rn a ee = ——E

60 BRITISH COLUMBIA.

usually resembles that of an Eagle; but this “‘ bird ” is often further characterized
by the presence of two horns on its head.

‘The Raven sometimes appears with a beak bent straight down on his breast
or perhaps a vacant space where his beak should be. ‘This mutilation is reminis-
cent of mischievous trickery to which many a Raven legend bears witness. In
this instance it happened that just as a hungry fisherman had secured his dinner,
Raven flew down and snatched the fish from his grasp. The disappointed man
hurled his heavy fish-club at the culprit with such accuracy of aim as to smash
the bird’s prominent bill, thereby recovering his hardly-won meal and imposing a
severe punishment upon the offender.

Obviously the number of these conventionalized symbols is great, and they are
always stressed in proportion to the other parts of the creature portrayed. Unfor-
tunately, space permits of the enumeration of only a few among many.

Among the Kwakiutl, for example, the Killer-whale symbol is that of a high
dorsal fin, round eyes, and large, long, square head. The Bear has a big mouth
set with teeth, protruding tongue, and round nose, whereas the Frog has a
toothless mouth and flat nose. The Wolf symbols are those of slanting eyes,
pointed ears, upturned nose, and insignificant tail; while all across Canada the
Beaver is depicted with huge incisor teeth and scaly tail, and frequently holds in
his forepaw a stick which he is gnawing.

EMPLOYMENT OF SYMBOLS IN FACIAL PAINTINGS AND
TATTOO-MARKS.

A point of interest is that in course of time these symbols became sufficient
to characterize the whole animal without the addition of the surrounding minor
parts of the body. ‘This method was much employed in facial paintings and
tattoo-marks, which often merely show the particular symbol of the individual’s
crest or family emblem. ‘The Chief of a clan often had several such symbols
tattooed on his person to show his connection with the whole community. The
original significance of this custom was early lost, only its decorative value
remained; though it has been suggested that it was supposed to establish close
and mysterious relationship with the spiritual guardian of the clan. Here again,
the details varied with each tribe.

PROMINENCE GIVEN TO HUMAN FEATURES.

It will be noted that the human features are often given prominence over
those of the bird or animal, to indicate its ability to assume human form at will.
Body and limbs or wings are usually insignificant, whereas eyes, eyebrows, and
mouth are emphasized; the mouth being often shown as well as the bill or beak
of a bird. Forehead, ears, and cheeks are restricted in size, but the teeth usually
and the tongue often appear between the lips. Faces in most cases display the
broad, square type of the people themselves, even when associated with animal
symbols, and are often used as a filling for the oval tail-joints of birds, to replace
the pupil of an animal’s eyes, or elsewhere on their bodies, recalling the ability
of animals to assume human form at will.

CONVENTIONAL REPRESENTATIONS OF JOINTS.

Joints are indicated with ovals, often mistaken for eyes (see Plate XAT):
They represent a ball-and-socket joint of shoulder or hip; or the joint at the base
of a tail or in the fore or hind paws of an animal. Sometimes the “ ball” in the
socket is replaced by a human face; at others the oval is employed to fill a corner in
a rectangular design; for it will be observed that subtle and many are the curves