vie THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

among the Bella Bella, Fort Rupert, and Rivers Inlet people.
Indeed, in Bella Coola a poor man may be the most dreaded
Cannibal of all, if he has been able duly to validate and per-
form his right in this respect. Nor is the dance carried out
with the same rigour in Bella Coola as among the tribes of the
outer coast.

The ritual of different prerogatives varies to such an extent
that several accounts must be given, in spite of the repetitions
that this form of presentation entails. On account of the
length of time necessary, a Cannibal dance usually begins
early in the season. The following describes the manner in
which Kamdtslaks of Kimsquit, who can bite the living, car-
ried out his rite; it was obtained from his brother, who is
thoroughly conversant with the details. It will be convenient
to refer to Kamdtslaks as X, and to use the present tense
throughout.

A meeting is held at which the marshals and others choose,
in agreement with X and his relatives, a day suitable for him
to commence his performance. Under normal circumstances
it is on some gottum that a marshal announces that he can hear
X’s call, and on the following evening, when the ritual has
been completed, the uninitiated are startled to hear continuous
whistling from the slopes of the mountains near the village.
The instruments used are of the usual bladder type, but the
long-drawn-out sound, termed Aiiddxa, is said to be the voice
of the kindly supernatural woman, Sitsmdn-a.*

Lidell heteah ceases Aironet diaveciene pilelind its Streembie baieeeitaee GET

“The sole function of this being seems to be the restoring to life of those who
appear to have been killed in the performance of kusiut rites. The Bella Coola
are uncertain whether or not she is identical with T¥itcéplifin-a. The noise which
heralds her coming is produced by the whistles of four kukusiut who throughout the
night range the forests and mountains within ear-shot of the village. By bending
their heads up and down, they are able to increase the weirdness and apparent
elusiveness of the sound. The four travel in single file; the leader blows, and when
his breath is nearly exhausted he presses the hand of the second man, who starts
whistling forthwith, while the original leader drops to the rear. As the second
becomes weary, he signals i in the same way to the third, and so on; in this way
the whistling is continuous, and the uninitiated are convinced that it cannot be
caused by mortals, even if such an idea should occur to them. If a non-member
should meet the four, they would at once kill him or make him a prisoner, keeping
him out of sight until he could be initiated into the society.