81 
Mourning . The mourning for the dead followed a definite social 
pattern. The relatives of the deceased cut, bit, or scarified their flesh 
and ostentatiously destroyed an amount of property varying according 
to the degree or distance of the relationship, the intimate family, in case 
of death of the father, abandoning practically everything (See Keith, 1890, 
II, page 109). The taboo on using the property of a dead father, though 
materially diminished, is still very obvious. Wentzel says (1890, I, page 
87) of the Beaver (Slave) that some carried their self abuse to such an 
extent as to cause their own death. According to Petitot, the D&ne 
(presumably of Great Bear Lake region) put a man's canoe with the grave 
objects, or else launched it in the current. All the other things belonging 
to the man which could not be hidden with him were burned, thrown into 
the water, or hung in the trees. The same writer says that the faces of 
the corpses were covered with masks and that long poles with suspended 
streamers of various colours were erected above the tombs for the amuse- 
ment of the dead one’s soul in order to keep it with the body (See Petitot, 
1876, page 47 ff). 
It was the custom for the elder son, or perhaps some other near 
relative, to give a feast in honour of the departed. Within the memory of 
recent people, this feast was given after the arrival of the family at the 
trading post. Petitot reports that in certain tribes the family of the dead 
were reunited around the burial cache a year after the interment and the 
decayed remains were exposed to view. The family mourned and intoned 
the songs of the dead, and afterwards sat silently around feasting. This 
he observed at the site of Fort Franklin and the people were undoubtedly 
Satudene. He also mentions that at the same time sticks, stones, and 
pieces of turf were thrown on the grave after it was closed up (See Petitot, 
1893, pages 119, 121). One of my informants stated that as a child she was 
told by her mother to throw willow twigs on a grave they were visiting, 
but she was not told the reason. At Great Bear lake in 1928, several sons 
of a man deceased about four years previously feasted at his grave, but it 
is not known that the remains were exposed to view. 
Wailing is undertaken by the female relatives of the deceased at 
certain periods, for an extended length of time. According to modern 
informants, the time for these demonstrations is rather sensed than 
actually defined. It has been observed that the arrival at the trading 
post, and presumably at another camp, requires a demonstration of weep- 
ing. If it is not forthcoming, the other women will ask the reason for the 
negligence, but it appears of no consequence for the woman to interrupt 
her own crying with jokes and laughter. Keith states (1890, II, page 109) 
that among the Yellowknives who visited Fort Franklin, wailing took place 
every morning at dawn, and also at sunset, for more than a year. 
RELIGION 
Animism. The religious concepts of the Satudene are of the simplest 
type. The people are definitely animistic, living in a world of multitudinous 
spirits which influence or control their destinies. These spirits animate 
all the elements of nature such as fire and wind, the rivers, and the aurora 
borealis. Besides these impersonal spirits there are the souls of the dead 
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