Shaman, continued

Inside he took out the clamshell and noticed that it was still hot. He opened each of the halves and unwrapped the skunk cabbage leaf to find the black ember. N’ha-itk pinched dried grass covered in pine pitch, held it to the black ember and gently blew. The council of elders watched closely, still rattling their raven rattles and singing about wiping away all that is offensive to supernatural beings and their spirit helpers.

At first nothing happened. But at the third breath, the ember glowed orange and the grass smoldered with a white puff of smoke. Suddenly a flame consumed the grass and the chief added it to other twigs and pinecones prepared in the pit. The pitchy twigs instantly caught fire as an elder added small pieces of shaved wood. The chief then folded the leaf over the coal again and replaced in the shell.

The flames burned with blue tongues, but other than the strange color seemed like any other fire and quickly produced hot rocks good for making steam. After five songs, the fire died down and slaves covered the smoke hole. Then the green rocks turned white from the intense heat and hissed when the chief took up the seal bladder skin and dripped water -- drawn from the crater lake of Icy Mountain – on them. The enclosure filled with thick, white steam still scented by the burned up cedar wood and herbs. One warrior said in a low voice that the fire is just like any other and is not from the sky world and the other agreed.

But, N’ha-itk rebuked them, saying “Did you look closely at the flames? I could see the color of the sky flashing in them. And this fire seemed to burn hotter than our other fire. Look how easily the heat trapped in these sacred stones is released into our souls.” He tossed some more water on the rocks that hissed up a wave of intense heat. “This warmth is especially soothing for my body and mind. But, what tells me more than ever that Muxqueam speaks truth is that we have had the fire start for many days and it remains hot long after normal fire start would need to be replenished. It is supernatural fire.”

Once the chief had spoken, those with doubts remained silent. As they sat cross-legged before the fire pit, some did not see any difference in the fire or steam -- although none could explain the everlasting fire start. Neither could any of the braves deny that the steam’s affect was powerful -- making the outside world fade away like a dream. The warmth and chanting seemed to make the men feel as if the steam moving among them was the soul of a common body. N’ha-itk was strangely drawn to this new warmth and made up his mind to help Snowy Owl complete his quest.

As more water was added to the jade stones, the sweathouse became more and more hot. The bodies of the council dripped with moisture and some of the men cupped their hands around their faces to keep from being burned. The rattles became silent and the people outside beat drums and sang instead, waiting for the first leader to emerge and make his way to the stream and be welcomed by laughter. As it was most years, one of the shaman came out first, so as not to shame the others, since the people knew that shaman subject themselves to physical discomfort daily and could take the intense heat much longer. One by one, the others followed greeting by mocking and playful taunting by the people.

As they walked to bathe and cool off in the stream the people lined up on each side to hit them with alder branch whips, singing about driving away evil, disease and impurity. Braves took full swings with the arms length branches and slap bare backs. Others hit them more gently on the legs, arms and chest as they walked past, heads held high without expression. The invigorating strikes with the branches were not painful. Their skin turned red from the blows and the branches left green stains on their bodies, releasing the smell of healing herbs.

In normal years, the elders repeated the ceremony three times in a row. Re-starting the fire, letting it die down, then producing as much steam and heat for as long as they could endure. Because of the death of the chief the fall before, the elders repeated the ceremony four times and the last time was reserved for a funeral rite. Here the people painted their faces, and arms white and when the elders emerged from the sweat lodge, a grandmother would cry out as if in labor pains and the men were beaten with rougher cedar boughs until some blood could be seen before they washed off in the pure water. This was to drive away the affects of death upon the leaders and prepare them for the evening ceremonies.

Through out the day of the annual funeral, a memorial-wrestling match was held in honor of the chief’s death. Only lower status braves or slaves of age could enter the competition to win the right to the title of strongest brave of the tribe. The only rules were that wrestlers could not bite, claw or draw blood. Men fought until one is knocked unconscious, gives up or the tournament host – usually a relative of the chief, declares a clear winner.

This wrestling champion was said to possess the strength of the dead chief during ceremonies in his honor whenever he was remembered and was awarded a special hat and cloak. The winner also had the duty of leading the procession to the grave – and to place the remains – if not lost in battle or at sea -- in the funeral canoe that was covered by a roof and decorated with a totem pole commemorating the life story of the chief. It was a great honor to win the title of strongest of the tribe.

