556 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 



that this supernatural power is used for all children of high rank in 

 all the tribes, in order to impress upon them that they shall not 

 answer any one quickly who should offend them. 



Ale'st (Lazy). — When the supernatural power Ale'st is called, he 

 does not rise, because he is lazy. Therefore one of the chief's own 

 relatives goes to lift him, but does not succeed in doing it. Other 

 chiefs take poles and put them under him, trying to lift him up. 

 After many unsuccessful efforts a whistle is heard outside. The song- 

 leader takes his cane and starts his song, and a masked person comes 

 in carrying a beautiful cane in his hands. He holds one end of the 

 cane in his left hand over his left shoulder, and puts down the lower 

 end with his right hand. Thus he walks around the fire four times. 

 Then he goes towards Ale'st, and puts his beautifid cane under him, 

 trying to lift him. As soon as the masked person does so, all the 

 people imitate his actions. When he stoops down, they stoop down; 

 and when the mask blows its whistle, all the people utter a soft a; 

 and when the masked person bends backward, they do the same, 

 uttering softly e. The mask repeats its movements four times, and 

 so do the people. Then Ale'st arises, and the masked person strikes 

 the ground with his cane four times, and at once all the whistles are 

 heard. Afterwards the chief sings his solo, as described before. 



LiEgEl-gulagum lax-ha' (Crack Of Heaven). — When LEgEl-gulagum 

 lax-ha' is called, the curtain is withdrawn, the song-leader begins the 

 song, and the chief appears wearing the mask. He goes around the 

 fire four times, and then stops at the same place where he came out. 

 Suddenly the face of the mask parts, and each side of the face hangs 

 down; only the middle, part of the face remains in position. Then 

 the face closes up again. This is repeated four times. The fourth 

 time the mask opens, "it makes the large house crack. One side of 

 the large house moves backward from the other. It goes with the 

 half of the la»rge fire, and the whole congregation is still sitting on 

 both sides. The roof is asunder, and the large beams go backward. 

 This is the great wonderful enchantment among these chiefs in the 

 Tsimshian nation. It is not often shown, only in the house of the 

 great chief LEg-e'°x." 1 When the mask closes the last time, the 

 house comes together again slowly. 



Lvr-nchgisEm gad (Changing Mind). — When Lu-na-gisEm gad ap- 

 pears, one mask representing a man stands on the right-hand side of 

 the house, that of the woman on the left-hand side. The two masks 

 have one song, because they belong together. As soon as the name 

 of the mask is mentioned in the song, the faces of both of them 

 change. The man's mask becomes a woman's mask, and the woman's 

 mask a man's mask. This is repeated four times; and while this 

 change in the mask goes on, "the people of the chief's tribe change 



1 I quote here from Mr. Tate almost literally, l.ecause the description is not clear. 



