The area along the Pacific Coast north of California and between the Cascade Mountains and the ocean, is the home to many Indian nations who traditionally based their economy on the use of seacoast and river ecological resources. This is an area which stretches from the Tlingit homelands in Alaska to the Tolowa homelands in northern California. The Indian nations of the Northwest coast had a traditional social organization that was highly stratified and based on birth, wealth, potlatching, and marriage alliances.
Spiritually, the Indian people of the Northwest Coast viewed the world around them as alive. The hills, the mountains, the trees, the plants, and the animals were all living things which had souls or spirits. According to Hilary Stewart, in Indian Fishing: Early Methods on the Northwest Coast:
“They recognized that all living things—plant, animal, bird or creature of the sea—were endowed with a conscious spirit and therefore could present themselves in abundance or not at all.”
Writing about the Umpqua, Stephen Beckham, in his book Land of the Umpqua: A History of Douglas County, Oregon, reports:
“They knew that both living things and objects such as trees, rocks, and lightning possessed a potential relationship with humans who lived nearby.”
Anthropologist Federica de Laguna, writing about the Tlingit in Handbook of North American Indians, says:
“All living things and even natural features and the celestial bodies were believed to have indwelling spirits or souls.”
The Kwakiutl (Kwakwaka’wakw) are a people whose homelands included the northern portion of Vancouver Island and the adjoining mainland in British Columbia. Like other Northwest Coast cultures, Kwakiutl culture includes a complex social structure with ranked social classes. Their ceremonies celebrate many mythological heroes and events.
The term Kwakiutl includes about 30 tribes who settled in Fort Rupert following the establishment of a Hudson’s Bay Company post. According to Edward Malin, in his book Northwest Coast Indian Painting: House Fronts and Interior Screens:
“The term ‘Kwakiutl’ originally referred to one tribe of four who settled around the Fort Rupert Trading area of northern Vancouver Island.”
Anthropologist Franz Boas popularized the use of the term Kwakiutl in anthropology, but recently the Natives have advocated the use of the term Kwakwka’wakw which means “Kwkwala speakers.” With regard to language, Kwakiutl is a part of the Wakashan language family.
Supernatural beings are described in oral traditions (stories, mythology) and often appear in ceremonial dances. To portray these mythological beings, the dancers wear masks. One of the common themes in the mythology of the Northwest Coast is one in which ancestors come down from the sky and then remove their animal or bird costumes. This theme is reenacted when the dancers wear masks representing the ancestral costumes. In an article in American Indian Art, Roy Carlson notes:
“Masks figure prominently as mnemonic devices reminding the viewers of prerogatives inherited from ancestors who encountered supernatural beings and thus gained privileges and power.”
When used in ceremonies, the masks take on the life and spirit of the spirits which they represent. Traditionally, masks were guarded and hidden away, and not shown until they appeared in the ceremonial dance. Kwakwaka’wakw chief Robert Joseph, in his chapter in Down From the Shimmering Sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast, notes:
“It is never known which masks will be shown or which dances will take place until the event happens.”
Briefly described below are some of the supernatural beings which appear in the Kwakwka’wakw mythology and ceremonies.
Among the Kwakiutl, Komokwa (the King or Guardian of the Undersea World, or Copper Maker) and his wife Tlakwakilayokwa live in a great house under the sea which is full of boxes of food, coppers, and other treasures. Komokwa is associated with rising tides.
Pugwís is an undersea spirit in human form (merman). The Kwakiutl see him as having a fishlike face with two prominent front incisors.
Among the Kwakiutl, Tsonokwa has two forms. Most frequently Tsonokwa is a female member of a tribe of giants and is portrayed as having a huge body, long pendulous breasts, and upthrust hands. The other form of Tsonokwa is a male giant endowed with ferocity and great strength.
Sisiutl is one of the most frequently depicted Kwakiutl supernatural characters. Sisiutl guards the house of the sky people. Museum curator Audrey Hawthorn, in her book Kwakiutl Art, writes:
“The Sisiutal comes to the warrior at his command. Its body can act as a self-propelled canoe; its glare can cause a man to die, his joints turned backward. The blood of the Sisiutl, rubbed on the body of a warrior, makes him invulnerable.”
Among the Kwakiutl, Bookwus (also spelled Bukwus) is the Wild Man of the Woods who takes a human form and lives on the edges of the forests and streams. He is associated with the spirits of people who have drowned. He lives in an invisible house in the woods and eats ghost food. In their book Mythology of the American Nations, David Jones and Brian Molyneaux report:
“Although he is repulsive, he has a fierce longing for companionship. With his beautiful singing voice, he attracts to his home the spirits of those who have drowned.”
Among the Kwakiutl, Bakbakwalanook-siwae is the devourer of humans. He is attended by the bird-monster trio—Hamatsa Raven, Crooked Beak, and Hokhokw—and a female attendant.
Tsúnkwa is a cannibal and she is one of the Winter Dance spirits. David Jones and Brian Molyneaux report:
“She can bring the dead to life, but her story-tellers represent her as dim-witted.”
Thunderbird is found among most, if not all, of the Northwest Coast First Nations. Thunderbird is envisioned as large bird, similar to an eagle, which can swallow whales whole. In his book Indians of the Northwest, Peter Gerber reports:
“It hurled lightning from its eyes, and its wings made the noise of thunder.”
Indians 101
Twice each week Indians 101 presents different American Indian topics. More about the Northwest Coast from this series:
Indians 101: The Northwest Coast Culture Area
Indians 101: Northwest Coast House Panels (Photo Diary)
Indians 201: Totem Poles
Indians 101: Northwest Coast Canoes
Indians 101: The Potlatch
Indians 101: Haida Argillite Carvings (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: Northwest Coast Masks (Photo Diary)
Indians 101: The Northwest Coast plank longhouse (museum diary)