WINTER CEREMONIAL DANCES 69

to allow his son to be initiated on the nextday. ThenX dances
once more and the kukusiut disperse.

There is no need to repeat an account of the preliminaries
of nebusam, including the construction of the two shelters in
the back corners of the house and the summoning first of the
kukusiut and then of the uninitiated. When all is ready, a
masked figure representing Xemxemélotia appears from one of
the shelters, and dances around the fire, sunwise, revolving
sunwise at the same time, while the kukusiut men pound vio-
lently, the kukusiut women drone, and the uninitiated stare
with open mouths. As he dances he sings:

“Iam Xemxemdlotla. The supernatural beings call con-
tinually on me as they give me presents. See me.”

Then he stands in the centre of the space behind the fire,
holding in his hand a stick that has just been given to him and
which is decorated with dyed and undyed cedar-bark and a
tuft of swan down at the top and middle. The beating of
sticks died down while Xemxemélotiz was making his an-
nouncement, but it now breaks out afresh as Xemcug appears.
He too dances around the fire, announces his name and stands
on Xemxemdilotta’s right. There is more pounding, and out
comes Anolikwoisaix, who circles the fire and stands on
Xemxemélotia’s left. But instead of remaining motionless she
constantly moves about the house, now here, now there, talk-
ing to the uninitiated and assuring them that it is Xemxem-
dlotta whom they see. She takes care not to come into close
contact with the uninitiated as her identity might be detected.
One after the other the other patrons emerge, dance around
the fire, and take their stations alternately to right and left of
Xemxemdélotia. Kwlilias Nuskémpta keeps leaving his place
as if to seek things from different parts of the house, while
dimék*, who is a kingfisher, moves to and fro in quick, hop-
Ping steps, imitating the actions of that bird. A few minutes
after THitcaplitin.a has joined the others, Xemxemélotta begins
to hum loudly: