THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 645 



Any member of tlie tribe may join the tcyiyi'wan. When desiring- 

 to do so, he retires into the woods and stays there for some time, bath- 

 ing in ponds and washing- his body with cedar branches. The intend- 

 ing novice is called xansa'loknL. Finally he dreams of the dance 

 which he will i)erform and the song which he will sing. In his dream 

 his soul is led all over the world by the spirit who gives him his dance 

 and his song. Then he returns to the village. According to what he 

 has dreamed, he belongs to one of five societies which constitute the 

 tcyiyi'wan: (1) The sqe/iep, who dance with elbows pressed close to 

 the body, the arms extended forward and moving up and down; (2) 

 the nuxsofi'wcqa, who jump about in wild movements ; (3) the sqii'qoaL, 

 who danc(^ in slow movements; (4) the sqoie'lec, whose dance is said to 

 be similar to that of the sqe'iep, and (5) the tcilqtE'nEn (derived from 

 tca'loq woods). The general name of the dances of the tcyiyi'wan is 

 me'iLa, which word is borrowed from the Kwakiutl. When the novice 

 returns from the woods, he teaches for two days his song to the mem- 

 bers of the society to which he is to belong. Then the dance is per- 

 formed and henceforth he is a regular member of the society. 



The xEnxanl'tEl, the second society, are also called Lo'koala and 

 nd'uLEm, although the first name is the proper Lku'ngEn term. The 

 LkuTigEn state that they obtained the secrets of this society from the 

 Kootka, and this is undoubtedly true. It appears that the secrets of 

 these societies spread from the Xootka to the LkuTigEn, Clallam, and 

 the tribes of Puget Sound. The Tc'a/tELp, a sept of the Sanitch tribe, 

 also have the no'uLEm, while the Snanai'muX, the Cowichan, and the 

 tribes of Fraser Eiver have hardly a trace of it. The Comox and Pent- 

 latch obtained it through intermarriage with both the Kwakiutl and the 

 Kootka. 



The right to perform the no'uLEm is jealously guarded by all tribes 

 who possess it, and many a war has been waged against tribes who 

 'illegitimately performed the ceremonies of the society. Its mysteries 

 were kept a profound secret, and if a man dared to speak about it he 

 was torn to pieces by the quqq'e'lEn, about whom I shall speak pres- 

 ently. Only rich people can become members of the xEnxanl'tEl, as 

 heavy payments are exacted at the initiation. If the father of the 

 novice is not able to pay them, his relatives must contribute to the 

 amount required. The initiation and the festivals of this society 

 take place in winter only. When a young man is to be initiated, his 

 father first invites the xEnxanl'tEl to a feast, which lasts five days. 

 During these days mask dances are performed, which those who are not 

 members of the society are also permitted to witness. They occupy 

 one side of the house in which the festivities take place, while the 

 XEnxanl'tEl occupy the other. The latter wear head ornameiits of cedar 

 bark and have their hair strewn with down. The faces of all those 

 who take part in the festival are blackened. At the end of three days 

 the lather of the novice invites four men to bathe his son in the sea. 



