394 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



Fig. 32. 



CANOE DISH. 



Alaska. 



Cat. No. e'l.Wl, n.S.N.M. C'ollecte.i liy A. H. Hoff, II. S. A 



of sncli spirits— for iinioiigtbe Indians of tlie plains, ana on gwliom each 

 man has his individual si)irit, their number is unlimited — and it has 

 also given occasion for the development of a more elaborate mythology 



relating to these spirits. 

 ^^ yj\^^ I shall give a list and brief descrip- 



pi^^^^^^==;;;:^===-----^-':#^-'^ ^^ tions of these spirits and of their gifts. 



I. Wina'lag'ilis (=making war all 

 over tlie earth). The descriptions of 

 this being are very indefinite. He is 

 a warrior and lives in the far north. 

 He travels about constantly and never 

 leaves his canoe. So far as I am aware 

 he is never represented in masks or 

 other carvings. By obtaining his pro- 

 tection a youth may acquire one of the following powers. He may 

 become a — 



(1) T'o'X'uit, who is invulnerable and has power over the sI'siuL, 

 which assists him and his friends on war expeditions. 



(2) Ma/maq'a. The mfi/maq'a 

 has the power to catch the in- 

 visible disease spirit, which is 

 constantly flying through the air 

 in the form of a worm. He is able 

 to throw it into his enemies, who 

 die from its effects at once. 



(3) Hawi'nalaL (= war dancer), 

 who by the help of Wina'lag-ilis is 

 insensible to the pain of wounds 

 and can not be killed, may he be 

 ever so severely wounded. 



II. BaxbakualanuXsT'wae (the first one to eat man at the mouth of the 

 river, i. e., in the north, because the ocean is considered a stream running 

 northward). He is a cannibal living on the mountains who is always in 



pursuitof man. Bed smoke rises 

 from his house. His servant (or 

 wife) is Q'o'mindqas (=the rich 

 woman), who procures food for 

 him. He has a female slave, 

 K-i'nqalauala, who also procures 

 food for him, by catching men 

 and gathering corpses. Near 

 the door, in his house, sits his 

 slave Qoa/xqoaxualanuXsiwae, 

 the raven, who eats the eyes of 

 the peo))le whom his master has devoured. In his house live also the 

 ho'Xhuk", a fabulous bird, with an immensely long beak, which lives 

 on the brains of men, whose skulls he fractures with his beak, and the 



Pig. 33. 



CANOE DISH WITH SEA-LION DESIGN. 



U.S. National Museum. 



Fig. 34. 



CANOE DISH WITH ANIMAL DESIGN. 



Alaska. 



Cat. No. 9iM4, U. S. N. M. Collected liy A. II. Iloff, V . 



