honor of the Raven posts (Yetlga's) at the rear of the house. The explanation of some of the items on a totem pole seems to have been almost a clan secret. (All clan legends, songs, and so on were clan property.) I cannot explain this concept further except by citing an incident related to me: GM was residing with his uncle. The uncle's daughter was sewing. Some of GM's boy friends came in and the boys, including GM, began singing songs. The girl came and sat nearby. Her mother scolded the boys, saying they were making sport of the girl. The visitors slunk out one by one. The woman then said to GM that she didn't in- clude him in the scolding; that the other lads were nobodies, having had no feasts given for them. One of the lads told his mother in Raven House what had happened. Both women mentioned were of the Tekwedih clan.) The next day GM was asked to come to stay in Raven House, because of the affront to him in Drifted Ashore House (his uncle's). The following day the people of Valley House asked him over. In front of Valley House was a totem pole with the sea bear carved on it. Below this figure were about a dozen carved human heads. The chief of Valley House gave GM the explanation of these. They represented persons brought out of slavery by GM's father (of Valley House). These slaves had been persons of Kats' House, the house of the woman who had done the scolding. This was essentially an apology for GM's treatment and served to salve his feelings. (The heads thus commemorated a man's great deed, but not a deed that could be mentioned publicly, since it would involve mention of the slavery of the kin of certain persons.) According to JD of Klawak totem poles were not erected by the Tlingit in ancient times. The idea came from the Haida at the time when the Kakoshittan girl married the Haida man, an event of indefinite date, perhaps two cen- turies ago. Before that time the dead were cremated, the bones buried, and a grave-house erected over the spot.8' In later times the bones were placed in the grave house. Still later, after the Haida marriage mentioned, the bones were placed in a niche cut in the back of the memorial pole. Such memorial columns were sometimes placed to the rear of the houses, the normal place for the cemetery. However, the memorial post might be placed in front of the house or even built into the front wall, an opening in the pole serving as a door; such a pole was sometimes called K!awutlasi'h (mouth door tree).82 This native theory or belief regarding totem poles may have some basis in fact, for the word for totem pole is kadakedi'h (coffin, or literally, outside the body box). JW of the Chilkat tribe stated that in early times totem poles were unknown to the northern Tlingit. But they did use carved house posts and wall paintings to represent the crests. The Tsimshian used totem poles, however, and the idea spread to the Tlingit. In Totem Pole Park in Sitka is a pole with a figure of a bearded man at the top. It was first put up (at Hyda- burg?) by the Haida in revenge on W. P. Mills of the Sitka Wharf and Power Company and represents him. He was thought to have stolen some things from caches, blankets and other goods. These he supposedly brought to Sitka and added to the stock of his store. The pole was erected by one of the Raven clans and what has been de- scribed as a checkerboard on the pole is not that but the cross-hatched tail of Beaver, one of the Raven crests. 81a think it unlikely that the bones were buried. Disposal of the bones in a grave house is more likely. 82The word for ordinary door is k!Aha't (covered on the mouth). 46 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT About 1920 a man named Nadagek!i'c of Iron House (Wolf moiety, Tcucanedih clan) died and was buried in the Russian cemetery. His house mates put up a memorial figure, a marble bear about six feet high (made in Seattle). It is called Wudihanihu'ts (standing up bear). This they did for revenge on the people of Bear House (Wolf moiety, Kagwantan clan). The latter owed money that they could not or would not pay. This seizure of the main crest of Bear House was an attempt to force pay- ment through seizure of the crest. (Such intramoiety feuds were rare and probably would not have occurred in the old days.) One totem pole of the Kiksadi has (top to bottom) sea lion, raven, frog. The sea lion derived from the fact that they learned to hunt sea lions in the open sea. The frog crest was acquired as follows: A certain man had a house. One day a frog came near it. His daughter played roughly with the frog, finally killing it. That night she had a dream in which a big woman came up to her and said, "I'll come to take you some day. You are bad. You played with me." The girl woke up in a stupor. Her parents asked if she were sick but she said, "No, but I feel changed." Then she told about the dream but she was afraid to tell about playing with the frog. She remained in a stupor and drooled. Her father, a chief, called in many people to see if anyone could tell what was wrong. One man guessed she had mistreated some creature. He told her mother to force the girl to tell what she had done. Finally she con- fessed. In a few days the girl died. The next day her father called in all his clansmen. One man caught a big frog. They dressed this frog in some yarn and bits of cloth. Then the frog was turned loose. But the father said, "Who is going to pay for my daughter ?" (For frogs do not pay.) So he made a hat with the frog design and carved a frog on a totem pole.83 The Dadenta'n of Hoona have on totem poles the figure of a man which represents the ocean. This is because they so often went off Cross Sound to hunt sea otter. The Dadenta'n also bave a crest which is the Weasel Hat. CASTE, RANK, AND CLASSES The Tlingit, like their neighbors, laid great emphasis on social rank and status. Yet the society was not stratified or divided sharply into castes or social classes. Rather there was "an unbroken series of graduated statuses" and "each individual had his own particular status in the gradu- ated series from high to low.84 Rank depended on both birth and wealth. In addition, certain clans were regarded as "high" whereas others were generally regarded as low caste for various reasons. Thus, the Chilkat Ganaxtedih and Kagwantan were "high" or "noble" while the Hoona Tcucanedih were low caste. Within each clan, of course, were high caste and low caste. But a commoner of the high clans thought himself a cut above the commoners of lesser clans. There was also a feeling that certain tribes were superior to others. The Aukkwan tribe probably had the smallest population of any Tlingit tribe, and this and the lack of a sockeye salmon stream at their village were given as the reasons for the low esteem in which they were held. The Sanyakwan were likewise few in number and in addition the Nexadi clan of the Sanya did not follow the rule of moiety exogamy, and this reflected on the tribal status. Within the clan there was also a ranking of households. Some houses were classed as "noble," others as poor or common. House rank depended in part upon the rank of the house chief in relation to the other house chiefs of the clan. But a house could rise or fall in rank. Failure of the house chief to give a series of potlatches equal to the pot- latches of his predecessors would lower the prestige of a house, and, contrariwise, the giving of great potlatches by a house chief raised his rank, that of his household, and that of the entire clan. 83Thus it is that people are careful not to harm frogs. If one "bothers" the Tlugwa'n (a sea bird with a red beak and white legs), one's canoe will capsize. Likewise salmon trout must not be "bothered," though they may be eaten-but none of the flesh may be left. 84Drucker, 1939. Although certain clans were "low" and others "high," this was not a ranking in the sense of caste. Numbers, prestige, success in war, and the "great things" done by certain chiefs by potlatching and so on made a clan of high prestige or the reverse. This sometimes brought about a shift in rank among the clans. Among the northern tribes the Kagwantan had grown mightily in prestige dur- ing the nineteenth century. The name "Kagwantan" has come to be applied almost as a substitute for "Eagle" (Wolf) as a moiety designation. This is because of a repu- tation of success in wars, the giving of certain great pot- latches, and the like. The result is that the Kagwantan rival the Ganaxadi and Kiksadi for first place at Klukwan and Sitka. And I was told that even at remote Yakutat the Wolf clan or clans have come to call themselves "Kag- wantan" despite the fact that (I believe) this is not an ancient clan designation (Swanton, 1904, p. 400). This shifting standing of the clans would in time be reflected in the "highest chief" concept. I was told at Wrangell (FW) that tribes such as those at Sitka and Auk who did not live on a salmon stream were rather looked down on and were spoken of as ankahyuwa h kuluih (people between towns). This was especially true of the Auk tribe, always a small group. The Stikine tribe did not ordinarily eat the flesh of sea lion or whale (none being available in their areas, ordi- narily). It was perhaps expectable that they should use this as a mark of distinction. They say, "We do not eat sea lion," and referred to such groups as the Tantakwan and Sitkakwan as "sea lion eaters." Although the social classes of the Northwest tribes are often labeled "nobles," "commoners," and "slaves," only the last constituted a true separate class. There was no sharp distinction between commoners and nobles. Every commoner could rightly claim kinship with persons high in the social scale and there was not a noble family but had its "weak" side or which did not have "disgrace- ful" incidents in the family history. The situation was further complicated by some emphasis on primogeniture. 47 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS The younger brothers of a house chief were rated as com- moners, even though they might succeed to his position when he died. Or they might remain commoners should the title pass directly to his nephew. It should be emphasized that this was a "web" society, one in which the nuclear family counted for little. The strength of the avunculate and residence with the mater- nal uncle largely destroyed the unity of the family. House- hold and clan were far more important. In economic and social activities the household acted as a unit. For ex- ample, a fairly typical house group might consist of the following persons: the house chief, his wife, unmarried daughters, sons below eight or ten years of age, and one or more sisters' sons above that age; several brothers of the house chief, their wives, unmarried daughters, small sons, and nephews; the wives and small children of the nephews; aged persons belonging to that house; slaves. Only the house chief among these would be or might be ranked as "noble," though any of the brothers or nephews might succeed to his position. But until they did so they were commoners.85 All members of the house- hold were expected to aid in the house chief's endeavors to maintain or raise his social standing and thereby en- hance the prestige of the house and, by extension, that of the clan. It was unthinkable that these persons should be ambitious for themselves alone. In return the house chief would do his utmost to enhance the social status of his clan mates of the house. This was done by arranging that they received new name-titles or that they received recog- nition by means of certain dances, songs, and the like. The foregoing in large measure explains how it is that the "common man" and the life of the commoners have received scant notice in descriptions of the social life of the area. The house chief was the leader, the focal person. The house group was a cooperative unit and its head some- what in the position of the chairman of the board or the president in a modern corporation. The Tlingit had the following categories of social classes: 1. Anya'ddi, the persons of the very highest birth and social attainments. However, a man might be born a po- tential anyaddi but if he failed through sloth or ill fortune to live up to his station, he would not be ranked as of this class. 2. K!anac kide'h, poor people or commoners. 3. Nrtckaka ku, low class people, nobodies. 4. Gux, slave. In addition there were certain terms that were less definite or precise. 5. Ankau meant rich man, or such a person would be referred to as ankau wuklen (rich big is), with the impli- cation of high rank.86 Since a rich man would use his wealth for potlatching and only those of considerable rank would have the opportunity to amass wealth, it fol- lowed that a rich man would be a chief. But not every anyaddi would be rich. 6. Antlingl ddi, a term used in addressing or speaking of a woman who married a rich man or an anyaddi, but who was not of a sufficiently high rank to be called anyaddi in her own right. I once addressed the widow of the late Chief Shakes of Wrangell as anyaddi, wishing to be polite and complimentary. Later my interpreter, GB, chided me for thus addressing her, saying she did not rate the 85This was in part because of association of rank with the name - titles. 86The Tlingit had no concept of a supreme being and the post- European word for God was rendered Tiki Ankau (Sky, or Upper Rich Man). term. He added that Shakes had married her despite her lower station and against the wishes of his mother. People said of the match, "There is a very small opening through which an anyaddi may pass. She will not be able to follow him through." Despite these marked differences in social status, it ill behooved the high-born to call attention to their station in contrast to those not of high rank. Thus, it was held against LS (who was vain of his blue blood) that in making speeches he would always say, "Anya'dki kutsitioh tsu ka nitckakau'wu" (There are high caste people and there are low people). Good form and manners indicated that a chief addressing a group should instead say, "K!anacki de'h" (Poor people we are), or "Icanu han" (Poor we are). The latter phrases implied that not all were rich and not all were poor. But for a chief to address his own tribesmen or clansmen as LS did was uncalled for, unnecessary, and not in keeping with the dignity of a true anyaddi. A high caste person visiting another town would be very careful of his speech. If he talked too much, people would say of him, "Nitckakau yahayi h" ("He is the picture of a nitckakau," a nobody). For it is a near-proverb that "A nitckakau will holler for himself, because no one knows him. " There was a variety of uses of some of the terms given above in hurling epithets and insults, though these were evidently seldom or never used in direct address but only in speaking of a person. Calling a man a nitckakau to his face would lead to fighting or at least to burning resent- ment. "Nitckakauklen" (big nitckakau) was even worse. "Gux yaddi" (slave child) and "gux yadki" (slave children) were also insulting terms. The word nrtckAkail has no direct meaning in itself but, like our "boycott," is merely a person's name. The origin of its use as a term of opprobrium derives from the tale cited earlier (p. vi). Rank was considered as dependent upon one's family line, chiefly on the mother's side. Rank was indicated in a large measure by the personal name. Each name car- ried a certain prestige or social value. Since these were owned within families, a name indicated social status. This is in large measure true even in modern times and in spite of marriages across caste lines or even racial lines. Thus one man is half Chinese. But he bears the name Stati'k from Wolf House. His mother's brother was K!ahukic, a chief of Wolf House, who was married to Denkutlat (JB) of Klukwan. Statik is regarded as high caste because he bears that name. Claim to rank is measured in part by the deeds, the wealth, and so on, of an ancestor. Thus DC boasts of the fact that his father's father, Tige`h, a Kagwantan of Klukwan, had twelve slaves packing for him in trade with the Gunana; whereas TlathftcX (Shortridge) had but eight. It is said of the high caste people of Klukwan that they are especially proud. "When they wake in the morning their first thoughts are, 'I am high caste,' and so on. But they never tell of the skeletons in the family closet, such as enslavement. They are too proud to tell of these." Despite the matrilineate, the rank of women seems to have been less emphasized than the rank of men. I learned of only one woman, Caxixe, who by reason of high birth and outstanding personality was spoken of in terms com- parable to the many accounts of great men; some incidents in her life are related below. This emphasis on the great- ness of male ancestors does not mean that women were regarded as of little account. During puberty girls were kept secluded "behind the curtain" (in a separate room). They were carefully instructed and repeatedly told, "You may be the only woman of the family. It is therefore im- 48 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT portant that you grow up to bear children. To these chil- dren you alone can give the names of the noted people (ancestors) of our family line."87 In every town one chief was considered a sort of "town chief," though there was no title or office involved. He was merely the highest chief of the "leading" clan. Thus at Sitka the Kiksadi clan was the traditional "discoverer" of the place and was the most numerous. The highest house chief of the Kiksadi had more prestige than the others. At Wrangell the Nanyaayih clan was in the ascendant. At Klawak and Klukwan the Ganaxadi and Ganaxtedih were at the top of the scale. The town "chief" was always the head of a certain house. Among the Tantakwan it was the chief of Valley House of the Tekwedih clan. Among the Sanyakwan it was the chief of Bear House of the Tekwedih. The chief had the title "ankau" (chief) the same as other chiefs, but everyone knew whose rank was highest. When there was a death in other houses nothing unusual was expected, but when a member of the household of this highest chief died, everyone was alert to see if something out of the ordinary would take place. The authority of this leading chief was negligible. His was influence, not authority. His word carried weight. His speeches were listened to more than the opinions of others. Thus if he decided it would be best to move the village to a new location, his word would carry weight. One informant gave the following as an example of a great and good chief. The uncle of Chief Shakes, of the Kanyaayih clan, was a truly wonderful chief. Each morning he came out and talked to the people (his clansmen), advising them. The burden of these talks was, "Be careful. Be peaceful. Do not quarrel. Do not resent to the point of killing, ever. If you should do such things, the ducks will blame you." (The ducks do not "quack" but say instead "aka'ni, aka ni, aka'ni," etc.-which means, "my town, my town.") During his career Old Shakes had invited almost all the clans and villages in southeast Alaska to his pot- latches. "His name was high. In war or in inviting he was never beaten. So [as of 1900] he held the greatest name. He had wisdom. His words carried weight. He re- spected both rich and poor and looked down on no one. He took care of his slaves. People listened to his advice." Another informant gave this information of this man of renown. Old Shakes, the father of the Shakes who died about 1920, is said to have had about 75 slaves. But his brother, Kektltse 'tc (vapor from the killer whale's blowhole), had even more. This brother owned a famous mask which had a built-in tongue. When the mask was worn the base of the tongue could be held by the wearer between his teeth and the mask's tongue made to imitate a bear licking his chops. This trick mask was derived from the Tsimshian. It was the hit and marvel of every potlatch and the me- chanics of it a closely guarded secret. Shakes often wore a white [albino? ] bear skin in dances and moved in imitation of the bear. All this was in com- memoration of the bear that the clan ancestors had fol- lowed as they escaped from the flood. The Nanyaayih chiefs had the reputation of having many slaves killed at their potlatches. Old Shakes had a female slave of whom he was very fond. The other dancers used to trick him by tossing this slave to him, to be thrown out the door to be killed. But he always tossed her back. Charley Jones gave the following additional data on his clan the Nanyaayih: The Nanyaayih moved from Mill Creek to Old Wrangell (Old Town) because the new place was more sunny and e "7See Olson (1936) for an account of Tlingit education. shellfish and game birds were more plentiful than at Mill Creek. They built several very large houses. Later the other clans moved to the new location. The first Chief Shakes became very wealthy, owned many slaves, and had the biggest house in all Alaska. Some of his slaves even owned other slaves! The slaves intermarried and their children were his slaves. In front of his house he built a canoe landing place by clearing the rocks from the beach. It was called anyA'ddih yakdeye'h (nobles' canoe landing place). No commoner was allowed to beach his canoe there. The following account of a family line was given me by DC's wife. It throws some light on the question of how early certain features of the culture of the area appear. Mrs. DC was about 70 in 1933. The central person in the account is her mother's mother's father's mother, the famed character referred to above named Caxi'xe. She must have been born about 1775. KatsAxwane h was a rich Kagwantan of Kaknuwn and Hoona, married to Yaduska h, a Kiksadi woman of Hoona. But he arranged to marry Yakasayitlaya 't, the daughter of Ankatlasi k, a rich Gaiyeshittan of Sitka. The latter did not know the suitor was already married. When he came offering much wealth for the girl her father consented and the couple returned to Hoona. As they neared the village the husband instructed his bride, saying, "Go right on into the room at the rear. Don't stop; go right on in." (He was to stay and see to the canoe and cargo.) In those days [about 1820] only the rich and wellborn could wear labrets (k!anu'x) and the bride was wearing one of copper, valued at five slaves. As she walked toward the rear of the house the first wife, Yadusk.Ah (a Kuskedih woman from Hoona), attacked her. She seized her by the hair and struck her in the mouth. The labret the bride was wearing cut her mouth and since she had been in puberty isolation and was "bleached," the blood stood out on her white face. The noise of the quarrel brought a crowd, most of them shouting imprecations at Yaduskah. Among those who came in was Caxixe, a very high caste woman married to the fabulously rich CadAsi"ktc, of the Tlukna- haddi clan of Hoona. Caxixe liked the appearance of the girl and said to her attacker, "What are you trying to do to this daughter of well-known people ? You have disgraced her face!" Two days later Caxixe o-rdered her big canoe launched and her slaves paddled her down to Sitka. At this time Ankalasik, the girl's father, had moved his establishment to an islet between Japonsky Island and Sitka, where he had a fort of his own. The people there knew as soon as the canoe was sighted that it belonged to Caxixe. Ankalasik ordered his slaves down to meet the canoe and carry in the baggage. The guests were seated and served food by the slaves. When she had done eating, Caxixe said, "Bro- ther,88 I bring you news. Yaduskah, the other wife of Kat- saxwaneh, has struck Yakasayilayat. Brother, I tell you, you should take her away from her husband Katsaxwanch. That is what I came to tell you. " Caxixe went on back to Hoona. Ankalasik and his nephews and slaves soon followed. When they arrived to get the girl, Caxixe came to him and said, "I will come to Sitka. My son Yetadutltci'c will marry your daughter. I am coming soon." Three or four days after the father returned with his daughter a big canoe was sighted. The people could see a huge painted hat and knew it for Caxixe's hat. When the 8"The two were not brother and sister, and were not even of the same clan, though both were of the Wolf moiety. She would not have addressed a real brother. But through use of kin term she emphasized the urgency of her errand. 49 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS visitors had been escorted in, seated, and fed, Caxixe said, "I came to get your daughter so that my son can marry her." Ankalasik was well pleased at the prospect. Caxixe's son and his close friends were along. The girl was shut up in her bedroom-cubicle ("behind the cur- tain"). Caxixe ordered eight coppers brought out, valued at three to five slaves each. Some of them were six feet high. When these were all displayed the girl's father whispered to one of his slaves, named Cuka h, "Cadjia'dih ku k!a h" (The woman's goods to be given for her are not enough). The slave told this to Caxixe. So they added bun- dles of furs and the slave (following his master's orders) jumped on these to flatten the pile. When the father was satisfied he told two of his slaves to bring his daughter. They led her out, she walking forward as if she were stepping on the coppers. The bridal party went back to Hoona. Caxixe's father was Gunanistiih, a Kiksadi of Wrangell. Her husband, Cadasiktc, had a fort at G!use'x at the mouth of Copper River. He stayed there much of the time, trading with the Ikkakwa'n (much copper people), a Gunana tribe up the Copper River. His permanent home was at Kaknuwu. His "business interests" kept him at these places most of the time, and he sent his wife, Caxixe, on social errands. Thus it was that she brought their son to Sitka as described above. The young couple eventually had six children, and at the marriage of each great sums were given by the parents. On one of these trips made by Caxixe her son Yetadultcic was born at Klukwan. He was lifted out of the birth pit onto two coppers. When Yetadultcic and his younger brother Tleni were about twelve a great potlatch was given and the boys' faces were painted with the gun4aTh wucina'h (abalone painting; the abalone shell pattern in the form of a cross). Only the very wealthy could afford to have this done. A few years later Caxixe made a trip to Wrangell to visit her father's people. On the way back a canoe from Kaknuwu met her and the mesesnger said to her, "Your son Tleni is dead, waiting for you in your house." She thought he was jesting and laughing, said, "Wasa.'h, wasaih? " (What is that? What is that?). When he repeated his message she again laughed, as a gesture of surprise. She told her slaves to paddle on. When she reached Kaknuwu she was met at the beach by her clansmen who repeated that her son was indeed dead. As she walked toward the house she answered them, "All right. I have heard." (For a truly high caste person must show dignity.) When she opened the door she looked at her dead son seated in state at the rear (head), painted and costumed as he had been at the recent potlatch in his honor. As she went down the steps she danced and sang in the Tsimshian tongue,89 "Aiwa h, Aiwalh, ekUcinda, ekUcinda." This would be in the Tlingit, "Aiwaih, Aiwalh. Haganai', haganai'" (I am stunned, I am stunned). It was known that she loved her children beyond the usual love of a mother. She said, "When a town is lone- some and quiet, then soon an anyaddi (noted person) will die." When she had thus spoken no one could stop her mourning. She wept for weeks. She had composed songs for each of her children. That for the dead Tleni ran kwatagatagi h spear trout kaitiyau ddi next younger child djiyi's tsrtkuh tugu'h for him birds shoot 89To indicate some Tsimshian blood in her ancestry. akkatuguh with bow and arrow du itiyha ddi for the next child This she sang for days as she wept. And to this day the Gutchittan (her clan) sing this song in their festivals. The daughter of Caxixe, TliArtce'k, was later killed (but I don't have the details). Mrs. DC's mother, who told her all this, never named the person who killed this daugh- ter. But she said it was a Tekwedih man of Yakutat. For this murder the Gutchittan of Kaknuwu declared war and went to Yakutat in a fleet of canoes. But when they arrived all the Tekwedih had fled into the woods. Left behind at the village was one old woman unable to travel. The rai- ders searched all the houses. In a house near the center of the village they found the old woman. She asked why they had come. The raiders replied, "Tlti-rtce'k yak!xaa- y.Ah" (Because of Tltiitcek). They asked here where the people were and she replied, "They have fled into the woods." Someone said, "Take her down into the canoes for a slave." She asked, "For a slave?" "Yes, for a slave." At this she suggested, "Why not take my son's posts (gutcgas, wolf posts) instead?" (Her son was named K!ayigwatk!i'n and the old woman was K!ayigwatk!ink!1a'h, "mother of Kayigwatkin.") The old woman said, " They [the posts] are hidden there between the trees," pointing to the place some distance away. They hunted a long time but eventually some men of Kukhittan (Box House People, a division of Kagwantan) found them. They were hidden between two trees that grew close. In order to lay claim to these posts the Kukhittan named them Xakayi'h (taken in war) and Ask!a k (between the trees). This is how the Wolf-Eagle moiety came to use these as crests and now the Gutchittan clan has them. When Yakasayilayat, the daughter-in-law of Caxixe, died her brothers Sk!awutlye'tl and Ehxenatsi's (also called Tlduti'n) went to Chilkat to give the Kagwantan tobacco. As they paddled up the Chilkat River they sang their mourning song: Naduwaxa tc They will tow Naduwaxa 'tc They will tow yaditci't nasnaxetkat child of tcit Nass wind behind it yaditci't heduwanalh child of tcit an enemy K!letl tcucyaudawu'k yaddiye'tl Not cowardly are we children of Raven. The meaning is, "We are not afraid. We will tow the chil- dren of the tcit90 [the opposite moiety] down to Sitka to feast them." That autumn messengers (nakanik!ay.an, "brother-in- law messengers") came to Klukwan to invite the Kagwan- tan to Sitka for a potlatch. The guests followed the messen- gers back. When the visitors reached Watson's Point two of the men, Yikaca'h and Tle'ni, wished to go back.9' Word of this came to Skawulyetl and he went to where the visitors were. He gave Yikacah a female slave named T!anaxwucl"h and to Tleni another female slave named Gandjiyaddi (tobacco child?).92 When these gifts had been 9?Tcit of the narrative of "The Man Who Killed his Sleep" is not a real bird, but is the spirit of sleep. 9lThis could be because of some premonition of trouble, or of something not quite right; but it could also be used as a means of getting extra gifts. 92These two slaves were from Yakutat and of a clan called StaxA'ddi or Kwack!k!ikwan (Stax and Kwack being the names of towns at Yakutat). 50 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT made, Yikacah, Tleni, and the whole party came to to Nuk!len (big fort) where Skawutlyetl had his house. Other guests were the Gutchittan clans of Hoona and Sitka. Since the visit of the two brothers at Klukwan one of them, Ehxenatsis, had been killed by a bear. When the guests were seated, the surviving brother (now host) dressed in the skin of a bear and was "led" around be- fore the guests. (But this mourning ceremony was for the host's sister, not the brother.) Then the host had all four of his sister's children stand in a row before the guests. A person outside the house then cried out, "Katlgeku kohantihx nasiti'h" (Katlgeku left motherless is now). Thus it was done for each of the children of the dead woman, the host's sister. Standing behind each child were two slaves, eight in all. These were to be set free or given away. This is called hasdudatiyiTh (for them what is given away). Among the slaves was a woman named Tlkatuxude&x of the TakUanedih clan of Klawak (which is equivalent to the Ganaxtedih of Klukwan). Her clan has the woodworm as a crest. She had hidden in her clothing a hair-ornament carved with the woodworm emblem and decorated with green and white beads and with antennae, eyes, and mouth of copper. At the moment she was to be killed (or set free) she took this and touched each of the children on the head with it. Then she gave it to the host, saying, "This is my head." Otherwise she would have been killed. And this is how it is that the Kiksadi (the clan of the host) have the woodworm crest. None of the slaves were killed; all were set free and sent back to their homes. All this was done by the host to show the high caste of his sister's children. The two slaves who had been given to Yikacah and Tleni remain a debt that their clan owes to this day. (For in such givings the recipients must give an equivalent at some future time.) This is something the people of Killer Whale House owe the Kiksadi to this day. In a quarrel it would be mentioned to them and the mention would close their mouths tight. On one occasion there was news from Klukwan that a party was coming down to make the payment. At that time it was rumored that the Kagwantan chief Tleni owned a slave of the Wuckitan of Auk. Mrs. DC's mother was married to a Wuckitan and she wanted none of an affair that might involve giving a slave from her husband's clan in payment of the debt. So she left Sitka for a time. But nothing came of it. The Kagwantan did not come down. Later Chief Tak!a-i'c of the Sitka Gutchittan was going to pay the debt (the Gutchittan being counted as the same clan as the Kagwantan) but he could not raise the capital. Some time later at a ceremony the Kiksadi put two arrows into Takaic's costume and he danced with these showing. They were a symbol of the debt. "The arrows are there yet" in a symbolic sense. In a quarrel these arrows could be mentioned. (The "debt" mentioned above is not a debt in the com- mercial sense. It is a thing of honor; the Kagwantan owe this ceremonial return. As pointed out elsewhere, only a few special gifts on special occasions call for return payment.) Mrs. DC had a remarkable memory for genealogical data. This is true of nearly all of those who count them- selves as truly high caste. She gave me nine generations of ancestors through males on her father's side. The farthest back of these ancestors was AwunAxaih, said to have been a very famed Tsimshian chief. He was probably of the lineage of the Tsimshian chief Wut'a- ne'axt who lived some eight or nine generations back. His date of birth, allowing twenty-five years per genera- tion, would have been about 1650. Details about these men begin with the sixth in line, Gukci'h, a Ganaxadi of Taku, born about 1775. He was so rich that he had four houses for his slaves alone. His son Kasken was famous for his potlatches. He was one of the few chiefs whose children had the eight potlatches and accompanying ear-piercings that mark the highest caste persons. Some of the details of these affairs follow. Eight times Kasken invited the Wolf clans of Kake, Klawak, Kloccakean, and the Yenyedih of Taku. (The Yenyed'ih, his own clan, and the other Wolf clans were the guests because the potlatches were for his children who were Decitan Ravens.) The children were "placed before the people" by Kasken's father, Gukcih. The girl, Yediwudugak, did not wish to have her ears pierced, so a bone "ear" with the hole or holes in it was tied to her head as a substitute "ear" at each ceremony. A single piercing was done at each potlatch and another piercing ceremony was given each four years. At each ceremony great piles of furs secured in trade from the Gunana were given away. But Kasken was killed in a feud after giving seven of the series. The duty of completing the eight fell on his nephew Stauket. Deyik and Tlkek, the two children of Stauket, were "brought out" also and given new names at this eighth ceremony. It had happened that the girl Tlkek had been playing with some other children and one of them had called her kektlt.ah ("little dog," evidently a pun on her name). Be- cause of this it was arranged that this childish insult was to be avenged. At this potlatch the Nanyaayih of Wrangell, the Wucki- tan of Angoon, and the local Yenyedih were the guests. The children were behind a screen at the rear. First the wife of Stauket came out of the door of the screen, Walk- ing backward and singing a song in the Tsimshian. Some of the words were, "Hayusgitlwe'h skmhlaxa."' She wore a marten skin headdress in a style called tc!ikuni'h. As she sang the honored ones emerged in turn. Yetlnawuh wore a blanket of a whole caribou skin. On it was painted the beaver crest. The train of this robe was held off the ground by a slave belonging to Stauket, named Kec, of the Tlinedih clan of Auk.93 Following Yetlnawuh came Deyik, then Yediwudugak. Last was Tlkek, the girl who had been "insulted.'' She wore a hat carved in the form of a dog and she danced in imitation of a dog. Now everyone could see this and it was revenge on that group whose little girl had called her "little dog." This eighth potlatch and ear-piercing "finished" the series. No one could have more done for his children than this. The five children of Yetlnawuh were present to see the final glorification of their father. They were the sons Tlaya k, Anxisku h (Mrs. DC's father), and Skutlge'h; the daughters Yliktcugwe'k and YedeciTh. The ear-piercing is considered "critical" (dutlgasi'n), so at the moment of piercing all the guests give a prolonged cry. At this ceremony Yetlnawuh wore in each ear a ts!age- diguinx.ah (abalone shell earrings in the form of a beaver). The slave Kec was set aside and Stauket said, "Dui't wududglihu'h cekci't" (given to him, to Cekc), that is, to Chief Shakes of Wrangell. Next the five children of Yetlna- wuh were told to stand on top of the property to be given away. This is called hasdui'c datiyi h kakr'nde snadudzia't (their father the goods on top of one by one). The door end of the house was filled almost to the roof. 93He was of the Raven moiety. Both the host and guests were of the Wolf group so the guests could feel no insult at seeing a "brother" used thus. 5 1 52 ANTHROPOLOGI This is why Mrs. DC's family can be proud. It was another clan (the Tlinedih) which "held the robe" at this potlatch. All other people and clans know of this but they try to "cover it over" by telling of the great potlatches given by their own clans. At this point in her tales of her family and clan Mrs. DC said, "I have been telling about the great people and things back of me. I will now tell of the weak side." And she related the following: Kasken (of the Yenyedih clan of Taku) was noted as a brave man. He stayed close to the mouth of the Taku River where he had his fort. While he was away on a raid his own fort was raided and his mother was captured. It is not related who captured her or to what place she was taken. But finally it was learned that she had been sold to Chief Yisya't of the Kagwantan clan at Klukwan. When Kasken learned where she was he took two slaves and tied on each a valuable marten robe. Then he said, "That stingy man (Yisyat)! It would be like him to take these robes and keep them for himself." So Kasken went to Chilkat and brought his mother back. Shortly afterward he took his mother and wife to An- goon on a visit to his brothers-in-law. He told his brothers-in-law he was going to take his family on a little camping trip for a vacation, accompanied of course by his slaves. They went to a place called Casxe'w.astana'n, in the rapids at the mouth of the lagoon. Two days later, while there, his mother suffered a fatal heart attack. They brought the body to Angoon. On arrival he ordered a slave to shout the alarm "Dja++" (the alarm of something wrong). When this slave had come into the house again Kasken said, "Some time someone might say to my grandchildren that my mother died while she was a slave." So he told the slave, "We'du yayennagu'kla hatdjitan" (Over there, Yayennagukla, bring her here). This woman was his slave, a Tcucanedih of Hoona. He set her free. He said the same for another woman slave named Nagak!lekla, a Gutchittan woman of Hoona. She also was set free. Thus four slaves had been used, two as ransom, two set free. This Kasken did to clear the accounts, so that it might never be said that his mother died a slave. (The implication was, of course, that his mother was a person of great worth.) The foregoing, the "weak" side of Mrs. DC's lineage, requires the following explanatory note. As mentioned elsewhere, persons taken in war were not counted as slaves until their family or clan was given an opportunity to ransom them. I do not know what happened in the fore- going instance. But the woman was sold by her captors and thus became a slave. Despite her being bought out later, this is somewhat of a blot. Even the two slaves who were given and the two set free did not erase the stigma completely. This is true despite Mrs. DC's statement that "there is not one person in my family of whom it can be said that he was a slave." Her statement that she would tell of the weak things in her pedigree is an implied ad- mission of this. In reality it is doubtful if there is a per- son among the Tlingit whose family has no comparable skeleton in the closet. Mrs. DC was merely more honest and frank than most. Even the great Chief Shakes had like episodes in his lineage. Mrs. DC gave the following data on her mother's side of her family. They illustrate the things which are remem- bered and are used as measures of rank. Mrs. DC's mother was Kusinklalh of the Kiksadi clan of Sitka. She owned ten slaves in her own right. They were. Dzil, a female; Anga'c, a woman of the Tauyat (Kwakiutl) from Bella Bella; GAda.xe ktl, a female; Gana'h, IC AL RECORDS another Kwakiutl woman; Ts!auga'h, a girl; Hlncuweh, a girl; Gadaxe'ktl, a woman; Djlnu'k, husband of the pre- ceding; Gadaxe'ktl; 94 Gu'ca, a male. Kusinklah's brother was the great chief Skawutlye'tl (also called Tuiksae'k!, "the steely color of a frog's back'). He decided to rebuild the famous house Cahl't (mountain house). A shaman told him, "I wonder why it is that we foresee that you cannot finish that house." Another sha- man told him, "Son, I can't see how you can finish that house. I foresee that you will get only the posts up." But Skawutlyetl decided to go ahead with the building. He had the corner posts up, the planks on the sides, and the ridge poles in place. Then he invited the people to the potlatch of the "drying of the house." He invited the Tcucanedih, Cutchittan, Kukhittan, Katagwaddi, and Anagai Yakhittan clans of Sitka. Before this potlatch could be held he be- came ill and died six days later. Some time before this there had been some trouble between the Kiksadi and Gutchittan clans. But it had been settled with a peace ceremony. In the ceremony Skawuyetl had been chosen as "deer" (hostage) by the Gutchittan and he himself had named Giye's to serve as "deer" from the other side. This was because the two were of equal rank, and Giyes was the "grandchild" of the famous woman Caxixe. When Skawutlyetl died Giyes said that the face of the dead should be painted in the manner used on Tleni and Yetadultcic (two famous brothers of Gutchittan. Yeta- dultcic was the mother's father of the deceased). This was because Giyes and the dead man "had the same grand- mother." The body was placed in state in the unfinished house. (But the house now lacked only the roof.) Then the Kiksadi told the Kagwantan (i.e., persons of the Eagle- Wolf moiety) to bring out the body and it was placed on the house steps outside. Then a Kiksadi woman named Kacawa.'t led a slave out the rear of the house to the foot of the corpse. There the slave (a woman) was killed. Next a rich Kagwantan named K!atxa'nt brought out a female slave in the name of his Kiksadi wife K!akatlti'n. This slave was a fine-looking woman, so her mistress set her free (and later sent her home to the south). Then a Kagwantan man named Kak!nuhku led out a youth in the name of his wife Cayikla'h, a Kik- sadi. This one was killed. A Kiksadi man led another young male out and he was killed.95 A Kagwantan man named Tlktutk! brought a female slave in the name of his wife KawAktci'c and this one was killed. Finally the sis- ter of the deceased (Kusinklah) brought a female slave who was also killed. So five were killed and placed at the feet of the corpse and one was set free. Kusinklah did not like the predictions of the shamans that the house would never be finished. So after the funeral she undertook to finish it herself. To pay the Kagwantan workmen she sold a female slave named Gana'h to Chief Guk!tl of the Katkaayih clan. She sold another female slave to finance the "drying of the house" potlatch. At this she gave away much property. The female slave Ganah of the foregoing list eventually bore a son who grew up and married a Kiksadi girl. The couple raised a family of four daughters and three sons. "But the Kiksadi do not care to talk of this because it in- volves their own clan."96 94Note that three of the females bear the same name. I could not secure a translation of the name or learn why the three were given the same name. 95The slaves could be given only by, or in the name of, Kiksadi clan members. "I refrain from giving some of the details because it would involve persons still living. OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT Slavery Slaves formed a definite social class among the Tlingit. They were called guy (slave), or if they were descended from slaves they were called guxya'dki (children of slaves). Slaves were obtained by trade, purchase, or as gifts in potlatches, but most were captives taken in raids and wars. These raids were either upon non-Tlingit towns or on Tlingit towns of other tribes. Since wars between Tlingit tribes were nearly always between moieties, the captives were never of the clan or moiety of the captor. In any event a man would not hold a slave of his own clan and would seldom hold one of his own moiety for such would be close kin, "brother" or "sister" if within the same generation. High caste persons were evidently always ransomed. It was usual to pay a ransom based largely on the social rank of the captive. As much as three or even five times the value of a common slave might be paid, the theory being that a high price would lessen or wipe out the dis- grace. But regardless of how much was paid the smirch remained, to be hurled in the teeth of clan mates even generations later. Such "insults" were a common feature of quarrels between women. Persons thus captured in wars and feuds were not con- sidered slaves until several months or a year had passed, until the kin and clan of the captive had been given an op- portunity to ransom the prisoner. Captives who escaped before this period was over were likewise not considered slaves. Those from non- Tlingit tribes, for example, Haida or Tsimshian, were seldom ransomed and their only hope of freedom was escape. However, since the clans of these groups were equated with Tlingit clans, it sometimes hap- pened that a clan "brother" would aid in such escapes. Although one hears of great chiefs who owned as many as 100 or even 200 slaves, these accounts must be taken with reservation. It is likely that the slave class made up but a small part of the population, certainly less than 10 per cent. Often there was no demand for a fixed ransom sum but the captive's clan paid out until the captors said they were satisfied. The entire price had to be paid at once, not in installments. If the house of the captive could not pay (or if the cap- tive ran away and returned to his own people) the captors went to another house of the clan and said, for example, "We have had that person long enough. He is high caste. We wish him to be bought back." Then the people of the other house (or houses) made the payment. But in such cases it might come up in quarrels between women. One would say to another, "Stu wan yiyi's iwutuddzige&h" (Alongside of me we paid for you, that is, for a person of your house). This is a deep insult. But the story is passed on and may crop up generations later. The jibe may be used only by a person of the house paying the ransom to a person of the captive's house. It may seem strange to find names of slaves used as names by high caste persons of other clans. This makes sense, however, when the circumstances are known. Such names reflect the prestige of the owner or of the owner's ancestral clansman, and at the same time they cast a smirch on the clan from which the name is derived. For example, a Dakdentan prisoner is captured in a war be- tween the Kiksadi clan of Sitka and the Dakdentan clan of Hoona. After the peace is made the Kiksadi take the cap- 'tive to Hoona to give his clan a chance to ransom him. 97 "7The captors need not take the captive to his people; instead these may visit the captors. If the clan does not buy him back he becomes a slave. If he is a commoner his clan may think the price too high. Or they may not have the necessary funds. So the Kiksadi keep him as a slave and his captor takes the name, partly as a mark of prestige. The name passes on from man to nephew. Everyone would recognize the name as belonging to the DakdentanofHoona. The stigma would (theoretically) never be wiped out. The name would be mentioned in quar- rels and the thing would sting. The chief disgrace would be on the house of the slave but the whole clan shares the stigma in lesser degree. If the family or household of a slave cannot ransom him they must ask for aid; for no other family or household will come to the aid unless asked. Even a low caste slave-captive is ransomed if feasible; for even in this there is a reflection of the clan honor. Reference to such a blot on the family honor in quar- rels is usually oblique; for example, if two women quar- rel, one might say publicly, "Cwutsiku' cekcr'h" (I wonder if she knows about herself). This covers the whole affair and there is no answer unless the speaker has a like skeleton in her closet. But in that case she probably would keep quiet. Another informant gave a slightly different version of this aspect of slave-holding: A man would not keep a slave of his own clan, but slaves might be held who belonged to other clans of the same moiety. Then, however, there was a feeling that one ought not to demand ransom or at any rate that one should ask less. The ransom should be paid by the im- mediate family. If they were unable to do so, the house group should help. If the house group could not pay, then the whole clan was expected to help. Once freed, the "slave" was not disgraced within his clan. But in the event of a quarrel, especially between women, the mem- bers of other clans (of either moiety) might say, "They bought you back from slavery." This sort of insult may be used even after several generations. Few indeed are the families who do not have such a skeleton in the closet. A Kiksadi woman of Sitka was captured by the Dukden- tan of Hoona. Her owner-captor brought her back and said, "I'll take whatever I can get for her. I don't wish to keep her because she is just like my friend" (i.e., clansman, because both were of the Raven moiety). Now this woman was of high caste of Atuw6.h`tcflht ("Ready-to-lift-house." Swanton translates this as "house that carries a big load"). The people of this house did not have funds for the buying, so they sent a man to another Kiksadi house. The chief there said, "What is this?" And the messenger said, "A friend (clansman) of ours has been brought to us. But we can't meet the payment." So this chief put up the funds. She was bought by the payment of one slave plus an iron hammer that had been used in the fight with the Russians at Indian Point. This hammer was valued at three slaves. So the equivalent of four slaves was paid for her because of her high caste. This was more than her master asked, and because of the high price the Hoona people have never mentioned the incident. But even so, the thing might be brought up in any quarrel. Had she not been ransomed, the whole Kiksadi clan would have been disgraced. About 1800 a Kagwantan woman of Klukwan, named Guwtdjiwasxi'h, was captured in war by a man of Human Hand House of Sakah. The captor's clan was Kakoshittan, "human hand house people," a Wolf moiety clan. He kept her half a slave despite the fact that both were of the Wolf moiety. She had an exceptionally fair skin and long hair under the arms and around her privates. She was very handsome. A Tsimshian chief named Koxccu h of the Raven (Ganaxada) clan came to Sakah to visit. He took a 53 54 ANTHROPOLC fancy to the woman, knowing that she was of good blood (high caste), and he traded two slaves for her. She be- came his wife and bore him two children, a boy and a girl. But his first wife was jealous and took over the children as her own, never telling them that they were children of the other wife. She treated the newcomer almost as a slave. On one occasion the first wife ordered the second to feed the boy. She gave him fish which he did not want and he called her a "big-mouthed slave." This insulted the mother and she started a (magical) ritual. Each morning she went for water and each morning she dipped the tips of her little fingers in the water four times, then closed her eyes and brushed her hands across her face, saying as she did so, "TlAxe'tl akdjittf'h" (luck me give). She told her husband she was going through a ritual and asked him to sleep alone for four months. One morning as she went through the ritual at the spring two ermine appeared and began fighting. She put her face to the ground and said, "Mountain people! Start to fight!" wishing more ermine would come. Hundreds of ermine appeared and all started to fight. She threw a blanket over them and killed all of them. She gave the skins to her husband. He had made of them a dance headdress, a dance wand, and other para- phernalia. Then the young wife (the "slave") told her son that she, not the other, was his mother. The boy's name was StuakaTh (a famous Kagwantan name). He was so angry he took to bed in a sulk and threatened to kill his father for bringing disgrace on his mother and the Kagwantan clan. The father promised to take the mother and her children back to Klukwan. Three days later they started. The chief took along his dance costume, including a long ceremonial shirt and a song leader's staff, so that the Chilkat would know the son was "child" of Tsimshian. At Klukwan the father took them to a Kagwantan house. Then a female slave belonging to the "slave's" father took her to the river, bathed her, burned her clothes and dressed her in new garments. Back in the house the slave rubbed a copper over her body. This was done with three coppers supplied by her mother's brother. Thus "the slavery was scraped off . " In front of Killer Whale House the three coppers were given to the "slave's" father's sister's son, a Ganaxtedih, who put them under his feet as if to break them. The Tlukahaddi clan people shouted, "No! Don't break them! Throw them away!" So the coppers were thrown off the house platform and the Tlukahaddi picked them up. The father's sister's son then shouted that the woman was no longer a slave, that the slavery had now been "washed off." The slave who had bathed her was then set free. The woman's mother's brother then gave the Tsimshian chief three slaves and another uncle gave him two small cop- pers. These things were not given in payment but in ex- change for the dance regalia the Tsimshian chief had given. The girl child was not returned but went back with her father. In time she married a Tsimshian man and had many children. One of her sons was Itinacu'h (from the killer whale's swimming with the fin out of the water). This one married a Haida woman from Masset. (The woman in the account above was JD's wife's mother's mother's mother, her tcak!agiaxtli'tlk!u, oldest or farthest back grandmother.) After Alaska became an American territory the slaves held by the natives were counted as free. Some of them married above their station. DC's uncle Danawak owned a female slave named Kasgwe&x. She had several children by a lover not a slave. The children were counted as DGI [CAL RECORDS slaves. One of them, a young man named Kucdak!i'c, married a certain woman who was the daughter of a Hoona chief. But her clan mates often taunted her for being married to the child of a slave. She was ashamed and became so quarrelsome that her husband deserted her. She later remarried. The following actual case will illustrate some of the things taken into account in determining social rank and caste, and how the stigma of slavery is remembered, even today. X of the Kiksadi clan of Sitka is a quarter- blood, his mother's father having been half Russian. This grandfather was captured as a slave, escaped to the Rus- sians, and married a truly high caste (anya'ddi) woman of the Gutchittan clan. Their daughter has always claimed she is noble (anyaddi). "It is true that she has noble blood through her mother, but because of what took place on the father's side this side of the family is very weak. It can never be washed out." This is spoken of as k!tletladea'x naxduwa'h ussiyah (cannot take away, cannot be washed away). As we have mentioned, Chief Shakes (the elder, often referred to as "Old Shakes") of the Stikinkwan is said to have had about 200 slaves at one time. Some of these slaves even had other slaves to wait on them! One of them was industrious and got together some property, had his own canoe, and so on. (These things were really his master's but yet in a way the slave's.) Shakes was having his children's ears pierced and it was quite com- mon that slaves be killed during the ceremonies. This "chief" of the slaves boasted that his master could do nothing to him. But Shakes heard of this and had him be- headed in the course of the festival. The Stikine say that Chief Shakes freed so many of the Sanyakwan whom he held as slaves that they, in attempting revenge, claimed that there was slave blood in his ances- try. Mrs. DC told the following about Chief Yetlnawu who was her father's father and a high chief of the Decitan (Raven moiety) clan of Angoon. It illustrates features such as how slaves were obtained, how they were treated, and the like. Yetlnawu built Raven House at Angoon. Alongside it he built a separate house for his slaves. In his later years his slaves numbered thirteen. They were: Yaxa'wu; Kaxca'ku; Ka'xcauduklak; Tc!r'cl; Wutl; Ga'xu; HlnAktA'k; Gu'ca; K!e'nu; Ts!i'ku; Djiwa'k, said to be a Russian name (his Tlingit name was Nu'snih; he was a half-blood of the Tekwedih of Yakutat, or, as the clan is known there, the Tluk!wedi'h; Deya'xca', a female married to one of the males; K!au, another female. Before his death Yetlnawu gave some of these away. Guca he gave to his son Tlayak who later sold him to Klukwan. Tsiku was given to Mrs. DC's father and he was nursemaid to her during her infancy and childhood. Deyaxca was given to Yetlnawu's sister, Yr"ktcugwe'k, and Kau to another sister, Yedicih. Yetlnawu was choosy about his food. He ate no common fish, but was fond of sockeye salmon and black cod. He owned a canoe named Kukya'k (Box Canoe) and he usually sent his slaves out in this to fish. It was so large that a man could walk along the gunwale without its capsizing. One of the slaves, Yaxawu, was specially skilled in catch- ing black cod. These were caught in Chatham Strait. Seven lengths of spruce root line were used and many hooks attached. Sometimes Yetlnawu went fishing with the slaves. He had a set of specially fine hooks for his own use. Across from the village at a place called YathatwudAh, Yetlnawu had a smokehouse and the fish were taken there. When his canoe was seen the people of the village would say, OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT "There comes Yaxawu." Then they would launch their canoes and cross over.98 The slaves had orders to give two fish to each high class person, one each to the others. Yetlnawu also "owned" a sockeye stream in Sitkoh Bay. Some of the slaves in the foregoing list were the de- spised t!auy.at ("flat heads," i.e., Kwakiutl). The slave named Djiwak was captured in a war between the Tlukwedih (Tekwedih) and Tluknahaddi clans of Yaku- tat. He was about ten years old at the time. His clansmen did not ransom him, so he wsa sold to Sitka. Later he was resold to Yetlnawu.99 He was sent to fish nearly every day. Each time on his return the boys of the village would beat him over the head with seal's stomach to bring him luck. He did not like this treatment, and if he had bad luck he would weep as he came in. In those days the Tlingit had some Canadian chinaware. One day Djiwak accidentally broke a china platter. His master hit him over the head with one of the pieces, cutting his scalp. Because of this, Djiwak ran away and reached Sitka, where he went to the Russians. The Russians took him in and bathed him. He was a fine-looking fellow and a Kik- sadi woman named Hiklilh took a fancy to him. They were married inside the Russian stockade by a priest. But the people used to jeer at him, "You are a slave. Yet you are married to a high-caste woman." He would answer, "No! That is all washed off, referring to the scrubbing the Russians gave him. The couple had a daughter named Dasu x. She was so handsome that a noted chief of the Gutchittan clan of Sitka, named Gunahi'n, married her. Two of the children and some grandchildren still live in Sitka. [I refrain from listing their names to avoid possible embarrassment to persons now living.] Mrs. DC's mother owned a female slave whose home was on the west coast of Prince of Wales Islean (Klawak?) She was sold to a chief of the Katkaayih clan. But he found she had a venereal disease and her former owner took her back. Later she had an affair with a Russian and bore a son. This son married a Kiksadih woman and they had six children. One daughter married a man of the Wuckitan clan. At her death the Kiksadi clan offered her sister, but by that time his family had learned of the blot of slavery and refused to accept the sister. The other surviving chil- dren also have had difficulty in finding mates for the same reason. A man who now lives in New Metlakatla is the son of a Tsimshian woman who was captured in a war. He was owned by a Decitan clan chief named Katla'ku who was married to a woman of the Gutchittan clan. Katlaku and his wife came to Sitka to celebrate the completion of Wolf House. At the potlatch the speaker cried out, "Dja++, So-and-So (the slave) is released from slavery." This was in honor of the host and the Wolf House clan. So he was set free and entered the Sheldon Jackson mission school. He later moved to New Metlakatla because of his Tsimshian blood and to be where the slave stigma could perhaps pass un- noticed. THE OWNERSHIP OF TERRITORY It seems clear that the Tlingit did not think of "tribal" territory as a geographical area. Rather they thought of the ownership of areas by the respective clans of each tribe. The tribal territory is therefore a white man's construct. In other words, the tribal territory is merely the aggregate of the areas owned by the clans; it follows that Tlingit territory can only be properly discussed in terms of ownership by clans, households, and individuals. The entire area of a "tribe" was divided among the clans.'00 It seems that each clan owned all the hunting, fishing, and gathering rights within its territory, though the "ceremonial ownership" of certain spots or streams may have been exceptions to this. For most of the groups I worked with I secured lists of places and areas owned, but these are very incomplete. This should be borne in mind in the listing of such places that follows. Also, there are some discrepancies in my information, such as DC's claim that the Sitka Kiksadi clan owned the entire Sitka area. But I have allowed such discrepancies to stand because they are the statements of particular informants. t 9Mrs. DC was of the opinion that sails were used in pre- European times. They were made of moose hide. "I do not have enough data on the people of Yakutat to deter- mine whether these clans were both of the same village. Failure to ransom the captive may have been because of his Russian blood. l'?See Goldschmidt and Haas, 1946; Garfield, 1939. CLAN TERRITORY OF THE SITKAKWAN It was a Kiksadi man who "discovered" Sitka, so the legend has it, and accordingly most of the bays, streams, and other places in the area important for food-getting are regarded as Kiksadi property. The following is a list of fifteen places "owned" by the Sitka Kiksadi. My informant was DC, married to a Kikcau (Kiksadi woman). 