WINTER CEREMONIAL DANCES 109

if the latter agrees to undertake the commission, he must
next obtain a slave, a matter of no difficulty if he is at all
wealthy. An effort is made to find a victim from the tribe
that has committed the murder, though any alien will suffice.
The details are worked out with great care so that the slave is
sent to the river for water, or on some other errand at the time
the call comes to the Cannibal. A shout is raised, and the
uninitiated hurriedly run out of the house, followed by the
dancer and a body of athletic kukusiut, who pounce on the
unsuspecting foreigner. The Cannibal cuts his throat, and
the corpse is carried back to his house, where all members of
the society are assembling. Part of the body is cut off, then
the kukusiut accompany the Cannibal to every house of the
village. He carries the mutilated remains, and the uninitiated
readily believe that he has devoured the missing portion. The
corpse is later dismembered and the bloody pieces displayed,
convincing proof of the gruesome meal. Itis needless to say that
they are carefully buried where there is no danger that they
will be found. The rite then proceeds in the usual manner.

If two biting Cannibals, or their parents, quarrel, they may
be shamed into killing and “eating” a slave. Angry words lead
to insults, insults to scorn at each other’s prowess, until one of
the Cannibals throws a stone at the feet of the other, an action
which has the significance of:

Piat that!’

Since a stone is always symbolic of a slave, the Cannibal
so taunted knows what is expected. If he accepts the chal-
lenge, he throws a stone at his adversary’s feet, bidding him
do likewise. The one challenged soon receives a call and
kills a slave in the manner previously described; his rival must
do the same unless he is willing to admit himself outdone.
The occasional killing of a slave under such circumstances
does not give to either the right of doing so habitually. Of
course the challenged individual is not bound to accept, but
if he declines the “dare,” he sinks in popular estimation. This