Power Board
| Object Name: | Power Board |
|---|---|
| Alternative Object Name: | Dant'sikw |
| Category: | 8: Communication Artifact |
| Material: | Paint Leather Hinges Wood, Red Cedar Nails. |
| Technique: | Carved, painted, abraded, nailed. |
| Catalogue Number: | UCC-02.05.010 |
| Accession Number: | 2002/05 |
| Origin-Municipality: | Canada/British Columbia/T'sakwa'lutan (Cape Mudge) |
| Culture: | Kwakwaka'wakw |
| Description: | Dant'sikw (Spirit Board) originally belonged to Tom Wallace from the Ligwilda'xw. Dant'sikw commonly represent the Sisiyutl (Double-Headed Serpent). However, this very long board does not depict this creature, rather this board seems to represent spirits or ghosts. The figures stacked on top of each other have hollow eyes and open mouths that may indicate making haunting sounds. Many dant'sikw boards feature ghostly faces and occasionally have small nulam (making foolish) figures on top that represent spirit figures. In the 'Namgis legend of U'malama'yi, who married the daughter of the Chief of the Ghosts, he receives as part of his wife's dowry ten spirit boards that rise out the ground and dance by themselves. These boards represented spirits rising from the underworld where the Kwakwaka'wakw believe is the realm of the ghosts. This board is not rigged to grow like most dant'sikw and is made of several pieces of red cedar that have been nailed together and supported by thick crosspieces. It may possibly have been made to stand in the house as a decoration for a dance, or may have been manipulated as a whole board, rising from a place that could conceal most of it. The paint appears to be natural pigments including black, red and white; it appears to have been added later. The white was probably added to highlight and add brightness to the design which would have been seen in the dim firelight of the old big houses. Black, red, white. |
| Height: | 79.0000000000 |
| Length: | 79.0000000000 |
| Width: | 49.5000000000 |
| Depth: | 79.0000000000 |
| Outside Diameter: | 0.0000000000 |
| Unit-Linear: | centimetres |
| Institution: |
U'mista Cultural Centre
 Facebook-U'mista Cultural Centre
|
| Institution City: | Alert Bay |
| Institution Province: | British Columbia |