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248 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

thing” into one of his companions. The recipient acts as if
blinded, staggering around the house and colliding with articles
of furniture or his fellows. One after another receives the
same present, until perhaps half the company are acting as if
moving in a dense mist. Sometimes they reel from the house,
falling into bushes and walking into the walls of other houses,
as if deprived not only of sight but also of all sense of direction.
The prerogative of Fog was given to Ninitsamlaix (II, p. 244),
but many other Aukusiut enjoy the same right from other
sources. After a short interval, the dancer goes to the victim
and makes the motion of drawing something from him, thus
restoring his sight and sanity. Fog is then returned aloft in
the manner described for a Hummingbird.

When first told of this custom, difficulty was experienced
in visualizing the attitude of the kukusiut to what they realize
is a mere dramatization, lacking the presence of the uninitiated
to give it zest and purpose. When several performances of
this type had been witnessed, the difficulty vanished. The
kukusiut enter whole-heartedly into the spirit of the affair,
regarding it as a game, and yet as a game in which they must
acquit themselves creditably. Each recipient endeavours to
excel his fellows in the realism of his performance, and his blind
staggers never fail to cause merriment. The Bella Coola
delight in acting, and this is an occasion on which they can
indulge their tastes to the utmost, without fear of disaster if
an error should occur, such as hampers them in the presence of
the uninitiated. Moreover, each strives to assist the per-
former, and these two reasons combine to make the whole a
success.

Although these prerogatives are often used on the nights
of ésuxtdmem and nusiutélsap, the time most suitable for their _
appearance is during the ritual of sawadjut, which may be trans-
lated as, “The Restful Ceremony.’ The Bella Coola say that
the word is derived from sawa, a pillow, and that the meaning
of sawadjut is a ceremony of “Pillowness,” that is, resting,
combined with pleasant relaxation. In spite of the number