Abstract
The purpose of this article is to closely scrutinize and understand the anthropology of the Kwakwaka'wakw people. The Kwakwaka'wakw are the native people who inhabit the British Columbia located in the northern island of Vancouver. Approximately 5, 500 left in number, they are a smaller community that has succeeded to endure and hand down their traditions from generations’ in spite of outside elements influencing them.
This article discusses the culture of the Kwakwaka'wakw people with focus on definite issues of concern. This article is an introduction to the Kwakwaka'wakw’s tradition and treasures, and unraveling how these are shared through potlatch practice and the means with which this culture has managed to keep it-self alive.
The Culture of Kwakwaka’wakw
Introduction
Anthropology is the art and discipline of understanding humanity. The discipline is traditionally divided into four fields: cultural anthropology, archaeology, linguistic anthropology, and biological anthropology. In Europe, the discipline originated as ethnology and was originally defined as the study of social organization in non-state societies. It was later renamed social anthropology. The discipline is traditionally divided into four fields: archaeology, biological, cultural and linguistic anthropology. Anthropologists study subjects which includes the theory of origin and evolution of Homo sapiens, the development of society of humans and cultural relationships, human mannerisms, the variations amongst diverse groups of humans, and in the manner in which the evolutionary pattern of Homo sapiens has swayed the social organization and culture. Anthropology initiated in the colonial encounters in between Western civilization and colonized non-Western people, as Europeans struggled to understand the origins of noticeable cultural diversity. In the present day, anthropology is a global stream, and anthropologists study diverse types of societies all over the world.
Anthropologists of the senses have long argued that cultures differ in their sensory registers (Edwards, Gosden and Phillips, 2006). The argument goes that cultures develop from what the people perceive from the region and conditions that surround them. There are many examples of indigenous cultures that are rich in heritage and traditions. Quite unfortunately though, such heritage and traditions are dwindling in number especially in the ever expanding and evolving modernization. Some cultures have become extinct while some struggle to survive and maintain their pride and identity in the modern world.
On such culture, the Kwakwaka'wakw is an indigenous culture that originated in British Columbia on Northern Vancouver Island, the touching inland regions and islands about Johnstone Strait and Queen Charlotte Strait. They have historically been named after the Kwakiutl, one of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes. The Kwakwaka'wakw are a minority group that is close knit and keeps its traditions, the Potlach. This culture believes in sustenance of its bounty, the responsibility that members of this cult have towards nature and how the members of this cultures must work to keep their environment, traditions, beliefs, myths and heritage intact.
Discussion
With a population of 5500, Kwakwaka'wakw once were a united tribe on the North West Coast. The main tribe split a long time ago into several tribes, which in the due course of time subdivided and rejoined to form the Kwakwaka’wakw people today. Closest relatives of the original tribe are the Hi‡dzakw (of Bella Bella), the Awik'inuxw (of Rivers Inlet), the Xa'esala (of Kitimat) with distant cousins hailing from the people of West Coast (Kwikwasadzi, the Nitinat and Nootka) and the Makah Tribe belonging to Washington. Some of the Kwakwaka'wakw have disappeared, among them the Awa'et‡ala of Knight Inlet, the Nakamgalisala of Hope Island, the Yut‡inux of Cox and Lanz Islands. A few of the groups died out, while some amalgamated with other groups. Some of the villages have been abandoned for years.
Numerous tribes form the Kwakwaka'wakw, with each tribe constituting their own people or nation, in the present day, which politically organized represents 13 ensemble governments. Ever since Caucasians first arrived to their lands, they have been named as the Kwawkewlths by Indian Affairs or as the Kwakiutl by anthropologists all over the world. The ones who hail from the original tribe are related, and are called the "Wakashan Language Family” (pronounced Wuh-Cashan). Kwak'wala, the spoken language, is counted to be known to less than 5% of the population, consisting of four dialects Kwak̓’wala, ’Nak̓wala, G̱uc̓ala and T̓łat̓łasik̓wala The name Kwakwaka'wakw interprets as "The-Kwak̓’wala-Speaking-People". Even where the original native language is lost the new discourse conventions tend to persist and to be taken over into the group's use of the majority language (Goodfellow, 2005). Each of the related groups speak a different language, so the groups are not exactly classified as Kwakwaka'wakw, but considered as sister tribes. All of the Kwakwaka'wakw can understand each other, even though the usage some words may follow a different dialect.