1. Redfish Bay and the sockeye salmon stream flow- ing into it. 2. Whale Bay and the three streams flowing into it. The two on the right as one enters are sockeye streams and are named Kutcgr'h and Kutcki'k. The third is Wanasi k!. 3. Necker Bay (tatlukah, nose rocks). In the bay is another salmon stream. A few years ago a family of Tcucanedih took over use of the stream. These were "Kiksadi children" (i.e., their father was a Kiksadi. 4. A small sockeye stream called Kuye k!k! near Crawfish Bay. 5. Redoubt Bay and Redoubt Lake, called Kuhnah. There were permanent but small houses here, built for the fishing. 6. Silver Bay and its sockeye stream. The Bay was called Kage't or Hlktcigeyi (Frog's BY ). 7. Katlian Bay (k!laya k!). This was the special property of Chief Katlian's family and household. 55 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS 8. Kwashinsky Bay (dahye't, "heavy stomach," from the man who overate). 9. Fort Arm (k!Atsa k!a't) near Cape Edward. In the stream here the sockeye run is very early, in May. 10. K!ea k Bay near the Chicagof mine. The name comes from the sound "k!eak, k!eAk" that the wild current bushes make as the hordes of salmon swim against them. 11. Takihanus Bay. Into the bay flows a sockeye stream called Wankut- 'a-e'k! (referring to a pic- tograph near there, which was made by a slave). 12. "All the little bays around Sitka Sound." 13. Fred's Creek on Edgecomb Island. A man named GAshlrkt lived there. 14. Goddard Hot Springs. Called t!aik!e h (springs flowing from mouthlike place). 15. Indian River (ksadehi'n), a name given by the Frog People to themselves (p. 12). In a more general sense the Kiksadi owned the west coast of Baranof Island. No one would have the temerity to claim a place in the area. And before a person went to hunt, fish, or trap at any of these places he would ask the Kiksadi for permission. Since some relationship such as brother-in-law or grandfather could be invoked the permission would always be granted. Indeed it could not be refused without generating ill will. "It would be a shame to refuse." DC stated that berry-picking spots were open to any- one in the Sitka area, whereas at Klukwan the Ganaxtidih would allow no one to pick berries on the Klahini River until a certain time, after which they allowed everyone to go there. DC claimed that at Sitka hunting places were scarcely owned, "everyone hunted where he pleased." About sixty years ago a man from Hoona built a small house in Takihanus Bay and lived there nearly all his life. Some twenty years ago he sent word to the Kiksadi that he had lived there so long, "taking care" of that bay, that he felt he should be paid something for his services. But the Kiksadi sent no answer, saying among themselves that no one had asked him to go there in the first place. In Sitka the tiny creek at the sawmill is an exception to the general rule that the Kiksadi owned the whole area. This is "owned" by the Wolf (Eagle) clans. It is called Kitgucihi'n (Killer Whale's Dorsal Fin Stream). Its "own- ership" is purely for ceremonial purposes. A man of a Wolf clan would say, "Kitgucihi'n yenawa.'tl" (Kitgucihin is overflowing), meaning that his clan was going to "over- flow" the Ravens with food. Or at a feast a Raven guest might stage whisper, "Kitguichin is overflowing." If the hosts overheard, his dish would be heaped to overflowing with food. Most other tribes had comparable ceremonial ownerships. Kitgucihin is a tiny creek, but is spoken of as if it were a great river. After the Russians and later the Americans came many Tlingit from other tribes moved to Sitka. Some laid claim to a few minor creeks and camping places. "But these are really not theirs. No one bothers to say anything, because everyone knows that the Kiksadi own all these places." OWNERSHIP IN THE TANTAKWAN TRIBE The Tantakwan regard Prince of Wales Island as their early home. Their name is derived from tan (sea lion), the name of that island. After the Haida movement north- ward, probably about 1750, the Tantakwan occupied the eastern coast from Chasina Point to Cape Chacon. How- ever, they may have moved from the mainland as they state that they lived on George Inlet, Carrol Inlet, and Thorne Arm "before the deluge." They claimed Gravina, Anette, Duke, and Dundas islands. The following data were obtained from GM and are probably incomplete. The places represent certain claims based on "discovery," tradition, and the like. It should be remembered that "ownership" in our sense was not in- volved. When it is said that a certain man (usually a house chief) "owned" a place, it means merely that the people of that household or lineage were accustomed to go there to fish or hunt and the "owner" was merely a trustee. Others who might wish to go there were expected to ask permission which the owner could not well refuse. Yet the trustee might give away the rights for one reason or another, but in doing so he would not override the objec- tions of his group. Some of these points are elaborated and clarified in notations about certain places. 1. Ketchikan (gltcxa'n). The creek, famous for its run of humpback salmon, was owned by a Sanyakwan of the Nexadi clan named Kuka k! He married a woman of the Tantakwan Ganaxadi. At her death he gave it to the Ganaxadi household of Drifting Ashore House. So it came to be owned [controlled] by Chief Caklen. 2. At the head of George Inlet a creek called Tahina k!u was owned by the descendants of Oxwi s, the Daklawedih chief who discovered it. 3. Carrol Inlet (ts!ats) belonged to the Ganaxadi chief Kukti'tc. 4. Thorne Arm was the preserve of the Daklawedih. 5. Mountain Point (yuwatsrskik!a'h, Floating Point) belonged to the Daklawedih, but when the clan be- came extinct it passed to GM and a Tekwedih man, both having "come out of" Daklawedih. 6. Ward Cove (just north of Ketchikan), was owned by Daklawedih. 7. The creek called Watkaste'h (Stones at Mouth) in Bostwick Inlet on Gravina Island was owned by Chief Nawucketl of the Xashittan. 8. Bostwick Inlet (can.ax, Place Where Things Col- lect) was Xashittan but other groups also went there by permission. 9. The creek called Ten at Copper Point on Anette Island was Daklawedih, with Chief Kutci c as trustee. 10. The creek and lake in Tamgas Harbor was also Daklawedih, Chief Kude&k being trustee. 11. The creek called Tlwent at the northern corner of Kwain Bay was owned by Chief Anah of the Daklawedih. 12. The sockeye salmon creek in Hassler Harbor was owned by Daklawedih. 13. Hall Cove on Duke Island and its creek Watsa a ku (Little Creek With a Lake) was owned by Chief Nawoduha ktc of the Ganaxadi. 14. A creek at the southeast corner of Duke Island be- longed to Yetlganekih, a Ganaxadi, who had a smokehouse there. All of Dyke Island was Ganax- adi. 15. Hotspur Island was owned by Owis, a Daklawedih. Cat, Dog, and Mary islands were not claimed ex- cept as Tantakwan territory. 16. Dundas Island (waktl) was the preserve of the people of Raven's Hat House and Fort House who were sometimes called the Watldedi'h (People of Waktl). 56 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT 17. Zayas Island (tanga'c) had the same claimants as the preceding.'01 18. The creek called k!axa t Dolomi in Port Johnson was owned by Chief Antxwa'h of Tekwedih. 19. The rest of Port Johnson was the property of the people of Bear House (Chief Keya'iuh). 20. The creek called natsai'gh (Salty Water) in Aiken Cove of the north arm of Moira Sound was "dis- covered" by Ckni'ct of the Sashittan. He lived there for a time. 21. The creek in Kegan Cove called wasga't was dis- covered by Gisweh of Kats' House Tekwedih. The title finally went to Gantcuh, GM's father who had slaves rebuild the weir each spring and at each rebuilding a slave was either freed or killed to validate the claim. The title then passed to Chief KAtle'h of Foam House (Tekwedih). About 1890 his nephews Tsate't and Tligetu'kdagetc (Bear Has no Peace of Mind) took over. 22. The creek in Johnson Cove (Moira Sound) belonged to Tsaxk!oh of Waktldedih. At his death it lay de- serted for a long time. Later CAntAkoEh (GM's uncle of Drifted Ashore House rebuilt the weir. GM now claims it. 23. The creek called krdjuikhin (Kidjuk Creek) in South Arm (Moira Sound) and Bokan Mountain (Kidjukca) were claimed by Kidjuk House of the Ganaxadi. (The Kidjuk is a mythical bird, the "mother" of Thunderbird.) 24. In Stone Rock Bay was the original town of the Tantakwan. The village was called Kaskigig 'h (Shining Place, from the sandy beach). The bay is called Tanyata'k (Bay on the Head Side of Sea Lion Island) and so the people were called Tanyatak- kwan, shortened to Tantakwan. They moved to Tongass Island (owned by the Kiksadi of the San- yakwan) and came to be mistakenly called Tongass- kwan by the whites. The Kiksadi Sanyakwan allowed them to use the new area. Thus they used Nakat, Willard, and Fill- more inlets. CLAN TERRITORY OF THE STIKINKWAN The people of the Wrangell area are called and call mselves Stlkinkwan (Stikine people). The geographical ts are not exact, for what was important was not terri- ial boundaries but places for salmon fishing, hunting, rrying and so on. As elsewhere, these were "owned" the clans or households, not by the geographical group tribe"). The clan territories in the area present a complex pic- e and it is probably impossible at this late date to re- truct the possessory claims of the various clans. In this is because most members of the tribe moved to trading post at Wrangell in the early years of the eteenth century and many of the old areas, especially se far up the Stikine River, were neglected in favor of as which yielded sea otter furs. Most of the data given e were obtained from GB. The Stikinkwan held territory up the Stikine River to lye miles beyond Telegraph Creek where the Katcaddi owned a fishing place called Nakica'k. On the main- coast their territory extended from Cape Fanshaw in 'This area in the south had no claimants among the people ifted Ashore House, Raven's Hat House, and Raven House ause they came from Taku. " the north, southward to Loring. They rather indefinitely "owned" one half of Kupreanof Island and the eastern part of Prince of Wales Island from Red Bay southward to Tolsoi Bay. The Nanyaayi were the most numerous and powerful clan of the Stikinkwan. They were thought of as the "highest" in about the same way that the Kagwantan and Ganaxtedi of Klukwan were. They were considered as "nearly owning" the Stikine River, but actually they held only certain spots there. The following is a list of their more specific claims.'02 1. Yetlhinago (Raven Creek), a salmon stream below Glenora on Hudson's Bay Flats. The name may in- dicate former ownership by some Raven moiety clan. 2. Hl'ktcahin (Frog Creek), a place halfway to Tele- graph Creek. This was a fishing and berrying place. 3. Tsashathi'ni, an important salmon stream near the preceding. 4. Hathi'nago (Root Creek) on the left bank of the Stikine just below 3. 5. Cakaa'n (Farther Up Town), the mouth of the Stikine on the left bank. 6. A part of the winter village at Mill Creek. 7. Tukkutlgo'xan, a temporary village at the lower end of Blake Channel. 8. Kuxnuk (Set Back Island), Sergief Island. This was a fishing ground during the summer. Here the war with the Tsimshian was fought. A shifting of the Stikine channels caused abandonment of this site and the camp was moved to 9. 9. Xiklaka'ti (Herring Rake Island). Here was a camp used mainly for eulachon fishing. 10. A large section of Kasatla'n (Willow Town), Old Wrangell. The Kaiyac kittitan clan lived at Port Snettisham above Sumdum Bay where they had a village called Srtkolh (Gla- cier Place). At that time the clan was called Srtkwedi'h (Glacier People). The clan divided. Some moved to Kake where they are still called the Sitkwedih. Another group moved to the Stikine area where they took the new name. The Srtkwedih may be one of the really ancient names and ancient clans for at Wrangell the entire assemblage of Wolf phratry clans may be addressed as Sitkwedih. "Even the Namyaahih" sometimes called themselves Sitkwedih or Siknih.Addi. In the Wrangell area the clan owned the following places: 1. Yey'ankoh (Inland Place), Aaron Creek. 2. Ana'n (Sit Down Town), Anan Creek. The name comes from the fact that in the morning people would go out of doors and sit down to talk things over (sic). This was a great salmon-fishing place. All of the clans of the Stikinkwan have migration legends save the Tatlkwedih. They lived in the Wrangell area even at the time of the deluge. They escaped the flood by climbing Devil's Thumb Mountain. They owned the following places: 1. Thomas Bay. Their main village was here. From this place the Daklawedih went on their journey to the north. 2. Xattlai, now called LeConte Bay. 3. Sitc, now called Totem Bay. 102Given in the order listed by GB. 57 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS The Kiksadi of Wrangell traditionally came from a small stream called Kiks on the Cleveland Peninsula. In the Stikine area they claimed: 1. Much of the winter village at Mill Creek. 2. A berrying ground on the right bank of the Stikine below the international boundary. 3. A place on the right bank above Telegraph Creek. The Katcaddih clan of the Stikinkwan traditionally came from a stream called Katc on Admiralty Island. (Some now live at Kake.) They owned no places on the salt water in the Wrangell area. But they claimed the following: 1. A place on the river near Telegraph Creek. 2. A place inside Deer Island where the Santa Ana cannery stands. 3. House sites in the village at Mill Creek. The Tihittan clan of the Stikinkwan had claim on the following places: 1. Tcuka'san, a village at the mouth of Mill Creek. 2. K!athiniwata' (Town at the Mouth of Big Shark Creek), a village on Snow Passage, Zarembo Island. From this village they moved to Tcukasan (above) and later to Old Town. 3. Tlakasiya'h, a fishing and berrying place on the stream called Katlxethi'ni on the Stikine near the International boundary. 4. Hat or godyetlhaddi about 160 miles up the Stikine where there was a stone salmon weir. In fairly recent times the Tihittan acquired the Snow Pass area, including Red Bay, Whale Bay, Lake Bay, Eagle River and Rat Harbor. These places were for- merly owned by the Daklawedih but when they moved away they gave them to their "children," the Tihittan. (The Daklawedih were called the "fathers" of the Tihit- tan because a Daklawedih chief had married a Tihittan woman.) The Kaskakwedih clan owned the following places: 1. Brown's Cove, north of Petersburg. 2. A village across the channel from Petersburg. But this was claimed only after it was abandoned by the Nexadi. The Xetlkwan clan (Foam People) were also called Xetltekwedi'h (Thunderbird People) or Xokedih. They owned the following places: 1. N.aah, the salmon stream at Loring. 2. Djuna'x, the Unuk River. 3. Xetl (Foam), the stream just south of the Unuk which gives the clan its name. 4. Xok, the stream now called Snag River on Etolin Island. The name Xokedih (People of Xok) comes from this. The Wrangell Siknahaddih clan is really a branch of the Nanyaayih. At one time a clan lived on the Taku River and lived in a house called Hitklen (Big House). They called themselves the Hitklenkwan (Big House People). They moved from there and split into several groups. One became the Yenyedih of Auk. Another became the Nanyaayih (and Siknahaddi'h). The Kaskwakwedih clan of Wrangell came originally from the Queen Charlotte Islands where they called them- selves the Wtuhtclrnnlna1h. They moved from there, one group settling at Kasaan [Haida], the other moving to the Tlingit village of Tcukwa'san at Mill Creek. At this village were the Nanyaayih, Siknahaddih, Tihittan, Kiksadi, and Katcadih. These refused to admit the newcomers, saying they smelled too strongly of salmon eggs. So they went on and settled at Kask!e'k (in Brown's Cove, near Dry Island). They later moved to Anstaga'ku across the channel from Petersburg. After the coming of the whites they moved to Wrangell. Within the general Sanyakwan area certain places were owned by the Stikinkwan (Wrangell). These included: 1. Snail Rocks (sik!ganax) and the channel leading to Ketchikan. 2. Port Stewart (ganax) in Behm Canal. This is the traditional starting place or earliest settlement of all the Ganaxadi and Ganaxtedi clans of all the tribes. It belonged to the Wrangell Kiksadi. 3. Helm Bay (kiks) belonged to the Wrangell Kiksadi. This is probably the traditional home of all the Kiksadi clans. 4. Traitors Cove (kuna'x). This had belonged to the Kiksadi but it was given to the Wrangell Xetltekwedih 5. Bell Arm and Behm Narrows. These (and possibly the Chickamin River) were owned by the Wrangell Xetltekwedih who are regarded as an offshoot of the Sanyakwan Tekwedih. POTLATCHES The term "potlatch" is the Chinook jargon word meaning "to give" and as used throughout the Northwest Coast in- cludes all forms of giving whether between person and person or between large groups of people. It also means the festivals which include singing, dancing, lavish dis- tribution of property, and so on. Among the Tlingit, pot- latching was done (with a few exceptions noted below) on a clan-moiety basis. There was a host or principal or donor, usually assisted by other persons of his clan. Some of these might also give away things which they had do- nated. The guests (except as noted) were always of clans of the opposite moiety. Potlatches were a part of the reci- procity (and also the rivalry) operative between moieties. The potlatch system was fitted into the social scheme so that the two did not conflict. Size and elaboratemess of the ceremonies were implicitly related to social rank. Almost any adult male could sponsor or act as host. But a common man would be laughed at if he tried to give an affair beyond his means, social station, or hereditary right. As a husband and head of a family he might invite a few guests, feed them and give a few gifts, but larger affairs were properly regarded as household matters and the head of the household, the house chief, was the central figure in these. 58 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT In such affairs the house chief would see to it that those of his household received such honor as was their due. The household was a close-knit group and all shared in the honors when their house chief sponsored a potlatch. Accordingly all members of the household were expected to offer all possible aid in the labor and expense involved. To a lesser extent the other households of the clan in the same village were expected to aid, for the entire clan would benefit in proportion to the size and success of the potlatch. To some extent the reputation of a house depended on the industry and ambition of the house chief. On the one hand, houses that ranked very high, as "noble," could in one generation fall in rank below this classification. House- holds and persons could, on the other hand, rise in rank by sponsoring one or more festivals and doing their ut- most to make these a success. With the disintegration of the culture and the change in pattern of values more house- holds have fallen in esteem than have risen in the social scale. For some households, the decline in population, which hit some especially hard, has been a factor. Potlatches were a means of honoring and showing re- spect for the dead (or, for a few, of raising the status of a man's children). By giving potlatches the honor, pres- tige, social rank, reputation, and so on of host, household, and clan were raised. A great potlatch might almost bank- rupt the host and his whole clan, but the maintenance or raising of prestige was regarded as well worth the time, expense, and effort. It should be emphasized that no one could gain wealth by potlatching. The surplus (foodstuffs, goods, and money) represented things acquired through trading, working, and so on. All might be splurged on a single potlatch. There could be no monetary or material gain. The only gain was purely social. The host, his house- hold, and his clan gained in esteem and social prestige and thereby in social rank. All guests, regardless of age, sex, or social rank were feasted and received gifts. Of these only a few, those of high rank, would ever give return pot- latches and the food and goods these commoners received were therefore "wasted" in the economic sense. Those guests who would give return potlatches were in the same position. For a host the return feastings and gifts he would receive would always be far less in amount than the amount he had expended. The potlatch was therefore some- what equivalent to the "coming out" parties of our own society, where the parents bear an expense that gives re- turns only in social prestige. The giving of a potlatch was on the one hand a duty, on the other a privilege. It was a duty in that the dead must be "respected"; the rites must be performed for them even though these entailed labor and expense which were often a severe financial strain. For example, at the pot- latch celebrating the near completion of Whale House at Klukwan in 1901 over ten thousand dollars were expended in property, food, and money. This does not take into ac- count the six ceremonies that preceded it, nor the cost of feeding all workmen throughout its building. Small wonder that the chief's successor had not "the means to finish it,103 for this would have entailed an eighth and even more ex- pensive ceremony. But potlatching was also a privilege in that only by this means could the mourners, whether im- mediate family, household, or clan, maintain or raise their social rank. It should be readily apparent from the following descrip- tions of potlatches that potlatching was a severe drain on the host and his clan and the reverse of a means of eco- nomic gain. Since nearly all potlatching related to the dead, '03Emmons, 1916, p. 33. I will describe these festivals as a part of the death, mourning, and memorial rites, for this is the native view. Although only minor feasts are given nowadays, I present the description in the historical present. When a high caste man dies the body is placed on a box or a seat at the head of the house, the end opposite the door. All the care of the body is done by those of the opposite moiety who are the kanigan-the brothers-in-law. Four men dress him in his ceremonial costume, and his face is painted with red ocher. Among the northern Tlingit a Canadian flag is placed at one side. A blanket is draped to cover the face and a button blanket across the shoul- ders. A dance headdress or hat is placed on the head. As each man of the mourning clan comes in to pay respects he gives blankets to the attendants (the kanigan, i.e., the brothers-in-law). These are hung along the rear wall until it is covered. Women of the clan bring blankets also. A Chilkat blanket is also hung on the wall. In late afternoon the actual ceremony begins. The brothers-in-law of the deceased are sent to invite the people of the opposite moiety. The widow sits at the dead man's left. His clansmen remain at the door end, and the guests seat themselves along the sides of the house, al- though several of them who are counted as brothers-in- law of the deceased stand at the door. The chief of the clan of the dead man says to these brothers-in-law, "Take so-and-so's pipe," naming a guest chief. They fill the pipe and pass it to the guest. Other names are called out in turn until all guests, both men and women, are smoking. The chief who acts as host says, "My grandparents, I am glad you are here." They reply, "Yes. Yes." A man of the guest clan beats the drum while those of the host clan sing four songs. All the clansmen of the deceased now weep. The chief of the guest clan than stands and says, "I am glad to have heard your words. When my grand- father died you came to comfort us. Now I am here. You see it, my father's clansmen. Do not mourn. Do not mourn too much." The clansmen of the deceased then begin a series of the clan's mourning songs. The singing may last most of the night. Most people slip away during the night but the widow remains throughout, a woman of her clan seated beside her. The following day and night and the second following day and night the wake is kept up. On the third night the chief of the mourning clan names four prominent men and perhaps twenty helpers from the opposite moiety and asks them to get the wood for the funeral pyre. The follow- ing morning the pyre is prepared behind the house. Eight men now carry the body, using a blanket as a stretcher. The corpse is hoisted out through the smoke hole, or planks are moved in a wall. Rarely the body may be carried through the door. In this event a man takes ashes and as soon as the body is outside he scatters ashes through the door four times, saying to the ghost, "Go out." The body is placed on the pyre and covered with wood. The chief of the mourning clan then names a man (one of the brothers-in-law), saying, "Start the fire." The mourn- ing clan now sings four songs which with the four men- tioned above make the ceremonial eight, "for the eight long bones of the limbs." For these songs the mourning women hang yarn from their ears and as they sing and sway the yarn moves. The songs are accompanied by drumming by a man of the opposite moiety to that of the deceased. The members of the funeral party then return to their respective houses. The chief of the mourners names several men and women of the other clan who after several hours go out to the pyre and collect the bones. These are placed in a box. Blankets and other personal effects of the deceased 59 60 AN THROPOLOGIC are added and the box covered. One man now carries the box to the cemetery where he places it in the proper gravehouse. That evening the mourning clan acts as host at a feast. The widow sits at the head of the house. She is fed first, the the others of her clan in order. The host clan serves but does not eat. Those of the mourning clan who have offered blankets now go and get each his own and bring them to the door end. The host chief now directs two men of the other clan (brothers-in-law) to give these out in proper order. If there are enough the distribution may be, for example, two to each guest man, one to each woman. If blankets remain the giving is done again, a final few being given to the guest chiefs. Another informant (JW) gave the following account of the death and funeral rituals and of the series of feasts: At the death of a man his clansmen gather in the house of the deceased to mourn. The men stand and beat with staves on the floor; the women stand with staves but do not beat time with them but sway their bodies from side to side. A number of songs are sung which belong to the family and clan of the dead and the clan or clans of his father and father's father. These tell mainly about his ancestors and their history. One drummer is present but he must belong to the clan of the wife of the deceased. When these mourning songs are finished the clan of the widow is asked to conduct the funeral. (These are called the kanigan, "brothers-in-law," and will be thus referred to in what follows.) Some of these prepare the body. The corpse is washed, dressed, painted, and is set up at the "head" of the house (i.e., the rear). Others are appointed to watch the body while it lies in state (from two to four days). Others bring wood for the house fire, which must be kept burning as long as the body is in the house. Others collect the wood for the funeral pyre, or if the body is to be buried, they dig the grave.'04 The clan of the deceased choose the manner of disposal. The kanigan cut the hair of all those of the village who are the clan of the deceased. While the body lies in state the men of the widow's clan stand watch. The wake lasts from two to four days. The watchers serve in pairs, from time to time singing appropriate songs. These would be the songs of the clan of the de- ceased, his father's clan, and perhaps those of his grand- father's clan. The bereaved spouse remains seated at the side of the body during this time. The body is carried out through a hole in the wall for if the door is used it would bring illness and death to the housemates. If the deceased is a person of rank the clan chief may sing a song as the corpse is carried away. The listeners note his words carefully for hints to determine if he intends to give a feast. If the body is interred the coffin is pre- pared by the kanigan, who also dig the grave. The funeral party then returns to the house. The kanigan are now given tobacco for their services. If the body is cremated, the kanigan gather the wood and light the fire, and when it is burning well the body is laid on top. As the corpse is consumed the mourning clan members sing their funeral songs. They and the widow blacken their faces with charcoal from the fire. When the body ahs been consumed and the fire has died sufficiently the kanigan gather the remnants of bones and put them in a small box, which is usually placed in a gravehouse or, later, in a recess at the rear of a memorial column. The funeral party now returns to the house of the de- ceased. The mourners stand about at the door end of the house, the kanigan are seated at the "head" and sides. 104 In recent times interment has replaced the older usages. -AL RECORDS The kanigan are given tobacco and as they sit smoking the mourners sing a number of songs, each being started by a man and the others joining in. The last of the series is begun by the chief mourner (the house chief of the de- ceased, or the nephew if the deceased was the house chief). The singing may last several hours or even all night. During the last song the kanigan listen carefully for some reference or sign indicating feasts and pay- ments to come.'05 This ends the first of the four "crying feasts" (gax). (For a very high caste person eight gax might be held.) Two more of the crying feasts follow in which the kani- gan receive only tobacco. The chief mourner now begins to get together the food and goods for the fourth crying feast. He tries to give this a year later but it may take him longer, even two or three years. During this time the kanigan will watch him for some sign that he will soon give the feast. For example, once when GM was chief mourner he sang a song at a ceremony. He had two of his brothers stand in front of him, their backs to the people. Near the end of the song they turned and faced the people. Then everyone knew that GM would give the feast soon. Or the sign may be by word or gesture in the song. Until the end of the series of four gax the chief mourner appears in ceremonies with blackened face.1cs When the chief mourner feels that he has enough wealth and food for his part of the ceremony he does as follows: At daybreak he goes to the end one of the series of houses belonging to his clan. Standing outside the door he cries out in a sad voice, "Dagixa't katlihatc" (I am drifting toward the ocean; i.e., I have no help, I need your help). He then mentions the name of a son or daughter of the house chief (dead or living) and says, "Dukun Xwacait" (That one, I take hold of the border of his robe). This performance is repeated at each house of the clan. The next day the whole clan assembles in the house of the chief mourner. He tells them what feasts lie ahead and what he has in mind. They lay plans for the feast to come so that things will go smoothly. Five or six men are chosen, "real" kanigan, men who have married women of the household of the deceased. These are to help with all matters from now on. These kanigan go together to each of the houses of their own clan (or moiety). They open the door, call out the name of the house chief, and cry in a high voice, "So-and-so, duhigagan xagu 't" (I am coming after you). This is repeated for each of the men of the house in turn. They go to each house of the moiety in turn. (The women who have married men of the clan of the deceased are also invited.) In the meantime the clansmen of the chief mourner have brought their contributions of food, blankets, tobacco, and so on to his house. The next day the feast is held. When the feast is over the speaker (yukata'ngi) of the host clan stands up and makes a speech, a eulogy, about the deceased. This is called ga acagun kaganrtc (his an- cestors he speaks of). He speaks of the ancestors of the deceased, how brave they were and how brave the de- ceased was. At the end he calls out a name, saying, "So- and-so will sing." The name of each of the mourning clan is called in turn, beginning with those of lower rank and 105The chief mourner is thought of as being in mourning un- til the kanigan have been paid for their services. The kanigan are inclined to drop hints about these until the payments are made. Payments fall mainly on the housemates of the deceased but other houses of the clan contribute a little. L06The face-blackening is done by the clan members, not by the "brother-in-law" clan. A woman of the clan of the deceased is appointed to blacken the face of the widow. A widow wears this black until the four feasts are over and perhaps longer. OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT proceding up the social scale. Each begins his song and all those present (both hosts and guests) join in. Children or others who might be "ignorant in songs" are aided by a parent or other relative. The women and girls are sel- dom called on. When the series of songs has reached the men of high rank, each usually makes a speech before he begins his song. He tells how he is related to the deceased and the history of the song he is about to sing. During all this the chief mourner has been sitting, or perhaps lying down, at the side of the box on which the robe and hat of the deceased rest. The speaker now makes a speech about the chief mourner, to honor him. During this everyone stands. At its end the chief mourner utters a low, prolonged cry. This is to call his kanigan to him. He now names a person of low rank, perhaps a child, and then begins in a low voice to recite things about his own ancestry, beginning often with tales about his mother's uncles. He uses idiomatic language (ga-go'h) spoken often in the form of riddles or questions. The person whose name has been called must then guess at the reference. There may, for example, be an obscure reference phrased as follows: "When my great-uncle was in a position (as mourner) like I am in now, what did he do?" The correct answer might be, "He built Pulling Ashore House." If the person called on guesses wrong, the mourner merely says, "That's what he used to do." But if someone guesses what the host has in mind, he cries "Agana'+" ("ouch" or "I am hit," or "struck well"). At this all the mourning clan cry "Anana" and clap their hands as the drum is beaten. The one guessing correctly will receive the big- gest gift, be he rich or poor. If no one guesses what the host has in mind, then no one gets this special gift. After this is over the chief mourner moves to a spot in front of his clansmen and sings from one to four care- fully chosen songs referring to or belonging to the clan history. While he is singing, his wife and her brothers (the kanigan) pile up the property the host will give away. Those of the clan who have contributed gifts add theirs, and these are given out to the guests, in order of rank, beginning with the highest. If there are a number of blan- kets left over, they are torn in strips and the pieces given so that everyone receives. The property of the chief mourner is then given out by the kanigan according to the directions of the host. After this the payments are made to those who cared for the body, those who cut the hair of the mourners, those who brought wood for the pyre, those who carried the body, and so on. These things have been arranged so that most of the kanigan clan members have had a part so most will receive some payment. Those who did nothing receive very little. At the end of the giving everyone is silent and the chief mourner wails, then softly sings the songs of his ancestors. If a husband has died the widow sings her song. The listeners are intent because the song she has chosen and the manner of her singing indicate whether or not she has really mourned. Of the hundreds of songs she should choose an appropriate one. Also according to the symbol- ism of the song will she behave between now and the next feast. After this is over the highest chief of the guest clan makes a speech, thanking the host for the feast and for the gift-payments. At its end the men of the mourning clan cluster together, kneel on the left knee with their dance poles in their hands, and, as the drum is beaten, give a series of prolonged cries of "u++," not moving for several minutes. At the fourth "u+ " they thrust their poles upward and to the left, "pushing away the sorrow." When they rise this ends the ceremony; the four "crying feasts" are over and there remain the four "joy feasts." At the next festival where the chief mourner is a guest the people watch him carefully. They watch how he acts in dancing. If his face is still painted black they say, "His kinsman is still in his mind. " It may be from one to four years before he is ready to give a "joy feast." Until that time he paints his face black. The time for the feast depends largely on how soon he can accumulate enough wealth to undertake what he has in mind. When he is ready, on a certain morning long before daybreak he calls his most trusted nephew (or other kinsman of the house) and tells him to get up and build a fire. Before daylight the chief mourner goes be- fore each house of his clan and cries in a high pitch, "Akindagi'h kagada+ H" ("my drifting out with the tide," i.e., "I need your help). He calls the clan together as in the "crying" series. He states that he has in mind, for example, the building of the house referred to in the "riddle." He asks their opinion and advice. (If a man did not thus seek help and advice he would be sneered at and his grandchildren would be called ignorant.) When the decision is reached he says to them, "Tomorrow morn- ing, before daybreak." The following morning the clan again meets and they lay plans. From this time on the chief mourner remains sexually continent until the house is finished, lest those who build the house be injured or killed and he have to pay damages. Now he is so busy planning tht he scarcely has time to eat. On a certain day he goes at daylight to the house of the highest chief of his wife' s clan. If that chief has erected a totem (memorial) pole he says, for example, "I run into the bosom of your mother's memorial pole." Or if that chief has built a memorial house, for example, for an uncle, he would say, "I run under the shadow of your uncle's house." As he leaves the house he sings the song used by his own ancestor who built the house he plans to rebuild. He repeats this performance at each house of his wife's clan, mentioning the pole or house erected by the lineage of that house. Now everyone in the town is astir and excited at the course of events. The various tasks in the house-building are assigned to various men or groups of the wife's clan. For example, the host (chief mourner) has already se- lected certain red cedar trees to be cut for the planks, posts, and so on. He takes a party of the kanigan to the place and says to one of them (a chief), "So-and-so, you are to cut that tree. But you, his nephew, are (really) to cut it." Men of the host's clan may act as overseers (to prevent accidents and the like) but may do no work. When the log or logs are in the water they are towed to the village by the kanigan, who sing as they paddle. The men of the host's clan go ahead to the village. As the canoes towing the logs are beached a brave (true warrior, xekkaka'h) stands in front of the host's house and chal- lenges those in the canoes with, "Aduhxaw glhsahwe'h" (Who is the head [owner] of that war?). A "true warrior" in one of the canoes stands, stamps on the gunwale and in a roaring voice names his chief, saying, "So-and-so, duwatxaxa'n duxekakao xa't" (So-and-so, his true warrior I am. Him I represent). The chief he names is one of the clan who has lost a kinsman and who plans to erect a pole or build a house as the present host is doing. The challenger turns to his chief (the host) and says, "Chief, why are you quiet? Your enemies are waiting for you." The chief answers "Heh." He is dressed and equipped as if he were coming out to be killed in a feud. And he thus comes out singing the proper song. Two of his clan chiefs shout encouragement, "Be strong! Do not retreat from your 61 62 AN THROPOLO( enemies until you are killed." The chief charges down the beach, crying "Huh, huh" in defiance. Those in the canoes watch. The host's spear is broken (beforehand) or his bow cracked. He makes as if to use the weapon, but when it fails or breaks he retreats in mock fear. Those in the canoes (his "enemies") then rap on the gun- wales with their paddles and cry, "Waw! Waw! in deri- sion, meaning he is a coward. The chief (host) now calls everyone into his house. Those who are "children" of the host's clan (i.e., whose fathers are of his clan) are given the seats nearest the door, being told, "Sit against the dogs running in." The others of the Wolf side (if the chief mourner, the host, is, for example, a Raven Ganaxadi) are given the better seats toward the "head" (rear) of the house. A great deal of food is given out. The "children" of the host's clan eat only a little, then give the rest to the other guests, mak- ing as if they were "tired of their father's food." This pleases the others. When they have finished eating, a guest chief makes a speech, mentioning the names of some dead chiefs of his own side and stating that the recently deceased is now among them. A chief of the host's clan then makes an answering speech in which he mentions the dead person in whose honor the house is being built. He ends by say- ing to the host as if he were blocking the door, "Get up now. Your wife's clansmen are tired now." But before anyone leaves, the host's clan and their "children" clear away the dishes. The people then go home. The following day the logs for posts, beams, and planks are rolled above high tide at the house site. The host (for whom the house is being built) appoints certain of the kanigan to remove the bark, others to trim and adze the logs. Other groups dig the holes for the posts, place the posts, and put the beams in position beside the posts. All those helping are fed each night by the host. When beams and posts are ready all workmen join in putting the beams on the posts. One end is raised first, then the other. This was quite an engineering feat, as for a very large house the beams might be sixty feet long and three in diameter. If time remains a feast is held that same day. This marks the completion of the frame of the house; the walls and roof are not yet in place. In the amount of food served, this feast will be the biggest of all. The nakanigan (close or "real" brothers-in-law) are then sent from house to house to invite the guests-those of the opposite moiety. A fire is built at the center of the unfinished house. The visitors stand at random around the sides and "head," both outside and inside of where the walls will be. The women of the clan of the host take a long rope which more or less outlines the perimeter of the house and all hold on to this. Boxes of grease and food are placed near the door end. Then men of the host's clan stand near the door end. The clansmen of the host now sing eight of the clan songs. As they sing, the kani- gan open a box of grease and, using the feast ladles of the host, pour it on the fire. The drummer (who is of the host clan) beats slowly and the women of the clan sway from side to side, holding the rope. A ladle of grease is taken to the left rear corner and poured at the junction of post and beam. This is repeated at the right rear, right front, and left front posts in that order. This is "feeding the house" and protects it. (It is customary also to "feed" from time to time the figures that may be carved on the posts.) Following this, dishes and ladles of grease are given to the guests. The wealth is then distributed and the festival is over. Next the wall and roof planks are prepared and put on. This takes perhaps a month and the host feeds his kanigan GIC. AL RECORDS as they finish each day's labor. If a painting is to adorn the front of the house, the painting must be done by the "opposites." When all is ready the host again goes through the ritual of asking his clan-mates for help, the guests are invited and the final ceremony begins. This will vary somewhat, depending on the traditional history of the house. The son of the host (if he has one) acts as drummer. Some gifts are given out by the members of the host clan and "children" of that clan. The drummer receives a number of such gifts or a part of each. (The host does not yet make his payments for the labor.) A long series of songs ends with the host's singing the special song that Raven sang as he pulled in the house of the Herring People.'07 This song by the host (for this particular house) in- volves the following. A platform has been erected outside the house at the door end and a number of children stand on this and on the roof. They hold on to a long line that passes inside the house. The host makes a speech; then begins his song. As he does so an assistant hands him the line and he pulls it in as he sings. Then the children, coached in their part, imitate the sound of a school of herring by repeating in a whisper "huc+ wah." The host wears the Raven hat. The line is decorated with feathers. The host sings two songs (as Raven did). The women dance faster during the second song and the host's wife gives away some property during the songs or at their end. One of the guest chiefs makes a speech to his own clan, telling them how their brother-in-law (the host) has been mourning. He ends by saying, "Now, my clansmen, tie your belts! Let us get up and sing for him." The song leader leads a song and all the guests join in. At its end they march out of the house and go to their homes and don their dance costumes. They return and march in in single file, dancing to one of their songs. They dance round and round the house. The others watch closely, looking for a word or sign that one of the dancers has in mind the giving of a feast. (These songs and dances are usually those bought or otherwise acquired from other tribes, Gunana or Tsimshian.) Sometimes a special feature has been arranged. The dance leader cries out, "Watch! Watch what will come through the door," and in will prance a special dancer in the full costume of one of the clan animals or one of its " powers. " There are usually four of these songs and dances. One of the guest chiefs calls out the names of several of the chiefs of the host clan and addresses a speech to them. He mentions the names of some of the illustrious dead of his own clan and their ties with the host clan and especially the ties with the recently dead in whose honor the house has been built. The host makes a speech, thanking his "brothers-in- law" for the comfort and consolation they have given. He ends by speaking as if to the dead man, "Now, uncle, open the door for your brothers-in-law. You have kept them bound. Now let them come out in peace." Those of the host clan sing a song belonging to the deceased. At its end the guests march out and the day's affair is at an end. The next morning before daybreak the host again goes to the other houses of his clan, ceremonially asking for help as before. The (real) brothers-in-law are sent to ask the guests to come for a feast. Before the feast be- gins the host's speaker calls out the namessof everyone of the clan (even of the children) who has brought food or gifts and tells how much each has donated. Next a box in which the dishes of the deceased have been kept is opened. Food is placed in each dish and taken 107This song is titled KutAtAkahlt (song of lHerring House). OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT to the fire. The food is ladled onto the fire. As it is done the words, "So-and-so, for him," are spoken. A ladle of food is put on the fire for each of those of the clan who has died in recent years, the name of the deceased being called out each time and the words "for him" added. The dishes are then placed before the widow (widower, or other next of kin), signifying that they (the "servant" kani- gan) have eaten with the deceased while he was alive. The brothers-in-law who are acting as "servants" (waiters) place food in front of each guest, but no one eats yet. The speaker warns the kanigan to overlook no one. The speaker then talks about the widow to his own clan, saying, "We have bound her in sorrow. But now she is free. We are satisfied with the way she has mourned. Now we will make her free." (This signifies that the clan will give her a new husband, because she has been chaste.) An honored man of the host clan then goes to the widow, removes her black paint and replaces it with red.'08 When this has been done the guest eat. A large ladle of oil is taken to the highest guest chief, who sits at the rear center.'09 If he takes only a little and asks for a container in which to put the rest (to take home) it means that he is not planning to give a feast. Oil is given in the same way to each of the other guest chiefs. If there is among the guest chiefs one who has lost a near kinsman but has not yet "touched the body" (carried out the feasts for the dead), the oil is given to this last one, regardless of rank. The ladle is filled for this one and the speaker addresses him, "Now your brother-in- law (the deceased in whose honor the house is built) used to feed you. You used to eat with him. Now that he is in the other world he is again going to eat with you. Chief So-and-so, give it to him." As the bearers move toward him he stands up and says, "Kuxida'n" (stand still, or stop there). Then he makes a speech, ending it by saying, "I am glad that again I am going to eat with my dead brother-in-law. I am glad." He then says to his kekaka'h, " "Drink it up!" The stand-in reaches for it but other guest chiefs grab it. If one of them is of a mind to help with the feast to come he, too, says, "Empty that ladle!" They speak in angry tones and the ladle is emptied as soon as possible. Then they raise it high and cry "hu+ hu+ " as a sign it is empty. They have "eaten the ladle." Again the ladle is filled and, with perhaps a box of berries also, it is placed before the first chief of this group as an honor. He does not eat, however. All the guests are now given food in an amount some- what dependent on how much work they have done on the house. What they do not eat they take home. However, those among the guests who are real "children" of the host clan are ashamed to take food. They give it to the other guests, pretending or saying they are "tired of their father's food." The guests wait until the dishes are cleared away (they must not "run over" them) and go home. This ends the day's ceremonies. The next day (the fourth) is the final day of ceremony. The host and his helpers get together all the goods to be distributed and his wife arranges the things she will give to the women. The goods include food, blankets, and per- haps a miscellany of wealth and (in recent times) money. 108The mourning paint is a band of black across the nose and cheeks. 109The speaker says for each chief, "Chief So-and-so, for him. " "10Often translated as his "true man," but "warrior," "brave," or perhaps "stand-in" would be more relevant. There was evi- dently one such for each house. If the host has a number of slaves he may give some or all of them away or free them. The giving away or free- ing of slaves is considered a great thing. Thus, GM's great-uncle had ten slaves. At the appropriate time he lined them up, each holding a rope in his hand. He wore a raven headdress and as he came up to each, the beak of the raven "took hold" of the rope and each slave was led to the head of the house and given away. While this went on the songs of the deceased in whose honor the house was built were sung and the host's wife gave beads, yarn, and cloth to the women guests. The host then gave to the guests, this constituting payment for the work done on the house. (In some such affairs guests are from an- other tribe and these are given wealth also.) The host must exercise great care in the amount he gives to those who have worked on the house. Some have done work only in ceremonial fashion. House chiefs, for example, are often "hired" or assigned men for a certain task but the actual work is done by their nephews or others of the household. In large measure the assignments and payments are matters of rank. Each recipient must be satisfied that what he receives is enough. To pay less would show lack of respect for the donor's ancestors, his clan, and his crests. If a man is not satisfied with what he receives he may embarrass the host by rising and saying, "I have looked into your eyes on other occasions. Now why do you look over me instead of looking into my face" (that is, "When I gave feasts I paid you enough. Why have you not paid me justly?"). The host then speaks to his clansmen and more goods are paid to the dissatisfied one. The host then takes his new name, that of his uncle (mother's brother), if the deceased was in that relation- ship, or some other name of his clan to which he has a right. New names are also taken by some of his clansmen who have helped him with wealth. The host chief may be bankrupt after all this paying and giving but he will be called a chief for what he has done. He has "finished the body. " In the event that the chief mourner decides to raise a memorial pole (totem pole) in honor of the deceased in- stead of building a house, the procedure is much the same. The clan is called on for aid. The invitations to the feasts are given in the same way and the number of feasts is the same. Certain ones of the opposite moiety are named to get the log, one is named as in charge of the carving, and all workers are fed each night. The hole is dug and the whole "opposite" clan helps in the raising. The bones of the deceased, and often of several others, are placed in a niche at the back of the pole or in a box at its top. There is a final feast and payments. Regardless of the rank of the deceased (except for slaves) there is the necessity of "finishing the body," that is, completing the eight feasts. These may be very small affairs for commoners."' If the kin of the deceased can afford it and if the de- ceased was of a rank that warranted it, the death rites include erection of a memorial column or, for the really high class, the building or rebuilding of a house as a memorial. The completion of the rites may wait years if the wealth is not presently at hand. When the eight-year-old son of Kinanuk, the chief of Raven House, died, the feasts were held in Valley House of the Tekwedih (his mother's house). During the feasts lllt is not easy to secure information on matters relating to "the common man." The Tlingit, like other Northwest Coast tribes, tend to think in terms of the upper class. Commoners share in this life of the elite mainly in reflected glory. 63 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS the carved bears at the smoke hole were mutilated as a sign they would be recarved in honor of the deceased. When an infant dies the rites are commonly combined with those held for an adult of the same clan. But the body of the infant is "paid for" independently. In these minor festivals for the dead the clan of the host is notified and the time announced. If food is to be served, the other families and households begin prepar- ing food. The guests are usually invited the morning of the day of the feast. The food is brought and placed at either side of the door. If this is a drinking feast no food is prepared or served; if food is served no drink is given. If blankets are given away, there is no food or drink given out. As each guest arrives the host calls his name in a high-pitched voice and calls out where he is to be seated. For the chiefs the words are, "So-and-so, diyide h" (go to the rear). There are evidently no "named" seats or exact positions based on rank. When all the guests are seated and when food is to be served, the host says, "Aksanihas, atk!ak!6a kauduglidjun" (My opposites, my mouth dreamed of this food), implying that the dead wish to eat. The host's best bowl is taken, set down, and some of each kind of food to be served is put in it. A second-best bowl is then taken and foods put in it. The brothers-in-law hold this up and the host names the dead person or persons in whose honor the feast is given, saying, for example, "akla' k!edifh" (my mother's mouth put in) or "akkak kledi'h" (my uncle's mouth put in). The bowl is put in the fire. (This giving to the dead by putting things in the fire is quite widespread in the area, the method being employed as far south as the south- ern Kwakiutl.) It is understood that the food is for all de- ceased clansmen, not merely those named. The host says as the bowl of food burns, "For so and so, that he may benefit from it" ("akkak k!et koxdAWAdWh"). The best bowl of food is then taken by the brothers-in-law and the host says, "Take it to so-and-so, his mouth, in front of him" (adenasin duk!ayide1h). Then the other guests are given food in proper order by rank and sex. Those of the host clan eat nothing. When the guests have finished eating, more food is placed in each dish. This is not eaten. A guest chief then stands and makes a speech, thanking the host and saying that the food has benefitted those who have passed away, that it is as if they have eaten with the living. The younger or less important guests may have received little food and may not have been served in individual dishes. To these the host says, "Take my food that is left." The re- maining food is taken home in the dishes, these being re- turned later. The chiefs take no food home. This ends the feast. Nowadays such feasts usually take place in a public hall, often that of the Native Brotherhood. The tables at the rear are the places of honor. As each guest arrives ushers escort him to a fitting place. In front of each plate are such oddments as pilot bread, fresh fruit, and tins of food. Each guest brings a kerchief or something in which this extra food is carried home at the end of the feast. Families (man, wife, and children) are seated together and the food to be eaten is served by waiters or waitresses. Clansmen of the host who are not helping are also given food. The name of the dead for whom the feast is held is not formally announced at the beginning but his name comes up. Usually the host has provided a much enlarged photograph of the deceased and this is passed around, be- ginning at the table of those of highest rank. These modern versions of the old festivals are called gletkah djiyatxa h (white man's style). But even at these there is joking and baiting between the proper kin, the wutcinaya dk!i ("chil- dren of" certain ones). In these feasts of food, oil is not ordinarily served, or if served it is given out first. In former times a huge ladle of oil was sometimes given one chief for one reason or another. He must drink it all or may call on a nephew to serve as stand-in. Also in former times contests in eating between "teams" of the guest clans were held. The Ganaxtedih of Klukwan owned a famous dish named Wu'tcXdaga h (joints together). (My informant DC probably meant the famous "woodworm dish," which was a hollowed- out log about twelve feet long, carved to represent the worm of the clan's legend.) The people of the other clans believed that the Ganaxtedih used to put some bitter or nauseating substance in the crevices of the dish. They then filled it with all kinds of food, meat, berries, oil, and so on. These were stirred together to make an un- palatable mess. Sometimes a man of an opposite clan would remark something like, "Why that little dish! I could eat it full, lick it out, then swallow the dish!" This would be said knowing that it would have consequences. (This was one of the forms of ceremonial rivalry and horseplay.) His remark would be repeated so that the Ganaxtedih learned of it. His remark may have been made years earlier but at some feast he would be given the huge trough of food. No one could possibly eat it all, but he would do his utmost. When he could hold no more he was given a gift. If he ate until he vomited the present was larger. There were two Sitka men, brothers, who once ate an incredible amount from the dish. But one of them "failed" and vomited. Each was given a large present. Had they eaten all without vomiting they could have held up the dish and said "hu+ " in derision. Then an even larger gift would have been presented. All the labor of a funeral from the care of the body to the "repair" or "fixing" of the grave years later must be done by persons of the opposite moiety. Some of these do the actual work, others, perhaps as many as twenty, mere- ly look on. But all must be paid, though the workers are paid more. At the burial (or cremation) certain prominent chiefs of the opposite moiety make speeches to the mourning clan to "make them feel good." In former times each would be asked to make a speech. But anyone was privi- leged to do so. Some took advantage of this as a means of getting paid. Thus, it was common knowledge that Mrs. X, a grasping female, would nudge her husband to urge him to make a speech so he would receive money. But not many were so money-hungry as to stoop to this. A few years ago the Alaska Native Brotherhood made a rule that only four to six persons, those who actually work, may be paid for funerals and grave-fixing. And the brotherhood refuses to lease its halls for feasts for the dead. But some payments for fictitious services are still made. Nowadays the dead are buried and usually a con- crete slab made over the grave. The grave requires little or no care beyond the cutting away of brush. But a boat- load of people of the proper group may make a junket from Kake to Sitka, for example, perform some token labor, and expect and receive payment. The clan of the deceased is put on the spot, for to be niggardly would indicate "lack of respect" for the dead and for their own clan and its crests. In the old days houses were often rebuilt, usually by the nephew, in honor of a deceased chief. In recent times individual families usually occupy the houses. When a new house is finished it is still customary to give a feast, with persons of the opposite moiety as guests. Gifts are distributed after the feast. This ceremony is called 64 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT hrtyihu ga (house drying out) and in former times was only one of several given during a house-building. The feasts of food or drink for the dead are called k!anawuhk!ade't (dead person's mouth taken into). The ceremony where blankets are given is k!ak!adea t (to put on given). The food feasts are always given, whether the deceased was righ or poor. In former times still another festival for the dead was given. It was called gauwuta'n (drum taking up to beat) and was usually held long years after the funeral. The announcement is made to the host's clan, who decide what they wish to add to the gifts to be distributed. The guests arrive; after announcing for whom the affair is given, the host sings a number of the clan songs. As he sings his clansmen add their gifts to the store. When the host has finished singing he says to those who have brought gifts, "Go ahead." The brother(s)-in- law step forward and asks "gudesa h gagetlau h" (to whom do you wish to give it?). The donor replies, "To So-and- so give it." The brother-in-law calls out the recipient's name and takes the gift to him. When the secondary hosts are finished with the giving it is the host's turn. He gives at least something to every guest. The order of giving and the relative amounts depend on rank. A speech or two by the receiving chiefs concludes the affair. A memorial is erected even when the body of the de- ceased is not found, as in drownings. If a person dies in or near a camp the body is usually cremated and the bones brought back to the village where they are placed in a gravehouse. At least among most of the tribes graves were grouped by clan and moiety. Another festival for the dead involves singing and gift giving. If a man dreams of a dead clansman, thinks of him or is merely in the mood to give a potlatch, he calls on his clansmen to help.'12 He calls a brother-in-law and sends him to invite the guests, who are, of course, of the other moiety. The host's own clansmen are notified and they arrive bringing what gifts (usually blankets) they wish to contribute. The guests come in and are seated by rank and sex. The man of highest rank is given the seat at the rear center, the men of next rank on either side. The other males are seated along the sides, the women in front. The host stands up, strikes the floor with a pole, and says, "So and so (the deceased), this he used to sing." Then he starts the song. All his clansmen join in. (It does not matter how long the deceased has been dead. But if blankets have been given for him before, they are usually not given a second time.) When the singing is finished the host tells a nephew, "Bring that bale of blankets." The tie strings are cut and the host says, for example, "Take five." The nephew holds them up and the host says, "So-and-so, to you I give." The nephew hands them to a brother-in-law of the host who delivers them to the recipient. The chiefs re- ceive perhaps five each, the other men perhaps three each. When all the males have received, if the host still has more blankets they are doled out in the same manner but fewer are given this time. When his blankets are gone a clansman takes over and acts as host and what blankets he has donated are given in the same manner. If his blan- kets are not enough to go around, the next host begins his giving where the other left off. Some of the minor hosts may distribute other or lesser gifts. Even a small boy or an infant might be one of the "hosts," his mother or uncle giving out in his name. 112A dream usually follows the pattern that the deceased is thirsty, hungry, or cold in the grave. When the giving is finished the highest guest chief makes a speech, thanking the donors and saying, "Just like warming him," (the deceased). He alone says this but other prominent guests may make speeches. This ends the ceremony and the party breaks up, each recipient carrying his gifts. But if a chief has received a great deal, he may carry nothing but get his brother- in-law to carry the load, thus indicating he has received much. Some other festivals for the dead are based on dreams. One, which might be called a drinking feast, may be given as follows."13 A man dreams of one or more of his dead clansmen that he or they wish to drink. The dreamer then buys liquor or brews his own. He then invites those of the opposite moiety and arranges with his own clansmen to help him act as host. At the feast the hosts stand at the door end of the house while the guests are seated by rank. The host takes a ladle or other container carved or painted with a clan crest, holds it and says, "nau dAyA&h k!ak! kaududlidju n" (whisky to be done, dreamed about them). He dips the container full, names the head of a clan and says, "dudjide h" (to him). One of the host's helpers carries the drink to the man named. He drinks it all, gets his nephews to help, or spills the remainder on the ground. The container is returned empty. It is passed in turn to each guest. The purpose is to get a num- ber of the guests drunk so that the dead get a share of it. If a guest swallows more than his stomach will retain and he vomits, the host pays for the embarrassment by taking a gift, say a gun, and says, "Here for you, this gun." The hosts also drink some of the liquor, saying to the guests, "yik!atcukda'x akaxtu daxna'h" (We are going to drink with you what you drink). This implies that the dead are benefited. But what the hosts drink does not benefit the dead, only what the guests drink. There are many observances incumbent on a widow. At the cremation ceremonies a wise woman of the clan of the deceased is chosen to care for the widow, cook for her, wash her hands, and the like. These services con- tinue for four or eight months, and then the widow may resume caring for herself. If these things are not done for her it is a disgrace to the clan of the deceased. If the deceased was a house chief the house is closed and the widow lives at the house of the head chief of the clan of the deceased (i.e., with the clan chief highest in rank). At the head of the widow's bed is kept a soft ball of shredded bark. Each morning her "servant" takes this and wipes the saliva scum from the widow's mouth and washes her face. If this is not done the widow will become a terrible gossip and a nag. If later on the widow gossips it is said of her that she purposely talked in the morning before her mouth was wiped. After each meal her mouth is wiped. While she is eating, the bark rests in front of her, weighed down with a pebble. She also wears a pebble under her robe as she sits, so that she will not rise up carelessly. These observances are kept up for eight days. Then the bundle of bark and the pebbles are taken to a cave and covered with earth. If these rituals are carried out the widow will become wise, gentle, and thrifty. If not, she will become a katlusicawa t (gossipy, quarrelsome, careless woman). A widow (and also a widower) should remain chaste during the period of mourning, until in the seventh mourn- ing feast when the black is removed from her face and red substituted by a man from her husband's clan. This signifies that his clan is satisfied with her behavior and L 3I do not know how much of this ceremony is post-European, but alcoholic beverages were unknown in ancient days. ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS will give her a new husband. Should she have had affairs during this time, it will be indicated in the dance at the paint-changing. Thus, one woman had an affair with a white man during this period and instead of her being painted with red, a boy, dressed as a white man, came out and played a hand organ. This indicated her disgrace. Her failure to remain chaste will also cause some of her clansmen to fall ill and die. DETAILS OF SPECIFIC POTLATCHES Not included in the foregoing descriptions of potlatches are certain data given me in the form of anecdotes or in answer to specific questions about the potlatch. I append these items here. About 1880 Chief Kuxtitc of the Tantakwan Ganaxadi gave a great potlatch in honor of a deceased clansman, with the Nanyaayih clan of Wrangell as guests. (The home town guests were the Tekwedih.) Kuxtitc went to Wrangell to give the invitation. At that time Goxoch and Cekc were the Nanyaayih chiefs. As the visitors came in front of the village, Goxcoh's speaker stood up, sang a song, and issued the invitation. Cekc invited the party ashore and that night they were feasted. Cekc spoke to his clan, ac- cepting the invitation and telling his people to get ready. At every house of the Nanyaayih the Ganaxadi were enter- tained and feasted. The day of departure was decided on. In the meantime the Ganaxadi at home were very busy getting ready. Songs and dances had to be rehearsed, the gifts and food made ready. All this was in charge of a master of ceremonies (cis sa tti). In such ceremonies the host clan must be very careful to avoid mistakes of any kind. If a mistake is made the host clan loses face and to regain face is obliged to make heavier payments (gifts) than otherwise. The visiting guests, accompanied by those who had issued the invitation, arrived the evening before the pot- latch was to begin. They camped that night in a cove a short distance from the village (Port Tongass). They fired a gun to signal their arrival. The host clan went in canoes to the camp, thanked the guests for coming, and that night treated the guests to tobacco (a "tobacco feast"). In the morning food was taken to the camp. When the guest canoes came in off the village they lined up offshore and the visitors sang and danced. The Tekwedih (home village guests) lined up in front of the potlatch house and sang and danced. The visiting chief (Cekc) made a speech, using "high sounding" and metaphorical language. In the course of this he mentioned the "children" of the host's clan and said, "I take hold of their robes." He was answered in kind by the Tekwedih chief. The host and his clanmates and other helpers were in the house during this part of the ceremony. The host now came out and made as if throwing something heavy at the canoes. The guests in the canoes pretended to catch this, indicating thereby that they would give a costume dance. The guest chief then threw the "thing" back, at which those on shore fell to the ground. The host again 'threw" the imaginary object and the guests threw it back to be caught by the host. The host then called the visiting chief by name, saying, "Cekc, where do you wish me to throw this yek (spirit)?" Cekc answered, "Throw it where it belongs," meaning to the "head" of the house. The host then said to his speaker, "Shall I throw it to its place?" The speaker answered, "Yes," and the host "threw" it in, while those inside (those of the host's clan) blew whistles and beat the drum. At this the Tekwedih guests ranged themselves to form a lane from the beach to the door. The host's speaker then shouted to those in the canoes, "Whose war is that?" The Nanyaayih speaker answered, "So-and-so. This is his war," naming a Nanyaayih chief, he who would give a return pot- latch. The host's speaker then shouted in to Kuxtitc, "Chief! Why are you silent? Cekc is here in front waiting to kill you. Are you ready to come out?" He answered, "Yes, I am ready." Kuxtitc then came out, costumed and with a weapon in his hands. The Ganaxadi then sang their song used in a feud when a clansman goes out to be killed. The host pretended to be afraid but his speaker shouted en- couragement, "Be brave! Don't run away! Be killed!" The chief ran toward the canoes but again retreated, as if afraid, while those in the canoes cried "waw, waw" in derision. The "children" of Ganaxadi then helped beach the canoes and unload them, singing a special song as they did so. All guests now entered the house; the Nanyaayih were seated on the side of the house "where the sun rises," the Tekwedih on the side "where the sun sets." The host then went to the head of the house where he sang a song. The host's kanigan (men of his wife's clan) built up the fire, pouring grease on it for a show. The Nanyaayih then sang two songs, then went to another house to don their dance costumes. They returned, dancing their way and sang four songs. Cekc then addressed a speech to the host and the host replied in kind. The Tekwedih chief then made a speech after which his clan sang two songs, then went to their houses to dress up. When they returned they sang four songs. Again there were several speeches addressed to the host. Great quantities of food were then brought in, supplied by the host's clan. At this particular potlatch one of the Nanyaayih chiefs, Goxcoh, was given eulachon oil mixed with snow. He had never eaten this before and he turned his back on the food, as if he were too proud to eat it. This gesture might have caused trouble but the host shouted, "Goxcoh! Are you going to close the door to the land of the dead? If you are not going to close this door, then eat!" (The meaning of this was that if he refused to eat, then when he was to give a feast the host's clan would refuse to come.) Goxcoh said nothing, but fell to. "Thus he saved himself from disgrace." The next day and night were given up to singing, dancing, and feasting, the Nanyaayih and Tekwedih alternating in the songs and dances. At the end of these the Ganaxadi women distributed gifts to the women guests. Everyone watched and listened for some signal by one of the guest chiefs that he intended to give a potlatch. The personal song of the deceased in whose honor the feast was given was sung on this second night. The third day was given over to songs, dances and feasts. In addition there was a sort of spirit dance (yekti' yih), but I have no details on it. The fourth day was the time of giving away the property. Except as noted below there was no obligation to make a return gift for one received at a potlatch. Even a gift of 500 blankets entailed no such obligation. Nor was there any concept of interest. But the giving of a slave entailed an obligation. Only a great chief would receive such a gift and only at a great potlatch such as a house dedication, when guests from other tribes were invited. The recipient would usually be one of these visiting chiefs. He was cer- tain to give a potlatch in the future and his former host would then receive accordingly. 66 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT A gift of a ceremonial copper14 also entailed the obli- gation of a return gift of equal or greater value. The added value did not involve the "interest" concept, how- ever. Coppers were valued at three to five slaves. Among most of the Tlingit tribes it was considered a great thing to perform a "new" dance or sing a "new" song. Many or most of these were derived from non- Tlingit tribes. Among the Chilkat the "Gunana" tribes of the interior were the chief source of innovations. At Wrangell the Raven clans got most of their new songs and dances from the Tahltan, whereas the Wolf clans, expecially the Nanyaayih, used Tsimshian songs and dances. The Tsimshian were also the source of most of the "new" songs and dances of the Tantakwan and Sanya- kwan. It sometimes happened that the chief on another tribe on his way to a potlatch would go into a pet about some- thing. Perhaps he had heard of some belittling talk. He might decide to camp near the host village and sulk. This is called yaxaiyati'n (wishing to go back, offended). The host chief, hearing of this, would send his brother-in-law to speak "soft words" to the chief and persuade him to come on. At the potlatch, before the giving of gifts, this chief would be given a slave or other great gift as pro- mised by the brother-in-law. But he (or his clan) must later give the host the equivalent. If not, it would never be forgotten and would be held against him. It would be referred to as nrtckatl&u'h (for nothing gave away). The return gift would equal the slave's value or more. The more time elapsing before the return, the larger the gift. It might be that there was bad blood between two chiefs and one would refuse the other's invitation to a feast. In this event the prospective host could take a part of a dance costume or other ceremonial object belonging to a brother or uncle, go to the sulking chief and present the object to him, saying, "So-and-so (the owner of the object) is in- viting you." The prospective guest could not refuse the invitation. He must accept and in addition give gifts to those accompanying the prospective host. EATING CONTESTS Lavish display, lavish giving, and the consumption of immense amounts of food are parts of the potlatch com- plex. The host and the host group attempt to convey the impression of endless supplies, endless wealth. Even in everyday life a host would be greatly embarrassed should he not have food to offer a caller. At potlatches a guest chief might be given more food than he could possibly eat, or offered gallons of eulachon oil which he must drink, give to a nephew or other stand-in, or lose face. This enormous consumption of food sometimes took .the form of eating contests, usually between teams of young men chosen from the guest clans. In part such con- tests were fun and horseplay, yet the contestants did their utmost to win. I was told the following accounts of such contests. On one occasion when Whale House at Klukwan was re- built the guest clans were the Nanyaayih of Wrangell and e Kagwantan of Sitka. A feature at one of the feasts was eating contest between two teams, each consisting of n equal number of young men from each of the guest clans. 114 Coppers are said to have been obtained from near the outh of the Copper River. Urine was collected in a box, thrown on the sand. If copper lumps were in the sand, green spots would show on the sand by the following day. Among the treasures of the Ganaxtedih were a huge basket about three feet high and three in diameter called kuikTkla (mother of baskets) and a hollowed-out log about twenty feet long and eighteen inches in diameter, carved at the ends and along the sides in the form of a woodworm. (This was the worm of the legend.115 ) The basket held five large boxes of food, the log dish held four boxes. The winning team was the one to finish eating all the food in its dish. The young men of the Wrangell team (who were eating from the wormwood dish) cheated by scooping dishes full of food and then in the excietment carrying these under the platforms where the food was poured into boxes. But it was all in good fun. Through this trickery the Wrangell team won. The hosts rooted for the Wrangell team because some of their local women had married Wrangell men. However, the "star" of the contest was a member of the Sitka team. He jumped into the basket, mashed the food with his feet and ate it in great scoops-full. (After all, we have pie-eating contests.) The following incident is illustrative of clan property and prerogatives and also of an eating contest: When the ancestors of the Kagwantan moved from Kidrkc on the Nass River, one Raven woman named Koa6'h and her daughter were left behind. The mother prayed and wept, wishing for someone to come and marry her daugh- ter. First to come was Squirrel. She asked what he could do and he replied that he could throw down cones from the trees onto people below. The mother said he would not do as a husband. . . . Finally Sun came. He told how he could shine and make bad weather good and could make the ocean boil. The mother said he could marry her daughter. They had eight sons, the youngest being like a daughter [? ] to his mother. These eight were lowered in an iron [sic] mortar and came to earth at Kidikc. Those who had left Kidikc heard noises at the abandoned town and wondered if ghosts were living there. The Tikana of Klawak went to investigate. When the canoes approached, Sun's children were playing on the beach. The visitors made fun of them, calling them ghosts of the Gidikckwan (people of Gidikc). The youngest son, named K!atxa'n, be- came angry. The ocean began to boil [for Sun was angry]. Katxan overturned the war canoes and all the raiders were killed. The mortar-dish came to be owned by a Ganaxadi chief named Tok!ahau' of Taku. When the Kagwantan chief Yisyat was building Killer Whale House he bought the mortar from Tokahau. For the Ganaxtedih were to be the guests at the potlatch and he wished to have huge containers of food to give them. The Ganaxtedih men were training themselves by eating more and more, to stretch their stomachs. For there had to be one among them who could eat the mortar full of food at a single sitting! At the feast Yisyat's wife sang a song about how Sun's children were lowered down at Gidikc. And there were dances with impersonations of the Sun's children. One of the guests, a man named Kase'h, succeeded in eating the mortar full of food (cranberries, blueberries, and oil), then called for a big dish of oil for dessert. This caused some loss of face for Yisyat. But the guest showed his "respect" for his host by asking for two men to help him from the house. (By this he indicated that his host was indeed lavish.) But when he came home his wife was roasting a coho salmon. He asked if it were done. He said, "It was nothing, eating that dish of food and drink- ing that oil! Give me that fish." Then he ate the whole fish. The Ganaxtedih gave a return feast and during it one of Yisyat's kinsmen was unintentionally "killed." The hosts 115It is illustrated in Emnons, 1916, p. 31, Fig. 6. 67 68OANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS had a dish [box] about twelve inches square. This they filled with cranberries, dried hemlock bark, and oil. The guest succeeded in eating it all, then called for water to drink. This caused the hemlock bark to swell and his stomach to burst. This was counted as if it were an ac- tual killing and the hosts had to pay several slaves for his life. POTLATCHES GIVEN TO HONOR CHILDREN Nearly all feasts and potlatches of the Tlingit were ceremonies given in memory of or as a sign of respect for the dead of the giver's clan. This was true whether the ceremony involved nothing more than the ceremonial smoking of tobacco or the great affairs associated with house building or erection of a memorial (totem) pole. To some extent the spirits of the dead benefited in that a little tobacco or food was put on the fire for them. Swanton's statement (1909, p. 434) that all potlatches had this motivation is not quite true. Although most feasts and potlatches are given by one man, household, or clan, with persons of the opposite moiety as guests, there is one festival that a man gives for his children and perhaps for other children of the same clan. These are of course of the moiety opposite to that of the father. But this ceremony differs from nearly all others in that the guests are from both moieties. Also it is the one way a father has of doing a great thing for his own chil- dren, for ordinarily most of his efforts are expended on his sister's children. The feast-potlatch is called gga tt a l tih. The nearest translation is something like "feast fur living children." No matter how rich or well- born a group of siblings may be they can never be called "anya ddi" (the designation of highest caste) unless one or more of these ceremonies has been given for them. Nearly all other feasts and potlatches are related to rituals for the dead. This one may be given without such reference, though mourning for a deceased person often serves as the starting point. The example I give is that of a Ganaxadi man, his Tekwedih wife, and three children, the eldest of whom had died some years earlier. The wife, for example, mourns and cries at night for the dead child, even if the burial ceremonies are finished. Her husband takes note of her weeping and begins a period of several months's continence, in order to "get luck" in wealth and property. When he has built up sufficient capi- tal he speaks to his wife, "I wish to stop you from crying. So I will give a feast for your children." The two lay plans, choosing a few children in addition to their own who are to be honored. All the children must be regarded as of the same "house" regardless of clan."6B The feast, however, is given in the name of the eldest son of the couple, that is, the eldest son gets the lion's share of the honor. (If he has no sons, the eldest daughter is the chief person honored.) The number of children to be honored depends on the amount of wealth available. All must be "children" of his house. The husband goes to each house of the village (includ- ing those of his own clan and moiety) and invites them. He appoints eight men of his own clan to help manage the 1L6The people of certain houses and even different clans are regarded as offshoots of some original house group which sub- divided. Thus in the Tantakwan Ganaxadi clan the people of Drifted Ashore House, Starfish House, and Raven House are regarded as one, as opposed to Skin House and Fort House. affair. For a really great affair one clan of the father's moiety from a different tribe is invited. The host and the eight men take the host's children and one or two others to the village of the other tribe. There the host invites the desiguated clan, using esoteric language. Those in- vited accept, naming the day they will arrive. The chief one of the eight men remains to help the guests prepare for this journey and with orders to give a prepared speech should any invited chief change his mind about coming. He also serves as guide to the home village. If the guests must camp on the way this man gets wood, carries water, and helps in the cooking. He does not eat until the others have finished. (During the feast he circulates among the guests to see that all goes well.) The visitors camp a little distance from the home village. They prepare themselves and approach in a ritu- alistic manner, to be greeted by shouts of wu+. In recent times a cannon is fired to greet them and a song leader leads in a greeting song. The visitors then return to their camp. The host and his seven men then visit the camp, bringing tobacco. Speeches are made. The visitors' canoes are led to the village by the host and the canoes of the visitors line up abreast. A platform is thrown across several canoes and the guest chiefs gather on this. The host people sing and dance on the beach. The host then makes as if "throwing" something to the highest visiting chief on the platform (cf. p. 66). This chief "throws" it back. The host then asks him, "Ankau, where shall I throw this?" The answer comes, "Throw it where it belongs." The host says to one of his own chiefs, "Shall I throw this there?" If the answer is "yes" it means that the celebra- tion will include theatricals; if the reply is, "Throw it wherever you like," it means there will be none. The guests then enter the host's house. The children to be honored are ranged at the head of the house, the host's clan in front of them. The visitors are placed on the right side of the house, the home-town guest clan or clans on the left. Two songs are sung by each guest group. Then the guests go to a different house to dress in cere- monial regalia. They come in led by a "brother-in-law" with a drum. They perform two dances. The local guests then go out, dress up, and return led by a "brother-in- law" (one of the host's clansmen) and dance twice. Both guest groups are then feasted, the feasting con- tinuing most of the night. The members of the host's clan do not eat but busy themselves serving, tending the fire, and so on. The second night all participants again gather in the host's house. The host leads in a series of eight songs, everyone present who knows the songs joining in. (In most other feasts the host or the speaker calls on a man to start a certain song. This one makes a brief speech, tell- ing the history of the song, then leads. Then another man is called on, until the eight songs are finishes.) The visit- ing guests then go through two dances, followed by two dances by the local guests. During these everyone watches for some subtle sign that someone plans a like feast in the future. The following day there is another feast, the food being served by the helpers. That night special performances (if such are planned) are given by each group in turn, the host's group first, then the visiting guests, last the home- village guests. The next day the ear-piercing and tattooing of the chil- dren are done, one of the children being seated in front of each guest chief. The host's eldest son sits in front of the highest visiting chief, the eldest daughter in front of the highest guest chief of the home village. At a signal each of these chiefs takes hold of the lobe of an ear of the child 68 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT in front of him and pinches it. Everyone now gives a loud and long "sh." This is repeated three times. At the fourth "sh+ " the ear is pierced."17 The same is done for the other ear of each. (For some children tattooing is a sub- stitute for ear piercing. Girls are tattooed on the hands, boys on the chest or hands. This may take several days.) A day or two later the property is given out. At the beginning of the giving some or all of the hon- ored children are given new names. Each naming is ac- companied by a speech giving the history of the name, the great deeds of those who formerly bore the names, and so on. (These names are those that have not been "in use" for a generation or more.) The host then makes a long speech, telling how those "raised" will be expected to act, as befits persons of high estate. The host then distributes the property, most of it going to the chiefs who did the ear piercing or tattooing. An average would be fifty blankets for ear piercing or tattoo- ing the hands, one hundred blankets for a chest tattoo. As each chief's name is called the host names the service performed for "my son, " "my daughter," "my great- uncle's child," and so on. Smaller gifts are made to each guest. Extra property is set aside and is given to each person (guest or host group) who sang, danced, or otherwise helped in the festival."18 Following this ceremony the novices may not eat clams, seaweed or other nonmoving salt-water food; but they may eat salt-water food that swims, such as fish or seal. To remove this taboo a second feast is given (a year later?) at which the same or different guest groups are invited. Only a very high born and very rich man may give such feasts. And the right to do so is hereditary. His own lineage in his clan must have done so in the past. The songs the host sings are those sung by the first man in the ancestry who gave such a feast. This one and all others who gave these feasts are named. Thus he publicly validates his right to give the feast. This makes everyone, host and guest groups alike, very proud. But the host's right may derive from a different clan, for example, from a father's father. He then mentions not his clan but those he was " born through." A man who attempts such a festi- val without the inherited rights is sure to be greeted with smirks and silence (but see the exception below). Some of the very highest and richest chiefs give a series of these and the ultimate honor accrues when eight are given. Chief Kauk!len of the Tantakwan gave eight for his son Tsuka'h. Tsukah had three daughters (no sons) and he gave several for them. GM's father, the great-nephew of Kauklen, gave one and was killed before he could give more. Other Tantakwan who gave one such feast were Kudena, Keyauh (Antwah), Yacnuc, Cantaku, and Caklen."9 Now and then a man who does not have the hereditary right to this feast gives one. So long as he does not claim the hereditary right he is not ridiculed. If such a man has lost a child he may give a comparable feast for the dead and at the same time bestow a high name on a surviving child. FEUDS, RAIDS, AND WARS Tlingit warfare followed the general pattern of that of the other tribes of the area. But, as is true of much of the primitive world, it is impossible to draw the line between petty feuds at one end of the scale and open hostility be- tween much larger groups at the other end. It is most im- portant to note that feuds and wars were seldom between tribe and tribe as such or even between village and vil- lage. I learned of only two such feuds. One was between the Tantakwan and Sanyakwan tribes. The other was be- tween the Tantakwan and the Kitkatlah tribe of the Tsim- shian. Otherwise they were always between clan and clan, though the trouble might spread and involve other clans. In native theory most feuds which expanded into war were between clans of the opposite moieties, but from the ac- counts given me it seems certain that intramoiety hostili- ties were also fairly common. There were no feuds within the clan or at least within a clan of the same tribe or village. In fact there was no mechanism for the punishment even of murder where killer and killed were of the same clan within the tribe. The native theory is that no one would insult or otherwise harm a clan brother. But every insult and every wrong must be righted and every killing involving members of two clans called for evening the score and this usually entailed killing the aggressor. However, as has been men- tioned, quarrels arising and insults passed between two 17This is called wuduwahsu's, and refers to the sound made. 18JIn this feast no recipient may speak up if he feels he has not been given enough. In other festivals he might do so. women of different clans were not regarded as of suffi- cient importance to call for bloodshed. If a man insulted a woman, her brother or some other close kinsman took up her quarrel and sought revenge, usually killing the culprit. I have discussed some features of quarrels and feuds at greater length in the section on social relations. Although training and education emphasized the desir- ability of avoiding quarrels, there was even greater em- phasis on personal, family, and clan pride. This was especially true for those of the higher social levels. In- sults must be avenged, even those that might be conveyed by innuendo in speeches at ceremonies. Personal quarrels between men were (and are) seldom regarded as affairs to be settled by the two principals but as affairs involving the respective clans. Even quarrels between children of different clans might flare into more serious trouble be- tween the clans. Certain clans were thought of as especially prone to be quick or ready to respond to (but not to provoke) real or fancied insult or other incident leading to trouble. In later times the Chilkat Kagwantan had this reputation, "because it is a strong (numerous) clan" and because it had a number of successful wars and feuds. Members of l'8When the ideal series of eight feasts have been given it is said, "Dudatiyi'h yAyakawage'h" (What is done for him is fin- ished). In ancient times it was nearly possible to judge an adult's rank by the number of piercings of the ear lobe and helix, or by noting the number of pendants worn. The eight piercings of the ear were in the lobe and up the helix, four in each ear. 69 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS weak (or "low caste") clans were less ready to defend the honor of the group. The killing of a person by anyone of another clan, premeditated or not, automatically and im- mediately created a "state of war," though most such affairs were settled by the payment of a blood price or a ceremonial return killing to even the score. But when such a settlement could not be reached the clans rather than the families or households were regarded as being at war. Every feud and every war could be terminated only by an elaborate peace ceremony. And peace could be made only by payment to the clan suffering the great- est loss so that the score could be regarded as even. The "social value" of a person depended on his social rank. There was a scale of wealth (money) equivalents, so that the monetary value of a person depended on his social rank. These things were all taken into account in the making of peace. Where a killing rather than a blood price was involved in settlement, the person to be killed was not necessarily the murderer but was often a man whose social rank (or social value) was equivalent to that of the murdered man. (The stand-in for the guilty one in such cases, however, should be of the same house group as that of the murderer.) The obligation to avenge an insult or even the score in murder naturally led to difficulties when these concepts came into conflict with American judicial procedure after the United States acquired the territory. Many Tlingit men were sentenced to prison terms for killings which they were honor- and duty-bound to commit according to their own code. But feuds and "wars" involving whole clans were checked by the military and police authorities and they had disappeared by 1900. However, several feuds and wars had not been settled, and feelings of enmity still smouldered. The last of such feuds were theoretically ended under the influence of the Alaska Native Brother- hood (about 1920). But as will be seen from the accounts that follow, there are still some unsettled scores, and scores that never can be settled in the foreseeable future. Every insult, every quarrel over a woman's infidelity called for revenge, usually in the form of killing the of- fender. And every such killing created a state of war or potential war. Other causes of bloodshed might develop out of trade rivalry between chiefs, or quarrels over rights to crests or other prerogatives. Other motives for or causes of conflict were not com- mon. There were raids for slaves and counter-raids. These usually were between groups (tribes) distantly situated from each other rather than between neighbor- ing groups. Persons captured in such raids or captured in other feuds and wars were kept as slaves. Or rather, they were held as prisoners until ransomed by their clans- men. If not ransomed within a year or so, they became slaves. If the captive was of high caste, his clansmen would make every effort to raise the ransom goods or money, the amount depending on the rank of the captive. Another potential source of trouble was keen rivalry between the two "sides" of guests at potlatch ceremonies. These sang, danced, and so on, in a prescribed order dic- tated by the host clan. Each team made great efforts to outdo the other and feelings often ran high. If fighting be- tween the two seemed imminent, members of the host clan would rush between them, carrying certain of their own clan emblems, and call out such phrases as, "My grandfather's children!" referring to the guests of both clans. This use of the crest of their "grandfathers" and the appeal were almost certain to bring them to their senses and avert trouble, at least for the time being. The foregoing discussion of the basis of wars and feuds indicates the fundamental importance of the clan organiza- tion as opposed to tribe, village, or even family. Thus in intravillage feuds clan loyalty outweighs even family ties, and immediately upon the occurrence of such a critical event as a killing the women and children of every house of the clans involved fled from home to the houses of the respective clans. This was, of course, because the women and children under matrilineal descent and patrilocal resi dence lived in houses not owned by their own clan. Those belonging to the clan of the murderer might be in danger of revenge killing by members of the injured clan. In such a crisis the entire village became an armed camp, with everyone fleeing to the houses of his own clan. This re- mained the situation until some basis of settlement, blood price or revenge killing, had been arrived at. When trouble arose it usually happened that a neutral clan would try to achieve a settlement. Thus if clans A and B were on the verge of warfare, a man (sometimes several men) of clan C who was married to a woman of A or B would try to avert further bloodshed by acting as go-between and try to arrange for settlement by the pay- ment of a blood price. He was the kanigan (brother-in- law).12' But often feelings ran too high and his efforts might be in vain. It will be seen from the foregoing that there was little or no sense of village or tribal loyalty. Clan loyalty out- weighed these. There was accordingly little or no concept of tribal or village ownership of territory. Certain spots, such as fishing, berrying, or hunting areas, were owned by individuals or households or considered the general property of the clan. In keeping with these ideas of "owner, ship" of territory it follows that there were no wars or feuds between tribes over territory. Places or areas not "owned" or used by clan or household were unclaimed or open. When the Tantakwan moved from Prince of Wales Island to Anette Island and later to Tongass Island there was evidently no feeling on the part of the Sanyakwan that their territory was being invaded or seized, though Tongas Island lies very near Cape Fox, where the Sanyakwan vil- lage was situated at the time. Likewise, when. the Kaigani Haida built villages on Prince of Wales Island, probably about 1750, the Tlingit evidently had no feeling that their lands were being invaded. Such troubles as arose between Tlingit and Haida were not based on ideas of ownership of tribal territory.'2' Accounts of warfare on the Northwest Coast have usu- ally failed to give a true picture of the degree of formali- zation involved. Nor have they given credit for the tough- ness and bravery of the participants. Among the Tlingit there was no giving in, no asking of quarter. During the fighting if one of the attackers came on an unarmed per- son, say a woman or child, he challenged him, asking what clan the person belonged to. The threatened one would never deny his clan, even though to admit membership in the belligerant clan meant immediate death or capture. 120These peacemakers were considered as "working" for the sake of their "children," some of whom would be in the feuding clans. They were called atgani uwa'ka,awu (man between), which, in some tribes at least, was an office, one for each clan. '21This was evidently the feeling regarding the white settlers and traders in Alaska. But with the rash of Indian claims suits against the U. S. Government the Tlingit have come to feel that all southeast Alaska was their territory. There has grown up a certain resentment against whites because the Tlingit have not been compensated for seizure of their lands. They also resent the Tsimshian "ownership" of Anette Island, claiming that Congress had no right to give Tlingit territory to them. But there seems to be no feeling that the Haida (of Kasaan and Hy- dahburg) are intruders. The whole subject is complex and con- fused. 70 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT Among those actively engaged in fighting there seems to have been no taking of prisoners, no showing of mercy toward the wounded, no asking for mercy. I was told of one occasion when a man was wounded but the victor re- fused to finish him off. Instead he threw an insult, saying, "You are not worthy of being killed for the death of So- and-so." Later a member of a neutral clan came by and the wounded man made a plea for aid, saying, "I take hold of the hem of your daughter's dress." The neutral aided him but later threw him aside in disgust at his cowardice and the wounded man was killed. After the fighting was over the victim's mother learned of his behavior and, in utter shame, cut her own throat. There was no special class of warriors though certain men were noted for being brave and "hard-boiled." Since war was usually on a clan basis, some member of the clan, usually a man of high caste, acted as war leader. The war was then spoken of as "So-and-so's war." The phrase "whose war is that?" was often used as a chal- lenge when raiding parties met, or when strange canoe- borne persons were encountered.'22 Two warriors about to come to grips or before firing shots gave a challenging cry of "gwi+ " or "hu+." But the cry "u+ " was the whimper of a coward. Insults were also hurled back and forth. Thus a particular enemy might be addressed as "little fellow." Once trouble had spread beyond mere feuding there was a declaration of war, sometimes a formal one, the enemy being notified that a state of war existed. It seems that by common consent there would be no attacks by either party until some months had passed. In part it was understood that this period was to give time for one or both parties to prepare a defensible position, a fort (nu).'23 Such forts were often palisaded or otherwise protected and were built on small islets, points, or other defensible positions. Evidently such places were usually built by the party that felt itself to be the weaker of the two. There they waited and watched for attack. The place for the fort was often chosen without much regard for a food supply, and some accounts stress the hardships and near starva- tion of the beleagured group. Although only one clan of the group would be involved, usually the entire village moved to the fort; otherwise nearly every household and family would have been disrupted. (The specific accounts that fol- low amplify and clarify some of these features.) At the beginning of a state of war the people of both sides began a series of observances, largely magical in nature. Sex relations were taboo for all members of the belligerent clans. The war canoes were put up on special supports for four days. The warriors fasted for four days. There were other observances, some of which are noted below. As the canoes were launched, husbands and wives tossed images (representing the enemy) back and forth. Failure of either to catch the thrown image foretold death or capture for the husband.124 The warriors of each clan involved also practiced in sham battles, often becoming so frenzied in these that fatalities sometimes occurred. It was vital that a shaman accompany a raiding party. From time to time he would lie in the bottom of the canoe, where he was covered with a robe, and go into a trance. While in this state he was often able to tell where the hid- 122This phrase was also used as a part of the mock hostility involved when a fleet of guest canoes landed at the host village. 123A number of the names of Tlingit towns terminate in -nu, indicating that they were probably founded as fortified places. 124Swanton gives a few further details of these rituals (1909, pp. 449-451). den fort of the enemy was situated or advise about the time and place a lone canoe and its crew would be en- countered. Usually he spoke in metaphors or used Delphic phrases. The usual war trophy was the scalp, consisting of the entire hair-covered part of the head plus the ears. These were dried and often kept for generations. Thus the scalps of Yak!li't and Ts!ek!l, two warriors of the Nanyaayih clan of Wrangell, are still in the possession of Jackson Anaxuts of the Gutchittan of Sitka. They are trophies of the war be- tween those clans. During time of war the faces of all participants were painted black, "the color of death." At some point during the peace ceremonies (I am not certain when) the face painting was changed to red. The accounts that follow are verbatim descriptions of group conflicts ranging from simple feuds to wars which had become almost tribal, several clans being involved in addition to the original two. A number of other accounts are included in the section dealing with the Tantakwan and episodes of their history. Most feuds were between clans of opposite moieties, though trouble between those of the same moiety was not unknown. In a killing the clan of the murdered man had the option of accepting a blood price or demanding a life in return. This was decided in a clan meeting, and the amount to be demanded or the person to be killed was named. In the latter case the person named was chosen on the basis of his being the equal in rank (i.e., social value) of the deceased and being of the household of the murderer. Sometimes a man of higher rank was named; and even a woman could be chosen. Such a one was honor bound to accept his fate and come out to be killed. But it seems that a woman so named as stand-in could refuse, in which case the injured clan must accept payment in- stead. When the injured clan had made its decision they went to the house of the murderer.i25 and stated the price or named the victim chosen. Preferably the murderer was named, but if he were of lower rank than the deceased, his life would not even the score. Blood price was for- merly paid in blankets, slaves, and coppers; in later times it was paid in money. In Sitka a Kiksadih man was killed by a Kagwantan of Box House, named Xanaki c. The Kiksadih came to the house and demanded that he come out to be killed (for he was of social rank equal to the murdered man). But Xanakic was a coward and sneaked out of the house the back way. The people of the house asked where he was going and he replied in the jargon, "Cultus cooley" (Just for a walk). He fled to the woods. Such cowardice would have disgraced the clan. So the nephew (heir) of Xanakic volun- teered, saying, "Igina'x xat guguna h" (In his place I die). Word was sent to the Kiksadi, "He is coming out." Then the lad went out, gun in hand. As he emerged, the waiting Kiksadi fired several shots and he fell dead. This is the only known or remembered instance of the person (male) named exhibiting cowardice. The usual form of this sacrifice was that the victim dressed in his ceremonial costume and came out as if to fight, but his bow was unstrung, or in any event he made no attempt to "attack"; he merely showed his bravery. Should his father or mother's father be of the avenging clan, he might don a costume of that clan and come out singing one of their songs. This was to make them feel sorry, and to show the avengers the he "came out" of their clan. '25Usually a go-between was sent. 7 1 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS If the clan of the murderer refused to pay the amount demanded, then the injured clan could "take" one of the emblems (crests or totems) of the guilty clan. This they would carve on some object and claim it as their own crest until payment was made. In such a case the price would be paid to get the crest back. The native view is that they could not do otherwise, the crest must be re- deemed. An incident will illustrate this: About 1933 a man of the Ganaxadi in Klawak went to Cragin in his canoe to buy some supplies. He failed to return. Some weeks later his body was found on a rocky islet. His sweetheart (a girl of the Nastedih clan) dreamed that he had been killed by two brothers of the Gangukedih clan. (These two were ne'er-do-wells). The murdered man told the girl in her dream what had happened and she told the people to settle the affair in their own way. The Ganaxadi demanded payment, but the Gangukedih put them off and virtually refused payment. The payment money would have been used for the funeral potlatch and "fixing the grave" (nowadays putting a concrete slab over it). After two years the patience of the Ganaxadi was wearing thin. So during my visit my informant JD decided to take matters into his own hands. He took the skin of a wolf and put the skull back in place and hung it on the wall in his house. (Somehow the skull being mounted-in the skin is the significant thing, for JD was a trapper and had other wolf skins about.) The day after he had hung up this "to- tem" he showed it to me and said, "Now they have g to pay." After some discussion I naively said, "But what if they just refuse to pay and pay no attention to your 'taking' their crest?" At this he said with great emphasis, "But you don't understand! This will force them to pay! They have got to pay now." I left Klawak soon after and never learned whether payment was made. But the attitude was like ours would be if some nation claimed and began flying the Stars and Stripes; or as if we took the flag of a nation which had defaulted on a debt. TROUBLE OVER A CREST The following account illustrates how a feud may begin over rights to a crest. Although bloodshed was averted in this controversy, all the factors for a blood feud were present. The account may also serve to illustrate how the same crest may come to be used by several clans within the moiety. About 1910 the Kluknahadi of Sitka (who are of the Raven phratry) built a new house. One Tlkettiftc was the house chief. He (and the others of the house) decided to use the Frog crest on a short post set on a platform under the gable. He hired the carving done by John the Silver- smith (of the Wolf side). Now the frog is the special prop- erty of the Kiksadi clan (also of the Raven moiety) and they warned the Kluknahadi against using the frog, but to no avail. Chief Kauxa'tc of the Kiksadi was the leader of those objecting to the use of the crest. A Tsimshian man was married to a local Kiksadi woman.'26 He secretly measured the distance from the ground to the frog carving and made a ladder and went by a back way to the house. There several men took turns chopping at the carved frog until it was ruined. Many people who were not from either of the two clans stood watching from some distance away. In the house there were but three men and they dared not come out despite challenges to do so. MBAs a naka'ni (brother-in-law) to the Kiksadi he had certain obligations. One old woman of the Tekwedih clan of Angoon who was married to a local Kiksadi man carried two pistols. She challenged any and all women who were married to Kluknahadi men to face her, but none dared. After the carving was defaced, the Kiksadi chief Kauxate ordered the offenders to remove the figure altogether, but they refused. Then he threatened to take one of their crests, the coho salmon,'27 if the figure was not removed by a certain time. But the Kluknahadi did nothing. So Kauxatc took the steamer to Ketchikan. There he went to his brother-in-law (one Kaxcta'n of the Tekwedih) who was a carver and got him to carve a pole with a coho at the top and below it the tentacles of the octopus. This last is a crest of the Katkaayih, but they are closely re- lated to the Kluknahadi. Being a brother-in-law (actual), the carver did the work for a very low price, only about $600 (! ). When the pole was finished, Kauxatc brought it back on the steamer. Crowds of people were on hand to meet the boat, for the Kluknahadi and Katkaayi said they would destroy the pole at the dock. But the United States Marshal stood by and guarded it until it was moved into Kauxatc's hous e. The Kluknahadi and Katkaayih had some of the Kiksadi arrested, but the court took no action, considering the matter outside its jurisdiction. Later there was a peace ceremony and a feast was given by the clans involved, with all the Wolf moiety people of Sitka as guests. The pole in dispute was never erected but remained stored in Kauxatc's house. Recently the woman of the Kiksadi clan, who now owns the house where the pole is stored, tried to sell the pole (to a mu- seum?). But the clan held a meeting and would not allow the sale. The pole is still regarded as belonging to the house where it is stored, but the whole clan claims the coho and octopus totems. Despite the peace ritual, the feud still rankles. Mem- bers of the opposing clans speak to each other, but no Kluknahadi or Katkaayih ever enters the house where the pole is stored. A BLOOD FEUD Dan Katseek related the following: My father was Ta'nkW of the Ganaxtedih clan, and his father was Kitgaui'c. My father made quite a lot of money trading with the Gunana (the people of the interior). One day he was in his stepfather' s house and had won quite a bit gambling at etlka' (a stick game). Tankw's mother's sister (of the Daklawedih clan) had been picking berries up the river. As she approaches the village in her canoe a drunken Ganaxtedih named Katcantu'x saw her. He said, "I am going to kill that woman." Her nephew, Tankw, said, "Why do you wish to kill my auntie?' She put her baby on her back and as she climbed the bank, Katcanux shot and killed both her and the baby. From in- side the house Kitcgauic heard the shot and came out and killed the murderer with a pistol. The people of the village, hearing the shots, knew trouble was coming and everyone stayed indoors. Now two Daklawedih were dead but only one Ganaxtedih. The Ganaxtedih chief, Tsaitwu'ts, called his clan together and asked for a volunteer (i.e., who would offer himself to be shot so that the score would be even. (For the man killed was high caste so the victim-to-be must be of equal rank.) But no one volunteered so Tsaitwuts said, "I'll go 127Called k,luk, hence the name Kluknahadi. 7 2 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT myself." He put on his ceremonial robe, and when he came out of his house he was shot by Kaxana', the brother of Katcanux. After this the new chief of the Ganaxtedih, Yetlxak (the brother of Tsaitwuts), and Gaxayih of the Daklawedih arranged a peace which has lasted to this day. A FEUD OVER TRADE AND WEALTH The following account'28 illustrates how trade and wealth rivalry sometimes led to trouble: Ka'tsakU waa of the Tekwedih clan of Yandestakyah, but he had a house in Klukwan. K!letidusu'h was a Ganax- tedih of Eye House in Klukwan. Through trade with the people of Yakutat, Katsaku had acquired four ceremonial coppers. Kletidusuh had managed, also by trade, to get only three coppers. This started a rivalry. Both men organized trading parties to make trips to the interior for furs. Katsaku took his party over Dyea Pass, while the other went via Chilkat Pass. Each had about 20 slaves to pack the trade goods. The two parties met at Tagish (Carcross). Kletidusuh came upon one of Katsaku's slaves and slashed the soles of his feet. The slaves of the Kletidusuh party laughed at this. When Kat- saku found his injured slave, the latter told what had happened, then died. This started the real trouble. Both parties returned, Katsaku going to Yandestakyah. Soon everyone knew that trouble was brewing. Katsaku sent a "messenger," or go-between, to Klukwan129 to warn the Ganaxtedih that the feud was on. The highest chief at Yandestakyah at this time was Kudti'k (makes opponent's heart tremble) of the Klukwahadih clan. Katsaku was very bitter over the killing of his slave and talked revenge. He tried to get some of his slaves to waylay the slaves of Kletidusuh and cut their feet. Finally Katsaku' s brother cut the feet of one of the enemy's slaves. Now the score was even. But the feeling ran high between the rivals, and one chief upbraided Katsaku for putting everyone in the two clans in jeopardy. The following summer a Ganaxtedih was sent secretly to Tagish to watch. When he got the chance he cut to pieces the valuable furs in the pack of one slave of the rival party. Katsaku, of course, knew who was respon- sible and on his return the feud began, but not until both parties had "trained" for two years. A number were killed and wounded on each side. The cost of care of the wounded and of the burial rites for the dead fell on the chief rivals. There was also the cost of the war materi- als to be borne. The advantage was with Kletidusuh, for he was the richer of the two; and after two years Katsaku found himself bankrupt. So peace was finally made. But in the end the feud also brought about disaster for the winner, Kletidusuh. For when he tried to potlatch (as he must, being a chief) his clansmen refused to help him, being resentful of the trouble he had brought on them all. So in two generations his family fell to low estate and became poor. A "PRACTICE" KILLING STARTS A WAR A certain old warrior was watching the boys of Kluk- wan play at war.'30 One lad impressed him as being tough '2Told by Dan Katzeek. The time is about 1885. 129This envoy was of the Daklawedih clan. '3"Told by Dan Katzeek. The date is probably about 1900. This is an intramoiety feud, both clans being Raven. and agressive. The man called this one and said, "Would you like to kill someone?" The young fellow said, "Yes." So the warrior gave him a knife and told him to go to Kluktu (also known as Kakwaltu, about two miles below Klukwan) and kill anyone he met. Now some of the Klukwahadi clan of Yandestakyah had moved up to Kluktu. One of the women went out to hang up some diapers and saw the lad coming in his "war" array. She ran in to tell her people. A man came out, saw the lad, and laughed at the idea of a mere boy killing anyone. But the boy stabbed him in the neck and killed him. All this was seen from Klukwan, where the people had climbed over the roofs to watch. The killing caused the two clans to paint up and pre- pare for war. The two parties clashed the next day at Kluktu. The Klukwahadi were badly beaten and fled down river. But the Ganaxtedih pursued them, overtook them at Seven Mile and killed more of them. The next day the "peacemakers" (of neither warring clan) came, stationed themselves (in canoes?) in front of Klukwanj and sang the Humming Bird peace song. This wrung the hearts of the people. Then the peacemakers did the same at Yandestakyah. So peace was finally made. But the defeat still rankles in the hearts of the Klukwahadi. The Ganaxtedih wish peace and friendship, but Klukwahadi boys are reared to hate the Ganaxtedih. Were it not for the U. S. Government, the Ganaxtedih would, even now, have to face a revenge campaign. I was told later by DC of Sitka that the Klukwahadi had really won in this feud; but that my informant (DK) being the "son of Ganaxtedih" (i.e., his father was of that clan) could not in his pride admit that the Ganaxtedih had been worsted. THE SANYAKWAN WAR WITH THE HAIDA At the mouth of Cholmondeley Sound lived a Tantakwan Tedwedih named Nagudaklen' who had killed four Haida.131 But one of the Haida got away and took the message to his tribe. Among the Sanya was a Kidsadih chief named Natce'k who had a nephew named Ya'ha or Yai ("whale"), and an- other named Sinti'n. There were two houses in the camp at Kashakes Cove. Yai was a brave fellow and kept his gun by his side when he slept, and a war knife (caga'tks) ready. He expected war and was ready ("angry") so he would not even turn aside for a chief. He kept his face painted black all the time. Women and children ran into houses when they saw him. (Later it came to be a saying when a man came to an impasse; it was said, "Just like coming against Yai.") The Kiksadi Sanyakwan had a good sockeye creek in Boca de Quadra and traded at Fort Simpson in Tsimshian territory. Once the chief Natcek went there to trade and took his nephew Yai along. (They didn-t know Nagudaklen had killed the Haida.) A man of the Tantakwan Tekwedih went with them. They expected no trouble. Soon after leaving Cape Fox they saw two big canoes. Natchek fired a shot as a signal but there was no answer. The two canoes came, one on either side. But the Haida weren't after Sanyakwan but Tantakwan. But the Sanyakwan men said nothing. The Tantakwan Tekwedih got up and said he was Andah's "head man." (Andah was chief of Tantakwan Tekwedih.) The Haida thought all of those in the canoe were Tanta- kwan and killed (they thought) everyone. But Yai and Sintin 131Told by Billy Johnson. Compare with the Tantakwan ac- count of the same war (p. 94 f.). 