POTLATCH (Nootka Indian potlatch, paht latsh, gift). A custom of ceremonial gift dis tribution on a large scale, prevalent among the Kwakiutl, Chimsyan, and other tribes of the northwest coast. The custom is the greatest of all public ceremonies among these tribes, and the principal actor spends a lifetime of preparation in accumulating and storing up valuable prop erty, all of which is finally to be given away in one magnificent display of generosity in the presence of the assembled tribesmen from the villages for miles around. Although to a stranger this wholesale giving appears a mere display of wasteful extravagance, it is in fact a wise in vestment at compound interest to be repaid in double value when need shall demand and in whatever form of help may be required. Boas says: "The principle underlying a potlatch is that each man who has received a present becomes to double the amount he has received the debtor of the giver." The potlatch is in fact the recognized investment system of the northwest coast, the security being guaranteed by tribal honor. Potlatch ceremo nies are celebrated on all important occasions. as the taking of a name or a wife, the initiation into a new dance, the installation of a chief, as well as at the will of the individual giver.
When a great distribution is to be made, the announcement is first sent out by the chief to all the neighboring tribes, after which the date is fixed by council in the tribe of the giver. Mes sengers are then again sent out to invite the guests, who conic in canoes, halting at some dis tance from the village to put on their best dress and paint. They then advance to the village in grand canoe procession. the bows of the canoes all abreast, each tribe singing its own song for the ceremony. As they draw near, the whole vil lage goes down to the beach to welcome them, the chief's son or daughter, dressed in the mask of his elan, leading the way with a dance in their honor. A few blankets are given them, when they are escorted to the chief's house, where blankets are again distributed. They are then ' feasted, first by the chief, and then by all the others of the tribe who can afford it. After the feasting is done the grand distribution takes place, with songs and ceremonial accompaniment, each guest receiving blankets and other property according to his rank. There is a farewell feast and the visitors return to their canoes and their homes.