480 TSIMSHIAN' MYTHOLOGY [bth. ANN. 31 



Mr. Teit, 1 who distinguishes three old divisions among the Tahltan, one 

 of which, according to him, is extinct. Callbreath, however, in his 

 superficial notes on the people, mentions only two exogamic groups, 

 the Birds and the Bears. 2 I did not find any trace of a third division 

 among the Ts!Ets!a/ut of Portland Inlet. 3 Emmons claims that 

 there were three, one of which was called Nahta. 



The two groups of the Haida are commonly called Raven and 

 Eagle; but the Haida themselves call the Eagle group Git'ina', a 

 word of unknown etymology, perhaps of Tsimshian origin. Swanton 

 mentions 4 that one family occupied an exceptional position: 



The Pitch-Town-People . . . who formerly inhabited the west coast of Moresby 

 Island . . . are said to have belonged to the Raven side; but I am not convinced that 

 they were entirely exogamic. Although their history is shrouded somewhat in fabu- 

 lous details, there is no doubt that such a people actually existed. They are said to 

 have been Haida, speaking the same language as the rest, only, in the estimation of 

 the other families, they were somewhat uncultivated, and are said to have lacked a 

 crest system. 



The four groups of the Tsimshian are commonly called Eagle, Wolf, 

 Kaven, Bear; but the Tsimshian themselves call them Lax-ski'°k, 

 Lax-kebo', Ganha'da, G'ispawadwE'da. The first and second of 

 these names mean "On The Eagle" and " On The Wolf ." The ety- 

 mology of the third one is unknown. 5 The last one can not be ana- 

 lyzed, except in so far as g~i(d)- means "people;" spa- is a prefix 

 designating "a dwelling-place ;" the end is a reduplicated form of the 

 stem WEda, the meaning of which is not known to me. Mr. Tate 

 says at one place that this name means "going to another," and that 

 it refers to the migration of Gau'o's grandchildren (see p. 411). 



In intermarriages with the Haida the Ganha'da and Eagle are 

 considered members of the Git'ina', the G'ispawadwE'da and Wolf 

 as members of the Haida Raven. 



The Bellabella of Milbank Sound, who speak a dialect of the 

 Kwakiutl, are also divided into matrilineal groups, three in number: 

 the Qo'ixtlenox or Raven people (crests: raven, starfish, sun, 

 gogama'tsle [i. e., the receptacle in which the sun was kept before its 

 liberation]); the Wik Iwaqxt !enox or Eagle people (crests: thunder- 

 bird, large dancing-hat); Ha'lx'aixtlenox or Killer- Whale people 

 (crests: killer whale, Q!o'moq!wa, e sea Hon). The houses of the 

 Raven people are said to have been painted black; the Killer Whale 

 people had a huge mouth painted on the house front, the posts were 



1 Teit 1, p. 348. 



2 Dawson 2, p. 197B. 



» Boas 1, 1895, p. 559. Mr. Emmons, in the place just quoted (p. 21), repeats the erroneous statement 

 made by Mr. James W. McKay, that the Ts!Ets!a'ut are a recent oflshoot of the Tahltan. He calls them 

 "Tsiks Zaons," and gives their native name as Wetalth. I have not been able to secure the native name, 

 and doubt the prt-srut one, 1h 'Pause t lie form of the word looks very much like a X;iss I liver word. I have 

 explained in the Tenth Report what the history of the trite is, and refuted, as I believe, Mr. McKay's 

 notions in regard to their origin. 



« Swanton 2, p. 90. 



6 Compare the clan name GanAX'A'dl, a Raven clan of the Tlingit. Swanton 4, p. 408. 



« See Boas 5, p. 374. 



