VARIOUS PRECEPTS—THE ORDER OF, MANHOOD. 305 
Let the man be accursed who should ever bet his father or mother or any of 
his tribe in a game of chance. 
He told them also that they must no longer burn their dead, but bury 
them in the earth. Last of all, he appointed unto them four great dances 
or festivals, to be held once a year as long as the world endures, namely 
these: Hok’-tom-we-dah (the open-air festival), in the spring; I’-lak-kum- 
we-dah (the dry-season festival), about the first of July; Ush’-ti-moh (the 
burning to the dead), about the first of September; and Yak’-kai-we-dah 
(the winter festival), about the last of December. 
When Oankoitupeh had made an end of speaking to his people, he 
disappeared from before their eyes, roseupward toward the valley of heaven, 
and was seen no more on earth in human form. But when his people cried 
out and wailed in bitterness of heart, and ran after him, wringing their 
hands, to comfort them he appeared once more in the form of a great and 
splendid rainbow, spanning the earth from side to side. He lingered before 
them a moment in this form, then faded away in the skies. 
In accordance with the injunctions in the above legend, the Konkau 
established and have maintained to this day a secret society which is called 
Ku’-meh (literally the ‘ assembly-house” or ‘‘dance-house”, though it may 
be rendered the “Order of Manhood”). Boys are initiated into it at the 
age of about twelve, or, in case of sober, thoughtful boys, a year or two 
younger. Not all youths are taken into membership, although the older 
members are good propagandists, and use strenuous exertions to bring in 
the youngsters of their acquaintance. They tell them that if they do not 
join they will be devoured by wild beasts, or fall over precipices, or be 
drowned, and their spirits will go the left-hand path into darkness. Nothing 
is revealed to them beforehand, and boys are often reluctant to join, having 
heard from outsiders fearful stories of the doings inside. 
There is no grip or password for admission into the sacred house. 
When a member approaches he simply says to the doorkeeper, ‘.Ni-hat 
ye'-pom-mi ku'-meh” (1 belong to the order). The services are called wa- 
tai’-i-teh. When a neophyte is initiated, after the services are over the old 
members in turn place their right hands on his left shoulder. A new name, 
his virile name, which is generally that of his father or some other near 
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