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Mask

Object: mask

Use: worn by dancers at winter ceremonials

Era: collected 1929

Collector: Harlan Ingersoll Smith

Materials: wood, pigment, nails, cording (to attach to dancer)

Size/ Dimensions: approximate width: 105 centimetres, height: 35 centimetres

Origin: Cape Mudge

Collection site: Nanaimo

Current Location/Museum: Canadian Museum of Civilization, Ottawa

Accession Number: VII-G-340

Display Technique: storage

Condition: unknown

The Coast Salish and other First Nations use masks to tell stories during potlatches and the winter ceremonial dances. Masks are usually carved from a light wood such as cedar so that they are not too heavy to dance in. They may depict animals, humans or mythical beings. The mask shown here is from Nanaimo, but came to the Snuneymuxw through their relationships with people in the north.

Elder Margaret James has explained the history of this mask. A Cowichan woman who was Snuneymuxw on her mother's side was married to a We-Wai-Kai man of Cape Mudge, on Quadra Island. The couple settled in Nanaimo with a number of masks they brought south with them following their marriage, all made by the same We-Wai-Kai carver. The masks were passed on to the next generation, to their son, Harry James. The James family kept some of these masks and the northern regalia that had come from their father's side. They gave away other masks to H.I. Smith, the collector who presented them to the Canadian Museum of Civilization, when the family converted to Christianity. The giving away of masks and other ceremonial items was a popular symbolic gesture to show the importance of the newly adopted religion.

This mask is made from a central face with a gaping mouth and a large, protruding nose. Two wings carved with horned nostrils and long-tongued faces look out to the sides.

The Snuneymuxw traditionally dance with a different type of mask, which takes the shape of a mythical creature's face. These are known as sxwayxwuy masks. Powerful masks are carefully protected and stored in covered boxes when not in use.