Secret Society Mask
Datebefore 1884
Mediumwood, metal, cotton, sinew, fibre
DimensionsOther: 17.5 × 11.5 × 21.8 cm (6 7/8 × 4 1/2 × 8 9/16 in.)
ClassificationsCeremonial Objects
Terms
Paper Field ReferencesCMH VII-B-1 Secret society mask made by Simeon Stiltla (1833-1883) Collected at Masset before 1884 by Alexander McKenzie.
Object numberHRC 00001
DescriptionSecret society mask made by Simeon Stiltla (1833-1883). Raven feather patterns are painted around the mouth. Collected at Masset before 1884 by Alexander McKenzie of the Hudson's Bay Company. Secular power in Haida society was wielded by the chiefs, who, unlike their Kwakwaka'wakw neighbours to the south, never yielded their power each winter to the heads of the secret societies. Nevertheless, by the mid-eighteenth century, the Haida began to practice much weaker forms of secret society winter dances, which they learned from captives taken in wars. They performed the dances at all winter festivities, including those to mark the raising of a totem pole or the building of a house. Secret societies and their performances began to disappear with the arrival of the missionaries in the mid-1870's. Among the Haida, masks were used mostly by members of the secret societies. Secret society dances frequently used both masks and puppets to represent wild spirits of the woods, which the Haida called gagiid. The Haida also employed masks in potlatch performances to illustrate the spirit beings encountered by their ancestors.Published References'Haida Art' - George McDonald page 74, description written on page 75
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