﻿NO. 5 SMITHSONIAN EXPLORATIONS, I922 121 



" Big-doings." This refers to the fact that young ravens are noisy, 

 in the nest. The native word means hterally a celebration, or fiesta 

 of some sort. 



"Stinking-nation." This epithet refers to the fact that the raven's 

 nest has a bad odor. 



NAMES IN THE EAGLE CLAN 



" Foiir-cggs," an alkision to the eagle's trait of laying always four 

 eggs in the nest. 



" Tail-dragging," because the tail of the eagle drags when he walks. 



" Flying-dcliberatcly." The eagle, with his great bulk and enormous 

 wings, flies strongly but deliberately, unlike any of the smaller birds. 



The next point to be explained is the matter of mythology. The 

 animals whose likenesses appear in the carvings are the heroes of 

 endless mythical tales. It requires a good deal of erudition therefore 

 to explain some of the carvings on the totem-pules. (July the old 

 Indians can do it. In the first place, the animal may be represented 

 either in human or in animal form, for any animal can take either 

 form, as he pleases. A bear, for example, in his own den, takes ofif his 

 bear-skin and hangs it up. What looks like a lot of stones or branches 

 is in reality the furniture and property in a fine house ; and the 

 bear himself appears there as human as you or I. Conversely, when 

 the Indian artist is carving the likeness of a man, he is occasionally 

 so moved by his feeling for that man's totem or crest, that he intro- 

 duces features of the crest-animal into the carving. The art is there- 

 fore a bit abstruse ; and the native sculptor seems in some cases to 

 delight in border-line styles of execution. 



The carvings on a given pole, where they refer to the great animal 

 heroes, usually allude to some certain episodes in the myth of that 

 particular animal. For example, a certain family of Raven-people 

 living at the town of Kasaan put up the pole shown in figure 117. It 

 represents part of the legend known as " Raven Travelling." At the 

 top is Raven himself, in human form. Below him is his likeness in 

 bird form (and an impish look it has). Below this again is a fish 

 called the sculpin or bull-head — an excessively ugly and repulsive 

 looking fish. 



Bull-head used to be a beautiful fish, the prettiest of all that swam 

 in the sea. Raven when walking along the shore saw Bull-head dis- 

 porting himself, and called out to him, " Come on shore one moment." 

 Bull-head paid no attention. " Come ashore a moment," said Raven, 

 " you look just like my grandfather." " I know you," said Bull-head, 



