44 REPORT—1890.

Wolves are considered powerful beings, whose friendship is sought for
and whose anger is dreaded. Therefore chiefs are not allowed to kill
them. Especially is this the case with the Hopetcisa’th chiefs, whose
crest is the wolf. The real meaning of this belief will become clear when
taken in connection with the Tlékoa‘la rites and traditions. It is believed
that the wolves drive the deer towards the Hopetcisa’th, more particularly
to the Ts’0'mos hunters.

The world is believed to be a round disc which is supported by a pole.
Eclipses of sun and moon are produced by the ‘ door of heaven ’ swallow-
ing them. This door of heaven occurs frequently in tales, and threatens
to swallow any person who intends to pay a visit to the deity in heaven.
Attempts are made during eclipses to free the sun or the moon by making
noise and by burning food on the beach. Thunder is produced by the
flapping of the wings of the thunder-bird Ti'tutc, the lightning by his
belt, the snake Hahé’k'toyek’, which he casts down upon the earth. The
fortunate finder of a bone of the Hahé’k-toyek’ possesses one of the most
powerful charms the natives know of.

The soul has the shape of a tiny man; its seat is the crown of the
head. As long as it stands erect the person to whom it belongs is hale
and well; but when it loses its upright position for any reason its owner
loses his senses. The soul is capable of leaving the body; then the
owner grows sick, and if the soul is not speedily restored he must die.
To restore it the higher class of shamans called K-ok-oa/tsmaah (soul-
workers) are summoned. I cannot give a satisfactory explanation of the
methods employed to gain this power, as the natives proved to be rather
reticent in regard to these subjects, as well as many others that are among
the most interesting to ethnologists. The K-ok-oa/tsmaah seems to ac-
quire his power by fasting and cleaning himself in ponds, as is the custom
among all tribes of this region. He catches the wandering soul in his
hand, and after having shown it to the people restores it to its proper
place by laying it on the top of the head of the sick person. I heard
several Indians maintain that they had seen the soul caught by the
shaman, who let it march up and down on a white blanket. The second
class of shamans are the Ucta/k‘yu, i.e., the workers. I did not hear
anything regarding an initiation of these shamans by encounters with
spirits. It seems that the Tsa'yek’ ceremony, which will presently be
described, is actually the initiation of the shaman of this class, although,
on the other hand, I am not sure that all the members of the Tsa/yek’ are
considered to have the power of curing diseases. These shamans are
capable of curing all diseases, except such as are caused by the soul
leaving the body. The cause of sickness is either what is called ‘ ma’yatlé,’
i.e., sickness flying about in the shape of an insect and entering the body
without some enemy being the cause of it; or the sick person has been
struck by sickness thrown by a hostile shaman, which is called ‘meEnu’qcitl.’
Their ordinary method of removing disease is by sucking and singing
over the patient. Here is a song which I heard sung by a shaman when
curing a sick person :——

BK) aN ars) See eC ae Gea EO Tae). i San OES | ee es |
62S See SS ee 2S E
@) -o- @ id fe - es =
Ha ne na wu - wa, - u tic - te - ak*-ya
Clapping == " &e.
, oveces'|

ee ee a We ee ae Ce ee TT ee as ee ee eee me ee nt ie ee ee “