ETHNQHTSTORY AND CEREMONIAL REPRESENTATION OF CARRIER SOCIAL STRUCTURE by VERNON KOBRINSKY M.A., U n i v e r s i t y of B r i t i s h Columbia, 1968 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY i n the Department of Anthropology and Sociology We accept t h i s thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA August, 1973 In presenting this thesis i n p a r t i a l fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of B r i t i s h Columbia, I agree that the Library s h a l l make i t freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the Head of my Department or by his representatives. It i s understood that copying or publication of this thesis for f i n a n c i a l gain s h a l l not be allowed without my written permission. Department of thirtiethJij /mJ ^ i f f / r z j i j The University of B r i t i s h Columbia Vancouver 8, Canada Date ABSTRACT The d i s s e r t a t i o n i s i n two parts. The f i r s t part develops a l a r g e l y c o n j e c t u r a l r e c o n s t r u c t i o n of the s o c i a l h i s t o r y of the C a r r i e r Indians of n o r t h - c e n t r a l B.C. i n three stages. The h i s t o r y commences with the C a r r i e r i n what i s b e l i e v e d to be t h e i r o r i g i n a l s e t t i n g amid f e l l o w Athapaskan-speakers of the Yukon-Mackenzie wood-lands. A h y p o t h e t i c a l system of composite bands i s ascribed to the C a r r i e r at t h i s stage, as the underlying s o c i a l form out of which more recent forms have a r i s e n . Following t h e i r move to t h e i r present l o c a -t i o n i n the salmon-spawning headwaters of the Skeena and Fraser sys-tems, a salmon-promoted segmentary elabo r a t i o n of the bands (termed the sept system) i s envisioned. The sept stage i s then succeeded by a system i n v o l v i n g the overlaying of the sept s t r u c t u r e , to a consid-erable extent under the impetus of the burgeoning fur-trade at the turn of the 18th Century, by a system of coast-derived, t e r r i t o r y -claiming, m a t r i l i n e a l c r e s t - d i v i s i o n s , c l a s s e s , ranks, and a p o t l a t c h cycle which ceremonially a r t i c u l a t e these various categories of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . This l a s t stage, designated the sept/phratry stage, rep-resents the C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e described by a number of research scholars who have worked among the C a r r i e r from the turn of the 19th Century (the Oblate missionary-scholar Father A.G. Morice) to the pre-sent (notably Jenness, Goldman, Hackler and myself). The second part of the essay i s a close analysis of the seat-ing and p r e s t a t i o n - d i s t r i b u t i o n orders of the protocols of the C a r r i e r 11 p o t l a t c h . The c e n t r a l thesis of Part I I i s that the ceremonial seat-ing and d i s t r i b u t i o n arrangement of the major parameters of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y ( c h i e f s , nobles, commons, cla n s , p h r a t r i e s , septs) i s motivated i n consideration of the epi-ceremonial connotations of these categories; e s p e c i a l l y by connotations proper to the diachronic perspective, i . e . , by both ideologies of c o n t i n u i t y , and f o l k - h i s t o r i c aspects of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . The spatial/temporal arrangements of the p o t l a t c h are tre a t e d , f o l l o w i n g the l i n g u i s t i c model, as "surface" s t r u c t u r e s which manifest meanings out of p r i n c i p l e s of motivated syntax operating at "deep" ( i . e . , unconscious) l e v e l s of s t r u c t u r e . The "deep" l e v e l p r i n -c i p l e s of space/time syntax are expressed as simple analogies, and i t i s suggested that the motivation behind these patterns may derive from c e r t a i n givens of perceptual experience. Thus, inasmuch as seating and p r e s t a t i o n d i s t r i b u t i o n s ren-der a symbolic expression of both h i s t o r i c and synchronic aspects of epi-ceremonial s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , Part I of the essay provides a foun-dation f o r Part I I by representing current C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e i n l i g h t of i t s reconstructed h i s t o r i c sources. The conclusion discusses some of the mechanisms, elucidated by the d i s s e r t a t i o n , which contribute to the cybernetic r e l a t i o n s be-tween r i t u a l and s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . i i i TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract i Introdu c t i o n 1 PART I : AN HISTORIC AND ECOLOGICAL VIEW OF CARRIER SOCIAL STRUCTURE Chapter 1 Ethnohistory and Ecology of the Septs 8 Chapter 2 Further Ethnohistory and Ecology of the Septs, UC6-0.-UC6 the P h r a t r i e s and Clans 50 Chapter 3 Background to the C a r r i e r Status System, Crests, and the P o t l a t c h 101 PART I I : ANALYSIS OF POTLATCH PROTOCOL Chapter 4 The Representation of the P h r a t r i e s : Nobles vs. Commoners 126 Chapter 5 The C e n t r i p e t a l O r i e n t a t i o n of Chiefs 159 Chapter 6 The D i a l e c t i c of Phratry and Clan 198 Chapter 7 The D i a l e c t i c of Phratry and Sept 219 Chapter 8 Conclusions 249 Bibliography 261 1 INTRODUCTION This essay i s about the s o c i a l and ceremonial l i f e of the C a r r i e r Indians of n o r t h - c e n t r a l B.C. The C a r r i e r peoples numbered about 4,000 a decade ago (Duff 1964: 33-4), and are thought to have moved to t h e i r present l o c a t i o n i n the salmon-spawning headwaters of the Skeena and Fraser systems from a previous home amid other Atha-paskan-speakers somewhere i n the basin of the Yukon or Mackenzie River. This move not only would have wrought profound a l t e r a t i o n s i n t h e i r ecology (with access to salmon), i t would have brought them, on t h e i r western f r o n t i e r , i n t o contact with the contagious c u l t u r e s of the northern P a c i f i c coast. The f i r s t part (of two parts) of the essay develops a l a r g e l y c o n j e c t u r a l reconstruction of C a r r i e r s o c i a l h i s t o r y . The h i s t o r y begins with a h y p o t h e t i c a l system of s o - c a l l e d composite bands i n the Yukon-Mackenzie woodlands, and continues, f o l l o w i n g t h e i r move to the present s e t t i n g , as a stage of salmon-promoted segmentary elab-o r a t i o n of the bands, termed the sept system (Chapters 1 and 2). The sept stage i s succeeded by what I term a sept/phratry stage, represent-ing the C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e described by a number of research scholars who have worked among the C a r r i e r from the turn of the 19th Century (the Oblate missionary-scholar A.G. Morice) to the present (notably Jenness, Goldman, Hackler and myself). The sept/phratry stage arose with an overlaying of the septs, to a considerable extent under the impetus of the f u r - t r a d e , by a system of coast-derived, t e r r i t o r y -2 c l a i m i n g , m a t r i l i n e a l c r e s t - d i v i s i o n s , c l a s s e s , r a n k s , and a p o t l a t c h c y c l e which e f f e c t s a c e r e m o n i a l a r t i c u l a t i o n of t h e s e v a r i o u s c a t e -g o r i e s of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y ( C h a p t e r s 2 and 3 ) . The second p a r t o f the e s say i s a d e t a i l e d a n a l y s i s w h i c h a s c r i b e s u n c o n s c i o u s s y m b o l i c s i g n i f i c a n c e t o the s e a t i n g and t o the p r e s t a t i o n - d i s t r i b u t i o n o r d e r s o f the C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h . Of c o u r s e , I am aware t h a t the l e g i t i m a c y of p r e d i c a t i n g t o a c t o r s any p a t t e r n s of c o g n i t i o n w h i c h do not c o r r e s p o n d d i r e c t l y t o t h e i r own u t t e r a n c e s ( i . e . , the u n c o n s c i o u s ) , a f o r t i o r i u n c o n s c i o u s s y m b o l i c p a t t e r n s , i s a m a t t e r of c o n t i n u i n g d i s p u t e among s t u d e n t s of human b e h a v i o u r . I s h a l l n o t c o n s i d e r t h a t debate, as s u c h , i n t h i s essay. R a t h e r , l e t me a s s e r t a t t h e o u t s e t , not o n l y t h a t I r e g a r d such an assumption as l e g i t i m a t e , but t h a t I c o n s i d e r s o c i o l o g i c a l e x p l a n a t i o n t o be i m p o s s i b l e ( a t l e a s t , f o r e v e r i n c o m p l e t e ) w i t h o u t i t . We a r e p r o f o u n d l y i n d e b t e d t o Diamond Jenness f o r h i s p r e -c i s e d a t a on t h e s e a t i n g s t r u c t u r e of the B u l k l e y R i v e r p o t l a t c h e s (Chapter 4 ) . The i n f o r m a t i o n c o n c e r n i n g p r e s t a t i o n - d i s t r i b u t i o n p r o -cedures i s c o n t r i b u t e d by my own f i e l d n o t e s , a l s o o b t a i n e d i n t h i s i n s t a n c e from i n t e r v i e w s w i t h B u l k l e y R i v e r (Moricetown) i n f o r m a n t s . There i s always a r i s k i n combining d a t a o b t a i n e d a t d i f f e r e n t times ( t h e r e i s a t h i r t y y e a r span between J e n n e s s 1 r e c o r d and my own) as a s p e c t s of a s i n g l e phenomenon. I have t a k e n t h a t r i s k i n a number of c o n t e x t s , but n o t w i t h o u t secondary s u p p o r t , o r w i t h o u t acknowledg-i n g the u n c e r t a i n t y t o t h e r e a d e r . I n t h i s c a s e , f o r example, my own d a t a on s e a t i n g , a l t h o u g h n o t n e a r l y as r i c h as J e n n e s s ' , s o l i d l y 3 confirm i n o u t l i n e what Jenness 1 statements and h i s "Tables of Peerage" (1943: 491-495) convey i n wonderful d e t a i l . That f a c t s u b s t a n t i a l l y diminishes the r i s k of concatenating the information on s p a t i a l p a t t e r n -in g with my own data on d i s t r i b u t i o n a l order. I should note, i n t h i s context, that my greatest wish, while among the C a r r i e r , was to acquire f i r s t - h a n d observational data on a well-attended and w e l l - s t r u c t u r e d p o t l a t c h . I had i n i t i a t e d f i e l d w o r k , i n the f i r s t instance, w i t h a view to producing an a n a l y s i s of g i f t -symbolism, p r i m a r i l y i n the p o t l a t c h context; such a study c a l l e d , of course, f o r a d e t a i l e d account of kinds and amounts of p r e s t a t i o n a l r e l a t i o n s of donors/recipients i n the p o t l a t c h and i n s a t e l l i t e s e t -t i n g s . My i n t e r e s t i n that problem arose out of casual observations made i n connection with wedding and Bar-Mitzvah g i f t s i n my home com-munity of Winnipeg, and became focused upon the p o t l a t c h , s p e c i f i c a l l y , during fieldwork among the Coast Tsimshian ( i n the summer of 1968, pre-ceding my f i r s t stay at Fort Babine) of K i t k a t l a and Prin c e Rupert. During a t o t a l f i e l d period of something over a year among the C a r r i e r (mostly at Fort Babine, plus three summer months at Moricetown) I attended one small f u n e r a l p o t l a t c h (of an u n t i t l e d person), and two small para-potlatch events at Fort Babine (a woman's p u b l i c repayment of personal debts incurred by her to persons of her father's phratry, and a ceremony known as "r e t u r n i n g the feathers" held s e v e r a l months fol l o w i n g the funeral p o t l a t c h mentioned above), and I witnessed some pot l a t c h proceedings through the community h a l l doorway during a b r i e f 4 v i s i t , as a stranger, to Moricetown (I was s t i l l s t a t i o n e d at Fort Babine). The f u n e r a l p o t l a t c h that I witnessed at Fort Babine was poorly attended, probably because the deceased was u n t i t l e d and, as I l a t e r discovered, because the great majority of t i t l e d personnel of the Babine sept now reside at Burns Lake. To the great chagrin of one o l d man who beat the f l o o r with h i s s t i c k and r a i l e d at the assem-b l y (and to mine), f o r m a l i t i e s of seating were being l a r g e l y ignored. Valuable as these experiences have u l t i m a t e l y proved to be, they f a i l to f u r n i s h the f i r s t - h a n d observational d e t a i l that I sought pursuant to my o r i g i n a l problem, and they also f a i l e d to supply a confirmation and updating of Jenness' d e t a i l s on seating. Eventually, I was enabled to obtain a s u b s t a n t i a l p i c t u r e of the fundamental seating and d i s t r i b u t i o n patterns of the p o t l a t c h (and some d e t a i l with respect to leading t i t l e s ) from several interviews with leading nobles of the Bulkley sept. These data are presented and discussed i n the f i r s t two chapters of P a r t I I . The c e n t r a l t h e s i s of Part I I i s that the ceremonial seating and d i s t r i b u t i o n a l arrangement of the major parameters of C a r r i e r soc-i e t y ( c h i e f s , nobles, commoners, clans, p h r a t r i e s , septs) i s motivated i n consideration of the epi-ceremonial connotations of these categories e s p e c i a l l y by connotations proper to the diachronic perspective, i . e . , by both ideologies of c o n t i n u i t y and f o l k - h i s t o r i c aspects of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . The spatial/temporal arrangements of the p o t l a t c h are t r e a t e d , f o l l o w i n g the l i n g u i s t i c model, as "surface" structures which 5 m a n i f e s t meanings out of p r i n c i p l e s of m o t i v a t e d s y n t a x o p e r a t i n g a t "deep" ( i . e . , u n c o n s c i o u s ) l e v e l s of s t r u c t u r e . These "deep" l e v e l p r i n c i p l e s of s p ace/time s y n t a x a r e e x p r e s s e d as s i m p l e a n a l o g i e s , and i t i s s u g gested t h a t the m o t i v a t i o n (see below, p. 146, f o r the sense i n w h i c h t h i s term i s used throughout) b e h i n d t h e s e p a t t e r n s may d e r i v e from c e r t a i n g i v e n s of p e r c e p t u a l e x p e r i e n c e . C l e a r l y the t h e o r e t i c a l o r i e n t a t i o n o f t h i s a n a l y s i s i s " s t r u c t u r a l " i n the c u r -r e n t sense. A c c o r d i n g l y , t h i s s t u d y i s i n d e b t e d t o the p a t r i a r c h s of s t r u c t u r a l a n t h r o p o l o g y : F r a n z Boas, E v a n s - P r i t c h a r d , Edmond L e a c h , Claude L e v i - S t r a u s s and V i c t o r T u r n e r . Inasmuch as s e a t i n g and p r e s t a t i o n d i s t r i b u t i o n s r e n d e r a s y m b o l i c e x p r e s s i o n o f b o t h h i s t o r i c and s y n c h r o n i c a s p e c t s of e p i -c e r e m o n i a l s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , P a r t I of the essay p r o v i d e s a f o u n d a t i o n f o r P a r t I I by r e p r e s e n t i n g c u r r e n t s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e i n l i g h t o f i t s r e c o n s t r u c t e d h i s t o r i c s o u r c e s . Thus, f o r example, C a r r i e r f o l k -h i s t o r i c t r a d i t i o n s f i r m l y i n d i c a t e t h a t the system of p h r a t r i e s a n t e -dated the c l a n s (see D u f f ' s e v i d e n c e and my own i n Chapter 2 ) . The h i s t o r i c p r i o r i t y e s t a b l i s h e d by the p h r a t r i e s i n r e l a t i o n t o fundamen-t a l p r e r o g a t i v e s (above a l l w i t h r e s p e c t t o the c o r p o r a t e ownership of h u n t i n g / t r a p p i n g t e r r i t o r i e s ) i s r e f l e c t e d i n de j u r e p r i o r i t i e s o f a u t h o r i t y t h a t p e r s i s t i n contemporary s t r u c t u r e ; t h u s , the c l a n s h o l d u s u f r u c t u a r y r i g h t s under the a e g i s of the p h r a t r i e s w i t h r e s p e c t to t e r r i t o r i e s . Chapter 6 i n d i c a t e s ways i n which s e a t i n g / d i s t r i b u t i o n a l arrangements r e f l e c t h i s t o r i c r e l a t i o n s which have become t r u n c a t e d 6 i n t o synchronic s t r u c t u r e as i d e o l o g i e s of a u t h o r i t y and c o n t i n u i t y supported by f o l k - h i s t o r y . The e t h n o h i s t o r i c reconstructions of Part I rest h e a v i l y on f r a n k l y uncertain, and sometimes apparently c o n t r a d i c t o r y , information concerning a b o r i g i n a l woodland Athapaskan s o c i a l patterns (much of the information comes from Honigmann, Osgood and Jenness). Thus, the models of f e r e d of stages and changes, i n Chapters 1 and 2, are only hypothe-t i c a l and may be destined to remain so i n d e f i n i t e l y f o r want of conclu-s i v e evidence. Nevertheless, they are models which are f a l s i f i a b l e i n - p r i n c i p l e and I would dare to hope that, as such, they may contribute a few u s e f u l cues i n a context of l a s t - d i t c h e f f o r t s at salvage eth-nography among woodland Athapaskans. The same has to be s a i d , i n general, of our d e p i c t i o n of the a s s i m i l a t i o n of the s o - c a l l e d "coast-complex" by the western C a r r i e r . In t h i s case, however, the evidence of f o l k - t r a d i t i o n that supports the models i s perhaps more r e l i a b l e because i t represents information about times and places more recent i n C a r r i e r ethnohistory; e.g., Duff's, and my own evidence (Chapter 2) of a one-sept/one-phratry stage, and Morice's and my own evidence sug-gesting that phratry t e r r i t o r i e s c r y s t a l l i z e d out of a wish to c o n t r o l access s p e c i f i c a l l y to fur-bearing animals. I am inestimably indebted to the work and p a t i e n t support of my doctoral committee at U.B.C. Professor W.E. Willmott, a master sha-man, assumed the chairmanship and r e s u s c i t a t e d my programme at the edge of what seemed, by a l l odds, i t s f i n a l breath. My consultations w i t h 7 P r o f e s s o r s K.O.L. B u r r i d g e , M. Egan, P. Maranda and R. Rowan always gave f r e s h and e x c i t i n g p e r s p e c t i v e s — a l o n g w i t h p e n e t r a t i n g c r i t i -cisms — a t p o i n t s of sodden s t a g n a t i o n . My d e b t , s c h o l a s t i c and p e r -s o n a l , t o P r o f e s s o r H.B. Hawthorn i s beyond words. PART I AN HISTORIC AND ECOLOGICAL VIEW OF CARRIER SOCIAL STRUCTURE 8 CHAPTER 1 ETHNOHISTORY AND ECOLOGY OF THE SEPTS This essay i s preoccupied throughout with s p a t i a l arrange-ments. I t i s f i t t i n g that I introduce the reader to the C a r r i e r people from the point of view of the d i s t r i b u t i o n of t h e i r t e r r i t o r i a l d i v i -sions across t h e i r land. F i r s t the land. The region i n which the C a r r i e r l i v e l i e s w i t h i n the Sub-alpine Forest B i o t i c Area described by Cowan and Guiguet. I s h a l l quote them at length: The Subalpine Forest l i e s south of the Boreal Forest and generally above the e l e v a t i o n of 4,000 feet. This base-l e v e l becomes lower toward the north and along the western slope of the Coast Range and i s subject to much l o c a l v a r i a -t i o n . I t s upper l i m i t i s t i m b e r - l i n e on the mountain-sides. The dominant climax tree species are Engelmann spruce (Picea engelmanni) and Alpine f i r (Albies l a s i o c a r p a ) . Mountain rhododendron (Rhododendron albiflorum) i s probably the most widely d i s t r i b u t e d shrub i n the undergrowth, along with huckleberries of s e v e r a l species. In the d r i e r regions, as i n the Rocky Mountains, mountain cranberry (Vaccinium v i t i s idoea) i s common. The winters are moderately c o l d , the summers cool and moist. Average annual p r e c i p i t a t i o n at G l a c i e r i s 53 inches, but there w i l l be wide v a r i a t i o n from t h i s i n both d i r e c t i o n s (Cowan and Guiguet, 1965: 23). Cowan and Guiguet (1956: 18) note major c l i m a t i c and b i o t i c v a r i a t i o n w i t h i n the subarea occupied by the C a r r i e r . Along the Skeena River watercourse, "... the influence of humidity extends i n l a n d hun-dreds of miles and modifies the f l o r a and fauna of the i n l a n d plateaux." A f u r t h e r m o d i f i c a t i o n i s provided by the existence i n the Nechako and 9 Bulkley V a l l e y s of i s o l a t e d areas e c o l o g i c a l l y s i m i l a r to the Cariboo Parklands B i o t i c Area: The winters are c o l d , summers warm with frequent r a i n showers; p r e c i p i t a t i o n i s generally l i g h t . The parklands proper are undulating, set with frequent lakes and ponds and dotted with clumps of aspen and lodgepole pine, or they are wooded with the same species. Forests are open with a l i g h t underbrush of w i l l o w and b u f f a l o b e r r y . . . . (Cowan and Guiguet, 1956: 21). In the Subalpine Forest, Cowan and Guiguet (1956: 23) report that: "The mammal fauna i s c l o s e l y s i m i l a r to that of the Boreal For-e s t . " The animals most sought by the C a r r i e r and something of t h e i r e c o l o g i c a l seasons w i l l be described l a t e r i n the chapter. The various C a r r i e r populations had few d i f f i c u l t i e s of access to one another. Although i t f a l l s w i t h i n a topographic zone designated the I n t e r i o r Plateau, the area i s by no means f l a t . Rather, i t i s h i l l y , and r e g u l a r l y spotted with mountains which can approach a l t i t u d e s of 8,000 fee t . Nevertheless, the d i s t r i c t i s r i c h l y r e t i c u l a t e d with l a k e s ( i t has a number between 100 and 200 square miles i n area) and r i v e r s which converge upon two drainage basins — the Skeena drai n i n g the north-west, and the Fraser the remainder. Therefore, i t would have been r e l a t i v e l y easy to reach — by a b o r i g i n a l poplarbark boat — a l l areas excepting the northwest corner without portage. Only the portages between the Fraser and Skeena break the water network, and these are, f o r the most p a r t , r e l a t i v e l y short and generally w e l l - c l e a r e d footpaths. As we s h a l l see, the hiatus between these water systems i s somewhat p a r a l l e l e d i n c u l t u r a l differences between the Skeena and the Fraser peoples. These differences concern p r i m a r i l y d e t a i l s of s o c i a l s tructure 10 which c l o s e l y i d e n t i f y the Skeena basin C a r r i e r c u l t u r e with the coas-t a l peoples to whom they are l i n k e d through the Skeena watercourse. The portages may indeed have been j u s t d i f f i c u l t enough, f o r s i g n i f i -cant trade missions, to account, along with sheer mileage, f o r the d i f f e r e n c e apparent i n the degree of a s s i m i l a t i o n of coast c u l t u r e by the two water basins. The r i c h stock of f i s h e s y i e l d e d to the C a r r i e r peoples by t h e i r water systems i s discussed i n the course of t h i s chapter. In terms of ethnographic focus t h i s d i s s e r t a t i o n pertains l a r g e l y to c e r t a i n p a r t i c u l a r s of the protocols of the Western C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h : seating arrangements and the patterns of the d i s t r i b u t i o n of p r e s t a t i o n a l m a t e r i a l s . At the same time, these ceremonial minutiae are treated a n a l y t i c a l l y as condensed representations — symbols — of categories and processes which compose the mundane interceremonial i n t e r i m . Therefore, every step i n our a n a l y s i s of the p a r t i c u l a r s of the C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h c a r r i e s our a t t e n t i o n to d e t a i l s not unique to the p o t l a t c h . Further, the p o t l a t c h — more than any other r i t u a l form i n i t s context — wherever i t occurs expresses v i r t u a l l y the e n t i r e t y of the c u l t u r e i n which i t i s embedded. This has been v i v i d l y demonstra-ted i n Rosman's and Rubel's recent touJi dz £oA.(iz. W r i t i n g on the Kwa-k i u t l p o t l a t c h they s t a t e : The p o t l a t c h involves i n simplest terms the amassing of property and i t s subsequent d i s t r i b u t i o n i n a ceremonial context. Though t h i s amassing and r e d i s t r i b u t i o n of property i s obviously a c e n t r a l feature of the Kwakiutl economic sys-tem and has been so considered by Boas, Codere, Drucker and Heizer, Vayda, Belshaw, Piddocke, and others, the e s s e n t i a l 11 elements of the p o t l a t c h also i n t e r s e c t with other sub-systems of Kwakiutl s o c i e t y . . . . The p o t l a t c h i s thus a drama i n which are played out the e s s e n t i a l elements of Kwakiutl cu l t u r e and s o c i e t y , while re v e a l i n g the components of so-c i a l s t r u c t u r e (Rosman and Rubel, 1971: 157). The d e t a i l of ceremonial p r o t o c o l which represents the core of t h i s essay w i l l be given as our analysis develops i n Part I I , but i t w i l l be u s e f u l to adumbrate some of the wider dimensions of C a r r i e r c u l t u r e i n advance. The sources on C a r r i e r ethnography have recorded, i n a l l , something over a dozen C a r r i e r names s i g n i f y i n g an i d e o l o g i c a l segmen-t a t i o n of the Carrier-speaking peoples i n terms of manifestly t e r r i t o r -i a l d i f f e r e n t i a l s . These names us u a l l y contain a s u f f i x e d element meaning, approximately, "inhabitants of...." which has been v a r i o u s l y t r a n s l i t e r a t e d according to the preference of the reporter; ^-tenne by Morice, ottnnz by Jenness, WO-ten by Duff, and by myself — as f a i t h f u l l y h. 1 as I can p h o n e t i c a l l y render my Babine informants — W Jttzyn. That i s , a l l names which contain t h i s s u f f i x c l e a r l y designate c o n s t e l l a t i o n s of people. At the same time, as w i l l be made c l e a r , most of the root elements to which t h i s s u f f i x i s compounded may occur independently and c o n s t i t u t e place names. T y p i c a l l y , indeed, when t h e i r meanings can be i d e n t i f i e d , these root elements make s p e c i f i c reference to water-bodies. The nine "sept" names l i s t e d by Morice (1893: 24-7) include, for example, the names Uazku^ttnnt, people of the Maz (probably the 1. No doubt d i a l e c t v a r i a t i o n s have also contributed to the d i f f e r -ences i n these renderings. 12 West Road) River, ftka.-kok-Pte.nnz, people of the ftkd (Fraser) River, 2 and Hwot&o?tznnz, people of the Hwot&otbdn (Bulkley) River. To each of the "sept" names i n his inventory Morice subtends a number of vi l l a g e names. Some of the v i l l a g e names, l i k e the "sept" names, refer to places, again frequently waterbodies, but none i n Morice's l i s t s contain the component ?tznnz. However, i n other records i t does indeed occur, i n combination with the v i l l a g e names. At the time of Morice's (1893: 25) writing, the "sept" Nu-tzak-?tZnnZ inhabited four separate v i l l a g e s , and several stood empty. Two of these v i l l a g e s , J ?ka-tzo and JuA^kaz, appear on Duff's (1964: 33-4) l i s t of the Carrier "tribes," where he has registered them as the Algatzko and the KluAkotzn respectively. Note that the l a t t e r name, KZuAkotzn, i s formed by aff i x i n g the element "-[w)otzn" to a contraction of the v i l l a g e name juAtkzz recorded by Morice. Similarly, the name, Tkd-tzz, of one of the villages of Morice's T?^az- tznnz "sept" has been graduated from a mere place name into the name of a societal division by Jenness (1943: 3 476) whose map of the Carrier "subtribes" includes regions allocated to the "TaohztztZrinz," and by Duff who l i s t s a "TaziUMlotzn" tribe. According to Morice's information, then, the Carrier universe i s divided into a set of t e r r i t o r i a l l y differentiated societal cate-gories to each of which are subtended a series of place name terms. Now i f , as the more recent reports from Jenness and Duff suggest, names ~T. Hwotiot&vn also means "spider" (Morice, 1893: 21ft). 3. For Jenness, a l l speakers of the Carrier tongue, taken together, comprise the Carrier " t r i b e . " Thus, Jenness' "subtribe" corres-ponds to Duff's " t r i b e , " and both to Morice's "sept." 13 which appear i n one context s t r i c t l y i n the sense of place names (Mor-i c e 's v i l l a g e names) may be s y n t a c t i c a l l y modified i n another so as to convert the place name i n t o a s p e c i f i c a l l y s o c i e t a l category, then we might wish to consider the p o s s i b i l i t y that we are here confronting a segmentary s t r u c t u r e somewhat i n the Evans-Pritchardian t r a d i t i o n . Do we not seem to have two taxonomic l e v e l s ( d i s t i n g u i s h e d through t h e i r r e l a t i o n s of i n c l u s i o n ) of t e r r i t o r i a l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d s o c i e t a l segments? I am encouraged to explore the matter a l i t t l e f u r t h e r . The ethnographic sources provide only sparse commentary on the matter of the p o l i t i c a l manifestations of these t e r r i t o r i a l seg-ments. T y p i c a l l y the remarfe are of only a very general caste. Speak-ing of h i s category of "Western Vznz" t r i b e s ( i . e . , the "NahancuA ," the "Stkanali ," the "Chilc," the "BablneA and the "ZaXKltu"), Morice (1906: 5) observes t h a t : "None of them o r i g i n a l l y had any ki n d of v i l l a g e c h i e f s i n our sense of the word....As to the Babines, the C a r r i e r s , and the C h i l c o t i n s , they possessed what they c a l l e d tomnza, hereditary 'noblemen,' who owned the hunting grounds and were the hon-orary heads of various clans or gentes." Jenness (1943: 481) makes the same observation concerning the Bulkley River C a r r i e r , who recog-nized ... no r u l i n g chief or established c o u n c i l to c o n t r o l the actions of the d i f f e r e n t f a m i l i e s and govern t h e i r r e-l a t i o n s with the outside world. L i k e other C a r r i e r sub-t r i b e s [but by no means a l l , as we s h a l l see] , the Bulkley natives were divided i n t o a number of f r a t e r n i t i e s or phra-t r i e s [Morice's "gentes"], each i n t i m a t e l y associated with the others, yet p o l i t i c a l l y independent. 14 More to the p o i n t , perhaps, the t e r r i t o r i a l segments are — on the face of i t — of l i t t l e s i g n i f i c a n c e i n the issues which l i e at the heart of the c l a s s i c a l segmentary s t r u c t u r e s ; l e v e l s of opposition which manifest themselves, above a l l , i n the feud and warfare. Wit-ness Morice (1893: 195): "But h o s t i l i t i e s were seldom of so general a character as to involve whole v i l l a g e s , though some such cases are recorded i n the t r a d i t i o n s of the t r i b e s . More commonly they were r e s t r i c t e d to two d i f f e r e n t gentes...." Again, Jenness' conclusions support Morice. Jenness (1943: 482-3) speaks of the p h r a t r i e s as being war " u n i t s " which, f a r from being s o l i d a r y on a t e r r i t o r i a l basis ( i . e . , among the p h r a t r i e s of a "sept" or v i l l a g e ) , "...associated at w i l l with f o r e i g n peoples even when these might be h o s t i l e to others of t h e i r countrymen." Nevertheless, l i k e Morice, Jenness (1943: 481) i n t e r j e c t s a note of q u a l i f i c a t i o n and cedes that the p h r a t r i e s appar-en t l y "... united at times to r e p e l a common danger." Morice r e l a t e s a t r a d i t i o n concerning a war, fought cJjica. 1745 between the C a r r i e r and C h i l c o t i n s , which appears to i l l u s t r a t e the m i l i t a r y a l l e g i a n c e of t e r r i t o r i a l segments on a rather wider scale than the above conclusions from Morice and Jenness would — without t h e i r important q u a l i f i c a t i o n s — lead us to a n t i c i p a t e . A party of C h i l c o t i n warriors a n n i h i l a t e d very nearly the e n t i r e population of the v i l l a g e of Cki.nLa.ci, situated near the confluence of the Stuart and Nechako R i v e r s . Three years l a t e r one of the few survivors of the C h i l c o t i n attack, a man described as the p r i n c i p a l totnzzt of Chi.nZa.CL, f 15 name of KhaxLLwtzJL, heads a successful r e p r i s a l . His vengeance party i s described as "... a large band of braves he had gathered from among the few survivors of the Chinlac population and the a l l i e d v i l l a g e s of Thachek, Nulkreh (Stony Creek) and Natley (Fraser Lake)" (Morice, 1906: 16). Morice (1906: 14) had already pointed out that the Ckinlac pop-u l a t i o n "...was a l l i e d by blood and d i a l e c t to the Lower C a r r i e r s of what i s now c a l l e d Stony Creek." In UotoJ> on the. WeAteAn VtnU, Morice does not include the Stony Creek population among h i s "septs" and v i l l a g e s . However, i n an appendix to h i s Bulkley River study, Jenness notes that the Vuta.PMote.nne. or Stony Creek subtribe occupied — before being confined to a s i n g l e reserve — two v i l l a g e s on N u l k i 4 and Tatchik Lakes. In other words, two of the v i l l a g e s which c o n t r i -buted to KhadtnteZ 1 s vengeance party, Thackek ( i . e . , Jenness' Tatchik) and MmZk/Lth (Jenness' N u l k i ) together c o n s t i t u t e the Stony Creek d i v i -sion to which Chintcid was a l l i e d "by blood and d i a l e c t . " Cklntac i t s e l f i s l i s t e d (Morice, 1893: 25) — rendered tdlnldk — as an e x t i n c t v i l l a g e of the Ta.no?tznnt "sept" which also i n h a b i t s the v i l l a g e of Fort George, or ^ QJJULL. Although Morice (1906: 19) does not mention any c o n t r i b u t i o n on behalf of the v i l l a g e of Fort George to KhcLdLLnteJL's r e t a l i a t o r y f o r c e , nevertheless Fort George f i g u r e d i n the denouement of the t r a g i c sequence: "In the course of time, a few per-sons who had escaped the massacre of 1745 s e t t l e d among t h e i r f r i e n d s of Thachek and ' J e i t l i (Fort George)." In t h i s instance, we not only 4. The yutavwotmne. " s u b t r i b e " appears on Jenness' map (1943: 476) as w e l l as i n the appendix (1943: 586). 16 f i n d a m i l i t a r y a l l e g i a n c e which transcends the v i l l a g e l e v e l of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , but which draws p a r t i c i p a t i o n from no l e s s than three d i s -t i n c t s u p r a v i l l a g e segments, two of Morice's "septs." the Udttztj-hiAOPtmnt (Fraser Lake) and the "sept" of the Chinlac, Ta.noPtunnt, and one of Jenness' subtribes, VuXa?iX)otznnz. These observations e s t a b l i s h t h a t , i n terms of the s o c i e t a l taxonomy posited by C a r r i e r c u l t u r e , we must recognize a segmentary arrangement of t e r r i t o r i a l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d categories manifesting at l e a s t two l e v e l s of i n c l u s i o n . We s h a l l r e f e r to these h e r e a f t e r , fo l l o w i n g Morice, as v i l l a g e s and septs. There are t r a d i t i o n s , f u r t h e r -more, which support a notion that these t e r r i t o r i a l segments, qua tkotznnz" and "Hazkotzn" r e s p e c t i v e l y . Tano-?tznnz ("people a l i t t l e to the n o r t h " ) : inhabited a v i l l a g e adjoining Fort George at the confluence of the Nechako {"HvU.Cia.koh") and Fraser R i v e r s . They traversed hunting t e r r i t o r i e s which extended east of the Fraser to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains. In a d d i t i o n to "JziMU." (Fort George v i l l a g e ) , the e x t i n c t v i l l a g e of "TzZntak" had belonged to t h i s sept. HoMzk-kwo?tznnz ("people of HoMzh"): one suspects that "HaMzh" i s the name of Fraser Lake, but Morice does not e x p l i c i t l y state i t . He s p e c i f i e s that two v i l l a g e s , "HoM.uk" and "Stzlta", be-long to t h i s sept. Jenness, on the other hand, speaks of a " s u b t r i b e " at the east end of Fraser Lake, corresponding ±o "HaMzh," and one at Fort Fraser, corresponding to "StzULa," at the west end of Fraser Lake. Yet, the sense of d i s c r e t e s o c i a l u n i t s c a r r i e d i n t h i s l a t t e r reference (see Jenness, 1943: 482) i s not c a r r i e d over onto h i s map where the whole of Fraser Lake i s enclosed and labeled "HaM.ZWAXz.nnz," suggesting 19 a s i n g l e s o c i e t a l category encompassing the e n t i r e Fraser Lake popula-t i o n . Duff's t a b l e l i s t s two " t r i b e s , " "HaXLiiXsoten" and "Stellmotzn.' The sense of a conception of separate s o c i e t a l d i v i s i o n s i s stressed here by the occurrence of the s u f f i x "-WO ten" with the name "Stelta.." Thus, Duff's data suggest two d i s c r e t e s o c i e t a l d i v i s i o n s bearing names having place references ("StoJLta." = "the cape") . At face value, Morice's data suggest two d i s t i n c t places associated with a s i n g l e s o c i e t a l d i v i s i o n ; Morice's v i l l a g e names do not carry the humanizing s u f f i x "-hwo?te.nne," However, without pretending to a r r i v e at a f i r m conclusion, I would suggest that t h i s merely r e f l e c t s an a l -most inadvertent s y n t a c t i c a l device whereby Morice has stressed the sense of the s o c i e t a l unity of the sept i n the face of i t s lack of the concrete sense of u n i t y imputed to a v i l l a g e simply i n v i r t u e of i t s c o r e s i d e n t i a l u n i t y — even wanting the o p t i o n a l s u f f i x "-h.WOPte.nne.." Hwoti>o?te.nne. ("people of the River Hwotkut&dn") : Morice men-tio n s four settlements. Two of these are given no mention i n Jenness, neither did I hear any reference to them during my stay at Moricetown. The t h i r d , "T&e.-tccik,''' probably corresponds to the v i l l a g e which Jen-ness records as uTi>e.\iyci" (="Rockf oot " ) , a v i l l a g e e s tablished 20 miles below Moricetown on the Bulkley River f o l l o w i n g a rock s l i d e which p a r t i a l l y blocked the r i v e r j u s t above the s i t e of "Ti>ekyci." In Jenness' time "Ti>ekya." was abandoned, and i t s population had e i t h e r returned to t h e i r o r i g i n a l home at Moricetown, the f o u r t h v i l l a g e c i t e d by Morice, or had moved to a s i t e above the escaj|rment of the Hagwilgat 20 Canyon where they established the second "Hwot6W?tennt" v i l l a g e i n use 6 during Jenness' time ( i n a d d i t i o n to Moricetown), namely, Hagwilgate. The remaining four sept names from Moriee are not duplicated in,the records of e i t h e r Duff or Jenness. The Lake Babine people are given the same name by Duff, "Nataotin", as by Morice, "NaXoPtmm," but are labeled the "uVanwttenne," on Jenness' map. The etymologies of these names are not a v a i l a b l e . In UoteA on the Wnbt&in VeneJ>, Morice i n d i c a t e s , without naming them, that there are three v i l l a g e s on the northern h a l f of Lake Babine. E a r l y Hudson's Bay Company records i n New Caledonia, c i t e d by Morice i n The Hti>tofiy oi the. UofitheAn Intextoit ol BfUtuh Columbia, e s t a b l i s h that the majority of the Lake Babine population inhabited a v i l l a g e named "Hwo?tat" at the north end of the lake at the point of effluence of the Babine River (Morice, 1905: 208 et i,eq.) . The f i r s t trade post on Lake Babine had been erected i n 1822 at a point of land, 7 some 35 miles south of "HwoPtat," where Taklah Arm j o i n s the main body of the lake. As ever, the trade post drew a contingent of the l o c a l population to i t s perimeter, and they came to be known as the + + 8 ntydow ac oohid^zyny (= "white man-outside-they-stay"). By 1836, how-ever, t h i s l o c a t i o n had proved l e s s than s a t i s f a c t o r y as i t had f a i l e d to a t t r a c t the trade of a s i g n i f i c a n t p o r t i o n of the lake's population; they preferred to continue to trade t h e i r furs at Hagwilgate with t h e i r 6. Morice makes no mention of Hagwilgate. 7. Rendered ''•witPa.eX i n current Babine d i a l e c t . 8. A map adjoining Morice's (1892: 108-9) a r t i c l e "Are the C a r r i e r Soc-iology and Mythology Indigenous or Ex o t i c ? " shows a v i l l a g e at the corresponding l o c a t i o n which bears the name "LathaJikAdzlci.11 21 f e l l o w C a r r i e r or at the Bulkley-Skeena j u n c t i o n with the Gitksan and Coast Tsimshian; "...the Babines of that lake ( e s p e c i a l l y those i n h a b i t ing i t s northern extremity) were i n the habit of tra d i n g almost e x c l u -s i v e l y with the Tsimpsians of the P a c i f i c Coast or t h e i r own congeners of what was then c a l l e d the F a l l e n Rock T- now A c k w i l l g a t e . . . . " (Morice 1905: 209). Morice goes on to make the point that the barter terms i n t h i s trade were better than offered by the Hudson's Bay Company because they were b e t t e r , by f a r , at t h e i r source among the sea traders who had p a t r o l l e d the coast since the sea o t t e r trade with China had developed CMica. 1785. I t i s rather curious that Morice does not recognize the r o l e of the Gitksan i n t h i s trade chain whereas Jenness (1943: 478) notes: "The Gitksan c o n t r o l l e d the trade route down the Skeena r i v e r to the coast that brought to the C a r r i e r objects of s h e l l and copper i n exchange for moose hides and various f u r s . " I t may be, however, that Morice based h i s comment on a p a r t i c u l a r period when the Coast Tsimshian established d i r e c t trade with the C a r r i e r at the Bulk l e y -Skeena j u n c t i o n . Thus, Jenness (1943: 478) continues the foregoing remark as f o l l o w s : "The Coast Tsimshian, who were the p r i n c i p a l s i n t h i s trade, t r i e d to elim i n a t e the Gitksan middlemen about 1850, and, themselves ascending the Skeena, established a y e a r l y market on an open f l a t at the j u n c t i o n of that r i v e r with the Bulkley." With a view to more e f f e c t i v e l y i n t e r c e p t i n g the Babine trade i n s t r u c t i o n s went out i n 1836 to William McBean — who was then i n charge of the post at Fort Kilmars (the i n i t i a l post, which has since 22 been named Old Fort Babine) — to prepare a new post at "HwoPtcut." In a d d i t i o n , f u r t h e r , to i n t e r c e p t i n g the trade i n f u r s , the planned post at "Hwo?£at" was intended to ensure access to trade f o r the Babine salmon which had become perhaps the most important food source to the personnel of the Hudson's Bay Company trading posts throughout New Caledonia. For various reasons the post at "Hwo?£cut," New Fort Babine, was not completed u n t i l cuAca. 1890. In a d d i t i o n to ufi'sttpcmt and nA.ydow +ac +whtd?e,yny there i s pre-s e n t l y a v i l l a g e on the northern h a l f of Lake Babine at Topley Landing (s i t u a t e d on the west shore). This may represent the t h i r d v i l l a g e r e f e r r e d to by Morice. At the present time YU.ydow +a.c. wkidpzyn i s h . vacant and to &tPCL&t reduced to about 100 souls s i n c e , about 15 years ago, most of the present Babine population moved to a reserve adjacent to the town of Burns Lake and to Pendleton Bay, encouraged by the Indian A f f a i r s Branch administrators of the Babine band to seek work with logging camps at the south end of the lake and at the Pendleton Bay sawmill. Ua-?kACi-ztLL-?t(lhnZ: Morice i n d i c a t e s that t h i s name means "people of Stuart's Lake," and that the sept inhabited two v i l l a g e s , "Ua?khJlz£Ll" and "V-lwtdd." My own information confirms these v i l l a g e names and i n d i c a t e s that the name ncLQ'sa.z'Xiy denotes the v i l l a g e at the s i t e of the present town of Fort St. James and means "the o u t l e t 9. On the other hand, i t may be a v i l l a g e named "W 4 qott fe" which appears on Morice's map of 1892, s i t u a t i o n on the east shore of the lake between "HwoPtat" and "LoXka.kA.'dzlci." There i s c e r t a i n l y no contemporary counterpart to t h i s v i l l a g e , neither have I heard of i t otherwise. 23 of MagJa [Stuart's] Lake," where the s u f f i x -zXiy represents a contrac-t i o n of the word te,Zru.y, meaning "lake o u t l e t " (also steelhead t r o u t ) . The v i l l a g e of ptyPncey i s s i t u a t e d at the halfway point along the eastern shore of Stuart's Lake where the VtyVvi River enters the lake (see a l s o Morice, 1905: 2 6 f f ) . I cannot confirm i t from my own data, but i t w i l l become c l e a r through some of Morice's v i l l a g e name etymolo-gies to f o l l o w that the s u f f i x which he renders "-tee." (~ce.y i n current Babine d i a l e c t ) , means a "confluence of waters." Duff's t a b l e gives the corresponding t r i b e name "NecoAtAJU)ote.n," and Jenness' map separates out a t e r r i t o r y , under the l a b e l "?Kotene," which would correspond to that of Morice's "Uci-?k/ux-ztLi-?tzn.nz." Morice a l s o records an equivalent of the name "PKotene" but he s p e c i -f i e s that the name "?Kutdne" designates the combination of the "Na-?k/uz-ztlA.-'Pte.nne" with t h e i r neighbours to t h e i r immediate north, described below. T?~^(iz-?tenne.: Morice t r a n s l a t e s t h i s name "people of the bottom or end of the [Stuart] l a k e , " and asserts that the " o r i g i n a l home" of the four v i l l a g e s of the sept was at the (north) end of Stuart Lake. At l e a s t one of these v i l l a g e s represented a r e l a t i v e l y recent s i t e at the time of Morice's w r i t i n g . The Sekani bands north of Car-r i e r t e r r i t o r y had expanded westward, owing to the harassment of the Beaver and Cree along t h e i r eastern boundary. One band, the "Sa&u.cka.n" (= "people of the Black Bear"), had occupied the e n t i r e basin of the 10. This confirms Morice's (1905: 26ff) t r a n s l a t i o n of the name "ydkuztli" as "the o u t l e t of Yako Lake." 24 F i n l a y River and, i n the west, the t e r r i t o r y around Bear Lake and the northern end of Taklah Lake. In 1826 the Hudson's Bay Company estab-l i s h e d a post, Fort Connolly, at Bear Lake which drew contingents from the upper Skeena Gitksan and from the C a r r i e r as w e l l as from the Sekani "6a.AUCiha.n." According to Jenness (1937: 11), owing to the u n s e t t l i n g e f f e c t s of f r i c t i o n between the Sekani and Gitksan, the post was moved i n 1890 to Fort Grahame on F i n l a y R i v e r , and the Sekani contingent withdrew to that place leaving Bear Lake t e r r i t o r y to the C a r r i e r and Gitksan groups. Consistent with t h i s information, then, the Gitksan and C a r r i e r populations at Bear Lake were established there a f t e r 1826. Morice's information that the C a r r i e r v i l l a g e "near Fort Connolly," which bore the name "h(lk-£hu£" (= "Black Bear bathing p l a c e " ) , was of the "T?raz-?^enne" sept, f u r t h e r suggests that the "&aj>-£htit" people had moved from t h e i r " o r i g i n a l home" at the bottom of Stuart Lake to Bear Lake i n connection with the formation there of the Hudson's Bay Company trading post. Concerning the Bear Lake area i n general, Morice (1905: 25) concludes t h a t , although i t had o r i g i n a l l y belonged to the Sekani, i t had subsequently f a l l e n i n t o the possession of the C a r r i e r who "...now inh a b i t the v i l l a g e and hunt i n the v i c i n i t y of the lake with the consent of the former [the Sekani]; and the 3tnas or K i t i k s o n s [Gitksan] from the Skeena r i v e r who are considered as mere intruders and as such l i v e there only on sufferance." Since Morice's w r i t i n g the l e g i t i m a t e c o n t r o l of Bear Lake would appear to have s h i f t e d from the C a r r i e r ( i f , indeed, they ever possessed i t as Morice c l a i m s ) ; 25 my own Babine informants c o n s i s t e n t l y i d e n t i f i e d Bear Lake as jitne.y (Gitksan) indeed, there i s now at Fort Babine a fa m i l y who had moved there about ten years ago from Bear Lake, and who regard themselves as V, j*£ne.y. This confirms Jenness' (1937: 12) view that "...now Gitksan Indians from Kiskargas and Kuldo claim Bear Lake as t h e i r t e r r i t o r y The remaining v i l l a g e s of t h i s sept are "?KQztce," (= " c o n f l u -11 ence of the 7Kaz R i v e r " ) , on Tachie R i v e r , "yQ-ku-tce.," at the north-west end of Stuart Lake, and "Tha-tce." which Morice t r a n s l a t e s "the 12 t a i l " of Stuart Lake where Tachie River enters the lake. Neither Duff nor Jenness anywhere record a v e r s i o n of the name "T?JCLZ-?te.nn£," but Duff l i s t s a t r i b a l name "TaciluWOte.n," and Jenness' map sets o f f an area taking i n roughly the same t e r r i t o r y 13 (excepting Bear Lake and the north end of Taklah Lake) as that assigned 11. That i s , "Vd-ku-tae." means the confluence of the r i v e r "ydkuztti" (with Tachie R i v e r ) , while the l a t t e r name means the o u t l e t of "V— whatever i t s h i s t o r i c accuracy — represents the native conception of an h i s t o r i c basis of the "TPJ^ZCL-Ptznne." sept. Of course, u t i l i z a t i o n of a conception of common " o r i g i n " as a c r i t e r i o n of a l l i a n c e among s o c i e t a l categories i n a context of t h e i r 27 mutual opposition to counterposed categories i s a commonplace i n the anthropology of descent systems. In these instances, ideologies which charter modes of personal r e l a t i o n s h i p i n terms of the norms of a r t i -c u l a t i o n among categories of ki n s h i p are transposed w i t h the l e x i c o n of k i n s h i p to the a r t i c u l a t i o n s and oppositions of descent groups: the a f f i l i a t i o n s of groups are conceived i n the same (kin) terms as the a f f i l i a t i o n s among persons c o n s t i t u t i n g the groups. Above a l l , (kin) terms defined vti>-a-\)t6 complementary (kin) terms which are or-dered against each other according to a conception of f i x e d and neces-sary succession (parent/child) c o n s t i t u t e the fundamental metronome of the h i s t o r y of segmentary lineages. What was d i s t i n c t i v e of the c l a s s i c Nuer system of segmenta-t i o n was the remarkable a r t i c u l a t i o n of the system of t e r r i t o r i e s to the mechanism of lineage segmentation; the moment-to-moment p o l i t i c s of t e r r i t o r i a l c l u s t e r s were thereby projected upon an h i s t o r i c code. As ever, the structures of current r e l a t i o n s must be regarded as causal of the current conception of h i s t o r y equally as HISTORY i s to be regar-ded as causal of the st r u c t u r e of current r e l a t i o n s . Our present instance suggests the r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n of c u r r e n t l y l i n k e d t e r r i t o r i a l segments through a notion of successive buddings of new settlements from o l d . We are missing only i n d i c a t i o n that the pro-cess of budding was expressed i n a kinship l e x i c o n . There i s a rather shadowy hi n t of t h i s conception of a l i n e a l succession of settlements i n the r e l a t i o n s of the v i l l a g e and sept names 28 i n the case of the foregoing p a i r of septs. Thus, i n the case of the "Ma-?kfia-ztLL'-?ttnnz," the sept name i s the name of one of i t s v i l l a g e s . But note that the p a r t i c u l a r v i l l a g e name applied to t h i s purpose r e -presents a s e t t i n g downstream {ndi?) of the second v i l l a g e (PxPncet/) of the sept. A s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n obtains i n the case of the sept im-mediately north of t h i s l a s t . Whether we recognize Morice's name, "people of the bottom of the [Stuart] l a k e , " or Jenness' name "Tachott-£dnnz," a p r i o r i t y i s assigned to a s i t e downstream of the other v i l l a g e s of the sept; "Tha-tat" i s downstream of "Pkdztat," "yd-ku-tct," and even of "AOA~£huLt" ( i n the sense that i t would require a lengthy upstream voyage — along the Taklah Lake and the Driftwood River — to reach the portage which must be crossed to a t t a i n "&ci&-thxit" at Bear Lake) . Of course, t h i s observation of the assignment of s t r e s s to s e t t i n g s which happen to be i n the downstream p o s i t i o n may represent a spurious connection. However, the image of a succession of s e t t l e -ments cast i n the upstream d i r e c t i o n along any delineated segment of a watercourse i s a l s o , I would point out, i n accord with the s t r a t e g i e s of salmon trapping: downstream s i t e s have f i r s t access. This appar-ent stress on downstream s i t e s could r e f l e c t a dominance of the down-stream populations, at a given time, as e a s i l y .as any de ^cicto h i s t o r i c antecedence. S i m i l a r l y , a conception of h i s t o r i c p r i o r i t y might r e f l e c t de ^CicXo dominance and dominance, i n t u r n , might r e f l e c t the e c o l o g i c a l advantage of the downstream s i t e . This image of the upstream succession of settlement buds, taken e i t h e r as a statement of an a c t u a l h i s t o r i c pattern, and/or as 29 the p r o j e c t i o n of current power r e l a t i o n s upon an h i s t o r i c code, may also account f o r the a d d i t i o n a l name, "?Kuvt0ne," given by Morice. A l -though Jenness claims that the same name — "Ko^ Cene." — applies p a r t i -c u l a r l y to the southern sept only, my own information tends to support Morice's: according to a Babine informant, the name q i?uW?cU.n) a r r i v e somewhat e a r l i e r , the former t y p i c a l l y a r r i v i n g i n e a r l y J u l y , and the l a t t e r i n mid-July. Both of these species are also smoked but the l a r g e r , white-fleshed springs are preferred f r e s h . The humpback, or pink, salmon (= Atiinvn) also run through J u l y , but they are not as valued as the other species be-cause they do not apparently smoke w e l l . Dog salmon do not f i g u r e s i g n i f i c a n t l y on Lake Babine. The period of the salmon runs i s a time of assembly at the north end of Lake Babine. The population of Fort Babine (approximately 100 people through the winter) r i s e s as much as 50% from J u l y through September, most of the v i s i t o r s converging from various points around the lake — mainly from the town of Burns Lake. As my informants a t t e s t , these have always i n past been h e c t i c .but happy days (presum-ably as long as the f i s h i n g progresses s a t i s f a c t o r i l y ) , climaxed f i r s t with a "Sports Day" i n mid-June, and f i n a l l y , the year's most important potlatches held on the Labour Day weekend i n September. In recent years, however, violence (so I have been t o l d ) has marred these celebra-35 t i o n s . "Sports Day" i s no longer held, and the potlatches are now held at Burns Lake. Since the e l i m i n a t i o n of the weirs (cMica. 