THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



503 



Fig. 152. 



NECK RING OF MA'MAQ'A. 



La'Lasiqoala. 



I\' A, No. SHfi.'i, Royal Ethnographical Museum, 

 leeted by F. Boas. 



and thus to prepare to meet Wina'lag-ilis. At this time the winter- 

 dance whistles are heard for the first time. These whistles represent 

 the voices of the spirits of the winter dance. When first heard, they 

 appear to be far away from the house in a northerly direction. The 



second time they come nearer the 

 house, and thus they are heard four 

 times, nearer and nearer. This in- 

 dicates that the spirit approaches 

 the village from the north. Finally, 

 the whistles of the spirit of the 

 cannibal society are heard near the 

 house. Then the sound is heard on 

 the roof and moves around it four 

 limes. At this time the son of the 

 num who gives the festival suddenly 

 disappears (x-is'e/t), and a few min- 

 utes later he is heard to cry in the 

 woods "bap, hap, hap," the sound 

 which is ascribed to the cannibal 

 spirit BaxbakualanuXsrwae. The 

 master of ceremonies asks the people 

 if they know the meaning of all this, 

 and another chief replies that Bax- 

 bakualanuXsi'war' has taken the 

 young man to his house to initiate him in the cannibal ceremonies. To 

 this the master of ceremonies replies that after four days the people 

 are to assemble again, to receive the orna- 

 ments of cedar bark. He asks them to sing 

 their summer songs during this time, to use 

 their summer names, and to make merry, be- 

 cause as soon as the four days are over they 

 will be forbidden to use their summer names 

 and to sing their summer songs. On the fol- 

 lowing morning when the crows begin to cry, 

 everybody, young and old, takes a bath in 

 the sea. They rub their bodies with hemlock 

 branches, in order to clean themselves jjrepara- 

 tory to the advent of the spirit Wlnri'lag-ilis. 

 On the evening of the third day the master 

 of ceremonies distributes plain head ornam.ents 

 and neck rings of cedar bark among twelve 

 messengers, who must blacken their faces and 

 go to the houses of the people in order to 

 invite them to the meeting to be held the 

 following day. They receive in payment a button blanket from the 

 master of ceremonies, which is not returned. Their offices are not 

 hereditary. Persons who have good voices are selected to act as 

 messengers. They carry in their hands staffs about 8 feet long. 



Fig. 153. 



CARVED HEAD USED IN THE T'O'- 

 XOiT DANCE. 



Height, 9 inches. 



IV A, No. 1348, Royal Ethnographical Mu- 

 seum, Berlin. Collected hy A. Jacobsen. 



