How the Seaward-sqoā′ładas obtained the names of their gambling sticks
[Told by Walter McGregor of the Sealion-town people]
His father was a chief in Sealion-town.[1] His name was Poor-chief’s-son.[2] One time his father was going to have a potlatch. Then his father went to invite the Tsimshian. While he was gone, Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju[3] began to gamble. After he had gambled for some time, he lost all of his father’s property. Then he put a bladder full of grease into his gambling-stick bag. And he put it on his back and went away.
After he had traveled for a while, he went in[4] at White-rocks. As he went he ate all kinds of leaves.[5] Presently he wanted to defecate, and he defecated at a rotten stump. And after that he again went about eating leaves. After he had gone along for a while, he passed over the bones of two human beings upon which moss was growing.
And, after he had gone on a while longer, he came to where two streams flowed down from Djū′tcꜝîtga,[6] near which lay the fresh bones of two persons. One stream was red. The other was blue. Djū′tcꜝîtga’s manure made it red, they say, and his medicine made it blue. Those who drank from the red one died there.
Then he took the grease out of his bladder, and he greased his insides. Then he put his head into the blue one. After he had drunk for a while, he lost consciousness. When he came to himself he was standing in front of a big house with a two-headed house pole. And they told him to come in. At once he entered.
The chief[7] in the house said to him: “News of you has come, grandson. You gambled away all of your father’s potlatch property.” Then the chief had a small box brought to him, and he took a hawk feather out of it. Then he put it into the corner of his (the youth’s) eye. After he had twisted it around there for a while, he pulled it out and took out blood[8] and moss from it.
After he had finished both he said to him “Let me see your gambling sticks,” and he gave them to him. He squeezed them. Then blood[8] came out. And, after he had touched his lips to his hands, he cut around the middle of one of them with his finger nail. It was red. And he said to him: “Its name shall be Coming-out-ten-times.” And, after he had touched his lips to his hands again, he cut around on another of them near the end. The end of it was red. Then he said: “Its name shall be Sticking-into-the-clouds.” [[323]]
As soon as he brought out his gambling sticks to him, he named them. He continued to name them: “Thing-always-carried-along,” “Always-running-off,” “Bloody-nose,” “Shaking-his-head-as-he-goes-along,” “Common-one,” “Rattling-bone,” “Elderberry-roots,” and “Russet-backed-thrush” (?).[9]
Large canoes were piled up in the corner of his house. That meant that the Tsimshian had come during his absence. And two young fellows who looked transparent were in his house. He said that one should go with him. “This one will go with you. He will take away your djîl when you gamble first.[10] Do not choose the fine cedar bark out of which smoke comes. Take that that has no smoke. After you have counted seven, take the one out of which smoke comes. Then begin with ‘Coming-out-ten-times.’ ” After he had got through telling this to him, he said to him: “Go home.” Lo! he awoke.
Then he went out at the same place where he had started in. Below the stump from which he had defecated lay a sea otter. He looked at the sea. The sea otter was drifting shoreward. Then he went down to it, took it, and dried it. And he went from there to Sealion-town.
When he had almost reached it, he came to some dogs fighting with each other for a gambling-stick bag which lay on the left side of the place where the broad, red trail came out. The dogs fought for the fat which was in it. And he looked into it. A small copper was in it. He took it, and he came home.
And he came to the ten canoes of the Tsimshian who had arrived. He went in to his mother and ate as usual. He also drank water.
Next day gambling began. He went out and staked the sea otter. They tried to get ahead of one another in playing for it. The Tsimshian wanted to gamble with him. Then one came to gamble with him. The Tsimshian handled the sticks first. And he did not take the one which smoked. After he had counted seven he took the one which smoked. He got the djîl.
Then he took up “Coming-out-ten-times” as they had told him. [They said] “He is losing as he always does.” Then he handled the sticks. He counted ten. He had “Sticking-into-the-clouds” and this one [besides his blank] left.[11] With them he won. He stopped missing it. He handled the sticks. Then he held the blank over his shoulder. He took it away.[12] They did not see it.
He won every single thing from the Tsimshian. After he had all of their property he also won their canoes. By and by a little old man behind the crowd of his opponents, who had just bathed and had the right side of his face marked with paint, wanted to gamble with him. And, after they had staked property, the Tsimshian handled the sticks. Smoke came out of both heaps of cedar bark. Then he selected that which smoked the most. He got one of those with many marks.[13] And he handled them again. He took the one with the [[324]]smaller smoke. Again he got one of those with many marks. It was a good day for him (the Tsimshian). That was why he (Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju) could not see his djîl. He was the only one who beat him.
Then his father’s potlatch was over. They gave the Tsimshian their canoes. Then he had the breast of his son tattooed. He had the figure of a cormorant put on him. He had its neck run through him. He had its wings laid on each side of his shoulders. He had its beak put on his breast. On his back he had its tail put. He was the only Raven who had the cormorant for a crest. No one had it that way afterward. The Tsimshian went home.
He had his father’s house pole made like Djū′tcꜝîtga’s. At that time he named the house “Two-headed-house.” The Seaward-Sqoā′ładas own the gambling-stick names.
All Haida families do not have distinctive family myths as is the case among the Kwakiutl and Bella Coola. Some, however, have stories telling how they obtained the right to certain names, crests, etc., and the following is one of that number. It explains the origin of the names employed by the Seaward-Sqoā′ładas, a Raven family of Skidegate inlet, for the sticks in their gambling sets, and at the same time how the Sealion-town people, an Eagle family, obtained the right to a certain style of house pole with two heads. One of the old Kaisun houses, Na-qā′dji-stîns, “Two-headed-house,” was named from a pole of this kind which stood in front of it. [[325]]
[1] At Skotsgai bay, near Skidegate; compare the story of [Sacred-one-standing-and-moving], note [1]. [↑]
[2] Probably intended in a reverse sense. [↑]
[3] He was also called Sîns-nᴀñ-qꜝā′-igiaos, “He-who-chews-the-days,” because that was all that he had to live on during his fast and wanderings. He belonged to the Seaward-sqoā′ładas; his father to the Sealion-town people. [↑]
[5] The words for leaf and medicine are identical. [↑]
[7] Djū′tcꜝîtga. A song comes into this story somewhere the words of which were given me by the last survivor of the Seaward-sqoā′ładas. They are as follows: Gᴀm dī dā qê′ñg̣ᴀñga, “You do not see me” [because I am too great to be seen]. Probably this was Djū′tcꜝîtga’s song, heard before or at the time when Gasî′na-ᴀ′ndju was taken into his house. [↑]
[8] This condition was usually supposed to be brought about by the sight of a menstruant woman. ↑ [a] [b]
[9] The Haida name for this stick was Wī′dᴀwit, which appears to be a duplication of wit, the word for russet-backed thrush. [↑]
[10] Compare the story of [Sounding-gambling-sticks], notes [7] and [8]. [↑]
[11] That is, he had Coming-out-ten-times, Sticking-into-the-clouds, and his djîl left. For a further explanation of this game see story of [Sounding-gambling-sticks]. [↑]
[12] That is, the transparent being did. [↑]
[13] The djîl, which was the one desired, had few or no marks upon it. [↑]