The Salish People: Volume II. Charles Hill-Tout
a fire must be built in the woods, but the husband must on no account touch or have anything to do with it. If the husband built the fire a very cold period would follow. Immediately after the birth, both husband and wife must bathe in cold water, using the tips of spruce, fir, and cedar branches to scrub themselves with. After this they must remain in seclusion, apart from the rest of the tribe, for a month. Any breach of this rule was regarded as a grave offence, which was bound to bring severe punishment upon the offenders. The hair of twins was supposed never to be cut. If for any reason this rule was departed from, great care had to be taken to bury all that had been cut off. Neglect of this, it was believed, would bring about a severe winter. Throughout the whole childhood of the twins the greatest care had to be taken of them. If at any time wind was desired for sailing, the bodies of the twins would be rubbed with oil or grease, after which, it is said, the wind would immediately rise. The tsaianuk, a kind of small fish which I was unable to identify, and which periodically visits the Squam-ish River in large numbers, are said to be descended from a pair of twins (see the story of the origin of the tsaianuk, below).
When a woman desired to give birth to a son she would place during her pregnancy a bow and arrows under her bed. If a daughter was desired a needle and some of the utensils used in weaving would take the place of the bow and arrows. Another custom to ensure the same end was for the woman to chew, in the early days of her pregnancy, the leaves of certain kinds of willow and other shrubs. These leaves were distinguished as “male" and “female" leaves.
Customs Practised to Prevent Pregnancy
When a woman desired to bear no more children she adopted one or more of the following practices. She would get out of bed immediately after giving birth to her child and stand for some time up to her armpits in the icy cold water of the inlet, or river, or sound, according to her locality; or she would bury the after-birth on the beach at ebb-tide just at the line of land and water. Another practice was to hang the after-birth on the branch of a tree and keep it there for a twelvemonth. Still another was to turn round three times and kick the after-birth before it was disposed of. Usually the mode of disposing of the after-birth was by burying it secretly in the ground. Among the Squamish it was never burned, as among some tribes. It was believed that the mother would swell up and die if the after-birth was burned. It is said that a woman once destroyed the after-birth in this manner with this melancholy result; hence its disposal in this way was ever afterwards most carefully avoided.
Marriage Customs
Formerly, when a young man took a fancy to a girl and desired to make her his wife, the custom was for him to go to the house of the girl’s parents and squat down with his blanket wrapped about him just inside the door. Here he was supposed to remain for four days and nights without eating or drinking. During this period no one of the girl’s family takes the slightest notice of him. The only difference his presence makes in the house is to cause the parents to keep a bright fire burning all night. This is done that they may readily perceive that he takes no advantage of his proximity to the girl to make love to her or otherwise molest her during the night. On the fourth day, if the suitor is acceptable to the parents, the mother of the girl asks some neighbour to acquaint the youth that they are willing to accept him as their son-in-law, and give him the girl. To himself they still say nothing, nor in any way take the slightest notice of him; and as no communication of any kind can take place between the girl’s people and the young man at this stage of the proceedings, this neighbour now cooks a meal for the fasting lover and informs him at the same time that his suit is acceptable to the family, and that the girl will be given to him in the usual way.
After the young man’s acceptance by the girl’s parents in the manner described, the youth would then return home, and in a few days come back for his bride, accompanied by all his friends and relatives. If he were just an ordinary young man of the tribe, of no particular standing, he would bring with him one canoe-load of blankets; but if he were a person of rank, such as a chief’s son, he would bring two canoe-loads of blankets with him. These he would distribute,to the bride’s relatives. He and his friends are now entertained for the rest of the day by his prospective father-in-law, and accommodation is afforded them for the night, the inmates of the house sleeping on one side of the building and the visitors on the other. On the following morning, after a good meal has been indulged in, all go down to the beach to where the bridegroom’s canoe is moored, the parents of the bride taking with them a number of blankets, which they put in the canoe. If the bride is a person of rank the whole course from the house to the beach is covered with a line of blankets for her to walk on, and two old women, as maids-of-honour, lead her down to the canoe. The bride is dressed for the occasion in all the bravery of bright-coloured blankets and what other ornaments she may possess. Over her head, completely enveloping her, a blanket is thrown as a kind of bridal veil. Behind her come the female slaves of her father’s household, carrying all her personal belongings, such as mats, baskets, blankets, wooden platters, spoons, etc. The bridesmaids now place the bride in the bow of the canoe, after which etiquette demands that the bridegroom shall reward them for their services by a gift of one or more blankets each. When this has been done the parties separate, the girl’s family and friends going back to the village, and the youth with his bride and friends returning home. If the girl were the daughter of ordinary parents she would have to dispense with some of these ceremonies, such as the walking on blankets, etc. Some days later the bride and bridegroom and his friends return to the bride’s old home, where a feast is held. After the feast is over they separate again, and some time later the girl’s parents and friends pay a return visit to her husband’s home, bringing with them blankets and other presents equal in number and value to those bestowed on themselves. These are distributed to the son-in-law and his friends, after which all partake of a second feast, which closes the marriage ceremonies, and thereafter the girl and youth are regarded by all as man and wife.
Sometimes the suitor is not acceptable to the girl’s parents, and after a family council has been held he is rejected. A friendly neighbour is called in as before to act as intermediary and convey to him the decision of the parents, only on this occasion she provides no meal for him. If the youth has set his heart on the girl he will now try and induce her to elope with him. If she refuses to do this, he has perforce to give her up and seek a wife elsewhere. If, however, she consents, he seizes the first opportunity that offers and carries her off to the woods with him, where they remain together for several days. If the objection to the young man on the part of the parents is not deep-rooted, he is now permitted to keep the girl as his wife on payment to them of a certain number of blankets. If, however, they object even now to have him as a son-in-law, they take the girl from him, and it is understood on both sides that he is to trouble her or them no further.
With regard to the suitor’s fast of four days and nights I questioned my informant whether the old-time youths of the tribe really and truly abstained from food and drink on these occasions. He assured me they undoubtedly did, and that it was a matter of honour with them to eat or drink nothing during the whole period, the significance of their abstinence being that they were now men, and could readily endure the hardships and privations incident to manhood. Apropos of this custom he related to me an instance of what befell a certain luckless youth who sought surreptitiously to break his fast. The family of the girl whom he sought to take as wife had all gone out on the third day, leaving him squatting in his place by the door. They had gone across the inlet to pay a visit to a village on the other side. The absence of the whole family tempted the famishing youth to take advantage of his temporary opportunities to satisfy the cravings of his stomach. So he left his post and ran down to the beach and hastily dug up some clams. As he was in the act of eating these a little girl told him that the family was returning on the water. In his haste to eat the clams he had prepared he swallowed one whole, and it stuck in his throat and choked him so that he died. His melancholy end was regarded by everybody as richly deserved, and his fate was held up thereafter as a warning to succeeding generations of young men.
These customs are no longer kept up among the great body of the Squamish. Marriages among them are now conducted very much after the manner of the whites and solemnized by the priest. A few of the heathen Squamish, who still hold up their old tribal customs, continue to marry their daughters in this way; but these are few in number, and, generally speaking, the marriage customs