THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



475 



people liide all the eagle down, the symbol of wealth, 

 but put it on when he enters, indicating that the salmon 

 brings affluence. He is greeted with the cry " haioho'." 

 The amount of property distributed by the dancer's 

 father is as large as that needed for initiating a ha'- 

 mats'a. His dance is intended to imitate the motions 

 of the jumping salmon. He holds his head sideways 

 and dances with stiff legs, the feet remaining at the 

 same spot, the body turning first to the right then to 

 the left. His forearms are bent upward, the open palms 

 stretched forward. Following is his song: 



1. Many salmon are coming ashore with me. 



2. They are coniing ashore to you, the post of our heaven. 



3. They are dancing from the salmon's country to the shore. 



4. I come to dance before you at the right-hand side of the world, 



overtowering, outshining, surpassing all; I, the salmon. 



SONG OF A SALMON DANCER.' 



1. The salmon came to search for a dancer. 



2. He came and x)ut his supernatural power into him. 



3. You have supernatural power. Therefore the chief of the 



salmon came from beyond the ocean. The people praise you, 

 for they cannot carry the weight of your wealth. 



THE SALMON WEIR DANCE.'^ 



The weir in the legends of the Kwakiutl is a toy of 

 the salmon. The salmon weir dancer is initiated by the 

 salmon. The dance belongs at present to the Maa'm- 

 tag'ila, who obtained it by marriage from the Awi'- 

 k*'endx. The novice remains in the woods for about 

 one month. When he returns, he is naked. His body 

 is smeared with the juice of a plant, which makes it 

 very slippery. His cedar bark ornaments are similar 

 to those of the ha/mats'a, but much smaller. The 

 dancer first rests on one leg, his body bent almost hori- 

 zontally at one side, the other leg extended to the other 

 side. Then he changes to the other leg, bending his 

 body to the other side and extending his other leg. 

 Here is his song: 



1. I went to work at my salmon weir. When I took out the sal- 



mon, their eyes were picked out by the crows. Fig. 113. 



2. (Speaking to the chief of the tide:) Stand still, chief! You i-ance of nu'lmal. 



who makes the tide rise, who causes whirlpools where the Length, 64 inches; 

 tides meet, whose skirt of seaweeds makes the tide rise. brown, red, green. 



3. (Chief of the tide says:) Cry hap! supernatural one! Cry ivA,'N'o.u,9e,RoyaiKthno- 



^ _ J / J tr 1 J graphical Museum, Berlia. 



nap ! Collected by A. Jacobs»n. 



' Apjiendix, page 709. 



* Appendix, page 710. 