1904) alluded to ab'ove, a l l salmon f i s h i n g i s done by net on N i l k i t k w a Lake (Lake Babine empties d i r e c t l y i n t o a mile length of "Upper" Babine River which, i n turn, empties i n t o N i l k i t k w a Lake which eventually empties into the Babine R i v e r ) . I t i s remarkable that the arduous work of s e t t i n g and gathering the nets (as w e l l as of r e p a i r i n g the nets) i s e n t i r e l y the fu n c t i o n of the women. Of course, the women are also responsible f o r the cleaning and smoking of the f i s h . In connection with weir f i s h i n g , then, at the present time the men who were once e n t i r e l y responsible f o r the trapping and k i l l i n g of the salmon are confined to performing only c e r t a i n a n c i l l a r y jobs, i n c l u d i n g the rep a i r of boats, smokehouses, and the maintaining of a good wood sup-ply at the smokehouse. I t has been explained to me that the men do not f i s h salmon on N i l k i t k w a because to be seen s e t t i n g or gathering nets on a lake i s akin to being "caught i n the k i t c h e n with an apron." I am unclear whether i t i s p a r t i c u l a r l y the f i s h i n g on la k e s , the f i s h -ing by net (although beaver and waterfowl were netted by men), or — as seems l i k e l y — the combination of the two which i s conceived as a feminine r o l e . ( A l l elements are combined i n a story which depicts the woman as s e t t i n g her net as a bed and spreading h e r s e l f upon i t to cap ture the f i s h i n her vulva.) There are some h i n t s that t h i s pattern has had a precontact counterpart. Speaking s p e c i f i c a l l y of precontact patterns among the Ca r r i e r of the Fort St. James area, Morice (1905: 21) states: 36 F i n a l l y , l a t e i n September [f o l l o w i n g salmon f i s h i n g ] , they migrated again up the lake, and dispersed themselves along the shores and on the seve r a l i s l a n d s , where the women [ my emphasis] caught w h i t e f i s h and trout i n the pre-serves a l l o t t e d them by hereditary r i g h t , while the men trapped the various fur-bearing animals. N i l k i t k w a Lake i s s i m i l a r l y divided i n t o preserves today and assigned to various f a m i l i e s and, although sometimes these areas are r e g i s t e r e d (with the P r o v i n c i a l Department of F i s h e r i e s ) i n the names of men, they are worked by the women of the family. I would only note f i n a l l y that, as might be expected i n the circumstances, smoked f i s h must be purchased from the women, and the proceeds from the s a l e are s t r i c t l y t h e i r s . Various other species of f i s h are taken throughout the year. The trout (= d3k.xa.yLy) are t h i c k i n the streams during the salmon spawn-ing . "Char" (= bZyt) are fi s h e d through August and September, and dried with the sockeye f o r winter use. "Char" i s also obtained by i c e -f i s h i n g i n February and March. Through October and November, the " w h i t e f i s h " (= £ox) i s netted i n the shallows of N i l k i t k w a Lake. This approximates the w h i t e f i s h season that we have seen i n d i c a t e d , i n a preceding c i t a t i o n from Morice (see above, p. 36), to have obtained on Stuart Lake. His report on t h i s point i s confirmed i n the name assigned by the Stuart Lake Car-r i e r to the month of October, "moon of the w h i t e f i s h " (Morice, 1893: 106). S i m i l a r l y , judging from the names of the moons of other northern C a r r i e r t r i b e s , t h e i r w h i t e f i s h season also f e l l from mid- to l a t e -autumn. The name assigned by both the Bulkley and Fraser Lake septs 37 f o r the moon of September-October i s " L i t t l e W hitefish Moon" (Jenness, 1943: 530). The w h i t e f i s h season seems to have f a l l e n at about the same period among most of the northern C a r r i e r septs. I might note, i n passing, that the Bulkley River moon of June-July, "Time When Salmon Come Up the River," corresponds with the J u l y a r r i v a l of the salmon at Lake Babine. At Fraser Lake, the June-Ju l y moon bears the name "Sockeye Salmon," p u t t i n g the Fraser Lake run of sockeye w e l l ahead of the run at Babine (see above, p. 34). The anadromous steelhead (= tzz\i.y) runs i n the Babine River through the w i n t e r ; though most h e a v i l y during March and December. Other species are mentioned; a " l i n g f i s h " and a "carp," the " d o l l y -varden" (= hoJcbzy) , and "suckers" f i g u r e i n the name of the April-May moons at Bulkley and Fraser Lake, but these do not seem to have been important. In fact — although the w h i t e f i s h , t r o u t , and char are s i g n i f i c a n t to vary the Babine menu — no other f i s h even remotely approach the importance of salmon. Enormous q u a n t i t i e s of sun-dried and smoked salmon were (and are) prepared and stored for winter use along with whatever meat and f i s h are taken on the winter hunting ground. The importance of salmon must have been further amplified with the advent of the fur trade f o r two reasons. F i r s t l y , the greater con-centration i n the winter months upon the trapping of the fur-bearing species would have cut i n t o time which could otherwise have been used to obtain animals which provide a more s u b s t a n t i a l y i e l d of meat. 38 The caribou (= Wi.QA.yx) was apparently once the main meat source i n the area as had been the elk before i t (Morice, 1893: 93). The l a t -t e r , however, had disappeared by Morice's time, and the caribou has — at, l e a s t i n the areas of the B u l k l e y , Babine, and Stuart Lake C a r r i e r — disappeared s i n c e h i s time. These have been replaced by the moose (= h2da.il) as the p r i n c i p a l winter meat throughout the area. The moun-t a i n sheep (= i>pty) and goat (= tay yi./\) are hunted i n August on the slopes of the western mountains, along with the mountain groundhog or marmot ( =diXvu.y). The Bulkley River calendar gives to the moon of July-August the name "Time Top-of-mountain Hunting People Go Out" (Jenness, 1943: 531). Deer (= nzKtuM?) are scarce i n the area of Lake Babine, and Morice (1893: 93) i n d i c a t e s that t h i s was also true i n h i s time, although they may be more p l e n t i f u l elsewhere among the C a r r i e r (Borden, 1952: 31). Black bear (= 6Q-&) have always been hunted i n f a l l , and k i l l e d i n t h e i r winter l a i r s , throughout the area. Of these large land mammals, only the moose i s presently ob-tained with any r e g u l a r i t y through the winter months, and by no means i n s u f f i c i e n t quantity to s u s t a i n the population without very major sup-plementation. In the event of a salmon f a i l u r e , various small animals, the porcupine (= agtyowyvig) , the lowland groundhog (= dsqa.'t) , the 17 s q u i r r e l (= CClttq) , and above a l l the rabbit (= g®x) , were depended upon to stay famine. 17. The rabbit figures as an important supplementary food throughout the Athapaskan world (Honigmann, 1946: 38; Helm, 1961: 25). Osgood (1931: 42), w r i t i n g of the f i s h - r e l i a n t Great Bear Lake Indians (Satudene), s t a t e s : "Rabbits are found throughout the whole of the timber country. They are n a t u r a l l y most important f o r food where other game animals are rare, and p a r t i c u l a r l y where there i s a scar-c i t y of f i s h , as on Mackenzie r i v e r . " 39 Many of the species of value i n the fur trade were not used also as a meat source. Excluded as sources of meat were the marten (= cAnlyx), the f i s h e r (= ctriiyxcow), the lynx, the wolverine (= Zuiti&tQS\) , the fox (= mgQzgfZy) , the wolf (= Zsqtcow) , the coyote, the weasel (= ivtbuy) , the mink (= tcgyuuixcsiy) . The important f ur species which were also used as a meat source include the black bear, the muskrat (= ca.PqWe.ct) , and, above a l l , the beaver (= cd) , the s i n g l e most impor-tant f ur trade species throughout the area. As I s h a l l note l a t e r , the beaver figures as a most important ceremonial food; t h i s could, i n turn, r e l a t e to i t s importance i n the fur trade (see below, p. 244 ). That i s , the focus — through the f a l l and winter months — upon small and scattered species which often were not even used as food, rather than upon equally scattered, perhaps, but very much l a r -ger food species must, perforce, have placed a further s t r e s s upon the s t o r i n g of ample supplies of dried salmon. Secondly, the drie d salmon i t s e l f became an important trade item; i t became the stap l e winter food of the personnel of a l l of the Hudson's Bay Company trading posts throughout New Caledonia. In f a c t , the trade i n salmon was more important on Lake Babine than the trade i n f u r s , f or reasons already alluded to and emphasized i n the f o l l o w i n g remark: [Old] Fort Babine was famous for the quantity of salmon i t y i e l d e d . From the point of view of a trader i t was a place of but secondary importance, many of the Indians there taking t h e i r p e l t s to the Skeena r i v e r f o r barter with the native ad-venturers from the coast (Morice, 1905: 176). 40 The Fort St. James post was l a r g e l y responsible f o r obtaining the win-te r supply of salmon for the personnel of the trade posts throughout the New Caledonia area which included Fort C h i l c o t i n , Fort Alexander, Fort George, Fort McLeod, Fort Fraser, Fort Connolly, and Fort Babine. Vast q u a n t i t i e s were purchased on both Stuart and Babine Lakes. Here are the records of salmon purchases at Fort Kilmars through the summer i n t o the f a l l months of the year 1825 (recorded by one Charles Ross): Aug. 23 "...220 fresh salmon..." obtained. Aug. 30 "...227 fresh salmon..." obtained. "...only one band of salmon made t h e i r appearance i n Stuart's Lake — since which time none have been seen — consequantly both our people and the Indians i n that quarter are s t a r v i n g . " Reference i s made often to salmon caught i n nets operated by company personnel. These only number a few per day. Sept. 5 Salmon were reported to be "...abundant at Tachy..." Sept. 12 "...22 large salmon, 373 small salmon, 2 bladders salmon o i l . . . " obtained. Sept. 16 "...525 fresh and dry salmon..." obtained. Sept. 25 "...1,036 small salmon and 12 large salmon..." ob-tained. "The salmon of t h i s year appear to be much i n f e r i o r i n q u a l i t y to those of l a s t season — neither have they been so abundant — consequently a s c a r c i t y may be apprehended should we be obliged to supply the other establishments as on former occasions" [my emphasis]. Sept. 27 "...bought 6,945 salmon, 5 bladders o i l . . . " Oct. 2 "...from them 1,360 salmon..." Oct. 7 "...received from the former 1,515 salmon..." 41 Oct. 8 "...received 1,530 salmon..." "...received 630 salmon..." "There are now upwards of 20,000 salmon i n store — and there i s reason to suppose that we may procure , as many more so that our apprehensions of a scar-c i t y were rather premature." We have had i n d i c a t i o n of some staggering of the a r r i v a l times of the salmon runs on the Stuart and Babine Lakes (see above, pp. 34-37). A l s o , an e a r l i e r c i t a t i o n from the trader John Stuart presents a p i c t u r e of s t r i k i n g and regular i n t e r - y e a r l y patterns i n the abundance of the Stuart Lake salmon runs (see above, p. 33). C e r t a i n l y i t w i l l need de-t a i l e d and expert h i s t o r i c and i c h t h y o l o g i c a l information to confirm and, i f confirmed, e x p l a i n Stuart's contention of regular b i e n n i a l shortages and quadrennial f a i l u r e s i n the Stuart Lake salmon run. The fa c t s of the spawning cycles of the various salmon species (e.g., sock-eye are on a four-year, and humpback on a two-year c y c l e ) , the stagger-ing of migratory routines of d i s c r e t e populations of a given species and, no doubt, the wider ecorhythms of l o c a l spawning areas, could e a s i l y combine to produce such an i n t e r - y e a r l y rhythm. S u t t l e s (1960) has c l e a r l y e s tablished such rhythms as a feature of P a c i f i c Coast ecology. For the moment we are content to accept Stuart's statement as pfbima. ^CLCsLo, evidence of p e r i o d i c major salmon f a i l u r e and of regular s c a r c i t y on Stuart Lake. Perhaps, too, these happenings reveal d i s -c e r n i b l e i n t e r - y e a r l y rhythms; we cannot be so confident of t h i s w i t h-out further supporting data. There might be grounds f o r a n t i c i p a t i n g 42 such rhythms along the Skeena basin as w e l l , though S u t t l e s states that the salmon populations along the northern, Nass and Skeena courses are less synchronized than the Fraser populations i n t h e i r migrations to and from the sea, so that generally speaking one expects l e s s year-to-year f l u c t u a t i o n along the northern paths than along the Fraser ( S u t t l e s , 1960). In any event, we can be c e r t a i n that the years of f a t and the years of lean did not always coincide on the basins of these two r i v e r systems and, as a r e s u l t , that we must seek evidence of a w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d commerce i n salmon between the a b o r i g i n a l popu-l a t i o n s of the two zones, whether i n the form of o b l i g a t o r y a f f i n a l ex-changes associated with i n t e r v i s i t i n g a. La S a l i s h ( S u t t l e s , 1960), and/or as simple b a r t e r . Morice (1905: 187) speaking p a r t i c u l a r l y of the i n t e r e s t s of the personnel of the trading posts, summarizes n i c e l y what I am here proposing concerning a b o r i g i n a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s : Lakes Babine and Connolly belong to the basin of the Skeena, while a l l the other posts, with the exception of that on McLeod Lake [Sekani t e r r i t o r y ] , whose waters are t r i b u t a r y to the Mackenzie, are s i t u a t e d w i t h i n the v a l l e y of the Fra-ser. This was a most fortunate circumstance, f o r the salmon f a i l i n g i n one of the l a r g e r r i v e r s and t r i b u t a r i e s , i t s run was not n e c e s s a r i l y small i n the other. I t seems probable that such commerce would have most frequently involved the populations separated by r e l a t i v e l y short portages: the Stuart and Babine Lakes peoples, on the one hand, connected by a ten-mile portage between the northwest corner of Stuart Lake and the southern t i p of Babine, and the Bulkley and Fraser lake populations, on the other, also divided by an approximately ten-mile portage between Decker and Bulkley Lakes. Even at the present time the people at (New) Fort Babine 43 have numerous a f f i n a l l i n k s to the people of Taklah and Stuart Lakes, but none to my knowledge with Fraser Lake. On the other hand, i t i s most i n t e r e s t i n g to read the f o l l o w i n g comment from Jenness (1943: 584) on, the Fraser Lake " s u b t r i b e " : "The p h r a t r i e s i n t h i s subtribe c o i n -cide with those of the Bulkley Indians, and the c h i e f s of the Bulkley p h r a t r i e s were regarded as the r e a l c hiefs of the Fraser Lake p h r a t r i e s as w e l l . " Of course I do not suggest that exchange of food and other items was not undertaken among more widely spaced populations; indeed they were. Our present concern i s one of degree, and the general point i s only that e c o l o g i c a l v a r i a t i o n between the two r i v e r systems of C a r r i e r t e r r i t o r y may w e l l have prompted i t s peoples to frequent cross-ings of the portages which divided them. Under these circumstances, c u l t u r a l transmissions could not have been long delayed by paucity of contact. As the moment approached f o r the a r r i v a l of the salmon, the 18 people commenced to converge upon the s i t e s of the r i v e r barricades. The barricade s i t e s were the e c o l o g i c a l core of most of the v i l l a g e s 18. Assembly of the v i l l a g e populations developed progressively through-out the s p r i n g , beginning i n early May, u n t i l the a r r i v a l of the salmon. The populations generally hovered l o o s e l y around the v i l -lages, moving out f o r duck-hunting and l a k e - f i s h i n g expeditions. In some cases there was a measure of concentration of the v i l l a g e populations at s i t e s somewhat removed from the v i l l a g e area proper: "...as spring opened, the ancestors of the population now stationed near the southern end of Lake Stuart moved generally to the mouth of Beaver Creek, some f i v e miles to the southwest of the o u t l e t of that lake. There they subsisted mainly on small f i s h , carp and t r o u t , with an occasional duck or moose...." (Morice, 1905: 21). 44 of at l e a s t the extreme northwestern zone of C a r r i e r t e r r i t o r y . I have already noted the frequent l o c a t i o n of v i l l a g e s at points of confluence between r i v e r s and of r i v e r s with lakes. The point i s underlined i n the f o l l o w i n g statement from Morice (1893: 184): "In any case, the l o c a t i o n [of the v i l l a g e ] i s chosen i n such spots as seem to promise the greatest f i s h i n g f a c i l i t i e s . " More s p e c i f i c a l l y i t seems that, i n the case of the northwes-tern septs, each v i l l a g e was served by i t s own salmon trapping places s i t u a t e d i n the v i c i n i t y of the v i l l a g e . We can c i t e a few s p e c i f i c instances. The v i l l a g e at the o u t l e t of Stuart Lake, Hag's az\i.y, d i d i n fact b u i l d i t s weirs at that spot: " . . . u n t i l the middle of August, when they t r a n s f e r r e d t h e i r penates exactly to the o u t l e t of the lake, where they set t h e i r weirs and traps" (Morice, 1905: 21). The Bulkley River v i l l a g e of Moricetown had to move i t s v i l l a g e s i t e when a land-s l i d e 20 miles below p a r t i a l l y blocked the passage of salmon. Thus i t was that the new v i l l a g e of "TAzkya" was established (Jenness, 1943: h • 485) i n the area of the new weir s i t e s . The v i l l a g e of W -L-t?a&t was served by weirs seven miles downstream on the Babine R i v e r , and accord-ing to one octogenerian lady, before her time the o r i g i n a l v i l l a g e had 19 been s i t u a t e d rather nearer to the barricade l o c a t i o n s . I have been t o l d that there were large weirs spanning the Fulton River near i t s confluence with Lake Babine, which served the v i l l a g e at that s i t e , now 19. At that time, she added, the f i s h i n g grounds, "and a l l the country around" belonged to the LaxcazmtAyuw phratry. 45 Topley Landing; some rather inconclusive information i n d i c a t e s that t h i s v i l l a g e was named Tae.di.ij. However, t h i s pattern — c l e a r enough among these northwes-tern septs — i s confronted with contrary cases. A d i v i s i o n which i s l i s t e d among Jenness (1943: 586) " s u b t r i b e s , " the "yuta?wote.nne.," but not named as one of Morice's septs, corresponds to two v i l l a g e s l o c a -ted one on each of N u l k i and Tachik Lakes i n the area southeast of Fraser Lake. While he does not recognize any superordinating d i v i s i o n corresponding to Jenness' "yuta.ViAlotz.nne.," Morice writes i n s e v e r a l 20 contexts of the v i l l a g e s of "Tka.ck.ek" and "NulkAtk." The reader may r e c o l l e c t that these figured i n the account, provided by Morice, of Kka.cU.nteZ's vengeance (see p. 15 above). I t was noted, there, that these communities recognized close bonds with CktnZad; some of the Q.ki.nZa.0. survivors u l t i m a t e l y s e t t l e d at N u l k i Lake. In Jenness' (1943: 586) b r i e f remarks on the "yuta.9Wote.nne." we witness an even more s i g n i -f i c a n t a s s o c i a t i o n between these v i l l a g e s and the Eraser Lake s e t t l e -ments: "Neither lake [Nulki or Tachik] contained salmon, so the Stony Creek Indians used to merge during the f i s h i n g season with the Indians of Fraser Lake." 20. Jenness notes that the two o r i g i n a l communities have since been confined to a s i n g l e reserve. Duff l i s t s the "Tadkidkwote.n" and the "HuZkJMOte.n" i n h i s l i s t of " t r i b e s " and sets them in t o corres-pondence with the designation "Stony Creek Tribe or Band" estab-l i s h e d by the Reserve Commission of 1916. Elsewhere, Duff (1951) states that the Stony Creek subtribe i s now c a l l e d "SaykuAWOtln." The corresponding name to t h i s l a s t appears on one of Morice's (1892: P l a t e I I ; and p. 109) maps rendered Scu>fe9z. I t appears at approximately where one would expect to f i n d Tachik, while no name corresponding to Tachik appears on the map ( ? ) . 46 Apparently, we have a case here of a routine salmon season assembly c o n s t i t u t e d out of segments taxonomically d i s t i n g u i s h e d ac-cording to l o c a t i o n a l c r i t e r i a . Fishermen i d e n t i f i e d i n terms of three d i s t i n c t places, the "NuZkJMottn" the "Tacktwottn," and the "NcLtt2.hwoPte.nnt," at one time worked t h e i r salmon traps side-by-side 21 at Fraser Lake. This case, and one other, i s i n t e r e s t i n g because a l l other C a r r i e r v i l l a g e s on which we have s o l i d information concern-ing t h i s issue ( i n e f f e c t , the Bulk l e y , the Babine, and the Stuart Lake groups) are set i n the immediate area of t h e i r own weir s i t e s and, while some v i s i t o r s were no doubt permitted to f i s h among them on oc-casion, there are no i n d i c a t i o n s of the convergence of v i l l a g e groups fo r salmon f i s h i n g on a regular b a s i s . In these cases, to be sure, the v i l l a g e s are themselves subdivided i n t o categories bearing secon-dary t e r r i t o r i a l a ssociations. The p h r a t r i e s and clans of a v i l l a g e (and a sept, i n fact) hold proprietary r i g h t s over hunting-trapping t e r r i t o r i e s . But, as I s h a l l explain more f u l l y i n subsequent chap-t e r s , these d i v i s i o n s are semantic categories carrying only secondary t e r r i t o r i a l connotations. In contrast to the sept and v i l l a g e groups with which I have been concerned i n t h i s chapter, the ph r a t r i e s are conceived as d i f f e r e n t i a t e d sets of people with secondarily appended t e r r i t o r i e s , whereas the former categories connote places with secon-d a r i l y appended people. As I have s a i d , the names which have concerned 2lT See Duff, 1951: 29, on the "Cheslatta Subtribe." 47 us throughout t h i s chapter possess a s t r i k i n g s y n t a c t i c feature; they are the names of places which may be animated with people by the op-h • t i o n a l concatenation of the s u f f i x - W tdnyn. In t h i s schema of nomen-c l a t u r e , i t i s as i f people are the contingencies of places. I am reminded of an account, from Jenness, of the formation of a new Sekani band. A man named Davie esta b l i s h e s h i s family on unoccupied t e r r i t o r y . This family , under Davie's most capable leader-s h i p , becomes the nucleus of a new group. In time i t developed a s p i r i t of antagonism, or at l e a s t of independence, towards i t s former home and people. The new environment proved favourable, outsiders who mar-r i e d the sons and daughters remained there, and w i t h i n h a l f a century the one family became the nucleus of a new t r i b e that claimed a d e f i n i t e t e r r i t o r y and possessed a d e f i n i t e name. Davie's band took the name and t e r r i t o r y of a kindred band that had r e c e n t l y dissolved [my emphasis] (Jenness, 1937: 15). Being a Sekani band, we do not expect that the mode of kinship l i n k i n g Davie's band to the one which preceded i t i n the area could be reduced to any clear p r i n c i p l e s . We are only t o l d that Davie, himself a h a l f -breed, had acquired hunting r i g h t s through "marriage with a Tseloni [yet another band] woman." Among many Athapaskans, i n c l u d i n g the Sekani, there are no p r i n c i p l e s for the c o n s t i t u t i n g of groups out of metaphors of trans-generational c o n t i n u i t y predicated d i r e c t l y to human beings; i n e f f e c t , no group-constituting rules of descent. I t may be that the sense of co n t i n u i t y i n such Athapaskan cultures focuses more sharply around a taxonomy of continuing, broad ecozones than around any idea of the co n t i n u i t y of a somewhat uniquely-constituted c o l l e c t i o n of 48 people s p e c i f i e d through some metaphor of i d e n t i t y - c o n t i n u i t y , such as our "blood." The t e r r i t o r i a l nomenclature which has held our at t e n t i o n through the chapter supports such a view. Among the C a r r i e r of the northwest reaches of the region, however, t h i s t e r r i t o r i a l schema i s counterposed i n an e x q u i s i t e d i a l e c t i c against a system of descent categories. I leave u n t i l l a t e r a f u l l e r examination of the a r t i c u l a -t i o n of the descent and t e r r i t o r i a l schema. One f i n a l observation to close the chapter. There seems to be a tendency for the northwestern septs to hold a correspondence to more or less d i s c r e t e segments of the migratory path of the salmon. Sept v i l l a g e s are arranged along t h i s path, t y p i c a l l y s i t u a t e d i n the v i c i n i t y of salmon-weir s i t e s at confluences of streams or of streams and lakes. The v i l l a g e s furthest downstream are the l a r g e s t i n t h e i r septs and i n some instances are stressed i n the nomenclature where the v i l l a g e name becomes also the general sept name (Ma-?fc/i&-ztti-P-tenne and NoXl.th.-WO tunnz) or i s otherwise r e f e r r e d to i n the sept name (TPT a z _Vtunnz). In addition to having f i r s t access w i t h i n the sept, these downstream s i t e s have the advantage of being i n v a r i a b l y s i t u a t e d at confluences which conduct the main body of migrating salmon. Most of the remaining sept v i l l a g e s , i n contrast, are located at con-fluences which lead d i r e c t l y to the f i n a l spawning creeks. This i s true, for example, of the upstream s i t e s on Lake Babine (e.g., Fulton River s i t e , Taklah Arm s i t e ) , on Stuart Lake (e.g., ?i?nce.y, on the 49 Pinch i e River) , and of the v i l l a g e of PKsztct, upstream of Thci-tciz, where the ?Kdz River j o i n s the Tachie. The upstream v i l l a g e s of a sept therefore have access to r e l a t i v e l y smaller runs of salmon, and are somewhat dependent upon the downstream s i t e s which may be able, to some extent, to regulate passage of the migrating salmon. I t i s as though each sept corresponds to a key s t r a t e g i c weir s i t e which punc-tuates i t s segment of the main migratory channel, together with a s e r i e s of (mostly) upstream s a t e l l i t e s which c o n t r o l the f i n a l stretches of offshoots of the main body as they approach t h e i r spawning grounds. I-do not conclude that t h i s pattern r e f l e c t s an h i s t o r i c settlement sequence, but i t c e r t a i n l y seems to me a reasonable hypothesis. 50 CHAPTER 2 FURTHER ETHNOHISTORY AND ECOLOGY OF THE SEPTS VIS-A-VIS THE PHRATRIES AND CLANS This chapter contains a number of rather lengthy and involved discussions. Perhaps a b r i e f preamble, o u t l i n i n g the content to f o l l o w , w i l l somewhat ease the burden of the reader. In the previous chapter, I postulated a transformation of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y from h y p o t h e t i c a l band stage o r i g i n s to a segmentary elaboration of the bands, which — f o l l o w i n g Morice — we termed the sept system, as a consequent of migration from the woodlands of the Yukon or Mackenzie Basin to the present s e t t i n g along the salmon-spawning grounds of headwaters of the Skeena and Fraser Rivers. The present chapter develops a c o n j e c t u r a l reconstruction of a subsequent transformation i n v o l v i n g overlaying of the septs with a coast-derived system of territory-owning crest groups, ph r a t r i e s and clans, due £X hypotkzA-i. — at l e a s t i n part — to a desire to regulate access to f u r -bearing species i n the previously uncertainly defined meat-hunting hinterlands of the septs. Arguments are advanced as to why the system of p h r a t r i e s was b e t t e r s u i t e d f o r the appending of s p e c i f i e d resource t e r r i t o r i e s than the system of septs, unaided, could have been. Certain s t r u c t u r a l consequences of the concatenation ( i n i -t i a l l y one-on-one) of p h r a t r i e s to septs w i l l be explored. These i n -clude the f a i l u r e of p h r a t r i c exogamy to take a f i r m hold among some 51 of the more e a s t e r l y septs, and the emergence of multiphratry septs i n the northwest of C a r r i e r t e r r i t o r y . In order to obtain a f u l l e r grasp of the nature of the sept system on the eve of the a s s i m i l a t i o n of the s o - c a l l e d "coast complex" ( m a t r i l i n e a l crest groups, t i t l e s , rank, c l a s s , the potlatch) I s h a l l undertake an extensive exploration of i t s roots i n the st r u c t u r e of the woodland Athapaskan bands. A model i s offered of band s t r u c t u r e i n terms of p r e f e r e n t i a l modes of marriage and of postmarital residence. Honigmann's d i s t i n c t i o n between microcosmic and macrocosmic bands i s predicated to an opposition of dispersion vs. assembly e c o l o g i c a l sea-sons. The c l a n sub-divisions of the p h r a t r i e s are envisioned as f u r -oriented extensions of dispersion-season hunting u n i t s . The C a r r i e r Indians are one i n an unbroken chain of Athapaskan-speaking populations i n h a b i t i n g the area s t r e t c h i n g along the eastern side of the coastal c o r d i l l e r a (and west of the Continental Divide) from the basin of the Yukon River i n the north to the region of the drainage of the C h i l c o t i n River i n the south. This Western-Cordillera block of Athapaskans d i f f e r e d from t h e i r f e l l o w Athapaskans of the Mackenzie basin, east of the Rockies, by v i r t u e of t h e i r access to the spawning grounds of P a c i f i c salmon. In many instances, resemblances have been noted between cer-t a i n features of the s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e of these Western-Cordillera Atha-paskans and corresponding aspects of the society of t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e l y most propinquitous coastal neighbours. See, f o r example, Jenness (1963: 369) on the Tsetsaut, (:373) on the Tahltan, (:402) on the Kutchin; 52 Jenness (1937: 46-8) on the Sekani; Goldman (1941) on the Alkatcho C a r r i e r . Most of the foregoing c i t a t i o n s make i t c l e a r that t h e i r authors b e l i e v e the observed resemblances to have o r i g i n a t e d through the borrowing of the relevant complex of features by the Athapaskans d i r e c t l y from t h e i r c o a stal neighbours or, i n some cases, through the 1 mediation of an interposed group of f e l l o w Athapaskans. In sum, wherever Athapaskans have encountered coast populations i n trade, war, and marriage, they have tended to assume — i n each instance with modifications and with varying degrees of completeness — the a r t i c u -l a t e d c o a s t a l complex of m a t r i l i n e a l descent groups, class-rank s t r u c -ture, crests and the p o t l a t c h . d 2 3 J u l i a n Steward (1955: 176 ; 1941 ) has argued that the d i f f u -s i o n of t h i s "Northwest Coast pattern" f a i l e d to reach beyond the salmon area because without the salmon the population was unable to accumulate s u f f i c i e n t surpluses of wealth to v a l i d a t e t i t l e s , and because they were obliged to wander endlessly across vast hunting t e r r i t o r i e s i n search of game. We must take noti c e of the f a c t , however, that while the Alkatcho C a r r i e r — who had adopted a complex of crests and p o t l a t c h i n g (but without p h r a t r i e s ) — were s i t u a t e d w e l l w i t h i n the general salmon spawn-4 ing zone, t h e i r catch was poor (Goldman 1940). S t i l l more u n s e t t l i n g 1. The northwestern C a r r i e r (Bulkley, Babine, and Stuart Lake septs) have been recognized as an important rela y i n the coast-inland d i f -fusion i n several contexts; to the Sekani and the C h i l c o t i n as w e l l as to t h e i r fellow C a r r i e r to the east and south. 2. He c i t e s Jenness' (1937: 46-8) record of the f a i l u r e of a phratry-potlatch system to take a l a s t i n g hold among the McLeod Lake Sekani. 3. Morice (1893: 119) makes the same arguments respecting the Sekani. 4. Shades of S u t t l e s ' theme of coast e c o l o g i c a l v a r i a t i o n . 53 to Steward's thesis i s Honigmann's (1949) report that the Kaska, l o -cated at the headwaters of the L i a r d ( t r i b u t a r y of the Mackenzie) be-yond the coast range, had (through contact w i t h the Taku and the Tahltan) s u c c e s s f u l l y adopted matrimoieties and p o t l a t c h i n g (but w i t h -out an associated class-rank structure) i n s p i t e of t h e i r removal from the salmon areas. By no means do I wish to d i s c r e d i t the relevance of Steward's suggestion. I would only add the q u a l i f i c a t i o n t h a t , though the amount of salmon a v a i l a b l e undoubtedly contributed to the degree of elabora-t i o n of the coast pattern (note, e.g., the l a c k of class-rank s t r u c t u r e among the Kaska), and perhaps to the thoroughness of i t s a s s i m i l a t i o n , t h e i r a v a i l a b i l i t y does not seem to have been quite the qua non f o r the d i f f u s i o n of the pattern as Steward b e l i e v e s . I t w i l l be u s e f u l at t h i s point to further o r i e n t the reader to the "Northwest Coast pattern" by means of an overview of i t s d i s t r i -bution among the Western-Cordillera Athapaskans. Following t h i s a c l o -ser look w i l l be taken at i t s d i f f u s i o n to and manifestations among the C a r r i e r i n p a r t i c u l a r . Steward (1955: 176) provides a summary of the d i s t r i b u t i o n of the pattern among the C o r d i l l e r a Athapaskans: Other Athabaskans of the Western C o r d i l l e r a were s i m i l a r to those of Stuart Lake i n that they had a f a i r l y dense popu-l a t i o n and s e t t l e d l i f e owing to the presence of excellent f i s h i n g streams (Morice 1909: 583), and many of them had a system of castes, p o t l a t c h i n g , and m a t r i l i n e a l clans and moi-e t i e s . ^ The Babine had m a t r i l i n e a l clans and m a t r i l o c a l r e s i -dence (Morice, 1910), the C h i l c o t i n had a somewhat obscure system of clans w i t h the addition of s o c i a l s t r a t i f i c a t i o n (Jenness, 1932: 362), the Tsetsaut had m a t r i l i n e a l moieties. 54 The Tahltan had moieties, each subdivided i n t o three clans, which are s a i d formerly to have claimed d i s t i n c t i v e t e r r i -tory but now share land communally (Jenness, 1932: 269-70, 372-73). The Nahani (Jenness, 1932: 396-99) and Kutchin or Loucheux (Jenness, 1932: 399-404; Osgood, 1931) had, i n addi-t i o n to independent bands, m a t r i l i n e a l moieties,' the r e l a t i o n of which to the economic system i s not c l e a r . I t i s not cer-t a i n that the Northwest Coast pattern was present i n f u l l strength among these t r i b e s , but i t seems c l e a r that the c u l -t u r a l ecology permitted s u f f i c i e n t l a t i t u d e i n the basic s t r u c t u r e to make d i f f u s i o n a major determinant. The c o a s t a l d e r i v a t i o n of the p h r a t r y / c l a s s / p o t l a t c h complex has been widely accepted by a u t h o r i t i e s (see Morice 1892; Steward 1955; Duff 1951; Goldman 1941; Jenness 1943). Jenness notes many terms i n the l e x i c o n of the C a r r i e r system which are of Tsimshian ( e s p e c i a l l y Gitksan) o r i g i n . Morice makes s i m i l a r observations with respect to 5 several important words and t h e i r usage. Perhaps more convincing i s Morice's modified version of the age/area argument (Kroeber 1939); he shows that a v a r i e t y of t r a i t s — ones associated with the "Northwest Coast pattern" i n c l u d i n g totem poles, the use of earrings by nobles, la b r e t s by noble-women, and the occurrence of p h r a t r i e s — which appear widely and u n f a i l i n g l y on the coast — are d i s t r i b u t e d only incompletely among the various C a r r i e r septs. S p e c i f i c a l l y , these t r a i t s ( i n c l u d i n g the p h r a t r i e s at the time of contact) d i d not extend fu r t h e r east than the Bulkley and Babine septs. The C a r r i e r , as an homogeneous l i n g u i s t i c b l o c , are taken as an h i s t o r i c u n i t , and the argument i s offered that, 5. Morice (1892: 118) notes, for example, that the term £>Qmaqic.d-Ly (Jenness renders the word, "neXtAZ.") . The clan crests were displayed on clan totem poles, on the fronts of the chiefs' houses, on the ceremonial apparel and graveboxes of chiefs, and were tattooed on the chests of clansmen and the wrists of clanswomen (Jenness 1943: 495-6). Many further details of rank, class, crest and prerogative w i l l be central to later arguments and w i l l be brought forward as they are needed. In the succeeding pages I w i l l deal more closely with the ecological, t e r r i t o r i a l , and social dimensions of phratries. I propose to take up these matters in connection with some conjectures on the ethnohistory of the Carrier phratry system. Wilson Duff advances an interesting hypothesis on the question of the origin of the phratries. He says: The steps by which these subtribes adopted their present phratry system seem f a i r l y clear. A f i r s t step was for a l o -cal band to take the Tsimshian-derived name of a phratry to the west and equate i t s e l f with that phratry. Thus the Burns Lake people became Laksilyu, Fraser Lake Jilserhyu, Fort Fra-ser Lsamasyu, Tachick Lake Laksilyu, Nulki Lake Jilserhyu. No two adjacent groups took the same phratry name (Duff 1951: 31). Duff bases this judgment on local traditions gathered primarily among informants at Fort Fraser and at the Stony Creek reserve near Vanderhoof. Their tradition maintains, simply, that formerly a l l members of each of the above named septs (Duff's "subtribes") had been of one particular phratry. To Duff's information, I can add that Babine informants main-tain a similar tradition, affirming that at one time the LaxcatrMAtyuw 58 (Duff's Lsamasyu) "owned a l l the land a l l around Babine," and subsequent-l y permitted the other p h r a t r i e s to assume separate hunting t e r r i t o r i e s . To the present day, at Babine, the Laxca&rn*A-iyuw phratry hold the p r i -v i l e g e of s i t t i n g along the back w a l l , the place of honor, during pot-latches unless, as hosts, they assume the center f l o o r ; t h i s p r i v i l e g e i s s a i d to be i n recognition of t h e i r having been the o r i g i n a l phratry 7 of the sept. We might note, p a r e n t h e t i c a l l y , that a s i m i l a r process to that proposed by Duff has been postulated elsewhere among the Western-C o r d i l l e r a Athapaskans. Witness Jenness (1963: 373) on the Tahltan: In the e a r l i e s t times the Tahltan seem to have been d i -vided i n t o s i x l o o s e l y organized bands, each of which claimed a d e f i n i t e d i s t r i c t as i t s hunting t e r r i t o r y . Close contact wit h the T l i n k i t , however, l e d to t h e i r adoption of the s o c i a l organization of these neighbors, and long before the coming of Europeans the s i x bands had become s i x clans grouped i n t o two exogamous p h r a t r i e s , Raven and wolf. The evidence of t r a d i t i o n makes the hypothesis of a stage of one-phratry l o c a l groups a p l a u s i b l e one. Yet, without a c l e a r e r image of the nature of a precursor band, I f i n d the proposed transformation a l i t t l e d i f f i c u l t to envision. Steward (1955: 148) writes t h a t , " P r i o r to the Northwest Coast influence the Western Athabaskans probably had composite bands,...." Some review of the more s a l i e n t s t r u c t u r a l c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of the Athapaskan composite band w i l l be i n order. F i r s t l y , they represent named s o c i a l segments. Honigmann (1946: 23) o f f e r s the f o l l o w i n g g e n e r a l i z a t i o n concerning tbe nature of 7. The p r i v i l e g e cannot be ascribed to r e l a t i v e present-day power since, even combined with the t i n y cayuw contingent they are considerably fewer i n membership than e i t h e r the jitCPdxiyuW or the j?iduW rndat-n. 59 the names which Athapaskan groups t y p i c a l l y apply to one another: "Neighbors often i d e n t i f i e d groups of people by c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s of t h e i r l o c a l area or by p e c u l i a r i t i e s of assumed or r e a l behaviour." I cannot dwell at length upon the many complex questions r e l a t i n g to Athapaskan band names. However, there are several points worthy of not i c e . The greatest percentage of band names, f a r and away, are of the so r t which make some reference to the " l o c a l area." A l s o , we 8 might wish to add to those which s p e c i f y some mode of "behaviour" the 9 various names which po s i t an animal a s s o c i a t i o n . I t i s s t r i k i n g that the C a r r i e r sept names, l i k e those of the Athapaskan bands, r e f e r to the t e r r i t o r y of i t s i n h a b i t a n t s ; s p e c i f i c a l l y to water systems i n t h i s case. Although the Athapaskan band names which carry a physiographic reference do not r e l a t e to water systems quite as i n v a r i a b l y as do the Ca r r i e r sept names, i t i s c e r t a i n l y a common enough occurrence (see, e.g., Honigmann 1949: 33-5 on Kaska band names, and some cases c i t e d i n Osgood 1931: 32-5). The Sekani are something of an exception to t h i s , however, only two of the nine names provided by Morice (1893: 28-9) having a vague reference to water systems. The remaining ones have e i t h e r an animal reference or r e l a t e to the Rocky Mountain environs 8. For example, Jenness (1937: 17) states that the Sekani people of Fort Grahame c a l l the Lake Babine C a r r i e r naadotiinm (= " f i s h hawk people"), "because, l i k e hawks, they l i v e mainly on f i s h ; . . . . " 9. Witness, e.g., the Sekani bands 6CU>-chat-qe.nne. ("people of the Black Bear") , and Ti>a,-t?qZYiYiZ ("Beaver People") l i s t e d by Morice (1893: 29), and the Kaska band E^pato• tuna. (= "Goat Indians") men-tioned by Hongmann (1949: 35). 60 of many Sekani bands. Could the r e l a t i v e paucity of reference to water systems among the Sekani band names r e f l e c t the fact that f i s h i n g had only a very minor place i n the Sekani ecology? Witness Jenness (1963: 3,79) : " u n l i k e the neighbouring C a r r i e r , they [the Sekani] hunted i n winter and summer a l i k e , and resorted to f i s h i n g only when driven by sheer necessity." The question of band ecology w i l l t i e i n s h o r t l y with my next point on band st r u c t u r e . Among the Mackenzie basin Athapaskans, the c o l l e c t i v i t y of personnel denoted by the band names never con s t i t u t e d any sort of so-c i a l u n i t i n the usual sense, and they comprised dz ^CLCXO assemblies only seasonally at best. I t w i l l be us e f u l to introduce here Honigmann' d i s t i n c t i o n between the macrocosmic and the microcosmic band. The macrocosmic band corresponds to the segments e x p l i c i t l y recognized by native names. He sta t e s : The macrocosmic band i s refe r r e d to when the Slave are described as c o n s i s t i n g of four or f i v e groups or bands aver-aging two hundred and twenty i n d i v i d u a l s each [these data derive from Morice, Tka Guzcit Vznz Race (1906-10), I : 265] . . . . I t was a pattern for the macrocosmic groups mentioned by these authors to occupy r e l a t i v e l y large and recognized t r a c t s of country and to speak c l o s e l y r e l a t e d d i a l e c t s . He describes the microcosmic band, on the other hand, as fol l o w s : We might regard i t as a loo s e l y organized and t r a n s i t o r y form of the j o i n t family, but la c k i n g the cohesive f a c t o r of land to lend i t permanency. There i s no evidence that t h i s group ever owned any hunting t e r r i t o r y among the Fort Nelson people (Honigmann 1946: 65). Thus, the macrocosmic bands are composed of several of these t r a n s i t o r y j o i n t f a m i l i e s . As I s h a l l enlarge upon s h o r t l y , the l a t t e r groups con-s t i t u t e s o c i a l units above a l l i n connection with the pursuit of r e l a -61 t i v e l y scattered species whereas the superordinating u n i t s are seasonal assemblies of the microcosmic bands i n r e l a t i o n to spatio-temporally concentrated resources. Our immediate concern i s with the conditions of the assembly of the macrocosmic band. Honigmann (1946: 65) s t a t e s : " F u n c t i o n a l l y i t i s not l i k e l y that such a macrocosmic band ever had too great impor-tance. I t seems quite c l e a r that there was never any p o l i t i c a l unity w i t h i n i t . " On the other hand, there are c e r t a i n i n d i c a t i o n s that these segments d i d approximate some condition of assembly (however i n -tegrated) i n connection with s p e c i f i c ecophases of t h e i r y e a r l y round. In f a c t , Steward argues a contradictory p o s i t i o n to Honigmann's, p o s i t -ing that these bands may indeed have had some e c o l o g i c a l A.CUJ>on d'(l&iz. In p a r t i c u l a r , among some Athapaskans, they represented seasonal assem-b l i e s o r i e n t e d to the c o l l e c t i v e hunting of the migrating caribou and musk-ox. Steward (1955: 147) concludes.that, "Population, which other-wise had to be d i s t r i b u t e d over an enormous area, was able to concen-t r a t e during these hunts i n a group having some temporary c e n t r a l i z e d authority and thus c o n s t i t u t i n g a p o l i t i c a l u n i t . " Now, while t h i s may w e l l be a correct account of the patterns of the various "edge-of-the woods" peoples, such as the Chipewyans, Yellowknives, Dogrib, and Hare, what of the woodland t r i b e s , Slave, and Kaska, who did not venture to the barrens to follow the migratory herds? Here, too, there are i n d i c a -tions of a dispersion/aggregation p e r i o d i c i t y . In these cases, however, the band gathered from i t s scattered hunting grounds around a common f i s h i n g s t a t i o n . Thus, witness Honigmann (1946: 6 1 f f ) , speaking of the Abo r i g i n a l Slave pattern: 62 When the s o c i e t y moved to the f i s h - l a k e s i n mid-winter, the e n t i r e l o c a l group coming together at these f i s h i n g s i t e s , [my emphasis], considerable s o c i a l i n t e r a c t i o n of the group probably d i d occur. This i s a pattern f a m i l i a r elsewhere i n the Athapaskan area, where the periods of intense mid-winter cold were a time of games and general hibernation. At such times, i t would appear, there e x i s t e d a r e l a t i v e l y dependable food supply which could be tapped through i c e f i s h i n g . W r i t i n g again of a b o r i g i n a l c u l t u r e , Honigmann (1949: 39) gives the fo l l o w i n g account of the Kaska pattern: "In summer a number of bands of one or more adjoining t r i b e s assembled around a f i s h lake that guar-anteed a f a i r l y dependable food supply....With the onset of winter, the f a m i l i e s once more congregated at a f i s h lake and here spent the coldest part of the winter." A s i m i l a r impression i s to be gleaned from Osgood's (1932) account of the Scutddtne. of Great Bear Lake, and from Helm's (1961: 9, 32) observations on Lynx Point. The reader w i l l appreciate the s t r i k i n g p a r a l l e l i s m between the e c o l o g i c a l manifestations of the Mackenzie basin bands, and those, described e a r l i e r , of the C a r r i e r septs. What i s more, the nearer to C a r r i e r t e r r i t o r y , generally speaking, that my comparisons take me, the 10 more complete the s i m i l a r i t i e s would appear to be. This l a s t point r e a l l y j u s t repeats my observation that whereas populations s i t u a t e d w e l l w i t h i n the boreal forest do not have access to the migratory herds, they consequently would al t e r n a t e the periods when they hunted the scattered species (food and/or fur) with times of congregation around 10. Though i t i s true that t h e i r neighbours to the immediate north, the Sekani, do not conform to any of these patterns — being year-round hunters of scattered game — t h e i r proximity i s only very recent. They entered t h e i r present t e r r i t o r y from across the Rockies at the end of the 18th Century (Jenness 1963: 378). The Beaver, further to the east, are very l i k e the Sekani. 