House Post of qiyəplenəxw

Item number A50003 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

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Description

Capilano house post. Carved wooden post depicting a male figure, Chief Capilano (qiyəplenəxʷ), with a U-shaped headdress. The face of the figure is round with straight brow-line and features engraved in low-relief. Covered with traces of red paint. Figure is in very bad condition and broken into several large pieces and separate arms.

History Of Use

Salish house boards and posts depict mythical creatures associated with family history, notable ancestors, events which displayed ancestors' spirit powers, or magical privileges of the family. They faced into the large winter houses, declaiming the long history, wealth and high status of the family. Representations of people utilize naturalistic proportions, while limbs are posed as if the figures were in action. Michael Kew (1980) notes that "these features are aspects of an emphasis on realism, which in the case of human effigy figures extended to rendering buttons and other details of clothing."

Cultural Context

status; ancestral figure

Iconographic Meaning

According to Wayne Suttles (1987) this house post depicts Capilano I (qiyəplenəxʷ), a great Musqueam warrior and ancestor.

Narrative

tə qeqən ʔə ƛ̓ qiyəplenəxʷ (The House Post of qiyəplenəxʷ). This post was said to have stood outside Chief Capilano's house at Musqueam in 1913. It was also said to have been made in North Vancouver on the Capilano reserve. Hillary Stewart (1990) reports that this house post was originally located within a house at Musqueam. It is done in a style that is used by many families. Wayne Suttles (1987) notes that it represents Capilano I, a Musqueam ancestor. In 1902, anthropologist Harlan I. Smith attempted to acquire this house post, and another in the museum's collection (A50004), for the Smithsonian Museum in New York, but was prevented by the Department of Indian Affairs. Later in 1927, Colonel A. M. Brown and Smith discussed options for the preservation of the two posts and proposed that UBC would be an appropriate home. The graduating class of 1927 provided funds for Musqueam carvers to restore the poles and to purchase them for UBC. This post was purchased from Cornelius Johnny of Musquem. A 1929 photograph of the UBC Botanical Gardens shows the house post installed near the 'lily pond' (UBC Archives). A copy of this house post was made by Stan Greene in 1986, and displayed at Expo 86. Greene worked from photographs and took measurements of the original to make the copy. After Expo the post (Nbz717) was placed on long-term loan at Heritage Park, in the Musqueam Village, where it still stands today. In 2011 another copy was commissioned by UBC Law. Musqueam carver Brent Sparrow (son of Susan Point) carved the new copy: installed Feb. 16, 2012, on the north side of Allard Hall.