Musical Instruments of the

Northwest Coast Indians

Submitted by:Satyajit Dave

3rd Year Art History

Contents

Introduction
Tradition of Music
Art in the Tradition of Music

Introduction
The North West Indian tribes lived mainly on the sea coast.
Due to their geographical location their entire life system was
that of a coastal life. Their primary food was fish. Due to this
they are credited for being skilled canoe makers. They were
also excellent wood carvers and wood was used in abundance
to make houses, canoes and also various artifacts of day to
day life. The tirbes of the North West were attributed as totem
tribes due to their so-called practices of Black Magic and
Shamanism. They used to have totem pillars outside their
houses. These pillars could be around 40 feet in height and
they can be painted or carved with human, bird or animal
figures.

Tradition of Music
The music of the indigenous people of the Northwest Coast is
largely associated with ceremony and feast-giveaways, known
as potlatches. Potlatches serve as opportunities to aid in
maintaining social order by regulating the ownership of land,
title, ancestral names, and music, as well as to observe life
cycle changesbirth, puberty, marriage, anddeath. The
transmission of honor associated with these events is
traditionally marked by ceremonial dances accompanied by
songs. Proprietary songs and dances are punctuated by extramusical effects provided by whistles, rattles, and specific vocal
utterances. Typically, the sound of whistles is associated with
the presence of spirit beings. Cultural taboos surrounding the
ownership of songs and dances have remained intact into the
twenty-first century, albeit with some leniency to accommodate
for varying degrees of observance of traditional lifeways.
A customary element to the music of the Northwest Coast is
the beat of the drum; however, unlike the use of drums on
the Great Plains, the concept of communal drumming on a
single large instrument is not typical in the Pacific Northwest.
Rather, drummers are known to congregate and play
individual hand drums together. The use of a single drum was
traditionally isolated to a few groups, such as the
Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl), who are known to have used a
single wooden plank struck by multiple players. As in other

regions, the drum is used to begin and to mark certain points

within a song. Some indigenous people of the Northwest
Coast utilize the drum to indicate the presence of spirits. For
example, a tremolo created by rapidly striking the drumhead
can be perceived as an audible manifestation of a spirit
being's presence. Aside from use within the potlatch setting,
drums are employed by shamanspowerful individuals who
have the ability to move in the liminal space between this
world and others, communicating with spirit guides. Many of
the musical instruments used on the Northwest Coast can be
associated with shamanic practice. Often, a physical
representation of a shaman's spirit guide is carved in the form
of a rattle or whistle, as an effigy used to invoke the spirit's
power.

Art in the Tradition of Music

Traditional three-dimensional art of the indigenous people of

the Northwest Coast can be characterized as highly sculptural,
including relief and sculpture in the round, with geometrically
stylized totemicmemorialsymbols integrated into the
composition of the piece. Similar principles govern two- and
three-dimensional art of the Northwest Coast. Elements
common to both include "ovoid," "U-form," and "form-line"
figures that constitute the majority of a given work. These
three specific design elements are combined to define
anatomical features, as well as ornament the outlying space.
When
applied
to
three-dimensional
artwork,
the
aforementioned elements are aligned with the surface
contours of a given object. Often, pigmentation defines, or in
some cases embellishes, sculptural figuration. A typical palette
includes red, black, and some variant of green or blue.

Until the eighteenth century, European presence in the Pacific

Northwest was erratic at best. The resources and trade that
were available throughout the continent made it less pressing
to reach the west coast, albeit a perceived destination for
many explorers. The presence of foreigners on the Northwest
Coast, primarily Russian, in the eighteenth century contributed
greatly to the traditional use of color and dyeing methods.
These newly introduced innovations affected textile
preparation, as well as pigments used for adornment on

carved, three-dimensional objectsof particular interest is the

raven rattle illustrated here. Raven rattles, ritual clan objects
employed for various uses by their owners, depict the story of
the Raven who stole lightsymbolic of knowledgeand
brought it to humans. The personification of knowledge is
carved as tongues extending from the mouth of one being to
another.

Historically, the color blue was not in use as a dye, as the

method for producing blue was not possible through natural
sources on the Northwest Coast. Various shades of green
were derived from copper minerals in combination with a
native moss. Blue was first introduced by woolen material
carried by travelers, mainly blankets, in the early nineteenth
century. Blue-dyed blankets (most likely from indigo) were
traded with indigenous people, and later the dye was rendered
from them through boiling. Synthetic blue dyes were
introduced to the market at the turn of the twentieth century,
following the isolation of indigotin by Adolf van Baeyer in 1897.

Foreign presence in the Northwest Coast brought with it

foreign aesthetics and markets along with the introduction of
trade materials, like dyes or dye-products. Native artists were
quick to identify the foreigners' propensity to collect and to
consume native cultural items and artwork as curios. As
foreign traffic became more prevalent in the regiona result

of commercial tourism up the coast of North America heading

toward the territory that would become AlaskaEuroAmerican cultural items abounded. Carved, sculptural items,
like smoking pipes and walking sticks, appealed to the
preexisting art forms of the native people.

