bteeetaia:

72 : REPORT— 1890.

the more presents during the T’s’étsa’ék-a, the higher the grade is that the
novice has acquired.

On this day each society, after having received their cedar-bark
rings from the ¢la’/tlak'ak'sila, goes into the woods and holds a meeting,
in which their chief instructs them regarding their dances. This is
called Nutlemi'tl’Els (=beginning of foolishness). All those who make
mistakes later on are killed by the Nutlmatl.

In the evening the yé’wintla sends out two male messengers to invite
all people to his house, which henceforth is the taboo-house of the
mé'emkoat. The messengers say: laments wutld'qotlé pépaga'la (let us
all try to bring him back by our sacred dances). The people assemble
and sit down in groups, each society by itself. Tne méemkoat have the
places of honour, and among them the hd’mats’a has the first place.
sitting in the rear of the house in the middle. The other mé’emkoat are
arranged at his sides according to rank around the house, the lower in
rank the farther from the hdmats’a and the nearer the door. The .
DLéld'tlalatl, who is as high in rank as the ha’mats’a, sits close to the door
opposite the ha’mats’a. The societies dance one after the ovher, accord-
ing to rank, the Maa’mq’énog beginning. The yé’winila stands in the
middle of the house, two messengers attending him. These he despatches
to members of the various societies, and orders them to dance. The
interval until the dancers are dressed up and make their appearance is
filled with railleries between the messengers. For instance, if a woman
is to dance, the one will say: ‘She will not come; when I brought her
the message she was fighting with her husband.’ The other will answer:
‘Oh, you liar! She is dressing herself up, and you will see how nice
she looks!’ As soon as the two watchmen who stand at the door see her
coming they begin swinging their rattles, and then the people begin to
sing and to beat time with their batons, which were distributed by the
?a'miatsé (see p. 63). When the festival begins, the ‘drum-master ’
carries his drum into the house on his shoulder, going four times around
the fire, which is on his left, before he takes his place in one of the rear
corners of the house. While making his circuit he sings a certain song.
The dancer enters the house, and, turning to the right, goes around the
ire until he arrives in the rear part of the house. Then the people stop
singing and beating time until his dance begins. The dancer first faces
the ha’mats’a, who sits in the rear of the house. Then he turns to the
left, to the fire, and finally faces the hd’mats’a again. He leaves the
house, having the fire on his left side. Thus all the societies dance. The
last are the mé/emkoat, the members of whom dance according to rank,
the lowest first, the ha’mats’a last. After his dance whistles are suddenly
heard outside the house, aud the novice appears on the roof of the house,
where he dances, eventually thrusting his arms dewn into the house; but
finally he disappears again.

On the next morning the whole tribe goes into the forest to catch the
novice. They take a long rope made of cedar-bark, and having arrived
at an open place lay it on the ground in form of a square. They then
sit down inside the square, all along the rope, and sing four new songs
composed for the purpose. The two first are in a quick binary measure,
the third in a five-part measure, and the last in a slow movement.

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