The Stseelis Indians of British
Columbia imagined that if a menstruous woman were to step over a
bundle of arrows, the arrows would thereby be rendered useless and
might even cause the death of their owner; and similarly that if she
passed in front of a hunter who carried a gun, the weapon would
never shoot straight again. Among the Chippeways and other Indians
of the Hudson Bay Territory, menstruous women are excluded from the
camp, and take up their abode in huts of branches. They wear long
hoods, which effectually conceal the head and breast. They may not
touch the household furniture nor any objects used by men; for their
touch "is supposed to defile them, so that their subsequent use
would be followed by certain mischief or misfortune," such as
disease or death. They must drink out of a swan's bone. They may not
walk on the common paths nor cross the tracks of animals. They "are
never permitted to walk on the ice of rivers or lakes, or near the
part where the men are hunting beaver, or where a fishing-net is
set, for fear of averting their success.
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