The mid-nineteenth-century carved argillite trade of the Queen

Charlotte Islands is an example of this phenomenon. Although
argillite, a unique type of black shale, is known to have been
used minimally by the native inhabitants, a lucrative nonnative market firmly established the practice among the Haida
of the Queen Charlotte Islands. A smallpox outbreak in 1862
decimated the population of the islands, effectively halting the
intergenerational transmission of traditional art forms. Argillite
served as an ideal medium for replicating forms and patterns
commonly found on material objects. While artisans were
capable of reproducing the physical appearance of centuriesold, three-dimensional cultural objects (albeit on a smaller
scale), much of the symbolism and stories inherent to the
figures were lost. This fact did not diminish the Euro-American
desire to collect argillite sculpture in myriad shapes and sizes,
including a western European style duct flute. Additionally, the
practice of argillite carving presented Haida artists with an
opportunity to begin reconstructing links to traditions of their
past. Three-dimensional objects from the region, among them
rattles, drums, and whistles, are highly prized for their

sculptural innovation and figurative form-line composition by

native and non-native people.

Whistle, 19th century

British Columbia; Northwest Coast
Wood, pigment

Throughout the Northwest Coast, whistles of varying shapes and sizes are
used to augment the ritual music associated with dancing. This whistle is

constructed of two pieces that have been lashed togetherthe upper

lashing is now missing. A stylized human face is carved around the
cylindrical form, the mouth corresponding to the duct window of the whistle.
Pigment has been used to intensify the grooved surface features of the
whistle. Much of the dance traditions of the region incorporate a degree of
transformation; whether it is visually apparent is inconsequential. In some
instances, elaborate masks and regalia are employed to convey
transformation, although these are not requisites for spiritual
transcendence. The use of whistles, sometimes disguised as part of a
dancer's regalia, is common to most dances. Some whistleslarge and
smallemploy bellows to sound them and can consist of multiple whistles
lashed together. The sound produced by whistles typically represents the
audible manifestation of spirit beings, so, too, are whistles carved to
visually depict spirit beings or ancestors.

Rattle, ca. 1880

Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia; Haida or Tsimshian
Wood, string, pigment

Rattles like this were most likely used during dance rituals of the Haida or
Tsimshian. Spherical in shape with two diametrically opposed faces, this
wooden rattle represents typical carving of Northwest Coast people,
exhibiting form-line carving in low relief. The cutawaydarkenedsections
represent an equally significant aspect of the composition. Low-relief
carving in this style makes a play on the relationship between negative and
positive space. One side of the rattle depicts a face in quintessential formline ornament, with ovoid and U-shaped realizations of the space between
the form-lines. The opposite side of the rattle depicts a hook-nosed bird
figure, possibly a hawk or raven, the nose protruding from the low relief of
the face. There is evidence of red and black pigment as embellishment on
both sides of the rattle, which is constructed in two pieces carved to form a
hollow chamber. Small holes carved near edges of both pieces are
threaded with vegetal lacing and pinned with iron nails to secure the two
halves together, along with the wrapping at the base of the handle.

Raven Rattle, 19th century

Skidegate, British Columbia; Haida
Cedar, pebbles, polychrome

Most often associated with shamanic practices on the Northwest Coast,

raven rattles are held oriented with the bird's beak pointing down when
used in dance. Additionally, rattles like this are used to channel a shaman's
spirit guide and can be used in healing ceremonies. Much of the symbolism
associated with this rattle comments on the transmission of power from one
figure to the nextthe raven to humankind in general (as oral tradition
states) and the kingfisher to the prone figure on the raven's back. The
prone figure is personified with a face of a wolf, perhaps another guide of
the owner of this rattle. Rattles are considered extremely personal objects
and bear specific symbolism and power known only by those who
understand their meaning. As symbols of power, rattles are also kept by
clan leaders. Carved in two pieces and assembled using wooden pins to
secure the halves, a rattle usually contains small stones or seeds.
Polychrome adornment exhibits the pale blue pigmentation common during
the late nineteenth century. It is common for raven rattles to be further

adorned with feathers, fur, and beads, particularly along the seam of the
two halves and at the handle base.

Raven Rattle, 19th century

British Columbia; Tsimshian
Wood, pigment

The form of this rattle is that of a bird (raven) bearing a totemic emblem on
its breast. On the bird's back are the figures of a shaman and a kingfisher,
the mythological source of the shaman's supernatural powers. The figures
are united by one tongue, which forms the bridge through which the magic
force flows.

Rattle, 19th century

Vancouver Island, Canada; Masseth or Haida
Wood, pigment

This raven rattle depicts a perched bird with wings outstretched toward its
front. This is an unusual representation of the raven on a rattle and more
typical of the way it would be depicted on a memorial (or totem) pole.

Rattle, 19th century

Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia; Skittagetan or Haida
Wood, pigment

This rattle depicts a grinning mountain spirit, potentially that of a bear. The
spirit would act as the intercessor for the human figure found between the
ears. The rattle represents the relationship between the two and how the
owner would depend on the spirit for strength and guidance.

Rattle, 19th century

Alaska; Sitka
Wood, pigment

This unusual rattle depicts a double-headed eagle. Animals depicted on

Northwest Coast rattles were almost always representations of those found
in the natural world. The appearance of this rattle suggests contact
between the indigenous peoples of the Northwest Coast and Russian
explorers in the nineteenth century who would have carried with them
symbols of the Russian imperial double-eagle emblem.