28 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

not considered necessary. With few exceptions, hereafter to
be noted, kusiut masks are burnt at the conclusion of each
ceremony, a practice which probably originated in order to
avoid the possibility of their being seen by the uninitiated.
The Bella Coola state that this is one of the most striking
differences between their rites and those of the Bella Bella.

Next in importance to masks are whistles (see Plate 2).
The large, cone-shaped form used in sisaok ceremonial is re-
placed in kusiut dances by a smaller type consisting of portions
of wood glued together, which can be blown with ease from
beneath a concealing blanket. Another type has bellows con-
sisting of a mountain goat bladder, which is held beneath
the arm-pit so that it can be worked invisibly. During the
summer the whistles are kept by one individual, usually a
marshal. Specific information concerning the ownership of
these whistles could not be obtained; it appears that any
kusiut can make one, or have one made for him by a skilled
carpenter, and that their retention by one person during the
summer is merely for convenience. They are freely lent to
anyone for use in a ceremony.

In some dances special objects are used in connection with
dramatic performances, such as bull-roarers, wooden repre-
sentations of animals, birds, or miniature human beings. One
old man described a pipe formerly used at T4/-i0, which had
a carved bowl as large as a tea-cup with three radiating stems.
It was carved from a knotty excrescence on a beech bole.
Little could be learnt of its history, except that it was sup-
posed to have been carved by a chief with the design of his
patron and displayed through pride.

The usual guests at a performance of the type just sum-
marized are the dancer’s fellow-villagers and any strangers
who happen to be present in the town. Great as is the desire
of the kukusiut to impress their uninitiated tribesmen, they
are still more eager to impress strangers, hence the presence
of Carriers adds piquancy to the rites. The writer believes
that his presence and interest encouraged the Bella Coola to