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Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw Ceremonial Masks

Part of Northwest Coast Hall.

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The masks of the Kwakwaka’wakw were owned by certain individuals who alone had the right to wear them. Some masks were inherited and represented a mythological ancestor of the family of clan who, as a  supernatural being, came from the sea or sky and assumed human form. The grotesqueness of the masks is partially due to the original supernatural aspects of the ancestor. These masks were worn when dancing during feasts at any time of the year.

Other masks were acquired by initiation into a secret society whose members danced during the ceremonies of the winter. These masks represented supernatural beings believed to exist at the present time.

All these masks are striking even when motionless. When worn by actors dancing by firelight in the huge, shadowy Kwakwaka’wakw houses, the masks created startling and powerful dramatic effects.

 

In This Section

Exhibit Mask representing the mythological clan ancestor   Exhibit Mask of a fisherman who caught an octopus   Exhibit Mask representing owner of southeast wind   Exhibit Mask representing the dawn   Exhibit Mask of a supernatural being   Exhibit Mask portraying a paddler   Exhibit Mask of the wife of the spirit of the sea   Exhibit Mask   Exhibit Mask portraying the spirit of the sea who protects seals   Exhibit Mask of a fisherman who caught an octopus   Exhibit Mask depicting an octopus   Exhibit Mask of the born-to-be-head-of-the-world   Exhibit Mask of a supernatural being   Exhibit Mask representing the spirit of the earthquake   Exhibit Head of a puppet   Exhibit Diver mask   Exhibit Mask of a forest spirit   Exhibit Mask of the spirit of the sea   Exhibit Kwakwaka’wakw masks worn by dancers in winter ceremonies   Exhibit Two in one masks