Religion

Religion was a vital part of traditional Wakashan culture. One of its central features was the lack of sharp divisions between animals and humans; when the bear returned to his cave he removed his coat and took human form. Salmon, seals, and killer whales lived much as humans did, in homes under the sea. It was essential to respect the animals, conducting rituals of welcoming before their flesh could be eaten. Even the cedar tree was thanked in prayer for its cloak of bark. The sun and moon were important powers to which prayers were offered, while the Nuu-chah-nulth also prayed to the Four Chiefs, of the sky, horizon, land, and undersea.

During the winter months supernatural forces were believed to surround the Wakashan villages. This was a sacred time, when quarrels were forgotten and the people turned their attention to ceremonial activities. Dancers in elaborate costumes brought the supernatural presence into the human realm through their performances. A recurrent theme involved the capture of novice dancers by supernatural forces, the transfer of ceremonial privileges to them, and their reincorporation into human society. Ceremonies of the northern Wakashans featured a variety of supernatural beings, but the most important involved a “cannibal” dance. After a period of seclusion in the woods, the cannibal dancer burst into the house in a wild frenzy and was gradually “tamed.” In southern Wakashan ceremonies, the wolf was the most important supernatural power. The elaborate masks, rattles, feast dishes, and painted dance screens used in these performances are among the greatest Wakashan artistic achievements.

Shamans were individuals who acquired supernatural power during long periods of solitary training in the woods. Such power generally came from a relationship with an animal spirit. The most important role of the shaman was in treating illness, often through public performances involving singing, shaking rattles, and sucking the disease-causing object out of the patient’s body. Powerful shamans were feared, since they had the ability to inflict disease as well as to cure it.

Christian missionaries began arriving in the 1870s. Methodist missions were established among the Haisla and Heiltsuk, while the Kwakwaka’wakw were served by an Anglican mission. The Roman Catholics were first among the Nuu-chah-nulth, followed by the Presbyterians. The missionaries strongly opposed the shamans and ceremonial dancing. Many attempted to suppress all traditional native practices, including the potlatch, which they saw as a barrier to their goals of conversion and acculturation. After entreaties to the federal government, the potlatch became illegal in 1884. Most Wakashan groups ignored the ban, holding their potlatches in secret at isolated locations. In 1922, however, a group of Kwakwaka’wakw were prosecuted at Alert Bay, resulting in the incarceration of some individuals and the forced surrender of masks, rattles, and other potlatch goods. Legal prohibitions against the potlatch remained in effect until the Indian Act was rewritten in 1951.

In recent decades there has been a great expansion in Wakashan potlatching and ceremonial dancing. Big-houses in traditional form have been built for this purpose in such communities as Alert Bay and Fort Rupert, while community halls or gymnasiums are used in other villages. Modern artists are producing masks and other regalia for use in potlatch performances. In concession to modern needs, the once-lengthy potlatch now usually takes place in a single day.

Currently, the various Christian denominations are active in the regions where they were first established, and the Pentecostal church has made inroads into some Kwakwaka’wakw communities. Virtually all Wakashans are at least nominally Christians and church events feature prominently in the lives of many individuals. Baptisms, marriages, and funerals typically take place in churches, but often these are followed by traditional dancing and feasting.