ON THE NORTH-WESTERN TRIBES OF CANADA. 419 



go with the mother and part with the father. The decision is left to the 

 parents and children. 



When a person has died the corpse is washed, the face painted red, 

 the legs are doubled up, and the arms folded over the breast. The nose- 

 omament of the deceased is put into his nose ; his shirt is put on, the 

 back part covering the breast and the front part turned backward. The 

 body is placed in a box and the latter is either fastened on the lower 

 branches of a tree or placed in a little house, which is set on posts, above 

 the level of the ground. The face of the deceased is turned eastward. 

 Part of his property and gifts from his friends are deposited near the 

 grave. The masks of the deceased are burnt. His crest is carved on a 

 memorial column, which also shows how many canoes, coppers, head- 

 dresses, and slaves he had given away at potlatches. These objects are 

 painted or carved on the columns, Foi^merly slaves were killed at the 

 burial of chiefs. The number of slaves killed was also indicated by so 

 many human figures on the memorial column. After burial food for the 

 use o£ the deceased is thrown into the fire. This is repeated frequently 

 during a prolonged period after the death has occurred. "Whenever the 

 friends of the deceased partake of a meal a little food is thrown down at 

 a place between the fire and the door, where the entrance to the lower 

 world, the home of the dead, is believed to be. 



The bed of a mourner must be protected againt the ghost of the de- 

 ceased. His male relatives stick a thorn-bush into the ground at each 

 corner of their beds. After four days these are thrown 'into the water. 

 Mourners must rise early and go into the woods, where they stick four 

 thorn-bushes into the ground, at the corners of a square, in which they 

 cleanse themselves by rubbing their bodies with cedar-branches. They 

 also swim in ponds. After swimming they cleave four small trees and 

 creep through the clefts, following the course of the sun. This they do 

 on four subsequent mornings, cleaving new trees every day. Mourners 

 cut their hair short. The hair that has been cut off is burnt. If they 

 should not observe these regulations it is believed that they would dream 

 of the deceased. Women when mourning scratch their cheeks with, 

 shells or stones. 



The mourning regulations for a widower or a widow are especially 

 strict. For four days he (or she) must fast, and must not speak a 

 word, else the dead wife or husband would lay a hand on the mouth of 

 the offender, who would then die. They must not go near water, and 

 are forbidden to catch or eat salmon for a whole year. For the same 

 length of time they must not eat fresh herring or olachen. Widow and 

 widower cleanse themselves in the same way as other mourners. Their 

 shadows are considered unlucky, and must not fall on any person. 



Some time after the death of a rich or influential person his nearest 

 relative invites the whole tribe to a potlatch. On this occasion he sings 

 a mourning song for the deceased and gives away presents to his guests. 

 It was explained to me that this ended the mourning, and that it was 

 ' the same as giving away the bones of the deceased.' 



Eeligion and Shamanism. 



The mythology of the Bilqula differs greatly from the mythologies of 

 the other tribes of the North Pacific coast. It is impossible to say to 



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