The Origin, Economy, Food, Art and Culture
Kwakwaka'wakw have belief that their lineages appeared in the form of animals by way of underworlds, lands, and seas. These ancestor beings would arrive; discard animal forms and become human beings. Some of these animals described in such myths of origin included the Thunderbird, his brother Kolus the seagull, Orca the grizzly bear or chief spirit. Some ancestors with human origins are said to come from distant places suggesting influences of foreign cultures. Like all natives of the Pacific Northwest Coast, many Kwakwaka'wakw tribes narrate stories of creation that include their people surviving the flood. With some nations, the mythology tells stories of ancestors transforming into their animal forms and disappearing while the floods came and subsided afterwards. For most of the other nations, the myths have their people fastening their ocean-going canoes to high summiting mountains. Most of these myths, and myths of stories about supernatural powers, incline to be the establishing stories of clans of some Kwakwaka'wakw nations.
The Kwakwaka'wakw people built a very rich culture by recognizing and amalgamating into the reflection of the normal environment that surrounded them which included natural environment that composed of animals, cedar, rivers and streams, salmon, trees and the everything else that helped sustain the Kwakwaka'wakw spiritually and physically. They celebrated and honored these through their mythical tales, melodies, ceremonial artifacts, and dances. The Kwakwaka'wakw’s environment and riches, helps in discovering how such riches are shared here in, through potlatch practice and the way they have managed to keep their culture alive.
Art is a very large spectrum of activities of expression used by humans and the culminating produces of the activities themselves. In times of Kwakwaka’wakw, however, it represented a fundamental element that is mutual and is shared by the community as a whole. Kwakwaka'wakw art form included a wide range of artistries; masks, totems, ornaments, number of carved articles, and textiles (Jacknis, 2002). Cedar was a type of material that was preferred for carving and sculpting artifacts because it was readily available to the members of the community. Masks were an important insignia in Kwakwaka'wakw art as these signified central characters in the dance rituals of the Kwakwaka'wakw. Totems were highly real and emphasis was given open the use colors. Chilkat blankets were a form of woven textiles, button cloaks, dance aprons, and other such attires all carried tribal designs as a generalized form of patterning. Decorations were often found on important peoples clothes. Tattooing was also a largely accepted form of art that was used in different ways by the people. The tattoo skill was highly developed and diverse, and was considered at par with clothing, and a matter of pride as it is with a fashionable attire.
The Kwakwaka'wakw economy was based originally on fishing, with the men engaging in hunting, and women in gathering and foraging. Ornate handy craft, weaving and wood craft were important; and wealth, demarcated by slaves and material goods, was highly displayed and traded at potlatch ceremonies. Contrary to many other societies, wealth and status were not determined by how much the individual possessed, rather it was ascertained by how much the individual could donate or give away. The practice of giving away personal wealth was a major activity in a potlatch.
The Culture during Colonization and Today
This culture was disease free, until the development of direct contact with European settlers along the West Coast of Canada, which resulted in a drastic reduction of the Indigenous Kwakwaka'wakw population especially during the late nineteenth and the early twentieth century. Due to these reasons Kwakwaka’wakw population had dropped by 75% between the years 1830-1880 (Johansen and Pritzker, 2008). In the aftermath of epidemics and colonization by western settlers, some tribes became extinct, and others merged into populations or First Nations band governments.
