II. Secret Societies of the Coastal Inhabitants of Northwest America

I Introduction As diverse as the gods and heroic legends of the early peoples on the various continents appear, they almost all have in common with one another the fact that, in addition to gods and humans, animals also play a comparatively important role. And the idea that the gods or spirits prefer to adopt the shapes of animals, is found among almost all peoples of the earth. Indeed, nowhere could this idea appear more distinctive than among the inhabitants of the Northwest Coast of Amer..