THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



357 



prestige of the rival, but also for the sole purpose of gaiuiug- distiuc- 

 tion. This is done mainly at the time when houses are built, when 

 totem poles are erected, or when a son has been initiated by the spirit 

 presiding over the secret society of his clan, to which ceremony refer- 

 ence has i)reviously been made. It 

 seems that in olden times slaves were 

 sometimes killed and buried under 

 the house posts or under totem posts. 

 Later on, instead of being killed, they 

 were given away as presents. When- 

 ever this was done, the inverted llgure 

 of a man, or an inverted head, was 

 placed on the pole. In other cases 

 coppers were buried under the posts, 

 or giva^n away. This custom still con- 

 tinues, and in all such cases coj^pers 

 are shown on the post, often in such 

 a way that they are being held or 

 bitten b}^ the totem 

 animals (Plate 14). At 

 the time of the initia- 

 tion of a member of 

 the clan slaves were 

 also killed or coppers 

 were destroyed, as 

 will be described in 

 greater detail later on. 

 The property thus 

 destroyed is called the 

 o'mayu, the price paid 

 for the house, the 

 post, or for the initi- 

 ation. 



The distribution or 

 destruction of ju'op 

 erty is not always 

 made solely for the 

 purpose of gaining 

 prestige for one's self, 

 but it is just as often 

 made for the benefit of 

 the successor to the 

 name. In all such cases the latter stands during the festival next to the 

 host, or, as the Indian terms it, in front of him, and the chief states that 

 the property is distributed or destroyed for the one '• standing in front of 

 him" (Lawu'hpime), which is therefore the term used for the chief's 

 eldest son, or, in a more general sense, for the heir presumi^tive. 



POTLATCH MASK OF THE K''KWA'KUM. 



Double mask capable of being opened and closed by means of strings. 



((() Outer view, representing the ancestor in an angry state of mind, 

 vanquishing bis rivals. (6) The mask opened, representing the 

 ancestor in a pleasant state of mind, distributing property. 



IV A, Xo. li-l:;, n.iyal Ethnographical, Museum Berlin. C"l!«-teil l.y A. .Ta.-.ibsen. 



