Part of their tribute
or taxes is paid in skins, and they subsist on the dried meat";
bear's flesh is indeed one of their staple foods; they eat it both
fresh and salted; and the skins of bears furnish them with clothing.
In fact, the worship of which writers on this subject speak appears
to be paid chiefly to the dead animal. Thus, although they kill a
bear whenever they can, "in the process of dissecting the carcass
they endeavor to conciliate the deity, whose representative they
have slain, by making elaborate obeisances and deprecatory
salutations"; "when a bear has been killed the Ainu sit down and
admire it, make their salaams to it, worship it, and offer presents
of _inao_"; "when a bear is trapped or wounded by an arrow, the
hunters go through an apologetic or propitiatory ceremony." The
skulls of slain bears receive a place of honour in their huts, or
are set up on sacred posts outside the huts, and are treated with
much respect: libations of millet beer, and of _sake,_ an
intoxicating liquor, are offered to them; and they are addressed as
"divine preservers" or "precious divinities.
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