THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 543 



Tliis is called a present to wipe the mouth with (da'yaxstano). Each 

 person receives oue dish and si)oons, which they take home after the 

 feast. After this feast the novice receives his name. Then the people 

 leave the house. The purification of the novice is performed in the 

 same way as described above (see p. 532), 



Sometimes the li;ue/xalak" begins with a curious contest between the 

 ts'e'tsaeqa and the profane. This ceremony is used by the Kwakiutl, 

 Ma'maleleqala, Mmkish, Lau'itsis, T'Eua'xtax, Ts'a/watEenox, Axua'- 

 mis, Qoe'xsot'enox. The tribes forming the Newettee and Koslvimo 

 group use the ghost dance in its place. Mr. George Hunt told me the 

 following instance of the performance of this ceremony: 



The Q'o'mk'utis, Walas Kwakiutl, and Kue/xa had celebrated the 

 ts'e'tsaeqa without inviting the Gue'tEla, the highest of the Kwakiutl 

 tribes. Then the chief of the last-named tribe called all his people 

 together into his house. He put u]) a long pole, the " winter dance x)ole," 

 leaning it against the beam of his house, and asked his people, "Are 

 you glad to hear the winter dance going on at the other end of our vil- 

 lage while you are asleep in your houses f If you want to remain 

 ba/xus, do so. If you want to join the winter dance, then one of you 

 step up and touch this pole." As nobody stepped up to touch thei>ole 

 he put his hand on it himself and said : " I will be the ye'wix'ila; but 

 first let us all turn ourselves into dogs" (wa'tse; in the ordinary lan- 

 guage, wao'tse). Then all his people took oft' their clothing, even their 

 earrings and anklets, the women keeping only a small iDCtticoat. 

 They blackened their faces and hands and painted men's and dogs' 

 faces all over their bodies. Then they cut the winter dance pole in 

 pieces about a fathom in length each. The chief ordered them to cut a 

 hole in the rear wall of the house. After this was done, they went out 

 secretly and from the rear approached the house in which the other 

 tribes were celebrating their winter dance. Then tliey barked like dogs, 

 broke through the rear wall of the house, and drove out all the dancers, 

 including even the ha'mats'a. They broke the canoes and all the 

 belongings of the dancers. This was their revenge for not being 

 invited to the festival. This ceremony is called wii'ts'axt, which means, 

 dogs running from one house to the other. 



Now the ts'et'saeqa assembled on one side of the street, while the 

 "dogs" or the ba/xus assembled opposite them. The chief of the 

 Gue'tEla, standing in front of his tribe, asked theye'wix-ila of the other 

 tribes, "Can you throw the supernatural power among us?" Then the 

 ts'e'tsaeqa began to beat time, the que'qutsa and mr^'emqoat all stand- 

 ing together. Then the t'd'X'uit with the frog stepped out from among 

 the ts'e'tsaeqa and danced like the ma/maqa, trying to catch his super- 

 natural power. After some time she apparently caught it in her hands 

 and threw it against the "dogs." The first throwing is called the 

 daE'lk" (dEdfi/LElaL, Newettee dialect), which means laughing. The 

 dogs laugh and bark all at the same time. 



