332 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



13d. Laa'luis. 



13 e. Q'o'mT'uox. 



This list is not quite complete, but very nearly so. A number of tlie 

 clans are subdivided into smaller groups, but it is very difficult to 

 ascertain these sul)divisions. Thus the ISTaqcVrng-ilisala embrace a sub- 

 division called Me'Emaqaua, who are, ho^vever, not considered a separate 

 clan. The La/la-uiLEla of the La'Lasiqoala are divided into two divi- 

 sions — the (r-'eg-'o'te, the descendants of G-'o'te, and the Ilii'heqolaL, 

 the descendants of Ha'qolaL. The La'alaxsEnt'aid of the Kwakiutl 

 proper consist of three divisions: The La'alaxsEnt'aio proper, the 

 A'lk'unweE (=lower corner, speakers of the first division), and the 

 He/ha'me'tawe, the descendants of Ha'me'tawe. The Ts'E'nts'Enx-qaio 

 of the Wa/las Kwakiutl are divided in two divisions — the Ts'E'nq'am 

 and Hai'maaxsto. These divisions are given merely as examples, as I 

 have not been able to discover all the subdivisions of the different 

 clans and tribes. 



The recent history of these tribes and clans explains the develop- 

 ment of this exceedingly comi)lex social system. Historical tradition 

 has it that the Gue/tEla and the Q'o'moyue, both septs of the Kwakiutl, 

 not very long ago formed one tribe. At one time a quarrel arose 

 between them, in which Lfi/qoag-ila, the head chief of the Gue'tEla, 

 was killed. Then they divided, and since that time form two septs. 

 There is a saying indicating the close relationship of the two, to the 

 effect that the Gue'tEla and the Q'o'moyue are twins — the former suckled 

 at the mother's right breast, the latter at the left. 



Still another tribe, which, however, 1 have not included in the above 

 list on account of its recent origin, has branched off from the Kwakiutl. 

 These people call themselves Ma'tilpe, i. e., the highest Maa'mtag-ila, 

 and include the septs Maa'mtag-ila, G-e'xsEm, and Haai'lak-Emae, all 

 of which are found among tlie Gue'tEla and Q'o'moyue. 



While in these two cases new tribes were formed by a process of 

 division, in one other case, at least, a tribe has recently become a clan 

 of another tribe, namely, the Laa'luis of the Le'kwiltoq, who have 

 joined the Kue'xa of the same group and form a fourth clan of the 

 latter. The event happened during the great war with the southern 

 Salishan tribes, which was waged in the middle of this century, the 

 cause of the amalgamation being the great reduction of the tribe. 

 The Q'o'm'enox have become entirely extinct. Another tribe which 

 lived near the Qn'scir-mox, of which, however, we have only traditional 

 reports, the Xoysi'les, have been exterminated by the Qo'sqemox. 



These few authentic facts show that the numbers of tribes and of 

 clans have undergone considerable changes during historical times. 

 This conclusion is corroboi-ated by the distribution of clans among 

 various tribes, and by the meaning of their names. We may distinguish 

 three classes of tribal names and of clan names, viz, such as are 

 collective forms of the name of the ancestor, names taken from the 



