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Iconographic Meaning

Crooked Beak of Heaven, Galugwadzawe', one servant of Cannibal at the North End of the World, Baxbakwalanuksiwe.

History Of Use

Worn by female attendant in taming the Hamat’sa dancer. This Hiłiwe' (taming headdress) is used specifically by the female tamer of the Hamat’sa initiate – the Hiłigaxste’ – whereas the full-size Crooked Beak masks are used in the final stages of the Hamat’sa initiate’s wildness, when the man-eating birds – the Hihamsamł – come out and dance to complete the ceremony.

Narrative

This Crooked-beak headdress is shown in a 1920 Hudson Bay Company film, and still photo from the film, "Romance of the Far Fur Country," filmed in 1919 in Alert Bay (information from Trevor Isaac, U'mista Cultural Centre).

Description

Carved wooden, crooked beak headdress. The face has red flared nostrils with a central frill detailed with white s-forms that curves down into the middle of the mouth. The mouth is unpainted, flat and protruding; bottom part of jaw is missing. The face is black with white detailing. The eyes are white outlined in black on a white, ovoid shaped ground; brow is black. The inside is hollow with the exception of a cloth wrapped crown to secure it to the head. Attached to the top are short, bundled cedar strips that hang down. Painted in black, white and red.