The Potlatch Ceremony For my final paper I will be discussing The Potlatch Ceremony. In this essay I will talk about what exactly The Potlatch Ceremony is, its meaning and purpose of the ritual, how long it lasts, and when it is held. The Potlatch Ceremony has relation to the physical environment resembled by costumes and dances. I will also be talking about the differences between The Potlatch Ceremony today and the ceremony that was held in the late 1800’s. I will also be examining the ban that was imposed to stop the religious celebration from continuing to occur. Researching this ceremony has allowed me to obtain more knowledge about the importance of The Potlatch Ceremony as well as the cultures and tribes that participate in this ritual. …show more content…
The first dance, the t’seka, is demonstrated by the dancers wearing red cedar bark. Everyone participates in this dance besides the guests and the chiefs of the tribe. Then they cut a large circle of cedar bark. From that circle they divide up the bark and pass pieces out to the guests. Usually this piece of bark is placed around the head, much like a head band. Then a whistle is blown. Once the t’seka is completed, the red cedar bark headbands are removed. Other dances follow in a strategic order. After the t’seka dance is finished another type of dance begins. In this dance the only Chiefs participate. Following the completion of their ritualistic dance a person enters wearing a mask representing a mystical creature. Many of the costumes reflect how the aboriginal people spiritually praise animals. Costumes within The Potlatch Ceremony dances reflect nature. For example, a wolf costume and raven costume were common. In connection with the course material the ceremony included themes that portrayed the importance of animals and nature. Towards the end of the ritualistic dance, guests are invited to dance along and enjoy themselves. Being a guest at The Potlatch Ceremony is highly valued. Guests serve as witnesses of the entire ceremony. If you are a guest you are expected to remember the traditions and events that have occurred and continue to pass on the experience and information (U’mista …show more content…
“The Kwakwaka’wakw formed a society called the U’mista Cultural Society in the 1970s” (Zasibley, 2015). This society that was created, produced a petition for the government to return their illegally stolen articles. The society work hard to obtain their items but the government was not on board with the decision. “The government decided that the only way the Native Americans and First Nations peoples could attain their items in their homeland was if the museums was maintaining the artifacts had significant conditions to store the artifacts in” (Zasibley, 2015). The patronizing and belittling acts, by the government, towards the people who celebrated the ceremony, are
The piece “The Old Man Isn 't There Anymore” by Kellie Schmitt is a passage showing that nobody really knows any other culture. In the passage Schmitt response to not seeing the old man anymore is to call the cleaning-lady to see what has happened to him and why all the neighbors were sobbing. “The old man isn 't there anymore” she replied, which I guessed it was her baby Chinese way of telling me he died” (Schmitt 107). Ceremonies can be very informational about the family member and their traditions, people should get more information about who the ceremony is for. The piece uses description, style, and support through out.
The Royal Alberta Museum holds a sacred object of the First Nations groups of Alberta and Saskatchewan, the Manitou Stone. This sacred object has a vast history to the Aboriginals but also has much controversy that surrounds it. Hundreds of years ago the object was removed from its original spot and was moved back and forth across the Canada, eventually ending up in Edmonton at the Royal Alberta Museum. This sacred object was said to have many powers for the First Nations people and when it was taken it brought great hardship to the First Nations groups that believed in the power of the Manitou Stone. This is only the beginning of the issues that surround this sacred object. Many different Aboriginal groups claim to own the piece but no decision has been made as to where the object should be placed. With the Manitou Stone now in the Royal Alberta Museum issues arise about the proper housing of the item and whether or not it should be retained in a museum or if it should be on First Nations land. Where the Manitou Stone is placed brings many complications and struggles for the Aboriginal people that claim ownership of the sacred object. When researching this object I was initially unaware of the significance that a museum could have to groups of people and the struggles that this could bring to these groups. This paper will explore the significance of the stone, the various viewpoints on why the object was moved originally from Iron Creek, who claims ownership to the object, and whether or not a museum is the proper place for sacred objects like the Manitou Stone to be kept.
Their Sundance ceremony surrounds the story of the tai-me, “The Kiowas were hungry and there was no food. There was a man who heard his children cry from hunger, and he went out to look for food. He walked four days and became weak. On the fourth day he came to a great canyon. Suddenly there was thunder and lightning. A voice spoke to him and said, ‘Why are you following me? What do you want?’ The man was afraid. The thing standing before him had the feet of a deer, and its body was covered in feathers. The man answered that the Kiowas were hungry. ‘Take me with you,’ the voice said, ‘and I will give you whatever you want.’ From that day Tai-me has belonged to the Kiowas”(36). This story is used to tell how the tai-me came to be a part of the Kiowa tribe and why they worship it as a part of the sun dance ceremony. Momaday describes that the “great central figure of the kado, or sun dance, ceremony is the taime”(37). It was a small image representation of the tai-me on a dark-green stone. As a symbolic part of this ceremony, it is kept preserved in a rawhide box of which it is never exposed to be viewed other than during this
Gloria Synch specifically has an impact through expressing how she felt about losing native culture traditions and respect. In the late 1800s, potlaching was prohibited and fishing was not allowed in Canada. The Native American group who lived off of Salmon and praticing potlach were oppressed by the Canadian government who outlawed the kwakiutl tradition. The museum of the Native American depicted some of the kwakiutl artifacts as they would appear in a potlach to save the culture. Potlach was the most important tradition of the kwakiutl culture in which is a "ceremony of dance and gift giving that linked culture to the past". Many of the lost culture "treasures" were given to a cultural center named U'Mista which means "the return of something important". The opening of the cultural center imposed feelings of happiness and great sadness from the memory of having the kwakiutl culture stripped from its people for more than 60 years. Gloria Synch and Narrator Vo go on to explain how the artifacts of kwakiutl culture, organized in order of potlach, without glass cases is the representation of freedom of the culture from the hands of "the white man" and safe in a place where people from kwakiutl culture can take care of their own
The Choctaw Indians were into cultivation , they hunted and raised corn along with a host of other crops. One of their chief religious ceremonies was a harvest celebration called , “The green corn dance.” According to one legend, the Choctaw were created at a sacred mound called Nanih Waiya, near Noxapater ,Mississippi.
