ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 847 



wives must join them. If the wife should not bo true to the husband the 

 effect of the fasting is destroyed. 



The following beliefs and customs are connected with their religious 

 ideas and ceremonies : — Twins are believed to control the weather ; there- 

 fore they pray to wind and rain : ' Calm down, breath of the twins. ' 

 Whatever twins wish for is fulfilled. Therefore they are feared, as 

 they can harm the man whom thoy hate. Tlioy can call the olachen and 

 salmon, and are therefore called Sewihri'n=making plentiful. 



The olachen is called halEma'tk, the Saviour. Certain ceremonies are 



prescribed when the first fish are caught. They are roasted on an 



instrument of elderberry-wood, of the form shown in the accompanying 



sketch. A handle is tied to the central rod, which is about three 



'^' ■ feet long. A short crosspiece is fastened to the rod about one foot 



^ X from its end, and twigs are fastened to its outer ends, being tied 



to the central rod near its upper end. The man who roasts the 



fish on this instrument must wear his travelling attire : mittens, 



cape, &c. While it is roasted they pray for plenty of fish, and 



ask that they might come to their fi.shing ground. When the 



fish is turned round, all cry, lawd' ! The fire must not be blown 



up. In eating the fish they must not cool it by blowing, nor 



; break a single bone. Everything must be kept neat and clean. 



The rakes for catching the fish must be hidden in the house. 



The fish must not be left outside, but stored in boxes. The first fish that 



they give as a present to their neighbours must be covered with a new 



naat. When the fish become more plentiful, they are doubled up, and 



roa-sted on the point of a stick. After that they are treated without any 



further ceremonies. 



Kwdlciutt. — The Kwakintl worship the sun, who is called Kauts'o'ump 

 (our father), A'ta (the one above), K'anski'yi (our brother), Kansno'la 

 (our elder brother), or Amiae'qet (the one to whom we must be grate- 

 ful). They pray to him and they give him offerings. His son is 

 K'anikilak" (with outspread wings), who descended from heaven and 

 wandered all over the world, giving man his social institutions, customs, 

 and arts. They pray to him also. After death the souls go to a country 

 like ours, and continue to be what they have been on earth. The ghosts 

 may reappear ; to see them brings sickness and death. 



The Kwakintl have a belief regarding twins similar to that of the 

 Tsimshian. They consider twins transformed salmon, and, as children 

 of salmon, they are guarded against going near the water, as it is 

 believed they would be re-transformed into salmon. While children 

 they are able to summon any wind by motions of their hands, and can 

 make fair or bad weather. They have the power of curing diseases, and 

 use for this purpose a rattle called k'oa'qaten, which has the shape of a 

 flat box about three feet long by two feet wide. Their mother-marks 

 are considered scars of wounds which they received when they were 

 struck by a harpoon while still having the shape of salmon. 



The Goad Saliah. — The Coast Salish worship the sun and the great 

 wanderer. The ^atlo'ltq call the latter Kumsiio'otl (our elder brother), 

 a word which has been borrowed from the Kwakintl. They pray to 

 him Ai kii.arqdtd'motl, Kumsud'otI, kums e'tltEn ! (O Kumsno'otl, give us 

 to eat !) The Snanaimuq must not partake of aiiy food until the sun is 

 well np in the sky. The Sk'qo'mic seem to consider the great wanderer, 

 whom they call Qa'is, the great deity. He is also called Qa'aqa and 



