Bureau of American Ethnology 393 



and animate ; this has been called hecastotheism. In the 

 second definite stage the mysterious potency is limited gen- 

 erally to animate forms, though sometimes extending to plants 

 and rarely to inorganic things ; this has been called zoothe- 

 ism. Most of the tribes were in the higher of these stages, 

 and their belief was bound up with every-day conduct and 

 social organization in curious fashion. One expression of 

 the belief was found in the clan nomenclature : nearly every 

 clan or gens bore the name of an animal tutelary, and a picture 

 of, or conventional symbol representing this animal was used 

 as a clan totem. Some of the tribes were found to have 

 advanced partly into the third stage of belief, in which the 

 forces of nature are personified or deified ; this is physithe- 

 ism. Contrary to a popular notion originating in the se- 

 cretiveness and shrewdness of the Indians with respect to 

 matters of belief, it was ascertained that none of the native 

 peoples thus far studied with care have advanced to the stage 

 of spiritual concepts, or of psychotheism. With the qualifi- 

 cations and limitations thus implied, all of the American 

 tribes have been found to be polytheistic. Numerous publi- 

 cations relating to this line of work, in which several collabo- 

 rators aided, have been issued ; notably Powell's " Sketch of 

 the Mythology of the North American Indians," 1 the basis of 

 the later work. 



The beliefs of the Indians are crystallized in symbols and 

 ceremonials, which are often highly elaborate. The simpler 

 symbols, or fetiches, usually represent zoic deities ; these are 

 adored through the symbols which, although held to be 

 sacred, are not in themselves objects of worship. Commonly 

 the fetiches are crude, vaguely suggesting, through pre- 

 scriptorial association, the characteristics ascribed to the 

 deities; among some tribes the beast-gods are more defi- 



1 First Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, 1881, pages 19-56. 

 26 



