NELSON] MORTUARY FEASTS 365 
the spiritual essence of the entire quantity of food and water from which 
the small portions are offered goes to the shade. This essence of the 
offerings is believed to be transported mysteriously to the abodes of 
the shades and thus supply their wants until the time of the next 
festival. After these offerings have been made the festival maker dis- 
tributes the food that is left among the people present and all eat 
heartily. Then, with songs and dances, the feast is ended and the 
shades are dismissed. 
GREAT FEAST TO THE DEAD 
The great feast to the dead (the ten-year Lyruska of the fur trader) 
is the [kh’-ti-ka'-tikh-tik of the Unalit at St Michael and the Ukh’-ta 
or I’-li-gi of the Eskimo at Ikogmut on the lower Yukon. The latter 
term means ‘throwing away,” from the custom of the feast makers 
giving away everything during the festival. The nearest relative of 
a deceased Eskimo in this region must honor the shade of the departed 
with presents of food, drink, and clothing, through the dead person’s 
namesake at the first festival in honor of the shades following his 
death; also by small food offerings at each of the tollowing annual 
observances of this festival until he takes part in the great feast to 
the dead. The chief mourner is the nearest blood relative, either the 
father, son, brother, or other near relation. The chief mourner, after 
the expiration of one or two years, commences to Save up valuable 
articles, such as skins of various kinds, clothing, and other things 
prized by these people; thus he or she saves for four, six, or even more 
years until the store of goods has grown to a large amount of property, 
as these people regard it, often worth hundreds of dollars. 
At the same time others in the village are doing the same, until 
finally a number of persons conclude that they have enough to make 
one of these great festivals, when they agree on a time for its obsery- 
ance on some day during a certain moon in the ensuing year. Then, at 
the holding of the next minor feast to the dead, each relative plants his 
invitation stake before the grave of the one he wishes to honor. The 
invitation stake consists of a slender wooden rod, four to six feet high, 
commonly having rings of red paint about its freshly cut surface, aud 
topped by a small, painted, wooden image of the totemic animal of the 
deceased; this stake is supposed to notify the shade of the dead of the 
approaching festival. To still further notify the shades, a song of invi- 
tation is sung at the minor festival to the dead given the year before 
the great feast, and as the shades are believed to be present at these 
festivals, this soug is supposed to be heard by them. 
With the observance of this great festival a person is supposed to 
have done his entire duty to the shades of his dead, and thenceforth 
may abstain from making any further feasts in their honor without 
being ashamed before his fellow villagers. However, should he lose 
another very near relation he would be expected to repeat the usual 
