342 
porarily descended to earth and stalked through the Indians’ dwell- 
injj;s. An atmosphere of mystery pervaded the villaj2:es throughout 
the whole season, and even the children moved about with solemn 
faces, believing that the supernatural beings were constantly in their 
midst. Only those were initiated who could prove an inherited right 
to perform one of the special dances; but since the cost of initiation 
was much less than for a potlatch, and most of the Bella Coola could 
conjure up the right from their genealogical traditions, membership 
was open to most adults, commoners and nobles alike. A perform- 
ance usually lasted four nights, and one succeeded another with little 
intermission (although in a different house) until the close of the 
season. Several men, or women, might have the same supernatural 
guardian (or, in other words, the prerogative for the same type of 
performance, e.g. the right to perform the cannibal dance) ; but the 
only bond among them was their common membership in the general 
society. 
KWAKIUTL 
The Kwakiutl (“ Beach on the other side of the river ”) occupied 
the northern corner of Vancouver island from Johnstone strait to 
cape Cook, and all the coast of the mainland from Douglas channel 
to Bute inlet, except the small portion controlled by the Bella Coola. 
Linguists distinguish three groups among them: the Haisla of 
Douglas channel and Gardner canal, the Heiltsuk from Gardner canal 
to Rivers inlet, and the Kwakiutl proper to the south of Rivers inlet. 
It is possible that all the Kwakiutl were originally divided into a 
number of exogamous clans or “ genealogical families ” that reckoned 
descent either through the male line alone, or through both male and 
female. Under the influence of the matrilinear Tsimshian, however, 
the northern villages developed phratries in which property and rank 
descended through the mother, while the southern villages, without 
establishing phratries, modified the rules of inheritance so that 
property and rank passed througli the women by subterfuge; they 
pa.ssed, that is, from a man to his daughter’s husband, and from the 
daughter’s husband to the grandchild. Families that had no 
daughters arranged fictitious marriages to keep the system working. 
Imitating the Tsimshian, again, the northern group sometimes cre- 
mated their dead, a practice that did not find favour with the southern 