73 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS were hidden under the gear and mats in the bow of the canoe and the Haida did not see them until the others had been killed. So the two were captured by the Haida. Gacxau (a Tantakwan) came out from Nakat inlet with his wife. They saw a canoe drifted ashore and ravens and eagles around it. So they went ashore. He took gun and knife and went to the canoe. There he found the bodies without heads, but saw that the two nephews were not there. He knew the canoe. He ran to his wife and told her. She laughed, thinking he was teasing her. They put the bodies above high tide. Then they went back to camp, got another man and went to the village at Mink Bay (where the canoe came from) and reported it. So they all left that camp. They buried the dead. But they had no idea who had killed them. Finally they heard from Fort Simpson that some Haida were there and heard that the Haida had killed the men. So two canoes of Sanyakwan went to Port Simpson, arriv- ing at midnight. One man named Yetlnawa (dead raven), who was a Haida Tekwedih, climbed a stump as soon as trouble began. A Sanyakwan Tekwedih Chief named Tlwakt was finely costumed. He was behind the house below Yetlnawa, and was shot. Many others of Sanyakwan were killed. The message came from the Haida that they were sorry they had killed the chief Tlwakt. Now the Sanyakwan knew who were the enemies. So they made a fort on Winstanley Island in Behm Canal, calling it Takgwankinu'(winter living fort). There they began to prepare for war. A man named Kucgih of the Tekwedih and a man named Xakgoh of the Nexadi were the "braves." Kacget, the shaman, cut the tongue of a weasel and as he did so he said, "Let me (double) shoot only nobles." Xakgoh cut the tongue of a squirrel, so they could run fast. These skins they tied on their right legs below the knee. Xutscan' of the Nexadi and Natcek'! (a Kiksadi) and Kestanic of the Tekwedih were the three leaders in the three canoes. Kestanic's real name was Tlwa'k! They went by Dasxaku the Tantakwan village near Cat Island. There the Tantakwan ran out, shot their guns in the air, knowing what was afoot. The Sanyakwan took no food-so angry they were. A Haida slave woman was along. They told her they would free her if she guided them to the vil- lage. They crossed to Cape Chacon, then went on and at daybreak landed near Masset. The Haida woman advised them not to go to Masset because there were far too many there, but told them of a place where the Haida went to dig clams. They passed Masset at night and went on to the clam place. The Haida came in three canoes. There were eight canoes of Tlingit. A Haida man and an old woman were eating raw clams. The Haida men were on shore now. The old woman went near the shore. There she saw tracks and gave the alarm. The Tlingit then started shooting. One Haida man had a cape on, his face painted for war. He jumped in the water but Xakgoh killed him. One canoe with a man and a woman in it dashed to shore with Kucgeh after them. He caught up to them, shot both with one shot, but the woman was only wounded. They were true nobles. Tlwak was pulling at a canoe to launch it and pursue some of the men run- ning. Kucgeh came to him and threw the head of the man at him. So frenzied were the Sanyakwan that he tried to bite the flesh off the cheeks but it was like rubber, so he threw it in the canoe. The wounded woman was the niece of the village chief and she told them to capture her and that her uncle would buy her back; that she would plead for peace in the negotiations. So they agreed. But some others ran at her, each stabbing her until she was cut to pieces. When they had killed most and captured the rest they started out. When they got in front of Masset they put scalps on poles and shouted "hu+ m." But they saw the beach swarm with people who ran to canoes and started after them. The Haida canoes gained on them but almost as they had caught up a brisk wind sprang up. The Haida canoes were so big they were at a disadvantage in the wind, so the Tlingit escaped. When they were a safe dis- tance away they turned and fired their guns. The Haida returned the "salute." The town chief of Masset learned what his niece had said. The Haida now were getting ready for war. He said if the Sanyakwan had saved her, he would have made peace. The Haida came over to Boca de Quadra where the Sanyakwan had a fort. On an island nearby the Haida camped. One Tantakwan was there. He went out in a canoe and the Haida captured him. The Haida knew that the San- yakwan saw them capture him. One Tekwedih (Glde'h by name) had boasted, saying, "Come in the daytime, so you can see someone who can fight." The Haida did come in the day. The Sanya packed up and fled. Gideh said, "Now you'll see the best runner." The Haida pursued. Nearly at the top of a mountain one of the Sanyakwan dogs barked. They cut his head off. The Haida were gaining. They came to the dog. They thought perhaps all the fugitives were males so they decided to go back. So the Sanyakwan escaped. Three of the Haida nobles packed up some of the dried fish. A commoner came along, stamped on the ground, and said "Did you come here to have war with those dried fish? Why didn't you think about killing men?" The chiefs said nothing. Some said, "Let's go into here" (Mink Bay). Two old Sanya women were gathering bark there. They saw the Haida coming and went back, then pushed their canoe out so it wouldn't show where they had landed. But the canoe drifted back to shore. So the women ran toward the mountain. One had a cane. She left it sticking out of their hiding place. So the two were cap- tured. The Haida went back. They told the women they would set them free if they would show where the others were. One said "yes," that a chief lived up Marten Arm. One Haida knew the Tlingit language. They threatened to kill the women if they didn't tell. So they told that the chief's name was Kacnmku. Marten Arm was full of geese. Kacniku's wife heard them raise a fuss and warned her husband. She was mak- ing mats in front of the house. She saw persons sneaking along shore, ran to her husband and he came to see. They were already surrounded. The man who had spoken up to the nobles was forced to go between two nobles. Now Yel- kaniku had a secret path of escape. Only Kacniku had a gun. He loaded it with the broken legs of cast iron pots. When the Haida moved the mat aside he fired, killing four and wounding one. As the wounded man rolled, Kacniku tried to spear him. But the spear caught; it was too long. Kacnikus' brother ran out to kill the wounded man with his axe. So the Haida knew there was only one gun among the defenders and rushed the house. They broke in the bark walls. Kacnikus' wife cut two men in the shins. They killed six Haida. But Kacniku and one other were killed. When other Sanyakwan came there they found his viscera scat- tered all over the house, so hard had he fought. As the Haida started back their chief stood up, saying he had never seen anything like the fight Kacniku put up. And he ordered that his body be placed between the bodies of the two high nobies he had killed. Kacniku's wife and nephew were captured. Cage'n was the widow and when she started to weep all the Haida warriors did likewise. The Haida went back. They wanted to go to Shaka's fort but did not. 74 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT Of the three they wanted to kill (Xutscan, Kacniku, and Natcek) they had killed the first two. A WAR BETWEEN THE KIKSADI AND DECITAN In former days the people of Sitka made a practice of putting up vast amounts of dried herring eggs and trading these to other tribes.132 One year a Kiksadi man named K!watlk!eh took a cargo of these and started for Klukwan, intending to trade them there. He came to Sitkoh Bay at the eastern entrance to Peril Strait. In the bay the Deci- tan of Angoon had a fort at a place called Xutsnuwuh. The Decitan were at war with one of the Klawak clans and were ready to set out on a raid. The Decitan invited Kwalkeh and his party in, seated them, and feasted them. Then they started gambling. While this was going on some of the Decitan outside gave the eagle cry and stole the cargo of eggs and the other goods the traders carried. The visitors were naturally very angry but could only re- turn home to Sitka. No further notice of trouble was needed. The theft was an insult, and the Kiksadi manned their war canoes and went back to Xutsnuwu. But the Decitan warriors had al- ready gone on their raid to Klawak. Seeing no one about, the Kiksadi went into the fort, where they found the Deci- tan women. These they captured and took to Sitka. The Kiksadi in their anger over the insult to Kwalkeh failed to take into account the fact that they and the Deci- tan had never had trouble before. But now they had all these captive women in Sitka. They decided to put down their canoes again and attack Xutsnuwu. The Decitan had by now returned to find all their women gone. The fort at Xutsnuwu stood on an islet connected to the shore by a spit which became dry at low tide. The Kiksadi were strangers to the place and did not know just how to attack. They stood off from the fort in their canoes. The Decitan taunted them. One of the Decitan, named Tuk!, would parade in front of the fort, wearing a bearskin and carrying a spear. (He was nicknamed Xutsgisatti'h, "bear noted man," because of his robe.) He would say to the Kiksadi, "Don't be hasty. The tide leaves this place dry," meaning that then the Kiksadi could attack. Then he would say, "Probably the tukyedihca'h (Decitan women) were taken across here one by one." When the tide ebbed to knee-deep on the spit Tuk led the Decitan out of the fort, and they taunted the Kiksadi about the captured women. All this waiting exhausted the at- tackers and when they did attack they were hampered in landing in the shallow water of the spit. Most of them broke for shore. Many were killed, the rest fled over- land. The Decitan smashed all the canoes. The Decitan then decided to attack Sitka. The Kiksadi women saw the incoming canoes off Watson's Point. Think- ing their own canoes were returning, many ran down from Big Fort to meet them. But others felt that it was too soon for their own men to return. Two Kiksadi women, Siaye'k and K!uk!yedetxu'x, were captured. The Decitan took these two and all their own women and went back to Xutsnuwu. (Evidently some persons of a nonbelligerent clan had brought news of the disaster, for the Kiksadi now sent brothers-in-law to rescue those warriors who had fled to the woods at Xutsnuwu.) The Kiksadi then built a fort on St. Lazaria Island, calling it Atsxlrhnuwuh. There they remained about a year. 132Told by Mrs. DC. The date is probably about 1800. Food supplies were getting low. But the Decitan did not risk an attack. The Kiksadi did some fishing from the island, using throw lines, but did not get enough food. They were get- ting desperate. On the east end of the island is a tidal pool in which there were sea anemones. One man, TlagAik, tried to bail this out, but there was an opening from the sea and he did not succeed. A rich man named Taxca'h, of the Gutchittan, was on the island. He was married to a Kiksadi woman. He died there. When his body was burned and the fire had died down somewhat a little frog came near. Now frogs do not come to the island because of the heavy surf. [This was evidently regarded as an omen, the frog being the special crest of the Kiksadi.] There were quite a few Kiksadi nakaniga'n at the fort, men who were married to Kiksadi women and who were there to protect their wives. Not being involved in the war, these men said among themselves, "Let us take a trip to the north to see what we can find out." They made several scouting trips but saw no Decitan. This was in the tenth month (May). So the Kiksadi, thinking the Deci- tan had given up the idea of attack, decided to come back to Sitka. They started across, the canoes of the brothers-in-law accompanying them. When they were halfway across they saw the canoes of the Decitan rushing at them. The Deci- tan had been hidden among the rocky islets off Point of Shoals. The Kiksadi called to their brothers-in-law to come alongside and all the Kiksadi women were put aboard these canoes, the canoes of the brothers-in-law being neutral. By them the Kiksadi sent word to other Kiksadi at K!una'h and K!age't (Redoubt and Silver Bay) to come to help. Then the remaining Kiksadi gave the word among themselves, "On to Sak!a'tanu, " this being another fort they had prepared. In those days there were no guns, so th-e attacking Decitan were not able to do any damage during the flight to Sakatanu. The Kiksadi succeeded in reaching the fort, which was at the north end of the island. They left their brothers-in-law in the canoes so that the Decitan would not dare destroy them. From the fort the Kiksadi shouted taunts at the Decitan, "Just wait until our clansmen come!. At noon that day the Decitan were told to go on to K!6asdaxe'kda-a'n (an "island town," Halleck Island), that there the Kiksadi would offer battle. The Decitan were honor-bound to go there according to the code of warfare. Not to have done so would have invited the epithet "cow- ard" for generations to come. The reason the Kiksadi issued the challenge to go to Halleck Island was that they hoped to trap the Decitan in the same manner that the Kiksadi had been trapped by the tides at Xutsnuwu. The Decitan landed at the appointed place, then began taunting the Kiksadi to come ashore and fight. But the Kiksadi answered, "Wait! Wait until Kata'k! (a famous warrior) comes." The Decitan continued with the challenge to come and fight, but the Kiksadi put them off. The Decitan would say, "Who is this Katak? Who is he that he doesn't come?" But soon the Kiksadi canoes came in sight, that of Katak in the lead. By this time the Decitan were so angry that their rage "was like hunger." They expected the Kiksadi to rest and maneuver a while, but the whole fleet drove at the shore. The attack was so furious that all but a few of the Decitan were killed. A few were captured and some escaped into the woods. All their canoes were broken. Thus it was returned to them what they had done to the Kiksadi at Hutsnuwu. 7 5 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS The escapees were taunted with, "Come on down! Now is the time to fight!" The Decitan wished to escape to Halleck Island, thinking it was Baranof Island, but three canoes barred their way. Among the captives was a wealthy shaman named Nahu'wu and his helper Tikl!k!e'n. The warrior who cap- tured Nahuwu turned the two over to Chief Skawuyetl (Mrs. DC's mother's mother's brother). The Kiksadi searched the woods for the escapees but without success. The Decitan were trying to make canoes of cedar bark to cross to Baranof Island. Each time they struck a tree in getting the bark they would try to drown the sound by imitating the cawing of crows or ravens. But the Kiksadi knew of this and they captured some of those working at the trees. Others tried to swim the channel, making noises like young sea otter as they swam. Some of these were overtaken and killed. For the Kiksadi were too angry to take more captives. Finally the Kiksadi returned to Sitka. Nahuwu and his man were taken to Katlansky Bay (or Katlian Bay) where Skawuyetl had a floating fort, one built on a raft of logs with houses inside the walls. Here the two prisoners were fed and not mistreated. A year passed and it came midwinter again. A canoe came to the floating fort, bringing the news that Chief Kanta-i'k was sick at Redoubt. They wished Nahuwu to come to treat him. So Nahuwu was sent there. He put on his shaman's outfit and was treating him. He told that the illness was caused by witchcraft and named the sor- cerer. It was the sick man's own sister! This he spoke out to the people (dakadjiwata'n). This was such a shock to the people that they were going to kill Nahuwu, so he and his helper (duxank!la'wu, "his near person") fled to Floating Fort for the protection of Skawuyetl. Three days later a canoe came with word that the Redoubt people were coming to kill Nahuwu and his helper. Skawuyetl thereupon gave the two prisoners an outfit and food. To Nahuwu he gave a foxskin blanket, and they were given dried halibut, oil, and other food. Then he set them free, telling them the way across Baranof Island (about twenty-five miles). They were two weeks on the way and ran short of food. The helper wondered how it was that his master's strong spirit could not kill the animals in the woods. The shaman sang his songs, but his power was not strong enough. Finally they reached the east shore of Baranof Island at a bay called Naxta'k, across from Natlducga"n on Admiralty Island. There the two made a raft and were able to cross Chaltham Strait. They landed in a bight called Keclcanih. Then the helper asked (aloud), "Where are those powerful spirits? Where is their power? Have they forsaken us? You have always catci ci.133 Let us see it now." At this Nahuwu laughed and said, "Ixwake'nas ucge'h tlkax 'sengak!ak"1 (If I give you something, you naturally wouldn't forget it). Then Nahuwu told him to "get a stick of devil club and start beating." He was going into a trance to try to get his spirits to help. For all this time Nahuwu had not felt hungry but full. His spirits made him feel this way, for he had "eaten the fat" of other shamans. This is called yektutlahayi'h (spirits, the fattest part of them). This was near evening. Early the next morning the helper found a huge seal newly dead on the beach. Nahuwu told him to bring it to their camp. "That," he said, "is catci'ci." (As game comes close to a woman, so would game come close to him.) 133An obscure word, really catcici'h aiyaci"h, meaning some- thing like "woman something comes close to her so that it will come. n Nahuwu had sent his spirits to Angoon to visit the spirits of a shaman there, Kaxkusgr'tX by name. This one woke up with the cry "hi+," giving an alarm. He told those with him, "Get up quickly! Kwatli'C! (another of Nahuwu's names). What is he doing here? He came from the center of that reef!" He went on, "My spirits tell me that Kwatlic is at the place called Kecrcaniih (alder town). Take the canoe." At camp Nahuwu told his helper, who was cooking the seal, "Be on the lookout toward that point." Sure enough, the canoe soon appeared and they were taken to Angoon. In the meantime the Kiksadi at Sitka had built still another fort near Halleck Island and called it Ca anu'. This was at the entrance to Kwashinsky Bay. At Angoon, Nahuwu told how he had been captured for Skawuyetl, had been kept at the fort, and how Skawu- yetl had given him food and set him free. The Decitan losses had been so heavy that they dared not risk another battle. But the Kiksadi were preparing to attack them again. But while they waited in their new fort, Caanu, they ran low on food. Among them were two orphan boys. These two took a canoe and went to dig clams, saying, "It doesn't matter if we die. We'll die some day anyway. Let us go." So they went to the opposite side of Halleck Island and dug a canoe half full of clams. They heard a noise. They looked up, and it was the Decitan bearing down on them. One of the boys said, "Brother, these on the warpath are coming at us. Take two of these clams, beat them together. Make believe that a piece of shell got in your eye, and cry out." Then the speaker called out so the Decitan could hear, "I wish my master Skwan (a Decitan chief) could see the condition I am in. I wish my master DjiXwank would see me. I wish my master Tcat would see me too." (This he did so the Decitan would have pity and not kill them.) When the Decitan came to them they stood around and said, "Is this all you have to eat?" "Yes." "How are things at the fort?" The boys replied, "We have nothing at all to eat." The Decitan canoes were some distance away and four men were sent to get food for the boys. When they returned they had bales of dried salmon, forty in a bale. The boys were instructed to give a bale to Ka- tak (the head warrior of the Kiksadi, the very man they hated most). He was to get a seal's stomach of oil also. Another bale and a stomach of oil they were to give to the other people. A third bundle and oil the boys were told to keep for themselves. The lads were told to give the message, "This ends our hard feelings against the Kiksadi. We are willing to lay down our arms now and make peace." The boys were asked, "Where will your clan go now that it is autumn? Where will they prepare the winter's food?" The boys said, "To Sakhifni (Bones River)134 in Peril Strait." They were told to give the word that the Decitan would come there to meet the Kiksadi, that the Decitan wished peace. Each man thrust his spear into the mud of the beach and left it there. Then the boys were put into their canoe and sent home. At the fort the Kiksadi could see dimly that things were happening and wondered what. When the boys came ashore they were met by the people and told all that had happened. The food was distributed. Everyone was happy that the time of fear was over, so they went about freely, getting food. The boys told of the proposed rendezvous at Sakhini. 134So named because the salmon run so thick that the banks and beach are white with their bones. 7 6 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT About June the Kiksadi started for Saknini, stopping on the way at a place called Ancaxwudah (a long beach) to gather cedar bark for houses.'35 All the adults went into the woods to collect the bark, leaving the children at the beach. Soon a big canoe landed, and the men aboard asked the children where the adults were. They asked some of the children the names of their parents. One boy said his father was Katak, the war leader of the Kiksadi. For each of the parents of the children the Decitan left gifts of food, dried fish, and dried hemlock bark. The Decitan told the children that they would return and that the Kiksadi should have a "deer" (hostage) chosen. The Kiksadi built their bark houses at Sakhini. That autumn the Decitan came. A peace ceremony was held. The warrior Katak acted as "deer" for the Kiksadi, DjiXwa.nk! for the Decitan. In such ceremonies each "deer" must sing a song each morning. Katak's song was in imitation of a mallard. This [somehow] led the Decitan to think he did not want peace. But what he really meant was that he was not pleased at the ceremonies be- ing held at Sakhini. He wished them to be held in Sitka, not at a camp. He wanted the ceremonies to be more public, with others besides the combatants present. The peace in this war was concluded much sooner than in most wars, and this early peace was the work of Skawuyetl. It was because he had set the Decitan shaman Nahuwu and his helper free. In such peace ceremonies certain chiefs go out of their way to make speeches which make the other side "feel good." In this case the rich Decitan, Txuta an- ya ddih,136 voiced his desire to be buried among the "chil- dren" of Kiksadi at Sitka. He did not really mean this, but it was a diplomatic thing to say. AN ATTEMPTED RAID FOR PLUNDER Certain men had the reputation of being brave and tough, though they did not constitute a class of warriors.'37 One such was Kak!auhi'h (the biter?) of Klukwan. He had an iron knife named tu'ts kwa'tl (shark knife?). He had traded one slave for it in Sitka. No one else at Klukwan had such a knife. Kakauhih had been trading and was camped in Funter Bay (on the west coast of Mansfield Peninsula on Ad- miralty Island). With him were four men and one slave called Xutskah (bear man) because he was so big and strong. The camp was made almost a fort by placing four huge planks in a rectangle with heavy posts to sup- port and brace them. One day a canoe manned by four men was seen off- shore. Kakauhih sent a man to meet them and invite them in. The visitors were feasted on berries and fish. But they were seen talking to each other in undertones. They were planning to rob the camp of its furs and food. When the visitors had eaten, the host gave them native tobacco to chew. Then he said, "I am glad you came." The visitors thanked him and started toward Icy Strait. The slave was ordered to get a big supply of wood, and those in camp were on their guard for they suspected their late visitors. A big fire was kept going and the men watched. Soon (that night) they heard a noise outside. 135Bark covering for houses, instead of planks, was often used for temporary structures. 3"The name means approximately 'many high caste." A clan which was few in number was regarded as not only weak but also of little account. '37Told by JW. Kakauhih told his men to make snoring sounds and he ranged them on either side of the low door. As the first raider entered (on his hands and knees) the slave seized him by the hair and held him down. They took away his T-shaped club. His fellow raiders ran to their canoe and escaped. Kakauhih ordered the slave to raise up the prisoner, then said, "Whose relative has come to see me? What do you want that you come back?" At first the prisoner said nothing. Finally he said, "I wanted some more to- bacco, that's why I came back." But they tied him to one of the posts. Then Kakauhih sharpened his knife and slit the man's sealskin shirt from neck to bottom. Then Kakauhih said, "I'm really surprised at you. You must have heard of me, that I am tough and strong. No one can best me, so I am surprised you came back." but the prisoner said nothing. Then Kakauhih had the slave mark a spot on the captive's belly with charcoal. Then he took his knife and pushed at the spot. The prisoner sucked in his belly as the tip of the blade touched him. Then Kakauhih asked, "How does that feel? Is it sharp?" The victim whimpered, "Yes, it's sharp." After more of this, Kakauhih said to him, "Now remember this knife. Go home and tell your clan about this knife. " Then the campers loaded their canoe and went on, leaving the prisoner tied to the post. A MULTICLAN WAR Although most feuds and wars were between individual clans of opposite moieties, trouble sometimes spread and involved other clans, not always depending on moiety. The involvement of neutral or nonbelligerent clans was brought about in a manner not unlike the involvement of neutrals in wars in the Western world. Some of these wars might spread until they were tiearly between tribe and tribe (or area and area). Thus one war was mainly between certain Sitka clans and one Wrangell Wolf clan, the Nanyaayih. Raven moiety Sitka clans involved were the Kiksadi, Xashittan, and Katkaayi; the Wolf clans of Sitka were the Gutchittan and Kukhittan. The Wuckitan (Wolf) of Sitka were not involved. Certain Wolf clans of Klukwan also became embroiled, because some of their women had married Sitka men who were casualties in the war. The following is the Sitka version, related by DC. The feud started when a man named Kagunsa k of the Nanyaayih (though really of the Kaya'ckidetan, a subdi- vision of Nanyaayih) stole a Sitka woman of the Kukhittan clan (Wolf). The abductor was overtaken near Lake Bay (on Prince of Wales Island) and killed. The Nanyaayih made a surprise raid on Sitka and killed rather indiscri- minately. Thus several Sitka clans became involved. The several Wolf clans of Sitka made forays in reprisal. On one occasion they surprised a Wrangell Nanyaayih and his wife. They tried to force the husband to have inter- course with his wife in front of them. He refused and they killed him. Eventually the number killed on each side was even. Then the Sitka Wolf clans went to Wrangell to arrange a peace. They camped near the mouth of the Stikine. There they met a Nanyaayih and his wife and half in jest tried to force him to have intercourse with his wife in front of them. (For the northern Wolf clans were proud, arrogant, and warlike, and this was one of their ways.) Just then a number of Wrangell canoes came down the river. They surrounded the Sitka people and killed many. Some escaped into the woods. After the Wrangell warriors left, the Sitka 77 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS men cut off the heads of the casualties and brought them to Sitka for identification. (The scalps of some of these are still preserved by their families.) One Sitka lad, named Yakwa'n, vowed revenge. He went through many years of "training" for war. Now a certain Nanyaayih was married to a Sitka girl and he brought her back home for a visit. He was showered with gifts by his "brothers-in-law." This was to allay any suspicions of ill will. When he returned to Wrangell he told his people that those of Sitka held no grudge. And after having given out his gifts he advised that they go to Sitka to make peace. Again this same man came to Sitka with his wife. This time he advised his brothers-in-law to get revenge. When the Wrangell people came they suspected trouble but dared not return lest it reflect on their honor and bravery. At the peace ceremony one of the Wrangell men held as hostage (kuwakan, "deer") made a speech saying, "Men of Tsitkwedi'h,'38 the fish eggs here are best.'39 Take out your arms and begin!" But the Wrangell people sat silent and so did the Sitka people. The latter were waiting for Yakwan, the trained warrior, to appear. When he came in the fight started. It is said all the Wrangell people present were killed but only a few of the Sitka people, for the latter were prepared and outnumbered their opponents. This feud was not terminated until the formation of the Alaska Native Brotherhood and the Sitka convention of a few years ago [ca. 1920?]. In this account the Wrangell "brother-in-law" was un- true to his clan because of love for his wife and children and because he knew his people were in the wrong in the matter of the massacre at the mouth of the Stikine. THE WAR BETWEEN THE WRANGELL NANYAAYIH AND THE SITKA KAGWANTAN A man of the Kaiyackittitan clan, named Kagusa k, was married to a Tekwedih woman.'40 His nephew, named Wank, was living in his house and began having an affair with Kagusak's wife. Finally the lovers ran away to Kake. After a time Kagusak went to Kake and asked if his nephew was there. Learning that he was, he sent word to Wank that he wished to see him. When he came in, Kagusak slashed Wank's face with a wood-carving knife. Wank ran out, with Kagusak shouting, "Why are you running away?"-the implication of cowardice. Wank fled to Sitka. He could not go back to Wrangell because of the disgrace of his uncle's having cut his face. In Sitka he became involved with the Kiksadi wife of a Kagwantan man. The two ran away to Red Bay. There they stayed with a Tihittan family who were drying fish on a little island in Upper Lake. There Wank practiced swimming and diving under water. This he did because, he said, "The Kagwantan will come. When they do I'll escape by swimming and diving." One day he, his brother, and his "wife" were letting their canoe through the rapids with a line. The Kagwantan were lying in wait. They shot, killing the brother and 138A place near Wrangell is named Tsit and the name Tsit- kwedih is sometimes used for all the people of the Wrangell area. 39An obscure idiom or perhaps a pun. 4"OThis is the Nanyaayih version, told by Charley Jones, a Wrangell member of that clan. The war was between the Nan- yaayih of the Stikinkwan and the Kagwantan of Sitka. Note that both are of the Wolf moiety. The Kayackittitan clan is really a subdivision of the Nanyaayih. wounding Wank in the leg. Wank dove into the water, swam through the rapids, and came ashore on a small islet. Lying in wait there was a boy with a rifle who killed him as he came ashore. Now the Kagwantan had killed two. The Kaiyackittitan made a raid on Sitka, killing one Kagwantan. The score was now even, two men from each side having been killed. The Kagwantan decided to come to Wrangell and try for peace. They came in war canoes and landed on the island called An, near Reindeer Island in the mouth of the Stikine. It was summer and the Stikine people were catching eulachon and drying salmon at Huknu'k Island. Several canoes went to get stones for the eulachon render- ing. The Kagwantan surprised them and captured all but one man. He escaped and gave the alarm. Among those captured was Chief YantTntci't and his wife. The captors took turns violating the woman. Then they tried to force her husband to have intercourse with her (a practice not uncommon in such situations, and a specially disgraceful treatment). He refused. Then they asked him if he expected the Nanyaaih to attempt his rescue and he replied that he did. There was a tidal slough which enabled canoes to reach the island, even at low tide. But the Kagwantan were not aware of this and thought they were safe from attack dur- ing the period of low water. The Wrangell canoes came in via the channel. Yantantcit's sister had given her young son a musket and said to him, "Get this gun to your uncle. If you fail, I'll cut your head off." They saw Yantantcit being held by his captors. The nephew shouted to him, "You'll make a fine Kagwantan slave." This infuriated him so that he broke from his captors, ran to his nephew and got the musket. The honor of firing the first shot in battle was usually the prerogative of Yantantcit, and one of the Wrangell warriors now shouted for all to hear, "Yantantcit has a musket. He is going to fire it." He did and five [!] of the Kagwantan fell. Their answering volley was ineffective, for the Wrangell men had taken cover. When the enemy guns were empty the Wrangell warriors fired another volley, wounding and killing a number. The tide was now coming in and both sides moved in- land, fighting as they went. The Kagwantan took refuge in a gully. A number of their chiefs found a cave where they made a stand, using some of the fallen as a breastwork. They finally surrendered, having run out of ammunition. The captives were taken to the fishing village where they were held for a month. They were then given a canoe, guns, and provisions and sent back to Sitka. But the Kagwantan had lost very heavily [probably nearly a hundred dead]. Old Chief Shakes was at the Nass when this fighting took place. He had prepared for war by laying in a supply of guns, powder, and shot. When he returned he was told the story. He said, "Why did you spare any? Why didn't you kill them all? Some day they will return to get even." About 30 years later [probably about 1840] the Kagwantan again came to Wrangell to make peace. The ceremonies were held and the Sitka canoes went back. (The Nanyaayih now considered the affair was over, but the Kagwantan were plotting revenge.) A few years later a fleet of Wrangell canoes went to Sitka to trade. The Sitka people traded to the advantage of the Wrangell people-to encourage further visits. On another trip the Wrangell party consisted of seven canoes. The Kagwantan announced a kuwakan ("deer," peace) dance, telling the visitors to attend unarmed. When the guests had assembled in the house for the ceremony the Kagwantan attacked, shooting through the smoke hole and cracks in 7 8 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT the walls, while others rushed inside to kill. Only two of the Nanyaayih escaped. The Nanyaayih never forgave this treachery-the attack at a peace ceremony, the killing of women as well as men. The Kagwantan had even thrown the bodies of the slain in the street and had cut open a pregnant woman in their blind fury. From this time on every Nanyaayih and Kaiyackittitan boy was trained to hate the Kagwantan and raised with the idea of revenge. But so many Kagwantan had been killed in the Stikine battle that the score was not even. Peace was not made until about 1920 at one of the conventions of the Alaska Native Brotherhood. At that peace the Kagwantan destroyed 63 tally sticks, each representing a Kagwantan dead man not evened by the score of killing. [My informant was in error. The tally sticks had not been destroyed. I was shown the tally sticks in Sitka in 1933. For obvious reasons I do not divulge the name of the custodian.] After the war described above the Wrangell people hated the name Kagwantan so widely used as a moiety designation in the north. They would say, "I am Nanyaa- yih," or "I am Cangukedih," but never use the word "Kagwantan." A RAID FOR SLAVES141 The Tikana'42 once came to the Chilkat country in 28 canoes to raid for slaves. They first came to the fishing camp called Tennane'h in Chilkat Inlet across the penin- sula from Haines. All the men of that place except one named Ka'kink were away trapping marmot. A dog barked and gave the alarm. Kakink awoke and saw the raiders back of the houses. But he was able to escape to the beach, where he hid under a canoe. The women jumped into boxes and storage places. But the raiders captured 18 women, including the wife of the chief Tluctci'nk. They also carried away many dressed moose skins which had been traded from the Gunana. The raiders camped on one of the Chilkat islands. Two Chilkat hunters were returning from Sullivan Island. The women prisonei s were wailing and singing a Kagwantan mourning song. The hunters recognized the song so they rushed to Haines. The man who escaped, Kakink, in the meantime had gone to Klukwan to give the alarm. Kaucteh was a Kagwantan chief, and his sister was among those captured. In the meantime the two hunters had given the alarm at Yandestakyah and gone on to Klukwan. All the Wolf clans of both towns joined, making a fleet of 60 canoes, to find the raiders. But the enemy was too far ahead and escaped. During the whole winter the Chilkats prepared for war by ceremonial bathing. The Kagwantan were the leaders in the war since a high caste Kagwantan woman (the sister of the chief) had been cap- tured. Eight Ganaxtedih men were sent to Klawak to learn which house (chief) was holding the woman Tuktcaga'n. The Ganaxtedih (as "brothers-in-law") went to the house where the woman was being held and said to the chief, " We were sent here by her brother. What have you to say?" While the chief was thinking it over one of the other chiefs advised him that the woman should be sent back or there would be a major war. So the woman '41Told by JW. The Tikana was the geographical group of the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. '42To the Chilkat "Tikana" was a term for the people of Hen- yakwan and those of Kuiu Island. The dialect of these differs somewhat from that of other Tlingit. Not all the clans were in- volved in the raid. was sent back with the Ganaxtedih. But the 17 common women still remained captive. The spring following the raid the Chilkat were ready with 60 canoes. They had two shamans along. The people of Hoona, Angun, Auk, and Taku knew that a war was on and they stayed in their winter villages lest they become involved. The raiders traveled by night and hid during the day. On an island near Klawak (at Shanda) they saw the smoke of a camp where some three or four hundred people were collecting herring eggs. (This would put the time as early March.) Twenty canoes landed on either side of the camp and they attacked at night. Nearly 200 of the campers were killed and about 40 women were captured. The raiders dashed for home. (One Klawak chief had been killed and his scalp taken.) Only three or four of the Chilkat women captives were rescued. A year later the same Chilkat clans raided again. Once more they found the Klawak people gathering herring eggs at the same place.'43 There was a big ceremony going on in one of the houses. One Klawak man saw the raiders coming and gave the alarm. The Chilkat canoes were standing off, ready to dash in. A Klawak chief told one of his men to warn the raiders. He shouted to them, "People! Watch out! There are hidden reefs in ths surf." The canoes started in and again he warned them. Yisyat (a famed Kagwantan chief) asked what the man was saying. Again the man shouted the warning. Now the Chilkats could see the danger and stood off. Yisyat now spoke. "I am thankful to that man that he warned us. We might have lost several canoes. We should go home. I don't believe they were angry at us or they would not have warned us. I think we ought to go back." So he told a man to shout to the Klawak people. "There is no need to be on the alert. We are thankful you warned us. We will make no more war on you." The Chilkat re- turned home. [There must have been a peace ceremony following, but my informant gave no information on this.] A WAR CAPTIVE IS RANSOMED The following incident will indicate how long certain significant episodes in family or clan history are remem- bered; and also shows how a tragic blot on the family escutcheon might be largely erased.'44 "My father's mother was Gunetchi"h of the Wuckitan clan; she was the daughter of H1nse`xT (frog "kicking water") of Sun House (or Sunrise House). His mother was Steti'n of the Kiksadi clan. In those days wars and raids were common and in one of these Stetin was captured, her captor being Gaw'k!ktl, a Katkaayih of Yakutat. Hin- sext learned of two Katkayyih slaves who were the prop- erty of his wife's relatives. So Hinsext sent his wife with much wealth to buy these two slaves, which she did. There was a smallpox epidemic raging at the time so Hinsext sent his brother posthaste to Yakutat where he gave the two slaves for the captive, and she was brought back to Sitka." (The haste was because had the captive died while a captive, there would have been no way to save the family honor.) In this case the wife furnished the ransom for her husband's mother. This is called duxoxdji'k ausige'h (her husband for him pay). Thus it was that the ransom was paid by a Wuckitan (Wolf) woman to a Wolf man. In this case the payment was especially clever for the two slaves were Katkaayih, the clan of the captor! And 143The Hoona, Angun, Auk, and Taku tribes again stayed in their villages lest they become involved. '44Told by Mrs. DC of the Kiksadi clan of Sitka. 7 9 ANTHROPOLOGIC two were given for one. Thus no Katkaayih could ever bring up the subject, which they could have had the slaves not been of that clan. Captives may be bought back with furs, blankets, or money, but it is better to buy them back with slaves. THE THEFT OF A SLAVE Although the following incident did not lead to war, it created an explosive and tense situation which could easily have flared into overt hostility.'45 There was a Kagwantan chief named CakaTh (bow of canoe) of the town Kuknuwu (grouse fort place, near Hoona) who was very hard-boiled. On one occasion he went to Angoon. There he stole a slave from a chief of the Tekwedih and brought him back to Kuknuwu. After a time a party of Tekwedih from Angoon came, demanding that Cakah either pay for the slave or release him to his rightful owner. Cakah at first refused, but a meeting of his clan was called and two other chiefs of his clan, Ketuxuttc (ready with knife) and Anahu ts (Bear person), were insistent that payment be made. At first Cakah re- fused, but finally agreed. Since he did not have the ready "cash" on hand, the other members of the clan chipped in and the slave's owner was given 250 blankets.'46 This settled the matter, but it could easily have developed into a war. A WAR WITH THE TSIMSHIAN A Nanyaayih chief named Cedd'steh died.'47 A memo- rial post was erected and his head (skull) was placed in a carved bone box at its top. The Tsimshian stole the box and threw the skull away. The Nanyaayih clan demanded the return of the box, but the Tsimshian refused. The Nanyaayih made a raid, killing a number of Tsimshian in one village. The Tsimshian made a return raid. They went up the Stikine, trying to find the fishing camp of Shakes, the first Tlingit chief who held that name. But the Nanyaayih kept moving upstream. At one place the Tsimshian made a pictograph of the sun on a cliff. It may be seen to this day. The Nanyaayih stopped at a place below Glenora, where they had a fish camp. They kept watch. When the Tsimshian were sighted the Nanyaayih fled to the moun- tains. The Tsimshian stole the dried fish and berries and burned the houses. The war continued over the years, with raids and counter-raids. Finally the Tsimshian determined to exterminate the Nanyaayih. A huge party from four villages came on a raid. But a Nayaayih shaman "saw" that they were com- ing. He said that all adult males must stay to fight. The people were fishing for eulachon at the island called kuxnu k. A canoe of hunters heard the Tsimshian down to the south and reported. The Tlingit got ready. The women and children were sent to Djanteylrh (Farm Island). The next morning the Tsimshian came on the incom- ing tide. They rounded Chilkat Blanket Point (naxxe'n).148 There were so many of them that they made straight for 145Told by JW. 14JW stated that the usual value of a male slave was about 250 blankets, or five to ten dressed moose skins. A female had a lower value. '47Told by GB of the Tihittan clan of Wrangell. '4OSo named bercause there had been a grave there which was covered with a Shilkat blanket. AL RECORDS the village for an open fight. The Tsimshian chief named Yaxwe&xc had a canoe named Killer Whale Canoe. Behind him came Xaga kc in his canoe, followed by many others. As they came in Chief Gucxi n of the Nanyaayih sat on the beach wearing his Killer Whale hat. The mouth of this was painted red, representing the Tsimshian who had been killed ("eaten" by the killer whale). Chief Yaxwexc said to him, "Gucxin! Run away! Run into the woods!" (This was in derision, intimating that Gucxin was a coward.) But Gucxin answered, "I challenge you. We two will fight. n"49 The Tsimshian landed. They spread mats on the sand and began gambling at the game called kadogi'tc. They said, so as to be overheard, "Wait until we finish gam- bling, then we will slaughter them." This was to show contempt. Finally the fight began. The two Wolf clans, the Nan- yaayih and the Kaiyackittitan were involved. The Raven clans (the Katcaddih, Kiksadi, Tihittan, Tekwedih, and Kakakwedih) watched from the houses. At first the tide of battle favored the Tsimshian and the Tlingit were in retreat, with one man trying to rally them. Seeing how things were going the Katcaddih chief told the others, "Your fathers are being defeated. We had better help them. Get on your armor." So they attacked the Tsim- shian from the rear. The surprise attack was too much for the Tsimshian and they were being slaughtered. Chief Gucxin then shouted to his opponent, "Why don't you gamble now? " The Tsimshian chief Yaxwe'xc and some of his men ran for his canoe. But the Tlingit saw this and ran out and captured the chief and all his men. (The Tlingit sha- man had foreseen all this. He had said, "You will see a big killer whale [the canoe] floundering in the slough, trying to get away.") The Nanyaayih announced that they would cremate the Tsimshian dead of the Grtxangik clanl's which was the equivalent of the Nanyaayih. The Tsimshian chief went with them to point out which of the dead were of this group. [There is a discrepancy here. The Nanyaayih should be cremating those of the "Raven" side. My in- formant may have meant this.] This chief said, "I feel happy in this, for they are your clansmen [opposites? The wolf clan of the Tsimshian is the Laxgibu]. It is as if you had paid the blood-price for all of them. Because of this we will make peace and have no more war." The Tsimshian chief was told to send some of his men back home and to order that all Wrangell captives from previous battles were to be returned. Otherwise all the captured Tsimshian chiefs and their sons would be kept as slaves. (The Tsimshian villages involved in this war were said to be Grtga'tl, Waku'tl, Metlakatla, and Port Simpson.) When the Tlingit captives had been returned the Tsimshian captives were sent back in two canoes, well provisioned.15' But the war was not over for peace had not been made. Chief Gucxin ordered parties of men out to search for a 14OBoth these chiefs were of equivalent clans, both have the Killer Whale crest. The clans were Nanyaayih Tlingit and evi- dently the Gispawadweda Tsimshian. 150 This is a village group, not a clan, but it may have been thought of as clan-owned as were the Thngit towns (Garfield, 1939, 175). 15'At this point my informant interpolated that the Tsimshian women learned of the defeat and came north in 10 canoes. They got as far as Ship Island north of Ketchikan where they were storm-bound. They made a camp. They collected canoe-loads of red cedar bark for mats and dresses. Then they went back to their villages. 80 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT good location for a fort. They decided on a spot at Little Duncan on Kupreanof [Krugenoff? ] Island. At that place there is an islet which at low tide is surrounded by flats of very soft mud. A year passed before the Tsimshian came to scout the place. They lay offshore, watching. The tide ran out fast, stranding the canoes. They jumped out to try to free their canoes but were trapped in mud up to their waists. The Chief Yaxwexc gave up. The parties exchanged "deer" and carried out the peace ceremony (kuwakan wuti'h). The Tlingit "deer" were Yika-a's and Kudane'k!; those from the Tsimshian were Yetlgoxcoh and K! axwa'nk.2 There were the speeches and dances. The hostages re- mained with the opponents for a year, then were returned home. The Nanyaayih were given the great Tsimshian names Ceks"53 (Shakes) and Goxcoo'h. The Nanyaayih also received many Tsimshian songs, dances with masks [the "secret society" dances?] and mourning songs. In addi- tion they received the personal names Yaska'm-tsuwa'h and Wandzikoxcoh and the canoe name kitya'k ["Killer Whale canoe," in Tlingit]. This "raid" at Little Duncan had been only a mock raid. The Tsimshian came to make peace. The Tlingit did not know this, however, until the Tsimshian made a peace speech, after they were mired in the mud. They may have, at that, come to fight but after the peace speech the Tlingit were honor bound to make peace. THE PEACE CEREMONIES Among the northern Tlingit tribes the peace ceremony between clans where a killing is involved differs some- what from that of the southern tribes. There is no "cap- ture" of the hostages (kuwakan, "deer" )'54 in the north. The ceremony among the Chilkat was described as when a Ganaxtedih, for example, had been killed by a Kagwan- tan and the neutrals of a third clan have arranged for a payment rather than a feud. The payment, say 3,000 blan- kets, is made to the Ganaxtedih chief. The chief distributes these among his clansmen, keeping perhaps 100 blankets for himself. The men of the two enemy clans form two groups out- side the house of the neutral clan, with a group of the neutral men between. Both sides are armed. They march into the house, the Kagwantan on the right, the Ganaxtedih on the left, and the neutrals separating the two. Spectators from other clans stand around the door. Throughout, the situation is tense and the neutrals are alert lest trouble start. Speeches are made by the chiefs of the two sides. The Ganaxtedih now march out. A Ganaxtedih man starts song which is taken up by the others of his clan. The anaxtedih sing several war songs, making threatening stures and aiming their weapons. A Kagwantan man now Lngs a song which is taken up by his clansmen as they arch out. The women of each clan are ranged behind e men. The men of both sides are dressed for war and eir faces are blackened. The Ganaxtedih speaker now says, "We want so and a" as hostage (kuwakan, "deer"). The man named will of high rank, not low class. He hands his weapons to l1There is some discrepancy here or the names are Tlingi- sed, for example, Yetl of the name Yetlgoxco'h is Tlingit for rven." Or it may be that the Tsimshian had acquired this git title. ""This is probably the Wi-se-ks of the Tsimshian (Garfield, D39, 224). l"'Because deer never harm anything." his fellows and steps forward. The neutrals seize him and twice turn him counterclockwise ("sunwise" in the Tlingit view), giving a prolonged "wah" as they do so. Then they carry the kuwakan into the house, put him at the rear and watch over him. Then the Kagwantan speaker names a Ganaxtedih man and the performance is repeated. Each side chooses two kuwakan from the "enemy." When the four hostages are indoors both sides march in, each singing a war song and discharging weapons. This is a tense interval. The belligerents line up, but the Ganaxtedih remain standing while the Kagwantan are seated. Wives are now seated in front of their husbands. Many of these wives will be women of the opposing clan. In the meantime the neutrals have removed the black paint from the faces of the hostages and have painted them red. The two Kagwantan hostages now are escorted behind the Ganaxtedih where they stand facing the wall, with heads bowed. The other kuwakan are likewise es- corted to the wall behind the Kagwantan. The chief of each side now gives each of his hostages a new costume of dressed skins, which must not be black in color. Each hostage is given a slender stone with which he may scratch himself, for he must not touch his person. The Ganaxtedih now join in a song in which their wives join, and their hostages make a turn counterclockwise. After the song all the Ganaxtedih weep while the Kagwan- tan sit with their heads bowed and their hands crossed on the chest. The Ganaxtedih sing a number of songs and during each their hostages slowly turn "sunwise." (The Ganaxtedih sing first because it was a Ganaxtedih who was killed.) After this singing, the Kagwantan calls out "gun ku- wakan" (sweet water deer).'"5 The kuwakan answer "he+." They are handed eagle-tail fans by the attendants and the two come out and sing a song and dance. The Ganaxtedih and their wives join in the song. The Kagwantan chief then calls out "ca kuwakan" (mountain deer) and the per- formance is repeated. This time, the second kuwakan leads in the dance. The same performance is repeated on the other side, the Ganaxtedih calling out the hostages held by his clan. Everyone then goes outside. They again march in, but this time the Ganaxtedih are seated, the Kagwantan stand. The calling out (now by the Ganaxtedih chief), the singing, and the dancing are repeated. It may be that during these ceremonies a brother or other close kin of the murdered man has remained in his own house, refusing to participate because of grief and anger, refusing to eat, and the like. In such cases the hostages belonging to the murderer's clan and their at- tendants go to the house of this man. One of them says, "I am here now." An attendant sprinkles eagle down on the mourner and the kuwakan cries "gu+ gu+ wah+." This is called dudah waduh watla. This should calm and pacify the mourner and he stands and says, "Gunatltci'c" (thank you). The following day the Kagwantan and their wives go to the house of the ceremony and seat themselves along the left wall. The Ganaxtedih march in preceded by their wives and a drummer. The men sing a number of songs and dance peace dances. The kuwakans repeat the per- formance of the preceding day. At the end of the singing and dancing the Ganaxtedih twice give a prolonged "wah." They sit down and the drum is passed to the Kagwantan, who say "gugu wah+." All now march out, the Ganaxtedih take off their dance costumes and the Kagwantan don their '55The literal meaning of "gun" is 'clear pool of water in the woods. " 81 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS own. The Ganaxtedih go in and take their seats, and the Kagwantan and their wives march in, led by the drummer. They dance and sing a number of songs, trying to outdo the Ganaxtedih. Their hostages again dance. Much the same rituals follow on the third and fourth days. At the end of the songs and dances of the fourth day everyone stands, and the hostages of each side are held in the air by several men. Ghe Ganaxtedih start a song and as they sing, the Kagwantan start one of their own.156 All now march singing, the kuwakans being held in the air throughout. Four counterclockwise circuits of the house are made. Everyone is now happy that peace has been made. At the end of the circuits those who bear the hostages carry them over to the side from which they came, that is, the Kagwantan men who have been kuwakans are carried back to the Kagwantan side. The Ganaxtedih now march out and the Kagwantan follow. This ends the ceremony. It should be stated here (since it is not overly empha- sized in the foregoing description) that the ceremonial number eight is employed whenever possible, "according to the bones," that is, the eight [sic] long bones of the limbs. Songs and dances follow the eight pattern. The "deer" eat for two days, fast for two, eat for two, then fast for two. In peace ceremonies the songs were in slow tempo, for everyone felt contrite and sad over the trouble that had occurred. At some future time the chief of each side may give a little feast, inviting the men of the other clan who se as kuwakan, and their wives. When those who have been kuwakans meet those of the other side who have served they greet each other as ageyi'h (exchanged one). The same peace ceremonies are performed when the two feuding clans belong to the same moiety. If the feud has spread or become a "war," as many as four kuwak (hostages) are taken by each side. Those who have been kuwakans refrain from sleeping with their wives for two months, lest they die soon. Among the southern Tlingit tribes the hostage was named or otherwise chosen. He then would put up a mock fight or otherwise try to avoid being "captured" by those of the other side. Among all Tlingit tribes it was custom- ary to have two hostages held by each side. These oppo- sites were paired, one being called the luge gi (opposite) of the other. These hostages were men of some rank (not commoners) and a person unknown or of not sufficiently high rank could be declined by the party that was to hold him as hostage. Also, ideally, the hostage should be a "grandchild" of the opposite clan. THE HISTORY OF THE TANTAKWAN In addition to the fragmentary and brief accounts and legends of tribes and clans included elsewhere in this study I secured two lengthy "histories," that of the Tan- takwan, presented here, and of the Klawakkan, which follows. I agree with most other students of the culture of the Northwest Coast area that many of the legends of tribal break-up, of migrations to new places, of an- cient settlements and the like have a basis in historical fact, if due allowance is made for a certain amount of the inevitable distortion inherent in alI oral tradition. If the purely mythical parts of the accounts are recog- nized as such (e.g., the "Raven" element in the first part of the Tantakwan history) there is every reason to be- lieve that the histories as given are reasonably factual. Like the other tribes of the area, the nlingit were a restless people and the many shell heaps and other set- tlement remains attest to the occupancy of numerous spots now abandoned. I have no doubt of the truth of the frequent mentions of personal quarrels as reasons for a family or clan moving to a new location. The Tlingit have great personal pride, are quick to resent real or fancied insults. To this day it frequently happens that a man will leave his village as the result of personal diffi- culties. Or a child may run away from his family because of a family quarrel. This should not be taken to mean that all the legendary accounts are to be accepted as entirely factual. There is, for example, the recurring theme of a wife's infidelity as the reason for movement of a group to a new place; this is certainly nothing but a pattern incident, which probably had a basis in fact in some in- stances. 56IThe injured clan is evidently always seated on the "east" side and it always sings first "because the sun comes up there." With these qualifications, and bearing in mind the in- evitable clan bias, I feel that these accounts can be ac- cepted as having a large core of historical fact. In addi- tion, they give a picture of Tlingit personality, world view, and pattern of behavior that could not be obtained by a question-answer method or by checking off an ele- ment list. The legendary history of that tribe of Tlingit which claimed Tan (Prince of Wales Island) as its special home- land begins with the time of mythical Raven, the trick- ster, but it shortly becomes semihistoric or factual and, for the period after about 1700, much of it is historic fact. The account is given almost verbatim as it was re- lated to me by my informant, George Mackay. He was physically handicapped from early life, if not from birth, and he took it upon himself to learn more about the old life than most of his generation. His mother's mother's brother and, to a lesser extent, his father were his teachers. Tan, the name of the homeland of the tribe, means "sea lion" and was the name given to the southeast third, approximately, of Prince of Wales Island. The tribal group is often or usually referred to as Tongasskwan. This may be because their principal town from about 1850 was on Tongass Island in Nakat Bay near the mouth of Portland Canal. Still later the village was moved to nearby Sitklan Island, the name of the village being re- tained. But GM believed that the name Tongasskwan de- rived from the time of the first contact with the whites, about 1800, when the tribe was living in the winter village on Tamgas Creek (which flows out of Tamgas Lake) in Tamgas Harbor on the southern end of Anette Island. I do not know which is the correct derivation. But the mem- bers of the tribe speak of themselves as the Tantakwan, "people of Tan." 82 l 1I OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT This "history" is largely episodic and anecdotal and deals with feuds, wars, potlatches, personages, and so on. If it seems loaded on the side of the Ganaxadi clan,'57 it is because GM was of that clan and Tlingit education emphasized the things related to one's own clan.'Here is the account. The Ganaxadi (of the Raven moiety) were living in peace at Kihrttua'n ("surrounded-by-bushes town"; prob- ably at Bishop Point on the Taku River). Along the Taku they had camps for hunting and fishing. Some of the Ganaxadi were very wealthy. There were also Tekwedih and Daklawedi (Wolf-moiety clans) in the town. One man [family or household] spent the summers far up the Taku where they lived almost like the Gunana (interior Athabas- can people) but in winter they moved down to Kihittuan. Another household under the Chief C4n4gifk ("throwing head," from the head movements of a raven as he walks) lived halfway up the Taku. One day the head man of this camp saw through the smoke hole a raven flying over- head carrying a red starfish in his beak. The starfish was such an unusual creature that he thought it should become a Raven crest. When he came to be rich, he used the starfish and the raven. Later, when he moved to Ki- hittuan, he painted three starfish on the front of his new house and called it Saxhrt (starfish house). One house at Kihittuan was called GAnwutlacihrt and it got its name in this wise: Raven was a worker of miracles. At this place (Taku) no herring ever came near shore. One day he followed Sea Gull to see how Sea Gull caught them. He saw Gull catching them far out and he followed Gull to shore. When Gull got to the beach he walked alongside Tlak (crane?) at low tide. Raven decided to tell a lie to each about the other. So he came to Crane and said, "Gull has been call- ing you bad names." But Crane paid no attention, knowing how Raven was. Then Raven went to Gull and said Crane was calling Gull names. But Gull paid no attention. Then Raven went to Crane and elaborated on his lie, finally saying, "And Gull said that you are a poor man's child, you are always stealing, and you work witchcraft" (nuiks- sa'tti). At this Crane became angry and said, "He is not any higher caste than anyone else. I'll go and fight him." Then Raven ran to Gull and said, "Crane is coming to fight you. When he comes up, just stick out your belly. He may kick you, but it will not hurt." Gull took his advice and when Crane kicked him, it hurt him so that a herring popped out of his mouth. Raven seized this, ate it and said, "Yetl kaca'k" (raven's grab- bing). Crane now strutted about while Gull sat down feel- ing humble and beaten. Then Raven came up to Gull and said, "Oh, Partner! I'm sorry Crane beat you. I didn't think he'd do that. But show me-where do the herring come from? Do you know?" Gull answered, "If you'll be my good friend and help me next time I'm attacked, I'll show you where the herring are." Raven again vowed his friendship and added, "I'll be glad to follow you, no matter how far you go." Gull said, "Tomorrow we will start at daylight so as to get there by noon." Raven waked Gull before daylight and they started out. At noon they came to a large house. Inside they could hear singing and the noise of children. Raven said, "Let us look in." But Gull warned, "No, you'll become blind if you do." Raven was so curious that he said, "Well, I'll risk one eye." Gull warned, "No! You'll get your eyes eyes full of fish eggs. But, all right! Go ahead!" So Raven 157The Tantakwan clans were: the Ganaxadi (Raven), the Tekwedih (Wolf), and Daklawedih (Wolf). The Xashittan are sometimes given as a separate Raven clan but are only a sub- division of the Ganaxadi. looked in and in a moment his eye was full of fish eggs. Then the two flew back to shore, Raven seeing with only one eye. Now Raven knew where the Herring House was and he began scheming how he could get it to shore. Early the next morning Raven flew out and found the house just as it had been. He fastened the "line of his thought" to the house and flew to shore. There he started pulling the house toward him. He began to sing, "Gu ce, gu ce; Xatungati'ye" (How will I be, how will I be, I won- der). The house came closer and closer. The herring children could be heard singing, "Ha+. " [In the Ganaxadi feasts one man sings Raven's song and pulls on a "line" while children outside sing the song of the herring chil- dren.] When the house was close to shore Raven sang, "Aw hi ya, aw hi ye; Yehxa gatiVh" (happy I'll be, at so much food). Finally he got the house to shore. The first house of the Ganaxadi was named GaknwutlAcih)`t (floating ashore house) from this. [Yet the Ganaxadi had traditionally first come from Ganax (Helm Bay or Port Stewart in Behm Canal). And several Ganaxadi houses have starfish painted on the front or a totem pole in front of the house showing Raven holding a starfish.] At the Taku village of Kihittuan one of the house chiefs had two wives. In the next house lived a chief whose ne- phew was having an affair with one of the wives. It was winter, and the lovers planned how they could be together the following summer when the people went to the sum- mer camps. Finally the woman said, "I'll keep you in a box which we take along." Now the lover had a secret door by which he came in. When the time came near for the village to break up for the summer, the woman put him in a box and fed him surreptitiously. They began to load the canoes for the trip to the summer camps. One of the husband's nephews, named Ka'tcgawaw, was carry- ing boxes. When he picked up the box with the lover inside he found it so heavy he had to shift the load. When he did so he heard a sound like a grunt from inside. He said, half to himself, "Perhaps there is a person inside." As he went out the door he met his brother and whispered to him, "Get a club. Someone is inside this box." Near the canoe was a large boulder, and when the bearer came to it he dropped the box on the rock so that it broke open. The lover tumbled out and was clubbed to death. And to this day, when a box seems heavy, the bearer says, "Per- haps there is a person inside." (This tale is quite wide- spread in the area.) Over this affair the village split into factions which fought each other until only a few persons remained alive. This remnant, of both factions, moved to Barlow Cove at the northern tip of Admiralty Island. The inlet there is full of sea grass (suih). They composed eight songs. They cried and mourned for their dead. One song was of the place up the Taku. Another was about their weapons. "Our homes we will put in the water," it ran. All this was be- cause they were now going to separate and would not see the old places again. They hid their weapons and some coppers in the sea grass. They started out. Some went to Chilkat, some to An- goon, and some to Sitka. Those who went to Chilkat and Sitka changed the name Ganaxadi to Ganaxtedi. Others went to the south and settled at Klawak. There they found other Ganaxadi living in a bark house (tighrt). (These had long before moved from Ganax to Klawak.) Those who were already living at Klawak came to be called Tighrttan (bark house people). Of those who had moved from the north some stayed at Klawak while others moved on to two other places. [My informant had forgotten the two place names. Here was interpolated the story of the fe- male shaman Dijun. The Tighit of the south is the Tihit of the northern dialects.] 