260 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

figures are really beings from another world. The explan-
ation lies in the profound belief of all Bella Coola in the near
presence of the supernatural; consequently, a supernatural
explanation is the one normally given for all unusual inci-
dents. The dances themselves are filled with strange mani-
festations, particularly the weird whistling concerning the
origin of which the uninitiated have no idea. Once convinced
by this means of the presence of unknown powers, it is easy
for them to believe that the masked figures are visitors from
the other world. Nor was their belief in former days shaken
by certain representations which were palpably false, such as
that of the sun. No one could believe that the disk which
moved across the back of the house was the sun itself; but on
the other hand it seemed marvellous to the uninitiated, igno-
rant of the means used to portray it. To the white man there
seems a fundamental difference between a supernatural being
and the representation of a strange object made to move by
unseen means, but to the Bella Coola both belong to another
realm, and are accordingly akin. Moreover, there were occa-
sions when the uninitiated must have seen the shifting or actual
falling of a mask, for example, during the fight with wasps.
But here again the deep belief of the non-members came to
the help of the kukusiut, who told their guests that this was
caused by the coming of a call to the actor, and what might
easily have become doubt and suspicion was thus changed to
respect.

The writer laboured under two tremendous difficulties in
collecting information about kusiut matters; the present dances
are mere shadows of what they formerly were, and there are
no more uninitiated. His presence and quest for information
served to stimulate interest and led to a partial revival of the
old rites, but the bulk of his material was obtained from infor- —
mants rather than from actual observation. It is a universal
characteristic of mankind to idealize accounts of former prac-
tices, so it is not only possible, but probable, that the foregoing
descriptions are more perfect than many of the rites to which