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Pacific North West Coast American Masks
Pacific North West Coast North American Masks North America is
home to a fantastic range of American masks. Some of these are
traditional dating back centuries others are modern based upon
the traditions of Madi Gras and adaptations. If we extend the
range a little into the Caribbean there is also the Trinidad
Carnival the most famous of the festivals in this particular
culture.
The area to be covered here are; The Pacific North West Coast
The masks of the Pacific West Coast of North America are a
reflection of the lifestyle, mythology and religious beliefs of
the indigenous people. Here you will come across several
distinct tribes, the most well known being; Haida, Kwakwaka'wakw
( or Kwakiult ), Tsimshian, Tlingit, Bella Bella, Nuu-chah-Nulth
and Makah. The artistic style of these peoples has a commonality
in the use of curved symbolry which occurs within pictures of
people and creatures, both real and mythological and surface
decoration. Here there are rich formalised traditions developed
over many centuries to expressing the individuality of the area.
Art work and in particular carved wooden mask were collected
from this area from the time of the first incursions of western
sailors. Sadly the diseases brought by these visitors had a
devesting effect almost wiping out some of the villages. Later
devastation to the cultures were wrought by the church and local
officialdom. Children were taken away from their parents and
sent to boarding schools to take them away from the tribal ways.
Art work and ceremonial regalia were burned driving traditional
practices underground. The survival of the art and traditions of
this area are now recognised as important. In particular
traditional art work is one manner in which the people of this
area can communicate the value of their interpretation of the
world to the rest of us.
I had the opportunity to visit this area during 2003. The whole
coastal area is extremely verdant. Tall temperate rain forest
trees grow to the edge of the sea. Wild life abounds in the sea
and forest. Salmon and whales are common in the sea and deer and
other game animals fill the forests. The area is abundant in all
those things that makes a hunting collecting way of life the
natural choice for the inhabitants. The mountainous terrain also
forces settlements to be near the sea or in valleys.
Visiting this area during August we soon became aware of the
salmon swimming up river to spawn. These were not large rivers
but shallow tidal outlets only a few centimetres deep. Each
square metre of water could be populated by as may as 8 fully
Expel Arabs - Not Jews!"Hard-line settlers'" What's wrong with being a settler' Wasn't the United States founded by ..... grown fish. With my untrained eye I noticed at least 5 species
of salmon. To fish in these waters would be of no difficulty
even for the amateur. As we moved further upstream the final
demise of these abundant creatures became noticeable as the
smell of rotting fish pervaded the air.
Despite hearing tales of over fishing, such local abundance is
hard to visualise unless you have experienced it. In particular
having lived in Britain most of my life I have always
appreciated wild salmon as an expensive luxury. Here it is so
common it rots away after spawning.
As well as appreciating the natural beauty of the area the
beauty of local craftsmanship in carving is apparent in the
galleries and craft shops of the area. In particular I enjoyed
the galleries in Victoria, Vancouver Island. Within this very
compact city there are many galleries displaying a whole range
of local art. For me the delight was the exquisite mask and
carvings. Some of them truly of museum quality. I
If you are interested in the art of this area then the galleries
of Victoria are a worthwhile starting point. Other galleries can
be accessed on cruises to Alaska.
An overview of the mask of the area
The masks of North America can be divided into four obvious
groups. The links between some of the rituals behind the masks
are apparent and there are also strong thematic links to the
African masks through the remembrance of and devotion to
ancestors. Coming of age and initiation ceremonies also play a
part.
Only the northern peoples will be considered here.
Inuit
Some experts believe that the masquerade tradition only began
with the influence of the European settlers. This is
contradicted by the fact that some ivory burial masks have been
excavated from 2000 years ago. The practice of dancing with
masks does seem to be a much later development. Yet in
contradiction shamanism was a notable part of the cultures in
this and surrounding this area. Also the land bridge traversed
by the earliest people to spread from Europe in this area forced
people to pass this way. I find it difficult to accept that
masked shamanistic ceremonies were not a part of the culture.
