ms

176 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

masks representing the three successful answers. Little atten-
tion is paid to actual design, and the workmen use their ini-
tiative to a considerable extent.® One mask always made is
that of Sxusiaxwai, a being who appears to act as concealer for
Aiguntim. As far as could be learnt, if Alguntém wishes to
conceal anything from a human being, such as the hiding-
places in a Mystery dance, Svusiaxwai is entrusted with the
task. In addition to the usual well-known supernatural beings,
X often orders representations of mammals, birds, or fish; he
may even ask a man to make a mask without stipulations and
then the finished product is as much a surprise to him as to
anyone else. There is no relationship between the masks made
and the guesses registered. If X is wealthy, the number to be
constructed may run to fifty or more. Nusiutdlsap concludes
in the usual way as soon as all the work has been allotted.
Two days is not long enough for the completion of such a
large number of masks, so mebusam must be postponed, and
gotium is correspondingly delayed for four days. In the evening
the heralds invite first the kukusiut and then the eager, though
fearful uninitiated. They take their places and in Kimsquit, not
in Bella Coola, marvel at some of the masks hanging behind the
fire, though no explanation is vouchsafed them until the follow-
ing evening. Presently the singers begin to beat out one of
X’s songs and he starts dancing violently, only to stop long
before it is ended. The musicians quickly change to another;
he performs briefly, then ceases; this is repeated: for a third
tune, and similarly for a fourth, a fifth, and so on. If the
preliminaries have been long drawn out, X may have as many
as twenty songs and he dances to a fragment of each. After
he has performed, the singers strike up the tune of any kustul

Possibly this disregard for exact portrayal of supernatural beings is a modern
degeneration. The Bella Coola of today say quite frankly that they have forgotten
many beings used by their ancestors, so have no hesitation in inventing new designs
and naming them even for natural phenomena which they consider must be caused
by supernatural agency. On the other hand, the burning of masks, which seems
to be an old practice, would tend to lessen conventionalization in all but the best-
known figures.