THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 577 



represented Ya'xstaL himself, joined the daiiec of tlie women. He 

 jumped about in a circle in the wildest fashion. Then the ha/mats'a's 

 cries " hap/' and the ([uieting calls of his attendants, " hoii),'' were 

 heard. 



After the song and dance had been repeated a fourth time, Xule'qulEls, 

 a G-d'p'enox, and his speaker, Hc/g-ilaxse'k-a, arose. The latter took 

 up some blankets and spoke: "Yes, friends on the other side! 

 Kwakiutl! I have my ways of celebrating the winter ceremonial, and 

 3 on have your own, different from mine. Thus it was given to you by 

 the Giver of Dances. I should like to have your dances, but I am 

 afraid to change my ways, for they were given to me in the beginning 

 of the world. This song which we just sang was given by the wolves 

 to Ya'xstaL at x)a'yaiL when he received the death bringer with which 

 lie was to burn his enemies or to transform them into stone or ashes. 

 We are of Ya'xstaL's blood. But instead of fighting our enemies with 

 his death bringer, we fight with these blankets and other kinds of prop- 

 erty." Then he distributed the blankets among the Kwakiutl. 



Next, two young men whose faces were blackened stepped forward, 

 and one of them said : " I am going to look for my friend." He went out 

 and brought an old woman to the middle of the house, where she sat 

 down. QoiVqoaxst'alasaid: ''Take care, friends! this woman is going 

 to dance. Prepare to sing her song," Then the singers beat the boards 

 rapidly and cried "yfi." The beating and the cry were repeated at a 

 given signal. As soon as the second cry died away, another ha'mats'a 

 was heard outside the house, 



A'Labala, who had left the house a short while ago, reentered, stood 

 in the doorway, and spoke: "Look at me, friends! Now take care! I 

 have seen something outside the house that looks as though it was not 

 going to have mercy upon anybody. Thus I tell you. Now beat the 

 boards!" Then the singers began to beat time, the door opened, and 

 the ha'mats'a entered crying "hap, hfip, hap." At once everybody 

 commenced to sing his or her secret song. A'Labala went up to the 

 ha'mats'a with short quick stei)S and then back again, saying: "Come 

 friend, that this great tribe may see you." Then he turned around 

 and said: "This is Ts'a'qoalag'ilis, our chief ha'mats'a. Take care, 

 friends; he devours property, not flesh of men." 



Now the ha'mats'a came down to the middle of the house. He wore 

 a head ring of red cedar bark, to the back and front of which branches 

 of balsam pine about six inches long were attached crosswise. His 

 neck ring was worn over the left shoulder and under the right arm. It 

 was made of red cedar bark wound with branches of balsam pine. The 

 women began to dance for him. He danced, squatting, toward the 

 rear of the house, and was joined by the old ha'mats'as, Ta'nisk-asO, 

 Qoa'ts'Eniya, LeniElxa'lag-ilis, Na'uoqois, and WeqoamiLa'lag'ilis, who 

 entered one by one, crying "hap." Finally they reached the rear of the 

 house, where they remained standing in a row, their backs turned 

 NAT MUS 95 37 