Dance masks were generally made for the shaman who linked the
community to the spirit world. Most important ceremonies took
place in the winter. Typically, masks represented the spirit of
the animals and natural phenomena as visualised by the shaman.
Essentially two dimensional, as opposed to the three dimensional
forms of the West coast traditions, the masks were painted in
black, white, red and blue. Constructed from an outer wheel of
willow bands, supporting various emblems, surrounding a flat
central area representing the face the masks synthesise the
human and animal elements.
Some other areas produced less elaborate designs. During the
dance the swaying chorus of women would wear small finger masks.
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Pacific North West Coast Masks of this area must be considered
in the light of how the local people were forced by the settlers
to abandon their own ways. Laws were passed to outlaw the
Potlatch and force native children into a Christian way of life
and a European style education. A large seizure of Kwakiutl
ritual artefacts was made in 1921 by the police in Alert Bay.
Some of the traditions managed to flourish underground, notable
the Kwakiutl, where there are direct links between contemporary
makers and the older traditions. Modern mask makers have
developed the styles of their forbears as the need to
re-establish the old traditions has emerged.
The People of this area used the natural wealth of the land and
sea as their means of subsistence. The abundance of natural food
allowed it to be stored for the winter months and gave the
Chasing The Rainbows EndLife in the 21st century is fast-paced, and dangerous. People try different ways to find a little piece of heaven in a not-so-perfect world. ..... opportunity for the practice of the elaborate ceremonies during
these colder months.
Devastation by Disease
A large number of native people lost their lives due to the
introduction of foreign diseases. In particular smallpox
decimated the population of many areas. The Haida in particular
were reduced from about 8000 before the arrival of Europeans to
800 by 1880.
Potlatch
In each of the tribal areas the potlatch feast had a different
status. Commonly they all were a forum for the continuations of
the local traditions and had direct links to social order. Masks
were used during the potlatch to carry out religious and
initiations rites, define status and to help increase the impact
of the mythical element of the ceremony. A major element of the
Potlatch were the display by chiefs of their riches. Lavish
gifts were given and precious resources used to show the status
of the potlatch giver.
The masks and the tribes
Throughout the region the most notable common denominator in the
type of masks is the portrait mask produced in differing degrees
of conformity to the human features. Portrait Masks From the
Northwest Coast of America by J.C.H. King is a detailed study of
these and is well worth reading.
Tlingit
The Coastal Tinglit live in Alaska rather than Canada but the
influence spreads to the Tahtlan tribes in the south. Shaman
masks represent the finest work from this area. Potlatches
celebrating the memory of dead ancestors, were danced by men and
10 CommandmentsI thought I would draw this article up as a reference page in the event any of you ..... women wearing human face masks bearing the crests of clans and
relatives. Women's masks also had labrets which according to
size were the mark of rank. The numerous masks of the shaman
represented the various levels of the spirit world, sky spirits
for the upper world, or dead warriors, the sea or water spirits
and the land spirits. On the other hand the chief wore masks
that portrayed their ancestors.
Tlingit masks, as all masks of this area and African ones,
combined the aim of representing spirits and ancestors in forms
that were recognisable to all tribal members.
Haida
The Haida lived on the island now known as Queen Charlotte
Island. Of the old masks that have been collected some are known
to have been made for sale to the sailors who visited the
islands. The human face masks were worn by the chiefs and others
of rank during potlatches. Over fifty different crests have been
noted and these decorated the masks of the chiefs. Crests
represented animals, natural phenomena and the mythological
past. The potlatches were given by the Village or house chiefs
and were very well developed forms of feast involving the
provider in a huge outlay of goods and food.
The potlatch may have been given for several reasons including,
commemorating an ancestor, tattooing a crest or cutting a lip
for a labret. Dances similar to those performed by the Kwakiutl
where a character possessed by a cannibal spirit ran amongst the
guests biting them for the chief to rip up blankets to bandage
the injuries in a show of apparent wealth.
