204 



HOUSES OF KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



FlG. 11. Sun mask. 



house represent two men: Ye'^ent'e^a (something talking inside) and 



Waweqemitl fthe orator). The uprights in the rear of the house also 



represent men : Leqe'laqsta (the braggart) and 



II;isa>[a\\;Vsni (attempting to talk louder than 

 anybody else). The uprights in front of 

 the house support the beams that represent 

 the Sisiutl (a double- 

 headed snake), while 

 those in the rear of 

 the house are con- 

 nected by a cross-piece 

 representing a Sisiutl 

 (or w oil ?), upon which 

 the beams rest. The 

 hinges of the house 

 door are at its upper 

 o<lg<'. It is very heavy 

 and crashes every bad 



man who attempts to enter the house. His 

 dancing mask was called Olikyen, and repre- 

 sented a wolf; the dance in which it is used is 

 called Walas-aqalv (something great coming 

 from above). 



When the house was finished Om'aqta'latle 

 gave a great feast, and the beams and uprights 

 of his house began to move. The Sisiutl played 

 with their tongues. The men began to talk 

 and told the Sisiutl to kill all enemies of their 

 master. 



(2) Sentlae (a gens of the Tlauitsis, Nimkic, 

 Naqoartojj, and Kwakint 1 ). 

 Sentlae, the sun, descended from heaven in shape of a bird and was 

 transformed into a man. He built a house in Yijfa'men. Thence he 

 wandered to \jomoks and married a woman of that tribe. He visited 

 the Tlauitsis, Nimkic, and Na'^oartojf, and married a woman of each of 

 these tribes. At last he came to TTiksi'wae, in the country of the Kwak- 

 intl, and built a house in ^j'aioq. There he remained. He took a wife 

 among the Kwakiutl, and they had a sou who was called Ts^tsa/lis. 



On his house front a sun is painted on each side of the door. The 

 uprights represent men carrying suns. Their name is Lela't'otpes aud 

 they were slaves of Sentlae. The cross-bars connecting the uprights 

 are also men, the beams sea-lions. Three steps lead up to the door. 

 They represent men whose names are Tle'nonis. The heraldic column 

 of tin- -ens, called Sent lc qf-m, is shown in Fig. 10. It represents a series 

 of coppers, one standing upon the other. On top of the coppers there 

 is a man extending his arm as though he were talking. His name is 



Fig. 9. Carved nprigh* in the 

 Kwakiutl bouse, 130114. 