63 r e l i a b l e f i s h - y i e l d i n g waters. In a d d i t i o n , there i s no evidence what-ever of the development of band-wide leadership — not even on a sea-sonal b a s i s , as during the f i s h - o r i e n t e d assemblies of the woodland bands — such as Steward refers to i n connection w i t h the hunting of 11 the Tundra herds. Other than i n the construction of weirs, however, the t a c t i c s of f i s h i n g i n the northern i n t e r i o r do not c a l l f o r l a r g e -scale coordinated e f f o r t s as may have been usef u l i n the hunting of the barren land herds. I may say as a f i r s t g e n e r a l i z a t i o n , that the Athapaskan bands of the Mackenzie basin woodlands were acephalic aggregates manifesting a p e r i o d i c rhythm of dispersion/concentration, and experiencing the greatest union of i t s personnel at centers of assembly associated with f i s h - y i e l d i n g water-systems. The same may be said of the C a r r i e r v i l -lage u n i t s , except that i t needs to be added that these are further associated i n t o l a r g e r - s c a l e segments than have been described among the Athapaskans without salmon. We can also reasonably assume that i t was the r e l a t i v e abundance and r e l i a b i l i t y of the P a c i f i c salmon that provided the e s s e n t i a l e c o l o g i c a l condition of t h i s greater e l a -boration of l o c a l group segmentary st r u c t u r e (which may, i n turn, have developed, h i s t o r i c a l l y , along the l i n e s of the budding pattern a l l u -ded to i n Chapter 1). The C a r r i e r septs, corresponding to salmon-y i e l d i n g water-systems, could u s u a l l y sustain several d i s t i n c t f i s h -oriented l o c a l concentrations. In sum, the septs are a segmentary 11. Honigmann (1949) reports the use of weirs (though not i n combina-t i o n with traps) among the Slave. 64 arrangement of s o c i a l u n i t s which, s t r u c t u r a l l y and e c o l o g i c a l l y , are homologous with the Athapaskan bands of the Mackenzie woodland type. I o f f e r the f o l l o w i n g hypothesis: the C a r r i e r sept system arose out of an antecedent form akin t o , and probably o r i g i n a l l y s i t -uated i n the midst of a b o r i g i n a l Mackenzie woodland bands (e.g., Kaska, Slave). Following the migration of these ancestors to t h e i r present area, growth of population was stimulated by t h e i r adaptation to a s a l -mon-oriented economy. This expansion of population l e d to a budding of the pioneer settlements, and r e s u l t e d through time i n the tendency to a segmentary elaboration of the i n i t i a l band u n i t s . This hypothesis leads to a number of i n t e r e s t i n g p o s s i b i l i t i e s concerning the precondi-tions of other aspects of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . Although they lacked any c e n t r a l i n s t i t u t i o n s of p o l i t i c a l and economic i n t e g r a t i o n , the woodland bands were manifestly more of a s o c i a l e n t i t y during t h e i r ecophases of f i s h - o r i e n t e d assembly than at any other time. In these respects, to repeat, they are the counter-part of the C a r r i e r v i l l a g e s . In the interims the woodland band scat-tered i t s members through the t e r r i t o r i e s surrounding i t s centers of concentration. These were periods oriented to the hunting of meat and, a f t e r contact, to the trapping of the f i n e - f u r species. Moose, bear, and beaver were the p r i n c i p a l game, but other large animals were av a i l a b l e at various times and places (woodland caribou, mountain goat and sheep), as were many smaller species. Throughout these hunting periods the f i s h i n g - s i t e assemblies remained fragmented i n t o a set of 65 smaller groups which, a f t e r Honigmann, we have r e f e r r e d to as micro-12 cosmic bands. A v a i l a b l e knowledge makes i t quite out of the question to dispute Honigmann 1s c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n of these u n i t s as " l o o s e l y organ-i z e d and t r a n s i t o r y " (see c i t a t i o n above, p. 60). I t seems that some such epithet has been invoked by v i r t u a l l y every Athapaskan scholar i n h i s account of the hunting-trapping units of the north. Neverthe-l e s s , i n terms at l e a s t of c e r t a i n of the preferred i d e a l s , we can be rather more s p e c i f i c concerning the compositional p r i n c i p l e s underlying the hunting/trapping units of the woodland Athapaskans. In the f i r s t place, Honigmann himself reports p r e f e r e n t i a l u x o r i l o c a l residence among both the Kaska (1949: 41) and the Fort Nelson Slave (1946: 162). Somewhat further a f i e l d , an u x o r i l o c a l norm has been ascribed to the Chipewyan (Eggan 1955: 541), but the norm i s by no means uni v e r s a l to the Mackenzie area (Helm 1961). I t i s worthy of note, p a r e n t h e t i c a l l y , that the p r a c t i c e of b r i d e - s e r v i c e does appear to have been general. Honigmann's evidence on t h i s matter warrants s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n since i t bears s p e c i f i c a l l y upon woodland peoples. Writing of the Kaska of the Upper L i a r d he t e l l s us that "the recognized form of residence i n a l l but secondary marrafiges i s m a t r i l o c a l " (Honigmann, 1949 : 125) . At the same time he c i t e s cases of v i r i l o c a l residence following foreign 12. Since Honigmann, such units have also been refe r r e d to as " l o c a l bands" by Helm (1965) and, among Alognkians, as "lodge groups" by Leacock (1954) , and as "hunting groups" by Rogers (1963). 66 13 marriages, one external to the Kaska area, another e x t e r n a l to the band (but among the Kaska), and he l a t e r acknowledges an informant's report to the e f f e c t that "a man belongs to the country of h i s father" (Honigmann 1949: 131). Some of the many confusions concerning Sub-a r c t i c Indian residence patterns, generally, might have been avoided (and might yet be unravelled?) with a more thoroughgoing analysis of these patterns ( i d e a l and du ^acjto) according to the l e v e l s of s o c i a l segmentation at which the patterns are predicated. Helm and Leacock (1971: 366) recommend a s i m i l a r approach to the dilemmas connected with the r e l a t e d problems of band exogamy/endogamy. Honigmann's information suggests a preference f o r v i r i l o c a l residence i n the event of marriage beyond the immediate neighbourhood of (macrocosmic) bands, whereas w i t h i n these bands the u x o r i l o c a l mode was i n order. The "tendency to r e s t r i c t marriage w i t h i n t r i b a l u n i t s . . . " has already been noted. The ambiguity of the expression " t r i b a l u n i t s " i s appropriate i n s o f a r as the boundaries of preferen-t i a l endogamy must have been v a r i a b l e along parameters of time, place, and even of p a r t i c u l a r informant. Nevertheless, I think i t reasonable to propose that marriages w i t h i n the band, and/or w i t h i n an immediate neighbourhood of (macrocosmic) bands, were generally strongly preferred and that i n v e r s i o n of the r e s i d e n t i a l norm roughly coincided with (or f e l l a l i t t l e within) t h i s boundary of preferred endogamy. 13. "Although there i s a tendency to r e s t r i c t marriage w i t h i n t r i -b a l u n i t s , many marriages have taken place between these units " (Honigmann 1949: 131). 67 Carrying t h i s l i n e of thought a l i t t l e f u r t h e r , both i n v e r -sions (of m a r r i a g e a b i l i t y and residence pattern) probably marked the outer boundary of the domain of r e l a t i v e s e c u r i t y . A man f a r from h i s homeland was a man orphaned; those obliged to e f f e c t r e t r i b u t i o n against wrongs done him are too remote to do so without great hardship at best. Honigmann (1946: 66) re l a t e s a c h i l l i n g account of the ruthless murder of a Kaska man married u x o r i l o c a l l y among the Fort Nelson Slave, and adds the comment: "In the fol l o w i n g account of jealous rage leading to murder, t h i s form of r e t a l i a t o r y punishment does not f o l l o w , perhaps because the v i c t i m , being a stranger i n the group, lacked blood r e l a -t i v e s to avenge him." The hazards of being alone among strangers were therefore great f o r men. By the same token, the preference f o r a v i r i -l o c a l residence choice i n cases of foreign marriage i s complemented by an Athapaskan warring t r a d i t i o n i n which "Wars between c u l t u r a l groups were often motivated by the desire to capture women" (Honigmann 1946: 72). Conversely, any i n c l i n a t i o n which might develop among the hunting groups ( i . e . , the microcosmic bands) to manifest t h i s Athapaskan r a i d -ing pattern — k i l l i n g the men and abducting the women — upon one another could be considerably checked, w i t h i n the p r e f e r e n t i a l l y endo-gamous neighbourhood of (macrocosmic) bands, by the fact that the prac-t i c e of u x o r i l o c a l residence among the intermarrying hunting units would tend to e f f e c t some s c a t t e r i n g among them of p a t r i l i n e a l l y -r e l a t e d males. In short, the l i k e l i h o o d of such r a i d i n g would be much reduced by the increased p r o b a b i l i t y of the p i t t i n g of father against son and brother against brother. 68 A condition of r e l a t i v e amity among propinquitous hunting groups, accomplished through t h i s i n t e r s e c t i n g web of kin s h i p among t h e i r men, could provide, as w e l l , the s t r u c t u r a l basis f o r the opera-t i o n of the e t h i c of the free sharing of t h e i r produce of the meat of 14 the large game animals (e.g., Honigmann 1946: 105-6; 1949: 64-5, 144). Indeed, the game-sharing e t h i c has i t s counterpart i n the fact that there had never, t r a d i t i o n a l l y , been any s t r i c t p a r t i t i o n i n g of the general (macrocosmic) band t e r r i t o r i e s into hunting areas exclusive to the hunting groups. Most a u t h o r i t i e s are agreed that hunting t e r r i t o r i e s only emerge — i f at a l l — with the development of the fur trade. Steward (1955: 147) summarizes some opinions on these questions i n the foll o w i n g statement: Speck (1928: 329) quotes various sources to demonstrate that 'segregated family hunting, trapping and f i s h i n g grounds e x i s t among many of the t r i b e s , e s p e c i a l l y i n the west.' Jen-ness, as already noted, believes that t h i s i s the r e s u l t of the fur trade and that the e n t i r e band formerly u t i l i z e d the land communally. Morice's observations bear the same i m p l i -cation. He says that 'sedentary' game, c h i e f l y the beaver, i s regarded 'as the object of a s t r i c t p r o p r i e t o r s h i p as the domestic animals or personal c h a t t e l s , 1 whereas 'nomadic' game, the lar g e r animals which are taken p r i m a r i l y f o r t h e i r meat, i s usual l y shared w i t h i n the band when k i l l e d . 5 Osgood (1931; 1933: 41, 71) says that i n d i v i d u a l beaver-hunting t e r r i t o r i e s e x i s t now among the Satudene and Slave though they did not formerly. We recognize that the foregoing arguments are speculative. They involve the use of uncertain — sometimes seemingly contradictory — information on m a r i t a l and r e s i d e n t i a l preferences among the Athapas-14. Not that t h i s e t h i c was exclusive to the area of well-documented u x o r i l o c a l residence; f o r example, see also Osgood (1931: 40). 69 kans of the Mackenzie woodlands as a conjectural model of the de r i v a -t i o n of the C a r r i e r septs. The model i s complex and warrants a b r i e f overview at t h i s point. We propose that i n general the compositional band of the Mackenzie woodland i s constructed according to a ser i e s of p r i o r i t i e s assigned at d i f f e r e n t l e v e l s of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . The over-r i d i n g p r i n c i p l e at the l e v e l of the macrocosmic band (and perhaps, i n attenuated form, at a wider l e v e l of a neighbourhood of bands) i s a b i r t h r i g h t c i t i z e n s h i p : "In general a person seems to belong to the t r i b a l d i s t r i c t or t r i b e i n which he was born and r a i s e d , regardless of the t r i b e from which h i s parents o r i g i n a l l y came" (Honigmann 1949: 131). The endogamic i n c l i n a t i o n at t h i s l e v e l of st r u c t u r e (see pre-vious c i t a t i o n , f f . , p. 66) can be seen as a c o r o l l a r y to t h i s p r i n c i p l e . In cases of marriage i n t e r n a l to t h i s l e v e l ( i n v o l v i n g the removal of persons from one to another dispersion-season hunting subgroup, i . e . , microcosmic band, of a macrocosmic band) we f i n d an u x o r i l o c a l p r e f e r -ence. However, marriages external to t h i s l e v e l do i n fact occur, and probably are the primary contributors to " n a t u r a l i z e d " c i t i z e n s h i p s (see c i t a t i o n below, p. 78). In these cases, the postmarital r e s i d e n t i a l preference i s inverted to the v i r i l o c a l mode, and amounts to a more v i -gorous a p p l i c a t i o n to men than to women of the*birthplace i d e n t i t y p r i n -c i p l e . This, i n turn, probably r e f l e c t s the warfare fact o r discussed above and perhaps (following Murdock, 1949) espe c i a l d i f f i c u l t i e s faced by men i n adjusting to foreign t e r r a i n . " I t would appear that a man can learn the t e r r a i n and routes of a new area i n about two years" (Honig-mann 1949: 125). 70 This w i l l be a u s e f u l point to introduce some comparisons i n v o l v i n g aspects of the C a r r i e r (northwestern septs) system of clans and p h r a t r i e s . In b r i e f , the clans and ph r a t r i e s of the ethnographic er,a appear to correspond i n p a r t i c u l a r to the hunting/trapping aspect, that i s to the dispersed ecophase, of the woodland band. As economic corporate u n i t s , the phr a t r i e s claim p r o p r i e t o r -ship over c e r t a i n hunting areas and over the f r u i t s of these. However, Morice's information, mentioned i n the foregoing quotation from Steward (see also Morice G.D.R.: 183-4), c l e a r l y asserts that such t e r r i t o r i e s were exclusive only with respect to beaver and the f i n e - f u r species. While Jenness does not make t h i s important s p e c i f i c a t i o n , i t c e r t a i n l y accords with my own knowledge of contemporary Babine. An i n t e r e s t i n g example i s furnished by a group which moved to Fort Babine (from Bear Lake v i a Takla Landing) some ten years ago. They continue to be regar-ded as outsiders (the "Bear Lakers"); three generations of the adult men of t h i s group are native Gitksan (= jjXhty, i . e . , Skeena Tsimshian), but a l l are married to Babine women. No u x o r i l o c a l t r a p l i n e p r i v i l e g e s have been extended to these men. They have not been able to obtain t h e i r own t r a p l i n e s i n the Babine area (vacant l i n e s , according to the l o c a l game warden, Mr. Les Cox, are extremely scarce), and f a r from being l i s t e d 15 as "members" of one of the t r a p l i n e "companies" whose l i n e i s located 15. Negotiations between the regional Indian Band Councils, and persons representing the Indian A f f a i r s Agency and the B.C. Game and Fish Department, cJjtca. 1926, resulted i n the i n s t i t u t i n g of an i n t e r e s t -ing system of Registered Traplines i n v o l v i n g , at l e a s t , the C a r r i e r of Bulkley and Babine. Each l i n e i s registered to a "company" of "members" under a s p e c i f i c "head." I know of no l i m i t to the number of members that may be l i s t e d to a s i n g l e company, but a s i n g l e name may not be placed on more than one l i s t . The l i n e s are "renewed" ye a r l y , and new members may be added, or names deleted, at that time. 71 w i t h i n the o v e r a l l t e r r i t o r y of t h e i r respective p h r a t r i e s (or with the phratry of t h e i r wives), they are often embroiled, instead, i n disputes concerning t h e i r alleged trapping on the l i n e s of others. Yet they hunt moose f r e e l y throughout the area (one of them i s ack-nowledged by some to be the f i n e s t moose hunter i n the community), and other v i l l a g e r s are only too happy to claim a share. From the economic point of view, then, the system of phratry/ clan t e r r i t o r i e s appears to be e s s e n t i a l l y a system of fur-trapping areas. The foregoing discussion suggests that the system of phratry/clan hunting grounds was adopted by means of a p a r t i t i o n i n g of the o r i g i n a l band cum sept hunting t e r r i t o r i e s , with the e x p l i c i t purpose of regu-l a t i n g access to the fur resources, and probably with a view to pre-venting the development of h o s t i l i t i e s (both w i t h i n and between septs) i n the_heat of competition f or f u r s , and possibly too with a view to administering to problems of conservation. I am reminded of a comment by Helm and Leacock (19 71: 363) on the (primarily) Algonkian hunting t e r r i t o r i e s : "In f a c t , the ' t e r r i -t o r i e s ' are, properly speaking, not hunting grounds, but areas sur-rounding t r a p l i n e s . " This statement might w e l l express the concept of the C a r r i e r phratry/clan hunting ground j u s t so long as, i n keeping with our h i s t o r i c concern, we do not take the expression " t r a p l i n e " to connote s p e c i f i c a l l y the governmental system of Registered T r a p l i n e s , which were imposed CVtCCL 1926, w e l l a f t e r the establishment of the Ca r r i e r descent group hunting t e r r i t o r i e s . At the same time, there are already before us i n d i c a t i o n s , from Morice and Osgood, of a sense 72 of ownership associated p a r t i c u l a r l y with beaver houses (Morice GDR: 183; Osgood 1931: 71). A s i m i l a r p r a c t i c e has been reported among the Indians of the Lower L i a r d River, and the Kaska of Lower Post (Honig-mann 1946: 67). Morice made h i s observation w e l l i n advance of the i n s t a l l a t i o n of the government system of Registered T r a p l i n e s , and Osgood, while remarking on the claims to beaver lodges among the Satu-dene, adds that there was otherwise no ownership of general hunting grounds (Osgood 1931: 41). F i n a l l y , whereas Osgood also made the point that there had formerly been no personally-owned beaver lodges among the Satudene, we can be reasonably sure that t h i s i n s t i t u t i o n was catalysed by the opening of the beaver-oriented f u r trade. Taken together, these b i t s of information imply that the par-t i t i o n i n g of the C a r r i e r world i n t o s o - c a l l e d hunting t e r r i t o r i e s was stimulated by the development of the fur trade. The process may have f i r s t appeared i n the form of proprietary claims by important hunters over beaver lodges w i t h i n t h e i r customary hunting areas. However, whereas the other fur species, excluding the muskrat ( i . e . , marten, fox, lynx, mink, weasel, etc.) are "nomadic," they could not be claimed by reference to any s p e c i f i c and conspicuous nest s i t e s . I t i s there-fore with respect to these "nomadic" species that ownership would need to be s t i p u l a t e d i n terms of t h e i r i d e n t i f i c a t i o n with physiographically-s p e c i f i e d areas. There i s l i t t l e question that the idea of exclusive t e r r i -t o r i e s was foreign to the Athapaskan roots of C a r r i e r t r a d i t i o n , or that i t was acquired from t h e i r coastward neighbours as a part of the 73 coast phratry system; and i t seems h i g h l y probable that the p r i n c i p a l impetus behind the a c q u i s i t i o n l i e s i n the context of the coast/ i n t e r i o r trade, which f l o u r i s h e d under the new stimulus of the Euro-pean f u r trade (I s h a l l consider some of the evidence r e l a t i n g to the exact timing of the process below). I t should be noted here that Goldman's (1940, 1941) Alkatcho data do not give any c l e a r i n d i c a t i o n s that t h e i r complex of (nonmatrilineal and nonexogamous) crest groups 16 had an appended system of exclusive trapping cam hunting areas. I t therefore seems f e a s i b l e that a crest complex could be assumed from motivation independent of the system of hunting t e r r i t o r i e s which accompanies the phratry s t r u c t u r e . For t h i s reason I am u n w i l l i n g to conclude that the northwestern C a r r i e r septs assumed the e n t i r e coastal crest-group complex (of named, crest-bearing, m a t r i l i n e a l , exogamous d i v i s i o n s ) as a mere dressing for a system of exclusive f u r -trapping areas. In other words, i t remains a l o g i c a l p o s s i b i l i t y that a system of crest groups was established among the northwestern C a r r i e r septs even before the addition of an appended idea of hunting grounds; possibly developing out of a b o r i g i n a l trade contacts previous to the opening of the era of the European sea traders - {CAJiCOL 1785). Though he c i t e s no sources and gives no reasons, Steward (1955: 177) has con-cluded that: "The system of p o t l a t c h i n g , n o b i l i t y , and moieties was 16. At the same time, Goldman argues that i t was, indeed i n v i r t u e of the B e l l a Coola i n t e r e s t i n furs f or purposes of trade to Europeans that the Alkatcho acquired t h e i r t i t l e s and crests through mar-riage and trade with the B e l l a Coola. 74 introduced i n l a t e pre-white times among the Stuart Lake C a r r i e r , and i t was s t i l l spreading among the C a r r i e r f u r t h e r south at the time of white penetration of the area." On the other hand, the fact that the C a r r i e r have s p e c i f i c a l l y modified the coast concept of descent-group-17 owned resource t e r r i t o r i e s by l i m i t i n g s t r i c t exclusiveness to the fur-bearing species, while r e t a i n i n g the t r a d i t i o n a l l y Athapaskan open o r i e n t a t i o n toward large food game, persuades me that t e r r i t o r i a l f r a c -t i o n a t i o n of the C a r r i e r world developed only i n the wake of the bur-geoning f ur industry. Furthermore, against a general background of much i n t e n s i f i e d postcontact c o a s t / i n t e r i o r trade, the system of appen-ded trapping grounds would have considerably deepened the penetration i n t o C a r r i e r c u l t u r e of an hyp o t h e t i c a l precontact crest-group system. The preceding discussion has depicted C a r r i e r s o c i e t y , on the eve of i t s a s s i m i l a t i o n of the phratry system, as comprising an array of septs representing a segmentary elaboration of primal Athapas-kan (macrocosmic) bands. L i k e i t s band prototype, which I think de-ri v e s from the Mackenzie woodlands, the idea of the sept i s more c l e a r l y associated with a sense of s p a t i a l focus, of a center of h a b i t a t i o n corresponding, i n the sept names, to the water systems which provided 17. Among the Coast Tsimshian, for example, resource properties be-longed to the l o c a l descent groups. These "houses" are the repre-sentatives i n a given winter v i l l a g e ("tribe") of a clan (descendants of putative common ancestry). The clans were grouped, i n turn, i n t o four exogamous phra t r i e s which were represented i n a l l t r i b e s , but which do not — as such — own t e r r i t o r i e s . In t h i s respect, s i g n i f i c a n t l y , the C a r r i e r system d i f f e r s from the Tsimshian s i n c e , among the C a r r i e r , the hunting-trapping t e r r i t o r i e s are u l t i m a t e l y the property of the p h r a t r i e s , and not of the clans' l o c a l s u b d i v i -sions (see G a r f i e l d 1939). 75 both transportation routes and the settings of the fish-season assem-b l i e s , than with a sense of outer boundary. The characteristic vague-ness of the membership c r i t e r i a of the Athapaskan bands (com Carrier septs) tends to complement the vagueness of their own t e r r i t o r i a l l i m i t s . I s h a l l enlarge this point below, but the matter of the com-positional f l u i d i t y of the Athapaskan (macrocosmic) bands, of which we have already gained some impression, and the Carrier septs w i l l need some immediate attention. In spite of the tendency to marriage within the macrocosmic band, i t must be recognized that marriages between persons of neigh-bouring bands has always been common. I f present practices are any indication the same i s true of the northwestern septs. Further, i t i s probable that, in these cases, the residential choices contributing to band composition were a mixture of the uxorilocal ones, typical of marriages among relative familiars, and the v i r i l o c a l ones preferred in the cases of more remote marriages. This assumption accords with what I have found at contemporary Babine. Marriages between persons of the Babine, Bulkley, and Stuart Lake septs have been recorded, and residence choices of both types have been made. Some marriages between Babines and Hazelton Gitksan have also been noted, and these too have produced mixed residence choices. The only recent instances of Babine/ Gitksan unions are those involving the "Bear Lakers" (see above, p. 70), and these are a l l uxorilocal. Yet, this faction continues to be treated as foreign in a manner which does not appear to apply to men who have married into Babine, uxorilocally, from neighbouring Carrier septs; 76 t h i s i s p a r t i c u l a r l y true i n the matter of t r a p l i n e r i g h t s . Thus, intermarriage and ambilocal residence r e s u l t s i n a f a i r l y easy f l u x of personnel among neighbouring C a r r i e r septs. Men who have married i n t o th.e Babine sept can expect to be admitted to one of the Babine t r a p l i n e companies, probably to one which holds an area w i t h i n the t r a d i t i o n a l 18 trapping t e r r i t o r y of the Babine contingent of h i s phratry. The f l u x 18. Unfortunately, my data are i n s u f f i c i e n t at t h i s moment to draw f i r m conclusions on some c r u c i a l questions concerning the t r a d i t i o n a l phratry hunting-trapping areas and t h e i r a r t i c u l a t i o n with the pre-sent system of t r a p l i n e "companies." My data consist of l i s t s of companies and t h e i r membership and some rather uncertain statements concerning the r e l a t i o n of these to the t r a d i t i o n a l hunting-trapping areas. I lack s u f f i c i e n t genealogical information and personal phra-t r i c i d e n t i t i e s f o r many company members to answer some of the ques-tions which would do much to c l a r i f y the present system. Neverthe-l e s s , I o f f e r the fo l l o w i n g t e n t a t i v e proposals at to the i d e a l s tructure of that system: 1. The t r a p l i n e area of each company i s regarded as a part of the t r a d i t i o n a l t e r r i t o r y of a p a r t i c u l a r phratry. I am confident of t h i s point; i t i s based on statements concerning the d e l i b e r a t i o n s about and payoff d i s t r i b u t i o n s r e s u l t i n g from the " s a l e " of a trap-l i n e at Fulton River to the Department of F i s h e r i e s (see below, p. 81). 2. The head of a t r a p l i n e company must be a member of the phratry to which the t r a p l i n e area belongs. 3. The head of a t r a p l i n e company must be a di.vu.yzz'?(i. e. , the holder of a phratry t i t l e ) . I am at present able to confirm t h i s p oint f o r at l e a s t the majority of t r a p l i n e company heads. 4. The at-large members of the companies include persons of phra-t r i e s other than the one to which the company belongs. This i s an established f a c t . What i s not yet clear i s what, i f any, patterns t h i s r e f l e c t s . I suspect that close analysis of the data (genealo-gies and p h r a t r i c i d e n t i t i e s ) , when they are a v a i l a b l e , w i l l reveal the admission of sons and — i n keeping with the u x o r i l o c a l t r a d i -t i o n of Babine (Morice G.D.R.: 1910) — sons-in-law. 5. The expression "company" i s used commonly i n a metonymic manner to connote p h r a t r i e s . This seems to echo the fur-species o r i e n t a -t i o n of the phratry presently under discussion. On the other hand, the phratries are also frequently c a l l e d " t r i b e s . " Could t h i s re-f l e c t Duff's thesis of a one-tribe/one-phratry f i r s t stage i n the a s s i m i l a t i o n of the phra t r i e s among the Carrier? 77 of personnel r e s u l t i n g from intermarriage and v a r i a b l e residence choice i s what I mean by the boundary f l u i d i t y of the C a r r i e r septs. The C a r r i e r septs, l i k e the woodland bands, o s c i l l a t e between t h e i r hunting hinterlands and t h e i r water-system centers (of assembly and i d e n t i t y ) i n a seasonal rhythm of c e n t r i f u g a l and c e n t r i p e t a l move-ment. A system of t e r r i t o r i a l s p e c i f i c a t i o n s e f f e c t i n g the d i v i s i o n of these hinterlands w i t h the i n t e n t i o n of r e g u l a t i n g access to f u r spe-cies would be incongruous i n a context l a c k i n g a corresponding means of constraining the admission of personnel. The preceding and present discussion i s intended to show that whereas the Athapaskan roots of the C a r r i e r sept system provided no precise devices f o r thus c o n s t r a i n -ing r i g h t s of access to trapping t e r r i t o r i e s , the concept of crest d i -v i s i o n s of the northern coast imposed unalterable membership upon i t s personnel and, where m a t r i l i n e a l descent applied, s t i p u l a t e d c l e a r c r i t e r i a of continued recruitment. I t was f o r that reason, I think, that the trapping t e r r i t o r i e s came to be appended to the crest d i v i -sions rather than to the septs themselves. However, the composition of the C a r r i e r septs appears to re-f l e c t the same p r i n c i p l e s , i n a l l respects, as we have ascribed above (p. 69) to the woodland bands. Why, then, was not the general hunting h i n t e r l a n d simply formally s p e c i f i e d ( i . e . , delimited) and predicated to the sept, and the t r a d i t i o n a l c r i t e r i o n of c i t i z e n s h i p by place of b i r t h (now c l a r i f i e d by a s t i p u l a t e d t e r r i t o r y ) s t i f f e n e d ? My answer to t h i s , expressed i n the most general terms, i s j u s t that, where a choice e x i s t s there i s a tendency for elements to cleave to semantic 78 contexts i n which they have a t r d i t i o n a l place rather than to e s t a b l i s h themselves i n a new complex. Thus, although among woodland Athapaskans persons were iden-t i f i e d with t h e i r general area — and hence band — of b i r t h , the iden-t i t y was never so r i g i d — i n contrast, f o r example, with the r e l a t i v e f i x i t y of membership i n the northern coastal crest d i v i s i o n s — that s h i f t s were not f e a s i b l e . Speaking of the Kaska, Honigmann (1949: 131) s t a t e s : A man who changes h i s residence with marriage, generally becomes i d e n t i f i e d with the country i n which he takes up res-idence and begins to trap. For a time, he continues to be refer r e d to as belonging to the d i s t r i c t from which he came. As h i s roots grow deeper i n the adopted d i s t r i c t , he begins to be i d e n t i f i e d with that t r i b e . In the Athapaskan world one's place — where he stays — i s a rather f l u i d dimension of hi s person; i n contrast, again, with one's c r e s t -d i v i s i o n i d e n t i t y among peoples of the northern coast. At the same time, Athapaskan macrocosmic bands (and the C a r r i e r septs) are rather contingencies of t h e i r places of assembly (nominally as w e l l as ecolo-g i c a l l y ) . Among woodland Athapaskans, then, one's s o c i a l u n i t — with one's place — i s always a t e n t a t i v e dimension of personal i d e n t i t y defined, as I have s a i d , by f l e x i b l e p r i o r i t i e s . My own experience indicates that t h i s i s true of C a r r i e r sept i d e n t i t y ; e s p e c i a l l y i n r e l a t i o n to neighbouring septs. The p o t e n t i a l l a b i l i t y of band cum sept i d e n t i t y i s an t i t h e -t i c a l i n p r i n c i p l e to the idea which the peoples of the northern reaches of the P a c i f i c coast had of t h e i r c r e s t - d i v i s i o n i d e n t i t y . P h r a t r i c 79 i d e n t i t y , i n name and totem, i s an i n d e l i b l e mark. The C a r r i e r word ntddty, connoting d i v i s i o n a l crests at both clan and phratry l e v e l s , appears to contain a root element, cdty, meaning "meat" or " f l e s h . " In one's mundane aspect, at l e a s t , one does not r e a d i l y a l t e r f l e s h or inhabit several somatic mantles at a time. 19 The idea of a f i x e d and univocal i d e n t i t y — contradictory to sept t r a d i t i o n — represents a key s i m p l i f i c a t i o n toward the estab-lishment of a r e l a t i v e l y administrable system of admission markers vti-a.-vti exclusive t e r r i t o r i e s . S i m i l a r l y , the adoption of m a t r i l i n e a l descent by most of the northwestern C a r r i e r , i n connection wit h the crest d i v i s i o n s borrowed from the coast, provides another s i m p l i f i c a t i o n toward co n t r o l of the continuing d i s t r i b u t i o n of p h r a t r i c i d e n t i t y and consequently — from our present point of view — toward co n t r o l of the d i s t r i b u t i o n of admission markers to trapping grounds. I t might be argued, too, that the attachment of trapping t e r -r i t o r i e s d i r e c t l y to the septs might have been achieved through a sort of compromise i n v o l v i n g a s t i f f e n i n g of the b i r t h p l a c e c r i t e r i o n qual-i f i e d by secondary, but regulated, " n a t u r a l i z a t i o n s " to accommodate some of the t r a d i t i o n a l i n t e r s e p t marriages and r e s i d e n t i a l s h i f t s . This would imply the regulations of admissions to the sept trapping t e r r i t o r y (and, as a c o r o l l a r y , of intersept marriages) under the aegis of some form of cent r a l p o l i c y - s e t t i n g and administrative authority. 19. M u l t i p l e c r e s t - d i v i s i o n membership was possible further south along the coast, notably among the Southern Kwakiutl numayma. Boas' (1925) Contribution*, to the Ethnology oi the. Kwaktutl contains t r a d i t i o n s i l l u s t r a t i n g t h i s . 80 There are, however, nowhere any i n d i c a t i o n s of i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d cen-t r a l authority at the l e v e l of the macrocosmic band (the microcosmic bands had a.d hoc leaders, the hunting u n i t ' s " b i g man"; see Honigmann 1946: 65) among the woodland Athapaskans, or f o r that matter, i n con-nection with the v i l l a g e s or septs of the C a r r i e r (Jenness 1943: 481). The crest d i v i s i o n s of the northern coast, on the other hand, had es-tablished c h i e f t a i n s h i p s with s i g n i f i c a n t power respecting administra-t i o n of the resource t e r r i t o r i e s of the groups. Generalizing about the crest d i v i s i o n s of the northern coast, Drucker (1955: 120) observes: The basic concept was that a l l of the members of the u n i t shared i n the j o i n t r i g h t to these prerogatives, as they are often termed, but that the chief of the lineage was the custodian both of the i n t a n g i b l e r i g h t s and of the lands and material possessions. The lineage chief was i n t h i s respect s i m i l a r to the executor, i n our own c u l t u r e , of a large estate who manages i t s various enterprises f o r the h e i r s . Thus, the sept would have been unable to e s t a b l i s h more rigorous ad-mission constraints without creating an administrative i n s t i t u t i o n for which i t had no t r a d i t i o n a l counterpart. The s t r u c t u r e of coast crest d i v i s i o n s , i n contrast, provides a formal mechanism i n i t s c h i e f t a i n s h i p f o r regulating (constraining without arresting) the flow of i n t e r s e p t residence s h i f t s . Immigrants from foreign septs must apply for admission to the trapping t e r r i t o r i e s of t h e i r crest-equivalent d i v i s i o n to the chief of that d i v i s i o n i n the newly-adopted sept. While on the subject, I must emphasize that the r o l e of the c h i e f t a i n s h i p among the northwestern C a r r i e r groups corresponds w e l l to the " c u s t o d i a l " function that Drucker speaks of. My own information has 81 i t that the phratry chief claimed up to one-quarter of the take i n furs of trappers operating on h i s lands. He also retained the theore-t i c a l power to orchestrate the use of these lands: "Within the p h r a t r i c t e r r i t o r y each clan had i t s recognized hunting grounds that were theo-r e t i c a l l y subject to endorsement by the p h r a t r i c chief and to any l i m i -t ations and changes he might make i n the i n t e r e s t s of h i s phratry...." (Jenness 1943: 487). Nevertheless, a chie f ' s "ownership" of the d i v i -s i o n a l t e r r i t o r i e s among the northwestern septs by no means amounted, fo r example, to a u n i l a t e r a l power to a l i e n a t e the land. I have, f o r example, recorded information concerning the leasi n g — to the Department of F i s h e r i e s — of two hunting grounds by nobles of the Babine sept. One was leased at Fulton Lake i n the name of W i l l i e George, a j^LCPexx .t/UW noble, and the other — on Fulton River, upstream of the lake — i n the name of Charles Macdonald, bearer of the jyuw a f t e r hav-i n g been s e r i o u s l y reduced by smal l p o x (ciAca 1865) . My own i n f o r m a t i o n , which r e l a t e s to the Babine as w e l l as the B u l k l e y , s t r o n g l y i m p l i e s y t h a t t h e tdXAdtyuw and the jiZc?kzza (a term that I did not record), which denotes the "body of nobles". Correspondingly, Jenness does not specify a phonological equivalent of dAvislyzz?COW. The name of the commoner class i s given by Jenness as aux£a£zn?Z (Jenness 1943: 485). 102 not, at l e a s t , i n sev e r a l contexts i n which he otherwise provides a broad d e l i n e a t i o n of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y (see, e.g., Morice 1892: 111-114; 1893: 28; 1905: 5-6). This, no doubt r e f l e c t s Morice's e s p e c i a l fam-i l i a r i t y with the more e a s t e r l y Stuart Lake C a r r i e r , among whom the various coastal t r a i t s d i d not become f i r m l y established. Speaking generally of the various septs east of Bulkley-Babine, Jenness s t a t e s : ...the only slaves were prisoners of war, u s u a l l y , i f not always, women and c h i l d r e n , who married t h e i r captors and obtained the same r i g h t s and status as other Indians (Jen-ness 1943: 584). These statements r e v e a l , then, not only that the C a r r i e r do not appear to have anywhere developed a keen i n t e r e s t i n the maintenance of a slave c l a s s , they also suggest that the i n s t i t u t i o n developed, again, along a west to east gradient of d i f f u s i o n . One further entailment of the l a s t c i t a t i o n deserves notice. The apparent tendency to r e s t r i c t slaves to women and c h i l d r e n i s cer-t a i n l y not a coast t r a i t , but neither was slave-capture a c h a r a c t e r i s -t i c of the woodland Athapaskans (or those of the Tundra, for that mat-ter) . What Jenness describes reveals the s t r i k i n g persistence — at le a s t during the earl y stages of a s s i m i l a t i o n — of a pronounced Atha-paskan f l a v o r i n the acquired t r a i t . R e c a l l that, among the victims of woodland Athapaskan r a i d e r s , only the women were taken home by the v i c t o r s , the men usually being k i l l e d on the spot; but the women were taken as wives, not as slaves (see above, p. 67). There i s nowhere any i n d i c a t i o n that the C a r r i e r acquired the coastal p r a c t i c e of k i l l i n g slaves as a power display i n connection with 103 c e r t a i n c e l e b r a t i o n s ( n o t a b l y the r a i s i n g o f p o l e s ; e.g., see Boas 1916: 435). Perhaps the u l t i m a t e s i g n of a r i s t o c r a t i c s t a t u s among Car-r i e r a d u l t s i s the p o s s e s s i o n of a r e c o g n i z e d — as i t were, " r e s e r v e d " — s e a t at the p o t l a t c h c e l e b r a t i o n s . T h i s i s tantamount, i n t u r n , t o the p o s s e s s i o n of an h o n o r i f i c t i t l e . Jenness s t a t e s : Every c l a n b o a s t e d the e x c l u s i v e ownership of a number of t i t l e s which c a r r i e d a more o r l e s s d e f i n i t e r a n k i n g and a l o n e bestowed on t h e i r owners the h a l l m a r k s of n o b i l i t y (Jenness 1943: 489). Jenness p r o v i d e s s e v e r a l pages of t a b l e s d i s p l a y i n g the p r e s c r i b e d s e a t i n g arrangements of the v a r i o u s t i t l e h o l d e r s of each of the B u l k l e y p h r a t r i e s , and appends a n n o t a t i o n s on many of the t i t l e s (Jenness 1943: 491-4). These s e v e r a l pages r e p r e s e n t the e m p i r i c a l backbone of much of the second p a r t o f t h i s essay. Whereas many d e t a i l s c o n c e r n i n g t i t l e s and s e a t i n g w i l l be r a i s e d d u r i n g these l a t e r a n a l y s e s , my p r e -s e n t d i s c u s s i o n w i l l o f f e r o n l y a background t o them. I t i s worthy of n o t e , to b e g i n w i t h , t h a t many of the t i t l e s r e c o r d e d by Jenness had been a c q u i r e d from the T s i m s h i a n ; presumably from the G i t k s a n ( p r i m a r i l y through i n t e r m a r r i a g e ? ) i n the main. J e n -ness comments: ...many of t h e t i t l e s are i n the T s i m s h i a n tongue; i n some, perhaps most, cases they c o i n c i d e w i t h t i t l e s a c t u a l l y i n use among the T s i m s h i a n (Jenness, 1943: 495). T h i s tends to c o n f i r m the g e n e r a l assumption t h a t the Skeena peoples were the p r i n c i p l e t u t o r s to the northwest C a r r i e r i n the m y s t e r i e s of coast c u l t u r e . F o l l o w i n g t h i s s tatement, Jenness remarks t h a t , due to 104 t h e i r f o r e i g n d e r i v a t i o n , many t i t l e s were used w i t h o u t a knowledge of t h e i r " o r i g i n o r r e a l s i g n i f i c a n c e " . He promptly adds, however: T h i s does not mean...that the B u l k l e y n a t i v e s s l a v i s h l y c o p i e d and borrowed from t h e i r T s i m s h i a n n e i g h b o r s . T h e i r own system, though e x t r e m e l y f l u i d , was so f u l l o f v i t a l i t y and l i f e t h a t i t was c a p a b l e of a b s o r b i n g numerous elements from abroad w i t h o u t i m p a i r i n g i t s e s s e n t i a l v i g o r (Jenness 1943: 495). Many of my arguments to t h i s p o i n t i n t h e essay have been an e f f o r t t o demonstrate the " e s s e n t i a l v i g o r " of C a r r i e r Athapaskan t r a d i t i o n i n the f a c e of c o a s t a l i n f l u e n c e . The use o f the i m p o r t e d t i t l e s w i t h o u t s l a v i s h adherence to t h e i r T s i m s h i a n meanings i s another c a s e - i n - p o i n t . I t suggests t h a t as w e l l , o f cour s e , as b e i n g a mark of n o b i l i t y , the g r e a t e s t importance of the t i t l e among the C a r r i e r was i t s use as a v e h i c l e of t h e i r own t r a d i t i o n and h i s t o r y . I do not say t h a t the myth-o l o g i c s o u r c e s , where known, d i d not c o n t r i b u t e p r o f o u n d l y t o the d r a -m a t i c c o l o r of t i t l e s . I t i s even p o s s i b l e t h a t the mythic persona o f a t i t l e may have been a b l e to generate a degree of s e l f - f u l f i l l m e n t i n the person of t h e i r b e a r e r s . The same must be s a i d , however, o f the h i s t o r i c persona as i t develops through a s u c c e s s i o n of b e a r e r s . The f i r s t LaxcamAiiyuiM a n c e s t o r at B a b i n e , hluwmz, was a f i e r c e and r u t h l e s s w a r r i o r who k i l l e d a l l o u t s i d e r s a t t e m p t i n g t o s e t -t l e i n h i s c o u n t r y . He was so much f e a r e d , even by h i s own pe o p l e , t h a t a f t e r h i s death none would dare assume h i s name; i t i s "too s t r o n g , " so I have been t o l d . Some time l a t e r one person d i d take the name and was subsequently murdered d u r i n g a v i s i t to the c o a s t . V i o l e n c e c o n t i n u e d as a b a s i c f e a t u r e i n the s t o r y of Wuwrae; r e t r i b u t i o n may be e f f e c t e d 105 upon the pe r s o n o f a s u c c e s s o r i f not on the o r i g i n a l . The name NuWSdZ has not been used s i n c e . The h i s t o r y a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t i t l e s i s an a c c u m u l a t i o n of h i g h -l i g h t s from the l i v e s o f i t s s u c c e s s i o n of incumbents. Of c o u r s e , the p o t l a t c h h a l l i s not o n l y the c e n t r a l t h e a t r e where the m y t h - h i s t o r i c n a r r a t i o n s and dramas a re performed, i t i s a l s o one o f the key s e t t i n g s w h e r e i n the h i g h l i g h t s composing the h i s t o r i e s and a c q u i r e d p o t l a t c h s u c c e s s e s are v i t a l elements i n the h i s t o r i e s a s s o c i a t e d w i t h t i t l e s . To bear a t i t l e , t h e n, i s t o share i n a p e r p e t u i t y ; t o have a v o i c e and b r e a t h beyond p e r s o n a l m o r t a l i t y . Of course i t i s a c o s t l y p r i v i -l e g e . One must pay a p r i c e i n substance — by p r o d i g a l g e n e r o s i t y i n the p o t l a t c h to one's f e l l o w s — d u r i n g l i f e t o p r o v i d e f o r a k i n d of r e s u r r e c t i o n o f the shadow a f t e r death. I n l a r g e measure the rank g r a d a t i o n among the t i t l e s of a p h r a t r y was seen as a r e f l e c t i o n o f the r e l a t i v e glamour of t h e i r h i s -t o r i e s . I n t h a t c o n n e c t i o n , the p o t l a t c h r e c o r d of a t i t l e p r o b a b l y loomed l a r g e , though n o n - p o t l a t c h achievements, e s p e c i a l l y i n war, were a l s o s i g n i f i c a n t . Consequently, rank s h i f t s o c c u r r e d , t i t l e s r i s i n g and f a l l i n g on the c l a n and p h r a t r y s c a l e s . I s h a l l have oc-c a s i o n to c i t e examples i n a l a t e r c o n t e x t (e.*g. , p. 189). On the ot h e r hand, the v a r i o u s unique p r e r o g a t i v e s of the o f f i c e of c l a n c h i e f o f f e r e d e s p e c i a l l y great o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r the c o m p i l i n g of c r e d i t s to c h i e f l y t i t l e s . Some of these p r e r o g a t i v e s w i l l be d i s c u s s e d i n g r e a t e r d e t a i l i n a l a t e r c o n t e x t (see e s p e c i a l l y Chapter 5 ) , but I s h a l l note them here b r i e f l y . 