Tlingit Myths and Texts/The Tobacco Feast
THE TOBACCO FEAST[1]
If one of the family of the writer's informant, the Kasq!ague′dî, had married a Nanỵaā′ỵî woman and she died, the Nanỵaā′ỵî would invite his people for tobacco. They invited them there to mourn. This feast was different from the pleasure feasts, when dancing and such things took place. The people asked them while the dead body was still lying in the house. Then the other Kasq!ague′dî would ask the bereaved man to deliver a speech. The Nanỵaā′ỵî would be very quiet because they were mourning. Then he would rise and speak as follows:
"Yes, yes, my grandfathers, we remember you are mourning. We are not smoking this tobacco for which you have invited us. These long dead uncles of ours and our mothers are the ones who smoke it. Do not mourn, my grandfathers. She is not dead. Her aunts are holding her on their laps. All her father's brothers are shaking hands with her. Our [dead] chief has come back because he has seen you mourning. Now, however, he has wiped away your tears. That is all."[2]
("Yes, yes,
about it
we remember
you are mourning.
This [tobacco]
you have invited us to smoke
not
we are smoking it.
These long dead
uncles of ours
and
our mothers are the ones
they
smoke it.
Never
your minds
let mourn
Not
she is dead.
have her on their laps.
All
hands with her
they
are shaking.
Our chief
back
has come
on you
you are mourning.
he has seen.
Now,
however,
your eye
water
he has wiped away.
That is all.
One of those giving the feast would now reply:
"I thank you deeply, deeply for the things you have done to these grandfathers of yours with your words. A person will always take his shell to a dry place.[3] So you have done to this dead of ours. All these, your grandfathers, were as if sick. But now you are good medicine to us. These words of yours have cured us."
I thank you deeply,
I thank you very much.
These your grandfathers
to
things you have done in speech.
It always
so
is
a person
his outside shell
a dry place
like
will take to.
You have done
thus
to this dead
of ours.
All these
These your grandfathers
sick
like it
they
were.
But now
good
medicine
to us
you are.
These words of yours
have cured us.")
Then they would say to the dead woman:
"Get up from your husbands path [so that they may pass out]."
("From their way
get up
your husbands.")
The spirits of the dead of both phratries are supposed to be smoking while their friends on earth smoke, and they also share the feast. People of the opposite phratry took care of the dead, because it was thought men would be wanting in respect to their opposites if members of their own phratry were invited to do it. For this service the opposites were well paid.