1888.] PROCEEDINGS OF UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 209 



chief of the Naqomkilis, who belongs to the Ajauikila gens, ^anikila 

 is "the great transformer" of all these tribes. lie is the son of the deity, 

 and descended from heaven in the shape of an eagle, (vpanikila means 

 "he with spreadout wings.") Therefore the gens has an eagle for its 

 emblem. The man on whom the eagle rests is Bebekumlisila, oue of the 

 figures that \panikila put up in his house. I was unable to learn the 

 meaning of the other upright (Fig. 17). The name of the kneeling man 

 on it is Silai'oqa. The upper being was described as •' the same as a 

 bear," but it is evidently a sea auimal. 



In the model No. 130414 of the catalogue of the National Museum the 

 men who cany the beams (Figs. 7, 8, 9) represent the slaves of one of 

 the ancestors of the gens. The open mouth indicates that they speak 

 for the chief, as it is considered beneath a chief's dignity to speak to 

 the common people. The figure carrying the beam on its left should- 

 er is standing on a bear's head (Fig. 18). The animal, by which the 

 other figure in the rear of the house is supported, is probably the wolf 

 (Fig. 7). The meaning of the figure that is inclosed in the upright is 

 unknown to me (Fig. 9). I have seen the same figure in the village of 

 the Tlatlasi^oala, at Qumta'spe (on Hope Island), but could not learn 

 anything about it. Neither can I say with any certainty to which gens 

 the house belongs, as there is no painting on the front. 



From these remarks it will be clear that every single carving in the 

 houses of these tribes has some connection with the traditions of the 

 gentes. The Indians of the present time make various combinations of 

 the emblems of the gentes of both parents of the house-owner, and this 

 is the reason for Hie great variety of forms. Eesides this, legends re- 

 ferring to certain ancestors are illustrated in the emblems, and thus it 

 happens that seemingly the ancient styles are not strictly adhered to. 



It remains to explain several of the figures frequently occurring in 

 these carvings. One of the most frequent carvings is the slave of the 

 chief who is talking to the people. We saw him on the uprights of the 

 model, on the post of Sentlae (Figs. 7, 10), and in Fig. IS he is standing 

 on the gable of a house. The omitted statue in Fig. G and Fig. 19 be- 

 long to a similar class; the latter represents a man by the name of 

 Kie'jpo, who holds a wolf in his hands. The back of the wolfs tail 

 shows a human face. The hind legs of the wolf are seen under the legs 

 of a man who sits on an animal, the meaning of which 1 do not know, 

 as the head is half buried in the ground, but probably it represents a 

 bear. These two figures are hollowed out in the back, so that a man 

 can stand behind them and speak through their open mouth, which acts 

 as a speaking tube. The men represent slaves of an ancestor, and when 

 the chief is speaking through the mouth at certain festivals it is sup- 

 posed that the slave is speaking. 



In many of the figures we see the famous copper plates (thV^oa), one 

 of which is seen between Figs. 7 and 8. They are found painted on the 

 breasts of the men in the model, they form the lower part of the post of 

 p r0c . N. M. 88 14 JO^L^m^ 



