CHAPTER XIV.
EXAMPLES OF TRIBAL BELIEFS AND FOLK-LORE.

The beliefs and customs of these early occupants of British Columbia were
deeply ingrained, fostered by their vivid imaginations and by isolation from
foregn influences.

THE BASIS OF TRADITIONS.

Primitive man lived in surroundings always more or less threatening; at any
moment he found himself plunged into difficulties or desperate adventures, im-
agined to be instigated by supernatural forces against which he had to pit his
limited resources. Modern anthropologists advance the opinion that it was his
faith in the existence of benevolent as well as malign spirits which fortified his
nerves, while it underlay those superstitions which form the basis of tradition.
Trivial and often barbarous observances designed to placate these mysterious
forces inspired courage and, in the case of the North-west Coast, animated much
of its unique art.

VARIED DETAILS OF TRIBAL BELIEFS.

Animism underlay all tribal beliefs and coloured the forms of worship which
have been described rather as a propitiation of unknown supernatural beings or
of the Sun, than as a system of religion in the modern sense of the word. A close
association existed between these beliefs and Secret Society or other ceremonial
functions. Offerings assumed varied forms. ‘The Haida when praying blew
up eagle down, whereas the offerings of the Tsimshian took the form of red paint,
elk-hide lines or cedar bark, which were then burned. ‘They approached their
deity through mediators—the Sun, the Moon, Spirits, or animals; it was he who
taught men to distinguish right from wrong, to be pitiful, to detest crime and
foolish behaviour. Personal cleanliness was acceptable to him, and by rigid
fasting he could be induced to accede to earnest requests.

Scattered throughout the Kwakiutl year were a series of minor ceremonies
connected with every incident of daily life. A prayer, each with its own formula,
was linked to each significant duty. When a canoe-builder felled a tree he
addressed it as “ Life Giver” or called it “ Friend,” ‘“ Supernatural One,” and
thanked it for giving him of its substance. When a woman cut the roots of a
cedar for basket-making, she prayed: “‘O Friend, I come to ask for your dress

I pray you not to be angry on this account, Long Life Giver,” ete.

The Kwakiutl believed their social customs and arts to be gifts conferred by
the son of their deity, known as “ K’anikilak,” who apparently made his appear-
ance at the north-east extremity of Vancouver Island; many of their beliefs were
shared by the Coast Salish, and both people were Sun ,worshippers.

For some reason, at present unknown, the mythology of the Bella Coola
differed noticeably from that of their neighbours, the Kwakiutl. They recog-
nized a principal deity, the “‘ Sun-god,” but gave credit for the making of man
to two other deities who provided them with subsistence, and instructed them in
the arts of building houses, making canoes and other useful industries. They
undoubtedly considered all animals in a sense supernatural, belonging to a differ-
ent plane from human beings, sometimes superior, sometimes inferior.

Among the Nootka the name of the deity was kept secret from the common
people; the privilege of prayer was confined to Chiefs and was unaccompanied

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