83 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS From these two places they moved to a third place on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island. Then they moved to Cape Chacon. Some other Ganaxadi had lived in this area for a long time. The two groups met and built the village KAsgigiye'h ("shining place," from the bright sand of the beach). The "old settlers" had the following houses: Kidjuikhlt (black-tailed eagle house), Tanhrt (sea lion house), Yetlsakihrt (raven bone house), and Xashrt (moose house).'"" Those from the north built the houses Kudatankahrtti (pulled-in house, referring to fish moving their house. Obscure), GAnwutlacihr"t (float- ing ashore house), Yetlhrt (raven house), and Saxhrt (star- fish house). Together the two groups came to be called Tantakwan (people of Tan Island; Tan, "sea lion," being the name of Prince of Wales Island. More properly, tanyatakkwan, "people of the head of Sea Lion.") At this village of Kasgigiyeh lived TlexiTh (dancer), the chief of Sea Lion House. He decided to take some children along and go to McLean Arm where the hump- back salmon were running. The day was calm and the air so clear that he saw Duke Island (Gi,) to the east. It seemed so near in the clear air that he decided to cross to it. When they got there they saw the fringing rocks full of sea otter and all manner of other sea life. There he built a house on a flat-topped cliff. Back home the people missed him and searched. His kin began their mourning ceremonies, thinking he was dead. But Tlexih had found a rich land. Finally at home a wise man looked across to Duke Island and said that the searchers should try there. Tlexih was a great hunter. He made two drums of deerskin. One day (on Duke Island) he saw a bear walking along a ledge. He crept under the ledge, aimed, and shot. He saw that the bear was hit, but the arrow came [fell] back to him. He saw that the point was broken and stick- ing to the point were some leaves. The bear stood as be- fore. When Tlexih touched the broken point he became transformed. He felt a wave of happy dizziness surge through his body. When he put the arrow down the feeling passed. The bear remained on the ledge. Tlexih again rubbed the broken tip and again felt the pleasant thrill. He ran to the beach and got a pair of shells from a dead clam. Then he broke the tips of his remaining arrows and shot them in turn at the bear. Each fell back with leaves clinging to the tip. These leaves he put in the clam shell. When he now looked he saw only a bunch of leaves where the bear had been. (There had been no "bear," only the leaves.) He knew now that he had acquired "medi- cine." A little stream trickles down the cliff at that place and it is still called nakkaxanhini (medicine creek). At his house the children were still playing and singing. Tlexih composed several songs about his adventure. One day, as the children were playing outside, Tlexih put a little of the medicine on an arrowpoint and, looking through a crack in the wall, pointed the arrow at them. They became wild with delight, because the medicine affected them. Tlexih got some eagle feathers, cut the quill ends, put some of his medicine inside each, and put them inside his shirt. He saw an eagle flying overhead, shook a feather at it, and it fell at his feet. Then he took to hunting sea otter, fur seal, and everything that man needs. All things he got easily in this way. His house was full. In the meantime the people at Cape Chacon were nearly finished with their mourning for Tlexih. But the same wise 158'"Xas" is translated as "moose," "cow," or "horse." It could mean also "dimly seen house" because of its location back of, and between, two others. man advised them again to search at Duke Island. So some of them started out. On the west shore of the island is a rock (reef) which shows at low tide. As they came near to it they heard a sound like drumming, so they called it datllagau' (around rock drum). But then they heard drum- ming in the air. They looked up, saw that it came from the cliff. They climbed up and were happy to find Tlexih and the children. They returned to Cape Chacon and told their story. All the Tantakwan now moved to Duke Island and built a village called K!eg-a'n on the south shore near Cape Cumberland. Soon they became rich. Far to the north among the Klukwan Chilkat was a young man of the Kagwantan clan named Taxca'. His father was a Tluknahadi, and his father's father a Tcucanedi of Sitka. The father and a party came down to Duke Island to arrange a marriage between Taxca and a girl named Tsitltlrn of the Ganaxadi. As they came into Tongass Narrows, Taxca put on his dancing hat Ganusaxw (from a small bird). As he did so a dense fog rolled in, but the party was able to reach the town. The marriage was completed and the couple returned to Klukwan. In time they had three sons named Ka'tlian, Cada'k, and Suk-ka'h. The Tantakwan people were having trouble (war) with the Sanyakwan Tlingit of Cape Fox. A chief named Kuw,e'x of Raven Bone House and several canoes of his clansmen went to visit a Tsimshian chief at Port Simpson. On their return voyage they came near the Sanyakwan village of Gac. One of the Gac chiefs was Kuka'-ak. Two of his wives were picking berries near the village. When Kuwaex saw them, he told his head warrior'59 to go ashore and get what news he could from the women. He talked to one of the women. The other woman watched from a distance. The messenger returned to the canoe and the party went home. But when the two berry-pickers went home, the one who had watched the other told the husband that the other wife had committed adultery with Kuwaex's messen- ger. She told him not only that she had seen this, but that the people in the canoe had likewise been witnesses. The husband believed her and kept it in his mind. A year later Kuwaex again went to Port Simpson. Just north of Tree Point (near Cape Fox) are some offshore rocks and here the Sanya chief, Kukaak, and a party were camped. The travelers saw the smoke of their fire. As it was near evening, Kuwaex told his people they would camp alongside the others. They had brought bark slabs with them and with these they built a shelter. Soon four men came over from the other camp. Kuwaex had a Hudson's Bay Company knife (war knife) which he prized. The visi- tors said that their chief Kukaak had heard of this knife and wished to see it. So Kuwaex took it out of its box, gave it to them, and they took it to their chief. Soon six men came, bringing the knife back. They said Kukaak wished to buy it. But Kuwaex said it was the only one he had and that he did not wish to sell it. The men went back but soon returned with two others. They invited Kuwaex and his party over to their camp. This invitation was accepted and some of them went to the other camp. The visitors were fed dried halibut, then boiled seaweed and water [a soup] in wooden bowls. Several of Kukaak's men started to take some of the food back to the camp for the others. As they left, Kukaak said, "Be careful! Don't fall with that." This was the signal and, as he spoke, each of the bearers threw his bowl of the hot soup in the face of a guest. This blinded the visitors, and before they could recover, they were clubbed to death. 1590ften translated as "true man." Called k!ekaka'x; perhaps "speaker" is meant. 84 OLSON: SOCIAL SThUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT News of the killings reached the home village of the victims. The chief, Kuage'tl, sent men in a canoe to find out why Kuwaex and his men had been killed. The answer came back that it was because of the adultery committed. But now some of the men who had been on the trip to Port Simpson told what had really happened, that there had been nothing amiss in the meeting with the woman. Now the Kegan people began preparations for war, the men observing sexual continence. A year later a raiding party was sent out. They came upon some of the Sanya people in a camp and killed all of them, and even their dogs. (The record of the number killed on each side was kept by means of knots on a string.) Then the Sanyakwan retaliated and killed all those Kegan people they found in a hunting-fishing camp. The victims' bodies were split "as if they were salmon" and hung on the drying racks of the camp. The people of Kegan belonged to four different clans - the Tekwedih, Daklawedih, Xashittan, and Ganaxadi. All had lost members in the killings so that the war was not clan against clan but village against village, that is, tribe against tribe. The Kegan people made one overture of peace but it was rejected by the Sanyakwan. Raids and counter-raids went on for years. In one the Kegan people overwhelmed a large party of Sanya in a camp. All were killed. The victors then built a fire, took poles, spitted the dead, and roasted them "as if they were salmon. " Finally a peace was arranged. The Sanyakwan came to Kegan, the eight dances were held, and the war was over. Later, the chief named Kuxti'tc, of the Kegan Ganaxadi, prepared to give a great potlatch. He sent invitations to the Nanyaayih clan of Wrangell, where Gocoh and Cekc (Shakes) were the highest chiefs. In this potlatch Kuxtitc had twenty slaves to give away.i16? These slaves he or- dered to hold on to five ropes, that is, in groups of four. He started to lead the groups, one at a time, into the pot- latch house. He wore a raven's headdress made in such a way that the raven's beak held the line and pulled the slaves in. The slaves were placed with the other property to be given away. But as he led in the fourth group he collapsed. Blood ran from his mouth and he died within minutes. The Wrangell guests became frightened at this, thinking they might be blamed and a war would begin. So they ran to launch their canoes. Kuxtitc had a nephew [his heir] named Kadetya', and he came out to remedy matters. He stood in front of the house and spoke to the Wrangell people, who were now in their canoes. He said, "My uncle's guests! Not only Kuxtitic is going to die that way! [meaning, all men must die]. Come ashore!" At this the guests came back in and took their seats. Two wise old men sat at the side of Kadetya and the potlatch went on. Kadetya at this time took the name-title of his just-dead uncle. Sometime later there were six men of the Ganaxadi of Kegan who went hunting near Cape Fox. The Sanyakwan at this time had their village in Foggy Bay. The hunters met some of the Sanya people at the outermost island of those which fringe the bay. The Sanya invited the visitors in to eat. At the village the hunters were fed seal meat from a pot boiling on the fire. As they ate, the "hosts" seized the pot and poured the boiling contents in the faces of the guests. But one of the visitors saw the trick in time. He rolled over backward and escaped. The other five were clubbed to death. It was night and the survivor eventually came back to the beach. There he found a log and, using a pole for a '6KIt is said that at this time (1880?) a slave was worth $2500. paddle, started toward Duke Island. The tide running out of Boca de Quadra helped him. His pursuers searched for him in vain. In the morning one of them climbed a tree and saw him, but by then he was nearly across the channel. They pursued him and nearly overtook him. But when their canoe was near, he slid off the log and stuck his nose up on the side away from the canoe. They came so close, he could hear them. But just then a gull alighted on the log, taking him for food, perhaps. The sight of the gull made the pursuers think he could not be there and they went back. Again he started paddling. Eventually he reached shore and ran to Kackwatlania'n (Duke Point?). There some of his people were camped. With them were a man and his family who were Sanyakwan, he having acted as peacemaker (kuwakan) at the previous peace ceremony. But when the survivor told what had h1appened, they fell on these outsiders and killed them. The Ganaxadi of Kegan now prepared for a renewal of the old feud. Again the able-bodied males remained con- tinent for a year. Formal notice was sent to the Sanyakwan that a state of war existed. But the Kegan warriors sur- prised a large encampment of them. Most were killed; some were taken as slaves. Again a peace settlement was made. While this peace was in effect, the three sons of Taxca (whose parents lived at Klukwan) were sent down to Kegan to live with their mother's brother, as is the custom.'6' They were mere youths. The chief of Raven House in Kegan was Kuge'tl and the boys were his sister's children. Ku- gel's wife spent most of her time weaving mats. Kalian, the oldest boy, was wise and prudent and destined to be- come a famed chief. But Sukka, the youngest, was foolish and had a passion for gambling. Yet Kugel's wife knew that she must marry Sukka when Kugel died. One day Sukka had been gambling and had lost heavily. He came back to his house where the woman was weaving mats. He went to his bunk to get his last blanket to bet. He tucked it under his arm, trying to hide it from the woman. As he went out the door, she looked up and pointed her finger at his back.'62 He turned around and saw her gesture but thought she had gestured with the thumb be- tween the first two fingers, or had gestured with hand open. (Either of these is an insult but not as serious as pointing the finger.) At this he turned back and sat down. His companions came to get him to resume gambling but he refused. He never gambled again. Toward evening Sukka went to his bunk without eating. The next morning he did not get up. He was thinking, wondering what sort of man he would turn out to be. Fin- ally his uncle's wife came to him, urging him to get up and eat. She treated him as she would a guest, bringing him food and water; for she wanted to make her peace with him. When his uncle died, Sukka married the widow, and his eldest brother Kalian became highest chief of the Ganaxadi of Kegan. In the village of Kegan was a shaman named CAntakoh who was chief in Floating Ashore House. He saw [in a dream?] a basket floating in the water at Na'kago ("octo- pus place") behind Kelp Island. He foretold that a canoe would come "carrying a basket." This was an evil omen, meaning trouble and war. So he began advising the people to get ready. Soon a messenger from the Sanyakwan ar- rived, stating that a young man named Kuyet, of the Nexadi clan, was coming over to arrange a marriage with the girl named Katlsi'k. 1ITheir mother had been married to Taxca and she went to his village, Klukwan, to live. '62This is a serious insult, equivalent to saying "Fool." 85 86 ANTHROPOLOGIC. The old bad blood between the two groups remained, and Chief Kalian determined to war on the Sanyakwan despite the peace. He decided to lure them, then use the hot-soup trick which they had played on the men of Kegan. He made careful plans, got his people to ready their weapons and hide them in his house. He said he would feed the guests halibut first, then seaweed soup; that he would sample the visiting chief's soup, then say to him, "It's a long time since I have eaten this, but now I'm going to eat it with you." At these words he would throw the soup in the chief's face and the others were to do likewise to the other guests. In a few days a canoe was sighted. It had holes drilled through the bow-piece, hence it had looked like a basket to the shaman's spirit. When the canoe came in, Kalian sent his speaker to invite the visitors in. They came in and were seated. They were given water to wash their hands. Then they were served halibut, then seaweed soup. Kalian ordered his speaker to taste the chief's soup.'63 As the food was placed before each guest, the man serv- ing him stood up (each having his stone club hidden under his blanket). Then Kalian did as planned and all the "guests" save one were killed. This one dove through the bark wall. They ran after him. He ran along a path where a blind man named Tsatiti'c was defecating. The pursuers shouted to the blind one, and as the runaway came up, the blind man struck him with his cane and knocked him down. The others then came up and killed the escapee. So none were left. The Kegan Ganaxadi sent word to the Nexadi of Sanya that war was on. However, [in some way] the Nexadi suc- ceeded in a surprise raid with a fleet of war canoes, kill- ing many of the Tantakwan without regard to clan. The Kiksadi [Raven] clan of Sanya had joined the Nexadi in the war and the Kiksadi killed a Tekwedih woman of KlAnkwan'64 who was married to a Tantakwan man. This woman was a sister of Chief HagaTh, and he went to the Kiksadi of Sanya to ask for peace. He lay offshore in his canoe for two days, negotiating with them. But their chief, Gan.at, refused the peace offer. So the third day Hagah changed his songs to a song which ran, "I will point my canoe out, toward the open sea." This meant that he would continue the war. At this the Sanya Kiksadi chief came to the edge of the fort, spat on his hands, held them in front as an insulting gesture, and said, "Go ahead, go ahead to that place." Chief Hagah was now very angry and went to call on the Tekwedih of various towns to urge them to join against the Sanyakwan. When it became evident that the war would spread, the Sanyakwan left Cape Fox and built a fort in Naha Bay [at Loring] north of Ketchikan. The Tekwedih of Kegan and those of Klankwan joined forces. They went up the west coast of Prince of Wales Island as far as Klawak, practicing war games. This practice was so realistic that in their anger two warriors were accidentally killed in the maneuvers. Twenty war canoes made up the fleet. In the meantime the Sanyakwan were preparing for siege and attack. The Tekwedih finally, about a year later, arrived off- shore from the fort near Loring. The fort was in a small L63Food given to a guest is tasted first by the host or his man. If this is not done and the guest dies soon after, the host's clan must pay for his life. But if the food is tasted first by one of the host group and the guest dies, it merely means that 'his time had come." 164This was a village in McLeod Bay on Dall Island. Since this was in Haida territory, she was probably a Haida woman, whose clan was equated with the Tlingit Tekwedi. I do not, how- ever, find KIankwan listed by Swanton (1909) as a Haida town. AL RECORDS cove just below the rapids.'65 Hagah stayed in his canoe with the kanigan (brothers-in-law) who were to look after the canoes while the Tekwedih attacked by land. [Evidently the war had become a Tekwedih clan affair for the Tanta- kwan, but it involved all clans of the Sanyakwan.] The attacking party went ashore at midnight and stormed the fort, killing many of the defenders. Hagah heard the noise of the battle. Chief Ganat escaped over the walls of the fort, dove into the water, and began swimming out with the tide. But Hagah saw the phosphorescence from his swimming and caught him. He seized him by the hair and said, "Take a deep breath now, for I am going to cut off your head." Then he slowly cut his throat, took the head, and let the body float away. [My informant, GM, knew no further details of this war or of the peace that followed.] One of those killed at the beginning of the war was the sister of Kutci'c, chief of the Daklawedih clan of the Tan- takwan. Since there had to be a settlement of this, Kutcic (several years later) sent an envoy offering peace. The offer was made to a house chief of the Nexadi of the San- yakwan, named Kuyek, who was a kinsman of Kutcic. But Kuyek refused to pay the blood price and sent back word accordingly. This angered the Tantakwan, and all their clans (Daklawedih, Xashittan, Ganaxadi, and Tekwedih) agreed to join in the common cause and to war on all the Sanyakwan. They mustered a fleet of fifty canoes for the campaign. This time the Sanyakwan had built a fort called We'k!nu ("bullhead fort," probably Slate Island) off the mouth of Boca de Quadra. The raiders hid themselves in a cove [probably just below Kah Shakes Point]. One day a canoe with six men in it put off from the fort. The raiders over- took the canoe at the long rock [White Reef?] offshore and captured the crew. They killed five but left one, who was the nephew (named Canah) of Chief Kuyek. His men asked Kutcic what they should do with him and Kutcic said, "Twice I have offered them peace and they refused. I feel no ties of kinship with him. Off with his head!" The Tantakwan captured the fort, and only six men and a few women and children escaped. There was snow on the ground. At the shore inland from the fort is a black hill called Sikc ("black bear's hill") and the survivors ran up this hill. The fort was destroyed. The raiders tracked the escapees in the snow. As they came close, they shouted "he+ gwale+," a cry to frighten the fugitives. One of the latter ran to the top of the hill and shouted at his pursuers, "Tantakwan ya'dki! tsatsaka Tantakwan nobles! Just like gat k!itc!gwa' the thing your children tlu Attl you do not xa' at will eat xAtc gah nikW" stop chasing it." When the Daklawedih war leader (Xekakax, "true man') heard this he said to his people, "Tantakwan nobles! Stand back!" This he did because the "children" had been men- tioned. So they quit the pursuit. No one knows what clan or clans the survivors belonged to. But there were so few left that they united into one clan. And this is how it is that they took to marrying within the group. And this is why it is that there is the saying, "Like the Sanyakwan, they marry their own sisters," when per- 1"Probably just below the rapids where the tide flows out of Roosevelt Lagoon. OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT sons of the same clan [or moiety] plan marriage or actu- ally marry.'66 This ended the war. Sixty-two persons of the Sanyakwan had been killed. There was no peace ceremony until many years later. If the Sanyakwan had not said those cowardly words [i.e., invoked mercy by mentioning the children], there would have been no survivors. Today some of them who have the same grandfather and are therefore ya'dki to each other marry (see kinship terminology). Peace was finally made about 1870. Sixty-two of the Sanyakwan had been killed, none of the Tantakwan. On the Ganaxadi side the chief at this time was Kfnanuk'67 of Port Tongass on Tongass Island where the Tantakwan had moved; the chief of the Nexadi was K!Acekc.'65 Kinanuk ordered a digging stick made on which was carved a raven. This was named Yetlkat. A woman's implement was used because it symbolized that the two groups were to become like women to each other, not warlike. In the peace dance he commanded that the stick be given to Chief Kacekc. It symbolized or stood for the sixty-two lives the Nexadi had lost. It was to honor the Nexadi and make the clans like brothers [i.e., the giving of a Raven crest to the other moiety. This act, however, did not give the Nexadi the right to use the raven as a crest]. There was no way the count of lives could be made even. Although the Ganaxadi were wealthy enough so they could have paid the blood price for the sixty-two, they chose not to do so, being afraid that if it were settled in this manner the feud would or could be reopened.'69 The Nexadi were satisfied with the settlement. Chief Tlexi of Sea Lion House (see above) came to be an old man. One day he and his wife went hunting off the shore of Duke Island. There they saw a strange thing, a big ship with sails. It had a figure like a wolf carved at the bow. They saw men aboard so they paddled near. The captain motioned that Tlexi was to come aboard. So Tlexi went aboard. By signs he indicated that he was a house chief. The captain of the strange vessel gave his name, "Captain Cook." Then the two exchanged names. But Tlexi pronounced the name as "Kam k-.ka'." Cook gave the chief a pair of trousers. Then Tlexi and his wife started home. But on the way they cut the trousers in half and arrived at the village, each wearing one leg of the pants. Tlexi gave a feast at which he took the ship as a crest and took as his own name, Kamkuka. This name was used '"This may be the real explanation or a mere rationalization. 1671 believe that this chief ("Kinanook") erected a totem pole that remained at the village site after the tribe moved away. Eventually the pole was removed to Seattle and came to be known as the "Seattle totem pole" of Pioneer Square in that city. After some legal difficulties the city of Seattle paid the surviv- ing claimants a sum of money for the pole. One or more members of the Kinanook family later moved to the Kwakiutl area. There one of the females married a white man named Hunt. I believe a son born to this marriage was George Hunt, who became Franz Boas' chief informant in his researches among the Kwakiutl. According to some of my Kwa- kiutl informants George Hunt was therefore not a Kwakiutl, was not familiar with the nuances of the language or with some of the esoteric features of Kwakiutl culture. If so, this may ex- plain some of the errors in translation in Boas' accounts and his erroneous interpretation of the potlatch system. Although Boas must have become aware of these inaccuracies in the many years that followed his initial work, he never saw fit to correct them. '"The Nexadi probably lived at Cape Fox Village between Very Inlet and Kah Shakes Cove at this time. The village was called Gac. '""This probably means that a score evened or lives paid for might still leave bitterness but that friendship based on intangibles was genuine. in feasts until about 1890. The totem pole with the carved ship stands at the ball park in Ketchikan.'70 [To return to the village of Kegan on Duke Island.] Some of the Tekwedih had married into the Xashittan clan [and vice versa]. By this time the natives had ac- quired guns. The head chief of the Tekwedih was Xacgakc and he was shot in the stomach by a Xashittan. While he lay dying, the Tekwedih met in council. They decided to look for a place to build a fort and prepare for war. While the chief was still alive but mortally sick, they all moved to this fort. A young Tekwedih man named Na'wucketl had married only a year earlier a Tekwedih girl who was the sister of the wounded chief. As she was packing to move, he sat by the fire, saying nothing. (For.now she must join her clan in moving away.) She went to him and whispered, "When my brother is being cremated, I will put on the fire wood which smokes. We are going to Waktl (Dundas Island)." (By this she meant that she would thus signal by smoke that the chief had died.) Then the Tekwedih moved away. The young husband now readied himself by choosing his uncle's best canoe. He picked a crew of the best pad- dlers. Two days later, in the morning, he saw smoke on Dundas Island. [The distance is about 30 miles.] The Tekwedih had built their fort and four bark houses on a rock at the end of a bar. They were burning the body on a nearby beach. The young wife ordered the youths to bring her spruce boughs. These she placed on the fire, causing a great column of smoke to rise. Before the cremation was completed, Nawucket and his men had reached the island. He landed across the point from the place of cremation and ordered his men to stay by the canoe. Then he cut across toward the fire and hid in the bushes nearby. When his wife looked his way, he signaled to her. She took her dance wand and, as she sang a funeral song, she walked into the woods. When she came to him he whispered, "Just to see you I came." She replied, "I'll go with you." He got three of his men to go with her to her house to get her belongings. Then they went back to Duke Island. When the cremation was finished, those of the funeral party missed her. The speaker of the clan was named Kugasgi'h. For four days the clan fasted and refrained from speech. On the fourth day at daybreak one of the house chiefs, named Kiicaka k, got up. Calling on Kugasgih, he spat loudly, spraying his words,171 and said to him, "How long are you going to keep still? Speak up!" (i.e., "Let us have war now"). At this, Kugasgih got up, also spat, and said, "Every day the sun rises in the east and sets in the west. No man can reach the sun. There I put my heart when my nephew died. No man among the Xashittan can reach it!" By this he meant that just as the sun can warm things, so he meant peace; that because his niece had gone back with her husband he favored peace. The next day they all re- turned to Duke Island and peace was made. A certain head chief of the Tekwedih named Negut had built a fort near Kegan and [for some reason] the Tekwedih moved there. One day they saw a strange thing offshore. It was a foreign ship. But they thought it was a strange bird or animal and that the splash made as the anchorwas dropped was the creature urinating. Then they saw a man walking on deck. Negut ordered a canoe launched and he 17OThe whole incident relating to Captain Cook is in error, as Cook did not make a landfall in Southeast Alaska. Vancouver may be the European captain. The totem pole may be the one figured by Barbeau (n.d., 1:404). 171This is called yutk.! autsa' and denotes great anger. 87 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS went out to the vessel. (The captain's name was Ebbets.) The crew of the ship by signs invited them aboard. Negut ordered his chief warrior to go aboard, and Negut then followed. He was called into the captain's cabin but ran out when he saw his reflection in a mirror. The captain drank a glass of rum, then gave Negut a glass. Then they exchanged names. The captain gave him a bottle of rum and a pig. The rum was black [dark] and was called tutchinge't (black water container). The drink- ing glass was called AtTChinge't (ice water-cup). Two more canoes came out from shore. The canoes were piled high with gifts of food. Then the ship weighed an- chor, fired a cannon, and sailed away. On the way to shore Negut continued to sample his "black water" until he was quite drunk. Ashore he drank more and became unmanageable. His people thought he had become demented. As was the custom, for a cure they took a female dog which two men held above his head while a third slit open her belly so that the blood ran over the patient. At last Negut fell asleep, but he was so drunk they thought he was dead and began the mourning rites. But the next morning he got up and wondered about the black bottle with water in it and the cup made of ice that had made him crazy. Negut told his people to examine the food, for he thought the visitors might be ghosts. The rice they thought was dry maggots of the blowfly.'72 Sea biscuits (pilot bread) they thought to be a fungus. Molasses, "black water," could be "the water out of Land Otter's Village." So, seeing all these strange and possibly dangerous things, Negut ordered all the food thrown away. But the pig Negut "adopted" and treated it as if it were a noble child. But one day the pig fell off a cliff and was killed. The pig, as the "son" of a Tekwedih chief, was counted as of the Ganaxadi clan, so Tekwedih men pre- pared the body, painting its face and so on. The mourning songs were sung and the pig cremated. The "crying feasts" were held, followed by the "joy feasts." (They did not know that pigs were good for food.) The Tantakwan usually went on a visit to the Nass River each year for eulachon. While they were on one such trip, trouble broke out between two Tsimshian groups, the Nass (Kincolith) Tsimshian and those of Kitkatleh. At this time Kakkle'n was head chief of the Tekwedih. He had a son named Ska-utlyetl about ten years old. The Tantakwan were waiting for the outgoing tide to take them away from the trouble. One Tsimshian was shot in the eye and in his death throes fell between two beached Tantakwan canoes. The boy, Skautlyetl, not realizing what had happened, clapped his hands in glee. A kinsman of the dying Tsimshian man then shot the boy. At this the Tantakwan seized their guns and killed two Tsimshian, thinking the boy was dead. The Tsimshian returned the fire and killed Chief Kakklen. Kakklen's nephew ordered his people to stop shooting. Kakklen's body was placed in a canoe and they started homeward. But the Tantakwan of the clan Xashittan, who had a six-fathom canoe, secretly landed on Mylor Peninsula. Here they hid their canoe and went to a spot where they knew the returning Kitkatlah Tsimshian canoe must pass close by. They had six guns. By custom a chief stands in the bow of a canoe under way. As the Kitkatlay Tsimshian canoe passed, the Xashittan shot the chief. In the excite- ment the canoe capsized and was carried away by the tide. l72Rice is called kuh, from the "wild rice" which grows at the mouths of rivers and which is eaten. But kuh is the roots of mission bells (fritillaria) which are sometimes called "In- dian rice," from the small nodules that surround the main bulb. Then those in the water were killed. A second Kitkatlah canoe was following the first at some distance. Those in this canoe, hearing the shots, thought their companions were shooting in fun. Again the Xashittan shot the chief in this canoe, the canoe again capsized, and the crew members were killed in the water. The same was done to more than twenty canoes of the Kitkatlah. [This is probably a gross exaggeration.] Finally one canoe-load sensed something was amiss and cut across the channel to Pearse Island. (It was from this incident that the Tsim- shian named the Tantakwan gMtakanitc (a stinking insect.) The Xashittan now went back to the camp of the Kit- katlah, took a six-fathom canoe and some boxes of eula- chon oil. In the evening they went homeward via Pearse Canal. It was now certain there would be further trouble and so the Tantakwan built a fort called Kitnu (killer whale fort) in the channel between Sitklan and Kanaganut islands. Chief Kudena (Kakklen's nephew) warned against going back to Duke Island. The head chief of the Kitkatlah Tsim- shian was named Wicekc, and Kudena would not be satis- fied until this Wicekc was killed. So he sent word to Kit- 1 katlah that a state of war existed. Kudena launched an armada of forty war canoes. All clans of the Tantakwan joined for the war. Four shamans (one for each clan) accompanied the expedition. Wicekc then built a fort on Tutldjan, calling it Tutldjannu ("top island fort," so named because of the shape of the island, which is like a toy top). The Saxhittan shaman's name was Kakagik and his spirit told him, "Where the top lies [spins], there you will see the dung of the eagle's chil- dren."''73 As the Tantakwan armada rounded a point, they saw smoke, so they hid in a cove. The shaman Kakagik said this was the place. That night all the shamans were consulted. Three would say only, "There is danger." But Kakagik said, "Yes. There is no mother eagle there." The meaning of this was that Kitkatlah men were not at the fort, only women and children. The canoes surrounded the fort, Kudena leading the attack rather than his "warrior" (war leader); this despite the fact that Kudena was lame. In the midst of the attack one girl cried out for the attackers to stop. She said she was the niece of Chief Wicekc, who was wealthy enough to buy her back from slavery. So about twenty women and children were taken captive. The girl, dressed in her uncle's dance costume, led her mother by the hand and told Kudena that she, as a woman, was not worthy to be killed to avenge Kakklen. The stored boxes of eulachon oil in the fort were broken, and the grease ran down the rocks. (It was this which the spirit had seen and called the dung of young eagles, for so it looked to him. And thus was fulfilled the shaman's prophecy.) The next day as the armada returned, the canoes were stopped and the girl and her mother sang two mourning songs belonging to Chief Wicekc. Then they gave these songs to Kudena. Thus the Tekwedih came to own these songs. The armada returned to Kitnu. Chief Wicekc of Kitkatlah now sent word that he was going to attack. Kudena ordered a move to Ketchikan and they built a fort where Chief Johnson's house now stands. Kudena would not be satisfied until Wicekc was killed to avenge his uncle. Wicekc came with an armada of seventy war canoes. The Kitkatlah warriors surrounded the fort but failed to storm it and they returned home. 173Shaman's predictions were always couched in such euphe- misms or metaphors. The meaning here was that the fort was at the place shaped like a top. 88 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT The Tantakwan then returned to Kitnu, and the warriors went through a year of preparatory rituals. But food was running low. One day, as Kudena sat atop the fort as look- out, he saw the women digging clams to eke out the nearly vanished food supply. He determined to sue for peace. He spoke to his people of this, how he had been touched at the sight of his aunts searching for clams.'74 The next day he sent a few men in a canoe with a peace envoy.'75 Chief Wicekc agreed to make peace. His people moved to Old Metlakatla and sent word for Kudena to come and make peace. Kudena went, but took only four canoes, for they did not trust Wicekc. The greater part of the Tanta- kwan remained at Kitnu. Lying off Old Metlakatla was a trading schooner. Ku- dena had with him a letter written by Captain Ebbets which named Negut as chief of the Tantakwan [a ridicu- lous procedure], and Kudena, as the heir of Negut, deter- mined to go aboard the vessel. Armed with his letter, he got the captain to take the four canoes aboard and they sailed to Old Metlakatla. Two of the Kitkatlah canoes came out and found that Kudena was aboard. When Wicekc learned this, he sent word for Kudena to come ashore, but Kudena delayed. Soon all the Kitkatlah canoes came out and surrounded the vessel. The speaker for Wicekc asked Kudena why he stayed aboard, protected by the whites. But Kudena gave no answer. The speaker then said, "Come down! Let's fight with knives." (Such re- marks were a conventional preliminary to peace making.)'76 At this Kudena climbed down and ran across several canoes to that of Wicekc. He purposely stepped on the gunwales as he crossed, capsizing the canoes as he did so. The nakani (brothers-in-law) of Wicekc "captured" him and the ceremony of peace was carried out. The Tantakwan now moved back to Duke Island, the danger of raids having passed. Kudena had a fort called Kladenu (lengthwise fort) on Anette Island just south of Reef Point. People often used a camp on Gravina Point on Gravina Island as a place to dry fish and cache fish in the smoke houses. A Sitka Kagwantan chief named Ka-uCte'h came to the fort to visit Kudena, the latter being his "grandchild." One day the visitor brought out his tool kit to show his possessions, among them being a prized war knife (gwat- la'h) named "Wolf Knife." This was passed around for all to admire. The owner boasted that the knife had once been longer but that he had worn it down striking the bones of Klawak people in the wars with them. Now, in these wars two Tantakwan Tekwedih men had been killed but none knew who killed them. When Kaucteh boasted, the hosts said nothing because the Kagwantan were "'ances- tors" of theirs. But they looked at one another. The two men killed were Kude'h and Anati'nih. When the Kagwantan left they passed the fish-drying camp at Gravina Point. They went ashore and, instead of taking what dried fish they needed for the trip, they car- ried out the storage boxes and broke them open on the beach. A canoe party of Tantakwan was passing and saw this vandalism. They brought the word to Kudena at the fort. Two canoes of Tekwedih dashed over and surprised 174This referred to the women of the other clans. Mention of relatives such as children, grandfathers, and so on in clans other than the speaker's was a much-used method of playing on the emotions. 17'Called atgani uwa'ka-awu, "man between," a man holding the title and office of go-between. He is much the same as the kuwakan ("deer") of the peace ceremony. 17Mock aggressive behavior, mock challenges, and the like were a part of the preliminary behavior in several ceremonies, such as the arrival of guests at a potlatch. the Kagwantan at their vandalism. They took the things out of the Kagwantan canoe and broke them on the rocks. One Tekwedih struck the chief, knocking him down. Then the Tekwedih went home. Instead of going on home the Kagwantan returned to the fort, ostensibly to get some "medicine" the chief had left behind. Now Kudena had named Kika n as the one who was to kill the Kagwantan chief if they returned. This one sat on the beach, with a hidden miner's pick at his side as the canoe came in. The Kagwantan chief was standing in the stern as the canoe was beached.'" The chief asked re- peatedly for his box of "medicine." But no one paid atten- tion. Some Ganaxadi of the Tantakwan climbed the roof of a house and signaled to the Kagwantan chief that Kikan was going to kill him, that he should shove off. But the chief turned away, saying in a metaphor, "I don't believe it. Why should they? " Several times he was warned. When the tide had risen to where Kikan was seated and the chief had moved back to there, Kikan seized the pick and killed him, saying as he struck him, "Why didn't you keep still about killing two Tekwedih ? But you were foolish." The others fell on the Kagwantan, killed most of them, and captured the chief's wife. When the wife had finished her wailing, she blew her nose, flicked the mucus away, and said, "He would never have forgotten that you knocked him down at the store- house." [That is, it was better that they killed him.] This phrase came to be used by both sides in their feasts and in feuds. The same year the Sitka Kagwantan gave notice of war. The Tekwedih built a new fort on the southeast point of Kelp Island and called it GrtcxAnAgatnu (rainbow fort).'78 The Xashittan clan built its fort on a tiny islet (Werlick?) in Sealed Passage off Hotspur Island. The Tekwedih wished the Xashittan to join them, but the latter felt sure that the Kagwantan would not attack them, the feud being between Kagwantan and Tekwedih. The chief of the Xashittan was Gaginaste'n and he was also a great shaman. After the usual year of preparations a canoe full of Xashittan women went over to the food cache on Gravina Point. As they neared the place, seven Kagwantan canoes overtook them. Some of the women were killed and five were taken as slaves. (The Kagwan- tan did not ask their clan.) The war party camped on Davison Point on Anette Island. Here the warriors raped the women, thus violating a wartime taboo. Gaginasten had a daughter who was "in the room" (i.e., in puberty seclusion). With the Kagwantan war party was a powerful shaman, his spirits stronger than those of Gaginasten. His spirit "tied the eyes" of the spirit con- trolled by Gaginasten. This he did with the dress of the virgin girl, and this spirit could not see the danger that was coming. The Kagwantan "scared" their shaman into a trance [a means of inducing a trance] and in the trance he said, "I see a man carrying a comb in his hand." [This was a metaphor for a canoe of men, the teeth of the comb being the men.] When he came out of his trance he said, "If you do not capture that canoe load of men [the comb], you will be beaten." In the meantime Gaginasten sent his spirits ranging about searching for the Kagwantan. One spirit circled Percy Island and reported that the enemy had passed by. This spirit followed the canoes and"clubbed them and killed their power for war." 177Canoes are usually landed stern first, invariably so if a sea was running. '78New forts were built with a view to their remaining secret and therefore not open to raids. 89 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS At daybreak the Kagwantan were watching between Cape Northumberland and Vancouver Island.'79 A canoe- load of men from the Tekwedih fort on Kelp Island went out to fish halibut. In the dim light of early dawn the canoe and men looked like a comb to the watchers. The shaman went into a trance and saw that this canoe was the thing of his "comb" trance. He tried to get his party to attack quickly but they delayed. Now the shaman again went into a trance and this time saw a bullhead in the water, its tail toward shore. He spoke in his trance, say- ing, "If you go to the tail end, it will crush you, but if you go to the head, all will be well." The Daklawedih were at this time at the fort with the Tekwedih and among them was a shaman named Cakwa nlh. He and some others were on Duke Island across from Kelp Island. He saw that danger was coming and got his people to pack up and dash to the fort. The Kagwantan came between the two islands, saw the smoke, and rushed to shore, but the campers had already fled. The Kagwan- tan howled like frustrated wolves when they found the campers had escaped. The shaman warned the people at the fort that a raid was coming. The people heard the cries of the Kagwantan at the deserted camp. Everyone came inside the fort. One boy of ten named Cakle'n went out from the fort for a bucket of water. As he dipped in he saw the reflec- tion of a man. But he gave no sign and casually carried the water back inside the fort. There he told what he had seen. All the men now put on their armor and prepared for attack. Caklen and another boy named Akkwaye tl were sent to pretend to play, but really to watch. The two were Ganaxadi but the sons of Daklawedih fathers, so were not of a clan involved in the feud. They saw the raiders hiding among the beached canoes and returned to the fort. (The Kagwantan had gone against the shaman's advice and were attacking "by the tail," the "head" of the house being at the rear, opposite the door.) The war drum was hung up. Shots were fired at the canoes. One Kagwan- tan who wore a pair of abalone shell earrings peered out and was shot. Another went to remove the earrings and he was killed. At each killing the drum was beaten in de- rision. A second one also tried to salvage the earrings and he was also shot. Again the drum was beaten. Now the Kagwantan came out, shooting at the fort, but a number were killed and wounded. One Daklawedih man named Caxc was the son of TaxcaTh, the Kagwantan. Caxc made a speech, saying, "I will be a fern root and will roll down to you," meaning that he would come out to be killed. Then the defenders started the song which goes with such an act. They wished to make fools of the Kagwantan, be- cause the latter had not acted ethically. So they pretended to open the fort gate to let Caxc out. At this the Kagwan- tan rose up, ready to shoot Caxc. The defenders fired, killing four. The Kagwantan chief then shouted, "What did the big prince say?" meaning, "Why did he not come out? " Then the Kagwantan called for a truce to remove their dead. They burned them on a nearby islet. Three Tantakwan went over during the cremations and told that more than seven of the Tantakwan had been killed (i.e., that the score was more than even). So the Kagwantan started back toward Sitka, taking the five Xashittan women captives with them. Camp was made at Point Davidson. Three of the captives slept between two men under a stiff bear robe. When all the others were asleep, these three were able to crawl from under and 179This is the islet of the cape, not the Vancouver Island of British Columbia. Its Tlingit name is ixx]'ntgh katago'h ("blue stone island"). escape up a hill. The raiders went on. Eventually the three were rescued. The other two women were taken on. The raiders came to Angoon. There a Ganaxadih chief of Raven House asked what clan the women belonged to. The Kagwantan lied, saying they were Yetlhittan (ra- ven house people). The chief then ordered his men to rush to the canoes and take the women into his house. The Kagwantan chief now tried to patch up the affair, but the Ganaxadih would have none of it. So the Kagwantan returned to Sitka empty-handed. Two or three years later the Sitka Kagwantan again sent word they were coming to war on the Tantakwan. This time the latter built a fort on Hutshini Creek (Bear Creek) on the west arm of Moira Sound on the east coast of Prince of Wales Island. One Tekwedih man named Kanatlagi'dji and his three brothers hid out up a creek in the bay west of Wedge Island. It was summer. One moonlight night he went out- side to urinate. Offshore he saw a canoe of the northern type (without projecting bow) passing southward. Thirteen other canoes followed the first, the paddlers all hunched over. The refugees launched their canoe at daybreak, knowing that the raiders would hide during the daylight hours. One Kagwantan canoe-load had become separated from the others and had hidden in a creek just north of Adams Point. The warriors were asleep in the canoe. Kanalagidji saw this as he passed and shook his canoe as a signal to his men.'80 His party landed and hid nearby. Kanalagidji cut back through the woods to spy on the raiders. They had their spears tied in a bundle in the bow of the canoe. The nine occupants lay asleep. He mo- tioned to his brothers to bring heavy stones. Then he reached out with his spear and gently pulled the canoe within reach. He removed the bundle of spears. Then they dropped the stones on the side of the canoe so that it broke and capsized. As the occupants floundered in the water all were killed. The brothers then dashed for the fort to warn the peo- ple. But the other raiders had already come, had found the children roasting salmon outside the fort. All the children were killed and their heads cut off. The main object of the war was to kill or capture K!eya'-i (fat mouth of bear), a Tekwedih chief. Keyaa's son was among the slain children. (As each child was taken he was asked his clan, and the boy had told that he was Keyaa's son.) The brothers now arrived and told how they had killed the nine in the canoe. This now made sixteen Kagwantan killed, counting the seven killed at the fort several years earlier. But no Tekwedih had been killed. So the Tekwedih held back, not wishing to kill more because of the possible blood payments in case of peace, or more killings to even the score. The Kagwantan canoes now drew up offshore and putting the head of Keyaa's son on a spear, held it up for the de- fenders to see. Keyaa saw it and turned and wept. Then the Kagwantan went back to Sitka. [This war was probably about 1825.] Peace was not made until about 1875. My informant, GM, was a toddler when the Sitka Kagwantan came to Port Tongass in four canoes to make peace. Two Kagwantan, Tlikwe't and Gantcku'wn, were captured as "deer" (kuwakan) for the ceremony, and the Kagwantan "captured" a man named Xacga'kc as the "opposite" (duge'gi) for Tlikwet. Now the Kagwantan needed an "opposite" for Gantckuwn and they went word, saying, "Who will be dugegi for Gantckuwn?" The Tekwedih la'This signal, made by thrusting weight against the side of the canoe, is used widely in the area. It gives the alert signal, for example, in hunting, when a vocal call might give alarm. 90 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT sent back one name, but the Kagwantan did not know "who he was," so they asked for another. They gave the same reply for the second name sent. To a third name they sent the same answer. Then the Tekwedih sent the name Gutcwu' and the Kagwantan were satisfied.'8' The reason for this was that Gutcwu was the "grandchild" of the "ancestors" of the Kagwantan. In the mock "capture" Gutcwu was so elusive that it took over a half hour to catch him. [To resume where the active war ended about 1825.] The Tantakwan now returned to their permanent town, Kegan on Duke Island. But Chief Kutcic of the Daklawedih decided that a site in Port Chester was preferable. So a town called Takgwa'ni (winter town) was started. (This is now the site of New Metlakatla, where Duncan moved his Tsimshian.) The Tantakwan moved to this new place a few at a time, as each house group got enough funds to build the houses, give the necessary feasts, and so on. It was here that the Tlingit first got the Tlukana dance society. The nephew (and heir) of Chief Kutcic went hunting in Bostwick Inlet on Gravina Island. There he was killed by a Kodiak (brown) bear. His four companions found the body, the skull crushed. Kutcic now began to prepare as if for war and put his warriors on chaste behavior for six months. Two canoes were lashed together and kept very clean, as is done in preparing for war. The party started, taking with them about fifty of the best bear dogs. [Kutcic was behaving as if his nephew had been killed by human enemies.] They landed north of Dall Bay. The chief stayed in the canoe. The bear knew they were coming to get revenge.'"2 The first bear they found was the right one. He had dug a hole in the center of a swamp and had built a barricade of logs (a fort) and had heavy clubs ready. The men were afraid to go near him. They sent back for Kutcic. He had them take his weapons ashore. He strung his heaviest bow and came to the bear's lair. He said to him, "How long are you going to stay there? Why don't you come out to fight? I can't expect you to pay for my nephew, so I am going to kill you." Hearing this, the bear climbed out, spun like a top, picked up one of his clubs, and charged. But Kutcic shot him and killed him. They cut off the head and put it on a pole, as if the bear were a warrior. Then they went home and as they neared the village they beat the drum four times, as if they were returning from a successful raid. It is customary for a man to give all game to his wife's father, so the head was given to Kudena. The Duklawedih and Tekwedih united to give a mourning dance. On a box they placed the dead man's clothes and the head of the bear. Then the other feasts for the dead were given. YacnuWc, one of the house chiefs of the Ganaxadi, owned a fishing camp in Tamgas Harbor on Anette Island. He went there early one spring, taking seven of his nephews with him. One nephew was KAckeh. On one occasion Kackeh went on a trip to Port Simpson. Some of the Tan- takwan got drunk. It happened that a few years earlier a certain Ganaxadi of the same lineage as Yacnuc had killed a Daklawedih. Talk of this affair arose, and one of the Ganaxadi in his cups taunted the Daklawedih, saying that the affair had been settled by a small blood price. This was an insult, and they agreed that a way to avenge the insult was to kill Yacnuc. The avengers went to Tamgas Harbor but landed some distance from Yacnuc's house, 'Gutcwu (also known as Keya' U) was my informant GM's stepfather. GM thinks that the date here was 1871. '2This is in harmony with the concept that bears are nearly ihuman, can understand Tlingit, etc. then cut overland and peeked through the cracks of the wall. Yacnuc was telling a legend. Cool heads among the plotters prevailed on the others to let him be and the party left. But on the way to the canoe one of them said that their grandchildren would be taunted as cowards if they failed to kill Yacnuc. So they returned and shot him, aiming through a crack between the house planks. One of Yacnuc's nephews, thinking a war had started, ran out and passed the guilty ones on the trail. He thus learned who had killed his uncle and he carried the mes- sage to the village. [The village was at this time in Port Chester.] The highest chief of the Ganaxadi was Santago'h. He sent a messenger to the Daklawedih, his "brothers-in- law," asking why they had killed Yacnuc. And Santagoh persuaded his clan to put off retaliatory measures until Kackeh returned. Kackeh was still at Port Simpson and a message was sent to him. (For he, as the heir of Yacnuc, was the one to determine whether or not a revenge killing was in order or whether a blood price would suffice.) In the village everyone lay low, staying indoors because of the tension. At dusk an owl's hoot was heard back of the village. But everyone knew that it was not an owl but Kackeh. People whispered his name, wondering what he would do. Yacnuc had paid four slaves for the earlier killing done by one of his near kin. Kackeh now sent word that the re- turn of these four slaves would settle the matter. But Chief Kuctic added four others, making eight. Kuctic was not of the house of the murderer of Yacnuc but he did this "for the honor of his grandchildren" so that none could ever say that he did nothing with his property. Thus the affair was settled. In the village of Takgwani in Port Chester a feast was being planned by the Tekwedih. As is customary, a group of [real] brothers-in-law were sent to do the inviting. Nawucketl had recently become a house chief of the Xashittan but the messengers forgot to invite him. As the guests were arriving, the oldest one of the inviting group suddenly remembered the oversight. He told the host, and the host's whole clan went over to invite Nawucketl and his household, as is always done in such circumstances. But Nawucketl was sulky and said he couldn't come. The party returned, put on their dance costumes, and again came to invite him. He told them to go back, but he did not seem angry. Early the next morning he packed up, got his family together, and went to a place in the north arm of Moira Sound. There he found a good sockeye salmon stream and nearby a stream where dog salmon ran. He had "dis- covered" these and they were thus his property. There he built a camp. That summer he killed a small bear. He skinned this, not open but cased. Then he stuffed the skin, dried it, and fixed an opening at the neck. In hunting he donned this skin and acted like a bear. In this way he killed many animals and amassed wealth [probably mostly in furs]. The following year messengers came to invite him to a feast, but he told them to return, that he couldn't come. This went on for several years. During this time he composed four songs, one of which contained words which indicated that he intended to give a feast. He also owned a camp in Bostwick Arm on Gravina Island where he got wealth. After some years he came back to Tak- gwani and gave a great feast. To those whose invitations he had refused he gave double the customary gifts. This was to pay them for the insults of his refusing their invi- tations. Thus no one could say anything against him. He owned six Haida canoes and many slaves. 91 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS At this time Victoria was a great trading center and nearly every year some Tlingit went there. On the way the despised Kwakiutl'83 sometimes waylaid the voyagers and attempted to kill or capture them. So when Nawucketl got slaves, he used a Kwakiutl slave as a "shore anchor," that is, the slave held the painter while the canoe was at shore. Later Nawucketl's descendants used to boast of this, and this he had had in mind. N awucketl had a nephew named Tuwa'h who was a trouble - maker. Tuwah killed Ki'kan, a Tekwedih. Nawucketl "buried him with property," that is, he paid a heavy blood price so that the victim's clansmen would be fully satisfied. The peace ceremony was held. Then in a drunken brawl Tuwah killed Ka'ctan, another Tekwedih. Now this made three Tekwedih killed by the Xashittan, including the one cremated on Duke Island when Nawucketl went there and took his wife away. At this last killing the Tekwedih "shut up their kind- ness and honor from their brothers-in-law," that is, they were truly angry. They all met in Bear House. Kugasgih (nephew of the Kugasgih mentioned earlier) was head speaker of the clan. Nawucketl sent messengers to this meeting, offering five slaves and other property in pay- ment for the latest killing. But the Tekwedih refused, saying this third murder was too much. Nawucketl then offered five more slaves, for Kikan had been of the high- est social rank, an anyaddi. Kugasgih made a speech to his clan, referring to the speech of his uncle whose name he bore. As in that speech there was reference to the sun and his heart, meaning peace. But he said the price of peace was that one of the slaves must be Nawucketl's sister, who was Tuwah's mother, and she in addition to the ten offered. Feeling ran so high that everyone was gathered in the main houses, fearing the worst. Wives and children left their houses to go to the houses of their respective clans. But Nawucketl's wife Kadjida'tl elected to stay with her husband. She was fated to prevent the feud from spread- ing, just as the wife of the earlier Nawucketl had done. They had eight children, but these she sent to a Tekwedih house for safety. Her clansmen tried to bring her to their house, but she refused."'4 From time to time the Tekwedih fired shots at Nawucketl' s house. They had a Russian cannon and they appointed Anda'h, Nawucketl's eldest son, to aim the cannon at the posts of his father's house. But he purposely aimed just to one side, not wishing to wreck the house or kill those inside. Again the messenger came, stating that only the mother of the murderer would serve to avert bloodshed. At this Nawucketl gave up and sent word that Tuwah would come out to be killed. But he asked for a little time so that Tuwah might eat for a last time. This was granted. The house had three platforms, and there were pits under these for protection against gun fire. The smoke hole was opened, oil was poured on the fire, and they feasted with Tuwah. Then he was dressed in his ceremonial costume. In the meantime Nawucketl's wife ordered the slaves to clear and clean the area in front of the house where Tuwah was to die. Then she had the slaves cover the area with sand and finally she took the sails from their canoe and spread them over the sand. Finally Tuwah put on the Eagle hat which the Xashittan had acquired from the Nexadi.8'5 "83Called the Tauya t, "flat heads," from their custom of flattening the skull. '84The eldest son was Anda'h. A younger son, Gantcu'h, was GM's father. The date therefore is probably about 1860. 