by Skip Saunders
(Nuxalk)

Red Cedar, Paint, Bark (12”x8”x8”)

Price:SOLD

Like many Northwest Coast peoples, the Nuxalk of Bella Coola believed that their first ancestors descended from the upper world of the Creator. These first Ones had the special ability to change from human to animal form and back again. This mask represents a first ancestor transforming from animal to human form.

The following is a story about Killer Whale - When the world was young the Nuxalk people were driven from their houses by a great flood. Some of the people fled to high ground on a hilltop to escape the flood, but the water kept rising and was soon threatening to overtake them. As the waters rose to the place where the people had taken refuge, a giant Killer Whale appeared. The people climbed inside the Killer Whale, which was as big as a house inside, and were cared for until the waters subsided. When the waters retreated, the Killer Whale returned the people to their homes.