WINTER CEREMONIAL DANCES 23

years in deceiving, undoubtedly begins to convince himself
that he is different from lesser mortals.

Before describing in detail initiation into the kusiut society,
and then the ritual of various dances, it will be convenient to
outline the type of ceremonial, although emphasizing the fact
that each differs so much from every other that lengthy des-
criptions will be necessary later on. When a person has been
initiated, either in the proper manner during the ceremonial
season or as a “'shaman”’ during the summer, he is known as a
isix, a novice, until the £usiut dances of the next winter.
During this period he wears certain distinctive cedar-bark
ornaments and is expected to keep himself somewhat apart
from the uninitiated. He is always required to give his cere-
monial during the first dance season after initiation; by so
doing he ceases to be a novice. In later years a kusiut can
suit himself whether or not to perform. Having once done SO,
he is a fully qualified member of the society, nor does he in-
crease his rank in direct Proportion to the number of his cere-
monies. It is true that one who often dances hears himself
praised by the marshals, and gains a certain amount of fame
among his fellow kukusiut. But no matter how often he may
perform, he cannot become a chief, with prestige spread far
and wide among neighbouring tribes, nor can he increase the
fame of his ancestors by adding lustre to his ancestral names.
Thus the benefits are not sufficient to urge a man to concen.
trate on kusiut ceremonials in preference to potlatches. The
society is essentially one in which a relatively poor man can
display his semi-religious prerogative equally with a chief.
Usually, a man performs a complicated ritual, such as that of
a Cannibal dance, three or four times during his lifetime; less
onerous ones in which no dramatic theme is presented may be
more often given.

A man who proposes to give a dance must always notify
one of the marshals of his village, who summons his fellows,
some of the senior members of the society, and chiefs who are
also kukusiut to discuss the intention. If it entails one of the