T´łagak´waxawa'yi
Neck ring
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 them to Edward Sapir at the National Museum of Man (now the Canadian Museum of History). They remained the property of the NMM until their repatriation by the U’mista and Nuyumbalees Cultural Societies in 1979. 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
Dimensions
38.0 cm (dia.)
Accession Number
94.09.004
Physical Description
Hamat´sa neck ring comprising four separate cedar bark ropes dyed red and sewn together. Each rope is wrapped with twisted, red-dyed cedar bark strands in a slanting direction (in S and Z pattern). Ropes are bound together in two places with cord of cedar bark dyed red and commercial cord. A piece of metal wire is tied around the ring. Fringes of three-ply cords of cedar bark dyed red are sewn to the ring at four places. Each cord is doubled where it is sewn to the ring. The cord ends are frayed, but some cord ends are tied with cedar bark strip or black thread to hold the twist. A three-ply rope of cedar bark of natural colour is tied loosely around the ring. NMM accession number is written in black paint on a tag attached to the ring. Red, brown.