THE WESTERN DENES. 147 



XV.i 



The most inveterate among all the ceremonial customs of the 

 Carriers, one which in some localities has remained proof against 

 prohibitions from both the civil and religious authorities, — is their 

 practice of giving extravagant repasts or "pot-latches" (Chinook 

 word, meaning " giving away ") in honor of their dead. When intend- 

 ed to commemorate an untitled person, one banquet suffices, and is the 

 implicitly observed signal for the termination of the mourning and 

 the liberation of the widow from bondage. But when given in honor 

 of a deceased notable and as a visible signal of his nephew or brother's 

 .succession to his title and prerogatives, there are no less than six well 

 defined courses successively given by his successor conjointly with his 

 co-clansmen. Owing to the importance attached to these festivals by 

 the natives, and despite the apparent puerility of some of their 

 details, I feel I shall have to speak at some length of each of the six. 



1. Supposing that a Toeneza has passed away, the first in the series 

 of banquets given in his honor will take place three or four days after 

 the arrival of the invited or expected strangers and may be repeated 

 for several nights in succession. It is only of secondaiy importance 

 and is called Lhiz thoen hanatsoevcelhthih ("or the taking away from 

 the ashes ") which means that the mortal remains are thereby removed 

 from the " tire-place " where they had been lying since the notable's 

 decease. It is given by the latter's future successor according to the 

 following ceremonial which is strictly adhered to in the case of all 

 subsequent or any banquets. 



1 As prefatory to this paragraph, I would beg leave to remind the comparative SociologiEt of 

 the ostentatious banquets in vogue among most of the ancient people, Assyrians, Persians^ 

 Egyptians, Greeks of the heroic period, etc., as evinced by the sacred Books, Genesis xlii ; 

 Judith xii ; Esther i ; Daniel v ; Homer's Iliad and Odyssey (passim), etc. The student of 

 antiquity will also remember that in such repasts it was customary to give each guest his separ- 

 ate portion and to show one's regard for any person by helping him to a larger share than the 

 other guests. In this manner Joseph treated his younger brother Benjainin, (Genesis xliii). So 

 did Agamemnon act towards Ajax and Eumoeus to Ulysses, (Iliad, book vii and Odyssey, xiv.) 



In more recent times, we see the same custom prevailing among the Mongols who have many 

 traits of resemblance both moral and physical with our Denes. Thus when the princes and 

 generals of their vast empire assembled in 1245 to elect a successor to Ogotai Khan, eating and 

 drinking to excess formed a conspicuous part of the proceedings. Then also "every day they 

 put on gannents of a different colour distributed by the sovereign," says Piano Carpini, an eye 

 witness. Again, "This ceremony (that of enthronisation) was followed by an enormous 

 banquet . . . This feast was renewed every day for seven days in succession." In Hue's 

 Christianity in China, Tartary etc." Volume i, page 146 and 148. 



