250 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

again later in the season without being brought from above.
A Bat prerogative impels the owner, and likewise the tem-
porary possessor, to move lightly to and fro like a bat; it can
be thrown from one side of the house to the other, and is
“caught” with arms stretched far above the head. Sleep, like
Fog, can be projected into a number of individuals simultan-
eously, and causes all to slumber; while Anger causes everyone
to fight with his neighbour. Still another prerogative of the
same class is Ants. Some dancers have Bull-roarers, as is also
true for some sisaok dancers. Details of their use were un-
obtainable.

Although these prerogatives always amuse and please the
kukusiut, they also have two serious aspects. The insertion of
one strengthens a kusiut, and in the case of a Cannibal,
Scratcher, or Breaker causes him to become frenzied. When-
ever this happens he rushes forth to all the houses, frightening
the uninitiated, always attended by a band of kukusiut. More-
over, the injection of a prerogative so stimulates a kustut that
he is more liable to receive a call. As many as fifty kukusiut
may have prerogatives of this type thrust into them during a
single ‘Restful Ceremony.” Of course not all of them receive
calls, but one or more of them is likely to do so. The writer
endeavoured to investigate the attitude of the Bella Coola
on this point. Only kukusiut are concerned, since they alone
can have this power inserted into them. They realize the de-
ceptions practised by the society, and no individual interviewed
claimed to have been so strengthened that he received a call,
yet all stated that this had been the-case with others. There
is no doubt that the projection of a prerogative directs the
recipient’s attention to kusiut matters, and may often lead him
to the point of giving his dance. In any event, the “Restful
Ceremony” gives the marshals an opportunity to stimulate the
interest of the members of the society, and to impress on them
the desirability of dancing. The uses of “patron-puppets”
have already been described.

In addition to these prerogatives, which normally remain