106 F i r s t , i n connection with the a c q u i s i t i o n of g l o r i e s through war, Jenness remarks: Only a chief could lead a war expedition, because no one el s e possessed the means to gather the stores of food neces-sary to feed the warriors from d i f f e r e n t places who assembled to take part i n i t ; but i f he succeeded, he was given a l l the captives, who thenceforth became h i s slaves (Jenness 1943: 518) . A c h i e f , therefore, has greater opportunity than l e s s e r nobles of ac-cruing war honours. On the other hand, i t seems possible to somewhat overdo the r o l e of w a r r i o r , as i n the case of NuitiVCLZ. S i m i l a r l y , f a i l ures i n great ventures are correspondingly more shameful than the less s i g n i f i c a n t f a i l u r e s of smaller men. Boas r e l a t e s that the t i t l e Ltg-l /oX replaced N&>-baJLcii, as the hereditary chief's t i t l e of the Eagle Phratry of the G*•i-i,pa-X-lcX/°t6 t r i b e , among the Coast Tsimshian when the name M2A-bcULctt>: ...had l o s t i t s standing, because the bearer had been k i l l e d [during a war] by a chief of a Raven clan and h i s head put up i n the hosue of the l a t t e r (Boas, 1916: 510). Jenness' point that only a chief could a f f o r d the cost of leading a war expedition raises another key issue. How did a chief ac-quire the extra wealth with which to finance such an expedition? In a d d i t i o n , he was r o u t i n e l y expected ...to keep open house, as i t were, to a l l members of h i s phratry, to r e l i e v e the wants of the poor, and to support hi s people i n t h e i r r e l a t i o n s with other phratries (Jenness 1943: 518). The l a t t e r o b l i g a t i o n included, of course, the most c o s t l y of ceremoni o b l i g a t i o n s , i n c l u d i n g not only the requirement to be e s p e c i a l l y extra-107 vagant i n g i f t s dispersed i n the v a l i d a t i o n of h i s t i t l e ( s ) and crest(s) but the expectation of acquiring the most expensive forms of the clan emblems; clan poles, carvings or paintings of clan crests on housefronts h'ouseposts, etc. These various e x c l u s i v e l y c h i e f l y r i g h t s and o b l i g a -tions w i l l be discussed i n greater d e t a i l i n Chapter 5. My immediate point i s that chiefs not only had to maintain a grand personal s t y l e , but had to foot the cost of representing t h e i r clans. How were they able to cover such expenditures? Jenness t e l l s us that a chief had the p r i v i l e g e of " r e c e i v -ing with h i s f e l l o w - c h i e f s the l a r g e s t g i f t s at every p o t l a t c h " (Jenness 1943: 518). I might add, too, that the assistance r o u t i n e l y given by one's phratry-men to cover a person's po t l a t c h costs was probably more generous i n the event of c h i e f s ' potlatches, inasmuch as they embody t h e i r clans — symbolically — more than do any of the other noblemen. However, the key source of the chie f ' s f i n a n c i a l support came, according to my own best informant, from h i s t r a d i t i o n a l claim to f u l l y one-quarte of a l l trappers' take i n furs from clan hunting grounds. The c h i e f , i n t u r n , maintained the supply of traps, and various other paraphernalia on behalf of h i s clansmen. The view that I have offered of t h e ' t i t l e s of the cbtniyzz'? as vehicles of h i s t o r y draws some support from one other d i s t i n c t i o n . Commoners (and some nobles as well) had personal names which, although-t h e i r announcement required a p o t l a t c h , did not confer a reserved pot l a t c h seat (or, therefore, a rank), and c a r r i e d no expectation of con-tinuous use. When a noble's t i t l e , on the other hand, was l e f t vacant 108 by the death of i t s incumbent, h i s nephew (his s i s t e r ' s son) was ex-pected — as i t were automatically — to assume the t i t l e and thereby to guarantee i t s perpetuity. A common name had no associated expec-t a t i o n of unbroken succession. Such names were often given i n the be-l i e f that the r e c i p i e n t was the reincarnation of an ancestor whose name i t had been; p h y s i c a l features often served as a sign of such r e i n c a r -nation. This does not amount, of course, to an i d e a l of unbroken suc-cession, much l e s s to a continued a i r i n g of i t s story from a permanent seat at the p o t l a t h . As with a l l other aspects of the coast complex, the class system was not w e l l developed i n Jenness' time (nor since) to the east of the Bulkley-Babine septs. Jenness s t a t e s : Some C a r r i e r subtribes to the eastward ranged themselves in t o p h r a t r i e s whose chiefs bore hereditary t i t l e s ; and they adopted crests f o r these p h r a t r i e s , or f o r the chiefs who presided over them. Nowhere, however...was society c l e a r l y demarcated i n t o three s t r a t a , nobles, commoners, and slaves. The nobles comprised only the chiefs and t h e i r nearest r e l a -t i v e s , who were f a r outnumbered by the common people (Jenness 1943: 584). I f the early stages i n the a s s i m i l a t i o n of the class system r e p l i c a t e d among the Bulkley and Babine what Jenness here depicts f o r the north-eastern septs, then we can sa f e l y conclude that the class of t i t l e bearers c r y s t a l l i z e d around the c h i e f l y o f f i c e s , and expanded with the burgeoning fur trade. There i s no evidence to i n d i c a t e that any s p e c i a l p r i v i l e g e s opposed the noble to the commoner class i n general apart from the s p e c i f i c a l l y ceremonial prerogative of having a reserved seat at the potlatches and, therefore, a permanent place i n formal clan and phratry h i s t o r y . 109 As I have a l r e a d y shown, the c l a n and p h r a t r y c h i e f t a i n s h i p s , on t h e o t h e r hand, were a s s o c i a t e d w i t h a number o f d i s t i n g u i s h i n g s e c -u l a r and c e r e m o n i a l r o l e s . Thus, i n a d d i t i o n to those a l r e a d y mentioned, the c h i e f s h e l d the peacemaking r o l e s w i t h i n t h e i r d i v i s i o n s . They had no a u t h o r i t y to a c t u a l l y e n f o r c e s e t t l e m e n t s o r impose adjustments and r e t r i b u t i o n s . However, they were a s s i g n e d the t r a d i t i o n a l t a s k of c a j o l -i n g d i s p u t a n t s — s p r e a d i n g the w h i t e f e a t h e r s o f peace (= C&S) on t h e i r heads w h i l e p e r f o r m i n g p e r s o n a l power songs and dances — to reach an amicable s e t t l e m e n t of t h e i r d i f f e r e n c e s . One o t h e r i m p o r t a n t o f f i c e p r o p e r to the c h i e f s c o n s i s t e d o f s p e c i a l p r e r o g a t i v e s r e g a r d i n g the g e n e r a l c l a n and p h r a t r i c c r e s t s (= rVtC.&iy) . We w i l l be t a k i n g up many of the d e t a i l s c o n c e r n i n g these p r e r o g a t i v e s i n a l a t e r c o n t e x t (Chapter 5 ) . However, somewhat i n an-t i c i p a t i o n of t h i s and o t h e r l a t e r d i s c u s s i o n s , i t w i l l be u s e f u l here to c o n s i d e r some g e n e r a l m a t t e r s c o n c e r n i n g the C a r r i e r c r e s t system. A f i r s t c o n s i d e r a t i o n i s the d i s t i n c t i o n between the c l a n and p h r a t r y c r e s t s , on the one hand, and the s o - c a l l e d p e r s o n a l c r e s t s (= chanka) on the o t h e r . The tviciZy were the u n i v e r s a l emblems which r e p r e s e n t t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s w r i t l a r g e . The people of Babine nowadays speak o f these as the " s i g n s " of the " t r i b e s " . I n t h e i r metonymic c a p a c i t y VAJ>-a-VAJ> t h e i r s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s these s i g n s c o u l d be t a t t o o e d on a l l clansmen, o r , nowadays, beaded onto garments and worn as bead pendants. C e r t a i n usages, to be c o n s i d e r e d more f u l l y l a t e r , were the s t r i c t p r e r o g a t i v e s of the group c h i e f s . I n g e n e r a l , the ivtcdiy were: 110 ...carved on the clan totem poles, painted or carved on the fronts of the c h i e f s ' houses, painted on c h i e f s ' grave boxes, represented at times on the ceremonial hats and blankets the chiefs wore at dances....(Jenness 1943: 495). The chcinka. were personal both i n the sense that only t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r owners had exclusive c o n t r o l of a l l d i s p l a y prerogatives with respect to these, and that they "could be sold w i t h i n or without the clan l i k e a garment or a piece of f u r n i t u r e " (Jenness 1943: 501). That i s , generally speaking, the clans and p h r a t r i e s as such had no i n t e r e s t i n t h e i r a l l o c a t i o n . One type of chanka represents an excep-t i o n to t h i s , however; cases, that i s , i n which a personal crest "co-incided with" — bore the same name, and represented the same mythic/ h i s t o r i c f i g u r e — a t i t l e . In these cases, then, t i t l e and name are inseparable, and t i t l e s as I have noted were i d e a l l y the valued proper t i e s of t h e i r phratries and clans. These crests had to be given a sep arate p o t l a t c h v a l i d a t i o n , but t h i s was usual l y done at the same time as the assumption of the t i t l e . Jenness' discussion suggests that the chanka. were used par-t i c u l a r l y by the n o b i l i t y , but Morice states that they could be pur-chased by anyone: . . . i t was v o l u n t a r i l y assumed with an accompaniment of b e f i t -t i n g ceremonies by any t i t l e d or u n t i t l e d i n d i v i d u a l who wished to advance i n s o c i a l standing. I t e n t i t l e d the owner to s p e c i a l consideration, though the l a t t e r could on that account lay claim to the possession of no hunting grounds nor to the exalted rank which was the s t r i c t property of the "noblemen" or tdncza (Morice, G.D.R.: 204). The ceremonial d i s p l a y p r i v i l e g e associated with the chanka involved a dramatic representation of the beings of C a r r i e r and exogenous (mainly Gitksan) legend and h i s t o r y . The display of crests was reserved f or I l l separate occasions preceding the actual p o t l a t c h d i s t r i b u t i o n s (Beynon, 1945). Jenness' discussions seem to recognize Wtddiy only at the clan l e v e l . However, that does not accord e i t h e r with my own informa-t i o n or with Morice's. W r i t i n g of the Stuart Lake C a r r i e r , who had no sub-phratric — clan — d i v i s i o n s , Morice s t a t e s : One totem generally — though not always — corresponds to one clan or gens [ i . e . , p h r a t r y ] , so that the former and the l a t t e r are very often i n equal numbers. Four gentes ob-t a i n among the C a r r i e r s , a l l of which I herewith submit the native names together with those of t h e i r respective totems. GENTES TOTEMS Jt?A9mdc-yu. The Grouse TACL-yu. The Beaver Vd&tl-ym The Toad TdmPtzn-yu The G r i z z l y Bear (Morice, G.D.R.: 203) Elsewhere, I have l i s t e d the pan-phratric nicsiy of present-day Babine (below, p. 156). Thus, c e r t a i n of the WtCBiy axe emblematic of the phr a t r i e s as a whole, while others are reserved as the i n s i g n i a of par-t i c u l a r clans only. Generally speaking, there appears to be no c l a s -s i c a l l y totemic orthodoxy associated with these cr e s t s . They are not taboo as foods; the grouse and beaver are regular foods as, of course, i s the caribou which i s the crest of the Babine LdXAdJLyuW. G r i z z l y i s seldom a v a i l a b l e , but i s acceptable i n p r i n c i p l e . The toad, the frog, and the wolf (Babine Jida-mdcLtwiyuiM) are not considered e d i b l e , but t h i s i s manifestly not because they are n>tC9Q.q.) . We have already seen that, to the contrary, the exogamic function was one of the l e a s t a s s i m i l a b l e of the elements of the coast complex, whereas the system of c r e s t s , m a t r i l i n e a l descent, and t e r r i t o r i e s were r e a d i l y assumed among the C a r r i e r (see also Duff, 1951: 32). More generally, however, Boas seems to have seen totemism as a s p e c i f i c case of the more general problem of the nature of c l a s s i -f i c a t i o n : ...the homology of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g marks of s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s of a t r i b e i s proof that they are due to a c l a s s i f i c a t o r y tendency (Boas 1940: 323). Levi-Strauss discovers c e r t a i n inadequacies i n t h i s p a r t i c u l a r p r i n c i p l e — of the homology of d i s t i n g u i s h i n g marks applied to given s o c i a l forms 3 i n p a r t i c u l a r cultures — but acknowledges that Boas' concern with a l o g i c of c l a s s i f i c a t i o n s was an o r i e n t a t i o n ancestral to h i s own. S i m i l a r l y , although Durkheim and Mauss, i n t h e i r PAimAjtlvt Ctcii&iltccution, reveal the systematic character i n several totemic con-t e x t s , and seem even to propound i t i n p r i n c i p l e , a f u l l e r development of the theme i s aborted by the i n a b i l i t y of Durkheim — e s p e c i a l l y i n the face of h i s i n s i s t e n c e on "the primacy of the s o c i a l over the i n t e l -3. Levi-Strauss s t a t e s : "The r u l e of homology.... S o c i e t i e s are known which do not comply with i t [he doesn't supply an i l l u s t r a t i o n ] , and i t i s not thereby excluded that the more complex means of d i f f e r e n -t i a t i o n which they employ s h a l l also form a system" (Levi-Struass 1963: 12). 114 l e c t " (Levi-Struass 1963: 9 7) — to r e c o n c i l e the idea of an enduring i n t e l l e c t u a l system with the skewing e f f e c t s of the currents of s o c i a l h i s t o r y . As Levi-Strauss states the problem: I t i s thus p l a i n that h i s t o r y and demographic develop-ment always upset the plans conceived by the wise. In such s o c i e t i e s there i s a constantly repeated b a t t l e between syn-chrony and diachrony from which i t seems that diachrony must emerge v i c t o r i o u s every time (Levi-Strauss, 1966: 155). The t a c t i c a l breakthrough i n the management of t h i s problem, achieved by Levi-Strauss f o l l o w i n g the lead of Radcliffe-Brown (1951), i s based upon, f i r s t , recognition of the e s s e n t i a l l y algebraic character of to-temic taxonomies, and, second, recognition of the fact that u l t i m a t e l y , of course, "diachrony must emerge v i c t o r i o u s " : The systems we have been considering so f a r on the other hand go from motivation to a r b i t r a r i n e s s : conceptual schemes (at the l i m i t , simple binary opposition) are constant-l y broken open to introduce elements taken from elsewhere; and there i s no doubt that these additions often e n t a i l modi-f i c a t i o n of the system. Moreover, they do not always suc-ceed i n getting incorporated i n i t and the systematic appear-ance i s then disturbed or temporarily put i n abeyance ( L e v i -Strauss 1966: 157). Thus, totemic s o c i e t i e s are i n t e l l e c t u a l objects i n never-ending repair i n the face of the disruptions of h i s t o r i c forces. But the objects have a c h a r a c t e r i s t i c form: these s o c i e t i e s are concep-t u a l i z e d as wholes comprising parts ( s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s ) which manifest r e l a t i o n s h i p s of simultaneous " s o l i d a r i t y and opposition". Such an image of so c i e t y , correspondingly, requires representation i n terms of a system of signs able to express an isomorphism with these properties of " s o l i d a r i t y and opposition": 115 To arrive at this end, the natural species are classed in pairs of opposites, and this i s possible only on condi-tion that the species chosen have i n common at least one characteristic which permits them to be compared (Levi-Strauss 1963: 88). Eaglehawk and crow, carnivores, hunter vs. scavenger, represent such principles as totems of Darling River moieties; s i m i l a r l y , among the Haida, Eagle and Raven together l i c k the platter clean. Therefore, the a b i l i t y of such systems to accommodate, to a point, the arbitrary disturbances of history reflects persistence i n the underlying principles according to which the systems are designed: i.e., as wholes made out of parts which tend to be arranged according to principles of binary opposition expressive of a relationship of com-plementary s o l i d a r i t y . Pursuant to the matter of the algorithmic nature of totemic systems, Levi-Strauss shows how the vastness and complexity of the matrix of Nature, notably of plant and animal species, affords the necessary range of materials from which to build an expression of the manifold differentiations upon and between levels (relations of part/whole) of social structure, and with which to make the substitu-tions and equations which may be required in accomodation of diachronic contingence (seeespecially his discussion of the "totemic operator", in Chapter 5, 1966). I r e c a l l , apropos this discussion, that Levi-Strauss also i l l u s t r a t e s the reconciliation of an ideal of balance and complementary solidarity against a re a l i t y of imbalance i n his essay "Vo Dual On.QaviizaXA.ovih ExxAt?" (Levi-Strauss, 1963). I have offered a similar argument above (Chapter 2) in connection with the Carrier ideology of four ceremonial (cum cosmological?) units. 116 I t i s not s u r p r i s i n g that i n t e l l e c t u a l s , perhaps reading them-selves i n t h e i r objects of study, should be strongly tempted by the L e v i -Straussian idea that man i s animated by an i n e l u c t a b l e quest to collapse a l l things to integrated wholes. The notion of the integrated and s o l i -dary whole remains as p i v o t a l to the views of Levi-Strauss as i t was to hi s predecessors, Durkheim and Radcliffe-Brown. Of course there are key di f f e r e n c e s : f o r Levi-Strauss, the range of the whole has been extended from the emblem-bearing s o c i e t a l subdivisions to the l a r g e r s o c i e t i e s which these compose, and beyond..., and the urge to holism has been transformed from Durkheim's and Radcliffe-Brown's society-aggrandizing sentiment into an element of " o r i g i n a l l o g i c , a d i r e c t expression of the struc t u r e of the mind (and behind the mind, probably, of the b r a i n ) " (Levi-Strauss, 1963: 90). The key place of i n t e g r a t i o n i s c l e a r i n the fo l l o w i n g : The alleged totemism i s no more than a p a r t i c u l a r expres-s i o n , by means of a s p e c i a l nomenclature formed of animal and plant names ( i n a c e r t a i n code, as we should say today), which i s i t s sole d i s t i n c t i v e c h a r a c t e r i s t i c , of c o r r e l a t i o n s and oppositions which may be formalized i n other ways, e.g., among ce r t a i n t r i b e s of North and South America, by oppositions of the type sky/earth, war/peace, upstream/downstream, red/white, etc. The most general model of t h i s , and the most systematic a p p l i c a t i o n , i s to be found perhaps i n China, i n the opposition of the two p r i n c i p l e s of Yang and Y i n , as male and female, day and night, summer and winter, the union of which r e s u l t s i n an organized t o t a l i t y (tao) such as the conjugal p a i r , the day, or the year. Totemism i s thus reduced to a p a r t i c u l a r fashion of formulating a general problem, v i z . , how to make opposition, instead of being an obstacle to i n t e g r a t i o n , serve rather to produce i t (Levi-Strauss, 1963: 89). I t seems to me, i n c i d e n t a l l y , that p o s i t i n g the urge to holism as the supreme p r i n c i p l e i n the design of totemic systems has the t a c t i c a l ad-vantage of y i e l d i n g as i t s c o r o l l a r y some accounting of the pre-eminence 117 of binary oppositions i n the structuring of these systems. Pairs which are complementary or quasi-complementary are, by defi n i t i o n , ones which taken together manifest a sense of a completed semantic domain. That i s , complementary pairs project the sense of a whole constituted out of op-posed elements more simply and therefore more forcefully than i s possible with more complex symbolic structures. In sum, binary oppositions are pre-eminent in totemic structures because they are the most elegant form for symbolizing a sense of wholeness constituted out of opposition. By the same token, I am a l i t t l e puzzled with Levi-Strauss' dismissal of Boas' idea that there i s a tendency toward homology among the signs (totems) applied to given kinds of social forms in particular cultures. Does not the notion of an integrated whole v i r t u a l l y e n t a i l a mode of homology among the elemtns of the whole? Notwithstanding Levi-Strauss' alleged exceptions (see above, p. 113), would not the urge to represent the idea of an integrated whole bias the system toward select-ing as symbols concrete elements which are the more able to convey a sense of wholeness because they belong to a common domain (whether or not that domain is immediately apparent to the ethnologist); i.e., be-cause they are homologous? Having been convinced by many of LeVi-Strauss' analyses, I have attempted to apply his approach to the available Carrier data, thus far unsuccessfully. I have considered various c r i t e r i a characteristic of Levi-Strauss' reductions — geospheres, seasons, etc. — but noiE have generated a reasonably consistent schematization of the ntcQ-iy, showing that these represent exclusive and complementary domains which compose 118 an integrated Whole-of-Nature. The completion of such an analysis would seem to require thorough comparisons of crest systems through a wide re-gion along the coast and adjacent i n t e r i o r , i n c l u d i n g — as suggested i n Chapter 2 — an analysis of a wide spectrum of c r o s s - t r i b a l crest equiva-lences. Also, such comparisons must be conducted i n the context of more penetrating ethnozoological and ethnobotanical data than are presently a v a i l a b l e . In a l a t e r context, I s h a l l have occasion to develop an obser-vation which, as i t bears upon one of the t r a d i t i o n a l queries concerning totemism, warrants b r i e f n o t i c e at t h i s point. As we have s a i d , L e v i -Strauss i m p l i e s , i n h i s discussion of the "totemic operator", that b i o -l o g i c a l species represent an e s p e c i a l l y favorable realm f o r the repre-sentation of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e because t h e i r scope and complexity permit unique f l e x i b i l i t y with respect to key operations such as " t o t a l i z a t i o n " and " d e t o t a l i z a t i o n " (whereby, e.g., r e l a t i o n s h i p s of part/whole, and generation of d i f f e r e n t wholes out of the same parts may be expressed), and i n the establishment of equivalences and s u b s t i t u t i o n s to absorb the shocks of s o c i a l change. On the other hand, the discussion of the Car-r i e r sept and v i l l a g e names shows that s i m i l a r operations are f e a s i b l e — perhaps not quite as r i c h l y — using other domains of n a t u r a l phenomena. I noted the i n d i c a t i o n s that these names may r e f l e c t c e r t a i n d i f f e r e n t i a -tions of s o c i a l structure i n terms of such dimensions of water systems as upstream/downstream, lake i n l e t / l a k e o u t l e t , p r i n c i p a l salmon conduit/ terminal conduit, etc. 119 The concept of a b i o l o g i c a l species e n t a i l s a whole c o n s t i t u -ted of parts ( i n d i v i d u a l animals, plants) which are homologous i n the context of contrasts against other species. These contrasts "are adopted as emblems by groups of men i n order to do away with t h e i r own resem-blances" (Levi-Strauss 1966: 107). In a d d i t i o n , however, i n d i v i d u a l s which compose a species are mortal, while the species as a whole per-s i s t s ; i t i s an i n d e f i n i t e l y continuous succession of homologous i n d i -v i d u a l s . A descent group i s conceived i n the same way. A r u l e of u n i -l i n e a l descent cuts out p i v o t a l cohesions (Mo/Child, Fa/Child) from the matrix of k i n r e l a t i o n s i n order to s t i p u l a t e a p a r t i c u l a r path of c o n t i n u i t y . In sum, n a t u r a l species represent descent groups as unique successions of homologous i n d i v i d u a l s . Water bodies also manifest a sense of c o n t i n u i t y , of course, as do mountains ( r e c a l l our reference to the names of the Sekani septs) , s t a r s , some a r t i f a c t s , etc., but without an evident succession of parts. As such, they do not reconcile group c o n t i n u i t y and personal m o r t a l i t y and cannot, therefore, as e f f e c t i v e l y symbolize a people. P r i o r to dev-eloping a system of crest groups represented by animal species, the Car-r i e r were peoples of places. Those places subsequently became the places of peoples. Part I I of t h i s essay, to follow s h o r t l y , i s an analysis of some d e t a i l s of the seating and d i s t r i b u t i o n a l protocols of the C a r r i e r potlatch. A few general observations w i l l set the stage. F i r s t , t h i s analysis i s conducted e s s e n t i a l l y w i t h i n the frame of reference established by Barnett (1938) : the potlatch i s a ceremonial 120 concerned with the i d e n t i f i c a t i o n and v a l i d a t i o n of status r e l a t i o n s among various categories of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . Within t h i s framework, I s h a l l attempt to show, not only how the s p a t i a l and temporal arrange-ments of the r i t u a l mark the various elements of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , but beyond t h i s how they express, as i t were i n a s i l e n t language, many r e l a t i o n a l dimensions (notably diachronic ones) connecting and contrast-ing these elements. I lack the data necessary to explore the regional r e d i s t r i b u -t i v e consequences of the po t l a t c h among the C a r r i e r , as Vayda (1961) and Piddocke (1965) have done among the Southern Kwakiutl f o l l o w i n g the lead of Suttles (1960, 1962, 1968), who used Coast S a l i s h data. I would only note, that they seem to me to rest more of t h e i r case than i s necessary on the d i f f i c u l t - t o - e s t a b l i s h hypothesis (see Weinberg 1965) of an im-p e l l i n g , r e g i o n a l l y staggered, p e r i o d i c food s c a r c i t y ; an i n t e r e s t i n the v a r i e t y , alone, of foods and other products obtained from d i f f e r e n t regions might be s u f f i c i e n t to support the wish to maintain the c o n t r i -bution of the po t l a t c h to i n t e r - r e g i o n a l exchanges. Among the C a r r i e r , the potlatch might have d i r e c t l y served a r e d i s t r i b u t i v e end with res-pect, s p e c i f i c a l l y , to food insofar as foods seem to have figured quite s i g n i f i c a n t l y among the g i f t s r o u t i n e l y removed i n addition to what was consumed on the spot. My informants speak of sacks of f l o u r , loaves of bread, sugar, etc., i n connection with contemporary potlatches, and Jenness (1943: 516) notes s i m i l a r items f o r d i s t r i b u t i o n i n 1918. On the other hand, while one of Jenness' informants mentions the serving of moose, beaver, and bear during a feast, I nowhere f i n d mention of these or other t r a d i t i o n a l foods as g i f t s f or removal. 121 In any case, whatever other ends i t may serve, the po t l a t c h i s a r i t u a l of s o c i a l d e f i n i t i o n , e s t a b l i s h i n g and d i s p l a y i n g the boun-daries and r e l a t i o n s h i p s among the categories of s o c i a l structure. The giv i n g of g i f t s , along with other features of po t l a t c h p r o t o c a l , serves as a medium of symbolic a r t i c u l a t i o n . Size of g i f t s , of course, ex-presses rank l e v e l , chiefs always re c e i v i n g l a r g e r portions than others of food and other prestations. I s h a l l show, too, that d i s t r i b u t i o n a l patterns manifest important categoric d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n s . An analysis of d e t a i l e d data on p r e s t a t i o n a l p r a c t i c e s might reveal that p a r t i c u l a r categories of r e c i p i e n t s are t y p i c a l l y given p a r t i c u l a r kinds of g i f t s . We could even f i n d , i f such were the case, that such p r e s t a t i o n a l d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n s might carry a measure of symbolic value r e f l e c t i n g something about the respective r e c i p i e n t categories i n addition to simply marking them. In f a c t , these qustions were foremost i n my mind when I f i r s t v i s i t e d the C a r r i e r people at Babine. I was un-able, however, to obtain the d e t a i l s e s s e n t i a l to the analy s i s . Somewhat i n the same vein, I have noticed that — during Morice's and Jenness' times among the C a r r i e r — dressed s k i n s , notably beaver and moose, seem to have been (together with food) the staple p r e s t a t i o n a l element of the potlat c h . For example, i n Jenness' records of an i n f o r -mant's account of a title-assumption potlatch we f i n d the following statements: The candidate and t h i s phratry feasted the e n t i r e assem-b l y , paid the phratry that had j u s t erected a gravehouse over the cremation place of the l a t e c h i e f , and d i s t r i b u t e d moose hides, beaver s k i n s , and other valuable presents among a l l the guests. 122 During h i s acknowledgement speech a guest chief s t a t e s : He i s a nephew of the o l d c h i e f ; he has provided us with much food and many skins. Hereafter l e t him take the place and bear the t i t l e s of h i s uncle (Jenness 1943: 515). Morice 1s account of the p o t l a t c h s e r i e s of the C a r r i e r c o n t i n u a l l y r e f e r s to the dressed skins (Morice 1889: 149-53). As the guests assembled about him on the occasion of h i s elevation p o t l a t c h , the candidate "hav-ing on none but the most indispensable vestments, stands s i l e n t f a c i n g the p i l e of dressed skins which he i s about to give away" (Morice 1889: 149) . Although the C a r r i e r potlatch probably was h i s t o r i c a l l y pre-ceded by a t r a d i t i o n a l woodland Athapaskan funeral-feast (see Osgood 1932: 81; Jenness 1937: 60; Honigmann 1946: 87), I assume that i t be-came elaborated i n t o the disperson of wealth i n addition to food along with the growth of the system of crests and p h r a t r i e s . The growth of the p h r a t r i e s , i n turn, was i n t i m a t e l y t i e d to the f l o u r i s h i n g of the fur trade. Thus, whereas the p h r a t r i e s were the basic units of the intrasept p o t l a t c h s t r u c t u r e ( t h i s i s developed i n Part I I ) , i t i s not s u r p r i s i n g that dressed s k i n s , as the most s i g n i f i c a n t economic item of the p h r a t r i e s , had become the c e n t r a l commodity of the p o t l a t c h . Furthermore, the skins express power to command the products of White-man and, most notably, perhaps, the products of Whiteman which command power, i . e . , guns. The r e c i p r o c a t i o n of dressed skins among the nobles, as champions of the counterposed p h r a t r i e s , was tantamount to a symbolic and r e l a t i v e l y non-violent power contest, reminiscent of the Russo-American space race of the nineteen s i x t i e s . The C a r r i e r , however, had 123 the advantage of conducting t h e i r contests under the i d e o l o g i c a l aegis of maintaining a p h r a t r i c balance rather than of creating and maintain-ing a clear advantage; t h i s matter was touched on i n Chapter 2, and i s discussed further i n Part I I . The reader w i l l recognize shades of FtghxtLng ItiiXk VnopoJuty (Codere 1950) i n the l a s t remarks. At the same time, against t h i s backdrop of suspended opposi-t i o n the reciprocations of food manifest a symbiosis of substance sym-b o l i z i n g the connubial basis of p h r a t r i c r e l a t i o n s . T r a d i t i o n a l l y , three successive potlatches were required to lament the death of a c h i e f , dispose of h i s corpse ( o r i g i n a l l y by cremation), and elevate his successor. There are always two p h r a t r i e s at the core of these proceedings. The phratry of the deceased mourns the chief and, at the t h i r d post-mortem p o t l a t c h , must replace him. The phratry of the father of the deceased, h i s ja.zgam6ku. and Beaver Phratry Clans: A, Sun House, i n c l u d i n g Twisted House; B, Beaver House; C, Owl House Rear Row: B c B. B. B„ B_ A, C. A. A. C„ X, 5 4 3 2 1 1 1 2 3 2 1 Second Row: C, l a Front Row: X 2 129 As t h i s analysis unfolds I s h a l l t r y to demonstrate not only the manner i n which seating protocol displays the major dimensions of Ca r r i e r society — phratry, c l a n , and class — but that i t was also able to project some rather subtle statements concerning the r e l a t i o n -ship among these elements of stru c t u r e . According to seating p r o t o c o l s , the p h r a t r i c groups are con-t r a s t e d with respect to one another by the assignment of each to a p a r t i c u l a r w a l l i n the p o t l a t c h h a l l . The s p e c i f i c w a l l (they are d i s -tinguished by reference to the h a l l doorway) to which a given phratry i s assigned i s a matter of convention. I have been t o l d on several oc-casions by Bulkley and Babine informants a l i k e that each phratry has i t s own w a l l during a p o t l a t c h , and the s i n g l e rather sparsely attended pot-l a t c h to which I bore witness confirms i t . In a d d i t i o n , I have recorded several versions of the s p e c i f i c assignments, as has Mr. James Hackler (1958: 92-6); these, of course, i n d i c a t e c e r t a i n v a r i a t i o n s according to which phratry i s host of the event. However, there are many appar-ent contradictions beyond these expected v a r i a t i o n s , and I regret that I am presently unable to define the underlying p r i n c i p l e s . One suspects i n fact that these apparent contradictions r e f l e c t — at l e a s t i n part — conventionalized permutations whereby the phra t r i e s assume p a r t i c u l a r walls on the occasion according to which ones contain the father and spouse respect i v e l y of the c e n t r a l celebrant. I s h a l l have to forego the issue u n t i l I have the necessary f u l l e r information. Meanwhile, the i d e a l of the confinement of the p h r a t r i c groups to separate walls i s established. 130 One curious feature of Jenness 1 tables may r e f l e c t t h i s i d e a l ; namely, the appearance of an extra row — shown i n the plans of the GXX.amta.nyu, the Gtthzhkyu, and the La.kAa.mbku. groups — of noblemen of l e s s e r rank d i r e c t l y i n front of the rows of h e i r s apparent. In the case of the GttiZAhyu, i n f a c t , we note two e x t r a rows, but the f r o n t -most i s confined to a s i n g l e person with a unique h i s t o r y to be c i t e d anon. Jenness makes no s p e c i a l note of t h i s phenomenon, and persons to whom I have spoken have always declared the "outside" ( i . e . , Jenness' "rear") row to be the preserve pah. zxctlltncz of the dinlyze.? (= n o b i l -i t y ) , with t h e i r nephews assigned to seats d i r e c t l y i n front of them; 1 j u s t what we see i n Jenness tables. In b r i e f , there are no data i n e i t h e r Jenness or Hackler, nor are there any i n my own experience, to suggest that the extra row i s set apart to mark some i d e o l o g i c a l l y spe-c i a l category of ctintyztP, except as the preserve of r e l a t i v e l y low ranks (whereas the he i r s apparent are, i n contrast, p r e c i s e l y such a d i s t i n c t i v e category and t h e i r s p e c i a l row does mark them as such). Neither i s there any evidence to suggest that the front row comprises persons with s p e c i a l assignments which would require that p o s i t i o n as a p r a c t i c a l convenience. In f a c t , the weight of o v e r a l l evidence re-l a t i n g to the coast potlatch t r a d i t i o n s suggests that, except i n the 1. Beynon's (1945) notes remark that among the Gitksan seating at prepotlatch power and crest performances inv e r t s the arrangement used during the actual p o t l a t c h . The chiefs were seated i n the front row with t h e i r successors behind them because, i n these cere-monies, the chiefs were usually c a l l e d upon to take part (whereas they are passive as guests at the potlatch i t s e l f ) . He also notes that three rows are used here to create a resemblance to the o l d type of terraced house. 131 gi v i n g of acknowledgement speeches by the important guest nobles, the guest ph r a t r i e s remain seated and passive throughout the proceedings at potlatches. F i n a l l y , Beynon's suggestion that the three rows are used (among the Gitksan) i n order to create a resemblance to the o l d type of terraced house (see footnote 1), rather begs the question as I see i t , however v a l i d the idea. Another p o s s i b i l i t y , f a r from conclusive, i s that a front row of low-rank nobles was r o u t i n i z e d to avoid an o v e r s p i l l beyond the ends of the i d e a l l y assigned w a l l s , and p o s s i b l y , too, to leave some space i n the corners to admit a few commoners of t h e i r respective phratries (see below). I t i s i n t e r e s t i n g to note, i n t h i s connection, that both the GiXamtanyu. and the GilAZKhyu, both of which employ the extra row, have exactly 14 cbttviyzz? along t h e i r most honored rear rows. The Lakii-ityu, on the other hand, have only nine difttyzQ, , and lack a front row, while the LakiomAhu, with 11 established nobles, have i s o -l a t e d one person to the front p o s i t i o n for s p e c i a l reasons, and pre-sumably only as a temporary measure: Skokamlaxa (Tsimshian word); the possessor of t h i s t i t l e came from Gitsegyukla (Skeena Crossing), and has no proper seat i n the phratry" (Jenness, 1943: 494). Could t h i s mean that 14 represented the established maximum of rear row pos-i t i o n s ? I f so, would t h i s s p e c i f i c f i g u r e represent a r o u t i n i z e d accommodation to the t y p i c a l dimensions of the C a r r i e r clan house? Unfortunately, my present information cannot s e t t l e the i n t r i g u i n g ques-tions concerning the front row di.YU.yzz.9. However, we can be confident of t h i s : from the i d e o l o g i c a l standpoint, the ceremonial presentation of the p h r a t r i c blocs as d i s t i n c t 132 and s t r u c t u r a l l y equivalent units i s achieved by the expedient of a concrete analogy; the discreteness of each phratry, marked by the p o s i -t i o n a l discreteness of the w a l l to which i t i s assigned, i s asserted against the sameness of these w a l l s which a f f i r m s , i n turn, the equiva-lence of the p h r a t r i e s . I have now to introduce an important q u a l i f i c a t i o n to the foregoing conclusion. Although a l l persons i n C a r r i e r s o c i e t y , with the exception of i t s few s l a v e s , were — and s t i l l are — automatically a l l o c a t e d to the clan and phratry of the mother, the class of the auxXctt?tynt?, commoners, seemed to have been waived as concrete codi-f i e r s i n the ceremonial d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of t h e i r respective p h r a t r i e s (and AjpbO ^CLCto of the class as well) . This conclusion i s e n t a i l e d i n the following statement: "The commoners and such slaves as were admitted l i n e d up at the back or wherever they could f i n d room" (Jenness 1943: 491). I t i s c l e a r i n context that "at the back" denotes the doorway w a l l rather than a s p e c i a l back row a l ong each w a l l . Thus, i n contrast with the i d e a l confinement of the p h r a t r i c b l o c , per i t s nobles w i t h i n a s i n g l e w a l l , we f i n d no very great e f f o r t to s i m i l a r l y and ex-haustively so incorporate the body of commoners. Although i n s u f f i c i e n c y of space along the w a l l s no doubt contributed s i g n i f i c a n t l y to t h i s r e l a t i v e insouciance to the accommodation of commoners, one wonders whether further front rows might not have been introduced (up to the point, of course, where the center f l o o r becomes overcrowded). The idea of an extra front row for commoners arises i n the h i s t o r y of an extraordinary man who achieves s p e c i a l status. His story begins: 133 Satsa?n's ancestors, a century ago, were commoners with-out genealogical history of prominence who occupied at pot-latches any place they could find i n the v i c i n i t y of their fellow phratrymen.... The story goes on to relate his achievements of wealth and renown u n t i l , at l a s t , ...he decided to give a potlatch on his own account. He therefore invited a l l the people, and before distributing his presents stood up and proclaimed, 'Hereafter l e t me not s i t in a corner l i k e a nobody, but in front of my phratry in a special place beside the f i r e . And let me be known, not by my own name, but as SatsaPn.... (Jennes, 1943: 489-90)> ScutbciPn's special station i s shown as "C^," the only front row position in Jenness' table of the GiZhHAkyu. peerage. These were the circumstances responsible for the occurrence of a second extra row in the GiZheJihyu seating plan. In addition to underlining the p o s s i b i l i t y of accommodating the phratry commoners i n additional front rows among their phratrymen, this narrative helps to f i l l in the remaining gaps i n the matter of the ceremonial seating of commoners. There are several aspects to the over-a l l placement of nobles and commoners which I sh a l l now take up. To begin with, we have an indication that there was a prefer-ence among commoners (witness Sci?n*s moving plea, " l e t me not s i t i n the corner l i k e a nobody," t e l l s us that those commoners fortunate enough to find space in the v i c i n i t y of their fellow phratrymen did so by f i l l i n g i n whatever area was l e f t vacant (whether fortuitously or through some measure of 134 predesign such as the d e l i m i t i n g of the number of nobles occupying the rear row) at the remote ends of the w a l l to which t h e i r phratry was al l o c a t e d . The general pattern i s schematized below: Rear or "Outside" Row of the Highest Nobles O * O 4> Row of Heirs Apparent Q o o 0 ^ Lesser Nobles o SCHEMA OF THE PLACEMENT OF PHRATRY PERSONNEL We may note that t h i s arrangement repeats, i n the opposition of noble and commoner, a p r i n c i p l e already exemplified i n the s e r i a t i o n of the nobles; i . e . , " v e r t i c a l " status diminishes with increase i n l a t e r a l distance from the i d e o l o g i c a l center — the s t a t i o n of the phratry chief — of the array of phratrymen. According to one t r a d i t i o n , at l e a s t , the v e r t i c a l dimension was also employed as an expression of s o c i a l hierarchy: the c e n t r a l l y placed clan chiefs (bearing the subscript 1) were seated on elevated platforms. We note also i n t h i s regard that, i n the terraced longhouses of the coast, the rear row would be elevated above the i n t e r i o r ones. The o v e r a l l p r i n c i p l e of these arrangements i s expressed, then,by the following simple formula: Analogy I . Superior:Inferior:Above:Beneath::Central:Lateral. The epistemology of t h i s analogy w i l l be considered l a t e r i n the chapter. 135 Of course, i f the marginality of the commoners' placement along t h e i r p h r a t r i c w a l l s i s to express t h e i r lowly status w i t h i n t h e i r respective p h r a t r i e s , then they must be somehow concretely d i s -tinguished £ft btoc, from the nobles. At the present time, the bloc con-t r a s t between the diniyzz? and the auxtatPtynz i s given i t s most pre-c i s e r e a l i z a t i o n i n the order of g i f t d i s t r i b u t i o n . My best information on t h i s matter derives from the present head chief of the LcikAiZyu phra-t r y at Moricetown (who has the t i t l e HciZQWiXilZXt) . At the time that I spoke to him, he reported that he had accumulated cash and goods i n the sum value of $329 toward a p o t l a t c h i n which h i s son was to be elevated to the seat of h i s (the son's) l a t e mother GixwhO'k; a father i s always expected to contribute generously to the elevation of h i s son, along with the clan and phratry of the l a t t e r , j u s t as a son must contribute to the expenses of h i s father's funeral. Ha.e.gKfcfcAne.x£'s account of the an t i c i p a t e d p o t l a t c h procedure reveals three o v e r a l l stages i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n s . Each stage marks a d i s t i n c t category of C a r r i e r s o c i a l structure. The f i r s t presentations s i n g l e out the "big names," the diniyze.PC.OW; i . e . , the clan c h i e f s . With the j-c\-\JAJ> h i s phratry i s c l e a r e s t i n the diachronous perspective; but the matter i s complex and w i l l require some space to recount. R e c a l l , to begin with, that ScutbCLPn's ancestors were described as "commoners without genealogical h i s t o r y or prominence." Thus, while i n h i s l i f e t i m e the commoner i s constrained to trap, and to do much of h i s hunting and f i s h i n g , w i t h i n the t e r r i t o r i e s of h i s phratry, and through these and other labors to contribute to the household and ceremonial needs of h i s c h i e f s , to accede to t h e i r peacemaking decisions, 2 to obey the i n j u n c t i o n s to p h r a t r i c exogamy, and i f need be to bear arms 3 i n i t s wars, with the death of h i s body h i s name, and with i t h i s shadow, 2. I have recorded upwards of a dozen contemporary instances of p h r a t r i c endogamy at Babine and Bulkley, but none involved t i t l e d persons. I t i s s t i l l generally disapproved, but i s t o l e r a t e d among these commoners as i t would probably not be accepted among the n o b i l i t y — even today. 3. My own information confirms that the phratry "acted as a unit i n r e -s i s t i n g aggression by other p h r a t r i e s " (Jenness, 1943: 483). I have been t o l d of a war conducted by the Bulkley Thayu. against Prince Georg I t i s said that t h e i r v i c t o r y was c o s t l y i n terms of crests they gave as payment to other p h r a t r i e s that aided them. We have seen ( i n the f i r s t chapter) that wars may also extend beyond the phratry, as such. 141 d r i f t s out of the r i t u a l h i s t o r y , the continued being, of h i s phratry. True, h i s name might eventually be passed to a grandson or nephew i n the b e l i e f — based upon some ph y s i c a l resemblance —- that h i s shadow had returned i n the c h i l d . However frequently i t may have occurred, the e s s e n t i a l contingency of t h i s reappearance of a common name i s es-tablis h e d i n p r i n c i p l e by i t s r a t i o n a l i z a t i o n i n terms of s p e c i a l phy-s i c a l signs such as i n one case, for example, a birthmark on the fo o t , and i n another the possession of s i x toes (Jenness, 1943: 538). Equally i n p r i n c i p l e , such signs are e n t i r e l y unnecessary — which i s not to say inadmissible — to the i d e a l of perpetual reuse of the noble t i t l e s . A l so, the sense of exclusive ownership which the ph r a t r i e s scrupulously maintained with respect to the t i t l e s of i t s nobles has no counterpart VAJ>-CI-VAJ, the names of common men. I t i s emphasized that the phratry was i d e a l l y the outer l i m i t i n the range of s h i f t s admitted to noble t i t l e s ; i t w i l l be noted that we have already witnessed an ex-ception to t h i s i d e a l i n the case of the t i t l e GtxwhO'k. But Jenness (1943: 489-490) r e f e r s to the i d e a l of "exclusi v e " ownership by the clan while admitting that exceptions occurred: "Although a t i t l e never passed, apparently, from one phratry to another, i t was sometimes transferred temporarily, and perhaps permanently, from one clan to another w i t h i n the phratry." Thus, while we see that there are, as ever, exceptions to the i d e a l s , i t remains clear that the noble t i t l e s were regarded as valued properties of the clans and p h r a t r i e s . The t i t l e s of the n o b i l i t y each possessed i t s own h i s t o r y i n -corporating fragments — distinguished achievements and adventures — 142 from the p e r s o n a l l i f e h i s t o r i e s of i t s s u c c e s s i o n of incumbents, a l o n g w i t h i t s o r i g i n t r a d i t i o n . The t i t l e s — u n l i k e t h e names of t h e com-moners — are a s s o c i a t e d w i t h s p e c i f i c r i t e s of c e r e m o n i a l d i s p l a y i n song, dance, and n a r r a t i v e which r e p r e s e n t i t s mythic o r i g i n and cumu-l a t i v e h i s t o r i c h i g h l i g h t s . The i n d e t e r m i n a c y o f p h r a t r i c i d e n t i t y which i s p r e d i c a t e d upon t h e names o f commoners by t h e i r placement a t the l a t e r a l extremes of t h e i r p h r a t r i c w a l l s , where they merge w i t h the commoners of the o t h e r p h r a t r i e s , i s a r e i t e r a t i o n o f t h e i n d e t e r m i n a c y o f i d e n t i t y due to the l i a b i l i t y which they have of b e i n g d i s c a r d e d from c o n t i n u e d a s s o -c i a t i o n w i t h t h e i r p h r a t r y f o l l o w i n g the death of a c u r r e n t p o s s e s s o r . The commoner's name i s a t the margin of temporal d i s j u n c t i o n w i t h i t s p h r a t r y ( c o n c e i v e d as a c o n t i n u i n g e n t i t y ) j u s t a s , i n the p o t l a t c h h a l l , i t i s a t i t s margin of s p a t i a l d i s j u n c t i o n . With h i s new name, SaJZAaPn escaped t h e edge of o b l i v i o n a t t h e end of the bench; he may y e t a c q u i r e a new p l a c e and prominence i n time as w e l l as space. The o p p o s i t i o n o f noble and commoner posed by the system of t i t l e s s e t s the commoner i n t o a r e l a t i o n of m a r g i n a l d i s j u n c t i o n w i t h h i s p h r a t r y , conceived as an e n t i t y t o which i s p r e d i c a t e d the p e r s p e c -t i v e of d i a c h r o n i c c o n t i n u i t y . L a t e r a l placement i s t h e c o u n t e r p a r t i n a s y n c h r o n i c and s p a t i a l s e t t i n g of the r e l a t i o n of temporal d i s j u n c -t i o n . I t h i n k , f u r t h e r , t h a t the p r i n c i p l e of the s p a t i a l l a t e r a l i t y of whatever m a n i f e s t s temporal t r a n s i e n c e has more c o n c r e t e p a r a l l e l s . Temporal t r a n s i t i o n , e x p e r i e n c e d as the passage from dark to l i g h t and 143 from day to ni g h t , i s everywhere marked at the l a t e r a l edges of the world (the center being, of course, every observer) where the earth dissolves i n t o the a i r . Likewise, the periphery of the f i e l d of v i -s i o n , i n contrast with i t s center, i s unstable. In terms of s o l a r imagery, f u r t h e r , the opposition c e n t r a l / l a t e r a l i s i n d e x i c a l l y bound to the opposition high/low and i n that order: the sun, when most l a t -e r a l , appears lowest i n the sky and r i s e s to and f a l l s from i t s summit 4 where centermost. In t h i s context, the s p a t i a l opposition high/low also acquires the connotation of duration state vs. transient s t a t e . Of course, i n the potl a t c h h a l l the correspondences that we have seen among the s p a t i a l dimensions — c e n t r a l / l a t e r a l , high/low — and the s o c i e t a l dimensions s u p e r i o r / i n f e r i o r (as applied w i t h i n the ranks of the nobles as w e l l as between the categories noble/commoner) are a matter of e x p l i c i t r i t u a l protocol. I have no evidence, on the other hand — by way of e x p l i c i t statements — that there i s any recog-n i t i o n among the r i t u a l i s t s themselves that the p a r t i c u l a r permutation c e n t r a l / l a t e r a l (vs. l a t e r a l / c e n t r a l ) i s an appropriate sign of the opposition noble/commoner because the two dyads, so ordered, mutually connote the ordered complementarity duration s t a t e / t r a n s i e n t state. Yet surely such a l i n k e x i s t s , though unuttered, as a contributing e l e -ment i n the sense of v i r t u e , appropriateness, invested by a l l r i t u a l p a r t i c i p a n t s i n the r i t u a l l y affected conjunction between the status-i n f e r i o r common names and s p a t i a l l a t e r a l i t y . 