276 proceedings: anthropological society 



north there is no such dissociation. Good- and evil things were alike 

 created by the Transformer. 



The Northwest Coast Indians believe that an individual comprises 

 a body inhabited by two "souls" and a "ghost." In a slight illness 

 the "outer soul" becomes separated from the body, in a serious illness 

 the "inner soul" wanders to the "country of souls" but may be 

 recalled by the shaman. When death occurs the "ghost" also departs 

 and the shaman has no further power. The "country of souls" con- 

 tains two division, one inhabited bj r recently arrived souls, the other 

 by souls which have been there for a longer time. On their journey 

 to this land the souls pass a "rest-house," then a "lake" and a "berry- 

 ground." Their way is barred by a "spring-pole," and they must 

 cross a "rotten log," the final barrier being a wide river. 



No ritual or systematic form of supplication is found among these 

 Indians, indeed it may be said that guardian spirits take the place of 

 deities. Every man and woman possesses one or more guardian spirits 

 each of which has its special sphere of influence. Thus there are 

 guardian spirits for securing good weather and plenty of seal or whale, 

 guardian spirits for success in hunting, and for help in making baskets 

 and canoes. No offerings accompany a request to a guardian spirit. 

 Crude representations of these spirits are seen on the implements and 

 on the house-posts of their owners. 



The shamans receive their power from a multitude of spirits. Cer- 

 tain shamans are considered to have power to cure sickness, while it 

 is believed that others can "steal a man's soul," causing either serious 

 illness or death. Large gifts are exacted by the shamans, who are 

 both respected and feared. 



In the discussion which followed the reading of the paper Dr. J. R. 

 Swanton called attention to the nascent dualism and monism in the 

 religious beliefs of the Indians of the southern and northern areas 

 considered by the speaker. Dr. I. M. Casanowicz noted the strange 

 fact that many primitive religious ideas bear a resemblance to the 

 most advanced religious ideas of the present time. Dr. J. W. Fewkes 

 said that primitive Indians are so low in the cultural scale that they 

 develop only the most general religious principles, these being modified 

 by the several geographic areas inhabited by them. He stated further 

 that there is no unity in the primitive religions of the American In- 

 dians, though some parallelisms are found between the beliefs held in 

 different areas. Dr. Truman Michelson mentioned some differences 

 between the religious ideas of the Northwest Coast Indians and those 

 of the Algonquian tribes, one of the chief differences being that the 

 latter do not believe in a plurality of souls. 



Frances Densmore, Secretary. 