8'5This was acquired as a part of the peace price in the war at Loring. The Nexadi did not have funds to pay the blood price Nawucketl now sent word to the Tekwedih to get ready. They ranged themselves in front of the house, and a young fellow named Kucaka'k was chosen to shoot Tuwah. Nu- wacketl's wife took her place at the foot of the steps as the Tekwedih started the song which was the signal that Tuwah was to come out. Tuwah's mother stood just inside the door. Nawucketl dressed himself in a costume like that of his nephew Tuwah and intended to go out with him, to die with him. The two started out, Nawucketl resting his head on his nephew's back. But as they reached the door, Nawucketl's wife shouted at him, "Hedaxoh xohik!" (hey, hey, look out!). This distracted him, and his sister threw the bolt so he could not go out. Tuwah started down the steps, turning "sunwise" (counterclockwise) on each step. Halfway down he fired his gun in the air, meaning that he was again killing Kactan.'"8 Now Nawucketl's wife walked backward in front of Tuwah so that her clansmen in shooting him would kill her also. But when Tuwah reached the center of the cleared space he was shot and killed, but she was not injured. His clansmen came out and carried his body into the house. The whole village was now afraid that Nawucketl would continue the feud, for he was rich and his clan was strong. But he came out and offered peace instead, "talking back- ward" (kuxdegakautih), meaning that his mind went back to peace. That same year he was "captured" for a kuwakan ("deer," i.e., hostage and peacemaker). But when the Tekwedih offered to make a mask for him he refused, saying he already had one. This caused some fear that he might still have it in mind to reopen the feud. After the second and third dances they again offered to make him a mask, but each time he refused. As he rose to do his fourth and last dance he waved his eagle tail fans the wrong way, as if he intended war. He had his helpers (brothers-in-law) put up a screen. As he danced out from behind this he was wearing a headdress which had eight points on it. As he sat in front of the Tekwedih his helpers ordered the Tekwedih to go to him one by one and ask, "My uncle's brother-in-law, why are you dressed that way?" But he answered nothing. Last to ask him this was Kukasgih. He came around sunwise, pointed his staff at one of the points, and said, "What is here?" Nawucketl named his first child. When Kukasgih touched the second point, the second child was named, and so on for all eight. This meant that the eight points of the headdress stood for his eight children; that because of his love for his children (who were Tekwedih) there would be no more war. Then eight times he said to the Tekwedih, " Gitla'h akkaniga n" 187 (make noise, my brothers-in-law), and each time they said "waw+ " and beat their drums. After this Nawucketl sang his four songs and danced.'88 One reason that Nawucketl's heart was turned toward peace was that his wife (a Tekwedih) had cleaned the place where his nephew would fall, thus showing "respect" for of a Xashittan woman killed by the Nexadi several generations back. The eagle crest is therefore probably a newly acquired one, as is borne out by the fact that no Xashittan personal names refer to Eagle. Only the Xashittan of the Tantakwan have the right to the crest. "86Those dying a violent death go to the sky (ki'wa), whereas the souls of others roam around back of the village. Shooting into the air thus symbolized that even in the next world the two would fight. "87The word aksatkiga'n (my masters) is usually used instead of akkanigan, because he is their "prisoner," they having "cap- tured" him. l"'In this peace ceremony the Tekwedih and Daklawedih as the Wolf moiety occupied one side of the house, while the Xashittan and Ganaxadih as the Raven moiety occupied the other. 92 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT his child. And he decided to show her and her clan "re- spect." Thus twice she had prevented further feuding. A Ganaxadih man named Cakle'n and his wife Ni'tcK of Bear House of the Tekwedih clan were very wise peo- ple. She was the daughter of Gaanisten, the famous sha- man. They had many children, all noble and wise. From Caklen, GM learned most of the old lore. He was GM's mother's mother's brother. By repute he knew more than anyone else about the Tantakwan. The Xetlkwan, also known as the Xtel Tekwedih, lived at the village in Naha Bay. Some of them had married Tantakwan Ganaxadi and often came to visit. The Tanta- kwan usually went to the mouth of the Nass for eulachon oil. On one trip two Xetlkwan men, brothers, were with them. On the return trip a stop was made at Kanaxana't (Kanaganut Island). TAnguyeh was a young Ganaxadi who had taken his deceased uncle's position and had married the widow. One of the Xetlkwan brothers, Xuka'h, fell in love with her, and the two were having an affair. The hus- band became aware of this but said nothing and talked and acted as usual.189 But he carried his war knife on a string under his robe. On one occasion the people were gambling at wasatlka'h (a game in which the sticks are in bundles of bark). Tanguyeh and Xukah were bystanders. One of the gamblers cheated, was caught, and a quarrel began. Xukah entered the argument and Tanguyeh asked why he was butting in. The two began to quarrel and Tanguyeh drew his knife. Xukay was unarmed so he ran down the beach. But he stumbled and fell and Tanguyeh killed him. The Ganaxadih took Tanguyeh's brother, made him a "deer" in the peace ceremony, and paid a high blood price for Xukah. But years later the Xetlkwan (Xetl Tekwedih) sent word to the village Takuani that they were coming to war on the Tantakwan Ganaxadi. So the Tantakwan built a fort in Tam- gas Harbor and called it Tcik!a'ni (from a berry). The Xetlkwan had a fort at Loring called Gaxkagagnu. At this time [about 1850 or 1860] Cantagu'h was the Ganaxadi chief. Word came that Xukah's namesake and successor (who was one-eyed) was practicing at war; that he was an ex- pert with a Hudson's Bay musket; that he used buLttons as targets, calling them "eyes of the Ganaxadi. " In late spring the Xetlkwan came. They landed about two miles from the Ganaxadi fort. But their war leader made a speech, saying that the "body was paid for" and that they should go to the fort to dance, not to attack. He said, "Let us go to the Ganaxadi stern foremost." (For attacking, canoes land bow on, while a stern landing indi- cates peaceful intent.) They agreed and started to push off. But Xuka stood up, kicked his canoe for emphasis, and said, "If we do that, they will say that we came to them in women's dresses." At this, all the warriors shouted "Gwi+ " (meaning, "Hear, hear!") and jumped ashore to attack overland. Three akkani (brothers-in- law) were left to watch the canoes. (Xuka's war name was Wa*acga'h.) It was night and eight sentries were on duty at the fort. These went to bed as soon as they heard the cry of a cer- tain bird, for attacks were always made at daybreak. When the sentries came in, Cantaku and his wife went out to the beach to relieve themselves. The raiders were hidden alongside a big canoe. They held their fire as the two squatted, for it would have been a disgrace to shoot then. But as they rose they shot, killing Cantaku. His wife gave 189GM states that when he asked Caklen her name, the latter refused to tell, lest at some time GM in a quarrel throw the matter in the teeth of members of her clan. the alarm, saying, "Cantaku is killed." Now the Ganaxadi warriors rushed out, led by Tanguye. The raiders ran, all except Xuka, who had fired the fatal shot. He merely walked backward, his gun empty. Tanguye said, "Little man, I got your message long ago3," and shot him in the left hand, then in the right shoulder so that he fell. Then he raised him up to see if he were dead. Seeing he was still alive, he kicked him, saying, "You are not worthy to be killed against my uncle Cantaku." One of the war leaders of the Ganaxadi was Caklen. He led his men and overtook and cut off the raiders halfway to their canoes. Here the shooting began. Some of the fathers of the Ganaxadi were observers, watching to see who killed whom so that in the peacemaking they could help effect a settlement. Tanguye killed seven men, his father loading his gun for him each time. Then the father said, "Son, you have killed enough." So Tanguye stepped out to call a halt. The enemy should have waited for him to speak, but instead they shot, killing him. The man who fired now sang his war song. The Ganaxadi were now thoroughly angry! A clansman of Tanguye's, Yetltcge't, had killed eight of the enemy but he, too, was killed. It seemed that only Ganaxadi nobles had been killed, and this angered them all the more. They killed all the raiders. But Xuka was only wounded and was able to hide himself. A man named Cakwani, of the Daklawedih clan, found him and Xuka cried out to him, "'rcihkunih xwatguk" ("I wring your daughter's dress," i.e., he was pleading for mercy). These were cowardly words, but Cakwani helped him along. But a Ganaxadi man named Xetltctca k ("thunderbird catching whale") came up, clubbed Xuka with his gun, saying, "I, too, have been getting your messages, little man." A young lad of the Ganaxadi, named Tlexilh, was handed a spear and told to stab Xuka. As he ran at Xuka, the latter raised his arm to ward off the blow, which only a coward would do. The spear struck Xuka in the arm and he cried "u+ " like a coward instead of a brave man's cry of "hu+!' This disgusted his savior Cakwani, and he threw him aside in disgust. Then all the Ganaxadi poured shots into his body for two hours because of his insulting messages. Of all the raiders, only the three kanigan returned to Loring. That same day the Tantakwan moved from the fort and arrived off Point Davidson in the evening. They slept in their canoes that night. The northern lights seemed to flicker among the canoes and to make a soft sound of wuh wuh. It was the spirits of the dead doing this. And it is a sure portent of war. The people slept badly and dreamed of the fighting. Caklen as leader now led them to the south shore of the west arm of Moira Sound. There they built a fort on two islands which joined together at low tide. They called it Dexnu (double fort). Inside the walls they built four houses. At Loring there were only the women in the fort. When the returning canoe was sighted, Xuka's mother met it to get the news. She was told, "Xetlkwa ni wutxa" (The Xek- kwan have all been killed). Then she asked, "What became of my son?" and one of the three survivors said, "Xetta- xoxo" (He turned coward). At this she took her knife, sharpened it well, and then said, "I wonder what my son thought, at the end of his life." So saying, she cut her own throat, completely severing her head, it is said. It was Caklen's uncle who was the first casualty of the battle, so Caklen was the natural leader as the war con- tinued. He chose eight men to be his war leaders. Four were Tcat, Tetl, XetltcakU, and Kucxit. Now only six men of the Xetlkwan remained. These had been away at the time of the disastrous raid. They 93 94PANTLROPOLOGICAL RECORDS hired a shaman from Wrangell to serve as a war shaman. It was the time of the salmon run. These six landed at Tagwani (New Metlakatla), where the deserted houses were full of property. They set fire to all the houses re- gardless of clan, and the whole town was destroyed. The Tantakwan saw the smoke from their fort. Caklen took his eight leaders and about thirty others to investigate. Off Dall Head (the southern tip of Gravina Island) they saw four deer on the islets. They killed three and were looking for the fourth. One of the men shouted at the others that they should be moving on. The raiders at Tagwani heard the shout and took to their canoes. (The distance is about 10 miles.) The shaman had, in all his trances, mentioned the name Caklen. Now he wedged himself under the thwarts, thus representing that he was holding Caklen down. As the Tantakwan approached, Caklen ordered his men to pretend to paddle rapidly but he kept careful watch. The raiders hid behind the smouldering house posts. With them was the nephew of the shaman, a lad of twelve. He heard the Xetlkwan leader say that if they did not succeed in killing any Tantakwan, they would take him, the nephew, as a slave. When he told his uncle this, the latter uttered a cry and rose up, breaking the thwart, thus freeing the soul of Caklen. When two hundred yards offshore Caklen saw one raider peeking from behind a post of Bear House. Caklen shouted to his men to turn back. As they turned, those on shore fired. Caklen ordered his party to hold their fire. A man on shore named Kitcgu'h fired his pistol and the bullet struck near the canoes. Just then a fair breeze sprang up and Caklen ordered the sail set. In the excite- ment the lines became fouled, but they got away and re- turned to Double Fort. The Tekwedih and Daklwaedih clans of the Tantakwan had lost heavily in the fire. Caklen told his men to cook the deer. Then he invited the Tekwedih and Daklawedih to eat. They came with their knives in full view because they half expected trouble with their brothers-in-law, the Ganaxadi.190 Caklen and his eight men sat on a high platform above the door, their guns pointed at the guests. But the feast was without incident. After the Tantakwan had secured enough food for the coming winter, they looked for a better place for a fort. They chose an islet between Cat Island and Duke Island called Das6xa'kU (sand around). In time this grew to be a village. At this time, probably about 1870, GM's father, Gantcu'h, was grown and married. He built a house at Desaxaku (Port Tongass) named Canaxhr't (valley house). It had eight terraces inside. No other house in the town had more than four terraces. He owned about sixty slaves -men, women, and children. In the festivals he and his slaves danced with the Tekwedih, so that the visiting guests would think that the local Tekwedih were numer- ous and powerful. One Tekwedih was named from this, Nacagatlaxe'n (clan made numerous). Another was called Gandaxxu'k ("every day new sand around the fire," mean- ing there were slaves enough so that each day they could perform this task). Gantcuh seldom left the village but had the slaves do all his work. The Tekwedih had four other houses in the village, Xutshrt (bear house), Katshrt (referring to Kats, the man who married a bear), Xetlhrt (thunderbird house), and Hrnkahrt (house on the water). "KIt must be remembered that the basic trouble was between the Raven Ganaxadi and the Wolf Xetltekwedih, and the two moie- ties, regardless of clan, were potential enemies. When visitors came to the village, Gantcuh always met them at the beach and helped them carry things to the houses. Then he would order his nephews to invite the visitors for a feast. Often the nephews would drum and dance as if the visitors were famed strangers. This he sometimes arranged even for local chiefs who were re- turning. Thus he would honor them. Gantcuh was famed as a dancer and as a composer of songs. A Klawak chief named Tltsa' -an was also noted for his songs and dances. His songs often contained boast- ing words. This chief once came to visit and was invited in to Thunderbird House. When Gantcuh heard of his visit, he put on his dance outfit. In Thunderbird House the guests were fed dried halibut and eulachon oil. Then someone shouted to Tltsaan, "Someone is running here to harm you!" This frightened him and he jumped from his seat to the house platform. At that instant the drum sounded outside and Gantcuh came in dancing as his aides sang. Tltsaan lost face because he had been afraid. Thus they "hit him with dancing." After the dance Gantcuh asked the visitors to his house where he entertained them. The next winter Tltsaan sent word that he and all the other Klawak Tekwedih would come down for the winter dances. After they arrived they were feasted. Then all of them burst out singing, each rendering his own song. That is, all but Tltsaan, who had not appeared. At last his name was called out, and he jumped into the house and began a salmon dance. After this the local Tekwedih went out and put on their dance costumes. As they came back in singing one of them called out, "A really big yek (spirit) is coming." Now, a belch is called a "woman's yek" and a local man shouted, "Let all the women's yeks (belches) hide themselves! For a really big yek is com- ing!" Thus they referred to Tltsaan as a belch. So by this they caused Tltsaan to lose face again. Gantcuh was such a great chief that when he went to visit, a cannon was fired to salute him as he neared the village. On one occasion he went to visit a Haida chief at Klankwan, bringing with him fifty gallons of Hudson's Bay rum. As was usual, the local chief sent a small canoe to learn who was arriving. Gantcuh's speaker stood in the bow and told that it was Gantcuh. The messengers dashed back to tell their chief. On the second day it was Gantcuh's turn to sing and dance. He had a flintlock musket with a flaring muzzle. This was loaded with eagle down with only a small amount of powder. As a cup of rum was handed the host this gun was fired and the air was filled with down. At this the host said, "I've lived a long time. Always I've shot chiefs to pieces (i.e., bested them). But this time Gantcuh has shot me to pieces. WAR WITH THE HAIDA One year after the trip to the Nass for oil the Tanta- kwan camped on a beach at the north end of Kanagunut Island. The Grtlhaiyukwan (Masset Haida) were noted for their slave raids. One of their chiefs named Skakah had grown rich in this way. He had a younger brother named Gaana'h. Led by Skakah the raiding party surrounded the camp of the Tantakwan. At the instant the raiders struck, Caklen jumped from his bed and the spear intended for him hit the ground where he had lain. Another Ganaxadi chief, Kukti'tc, was sleeping alongside and he was slightly wounded. The two ran to the beach, followed it for a way, then went into the woods. Caklen dressed Kuktitc's wound with skunk cabbage leaves and pieces torn from his shirt. The Haida captured eight of those in the camp, killing all the others. The captives were taken to Masset. Among 94 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT them was Katltsiya k, the niece of Gantcuh. The two sur- vivors hid out in the center of the island. Later they used a log to cross to Sitklan Island. From there they crossed to the mainland and after a time made their way to Duke Island. A Ganaxadi chief of the Tantakwan named Kle'xe had a camp. In the afternoon the refugees saw a canoe pass- ing, manned by Klexe's slaves. The crew were afraid at first but finally came ashore. The two were taken to Klexe's camp where they told their story. The next day Klexe moved his camp, and the whole party returned to Dasaxaku. On the way they stopped at the scene of the raid. The Haida had taken the heads of all the victims except one. They had beheaded Kuktitc's mother, then scalped her. They had taken the scalp, but put marks on the skull and left it. Kuktitc took the skull with him. As they approached the home village they fired two shots as a signal that something was wrong. The usual year of preparation passed before the war on the Haida began. But instead of the Ganaxadi "con- trolling" the war, it was under the direction of the Tekwedih, although the Ganaxadi "owned" it. They "owned" it because Kuktitc was but a lad of sixteen and he was a "child of Tekwedih" (i.e., his father K!eya'-uh was a Tekwedih, the chief of the Xutshittan). A message was sent to the Haida, saying, "Kuktitc's war is coming to you." The Tekwedih of the Sanyakwan sent two canoes of warriors to help. Kuktitc's father was to be war leader, for the Haida had insulted his wife by marking her skull. There were eight canoes of Tantakwan warriors, making ten in all. Before starting, Kuktitc stood up and spoke, "Children of Tantakwan! Do not mourn for me if I should capsize and drown. For that would not be as bad as see- ing my mother's head marked by the Haida." The raiders went to Cape Chacon, then crossed to Graham Island and landed to the west of Masset Harbor. They had no sooner landed than they saw two large canoes come out of the harbor and head toward them. The raiders quickly hid their canoes and gear in the edge of the forest. In the Haida canoes were but ten men, the rest being all women. They had come to dig clams. One man remained in each canoe but did not keep a lookout. Two men of the raiders, Kucge'h of the Sanyakwan and Kikain of the Tan- takwan, ran toward the Haida while the others cut through the woods and surrounded the clam diggers. The Haida saw them only too late, and the raiders were able to kill at will. They captured twenty women as slaves. They took the heads of the others. Then they ran back, launched their canoes, and started for home. They camped that night on Zayas Island and reached home the following day. On the way the Haida women would weep, blow their noses, and flick the mucus off their fingers, and say, "Ga-anaTh tlkula'ng" ("this is Gaanah's fault," Gaanah being the brother of the Haida raiding chief). In time the Tantakwan bought back all those who had been captured by the Haida. The girl Kaltsiyak had been sold to the Tsimshian. But a man named Tsu-uka'h saw her there and told his clansmen. He got together property enough to buy her "for the honor of his father," she being of his father's clan. This ended the war, though the Haida later attempted several raids [as is related here]. The Haida sent word that they were again coming to raid. The Tantakwan were watchful. No one went alone for water. When they went digging clams at least ten canoes formed a convoy. All the men went about armed. Sentries were always on duty. On one occasion the people went to Kelp Island for seaweed. One night as they were eating the evening meal they heard a whistle and an answering one. Caklen (as war leader) posted his eight special warriors as sentries and told the other people to get their sleep. During the night Caklen would call out to one of the sentries, Tcat, asking if he were awake. The lat- ter would spit loudly in anger and say, "I am not sleepy." (The Haida reputedly had a secret medicine which would cause their enemies to fall asleep.) But the Haida did not attack, although they had given the whistling signals. That winter some of the Tantakwan went to Port Simp- son. There the Tsimshian, who knew of the Haida inten- tions, spoke of Caklen as a loon, for the loon never sleeps. The Haida chief, Shaka, sent word that he would call off the cold war, but the Tantakwan did not trust him and re- mained on the alert. But the Haida did not raid again. Among the Tantakwan who had been captured were a Ganaxadi woman named Cage'n and her son Yetlkane'ki (later called Le'he). Her husband was Kacni'kU, a Nexadi of the Sanyakwan. A Haida man whose mother's father was a Tlingit helped the two prisoners escape, telling them where a small canoe was hidden.'9' Shaka, the Haida chief, sent word that he was going to raid the Sanyakwan. So the Sanya people built a fort in the estuary of the Unuk River. As the fleet of canoes was on the move, one chief, Kacniku, decided to take those in his canoe into Boca de Quadra. The other chiefs stood up in their canoes and made speeches, trying to persuade him to come with the rest, but he would not. He went up Mar- ten Arm where he rebuilt an old camp house, but put up only a skin for a door. There was a small escape hole at the rear and from this they built a trail into the woods. Kacniku made a long spear and broke up an iron pot to make musket slugs. They practiced at making an escape. One night the dogs barked. The house was surrounded by raiders. Six of them crept to the door. Kacniku waited until two had entered, then he fired and killed both. The others ran away. Yetlkaneki ran out the back but forgot to load his gun. Four Haida captured him on the trail and wounded him. The raiders killed all in the house except Cagen and they took her and Yetlkaneki prisoner. The raiders then went to the Unuk River but made no attack. On the way home the prisoners were covered with blan- kets so they could not tell in what direction they were being taken. One day Yetlkaneki, now a slave, sat pondering his fate. A Haida man came to him and sat down. He pointed out the peak of Duke Island. The man said he was a grand- child (datcxa'n) of the Ganaxadi and would help him. He showed where he had hidden a small canoe and had put dried halibut in it. He told Yetlkaneki to go home via Zayas Island. That night Yetlkaneki went out as if to uri- nate but ran and hid behind a log. He wore a black blanket which the other had provided. When his pursuers gave up he launched the canoe. On the way the paddle broke, but he mended it with strips from the blanket. He arrived home the second day. Later he paid property to his benefactor as if he were buying a slave. This story he told to GM, lest the Haida at some time remark about it. PEACE WITH THE XETLKWAN The Xetlkwan'92 had had war with the Tantakwan Ganaxadi. But early one summer about ten years later 191My informant, GM, was told of this by Yetlkaneki, but only because both were "children of Xutshittan," i.e., both their mothers were born in that house of the Tekwedih. 192Xetl is the name of the Chickamin River in Behm Canal. Actually only the Xetlkwedih clan had "owned" the war, not the other Xetlkwan clans. 95 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS they sent word that they wished peace. All the Tantakwan assembled at the fort called Dasxa'k near Cat Island. Caklen was chief at this time. His son Antxwa'h was now grown and was counted a "prince" of Bear House of the Tekwedih. On top of his father's house, Yetlhit, was a platform, and when the weather was fine Antxwah would sit there, dressed in a Hudson's Bay blanket and kerchief. The Xetlkwan had stopped in Kwain Bay to don their cos- tumes before coming in, and he saw the flash of a mirror. He gave the word. There were seventy canoes, for all the Stikine people came also, Chief Cekc (Shakes) was the leader. Another Wrangell chief was Kaccestu'h. The Tekwedih of the Tantakwan were acting as nakani (liter- ally, "brothers-in-law" serving as arbitrators). The flotilla landed in a bay of Cat Island where they built a mock fort on the beach. In the morning one of them shouted, "Shakes' war is coming!" One of the Tantakwan answered, "Wah sakat ani'kW" (what of it?). After fur- ther bantering, a Tantakwan asked, "How many have you killed already?" For the Tantakwan had killed many but had lost only seven. Chief Tek of the Xetlkwan was chosen as "deer." But the Wrangell people clustered so thickly around him that the Tekwedih could not get at him to "capture" him. He stood atop a rock. The Tekwedih came in a canoe. At their every attempt the crowd blocked them. Finally GM's father dove through between the legs of the "defenders" and hauled him out. Then the other nakani seized him, with the usual cry of "waw+." Tek was taken to Caklen's house where the Ganaxadi "shot" him with only powder in the muskets, and threa- tened him in mock anger in various ways. There was no fire in the house, another "sign" that they intended to kill him. They put him on a box near the fireplace where he sat holding his war knife in his hand. For an hour no word was spoken. Then Tek jumped onto the lower platform and sang, Did you die against the door of the other world, my uncle ? Did you die against the door of the other world, my uncle ? Did you die and let me live with the stones? All must go there, I, too, will go. This meant that he wished to fight and die. At this, Caklen told the nakani to disarm him. So they took away his knife and disrobed him, continually uttering "waw+" to soothe him. Then the Ganaxadi sent the go-betweens for another "deer," this time one named Kakle'nu, a youth. They frightened him, too. Still others were brought in, twenty in all. To each was given something in the way of a gift. Three Ganaxadi chiefs had been killed, Cantaguh, Tanguye'h, and Yetltsge't. Against each of these the Ganaxadi "placed" eight Xetlkwan. That is, according to the eight long bones of the body, so they counted each of the three chiefs as worth eight commoners, for no Xetl- kwan chiefs had been killed. (And during the war Tanguye had said to Xekah as he struck him, "You are not worthy to be killed to balance my uncle.") There was an interval of silence, then Caklen rose and said to his wife, "Nitck, give the blankets away." She handed out three blankets. [Giving a mere three was in itself almost an insult.] But another Banaxadi chief, Nawada'wtc, gave a slave and considerable property. Then Caklen addressed Tek as follows, "Tek, I do not feel kindly toward you. Why should I put these goods in front of you to pay for your uncle's dead body? Cantaku was killed, and I am not satisfied as to how he was killed. Now it will be your duty to answer me when I've finished. See if you are satisfied. It will be eight men against my uncle's death, eight men against Tanguye, and eight men against Yetltsget." But Tek gave no reply, showing they would be satisfied. This ended the part of the ceremony by the Tantakwan. The go-between (nakani) for the Xetlkwan called Caklen out to be "deer." He was "dugegi," against and equal to Tek. He came out of his house dressed for war and was duly "captured." (This part of the ceremony must be in a different house.) There was no payment, for the pay- ments had been made in the Tantakwan part. After the ceremony Tek stayed with the Tantakwan while Caklen went to Killer Whale Fort at Loring with the Xetlkwan.193 There he was taken to a house where Tek's sister lived and was put at the rear (i.e., the "head") of the house. The Xetlkwan gathered round. There was no fire burning, a bad sign. This worried Tek's sister, for it meant that they intended to kill Caklen, and he was "against" her brother. She secretly gave Caklen a knife, but he spat loudly and threw it in the ashes, saying, "So many deaths we have already had. And I would be killed for them! So why do you wish me to play with this little knife? " But at this the Xetlkwan chief said the pacifying phrase "waw+" four times. Later Xetlkwan went again to the Tantakwan, and the final peace ceremonies were held. THE FEUD WITHIN THE GANAXADI CLAN This feud occurred about 1880 while the Tantakwan were living at Port Tongass. Yacut was a shaman, the nephew of Chief Caklen. Yacut built Raven House'94 at Cat Island even before Caklen's death. It was built in Caklen's honor, as his memorial, just as if he had already died. Yacut did this to show how much he honored his uncle. Yacut was married to Tatlgeh, a Daklawedih woman, the daughter of Chief Kadjagu't of the Ganaxadi clan. She had been raised by Kadjagut's nephew, her mother having died. Yacut decided he wanted to marry a second wife, a woman named Katldatl (bear's "heavy mouth") of Thunder- bird House of the Tekwedih clan. Tatlgeh was not happy over this, for the proposed second wife was not of her clan. But Yacut married the woman anyway. So Yacut "gave" (promised) Tatlgeh to a "younger brother," a man named Xatlse x, of the Ganaxadi. He was GM's mother's brother. (This was the custom when a wife was thus dissatisfied. The wife was then called ka xandaka n (waiting for husband) and the prospective husband was called (in this case) tatl- gexandaka'n (literally, Tatlgex's sitting-byman). This "giv- ing" was done only within a kin group, for example, when the two men had a great-grandfather in common). Xatlsex believed in Yacut's good faith and acted toward him as a prospective son-in-law should. He brought him fresh fish, game, and furs. This he did so that at Yacut's death there would be property on hand so that he, Xatlsex, could at once carry out the burial feasts and move in to take Yacut's place. Thus it was better to give to Yacut than to Tatlgex's uncle. The two "betrothed" would take walks and talk together, but did not sleep together. On one occasion Tatlgex went 193This was to ensure against a reopening of hostilities be- fore the final ceremonies. 194The Tekwedih or some other group of the Wolf moiety must do the building of a Raven moiety house. 96 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT to fetch water and Xatlsex followed her. She set her bucket down, and seated herself while Xatlsex sat down a little way off. Yacut, meanwhile, had seen some ducks and went to try to kill some. He happened to see the couple sitting together and walked toward them. The woman turned to Xatlsex and said, "Your (clan) brother is coming." Yacut hid behind a tree and aimed his gun at Xatlsex. When Tatlgex saw this she threw herself in front of Xatlsex to protect him. Yacut pulled the trigger but the gun misfired. Tatlgex cried to Xatlsex to run, which he did. This he should not have done, but should have stayed to make peace with his "brother." Yacut and the woman went home. Hearing of the incident, some men went to find Xatlsex and he was brought back to his own house. After he had eaten, his uncles persuaded him to go to Yacut, thus showing his willingness to forget the matter. But he hid a sawed-off musket under his blanket, went out and twice walked past Yacut's house but did not go in. He returned late, giving his uncles the impression that he had accomplished his mission. The next morning Yacut came, stood in front of the house where Xatlsex lived, and made an angry speech in a loud voice. A man who was down at the beach on an errand of nature saw him. Yacut went back to his house but returned carrying a sword which had been given him. He tried to push in the door. One of those inside threw off the bar and opened the door. As he did so Xatlsex shot Yacut, killing him. Then he ran to the dead man, took the sword and stood over him, making the raven cry. Yacut's body lay where it fell until afternoon when it was carried to his house. Yacut's household decided that Xatlsex must be killed to even the score. The whole clan, except Xatlsex's house- hold, took the side of Yacut's kin in the matter. Kinanuk was chosen to call Xatlsex out when the avengers had surrounded the house. But two others of Xatlsex's house- hold chose to go out with him, thus showing their feelings in the affair and their willingness to be killed with him. Early the next morning Kinanuk gave the call and those in Xatlsex's house answered, "0+ he he he," indicating he was about to appear. Xatlsex came out, gun in hand. When he was about fifty feet from the house, Kinanuk fired but the shot only broke Xatlsex's leg. Xatlsex fired, wounding two of the avengers. GatCXau', one of the men who had come out with Xatlsex, now ran to Kinanuk (whose gun was now empty) and clubbed him with his gun, knocking him down. Then he stood over the fallen man and said, "Xetaxo! Little man, get up!" Kinanuk got up, but was again knocked down. Gacxau then shot but only creased Kinanuk across the ribs. Gacxau, instead of running for cover, now danced about, indicating his willingness to be shot. They fired at him but only wounded him in the leg. The second man with Xatlsex was loading his gun at the door when one of the avengers fired through a crack from the rear of the house, killing him. The attackers now fired re- peatedly at Xatlsex, finally killing him. As they were firing he imitated a wounded bear, indicating that he was xutsyaddi, that is, a "child" of the clan of the attackers (Tekwedih, whose chief crest was bear). As he did this pantomime, dogs yapped at him, and he killed several with the sword. Members of the Tekwedih clan stood behind the avengers, watching. Because of Xatlsex's acting like a bear the Tekwedih sent one of their number to Xatlsex with the Bear Hat and put it on him so he could die thus. As this man went over to Xatlsex the avengers threatened to fire on him, but the Tekwedih warned them of the con- sequences. A man named Hedja kU had killed the man at the doorway, and it was he who fired the final fatal shot at Xatlsex. The three dead men were carried in and laid at the "head" of the house; while the dead Yacut lay at the "head" of his own house, the wounded men of his group at either side. Andah was the father of both Yacut and Kinanuk and the next day he came and said that if the wounded Kinanuk died, then all the women of Xatlsex's household were to become slaves. Members of the Tekwedih clan now en- tered the affair, for these women were their "aunts" (father's sisters). One of them, Gutcwu'h, said to Andah, "These women are our aunts. We are their children. If you take them as slaves for the death of your sons, then we Tekwedih will separate from this town. And we will fight with you as long as any of us is alive. Then you can make slaves of these women." At this, Andah went home; he had no answer. But Andah returned, this time saying that his side had decided that if Kinanuk died, then Skauwutlye'tl [GM, my informant] was to be killed "against" him. Of Xatlsex's household there remained now only Skauwulyetl and his "uncle" Tanguyeh (both mere lads) and the three women. The women said that if Andah's side did this, they would come out to be killed with Skauwutlyetl. Next ddor to Xatlsex's house was a Daklawedih clan house, that of Kutci c, the brother of the woman Talgeh. Kutcic and his housemates now smuggled the five from Xatlsex's house into their own. Here they dressed the two lads in the ceremonial garb for their going out to be killed. But Kutcic said that at the death of the two boys all the Daklawedih would take up the feud. Kutcic was counted as the "grandfather" of Skauwutlyetl and he, too, decided to run out with the boys. A crest of the Daklawedih is the Killer Whale, and the faces of the three were painted in the design called kitk!Lssiih (killer whale's jaw). But Kinanuk did not die from his wounds, so nothing came of this and a mourning feast was held for Yacut. The man named Hedjaku who had killed Xatlsex and the man at the door was the cousin of Skauwutlyetl's mother's mother and he now came to her to mourn. He asked that he be allowed to build a house to be called Ganwutlacihr`t in memory of the two men he had killed. She consented, so he hired the Tekwedih to tear down Xatlsex's house. (It had had no name until now, but now it was to receive a great and ancient name.) So the house was built and decorated with three starfish painted on the front. When the house was finished, Hedjaku went to Cape Fox to invite the Sanya Tekwedih to the feast. (The Nexadi of Sanya were not invited because they had given over the Raven digging stick to the Tantakwan Ganaxadi and so were now counted as "brothers" of the Ganaxadi, and guests must be of the opposite moiety.) In the feast the Tantakwan Daklawedih and Tekwedih sat on one side of the house, the Sanya Tekwedih on the other, according to the rising of the sun. In the festival a man named K!isna kU of the Sanya Tekwedih acted as song leader (cisa ttih) on one side, a man named Tsate't (later called Hagah) on the other side. The Sanya Tekwedih costumed and danced their Bear Dance (xutskle'hi). As they marched in imitation of a bear two of their chiefs rose on their hind legs and wrestled and played like bears. This [somehow] meant that the Sanya Tekwedih were going to "stand against" their present hosts, that is, give a return feast. (In the following years there were many such reciprocal feasts given.) It was now the turn of the Tantakwan guests (i.e., the Daklawedih and Tekwedih). A "drunk" man named AskAdu't 97 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS (also known as Nacagatlaxe'n) came in, made a "drunken" rambling speech. After a time the chief ordered him to be taken.out. But at the door the man asked to sing a song. At the end of his song his clansmen took up the song with a roar-for it was only a stunt and he was not at all drunk! In their dances both clans used the Killer Whale crest, though it belonged only to the Daklawedih. In a Killer Whale dance they sang a song in Tsimshian. In turn the Sanya sang a song in Gunama (Interior Athapascan). The Chief Kutcic came to the door, wearing a Killer Whale headdress, the fin of which was so high it would not pass through the door. His clansmen made as if to cut out the boards above the door. But the fin fell down; then as the dancer entered, it sprang up again. He sang four songs, then proceeded to "devour" a man dressed as a seal. The hosts (Ganaxadi clan) did a dance of Raven pulling the house ashore, with Chief Hedjaku playing the part of Raven. At the end of the festival he took the name Canta- culh.195 Hedjaku sat at the rear (head) of the house, his cousin Cantakuh at the door. Some years earlier Hedjaku's wife had deserted him for Cantakuh and the two had not spoken to each other in years. Now they started a mock quarrel. Cantakuh accused Hedjaku of taking the name Cantakuh without permission. He seized his Raven War Knife and rushed at Hedjaku and in the mock fight he "cut off" Hedjaku's head and it rolled to the floor. At this, Kutcic got up and danced around the fire, lamenting in a Tsimshian song the "death" of his kinsman. The "body" of the "slain" man was carried out and there was further acting as if a feud were starting. The next day Hedjaku distributed the property and took the title Cantakuh, and Cantakuh took the name Caklen. PEACE WITH THE SITKA KAGWANTAN Many years back there had been a war between the Sitka Kagwantan and the Tantakwan Tekwedih, but peace had been concluded. But in that war several children of the Tantakwan Ganaxadi had been killed inadvertently and one had not been paid for. This had not been settled. The Ganaxadi now sent word to Sitka that they were com- ing to make peace. The Kagwantan sent word back that they would accept. As usual, before the Ganaxadi started out they acted as if it were a war expedition, shouting war cries and firing guns. Two canoe loads made the trip. As they passed the village of Kake the people there fired on them, thinking an actual war was on. Yacut, who led the Ganaxadi, had a letter from the American com- mandant of Port Tongass; and he wore the uniform of a U. S. marshal. At Kake there was a Ganaxadi "grandchild" who offered to guide the party to Sitka. On the way they met a canoe of people from Sitka [probably of the Kiksadi clan] who told them that the Kagwantan were going to kill the Ganaxadi in the peace ceremony just as they had killed the Nanyaayi of Wrangell in a similar situation. So the Ganaxadi prepared fine speeches, hoping thus to insure peace. They neared Sitka at dusk and camped nearby, but built no fires. At daybreak they landed their canoes stern foremost (signifying peace) in front of the Kagwantan houses. Caklen made a speech. Then Yacut went ashore in his policeman's uniform and went to the American commandant with his letter. The Kagwantan gathered in the house of their highest chief. The wise chief Gani k of the Tcucanedih clan made a speech to the 195When he died this name went to my informant, GM. Kagwantan, advising peace. In the meantime word came that Yacut had been jailed. This angered the Ganaxadi and they shook their canoes in rage. But the Kake guide offered to go to see what had happened. Finally Yacut returned, accompanied by soldiers. After several hours one of the Kagwantan came out of the house and, addressing Caklen, said, "Aktuh yrk yAddi!196 Do you see the two stones beside you? They look at you with four eyes." (He meant that the Ganaxadi had killed four Kagwantan who had not been paid for.) Then Kuxtitc stood up in his canoe and answered, "My great-grand- fathers! When a girl reaches puberty, they keep her be- hind the curtain. When she comes out her parents take great care of her. Then they look for a husband for her. A young man might come and they would say he was unfit for her. In time they find one who is satisfactory. That is the way I feel about your question. I am not fit to answer you. You are seeking for someone who will answer you rightly, but I cannot." (This meant that the Ganaxadi were not guilty of killing the four.) There was no answer. The Kagwantan understood. They had been "knocked down with talking." Finally the Kagwantan chose Caklen to be "captured" as a "deer." After the mock combat he was taken, the other preliminaries went on, and the peace ceremony was held. In the feast that followed, the Ganaxadi were fed dried halibut with eulachon oil. Half a box of the oil was poured on the fire. The Sitka people did not use bark mats for seats but used halibut skins sewn together instead. One Ganaxadi man who had been overlooked in the serving went up to a Sitka woman, tore off a section of her fish-skin mat, roasted and ate it. This was considered a great joke. The Kagwantan paid for the one Ganaxadi child, giving a dance hat and a few other things. The Ganaxadi were satisfied with the settlement "because the Kagwantan were their ancestors." THE SPIRIT DANCES [The following is a part of GM's narrative and relates what he saw of the so-called "secret-society" dances. These were just beginning to filter into Tlingit culture. None of the Tlingit north of the Tantakwan and Wrangell groups knew of them. Certain features will be seen as directly derived from the tribes to the south. Among the Tlingit (as well as among the Tsimshian and Haida) the dances were made a part of the clan system. As will be seen, the southern Tlingit had recently acquired the dances from the Tsimshian, evidently through marriage.] During the time when the Tantakwan lived at Port Tongass [from 1865 to about 1900] one of the Ganaxadi chiefs was Yacnuc, the father of Kutcic, who was head of Raven's Hat House (YetlsakAhrt). He planned to give a potlatch and called his clansmen in to get their help and advice. The next day he went with one of his slaves to get fire- wood. Toward evening the slave returned, stating that the canoe had capsized. The slave swam ashore, leaving Yacnuc clinging to the overturned canoe. Two canoes went in search of the missing Yacnuc, but they found only the canoe. All the Ganaxadi women then went down to the water's edge and wailed. Out on the water a fire was seen, a sign that a drowning man is saved by kuctakah (a man- like spirit of th.' land otter). So it was said this spirit had 196Literally, "inside of me child," meaning 'my ancestor's grandchild," for the Kagwantan were counted as ancestors of the Ganaxadi, that is through fathers. 98 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT saved him. (At this time Yacnuc had just completed Fort House and erected a totem pole.)'97 The next morning a shout, 'Ha+," was heard as when a drowning person is saved. The cry was given several times. A canoe went to investigate but found nothing. Soon the same cry was heard in the woods back of the village. Then some object struck a Tekwedih house. People were afraid and locked themselves indoors. Soon there were heard poundings on the walls of houses, huffings and snorts at cracks in the walls, and so on. The next morning several small canoes were found leaning against houses. When things like this happen the rescued one is con- sidered to be out of his mind (yakanace'n) and a valued object belonging to him is put out as "bait" as part of the effort to capture him. Sakc was a young lad, the grandson of Yacnuc. He was a half-breed with curly hair which had been allowed to grow. The Ganaxadi now took him, painted his entire body black, and put on him a tail like that of an otter. The "bait" put out was a bear robe hung on a line between Sea Lion House (Ganaxadi) and Valley House (Tekwedih). Sakc was told to steal this robe. The Tekwedih watched hoping to catch the "drowned" man, for if they succeeded they would receive much in the potlatch. But Sakc suc- ceeded in getting the robe without being caught. Next a Chilkat blanket was put on a stump at the beach. Yacnuc was seen to come, accompanied by two others (men dressed as otters), and they played together. Sakc was able to get the blanket without the Tekwedih catching him. Again Yacnuc and the two "otters" were seen playing on the snow. (By now everyone knew that all this was trickery and part of a plan.) Finally came the night of the feast in the new house. The noise of the "otters" grew louder. Four men of the Tekwedih clan were chosen to put out "bait" for the creatures. These men were chosen because one of their ancestors had had Ganaxadi wives so they would be Ganaxadi brothers-in-law. The "bait" would be some- thing this ancestor owned. The bait was tied to a stick and the men went out in turn, crying "ha+ " as they searched. Each of the first three came running back in fright. The fourth man was Gutcwulh (also known as Keya-u), GM's stepfather. He was the son of Yacnuc's great-uncle. He came running back, shouting, "They have taken the bait!" He now started a song and every- one joined in. At the end of the song, Yacnuc and the two "otters" came in, Yacnuc wearing a mask with a huge mouth and thick lips (these features deriving from his eating without hands). A Kiksadi clan man then went up to him, but Yacnuc snorted at him and the man fell over, kicking and out of his mind (for Yacnuc was now a land otter spirit, kuctAka h). The Ganaxadi now began a mock debate as to how they could bring the stricken man (the Kiksadi) to his senses. One said to cut his scalp, then pour urine over him. So two men held him, another pretended to cut his scalp. A bladder of "blood" was emptied over his head, then a box of urine was poured over him. The whole house stank! It was now the turn of the Tekwedih to perform.'98 Chief Andah came in and as he reached the fire an attendant put a red-hot stone on his head. The smoke of burning 197The planned festival was to be the grand celebration of this, and all the make-believe involved formed part of an intri- cate plan. 198During this festival the Sanya Tekwedih sat on the right side, the Tantakwan Tekwedih along the left; the Ganaxadi women sat at the rear ("head") of the house, and the Ganaxadi men hosts ranged along the door end. hair and flesh rose, but he walked slowly round the fire, then let the stone fall, where it burned a hole in the floor. In another trick there were two masked men, each each with a pole at his side. The poles moved from one to the other of their own accord. In still another trick a board painted like a rainbow passed through a man's body. The next day the giving-away part of the potlatch was held. On another occasion Santagoh gave a feast for his son Kutcic (of the Daklawedih clan). Three of Yacnuc' s nephews had died and were buried in a grave house on a rocky islet off from the village. Yacnuc' s father had built a house for his son and called it GAskuhlt (from an island off Cape Chacon). The Ganaxadi and Daklawedih were in a house, laying plans for the feast. A number of young fellows, including Kutcic, were at the beach, gambling. Someone shouted, "Look at the grave!" There three chil- dren were seen standing on the roof of the grave house. (This was the beginning of the dance society [nuksatti] performances.) Kutcic saw the children and wiped away tears. The gamblers said, "We will quit now." Kutcic picked up his winnings and started to walk away, but fell down in a faint. He was carried into the house and the dance sticks were set up around him. The Ganaxadi (as brothers-in- law) now started drumming and shouting, "Hap."''99 They did this four times. But Kutcic had disappeared and only his clothes remained! (A tunnel had been made from the spot to outside the house and he had made an exit through this.) Early the next morning and again the next evening the Ganaxadi drummed. The second night they sang a new song in the Tsimshian tongue. Kutcic's father had paid the Tsimshian fifty blankets, two guns, and other property for four songs which he had then taught to the Ganaxadi. At the end of each song the performers cried "hap," then continued drumming for perhaps fifteen minutes. The next morning loud cries of "maw, maw" repeated over and over were heard from the water. A huge killer whale was seen at the point, Kutcic standing atop, holding the fin. Someone shouted, "Tantakwan nobles! Come out and see what is coming!" The "killer whale" moved toward the village. The Ganaxadi in costumes of the Yeksa tti (literally, owners of spirits) went down to sur- round it at the beach. Kutcic disappeared inside the killer whale, then appeared again. Kinnanuk was to lasso him with a line of cedar bark dyed red. Kutcic jumped from the creature's back as it sank, and immediately his voice was heard from a tree back of the village. As the people looked to where the sound came from, those on the beach took Kutcic, dressed him like themselves, and thus secretly took him into the dance house. Now from everywhere came the sound of whistles. The next day again someone shouted for people to look. Kutcic was seen running wildly across to the island grave. There he picked up a huge boulder and placed it atop an- other. (This was only a mock-up, a frame covered with a blanket. That night the real boulder was hoisted up and substituted. It is still called Kutcic's stone.) That night Kutcic danced from house to house, turning as he sang. He wore rings of cedar bark on his head. The next two (?) days there were variations of the performance. [This was evidently a Tlingit-Tsimshian variant of the Canni- bal Dance of the Kwakiutl.] [The following is another account of one of the dances by the yeksatti.] Chief Gantcu one evening at sunset called in his clans- men and told them he had in mind giving a yeksatti dance. 199This is the cry of the Cannibal in the dances of the north- ern Kwakiutl. 99 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS Then he went and sat down on the beach. No one paid attention until suddenly he fell over as if dead. Someone shouted, "Gantcu is dead!" His clansmen rushed out, carried him into his house, and set him up at the rear. Everyone in the village now rushed in. Those in the know clustered thickly around the "body." Suddenly the body disappeared, and only Gantcu's painted hat and button blanket (katko h) remained where the body had been. In the turmoil Gantcu had donned the hat and blanket of Chief Kuwanda1h, who was the same bodily size as Gantcu. Thus dressed he mingled with the crowd, but kept his face in shadow. Someone shouted, "It must be that the spirits of his ancestors came to take him away. " Then they got out the rattles and other paraphernalia of the yeksatti spirits and began to sing. Some wept because of what had happened. There were four Tlukana songs sung. The Tekwedih sang for two nights. The morning of the third day someone shouted, "Tan- takwan! Come out and see!" People rushed out and Gantcu was seen out on the water, floating like a dead animal as the whitecaps rolled in. The Ganaxadi launched a big canoe, and Kinnanuk (who was Gantcu's elder brother's son) stood in the bow, holding a harpoon with a bone head. All the men were dressed in bearskin robes and wore cedar bark rings on their heads. The canoe was paddled cautious- ly toward the body, and when near Kinnanuk hurled the harpoon, striking Gantcu in the head. Immediately Gantcu dove, nearly capsizing the canoe, and the canoe seemed to be towed away. Finally the harpoon line broke and the canoe returned. (Actually Gantcu was in the house the whole time. What had been harpooned was only a wood carving. A line was attached which ran to Cat Island where slaves were stationed to manipulate the thing.) That night the Tekwedih again sang the special songs. The following morning again someone shouted, "Tan- takwan! Come and see!" It was Gantcu, walking up out of the water, a harpoon point sticking out of his skull. Kin- nanuk nad others surrounded him, but again he disappeared. (One had carried a costume for him which he donned.) The party came back into the house, singing their special songs in the Tsimshian tongue. The following morning people were again called to come out and see. This time Gantcu was on the beach, hopping about. Kinnanuk lassoed him and the captors started singing and blowing whistles. The "captive" was taken into the house and put behind a screen at the rear. The Tekwedih "brothers-in-law" were then sent out to invite the people in for a feast that evening. They went from house to house, calling out the names of important people, just as is done for a mourning feast. That night when the people had assembled, someone hurt a dog which had been hidden. When the dog howled, the novice (Gantcu) became excited. At this the performers shouted, "Yeksatti has been scared." The novice then dashed out, the costumed performers after him, trying to catch him. If he knocked people down as he ran, these were paid more in the gift-giving. The novice was captured out of doors, the captors singing as they brought him in. One of his clansmen held the rope with which they tied him. The novice kept crying, "Hawp, hawp." Some of his clan sis- ters danced around the fire, holding their hands palms down (whereas the novice always danced palms up). The novice then danced and at the end sat down at the head of the house. Then his "brothers-in-law" did a dance and sang to "tame" him. At the end of each dance the novice looked up, showing that he was coming to his senses. That same (fourth?) night the property was given away, just as in the ordinary funeral potlatch. The dan- cers, who were of a clan of the other moiety than the novice, got the largest gifts. As the gifts were passed to them the host (the sponsor) said, "You have tamed my nephew." The Tlingit always called the foregoing the Yeksatti (owner of spirits) but knew that the Tsimshian called it the Tlukana (Boas, 1897; Drucker, 1940). (But my in- formant GM was in error. The Tlingit also called these spirits the Tlukana'. See below.) Chief Kudena of the Tekwedih clan bought the dance from the Tsimshian of Metlakatla, and therefore only those of his clan and house (Canahit) had a right to it at first. Later another Tlingit acquired rights to the dance by marrying a Tsimshian woman. It is said the Tsimshian had other and somewhat similar spirit dances. The performance among the Tlingit always formed a part of the mourning rites and would not be performed at other times. Only males were eligible as members. The words of all the songs were in Tsim- shian. Other "tricks" performed were water-walking (by means of a subjerged canoe that was pulled by a secret line) and the lifting of a huge "boulder" (which was really a frame covered with a blanket). Chief Xacgac once went, about 1885, to visit a Tsim- shian chief at Port Simpson. As usual his canoe was met offshore, and he told what chief he was coming to visit. He was escorted in. While he was there the chief of an- other clan and house died. The nephew of the dead chief came over and invited Xacgac and his men to the other house. As they were putting on their ceremonial garb a woman named Yatltcgumi'k warned them, saying, "Xacgac, they intend to kill you. That is why they invited you." (She warned them because one of her ancestors had married a Tantakwan, so she counted them as relatives and thus she honored this deceased ancestor.) But Xacgac scoffed at the idea and said they would go anyway. His "bow man" (head warrior) was Nagukle'n. All the men except Xacgac loaded their guns and walked in at the ready. The body lay in state at the head of the house, the nephew seated beside it. The Tantakwan were ushered to a place at the left of the body. The visitors kept their guns pointed at the chiefs present, except Naguklen who aimed at the corpse. For more than an hour not a word was spoken. The nephew really intended to kill Xacgac, for both the Tlingit and the Tsimshian followed the custom of killing someone when a great chief died. This was to show their great sorrow. Everyone waited for the nephew to speak, to give the word to his people whether or not to fight. At last he turned and ordered the fire built so that the visitors could be fed. But the Tantakwan ate with guns ready and Naguklen kept his aimed at the body. After eating they returned to the house and their host. The Nass Tsimshian Tekwedih clan (called by them Laxkibu, "bear clan")200 invited the Tantakwan Ganaxadi clan to a feast. Several canoe-laods went. The Nass chief was Li'dax and the village was Xtklak-ati ("herring rake island") [probably Lage x]. It so happened that all the Tantakwan clans were on their way to the Nass to get eulachon. The chief heard that all the Tantakwan were coming for eulachon so he sent word downriver to Chief 1actan of the village of Gi'dfc to stop them. Kactan sent his nephews out, called the visitors in and fed them. He told that Lidax was planning a feast and was glad so many had come. Early the next morning Lidax came, anchored his canoe offshore, put on his dance hat and dance. Then he made a speech, saying he wanted his "brothers-in- law," the Ganaxadi, to stay a part of the winter with him. The Ganaxadi argued among themselves. Some were for 2DGarfield (1939:173) renders this as Laxgibu, lax, on; gihao, wolf. 100 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT refusing because Lidax had not come to their village to invite them; others wished to stay, to honor the host. Chief Kuwagetl of the Ganaxadi was a "grandchild" of the Tsimshian Tekwedih. He made a speech to his people, relating the story of the Duke Island man who refused to eat the mixture of snow and oil. He asked them if they were going to "close the door to the other world" by re- fusing, for the Nass Tekwedih were kinsmen. He spoke thus because he had a feast in mind and he wished to invite the Nass Tekwedih to this. All the Ganaxadi agreed to stay. A few men of the Tantakwan Tekwedih stayed also, those whose wives were Ganaxadi. The next day a big canoe-load of Ganaxadi returned home to get their ceremonial costumes. Chief Kuwagetl took GM along as a song and dance leader (cisa.tti). On the way Kuwagetl instructed GM in what would be ex- pected of him, for this was to be the first time he had served as song leader. The party stopped for two weeks at Giditc, every day practicing their songs and dances. Special props included a snowshoe with a face at the tip and a huge ceremonial bow with a face at either end. At last Lidax came to give the formal invitation. Seven clans-six Tsimshian and the Tantakwan Ganaxadi-were to be the guests. Lidax and his party stayed at Giditc for four days and there were feasts and dances. Then every- one went up to Lidax's village, Xiklakati. Other guests were the Tsimshian of Kincolith, where Paul Lidax, son of Lidax, was chief. Offshore from Xiklakati the Ganaxadi danced in their canoes. This the Tsimshian thought strange, for it was not their way. The feast house was full of people. The Ganaxadi sat on the right wall near the front, their two song leaders, Kinac (Thomas Edgar) and GM in front ofthem. Along the rear ("head") wall was a row of boxes. There was no potlatch property in sight, which the Tlingit thought strange. A short distance from the door was a post twelve inches in diameter, reaching to the peak, and on it were bear footprints. Near its top, tied to a limb, was a box like a coffin covered with a mat which had a diagonal design. The hosts said this was their ancient style of burial. The host chief was nowhere to be seen, and people asked each other where he could be. Finally a "brother- in-law" of the host, named Haim'ac,21 was called on to search for him. Haimac stood near the fire and said the host was hiding on the pole. He ordered that a bow and arrows be brought, saying he would kill Lidax for thus inviting guests and then hiding! He put on a sleeveless shirt and aimed the arrow at each clan-group present which had intermarried with Lidax's clan. Then he shot twice at the mat covering the box, each time striking the band of the design. As he fired the second arrow some- one struck up a song, the double doors of the house opened, and Lidax pranced in, an arrow "piercing" his chest. The Tekwedih clan of both Tsimshian and Tlingit "own" the big (feast) fire as a crest. The Tsimshian men who were married to Tekwedih women now emptied five boxes of oil on the fire. The smoke hole was opened wide and the flames roared almost to the ceiling. The song leaders, seated near the fire, were almost roasted, yet had to remain seated. Finally some of the "brothers-in- law" shielded them with wet blankets. Lidax then did a dance, dressed in a dance hat, a Chil- kat blanket, and using two rattles. There were two boxes of eagle down and these were dumped over his head until the air was full of down. He then made a speech to his 2D1This name is undoubtedly from the northern Kwakiutl where the meaning is "chief." guests, carefully naming his Tlingit guests first. Chief Kuwagetl made a speech in reply, ending it by saying to his own clan, "From the beginning your great-uncles have honored Lidax. Now it is your turn. Get up!" Then he called the names of the two song leaders who went to the drums and started a song. The rest of the Ganaxadi joined in, keeping time with eagle feather fans. Two songs were sung, followed by a dance. Then all the guests were fed. The following day there was a great feast of black- berries mixed with oil and water so the mixture could be drunk. There were seventy huge boxes and seven huge trough-dishes of this mixture. Each dish had a name. The guest clans were to compete in eating. The Ganaxadi were united with the Kincolith Ganaxadi as a team and were seated at the head of the house, sharing one trough named "Brown Bear's Trail Dish." As the eating went on, a helper took a ten-gallon box of the mixture, held it up, and jumped atop the seventy boxes at the rear. Lidax then addressed a speech to Kuwagetl, saying the box was his (Lidax's) mother's sewing-kit box but that now Kuwagetl was to eat from it. Kuwagetl made a speech in reply. At its finish he called GM by name and told him to drink it.202 GM was duty and honor bound to finish it off. But when he finished he was helped to a side door by two men. There two women of the host' s clan took charge of him. He barely got outside before he vomited. They gave him water and he vomited more, until his stomach was empty. Kuwagetl by ordering his nephew to drink the mixture gave notice that he would give a feast and invite the Nass Tekwedih. The other guest chiefs were given similar boxes of the mixture, but they only sipped at it, taking the rest home. Had GM failed to get the whole amount down or had he vomited before clearing the door, he would have lost some face but would have been given much property in that part of the ceremony. The next day 200 cases of sea biscuit (pilot bread) were tossed to the guests, three biscuits to each person. This took two days. Chief Yacnuc was married to a Tsim- shian woman who had been his uncle's wife. She told her people not to throw the biscuits but to hand them out. For to the Tlingit such a way of giving was an insult and a man receiving in this way would walk out of the house. In one of the dances a man named Yacilclan and a woman performed, dressed in bearskin robes. He would point at a clan-group, then ask his own clan, "Who are these people?" When he pointed at the clan of Paul Lidax there was no answer, for that clan had turned Christian. At this, Paul Lidax stood up, spat loudly in anger, and said, "Since when did you not know us?" Some of the guests from time to time would stand up and ask for certain things which the host might not have, thus embarrassing him. Thus one night a guest sang and danced with a pipe in his headband, meaning they wanted tobacco. But the host brought out great amounts of tobacco. Another night everyone sang a song referring to dried halibut. Though the Nass does not yield halibut, the host supplied boxes of it. Another time a song referring to bear fat was sung and the host brought out seven boxes of it. [This baiting of the host was undoubtedly pre- arranged.] The Ganaxadi finally went home. They were surprised that no wealth had been given out. It was purely a food festival, and this the Tlingit did not quite understand. The following year Kuwagetl invited the Nass Tekwedih to a potlatch. But only three chiefs (including Lidax) came, 202The nephew thus acted as a stand-in for his uncle. Cere- monially it was as if the uncle had drunk it. 101 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS each accompanied by one son. The feast was held in Raven House. This belonged to Katlan (George Kinanook), who was counted the highest chief of the Ganaxadi. As Lidax's canoe was just offshore a brown "bear" walked along the beach. When the canoe was beached a man in raven costume came out and hopped to a spot behind the bear. The bear tried to catch him, but he dodged away. Then the raven pecked the bear in the rectum, pulling out several feet of "intestine." This was done to mock Lidax because he had given away no property. Then Lidax was called ashore and into the house. The Tantakwan Tekwedih were seated along one side, the Tsimshian Tekwedih on the other. There were dances, then a feast. Chief Kutitc of the host clan then made a speech and called out the name of every man of the host clan. As each name was called that man came up with property which he placed on the pile. Seven hundred and fifty blankets were piled. Lidax was given 180, the others less. Thus the Ganaxadi " covered him with property," that is, belittled him for his not giving out when he was host. There fol- lowed two days of feasting. Then 150 boxes of pilot bread were given to the guests, and Kuwagetl alone gave Lidax 240 blankets. When the guests left, their canoe was loaded full of property. After GM's nephew Kuwage'tl was drowned GM and a few other Ganaxadi went to the Nass to have a funeral feast with the Tsimshian Tekwedih, for these counted the Ganaxadi as klakguna' cuwu'h (kinsmen through ancestors). Chief Lidax treated GM as a chief, sat him at the head of the house, and in his speech said, "The mat is spread" (for a chief). The Tekwedih feasted the visitors, danced and sang songs. Joseph Star, a Tantakwan Ganaxadi, had promised to come also to feast for his dead sister, but he stayed home; during the feasts the cry of the raven was heard down on the beach. Everyone sat quiet, for this was a way of saying that the Nass Tekwedih had re- ceived his message but that he had failed to come. Lidax then sang four songs and one man danced. Then each Tsimshian chief present got up in turn to invite the visitors to his house. The infiltration of Christianity among the Tsimshian was creating some confusion. Chief Klntsad6x of Kincolith, a Christian convert, had died. His (Tekwedih) clan wished to pass the title to his nephew, but the nephew was a Christian and did not wish the title, so he gave it to his brother. But the nephew sang four songs. At the end of the last one the men shed their coats (in lieu of blankets) and held them before the fire, thus "drying their sorrow." This festival lasted four days. The period of the 1880's and 1890's saw a rapid dis- integration of Tlingit culture. The population was rapidly declining, and the impact of American culture was felt with increasing force. Many of the Tlingit were drinking heavily. Jealousies, old feuds, and the ease, almost eager- ness, with which real or fancied insults were taken up caused further disruption. Many of these quarrels, kill- ings, and feuds were traceable to drunken brawls, as some of the following incidents show. My informant, GM, went to Sitka to attend the mission school about 1885. He returned to Port Tongass a Chris- tian and succeeded in converting his brother and step- father. They decided to move away from Port Tongass to be removed from the non-Christians, most of whom drank heavily. They chose Saxman, below Ketchikan, as the best place and moved there. There had long been ill-feeling between the Nexadi clan of the Sanyakwan and the Tantakwan, growing out of the fact that the Nexadi had several times made slighting remarks in speeches. So most of the Sanyakwan now moved to Saxman, while most of the Tantakwan moved to Ketchikan. Chief Kuxtitc of the Ganaxadi was GM's mother's cousin, through two blood brothers. Kuxtitc married Tlketi'tc of Kat's House of the Tekwedih. A Nexadi man of the Sanyakwan, named Kltcxu'n, was married to Katl- ta.'tl, the sister of Kuxtitc's wife. One day all four got drunk. The two sisters got into an argument, pulling hair and hurling insults. Tlketitc made a remark about how low caste the relatives of Kitcxun were. Kuxtitc tried to separate the two women. Kitcxun, thinking he was joining the fight, clubbed Kuxtitc with a gun, crushing his skull so he died a week later. Earlier, GM had returned to Sitka. Before leaving, Kuxtitc had called him in, saying he had a premonition of bad fortune, that he wanted GM to eat with him before going away. He told GM to take care, to be careful in his talk, lest trouble arise. Now word came about the death of Kuxtitc. The Ganaxadi clan gathered in Kuxtitc's house to see what should be done. Chief Cantaku asked them not to start a quarrel now because the dead man's nephews (GM and Chief Johnson) were away, but to wait until they returned. The others, especially those of Raven's Hat House, were in favor of evening the score at once. One of them made a speech and at its end they all cried "gwi+n and ran for their guns to start for Saxman. In Kaceks' house at Saxman all the Nexadi gathered, waiting and armed. The Tekwedih ("brothers-in-law") ran to the Ganaxadi canoe to hold it back so as to avert the quarrel. This angered the Ganaxadi and a new feud almost started. Finally Tanguye, the brother of the dead man, persuaded his clansmen not to go. But the Tekwedih watched to pre- vent the hotheads from going. This they did as long as the body lay in state. Kuxtitic was buried. Kitcxun was ar- rested and taken to Sitka. In Sitka, Kitcxun came (with police escort) to GM to explain how it all had happened. GM told him he was not fit to be killed "against" Kuxtitc, for he was lower; but that he, GM, would kill him nonetheless, except that his Christian beliefs prevented him. In Ketchikan the Ganaxadi waited for word from GM. When he and the other nephew came, GM made a speech pleading for peace. But the other (Chief Johnson) was for war. But GM's advice prevailed and word was sent to the Nexadi. The customary year elapsed before the peace ceremony was held. GM could not return for the ceremony. In the ceremony there was near trouble with mock shooting when the "deer" were to be captured. A Ganaxadi said, "Tell those children of Kucni'ku to be careful how they shoot lest they hit Tanguyetl's body." This referred to an old war in which Tanguyetl had been leader of the Ganaxadi. This angered the Nexadi as they were counted as "children" of the Xetlkwan who were enemies of the Ganaxadi in that war. But it was a warning that if any Ganaxadi were struck, there would be further trouble. Thus they "hit the Nexadi with words." GM's sister HI'ktc ("frog") took his place as "deer" in the ceremony Chief Johnson being the other on the Ganaxadi side. The Nexadi paid 400 blankets and their Raven Digging Stick. Later GM returned from Sitka. An older clansman called him in, fed him, and advised him to bear no ill will over the affair, Kitcxun was sentenced to four years in prison for the killing. 