Reestablishing their bonds to homeland, culture, and moralities, the Kwakwaka'wakw have undertaken the heavy responsibility in reviving their customs, traditions, beliefs, and language. Potlatch occurs more frequently as families have started reconnecting to birthright and language programs, informative classes, and social occasions utilizing the community to resuscitate the dying language. All of the Kwakwaka'wakw nations have their own clans, chieftains, history, culture, tradition and peoples, but remain collectively similar to the rest of the Kwak̓wala-Speaking tribes. This is the diversified treasures that needs to be saved and vouched for.
A Comparison to Modern Times
When the objective comes to comparing to the culture of modern times in America, when the English language forms a very important aspect of daily life and is spoken almost 90% of the people here, the language can be easily distinguished keeping in mind the region where an individual, speaking the specific dialect of English, hails from. Hence, the English language is considered the bridging form of communicative language in most of the parts of the region (Goodfellow, 2005). Not only this the expanse and study of other languages is also taking place now-a-days, educational institutions offering opportunities to learn and grow taste for other dialects and languages spoken in foreign lands, suggesting a direction of uniformity on a world wide scale, which will in the future create a form of globally accepted culture. This is definitely a step towards the evolution of mankind as a whole into a culture that is highly connected even with all the diversities of languages, manuscripts and dialects.
Modern form of art in the United States of America, or even most of the part of the world for that matter, is mostly in the form of sketches, paintings, sculptures, different forms and modes music genres. The recreational activities that modern day individuals involve themselves in. Food in the modern day culture mainly consists of beef and meat from domesticated farm animals as well as wild animals at some times, also there are segments of people who follow vegetarianism. Most of the food is cultivated and the cattle is reared in large quantities agriculturally.
The social organizations comprises of nuclear as well as joint families that are interrelated, and may also include extended families. The social rights and duties include control the election of representatives by the population to represent them in administrative bodies, which the people see fit to preside over them. Heir ship and monarchy does not occur this system. There is freedom in choice of occupation, in accordance with the capacity of the individual. There is also a social aspect of elevated crime which was very minute in the Kwakwaka’wakw society, though it is strongly dealt with like it was then, but rights of an individual and humanitarian behavior is highly stressed upon (Boyer, 2013).
Conclusion
In conclusion the Kwakwaka'wakw are a very special and unique community that has a rich culture, which is very beautiful in the way it is practiced and the relation it has to the modern day culture they are highly contrasting. The Kwakwaka’wakw culture is in it a rich and diverse culture that throws an insight into how human nature can be influenced and driven by the environment, and how the human condition can co-exist with the elements of nature, harmonizing and sustaining as both these elements tread along, side by side.
The modern day civilization may learn a lot from the simple yet powerful concepts of earthly commitment and of sustenance and judicial use of resources, the way the Kwakwaka’wakw people taught to conserve and continue to teach still to the world. A lot can be incorporated in the modern world from these teachings, a harmony of the past and present to make a better future which is rich with modern thought and age old tradition.
In a personal opinion the Kwakwaka'wakw culture must be conserved and should not be allowed the fate of extinction. Saving this culture is and will be very similar to saving the treasure of rich heritage of a wonderful people, which if lost will rob the world of a form of simplicity and harmony with nature that will be irreplaceable.
References
Edwards, E., Gosden, C., & Phillips, R. B. (2006): Sensible objects colonialism, museums and material culture (English edition). Oxford: Berg.
Jacknis, I. (2002). The storage box of tradition: Kwakiutl art, anthropologists, and museums, 1881-1981. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Goodfellow, Annie Marie (20 July, 2005) Talking in Context Language and Identity in Kwakwaka'wakw Society. Chicago: McGill-Queen's University Press.
Johansen, B. E., & Pritzker, B. (2008): Encyclopedia of American Indian history. Santa Barbara, Calif: ABC-CLIO.
Boyer, P. S. (2013). The enduring vision: A history of the American people. Boston: Wadsworth.
