60 REPORT—1890.

and root of the nose of the patient, and finds that his soul has left his —
body. Then he orders a large fire to be made in the middle of the
house, and when it is dark the people assemble and sit around the plat- —
form of the house, the sick one sitting near the fire. The shaman stands |

near him, and by means of incantations catches the soul, which he shows a

standing on the palm of his hand. It looks like a mannikin or like ©
a small bird. Then he restores it to the patient by putting it on the
crown of his head, whence it slides into his head. The soul is supposed
to occupy the whole head.

The shaman is also able to hurt a man by throwing disease into his

body (maka, see p. 70). He throws a stick, a piece of skin or quartz —

into the body of his enemy, who falls sick, and if the disease should _
strike his heart must die. ‘The shamans of the Awiky’énoq cccasionally —
perform a ceremony called Ma'/k-ap, ¢.e., throwing one another, in which
two shamans try to strike each other with disease. The dance of the
Ma’mak-a (see p. 70) represents the throwing of the disease by the
shamans. 3

In order to bewitch an enemy two means may be applied. A portion
of his clothing may be buried with a corpse (la'pxtanté), or the ceremony
called é/k’a may be performed. Particularly such parts of clothing are
effective that are soiled and saturated with perspiration, for instance,
kerchiefs, the lower parts of sleeves, &c. I learnt about two cases which
occurred in 1887 and 1888 at Fort Rupert. In one case a girl fell sick,
and as it was suspected that she was bewitched the box was opened in
which a man who had recently died had been put up. Parts of her
clothing were found in the mouth, nose, and ears cf the body. The
articles were taken away, the body washed with fresh water, and replaced.
In the other case a grave was opened, and it was found that the tongue
of the body had been pulled out, and its mouth stuffed with parts of
clothing, This body was treated in the same way as the other one.

The second method of bewitching an enemy is practised by the é’k:’enog
and is called é’k’a. This custom has been well described by Dr. G. M.
Dawson:! ‘An endeavour is first made to procure a lock of hair, some
saliva, a piece of the sleeve and of the neck of the dress, orof the rim of the
hat or headdress which has absorbed the perspiration of the person to be
bewitched. These are placed with a small piece of the skin and flesh of a
dead man, dried and roasted before the fire, and rubbed and pounded
together. The mixture is then tied up in a piece of skin or cloth which —
is covered over with spruce gum. The little package is next placed in
a human bone, which is broken for the purpose, and afterwards care-
fully tied together and put within a human skull. This again is placed
in a box which is tied up and gummed over, and then buried in the
ground in such a way as to be barely covered. A fire is next built
nearly, but not exactly, on the top of the box, so as to warm the
whole. Then the evilly-disposed man, beating bis head against a tree,
names and denounces his enemy. This is done at night or in the
early morning, and in secret, and is frequently repeated till the enemy
dies. The actor must not smile or laugh, and must talk as little as pos-
sible till the spell has worked. If a man has reason to suppose that he
is being practised on in this way he or his friends must endeavour to find
the deposit and carefully unearth it. Rough handling of the box may

1 Trans. Roy. Sov. of Canada, 1887, ithe OF (6