THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



441 



tlie ear uutil after the dance, wbeii it is returned to the owner, in order 

 to assure him that it will not be used against him for purposes of 

 witchcraft. 



Besides devouring- slaves, theha'mats'as also devour corpses. When 

 a new ha/mats'a, after being initiated, returns from the woods he will 

 sometimes carry a corpse, which is eaten after his dance. The bodies 

 are prepared for this ceremony. The skin is cut around the wrists and 

 ankles, as they must not eat the hands and feet. It is believed that 

 else they would die immediately. The ha/mats'a nuist use for this cere- 

 mony the corpse of one of his deceased relatives, which the he'lig'a 

 must prepare. The Kwakiutl used to bury their dead on trees. The 

 body was placed in a box, and these 

 boxes were placed on branches a 

 considerable distance up a tree. 

 There the boxes were })iled one on 

 top of the other (Plate 27). The 

 bodies, when so exposed to the ac- 

 tion of the freely circulating air, 

 mostly mummify. A corj^se is taken 

 down from the tree and is soaked in 

 salt water. The he'lig-a takes hem- 

 h)ck twigs, the leaves of which have 

 been removed, and pushes them un- 

 der the skin, gradually removing all 

 the decayed flesh until nothing 

 but the skin remains. After this is 

 done the body is placed on top of 

 the small hut in which the novice 

 (g-i'yakila) is living while he is 

 staying in the woods. The hands 

 of the body hang down. Its belly 

 is cut open and spread with sticks. 

 The ha'mats'a keeps a fire under it 

 and smokes it. Four days before 

 he returns to the village he sends for all the old ha'mats'as. When 

 they come, he tells them: "These are my traveling provisions, which 

 I received from BaxbakufilanuXsI'wae." ^ He asks them to point out 

 what shares they desire to have when he will return. They take 

 the body down and place it on a clean mat. Each points out what 

 he desires to have. His return will be described later on (p. 527). 

 His k-i'nqahiLala returns with him. She carries the corpse which has 

 been prepared. She goes backward, facing the ha'mats'a. When she 

 reaches the right side of the fire, the ha'mats'a enters the house. He 

 stoops so that his face is close to the ground. On entering, he turns 

 four times, descends to the middle of the house, and when he is four 

 steps away from the door, he turns again four times. When the 



1 G-amEu g-iwu'lkoa da g-fi'ula yfis BaxbakufilaDuXsI'wae. 

 This my traveling provisions, the food given by BaxbakualauuXsi'wae. 



