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Beliefs concerning Ghosts and the Sign of Death

Ghosts follow the Pathway of the Wind

The Hookooeko of Nicasio and Tomales Bay say:

When a person dies his Wal'-le ²⁴ or Ghost goes to Hel'-wah the West, crossing the great ocean to Oo-tā-yo'-me, the Village of the Dead. In making this long journey it follows hinnan mooka, the path of the Wind. Sometimes Ghosts come back and dance in the roundhouse; sometimes people hear them dancing inside but never see them.

Footnotes

217:24 In this connection it is interesting to observe that in the language of the related Olayome of Putah Creek, Bats are called Walle; while the same word in the language of the Mewan Valley tribes means Ocean. The word for ocean among the Northern Mewuk is Wallasu; among the Middle or Tuolumne Mewuk, Wallesmah.

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