For eight months after reaching maturity she may not eat any fresh
food, particularly salmon; moreover, she must eat by herself, and
use a cup and dish of her own.
In the Tsetsaut tribe of British Columbia a girl at puberty wears a
large hat of skin which comes down over her face and screens it from
the sun. It is believed that if she were to expose her face to the
sun or to the sky, rain would fall. The hat protects her face also
against the fire, which ought not to strike her skin; to shield her
hands she wears mittens. In her mouth she carries the tooth of an
animal to prevent her own teeth from becoming hollow. For a whole
year she may not see blood unless her face is blackened; otherwise
she would grow blind. For two years she wears the hat and lives in a
hut by herself, although she is allowed to see other people. At the
end of two years a man takes the hat from her head and throws it
away. In the Bilqula or Bella Coola tribe of British Columbia, when
a girl attains puberty she must stay in the shed which serves as her
bedroom, where she has a separate fireplace.
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