4. The C a r r i e r word f o r high noon i s dz-iyyviyti> where dzM/N (—»= connotes) then the dyads A/B and C/D may s e r v e as a p p r o p r i a t e s i g n s of one a n o t h e r , and t h e i r o r d e r of s i g n i f i c a t i o n tends to be f i x e d . Thus, A:B::C:D, b u t -[A:B::D:C]. T h i s t h e o r y h o l d s , s e c o n d l y , t h a t even though the b a s i s of the e x p l i c i t s i g n r e l a t i o n s h i p s , i n mutual and o r d e r e d semantic c o n n o t a t i o n s , may be q u i t e unconscious to the a c t o r , i t n e v e r t h e l e s s determines the sense of a p p r o p r i a t e n e s s which he i n v e s t s i n these r e l a t i o n s h i p s . Some w i l l f i n d i t u n a c c e p t a b l e t h a t I p o s i t the e x i s t e n c e of a semantic bond between elements — e.g., the a b i l i t y of l a t e r a l placement to be a s i g n of a commoner's name — which i s c o n s t i t u t e d by a motive f o r c e t h a t , s i n c e i t i s not e x p r e s s l y s t a t e d by i n f o r m a n t s , we must assume to be unconscious. That i s , as between the s i g n and what i t s i g n i f i e s , I say t h a t t h e r e e x i s t s a c e r t a i n unseen magnetism which i s a m a n i f e s t a t i o n of the a b i l i t y o f each to bear common conno-t a t i o n s (a f a c t u n n o t i c e d by the a c t o r ) , and I t h i n k t h a t the sense of v i r t u e i n v e s t e d i n the p r o t o c o l s of s p a t i a l arrangement, i n t h i s case, o r , c o n v e r s e l y , the sense of i n c o n g r u i t y which would no doubt be f e l t i n the f a c e of a r e v e r s a l of the p o s i t i o n i n g of n o b l e and commoner i s i n p a r t a measure of the f o r c e of t h i s i n v i s i b l e bond. I s n ' t such unconsciousness r a t h e r r e m i n i s c e n t of the i n t r i g u i n g paradoxes t h a t have a r i s e n i n the s t u d i e s of the s o - c a l l e d " s p l i t b r a i n " ? 146 5 Sectioning of the COAptH cattoium r e s u l t s i n a curious d i v i s i o n between the verbal mode and other modes of cognition. Asked to name a f a m i l i a r object which i s placed i n the subject's hand — he i s not permitted to see i t — he i s unable to do so as long as he holds i t i n h i s l e f t hand (whence sensory input runs to the ri g h t cerebral c o r t e x ) , but has no d i f -f i c u l t y when i t i s transferred to h i s r i g h t (whence input runs to the l e f t cortex, the seat of the speech areas). Yet, when asked to make appropriate manipulations of the object — again with the l e f t hand — hi s response gives unmistakable evidence that h i s r i g h t cortex f u l l y recognizes, and i s able to impose correct manipulations upon, what i t i s at the same time quite unable to name. This merely i l l u s t r a t e s that i t makes sense to speak of the possession by a person of cognitive patterns which he cannot u t t e r ; i . e . , the unconscious. I t i s therefore s t r i k i n g that — i n c o n t r a d i s t i n c t i o n to what i s most t y p i c a l of systems of speech — the r e l a t i o n s h i p between the sign (e.g., seating placement) and what i t s i g n i f i e s ( i . e . , the status category), as we have seen i t here revealed i n an aspect of the potl a t c h seating s t r u c t u r e , i s c l e a r l y a motivated one. Our present case-in-point should have no d i f f i c u l t y i n passing Ullman's (1957: 86) test of semantic motivation: "Is there any i n t r i n s i c and synchronously percep-t i b l e reason for the word [read seating structure] having t h i s p a r t i c u -l a r form and no other? Whenever there i s an a f f i r m a t i v e r e p l y , the word 5. A stock of nerve f i b r e s carrying the bulk of linkage between the cerebral hemispheres which may be damaged by cerebrovascular a c c i -dents . 147 i s to some extent motivated, i . e . , self-explanatory." Ullman's fu r t h e r discussion of the phenomenon of motivation reveals th a t , i n the case of many motivated words, there obtains a s p e c i a l r e l a t i o n between proper-t i e s of the sign and of i t s sense ( e s p e c i a l l y resemblance), yet l i t t l e i f any a b i l i t y (on the part of the s c i e n t i s t , much less of the actor) to extract p r e c i s e l y the p r i n c i p l e s underlying the s p e c i a l r e l a t i o n -ship. For example: "'Totter' i s motivated by some p a r a l l e l i s m or analogy between the sounds which make up the name and the movement re-ferred to by the sense" (Ullman, 1957: 87). That i s , while the t y p i c a l speaker senses a s p e c i a l epiconventional nexus — "some p a r a l l e l i s m " — between such a word and i t s sense, the exact nature of the nexus remains 6 unconscious. Now, the kind of consciousness possessed by the t y p i c a l r i t u a l p a r t i c i p a n t of the s p e c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p between the stru c t u r e of s o c i a l categories and of seating protocol — and the sense of v i r t u e invested i n these protocols — i s , I suggest, much l i k e the speaker's consciousness of the motivation which l i n k s the word " t o t t e r " to i t s sense. Thus, the q u a l i t y of v i r t u e bound to such r i t u a l protocols as we are concerned with here c a r r i e s an a d d i t i o n a l force f o r i t s p a r t i c i -pants as a d i r e c t function of an unarticulated awareness of an epicon-ventional l i n k between the r i t u a l symbols and t h e i r objects. 6. I suggest, i n c i d e n t a l l y , that the aspect of motivation i n t h i s case resides p r i m a r i l y i n the a b i l i t y of the a r t i c u l a t o r y movements — or of the speaker's k i n a e s t h e t i c sense of these movements — to re-semble the body movements refe r r e d to i n the sense of the word. The sounding of the word " t o t t e r " creates a sort of an abstract kinaesthe t i c image — i n miniature — of the ki n a e s t h e t i c structure of the word's object. 148 I suggest a c o r o l l a r y to the p r e c e d i n g d i s c u s s i o n . To a p o i n t , the g r e a t e r the span and depth of such e p i c o n v e n t i o n a l — i c o -n o g r a p h i c — bonds between p a r t i c u l a r f e a t u r e s of r i t u a l symbolism and the domain of e p i r i t u a l events which they are a b l e t o r e p r e s e n t , the g r e a t e r the impact — the sense of v i r t u e — t h a t i t w i l l p r o j e c t upon i t s p a r t i c i p a n t s . The e f f i c a c y of r i t u a l i s i t s a b i l i t y t o g a t h e r images, l i k e a c a t ' s eye, from w i d e l y s c a t t e r e d s c e n a r i o s of d a i l y l i f e and thought. The p o t l a t c h i n p a r t i c u l a r i s a f o c u s i n g l e n s t h a t c o l l a p s e s unresolved c o n c r e t e c o n t r a d i c t i o n s ( e . g . , i s Scut6a?n a commoner or i s SaJtia?n a n oble?) and anomolous fragments of d a i l y l i f e w i t h i n an em-b r a c i n g d i a l e c t i c among the c a t e g o r i e s of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y ( n o b l e / commoner, p h r a t r y / c l a n , s e p t / p h r a t r y , e t c . ) . The d i a l e c t i c of these c a t e g o r i e s i s mediated, i n t u r n , upon a deeper d i a l e c t i c conducted i n the l e x i c o n (and i t s c o r r e s p o n d i n g c o n c r e t e r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s ) of p a r a -meters and p o l e s of C a r r i e r (human?) c o g n i t i o n ( h i g h / l o w , c e n t r a l / l a t e r a l , e n d u r i n g / t r a n s i e n t ) r a t h e r l e s s s u b j e c t t o the temporal con-t i n g e n c i e s t h a t a f f l i c t the realm of p h r a t r y , c l a n and s e p t . We have a l r e a d y begun to see how s e a t i n g p r o t o c o l i s an arrangement of s o c i a l c a t e g o r i e s i n terms of such fundamental parameters. The remainder of t h i s essay w i l l attempt to show, f u r t h e r , how f e a t u r e s of r i t u a l may connote a r a t h e r wide a r r a y of e x t r a r i t u a l r e l a t i o n s by b i n d i n g these to t h e i r r i t u a l s i g n s i n accordance w i t h the isomorphisms shared by s i g n and s i g n i f i e d . L e t us pursue a l i t t l e f u r t h e r the m a r g i n a l i t y of the commoner. 149 The OUXtatPeyne? c l a s s , i n s p i t e o f i t s m a r g i n a l i t y , i s a f u l l -f l e d g e d component o f the s y n c h r o n i c s t r u c t u r e of the p h r a t r i e s . The p e r s p e c t i v e of the u n c e r t a i n t y of t h i s i d e n t i t y o n l y emerges i n connec-t i o n w i t h the i d e o l o g y of the t r a n s g e n e r a t i o n a l a l i e n a b i l i t y of the common name, and i n h i s m a r g i n a l i t y cum e x c l u s i o n i n the p o t l a t c h h a l l . O t h e r w i s e , i n h i s l i f e t i m e as we have seen, the common man was s u b j e c t to t h e r u l e s of h i s p h r a t r y and might even expect some share i n i t s triumphs. Thus, whereas — i n t h e i r s y n c h r o n i c p e r s p e c t i v e — the p h r a t r i e s have a complementary c o m p o s i t i o n of auxtatPeyne? and cU.ni.yzo.?, and whereas these are d e a l t w i t h i n c o n t r a d i c t o r y modes i n c e r t a i n r i t -u a l p r o t o c o l s ( s e a t i n g ) , must not we conclude t h a t whatever i s a s s e r t e d i n the r i t u a l treatment of the one i s i,p&0 ^acto d e n i e d by the c o n t r a r y treatment of the o t h e r ; and n o t w i t h s t a n d i n g the i m p u t a t i o n of a degree of metonymic s p e c i a l i z a t i o n to the cUni.yze?1 For as l o n g as the au.xXcit?e.yn£? are t h e r e , and a p a r t of t h e i r p h r a t r y , they cannot be en-t i r e l y denied a metonymic impact, a l b e i t a shadow image, as w e l l . The marking of the p h r a t r i e s by the assignment to each of a s p e c i f i c p l a c e i s a c e n t r a l f e a t u r e of the expressed p o t l a t c h p r o t o c o l . Commoners, i n c o n t r a s t t o the n o b l e s , are a l l o c a t e d t o a l a t e r a l s h e l l , at the ends o f the p h r a t r y w a l l , s e a l i n g o f f the n o b l e s from the zone of boundary ambiguity. Across t h i s zone, the commoners of ad j a c e n t p h r a t r i e s are p l a c e d i n unbroken c o n t i n u i t y and may even i n t e r m i n g l e as they do alon g the doorway w a l l , j u s t as t h e i r g i f t s are not s c r u p u l o u s l y d i s t r i b u t e d by d i s c r e t e p h r a t r i c b l o c s a f t e r the jaegiXjdX:. The c o n t r a s t i n s e a t i n g of noble and commoner c l e a r l y e s t a b l i s h e s t h a t the b l o c o f 150 nobles represents pat ZXCtLttnce. the a c t u a l i z a t i o n of the ideology of d i s c r e t e l y discontinuous p h r a t r i e s . I d e a l l y the w a l l marks the phra-t r y , but i n p r a c t i c e i t i s the nobles who mark the w a l l , and thence the nobles who mark the phratry. But i t i s more exact to say that the bloc of nobles mark the phratry i n one of i t s perspectives; i . e . , i n the perspective of synchronic discreteness and diachronic perpetuity. The commoners therefore, mutatij, mvJianziih mark the phratry i n i t s manifesta-tions of transience cum t r a n s i t i o n . The t r a n s i t o r y perspective of the phratry i s i t s h i s t o r y . The accounts of informants are a t e s t i m o n i a l that the o v e r a l l s t r u c t u r e of a sept at a given time, both — as we have seen — with respect to i t s v i l l a g e composition (Chapter 1) and i t s phratry and clan composition (Chapter 2), has been generated out of the combined e f f e c t of the seg-mentation of e a r l i e r d i v i s i o n s i n some cases and, i n others, from the dwindling of a group to the point where i t s diminished remains are a s s i -milated ( r e c a l l ClviYlta.C.) w i t h i n a more v i a b l e group. I have mentioned that the J-itcPtx-lym) and LaxAtlyuu) arose some time ago by the d i v i s i o n of a s i n g l e parent group (see above, p. 91). An informant explained that they are now "two place" but had come "from one place." They had separated because "both" too much money. Got i t from s e l l i n g beaver to Hudson's Bay." This t r a d i t i o n was r e l a t e d to me by a Babine man, but the same t r a d i t i o n surely l i e s behind the assertion of a Moricetown person that these same phratries are "cousins." I have also remarked that the Cd' yuw group was assimilated into the LaxcPazmiAyuiA) as a r e s u l t of t h e i r l o s s e s , CAJtCCL 1865, i n a smallpox epidemic. From 151 that time to the present, the CJX' yuW have held a dual status. Although, nominally, they remain a d i s c r e t e phratry — i n fa c t they r e t a i n t h e i r own hunting grounds — and are always c i t e d when one asks f o r a l i s t i n g of a l l the diyddx, they are seated with the LaxaPazmtAyuW and receive t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n s at the potl a t c h j u s t as i f they were a d i s c r e t e Laxc?a&mi6A,yuw house d i v i s i o n . Assuming — as seems l i k e l y — that the separation of the p h r a t r i e s by w a l l i n the p o t l a t c h house applied i n 1865 as i t does today, then i t may have occurred, at that time, that the sad remnant of a group once proud to command i t s own w a l l were ob-l i g e d t o , as i t were, cross the f l o o r and j o i n the houses of another phratry. One revered old lady i n her 80's sa i d that, when she was yet a g i r l , Fort Babine had only three a c t i v e p h r a t r i e s : LaxieJLyuu), LaxcPa&mtAyuJM and jitc?£XA.yuW. The Jidu'mdazniyuw, some time before, had dwindled out of existence. I t was a f t e r the death of her fath e r , as she r e c o l l e c t e d , that "some people get together" and r e b u i l t the jstdu.' mda.e,niyuJA) phratry. Unfortunately, I was not able to obtain f u r -ther d e t a i l on t h i s c r u c i a l event. How was the r e c o n s t i t u t i o n achieved? Perhaps we can never know with c e r t a i n t y , but I suggest that i t probably occurred through a mechanism s i m i l a r to the i n i t i a l creation of the phrat r i e s at Babine. I have already considered t h i s matter at some length i n Chapter 2. The following discussion from Jenness (1943: 584) w i l l help to r e c a l l my conclusions, and add s. few points of relevance to the present question: 152 The phratry-clan system of organization seems to have ex-tended no f a r t h e r i n l a n d than the Bulkley River and Babine Lake, the two d i s t r i c t s that bordered on the t e r r i t o r y of the Gitksan. Some C a r r i e r subtribes to the eastward ranged them-selves i n t o p h r a t r i e s whose ch i e f s bore hereditary t i t l e s ; and they even adopted crests for these p h r a t r i e s , or f o r the chiefs who presided over them. Nowhere, however, d i d they subdivide t h e i r phratries i n t o d e f i n i t e clans, nowhere did t h e i r chiefs erect large semicommunal houses or giant totem poles, nowhere was society c l e a r l y demarcated i n t o the three s t r a t a , nobles, commoners, and slaves. The nobles comprised only the chiefs and t h e i r nearest r e l a t i v e s , who were f a r outnumbered by the common people; and the only slaves were prisoners of war, usu-a l l y , i f not always, women and c h i l d r e n , who married t h e i r cap-tors and obtained the same r i g h t s and status as other Indians. So unstable even were the p h r a t r i e s that today they are almost forgotten, and only r e s u s c i t a t e d when members of these subtribes v i s i t the Bulkley River or Babine Lake. This suggests what I have already noted, that the system of phr a t r i e s was h i s t o r i c a l l y a n t e r i o r to the clans, and to the f u l l elaboration of the h i e r a r c h i c system as w e l l . I t would appear that the p h r a t r i e s de-7 veloped around prominent persons who f i r s t became seed c r y s t a l s by 8 assumption of t i t l e s and p r i v i l e g e s — purchased from the coast — as pretenders to the c h i e f t a i n s h i p of groups possibly advocated with a view to the securing and consolidating of trapping t e r r i t o r i e s . But surely the i n s t a b i l i t y which Jenness ascribes to the eas-tern phratries does not r e f l e c t a dearth of pretenders to c h i e f t a i n s h i p . Is i t not more l i k e l y , rather, that i t r e f l e c t s an at-large populace reluctant to f a l l i n to l i n e with the recommendations of such pretenders (who had no doubt the keen support of prestigious coastward neighbours 7. These f i r s t chiefs would probably have corresponded to the t r a d i -t i o n a l Athapaskan informal hunting leaders; the "boss" or "big man" (Honigmann, 1946: 65; see also Helm and Leacock, 1971: 367). 8. Jenness (1943: 513), w r i t i n g of the Bulkley C a r r i e r , states "... the Gitksan, who i n e a r l i e r years gave them many crests and crest paraphernalia i n exchange for the skins of beaver." 153 ever anxious to export t h e i r system — i f only f o r p r o f i t ) ? My immed-i a t e point i s simply — from the viewpoint of the h i s t o r i c development of the C a r r i e r phratries — that some minimal set of t i t l e s and t h e i r • associated p r i v i l e g e s were a necessary though not s u f f i c i e n t condition of the r i s e of the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s . I suggest that, i n a s i m i l a r manner, the i n s t a l l a t i o n of a minimal set of t i t l e d personnel would have been a necessary condition for regeneration of the Babine 'jA.du' mda&nlyuw. But who were these persons? Could they have been r e c r u i t e d from the ranks of the cLtrVty'ze.P of the extant p h r a t r i e s , or even from among t h e i r h e i r s apparent? This i s of course p o s s i b l e , but we must bear i n mind that the ph r a t r i e s place a very high premium not only on r e t a i n i n g a l l t i t l e s i n t h e i r possession (see c i t a t i o n , p. 141) , but on u t i l i z i n g as many of these as possible at a given time. On t h i s matter Jenness (1943: 490) reports that "...there are more t i t l e s i n each clan than there are people q u a l i f i e d [my emphasis] to f i l l them." Jenness i s speaking, here, of the Bulkley C a r r i e r , of course, but the same kind of report i s very common elsewhere on the postcontact coast, presumably r e f l e c t i n g i n part the t o l l of disease (e.g., Boas, 1916: 340). Thus, i n s p i t e of the p r i o r i t y probably given to having a fourth ceremonial d i v i s i o n (see Chapter 2), we might expect — as long as other options were open — some reluctance among the cLiiviyzo.'? of the extant phratries to place i n jeopardy the perpetuity of t h e i r own t i t l e s by surrendering t h e i r own nobles or the scions of the noble houses to the cause of the r e c o n s t i t u t i o n of the Jidu' mdaZrvlyuu) phratry. Would i t not 154 cause fewer d i f f i c u l t i e s to s i m p l y r e c r u i t from among the most a b l e o f those people who, t o b e g i n w i t h , were " w i t h o u t g e n e a l o g i c a l h i s t o r y " t o be r u p t u r e d somewhat by a move to another p h r a t r y ? Wasn't t h i s , a f t e r a l l , how the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s had been c r e a t e d i n the f i r s t p l a c e ? Weren't a l l C a r r i e r r e a l l y auxtat? zyn.Z? b e f o r e they a s s i m i l a t e d the system of c o a s t c r e s t s and t i t l e s ? P r e s e n t i n f o r m a t i o n i s c l e a r l y i n s u f f i c i e n t t o a l l o w s e c u r e c o n c l u s i o n s . The h y p o t h e s i s t h a t the "jA.dumda.zni.yuW p h r a t r y was regen-e r a t e d out of the ranks of the commoners of the e x t a n t p h r a t r i e s i s based o n l y upon r e a s o n a b l e s u p p o s i t i o n s . I p o s t u l a t e , t h e n , t h a t the 'ji.du' mdazniyuu) p h r a t r y was r e c o n s t i t u t e d by a s h i f t of p e r s o n n e l b o t h v e r t i c a l l y (commoners becoming nobl e s ) and h o r i z o n t a l l y (from an e x t a n t p h r a t r y i n t o the Jidu'mdazniyuw). Thus, h i s t o r y has d e n i e d permanence to p a r t i c u l a r c o n f i g u r a -t i o n s of c l a n s and p h r a t r i e s . The c o n t i n g e n c i e s of the d i a c h r o n i c p e r s p e c t i v e — m a n i f e s t l y w e l l known to the r i t u a l i s t s themselves — p o s i t an a n t i t h e s i s to the image, c a r r i e d i n the i d e a l containment of p h r a t r i c n o bles w i t h i n t h e i r a s s i g n e d w a l l s , of hard-edged p h r a t r i c d i s j u n c t i o n . H i s t o r y r e c a l l s the appearance, disappearance and reap-pearance of p a r t i c u l a r p h r a t r i c d i v i s i o n s , qua p h r a t r y , o f t e n mediated through a d i a l e c t i c between the s t r u c t u r a l l e v e l s of p h r a t r y and c l a n and of n o b l e and commoner. Thus, a d i m i n i s h e d za'yuW p h r a t r y becomes reduced r i t u a l l y to a c l a n w i t h i n another p h r a t r y . C o n v e r s e l y , the present J-ctzPzkiyuW and LaxAztyuW may w e l l have a r i s e n as a s e p a r a t i o n of c l a n s w i t h i n a parent p h r a t r y . There i s some f u r t h e r h i n t of t h i s 155 l a s t suggestion i n the fa c t that, among the Babines, the name qWdn bty widzyn, "people of the f i r e s i d e , " i s used even today as i n Jenness' (1943: 482) time as a synonym f o r the name Lax&ztyuW. The Bulkley , C a r r i e r apply t h i s name only f o r a p a r t i c u l a r clan w i t h i n the Lax&zZyuW phratry. When the Bulkley p h r a t r i e s potlatch with those of Hazelton, the LaxAzt (Frog-Raven) group of the Gitksan i s equated to the combined LciXAtlyuW and j4jtc?ZXA.yuW of Bulkley. These fac t s suggest that the l a t t e r p a i r of p h r a t r i e s , among the Bulkley and the Babine,arose as d i v i s i o n s of a parent lax&ztyuu) group which had ~jAltc.PZXX.yiMA) and qWQn bzy wi.do.yn houses w i t h i n i t . When the s p l i t occurred, at l e a s t among the Babine, both clans became independent p h r a t r i e s and retained t h e i r o r i g i n a l house names as phratry t i t l e s . Perhaps because i t was the more powerful d i v i s i o n , the qWQn boy widzyn also retained the o r i g i n a l name Lax6 zJLyuW as a synonym. In sum, then, whereas the matching of each of the ph r a t r i e s with a dis c r e t e w a l l , i n p a r t i c u l a r through the seating of the nobles, projects an image of cl e a r d i s j u n c t i o n among them, the diachronic pers-pective reveals that there has been i n fact a continual interchange among these groups. One phratry may disappear, qua phratry, through i t s incorporation as a clan w i t h i n another, otheismay appear through the elevation of a clan following the f i s s i o n of an hypertrophied mother phratry, and s t i l l another may be regenerated as i t were ZX nihJJio through a v e r t i c a l and h o r i z o n t a l r e l o c a t i o n of capable commoners. The C a r r i e r phratry has two faces.- I t e x i s t s on one side as a category of C a r r i e r ideology, i n which perspective i t manifests the 156 properties of synchronic discreteness (expressed, f o r example, i n the p r i n c i p l e of i n v i o l a b l e trapping grounds, as i n i t s i d e a l d i s c r e t e l o -cus i n the p o t l a t c h h a l l ) and of diachronic c o n t i n u i t y . The co n t i n u i t y i s perhaps most s t r i k i n g l y expressed i n the as s o c i a t i o n of the ph r a t r i e s as a whole with crests which project an assumed e t e r n i t y . At the present time, the p r i n c i p a l panphratric crests of the Babine and Bulkley p h r a t r i e s are as follows (compare with Morice, 1892: 403, on the Stuart Lake phratry c r e s t s , given above, p. I l l ) : Ji^aPZ-xlyuiM: Frog LaxAzlyuW: Caribou jidu'mda.zni.ym: G r i z z l y , Wolf LaxcPazmtAyuiA): Sun or Moon Ca'yuW: Beaver With the exception of LaxcPazmiAyuW, a l l p h r a t r i e s bear crest i n s i g n i a representing animal species, and the same i s true of the vast majority of clan ni.Cdi.y as w e l l . The sense of perpetuity conveyed i n the name Sa (= sun or moon) i s evident. The idea of organic c o n t i n u i t y inherent i n the concept of a species i s also c l e a r . This idea i s dramatized i n the fol l o w i n g words with which Sa consoles h i s human wife Skawah whose mother he i s about to transform i n t o the limb 6f a tree: "The forests that grow on t h i s h i l l s i d e never die. As one tree f a l l s another takes i t s place, so that the forest endures forever" (Jenness, 1934: 217). True, a forest i s not as such a species, but I think the p a r a l l e l pre-sents no d i f f i c u l t y . 157 I might note, p a r a n t h e t i c a l l y , that i n contrast with the vvtcQiy, the personal crests (chcinka.) have a f a r greater admixture of representa-tions of rather unique events or objects. Many of these are of unknown o r i g i n (e.g., "Hook," and "Back-Pack," p. 508), others derive from known h i s t o r i c events (e.g., "Club of A n t l e r , " p. 506; "Forest S l i d e , " p. 511), 9 and the remainder from myths (e.g., "Sleepy," p. 505; "Rain of Stones," p. 510). The nonspecies chanka which derive from myths must share some of the mythic q u a l i t y of timelessness. In fact they frequently repre-sent the kind of unworldly event that imparts the aura of timelessness, in. the f i r s t place, to the myth. However, t h i s i s not tantamount to the more worldly mode of perpetuity conveyed i n a redundant succession of d a i l y suns, n i g h t l y moons, and of l i k e i n d i v i d u a l s who make a species. A phratry or clan i s such a redundant succession, an i d e a l l y perpetual stream of i n d i v i d u a l s of one C9A.LJ, one f l e s h . This idea f i l t e r s the domain of the crests and admits only those to be elevated as clan or p h r a t r i c emblems which share the image of co n t i n u i t y . The second face of the C a r r i e r phratry t e l l s of i t s existence as an e n t i t y of h i s t o r y i n which perspective i t i s revealed as a f r a g i l e c h i l d of time. The two aspects, i d e a l and perpetual on the one hand, actual and contingent on the other, are represented r e s p e c t i v e l y i n the potlatch placement of noble and commoner. The r i t u a l i d e n t i f i c a t i o n of the i d e a l i z e d phratry with i t s subset of diniyzcP, i n p a r t i c u l a r , i s rather p r e c i s e l y asserted through 9. "Sleepy" i s the crest with the same name as the t i t l e GsixwhD'k, men-tioned e a r l i e r i n t h i s chapter. 158 the f a s t i d i o u s confinement of these dbtvu,yzz? — i n contrast, as we have seen, with the auxtdtPzynz? — w i t h i n the w a l l assigned expressly and c a t e g o r i c a l l y to t h e i r phratry. I must emphasize that the cUnlyztP become t r a n s f e r r a b l e to the phratry as an i d e a l i z e d category, and v i c e versa. Thus, the sense of perpetuity predicated to the phratry (through i t s species crests) and to the di.ili.yzz? (the i d e a l of continued suc-cession of the t i t l e s ) become mutually supportive and i s r e a l i z e d cere-monially i n the c e n t r a l placement of the di.ni.yzzP. I f the more casual placement of the cuixXatPzynZP i s a contra-d i c t i o n of the general seating r u l e s apropos the p h r a t r i e s , i t i s be-cause they are f u l l y members of t h e i r p h r a t r i e s . However, i t i s only with the i d e a l i z e d phratry that the l o c a t i o n of the auxtcctPzynz? i s out of step. The i n t e r p h r a t r i c t r a n s i t i o n expressed by t h e i r mingling at the ends of t h e i r p h r a t r i c w a l l s , together with the sense of diachronic contingency associated with the uncertainty, i n p r i n c i p l e , of succession to t h e i r personal names become — i n v i r t u e of the contrasts i n these respects with the di.ni.yzz? — the ceremonial assertion of the phratry i n i t s perspective of h i s t o r i c f l u x . 159 CHAPTER 5 THE CENTRIPETAL ORIENTATION OF CHIEFS I w i l l pass now to the matter of seating protocols as applied w i t h i n the class of the cbtnlyzt?. In the analysis to f o l l o w , I s h a l l be unable to account f o r every p o s i t i o n shown i n Jenness' Table of Peer-age; anomalies w i l l remain. These w i l l be recognized as such, but the reader w i l l judge for himself j u s t how compromising they are to the o v e r a l l case being advanced. I w i l l commence with what i s — r e l a t i v e l y speaking — the most straightforward case: the seating arrangement of the nobles of the combined Lakh amihu-Beaver phratry. These discussions must be followed w i t h an eye to the appropriate one of Jenness' seating t a b l e s , given above. Accordingly, I s h a l l here employ mostly h i s ren-derings of C a r r i e r names. The rear row of the array of Lakhomhhu-Beaver nobles reveals an o v e r a l l pattern. The pattern may be discussed i n terms of several interdependent dimensions. The f i r s t f a c t o r i s an extension of an ob-serva t i o n , already quoted from Jenness, which bears r e p e t i t i o n at t h i s point. As he remarks, the clan c h i e f s , or dtvu\tjztPc.OW, "sat together, the chief of the second ranking clan on the r i g h t of the phratry chief ( i . e . , the chief of the p r i n c i p a l c l a n ) , and the chief of the t h i r d c lan, i f there were more than two, on the phratry chief's l e f t " (Jenness 1943: 491). The propinquity among these d£niyze.?clou) produces a d i s t i n c t and d i s c r e t e bloc of the most exalted personnel at the hub of the array of phratry nobles. This group i s set apart, as such, through a contrast 160 between the s e a t i n g of these c h i e f s and the arrangement o f s e a t i n g a p p l i e d t o the r e m a i n i n g n o b l e s ; and t h i s b r i n g s me t o the second a s -p e c t o f t h e s e a t i n g p l a n . The o r d i n a r y c£ou.f/Z£?, i n c o n t r a s t t o t h e i r c h i e f s , are f o r e g a t h e r e d i n t o homogeneous c l a n b l o c s . The f o l l o w i n g schema r e p r e s e n t s the s e a t i n g p l a n f o r the La.\ii>am6nu.-B e ave r n o b l e s , based on Jenness' t a b l e s of peerage: r B l o c of Nobles of Beaver House B l o c of C l a n C h i e f s B l A l C l B l o c o f Nobles of Sun House -\ r ~\ B l o c o f Nobles of Owl House v . I n a s i m i l a r manner, we may c o n s t r u c t the s e a t i n g o r g a n i z a t i o n of the r e m a i n i n g p h r a t r i e s . I s h a l l c o n f i n e the a n a l y s i s to the n o b l e s of the " o u t s i d e " rows. Thus we have: r ~\ B l o c o f Nobles of F l a t Rock House B l o c of C l a n C h i e f s \ A l C l r ~\ B l o c o f Nobles of House of Many Eyes V. 161 B l o c of Nobles o f T h i n House v. B l o c o f Nobles of Dark House Gltamtanytx-B l o c of Nobles of M i d d l e House B l o c of C l a n C h i e f s B l A l B2 C l r B l o c of Nobles o f B i r c h b a r k House J B l o c of C l a n C h i e f s B l A l B2 "A B l o c o f Nobles of G r i z z l y House These schemata p r e s e n t two o v e r a l l l e v e l s o f c o n t r a s t . F i r s t l y , the b l o c of c l a n c h i e f s i s s e t a p a r t from the re m a i n i n g n o b l e s , and s e c o n d l y , the l a t t e r are c o l l e c t e d i n t o opposed c l a n b l o c s . I s h a l l now under-take an a c c o u n t i n g o f the b l o c s of p h r a t r i c c h i e f s ; t h a t i s , I s h a l l c o n f i r m t h a t the c h i e f l y t i t l e s are arranged as p r e s c r i b e d by Jenness' statement and, w h i l e on t h i s s u b j e c t , I s h a l l i n c o r p o r a t e what d a t a I have on contemporary c h i e f l y t i t l e s ( i n these cases u s i n g my own t r a n s -c r i p t i o n s ) . The t h r e e Lakiarmfiu-Beaver c h i e f s are arranged as p r e s c r i b e d . To each of the peerage t a b l e s which I have reproduced and schematized above, Jenness had subtended an annotated l i s t i n g of the c o r r e s p o n d i n g t i t l e s . Thus, by way of c o n f i r m i n g t h a t the symbols A-^ , B^, and C^, 162 b r a c k e t e d o f f as the b l o c of Lak&a.rMku-'&eaveic c h i e f s , do indeed c o r r e s -pond t o the c h i e f l y t i t l e s , I i n c l u d e h e r e w i t h Jenness' (1943: 494) spe-c i f i c a t i o n s f o r each: A n SmogAXkyzmk ( T s i m s h i a n word of which the l a s t s y l l a b l e means "sun");-'- c h i e f of the sun house and p r i n c i p a l c h i e f of the combined p h r a t r i e s . BT KwA'£>, c h i e f of the Beaver p h r a t r y and now second c h i e f i n the combined p h r a t r i e s . Ci KloPmkon ( F o r e s t S l i d e ) , c h i e f of the Owl House. None of t h e re m a i n i n g t i t l e s l i s t e d under Lafeidmi /aa-Beaver are s p e c i f i e d to be c h i e f s ' t i t l e s . I n f o r m a t i o n g i v e n me by one in f o r m a n t — p r e s e n t b e a r e r of the c h i e f ' s t i t l e of the jAdu'mdazniyuw house QayawkA.ycA.Bx ( i . e . , GAj>£ek?(A)A?) — suggests t h a t t h e r e has been a m o d i f i c a t i o n i n the s t a n d i n g o f the Lakiam6ku houses s i n c e Jenness' day. He was a b l e to d e s c r i b e the placement of some h a l f - d o z e n o f the Laxc?az-mA&yuw-Ca- yuw (LakAam&hu-'&e.ave?) n o b l e s as f o l l o w s : AajPaqxz Xopmgan ImogAtgyzmk qwAy-i, nazmowki m&d A.^ B^ A-j^ C^ ( i . e . , ( i . e . , ( i . e . , kZoPmkan) SmogAtkyzmk) kwA'&) The c l a n c h i e f s ' t i t l e s remain the same, but s e v e r a l p o s i t i o n a l m o d i f i -c a t i o n s have taken p l a c e i n the i n t e r i m ; t h e r e has been a r e v e r s a l o f 2 the s t a t i o n s ofXoPmgStt and qwAy-6, i m p l y i n g t h a t Ca* yuw+ydX has been 1. The name was t r a n s l a t e d f o r me as "hot sun man." 2. Beaver House i s a l s o c a l l e d jPqazn ysx (where jpqazn = beaver lodge) Note a l s o tljiat Owl House has a l t e r n a t e names; i n a d d i t i o n t o the name mAAcAy y&x (where mA^cAy = owl) i t i s a l s o known as xaA + ydx (where, I b e l i e v e , X06 = f i r e w e e d ) . 163 e c l i p s e d by mtdott/ ysx i n p h r a t r i c ranking. A l s o , i f the placements of and given here are accurate, then there has also been s ome a l t e r a t i o n i n the placement of the clan blocs. Thus, and are + Co.* yuui ydx t i t l e s and may represent two members of a complete ca. yuw bloc s i t u a t e d to the l e f t of the c h i e f l y groups, whereas these nobles were seated to the r i g h t hand side of the chief's bloc i n Jenness' time. The c h i e f l y t i t l e s of the Laxizlyuw (= LakA-ilyu) phratry i n Jenness' (1943: 493) time were as follows: Aj_, Hagwilnext: chief of the clan House of Many Eyes and p r i n c i p a l c h i e f s of the phratry. B n , Widaxkyet (Big Man), chief of the clan House on Top of F l a t Rock and second chief of the phratry. C i , WidakPkwats ( G r i z z l y ' s B i g Dung), chief of the clan House Beside the F i r e and the t h i r d chief ot the phratry. GAitch W/t showed the following arrangement: x9x wiclyx ?uu)daxjAX Hazgw*.%ne,' xt Puwdaxqwa-&> B 3 B 2 B i h S This shows that the present chiefs bear the same t i t l e s and are arranged i n the same order as during Jenness' time. In a d d i t i o n , the t i t l e s to the immediate r i g h t of the c h i e f s , wAciyx (= caribou), and X$X (= goose) are F l a t Rock t i t l e s and therefore i n d i c a t e that that house, at l e a s t , 3 i s s i t u a t e d as before. I n c i d e n t a l l y , the t i t l e corresponding to p o s i t i o n 3. The house names are: F l a t Rock House = CCqaXgnySx; House of Many Eyes = jPcncyttayax; House Alongside the F i r e = QfoQnbzyQx. 164 B2 i n Jenness' (1943: 510) table i s given as Vz-L, and Vzqa6q£y c l a n , has f a l l e n to t h i r d place. Several placements were ind i c a t e d to me by GlitthPWi? as follow s : U)W*AA Q£h£zh?WAj? rwtdlyk hm£yh B l A l C l A2 A 3 A4 4. The avibqa6q£y (= AnAkaAki) clan i s also given the name da' nlyciiouizdy which i s translated "big center beam house." Jenness' table desig-nates mtdiyk (= ma&L' fe) by the symbol B^, which incorporates the Ayi6fe. dinZyzz.Pc1.ou), j u s t as the t h i r d stage — described e a r l i e r — separates the commoners from the nobles. 6. (Continued . . . .) alongside persons of d i f f e r e n t clans could be compared with s i m i l a r r a t i o s tabulated for the ch i e f s ( i n both cases across a l l p h r a t r i e s ) . An hypothesis of no difference between these r a t i o s could be tested against an X d i s t r i b u t i o n . 168 I n t h e cou r s e of h i s account of t h e second s t a g e , my i n f o r -mant HcitQWiXntxt added t h e p o i n t t h a t t h e cU.YU.yzt? of each p h r a t r y r e -c e i v e d g i f t s i n s e p a r a t e c l a n groups. U n f o r t u n a t e l y , I was unable to p r e s s him i n t o d e t a i l i n g c e r t a i n key m a t t e r s such as th e r u l e s c o n c e r n -i n g t h e s p e c i f i c o r d e r o f d i s t r i b u t i o n t o the c l a n b l o c s . I w i l l o f f e r some surm i s e s on t h i s d i r e c t l y . J u s t f o r now I must r e g i s t e r t h e v e r y important f a c t t h a t c l a n b l o c s a r e r e c o g n i z e d as elements i n the d i s t r i -b u t i o n i d e o l o g y . The q u e s t i o n , t h e n , i s whether — and p r e c i s e l y how — t h i s i d e o l o g y i s c o n c r e t e l y m a n i f e s t i n the c e r e m o n i a l . C o n c e r n i n g t h e s e p r o c e e d i n g s I can o f f e r s e v e r a l hypotheses. To b e g i n w i t h , I am s t r o n g l y i n c l i n e d to the assumption t h a t t he o r d e r of p r e s t a t i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n among the c l a n b l o c s o f cU.YU.yzt? i s s i m p l y a r e p e t i t i o n of the o r d e r - b y - c l a n e s t a b l i s h e d i n the i n i t i a l s t a g e o f d i s t r i b u t i o n among the cUyiiyzt?cioiM. I n o t h e r words, I o f f e r t h e modest h y p o t h e s i s t h a t t he c l a n b l o c s r e c e i v e t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n i n t h e i r rank o r d e r . Thus, i n Jenness' t a b l e , t h e A - c l a n s would be completed b e f o r e the B-clans and t h e s e , i n t u r n , must be completed b e f o r e the C - c l a n cU.YU.yzt? r e c e i v e t h e i r d i s t r i b u t i o n s . I n th e same v e i n I w i l l assume t h a t , among the p e r s o n n e l of a g i v e n c l a n , the r e c e i v i n g o r d e r i s a d i r e c t and l i n e a l f u n c t i o n of i n t r a c l a n rank as i t i s d i s p l a y e d by the s u b s c r i p t e d numerals i n Jenness' t a b l e s . A t t h i s p o i n t I would o n l y add t h a t I have l i t t l e h e s i t a t i o n i n a d o p t i n g t h e s e assumptions s i n c e much of the s c h o l a r s h i p c o n c e r n i n g a b o r i g i n a l N o r t h P a c i f i c Coast s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e has taken p o t l a t c h r e c e i v i n g o r d e r t o be v i r t u a l l y d e f i n i t i v e of the phenomenon of rank. A l t h o u g h o t h e r c e r e m o n i a l events — speech-169 making, dancing, etc. — c e r t a i n l y manifest o r d i n a t i o n as w e l l , they do not r o u t i n e l y provide as exhaustive a d i s p l a y of the ranking per-7 sonnel as i n the di s p e r s i o n of p r e s t a t i o n s . Bearing these assumptions i n mind, ins p e c t i o n of the seating arrangements of the four phratry blocs reveals that, a f t e r the comple-t i o n of each clan bloc, the d i s t r i b u t o r -- i n order to approach the f i r s t r e c i p i e n t of the succeeding clan bloc — must reverse the d i r e c -t i o n i n which h i s d i s t r i b u t i o n s had passed i n the preceding blo c . The Lak&amAku-Be.aver and LakAAJiyu p h r a t r i e s are straightforward. The following diagrams represent the procedure applied to these p h r a t r i e s : La kiamh ku.-Beaver: r ^ B . . . B ( CHIEFS ) A 2 A 3 C 2 X < * —>i i + l « J La\it>ltya\ X B 3 B 2 ( CHIEFS ) A 2 A 3 A 4 < * \ I I Thus, the broken l i n e s pass from the l a s t person of a given clan bloc to the f i r s t person ( i . e . , i n terms of rank and, therefore, of re c e i v i n g order) of the next bloc. The s o l i d arrows representing the d i r e c t i o n of d i s t r i b u t i o n w i t h i n p a r t i c u l a r clan blocs are i n the reverse d i r e c t i o n from the succeeding (not preceding!) broken arrows. 7. See, for example, Boas, 1897; Drucker, 1939; Codere, 1950. 170 The same p r i n c i p l e of d i s t r i b u t i o n a l l y marking the d i s c r e t e clan blocs by r e v e r s a l of d i r e c t i o n i n moving between succeeding blocs may be observed i n the fo l l o w i n g schemata of the re c e i v i n g pattern among ,the Gitamtanyu and the GXlMZfihyu.. These cases also present some cur-ious modifications of the pattern of the f i r s t p a i r of p h r a t r i e s . Gttcimtanyu: B g B 3 A 2 ( CHIEFS ) A - - - A « A GLL&eAhyu: | r- — -> B 6 B 5 B 4 A 4 A 3 A 2 B 3 ( CHIEFS ) \ ^ 2 < < What i s curious about the GiXamtcinyu arrangement i s the p o s i t i o n i n g of "^2*" On t h i s question, I w i l l o f f e r only a rather wary suggestion. I t w i l l r equire a lengthy preliminary d i s c u s s i o n . The Middle House and the AnAkahki clan were conceived to be of a common source. Neither, however, was generally acknowledged to be the parent d i v i s i o n (Jenness 1943: 485). Although they are nominally d i s c r e t e , t h e i r common o r i g i n appears to have imposed c e r t a i n c o n s t r a i n t s upon expression of t h e i r f u l l autonomy. They do not manifest a l l of the various c h a r a c t e r i s t i c s that mark the autonomy of most of the other clans. Only the Sun House and Twisted House, being also of common o r i -171 8 g i n , manifest s i m i l a r l i m i t a t i o n s to t h e i r separatness. Unlike the cases of a l l remaining c l a n s , these groups share common hunting t e r r i -t o r i e s . That i s , a s e r i e s of t r a c t s are assigned i n common to the kn^kaAki and Middle Houses. The same obtains i n the cases of the Sun House and Twisted House t e r r i t o r i e s . In other cases, each c l a n i s assigned to i t s own s e r i e s of t r a c t s (Jenness, 1943: 581-3). In the context of h i s o u t l i n e of the Aja^fea-ifcx-Middle House t e r r i t o r i e s , Jenness (1943: 581) makes the f o l l o w i n g observation: "Formerly there existed on Trout Lake a large p o t l a t c h house surmounted by the f i g u r e of a raven, the p r i n c i p a l crest of the conjoint c l a n s . " Thus, as w e l l as sharing hunting grounds, these clans share t h e i r p r i n -c i p a l c r e s t . Indeed, i n h i s table of clan c r e s t s , Jenness l i s t s three, namely Raven (dz£&>a.n) , Fungus (E&KJjt), and weasel, as the common pro-p e r t i e s of the conjoint clans AnhkcihkA. and Middle House. Here too the Sun and Twisted Houses are the only s i m i l a r cases. Although we do not f i n d with these any shared p r i n c i p a l c r e s t , we do f i n d that Jenness has l i s t e d a group of clan crests as the common i n s i g n i a of the Sun Hous 9 and Twisted House. P a r a l l e l observations can be made of the r e l a t i o n s among these clans as displayed i n Jenness' Tables of Peerage. The clans we are here concerned with are not organized — as the others — into d i s c r e t e blocs 8. See Jenness, 1943: 485. Twisted House = y9X^DWhtlz. Note that, i n t h i s case, Sun House i s the recognized parental c l a n . 9. These are id = sun or moon, which i s s p e c i f i e d as the p r i n c i p a l crest of the Sun House (Jenness, 1943; 484), VioJat = whale, chaddzcit = grouse, and weasel ski n decorated with the neck skin of a mallard duck. 172 I n s t e a d , i n the schema of GA£am£anyu s e a t i n g we f i n d t h a t Jenness has d e s i g n a t e d the cU.yu.yztP of the kn&kaAki., and of t h e M i d d l e House a l i k e , w i t h the c a p i t a l l e t t e r "B." L i k e w i s e , i n the LakiamAhu p l a n b o t h the Sun House and T w i s t e d House p e r s o n n e l a re a s s i g n e d w i t h the c a p i t a l "A." I w i l l t a k e Jenness' code a t i t s f a c e v a l u e . I t would appear t h a t , a l t h o u g h they a r e d i s t i n g u i s h e d n o m i n a l l y , t h e d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n does not extend c l e a r l y i n s e v e r a l s i g n i f i c a n t a s p e c t s o f c u l t u r e i n terms of which o t h e r c l a n s a r e m u t u a l l y segmented ( t e r r i t o r y , p r i n c i p a l c r e s t , and p o t l a t c h s t r u c t u r e ) . Thus, these two p a i r s of c o n j o i n t c l a n s a r e so f a r g e n e r a l l y from m a n i f e s t i n g f u l l autonomy t h a t t h e i r p e r s o n n e l a r e m i n g l e d and ranked w i t h i n c o n j o i n t b l o c s t o be d e a l t w i t h i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n s as though the c o n j o i n t c l a n s r e p r e s e n t e d s i n g l e ones. Indeed t h e r e i s s c a r c e l y much l e f t t o a c t as a d i s t i n g u i s h i n g f e a t u r e marking the d i v i s i o n s w i t h i n these p a i r e d g r o u p i n g s . I n f a c t , I have not been a b l e to i d e n t i f y an i t e m , from Jenness' d a t a , which might have served as an i n s i g n i a o r which might have m a t e r i a l l y mani-f e s t e d the nominal autonomy of the T w i s t e d House. Jenness does not p r o v i d e p l a n s of the v i l l a g e s as they were d u r i n g h i s s t a y among the B u l k l e y p e o p l e s , so we are unable to d e c i d e whether t h e r e was an a c t u a l T w i s t e d House s t r u c t u r e s e r v i n g , a t t h a t t i m e , as the r e s i d e n c e o f the c l a n c h i e f and as the c l a n p o t l a t c h h a l l (as was the case among the ot h e r c l a n s ) . However, h i s d e s c r i p t i o n of the abandoned v i l l a g e s i t e o f £6£?kya. {tAtPqxt = Rock-foot) makes no mention of any Twisted House (nor of a Sun House, f o r t h a t matter) a l t h o u g h he does speak of the r e -mains of an hYi&kcL&kA. House. 173 There i s even some q u e s t i o n whether the T w i s t e d House has ever had a f u l l y r e c o g n i z e d c h i e f . Perhaps I s h o u l d say, r a t h e r , t h a t i t i s d o u b t f u l t h a t i t s c h i e f was accorded a l l of the d i g n i t i e s t h a t marked •the c h i e f s among the o t h e r c l a n s . I t i s t r u e t h a t i n v i e w o f the f o l -l o w i n g statement from Jenness (1943: 485) we must assume t h a t t h e r e was some concept o f a c h i e f t a i n s h i p a t t a c h e d to the T w i s t e d House; he r e -marks t h a t "The T w i s t e d House of the Laksamshu p h r a t r y was r e a l l y a p a r t of the Sun or Moon House t h a t s e p a r a t e d o f f under i t s own c h i e f [my emphasis] when the Sun House became v e r y numerous." Y e t , i n s p i t e o f t h i s g e n e r a l r e f e r e n c e to a Twis t e d House c h i e f , he i s nowhere to be seen i n the t a b l e s of peerage. As we have seen, among the LdkACimAhu, o n l y t h r e e t i t l e s a r e d e f i n e d as c h i e f s ' t i t l e s , and these c o r r e s p o n d to t he c h i e f s of the Sun, Owl, and Beaver Houses. I f indeed t h e r e was a se p a r a t e T w i s t e d House c h i e f , a p p a r e n t l y he was not extended q u i t e the same c e r e m o n i a l r e c o g n i t i o n as h i s f e l l o w c h i e f s of the o t h e r c l a n s . M a n i f e s t l y , he does not s i t among h i s f e l l o w LakAamAhu c h i e f s , s e t a p a r t from the l e s s e r cLinZyztP of h i s c l a n . One must presume on t h i s e v i d e n c e t h a t he a l s o was not s e t a p a r t as a f u l l - f l e d g e d c h i e f through r e c e i p t of h i s p o t l a t c h p r e s t a t i o n s w i t h the c h i e f l y b l o c . I am i n c l i n e d to conclude t h a t a s i m i l a r s i t u a t i o n o b t a i n s even today i n the case of the Twis t e d House. My i n f o r m a n t , GiAtzk?wi?, l i s t e d Sa+y9X, mAAdlyyQX, and ydX 0 i>£i.Z (= Twis t e d House) as the t h r e e houses of the LaxcPatmAAyuW t i t l e s (see above, p. 162); none of the t i t l e s were s p e c i f i e d as b e l o n g -10. A f o u r t h name, xa4 + (/9x, i s the e q u i v a l e n t of y&X^0 WAtZz. 174 ing to ySX^O^AtZz, l e s s s t i l l was any among them i d e n t i f i e d as the c h i e f l y t i t l e of t h i s c l a n . I t i s f a i r to conclude that on a l l counts the hypothetical independence of the Twisted House i s scarcely r e a l i z e d i n p r a c t i c e . In connection with the r e c o g n i t i o n of an acknowledged c l a n c h i e f , the Ajtifax-ifcx. c lan i s more expressly d i f f e r e n t i a t e d from i t s l i n k e d c l a n , Middle House, than i s the case with Twisted House. Although he employs the same c a p i t a l l e t t e r , "B," as the c l a n i n d i c a t o r for the AnAkcukZ c h i e f , Medx'fc (he appears as B^ i n the table of GiXaxntXinya. peers), as he uses f o r Chief GLitthwa of Middle House, Jenness nevertheless s p e c i f i e s i n h i s t i t l e d e s c r i p t i o n s that Htdi'k i s the An&kctAki. c h i e f ' s t i t l e . The p o s i t i o n of the AnAkcuki clan i s somewhat ambiguous. Based on what i s known of most C a r r i e r clans, one may say that a cluster of features separate them from one another. Thus, most clans were d i s -tinguished through propri e t o r s h i p over a series of hunting t e r r i t o r i e s and f i s h i n g s i t e s (Jenness, 1943: 488), the possession of d i s t i n c t i v e " p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s " (Jenness, 1943: 484; 495), and the r e c o g n i t i o n of a p a r t i c u l a r chief who, with h i s family, used the c l a n p o t l a t c h h a l l as h i s personal dwelling (Jenness, 1943: 518). In terms of these c r i -t e r i a , then, the separateness of the Ayiikcuki.