Soul Catcher Item Number: 1100/1 from the MOA: University of British Columbia

Description

Soul catcher made of a hollow tubular piece of bone with inlaid abalone. Each end of the tube flares slightly and is carved out in silhouette to represent the open mouth of a creature resembling a bear, wolf, or whale. Abalone shell is inlaid on one side of the faces at teeth, eyes, cheeks, ears and nostrils.

History Of Use

Halaayt-dim-swannasxw were men and women with powerful relationships with the spirit world. The term describes the healing practice of the halaayt, who drew the illness or injury out of their patients and blew it from the house [Muldon, Shirley]. As material expressions of this power, soul catchers carved of bone were historically worn on a hide thong around the neck of the halaayt. Cedar bark plugs would have been placed in the opening at either end, it is said, to capture and return souls that had left the body, or to contain a malevolent spirit. Oral traditions among the Tsimshian and Gitxsan indicate that soul catchers of this type were conventionally made from the femur, or shin bone, of a grizzly bear. Each end of the hollow tube flares slightly and is carved out in silhouette to represent the open mouth of a creature resembling a bear, wolf, or whale.

Item History

What

Name
Soul Catcher
Identification Number
1100/1
Type of Item
soul catcher
Material
bear bone ? and abalone shell
Manufacturing Technique
engraved
Overall
height 2.4 cm, width 18.7 cm, depth 3.9 cm

Who

Culture
Gitxsan
Previous Owner
Marjorie J. Finlayson
Received from
Marjorie J. Finlayson (Donor)

Where

Holding Institution
MOA: University of British Columbia
Made in
British Columbia, Canada

When

Creation Date
during 1850
Ownership Date
before January 31, 1986
Acquisition Date
on January 31, 1986

Other

Condition
good
Accession Number
1100/0001