Page:American Anthropologist NS vol. 22.djvu/348

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336 AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGIST [N. s., 22, 1920

extending somewhat beyond the toes and above the head. The ghost leaves the body simultaneously with the setting in of death and goes directly to the underworld where it joins the two souls. It will be remembered that, as long as the inner soul is still traveling, its owner is not yet dead. Consequently, his ghost stays with him until the inner soul, having completed its wanderings, arrives in the underworld. At that self -same moment death sets in, and the ghost leaves the body in order to join the two souls. No shaman has the power to bring back a departed ghost, but their guardian-spirits enable them to see and to drive away ghosts. The ghosts sometimes come up from the underworld causing sick- ness among the living relatives so that these may die and join them. Occasionally they merely visit their former habitations. On all of these trips they are usually accompanied by the two souls. Ghosts travel at night only and may be heard whistling, which is their form of singing. For that reason the Quileute are forbidden to whistle at night, because it is feared this might attract a ghost to a whistling person. Ghosts never like to come up close to the village, for the smell of living beings is repugnant to them. Only shamans have the power to drive the ghosts back into the under- world. This is accomplished by means of exorcisms revealed to the shaman by his guardian-spirit. At night when the common people begin to feel creepy, in the belief that ghosts may be coming, they shoot off their guns and make other noises, in the conviction that this will keep the ghosts away from their households. Should a common person meet a ghost face to face, that person would go into convulsions and die on the spot. Ghosts of dead warriors sometimes act as protectors of the living relatives of these warriors. The ghost has the form of a human being and is provided with hands, feet, eyes, nose, etc. His body is covered all over with moss, including the face, mouth, hair, and hands. His nose is long and hangs down as far as the chin; his eyes are large, round, and of a yellow color; he walks crooked, crossing and recrossing his legs at each step and can run very fast. He eats and drinks just like a human being. One of my informants claims to have seen a ghost during a trip to the underworld. He could not come close to him,

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