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Coffee with the Curators: Northwest Coast Masks
- 3. Native Art of the Pacific NW Coast
- 6. Types of Masks Frontlet Headdress placed on forehead Used for ceremonial dance: Potlatch, Mortuary, Welcome Balance of power between supernatural identity and social one “His successful quests in the world of spirits was symbolized by the frontlet headdress he wore (McLaren 1977). “ Face Direct contact with supernatural powers Used by shamans and Medicine Men Spirit in human or animal form Transformation Open and close by the wearer through strings Interchangeable mouthpieces to change character/expression
- 7. Ceremonial Masks Masking tradition spanning about 4,000 years Mostly used in the Northern and Central part of the Northwest Coast culture area Made from wood, primarily cedar and occasionally maple Usual colors are white, red, black, yellow, blue
- 8. What is Masking? Manifestation of powerful ancestral spirits Used to make the supernatural world more visible License to defy the rules because it removes from reality Distinguishing features between regional, tribal, & personal styles
- 9. Haida Moon Mask Carving Demonstration Adze
- 10. Pacific Northwest Coast Native Cosmos Keep in mind! Not every group believes their cosmos has all the domains Supernatural inhabitants have the power to travel between realms
- 11. Sky World Significant realm Sun is supreme deity and home to the origin place of myths and legends Sun, birds, Thunderbird
- 12. Undersea World Equal in power to Sky World Deity Copper Maker lives here under the water Sea Eagle, Sea Raven, Sea Bear, Sea Wolf, Whales, Sea Monsters
- 13. Mortal World Ancestors in animal form named places and walked the earth Changed into human after flood Wolf, Grizzly Bear, Land Birds
- 14. Spirit World Not a single space Some believe the location is the milky way, underground, or beyond the horizon Realm of ghosts
- 15. Potlatch
- 16. Potlatch Gift-giving winter feast Primary governing and economic system Demonstrates leader’s wealth and held for major events Music, dancing, storytelling Banned in 1884 under the Federal Indian Act urged by missionaries Decriminalized in 1951
- 17. Kwakwaka’wakw Raven Transformation Chief Alan Hunt received name Hamasaḵa
- 19. Object History Collected by Omaha Native Florence Sunderland -World Traveler -Oregon Archaeology Society Member -Anthropology Curator at Portland Museum -Identified basketry and pottery in our collection -Assisted with our archaeology fieldwork in 1955 Purchased object in 1953 for $25 ($240 in 2020) Sunderland noted the object was still used in ceremonies on Vancouver Island No mention of how she obtained it or from which culture group on Vancouver Island
- 20. Brief History of Mask Collecting Scientific collection of masks began in the late 19th century Rise in souvenir masks during the 1950s How to tell authenticity? Use wear, straps, wooden bite piece
- 21. Object Discussion Detailed woodworking Straps Trending colors, shape, and form Frontlet Animal representation
- 22. Is it a Sky World Thunderbird? “In a late nineteenth-century Nuu-chah- nulth Thunderbird forehead mask, the creature is characterized by the feathered plumes which extend above the head (Macnair).” “[Frontlet] mask may be worn projecting from the forehead, revealing the dancer’s face to indicate the duality of bird and man… (Macnair).”
- 24. Sources 1976 Carlson, Roy et al. Indian Art Traditions of the Northwest Coast: Symposium on the Prehistory of Northwest Coast Indian Art: Papers. 1977 McLaren, Carol “Unmasking Frontlet Headdresses : An Iconographic Study of Images in Northern Northwest Coast Ceremonial Headdresses.” Retrospective Theses and Dissertations, 1919-2007. T, University of British Columbia. 1998 Macnair, P., Joseph, R., & Grenville, B. Down from the shimmering sky: Masks of the Northwest Coast. Vancouver, WA: Douglas & McIntyre. 1994 Malin, Edward A world of faces: Masks of the Northwest coast Indians. Portland, Or.: Timber Press.
- 25. Questions?