Native Beliefs & Customs

Beliefs & Customs of the

Puyallup & Nisqually

The Potlatch

The tribes of the lower Puget Sound had many beliefs and customs, but the one belief and custom that they are most famous for is the potlatch. The potlatch was a gift-giving feast. It was sort of like Christmas, or a birthday party, but, instead of taking gifts to the party, guests who came to a potlatch received gifts from the host. Tribal chiefs gave potlatches to celebrate important events such as naming a child, a son's coming of age, or a successful hunt. Also, a marriage or completion of a new long house might be another reason. Potlatches were usually given in a large house built only for potlatches. Entire tribes were invited. They danced, sang and listened to speeches, held athletic contests to see who could run the fastest, climb the highest or jump the farthest. Tribes wrestled with each other and raced in canoes. They tested their strength to see who could keep going the longest and sometimes held contests to see who could eat the most. Big potlatches lasted three to five days. The big day was the last when gifts were given out.

Potlatches were important to Puyallup & Nisqually people because a chief could show his wealth by the gifts he gave. To make his guests think he was of high social rank, he gave away the best of everything he owned. Gifts included canoes, blankets, furs, skins and food. A chief became especially important in the eyes of his guests if he gave strings of rare shells called "dentallium." These narrow shells were hard to find and were found only in the deep, cold waters off the west coast of Vancouver Island. Dentallium were valuable because of their scarcity. Sometimes they were used as money to buy things from other tribes.

Families in the village worked closely with each other to help with the potlatch. They often gave their most valuable articles to the chief to make him appear wealthy to his guests. They did this in order to bring honor to their tribe. Even though a chief gave away everything they owned, they knew they would be repaid because there was a trick to the gift-giving! No guest at a potlatch could refuse the gifts offered him. An important guest had to give a potlatch in return to show how wealthy he was! To save "face," his potlatch had to be bigger and better that the one he attended. It was the goal of each chief to "out-do" the other.

Burial Customs & Practices

Over the years discoveries of skeletons, beads, and arrowheads have provided evidence that the points were an occasional burial ground. Usually the Puyallup Indians wrapped the deceased in robes or blankets, placed the body in a canoe and covered it with mats to shed water. The ends of the canoe were attached to two adjoining trees about 10 -14 feet above ground. Another method which was probably influenced by the white man was the method reported to be used on Browns Point Bluff for a native who was half Yakima, but lived with the salt water tribe. He was buried underground in a stony area. Over the grave was erected a cedar plank shed about two and one-half feet above ground. Another example was the skeletal remains that were discovered in the winter of 1960 by M.V. Peterson at his home on Whitman Street on the west side of Dash Point. The University of Washington Dept. of Anthropology completed the dig. The body of the skeleton was on its side in a fetal position with the elbows pulled into the mid-section and the hands in front of the face. The head showed a similar shape of that of the Puyallup tribe. Two large stones were found below the hands and before the face. Artifacts found lying behind the skeleton at the pelvic level were two jade blades with handles, two jade blades without handles, and a smaller triangular blade of opal. Personal property as valuable as these items were often buried with the dead. No trade goods were found with the skeleton which may date it to before the time tribes had contact with each other.