A bear doctor must always be assisted by some one. He usually hired
some female relative who could be trusted to secrecy. She wove for him
the water baskets which formed part of his costume and cooked for him
the special food which he must eat while operating as a bear doctor.
She must observe the same restrictions as the bear doctor himself,
abstaining from meat or foods containing blood in any form, and also
from sexual intercourse. The evil consequences of a violation of these
restrictions did not befall her, but the bear doctor himself was sure
to be killed in combat or captured, which meant certain death at the
hands of an outraged populace.
This assistant was never the bear doctor’s wife, but the wife, if he
had one, must remain abed in the morning until the sun was high and the
bear doctor was well on his way from his hiding place. She might then
rise and go about her daily routine as usual. If he had no wife, his
female assistant must observe this restriction for him.
In making a suit, it was necessary for a bear doctor to have an
assistant who not only helped in the actual construction of the suit
but also sang the long series of songs required during the ceremony
when the suit was first put on.