Therefore each performer must act out every detail of everything the legend tells of the spirit. In presentations they appear individually or in groups, depending on the requirements imposed by the legend that is to be depicted, and the marveling crowd views the persons wearing the masks not only as representatives of the gods and actors, but as the gods themselves who have descended from Heaven to Earth. Bordering on disorder, the excessive personal vanity observed among the Northwest Indians, as well as the addiction to turn oneself into someone who is considered famous and respected and to be regarded as something special, may also have served as a motive for joining secret societies, since each of their members enjoys great standing of that kind.Ĥ Hundreds of masks were and still are in use, each one of them representing a spirit found in the legends. For example, they mutilate their bodies, tear apart and consume corpses, tear pieces from the bodies of living persons, and the like. In order to convince the possible doubter, members of the secret society take recourse to all kinds of mysterious procedures which to a civilized person must appear extremely crude. These performances are supposed to instill, especially amongst youth and women, beliefs in the old traditions about the communication of the gods with humans and about their own intimate connections to the gods. They form secret societies so that their secret arts and teachings, their mummery and masques are not disclosed to the uninitiated and to the people in general. Indeed almost every family claims descent from one god or another, so that to a certain extent a cordial communication is formed between gods and humans.Ģ Apart from family gods, people also believe in evil spirits which can bring misfortune to humanity, but their power is a lesser one and they can be expelled and rendered harmless with relative ease by the medicine man and the mighty spirits of all types which are in alliance with him.ģ Several intelligent and, as they allege, inspired men in each tribe take the role of representatives of the gods. Most of these gods are well disposed toward humans. There, every year, according to the belief of the Indians, the various deities still come down to Earth in many shapes and at various times, showing themselves to humans and taking part in the celebrations held in their honor. Indeed, nowhere could this idea appear more distinctive than among the inhabitants of the Northwest Coast of America. 1 And the idea that the gods or spirits prefer to adopt the shapes of animals, is found among almost all peoples of the earth. 1 As diverse as the gods and heroic legends of the early peoples on the various continents appear, they almost all have in common with one another the fact that, in addition to gods and humans, animals also play a comparatively important role.
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