The Kwakitul-Indians

The villages of the Kwakitul-Indians constist of plank houses which were built from cedarwood. Every house had its own name, its own emblem and a characteristic identity.

Every house owned a blind wall whereon mystic murder whales and thunder birds, grizzly bears and ravens were illustrated.

The door was built like a ripped open mouth, it was a warning that only the dignified could enter without suffering damages. Another entry symbolic reminds the cycle ot birth and death.

An the other end of the beach stands a house of cedarwood, decorated with carvings that illustrated Sisytul, the double-headed snake.

Emblem stakes, illustrated from top to bottom with further mystic animals.

On wooden platforms towering the water surface area covered with dugout canoes the Kwakitul spend their time with repose, conversations, working and discourse.

The highest chief would probably invite guests in his house with the following words:

This is the house of my great-great-grandfather Mahwa, who invited you here.

This is the house of my great-great-grandfather Mahwa, who invited you to Sandy Beach.

This is the house of my great-great-grandfather Mahwa, who invited you to Crooked Beach.

This is the celebration house of my father, who invited you to Tidy Beach.

Now I have taken the place of my father.

I invite you, tribes, that you may come in my house to watch it.

When you would go into this house after this invitation, this would come to your visual field; four bulky beams, each of it to a giant downslope hooklike bending thunder bird. In the quadratic differntiated middle part is a gleaming fireplace. Here and there carved backrests may be seen, which are again illustrated with emblems and mystic animals, but they are dedicated to the nobleman of the family.

Every fireplace warms a higher lying sleeping berth. These compartments are there to build half-private hideaways. The sleeping berth of the chief is in the middle, near the back end of the house. This is the place of honor. Lower grades have their sleeping berth at the sides. Slaves slept near the fire.

Over height of head wooden dry frames were fixed to keep stocks. Wooden boxes illustrated with carvings along the walls contain further food stocks.

Again other boxes serve for keeping the festival dishes, furs, knob blankets, spoons and rattles.

Several daedal cedarwood-spikes stand in the part of the house where only the chief had access. In this little chest the traditional dancing masks were kept. Some masks remember the fight with demons and their families, others serve for entertainment and should astonish the audience.

Like the houses also the masks have their own names.

These masks are not for sale. They have to be earned. If worn right the masks become alive, the lead horror and pride to the owner. The dancer that wears the mask becomes another for a moment.

The most important box contains the claws of the grizzlybear-dancers, which are worn during the winter ceremony from the men of the grizzlybear league.

With this power potential the dancer terrifies the audience and tries to enforce the correct behaviour.

Another box contains a conversion mask. The dancer first appears feathered blue and red like the eagle. The he abruptly lets swing open the mask with a pulling tool with an animal sinew and the dancer becomes a man with a hooked nose. Like that the dancer transmutes to his ancestors.

The masks are taken out of the boxes when old family-traditions were attended. These occasions are: wedding, birth, death and transfire. The Kwakitul put such memories into the church register. Myths and rituals are written in the big family-bible.

Narrative embellished family stories were identified by the Indians with a certain Numaym or "Hqus".

Every Numaym owned one or more plank houses, these had their own tradition of origin, owned the right of ressources and titles as well as ceremonial privileges.

It was under the control of a chief who was legitimated by his ancestry of the progenitor of the house.

Chiefs of a lower grade lived in the house of the Numaym. As consideration that he administrated the "asset" of the house, the highest grade chief got a part of everything that was captured and collected on the Numaym's territory.

The chiefship was passed from the oldest child to the oldest child - whether son or daughter. Other positions in the Numaym were also handed down to the next generation.

Who wanted to overtake his seat in the Numaym had to arrange a "Potlach", a value disposal ceremony. When a bride wanted to return into the house of her father she had to transfer all her possessions to define her position as inheritress and therewith authorize her son for the future transfer of seat and title of her father.

When a child overtook the name of an ancestor also a Potlach had to be arranged. The most important "Potlach" was called "Big Act", it took place when a nobleman received a ritual name - and earned the appropriate position; one of the extremely valuable copperplates were exchanged at a wedding, when raising a commemoration pale or by the construction of a new house.

The northwest shore became the homeland of the TLINGIT, TSMSHIAN, the HAIDA and the KWAKITUL.

Although the knew neither agriculture nor pottery these nations developped an extravagant lifestyle and a rich ceremonial character where property, grade and personal pride had their place.

report: Red Cloud