- and Middle House clans i s only incompletely expressed. The seating arrangement of the nobles of these clans would appear to assert rather p r e c i s e l y a l a s t i n g sense of u n i t y associated with acknowledgement of a recent common o r i g i n . This manifestation i s extremely subtle. I t w i l l be best delayed u n t i l a f t e r our discussion of the general s p a t i a l manifestations of the categoric 175 opposition between ordinary dixilyze?and the cUviiyz£?ciow. We are now i n a p o s i t i o n to cl e a r the way for that wider discussion by taking up the anomalous cases i n the GiXcimtciviyu. and GXAAZltkyu. seating plans. I t i s c l e a r that the absence of d i s c r e t e blocs of AnAkcukx. and Middle House dA.vu.yzz?expresses, among other things, a continued rec o g n i t i o n of the s p e c i a l s o l i d a r i t y — based upon common o r i g i n — of these houses. From t h i s perspective, the placement of the two B-bloc t i t l e s , UzcU'k (B^, the Avi&kcukl. c h i e f ) , and GU>£zhuXl (B 2, the Middle House c h i e f ) , give the appearance of a double c h i e f t a i n s h i p over an e f f e c t i v e l y s i n g l e c l a n . In s p i t e of the primacy of the G r i z z l y House c h i e f , ^x&h, who was the acknowledged phratry c h i e f , t h i s appearance could w e l l have been construed as compromising to the ascendancy of the G r i z z l y c l a n . Could not the unexpected p o s i t i o n of the Vjolukyzt (= A^) have represented a counterbalance against the double c h i e f t a i n s h i p of the conjoint Aft^fccwfoi-Middle House bloc? Does not the placement of VjOhikyzt suggest the extension to him of a kind of l i m i n a l c h i e f t a i n -ship? His l o c a t i o n at the immediate r i g h t hand margin of the bloc of chiefs would of course mark him as a highly-ranked noble, but h i s r e -moval from the midst of h i s f e l l o w c l a n noblemen i s surely a d i s t i n c t i o n that places him i n the s p e c i a l t w i l i g h t category of a second G r i z z l y clan c h i e f . Thus, the G r i z z l y House o f f e r s a counterbalance against the ambiguous dual c h i e f t a i n s h i p of the AvU>kcukA.-M.iddle House bl o c , by advancing an equivocal dual c h i e f t a i n s h i p of i t s own. The s p a t i a l removal of Vjdtukyzt would be made apparent, of course, i f he were the f i r s t r e c i p i e n t i n the second phase of the d i s -176 t r i b u t i o n s among h i s p h r a t r y (see diagram, p. 170). I t i s not w i t h o u t p a r a l l e l , however, i f VjolukyoX was made even more c h i e f - l i k e t h r o u g h r e c e i p t of h i s p o t l a t c h g i f t among the o t h e r GXJjimtanyu c h i e f s d u r i n g t h e f i r s t s t a g e of t h e d i s t r i b u t i o n s . The p l a n of d i s t r i b u t i o n s p u t forward by my i n f o r m a n t , HaegWt^ne'xt ( i n Chapter 4 ) , has t h e t i t l e MjPciqxt i n c l u d e d among th e f i r s t - s t a g e r e c i p i e n t s of t h e Laxc^az'mihyuui. I t i s t r u e t h a t the p e r f e c t a c c u r a c y of Ha.egwi.Ane.'xtrs i n f o r m a t i o n i s open to some q u e s t i o n i n f a c e of t h e p r e s e n t l y u n a c c o u n t a b l e f a c t t h a t h i s l i s t of f i r s t - s t a g e laxc?ae*m^6t/uw r e c i p i e n t s does not i n c l u d e c h i e f /%D?mgan of m*AcU.y+y9X (Owl House). I f , however, h i s i n f o r m a t i o n i s a c c u r a t e c o n c e r n i n g -iajpaqxe, we a r e t h e r e w i t h p r e s e n t e d w i t h a case i n which a n o n - c h i e f l y n o b l e i s s i n g u l a r l y honored by her i n c l u s i o n among the c h i e f s . I would surmise t h a t t h i s woman may be extended a s p e c i a l d i g n i t y because she i s the mother of the Laxc? CLZ'm>iA yuu) c h i e f , Imogitgymk, and the w i f e of the Jptdu'mdazntyuw c h i e f , GZ6tQAhyu. phratry. Through the foregoing pages I have gone to some lengths to e s t a b l i s h several important aspects of the s p a t i a l and temporal s t r u c -ture of pot l a t c h p r o t o c o l . F i r s t , I have argued that Jenness' tables of peerage reveal an arrangement whereby the nobles of each phratry are gathered i n t o d i s c r e t e blocs of two kinds; on the one hand, the group of the most celebrated phratry personnel, the dAiviyz) which appears on G r i z z l y House pole, and was dramatized by Vjolakytt, second ranked t i t l e i n the clan (Jenness, 1943: 497, 505). 14. Moose (dencwl); Owl House c l a n crest and personal crest of chief Ktomkan. Crane (cU£); Thin House clan crest and personal crest of Chief Chaj>pAjt. Swan; F l a t Rock House clan crest and personal crest of Nuauptz, nephew of chief ^idaxkyoX. Whale (ntkt); clan crest dramatized by chief SmOQAXkymk, but not classed also as a personal c r e s t . 182 2) Clan crest raven (deXthan) which appears on the front of the cl a n c h i e f ' s house and on a pole s i t u a t e d on the hunting grounds of the conjoint At^fc^fe^C-Middle House. I t was also dramatized by the bearer of the t i t l e of the same name, to which the cres t was thus permanently f i x e d . Jenness (1943: 497, 506,581) l i s t e d the t i t l e n i n th i n rank i n the cl a n . 3) Clan cr e s t frog was painted on the door of Thin House and was dramatized as the personal cr e s t of Kanciu. (= frog i n Gijtki>a.n) who was l i s t e d eighth i n h i s clan (Jen-ness, 1943: 498, 509) . 4) Clan crest Mountain Man (gytdamhkaul-£>k) appeared on the House of Many Eyes' totem pole, and was dramatized by the person who bore the corresponding t i t l e , whom Jenness (1943: 499) describes as "the h e i r of the clan c h i e f . " 5) Clan crest o t t e r also appeared on the House of Many Eyes' pole and was dramatized as the personal crest of Haxlaxlaxh, ranked t h i r d i n h i s c l a n . Thus, there are not two but at l e a s t s i x instances of crests l i s t e d as c l a n crests which are also l i s t e d as personal c r e s t s of nobles of sub-chiefly rank whose prerogative i t therefore was to represent the crest beings at potlatches through i m i t a t i v e dramatizations. Of course, there are a number of cases of clan crests dramatized by the clan c h i e f s themselves. This includes the following c r e s t s : 1) Clan crest woodpecker (mCLMAst) which "would be placed on the clan's totem pole, i f one e x i s t e d , . . . . " (Jenness, 1943: 498). I t was also dramatized as the personal crest of the chief (SamuXx) of Birchbark House (Jenness, 1943: 509). 2) Clan cr e s t beaver appeared on the ia.fe4cxm.6ftu.-Beaver pole and was the personal crest of chief Kwi'h (Jenness, 1943: 500, 512). 3) Clan crest whale (nzkt) was not regarded as the per-sonal crest of chief SmogiXgyktrnk although he had the p r i v i -lege, as c h i e f , of portraying i t through a potlatch dramati-z a t i o n . There i s no s t i p u l a t i o n that t h i s crest would neces-s a r i l y have appeared on a clan pole had one existed — as i s sp e c i f i e d of the Sun House crest -40. (sun or moon) (Jenness, 1943: 500). 183 4) Clan crest grouse {dhaddzat ) has two associated p o t l a t c h p o r t r a y a l s . F i r s t , as a clan c r e s t i t was drama-t i z e d by chief SmogAXgymk as an i n t e g r a l feature of h i s d i s -play of the crest whale (Jenness, 1943: 500). On occasion he enacted the same crest being d i f f e r e n t l y , and regarded i t then as h i s personal crest (Jenness, 1943: 511). In a d d i t i o n to the c l a n crests c i t e d above, there were many others which were displayed on poles, house f r o n t s , or on ceremonial garments (e.g., weasel s k i n decorated with the neck of mallard duck; see Jenness, 1943: 500), but which had no associated p o t l a t c h dramati-z a t i o n . The cr e s t s owl of Owl House, and eagle of Beaver phratry are examples of t h i s type (Jenness, 1943: 500). I t i s cl e a r from these data that a l l crests classed as clan c r e s t s , excepting only the cres t swan c i t e d below, have at l e a s t one and frequently more of t h e i r d i s p l a y manifestations associated c l e a r l y with the o f f i c e of clan c h i e f . This nexus i s apparent when Jenness speaks of the representation of clan crests s p e c i f i c a l l y on the houses grave boxes, and ceremonial gear of the c h i e f s . Totem poles, and henc the clan crests mounted upon them, are thought of v i r t u a l l y as the ch i e f ' s property. The r a i s i n g of poles bearing c l a n crests was the p r i v i l e g e of the clan c h i e f s . For example: Both these crests [Beaver and Eagle] were represented on the totem pole of the combined Laksamshu and Beaver phra-t r i e s i n the Hagwilgate Canyon, a pole erected about 1865 by a chief of the Beaver phratry, Kwi's, or as he renamed him-s e l f , Bini...he named i t Fireweed ( g i l a ^ s ) , a f t e r the p r i n -c i p a l crest of the Gitksan phratry that equated the Laksam-shu, caused the fi g u r e of an eagle to be carved on i t s summit, and the image of a beaver to be attached to about mid-height. The Indians removed the beaver a f t e r h i s death and placed i t on h i s grave (Jenness, 1943: 500-1). 184 My informant, Haz.gwA.\nz.'xt, spoke of ZAISA'X, the pole belonging to the cla n qaya ini.ycu.y9X, as GiAtzh?wi?'s pole. I t i s also noteworthy that t h i s pole i s now si t u a t e d near GiJs£z,k?usi?'s home at a distance of some 40 or so miles from Moricetown. I t c a r r i e s the f i g u r e of -53-6 (= black bear), which now seems to rank as a qaya+W^Ani.yciydX c l a n crest (Jenness l i s t e d i t as a G r i z z l y House personal c r e s t ) , and the fi g u r e of an Indian i n feather headdress holding a bow and arrow. The l a t t e r f i g u r e represents the c r e s t GiAt.zk.7Wi.? (= "bow and arrow man," according to GiAttk?wi? himself) which was l i s t e d as a personal crest by Jenness (1943: 507). Beynon's manuscript concerns ceremonials held i n connection with the r a i s i n g of a number of totem poles representing houses of the g'anhafda (= frog) and giAg- a?oi>£ (= fireweed) p h r a t r i e s of the KiX6Z.gu.kla. t r i b e . These poles are refe r r e d to throughout as the poles of the representative house c h i e f s . In the same v e i n , a l l c l a n crests portrayed through p o t l a t c h dramatizations are eit h e r so enacted by the clan c h i e f himself or, i f displayed as the personal crest of a les s e r noble, are then l i n k e d to the c l a n chief through one of the other modes of manifestation that I have noted. In sum, v i r t u a l l y a l l crests i d e n t i f i e d as clan crests are i d e o l o g i c a l l y l i n k e d through one or more of i t s d i s p l a y manifesta-tions with the o f f i c e of the c l a n c h i e f t a i n s h i p . 15. GiAtz.k?wi? i s present chief of qaya+U)^iniyaiy3x (Middle House). Note that the name of the pole ZATfiX (= fungus) i s the same as i t s counterpart i n Jenness' (1943: 486) time. 185 C e r t a i n ones among these various c l a n c r e s t s are counted as more important than others. Jenness r e f e r s to these as " p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s . " Although he provides no separate l i s t i n g of these c r e s t s , he makes scattered references to some of them. Thus: "The G r i z z l y , Sun or Moon, Owl and Beaver Houses derive t h e i r names from t h e i r p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s " (Jenness, 1943: 484). A l s o , "Kaigyet (a mythical monster) — t h i s i s the p r i n c i p a l c r e s t portrayed on the clan's totem pole i n the Hagwilgate Canyon, and gives i t s name to the pole" (Jenness, 1943: 498). We have already seen that the crest raven of the conjoint Aitifc-CLifcx-Middle House (p. 171) clans i s designated a p r i n c i p a l c r e s t . The sense of c o n t i n u i t y which i s predicated to the clan c h i e f s derives most c l e a r l y from the imputation of c o n t i n u i t y to the p r i n c i p a l c l a n crests with which they are i d e n t i f i e d . The c o n t i n u i t y of p r i n c i -p a l crests i s established i n the f o l l o w i n g statement: In clans that had several c r e s t s , one (or o c c a s i o n a l l y two) generally ranked very much higher than the r e s t , because i t was more deeply rooted i n the l o c a l h i s t o r y and t r a d i t i o n s . This crest was then as permanent as the clan [my emphasis], and deeply concerned the e n t i r e phratry, which f e l t toward i t the same propriet o r s h i p as i t f e l t toward the c l a n (Jenness, 1943: 496). These p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s , then, as the leading c o l l e c t i v e representations of t h e i r respective clans, c o n s t i t u t e metaphors of c l a n c o n t i n u i t y . The sense of crest c o n t i n u i t y i s most v i v i d l y asserted through the 16 mounting of the crests upon the pole. One of the most important fea-16. In the e a r l y years, figures were carved as masks and subsequently pegged to the bare pole (see Barbeau, 1929: 13). 186 tures of the totem pole i s i t s a b i l i t y to endure beyond the l i f e t i m e of i t s b u i l d e r and, as such, to mediate the di s p l a y of the p r i n c i p a l 17 c r e s t s i d e a l l y through a span of several generations. A l l of the cr e s t s s p e c i f i e d by Jenness as p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s are pole c r e s t s . Even, as i n the cases of the crests t>& (sun or moon of Sun House), m£i,dz£ (owl of Owl House) , and manAit (woodpecker of Birchbark House) , where the cres t did not a c t u a l l y appear on a pole at the time, i t was conceived as a pole c r e s t : Sun or Moon (sa) — i f these two clans (Sun House and Twisted House) had erected a totem pole, t h i s i s the cres t that they would c e r t a i n l y have carved upon it....Owl (misdzi) — This i s the cres t that would be carved on the clan totem pole, i f one existed (Jenness, 1943: 499-500). While on the subject of pole c r e s t s , I suggest that the desire to carve the major crests upon poles or houses a r i s e s i n part from a wish to c l e a r l y contrast the use of the crest-being as a c o l l e c t i v i z i n g c l a n symbol from the possible use of the same crest-being as a personal crest f o r p o t l a t c h dramatizations. I t seems that v i r t u a l l y any c r e s t -being, in c l u d i n g those taken as the p r i n c i p a l clan symbols, may be taken as a personal c r e s t e i t h e r by the chief himself or, with h i s permission, by one of h i s nobles. In f a c t , except where a personal c r e s t coincided ( i n name) with a t i t l e , i t could be bought and sold f r e e l y w i t h i n or without c l a n and phratry. Where t i t l e and personal c r e s t coincide, the crest i s f i x e d with the t i t l e to i t s clan (Jenness, 1943: 501) . 17. I suspect, as w e l l , that a chief who r a i s e s a pole may also be ceded the p r i v i l e g e of mounting upon i t any personal crests he i s using. This, f o r example, could w e l l be the case with the appearance of the crest G4Jt£e.h?uxi? (bow and arrow man) on the present pole e6J">cA (see above, p. 184, f f . ) . This may also be one of the ways i n which c e r t a i n of the le s s e r clan crests have arisen. 187 This i s i l l u s t r a t e d with the crest grouse (see above, p. 184) which receives two kinds of enactment; one as the Sun House c r e s t , and another as the clan c h i e f ' s personal crest (Jenness, 1943: 500). In t h i s case, both dramatizations are the prerogative of the same c l a n . However, the c r e s t g r i z z l y occurs as the personal p r i v i l e g e of An^fca^kx c h i e f HtcLL'k (= G r i z z l y Bear i n GZtk&an), who acted i t i n h i s potlatches, and as the c l a n p r i n c i p a l crest of G r i z z l y House (Jenness, 1943: 506). In cases such as these the impact of a c l a n crest dramatization would be somewhat attenuated where the same being i s l i k e w i s e dramatized as a personal c r e s t . The existence of separate carved representations achieves an important d i v i s i o n between the use of crest-beings as c l a n emblems on the one hand, and as personal prerogatives on the other. P r i n c i p a l c lan crests were therefore regarded as inseparable from t h e i r clans. They c a r r i e d a sense of endurance both i n r e l a t i o n to the idea of t h e i r long a s s o c i a t i o n with t h e i r clans and, j u s t as I have argued i n r e l a t i o n to the phratry c r e s t s , because the great majority are representations of l i v i n g species (see pp. 156-7). This sense of c o n t i n u i t y was therefore predicated also upon the o f f i c e of the c l a n c h i e f t a i n s h i p through i t s s p e c i a l proprietary r i g h t s with respect to the clan c r e s t s , i n p a r t i c u l a r to the p r i n c i p a l c l a n c r e s t s . The sense of c o n t i n u i t y thus projected upon the o f f i c e of the chief stands i n contrast to what the r u l e s of d i s p o s i t i o n imply concern-ing most personal c r e s t s : " . . . i t ranked as purely personal property and could be sold w i t h i n or without the clan l i k e a garment or a piece of f u r n i t u r e " (Jenness, 1943: 501). In f a c t , concerning the minor clan 188 c r e s t s , we note a s i m i l a r a t t i t u d e : "...the minor c r e s t s , being of com-p a r a t i v e l y s l i g h t importance, could conceivably be alienated or even dropped" (Jenness, 1943: 496). I t i s true that there was some tendency for personal c r e s t s to remain bound to a p a r t i c u l a r c l a n owing to the fact that they "...tended to become hereditary, l i k e the t i t l e , and a man normally adopted the crest of h i s mother's brother when he i n h e r i -ted that uncle's t i t l e " (Jenness, 1943: 502). Nevertheless, t h i s remains a mere "tendency," a contingency counterposed against the r u l e which permits a l i e n a t i o n of such crests from a cl a n . On the other hand, among p r i n c i p a l c l an c r e s t s there i s the reverse tendency that the poles, or houses on which they are mounted, i n time w i l l rot and f a l l and must be renewed i n order to maintain the i d e a l of perpetuity. So long as these r u l e s of cres t d i s p o s i t i o n are not negated under the s t r a i n of these contingencies, they continue to convey to the s o c i a l categories dU.yu.yzil/ dA.yiiyztPc.OW the complementary connotations, r e s p e c t i v e l y , of c o n t i n u i t y / transience VAj>~a.-\JAJ> the clans with which they are i d e n t i f i e d . I t i s true that s i m i l a r remarks could be made concerning one sp e c i a l c l a s s of personal c r e s t s : "whenever a man's personal c r e s t coincided with h i s t i t l e i t belonged to the permanent str u c t u r e of the clan and was therefore i n a l i e n a b l e ; . . . . " (Jenness, 1943: 501). Jenness' l i s t s reveal a s i z a b l e number of such c r e s t s . Nevertheless, i n the case of those crests which are the exclusive prerogative of the clan c h i e f s , the so-called p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s , a l i e n a t i o n (from the clan) i s c a t e g o r i -c a l l y precluded. The personal crests are, on that score, a mixed bag. In sum, p r i n c i p a l c l an crests must not, and most personal crests may, be alienated from t h e i r clans. The c a t e g o r i c a l l y f i x e d p r i n c i p a l c l an crests 189 are the prerogatives of the di.yviyz2.Pc.ou) who are therefore set apart from t h e i r f e l l o w di.yu.yzzP as the unique bearers of the most important sym-bols of clan c o n t i n u i t y , the p r i n c i p a l c lan VVtZdiy. In contrast to the clan c r e s t s , the personal c r e s t s are i n p r i n c i p l e f r e e l y mobile with respect to rank p o s i t i o n . A personal crest may, as i t were, s h i f t i t s rank by moving from t i t l e to t i t l e w i t h i n a c l a n , or v i a s h i f t s i n the status of the t i t l e to which the cre s t i s permanently (when cres t and t i t l e "coincide") or c u r r e n t l y a f f i x e d . There are instances of apparent rank reversals among Jenness' accounts of the peerage. Thus, for instance, he records that: The Hagwilnexl who preceded h i s nephew, the present Hagwilnexl, as chief of the house of Many Eyes and chief of the phratry, l i v e d o r i g i n a l l y at Trembleur Lake, where he was e i t h e r a nobleman i n the same phratry, or i t s c h i e f . When he moved to Hagwilgate i n the l a t t e r h a l f of the nine-teenth century he succeeded, on the strength of some marriage connection, i n wresting the t i t l e and c h i e f t a i n s h i p from i t s proper h e i r , Kela [which i s shown as second i n rank i n Jenness' table] (Jenness, 1943: 493). In s p i t e of the ambiguity of the expression "proper h e i r , " the foregoing statement suggest that dz ^CLZto s h i f t s i n the ranking 18 po s i t i o n s of clan t i t l e s was a recognized occurrence. Comparison of the r oster of c h i e f s ' t i t l e s which I obtained from my informant, GiAtzhPUli?, against the ones supplied by Jenness shows two such s h i f t s . The t i t l e z'&zhbiA. has been elevated since Jenness' time, when i t ranked second among the nobles of the Thin Board House, to the present c h i e f -t a i n s h i p of the c l a n , and more remarkably, the once lowly t i t l e AdZja-Pn 18. Note also the attempts of GcuUzut to usurp the seat of KtoPrnkan (Jenness, 1943: 494). 190 has now been assumed by the Owl House chief i n favor of the t i t l e Samuxx which was used by the Owl House chi e f of Jenness' time. I t has been argued that whatever projects a connotation of R e l a t i v e constancy i n a diachronic perspective w i l l tend to o r i e n t spa-t i a l l y toward a p o s i t i o n of c e n t r a l i t y . Perhaps i t i s more pr e c i s e to say t h a t , i n a system of elements, the one which i s regarded as most permanently a f f i x e d w i t h i n the frame of reference that defines the system w i l l be taken to e s t a b l i s h the c e n t r a l p o s i t i o n i n a s p a t i a l d i s t r i b u t i o n of those elements. This l a s t statement summarizes the meaning represented i n the placement of the c l a n c h i e f s . That i s , the f a c t that the c h i e f s enjoy c e r t a i n exclusive prerogatives i n r e l a t i o n to the s p e c i a l c l a s s of i n a l i e n a b l e c l a n crests r e s u l t s i n an a s s o c i a -t i o n a l t r a n s f e r upon the o f f i c e of the clan c h i e f t a i n s h i p of the same sense of permanence as i s c a r r i e d i n the i d e o l o g i c a l view of the crests themselves. At the same time t h i s connotation of c o n t i n u i t y imposes a c e n t r i p e t a l force upon the s p a t i a l o r i e n t a t i o n of the c l a n c h i e f s i n r e l a t i o n to the p o s i t i o n i n g of the other nobles of t h e i r respective clans. The locus of the clan c h i e f s i n e f f e c t s t i p u l a t e s the center of the continuum of dA.YU.yzo,'? of the phratry. - Gti>tth?wi.? expressed the s p a t i a l code of s o c i a l rank i n specifying that c h i e f s s i t always " i n the middle" while, moving away from the c l a n c h i e f s , the ranks are "getting lower." The ranking of the nobles, that i s , i s manifest accord-ing to the simple analogy: Analogy I I I . di^yz&?cow:cUvu.yze./? : :high:low: .-central:lateral 191 The aura of c o n t i n u i t y predicated to the o f f i c e of c l a n c h i e f t a i n s h i p — through i t s s p e c i a l prerogatives with the clan c r e s t s — renders improbable any in v e r s i o n of t h i s a n a l o g i c a l s t r u c t u r e . This assumes, as before (see above, p. 144, ZX. 6Z.q.), that the ordered a n a l o g i c a l r e l a t i o n s h i p s Analogy IV. enduring:transient: -.high:low::central:lateral tend to hold unconsciously, and f o r reasons bearing upon panhuman per-ceptual experiences: sunsets; edge vi,. center of f i e l d of v i s i o n . In contrast to the c h i e f s , the ordinary dAvtLyzz.1? do not, as a category, bear such i n a l i e n a b l e c r e s t s . In t h i s respect, then, they are not as s t r i k i n g l y marked as are the c h i e f s by a connotation of per-manency VAA-CL-OAM t h e i r clans cum permanency of t h e i r clans. The fact that the personal c r e s t s , to which the ordinary nobles are l i m i t e d , are somewhat subject to rank t r a n s i t i o n stands also i n contrast to the p r i n c i p a l clan crests which always mark the top of the rank continuum w i t h i n the c l a n , whichever t i t l e happens also to be associated with the c h i e f t a i n s h i p at the time. In summation, the dZftA.yzz.PC.OiA) axe. set apart through a c e n t r i -p e t a l tendency imparted to them i n v i r t u e of t h e i r exclusive a s s o c i a t i o n w i t h the clan's p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s . The c e n t r i p e t a l force r e f l e c t s an aura of duration and s t a b i l i t y imputed to the clan c r e s t s . This sense of c o n t i n u i t y i s stressed through contrast with the r e l a t i v e transience imputed to the class of ordinary dAviAyzz.? i n v i r t u e of t h e i r confine-ment to d i s p l a y i n g crests which are regarded as dispensible properties (vA&-a-vAA the c l a n ) , which are subject to p e r i o d i c s h i f t s among the 192 t i t l e s and ranks, and which contain a si g n i f i c a n t l y higher admixture of rather contingent representations ( i . e . , as opposed to the near-universal representation of principal clan crests as l i v i n g species). These contrasts establish the analogical relationship: Analogy V. dAzViiyzt?cioW:dAvuyzt? :: enduring .-transient This analogy i s established by analysis of the metaceremon-i a l ideology of Carrier crests. By combining Analogy V with the theo-retically-based Analogy IV we create a sort of an analogical syllogism. From this syllogism we may generate Analogy I I I , which i t s e l f i s merely a simple summary statement of the e x p l i c i t ceremonial protocols. I conclude that similar forces are at work i n formalizing the placement of the cU.yu.yzt? COW IM. the d4-.yu.yzt'?as were held — in the preceding chapter — to be operative i n the locating of the cuix£cit?cynt? the tot a l class of the no b i l i t y (including the chiefs) . I do not claim that the central positioning of the clan chiefs i s con-sciously intended — by the ceremonialists — to symbolize a quality of endurance i n the clans which are metonymically represented, in their idealized perspective, by the office of the chieftainship. While this i s certainly a p o s s i b i l i t y , the available evidence w i l l allow only the obverse interpretation. Thus, although the ceremonial participants may themselves be quite unable to express i t s origin — except as an appeal to established tradition — the formalized spatial arrangements of the societal categories which we have witnessed to this point are ac-corded by the participants a sense of virtue or appropriateness which r e f l e c t s , i n turn a strain to consistency i n the relationships among the semantically-linked categories of space, time, and society. 193 The f o r e g o i n g e x p l a n a t o r y schema o f s e a t i n g p r o t o c o l has t a k e n more or l e s s a t f a c e v a l u e s e v e r a l n o t i o n s which were r a i s e d i n the c o u r s e o f t h e a n a l y s i s . I s h a l l pause here t o e x p l o r e t h e s e no-t i o n s b e f o r e p a s s i n g on t o f u r t h e r d i s c u s s the semantic b a s i s o f s e a t -i n g a c c o r d i n g t o b l o c s of c h i e f s , and of l e s s e r n o b l e s , by t h e i r c l a n . F i r s t l e t us c o n s i d e r more c l o s e l y t h e concept o f the perma-nence of the p r i n c i p a l c l a n c r e s t s . I adopted t h i s n o t i o n , i t w i l l be r e c o l l e c t e d , from Jenness' (1943: 495) statement t h a t a c l a n ' s p r i n c i -p a l c r e s t " . . . g e n e r a l l y ranked much h i g h e r than the r e s t , because i t was more d e e p l y r o o t e d i n t h e l o c a l h i s t o r y and t r a d i t i o n s . T h i s c r e s t was as permanent as the c l a n . . . . " T h i s statement does not w a r r a n t the c o n c l u s i o n t h a t the p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s of the c l a n s are c o n s i d e r e d to be e n t i r e l y c o e v a l w i t h the c l a n i t s e l f . A t l e a s t i n t h e c o n t e x t of o r i g i n mythology such i s not t h e c a s e . C a r r i e r mythology accounts f o r the a d o p t i o n of c r e s t s , c l a n c r e s t s and p e r s o n a l c r e s t s , t hrough an encounter between a human a n c e s t o r and a m y t h i c a l b e i n g . U n l i k e t h e t o t e m i c myths common elsewhere — n o t a b l y i n A u s t r a l i a — the m y t h i c being which i s adopted as a c l a n emblem i s not i t s e l f c o n s i d e r e d t o be t h e o r i g i n a t i n g a n c e s t o r of the group. I n the c o n t e x t of the C a r -r i e r mythology, the c l a n s and p h r a t r i e s which assume the myth bei n g s as t h e i r p r i n c i p a l c r e s t s appear as a l r e a d y e s t a b l i s h e d s o c i e t a l d i v i -s i o n s , and none of t h e myths r e c o r d e d by Jenness (or by m y s e l f ) s p e c i f y an adventure out of which a c l a n or p h r a t r y a r o s e . C o n s i d e r a few i l -l u s t r a t i o n s . 194 The o r i g i n of the crest KcUgytt, c h i e f c r e s t of the Lakillyu 19 c l a n House of Many Eyes, derives from a legend of the cannibal mon-s t e r , Kculgyzt, which concludes with the fo l l o w i n g statement: "The woman whom Kaigyet k i l l e d belonged to the L a k s i l y u phratry, so a clan i n that phratry made Kaigyet i t s crest and represented i t on a totem-pole at Hagwilgate" (Jenness, 1934: 222). S i m i l a r l y , the o r i g i n myth of the Sun House Crest Sa. ends on the f o l l o w i n g note: "Skawah had belonged to the phratry known as Kalsamshu, and i t was from her marriage with the sky god (sa: sun or moon) that the Laksamshu phratry adopted Sa as one of i t s c r e s t s " (Jenness, 1934: 218). O r i g i n myths connected with other chief crests present the same p i c t u r e : see, f o r example, accounts of the crests whale (Jenness, 1934: 225-9), wood-pecker (Jenness, 1934: 236-7), and owl (Jenness, 1934: 239-40). These accounts e s t a b l i s h the i d e o l o g i c a l autonomy of the con-cepts of the s o c i e t a l d i v i s i o n s , clan and phratry, and of the system of appended cres t s . Neither Jenness' record nor my own information has un-covered examples of myths purporting to give an accounting of the estab-20 lishment of any clans and p h r a t r i e s . I t must be admitted, therefore, 19. The house name "Many Eyes" (= J?Anty+ytYtay) derives from another myth concerning KccigyeX (Jenness, 1934: 214). 20. That i s , while there are many legends accounting, as we have shown, f o r the possession by clans and p h r a t r i e s of t h e i r important c r e s t s , none of these speak of the beginning of the s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s as such or specify any founding ancestors. Morice (1892: 119) makes a s i m i -l a r observation: "...the t r a d i t i o n a l o r i g i n of the gentes received no d e f i n i t e explanation...." C a r r i e r legends are, i n t h i s way, i n contrast to many coastward t r a d i t i o n s i n v o l v i n g the adventures of mythic cum h i s t o r i c ancestors who became the founders of t h e i r clans see, e.g., the s t o r i e s of the ancestors NzzgyamkA (Frog-Woman) of the NttgyamkA clan (Barbeau, 1929: 43) and of the warrior Natgt (Continued . . . .) 195 that, in the mythological context the clan crests and the clans are not precisely coeval. Therefore the p r i n c i p a l crests do not f u l l y rep-resent the duration of thei r clans since the clans are, as i t were by default, ascribed an indeterminate h i s t o r i c depth but always precede the acquisition of the crests. I think, nonetheless, that we must take the assertion from Jenness that the Carrier conceived the p r i n c i p a l crests to be "more deeply rooted in the l o c a l history...." at face value. It i s s u f f i c i e n t that we recognize that, i n Carrier b e l i e f , the chief clan crests bear a longer history of association with their clans than do other crests, and that because of this they are able — as representations of the clan — to display a sense of the clan's h i s -t o r i c depth. Lest there be any question that the p r i n c i p a l crests of the clans must be regarded as the symbols paA exce l lence of the clans, i t should be noted that these (Jenness, 1943: 495, speaks s p e c i f i c a l l y of clan crests here) could be "...tatooed on the chest of the clansmen [and], on the wrists of the clanswomen, by close kinsmen of their f a -thers,...." As apparently there were no re s t r i c t i o n s within the clan according to class, rank, or person in this usage, the clan crests must 21 be considered to constitute truly collective'symbols. 20. (Continued....) (Tongue-Licked), founder of the Nazqt clan (Barbeau, 1929: 52) among the Gitkian. On the other hand, Jenness (1934: 240-1) recorded several myths alleging the dispersion of various " t r i b e s " including the Carrier, the GiX.kha.vi, the Se.ka.vii, etc. , from a single place of origin, and the subsequent fusion of the Carrier and GiXk&an into l o c a l sub-divisions. The legends do not give any detailed accounting of the creation of Carrier subdivisions. 21. Tatooing i s no longer i n fashion. Nevertheless, the p r i n c i p a l of universal usage persists at least i n connection with the crests which (Continued . . . .) 196 The p a r t i c u l a r form of t h i s usage i s s t r i k i n g . The clan em-blem i s etched i n t o the s k i n of i t s personnel. Clan representation acquires a somatic focus, again, as i n the name appropriated to the ph r a t r y and clan c r e s t s , VbicSxy ( i f I am correct i n my speculation that the word nA.C8, moved down to Friendly Cove, j o i n i n g the Moachat ("Nootka"). The head man of OP stood f i r s t i n the t r i b e ; he had married a close k i n s -woman of the Moachat chief , and because of t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p the l a t t e r offered him and h i s t r i b e a place at Friendly Cove. (The Tlupana Arm groups had been s e r i o u s l y reduced i n numbers both through wars and the usual h i s t o r i c - p e r i o d causes.) In add i t i o n , the Moachat chief 'shared' h i s potlatch-seat with h i s kinsman. For a time, when one potlatched the j o i n t t r i b e , he had to give simultaneously to the Moachat and Tlupana f i r s t 199 c h i e f s , and by analogy, to both second c h i e f s , and so on down the l i n e . This was extremely confusing; both names and both g i f t s had to be c a l l e d out simultaneously. No one was s a t i s -f i e d . F i n a l l y , the Moachat chief i n second place gave a pot-l a t c h at which he gave to a l l the Moachat c h i e f s , from f i r s t to l a s t , then began with the Tlupana Arm c h i e f s . The f i r s t c hief of the Moachat then t r i e d to e s t a b l i s h another order: himself and the Tlupana f i r s t c h i e f ; the second of Moachat, then the second of Tlupana; the t h i r d of Moachat, then the t h i r d of Tlupana, etc. This did not meet with favor; the Moachat second chief was r e a l l y r e c e i v i n g t h i r d , the t h i r d f i f t h , and so on. Nor would the Moachat chiefs approve of a plan to give simultan-eously to both f i r s t c h i e f s , then to a l l the Moachat ch i e f s and a f t e r them the Tlupana men. They i n s i s t e d on fo l l o w i n g the lead of the second c h i e f , each g i v i n g to h i s own f i r s t c hief (Moachat) and h i s fellows f i r s t , then to the Tlupana c h i e f s . The Moachat chiefs were r i c h , and did most of the po t l a t c h i n g ; whether the Tlupana chiefs desisted because of poverty or from tact I do not know. There came to be consid-erable f e e l i n g over the s i t u a t i o n . F i n a l l y the f i r s t chief of the Tlupana potlatched, announcing that henceforth he would receive a f t e r the Moachat ch i e f s (and of course h i s subordi-nates received a f t e r him), so everything was settled....(Drucker, 1939: 57-8). Thus, the quasi-combination of these Nootkan t r i b e s generated dilemmas concerning the appropriate determination of i n d i v i d u a l rank r e l a t i o n -ships and the expression of these i n the order of g i f t d i s t r i b u t i o n s . The d i s t i n c t resolutions entertained i n t h i s case o f f e r paradigms of sim-i l a r dilemmas inherent i n the expression of rank (and other s o c i a l r e -la t i o n s h i p s ) i n the seating patterns established i n the C a r r i e r protocols. What basic forms can we extract from the del i b e r a t i o n s of the Nootka trib e s ? Perhaps t r i v i a l l y , i n any event for completeness, I must note that no consideration at a l l was given to any form of randomized system of, as i t were, "rush-seat" d i s t r i b u t i o n . Such a s o l u t i o n would obviously 200 be u n a c c e p t a b l e s i n c e i t amounts to a complete d i s m i s s a l of a l l ceremon-i a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n of the e x i s t i n g elements o f Nootkan s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e ; i n c l u d i n g t h e c h i e f t a i n s h i p and the r a n k i n g of i n d i v i d u a l n o b l e s as w e l l as a r e p r e s e n t a t i o n of t h e c o n s t i t u e n t t r i b e s . Another h y p o t h e t i c a l p a t t e r n not r a i s e d i n the Nootkan case w i l l be c o n s i d e r e d s h o r t l y . For the p r e s e n t , by a n a l y z i n g the s t r u c t u r a l p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h u n d e r l y the v a r i o u s d i s t r i b u t i o n a l systems c o n s i d e r e d by the Nootka, and by then combining th e s e w i t h the b a s i c C a r r i e r s e a t i n g r u l e s j u s t g i v e n , we can generate a number of h y p o t h e t i c a l s e a t i n g p a t t e r n s . I n so d o i n g we may then i n q u i r e as t o the adequacy of each such p a t t e r n as a m a n i f e s t a t i o n of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . C o n s i d e r f i r s t the arrangement recommended by the Moachat c h i e f whereby the d i s t r i b u t i o n a l p a t t e r n would e f f e c t an i n t e r d i g i t a t i o n of the p e r s o n n e l of the combining Nootkan t r i b e s . A p p l y i n g t h i s f o r m u l a to the s e a t i n g of the C a r r i e r n obles (arranged below a c c o r d i n g to the b a s i c s e a t i n g r u l e s ) who compose the c o n s t i t u e n t c l a n s of a s i n g l e p h r a -t r y , produces the f o l l o w i n g schema: Schema I 6 4 2 1 3 S 7 Rank 8 Order 9 P h r a t r y B, Nobles A„ 201 Two aspects of t h i s arrangement render i t inadequate as a manifestation of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e and, i n a l l p r o b a b i l i t y , caused i t s r e j e c -t i o n by the Nootka as w e l l . Most conspicuous, of course, i s the f a c t that t h i s schema e n t i r e l y dismisses any expression of the clan subdivisions ( t r i b e s i n the Nootkan case) as d i s c r e t e and s o l i d a r y segments of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y . In t h i s schema, I assume that g i f t d i s t r i b u t i o n order follows p r e c i s e l y the rank order. Thus, whether or not the clan c h i e f s , A^, B^, and C^ are i s o l a t e d Cn bZoc from the remaining nobles i n the d i s t r i b u t i o n s , the d i s t r i b u t i o n s among the l a t t e r c l e a r l y cannot proceed according to segemented clan blocs of dtnAyzc?. The second problem with such a seating cum d i s t r i b u t i o n a l pat-tern was expressed, s u c c i n c t l y , i n our account of the Nootkan d e l i b e r a -tions by the f o l l o w i n g statement (which we repeat): "This d i d not meet with favor; the Moachat second chief was r e a l l y r e c e i v i n g t h i r d , the t h i r d f i f t h , and so on" (Drucker, 1939: 57). Obviously, the combining of the personnel of the s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s requires i n t r o d u c t i o n of many ad d i t i o n a l i n d i v i d u a l rank d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n s . The pattern of the mingling of d i v i s i o n a l personnel established i n the p a r t i c u l a r schema c a l l s for the ranking of each i n d i v i d u a l , VAJ>-a-VAJ> those immediately above and beneath him, as a d i r e c t expression of t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e d i v i s i o n a l mem-berships. C r i t e r i a normally applied i n e s t a b l i s h i n g and/or modifying rank r e l a t i o n s h i p s as between i n d i v i d u a l nobles (when these are co-members of a given s o c i a l d i v i s i o n ) are e f f e c t i v e l y suspended i n e s t a b l i s h i n g the r e l a t i v e ranking of nobles who are members of the separate d i v i s i o n s being combined according to t h i s hypothetical pattern. Thus, the rank 202 p r i o r i t y of over B^ ordained by t h i s system i s a d i r e c t function of the r e l a t i v e rank of t h e i r respective d i v i s i o n s , and i n no way r e f l e c t s t h e i r r e l a t i v e performance as givers of generous and frequent f e a s t s , f o r example, much l e s s , of course, any rank r e l a t i o n e s tablished i n 1 t r a d i t i o n s o r i g i n a t i n g i n mythic times. This seating pattern waives any attempt to give a c l e a r repre-sentation of the d i s c r e t e subgroups that compose the wider d i v i s i o n . 1. The basis of the maintenance and modi f i c a t i o n of the r e l a t i v e rank among the s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s as w e l l as among the nobles composing them i s an exceedingly complex matter. We cannot dwell upon i t i n t h i s essay. However, i t i s f a i r to say as a summary conclusion t h a t , among the P a c i f i c coast peoples who engage i n the p o t l a t c h , the pot-l a t c h record associated with the noble t i t l e s (the number, grandeur, v a r i e t y , generosity, e t c . , of ceremonials sponsored by a noble), ofen i n c l u d i n g the record of past as w e l l as current incumbents, i s the si n g l e most s a l i e n t determinant of t h e i r status. To be sure, other f a c t o r s , such as successes i n wars and general leadership q u a l i t i e s , were s i g n i f i c a n t but no other matter i n the content of the lengthy mourning songs delivered at the funerary potlatches of the Southern Kwakiutl even approximated t h e i r obsessional preoccupation with the potla t c h record of the deceased and h i s predecessors ( f o r example, see Boas, 1925: 77-87). S i m i l a r factors obtain i n the determination of the r e l a t i v e ranking among the various s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s ; t r i b e s , clans, etc. Curiously, the actual occurrence of rank reversals among the ranks of both s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s and of i n d i v i d u a l nobles did not deter the Kwakiutl from a l l e g i n g that t h e i r order of numaym (an ambilateral descent group) t i t l e s had been f i x e d i n the mythic period. Boas (1897: 339) observes: "At a l l f e s t i v a l s they [the noblemen] s i t i n the order of t h e i r rank, which i s therefore c a l l e d the 'seat' of the person. The legend says that the order of seats was given by the d e i t y at a f e s t i v a l of the t r i b e s , at the time when the animals were s t i l l able to speak." Following t h i s statement, Boas appended a lengthy l i s t of noble t i t l e s of the Kwakiutl t r i b e UcimaZzZtqata i n t h e i r rank order. He unfortunately provides no data on the corresponding seating pattern. I am aware of no b e l i e f among the C a r r i e r that the rank orders were f i x e d i n mythic times. 203 Neither does i t represent an e f f e c t i v e d i s m i s s a l of the subgroups as s a l i e n t i d e o l o g i c a l s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s ; they c l e a r l y continue as such as determinants of the ranking r e l a t i o n s among the nobles of the combined d i v i s i o n . I t i s an altogether u n s a t i s f a c t o r y expression of the p r e v a i l -i n g s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . I f applied to the C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h , t h i s seating order would not only suppress f u l l expression to the usual c r i t e r i a applied to i n d i v i d u a l ranking when matching personnel of the d i f f e r e n t clans composing a phratry, i t would also f a i l to render concrete display of the clans as d i s c r e t e and s a l i e n t elements of C a r r i e r society. Any circumstances i n which the s t r u c t u r a l s i g n i f i c a n c e of the system of clans becomes so measurably attentuated that i t i s not cere-monially r e a l i z e d through some mode of bloc seating of the clan personnel would, for the same reason, also undermine the e f f i c a c y of clan i d e n t i t y as a determinant of the ranking among the phratry noblemen. In such a s i t u a t i o n one would expect to f i n d , rather than Schema I , that the nobles of the phratry — the superordinating d i v i s i o n — are conceived to be arranged by rank, as ever, but without any r e g u l a r i z e d pattern of d i s -t r i b u t i o n VAj>-a.-VAj> t h e i r t r a d i t i o n a l s u b d i v i s i o n s , the clans. As an hyp o t h e t i c a l example of such an arrangement, given a ranking order of phratry nobles such as A^ > B^ > B^ > A^> C^ >B^ > B^ > C^ > A^. . . , then the a p p l i c a t i o n of the basic seating rules would produce the f o l -lowing pattern: Schema I I Rank Order 8 6 4 2 1 3 5 7 9 Phratry Nobles C 0 B„ A. B., An B„ C, B. A. 2 3 2 1 1 2 1 4 3 204 This, i n c i d e n t a l l y , i s the other arrangement which, as I mentioned above (p.- 200), was not rai s e d i n the Nootkan d e l i b e r a t i o n s . I have presented t h i s schema not only f o r l o g i c a l completeness, however. This k i n d of a modi f i c a t i o n could come to be imposed upon the t r a d i t i o n a l seating s t r u c t u r e i f the system experienced a serious reduction i n the number of persons p a r t i c i p a t i n g as a c t i v e bearers of t i t l e s and cr e s t s . Of course, a d r a s t i c reduction i n the numbers of the p a r t i c i p a t i n g nobles would threaten the s u r v i v a l of the e n t i r e ceremony, but one can envision a serious reduction, short of that, r e s u l t i n g i n the persistence of d i s -c r e t e l y positioned p h r a t r i c groups with t h e i r reduced membership arranged i n t o a panphratric system of i n d i v i d u a l ranking, thereby avoiding the hu m i l i a t i n g display of i t s p i t i f u l l y reduced clan contingents. I do not intend t h i s as a gloomy prophecy. Although I have been t o l d by one or two elders that they fear f o r the system since the young people seem not to be i n t e r e s t e d , that seems to have been the case i n Jenness' time as w e l l . He comments, for example, that "so l i t t l e do most of them regard t h e i r o ld clan and p h r a t r i c d i v i s i o n s that they no longer i n s i s t on p h r a t r i c exogamy or pay any respect to the clan chiefs and leading nobles" (Jenness, 1943: 513). Nevertheless, these d i v i s i o n s have p e r s i s t e d since that time as s a l i e n t elements of a s t i l l vigorous p o t l a t c h . Beynon's account of the KyLtAzgukta. potlatches provides a l i s t -i n g of the order of p r e s t a t i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n s among the guests wherein d i s t r i b u t i o n s were made i n sept b l o c s , with the KiXwanga nobles r e c e i v i n g f i r s t , then the KJJjvancool, the Hazztton, and l a s t l y the Hagwitgatz. 205 Within each group, hov/ever, d i s t r i b u t i o n s were not arranged according to phratry. In other words, a f t e r the fashion represented under Schema I I , d i s t r i b u t i o n was conceived as f o l l o w i n g a pansept order of personal ,ranks without any regular pattern according to phratry, much le s s to clan (Beynon does not specify clan i d e n t i t y of the nobles). Beynon merely notes the w a l l s and sections of w a l l to which each sept bloc was assigned without s p e c i f y i n g i n d i v i d u a l seating. In the next chapter I s h a l l con-s i d e r some important questions a r i s i n g out of the record of the giX6tgyukta i n t e r s e p t p o t l a t c h . There remain to be considered three f u r t h e r s o l u t i o n s to the Nootkan dilemma. One of these, the f i r s t one attempted by the Nootka, c a l l e d for the simultaneous announcement of the names and g i f t s of the nobles who were the rank counterparts of one another i n t h e i r respective t r i b e s . We can quickl y dispense with t h i s plan. In terms of the prac-t i c a l execution of the plan, i t i s even more d i f f i c u l t to imagine a way of seating the nobles to e s t a b l i s h "shared" seats, than i t i s to imagine a s a t i s f a c t o r y pattern of simultaneous announcement and d i s t r i b u t i o n . Concerning seating arrangements i n p a r t i c u l a r , i t i s not stated i n the Nootkan case whether the rank counterparts of the t r i b e s a c t u a l l y sat adjacent to one another ( i n which case there would probably a r i s e d i s -putes as to who s i t s to the r i g h t and who to the l e f t ) or whether the t r i b e s remained seated i n d i s c r e t e blocs. In any event, the p r a c t i c a l d i f f i c u l t i e s of expressing the idea of a merger of otherwise d i s c r e t e s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s through the "simultaneity" of d i s t r i b u t i o n a l acts and/or through some form of "simultaneity" i n ac t u a l seating seem insurmountable. 