74 



THE INDIANS OF CAPE FLAT TEE Y. 



with two or three red marks on each cheek. The dress of the novitiate females is 

 similar, with the exception of there being no feathers or ornaments on the bark 



Fig. 4S 



Fig. 43. 



headdress, and with the addition of black or blue stripes on the red paint covering 

 the forehead and lower portion of the face. The headdress of the men (Fig. 43) 

 consists of a circular band of bark and colored worsted, from the back part of which 

 are two bunches of bark, like horses' tails. Two upright sticks are fastened 

 to the band behind the ears, and on top of these sticks are two white feathers 

 tipped with red ; the quill portion is inserted into -a piece of elder stick with the 

 pith extracted, and then put on the band sticks. These sockets give the feathers 

 the charm of vibrating as the wearer moves his head; when dancing or moving in 

 procession the hands are raised as high as the face, and the fingers spread out. 



The doctor or principal performer has on his head a dress of plain bark similar 

 to the female novitiate. He is naked except a piece of blanket about his loins, 

 and his body is covered with stripes of red paint. The out-door performance con- 

 sists of a procession which moves from the lodge to the beach; the principal 

 actor or conductor being at the head, followed by aU the males in single file, the 

 last one being the doctor. Immediately behind the doctor the patient follows, sup- 

 ported on each side by a female assistant. The females close up the procession. 

 All parties, male and female, have their hands raised as high as their faces, and the 

 motion of the procession is a sort of shuffling dance. They move in a circle 

 which gradually closes around the patient, who, with the novitiate, is left seated 

 . on the ground in the centre ; songs with choruses by the whole of the spectators, 

 drumming, shaking rattles, and firing of guns wind up the performance, and aU 



