WINTER CEREMONIAL DANCES 29

perform several ancient rites through a desire to “show off”
before someone who was ignorant. In recent years there has
been a tendency to concentrate on Ausiut ceremonials, and to
judge a man’s worth by his lavishness in them, but this is only
a modern development due to the prohibition of the potlatch.
Nevertheless, even in former times some individuals preferred
to invite foreign guests to kusiut dances and to give them valu-
able gifts rather than to save these for potlatches; such a cere-
mony is called a kukusiutek. Whenever strangers are present
at a kustut dance they receive small pieces of dyed cedar-bark
as proof of the friendly intentions of the host. The genera]
consensus of Bella Coola opinion is that it is foolish fora man
to concentrate on kusiut performances, particularly if he
impoverish himself to the detriment of potlatches.

Although foreign guests are seldom invited to Ausiut rites,
a dancer frequently calls in his fellows from adjacent villages.
But as the ceremonial season is simultaneous in the different
settlements, with almost nightly performances, it is often im-
possible to avoid conflict in dates. Which invitation shall have
preference is decided in the following manner:

During the days of gothm and nebusam the dancer sends a
herald of powerful physique to invite guests from as many
villages as he wishes. Simultaneously, a messenger may be
approaching from the opposite direction with a similar invi-
tation. Each envoy watches carefully around each bend in
the path for his rival, and whichever can first call out his mes-
sage is entitled to continue to give his invitation in the village
of the outwitted herald. It is considered exceedingly bad taste
to decline a summons, so the ceremony to which the defeated
herald was bearing an invitation must be postponed. Some-
times the two messengers sight one another simultaneously,
and the relative priority of their messages is then decided by
a contest of strength. The rivals stand in the path, shoulder
to shoulder, arms close to their sides, and shove with all their
strength, the winner being the one who can force his opponent
to move his feet. This last means of deciding is used exclu-