Images(3)

Raven Rattle

Date1884

Mediumwood

DimensionsOther: 11.4 × 33 cm (4 1/2 × 13 in.)

ClassificationsCeremonial Objects

Terms

Paper Field ReferencesCMH VII-B-28

Object numberHRC 00028

Descriptiondance rattle of wood, carved in form of a raven; on its back lying human figure faces of thunderbird, their tongues connected; on the bottom of the raven carved thunderbird (?) with (a?) from coming out of his mouth; painted black, red and blue.
these rattles are mainly used during ceremonies when titles are transmitted to chosen heirs; they symbplize the continuity of the ancestral powers. although some details may be from the actual raven crest - which often forms the main part of hte rattle design - it is not from a crest but is a representation of the mythical bird that gave the first rattle to mankind. in use, these rattles are always inverted. the explanation for this varied from tribe to tribe; among the Tsimshian, for example, it is thought that if the rattle were held with the bird in an upright position the power it possessed would fly away. the rattles are hollowed from wood and contain small stones. excerpt from exhibition text; The Children of the Raven, 1975 to 1986.

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