Accession Number

Cultural Group

Material

Process

Region

Field Collector

Acquired

PRM Source

Dimension

Keyword

Class

Description

Model of medicine man's staff in the form of a bird head. It is painted in red and black and has three white bird feathers. [MJD 17/08/2009]

Longer Description

Model of medicine man's staff in the form of a bird head. It is painted in red and black and has three white bird feathers. At one end is a smoothly carved, round, unpainted handle(?) that widens slightly, then narrows, before widening again into the elongated head of a bird. The bird's head is painted red. Its eyeballs appear to be incised using a compass, and then the eyes outlined in black paint. The top of the head and the beak of the bird are painted black. There are unpainted nostrils. Where the lower and upper beak come together, there is a groove in the wood and the groove has been painted red. At the end of the beak is a round, smoothly carved handle(?) painted red [.2]. Three white features have been inserted into the stop of the bird's head and stand erect. [CAK 06/04/2010]

Publications History

Referred to on p. 8 of 'Haida Art in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford, and the Rev. Charles Harrison', by June Bedford, in European Review of Native American Studies, Vol. XII, no. 2 (1998), pp. 1-10. [JC 16 4 1999]
This object was viewed and confirmed as Haida by tribal members Vincent Collison, Lucille Bell, and Kwiiawah Jones on 7 September 2007 in preparation for a planned Haida community visit to PRM in 2009 [L Peers, 24/01/2008]

Research Notes

The name Dr. Kootay also appears in the literature as Kute, Kude and Kudee. [Cara Krmpotich 19/03/2009]

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum's collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge”:
This staff was viewed alongside other shamanic material on Friday Sept 11, 2009. No information from delegates was recorded about this object. It was noted however that shamanic material should not be on display. [CAK 06/04/2010]

Primary Documentation

Accession book entry: 'From Rev. Ch. Harrison, 80 Halton Rd, Canonbury Sq. N. Collection of Haida objects collected by him.... - Model of medicine man's staff.

No additional information on catalogue cards. [JC 4 9 1996]

Written on object - MODEL OF A STAFF USED BY MEDICINE MAN WHEN CASTING OFF SPIRITS FROM A SICK MAN; MADE BY DR KOOTAY. HAIDA. C. HARRISON COLLN (MS No. 18) PURCHASED 1891. [NM 12 11 1996]

Old Pitt Rivers Museum display label [in Related Documents File] - CANADA, QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS, HAIDA. Model of a staff used by medicine man when casting out spirits from a sick person. Made by Dr. Kootay. Purch. from C. Harrison, 1891. [MdeA 14/12/2007]

Related Documents File - The Haida Project Related Documents File contains video of research sessions and interviews with Haida delegates from September 2009 as part of the project ‘Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge'. It also includes post-visit communications that discuss object provenance. For extensive photographic, video, and textual records documenting the Haida research visit as a whole, including but not limited to preparations of objects for handling, travel logistics, British Museum participation, transcribed notes from research sessions and associated public events held at PRM, see the Haida Project Digital Archive, stored with the Accessions Registers. Original hand-written notes taken during research sessions have been accessioned into the Manuscripts collection, in addition to select other materials. [CAK 02/06/2010]