102 INCIDENTS IN THE HISTORY OF THE KLAWAKKWAN THE ORIGIN OF KLAWAK203 There was (once) a man named Tlawah. 204 He had a son named Tihge't. Tihget' s mother was Takuye'tl and his uncle (mother's brother) was Yetlcaniih (old raven). The uncle's wife was quite young while her husband, Yetlcanih, was along in years. She took a fancy to Tihget, who was living in his uncle's house, as is customary. One day on the pretext of giving him some clothing and tobacco she asked him into her bedroom and began making love to him. Eventually he yielded. That same night she felt she was pregnant. Her husband was away at the time. He re- turned, and after some months he asked her how it was that her menses had stopped. Then she confessed to her affair. She was childless and she hoped her husband would give her to his nephew Tihget as a wife [a fairly common custom]. But the husband was angry and threatened to kill Tihget, saying, "If I forgive him the next generation will do the same thing." Tihget was blase and said, "All right. Let him kill me. I didn't wish to sleep with her." The wife told her husband, "If you wish to kill me, all right. If you kill your nephew, I'll die with him. It is better if I and his child within me die with him." But he wished to kill only his nephew. The woman went to her husband's sister and told all, asking her to tell her husband, Tlawah, Tihget's father, so he could plan to save his son. The next day Tlawah said to his wife, "We had better leave this country." They agreed to go to the north. She wanted to. (They were living at Kaddukhuka'h on Kanaganut Island.) Tihget no longer slept in the house but hid him- self. Tlawah called together all the Ganaxadi men who were married to Tekwedih women. He said he wanted to move away to prevent war between the two clans, and to save his son. He asked the Ganaxadi if they wanted to war on their own "children," the Tekwedih. They answered "no." They agreed to take their wives and children and to go away themselves. Near Ketchikan is a humpback-salmon creek called Ana'n, owned by the Tekwedih. Tlawah went where the Ganaxadi had fishing camps, while Yetlcanih and his group went to Anan. Later he went to the Ganaxadi camp, because his wife was soon to have her child and he came to kill his nephew. It was night and high tide. Tlawah and his group secretly packed their things in canoes and hid them. In the morning it was foggy and they started out, singing a song called katna wustakihcl h (moving away our clan). Then Yetlcanih called all the remaining people together on the beach and wept. He was sorry for what he had done. Tlawah and his group sang "akanitlkukatl'n" (my land nevermore I'll see) as they went. Tihget stood in the bow of the canoe and faced out to sea, for he didn't wish to see his uncle. As the tide came in, the current took the canoe to the north. They didn't paddle. But Yetlcanih stood at the beach and let the tide reach to his waist. He was going to allow himself to drown because his wife was the cause of his losing his nephew and his father's people. 203Told by John Darrow, a member of the Ganaxadi clan. This account is certainly semihistorical. 204This is the probable origin of the name of the town Klawa'k (Tlawaoh). But his brothers-in-law came out, took him in and talked to him, and "made him feel good." Tlawah's party paddled to Kasaan Bay that same day. They hid there. The next day after breakfast Tlawah asked his clansmen and brothers-in-law what was the best thing to do. They advised not to stay on the beach but to follow up the stream GunAxhehln ("going ashore creek," Harris River) where no one would find them. They decided to go up the stream and find a place to live. The next morning they hid their canoes far back in the woods. They took only small packs, food and blankets. Everyone except babies carried packs. They found a place behind Yesgahinogaca. There they camped, and stayed one day. At daybreak the next morning Tlawah climbed the mountain to look around. He saw the straits and channels to the west. He saw Klawak Lake and decided to go down to see if it was a bay or a lake. He went down Clay Creek and saw many sockeye salmon. At the shore of the lake he tested the water. He found a good animal trail. (This is the one now used by the Forest Service.) Then he went back to camp, told the people what he had seen, and advised that they go down to the lake. They reached the lake the next morning by sunrise. He told them to catch and smoke only a few fish and to roast a few. The next day Tlawah and his men made a raft of red cedar. They left four limbs standing up. They pointed the ends of the logs and built a small platform on the raft. They made a double-bladed paddle. The next morning Tlawah went down the lake. He wanted to find the outlet, where the fish came from. At the middle of the lake on the north side he found a stream which he named Katlce'k! (alder) where there were many sockeye spawning. There he ate salmon berries, roasted some fish, and rested. Then he went on down to the foot of the lake where he found the animal trail by the river (the present trail). The stream was full of humpback and dog salmon. On the island just above the present weir he saw a large spruce. Under the tree it was like a house. He decided to bring the people there. The limbs were huge and hung down to the ground. Even heavy rain did not penetrate underneath. Then he went down to the mouth of the creek, tested the water, and found it salt. Tlawah walked on down the present village site. He heard a sound like the roar of gusty wind. It was the animals-hair seal, sea otter, and fur seal-on the reef. He walked on . . . [an ommission here in the manu- script is indicated by ellipses] . . . six small houses and one large house. In the large one were held the feasts and ceremonies. This was built and owned by the Ganaxadi and Tekwedih in common. The south side of the big house was the Ganaxadi's place, the north side belonged to the Tekwedih. The palisade was called AsnuEh (tree fort or tree wall). The Tekwedih side was called Xutshit (Bear House), the Ganaxadi side was called Yaghlt (Whale House).205 Five times this palisade was rebuilt until the time of JD's grand- mother.206 The fifth was of spruce, the first had been of young spruce. Whenever the logs became rotten it was re- built. JD's mother was a small girl when they started to build the sixth, which was of red cedar.207 The communal 205More properly, Yaihrt. 206JD's grandmother was married to a man of K!akushittan (man's "feet house people"), named K!usgih (feet on copper). Born to her were six sons and seven daughters. 2'7This would be about 1830 or 1840. [ 103 ] ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS house was also of red cedar. This stood until about 1830. The rotting logs can still be seen. In this town the Ganaxadi men and their Tekwedih wives occupied one side, the Tekwedih men and their Ganaxadi wives the other. Young couples slept on the house plat- forms, the old people on the floor. In the six houses lived old and young. The big house was for the overflow. This communal house was "two big trees long. 11208 In the middle of the stream just below the island is a big flat rock with a point sticking up like a killer whale's fin. It is called Tlawaguci (guci, "fin"). When a Tekwedih died the clan went there and set this stone so the fin stood up. Then the Ganaxadi would get excited, knowing there would be a big potlatch. The Ganaxadi did not raise the stone as a signal, for it did not belong to them. But a Ganaxadi man whose wife was giving a feast would have it set up. About the time of the fourth set of houses the sea otter, fur seal, and sea lion started to leave this district. Up to that time the people of the village had no canoes. Now they built some. They cut a big red cedar. The Tekwedih started to build one and the Ganaxadi started a second. One was built at the site of the present town hall, where charcoal may still be seen. (By this time there were also houses at the present site of Klawak.) A fire was built on top of the logs, the charcoal scraped off with rough stones. Afterward the outside was also shaped with fire. This is called wuddutsganaya'k (fire-shaped canoe). Then they made other canoes of various sizes. With these they hunted sea otter and other creatures. Just below the island village a salmon weir was built. There were three Ganaxadi brothers who were famous sea otter hunters. They were hunting at a place called Ayuktahklen in Port San Antonio on Baker Island. There came a big trading schooner with a Hawaiian crew. The men thought the ship's boat was an akutsti'yat (water monster) with long legs, and they ran ashore. They tried to run away but were caught. They called the white people K!ekAddlhkwani (sea-gull people) because of their "white" color. The Hawaiians looked like dark ducks (yuk), so were called Yutk!kwani. It was thought the rice of the strangers was worms or maggots. The captain of the boat gave them a warm bath, but they thought he was go- ing to cook them. But the captain washed their hair. He gave them white men's clothes. Then the natives skinned the ten sea otter and five fur seal they had shot. The cap- tain asked them if they ate sea otter and seal. The natives showed them how to draw blood out of seal meat with salt water and how to use stones for cooking. The captain showed them how to use iron pots and gave each of the three men one. Then they traded blankets and clothes for the furs. The captain gave them one gun each, and a keg of powder flints, and bullets. He also gave them hard- tack, molasses, rice, and some calico. They wondered how they would take it all home in their canoes, but the captain let them have three boats. He taught them how to use guns. When a gun was fired they all fell down, for they had never heard a gun. But they put cotton in their ears. Finally the men took guns with a half load of powder. They thought the firing hammer "fought" with the flint. They succeeded in killing a duck. They practiced for several days. By means of sign lan- guage the captain told them they could kill all sorts of game with a gun. Finally they started hunting fur seal. They killed a swimming buck. This meat the captain salted. The Tlingit cooked the liver and heart with stones 208ThiS probably means that the roof-beam logs were in two sections, and the house about 75 to 100 feet long. inside the stomach. This made a feast. Then the captain gave them more pots. The next day the captain and his men took them home with boats with sails.209 The eldest brother guided them to Klawak. They sailed to the mouth of the creek. The eldest cried "hu+ " as a signal to the village. Everyone ran down to see. No one knew the brothers in their new clothes. Their hair had been cut by the captain, who took the hair home with him. The eldest told them the whites were "sea-gull people," the Kanakas "black duck people." "Ship" was the first word the Tlingit learned. They called the ship's boats "ship gatsguh" (little ships). Their trade goods were taken to the communal house. The captain and the others stayed one night. The eldest brother proceeded to demonstrate the gun. When he fired, everyone fell down. The next day the captain left, but gave them a boat for the canoe left aboard the ship: The captain agreed to return in twelve months (the following July). He gave them a box of tools. Arrangements were made for trading a year later. The following spring the whole village went out to get furs to trade. The next year the ship returned. By now everyone had guns, steel tools, and so on. On the fourth visit the ship anchored off the east coast of San Fernando Island. After this the Tongass (Tantakwan) and Klawak people began seeing each other. The Tekwedih of Klawak went to visit in a big canoe. Some of the Tantakwan came to Klawak and built houses on either side of the lower falls, the Tekwedih on the north side of the creek, the Ganaxadi on the south side. There was called a big meeting in the communal house at Asnu. There was talk of going back to Ketchikan. But the Ganaxadi refused, saying that they had been driven away but that the Tekwedih had not, so the Tekwedih should return. The Tekwedih loaded their canoes and as they drifted out on the tide they sang a song. Then one got up and made a speech, giving the whole country to the Ganaxadi, because their "father" Tlawah had found it. So the town came to be called Tlawa'k (Klawak). Up to this time the Ganaxadi had held the south side of the creek, the Tekwedih the north side. So all the Tekwedih except those married to Ganaxadi and some of the old people moved away to the country of the Tantakwan (Port Tongass). Some of the Tekwedih who were left here joined with the Cangukedih who lived on Canku (St. Philip Island) and they intermarried with the Ganaxadi.210 The Tinedih clan also lived to the north, around Kosciusko Island. The Tagwanedih clan held Heceta Island. To the north of the Tinedih was the country of the Tittlhlfttan or Klinedih. After the Tekwedih went back to the Tantakwan the whole ceremonial house belonged to the Ganaxadi and the name was changed to Gauhlt (Herring House).21' The small houses had no names. The bay on the south side just above the present village was called Ganaxadi anya- kutalh (Ganaxadi real bay). After the Tekwedih went south the Ganaxadi married the Cangukedih and the Kakushittan, that is, the people to the north. The Tagwanedih clan of Heceta Island originally came from near Prince Rupert and are named from a place called Takua'n. 209JD stated that the Tlingit used sails in pre-European times, but this is debatable. Most of the items and incidents relating to first contact with the whites, such as the firing of the gun, the idea that rice was maggots, are part of modern folklore. 210 ThiS is the traditional place of origin of the Cangukedih clan. 211This may be my informant's error and the proper trans- lation may be "Drum House." 104 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT After the Tekwedih went south the Ganaxadi multiplied and prospered. Before JD's mother's time there lived a man named Ylkhu'h (from the blue or green stone in a sea lion's stomach which the animal can throw at a hun- ter).2"2 He was an only son. His mother was Takuye'tl (which was also Tlawah's wife's name). There was a vil- lage on the island GAatcakuh opposite Klawak. Yikhuh built a house at Yuktcknaan (sea otter village). He built another house just this side of Craig and called it Decuhrt (end of the trail house). A trail went from Asnu to there. He built another house just at the end of Canoe Pass and called it Ci'sknuhrt (spruce fort house). He called the place Crskan (spruce town). At the rapids of Salt Lake he built another house and called it Tlkatlakatsknu' (white stone fort). Still another in the Salt Lake was built on an island called Tltcati'a (brave village). JD did not give a connected account of his group be- yond the foregoing. The incidents in Henyakwan history that follow are isolated in time and place but are regarded as part of the tribal history. THE ORIGIN OF THE GONAKADET (SEA MONSTER) CREST The following tale was related to me by JD. It is prob- ably somewhat garbled and incomplete. According to his statement, it originated with the Tsimshian (as is obvious). A certain Tsimshian man married a Tantakwan Tlingit of the Tekwedih clan. The wife learned the tale, passed it on, and it eventually reached the Henyakwan (Klawakkwan) through the man Tlawah. Eventually it was learned by JD's grandmother, who told it to him. JD further stated that the Nass Tsimshian have the Gonakadet crest. [This is probably an Eagle clan crest. See Boas, 1916, pl 503.] It came to the Tlingit through intermarriage, remaining within the Eagle-Wolf moiety. The tale was told as one of the origin of the dance hat with rings. Originally the Gonakadet hat had eight such rings. But among the Klawak people the number of rings never exceeded four, although one ring was supposed to be added for each major feast given. But in the modern village of Klawak there is a memorial stone in the form of a bear wearing a hat with six rings.213 The stone was bought by Joe Haklen as his own memorial and the six rings stand for the six feasts his father gave for him. It is said that a poor man never sees the monster. A rich man or one who is to become rich may see the crea- ture. It has fur of copper color on its body. Once when Old Shakes of Wrangell was a young man he was travel- ing at night. His paddle touched something that felt like a log. He reached and felt a creature with short copper- colored hair on its body. He pulled some out and kept it. On the head (?) the hair was long. He also pulled out and kept some of this, then the creature went away. He re- turned home but slept out of doors for he knew something mysterious had happened to him. At daylight he bathed. Soon he began to get rich. Later he found gold up the Stikine River. He came to own forty slaves. He built eight n2This is probably the bezoar stone. It is said to be found also in the stomachs of bear and deer. 213 In recent times, probably after about 1900, it became a fairly common practice to carve totem poles and grave posts in cedar and then send these to monument works in Seattle to be duplicated in stone. The stone carvings were then sent back to Alaska, where they were set up in the fashion of grave posts and as totem poles. different houses, giving a great feast for each. One house was at Wrangell, others at Old Wrangell, and Shoemaker Bay. For each feast he added a ring to his hat, so he had the eight-ringed hat. The last house he built was called Gonakadethrt. On its front was the "chief" monster, with the second monster of the following legend on the right, the monster's "wife" on the left. Below were painted five monster "children. " The Nass River was a great gathering place at the time of the eulachon run. Not only the Tsimshian but also Haida and some of the southern Tlingit groups went there. There was a village of the GrtcAn (Gitksan) Tsimshian and the canoes which went from there to the Nass disap- peared one by one. Finally only one family remained. The man of the family finally asked his grandmother if she had ever heard of a whole village disappearing in this manner. What had happened was this: At a place called Xasa'nk a great monster called the Gunak!ade't lived in a cave. The tides running in and out of the cave caused a great roaring sound and the water to swirl and boil. At such times a house rose out of the water and the whole tidal "river" flowed into the house. Each time a canoe passed, the house would appear and would turn as if looking at the canoe. Except at eulachon time no canoe was ever able to pass this place. At other times canoes and their occupants were swept into the house. This had happened again and again until only this one fam- ily survived. The remaining adult male of the village thought, "What is the use of living? My parents, my uncle, and all my kinsmen are lost." So he took his adze and went to the upper Nass. There he saw a high barren mountain which he began to climb. It was June. Near the top he came to a great rock slide. There a poisonous plant called sikc was growing and the porcupine were eating it. It grew large, and the sun shining through the leaves made it seem as if his clothes and flesh had turned green. He said to himself, "I will use that plant." He grabbed out a large root, took it home and made charcoal of it. He ground the charcoal and dyed it with powder from a red stone. He rubbed himself with this medicine and put it on his Chilkat blanket, his dance hat, and the rattles of the beaks of grde't (a sea bird) which he wore on his legs. Then he launched his uncle's canoe and drifted down the river. He held his dance rattle in his hand and sang his clan songs. When he came to the cliff with the cave of the monster, bubbles rose and the canoe began to sink and was drawn into the house of the monster (who was like a giant octo- pus). There were many monsters, including young ones, in the house. When they breathed it caused the bubbles and foam to rise. The largest monster, the chief, swal- lowed the man. But the next day this monster began to feel sick. He said to himself, "Ah, ah. A man was staying alone. I killed all his kin and now I've eaten him. That is why I am sick. Ah, ah." The man's soul (duwa'h, literally, "his face") came out and stood beside the monster. The monster said to the soul, "Why are you standing here?" The monster was now in great pain. But the soul thought, "I'll let him suffer a while longer, then I'll answer him." After a time the soul spoke, saying, "You killed all my people (clansmen). That is why I have come to kill you. If you don't return my people to my village I will kill you forever." The monster answered, "All right, I'll return them to you. For these other monsters are not monsters. They are your people. When I killed your people their souls became my children." Then the man made the mon- ster promise to pay for those which were really dead. 105 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS (For those remains which were still inside the creature lived on as souls in the house, while those remains which had passed as feces were really dead.) The monster said to the second-largest monster, "Take my blanket and give it to this man." (The blanket was named AtgAnnha- aka k!uh (school- of-fish blanket) and had the design of a human face on one side. On the reverse were designs of a eulachon and a herring. He went on, "Show him how to use it. Tell him that as he steps ashore at his home village he is to put the side with the face out and shake it four times toward the town. His people will come out of the woods and go to their homes. If eulachon are wanted the side with the eulachon design should be passed over the water four times. If herring are wanted that design should be passed four times over the water on a falling tide." So the second monster gave the man the blanket and told him how to use it. The second monster then gave him a hat with rings on the crown. In Tsimshian the hat's name is Skil, in Tlingit, Candaku'k!. When the man put the hat on, all the monsters began to sing and he was given the song as well. Then the second monster went to a door on which a eulachon was painted. When he opened the door the eula- chon came out in such numbers that the water was full of them. Then he said to the man, "Shut the door." When he did so the eulachon disappeared. Then the monster opened a second door on which was painted a herring. When this was opened the herring poured forth. When it was closed they disappeared. The monster said, "Open this third door." On it was painted a human face. As he opened the door many people came out. Among them he recognized many of his own people. The monster then ordered him to take off his clothing. When he had done so the monster opened a fourth door where he kept his costumes. Then he gave him his own paraphernalia-the magic blanket, the ringed hat, and a rattle. Then the monster said, "When you give a feast, use these things." Then he said, "Did you hear the noise of the people (in the room) ? " The man answered, "Yes." "When your people come back to life they will make noises like that. Thus the Tsimshian will do when the eulachon run begins. But don't make a mistake. In March your people will return to their own country. Then you must put the herring design on the water as I showed you. The next year in February, use the eulachon side." Then the man stepped into his canoe. The chief mon- ster came out and held the stern until the turn of the tide. Then he showed the man the great cliff. "This is my house," he said. "From here come all the herring and all the eulachon, for it is their home. Hereafter when people pass by in their canoes I will not molest them. You won out over me. So from now on the Tsimshian will be my kinsmen. Hereafter I will eat herring and eulachon, because my stomach can no longer stand humans. The Tsimshian and the Gonakadet will be kin. That is all." Then he pushed the canoe out and the wind blew favor- ably. (Heretofore the winds had always blown against the tides, but the monster changed this.) The man now saw that the canoe and he himself were slimy with eulachon and herring eggs. Then he went ashore, shook the blanket as he had been told, and his people came out of the woods and went home. Their hair was full of eulachon eggs. A few days later (it was now March) the man told the people to get ready for herring. The next day he passed the blanket over the water as he had been told. The fol- lowing day the herring began to run at Port Simpson. He told the people that the following year he would bring in the eulachon. THE WOLVES AID AN ORPHAN Shakan was a "Titlhittan town" just as Klawak was a Ganaxadi town.214 They also had a town (camp?) at Ekhin (Egg Creek?) just to the north and another called Caxa nk on the point opposite the Barrier Islands. This was an area famous for sea otter. The Titlhittan had split off from the Klinedih of Auk because of a quarrel arising from a woman's adultery. They settled first at Caxank. Most of their salmon were caught and dried at the creek just north of Shakan [at Calder?]. Each time they went there they saw wolves at the mouth of the creek. Among them was a boy of the Cangukedih clan whose parents had died. He wept so much over the loss of his parents that the people grew tired of his crying. They took him to the tide flats at the mouth of the creek and said, "Wolves, come and take this child." They abandoned him, but as soon as they left a band of wolves came and stood around him. They smelled him and knew he was an orphan. They felt sorry for him. A man was watching and shouted to the wolves, "If you don't kill him, take him home." The boy began to cry and the wolves howled in sympathy. Then they took him away. A big wolf threw him on his back and the boy rode him. The wolves went north, howling as they ran. They went into a cave, their home, in a mountain. After this no one heard them howling. Late that autumn the people were taking their dried fish to the winter village. The boy's grandparents stayed behind at the creek called SuxdACh. Early in the morning they heard many wolves howling on the tide flats. The wolves had brought the boy back where they had found him. Then the wolves went away. The grandfather heard a boy's voice crying, "Come and take me in!" The grand- father went to him and the lad told that he had been in the wolves' house. The wolves had now piled near him much game: bear, deer, and seal meat. He pointed out the cave where they lived. He said the wolves had "trained" him, and had told him they could hear when people spoke evil of them. The grandfather and the boy went home, taking the meat the wolves had brought. This the lad spoke of as "the things my people packed down for me." Soon the other people came back to take the old couple home. The old man told them, "We are in luck. Go back to the village and get a big canoe to take these things home." At the vil- lage they had a big feast, and everyone came to hear the boy's story. He told of the wolves' house and of the live animals "stored" there. Their house was called Catuhr't (house inside the mountain). The wolves had told him that people could come, kill the game herded inside, but that they must not harm the wolves. A few days later the boy led the way to the house of the wolves. Inside there were many bones of sea lion, seal, bear, and deer. They went into the long passage of the cave, using a pitch-wood torch for light. Soon they met many wolves coming out. The people killed a number of bear. After this whenever a person of the boy's clan died the people went there to get meat for the funeral feasts. 214Told by JD. This is probably a version of a tale of the ori- gin of the wolf crest of the Cangukedih. 106 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT THE ORIGIN OF THE OCTOPUS CREST OF THE TLINEDIH CLAN OF SHAKAN The Tlinedih had a camp in Devilfish Bay on Kosciusko Island where there were several smokehouses of cedar bark.215 One year there was a pregnant young woman with them. She stayed in a separate brush house (tcuchl't) and soon gave birth to a child. Her mother was with her. They had caught many salmon which were being dried. In an underwater cave there lived a giant devilfish. At that place the water could be seen boiling up and bub- bling. But the devilfish did not bother the people because he was their "grandchild." One day some children were playing on the beach. One said, "The devilfish must be hungry for that drying salmon." And to the devilfish, "If you are hungry, come out of your house and get some." The young mother heard this. In one house lived two brothers and their families. The three sons of one were away, hunting seal. They had a canoe-load of seal and camped for the night on the way home. That night as the people slept the devilfish came ashore, wrapped two of his great arms around the camp of the Tlinedih and started pulling toward the water. The trees began to fall. The young mother (who was in the birth hut) heard the noise. She took her cane and went out and saw what was happening. She took up the baby and went to the houses, rapping on them and warning those inside. The people tried to escape but couldn't climb over the huge tentacles. The men were excited and did not think of throwing the women and children over to the other side. But the young mother reached a place near the end of a tentacle, threw her baby over, then she climbed across. The devilfish, knowing she was unclean (Tlaga's), let her go. Thus the two were saved. The monster dragged the whole camp into his house, and trees, logs, sticks, and the broken houses floated up. The next morning the young mother went to the camp site. The ground was deep in slime and the water offshore was thick with it. She went to the creek, bathed and changed clothes. Then she threw her unclean clothes into the bay, saying, "Devilfish (na'k!u), you are going to die!" The monster felt what she had done and threshed madly about. He was sorry now for what he had done. She took her baby and crossed the island to Shipley Bay (Kaxt). That same day the seal hunters returned. At the mouth of the bay the slime was so thick that the paddles made no sound. The eldest said, "Something has happened. See those drying sticks in the water?" He went ashore to where the camp had been. He knew the monster had de- stroyed it. Slime was everywhere. They sat on the beach, wondering what to do. All their people (they thought) were dead. The youngest said, "What is the use of living? All our people are dead. Let us try to kill the monster." They wondered how it might be done. They built a fire. They cut two poles, one two fathoms long, one a fathom long. They cooked food and ate. The eldest sharpened the poles and hardened the tips in the fire. Across the bay from the monster's house they built a platform in a tree. There they put the youngest, giving him food and blankets. He was to watch. They told him not to cry but they two must die. They painted their faces. 215Told by JD. This is the Tittlinedih (dog salmon people), the name Tlinedih being merely a contraction. Tittlh'ittan (dog salmon house people) is still another name for them. Tradi- tionally, they came from the Auk tribe but split off as a result of a quarrel arising over a woman's adultery. Their crests are octopus, dog salmon, and raven. The two elder boys took stones in the canoe and threw these into the monster's house. He threshed about making a noise like thunder. He knew he would be killed if he emerged, so he stayed inside. The eldest brother shouted, "You had better come out! You have killed your own kins - men, so I am going to kill you." They cut up seal meat and threw it in the water, and the water became red from the blood. When the monster saw the blood he started to come out, making a terrible noise and threshing about until the water boiled. The eldest brother lay down in the canoe and covered his head with a blanket. He asked the other, "How far down is he now? " 216 The other replied, "Ye suhkak gwaglan" (It is not deep yet). Again the elder asked. Finally the younger said, "Dega k gwaglan" (It is deep enough now). The eldest said, "Hlrkgwan aiyaxatt" (Hikgwan I am, his own name). The other said, "Xadaya'h Nak!k!" (I am Nakk). For these youths had listened to their father about these things, and this is why the "children" of the Tlinedih are brave. Then they began to spear the monster with the poles and he rose to the surface. They speared him again and again. They threw away the long spear and used the short one. They felt the canoe lift as the monster rose under it. Then the canoe was pulled under. The younger said, "Let us jump into his mouth. We will die with him." They locked hands and jumped inside the mouth, slashing with their war knives. The monster began to slip down, finally manag- ing to crawl into his house. The lad in the tree heard the sounds of the monster grow fainter and fainter, until in the middle of the night they ceased altogether. In the morn- ing the creature came out, not wishing to die in his house. He crawled to a rock nearby and died. The young mother told the people in Shipley Bay what had happened. The Cangukedih and Kakoshittan were camped there. They came to Devilfish Bay in five canoes. The tide was at the ebb. The water was thick with slime. The body of the monster blocked the entrance to the salt water lagoon and the water poured over his body in a water- fall. His tentacles reached far out. They saw he was dead. One canoe returned and brought more people. Word was sent to Sarkar Cove and the people from there came to see. They started to cut up the monster to let the water out of the lagoon. Inside the stomach they found the bones of the people. The bodies of the two brothers were in the creature's throat, their hands still locked, their knives in their hands, their faces black. Everyone was glad they had killed the monster. The lad who had been on the tree platform came down, sat by the bodies of the brothers, but cried no more. He told the people what had happened. The people took the bones and cremated them according to custom. The bodies of the two brothers were burned, still clasping hands, on a second fire. Each clan took the bones of its clansmen home. The next year memorial poles were put up and on those of the Tlinedih the devilfish was carved. This is how the Tlinedih have this crest today. THE WAR BETWEEN THE HENYAKWAN AND THE STIKINEKWAN The war began over the killing of some Henya by an early Chief Shakes (Ceks) of Wrangell.217 The war involved 216To this day when a Tlinedih is near death he asks a kins- man, "Wasakak gwagla'n?" (How much water now?), that is, how long before death. 27 Told by JD. The name HAngakwan or Hengakwan is the same group as has been called the Henya, the slight difference being one of dialect. The Henya have disappeared as a tribe, the remnants having moved to Klawak or elsewhere. 107 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS all clans of both tribes. On the Wrangell (Stikine) side the Nanyaayih, Kaskwedih, Xetlkwan, and Kaiyachittan Wolf side clans and the Kiksadi, Tihittan, and Teklkwedih Raven side clans took part. On the Henya side the Cangu- kedih, Kakoshittan, Tekwedih, Antcuhittan Wolf clans and the Ganaxadi, Titlhittan, Tagwanedih, and the Dekiganaxadi Raven clans took part. The Henya went to Wrangell in twenty-five war canoes. At a place they called Tcantaye'h the Stikine had a fort. The men were away and the Henya succeeded in capturing the women and children and destroying the fort. The Sti- kine then built D'uknuwu (fir tree fort). The Henya went there and lay offshore. One of the Stikine, named KuxAdeh, came out and shouted curses and insults at the Henya. He did not know it but his mother had been captured and was lying in one of the canoes, covered with a mat. She heard her son's insults and asked her captor to remove the mat. She shouted to her son, "Do you think your words will win this war? You had better stop talking." Later in the day Kuxadeh again appeared and called out, "Mother, is that you?" She replied that it was indeed she. He asked, "Is your life long enough?" She replied, "Yes." (That is, he meant had she lived long enough was was she willing to sacrifice her life to give her people information.) Late that night the Henya became sleepy, so allowed their canoes to drift downstream, guided by one of the captives. As the last canoe left, the old woman threw off the mat and shouted to the people of the fort, "The war party is going downriver!" At daylight the Stikine launched their canoes and followed. The Henya had gone ashore at Tcantayeh at the mouth of the (Stikine) river. There they had pulled their canoes up and the Wolf clans and Raven clans had made separate camps. As the first Stikine canoes appeared the Raven people asked what clan they were. The Stikine said, "Kiksadi," and were signalled to go against the Wolf clans of the other camp. When the Stikine Wolf clan canoes came they stood off from the camp of the Henya Raven camp. [This was so that clan and moiety "brothers" would not be fight- ing each other.] One of the Stikine Kiksadi men wore a war hat called "Bear Hat." On it was a plume of baleen and a piece of fur. This was "bait." (He wore a Wolf moiety hat because he was "child" of Tekwedih, a Wolf- clan.) The Tinedih clan shaman had foretold that if such "bait" was seen the Henya would win; it it were not seen, the Stikine people would win. A Henya war chief named Tlana'tl came on a Stikine warrior on the beach and killed him. It was Kuxadeh, the one who had hurled the insults. The Henya Wolf clans were losing their fight so the Raven clans came to their aid, to help their "fathers." They killed the war leader with the Bear hat. The man who killed him cut off the head and held it in his teeth. This frightened the Stikinekwan and they took to their canoes. So the war was won. The Henya cut the heads of their own dead and took the scalps of their enemies. They buried their own dead but let the other bodies lie. Then they went up the river to Fir Tree Fort where the Stikine women and children were. These saw the canoes coming and came out with cries of joy, thinking it was their own men returning victorious. A few old men and some women escaped, taking some children with them. The others were captured. Among the captives was a baby who was to become the mother of Chief Ceks (Shakes). She was a baby in the cradle. Chief Tlanatl asked who the baby was and learned she was the grandchild of Chief Cekc. [These name-titles often occur in each generation of a lineage, the name passing from a man to his nephew.] So the child was not harmed; besides she was also of Chief Tlanatl's grandfather's clan. She was not taken away by the Henya but left at the fort for the refugees to find. The Henya started home after burning the fort but again stopped at Tcantayeh. There they piled the bodies of the Stikine dead in two heaps, according to clan. The Henya Wolves took care of the Stikine Raven bodies; the Henya Ravens piled the Stikine Wolf corpses. The bodies were covered with brush so the birds would not eat them. But because Kuxadeh had reviled them they slit his lower lip, cut off his penis and put it in the slit as a "labret." His testicles were cut out and stuffed in his cheeks. His head was cut off and put on a pole, but the body was buried wrapped in a sea otter robe. His scalp was taken as a trophy by a warrior named Kaxkalh, who also got the Bear hat as a trophy. The bodies of the Henya dead were then burned and the bones taken home. The child in the cradle was saved by her people and years later gave birth to a child who became Chief Cekc. As this child grew up his mother repeatedly told him that he must never make war on the Henya, for they had been merciful to her; that except for Tlanatl he would have been born a slave. This is why it is said that an ancestress of the great Chief Cekc [of modern times] was a slave. And Chief Shakes of modern times knew this. After this war the two tribes kept the peace.218 THE PLACE NAME SAKAH The Haida went on a raid up to the north of Klawak, but had been unsuccessful. On the way back they passed the mouth of Sarkar Cove (Saka'h)219 and saw something drift- ing. It was part of the skunk cabbage lining of a roasting pit. The war leader said, "Someone must live in that bay." So they started in through the narrows. They towed their canoes through by means of a line. Inside they tasted the water, found it only brackish, not salt. Past the islands they heard the sound of a waterfall. Soon they saw the smoke from many houses, heard the noise of children, and saw the red of drying salmon. They argued whether they should raid the town. Some wanted only to get food, for they were out of supplies. They landed. The villagers had never seen a big canoe before. Their own were small, and they never ventured outside the salt lake. The chief ordered his people to bring the Haida inside. They fixed mats for them to sit on. Dry salmon and oil were brought in and given them. The two groups could not understand each other, but made signs. Then the visitors were fed berries and grease. The Haida had native tobacco and they mashed it and gave each a cud of it. One of the war leaders had a son whose eye drifted to a good looking daughter of a local chief. The young man's father made signs that he wished them to marry, that he would leave one of his war canoes as payment for the bride. The Haida were fed for two days. They traded for salmon and berries. They slid the big canoe in front of the house of the girl's father. The next morning the Haida got into the remaining canoe, taking the girl, and giving her father a paddle for 218Among the Klawakwan and Henyakwan the clans of the Foam People (Xtelkwa'n) and Shelf People (Kaiyackittitan) have a bad reputation of making trouble and giving "bad words." Kuxadeh was a "child" of these clans; that is how it was that he insulted the Henyakwan. 219The tradition is that the people here found some iron in driftwood. They used it for spear points, and an iron-pointed spear is called sagatl. 108 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT the canoe as a parting gift. They promised to come back in six months. They made signs that the girl could then act as interpreter and that the young couple should then live in her village. Every morning the groom would suck the girl' s tongue to make her learn his language rapidly. She did the same to him. Soon they could understand and in a few months she could speak some Haida and he some Tlingit. She was pregnant. After nearly eight months the groom's father took them to her home. Her father had not used the canoe at all. He was surprised she could now speak Haida and his son-in-law Tlingit. The girl had a child. This is how it is the Kak!oshitta'n are half Haida. Everyone knows that the Haida are the best canoe-makers, and that is why the Kakoshittan are the best canoe-makers among the Tlingit. The next winter early in the year the bay was covered with ice. The young couple walked on it. Before that the people of Sakah had not known they could walk on ice. The young man taught his "brothers-in-law" to make canoes. The next year he persuaded his father-in-law to go to his home village so his father could see the grand- child. They loaded the big canoe and went to Howkan. THE ORIGIN OF THE NAME SINAXE'H There was a village south of Craig called Decua'n in Trocadero Bay (?). There lived an old woman named Clntlm't (elevated "storehouse put in") who had a grand- son named Skauni'k.220 The two took a small canoe and started toward Klawak. At the sandy beach near Canoe Pass the mouth of the bay was full of ice. It was the end of March. The tides had turned the ice upside down and the seaweed lay on top. The lad took some on his paddle and threw it in the water on the other side of the canoe and said, "I've finished all my grandmother' s dried salmon. Now you drift down." (He wished that the ice would drift down, showing it was spring, before the dried salmon was all eaten.) Now that was a bad thing to do. The grandmother said, "Grandson, you've made a mistake (done wrong). It will come winter again because of that." They took back with them the last of the food-some salmon-egg cheese and dried berries. They knew what was coming. That same night it began to snow. It continued snowing until the canoes were full and some of the older houses began to cave in. Some of the old and wise men cleared their canoes and turned them upside down on the snow. It kept snowing until the end of June. People talked and wondered what caused it. The old woman told that her grandson had caused it. The old woman said that if it didn't stop that very day they would make a big fire and burn the grandson. The next morning the village could scarcely be seen. The people made a big fire. Then they heard a noise at the smoke hole. A blue jay sat there with a spray of elder- berries in his mouth and gave his cry, "henaxxe'h." The chief ordered a young fellow to follow the bird to see where he had got the berries. The blue jay dropped the branch through the smoke hole. They saw the berries were getting ripe. The young man went out and watched the blue jay. The bird flew east and disappeared in the falling snow. One old woman said he couldn't have flown far with such a heavy thing. So the next morning those who had kept their canoes free of snow launched them. 220Told by JD. Those who had not, could not dig them out. As soon as they rounded the point just south of Craig they came out into sunshine and beyond they saw everything green and growing. Thus they were saved. The grandmother said, "Bluejay called this bay Sinaxhe. " So they named it that. They went to shore and gathered berries. The hump- back salmon were just beginning to run. Back where theyhad come from it looked dark. Between Decuan and Craig is a level place with a small island off- shore called Tlagasia'n (mistake place), because there the lad had done the thing. THE KLAWAK PEOPLE OF DRIFTED ASHORE HOUSE The Ganaxadi clan people of the Henyakwan tribe had, among others, houses named Gauhrt (herring house) and Yaghrt (whale house, Yaihrt in the other dialects of Tlin- git).221 Long ago there was a man named Adawu'tlcani'h (quarrelsome old man).222 He owned a large house in Yuxtcka-a'n (Shakan? "sea otter town") on the island near Klawak. This house had four huge roof beams and the floor descended in four terraces. It was named Adawutlcanhl tti (Adawutlcanih's house). Then the name was shortened to GAwutlacihrt (drifted ashore house). [This is, of course, folk etymology.] When the house was finished a potlatch was given and the gifts were mainly in iron spikes called gau because they were the size and shape of herring. [These had been found in driftwood.] JD's mother's mother's brother was named Gaugwa'tl (herring knife) from a war knife of iron. About this same time [1800] there lived an even more famous man called Yikhuwa'ddi (bezoar stone's child, ylkhu being the bezoar stone from the stomach of a sea lion). While he was still a boy his mother told all the women of the houses of her clan (the Ganaxadi) to give him nothing to eat when he came to visit them, for she wished to "train" him about eating and drinking.223 When he grew up he was brave and strong because he "followed the rules." Yikhuwaddi became a great chief. He rebuilt Drifted Ashore House in memory of his uncle. He was very much against sorcery, for in every village there were those who harmed people by their witchcraft. He rid his clan of them in order that his clan would grow strong.224 He took each one accused of witchcraft, dressed him or her in new clothes, then, after they had confessed, killed them publicly. At the same time he warned the spectators. Each accused was then burned, his bones wrapped in a new blanket and the bundle weighted and thrown in the sea. This was to prevent another sorcerer from using the bones. One group of the Ganaxadi clan of Klawak moved to Baker Island where they founded a town called XAkkaka'n (empty clam shell town). It was called this because an old woman once dug for clams there, but found only empty shells. The group was "almost" regarded as a separate clan and was called the Dekiganaxadi ("Ganaxadi of the outside," that is, out at sea). 221Told by JD. 222The baleen in a whale's mouth looks like an old man's whiskers. 2231t is believed that drinking water soon after eating brings bad luck. It was customary for men to go hunting early in the morning without first eating, lest they be "too late for hunting." 224This illustrates the fact that a chief's influence and author- ity were only over his own clansmen. 109 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS HOUSES OF THE VILLAGE OF TAKDJIKAN (TUXEKAN) The houses and the clans to which each belonged were given as follows, beginning at the northern end of the vil- lage: 1. Titlhlt (dog salmon house). Titlhittan or Tittlinedih clan. 2. Dekinuhlt (outside fort house). Nastedih clan. The house was built by a Nastedih man from Kuiu Island, who married a Tiyenedih woman and moved to her village. 3. TitlyAddihrt (dog salmon's child house, or young dog salmon house). Titlhittan clan. 4. KaxkiwutAhrt (human foot house?). Kakoshittan clan. 5. Ga'xkahrt (two men fighting house). It was first called Yetlsakihit (raven's bones house). Tinedih clan. 6. SanAh3t (southeast wind house). Also known as Antcukahrt (end of town house). Antcukahittan clan. This is said to be the same as (or a branch of) the Tekwedih clan. The people of this house owned Karheen. Their crests were dogfish and shark. 7. Tawutlhlt (sockeye pool full house). Kakoshittan clan. These people owned Sarkar Cove. These houses formed a row at the front of the village. The following houses were back of and to one side of the first row. 8. Gutchrt (wolf house). Cangukedih clan. 9. K!atguhrt (dogfish house). Cangukedih clan. 10. Tslskuhit (owl house). Swanton (p. 401) gives this as "moose house" but the words for "moose" and "owl" are homonyms. Cangukedih clan. 11. Kakoshit (man's foot house). Kakoshittan clan. 12. Yetlhlt (raven house). Also called Hlkahrt (over a stream house). Tinedih clan. 13. Tcachrt (rush house). Kakoshittan clan. 14. Ganwutlacihrt (floating house, or perhaps more properly, drifted ashore house). It is said to have been founded" by a "Ganaxadi grandchild" named Ganwutlaciya'g (drifted ashore whale?). 15. A second house bearing the name of the preceding but founded by a man named Ganyah. 16. Tcakhlt (eagle house). Cangukedih clan. 17. Yetlhityaddi (raven house's child or young raven house). This house was situated back of the other houses. The name seems to indicate it was built by persons from Raven House. Tinedih clan. 18. Tanh1t (sea lion house). Tagwanedih clan. (Swan- ton, p. 398, gives the clan as Takuane'di, winter people.) 19. SAxrt (starfish house). Tinedih clan. This clan has the starfish and giant clam as crests. RELIGION, SHAMANISM, AND TOTEMISM I made little inquiry into the old religious beliefs and practices but I can offer the following as to the general concepts of the supernatural.225 There is no belief in a hierarchy of spirits and gods, though some spirits are more powerful than others. The only being who might be classed as a god is an ill-defined "creator" or "ancestor." The only prayers used seem to be limited to a plea to this being. The usual form is: xatgaxtltlaxe'ktl akcagi'n ya'h (let me have luck, my Creator). The same concept of Creator is in the only other prayer I learned of, k!a dutl ka'nz akcagu'n (have pity on me, my ancestor). These are spoken with the face up-turned. A variant of these is a prayer used in hunting, when a man would say, "AkcAgun xatkatlaxa'k" (my Creator, let me have luck). God was called dikih ankauwu (high up rich man). This is probably a post-European term. The whole universe, the sky, earth, and sea, is filled with a multitude of spirits. Some of these are the familiar spirits of animals or supernatural creatures, such as the thunderbird, the sea monster, and some others mentioned below. These often became the spirit helpers of shamans and some could bring luck to laymen. Long ago a Kiksadi man named Kuk!k!an and his nephews were returning from Redoubt Lake. Near Cape Baranof a "thing" appeared behind the canoe. It came up 225I refrain from giving certain data already recorded by Swanton (1904, pp. 451-471). like a great wall, wider than a house. It gained on the canoe. The men stripped, dipped salt water, and bathed. The thing slowed down. Across its front it was "all over like heads, and creatures like children ran across the face." It was the gunakade't. Few ever see it. Then Kukkan wished for luck, riches, and slaves. He came to be very wealthy. In a few years he built a huge house, naming it kacayih"'t (head house). Across the front he painted what he had seen. Another supernatural creature which may bring luck to the person seeing it is the yikatayi'h (on the ocean fat). A person may come on it and hear it cry over and over "wuh wuh." One must then stop and bathe before looking more or going to it. Then one should go to where the sound came from. It will appear as oil or fat. One must then take a paddle, cut through it, and remove the piece at the same time saying, iuxyaganu'h (go down more). If this is said, it will rise and more can be cut off. But many in their excite- ment and greed say, uxkenu'h (come up higher). Then it disappears. The stuff taken is given around to one's kin who use it as dana'ku (skin medicine). But one must bathe before using it. It will bring great good luck. (DC was of the opinion that this was ambergris.) The spirit of the land otter, in fact the otter itself, is much feared. It is believed that a person who dies by drowning becomes a land otter.m Every effort is made to find the body of the drowned, evidently because if the body is properly buried, the soul may escape this fate. 226 See Swanton (1904, pp. 456-457). 