General character of the rites
by A. L. Kroeber
The ceremonies described are all unquestionably of “new year” type, and have calendrical association with the moon.
Yet, to judge by Yurok analogy, the Karok year, or reckoning of the moons, began at the winter solstice, when there were no public rites.
The concept of a renewal or reestablishing of the world for another round of the seasons was, however, strong in all four of the ceremonies, each of which was believed to contribute an indispensable part to this end.
The new fire element, which is so marked, has not yet been discovered in any part of California other than the northwest; some form of first salmon rite appears to have been in use in nearly all those parts of the State in which the fish abounded.
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