EELLS ON THE TWANA INDIANS. 109 



C. — Ecclesiastical organization. 



Medicine-men, rain-maliers, sorcerers, devotees. — ISTo sorcerers or devotees- 

 There are medicine-men. No special class of rain-makers ; but there is 

 a certain rock in Hood's Canal, near the reservation, which they have 

 thought if any one should strike in a certain way it would bring rain. 

 But they have about lost faith in it now. 



Part taken by the laiety in religious ceremonies. — At tamanamus they 

 are present and help make the noise, while the medicine-man draws 

 forth the evil spirit. (See III, 17, D, Exorcism.) In their old mode of 

 worship, by dancing, they danced. 



D. — Sacked rites. 



Installation of dignitaries. — At present, when a chief is chosen, he 

 makes a short speech, and a few others congratulate him. 



Exorcism, generally called tamanamus. — A wicked medicine-man is 

 supposed to be able to send a woodpecker, squirrel, bear, or any treach- 

 erous animal, to the heart of his enemy, to eat his heart, plague him, 

 make him sick, or kill him. The good medicine-man finds out, from his 

 sickness, what kind of an animal it is, and then tries to draw it forth ; and 

 while the common people make a noise, pounding on a rough drum, on 

 sticks, hallooing, singing, &c., the medicine-man places his hands on 

 some part of the body, where to him seems best, and draws forth with 

 his hands, or says he does, the evil spirit ; and when he says he has it, 

 he holds it between his hands, invisible, and blows it up, or takes it to 

 another man, who throws a stone at it and kills it. When the sick 

 person is not cured, they say there are several evil spirits, but some- 

 times the person dies before they are all drawn out, or else the opposing 

 medicine-man is stronger than he, and so he cannot draw them all out. 

 Sometimes the good spirit of the person is gone, and he is sick. Then 

 the medicine-man tries, with his hands, to draw it back, and so cure 

 him. 



Choosing a totem. — See A of present section. 



Sacrifice. — Formerly, when they went to a new land to live for any 

 length of time, they would build a fire, and then burn some fish, good 

 mats, or something valuable made with the hand, except clothes, which 

 they said they gave to the land in order to gain its favor. Even now 

 in some of their tamanamus ceremonies they do something similar. 



Purification. — ISToue as a religious rite. Formerly the women were 

 considered unclean when changing to womanhood, and also at the birth 

 of a child ; on account of which they were kept out of the house, and 

 purified by washing with certain leaves. These customs are almost 

 extinct. 



Exorcism. — A wicked medicine-man can also, in an invisible manner, 

 shoot a stone, ball, or poison into the heart of the sick person, and the 

 animal spoken of, to eat the heart of the person, is also sent in an in 