206 The d i s t r i b u t i o n a l pattern (and most probably the seating ar-rangement as well) that was u l t i m a t e l y adopted by the combining Nootkan t r i b e s c o nstitutes a polar s o l u t i o n VAJ>-ti-VAJ> the patterns represented , i n the Schemata I and I I . Neither of these patterns manifests the clan sub-divisions of the various p h r a t r i e s as cohesive s p a t i a l b l o c s . In Schema I , as we have seen (see above, p. 200), the clans are given a s p a t i a l manifestation.inasmuch as the p o s i t i o n i n g of t h e i r personnel i s modulated with reference to a pervasive system of i n t e r c l a n rank. In t h i s s i t u a t i o n , then, the s p a t i a l arrangement permits the manifestation of d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n among the clans of a phratry without, at the same time, representing t h e i r unity ( i n the sense of i n t e r n a l s o l i d a r i t y ) through an immediate p o s i t i o n a l propinquity among t h e i r respective memberships. Schema I I , on the other hand, not only f a i l s to manifest any perspective of coherence of the c l a n , i t relinquishes a l l r e a l i z a t i o n of t h e i r d i f -f e r e n t i a t i o n as w e l l . Schemata I and I I have i n common that neither i s able to represent, i n any degree whatever, the perspective of the i n t e r -n a l cohesion of the clans by means of the propinquity of i t s c o n s t i t u t i n g elements. I f the Nootkan s o l u t i o n , represented below as Schema I I I , were applied i n the C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h , i t would indeed assert clan unity through an unbroken propinquity among the nobles of feach clan. Schema I I I Nobles of Clan C Nobles of Clan B Nobles of Clan A 207 Adherence, i n t h i s s i t u a t i o n , to the basic seating p r i n c i p l e s of the rank s u p e r i o r i t y of r i g h t over l e f t and of c e n t r a l over l a t e r a l , reckoning the center of each clan bloc from the locus of i t s c h i e f , would generate an i n t e r n a l bloc arrangement ( a c t u a l l y of secondary importance i n the present context) of the f o l l o w i n g k i n d , i l l u s t r a t e d from the h y p o t h e t i c a l case of the nobles of Clan "A": I n t e r n a l Arrangement of Clan "A" Under Schema I I I — A 4 A 2 A x A3 A 5 — This arrangement i s not employed i n the C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h f o r the simple reason that i t f a i l s to adequately r e f l e c t C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . But why do I say t h i s ? Schema I I I c l e a r l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e s the categories of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y : thus while the p h r a t r i e s are demarca-ted by t h e i r assigned w a l l s , the clans are marked by the gathering of t h e i r nobles i n t o blocs w i t h i n t h e i r respective p h r a t r i c w a l l s . Such a schema f a i l s , however — i n contrast to the one recorded by Jenness — to project any expression of the q u a l i t y of a r t i c u l a t i o n c h a r a c t e r i s t i c of the formal r e l a t i o n s among the clans which compose a C a r r i e r phratry. In b r i e f , the categoric d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of the clans a f t e r the manner of Schema I I I i s purchased at a cost to the image of p h r a t r i c i n t e r n a l cohesion. Propinquity i n potlatch seating not only provides the mech-anism for representing categories of s t r u c t u r e , i t also projects a meta-phoric assertion of extra-ceremonial modes of s o c i a l r e l a t i o n s h i p among 208 persons who compose these c a t e g o r i e s . As I w i l l show s h o r t l y , however, such modes of r e l a t i o n s h i p o b t a i n w i t h i n the p h r a t r i e s as w e l l as w i t h -i n the c l a n s . The problem of Schema I I I i s j u s t t h a t , i n m a n i f e s t i n g , as i t does the s p e c i a l c o h e s i o n w i t h i n the c l a n s — as w e l l as d i f f e r -e n t i a t i o n among them — i t removes the n o b l e s from v i r t u a l l y a l l j u x t a -p o s i t i o n w i t h t h e i r f e l l o w phratrymen of d i f f e r e n t c l a n s . T h i s s e a t i n g cum d i s t r i b u t i o n a l p a t t e r n , t h en, i n a d e q u a t e l y r e f l e c t s the s t a t e of r e l a t i o n s h i p s w i t h i n the p h r a t r y when i n f a c t so many of the most impor-t a n t of the i n t e r e s t s , a c t i v i t i e s , and p r o p e r t i e s o f the c l a n s and t h e i r p e r s o n n e l were regarded as e q u a l l y the l e g i t i m a t e concerns of the e n t i r e p h r a t r y . Indeed, the p h r a t r y commonly i s p r e - e m i n i n e t i n matters f o r -m a l l y of concern to b o t h l e v e l s o f s t r u c t u r e ; enough so t h a t Jenness (1943: 483) o f f e r s the g e n e r a l c o n c l u s i o n t h a t : "The p h r a t r i e s were the most i m p o r t a n t u n i t s w i t h i n the s u b t r i b e . Though each was d i v i d e d i n t o two o r more c l a n s t h a t had t h e i r own c h i e f s and d i s t i n c t i v e c r e s t s , the p h r a t r y o v e r r u l e d i t s c l a n s i n many ways." I w i l l proceed h e r e w i t h to an e x a m i n a t i o n of ways i n which l e g i t i m a t e a u t h o r i t y and i n t e r e s t are b o t h a l l o c a t e d t o the c l a n and o f t e n extended beyond c l a n bounds t o the p h r a t r y , even t o the p o i n t where the a u t h o r i t y of the p h r a t r y f o r m a l l y supercedes t h a t of the c l a n . I n an e a r l i e r c h a p t e r I have a l r e a d y c o n s i d e r e d the t e r r i t o r i a l p r e r o g a t i v e s of the c l a n s and p h r a t r i e s , but one p o i n t needs review h e r e . A l t h o u g h t r a p p i n g / h u n t i n g grounds were a l l o c a t e d f o r the e x c l u s i v e use of clansmen, they were u l t i m a t e l y regarded as segments of p h r a t r i c p r o -p e r t y , s u b j e c t to m o d i f i c a t i o n under the a u t h o r i t y of the p h r a t r y c h i e f 209 i n c o n sultation with the cl a n c h i e f s . This point i s made several times by Jenness (1943: 487): A l l the hunting t e r r i t o r y of the subtribe was p a r t i t i o n e d among the d i f f e r e n t p h r a t r i e s , and trespassing on the t e r r i -tory of another phratry without the consent of i t s chief l ed to quarrels and often bloodshed. Within the p h r a t r i c t e r r i -tory each clan had i t s recognized hunting grounds that were t h e o r e t i c a l l y subject to endorsement by the p h r a t r i c chief and to any l i m i t a t i o n s and changes he might make i n the i n t e r -ests of h i s phratry, but were p r a c t i c a l l y i n v i o l a t e as long as the clan was strong enough to resent encroachment. Again, The d i v i s i o n of the f i s h i n g grounds corresponded to the d i v i s i o n of the hunting grounds. Each clan had the exclusive f i s h i n g r i g h t s over the lakes and streams w i t h i n i t s hunting t e r r i t o r i e s , subject t h e o r e t i c a l l y to the j u r i s d i c t i o n of the e n t i r e phratry, exercised through i t s chief (Jenness, 1943: 488) . And again, Fishing places, and portions of the hunting t e r r i t o r i e s , were often sold or given away i n payment for c e r t a i n services ....In a l l such transactions the p h r a t r i c chiefs played the leading r o l e s , but they could not act without consultation with t h e i r clan chiefs and p r i n c i p a l noblemen (Jenness, 1943: 488) . F i n a l l y , Through i t s c h i e f (who was always a chief of one of i t s clans) i t c o n t r o l l e d the d i v i s i o n of the hunting t e r r i t o r i e s among i t s members and acted as a unit i n r e s i s t i n g aggression by other phratries (Jenness, 1943: 484). This l a s t c i t a t i o n r a i s es a second mode i n which the phratry acts cohe-s i v e l y , again a mode that I have already made note of; to w i t , i n war-fare. S i m i l a r l y , where violence arose between persons of d i f f e r e n t p h r a t r i e s , the matter was not confined to them, to t h e i r f a m i l i e s , or 210 even to t h e i r clans: "Thus, i f a man of one phratry murdered a man of another, the two p h r a t r i c c h i e f s , supported by t h e i r c lan c h i e f s , co-operated to avoid a blood-feud by arranging f o r s a t i s f a c t o r y compensa-t i o n " (Jenness, 1943: 519). The p r i n c i p a l clan c r e s t s , although they were manifestly clan-exclusive prerogatives i n d i s p l a y , were nevertheless of great s i g -n i f i c a n c e to the phratry as a whole: "This crest [the p r i n c i p a l clan c r e s t s ] . . . deeply concerned the e n t i r e phratry, which f e l t toward i t 2 the same pro p r i e t o r s h i p as i t f e l t toward the clan" (Jenness 1943: 495-6). T i t l e s could pass from clan to clan w i t h i n , though not (ide-a l l y ) without the phratry; notably i n compensation f o r generous a s s i s -tance — i n connection with a potl a t c h — from other clans w i t h i n one's phratry (Jenness, 1943: 490). The p r o p r i e t o r s h i p of the phratry toward i t s clans and i t s e n t i r e personnel i s very c l e a r l y evident i n connection with the po t l a t c h i t s e l f . When potlatches are given among the C a r r i e r , indeed, i t i s not only the f o c a l persons (e.g., claimants to t i t l e s ) who are regarded as the hosts of the occasion, but t h e i r e n t i r e phratry. This i s with good reason, of course, since a l l members of a man's phratry are expected to contribute some goods and/or services i n support of him. • • ...... — . — sy _ 2. I have been t o l d , f or example, that any member of the j-Ltc?e.xZyuW phratry, and only members of that phratry, may adorn garments or bead pendants with the image of a frog. Frog, consequently, i s a panphratric crest (Jennes, r e c a l l , does not recognize such a cate-gory) , as w e l l as the chief crest of the Thin House clan i n p a r t i -cular. 211 A l l i n d i v i d u a l c o n t r i b u t o r s , together with a statement of the nature and amounts of t h e i r donations, are named to the assembled guests before the p r e s t a t i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n begins. On the occasion of the GiXAzgyakZa. potlatches, the announcement of contributions pro-ceeded f i r s t from the f o c a l host and h i s immediate family to h i s other clansmen and further c o l l a t e r a l l y to the remainder of h i s phratry, and thence, f i n a l l y , to those whose fathers and spouses belonged to the host's phratry. Thus, contributions are drawn not only from the per-sonnel of one's e n t i r e phratry, but even from persons l i n k e d with these as c h i l d r e n and spouses. The pattern of Schema I I I represents very c l e a r l y the d i f -f e r e n t i a t i o n of each of the p h r a t r i e s i n t o i t s d i s c r e t e clan components. However, i t does so only at the rather high cost of r e l i n q u i s h i n g e f f e c -t i v e display of the profound sense of i n t r a p h r a t r i c , cross-clan a l l e g i a n c e . In the round of C a r r i e r s o c i a l l i f e , the clans which compose a phratry are not merely abutted, they are w e l l and t r u l y blended. In terms of the space-time parameters of p o t l a t c h p r o t o c o l , a degree of s p a t i a l j u x t a p o s i t i o n (seating) and of o r d i n a l conjunction ( p r e s t a t i o n a l d i s t r i -bution) among the l e a s t u n i t s (persons) composing d i s t i n c t s t r u c t u r a l d i v i s i o n s i s considered to manifest a blending of those d i v i s i o n s — beyond t h e i r mere abuttment — when i t i s greater than that involved i n the j u x t a p o s i t i o n of only the border personnel at the ends of abutted d i v i s i o n a l blocs. The expression l e a s t ( s t r u c t u r a l ) u n i t warrants a t e n t a t i v e d e f i n i t i o n . To begin with, l e a s t units may be conceived as elements i n 212 a system of semantic categories which (the categories) are arranged s y n t a c t i c a l l y according to a conception of l e v e l s of in c l u s i v e n e s s . A l e a s t s t r u c t u r a l unit i s one which may i t s e l f be predicated as a mem-ber element of a category at any of the l e v e l s superordinate to i t s own i n the system to which i t belongs. Inversely, whatever may be the elements i n t o which the l e a s t s t r u c t u r a l units are themselves decomposed, these cannot o r d i n a r i l y ( i . e . , other than metaphorically), according to the s y n t a c t i c p r i n c i p l e s of the language concerned, be predicated as member elements of any categories which transcend the l e a s t s t r u c t u r a l units themselves w i t h i n t h e i r semantic system. In t h i s instance, I have s p e c i f i e d "persons" to be the l e a s t units of the domain of C a r r i e r s t r u c t u r a l categories. I t i s perhaps more us e f u l to understand the word person i n the sense of pZJi&OYlCL so as to admit, where ap p l i c a l b e , that a number of human i n d i v i d u a l s may, at once or i n succession, c o n s t i t u t e a s i n g l e l e a s t unit of the s t r u c t u r a l system. Thus, for example, the a r i s t o c r a t i c t i t l e with i t s succession of incumbent i n d i v i d u a l s represents the l e a s t unit from the diachronic perspective. Indeed, occasionally t i t l e s are held concurrently by more 3 than one i n d i v i d u a l . I t must be noted that , while assuming persons to be the l e a s t units of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e accords w e l l with aspects of English usage, I cannot claim to have established exact p a r a l l e l s on t h i s point with the C a r r i e r language. In English usage, while we know, of course, 3. Such i s the case with the t i t l e jP^ApA^yn which i s currently held l e g i t i m a t e l y by two members of the jAJLC-PtXyLyuW phratry among the Babines. 213 that GiAtzhP&i?'s arm i s a member, as i t were, of GXitzkptOAl?, we would not normally say that "GAAtzkPW-i?1 s arm i s a member of the Jida' mdatn phratry." On the other hand, c e r t a i n s u p e r f i c i a l l y s i m i l a r locutions might be qui t e acceptable. Thus, i t might w e l l be acceptable to say "GiAtthpWAJ? 's heart i s jAdu mdatn" with an i n t e n t i o n s i m i l a r to " T o l -stoy had a Russian heart." The dif f e r e n c e between these statements, therefore, and what makes the l a t t e r acceptable while the former i s not, i s that they have quite d i f f e r e n t meanings. Thus, the f i r s t statement has, unacceptably, predicated i n f r a p e r s o n a l categories as member elements CdznotaXcQ of s o c i a l categories, whereas the second statement implies the existence of q u a l i t i e s or properties which are conceived to extend homogeneously to (and may therefore be predicated at) a l l l e v e l s of st r u c t u r e from the p h r a t r i c l e v e l to the plane of i n f r a p e r s o n a l cate-gories (e.g., b o d i l y and s p i r i t u a l facets of persons). Further, a statement of the kind "GlAtzhpWAj?'s heart i s jAdu'wdcLdn" would imply that i t i s i n v i r t u e of some such homogeneously d i s t r i b u t e d q u a l i t i e s that the p h r a t r i e s are i n t e r n a l l y bonded, and i n v i r t u e of d i s t i n c t modes of such q u a l i t i e s that the ph r a t r i e s are ex-t e r n a l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d . In f a c t , the s u f f i c -yuw, which occurs i n the names of the ph r a t r i e s and connotes an extraordinary, a i d f u l power source (see below, p. 234, and also Jenness,1943: 545), suggests a parameter of q u a l i t y i n terms of which the ph r a t r i e s are conceived to be i n t e r n a l l y bonded and e x t e r n a l l y d i f f e r e n t i a t e d . That i s , the p h r a t r i e s are a unique f l e s h , m a t r i l i n e a l l y perpetuated, each bearing a s p e c i a l b e l s s i n g . Unique f l e s h and s p e c i a l blessings d i f f e r e n t i a t e on the plane of phra-214 t r i e s as they do on the plane of persons (who acquire personal -yuw through dreams, guardian s p i r i t v i s i t a t i o n s , or as elements i n t h e i r t i t l e successions) e f f e c t i n g , thus, the metaphoric rendering of the ph r a t r i e s as macrobeings. As I have st a t e d , i t cannot presently be esta b l i s h e d t h a t , i n terms of the s y n t a c t i c properties of the C a r r i e r language, persons represent the l e a s t un i t s of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . Nevertheless, as persons can scarcely be p h y s i c a l l y decomposed while manifest as ac-tors on the p o t l a t c h stage, they can serve w e l l as the l e a s t u n i t s i n the syntax of p o t l a t c h seating. I am i n fa c t i n c l i n e d to a n t i c i p a t e that the C a r r i e r language, l i k e E n g l i s h , w i l l not o r d i n a r i l y admit a l i t e r a l p r e d i c a t i o n of infr a p e r s o n a l categories as member elements of social-group categories p r e c i s e l y because the person cannot be a c t u a l l y dismembered and h i s parts r e d i s t r i b u t e d toward the c o n s t i t u t i n g of ano-ther as can be done conceptually and has probably been done h i s t o r i c a l l y to the p h r a t r i e s (see above, pp. 154-5 ). On the anatomic plane, the i n t e g r i t y of persons i s not subject to such h i s t o r i c contingency. They cannot be assembled from heterogeneous parts contributed by the dismem-bering of others (not even i n the age of the organ t r a n s p l a n t ! ) . From the p h y s i c a l perspective, then, the modes of part/whole r e l a t i o n s h i p are quite d i s t i n c t as between the inf r a p e r s o n a l and suprapersonal (socie t a l ) domains. Therefore, i t seems to me u n l i k e l y (by no means unthink-able!) that t h i s d i s j u n c t i o n w i l l f a i l to be r e f l e c t e d i n C a r r i e r langua s t r u c t u r e . At the same time, much of the impact of a metaphoric person-i f i c a t i o n of the phratry derives p r e c i s e l y from t h i s d ifference. The 215 sense of a p h y s i c a l i n t e g r i t y among the parts which compose a person can be metaphorically transposed to the phratry, even i n the face of h i s -t o r i c r e a l i t i e s that deny i t . The dilemma which the C a r r i e r ceremonialists have s u c c e s s f u l l y solved i s how to display the perspective of the discreteness of the clans without, at the same time, compromising expression of the sense of a clan-transcending interdependence which pervaded the e n t i r e phratry i n connection with many important functions. In the p o t l a t c h seating s t r u c t u r e , the j u x t a p o s i t i o n among the metonymically s p e c i a l i z e d clan chiefs of a phratry — who are, correspondingly, separated as a d i s t r i -b u t i o n a l bloc from t h e i r f e l l o w phratrymen — c l e a r l y asserts the pan-p h r a t r i c mutuality which p r e v a i l s i n many functions of C a r r i e r l i f e . We have also seen — notably i n connection with the a l l o c a t i o n of hunting grounds — that the phratry, through i t s c h i e f , sometimes formally superseded the authority of i t s clans. This seems to r e f l e c t (as I argued i n Chapter 2) that the p h r a t r i e s antedeated the clans as elements of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y , and that i t was to the p h r a t r i e s that the hunting ( i n fact p r i m a r i l y fur-trapping preserves) t e r r i t o r i e s were f i r s t a l l o t e d . Generally speaking, the function of the phratry vQAkyix phratry presents the only anomaly to the p r i n c i p l e of the marking of the s t r u c t u r a l categories by d i r e c t i o n a l r e v e r s a l s . Thus, assuming as before that d i s t r i b u t i o n s f o l l o w rank order d i r e c t l y , the fol l o w i n g diagram shows that no d i r e c t i o n r e v e r s a l divides the two Thin House chiefs (B^ and B^) from the chief of the Birchbark House (C-j) but that i t does so div i d e the Thin House c h i e f s : D i s t r i b u t i o n Pattern Among GAJU> eAhlfU. Chiefs [ I 218 Now, the r e v e r s a l p r i n c i p l e could e a s i l y have been made to operate here by simply l o c a t i n g to the r i g h t hand side of B^, as f o l l o w s : A l t e r n a t e Pattern This case i l l u s t r a t e s that the s t r u c t u r e of C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h seating i s s t r o n g l y dominated throughout by the an a l o g i c a l r u l e c e n t r a l : l a t e r a l : : s u p e r i o r : i n f e r i o r . That i s , although the l a t t e r plan would have e f f e c -t i v e l y marked the d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of the clans w i t h i n the bloc of c h i e f s , i t would have done so only at the cost of demeaning the status of i n r e l a t i o n to C-^ by removing him a step fu r t h e r l a t e r a l l y from A^, the phratry epicentrum. A c o r o l l a r y to the foregoing i n t e r p r e t a t i o n i s the subordi-nation of the r u l e of the supremacy of r i g h t sidedness over l e f t to the r u l e of the supremacy of c e n t r a l i t y over l a t e r a l i t y . 219 CHAPTER 7 THE DIALECTIC OF PHRATRY AND SEPT I t was noted i n the l a s t chapter that Beynon's GZtAZgyukJLci potlatches involved a gathering of four Gitksan septs (GAAZ6ZgyukZa hosts, and guests from KAitwanga, Kitwanzoot, and Gitzvmaki,, i . e . , HazzttOn) plus a representation from UagWAltgcttz, a C a r r i e r v i l l a g e of the Bulkley River sept. Unfortunately, we have no comparable report of the proceedings at i n t e r s e p t potlatches i n v o l v i n g C a r r i e r hosts. However, Beynon's report reveals s t r i k i n g departures from the o v e r a l l organization of the i n t r a - s e p t potlatches described by Jenness among the Bulkley River C a r r i e r . I s h a l l assume, for the sake of argument, that these differences are p r i m a r i l y as between in t r a s e p t and i n t e r -sept potlatches rather than as between Gitksan and C a r r i e r potlatches. I do not think that t h i s assumption i s t e r r i b l y daring, i n view of the evidence that the C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h has been l a r g e l y adopted — along with phratry names, noble t i t l e s , and crests — from the Gitksan i n the f i r s t place. I have remarked, s p e c i f i c a l l y , that during the Gitksan i n t e r -sept p o t l a t c h e s , p r e s t a t i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n s w'ere made i n sept segments. Indeed, we found that the nobles were seated s t r i c t l y as separate sept b l o c s , each with i t s w a l l or portion of w a l l , rather than according to phratry as Jenness describes. In f a c t , nobles were not even arranged by phratry w i t h i n each sept b l o c , much less by clan (see above, p. 205). 220 The present chapter i s concerned with the i n t e r s e p t p o t l a t c h . I pose the f o l l o w i n g questions: why were p h r a t r i c contingents not displayed as blocs w i t h i n t h e i r respective septs? Perhaps more b a s i c : why are the septs, rather than the p h r a t r i e s , ceremonially manifest as the supreme segments of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e ; i . e . , as the widest or most i n c l u s i v e u n i t s of d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n ? I s h a l l commence with the i n i t i a l question f i r s t . One of the f a c t o r s that may account f o r the d i s t r i b u t i o n a l form of not demarcating the p h r a t r i c groups composing the septs i s the f a c t that the p h r a t r i e s are apparently not formally ranked w i t h i n t h e i r t r i b e s . Jenness (1943: 485) seems c l e a r on t h i s p o i n t , i n con-nection w i t h C a r r i e r s t r u c t u r e ; a formal p a r i t y among the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s i s implied i n the f o l l o w i n g statement: "The chief of the leading clan was the recognized head of the phratry, and the heads of the d i f f e r e n t p h r a t r i e s were coordinate i n rank, though the one who had the l a r g e s t f o l l o w i n g might possess more power and i n f l u e n c e . " I have received s i m i l a r statements from my own informants. A l s o , I have already noted that perhaps the premium manifestation of rank resides i n the p r e s t a t i o n a l r e c e i v i n g order. Drucker (1939: 57) s t a t e s : "This order of g i v i n g was, from southeast Alaska t© the mouth of the Columbia, the most important expression of the concept of rank." However, we have seen that, during the i n t r a s e p t p o t l a t c h , there i s no notion of a f i x e d d i s t r i b u t i o n a l order as between the phra-t r i e s . I t i s my f i r m impression that the d i s t r i b u t i o n a l order among the p h r a t r i e s v a r i e s according to which one i s hosting on the occasion 221 and, p o s s i b l y , according to other f a c t o r s such as which one i s jiXZ.gi.AjSt (see above, p. 129) to the host of the occasion. Only the p r i v i l e g e , ceded to the La.XC.Paz'nbtiyuW among the Bulkley and the Babine, of occu-pying the rear w a l l , when they are not h o s t i n g , has the appearance of 1 formalized rank. I t i s c l e a r , however, that no other phratry i s given a f i x e d w a l l assignment. Thus, no order of ranks permeates the e n t i r e company of p h r a t r i e s i n terms of the a l l o c a t i o n s of w a l l s . I must st r e s s that t h i s conclusion does not preclude that each p o t l a t c h occasion may e s t a b l i s h an order of p r i o r i t i e s as a function of the p a r t i c u l a r r e l a t i o n s h i p s being represented on that occasion. Thus, i t i s possible that a consistent pattern of both w a l l assign-ments and d i s t r i b u t i o n a l order w i l l be d i s c e r n i b l e — given enough data — as an expression of v a r i a b l e s p a r t i c u l a r to i n d i v i d u a l occa-sions such as the i d e n t i t y of the father's phratry and the a f f i n a l phratry of the current f o c a l person (e.g., the deceased on the occasion of funeral p o t l a t c h e s ) . I t seems reasonable to hypothesize that the idea of p a r i t y 2 among the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s r e f l e c t s a s i m i l a r i d e a l among the Gitksan. Given that , and given also that, as among the C a r r i e r , the Gitksan rules accord s u p e r i o r i t y of rank to centralplacement over l a t e r a l and to r i g h t over l e f t , then an arrangement whereby the constituent p h r a t r i e s 1. This p r i v i l e g e i s extended i n recognition that Laxc?az'miAyuW was the f i r s t phratry established w i t h i n these septs." 2. Likewise, although i t i s not p e r f e c t l y c l e a r what i s meant by i t , Boas (1916: 487) makes the f o l l o w i n g statement about the Coast Tsimshian: " . . . i n most of the myths the four exogamic groups are considered as e n t i r e l y equivalent." 222 of the sept segments are s i t u a t e d as blocs w i l l p r o j e c t connotations that contravene an i d e a l of p h r a t r i c p a r i t y . This i m p l i c a t i o n would be t h e o r e t i c a l l y eschewed i f occasion-s p e c i f i c factors (e.g., which p h r a t r i e s are jazgi'Xjdt, a f f i n a l , e t c . , on the occasion) determined the s i t u a t i n g of the phratry contingents w i t h i n sept b l o c s . I do not know why t h i s option i s not used except p o s s i b l y that cross-sept phratry i d e n t i t y may be somewhat weak. Thus, for example, the formal status of jdzgiXjOt may not be extended to the appropriate p h r a t r i c contingents beyond the sept of the f o c a l host. However, t h i s p o s s i b i l i t y can only be treated with great hesitancy s i n c e , f o r example, persons of chief W-Ciefe^ ' phratry but from d i f f e r e n t sept did contribute to the expenses of h i s p o l e - r a i s i n g p o t l a t c h . On the other hand, i t may be that on these p a r t i c u l a r occasions the r o l e of j'a.z.gA^j9£ i s rather too attenuated to c a l l f o r a s p e c i a l (and spa-t i a l ) r e cognition. For the present, the e n t i r e matter must remain undecided. Future research should consider, however, whether these arrangements do not r e f l e c t , at l e a s t i n p a r t , a tendency f o r p h r a t r i c s o l i d a r i t y to somewhat di s s o l v e at the edge of the sept. But t h i s mat-te r runs i n t o my second question f o r t h i s chapter, and I have more to say yet on the f i r s t . In terms of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e — I am less c e r t a i n about the corresponding features of Gitksan s o c i e t y — a p r i n c i p l e of p h r a t r i c p a r i t y , and the d i s s o l u t i o n of the p h r a t r i e s w i t h i n sept blocs as a possible consequence of t h i s p r i n c i p l e , makes a kind of eufunctional sense. 223 C a r r i e r s o c i e t y did not possess any mechanism of superordi-nating a u t h o r i t y to which otherwise i n t r a c t a b l e disputes over p h r a t r i c rank might have been appealed. Jenness (1943: 481) remarks that the C a r r i e r septs recognized "...no r u l i n g chief or established c o u n c i l ....Like other C a r r i e r s u b t r i b e s , the Bulkley natives were divided i n -to a number of f r a t e r n i t i e s or p h r a t r i e s , each i n t r i n s i c a l l y associa-ted w i t h the others, yet p o l i t i c a l l y independent." Thus, had the p r i n -c i p l e of ranking been applied among the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s , u n s e t t l i n g disputes might have a r i s e n , p o t e n t i a l l y quite v o l a t i l e , with no formal mechanism to contain them. Of course, d i s p u t a t i o n i s of the essence i n the continual r e -shaping of ceremonial expressions. Balances must always be struck i n r e s o l u t i o n of c u r r e n t l y stressed oppositions among counterposed s t r u c -t u r a l categories. Assuming that disputes concerning rank, s p e c i f i c a l l y , are resolved by s i m i l a r mechanisms of authority as obtain i n the s e t -tlement of other disputes, then there would be a tendency f o r the focus of any opposition, u l t i m a t e l y i n v o l v i n g persons, to r i s e to the highest plane of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e w i t h i n which the i n i t i a t i n g persons are a l l o -cated. Thus, f o r example, Jenness (1943: 483) states that the phratry "...took an a c t i v e i n t e r e s t i n a l l the r e l a t i o n s of i t s members with the members of other p h r a t r i e s , supporting them i n t h e i r grievances and bearing the r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of t h e i r misdeeds." The focus of opposition can r i s e beyond the respective clans of i n i t i a t i n g antagonists to t h e i r p h r a t r i e s . 224 3 I f a dispute cannot be s e t t l e d on the plane of s t r u c t u r e at which i t has come to be focused (that i s , through an assembly of i n t e r -ested contrast u n i t s — per t h e i r representatives — comprising the f o c a l plane) then i t must be r e f e r r e d upward at l e a s t to the next as-cending s t r u c t u r a l plane; where p o s s i b l e , to the u n i t of that plane, s p e c i f i c a l l y , w i t h i n which the antagonist u n i t s are mutually included. This formula i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n the fo l l o w i n g statements from Jenness (1943: 485): In such places [Moricetown and Hagwilgate] the maintenance of peace and harmony rested on both the clan and the phratry c h i e f s . Each clan c h i e f normally s e t t l e d disputes that exten-ded no fu r t h e r than h i s own l i t t l e u n i t ; when they involved another clan i n the same phratry, the head of the phratry, counseled by h i s clan c h i e f s , s e t t l e d them.... Thus, where disputes were focused at the plane of i n d i v i d u a l s or clans, they could be r e a d i l y r e f e r r e d to the chief of the uni t subtending the antagonists. However, where disputes come to be focused at the p h r a t r i c l e v e l the mechanism of r e f e r r i n g i t upward to a more i n c l u s i v e plane of struc t u r e i s not a v a i l a b l e . Witness: "...and when they [disputes] i n -volved other p h r a t r i e s the heads of the ph r a t r i e s consulted, f i r s t with t h e i r clan c h i e f s , then with each other, decided the issues at stake...." 3. By the expression "plane of st r u c t u r e " I mean a set of contrast u n i t s posited i n the s o c i a l ideology of a culture (e.g., p a r t i c u l a r clans) which, taken together, are conceived to subtend the e n t i r e spectrum of l e a s t s o c i a l u n i t s posited by the culture (persons). The contrast units of a given plane are conceived to encompass mutually exclusive segments of the t o t a l spectrum of l e a s t un i t s comprising the s o c i a l system. The contrast u n i t s of a given plane are conceived to sub-tend, i n mutually exclusive c l u s t e r s , the various contrast units of the planes intervening between the given plane and the plane of l e a s t u n i t s , and to be themselves s i m i l a r l y grouped as proper subsets of the various contrast units of higher planes of the st r u c t u r e . 225 (Jenness, 1943: 485). Even where s t r u c t u r a l u n i t s between which conten-t i o n a r i s e s are i n d i v i d u a l l y subtended beneath d i s t i n c t u n i t s of the immediately superordinate plane (e.g., c o n f l i c t between clans of d i f f e r -ent p h r a t r i e s ) , an upward s h i f t of the focus of opposition to the super-o r d i n a t i n g plane o f f e r s a mechanism f o r d i f f u s i n g somewhat the force of the i n i t i a t i n g antagonism by, as i t were, d i l u t i n g i t w i t h i n the wider s t r u c t u r a l t o t a l i t i e s . This mechanism, a l s o , i s unavailable i n the event of the i n t e r p h r a t r i c dispute. As i s affirmed by the foregoing c i t a t i o n , i n t e r p h r a t r i c con-f l i c t s were appealed to a c o u n c i l of phratry c h i e f s . Beyond that, the only p o s s i b l e d i r e c t i o n of fur t h e r appeal would be through a l a t e r a l extension of the coun c i l to include the phratry chiefs of neighboring septs. The emergence of such panphratric (cross-sept) mutual support could place great s t r a i n upon sept s o l i d a r i t y . Here again we confront the d i a l e c t i c of phratry vs. sept. To what extend do sept boundaries, uncertain as they are i n Athapaskan t r a d i t i o n , intercept the i d e a l cross-sept p h r a t r i c i d e n t i t y ? Conversely, i n what measure does cross-sept extension of p h r a t r i c i d e n t i t y threaten d i s s o l u t i o n of sept i n t e g r i t y ? Thus, unless a p a r t i c u l a r ranking order among the ph r a t r i e s which compose a t r i b e i s considered as at l e a s t i d e o l o g i c a l l y uncon-t e s t a b l e , the maintenance of a system of phratry ranking i n the context of the o v e r a l l C a r r i e r s o c i a l s tructure would tend to induce serious r i v a l r y w i t h i n the sept without any mechanism f o r e f f e c t i v e l y contain-4 ing i t s d i v i s i v e manifestations. The f r i c t i o n s of p h r a t r i c r i v a l r y 4. An assumption of u n c o n t e s t a b i l i t y might, f o r example, be supported by a theory of mythic preordination. I have found no evidence of such a mythological sanctioning of the order of t i t l e s among C a r r i e r nobles, less s t i l l among the p h r a t r i e s . 226 are the more hazardous i n view of the fa c t that the phratry i s i d e a l l y the c e n t r a l warring u n i t of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y : " . . . i t [the phratry] acted as a u n i t i n r e s i s t i n g aggression by other p h r a t r i e s " (Jenness, 1943: 5 483). Thus, contests of rank among the p h r a t r i e s would tend to place the s t r u c t u r e of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y under great s t r a i n . At the same time, the d i s t r i b u t i o n s among the guest septs at the KAJt&Z.gu,kZa potlatches were made to the septs £ R btoc, i n a s p e c i f i c and consistent order (see Beynon, 1943). Beynon gives no i n d i c a t i o n whether the r e c e i v i n g order among the guest septs represents: 1. a widely accepted f i x e d rank order, or as seems more l i k e l y , that 2. i t i s merely the current standing i n a continuing contest waged around c r i t e r i a concerning the c o l l e c t i v e (however reckoned) pot-6 l a t c h record of the competing septs, or, again, whether 3. i t r e f l e c t s a form of recognition on the part of the host group, and i s therefore subject to hi g h l y v a r i a b l e determinants. In any event, i n t e r s e p t r i v a l r i e s would seem to impose a les s v o l a t i l e s i t u a t i o n . Thus, while i t i s true t h a t , at l e a s t among 5. According to accounts appearing i n the Coast Tsimshian mythology, t h e i r p h r a t r i e s were also warring u n i t s (see Boas, 1916: 260; 270). 6. George Hunt's information suggests that 13 of the Southern Kwakiutl t r i b e s ranked one another according to p r i n c i p l e s centering around potl a t c h performance, must have varied somewhat according to the judgment of a p a r t i c u l a r host (who, I w i l l assume,had the formal o b l i g a t i o n of making such judgments as w e l l as the need to exercise great tact i n rendering them) on a p a r t i c u l a r occasion. This view of ranking among the Southern Kwakiutl t r i b e s i s my own, and has been discussed i n part i n an e a r l i e r (unpublished) essay. Helen Codere's i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s are i n t e r e s t i n g but are unable, as she recognizes, to resolve c e r t a i n apparent contradictions i n Boas' data (Codere, 1950: Chapter 3 and p. 64 i n p a r t i c u l a r ) . 227 the Bulkley C a r r i e r , the p h r a t r i e s "...united at times to r e p e l a com-mon danger" (Jenness, 1943: 481), i t i s also true that they recognized among them "...no r u l i n g chief or established c o u n c i l to c o n t r o l the actions of the d i f f e r e n t f a m i l i e s and govern t h e i r r e l a t i o n s w i t h the outside world" (Jenness, 1943: 481). Indeed, "they [the Bulkley p h r a t r i e s ] associated at w i l l with foreign peoples even when these might be h o s t i l e to others of t h e i r countrymen" (Jenness, 1943: 481-2). Thus, while the sept can unite i n a consolidated e f f o r t of mutual de-fense (as was argued i n Chapter 1), i t lacks any o f f i c e of a c h i e f t a i n -s h i p , or an i n s t i t u t i o n a l i z e d t r i b a l c o u n c i l s p e c i a l i z e d to coordinate such c o l l e c t i v e e f f o r t s . The sept, l a c k i n g any such i n s t i t u t i o n — and bear i n mind i t s t r a d i t i o n a l Athapaskan i n d e f i n i t e n e s s (Chapter 2) — i s therefore without an enunciated sense of permanence. Whatever other functions i t may perform, the existence of such a formal o f f i c e , chartered with regulations concerning the succession of i t s incumbents, c l e a r l y predicates an i d e a l of c o n t i n u i t y to the t o t a l i t y which the o f f i c e represents. I t i s i n contrast with the phratry e s p e c i a l l y , which for i t s part possesses a chie f ' s o f f i c e and which occupies the same plane of str u c t u r e (see f f . p. 224) as the sept, that the C a r r i e r con-cept of the sept takes on an a i r of contingency. S o c i a l structure manifests a gtitalX.. Where two terms ( i . e . , two categories of s o c i a l s tructure such as sept and phratry) are on the same plane of str u c t u r e and, other things being equal, one of these c a r r i e s an aura of greater permanence than the other, then i t w i l l be stressed i n r e l a t i o n to that other. A culture p a r t i c i p a n t w i l l tend to 228 invest the greater measure of h i s sense of personal s i g n i f i c a n c e , or personal i d e n t i t y , i n whichever of the s o c i e t a l categories p r o j e c t s the more f o r c e f u l l y image of c o n t i n u i t y . This argument implies t h a t , i n an hy p o t h e t i c a l s i t u a t i o n i n which a p a r t i c i p a n t ' s l o y a l t y to h i s acephalic sept i s placed i n opposition to hi s l o y a l t y to h i s phratry (at l e a s t to the i n t r a s e p t segment of the phratry and perhaps beyond), he w i l l tend to lend h i s support to the l a t t e r . Correspondingly, and nearer to our immediate p o i n t , t h i s f a c t o r of r e l a t i v e s t r e s s may cause a greater evocation among p a r t i c i p a n t s of a contest which cen-ters i t s opposition among s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s that represent the accented s t r u c t u r a l term (e.g., among the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s ) than would occur where opposition centered on d i v i s i o n s representing the unstressed term (e.g., the C a r r i e r septs). In other words, according to the hypothesis, a contest of rank among the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s would tend to be more evocative to i t s p a r t i c i p a n t s and hence more l i a b l e to pro-duce u n s e t t l i n g d i s p u t a t i o n than would s i m i l a r contests among the Car-r i e r septs. The f l a v o r of t h i s r e l a t i o n s h i p of r e l a t i v e accent between phratry and sept i s i l l u s t r a t e d i n the fol l o w i n g statement from Jenness (1943: 483): "The f i r s t question asked of a stranger ( i f i t were not apparent from h i s dress or ta t o o i n g ) , was net 'what clan does he belong to,' or even 'what subtribe [sept] does he belong to,' but 'what i s hi s phratry?'" Having offered t h i s argument on an "other things being equal" b a s i s , I must now pause to recognize one important respect i n which they are not. The i d e o l o g i c a l sense of co n t i n u i t y projected by the phratry 229 i s somewhat b l u n t e d , among the C a r r i e r , i n view of t h e du ^CLcAo h i s -t o r i c a n t i q u i t y of the system of s e p t s . Sept i d e n t i t y , t h e r e f o r e , counterposed a g a i n s t the p h r a t r y , must c a r r y r a t h e r g r e a t e r f o r c e than would o t h e r w i s e be expected. An o v e r a l l i d e o l o g i c a l s t r e s s on t h e p h r a t r y must somewhat impede any tendency toward development of a s p e c i a l i z e d sept c h i e f t a i n -s h i p . Thus, a l t h o u g h the n o b l e s assembled a t t h e i n t e r s e p t p o t l a t c h e s were, as we have seen, i n d i v i d u a l l y ranked w i t h i n t h e i r s e p t s , the t i t l e w h i c h was a s s i g n e d to the h i g h e s t rank was not t h e r e w i t h c o n c e i v e d to r e p r e s e n t the s p e c i a l champion of the e n t i r e s e p t . On the o t h e r hand, where t h e r e i s r e c o g n i t i o n of a metonymic r e l a t i o n s h i p between a p a r t i -c u l a r s t a t u s and an e n t i r e s o c i a l d i v i s i o n , then t h e r e i s p r o v i d e d a mechanism f o r the c o n s i d e r a b l e a m p l i f i c a t i o n of the performance l e v e l o f i t s incumbent, r e l a t i v e , t h a t i s , t o what he might a c h i e v e a c t i n g to a g r e a t e r e x t e n t on h i s own b e h a l f — even as a p e r f o r m e r c u r r e n t l y of f i r s t s t a n d i n g w i t h i n h i s group. A c h i e f , a c t i n g as the s p e c i a l champion of h i s group, can c l a i m the r i g h t to s y n c h r o n i z e and focus the r e s o u r c e s of h i s group i n a i d of h i s own p o t l a t c h e s i n a degree which he c o u l d not do a c t i n g on h i s own b e h a l f . At the same tim e , a m b i t i o u s n o b l e s become i n s p i r e d t o compete among themselves, through p o t l a t c h e s g i v e n i n t h e i r own names, i n the wake of the s t a n d a r d s s e t i n the r i v a l -r i e s of the g r e a t c h i e f s . I n f a c t , these were the s t r u c t u r a l c o n d i t i o n s w h i c h l e d t o an almost f a n a t i c a l e s c a l a t i o n i n the extravagance of p o t -l a t c h i n g among the Southern K w a k i u t l t r i b e s . I n c o n c l u s i o n , o p p o s i t i o n s o ver rank among s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s w h i c h , l i k e the C a r r i e r p h r a t r i e s , ack-230 nowledge chiefs i n whom intergroup r i v a l r i e s could be focused w i l l thereby permit a greater synchronization of the e f f o r t s of the member-ship at large on behalf of t h e i r common cause than would be p o s s i b l e i n oppositions among s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s , such as the C a r r i e r septs, which do not recognize an o v e r a l l c h i e f t a i n s h i p . A greater synchronization of e f f o r t w i l l tend to generate a greater sense of r i v a l r y among the p a r t i c i p a n t s . Thus, i n the absence of a superordinating mechanism with the acknowledged authority to de l i b e r a t e disputes over rank among p a r a l l e l s o c i a l d i v i s i o n s , the opposing of the septs, as acephalic d i v i s i o n s , would seem less l i k e l y to generate uncontainable r i v a l r i e s ( i . e . , r e s u l t i n g i n withdrawal of p a r t i c i p a t i o n and/or violence) than would the opposing of the p h r a t r i e s , which can become more c l o s e l y integrated about a recognized metonymizing c h i e f t a i n s h i p . Just as the C a r r i e r maintain an ideology of p h r a t r i c equiva-lence, i n terms of rank, so they must avoid any seating arrangement which would connote a rank order among t h e i r p h r a t r i e s . Assuming that , on s i m i l a r occasions of i n t e r s e p t p o t l a t c h i n g , C a r r i e r hosts would use the same basic format as that which we have observed i n the GiXi,tQlikZci p o t l a t c h s e r i e s , a ranking of the ph r a t r i e s i s avoided and t h e i r rank equivalence asserted by means of the mingling of the personnel of the various p h r a t r i e s w i t h i n t h e i r p a r t i c u l a r sept blocs. I suggest, then, that t h i s seating pattern, and i t s associated order of p r e s t a t i o n a l d i s t r i b u t i o n , may r e f l e c t the i n t e n t of the ceremonialists to accommo-date the doctrine of p h r a t r i c equivalence by avoiding confrontations which might otherwise i n j e c t serious schisms w i t h i n the sept to the point, conceivably, of i n t e r p h r a t r i c warfare. 231 We come now to the second question. I f i t i s indeed the case that, i n the content of C a r r i e r s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e , the phratry repre-sents a more h e a v i l y accented term than the sept ( i n the sense discussed e a r l i e r , that the phratry i s the more important i d e n t i f i c a t i o n a l pre-dicate to i n d i v i d u a l s ) should we not expect a r e v e r s a l of the o v e r a l l seating arrangement u t i l i z e d i n the i n t e r s e p t potlatches? That i s , should not the p h r a t r i e s be accented over and against the sept by mani-f e s t i n g the ph r a t r i e s as the supreme s p a t i a l and d i s t r i b u t i o n a l blocs w i t h i n which the personnel of the d i f f e r e n t septs are mingled (possibly as sept sub-divisions of the extended cross-sept phratry) rather than v i c e versa? I t w i l l be possible to answer t h i s question only by dwell-ing awhile on some of the connotations of the concepts of the sept and phratry i n C a r r i e r terms. This w i l l warrant some r e p e t i t i o n of issues considered e a r l i e r (Chapters 1 and 2). A ceremonial representation of the sept as a s p a t i a l cum d i s -t r i b u t i o n a l b loc i s given precedence over a bloc representation of the phratry p a r t l y , at l e a s t , because — i n terms of the widest c u l t u r a l contents — the most d e f i n i t i v e a t t r i b u t e of the sept i s t e r r i t o r i a l whereas the most defi n i n g aspect of the concept of the phratry t r a n -scends i t s t e r r i t o r i a l associations. In other words, the sept i s rep-resented s p a t i a l l y i n the ceremonial context p r e c i s e l y because i t i s (more so than the phratry) conceived s p a t i a l l y i n i t s metaceremonial s e t t i n g s . Of course, the Ca r r i e r idea of the sept must perforce be con-dit i o n e d by a wide range of associations. Some of the more obvious of 232 these are i n d i c a t e d , for example, i n the f o l l o w i n g statement from Jenness (1943: 482): I t was only the constant a s s o c i a t i o n , the t i e s of k i n -ship and marriage, the uniform d i a l e c t , and the pressure of common i n t e r e s t s that counteracted the strong c e n t r i f u g a l tendencies and k n i t t e d the ph r a t r i e s i n t o a d e f i n i t e , though headless, u n i t j u s t i f y i n g the name of subtribe. Nevertheless, the l o c a t i o n a l dimension i s a key to these other a s s o c i a -t i o n s . Thus, as we have seen, most of the septs are d i f f e r e n t i a t e d by C a r r i e r names which expressly s i g n i f y an assemblage of people i n a d i s t i n c t i v e physiographic s e t t i n g . Some of the C a r r i e r sept names appear on a map (p. 476) and are l i s t e d i n an appendix (pp. 584-6) i n Jenness' report on the Bulkley t r i b e . Morice (1893), Duff (1964) , and Hackler (1954) also provide a number of sept names, some the same or s i m i l a r to those given by Jenness, others quite d i f f e r e n t . As a r e -s u l t the t o t a l p i c t u r e i s somewhat unclear, due i n part to the f a c t that these sept names have been recorded by ethnographers working among informants who are themselves of d i f f e r e n t septs, probably speaking d i f -ferent d i a l e c t s . Nevertheless, i t w i l l serve our present purpose to merely review some e a r l i e r (Chapter 1) conclusions concerning some sem-an t i c aspects of the sept names. The f i r s t point to note i s that the names of the septs bore the s u f f i x rendered -?£&nne. by Morice (1893), -Woten by Duff (1964), -otmnz by Jenness (1943), and -W^Addyn by myself (see above, p. 11). The s u f f i x bears the simple meaning "inhabitants of..." Thus, f o r ex-ample, the name TaztZd^w^Aidzyn (not recorded by the others) connotes "the people of Takla Lake." TaeAlQ?, i n turn, means "head of the lake," so that f u l l y t r a n s l a t e d the name means "head of the lake peoples." 233 This r a i s e s the second key feature of the sept names noted i n Chapter 1. I t i s s t r i k i n g that most of the root elements of these names turn out, when reduceable to t h e i r o r i g i n a l meanings, to designate — l i k e tcttttd? — some water system or a feature of a water system. We have seen names t r a n s l a t e d , "peoples of the bottom of Stuart Lake," "Confluence of two r i v e r s people," "people of N u l k i Lake," "people of the Bulkley (= spider?) r i v e r , " etc. Taken as a whole, then, sept names designate an assembly of people who reside i n as s o c i a t i o n w i t h a d i s t i n c t i v e water system. The concept of the sept i s most aptly summarized as the peo-ples who gather at one or more s i t e s around a common water system f o r summer and autumn f i s h i n g , above a l l f o r the runs of P a c i f i c salmon. Thus, the Bulkley sept i s the various peoples who gathered at common or adjacent weir s i t e s along the Bulkley River (HwAePOwAcsyi Kwah) . Before the l a n d s l i d e occurred on the Bulkley River at Hagwilgate, the best place i n the whole d i s t r i c t f o r trapping the migrating salmon was at Moricetown, the common center of the p h r a t r i e s [my emphasis]; and on the dam b u i l t there across the r i v e r . Most, i f not a l l , of the clans had s p e c i a l s t a -tions where they could p ly t h e i r gaffs or set t h e i r traps and baskets. Thepart of the subtribe that moved to Hagwilgate a f t e r the l a n d s l i d e subdivided among i t s clans, i n exactly the same way, the various f i s h i n g stands i n the Bulkley can-yon (Jenness, 1943: 488; F i g . 