49

wolf, grizzly bear, and black bear; and of the lachsamshu phratry beaver
and owl.

Potlatches, which occur only in June and July when the families gather
at Fort Grahame after the winter’s trapping, are simple feasts in which the
members of the phratry that issues the invitation range themselves at the
back of the house and wait on the representatives of the other two phra-
tries, who sit on the floor along the sides. The Sekani do not dramatize
their crests, as do the Carrier and Gitksan, no one wears a mask, and no
one sings or dances; but they have attempted to introduce some principle
into their seating arrangements inasmuch as the leading teneza’ in each
phratry occupies the central place and the other members group near him
in the supposed order of their importance. A few men have assumed
potlatch names or titles, generally, if not always, during real potlatches at
Babine in which Carrier or Gitksan Indians participated. Thus the laksel
phratry has the titles daiya, “he goes towards the moose,” and asbazudi,
“tongue of a mountain goat”; the lachsamshu phratry dzak, “a beaver-
house’; and the lachsibu datchinkadiye, “a conspicuous tree.” The indi-
vidual who acquired the title “He goes towards the moose ” purchased for
his potlatch five cases of eggs, and large quantities of tobacco, canned
salmon, milk, and other foods. Since the expense was greater than he
could bear alone, his fellow phratrymen shared it with him.

Children belong to the phratries of their mothers, marriage within a
phratry is discountenanced, and the phratry of a man (or woman) who dies
at Fort Grahame arranges and pays for his burial by one of the other two
phratries. During the greater part of the year, however, the families are
scattered over a wide range of territory and the phratric system lapses
completely. It really functions, in fact, only during the months of June
and July when the people gather at Fort Grahame, though it can be revived
at any season of the year by individuals visiting the Carrier and Gitksan.
Some of the older people who do not roam outside Sekani territory hardly
know to what phratries they belong, and depend for guidance on their
kindred.

The T’lotona or Long Grass Indians also adopted a phratric organiza-
tion, but they derived their system from the Tahltan and Gitksan rather
than from the Gitksan and Carrier. They, too, had’ three phratries,
Raven, Wolf, and Fireweed, as opposed to the Gitksan four, Raven, Wolf,
Fireweed, and Eagle, and two, Raven and Wolf, among the Tahltan. Each
phratry had its crests which were represented at potlatches by appropriate
emblems. The crests of the Raven phratry were, raven, eagle, and frog or
toad ;? those of the Wolf phratry, wolf, black bear, and a small owl;® and
those of the Fireweed phratry, fireweed, sun or moon, grouse, and the big
horned owl.4 |

! About 1900. The condition of the band today is unknown.

* The Raven phratry of the Tahltan recognized as its crests raven, eagle, toad, and otter. Raven and frog are
the principal crests in the Raven phratry of the Gitksan, and the eagle appears in a modified form, though it is the
principal crest in the eagle phratry. x

3 The Wolf phratry of the Tahltan had only one crest, wolf. Wolf and black bear, but apparently not owl
are crests in the Gitksan Wolf phratry. i i

4 Fireweed, moon, grouse, and owl are all crests in the Gitksan Fireweed phratry.