530 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 



far as some of the e nE e me'mut (that is, kinship groups forming sub- 

 divisions of tribes) are considered as descendants of an ancestor who 

 appeared in animal form, like the thunderbird which flew down from 

 the sky and became the ancestor of the G'I'g'ilgam of the Niinkish 

 tribe. 1 In fact, in many cases these groups derive their descent from 

 an ancestor who came down from heaven. Sometimes it is stated 

 explicitly that he took off his mask and became an ordinary person. 

 Besides these, other tales are found in which the characteristics of 

 the £ nE £ me'mut are described as due to encounters of some of their 

 ancestors with supernatural beings or animals, — events that are of 

 the order of the acquisition of guardian spirits. 3 The crests of the 

 northern tribe3 are, so far as we have definite information regarding 

 their significance, throughout commemorative, — either commemora- 

 tive of experiences of a whole tribe, like that of the Tlingit Nanyaa'yi ' 

 or that of the Tsimshian Eagles, 4 or, more frequently, commemorative 

 of events in the life of a single ancestor. 



I have discussed the types of the Tsimshian crest stories on pp. 4 I 1 

 el seq. Lengthy details in which the crests are given as presents by 

 the supernatural powers are rather prominent. These tales are 

 similar to those describing the initiation of shamans (see p. 473) and 

 of members of secret societies of the Kwakiutl. My impression is 

 that these types of crest tales are not as common among the Haida 

 and Tlingit as they are among the Tsimshian. All of these partake 

 distinctly of the religious quality of the tales describing the acquisi- 

 tion of a guardian spirit. I still adhere to mj opinion expressed at a 

 previous time (see p. 515), that the origin of these crests is due to a 

 socialization of the guardian-spirit idea. The more important and 

 sacred the detail of the acquisition of the crest in the social life of the 

 group, the more strongly marked is also the religious attitude towards 

 it. So far as I understand the point of view of the Northwest coast 

 Indians, religious respect is not shown to the crest, but refers entirely 

 to the supernatural being that bestowed the crest. 



Birth, Marriage, and Death 



A woman who is with child is not allowed to eat tails of salmon, 

 otherwise the confinement would be hard. She must rise early in 

 the morning, and leave the house before any of the other occupants 

 leave it. Before the child is bom, the father must stay outside his 

 house, and must wear ragged clothing. After the child is born, he 

 must abstain from eating any fat food, particularly porcupine, seal, 



i Boas 12, ]'. 82. 



- 1 collected information on these subjects in the year WOO in connection with the work ol the Jesup North 

 Pacific Expedition ; but up to this time, owing to causes over which I have no control, it has been impossible 

 to publish tin- data. 



a Swanton 5, p. 231. 



« Present publication, p. 270. 



