SWANTON] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 375 



klewusia'dudAtcxA'ntc, IcAiide'n Adri' tuwAtl'. He ye xAt 3"AtI'. 



brought dav- his grandchild. Pitv for them felt. This like I am. 



light 



Axkfi' qokaodjige't. A'xtuwu nik". He adA'x yIdA't qo'a de 



On me there is darkness. My mind is sick. So this way however now 



yil'x xoa'sgax qcA' AxJi'ik!-hAS, AxsA'ni-hAS, Axdake'qli, 



from you I am begging daylight ray grandfathers, my father's brothers, my people I 



came from, 



AxdakAnu'q!'^, AXLa'-lI'lk^-hAs. HeyidA't-fic Axdjl't yiti' yu'([eA, 



my ancestors, my mother's grandfathers. Can it be tome you will the day- 



give light; 



Nas-cAki-ye'l yAx ylii gAtI' adA'x Axkfi' qeiigAa' '^ ") 



Raven-at-head-of- as he gave to [his so that on me will be day- 

 Nass grandchild] light'.'") 



Then the tive opposite families will say, "Ye k"gwati'" ("We will 

 make it so "). 



This speech means that the chief wants the people of those tive 

 families — men, women, and children — to come and raise the pole. By 

 " being in the dark'' he means that the pole is not raised, and he tells 

 them that the}- will give him da3dight by raising it. After it is raised 

 he siiys, "You have brought daylight on me" ("HayedA't Axqa' 

 qeyi'yi si a' ""). After this speech all show the greatest respect to this 

 chief and keep verj^ quiet. They do not allow the children to say any- 

 thing out of the way. 



The evening of the day when the pole is erected they have a dance. 

 At Wrangell the KiksA'di, Qa'tcAdi,'and Tl hit tan danced on one side 

 and the Kasq lague'di and TaJqoe'di on the other. The head men of 

 both of these divisions say, "Now we nmst give a dance for him.'" 

 While the dancers prepare themselves in another house, the outsiders 

 assemble in the house to look on. The Raven division that is going 

 to dance last comes in, dressed and painted, and sits down to wait for 

 the others. The giver of the feast sits in the rear of the house with 

 his friends about him. Then the ones that are to dance tirst come in 

 dancing one by one, all dressed and painted. As soon as thej' are 

 through, the others walk out, dress again, and enter dancing. Each 

 side has two song leaders, a head song leader and a second song leader, 

 who bear dancing batons. 



All this is done only when a chief or one of his famil}^ has died, not 

 for a common person, and the tirst side to dance is that to which the 

 widower, or the widow of the deceased belongs. Sometimes the dance 

 used to go on all winter. Ordinary living houses for the high caste 

 people were put up as monuments for the dead and were viewed as such. 

 In that case no pole was erected to the man\s memory, but his body 

 was placed in the graveyard. This is why they never built a house in 

 old times without feasting. 



After this dance the widower, or one of the widow-s family, might 

 rise and speak as follows: 



"In the tirst time took place the flood of Raven-at-head-of-Nass. 

 What the people went through was pitiful. Tlieir uncles' houses and 



