NELSON] BLADDER FESTIVAL 387 



scooping up food from them in both hands and casting it toward the 

 bladders; at the same time a man sitting- in an obscure corner gave a 

 vigorous pull to the line passing from his hand through a loop in the 

 roof and down to the bladders, which caused them to oscillate violently 

 and was supposed to indicate the acceptance of the offering by the 

 shades of the animals in the bladders. 



The other three men repeated these rites in every detail, after which 

 the drums were beaten and the four men executed a curious dance in 

 front of the bladders, which were swung about as before, to indicate 

 their pleasure. The dance was begun by a pecking, jerking motion 

 from side to side and forward, while the dancers moved slowly along 

 in front of the bladders. Then the dance was changed to an oblique 

 galloping movement, after which the arms were tossed uj) and down, 

 giving the body a jumping motion; then first one leg, then the other, 

 was thrown up and a hop made on the other, followed by quick hops 

 sidewise and long jumps forward, all keeping perfect time to the drums. 

 This dance was said to be an imitation of the movements of seals and 

 walrus. 



Throughout the performance a half-grown girl stood beside the four 

 dancers swaying her bodj' back and forth with an undulating motion. 

 The four men repeated their series of motions or dances several times 

 in succession, until they were compelled to stop from exhaustion; when 

 they ceased their places were taken by four others, who repeated the 

 dance, and they in turn by four others, and these again by two other 

 sets, another girl being substituted with each set of dancers. 



One of the men told me that each of these sets of dancers comprised 

 only men of the same "kin," by which, so far as I could ascertain, he 

 referred to the gens, since people of the same gens are considered by 

 them as being of the same kin. In this case it evidently implied that 

 four gentes were represented in the festival, as indicated by the totem 

 marks on the four paddles standing before the door. 



When the dance ended, the four dishes of food were carried around 

 the hole in the floor, after which their contents were distributed and 

 eaten. In a short time two straw mats were spread on the floor before 

 the entrance hole, and two men stripped to the waist sat upon them, 

 facing the hole. In the pit under the floor were all the hunters who 

 owned the bladders hanging in the kashim, and each had in his hand a 

 small wisp of straw or grass like that already described, which were 

 handed, in succession, to the men on the mats, the one handing them 

 up showing nothing but his hand and arm. As each wisp was passed 

 up, the man who received it called out the name of its owner, who 

 responded by making a short speech, which created great laughter 

 among the people seated around the kashim. 



Among other things, the men stated in the speeches that the grass 

 they were handing up served as beds for the inuas of the bladders. When 

 each speech was ended, the man who had taken the grass handed it 



