THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



365 



house. The chief's speaker invited the mau to euter, and asked him 

 what he wanted. The person who sees peoples' thoughts sat to the 

 right of the door and said : " He comes to get a magical treasure." Then 

 the chief of the sea otter, for it was ho whose house he had entered, 

 gave him a harpoon and said : "You will be the chief of the world. Do 

 you want anything elsef "Yes," replied the man, " I want to marry 

 your dauiihter." She was sitting on a platform in the rear of the house. 

 He married her, and the chief gave him four men to show him the way 

 home. The girl's names were Tse'saqa (sea otter pup woman) and 

 G*a'laxa-is (first to receive gifts). When they approached the village of 

 the L'a'sq'enox, Tse'saqa commanded her husband to tlirow the mau who 

 was sitting in the bow of the canoe into the water. He made him lay off 

 his mask and threw him into the water. His name was Xa'ya'la (sound 

 of stones rolling on the beach). Then the sea began to roll in heavy 

 waves. The woman ordered him to throw the three other men into the 

 water. He did so, and they 

 were tranformed into three 

 islands, which protect the 

 beach of the L'a'sq'euox 

 village. Since that time the 

 L'a'sq'enox use four masks 

 representing these men iu 

 their marriages. 



Tlie bridegroom's tribe go 

 in canoes to the girl's liouse. 

 When they arrive iu front of 

 her house, four old men who 

 wear the masks representing 

 the four men referred to stej) 

 ashore. They walk four steps 

 and then perform a dance. 

 They look at the girl's tribe 

 and point toward the house as though directing their friends. Then 

 they go back into the canoe and take their masks oft'. Figure 6 rep- 

 resents the mask of Xa'ya'la. I have not seen the three other masks 

 belonging to the ceremony. The broad band on top of the mask repre- 

 sents the head ornament of cedar bark which Xa'ya'la is said to have 

 worn. The four men receive in payment of their dance a blanket each 

 from the bridegroom. 



At this place I can describe only a portion of the ceremonial pre- 

 scribed for the return of the purchase money and the delivery of the 

 crest to the son-in-law, as it is in most cases performed as a part of the 

 winter ceremonial and must be treated in connection with the latter 

 subject. (See p. 421.) The return of the purchase money is called 

 qaute'x-a, and the particular manner of return, which will be described 

 here, LEUE'mXs'a. 



The people are all invited to assemble in the house of the wife's father. 



Fig. 6. 

 MARRIAGE MASK OF THE L'A'S(i'EN6x. 



Height 14 iucbes. 



IV A, No. U'91, Royal Ethnographical Museum, Berliu. Collected by A. 

 Jarobsen. 