62, 486). Among the western C a r r i e r , at l e a s t , these common sept f i s h i n g grounds are d i s t i n c t from those reserved f o r the exclusive use of the clans: "Each clan had the exclusive f i s h i n g r i g h t s over the lakes and streams w i t h i n i t s hunting t e r r i t o r i e s . . . . " (Jenness, 1943: 488). Nevertheless, i t i s evident that c e r t a i n water systems, p a r t i c u l a r l y those which car-234 r i e d the m i g r a t i n g salmon, were the common p r o p e r t y o f a l l the d i v i -s i o n s , c l a n s and p h r a t r i e s , composing a s e p t . I t i s i m p o r t a n t t o r e c o g n i z e t h a t the p h y s i o g r a p h i c connota-t i o n o f the s e p t names n o t o n l y p r o v i d e s a con v e n i e n t means o f d i f f e r -e n t i a t i n g among the d i v i s i o n s of a pl a n e o f s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e ( s e p t v s . s e p t ) , i t a l s o e f f e c t s a d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n between the s e p t p l a n e pzA hz and the o t h e r p l a n e s o f C a r r i e r s o c i e t y , most i m p o r t a n t l y the v e r y n e a r l y i s o p l a n a r domain of the p h r a t r i e s . I n terms of C a r r i e r s o c i e t a l taxonomy t h i s d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n i s summarized i n the s u f f i x e s c h a r a c t e r -i s t i c of the system o f names i n the sept and p h r a t r i c domains, -wA.d?(Lyyi and -yaw r e s p e c t i v e l y . The concept of -yaw i s ext r e m e l y d i f f i c u l t t o p e n e t r a t e , e s p e c i a l l y i n i t s m e t a p h y s i c a l r a m i f i c a t i o n s , but may be 7 ro u g h l y t r a n s l a t e d "power." My immediate p o i n t i s t h a t whatever a f u l l e x p l i c a t i o n of the e x p r e s s i o n -yuW might e n t a i l , i t would c l e a r l y s t a n d i n c o n t r a s t t o the l o c a t i o n a l o r i e n t a t i o n o f the system o f sept names. Thus, the systems of sept and p h r a t r i c nomenclature e f f e c t d i f f e r e n t i a -t i o n s i n two dimensions; w i t h i n , s e p a r a t i n g the s u b c a t e g o r i e s which comprise the v a r i o u s s o c i e t a l domains, and w i t h o u t , opposing the domains themselves. The p o i n t which these o b s e r v a t i o n s on C a r r i e r s o c i e t a l t a x -onomy are i n t e n d e d t o s e r v e may be viewed as a m o d i f i c a t i o n of the f o l l o w -i n g c o n c l u s i o n from C. L e v i - S t r a u s s (1966: 75): 7. I n some c o n t e x t s the s u f f i x -yaw seems to d e s i g n a t e s p e c i f i c a l l y m e d i c i n a l powers, as i n the word dA.cisn'^yuw (where dLLc&n = s t i c k ) w h ich i s an h e r b a l medicine concocted from the tender branches o f young woody p l a n t s ( s p r u c e , balsam, and s e v e r a l o t h e r s ) as a cough m i x t u r e , o r as i n the word W9rjtzn +yaw {w9Y)7Zn = head) , meaning " a s p i r i n . " On the o t h e r hand, the sense of power i s extended be-yond the p u r e l y m e d i c i n a l i n the word f o r "match," qxWdn +yuw where qxWdn means " f i r e . " 235 Now, on the t h e o r e t i c a l as w e l l as the p r a c t i c a l plane, the existence of d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g features i s of much grea-t e r importance than t h e i r content. Once i n evidence, they form a system which can be employed as a g r i d i s used to de-cipher a t e x t , whose o r i g i n a l u n i n t e l l i g i b i l i t y gives i t the appearance of an uninterrupted flow. The g r i d makes i t po s s i b l e to introduce d i v i s i o n s and contrasts, i n other words the formal conditions necessary f o r a s i g n i f i c a n t mes-sage to be conveyed. In f a c t , i t would be more precise to say that the i n t r o d u c t i o n of d i v i -sions and contrasts — by means of features selected to mark the domains and categories from whose t o t a l semantic content these d i f f e r e n t i a t i n g features were drawn — does not merely e s t a b l i s h the conditions necessary fo r the conveyance of a meaningful message, but that the s p e c i f i c fea-tures i n terms of which d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n i s e f f e c t e d have t h e i r own mean-ings and c o n s t i t u t e , of themselves, a s i g n i f i c a n t message. In a d d i t i o n to simply marking, as i t were p a s s i v e l y , the contrast categories, con-t r a s t features which appear i n a nomenclature system assert something of the content of the contrast. In view of t h i s f a c t , one expects that as a r u l e a condition i n the s e l e c t i o n of features which are to be spe-c i a l i z e d f o r the marking of d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n s i s that these be i n close consonance with the r e s i d u a l content of the contrast which they impute to the categories they name. I t i s even reasonable to suppose that fea-tures which appear i n nomenclature systems do so p r e c i s e l y because they render a symbolic reduction of contrasts which stand apart, to the c u l -ture p a r t i c i p a n t s , as of greater importance to the opposition of categor-ies being thus marked than would be the case with other possible contrasts. In any event, the contrast features used i n nomenclatures must surely come to be generally stressed, more so than might otherwise be the case 236 viA-a-VAj> the r e s i d u a l semantic contents of the opposed categories, simply i n v i r t u e of t h e i r being thus established i n e x p l i c i t names. To return to Levi-Struass, i t i s u s e f u l to do as he has so often suggested, and to t r e a t contrast features as open v a r i a b l e s , "x," "y," e t c . , which, having marked contrast categories "X,""Y," etc., have thereby served what i s an obviously important f u n c t i o n . However, we must bear i n mind that i t i s at l e a s t as important that we under-stand what factors constrain and channel the concrete r e a l i z a t i o n s of these v a r i a b l e s subject to s u b s t i t u t i o n r u l e s . My task, among other things, i s to begin to understand these r u l e s . The C a r r i e r naming system of septs and p h r a t r i e s i s a case i n p o i n t , r e f l e c t i n g as I s h a l l argue the same kinds of symbolic functions as are manifest i n the seat-ing arrangements at the i n t e r s e p t potlatches. We have seen that the septs are often distinguished by names which carry a l o c a t i o n a l reference, tending thus to oppose them to the p h r a t r i e s which, f o r t h e i r p a r t , bear names without any apparent geogra-phic connotations. At the same time, i n s p i t e of the t e r r i t o r i a l r e f -erences i n sept names, i t i s not a sept chief — since there i s no such o f f i c e — who administers the a l l o c a t i o n s of hunting t e r r i t o r i e s : "Through i t s [ i . e . , the phratry's] chief (who was always a chief of one of i t s clans) i t c o n t r o l l e d the d i v i s i o n of the hunting t e r r i t o r i e s among i t s members...." (Jenness, 1943: 483). But i s t h i s not curious? Why would a nomenclature system imply a d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n of s o c i e t a l planes which i s not borne out by the actual s o c i a l conditions? The phratry as w e l l as the sept has a t e r r i t o r i a l aspect; indeed, i t recognizes 237 a s p e c i a l o f f i c e f o r the administration of i t s t e r r i t o r i e s , whereas the sept does not, although i t i s the sept which bears names w i t h the l o c a -t i o n a l reference. The sept and p h r a t r i c nomenclatures appear almost to misrepresent very important aspects of the comparative semantic contents of the categories which they p a r t i t i o n . This would be a f a r cry from the function which i s expected of features that are s p e c i a l i z e d as taxo-nomic d i f f e r e n t i a . That i s , i t seems a f a r cry from the functi o n of representing the contrasts which are f e l t to be most fundamental among the t o t a l semantic contents predicated to various opposed s o c i e t a l categories ( i n the perspective of t h e i r f u l l round of s o c i o c u l t u r a l r e -l a t i o n s h i p s ) . To dismiss t h i s seeming c o n t r a d i c t i o n , I s h a l l need to review some aspects of the yearly cycle of C a r r i e r economic a c t i v i t i e s . The t r a d i t i o n a l annual rhythm among the western C a r r i e r mani-fested two o v e r a l l s o c i e t a l phases based upon e c o l o g i c a l l y determined production a c t i v i t i e s . As winter approached the sept population s c a t -tered from i t s v i l l a g e ( s ) to the various clan hunting grounds to pass the winter months i n pursuit of large game f o r sustenance; now e s p e c i a l l y moose, which has replaced the caribou of e a r l i e r years, together with some bear, mountain goat, and mountain sheep, and various fur-bearers f o r sustenance and f o r cash (beaver, marten, f i s h e r , fox, o t t e r , ermine, r a b b i t , e t c . ) . A f t e r a l a s t , postbreakup, beaver hunt, before the bush became swamped i n spring runoff, the sept reassembled i n i t s v i l l a g e ( s ) i n proximity to i t s f i s h i n g areas. Throughout the summer months, and int o e a r l y autumn, the e n t i r e sept population i s concentrated upon the trapping of the migrating salmon on i t s common water system. 238 Thus, i t i s apparent t h a t , o t h e r than c e r e m o n i a l l y , the s e p t i s o n l y r e a l i z e d as a dt ^aato s o c i a l u n i t when i t s c l a n s and p h r a t r i e s a r e c o n c e n t r a t e d i n a de, j'uAe. common space, a c t i n g i n p a r a l l e l t o h a r -v e s t the communal p o o l of P a c i f i c salmon. A measure of r e c o g n i t i o n i s g i v e n at t h i s time t o the f a c t o f the segmentation o f the s e p t i n t o c l a n u n i t s by a s s i g n i n g i n d i v i d u a l f i s h i n g p l a c e s t o them (by means e i t h e r o f s e p a r a t e w e i r s o r i n d i v i d u a l p l a c e s on the same w e i r ) . I t may a l s o have been the case t h a t c e r t a i n t a s k s c o n c e r t e d t h e l a b o r of the c l a n p e r s o n n e l , which would c o n t r i b u t e f u r t h e r t o s u s t a i n i n g a p e r s p e c t i v e of segmentation i n the c o n t e x t of sept assembly. I must s a y , however, t h a t t h e r e i s no c l e a r evidence t o t h i s e f f e c t i n Jenness' a c c o u n t s , and my own i n f o r m a t i o n i n d i c a t e s t h a t , once the w e i r s and smokehouses had been r e p a i r e d , the a c t u a l h a r v e s t i n g and p r e p a r i n g o f the salmon was undertaken by i n d i v i d u a l f i s h e r m e n (and wives) who s e t t h e i r own b a s k e t t r a p s whenever they w i s h e d , and at any p l a c e a v a i l a b l e at the t i m e , r e -8 g a r d l e s s of t h e c l a n to which i t might f o r m a l l y b e l o n g . Witness Jenness 8. My i n f o r m a n t Gi&tzh.PUli'? , w h i l e showing me a l a r g e b a s k e t t r a p (=gonjexf) t h a t belonged to h i s f a m i l y , e x p l a i n e d t h a t each man owned h i s own f i s h t r a p , which he s e t i n t o an opening i n t h e b a r r i c a d e (= 484 wh i c h a l s o means b l a c k b e a r ; a s t r i k i n g metaphor f o r a salmon t r a p p i n g system). These b a s k e t s were manufactured by the wives o f the f i s h e r m e n from the r o o t s and branches of spruce and j a c k p i n e ; these m a t e r i a l s , g a t h e r e d by the women, were a l s o i m p ortant element's i n the c o n s t r u c t i o n of the w e i r s themselves. GAj>tzkpWAj?'s i n f o r m a t i o n i s open to some doubt on these matters s i n c e he c o u l d not have been more than a young l a d when the w e i r and t r a p system was s t i l l i n use among the C a r r i e r . T h i s , and o t h e r systems (such as the s e t t i n g of b a s k e t t r a p s beneath the 14 f o o t f a l l s i n the B u l k l e y Canyon) , was f o r c e a b l y d i s c o n t i n u e d CAJiCCl 1904 by o f f i c i a l s of the M i n i s t r y of Marine and F i s h e r i e s . T h i s p o l i c y i s ex-p l a i n e d by Mr. A.J. Whitmore, C h i e f S u p e r v i s o r of F i s h e r i e s , i n a l e t -t e r (dated October 24, 1952) addressed t o Mr. G.S. Reade, S u p e r v i s o r of F i s h e r i e s , P r i n c e Rupert D i v i s i o n i n the f o l l o w i n g words: "These w e i r s were c o n s i d e r e d d e s t r u c t i v e to the salmon f i s h e r y , not so much on (Continued . . . .) 239 (1943: 488) "...a memb er of any clan, i n any phratry, might f i s h at any of the stands whenever i t was not actually occupied by i t s proper owners." In fact, there can be l i t t l e doubt that the yearly repair, and certainly the i n i t i a l construction, of the large weirs must have required some con-certing of the labor of a l l v i l l a g e personnel. In 1904, an agent of the Department of Fisheries ordered the destruction of the weirs on the Ba-bine River which served Fort Babine. There were two of these, h a l f - a -9 mile apart, and at least one was 200 feet wide. Thus, two large weirs served the f i v e phratries and their various clan divisions at Fort Babine. Manifestly, these weirs had to be shared by the clans and phratries which, therefore undoubtedly shared in the labor of their construction and repair as well. My present point i s just that the occasional task which might have concerted the labour of the personnel of each clan i n i t s discrete space (clan fishing areas) would, i n so doing, merely provide an accen-tuating counterpoint to the concurrent, and pre-eminent theme of the salmon season whereby the spaces and labors of these divisions were i n -corporated, respectively, within a wider, mutual, space (common water systems and common weirs) and into a wider framework of pansept i n t e r -action (including occasional concerted interaction). "87 (Continued . '. 7 .) account of the number of salmon taken by Indians, as by the fact that weirs were l e f t by the Indians when the season was over and this interfered with the ascent of f i s h . " 9. This information is contained in a report of the aforesaid agent, a Mr. Hans Helgeson, to John T. Turner, the Inspector of Fisheries at Port Essington, B.C. 240 The a t t i t u d e toward t h e h u n t i n g grounds p r o j e c t s a s h a r p e r sense of the d i s c r e t e n e s s and autonomy of the c l a n s and p h r a t r i e s than does the p a r t i t i o n i n g of the salmon t r a p p i n g areas i n t o i n d i v i d u a l c l a n p l a c e s . I n c o n t r a s t to the r e l a t i v e l y f r e e access to the c l a n f i s h i n g p l a c e s , the p h r a t r i e s m a i n t a i n e d a s t r i c t p r o p r i e t o r s h i p o ver t h e i r h unt-i n g grounds: " . . . t r e s p a s s i n g on the [h u n t i n g ] t e r r i t o r y o f another p h r a t r y w i t h o u t the consent of i t s c h i e f l e d t o q u a r r e l s and o f t e n b l o o d -shed" (Jenness, 1943: 487). As we have s a i d , t h i s p r o p r i e t o r s h i p i s p a r t i c u l a r l y r e l e v a n t r e s p e c t i n g f u r s p e c i e s . The salmon season r e t a i n s a sense o f s p a t i a l segmentation j u s t s u f f i c i e n t t o mark the s t r u c t u r a l segments as r e c i p r o c a t i n g elements of a t o t a l i t y f r e e l y s h a r i n g a common s u b s t r a t e ; i . e . , the common fo o d , salmon, y i e l d e d by the common wa t e r system. The w i n t e r season, on the o t h e r hand, d i s p e r s e s the sept t o the t e r r i t o r i e s of i t s v a r i o u s p h r a t r y and c l a n d i v i s i o n s , not o n l y i s o l a t i n g the d i v i s i o n s s o c i a l l y as w e l l as s p a t i a l l y , b u t removing them i d e o l o g i c a l l y from the summer concept o f a mutual s o c i e t y i n a mutual space. Thus, the p r a c t i c e o f s p a t i a l s u b d i -v i s i o n o f the sept i s v e r y much more h e a v i l y s t r e s s e d i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h the w i n t e r h u n t i n g grounds than w i t h the salmon waterways. On the o t h e r hand, w h i l e the t e r r i t o r i a l segmentation o f the sept i s acc e n t u a t e d d u r i n g the w i n t e r months, t h i s i s not accompanied by a c o r r e s p o n d i n g c o n c e n t r a t i o n , s p a t i a l o r i n t e r a c t i o n a l , of t h e p e r s o n -n e l of the v a r i o u s s t r u c t u r a l segments above the l e v e l of the f a m i l y . To the c o n t r a r y , w i n t e r n ot only d i s p e r s e s the s e p t , i t a l s o w i d e l y s c a t -t e r s the p e r s o n n e l of the c l a n s and p h r a t r i e s , a l b e i t w i t h i n the guarded 241 10 boundaries of t h e i r respective t e r r i t o r i e s . Before any snow s e t t l e d on the ground, however, the sub-t r i b e broke up and the f a m i l i e s dispersed to t h e i r hunting t e r r i t o r i e s i n search of beaver, caribou, bear, goats, and mar-mots. T r i b a l a c t i v i t i e s then ceased, and f o r a time the fami-l i e s l i v e d s o l i t a r y , or else one or two together, eking out a precarious existence by the chase (Jenness, 1943: 531). The summer months conversely brought enormous i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of i n t e r a c t i o n a l contact among persons w i t h i n and across a l l segments of sept substructure above the family. Most of the C a r r i e r modes of per-sonal i n t e r a c t i o n were, no doubt, concentrated i n t o the season of assem-b l y , and most of these, i n t u r n , were structured by regulations bearing upon the d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n and a r t i c u l a t i o n of the clans and p h r a t r i e s . The most s t r i k i n g examples of t h i s are the various r i t u a l modes of a f f i -n a l i n t e r a c t i o n : b e t r o t h a l agreements, bridewealth payments, the cere-monial conferment of childhood names and, of course, the complex of events known to anthropology as the p o t l a t c h , i n v o l v i n g the assumption, t r a n s f e r , and display of a v a r i e t y of ceremonial prerogatives ( t i t l e s , c r e s t s , poles, s p i r i t songs and dances, etc.) representing the accumulated myth-ology and h i s t o r y of C a r r i e r culture. These events are associated with important t r a n s i t i o n s of status i n the l i v e s of persons and, i n v a r i a b l y , they engage the a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n of a wide c i r c l e of the kinsmen of the p r i n c i p a l subjects; v i r t u a l l y e n t i r e clans and p h r a t r i e s i n the case of persons of high rank. 10. This s p a t i a l cum i n t e r a c t i o n a l r a r e f a c t i o n of the clan (and, Cl ^OK-ti.0fuL, of the p h r a t r i c ) population was advanced even fu r t h e r as a r e s u l t of the fact that the t e r r i t o r i e s of the clans were not con-tinuous t r a c t s , "...the hunting t e r r i t o r y of each clan was not a s i n g l e s t r i p of country, but a number of d i s c r e t e s t r i p s scattered here and there throughout the t e r r i t o r y under the subtribe's domin-io n " (Jenness, 1943: 489). 242 The protocols of these occasions predicate s p e c i f i c r i t u a l f unctions, not only to persons recognized as the nearest k i n of the im-mediate subjects, but to the s t r u c t u r a l u n i t s as a whole, the clans and p h r a t r i e s , with which the subjects are l i n k e d . Thus, on the one hand, c e r t a i n roles w i l l be assigned to i n d i v i d u a l s as a function of t h e i r unique k i n l i n k s to the subjects: e.g., a son must always contribute s u b s t a n t i a l l y to meeting the expense of h i s own father's f u n e r a l , a l -though the burden of the cost f a l l s upon the father's own clan and phra-t r y as a whole. Or again, once the child-naming ceremony was completed, "the father divided among h i s family and nearest kinsmen such g i f t s as her [the c h i l d ' s mother's] phratry had contributed f o r the occasion" (Jenness, 1943: 520). On the other hand, many,perhaps most, of the r i t u a l procedures are assigned as the p r i n c i p a l r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of the s u b j e c t - l i n k e d clans and phratries as u n i t s . In most forms of the pot-l a t c h s p e c i a l recognition i s given, as I have often noted, to the father's phratry of the subject (jazgiXf'st') , i n payment f o r the s p e c i a l services performed by i t on behalf of the phratry of i t s c h i l d ; such as b u r i a l (at one time cremation) of the corpse of i t s deceased c h i l d . I f these r i t u a l s do not always concert the e f f o r t s of the e n t i r e membership of the s u b j e c t - l i n k e d p h r a t r i e s , the phr-atries w i l l at l e a s t be repre-sented through the a l l o c a t i o n of s p e c i a l duties to t h e i r c h i e f s . C h i l d -naming ceremonies, held i n the house of the chief of the c h i l d ' s phratry, were conducted by the chief. I t was he, holding the c h i l d i n h i s arms, who announced i t s childhood name and r e l a t e d i t s h i s t o r y (Jenness, 1943: 520) . 243 I d e o l o g i c a l categories of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e are the p r i n c i p a l elements i n the design of the protocols of C a r r i e r r i t u a l . At present, my data are t h i n on many points of d e t a i l germaine to the various r i t -uals of a f f i n a l i n t e r a c t i o n . What I do have, i n terms of p a r t i c i p a n t accounts of b e t r o t h a l s , and of c e r t a i n r i t u a l s a n c i l l a r y to the pot-11 l a t c h , however, suggests that many of the r i t u a l s of C a r r i e r l i f e may best be understood under the general assumption that the sub j e c t - l i n k e d p h r a t r i e s and clans are a r t i c u l a t e d i n t o roles which c o n s t i t u t e a r e i t -e r a t i o n of r e l a t i o n a l norms predicated at the l e v e l of persons; notably the i n t r a - f a m i l i a l roles of father, husband, mother, wife and c h i l d . As the b i r t h of a c h i l d manifests the metamorphosis of the raw products of the C a r r i e r world — f l e s h of moose or stream-caught f i s h , and semen, f l e s h of man, proffered by the body of man as hunter and husband to the body of woman, transformer of the raw to the cooked — so i t i s that when a clan raises a pole to represent i t s perpetuating matriform, i t i s from the ja.ZQ't'Xjdt or i t s chief that the crude log must come. In the course of the preinterrment f e a s t s , the j'a.e,g*.\j8t of the deceased pose a r i t u a l demand of h i s phratry: "when w i l l you give us 11. Jenness provides no c l e a r account of these. However, some of these a n c i l l a r y r i t u a l s which I know to be i n current use include the f o l -lowing: 1) preinterrment feasts c a l l e d hidazb gtsQC JazPa't (= "they eat from the t a b l e " ) ; among other things, these events honor the members of the deceased's jCLZgAXjdt who have been selected to do the "work" of the funeral such as b u i l d i n g or purchasing the casket, d i g -ging the b u r i a l p i t , etc. Hosted by the phratry of the deceased, these events are also attended by d i g n i t a r i e s of the phra t r i e s not d i r e c t l y involved. 2) cl9AbA,yaba.£tQX; the anger and sorrow of the mourners i s p a c i f i e d by a dance i n which the white feathers of peace (C9-4 = feather) are placed on the heads of the mourners. In a l a t e r ceremony, the mourners "return the feathers" (= ciSAqXQmduqxdt) . 244 our c h i l d ? " The ultimate response to t h i s demand comes only through replacement of the deceased by ele v a t i o n of a successor to h i s t i t l e . However, an i n t e r i m promise of the r e b i r t h to f o l l o w (a successor w i l l u s u a l l y be announced at t h i s time, and perhaps an approximate date set for the succession potlatch) , the jcizgA.\j'9t and other guests are feasted 12 13 upon steamed t a i l of beaver which, together with the compote of b e r r i e s , passed among the guests i n i t s ceremonial bowl (= btygxgisdAy; each phratry 12. Beaver o r i g i n a t e d through the transformation of a young woman who camped with her husband alongside a mountain stream. She was preg-nant at the time and, while her husband hunted during the day, she amused h e r s e l f by constructing a dam, pooling the stream waters be-hind i t . Returning each evening, her husband destroyed the dam on three successive occasions, only to f i n d i t l a r g e r each time. On the second and t h i r d occasions he had also to destroy the beaver lodge which h i s wife had b u i l t i n the center of the pool i n order to conceal h e r s e l f from her husband. On the fourth and f i n a l occa-sion the woman had become completely transformed i n t o a beaver, her breech c l o t h had become i t s t a i l , and she had delivered her babies. The r i c h symbolism of t h i s myth speaks f o r i t s e l f . In the present context, however, I must emphasize the fecundity symbolism associated s p e c i f i c a l l y with the t a i l of the beaver, where i t i s presented as a metamorphosis of the l o i n garment of a pregnant woman. Jenness' (1934: 202-3) version of t h i s myth i s incomplete i n a number of impor-tant d e t a i l s . What I have presented i s an o u t l i n e of a version given me on several occasions by d i f f e r e n t informants. 13. The legend, "The Woman Who Married a G r i z z l y " (Jenness, 1934: 129-37) r e l a t e s how a young woman at f i r s t refuses to pick b e r r i e s with the others because she i s disgusted with the sig h t of g r i z z l y dung amid the berry patches (hence the o r i g i n of the t i t l e , ?UlA)d9XgW9C, which means " g r i z z l y ' s b i g dung" i n Gitksan). Having at l a s t f i l l e d her basket, she i s abducted to a b i g house wherein the animals one by one b i d to marry her, each declaring how he proposes to feed and to care f o r her. U l t i m a t e l y , only " b i g o ld man" (=?uwddxgyi.t, t i t l e of the chief of the F l a t Rock Clan), who i s i n r e a l i t y g r i z z l y him-s e l f , i s judged s u i t a b l e . These are merely the opening episodes of a lengthy and important legend, but they i l l u s t r a t e n i c e l y how the readiness and d e s i r a b i l i t y of the young woman fo r marriage, notwith-standing her i n i t i a l maidenly coyness, are symbolically s i g n a l l e d by the r e p l e t i o n of her berry basket. 245 has i t s own), d i s p l a y s the f e c u n d i t y of t h e p h r a t r y of t h e deceased i n i t s m a t e r n a l pose. Over the p r e c e d i n g paragraphs I have t r i e d t o i l l u s t r a t e the n o t i o n t h a t o c c a s i o n s of r i t u a l e f f e c t a c o n c e n t r a t i o n of s t r u c t u r a l d i v i s i o n s , as i d e o l o g i c a l u n i t s , i n t o modes of i n t e r a c t i o n which sym-b o l i c a l l y r e i t e r a t e a s p e c t s of i n t e r p e r s o n a l r o l e r e l a t i o n s h i p s . T h i s p a r a l l e l i s m , impressed by metaphor upon the mind of p a r t i c i p a n t and w i t n e s s , animates the p h r a t r i e s as macrobeings, now as husband, advanc-i n g the crude l o g to woman's power of metamorphosis, a t another time adorned w i t h the t a i l of beaver as w i f e and e x p e c t a n t mother, i n e v e r -s h i f t i n g poses as t h e o c c a s i o n focuses upon events i n the l i v e s o f the i n d i v i d u a l persons who occupy the c e n t e r of the c u r r e n t r i t u a l s t a g e . I n summation, a l t h o u g h the p r i n c i p a l events of r i t u a l i n t e r a c -t i o n s a re u l t i m a t e l y executed by a c e n t r a l s e t of i n d i v i d u a l s , many, perhaps most, of t h e s e events are a s s i g n e d by the r i t u a l p r o t o c o l s as the f u n c t i o n of the c l a n s and/or the p h r a t r i e s r a t h e r than b e i n g charged t o persons as tokens of k i n t y p e s . Thus, the a l l o c a t i o n of a p a r t i c u l a r r i t u a l f u n c t i o n t o the jdZQjtXjQt. of a s u b j e c t person means t h a t the f u n c -t i o n i s conceived to be the o b l i g a t i o n of h i s f a t h e r ' s p h r a t r y , w r i t l a r g e , not merely of h i s p a r t i c u l a r g e n i t o r . But the s p e c i f i c r i t u a l f u n c t i o n s so a l l o c a t e d f r e q u e n t l y i n v o l v e f e a t u r e s which suggest r o l e s a p p r o p r i a t e to i n d i v i d u a l persons i n the c o n t e x t of k i n - t y p e r e l a t i o n -s h i p s . I n b r i e f , r i t u a l p r o t o c o l s f r e q u e n t l y e f f e c t a p e r s o n i f i c a t i o n of s t r u c t u r a l groupings. I f the p h r a t r y can be as a p e r s o n , then p e r -sons — even those who p a r t i c i p a t e o n l y from the p e r i p h e r y — can the more r e a d i l y be t h e i r p h r a t r y . 246 Seldon, i f ever, were the d i v i s i o n s manifest as de ^CLdto gath-erings of i t s complete personnel during the winter d i s p e r s a l . Indeed, apart from the more important of the funereal and succession potlatches, few occasions achieved concentration of a major p o r t i o n of the phratry or, for that matter, of the clan personnel. I t i s true that the clans may o c c a s i o n a l l y have been concerted as a task force f o r the r e p a i r of weirs and smokehouses. In general, however, the personnel of the clans and p h r a t r i e s were concentrated to the greatest extent i n connection with occasions which a r t i c u l a t e d the d i v i s i o n s i n r i t u a l intercourse. The degree of the de {jCicAo concentration of the d i v i s i o n a l personnel must, of course, have va r i e d according to the nature of the r i t u a l i n -14 volved and the rank of i t s c e n t r a l subjects. However, i t i s important to recognize that v i r t u a l l y a l l modes of r i t u a l i n t e r a c t i o n , even those which do not require the a c t i v e p a r t i c i p a t i o n of a major proportion of the personnel of the s t r u c t u r a l d i v i s i o n s involved, produce a v i v i f i c a -t i o n of the clans and phratries through the metaphoric p r e s c r i p t i o n s of t h e i r protocols. Thus, what i s most e s s e n t i a l to the manifestation of a phratry (or a clan) as a s o c i a l e n t i t y i s i t s r i t u a l engagement with other phra-t r i e s . This requires a set of c e n t r a l subjects — together with as many c o l l a t e r a l s as the occasion demands. C o l l a t e r a l s perform roles predicate i n the f i r s t instance ( i n terms of the enunciation of p o t l a t c h rules) to 14. I t i s very probable that, as a r u l e , child-naming ceremonials and b e t r o t h a l agreements, for example, c a l l e d f o r the i n c l u s i o n of a narrower range of the c o l l a t e r a l s of the p r i n c i p l e s than did pot-latches f o r the succession to adult t i t l e s . 247 t h e i r respective p h r a t r i e s which, i n e f f e c t , they represent on the oc-casion. During the winter dispersion i t i s only the separation of hunting/trapping t e r r i t o r i e s which sustains a sense of the discreteness of the phratry. During the assembly of the salmon season, on the other hand, the d i v i s i o n s are v i v i f i e d through the continual round of r i t u a l intercourse w i t h a sharpness not possible during the winter's hiberna-t i o n . An image of the phratry as a s o c i a l e n t i t y i s i n greatest r e l i e f p r e c i s e l y when i t s t e r r i t o r i a l segmentation i s l e a s t apparent. Trapping t e r r i t o r i e s do not define the phratry, they are merely i t s appendage. The sept, i n contrast, i s only r e a l i z e d — i d e a l l y as w e l l as concretely — as an ass o c i a t i o n of parts p e r i o d i c a l l y foregathered on a common stage. In s p i t e of the many dimensions of everyday C a r r i e r l i f e which accent the foremost importance of the phratry i n personal i d e n t i t y , the sept p r e v a i l s as the unit to which w a l l areas are assigned i n the int e r - s e p t p o t l a t c h . Whereas the sept, unlike the phratry, i s defined i n s p a t i a l terms, a place-mark i s p a r t i c u l a r l y appropriate to i t , and less so comparatively to the phratry. A l s o , i n s p i t e of the i d e a l of cross-sept crest i d e n t i f i c a -t i o n s , the phratries are, s o c i o l o g i c a l l y speaking, l a r g e l y contained by the septs. P h r a t r i c t e r r i t o r i e s are s t r i c t l y proper to sept contingents of a phratry. No man of the Bulkley Lax&zZyuW paid a trapping tax to the chief of the Babine Laxbzluw), much l e s s m i l i t a r y f e a l t y . A f t e r a l l , were not the phratry t e r r i t o r i e s cut out of the ( a l b e i t vague) t r a d i -t i o n a l sept hinterlands i n the f i r s t place? What would be implied by the 248 s p a t i a l f u s i o n , i n t h e p o t l a t c h h a l l , of i n t e r s e p t p h r a t r i c c o n t i n -gents? Summer salmon s i t e s are e s s e n t i a l l y communal among the p h r a -t r i e s o f a s e p t . What would be i m p l i e d by c l o s e r f o r m a l bonds among p h r a t r i c c o n t i n g e n t s ( e . g . , f u s i o n of h u n t i n g t e r r i t o r i e s ) of the v a r -i o u s s e p t s ? How, i n p r i n c i p l e , would c o n s t r a i n t s be m a i n t a i n e d upon r i g h t s o f access to salmon streams? Would p h r a t r i e s , the C a r r i e r w a r r i n g u n i t s , become s e r i o u s r i v a l s f o r c o n t r o l of salmon s i t e s ? I n c o n c l u s i o n , the s p a t i a l containment of i t s p h r a t r i c con-t i n g e n t s by the s e p t , i n i n t e r s e p t p o t l a t c h e s , may r e p r e s e n t a s y m b o l i c c o n s t r a i n t upon the ( i d e o l o g i c a l l y ) c a t h o l i c p r e t e n s i o n s o f the p h r a t r y . 249 CHAPTER 8 CONCLUSIONS The e a r l y c h a p t e r s of t h i s essay r e p r e s e n t e d C a r r i e r s o c i e t y i n e c o l o g i c a l and e t h n o h i s t o r i c p e r s p e c t i v e s . Three stage s were p o s i -t e d i n C a r r i e r s o c i a l h i s t o r y and c o n v e n i e n t l y l a b e l l e d t h e band s t a g e , the s e p t s t a g e , and the s e p t / p h r a t r y s t a g e . T h i s s u c c e s s i o n corresponds t o , and was a t l e a s t p a r t l y t r i g g e r e d by, two major e c o l o g i c a l s h i f t s . F i r s t , t h e t r a n s f o r m a t i o n from h y p o t h e t i c a l band st a g e origins to the s e p t system was e n v i s i o n e d as a consequent of m i g r a t i o n from the woodlands of the Yukon or Mackenzie b a s i n t o the p r e s e n t s e t t i n g a l o n g the salmon spawning-grounds of headwaters of t h e Skeena and F r a s e r R i -v e r s . E c o l o g i c a l l y s p e a k i n g , the o r i g i n a l (macrocosmic) woodland bands were e s s e n t i a l l y f i s h - o r i e n t e d a s s e m b l i e s . C o r r e s p o n d i n g l y , the r e l o -c a t e d bands e s t a b l i s h e d themselves f i r s t i n areas near the most f a v o u r -a b l e salmon s i t e s ( e . g . , l a k e i n l e t s and o u t l e t s ) a l o n g the main salmon c o n d u i t s . The comparative abundance and r e l i a b i l i t y of t h i s new r e s o u r c e l e d t o an hyperthrophy of the i n i t i a l s e t t l e m e n t s , and to a subsequent budding o f these i n an upstream d i r e c t i o n . I n t h i s way, s a t e l l i t e v i l -l a g e s i t e s were e s t a b l i s h e d i n the v i c i n i t y of l a s t - s t a g e m i g r a t o r y streams i n t e r p o l a t e d between s u c c e s s i v e p r i m a r y s i t e s — p u n c t u a t i n g the s e p t s — along the main c o n d u i t s . Apparent i n s t a n c e s of s e p t - w i d e , and even of i n t e r s e p t m i l i t a r y a l l e g i a n c e , i n d i c a t e t h a t the t w o - t o - t h r e e l e v e l segmentary s t r u c t u r e ( v i l l a g e , s e p t , r e l a t e d s e p t s ) has more than mere nominal s i g n i f i c a n c e 250 i n the C a r r i e r world. This segmentarism, i n turn, may w e l l represent the perpetuation of patterns of a s s o c i a t i o n established f i r s t i n con-nection with the settlement sequence described above. S i m i l a r l y , the s t r e s s placed i n several contexts of s e p t / v i l l a g e nomenclature upon downstream v i l l a g e s i t e s (within septs) i s a clue not only to the eco-l o g i c a l advantages of the downstream s i t e s ( r e l a t i v e to upstream s i t e s on terminal conduits) along the main salmon paths, but — owing to these advantages — to the h i s t o r i c settlement pattern out of which the sept segmentary s t r u c t u r e emerged. These f r a n k l y c o n j e c t u r a l constructions res t on the assumption that s o c i a l t r a d i t i o n s manifest i n e r t i a l tenden-cies and, correspondingly, that a s o c i a l present harbors f o s s i l s of i t s past. The second great transformation of C a r r i e r s o c i e t y , g i v i n g r i s e to the sept/phratry system, seems to r e f l e c t the convergence of two major interdependent forces: growth of the European fur trade and a r e s u l t a n t i n t e n s i f i c a t i o n of c o a s t - i n t e r i o r contact. Our analysis of t h i s trans-formation was guided by these words from Boas: I t i s much easier to prove dissemination than to follow up developments due to inner forces, and the data for such a study are obtained with much greater d i f f i c u l t y . They may, however, be observed i n every phenomenon of a c c u l t u r a t i o n i n which foreign elements are remodeled to patterns prevelant i n t h e i r new environment (Boas 1940: 284). This remodelling by "inner forces" was observed many times i n connection with the a s s i m i l a t i o n of p h r a t r i e s , c r e s t s , and t e r r i t o r i e s by the C a r r i e r . Duff's evidence and present-day practices suggest that the re-source t e r r i t o r i e s ( i . e . , hunting/trapping grounds) were (and are) p r e d i -cated at the sept l e v e l of extension of the superimposed crest d i v i s i o n s 251 among the C a r r i e r r a t h e r than upon the i n f r a s e p t v i l l a g e c o n t i n g e n t s o f the descent groups as among most coast p o p u l a t i o n s i n c l u d i n g the Coast T s i m s h i a n and G i t k s a n . T h at, I submit, p r o b a b l y r e f l e c t s the f a c t t h a t on t h e eve o f t h e i r a s s i m i l a t i o n of the p h r a t r y and t e r r i t o r i a l system, i t was the s e p t , and not the v i l l a g e pth it, t h a t r e p r e s e n t e d the supreme p o l i t i c a l and t e r r i t o r i a l ( a l t h o u g h t e r r i t o r y was o n l y weakly d e f i n e d at b e s t and merely t r a d i t i o n a l r a t h e r than e x c l u s i v e ) u n i t o f C a r r i e r s o c i e t y . That i s , the sept l e v e l p r e v a i l e d as the e n c l o s i n g frame w i t h i n which the system of p h r a t r i e s and c l a n s , w i t h t h e i r appended t e r r i t o r i e s , arose a g a i n s t two co u n t e r t e n d e n c i e s : on the one hand, the c r e s t d i v i s i o n s — as i d e o l o g i c a l u n i t s — c r o s s - c u t the s e p t s w h i c h c o n s t r a i n them t e r r i t o r i a l l y and p o l i t i c a l l y , and, on the o t h e r hand, the r e s o u r c e t e r r i t o r i e s a r e p r e d i c a t e d a t the v i l l a g e l e v e l among the co a s t t u t o r s of the C a r r i e r . With the support of p a r a l l e l s drawn from Beynon's data on G i t k s a n p o l e - r a i s i n g p o t l a t c h e s , i t was p r e d i c a t e d t h a t i n c o n t e x t s of C a r r i e r i n t e r s e p t p o l e - r a i s i n g p o t l a t c h e s we would see a s u s p e n s i o n o f t h e u s u a l arrangement i n t o p h r a t r i c b l o c s i n f a v o r o f sept b l o c s . Such a p a t t e r n , i t was argued, would c o n s t i t u t e a c e r e -m o n i a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f the p o l i t i c a l and t e r r i t o r i a l containment o f the p h r a t r i e s by the s e p t s , of the new by the o l d . Another example of r e m o d e l l i n g was the r e f r a c t o r i n e s s of the ( p r e f e r e n t i a l l y endogamous) C a r r i e r sept s t r u c t u r e to a s s i m i l a t i o n o f the exogamic aspect of the coast descent system when the c r e s t d i v i s i o n s were i n i t i a l l y concatenated one-on-one t o the s e p t s . A g a i n , i n e r t i a l t e n d e n c i e s of e s t a b l i s h e d t r a d i t i o n s p r e v a i l e d a g a i n s t c o n t r a d i c t o r y i n -252 novations u n t i l f i n a l l y , among the northwestern septs, the c o n t r a d i c t i o n was resolved by the f o l d i n g of m u l t i p l e p h r a t r i e s i n t o the t r a d i t i o n a l septs. Another statement from Boas that has guided t h i s analysis i s the f o l l o w i n g : The object of our i n v e s t i g a t i o n i s to f i n d the pH.OL\A
  • by which c e r t a i n stages of culture have developed. The cus-toms and b e l i e f s themselves are not the ultimate objects of research. We desire to le a r n the reasons why such customs and b e l i e f s e x i s t — i n other words we wish to discover the h i s t o r y of t h e i r development (Boas 1940: 276). In producing the conjectural reconstructions of the ea r l y chapters, i t has been my wish to contribute i n a small way to an image of the pro-cesses of the continuous cr e a t i o n of culture. With Boas, I have been i n -terested i n viewing cultures i n terms of "the h i s t o r y of t h e i r develop-ment," but only i n the sense i n which Levi-Strauss understands h i s t o r y : When, i n a d d i t i o n , one completely l i m i t s study to the present period i n the l i f e of a s o c i e t y , one becomes f i r s t of a l l the v i c t i m of an i l l u s i o n . For everything i s h i s t o r y : what was s a i d yesterday i s h i s t o r y , what was said a minute ago i s h i s t o r y (Levi-Strauss, 1963: 12). From t h i s viewpoint, then, the aim i s to collapse the synchronic and d i a -chronic perspectives upon the same generative p r i n c i p l e s . R e l a t i v e l y long-range and far reaching s o c i a l changes — such as those I have been concerned with i n Part I of t h i s essay — involve the same kinds of oper-ations of the s e l e c t i o n and modification of new elements (endogenous or borrowed) i n a d i a l e c t i c against established patterns as are involved i n the r e l a t i v e l y short-term mutual adjustments among the co- e x i s t i n g elements of a system. 253 Just as salmon was a stimulus of the f i r s t C a r r i e r s o c i a l trans-formation, the fur trade seems to have been a major f a c t o r i n the assump-t i o n of d e f i n i t i v e resource t e r r i t o r i e s and the associated system of crest d i v i s i o n s . The burgeoning of the fur trade stimulated a s h i f t i n the eco-nomic o r i e n t a t i o n of the disperson season to a heavy concentration upon fur-bearing species and encouraged the establishment of trapping t e r r i -t o r i e s . The s p e c i f i c a t i o n of t e r r i t o r i e s i s of no p r a c t i c a l use, however, without a p a r a l l e l d e f i n i t i o n of admissible personnel. One p o s s i b i l i t y was a s t i f f e n i n g of the band cam sept t r a d i t i o n a l p l a c e - o f - b i r t h c i t i z e n -ship c r i t e r i o n with secondary provisions f o r s e l e c t i v e " n a t u r a l i z a t i o n " (notably with marriages i n t o the sept). That, i n t u r n , would imply the appending of s p e c i f i e d t e r r i t o r i e s d i r e c t l y to the septs themselves. However, t h i s would c a l l f o r reversal of the sept t r a d i t i o n s of i d e a l l y open hunting hinterlands. S e l e c t i v e n a t u r a l i z a t i o n would of course con-t r a d i c t the r e l a t i v e l y easy r e s i d e n t i a l f l u i d i t y that characterized r e -l a t i o n s among neighbouring septs, and would require the establishment of a c e n t r a l screening authority i n a context which had always lacked a p o l i t i c a l center of any kind. Cultures tend to r e s i s t the admission of innovations i n s o f a r as these threaten to f r a c t u r e semantic -associations established i n the (conscious or unconscious) c o l l e c t i v e ideology. That i s to say, the adoption and modification of s o c i a l i n s t i t u t i o n s advances under the im-petus of politico-economic or demographic forces along paths which cause l e a s t d isruption of practiced semantic patterns. Under the economic and p o l i t i c a l impetus of the fur trade ( r e c a l l the suggestion, at the end of 254 Chapter 3, that a principal connotation of furs was guns), the path had been cleared for assimilation of the coastal system of territory-holding crest groups. The coast concept of crest divisions entailed the s p e c i f i -cation of an human continuum to which ownership of resource t e r r i t o r -ies was appended and, as such, the concept was ready-made for the assump-tion of a t e r r i t o r i a l system by the Carrier without directly confronting the ideally a n t i - t e r r i t o r i a l traditions of the septs. Similarly, as I have already noted, adopted features are modified so as to minimize their disruption of established patterns of association. Levi-Strauss summar-izes these simple principles in the following remark: We act and think according to habit, and the extraordin-ary resistance offered to even minimal departures from custom is due more to i n e r t i a than to any conscious desire to main-tain useages which have a clear function (Levi-Strauss, 1963: 19). Patterns of culture, that i s , are structures of semantic association. The i n e r t i a l tendencies of these patterns reflect the reinforcements of repetition •— of habit — more often than any conscious orientation to a weighted £oJLo£>. The repetition that weights cultural i n e r t i a , of course, has intersecting dimensions of both trans-personal and trans-temporal depth. Typically, sentiment guards a largely i n v i s i b l e whole most par-t i c u l a r l y at those points of i t s structure which operate, metonymically, as representations of the whole or of segments of i t . The sentiment imputed to symbols draws force from the i n e r t i a of the unseen semantic t o t a l i t i e s , and, particularly i n contexts of opposition, inspires the repetitions (e.g., r i t u a l as a mechanism for the management of opposi-255 tion) which feeds i n e r t i a . Of course, the i n e r t i a of established c u l -ture patterns i s subject to the counterplay of p o l i t i c a l , economic and demographic forces a r i s i n g w i t h i n and without i t s s o c i a l body and a l t e r -i ng i t s composition and vector. The c o n t r i b u t i o n of r i t u a l to the i n e r t i a of established s o c i a l patterns i s an anthropological truism. However, the mechanisms of r i t -u a l e f f i c a c y are extremely complex and are only beginning to be understood. I t i s more than simply a question of the i n e r t i a l e f f e c t of r e p e t i t i o u s , but piecemeal, displays of symbols of the c e n t r a l categories of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . Leach (e.g., 1958, 1961, 19 71), Turner (e.g., 1969), and Douglas (e.g., 1966), f o l l o w i n g Van Gennep (1909), have explored ways i n which myth and r i t u a l punctuate the boundary of semantically contigu-ous categories by the s p e c i a l handling of elements (or t h e i r symbols) which occupy a taxonomic tacu.no. between the categories. E i t h e r the no-man's-land becomes subject to tabu {a. ta Leach) and matatii mutandis serves to mark and guard the margins of adjacent categories, or i t i s the source of the symbols of category t r a n s i t i o n s (~0.-VAJ> the l e s s e r n o b l e s and commoners because t h e i r o f f i c e conveys a sense of deeper and more s t a b l e c o n t i n u i t y , b u t , c o n v e r s e l y , the s p a t i a l d i s p l a y of i t s e l f t r a n s f e r s back upon the e p i -c e r e m o n i a l r e l a t i o n s of these s o c i a l c a t e g o r i e s a c o n n o t a t i o n o f r e l a -t i v e e n d u r a n c e / t r a n s i e n c e r e s p e c t i v e l y , which d e r i v e s i n d e p e n d e n t l y (ex kypothU-i out of p e r c e p t u a l e x p e r i e n c e ) as a t r a n s f o r m of the c e n t r a l / l a t e r a l and above/beneath o p p o s i t i o n s . That i s , the sense of a p p r o p r i a c y , d e r i v e d from p e r c e p t u a l e x p e r i e n c e , which a t t a c h e s t o the s p e c i f i c arrangement of terms i n the t r a n s f o r m [ c e n t r a l : l a t e r a l : : a b o v e : b e n e a t h : : e n d u r i n g : t r a n s i e n t ] i s t r a n s f e r r e d upon the c o r r e s p o n d i n g tem-p o r a l aspects o f t h e i d e o l o g i e s p r o p e r - t o the s o c i e t a l c a t e g o r i e s i n v o l v e d i n t he p o t l a t c h . I n t h i s way, the C a r r i e r p o t l a t c h c o n t r i b u t e s c o n s i d e r -a b l y to the i n e r t i s of e s t a b l i s h e d s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e by i m p u t i n g to d e f i n -i t i v e a s p e c t s of i t s p a r t i c u l a r form a sense of v i r t u e drawn from "deep" sources e x t e r n a l t o the s t r u c t u r e of s o c i e t y i t s e l f : as L e v i -S t r a u s s might say, from the " s t r u c t u r e of the mind." 260 To c o n c l u d e , we have seen t h a t t h e e f f i c a c y of r i t u a l i s dependent upon the a b i l i t y o f i t s symbols t o c o n c e n t r a t e and a p p r o p r i -a t e l y a r t i c u l a t e a wide spectrum of e p i c e r e m o n i a l dimensions of s o c i a l s t r u c t u r e . T h i s f u n c t i o n o f c o n c e n t r a t i o n seems t o express the same urge t o h o l i s m t h a t i s perhaps the fundamental p r i n c i p l e o f L e v i -S t r a u s s ' " o r i g i n a l l o g i c " (see Chapter 3). Give n , t h e n , t h a t s y m b o l i c c o n d e n s a t i o n i s a key f u n c t i o n of r i t u a l , we must conclude t h a t the s y n t a x o f s p a t i a l and temporal r e l a t i o n s must always p r o v i d e a f u n -damental Q.YI&IZQ, to the a n a l y s i s of r i t u a l i f o n l y because — s i n c e a l l c o n c r e t e events have, p e r f o r c e , d i s c e r n a b l e space/time c o o r d i n a t e s — they r e p r e s e n t t h e most p o w e r f u l of a l l means of s y m b o l i c condensa-t i o n . 261 BIBLIOGRAPHY Barbeau, Marius 1929 "Totem Poles of the Gitksan, Upper Skeena River, B r i t i s h Columbia." Na t i o n a l Museum of Canada, B u l l e t i n 61, Anth-r o p o l o g i c a l Series No. 12. 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