Head Ring

Item number A1467 from the MOA: University of British Columbia.

Public

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Data
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Description

Head ring made from thin strands of twined cedar bark backed by cloth. Four vertical bands of twined bark are sewn to the outside of the head ring at even intervals. A wide, rectangular piece made from the same twined bark is sewn onto the front of the head ring. Possibly red pigment on bark?

History Of Use

Worn by Hamat’sa initiates. The initiate’s dance is considered by Kwakwaka’wakw people today to be the highest ranked ritual in the T’seka, or Red Cedar-Bark ceremony. It came to the Kwakwaka’wakw historically through marriage and warfare with their northern neighbours, the Wuikinuxv and the Heiltsuk. There are many differences in the way that families who have hereditary rights to this important privilege perform the dance, and in the songs and regalia they use, but common to all is the dramatic interpretation of the initiate’s experience of capture, return, and calming. In the dance of the Hamat’sa, a young person is possessed by the man-eating spirit, Baxbakwalanuksiwe’. Through the four stages of the dance the initiate is gradually returned to a normal, human state with the help of attendants, and through song and ritual. The cedar-bark regalia the initiate wears during this cycle is considered sacred.