s wanton] 



SOCIAL CUSTOMS 



431 



Lust of ;ill caiuo ;i luouriiinj;' fea.st to hhmhIicis of the opposite 

 phratry. .Just before food was distrihuted a little was held up, the 

 name of the ilead pronounced, anil the food put into the fire. Then 

 a great quantity of the same kind of food was believed to pass to the 

 man whose name had ))een mentioned. If he 

 received consideral)le in this waj' he was proud 

 and happy; otherwise he was ashamed. All of 

 the property given awaj' or destro3'ed at a 

 feast was dedicated to some dead person who 

 then actually received its spiritual counterpart. 

 Sometimes a man dreamed tliat his dead uncle 

 came to him and said he was hungry, when lie 

 had to give him a feast. In 

 fact, it ma}- be said that these 

 feasts were supposed to be 

 partaken of by men and spir- 

 its at the same time, and con- 

 stituted a sort of communion 

 between them. 



The bones of the dead were 

 placed in mortuary houses or 

 on poles, both of which were 

 put up during the feasts just 

 referred to. In the latter 

 case they might be put into 

 boxes supported l)y either 

 one or two posts, or in cavi- 

 ties excavated in the back of 

 the post itself. Sometimes a 

 memorial pole was set up in 

 one part of the village, while 

 the ashes were in a mortuary house elsinvhere. 



Figure lOS illustrates a grave post with box placed 

 on top. It was erected at KAq!anuwu' for one of 

 the Ka'gwAntan called Stuwu(ja' (" Wants-to-be- 

 higher-than-other-aniraals," referring to the wolf), 

 who died by violence. The box itself has a tigure 

 of the gonaijAde't's face painted on both sides, this 

 l)eing a Ka'gwAntan emV)lem, and on the top of the 

 lid, now unfortunateh" missing, was a figure of the 

 dead man's head. This was painted half black 

 and half red. The hole cut through the poli> below 

 repi-esents that by which the highest heaven is reached (see p. 461), 

 the human figure, tlie being supposed to keep watch of it, and the 

 faces on each side of the hole grizzly bears which infest the spirit road. 



Fig. IOH, McmIuI of grave post 

 surmounted by grave box. 



Fig. 109. Model of 

 grave post having 

 grave box inserted 

 in the back. 



