A SELECTION OF DESIGNS - NOOTKA TRIBE

References:

Plate 15, Figure 1, Woven Cedar Bark Mat, "Flounder" design.
Plate 15, Figure 2, Chief's War Club, carved bone.
Plate 15, Figure 3, Woven Gedar Bark Mat, "Wave" design.
Plate 15, Figure 4, Painted Ceremonial Screen.
Plate 15, Figure 5, Lightning Snake or "Haietlik."

(a) From Whale Harpoon.

(b) From Painting.

(c) From Whale Harpoon.

(d) From Basket.
Plate 16, Figure 6, Chief Maquinna's Hat (1778) showing

woven Whale Hunt Designs. :

Description of the characteristics and designs of Figures
1 and 3, Plate 16, will be found under "Basketry and Basket
Weaving." Figure 2 shows an elaborately carved chief's war
club made of whale bone, acquired originally by Captain Cook
from Friendly Cove, Nootka Sound, at the close of his first
visit to Vancouver Island, in 1778. Carried by him to the
British Museum, London, England, it has now been placed in the
Provincial Museum, Victoria, B. C. This club, in addition to
being a remarkable specimen of skilled carving, illustrates the
tradition of the protection accorded by his Guardian Spirit to
an ancestor of Chief Atilu of Clayoquot. The story goes that
this chief twice visited a cave beneath the waters of a moun-
tain lake in the company of this Spirit, "Tutuks," the re-
doubtable Thunderbird. On the first occasion the chief was
attacked by a monster, half Killer Whale, half Wolf (presumably
Wasgo), and the second time by an even more ferocious creature,
half killer Whale, half Grizzly Bear. On each occasion he es-
caped from their clutches, thanks to Tutuk's assistance; but for

the remainder of his life he would dream of these terrifying
experiences represented on this carved war-club. This elaborate

design shows him seized by the head by one monster and by the
feet by the other when the Thunderbird came to his rescue. The
carving also illustrates a frequent feature of tribal art,
namely, the selection of a design which contributes to the ef-
ficiency of an implement or a weapon. In this case as the ob-
ject of the club was the owner's protection from his enemies,
the decoration of his club emphasized how his ancestor had been
rescued by his Guardian Spirit under conditions of even greater
danger, consequently he might rely upon similar protection when
ever need for it arose.

The Ceremonial Screen (Figure 4) was used by the Nootka
Tribe in the elaborate and prolonged ceremonies associated

2 Se