110 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT There is also belief in the transformer-creator, Raven, who lived long ago when the world was young. He is not linked with the raven totem but is a leading character in the mythology. Much of Tlingit ceremonialism centers on memorial festivals for the dead. In fact, nearly all potlatches and feasts are given for or in the name of deceased kin of the clan. But religious factors overtly enter into Tlingit cere- monialism to only a slight degree. This is in sharp con- trast to, say, the Pueblo tribes or the native Australians. Instead, Tlingit ceremonies focus mainly on the social system; on maintaining or strengthening the status of family, household, and clan. They bear little relation to the supernatural world. Their linkage with the memories of the dead and the spirits of the deceased is only nominal. The land of the dead is an underworld. At death a per- son follows an underground trail to this place. If clothes and blankets are not given at the funeral, he gets cold and shivers. He gets cold and hungry if no commemora- tive feasts are held. He sees the other dead warm and eating their fill but he can only look with envious eyes for he cannot share in that given for others. Then he sends a dream to a living kinsman so that a feast will be given. The land of the dead is, all in all, a good place. A murderer at death goes through a hole in the sky to a place called kiwa-a h (place of danger?). He usually cannot escape from this place but he always wishes to and tries to return to earth to kill again. The aurora borealis is the coming down of murderers. If the aurora comes close, someone is sure to be killed. Many years ago a certain man was killed in a family feud by his own clansmen. (Intraclan murders were not avenged.) A night or two after the murder one of the murderer's house-mates said to his fellows, "Get me ready. That one (the murdered man) is coming down to kill me. I am of the same rank as he is." 227They dressed him ceremonially. That very night he cried, "Hu, hu, hu. He came down and stabbed me." In a few minutes he was dead. This sort of thing has happened many times. SHAMANISM Shamans constituted a special group among the Tlingit and were as important in the realm of the supernatural as chiefs were in the social life. It was considered a misfor- tune if each clan in a town or tribe did not have its own shaman. There was always a hope that the spirit helpers of a deceased shaman would "choose" a successor within the clan. There were rituals to bring this about. The chief functions of the shaman were the curing of disease, detection of practitioners of black magic, curing of disease caused by black magic, and the like. Shamans seldom or never practiced black magic themselves ex- cept in their struggles with other shamans. A shaman accompanied each war party. In war his powers enabled him to tell where the enemy was hidden, who and how many would be killed. In these revelations he usually spoke in metaphoric or Delphic terms. Swanton's statement that "taking the people of the north Pacific coast as a whole, shamanism reached its climax among the Tlingit" should be qualified. GM claimed that about 1850 there were 30 shamans among the Tantakwan. This is probably an unintentional exaggeration or repre- 227It is evident from this that the person murdered also goes to the sky. In this case the murderer was of lower caste than the man he killed. To kill the murderer would not have evened the score. sents a very exceptional condition. My impression, gained in a number of ways, is that from five to ten shamans per tribe of a thousand or so would represent an average. A few are reputed to have had fantastic powers, some con- trolling several spirits which they were able to send on errands at super speeds as they carried on their feuds with each other or spied on the enemy in war. Shamanistic power came to the individual by the spirit's entering (possessing) the shaman. Some times this was without the volition of the novice, and even might be against his wish. Sometimes the power was sought, and the quest involved such procedures as fasting, drinking sea water, cutting the tongues of animals, and other prac- tices described below. When there was but one shaman in a clan his death was the signal for the clan chief or some other person to call on the spirit helper or helpers of the deceased to enter some other person of the clan, lest the clan be without such supernatural aid. Although persons of either sex could be shamans, female practitioners were rare. According to GM a man could become a shaman in two ways. (This refers, of course, to pre-Christian times.) If a man falls ill, it may be that the spirit which once be- longed to a clan ancestor wishes to find a new "home," having nowhere to go. So the spirit causes the illness. When a shaman is called to treat the sickness he may know that the said spirit is causing it and gives advice accordingly. The power may then be acquired in the man- ner described below. Or it may be that the spirit makes himself known by entering a man while he sleeps, causing him to dream certain things or to cry out. The dreamer's house-mates may recognize that it is the voice of a spirit. In this event a clan council is called and the dreamer is asked if he is willing to become a shaman. If so, the whole clan begins a period of sexual continence and partial fast- ing. No one may eat things derived from salt water which are not motile. This seems to be a category of things called Tlenedi and includes seaweed, clams, mussels, and the like, but does not include fish or sea mammals. The shaman-to-be, accompanied by one or more "helpers," then goes to a retreat, a camp in the woods or on the beach. They fast and drink salt water, but no fresh water, for eight days. During this time the spirit will tell the novice the tongues of which creatures must be cut. The creatures named may be birds, beasts, or fish, and the animal (or animals) is to be killed or will be found dead. The spirits of these animals will (or may) come to the man and give him their own or other powers. As each tongue is cut the novice names what he wishes. Examples are, "May hot iron be to me like an icicle," "Let me be able to cut human flesh." One novice took a mooseskin robe, tied eagle talons into it, tied the robe to the roots of a tree, and, as his helpers pulled at it, said, "Let it be that no one will be able to pull off my robe." During this eight-day novitiate the principal spirit will also give the novice songs (often four). His helpers join him in singing these. Sometimes the spirit orders him to go (in spirit) to another shaman and "kill" him. The spirit thrives on the fat from the body of such "killed" shamans, who will lose their health and waste away as the spirit eats at them. Also during this novitiate the shaman-to-be and his helpers pile up such things as stones to represent the property the shaman will accumu- late. It is said that one shaman piled up snow and as a result was always poor, for snow melts away. However, persons may become shamans in other ways, as the following incident indicates. illl ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS In Butterfly House at Klukwan lived a shaman named Skitlaka'. One day his little son, Yixha's, started imita- ting his father's shamanizing. The father asked him if he wished to become a shaman. The boy said, "Yes." The father then shook him and the boy became rigid and re- mained in a trance for two hours. He covered the boy with a blanket. People thought he was dead. The father got his drum (tambourine?), started his shaman's songs, and danced. Finally the boy came to. But for the required days he fasted and drank only a little water. Later he be- came an honest (i.e., beneficent) shaman. But he did not marry until he was 30 years old. When a potential shaman is going through his novitiate he has a helper called ikt;Ankau (shaman's helper). Both remain continent for the whole period. At intervals they fast for eight days. This is done each time before the tongue of an animal is cut. If a man were to cut off the tongue of an animal without the purification ritual, he would become insane and soon die. During the novitiate a novice shaman never touches his penis. When urinating he holds his penis with a pair of tongs made of devil's-club. Should he touch his penis, he might seize it, in his trances, and try to pull it off. Some persons "are born to be shamans." Usually they have curly hair. This must never be cut lest they lose the gift. As of 1934, DC knew of only two shamans among the northern tribes. One was a half-blood at Hoona named Wuc Deyai'c. The other was a woman at Angoon named Ca ka'wuh. The following specific accounts give further data and some illustrate obscure concepts regarding shamanism and supernatural powers. The Shaman of Cat Island At the time the Tantakwan lived in the village of Dasaxuk on Cat Island there was a shaman among them by the name of KuckAn.228 He was of the Tekwedih clan and Thunder- bird House. His spirit told him to cut the tongue from a red snapper. Whatever creature is named by the spirit will be found dead. Then the tongue is cut off and the sha- man acquires the spirit. Kuckan's first spirit was named Tlatsi'n (power). The spirit told Kuckan to go [i.e., his soul to go] to the Tsimshian and "kill" a certain famous shaman. He did this and the "dead" shaman's spirit came into him and gave him four songs. His helpers joined him in singing them. At the end of the eight days' vigil they returned to Dasaxuk. People were anxious to see what Kuckan would do. They came together in GM's father's house, Canahit. Kuckan sat at the head of the house, his helpers (xankau') at his side. Most of the paraphernalia he had taken from the graves of shamans. First he showed what spirits he had acquired. The first spirit to enter him was the Tsim- shian power. Kuckan told his helpers to give him a cake't (dance headdress), but he spoke in Tsimshian and the helpers did not understand. Then Kuckan became consci- ous and told his helpers what he wanted. Then the spirit entered him again. He put on the headdress but did not tie it. As his helpers sang, Kuckan danced. The headdress moved from his head down his back, then onto his right shoulder, then to his left shoulder. Then it moved again to his head and he came out of his trance. Next the red snapper spirit entered him and he acted like a red snapper. His helpers took a short pole and line 2"Related by GM. The date is about 1860. with a steel hook for "bait." (During the novitiate they had done this but had used a piece of stick for a "hook.") This gear was then given to any doubters in the audience. Kuckan would then swallow the hook and the holder of the rod would jerk the line. But the hook would come out with- out hurting Kuckan. Then his spirit "Strong" came to him. A line of men held a pole, but Kuckan would need only to nudge the pole to bowl them over. Then another of his spirit powers entered him. His helpers put a red-hot iron down his throat without harm. His fourth spirit entered him. He took his wolf knife, cut a man's face from scalp to chin, then threw his knife away and pressed the sides of the cut together. He sang his four songs and all four spirits entered him. Then he called for feathers, put them on the cut. Next he painted the man's face. Only a slight scar from the cut remained. This ended his performance. Still another magical trick was that he would put on a robe of dressed moose hide. No one could pull it off, even though it was not tied. On one occasion a jealous woman had her adolescent daughter (who was in isolation) look through a crack in the wall as Kuckan swallowed the fishhook. As it was jerked out it caught in his mouth. But his spirit told him that the girl had looked on him. On one occasion Kuckan was away from the village. A lad named Yacu t fell ill and in a few days became abnor- mally thin. This was because he and another lad had gone to a nearby island and shot a sea gull. The bird's tongue stuck out and the boys cut it off and threw it away in play. A few days later Yacut fell ill. When Kuckan returned he was offered a large sum to attempt a cure. His spirit came into him. When he came out of the trance he asked, "Were you playing with a sea gull and did you cut off its tongue?" When the boy replied that he had, Kuckan said, "Your ancestor's spirit helpers wish to come to you." He agreed to train the boy in shamanizing. He and the lad fasted for four days and in a few days the illness was gone. Then the whole Ganaxadi clan went on a strict diet and were continent while the boy went through his novitiate. Yacut and the helpers went from place to place. The chief helper (ilktxAnkau) would cut off the tongues of various ani- mals. On the point at Port Chester were many shamans' graves and the party stayed in a cave there. One grave was that of Kaxwan who was Yacut's great-grandfather. Kaxwan's spirits came and asked for leaf tobacco for their "master" (Kaxwan). Yacut told his helpers to bring eight pieces of the tobacco wrapped in cedar bark. They placed this at the grave. The spirits thanked the giver and told him to stay there four days so that all of Kaxwan's spirits would come to him. Four times they gave tobacco and each time it was gone in the morning. The fourth night Yacut's spirit entered him and his helpers heard him babbling. He told his men to be sure not to drink fresh water; and that they were to get some things from the grave of Kaxwan. In the grave-house were two carvings of the head and shoulders of men-spirits called iktdakye'gi (spirits which sit at the door). When the helpers tried to take these the grave-house shook, for the dead man's spirit did not wish to part with these. That night Yacut's spirit told him to get the tongues of a dog, a mink, and a deer. But they did wrong and kept the whole deer to eat. Then they started home. At the village Kuckan was sitting in front of his house. When the canoe came near he called on a spirit called aniggagayeggi (a spirit which lived under the water out from the village). Kuckan "poured water into the mouth of this spirit" which caused an invisible whirlpool. He wished to see if Yacut would "see" this whirlpool. Yacut was lying in the bottom of the canoe, covered with a blanket. 11 2 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT But as they came to the "whirlpool" he told his men to back water and to go sunwise (counterclockwise) around the spot four times. When Kuckan saw this he laughed and said, "My grandson is a real shaman." As the canoe was beached Yacut's father killed two slaves in honor of his son's becoming a shaman. Yacut performed his tricks to show his power. After- ward there was a feast. The deer they had killed was eaten. That night Yacut's spirit told him he had done wrong and said, "Now one by one your clansmen will die, until none are left." (And so it came to pass, for now only a few Ganaxadi remain.) Most shamans when called on in case of witchcraft use obscure language in naming the guilty party; but Kuckan would name the offender directly. So all those practicing witchcraft joined together to kill him. One summer Kuckan was in camp at a salmon stream at Anette Point. He fell ill and his spirits told him that the sorcerers had joined together to kill him. He tried to cure himself, but could not. When he was near the death his spirit came and told him that his own uncle Kanatlgi'dji, with whom he lived, was the leader of the sorcerers. The young people of the camp brought berries which Kuckan ate. Then he felt better. But that midnight he cried out "hi+ " in a loud voice, then said, "The berries I ate were bewitched." (His uncle had worked the sorcery.) In the morning his spirit told him that if he ate snow, he would recover. Snow was brought to him and he ate it mixed with oil. But at midnight he again cried 6ut and said, "They have seized on what I ate." One man told him to find who had done it and the culprit would be killed. But Kuckan's spirit could not name the culprit, saying the sorcerers had "bound his eyes" so he could not see. The next day Kuckan called all his clan (the Tekwedih) together and told them they were to bury him on the islet off Cape Fox, called Kadesutlgi'tc. He said that if they did so, there would be four shamans among the Tekwedih. He also said that the leader of the sorcerers was of their own clan. Be went on to say that unless he was buried where he wished he would give no luck to those offering tobacco and food offshore from his grave. Before he died he told his nephew that his (Kuckan's) mother's brother was the leader of the sorcerers. The nephew told others. In a few days Kuckan died. But instead of burying him off Cape Fox they buried him on the northern tip of. Dog Island. The body was left on an offshore rock the night before the funeral and all night flickering flames rose from the spot. The reason he was not buried at Cape Fox was that his clan would have had to pay very heavily to have the body taken so far. When Kuckan died there were the usual observances for the death of a great shaman. The whole clan fasted for eight days and were continent for a year. For four days after the funeral the following was done: the clan gathered out-of-doors and the clan chief shouted four times, naming one of the spirit helpers of the deceased. This was done for each of his spirits, in the hope that at least one would enter the body of someone present. The chief cried, "Don't give up staying with your masters," thus asking the spirit to enter some survivor within the clan. Songs followed this. This was kept up for four suc- cessive days. When Kuckan died no spirit came because they had violated his instructions. The clan mourned on this account. The Shaman Nuwat In the Xashittan clan was a famous shaman named Nuwa t who had a camp in the north arm of Moira Sound. On the south shore of Miller Lake he fixed up a tree as a house which he called Nuwatatsegi. He caused (with his power) a rock slide to come so berry bushes would grow. And he caused salmon berries to grow in three valleys. These things he did to demonstrate that he was a real shaman. One of his spirits was Hagigunih (spring water under the earth). One autumn he and his family were returning to the winter village. Halfway home his little daughter asked for a drink but they had no water with them. His wife said, "Where is that spring water you are always talking about?" But he did not answer. The child cried for water. Again his wife twitted him. So he signalled his helper (iktxankau) to hand him his spirit box. Then he put on his shaman's shirt. He told the people to dash to shore as soon as water came up. As he sang his song a sand bar appeared along- side the canoe and in the middle of it a spring boiled up. Nuwat came out of his trance and ordered a man to fill a bucket with the spring water. Then Nuwat stepped onto the sand bar and warned them to hurry on. They headed for shore, but a sudden storm came up and all were drowned save one man. At Adams Point is a fissure in the rock where Nuwat came up out of the water. But he never returned to the winter village. The Shaman Gaanisten-Gakkaxwan About 1850 there were 30 shamans among the Tanta- kwan. One of these was Ga anmste'n of the Xashittan clan. He wished to acquire all the spirits that the famed shaman Nuwat had had. When all these had come to him a male land otter appeared to him in a dream and told him to cut off its tongue.229 The spirit told him in this dream that land otter would meet him. One day they (his helper and he) saw three land otters following their canoes, div- ing like porpoises. One of these came to rest and floated, dead. They took this one to a cave and cut off its tongue. That night its spirit came to Gaanisten, gave him a song, and the otter's name, GakkAxwa n (face to frost), and so he was usually called by this name afterward. Even today the Xashittan have this for a personal name. The two men returned to their camp and fasted four days, drinking salt water during this time. (This was to make the shaman pure, so that the spirit would remain with him.) Among other spirits that Gakkaxwan (Gaanisten) had was one from his uncle's uncle. But only three spirits were strong in him: gautuye'keh (spirit in the drum), kusAwuka'h ("skinny man," mink), and gakaxwan ("face of frost," otter). But these three were so strong that when one of them entered him he nearly fell down. At the mouth of Copper River far to the north lived a shaman of the Kluknahadih clan named KanAktlh. The spirit of this one came down and watched Gakkaxwan. He (the spirit) returned to his master and told him that Gakkaxwan was indeed a powerful shaman. So the shaman sent his spirit to kill Cakkaxwan. But the latter knew he was coming and hid in a cave where the powerhouse now stands at New Metlakatla. But the northern spirit found him, dragged him down the cliff, and clubbed him to "death." (The white streak where he dragged him can still be seen 229As is usual in much of North America there is no sharp distinction between animals, animal spirits, animals in human form, or humans in animal form. 113 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS on the cliff.) Then the spirit "ate" his human victim, for the victim seemed fat. The victorious spirit and his mas- ter both became fat. Not until after he was "dead" did Gakkaxwan discover what had happened, for the enemy spirit had blinded him. The enemy spirit carried the victim (as if he were game) to his master at Copper River (Tlaxayl k). At midnight that night his otter spirit said to Gakkaxwan, " They have killed you already." [There is here evidently the idea of oneness of the shaman and his spirit and of a man's soul and body as well.] Then the spirit came into him and at that instant Gakkaxwan awoke. He sent for all the other shamans. They all, and many nonshamans, came to Gak- kaxwan's house. He told them that he had been eaten, that his bones were in a gulch at Copper River. (When a sha- man has been "killed" in this manner his life is in danger and he may die easily. So he stayed in his house and the other shamans doctored him.) A deadly struggle now began between the two shamans and their spirits. Kanaktih sent one spirit to guard the bones of the victim where his helper spirit had left them. But this guarding spirit made the mistake of not staying with the bones every instant. Kanaktih hid himself on an island in the delta of the Copper River. Gakkaxwan now ordered his spirits to take up posts, one on Gravina Is- land, one at the mouth of the Stikine, one at the mouth of the Taku, one at the mouth of the Chilkat, and one on a mountain east of the Copper River [probably Mt. St. Elias]. The mink spirit ranged up and down the coast. Finally Mink Spirit hung a line from the sky above the bones, getting another spirit to hold its upper end, and tying a bag to its lower end. Then Mink caused fog to form and told his aide to lower the line. He watched the spirit guarding the bones, and the instant this spirit was off his guard Mink seized the bones and put them in the bag. The bag and its bones were passed as in a relay from spirit to spirit. There was a terrific race between the two "teams" of spirits, for Kanaktih soon discovered the loss of the bones. As each spirit passed on the bones to the next he turned himself into pebbles or dust so that the pursuing spirits saw nothing. Now Kanaktih collapsed and was near death. Mink Spirit had told the home shamans to be ready, and the instant the bones were returned they sent their spirits in pursuit of the enemy spirits. The latter were outnum- bered and forced to fall back. The contest over the "bones" went on for several years. Gakkaxwan worked at "name magic" on his enemy dur- ing this time. This is called keAnatlseg (naming to death) and can be used by nonshamans also. He called every- thing by the name of his enemy. He would say, "Give me a Kanaktih" [drink]; "Put more Kanaktih [wood] on the fire," and so on. Gakkaxwan also sent his spirits to the south to "kill" other shamans so that he could feed on them and grow fat, for his spirits could not enter him so long as he was thin. During this time all members of his clan refrained from sexual intercourse. Finally his spirits had "killed" eight shamans and "fed" them to him so that he was fat. Then he set out to cure himself. Four times he and his clansmen fasted, were continent, and purified themselves by drinking salt water. Now he was ready to kill his enemy Kanaktih. He sent his mink spirit through the air to Copper River where the spirit located Kanaktih hiding on the island. But one of Kanaktih's spirits saw Mink and told his master. But Mink caused himself to disappear and re- turned to his master. This time Gakkaxwan sent Mink underground, but again the watching spirits saw him and warned their master. Kanaktih was very careful of what he ate or drank and had his spirits carefully inspect what- ever he took, lest an enemy spirit enter it and thus enter him. Mink (who was head spirit) now stationed his fellow spirits at the same places as when he had recovered his master's "bones." Then Mink went "sunwise" around the world (west to east) and came to Kanaktih's place, look- ing for a way to get in. He carried a bag. But again a watching spirit saw him. Then Mink went under water, but was again discovered. But now Mink went up Copper River, watched how the current ran, then put himself into a hemlock leaf. Kanaktih's spirits were very watchful, stationing themselves with poles and examining everything which floated down. But Mink in his tiny leaf stayed close to shore and drifted slowly and carefully down. Thus he passed all the watching spirits. Then he went to midstream and came to the shore of the island. He came upon Kanaktih, broke his head with a club, and put him in his bag. Then he called on his helper to lower the line. This one pulled up the bag and passed it on to the spirit stationed at Chilkat, and he passed it on until it reached the home village. Kanaktih's spirits saw the dripping blood and knew that they had failed, that their master was "killed." At home all the assembled shamans who were helping Gakkaxwan ad- mired the "body." But Mink told him that Kanaktih's fellow shamans in the north had sent their spirits to help. So all the home shamans took clubs, rushed to the door, and their spirits drove the invading spirits back. The home shamans sharpened their knives, cut the fat from the "body," roasted it and ate it. The watch- ing laymen could see nothing, of course. But the sha- mans got eight nonshamans to bring a canoe mast. Over this they hung the remaining fat and its weight nearly broke the mast as it was carried out. Thus Kanaktih was "killed." Soon after this some Gunana Indians from the interior came down Copper River, found Kanaktih, killed him, and captured his wife. They took his shaman's box and went toward home. (But Kanaktih's human helper escaped.) On the way home the raiders opened the box and asked the wife the name of each spirit represented by the various objects. She told them, and each of the captors took the name of a spirit. Finally they came to the object called a kinakgatlcuh, which is the scalp of a dead shaman with the hair knotted and bones stuck in the hair. She told what this was. One of the captors put this on his head, but as he did so he fell down as if dead. The others thought he had acquired a spirit. The others, very anxious to get such a powerful spirit, put it on in turn. But as each put it on he fell down. When only three men remained they saw blood running from the mouths of the fallen. The spirit had killed them. The raiders ran away from the spot. Kanaktih's helper, named Tukeh, had seen all this. But now he subsisted on nothing but "gum boot" clams (cau) and lived in a brush shelter. The shells and offal of the clams he left around his fire until the place was filthy. One day he heard a voice say, "I wonder how it is around Tukeh's fire." In the evening he heard the same again. He wondered what it was. Every day he heard the voice uttering the same query. Finally it occurred to him to clean the place and put new sand around. He gathered a lot of wood. When he had done so he heard the same voice, but louder now. And as the voice spoke, a seal was thrown near, blood running from its nose. Thus he had good food, regained his strength, and went back to his people. In this way it was learned what had happened to Kanaktih. 114 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT A Tantakwan Woman Shaman The following was told about a famous woman shaman of several generations back: Long ago there was a Ganaxadi girl named Djun who was friendless and poor, for all her kin were dead. Her mother's brother's wife took care of her. One day the two went to gather a root called tset which grows in the grassy places at the mouths of creeks. The girl found a pile of these roots which had been dug up by wild geese. The uncle's wife said to her, "You will be lucky and be- come a person of high position. So you must be careful what you do." (Evidently this was said because the find- ing of these roots already dug was a good omen.) One night as the girl lay sleeping her house-mates heard strange noises. They went to her and saw that she was acting like a shaman. In time she came to be famed for curing, foretelling the future, finding lost articles, ferreting out cases of witchcraft, and telling when a taboo had been broken. On one occasion a chief's wife had such a terrible pain in her head that she screamed in agony. The shaman was brought and given many gifts. In a few days the woman was well. Later the chief's daughter had a similar illness. Each night the shaman went into a trance and sang songs as she worked over the girl. The fourth night the shaman came out of her trance at the end of her second song. She said she must have more payment before she could diag- nose what was causing the illness. Then the father of the girl paid her much more. Again whe went into a trance. She circled the watchers four times, going "sunwise" (i.e., counterclockwise). She grabbed at the cause of sickness with her hands. Finally she began as if pulling in a line, the "line of witchcraft." People watched to see which one of those present would be pointed out as guilty. In front of each one present the shaman "pulled on the line" while looking intently into the person's face. But this time it was not a person who was guilty but a sa-s (wren). They were in Raven House, which is always built with double doors. The shaman came to the doors. She continued to sing and signalled that the doors be opened. When this was done she continued pulling in the "line." Soon a wren came hopping in. Then the spirit came out of her and she told the people to catch the bird. They caught it and, fol- lowing the shaman's instructions, tied up its wings and legs. She told them to put it at the rear post of the house and to treat it the same as a human witch or wizard for four or eight days. Accordingly the bird was given no food and only salt water to drink. To the water was added the slimy, mossy water from the bilge of canoes. After four days the shaman told them to let the bird out, tied to a long string leash. The bird led them back to the village. Everyone in the village followed. They came to a moss-covered, sloping windfall. The bird indi- cated the log. Under it they found a human skull and in this the bird had built a nest. The bird had intended no harm [sic] but had used some of the girl's hair in nest building and thus had almost killed her. They carefully carried the skull to the beach, followed by the bird. The shaman told them to take out the nest a bit at a time and drop it into deep water. They did this, and also dropped the skull in deep water. They let the bird free. The following morning the girl was well. On another occasion Djun was called in to treat a sick person. When she came out of her trance she said that the sick woman had been bewitched by TAwasi'si, a high chief. His clan, (Kagwantan) was numerous and powerful, while Djun's clan (Ganaxadi) was relatively weak. The chief said, "I did not bewitch the woman. Are you going to believe that poor useless girl Djun? Let the proof be shown in public." Djun agreed to this. A small stream ran through the village; and the Wolf moiety houses were on one side of the stream, the Raven houses on the other. That night Djun's spirit gave her a new song which ran, "I wish that great chief, he who has the name Tawasisi, would respect this poor child."230 The next morning the two clans lined up on either side of the stream, armed. The Ganaxadi sang this new song. Djun's helpers had dressed her hair in a special way and had put two pointed bones in it. Now, when a shaman takes such a "pointing bone," points it at a person and says, "Huh," the person pointed at will, if he is a wizard, move in whatever direction the bones move. An innocent person, on the other hand, will be able to remain still. The accused chief was dressed in his finery and had on a ceremonial ringed hat (candaku x). As her clansmen sang, Djun pointed the bone at the chief, then moved it to his right. He almost fell over, being jerked by the power. Then she pointed the bone to his left, and again he was jerked so violently that the hat rings swayed. Then she pointed the bone upward and the chief bent sharply back- ward. She pointed the bone down and he bent forward. His clansmen, seeing this, felt almost disgraced. For an innocent person would not do this compulsive bending. The chief's clansmen went home in shame. Later Djun married and through her shamanizing be- came the-richest woman among the Ganaxadi. She bore two daughters, named Tlana'tk and Guglan. These two became the mothers of all of the Ganaxadi among the southern Tlingit. Djun had become a shaman and got her spirit power. Yet she had never cut the tongue of a living creature.23' (Usually novice shamans cut the tongues of several birds and animals. Then the spirits of these creatures become the helper-spirits of the shaman, each with a distinctive song.) SORCERY, WITCHCRAFT, AND BLACK MAGIC Sorcery or witchcraft is regarded as a fearsome thing. Those guilty of practicing it or suspected of doing so were formerly sometimes killed. Sometimes even their children were killed lest they pass on the stigma. Other suspects might be tied to a stake on the beach at low tide. The beat- ings at the grave in recent years are a modern form of such punishment. Sorcery, witchcraft, and black magic are much practiced even to the present day, despite the fact that nearly all Tlingit are at least nominal Christians. But it is very difficult to secure information on these topics. Only DC among my informants was willing to dis- cuss this near-taboo subject at any length and nearly all my information is from him. A person who lies or steals does so because he has been bewitched and his acts are therefore beyond his con- trol. It is believed that a sorcerer has eight "covers," like skins, inside his body. These are called duhtuyl"k ga'tk!li, "inside him (or her) clam," "because a clam when touched closes." Only another and stronger sorcerer can make these open and cure the person of sorcery. 230This song is still sung by the Ganaxadi in certain festivals. 2310ne form of black magic involved the capture of a bird or animal and the cutting of its tongue. This would cause sickness, insanity, and even death. 115 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS The incident, or rather family history, which follows illustrates the concept that sorcery is passed on within the family, inherited in the same way as hereditary traits. A young Russian was captured, made a slave, and given the name Djawa k. His owner was Yetlnawu of Angoon, who was Mrs. DC's father's father. The slave became a good fisherman. But when he came in empty-handed his owner's nephews would hit him over the head with seal's stomach floats to brink him luck. But this he did not under- stand and would think he was being punished. The family owned a large "Canadian" (i.e., pottery) dish which had come from Ts!awi'c (Port Simpson?). One day Djawak broke the dish while washing it. The nephews broke the pieces over his head. He ran away, reached Sitka and got to the Russian stockade. There he was recognized, cleaned up, and considered a Russian. Later Djawak married a Tlingit girl, a member of the Kiksadi clan. A descendant (daughter's daughter's son) is one DW. A daughter of DW was bewitched as a child. A certain man tempted her with a big doll, but when she came to him he struck her with the carcass of a dog. She fell unconscious. When she regained consciousness she told what had happened. Her uncles accused the man she named, but he declared that he was innocent. But they tied him up until he confessed. He was released and not punished because he was of a prominent family of Gutchit- tan. This bewitching of the girl D has never been "washed out" and it is thrown up to the children that they come of a line which has been bewitched. D married W. A daughter of theirs married CD and they had six children, five daugh- ters and a son. One of the girls used to visit DC's daugh- ter so much that she was a pest. During one such visit she boasted of her high caste, that she had Russian blood as well. She did not know that the Russian blood was that of a slave, for this had been a skeleton in the family closet. Actually, everyone knows of it. If the sorcerer had not confessed, the sorcery would have remained in the girl and she would have passed it on to her daughters. If the bewitched girl had not been an only daughter and therefore the only one who could pass on the family's valued names and prerogatives, she would have been killed to wipe out the disgrace. But the stigma remains to this day and cannot be wiped out. In Sitka there was a widow of the Kiksadi clan living in a house with some kinsmen. She was working black magic and claimed she did so because she could not help it; that she had been bewitched by some members of the Kagwantan clan. They had given her snuff mixed with lime from clam shells. These sorcerers came to her in their inhuman guises. She could hear them, for a sorcer- er as he walks makes a crackling sound on the ground. This woman wished to stop her sorcery but had a com- pulsive urge to carry it on. She asked that Christian prayers be said for her. In the house next to her a man lay dying. At the instant of his death the witch cried out, "Save him!" Then she came out of her trancelike state. The next day she put her images with which she worked magic in the water and thus prevented the deaths of the persons the images represented. They took the witch to Reverend Austin, the Presby- terian minister, who was skeptical. He made a test of her power. He put peanuts in a bowl in the kitchen, then asked her to cause some to fly into her hand. She im- mediately handed him four. Then they sent for a woman named Tlask'eh, a powerful witch. This one worked over her for an hour but could not open the "covers" in her, for a more powerful witch was working against it. A few days later the poor woman (who wanted to confess but could not) committed suicide by hanging herself. NECROMANCY AND NECROPHILIA Magic and sorcery linked with the dead, graves, or even the funeral pyre seem to be specially developed among the Tlingit. Necrophilia in the form of sexual re- lations with the spirits of the dead is a related practice. Both are so feared and dreaded that it is difficult to se- cure information on them. To admit much knowledge of black magic or necrophilia might give rise to suspicion of practicing them. Neither Krause nor Swanton mentions them. My chief source of data was DC, who was unusually uninhibited when it came to matters seldom openly dis- cussed, even among the Tlingit themselves. Sorcerers who go to the graves of the recent dead to work magic are impelled by a "feeling" or a spirit within them. It is said that no sorcerers ever visit the graves of whites. But some whites, bewitched by someone, have been known to visit native graves. Thus a certain white man, X, was married to a Kiksadi woman. They lived on Japonsky Island. He had been be- witched by a Hoona woman. The Hoona witch was able to fly through the air to X's home and enter, even though the door was locked. She showed him how she had come through the keyhole. The two often had sexual intercourse. Later he told his wife that the dead in the cemetery called him to come over, that he was able to fly there and have intercourse with beautiful girls among the dead. Two motives compel the sorcerers: Either he wishes to have intercourse with the dead or to work magic against some person they wish to harm. DC told of a young woman who tried to persuade him to go with her to the cemetery. She declared that intercourse with the (spirits of) dead was more pleasurable than sexual relations with the living. The first night after the remains (body or bones) are placed in the grave there is some chance that a sorcerer may visit the grave for evil purposes. So four or eight men of the clan of the deceased stand watch to try to catch the prowler. If he is caught, the watchers may beat or even kill the sorcerer. Such evil persons are able to enter the grave-house even through a small crack. Once inside, they assume a nonhuman form such as a dog, a ptarmigan, a duck, or other creature. They may make sounds like this animal or may whistle. At the grave they go into a magical performance. The following incidents are illus- trative: In Sitka there is an Orthodox church cemetery for na- tives. Two men came walking past it one night. A small grave-house was near the path and inside they heard a noise like a ptarmigan. One of them hit the house with a stick. At that instant the witch came out, a girl of eighteen. She tried to escape but one of the men caught her skirt. She had on her finest clothes. They asked what she had been doing. She confessed she had been working sorcery to harm a certain person. (This is usually done by getting things from the victim, such as clothing or hair cuttings. An image is made and harmed or deformed in some man- ner. It is then placed in the grave-house. The victim will be afflicted in the same way that the image was mutilated.) In this particular case the girl pleaded with the men not to tell and gave each $20.00 to keep the secret. The following is an account of another instance of the operation of sorcery. A certain rich man of the Ganaxtedih of Klukwan married a Sitka woman of Gutchittan. The couple came to Sitka and were visiting at the house of YAdutskaiL. They were treated well and feasted. During their stay there was a death and the body was cremated. That evening the woman was missing from the house. The host and his wife went to the beach on an errand of nature. 11 6 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT While there they heard a shot. In a moment they heard someone run up the steps of the house. The host told his wife to walk slowly while he went to see who had come in. He saw a trail of blood on the steps. It was the woman visitor. The watchers at the grave had seen her blowing on the embers of the cremation fire and had shot her. She died toward morning. The people of her clan killed two of her children, a son and a daughter, so that there would be no children through the witch. But she had other daughters married in other tribes. The descendants of these to this day have the disgrace mentioned in quarrels, that so and so was shot at the grave. This despite the fact that they are prominent (high caste) people. A certain man died at Angoon. Four men watched at the grave. A fifth was an Americanized man, AP, who came along because he was skeptical. The night was still and moonlit. There was a light snow on the ground. Near morning the watchers heard a sound like wind from wings. At that instant they saw a person on the grave. He took off one boot. They caught him and kicked and beat him. The skeptic did not take part in the beating because the deceased was not of his clan. There were no footprints on the snow, showing that the sorcerer had flown there. After the beating the wizard got up and walked away as if nothing had happened. The watchers took the boot and put it up on a stick in the village. The next morning there was news that a certain man was sick. His family sent for the white nurse to examine him. He was sent to the native hospital in Juneau but nothing helped him, so he was sent back to Angoon where he died shortly-after. A man named TsiniVc of the Daklawedih clan at Angoon went on a visit to Juneau. He was (nominally) a Christian, belonging to the Salvation Army. While he was in Juneau a young Daklawedih man died. The watchers at the grave saw someone come and perform incantations over the grave. They rushed him, caught him and beat him badly. But he was able to get back to his boat. On the way home he began to spit blood and died a few days later from the beating. A man named Gede&h of the Daklawedih clan at Klukwan was shot while working sorcery at a grave. As usual there were four clansmen of the deceased watching over the new grave. The grave was marked with a pole and a crosspiece [a cross?]. Near morning the watchers heard a sound like a diving eagle. "It" flew past the grave, then turned and came back. They shot and the "bird" fell. They seized it and saw it was one of their own clansmen. He begged them not to tell and gave 50 blankets to each. About 1925 a certain high caste husband and wife were seen at a new grave. He was dressed as an Orthodox priest. He carried a human skull pierced through the dome sus- pended from a cord. This he was using as a censer, chant- ing the Christian litany, his wife giving the replies. It is said that grave sorcery is on the increase in re- cent times because of the law which offers protection to the sorcerer and punishes the watchers at the grave. TOTEMISM Totemism has been defined by Radcliffe-Brown as a set of "customs and beliefs by which there is set up a special system of relations between the society and the animals and plants and other natural objects that are im- portant in the social life." This definition applies to the Tlingit only in part. Or perhaps it should be said that the totems are important in the social life only because they stand as symbols of the social groups. Murdock has said of the Haida that the "crests are not true totems . . . for the animals they represent are not regarded as ancestors . . . nor do the clans bear their names."232 This statement may be correct for the Haida but would not hold for the Tlingit. The Tlingit moieties are animal named (Raven and Wolf or Eagle), and these animals as totems and sym- bols are the common possession of members of the re- spective moieties. However, the clans, which are the sub- divisions of the moieties, may regard certain crests as their "special" ones. Thus, the Tekwedih use the bear as a primary crest, the Kiksadi the frog. But no Tekwedih speaks of himself as "Bear" and a Kiksadi would never say, "I am Frog."233 But moiety membership is often in- dicated by the statement, "I am Wolf," or, "I am Raven," as the case may be. As for descent from or relationship with the crest ani- mals, this is very specific for the Tlingit. The animals in question are often spoken of as cagu'n (ancestor) or re- ferred to by such kinship terms as "brother" or "brother- in-law." Specific instances are cited below in verbatim accounts by informants. The question of taboo on eating the flesh of the crest animals hardly enters since nearly all are of species not usually considered edible (raven, eagle, dogfish, starfish, and so on). But the taking or killing of a crest animal usually involves an explanation or apology to the creature. The mystic bond between social group and crest animal may also involve real or supernatural aid by the animal to the person or group, as is described below. Not merely crest animals but also inanimate things can be "spoken to." Thus the Tcucanedih speak to icebergs and glaciers, ice (in a sense) being a crest of theirs. In the legend it was a Tcucanedih woman who called to the glacier. The people of Hoona often encounter icebergs in Icy Straits. They speak, saying icanuha'n akka'k ko'xde (we are poor, my uncle, go back from us). The bergs then scatter or go back. All animals understand the Tlingit tongue, especially crest animals. A person meeting a crest animal of his moiety says, k!a dutl ka'nz (have pity on me), or xatkatl tlaxe'ktl (let me have luck). Kodiak bears are rightly feared as they are known to attack without provocation. A person of the Wolf moiety, however, can prevent the attack by speaking to the threat- ening animal, saying, lihxoni aiyaxa't (your friend [clans- man] I am, that is, "I am of your side"). The bear will then go away. This has been proved many times. The bear would understand a Raven person but would pay no atten- tion. The Tekwedih (whose chief crest is Bear) have spe- cial influence and none has ever been harmed by a bear.234 The Tekwedih and Decitan once had a feud. During the battle many bears came to the aid of the Tekwedih and forced the Decitan to take to their canoes. About 1910 a group of Tekwedih women were picking berries near Piper's Bay. On the way back to the canoe one of the women stumbled, spilling her berries. The others went on. As she finished picking up the berries she heard a snort behind her. It was a huge bear. She turned her head, saw him, but had presence of mind to say, hata'h (what's the matter; used to send dogs away) k!legrtl ikku dek! ihca'wu atnaa't djiya aiya (Aren't you ashamed! Your own clanswoman is walking around here). 232Murdock, 1934, p. 236. 233The only exception is that of the Nexadi who usually reply to a question of clan affiliation by saying, "I am Eagle." But the Nexadi are a special case. (See the discussion of the Nexadi anomaly.) 234If bear are being hunted, they are not spoken to before or after killing. 117 ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS The bear stopped, his ears drooped in shame, and he turned and went into the woods. (This reflects the brother- sister taboo, the bear being her "brother.") If a man comes upon a band of wolves, he speaks to them, according to his clan, as "brothers" or "brothers- in-law." Thus JD, a Raven, stated he always said, icande'n akda itnatih akkaniga n (be merciful unto me, my bro- thers-in-law). When addressed thus the wolves will not harm a person. JD earned a part of his living by trapping wolves. When he came on a wolf in the trap he spoke to him thus: "Brother-in-law! I set the trap for mink (or bear)! You have made a mistake by coming here. But I can't let you go because your foot is broken and you can- not hunt now. So I must kill you. You must wish that next time I will catch some other animal." At this the wolf's ears droop and he is comforted. An unusual encounter or experience with one of the totem animals could, under certain circumstances, bring good fortune, provided one went through a ritual. This might be only saying a prayer or might involve fasting or the like. FW's husband was once drifting down the Stikine in a rowboat. A frog started to climb up the oar. But he, un- thinking, started to row and the frog fell into the water. When he told of this the old people said, "That wife of yours was bringing you luck" (for FW is Kiksadi, with the frog the chief totem). I was told that he should have taken the frog into the boat and said a prayer. FW was once on a canoe voyage with her father and some others. A school of killer whales came by, some "scratching their backs" on the canoe. An old woman aboard spoke to them, telling them they were the ances- tors of some of the people in the canoe, that the owner of the canoe was of their clan and that they should do no harm. One of the creatures spouted water into the canoe. The old lady caught some of the water in her hands. She then fasted for two days, claiming that now she would have good luck all her life. FW, whose husband is Tahltan, stated that the Tahltan Daklawedih have the wolf as their chief crest, while the Tahltan Nanyaayih have the bear as their chief crest. (The Stikine Nanyaayih have the wolf as their chief crest. The names of these clans are the same in Tahltan as in Tlingit.) It is said that the Tahltan Daklawedih would not kill a wolf, but this may be because a famous shaman among them had the wolf as a spirit helper and asked his clan mates not to kill wolves. The Tahltan also had a ta- boo on killing the land otter for fear that if they did so its spirit would enter the killer. People of the Wolf moiety say when the raven makes a certain sound "for rain," "Listen to my big brother-in- law" (akkanikle'n). Persons of the Wolf moiety would speak to a wolf or bear as akxoni (my relative). If someone of the opposite moiety made sport of a crest (e.g., of Raven), those who hold that crest would destroy or give away some property to uphold the honor of the crest. Sometimes the "offender" does this for purely ceremonial purposes. This is very like the men- tion by a Raven man of the creek called Killer Whale Fin Creek at Sitka. If a Raven said, "Killer Whale Fin Creek is running over," at the next feast he would be over- whelmed with food by those of the Wolf side. Related to the ideas of totemism is the concept that needlessly harming any animal will bring ill luck. At Wrangell I was told that when the Stikinekwan had their main village at Mill Creek spring failed to come one year. The snow lingered on and famine threatened. One day a blue jay flew over and dropped a sprig of ripe elderberries down the smoke hole of a house. Some men went to the south in a canoe and soon came to where it was summer; and things were green and growing. The snow and storms of winter had continued at Wrangell because someone had harmed some animal and the animal's spirit had brought on the disatster. The wearing of American style clothing has brought about some curious attitudes regarding the fur of crest animals. Thus the Decitan of Angun claim the beaver as their special crest. A woman not of that clan who wears, for example, a coat with a beaver collar is snickered at and other women remark, "Look at her, wearing beaver!" (The Tatlkwedih, however, may wear beaver, as they are regarded as closely related to the Decitan.) FW, a Kiksadi, stated that she could wear beaver because her maternal grandfather was a Decitan. DANCE SOCIETIES The dancing societies ("secret societies") of the tribes to the south had spread to some of the southern Tlingit groups.235 Most of the features were avowedly of Tsim- shian origin. I was unable to secure much data on these societies. Mrs. DC of Sitka, whose mmeory goes back to about 1870, gave me some materials that I record here. She had seen some of the performances. She was not an initiate but had danced at some of the rituals. It is quite clear that none of the Tlingit north of Sitka had acquired the songs, dances, whistles and other paraphernalia asso- ciated with these special dances. Mrs. DC's account is that of one of the uninitiated. She once knew some of the special songs and dances but had forgotten them. She said of her account, "I can only tell you what I saw and heard." But many of the things she describes are identical (or nearly so) with elements of the dances of the Haida, Tsimshian, and Kwakiutl. Among such are escape of the novice, his being tied to a pole, the whistles, and the eating of dogs. Her account follows. The word Lukana is a name for those who get this special kind of spirit. It is also a name for this class of spirits. The spirits that ordinary shamans get are called yek and are different. In Sitka there was only one man, named Nawa'n, who was truly possessed by the Lukana spirits. All the others merely pretended to have them. It began this way: In Sitka [about 1875] there lived a noted man of the Kiksadi clan whose name was Kuk!ka'n. (He also had a "Russian" name, Nihana.) He and his brother Nawan lived in Tinahit. A Kiksadi shaman named Aktatsi n died. When a shaman died it was the custom for the whole clan to fast for four days. They would gather in a house and stamp their feet, calling on the spirits of the dead sha- man. It was always the hope that his spirits would come to someone of his house or clan so that this one could be a shaman to take the place of the one who has died. If the spirits came to a person, he would fall over backward and lie unconscious on the floor. On this occasion the body of the shaman was carried out before the coming of the fourth day. [Shamans were not cremated.] His clansmen followed in the procession, each wearing a belt and carrying a cane. The burial was to be on a rocky islet off the mouth of Kitgucihin (Killer Whale's Dorsal Fin Creek). As the party went along the bank of the creek a crippled raven came flapping awk- 235Direct similarities to the secret societies of the tribes to the south are obvious. 1 18 OLSON: SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE TLINGIT wardly along. Nawan seized the bird and bit off its beak. He smeared the wound with human feces. Then he shouted, "Someone bit the nose off a person." When the mourners returned to the spot on the way home, Nawan shouted the same thing again. No one paid any attention to him. They went to Kukkan's house and were seated around the fire, eating, when suddenly the whole firepit area dropped down to a lower level. Every- one saw this. When it happened Nawan had a seizure and fell down unconscious and was as if "crazy." Near morn- ing he said, "I bit the nose off the raven. Now all manner of spirits are coming to me. They are waiting for me. Probably you will have a hard time trying to keep me here." Then he tried to run out. He was restrained only with difficulty. All that night he slept. The next day near evening the spirits in him were so powerful that he escaped out the door. He was so swift that no one could catch him. He ran to the low mountains back of the village. About a week later a noise was heard on Cross Mountain. It was a croaking, xo xo xo, almost like the croak of a raven. They knew it was Nawan. The people barred their doors in fear of him. Nawan, in the form of a raven Lukana, lighted atop a Russian gravestone back of Astronomer's Rock. Men went over there and seized him by the feet. He was so powerful that it took many men to drag him down. They took him to his brother's house. The brother took five yards of calico, twisted it, and using it as a ripe, tied him to a post. There he was kept. Finally he came to himself. He told the peo- ple of the condition he was in, that he was possessed by the Lukana. He said, "Never try to catch a Lukana by the waist. He cannot be held if you do. Try to catch him by the forelock and pull him over backward. That is the only way you can catch and hold a Lukana. " Thus he instructed them. He told those who tended him, "I am in a state in which the Lukana spirits have a strong hold on me. The strongest is the Bear Lukana. Next strongest is the Wolf Lukana. Third is the Tauyatkle'n (Big Kwakiutl) Lukana. Fourth is K!anaxhidaxcawat (Supernatural Being Woman) Lukana. Fifth is the Yetl Lukana (Raven Lukana). (It was this last one which he had mistreated by biting the nose from the raven.) Nawan excaped again, croaking like a raven as he fled. He was gone nearly a month, no one knew where. His parents and brothers mourned for him. But again they heard him croaking on the mountain. Again people bolted their doors. Again he came, alighting on the gravestone. They managed to get him down by pulling him over back- ward, holding him by the forelock. This caused him to become weak. They tied the calico line around his waist and four men led him in. Then the Bear Lukana came into him, and he would go around the house, his feet looking exactly like bears' paws. But he was most dangerous when the Wolf Lukana was in him. Then he was in a frenzy of desire to eat a living person. As each spirit possessed him he would take on the form of that creature. In the form of the Supernatural Being Woman he had very long sharp nails. When the Raven spirit came to him he would call all the Kiksadi women to come to his house. Theywere afraid, but came nonetheless. But the performance was really a good time, and all the Kiksadi women danced as he di- rected. The Kiksadi men also danced. He told them how to paint their faces in the form of a raven's beak. They wore coils of cedar bark on their heads. When the Bear or other large Lukana was in him, he appeared huge. When the Raven spirit was involved, he appeared small. He instructed two of his brothers to stand on top of the houses where they could hear the voices of the spirits call- ing him. He told certain ones of his clan to make large rattles and a big club for the Big Kwakiutl spirit. He in- structed them how to carve a [mask] likeness of the Super- natural Being Woman. He said, "Have the rattles in your hands when you call me. Then the spirits will listen." After he had instructed them, the spirits possessed him again and he escaped, flying through the air and cry- ing, "Aw aw aw." People were told to stand on top of the houses, wearing black bear skins. They were to hold the rattles and the big club. On dark nights they would stand on the roofs and sing, trying to get Nawan to return. The words of the song were Tsimshian and ran, galhau' galhau' galhau' come on (back), come on, come on, laxlu'k laxlu'k laxlu'k Lukana, Lukana, Lukana This time Nawan was away about a month. It happened that Mrs. DC's parents were returning from Angoon and they heard the spirit's voice as he flew over the island called Kasdahe'x. They reported this when they reached home. One of the people said, "That can't be true. You should have seen how clumsy he (Nawan) looked only a short time ago." But soon his voice was heard and every- one ran in and bolted the doors. This time he did not land on his brother's house but on that of the one who had scoffed. It was the Raven spirit in him, and he flew down the smoke hole and sat on the drying rack sticks. The [special] men came and took charge of him, taking him to his brother's house. There he assumed the form of a bear. (But the worst was when he was in the form of the Big Kwakiutl.) This time he remained in the village a week. He was like a normal human being. But he told the people, "Lu- kana wishes to eat a human being." At that time his father owned a slave and said, "Let him eat my slave." But Na- wan said, "Ha ha. The Lukanas [the spirits] are anyadki (nobles): " In the cold of winter with the ground frozen Nawan would go down to the beach with his attendants. There, if the Bear spirit was in him, he would dig a huge hole and lie there, tied at the waist with the calico line. If the female spirit was in him, he would seize a passing dog, cut it open with his nails, and devour the entire animal. On one occasion he escaped from his attendants and was gone about six weeks. But he returned and acted normal. He went with some people to Tsawatlhini in Liziansky Bay to dry fish. Before he left, a Tcucanedih woman gave him a gift of some leaf tobacco. A few days later Mrs. DC's parents went there for salmon. They saw him smoking a pipe. He tried to speak but could not, for the spirits did not like the tobacco. While the visitors were there and as he smoked he had a seizure. He cried "xo xo" and flew out the smoke hole. He disappeared for two months this time. Those with him tried to get him back by standing on the roof, singing and using the rattles. Finally they heard his cry far up on Redoubt Mountain. He came flying over, going in the direction of Sitka. In the middle of the channel his spirits let go and he fell into the ocean. The people went to him in a canoe. He cried, "Akcutyako'x, akkcutyako'x" (Come get me, come get me). But as they came near he flew upward and dis- appeared. He was gone quite a time but finally they heard him atop Cross Mountain. Again they called him with rattles and songs. He finally came down and, as twice before, he alighted on the gravestone. ANTHROPOLOGICAL RECORDS This time when he came to himself he explained what had happened. "Because Kaudje'tl (the woman) gave me the tobacco the spirits punished me. When I came to my- self I was hanging from a cliff with a lake far below. I was hanging by a pointed stone sticking in my cheek, my feet not touching. And I was crying for help. That is the way I was punished.!" Then he and the other people of the Kiksadi clan danced the dances he had learned. (There was no scar on his cheek.) He told that the spirits had let go of him and he came to himself by the side of a large lake. The shores were red with the berries of bush cranberries. "I wish you would come there with me so you could get the berries for winter," he said. He also said, "This is the last time, the last punishment I will get from the Lukana. They are going back to their homes and they said they would leave me from now on." Later he said, "This is the last time. That is why I was punished. There will be a number of years pass, then the Lukana will come for me again. If you [Kiksadi] know how to treat me just right, all will be well. Otherwise they will come for me and I will go away forever." After that he lived as a normal person for many years, until Mrs. DC was nearly grown. (She was a child when this all started.) But one day Nawan said, "The Lukanas have come here from the south to get me." And later, "They are coming, the Lukana anyadki. If you people do not treat me just right, they will take me away forever. If you treat me right, they will not take me at all." By this time Mrs. DC sometimes danced for Nawan. The spirits took him away again. But now they were weaker and did not keep him so long. This was the second [series of] time that he was possessed. Mrs. DC went on: I was a girl when I used to dance for Nawan. My father took one of his slaves and gave it to Nawan. This was as a payment for protection, so that I would not be stricken with any plague which might come. Nawan took his Raven spirit, the one who fished with a bait to catch any sickness which might endanger me. Nawan took a small-size hali- but hook (naxw), ran down to the beach, baited it, and put it in the water. He said, "If a plague comes, there will appear on you a red scar and you will sweat. That will show that there is a plague around." He went on, "I will put you in the form of a candakahl"ddi sawutssage'h" (old house stick it up; that is, he would put her life up in an old house so that she would live long). But a nephew of Nawan, named Giske