Customs of the New Caledonian Women Belonging to the Nancaushy Tine, or Stuart's LakeIndians, Natotin Tine, or Babine's and Nantley Tine, or Fraser Lake Tribes.Author(s): Gavin HamiltonSource: The Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, Vol. 7(1878), pp. 206-208Published by: Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and IrelandStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2840998 .

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200 G. HAMILTON.-Cu3tonis of tlhe N\ew Caledonian

The following paper was then read by the Director, in the absence of the Author.

CUSTOMS of the NEW CALEDONIAN WOMEN belonging to the NAN- CAUSHY TINE, or STUART'S LAKE INDIANS, NATOTIN TINE, or BABINE'S and NANTLEY TINE, or FRASER LAKE TRIBES. From information supplied by GAVIN HAMILTON, chief factor of the Hudson's Bay Company's service, who has been for many years among these Indians, both he and his wife speaking their languages fluently. Communicated by Dr. JOHN RAE.

GIRLS verging on miaturity, that is when their breasts begin to form, take swans' feathers mixed with human hair and plait bands, which they tie round their wrists and ancles to secure long life. At this time they are careful that the dishes out of which they eat, are used by no other person, and wholly devoted to their own use; during this period they eat nothing but dog fish, and starvation only will drive them to eat either fresh fish or meat.

When their first periodical sickness comes on, they are fed by their unothers or nearest female relation by themselves, and on no account will they touch their food with their own hands. They are at this time also careful not to touch their heads with their hands, and keep a small stick to scratch their heads with.

They remain outside the lodge, all the time they are in this state, in a hut made for the purpose. During all this period they wear a skull-cap made of skin to fit very tight; this is never taken off until their first monthly sickness ceases; they also wear a strip of black paint about 1 inch wide across their eyes, and wear a fringe of shells, bones, &c., hanging down from their foreheads to below their eyes; and this is never taken off till the second monthly period arrives and ceases, when the nearest male relative makes a feast; after which she is considered a fully matured woman; but she has to refrain from eating any- thing fresh for one year after her first monthly sickness; she may however eat partridge, but it must be cooked in the crop of the bird to render it harmless. I would have thought it impos- sible to perform this feat had I not seen it done. The crop is blown out, and a small bent willow put round the mouth; it is then filled with water, and the meat being first minced up, put in also, then put on the fire and boiled till cooked.

Their reason for hanging fringes before their eyes, is to hinder any bad medicine man from harming them during this critical

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Women belonging to the Nancaushy Tine, etc. 207

period: they are very careful not to drink whilst facing a medi- cine man, and do so only when their backs are turned to him. All these habits are left off when the girl is a recognised woman, with the exception of their going out of the lodge and remain- ing in a hut, every time their periodical sickness comes on. This is a rigidly observed law with both single and married women.

When about to have a child, the womnan is also expelled the lodge, and lives in a hut until thoroughly recovered, and is attended by another womran when able to payo for such attencdance. This horrible ctustom causes many deaths, as a woman is often taken unexpectedly with no hut made, and then she must bring forth in the snow, perhaps in the dead of the night, and remain there until some humane person raises a shelter for mother and child. On her recovery she re-enters the lodge, but for a few days after if an Indian kill an animal, it must not be taken into the lodge through the door, but through the smoke-hole in the roof, and tail first, in order to dissipate any bad influence the newly recovered squaw may bring; afterwards things resume their usual routine. No woman will ever eat lynx meat, as it assists to make them ugly and to hasten old age.*

LANGLEY LEGEND.-No. I.

In ancient times there lived a very bad and cruel man of extra- ordinary size, who ruled over every place and acted as he chose; he was also a great medicine man. This chief held in bondage an Indian, to whom he was very cruel, never giving him any water, there being none on the earth but what this great chief had, and this was carefully kept in a large birch basket. During the absence of his master, the Indian stole -and ran off with the basket of water, but was soon missed and pursued by his master. The Indian as he ran used to put his hand in the basket and spill the water along; very often owing to the jolting, a large cluantity would fall out; he ran this way for a long time, until at last he was nearly overtaken; he then upset all the remainder of the water, broke the basket in pieces and escaped. The great medicine man made the water thus last thrown out bad, and not fit to drink, thinking thereby to punish4 the Indian. The water sprinkled out with the hand formed the rivers, what was

* NOTE by DR J. RAE.-The lynx is rather a favourite food of the Indian, being delicate eating, and white like veal. Probably some medicine man has got up the story on purpose to deter women from eating it, as is done with the moose nose, the reindeer head, and certain parts of other animals and birds, which are tabooed to women.

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208 G. HAMILTON.-Customs of the New Caledonian Women, etc.

spilt by jolting the lakes, and that last thrown out, the sea, made salt by the medicine man.

The broken basket drifted in pieces, and formed the islands visible from the inouth of the Fraser, namely Vancouver Island and others.

The Indian wandered about until eventually he settled on the Fraser River, and built his lodge. Feeling lonely, he took his canoe and went fishing, caught a sturgeon, and bringing it ashore, and with the aid of what he had learned from his old master, the great medicine man, changed the sturgeon into a woman, and thus began the Quaitlan or Fraser River Indians.

LANGLEY LEGEND.-NO. II,

Many ages ago the Fraser Riverfloodedits banks and covered the whole country with water, drowning every living thing that lived on the land, and this was caused by a very great medicine man. One of the Fraser River chiefs had a large war canoe, into which he went with his wives and family. After floating about for a long time, they found shore and landed. However, owing to all the deer, bears, &c., being drowned, they ran the risk of being obliged to go naked-plenty of food being obtained from the fish in the river. The Indian had in his possession a large variety of furs, so he took a bearskin and sewed up one of his wives (who was in the family way) in it, by which means she was changed into a bear. He did the same with another of his wives, only substituting a deerskin for the other. Not wishing to part with more of his wives in this unpleasant manner, he set his medicine wisdom to work to produce other animals on the earth. The only animals he could find were the beaver, otter, musk-rat, and mink.

Whilst drifting about in his canoe, he found a squirrel half drowned, which lived and had young. The squirrels became quickly numerous, and by coaxing and medicine he managed to pair the squirrels with the mink, producing a family of martens thereby. Then the marten paired with the otter, making the fisher; the fisher then cohabited with the bear and produced the wolverine, for which the Indian was very sorry, as he turned out such a bad animal. In this way he managed to stock the country with different animals, with the skins of which to clothe the Indians.

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