Spirit Masks
First People, Lunar Tunghak, Loon, Shaman, Walrus, Black Bear,
Spirit of the Mountain, Wolf, Raven, Spirit of the Driftwood
They were based on similar masks that were traditional carvings of the 1800s. 
Information was attached to the Backs 
​Handcarved by David L. Hendren from Cottonwood Bark
Trim varied… with a variety of furs:  Beaver,  Reindeer,  Fox,  Wolf, Coyote . . .   
                                                   

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FIRST PEOPLE

LUNAR SPIRIT MASK

Lunar Tunghak                

Spirit Keepers,
Protector of the Land Animals
Hunters were constantly under the eye of the supernatural.

The Shaman pleaded the powerful spirit, 
living in the moon, for game and other favors.
The abundance of animals and food were believed 
to be in relation to man's respectful treatment of them.

Lunar Masks reflected lunar themes... 
the toothed orbs and crescents, 
the twisted-face of "old man in the moon",
 the curved nose of his lunar phases.

Displayed on this Lunar Mask are holes
which allowed animals to be released 
on their journey to earth. 

Crossroads of the Continents

First People

migrated from Asia following game 
across a now-vanished land bridge
Aleuts - Eskimo - Indian
three distinct Alaska Native groups...
each learned 
to survive in the often harsh North
Hunters by Land and Sea
They had a deep knowledge 
of weather patterns, 
innovations in transportation, 
habitats, clothing, tools, utilities… 
needed for daily living... 
All had enriched their cultures.
All were gathered from their surroundings.
​
Alaska's History: 
People, Land and Events of the North Country

​

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LOON

​
Loon

The body is painted 
light and dark with white spots, 
reflecting  the markings of the loon.


Also 'light', the upper world...
and 'dark', the lower human world... 
between which the birds move.


Similar to "duck" collected by 
Jacobsen, Kuskokwin, 1883

SHAMAN

Shaman

A Mythical Being

Mythology, 
as seen through story and legend,
affected in many aspects the lives 
of the Bering Sea Eskimo.


Masks represented a wide range of subject matters 
and basic symbolisms of good fortune brought by spirits 
and interpreted by the shaman, 
the one with the helping spirit.

Shaman, 
"one who could see", 
played a critical role as an intermediary
between humans and the spirit world.

A similar mask was collected by
Edward W. Nelson 1899, Sabotnisky

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OWL

​
Owl

"inua of the short-eared owl"

Owls, along with many other kinds of birds, 
the common embodiments of the helping spirits, 
were represented by the shaman 
in ceremonial masks with song and dance.

Asymmetrical pair of owl masks were collected by
Sheldon Jackson, Lower Yukon, 1890


Similar owl masks were collected by 
H.M.W. Edmonds, St. Michael;
J.H.Turner, Lower Yukon;
Edward Nelson, Sabotnisky, 1899

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WALRUS

Walrus

One of two identical walrus masks photographed
in use in the coastal community of Quissunaq, 
are like several other masks from Quissunaq 
which have no appendages... 
making them more lifelike. 

Quissunaq, Chevak (new community) and Hooper Bay 
were among the most isolated in the region.
Perhaps this explains why "Masked Dancing" 
hung on into the 1920s and started up again in the 1940s.

Photograph of the original... in use by Alfred Milotte
Collected by Waskey, 1946

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BLACK BEAR

​
Black Bear

The shaman danced... 
part man, part bear spirit 
and sang his song 
to the booming of the drums, 
and the howling of the cold winter winds. 

The shaman enacted 
his unusual encounter
with the black bear. 
​
There in the forest he had experienced... 
a humanlike spirit partly concealed 
behind the bear's dark hair...
in the area of the bear's right eye.

Similar Black Bear mask collected by
Edward Nelson 1899, Sabotnisky

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SPIRIT OF THE MOUNTAIN

Spirit of the Mountain

HELPING SPIRIT

Analogy to lunar phases 
is suggested by crescent-shaped eye 
and spots that represented the moon and stars,
the rounded eye, represented the sun.

Caribou fur flowed from the mouth.
The Helping Spirit
made food available to the people.

Numerous styles of this mask 
were collected in the 1880's-1890's

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WOLF

Wolf

Loyal, Dependable

Wolves,
unlike many other animals, 
share in the care of their young
and work together for the pack.

By wearing the wolf mask 
and petitioning his Helping Spirit,
the shaman asked to receive 
the skills and attributes
of the wolf.

Numerous types of the wolf mask
were found throughout Alaska
1880s-1890s

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RAVEN

​
Raven

Creator of all things
Giver of Light
Benefactor of man 
is portrayed in ceremony, stories, and art.

Raven, the trickster, 
often the object of jest 
which gives one the freedom 
to elaborate in art, song, and dance.
Raven helps to keep life in balance. 

The universality of the raven myth is reflected
in many variations throughout Native Cultures.

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SPIRIT OF THE DRIFTWOOD

Spirit of the Driftwood

Wood is viewed as having feelings, 
capable of both gratitude and retaliation.
Men carved masks to represent
the inua, the Spirit of the Driftwood, 
which required as much attention 
as any living creature.

Just as people performed agayu, dances,
to request that animals and fish return in abundance, 
they also danced to coax the return of driftwood,  
when the spring thaw brought flowing rivers.
Cottonwood and spruce washed down the river 
and drifted onto the shores.

There was an immediateness 
between wood-gathering and mask-making.

Similar masks which included 3 masks in the collection:
​Henry Neuman 1890