One brave, a warrior named Ruwa-itk, defeated six challengers by the time of the evening feast of seafood stew served in a whale shaped bowl as long as a two man canoe set up in the winter lodge. A portion of the food was displayed on the dancing platform beneath the circular hole in the planks of the wall between the two carved house posts. Later dancers would pass through this hole when the music started. Chah-nulth entered the room filled with people invited to partake in the feast and took his place on the platform to the side of the displayed food. The sun was setting and light entered through the smoke hole, but most light came from the blazing logs on the home fire that cast shadows of guests on the walls.

In the dim light the people could see that the shaman was dressed in a chiefly tunic covered in abalone shell buttons and blue jay feathers and he wore the gray whale hat and around his neck hung Namquaw’s otter vertebra ornament. He paused until all were silent, then tapped the raven speaking stick looking up at the smoke hole and said,

“Babakawquit protect your slaves. Crooked Beak guide our dead. All spirits that we revere, welcome. Tonight we devote ourselves to the memory of the honored dead and especially our mighty chief who has made his final journey, leaving behind his son Raven’s Calling to take his place in our midst. We offer this food to our guests the spirits as we enjoy the memories of our dear relatives, brave warriors, lost grandmothers and grandfathers and the un-recovered sick now joined together in the underworld awaiting daybreak at the end of the world.”

Suddenly an unseen flute sounded two long notes -- signally the presence of spirits -- and the people watched as white painted hands reached through the dance hole and gathered up the displayed food dish by dish, removing it from sight. 

When the platform was empty, Chah-nulth turned to the people and said, “Now eat knowing that one day we also die.” 

He hit his speaking stick down and the feast began.

When the people were mostly done eating, Chah-nulth joined the host of the memorial-wrestling match, a brother-in-law, on the dance platform. 

“Oh, Tsonox hear now who is strongest among you, see who we recognize as the embodiment of our valor and invincible spirit.” 

The brother-in-law held the wrestling award hat and cloak while the apparent winner Ruwa-itk stood smiling next to him. “But before we give this reward and title, we ask once more if there is a final challenger?”

The silence in the room was broken when Snowy Owl called out, “I make the final challenge. I will wrestle him.” 

The people all spoke at once as he walked to the head of the room and repeated his challenge from the platform. The host of the match took both of his hands and accepted. Because it was the final round the eliminated wrestlers could beat the challenger with sticks so that his opponent, tired as he was from five other matches, would not be disadvantage. The wrestlers removed their tunics and slaves rubbed whale oil and sand on their bodies.

Ruwa-itk stepped back and watched as three of the defeated challengers come forward with fist thick cedar branches to beat Snowy Owl again and again until he dropped to his knees and the host of the match shouted, “Stop! Let him rest.” While Snowy Owl sat recovering from the blows, slaves smeared more oil on his body and gave him some water to drink. The salty oil stung his wounds, but he felt stronger than before. At this time, clan leaders betted among themselves who they thought would win. Most favored Ruwa-itk.

Slaves lifted him up to face his opponent and the wrestling began. Ruwa-itk was a bigger man and a few years older. They had fought together when Muxqueam was new to the war lodge. As the two men grabbed each other by the shoulders and tried to pull each other down, the people shouted and felt the cold wind of spirits moving in the lodge.

Snowy Owl looked around and could see the spirits moving above the heads in the crowd and perched from the ceiling watching. With his special eyesight, he saw a mighty spirit enter the body of Ruwa-itk. It must be the Crooked Beak. So silently he called on Tillicum, “By the power of thunderbird, help me now Great Creator and Transformer.” 

Ruwa-itk slapped Snowy Owl on the side of the head, then punched him in the gut, causing him to fall backward into a sitting position on the floor. The people roared with laughter. But, the challenger quickly jumped up and grabbed his opponent around the neck and pulled him to the floor. He then twisted him face down and applied his knee to his back. Firmly pinned, Ruwa-itk could not move.

Suddenly the pinned wrestler let out a high pitched voice that sounded like a child, “Banished criminal, be ripped apart by the fangs of my master.” 

Then the spirit power burst forth and he rose, throwing Snowy Owl across the room. It was clearly a work of the spirits, since no human being could perform such a move. The audience stepped back, watched with amazement and a silence fell. 

