Queer Indian Secret Society

QUEER INDIAN SECRET SOCIETY.

Strange Cannibal Rites Attend Initiation of New Members.

Among certain Indians of British Columbia cannibal rites attend the initiation of new members into the influential society Ha-matsa, which rules the affairs of the tribe. The novice is first required to live alone in the woods for three or four months, where he is supposed to be in communion with the cannibal spirit which rules the society. Finally the others begin to lure him back to the village. Songs are sung by all the people as they walk to and fro in the village and up and down the beach.

During this interval the candidate has appeared several times at various points. One of the assembly, half clad, is then sent ahead to act as a decoy or bait for the novice. As soon as the Ha-matsa sees him he rushes up and bites mouthfuls of flesh from his arm. He is then surrounded by the assembly and marched toward the dancing house, the people singing on their way. At this point a female dancer appears and begins to sing Ha-matsa songs, during which she moves toward the dancing house, stepping backward and facing the novice, whom she desires to coax Inside. Her hands and arms are extended as though she were carrying a body for the candidate to eat. The palms of both hands are turned upward In front of him, and he keeps watching the hands of the dancer. All the assembly enter the house of the cannibal society.

After lingering an hour or so the novice goes to the rear, climbs up to the roof and descends into a secret room. Shortly afterward he dashes out among the people and seizes the nearest man and bites his arm. He circles round the fire holding on to his victim with his teeth.

This performance is repeated four times, the novice selecting a different man on each occasion. He is thought to be out of his senses. In the first dance of the candidate he represents one looking for human flesh. His movements are executed in a squatting position, making wild and violent gestures as he proceeds. He wears a crown of red cedar bark and is held by a large ring around his neck. so that he will not attack and bite more of the people. The female dancer again appears in front of him, dancing as before described. The candidate then returns to his secret quarters, and the people take off their cedar ornaments and throw them into the fire. This is called smoking the wildness out of the new Ha-matsa.

For two nights the dances are kept up, after which the novice shows signs that he has become nearly pacified. The last night of the ceremony ends in a general festival, at which all the men, women and children of the tribe are invited. The candidate now appears dressed for the first time in a button blanket and a new headdress and neck ring. He then pays the men for the bites he has inflicted during initiation, the price being a canoe for each bite.

THE NOVICE SUNK HIS TEETH IN THE NEAREST MAN'S ARM.