Blumenthal, Susan. "Spotted Cattle and Deer: Spirit Guides and Symbols of Endurance and Healing in Ceremony." The American Indian Quarterly. 14 (Fall 1990) : 367-77
Scientists have recently discovered links to the Kiowa and Aztec religions. For example both tribes worshiped a stone image, Taimay, and both tribes followed a pictographic calendar. The language that the Kiowa spoke can be traced back to the Uto-Aztecan language like Latin and English. The Kiowa languages also have connections to the Bannocks, Comanche’s, Paragons, Paiutes, Pima, Shoshones, and Utes. The Kiowa and Aztec preformed many dances of praise including the Sun Dance. However, the Kiowa also had many unique dances including the Scalp, Corning, Feather, and Ghost praising nature and life. Each dance was preformed to celebrate different achievements. For example, the scalp dance was preformed when men returned ...
2) There are many rituals carried out by the Indigenous people but in particular there is one called
...effectively impersonate the Kachinas during the dancing ceremonies. (Page 340; Cultural Anthropology: 14th Edition; Ember).
For years on end, countries have been fighting with big museums from other countries for ancient artifacts that belong to the original countries. The argument of whether or not the museums should be able to keep them still remains. It is the right of the country to have their own artifacts. It is imperative for countries to be able showcase their historical artifacts, therefor museums should return them to their rightful owners.
...d that is linked to the ‘Transformation’. Native Americas shared the transformation theme, and it was a common feature of Kwakwaka’wakw masks. The mask is designed to be opened and closed by a hidden string, which the dancer change their figures back and forth between an animal and a human spirit. (Kleiner, p. 864) By representing both human and animal figure at a time, the mask embodied mythological idea of appreciation and celebration of life and Kwakwaka’wakw people’s tries to interact with the world.
Leading up to the celebration the girls are taught a certain dance that must be performed at the ceremony. “the new initiates are brought into town for the first time since the initiation process began…” At the ceremony the Mende girls wear a Sowei mask and costume which is considered to be the embodiment of the river spirt Sowo. Once the mask and costume is on the person transforms and her actions are no longer hers but are the actions of the spirt Sowo. A sacred dance is performed and dance moves represent the strength and power of woman as members in the Mende community. “Sowo mask are divided into three structural components- the neck, face, and coiffure. Carved from a single block of lightweight wood, the masks weigh only two to four pounds. The mask displays a shiny black surface representative of the value assigned to smooth dark skin.” The rings around the masks neck demonstrates a trait that is considered beautiful in Mende cultures. Every mask has a different hairstyle, representing the style of the woman the mask is made for, you can see items such as shells, metal and claws on the coiffure.
In “Whose Culture Is It, Anyway? ”, Kwame Anthony Appiah begins by pointing out that some of the museums of the world, particularly in the West, have large collections of artefacts and objects which were robbed from developing and poor countries. He then raises a question: who owns these cultural patrimony and properties? Our first answer may be that since they make up the cultural heritage of a people, they belong to the people and culture from whom they were taken. Appiah has doubt about this and argues that if some cultural artefacts are potentially valuable to all human beings, they should belong to all of humanity. He thinks that when they make contribution to world culture, they should be protected by being made available to those who would benefit from experiencing them and put into trusteeship of humanity.
The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act established Indian nations as the owners of Native American cultural objects, including human remains, which were found on Federal land. It requires that the American Indians provide substantial amounts of information to validate their claims. However, only federally recognized tribes are recognized under this act, so if you are an unrecognized tribe good luck claiming anything that belongs to you. After this, the existing anthropological literature will be consulted. In some instances, Indians will disagree with the literature and take steps to correct it. Indians are also likely to provide additional information that had not yet been documented. The interpretations will be written from the perspective of the claiming tribe, how they view the world, and their perception of significance of objects in religious ceremonial rites. While some might raise the question of scientific objectivity, no one will deny that this perspective had often been lacking in the literature. These interpretations are bound to bring about new insights which will challenge earlier assumptions (5).
A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States, such as the Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Tsimshain, Coast Salish, and Kwakiutl (New World Encyclopedia 2008.). Even though there are variant names between each of the practicing tribes, the ceremony is uniformly practiced. In comparison to others, the practice of potlatch is a highly regarded tradition within the Kwakiutl and Tlingit Pacific Northwest tribes (Rosman, 1972.).