Snowy Owl stood and pointed toward his opponent and yelled, “Crooked Beak, you wounded bird, by the hand of Wonderful Doer I command you to come out of him!” Ruwa-itk turned white, took two big breaths, looking at something above the head of Snowy Owl, then he fell to the ground limp like a speared rabbit. Slaves dragged the defeated wrestler away. The audience cheered, shouting, “ooh wey, ooh wey, ooh kah ho.”

The host of the match declared Muxqueam the strongest of the tribe and put the award hat on his head and the cloak around his neck that draped down covering his back. The hat was woven out of cedar bark with a loon design. The cloak was woven out of dog’s hair, inter laced with bright red woodpecker feathers and had six weasel tail tassels.

“The rights and title of keeper of the chief’s bones belong to you, honored one. You now possess the fullness of chiefly strength and will lead the procession when we go to consecrate the grave,” said the brother-in-law. The people cheered, “ooh wey, ooh wey, ooh kah ho.” Snowy Owl lifted up his hands above his head, closed his eyes and gave thanks to his Spirit Being.

Chah-nulth was furious that Snowy Owl was honored since it was his interpretation of the dream that led Namquaw to go on the fateful quest and lose his life in the first place. But, he could do nothing since the people and chief N’ha-itk loved Snowy Owl -- who now would have to sit in the most honored place next to the chief and his spokesman for the rest of the night.

The main memorial rituals began when a steady drumbeat and the notes of whistles could be heard getting lauder from outside. When the beating stopped, a group of warrior braves and masked figures leaped through the dance hole between the house posts, chanting “hait hay-hay hait hay-hay hait” and dancing first to the right side, then to the left side in order to balance the world. Each brave carried an arrow in his right hand. Three dancers in masks – representing Cannibal Bird, Wolf and Bear – swung and spun wild and untamed between the braves.

The witnesses sang a soothing song of remembrance in order to try to tame the three masked beings – who paused to listen, gradually becoming less wild as the singing progressed. When the drum and flute stopped, the dances fell to their knees and placed the arrows to their right sides. The masked monsters stood behind them dancing in place, back and forth, tamed by the singing.
Then Chah-nulth rose to give that year's funeral oration.

As he spoke each young man pushed the tips of the arrow into their sides and in the dim light everyone could see lines of blood drip from their wounds. A female slave went between them sopping up the blood with a wad of moss, carefully wiping away the red flow from each brave. When the chief’s Spokesman finished his speech, the slave preceded to hand him the bloody wad of moss. Chah-nulth solemnly stepped forward to stand near the home fire and dropped the moss into the pit. 

“Our grief now resides in these flames for as long as Tsonox people gather here.”

Women dancers then performed the ghost dance, led by a brave who told the story of a clan leader’s daughter who journeyed to the underworld to visit the ancestors. Once there she learns that the dead do not want to return and that they are happy waiting for the end of time when they will be given new bodies to live in a new world. She had a rope tied around his waste as he sang of being drawn down into the earth to speak with the dead and then the women dances and narrator pull her out to safety.

Chah-nulth was about to close the rituals for the evening, when Snowy Owl rose unexpectedly and stood in front of the dance circle. He spread out his hands like a thunderbird, holding in his right hand his quartz knife. Still wearing the wrestling award hat and cloak, he slowly knelt on both knees with his hands out side to side. His chest was bare and still covered with oil and sand. With his head held high, he lowered his arms and without looking made a small cut into his side with the translucent knife, releasing a flow of blood.

A drummer began to beat again. He covered the wound with his left hand and said, “I am cut with grief for another chief and a relative, killed by the knife of war before my birth.” Everyone knew he meant the Kaw-Seth chief Sisul-eth and his father killed in the raid that almost destroyed our people.

Immediately N’ha-itk stepped in front of Snowy Owl and said, “May the wound of our grief heal soon and may we always remember our relatives until we join them again in the underworld.” 

Without adding any words, Chah-nulth hit the speaking stick on the floor planks three times to conclude the ceremony. All the people said that it was the most memorable funeral that they had ever witnessed and that the dead and the spirits were greatly honored. Chah-nulth went away more bitter than ever and looked forward to Snowy Owl’s quest to Babakawquit’s lair that would certainly be the end of the troublesome Kaw-Seth slave.

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