CARRIER SOCIOLOGY. 12S 



important portion of the international legend, it occurs to me that it may not be amiss to 

 give, by way of conclusion to this paper and as an incentive to the comparison of the two 

 théogonies, the version of it which obtains among our Carriers. 



CREATION MYTHS. 



Creation of Light. — A long time ago darlvuess reigned all over the earth, except in 

 the lodge of an old man — a Adneza, or noble, — who alone possessed light, fire and water. 

 Therefore, men were very miserable and kept continually sighing after light. Repeatedly 

 they entreated the old man to share it with them, but he would not hearken to their 

 prayers. Finally, they agreed to get possession of it by force. With this object in view 

 they went, with all the animals, into the old man's lodge, and started a song to wrest light 

 from him by dint of persisting in noise' and singing. Each one of the crowd had his 

 own particular song, and the young fox [hhaih-pa-lso, " he cries for daylight,") '■ kept 

 repeating in time khaik, khaih, khaili, expecting to win thereby i/3khaih, or daylight. But 

 the old man was inflexible. However, the assembly named light so often and so 

 persistently that after awhile it began to slowly steal up the heavens, even as it now 



does every morning. The old man perceived it, and excitedly shouted: " Lai/it/ ! 



let there not be " ^ Immediately the light receded below the edge of the sky. 



Yet the young fox would not tire of repeating khaik, khmh, khaih, and both men and 

 animals vied with one another in turbulent singing, hoping thereby to weary the old man 

 into granting them light. Again the horizon began to be illuminated by a growing 

 light. It was already high up the heavens, when the old man, perceiving it, got confused 

 in his mind, and, without taking time to reflect, hurriedly exclaimed by mistake : 

 " Yuikhai I let there be light !" Immediately there was light, and ever since men have 

 retained possession of it. 



Creation of Fire. — Hitherto they had no fire, and all were benumbed with cold, except 

 the same old man who had fire in his lodge which he jealously guarded. As he would 

 not give them the least part of it, they resolved upon getting it by stealth. Therefore, 

 they engaged the services of a yearling caribou and of a muskrat. Having made for the 

 former a ceremonial head-dress of resinous pine shavings, whicli was attached to his 

 growing horns, and presented the latter with a ceremonial apron consisting of a marmot 

 skin, they entered the old man's lodge, singing.' The caribou and the muskrat commenced 

 their dance, stationing themselves at opposite extremities of the fireplace, over which the 

 old man was keeping close watch. The song of the muskrat consisted in the repetition 

 of the word 01 sl^lte!'' wherewith some of us still greet him. 



In the course of the dance, by jerking its head to the right and left as we used to do 

 in dancing, the young caribou managed to ignite the inflammable material of which his 



' It should not be forgotten that Indians invariably accompany their singing by striking the time on a drum, 

 or kettle, or a board. 



-By allusion to his matutinal barking. 



■'For "pyuikhall" The omission of the ile.sinence. which contains the root for light, is intended to express 

 the old maa"s fear of tven naming it. 



*These particulars refer to a special ceremonial dance described in "The Western Dent's." Proc. Can. Inst., 

 1889, pp. 150, 1.51. 



'Unintelligible to the Carriers — an additional evidence of the extraneousness of the myth. 



