CHAPTER V

STORIES

Kaven Stories—Animal Stories—Sninig Stories—Supernatural
Stortes—Catastrophic Stories — Historical Stories

ie addition to myths which have definite sociological impor-

tance, such as those which explain the procedure of dances
and other rituals, there are many legends which can best be
described as stories.1_ These do not belong either to individuals
or to families, consequently they are more widely known than
allegedly historical accounts which are the personal property
of social groups. In the long winter evenings it is common to
see an old man or woman surrounded by young boys and girls
listening attentively to some tale. An outburst of laughter
always accompanies a humorous incident, no matter how many
times it may have been heard. The narration is a mere pastime,
an amusement which seems never to pall either on recounter
or listener. Occasionally, a person of philosophical disposition
will claim that a moral is taught by every story, and it is true
that many of them point out some well-known experience of
life, such as “The Biter Bit’; this must unconsciously strike
the hearers, but any intentional didacticism is quite foreign to
Bella Coola thought.

As will be seen, these stories contain a large number or
fantastic episodes. The Bella Coola recognize this to be the
case without doubting their truth. They describe events which
took place long, long ago, when man and supernatural beings
were in closer contact than at present; when man was able to
understand the speech and actions of the birds, the mammals,
and the fish. The people of today do not expect to have simi-
lar experiences now but, according to their point of view,
there is no reason why the incidents of the stories could not
have happened in the distant past. Frequently, different ver-
sions of the same legend are told by different men; each is

*Stmsma, a story or, more accurately, a piece of ancient lore.
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