When the grass grows
over the spot, the skull disappears from view, and that is the end
of the bear.
Another description of the bear-festivals of the Gilyaks has been
given us by Mr. Leo Sternberg. It agrees substantially with the
foregoing accounts, but a few particulars in it may be noted.
According to Mr. Sternberg, the festival is usually held in honour
of a deceased relation: the next of kin either buys or catches a
bear cub and nurtures it for two or three years till it is ready for
the sacrifice. Only certain distinguished guests (_Narch-en_) are
privileged to partake of the bear's flesh, but the host and members
of his clan eat a broth made from the flesh; great quantities of
this broth are prepared and consumed on the occasion. The guests of
honour (_Narch-en_) must belong to the clan into which the host's
daughters and the other women of his clan are married: one of these
guests, usually the host's son-in-law, is entrusted with the duty of
shooting the bear dead with an arrow. The skin, head, and flesh of
the slain bear are brought into the house not through the door but
through the smoke-hole; a quiver full of arrows is laid under the
head and beside it are deposited tobacco, sugar, and other food.
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