526 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [bth. ANN. 31 



of new elements to old exogamic groups. There is no convincing 

 proof of the existence of a period without clearly defined exogamic 

 units. I think the data discussed before (pp. 486 et seq.) are rather 

 in favor of the assumption that the twofold division of the Haida and 

 the apparently twofold division of the Tlingit are of recent origin, and 

 that in former times there were at least three well-defined exogamic 

 groups among them. 



A detailed comparison of the three tribes brings out a few new pointe 

 that may be useful for a better understanding of the historical develop- 

 ment of the "sides" and of their subdivisions. The crest legends in 

 our Tsimshian collection do not give any indication of the view that 

 the members of an exogamic group are considered as descendants of 

 a single ancestor. On the contrary, the multiple origin of the groups 

 is always dwelt upon. The Tlingit crest legends have the 'same 

 character. The crests themselves have been obtained by a variety 

 of incidents, and there is no attempt to derive the subdivisions of each 

 side from a common ancestor. Only among the Haida Ravens do 

 we find a marked tendency to weave together into one genealogy all 

 the branches of the side. Among the Eagles this tendency is present, 

 but not so marked. There are a number of stories relating to the 

 origin of Eagle families that stand entirely outside of the genealogical 

 series to which the others belong. The systematic development of 

 the Haida genealogies is the more remarkable, since it presents a 

 curious contrast to present conditions, in which each division of the 

 exogamic groups is quite independent of all the others; while among 

 the Tsimshian, who have no tradition of a genealogical connection, 

 the privileges of the whole group are concentrated in the hands of a 

 single chief regardless of its division into subgroups. 1 



I think the difference in the treatment of the crest legends should 

 be explained as due to a different direction that poetic imagination 

 took among these three tribes. Possibly the idea of a single origin 

 may be an old underlying Haida idea, that later on shaped the crest 

 tales. It may also be a new tendency based on the presence and 

 social importance of the two opposite sides that were considered as 

 two groups of relatives. Since the contents of the crest mythology 

 are very much alike among the three tribes, I am inclined to consider 

 the modern Haida forms as due to a change in the arrangement of 

 the tales, and can not recognize in it a safe proof of an origin of Haida 

 exogamy by a combination of two distinct tribes. 



The significance of subdivisions of the tribe becomes much clearer 

 when we compare the Tsimshian conditions with those prevailing 

 among the other tribes. In one respect there is great similarity 

 between the principles of division prevaihng among the Haida and 



