660 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



Chief first. The Avomen sit down iu oue row, uicely dressed up in button 

 blankets and tlieir faces painted red. The chief wears the amhalait-a 

 carving rising from the forehead, set with sea-lion barbs, and with a 

 long drapery of ermine skins (see Plate 47) -the others, the cedar bark 

 rings ot their societies. Then the women begin to dance. After a 

 while a prominent man rises to deliver a speech. He says- "All Jf 

 you know that our novice went up to heaven ; then he made a mistake 

 and has been returned; now you will see him." Then ho begins the 

 song; the curtain is drawn and masked dancers are seen surroundiu- 

 the novice and representing the spirits which he has encountered in 

 heaven. At the same time eagle down is blown into the air After 

 the dance is over the presents which were strung on the rope are dis- 

 tributed among the members of the secret society. 



The novice has a beautifully painted room set apart for his use He 

 remains naked during the dancing season. He must not look into the 

 fire. He must abstain from food and drink, and 

 is only allowed to moisten his lips occasionally. 

 He wears his head ring continually. After the 

 ceremonies are all finished the festival of " clothing 

 the novice" is celebrated. He sits in his room 

 quietly singing while the people assemble in the 

 house. His song is heard to grow louder, and at 

 last he makes his appearance. He has put off his 

 "''^' ""^ ''^'^ ''^'^'''' ^'^^^- T'^^ii tl^e people try to 

 MASK KEPRESENTiNG THE ^^^'^^ ^ ^^^^^ ^^"^ ^^cr him, whlch thcy succccd in 

 COLD. doing only after a severe struggle. All the socie- 



Tsimshian. tics take part in this feast, each sitting grouped 



"'"'^':^::Z:uI"'''' together. The uninitiated stand at the door. This 

 ends the ceremonies. 

 The initiations are repeated from time to time, and the rank of a per- 

 son becomes the higher the more frequently he has gone through the 

 ceremony; but nobody, chiefs excepted, can be a member of more than 

 one secret society. The sEmhalai't are in so far a preparatory step to 

 the societies, as everybody who wants to enter them must have acquired 

 the SEmhalai't first. A member of one (,f the other societies, namely, 

 the meiLa', nouLE'm or olala', can not enter any other society, but 

 remains in the society in which he has been initiated. Those who have 

 passed twice through the sEmhalai't ceremonies are called ts'e'ik. 



XIV. The Growth of the Secret Societies. 



The secret societies of the Kwakiutl, as we know them nowadays 

 are undoubtedly a complex growth. We will endeavor to elucidate, so 

 far as possible, the history of their development by means of ihe 

 material presented in the preceding paper. 



A coniparison of the ceremonials of the various tribes of the i^orth 

 l-acific Coast, which were briefly described in the last chapter, does 



Fiff.215 



