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Description

Rectangular black velvet robe with a border on three sides of diagonal checker work woven cedar bark. Eleven carved wooden skulls are tied on to the robe at intervals through small holes drilled in the top of the skulls. Clumps of shredded cedar bark are also attached.

Iconographic Meaning

The skulls indicate the number of slaves or enemies killed to feed the hamats!a. See Boas, 1921, p. 1240; Mochon, 1966, pp. 91-94, Fig. 15.
"The small wooden skulls affixed to it are indicative of the number of times he has danced the Hamats!a. Skulls were the symbol of the Hamat!sa's grisley concern" (Hawthorn, 1967, pg. 129).

History Of Use

During the period from November to March, the social organization of the Kwakwaka'wakw people was based on membership in the dancing societies rather than on clan affiliations. The most important and highest ranking dance of the winter was the Hamats!a society's. To become a fully fledged Hamats!a, an individual had to complete 4 years of dancing in each of 3 lower ranking dance societies. Each stage involved feasting, gifts, and ceremonial costs, requiring considerable wealth to complete. The Hamatsa performance is based in legends of bird-monsters who inhabited the sky-world, and were eaters of human flesh. The horror they inspired was heightened by the drama of the performance. The performance consisted of the seizure of the novice by the Hamatsa initiating spirit (bakbakwalanooksiwe), the novice's disappearance into the forest, his 4-day frenzy, and his ritual taming to the point where he became human again, and a fully-fledged member of the dancing society. On the final night there was feasting, recounting of the legend, and payment or gifts to all those who had taken part in the ceremonies.

Cultural Context

ceremonial