THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



431 



also that tbe societies are recognized on war expeditions. 1 shall 

 revert to this subject later on. 



Notwithstanding the fact that each and every dance must be obtained 

 by means of a marriage or by killing its owner, there are a number of 

 offices connected with the ceremonials of the societies which are strictly 

 hereditary in the male line and remain, therefore, always m the same 

 clan. To this class belongs the office of the master of ceremonies, the 

 officer who has charge of the drum, of the batons, of the eagle down, 

 and others which will be set forth in the description of the ceremonial 

 (Chapter IX). This is another argument in favor of the theory expressed 

 above that the institutions of the Kwakiutl were at one time paternal, 

 but were later on modified by the influence of the northern tribes, who 

 are on a maternal stage. 



VIII. The Dances and Songs of the Winter Ceremonial. 



The object of the whole winter ceremonial is, first, to bring back the 

 youth who is supposed to stay with the supernatural being who is 

 the protector of his society, and then, when he has returned in a state 



Figs. 42 and 43. 

 BATONS USED BY ASSISTANTS OF SINGING MASTER. 



IV A, Nns. r,-r. aii.l :■" . Royal Ethnographical Museum. BHrlin. CollHrtwl l,y A. .larobsen. 



of ecstasy, to exorcise the spirit which possesses him and to restore 

 him from his holy madness. 



These objects are attained by songs and by dances. In order to 

 bring the youth back, members of all the secret societies perforin their 

 dances. It is believed that they will attract the attention of the absent 

 novice, until finally one of the dances may excite him to such a degree 

 that he will approach flying through the air. As soon as he appears 

 his friends endeavor to capture him. Then begins the second part of 

 the ceremony, the exorcising of the spirit; or, as the Kwakiutl call it, 

 the taming of the novice. This is accomplished by means of songs 

 sung in his honor, by dances performed by women in his honor, and by 

 the endeavors of the shaman. After the novice has thus been restored 

 to his senses, he must undergo a ceremonial purification before he is 

 allowed to take part in the ordinary pursuits of life. The strictness 

 and severity of this purification depend upon the character of the 

 dance. Novices must drink water through the wing bone of an eagle, 

 as their mouths must not touch the brim of the cup; they must suck 



