In the month of May, whilst I was at Carlton House, the Cree hunter engaged to attend that post, resolved upon dedicating several articles to Kepoochikawn, and as I had made some inquiries of him respecting their modes of worship, he gave me an invitation to be present. The ceremony took place in a sweating-house, or as it may be designated from its more important use, a _temple_, which was erected for the occasion by the worshipper's two wives. It was framed of arched willows, interlaced so as to form a vault capable of containing ten or twelve men, ranged closely side by side, and high enough to admit of their sitting erect. It was very similar in shape to an oven or the kraal of a Hottentot, and was closely covered with moose skins, except at the east end, which was left open for a door. Near the centre of the building there was a hole in the ground, which contained ten or twelve red-hot stones, having a few leaves of the _taccokay-menan_, a species of _prunus_, strewed around them. When the women had completed the preparations, the hunter made his appearance, perfectly naked, carrying in his hand an image of Kepoochikawn, rudely carved, and about two feet long. He placed his god at the upper end of the sweating-house, with his face towards the door, and proceeded to tie round its neck his offerings, consisting of a cotton handkerchief, a looking-glass, a tin pan, a piece of riband, and a bit of tobacco, which he had procured the same day, at the expense of fifteen or twenty skins. Whilst he was thus occupied, several other Crees, who were encamped in the neighbourhood, having been informed of what was going on, arrived, and stripping at the door of the temple, entered, and ranged themselves on each side; the hunter himself squatted down at the right hand of Kepoochikawn. The atmosphere of the temple having become so hot that none but zealous worshippers would venture in, the interpreter and myself sat down on the threshold, and the two women remained on the outside as attendants.
Shipping Report
Narrative of a Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea, in the Years 1819-20-21-22, Volume 1 — Part 58
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