166 THE BELLA COOLA INDIANS

from a distance. When one of the participants has speared
the object, it is drawn to shore and carried into the house.
The uninitiated are then called in and enter, often covering
their heads with blankets to prevent their spirits being drawn
from them. None of the Bella Coola appears to know what
governed, in the old days, the choice between these two
performances.

The Fungus dance differs considerably from typical kustut
rituals already described. In part this is certainly due to
decay of custom. When the writer witnessed the dance in the
winter of 1923-4 it was carried out very crudely by Snunk-
ka’ kis, who, unwilling to admit this, was secretive about the
proper ritual. Consequently, the performance of the dance
was more of a hindrance than a help to the investigator. But
even when full weight is given to this circumstance, it is clear
that the Fungus dance is peculiar, particularly in the omission
of masked figures on nebusam.

The ritual on that occasion was further complicated by the
fact that Snumkka’kus has also the prerogative of dancing at
an eclipse of either the sun or the moon, and insisted on this
fact being brought out in connection with her songs. Four of
these were composed instead of the usual two, and the super-
natural beings described in them were:

Alquntém: under the name of Swnxdlotta.

The Moon.

Smaien-a: This was introduced on account of being the
place from which the Salmon-Bringer leaps to the sun. A
mask representing this place of petrified power is always
painted with salmon designs and the blanket of the wearer is
decorated in the same way.

The Szumg mouths that act as posts at the ends of the sun’s
course.

Stilim: A supernatural being dwelling under the river who
is able to use a fungus in a dance held there. Detailed infor-
mation about this creature could not be obtained.

At any eclipse, no matter what the season of the year or