Tshimshian
Tsimshian sculptures were mainly crests, the masks were of human
form and often used to dramatise initiations. The workmanship is
highly regarded for its quality. In parallel with the
neighbouring Kwakiutl some of the initiation ceremonies were
very dramatic. The craftsmen were given the tasks of making
transformation masks and of engineering some elaborate
deceptions.
Novices at initiation ceremonies would be taken through a
process where they would disappear through the roof having been
captured by a spirit, ?spirited away?, and then to reappear with
a magical device presented by the spirit. Even for a modern
theatre technician this would be a considerable task.
Mask-making virtually disappeared by 1940 after declining from
about 1910. A revival was introduced with a training programme
begun in 1970.
Nootkan
The best known Nootkan ritual was the "tlonquana" which was a
dramatic depiction of the capture of initiates by wolves. The
masks used depicted wolves, serpents and wild men. When the
initiate had been seized by the wolf he would be given ancestral
powers and rights. Through this means the initiate would be
given insight into the adult life and myths of their village and
people. The dancing and ceremonies lasted for days. Another
occasion on which the masks were worn was the announcement of a
potlatch. Because the ceremonies were so detailed they would be
arranged up to two years in advance in order to assure there
were no clashes.
During a minor feast a female and male masked figure would make
a dramatic entrance to announce the coming event. The event
would be compared to a feast given in the past and the chief
would make a commitment to providing an even more elaborate
affair.
Kwakiutl
The Kwakiutl are famed for their transformation masks. These
massive masks, up to eight feet long, are based around an animal
form and open up during the ceremony to reveal an inner human
character. This method links the human, animal and spiritual
aspects of life.
The winter period, called Tsetseka, meaning good humour, was
used by the Kwakiutl as time for celebrating. They believed that
the spirits who had been at large in the world returned to the
village to capture certain members of the population. The dances
were often connected with the initiation of novices. Possessed
by wild spirits the novices would disappear into the woods to be
given the ancestral rites and then reappear as fully fledged
members of the society. The spirit which possessed them was
Bakbakwalanooksiwae (Cannibal at the north end of the World )
who inspired them to eat human flesh. There is no record of
cannibalism having taken place, only of ritual enactment.
This period of dancing reached its climax as the initiates
disappeared into the woods with the Hamasta dancers appearing at
the potlatch in their fantastic masks. These portrayed a great
bird monster who ate flesh and the Thunderbird which beat its
wings and flashed its eyes. The dancers were supported by the
Noohlmahl, the fool, who, with a large running nose, provided
flesh for the Hamasta. In addition he also kept the watchers in
order.
A second ritual featured the Warrior at the end of the World,
Winalagilis, who was supported by a series of other dancers.
Some of the effects were of a spectacular nature with one female
helper, Toogwid, being killed by a wedge driven through her
head. Real animal blood was released from bladders and seal eyes
were made to fall from the mask to increase the impact of the
event. At the end of the performance she was restored. Other
rituals also involved elaborate killings and rebirths. The
photographs of Edward Sheriff Curtis record some of the costumes
and masks of this area go to Edward Curtis Flurry and Co. to
find out more and see some of the pictures.
Also try the Library of Congress.
If you are interested in this particular area may I recommend
the following books
Mask arts of Mexico by Ruth Lechuga and Chloe Sayer Thames and
Hudson ISBN 0 500 27797 4
Masks the Art of Expression Ed John Mack British Museum ISBN 0
7141 2530 x
Ian Bracegirdle 2004 http://mask-and-more-masks.com You may
use this article freely on condition that you include this
copyright line and URL and that people who subsequently use this
article follow the same conditions. Thank you for accepting
these conditions.
About the author:
Teacher Course Leader. Ian has for many years had an interest in
masks. His inital interest is tribal masks and masking
traditions. He also links current mask usage with our earlier
ancestors.
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