26 TRIBES OF BRITISH NORTH AMERICA 



were expected to join in a chorus praising bears, 

 while each performer was expected to paint his face. 

 The &quot; medicine man,&quot; &quot; shaman,&quot; or shall we say 

 priest, is most important among Dene tribes, for 

 this peculiar person goes into a deep sleep or trance 

 in which he is supposed to visit the world of spirits, 

 who tell him how to cure sick people. So clever is 

 the &quot; shaman &quot; thought to be, that he is held quite 

 capable of chasing a soul which has left the body, 

 and when the truant soul is caught, he goes through 

 a performance of returning it to the dying person. 

 A man who is very ill indeed will sometimes recover 

 just because he has such great faith in the medicine 

 man, whose power he trusts absolutely. 



Burial is performed in various ways : the body 

 may be left on a staging concealed in the boughs of 

 a tree, or the tomb may be a hut which was specially 

 constructed for the dying person, or perhaps his 

 remains are cremated. Whatever method is adopted, 

 there is always the greatest fear of death and a 

 return of haunting spirits, which can be kept away 

 only by the observance of certain superstitious 

 practices. The mourners must not eat meat for 

 several days, then they are not to cut it with a 

 knife. The encampment where death takes place 

 is sometimes deserted, and what is most important, 

 the name of the dead must not be mentioned, for 

 the ghost may think he is called if he hears 

 his name. 



Social gatherings are made happy by the narra 

 tion of stories which refer to the lives and adventures 

 of animals. Here is one concerning a sea-gull and 

 a raven : the former bird is credited with having 



