The Museum of Anthropology (MOA)

Before I go on holiday, I always do a bit of Googling to see if there will be any special events taking place when I'm there -- there's generally an interesting talk or two at the Vancouver Public Library -- and, this year, there was a dance festival at the Museum of Anthropology.





I went early to get a good seat. Unfortunately, I didn't know that the clocks had gone forward during the night, so I got there a bit late, and I had to sit right at the back and to the side. Plus, my poor old camera had problems with the combination of huge, bright windows and brilliant white concrete in the Great Hall, and with the low lighting levels (to protect the artefacts) in the rest of the building. And... having lost the key to my locker whilst I was looking round, I spent a good portion of the visit a state of panic, because nobody seemed to know what to do, but -- eventually -- one of the security guys managed to get the door open (and he didn't even fine me for losing the key ;-)

As a result, this post -- as they used to say on Sesame Street -- is brought to you by some very murky photos, some Googling, and a lot of struggling with MOA's crazy online catalogue.

These are the Kwe Unglis Haida Dancers:



Even if I'd been right at the front, the picture wouldn't have done them justice, because the dances are about the flow of movement and about the songs they're danced to, and it's impossible to listen to the voices and the drumming and not find yourself 'joining in' by tapping your feet or even by just imagining yourself moving.

We were told that this little boy had begun drumming when he was only six years old!



These are dancers from some of the other groups, waiting for their turn:







The objects at the front of the next picture are feast dishes, which -- according to the online catalogue -- would have been used primarily to hold food served to guests at winter dance ceremonies and potlatches, as well as on other important social occasions. They also were symbols of wealth and prestige. The figures represented on feast dishes were family crests and important feast dishes were named. They're about 6 feet long:



This is the head of the middle feast dish. It represents a beaver:



And I cheated a bit by finding a better picture of this feast dish in the online catalogue -- I love his streamlined head and body, flippers, teeth, and tiny eyes:



The next picture shows a feast dish lid. The carvings used were usually mythical beings associated with the history of the family who had the right to use representations of them as family crests.



Unfortunately, I don't know what the next object is -- I've typed every keyword I can think of into the online catalogue, including 'wheels' and 'tongue', but haven't found it :-(



This wonderful creature is a sea wolf:



The sculptor was a very well-known Haida artist, Bill Reid. The sea wolf, Wasco, is a giant sea monster, half wolf and half killer whale that had the ability to move on both land and in the sea. Wasco hunts and eats killer whales. In past times, Wasco was known to terrorize Haida villages along the coast of Haida Gwaii.

The poles in the next picture once stood against the front wall of a house called 'Plenty of Tliman Hides in This House', a structure belonging to the family of the clan of 'Those Born at Gadasgo Creek', of the Raven moiety:



The animal at the front is a grizzly bear, behind him is a cormorant, and behind him, an eagle.

The Coast Salish artist who created this panel, John Marston, had travelled to Papua New Guinea, and met and been inspired by an artist there (called Teddy Balangu):



I wonder if the swirls represent facial tattoos?

My photograph of this wooden rattle didn't come out, so this is another picture from the online catalogue, but even this doesn't show the sheer joie de vivre on the sea otter's little face as he zooms along on the bird's back!



Of course, I had to go searching for some Egyptian artefacts:



This seems to be Akhenaten (with his typical elongated head, extended lower jaw, and long neck with two creases), bathed in the rays of the Aten (ending in little hands), but there's something about it that doesn't seem quite right to my expert eye, LOL.

Finally, of all the objects, I think that this one is my absolute favourite:



Here's a much clearer picture from the catalogue:



It's a suit of armour from Micronesia. It's woven from jute, and is apparently thick enough to stop a musket ball; the breastplate is made from stingray skin -- up close, it looks sharp, like a sheet of barnacles; and the sword blade is made from shark teeth!