﻿SHAKE 
  RELIGION 
  — 
  WATERMAN. 
  505 
  

  

  religious 
  fervor, 
  the 
  best 
  and 
  most 
  appropriate 
  occasion 
  for 
  spiritual 
  

   manifestations. 
  The 
  details 
  of 
  the 
  old 
  " 
  Spirit 
  Canoe 
  " 
  performance 
  

   do 
  not 
  matter 
  for 
  our 
  present 
  purpose. 
  It 
  is, 
  however, 
  a 
  very 
  pic- 
  

   turesque 
  and 
  wonderful 
  ceremonial 
  indeed, 
  and 
  the 
  point 
  was 
  brought 
  

   conspicuously 
  to 
  my 
  attention 
  that 
  for 
  generations 
  there 
  have 
  been 
  

   " 
  shaking 
  " 
  phenomena 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  performances. 
  

  

  The 
  principal 
  part 
  of 
  this 
  performance, 
  for 
  example, 
  was 
  a 
  scene, 
  

   acted 
  out 
  in 
  pantomine, 
  where 
  certain 
  medicine 
  men 
  went 
  to 
  the 
  

   underworld 
  to 
  recover 
  the 
  " 
  soul 
  " 
  of 
  a 
  sick 
  man 
  taken 
  there 
  by 
  the 
  

   " 
  ghosts." 
  The 
  shamans 
  went 
  (in 
  imagination) 
  on 
  a 
  long 
  journey, 
  

   to 
  the 
  village 
  of 
  the 
  dead 
  people. 
  When 
  they 
  got 
  there 
  and 
  began 
  

   prowling 
  around 
  among 
  the 
  houses 
  looking 
  for 
  the 
  missing 
  soul 
  the 
  

   sick 
  man 
  always 
  fell 
  into 
  an 
  ague. 
  When 
  the 
  soul 
  was 
  found 
  and 
  

   brought 
  back 
  to 
  this 
  world, 
  the 
  next 
  problem 
  was 
  to 
  put 
  it 
  into 
  the 
  

   patient 
  again. 
  They 
  brought 
  it 
  " 
  from 
  below 
  " 
  in 
  a 
  cloth, 
  gathered 
  

   around 
  the 
  patient, 
  and 
  made 
  motions 
  as 
  if 
  putting 
  it 
  into 
  him. 
  If 
  

   it 
  started 
  to 
  float 
  away 
  they 
  would 
  seize 
  it 
  and 
  bring 
  it 
  back. 
  Finally 
  

   it 
  would 
  take 
  fast 
  hold 
  and 
  the 
  patient 
  was 
  forthwith 
  pronounced 
  

   cured. 
  During 
  this 
  process 
  the 
  shamans 
  would 
  shake 
  and 
  tremble 
  in 
  

   every 
  limb. 
  Here 
  we 
  see, 
  therefore, 
  in 
  ancient 
  times, 
  almost 
  the 
  exact 
  

   counterpart 
  of 
  the 
  modern 
  Shaker 
  exercise; 
  the 
  patient 
  helpless, 
  

   with 
  the 
  operators 
  gathered 
  around 
  him 
  all 
  shaking 
  and 
  quivering. 
  

   Nowadays 
  they 
  are, 
  of 
  course, 
  trying 
  to 
  get 
  the 
  sin 
  out, 
  instead 
  of 
  

   putting 
  a 
  soul 
  in. 
  The 
  ideas 
  have 
  shifted, 
  but 
  the 
  performance 
  re- 
  

   mains 
  the 
  same. 
  

  

  I 
  may 
  illustrate 
  this 
  point 
  further 
  by 
  saying 
  that 
  in 
  the 
  old 
  

   days 
  there 
  were 
  several 
  spirit-powers, 
  the 
  possession 
  of 
  which 
  was 
  

   accompanied 
  by 
  a 
  similar 
  shaking 
  seizure. 
  For 
  example, 
  there 
  were 
  

   also 
  in 
  use 
  certain 
  long 
  cedar 
  poles, 
  called 
  te' 
  stid 
  which 
  musicians 
  

   up-ended 
  and 
  used 
  for 
  drumming 
  against 
  the 
  roof-boards 
  of 
  the 
  

   house, 
  as 
  an 
  accompaniment 
  to 
  the 
  songs. 
  Certain 
  people 
  possessed 
  

   a 
  kind 
  of 
  supernatural 
  power 
  or 
  " 
  spirit-help 
  " 
  known 
  as 
  Tsotsotob. 
  

   A 
  man 
  who 
  had 
  this 
  power 
  could 
  announce, 
  " 
  Now 
  my 
  power 
  will 
  

   come 
  into 
  those 
  drumming 
  poles." 
  Then 
  the 
  poles 
  would 
  begin 
  of 
  

   themselves 
  to 
  quiver, 
  so 
  that 
  the 
  man 
  holding 
  them 
  was 
  thrown 
  

   into 
  a 
  tremble. 
  Another 
  " 
  power 
  " 
  was 
  called 
  skudi'litc. 
  People 
  

   who 
  " 
  owned" 
  this 
  spirit, 
  made 
  objects 
  of 
  cedar, 
  like 
  a 
  board, 
  as 
  shown 
  

   in 
  plate 
  1, 
  figure 
  2, 
  with 
  hand-holds 
  at 
  the 
  sides. 
  These 
  objects 
  

   were 
  held 
  in 
  the 
  hands 
  of 
  the 
  performers, 
  and 
  very 
  often 
  " 
  power 
  " 
  

   entered 
  them, 
  causing 
  them 
  to 
  quiver 
  and 
  move 
  about. 
  This 
  like- 
  

   wise 
  threw 
  the 
  person 
  holding 
  them 
  into 
  a 
  tremor. 
  A 
  certain 
  

   skudi'litc-object 
  like 
  the 
  one 
  shown 
  in 
  the 
  sketch 
  once 
  moved 
  all 
  

   about 
  a 
  room, 
  the 
  performer 
  trembling 
  and 
  unable 
  to 
  remain 
  in 
  

   his 
  place. 
  It 
  dragged 
  him 
  through 
  the 
  fire; 
  it 
  dragged 
  him 
  out 
  of 
  

  

  