374 THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA 



of the higher as Seals. One may pass in successive seasons from one 

 so-called society to another, up to the point allowed by his or her 

 particular inheritance. The most important of the dance-societies 

 are the Ghosts, the Fool-dancers, the Grizzly-bears, and the Cannibals. 

 While there are certain external resemblances between the ritual and 

 clan organizations of the Kwakiutl, I believe it would be erroneous to 

 consider the former as specialized forms of the latter. I consider 

 it far more likely that the ritualistic activities were simply patterned 

 on the normal clan organization, the ever-present tendency to ranking 

 finding expression in both. The other tribes of this region have 

 borrowed much of the Kwakiutl rituals, but do not seem to share 

 their elaborate ritual organization. 



The space at our disposal will not permit us to go more deeply 

 into the intricacies of West Coast social organization. It is difficult to 

 render clear in a few strokes what seems an essentially involved set of 

 social phenomena and I am not at all certain that I have succeeded 

 in my object. The main points that I have tried to bring out are the 

 fundamental importance of inherited privileges as such, the growth 

 of the village community into a clan, the peculiar character of the 

 crest system of these Indians when compared with typical totemism 

 elsewhere, and the almost exaggerated development of the idea of 

 grading of individuals and privileges. 



