WINTER CEREMONIAL DANCES 119

his call, and when this has been settled, he informs those kuku-
stut whom he plans to honour by scratching. Since each will
have to be recompensed for allowing X to display his prerog-
ative, their number depends on X’s wealth. Early in the
morning of the day chosen, which is always immediately after
the zebusam of some other kusiut, the call comes, and X gives
a low hoot. At once he starts wildly rushing around and
scratching, so that the uninitiated are only too willing to flee
from his terrifying presence. Throughout the day X is es-
corted by a number of fukusiut to every house, where he rages
around the fire, throwing his arms to and fro in an infuriated
manner, sometimes scratching one of his fellows, but more
often merely acting as if he desired to do so. The uninitiated
hide within the bedrooms, greatly impressed by what they see
if they dare to look forth.

Towards evening the kukusiut are summoned to X’s house,
where a dramatic represen tation, into which the members fully
enter, is made of binding him as if he were a wild animal or a
lunatic. A rope is stretched around the fire, held by the Audu-
stut, with X inside. He pretends to be trying to escape, while
the rope-holders bend down and move around to hold him
within their bonds. Meanwhile a shaman, or some senior
kusiut, leads a frenzied beating of sticks which is four times
repeated, to cure the madness. A husiut then grasps the
Scratcher’s face and moves his mouth four times, to make sure
that his jaws can move properly; the meaning of this is un-
Known. X now takes one of the beating-sticks and sits down
among the singers as if about to teach them both tune and
words of a song describing his knowledge of the land above,
derived from his call. For a few moments he beats sanely,
and appears to speak in a rational manner, but soon he goes
off in a wild frenzy of senseless pounding. Hozp, hoip, cry
the kukusiut to soothe him. After this has been several times
repeated, the singers announce that they have learnt X’s song,
though of course, they have composed one themselves jn readi-
ness for the occasion. They now sing it; the audience listens,