Tłagakwaxawa'yi or neck ring, part of cedar bark regalia, woven and twisted cedar bark cords in oval shape with four groups of tasseled cords
View Interactive Version

« Back to Collection

T´łagak´waxawa'yi

Neckring - Cedar Bark Regalia

Cedar Bark regalia is sacred and used in all except one of the Kwakwaka’wakw ceremonies. Although they may appear the same, each object is unique and is only used for specific dances.

Catalogue Information

Provenance

Owned by Harry Hanuse until its forced surrender to Indian Agent William Halliday on March 25, 1922. Halliday later displayed and photographed the seized pieces at the Parish Hall in Alert Bay. After doing an inventory, he crated the items in June, and at the end of September he shipped some of them to the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, on long-term loan from the National Museum of Man (now the Canadian Museum of History). They remained in the possession of the ROM until the NMM pulled its loan and returned the pieces to the Nuyumbalees and U'mista cultural societies in 1988. In September 1993 Dan Hanuse Sr. requested that his father's pieces be transferred from Nuyumbalees to U'mista as per the wishes of the majority of Harry Hanuse's descendants.

Materials

Bark, Cedar; Fibre, Cotton; Fibre, Wool

Dimensions

47.0 cm (dia.)

Accession Number

94.09.005

Physical Description

Hamat´sa neck ring made of four ropes of twisted cedar bark dyed red, each square in section, which are sewn together. Four fringes of dyed red twisted cedar bark strands are sewn to the ring. A cord of twisted cedar bark is wrapped vertically to the base of the ring to hold shredded cedar bark. Red, brown.