Myths And Legends Rules And Regulations Essay - 1,614 words

The Haida, meaning The People, once were numbered at over 10, 000. They occupied the Queen Charlotte Islands of British Colombia. Their numbers were numerous and their life was prosperous. In 1774 there was the first European contact (Gunn) and the Haida, unknowingly, let the lion out of its cage, they let white man enter their territory.


The Europeans brought trade, but they also brought colonization. A word the Indians did not know would cause them such horror. Smallpox and many other epidemics ravaged the Haida clan and decimated their population to 6, 500 (Gunn). The Haida has gotten to as low as 588 clan members (Gunn), but are now slowly working their way up. The Haida, along with six other tribes that make up the Northwest Coast Pacific cultural unit, are known as the Totem Pole Carving People (Gunn).


Totem poles are what we would refer to as monumental art. This definition gives no justice for the amazing beauty, spirituality, significance, and importance of the totem pole to the Haida. There were different reasons for designing and erecting totem poles. The main types of poles were, house posts, house frontal poles, memorial poles, mortuary poles, grave markers, and welcome figures.


The house posts supported the main beams of a house. The house frontal poles were in the front of the house usually part of the opening to the house. The memorial poles were there in honor of a person who had died and were usually erected by the successor of his name (Halpin). The mortuary poles contained the remains of the dead which were usually in grave boxes incorporated into the pole. Grave markers were carvings placed where people were buried and usually represented the person in some way, by family crest or by telling a story. And the welcome figures were poles placed on the beach welcoming arriving guests that would come by canoe.


You can imagine what the village looked like with all of these large artistic poles everywhere. The Europeans referred to them as grotesque (Keithahn) when they first encountered them. Now that people are more educated about the totem poles they are considered an art form and are very precious items that should be preserved and carried on for future generations to come and see. Unfortunately the longest lasting totem pole was only 100 years and many lasted less than 75 (Halpin).


All the totem poles that are in their original places are far beyond repair, lying on the ground rotting away, but many have been saved and put in museums to marvel at. Saving these poles helps keep a part of native American heritage alive. Each totem pole is unique in its own way and each has a story of its own to tell. The stories are particular to the Haida tribe because of the meaning they hold behind them. Many stories were told to teach lessons, many were told for myths and legends and others were told from the imagination to amuse a crowd. Many of the same characters are used in different stories, always keeping their same persona in the plot.


Before the Haida had contact with the Europeans, there was not modern tools to carve these poles with. The Haida had to make their tools through a long process and once they were made they were cherished and used often for all types of work. The tools themselves were a piece of art. Native Americans had to become one with their art, they had to spiritually accept it and respect it. When carving a totem pole you must go to the cedar tree and ask for its trunk to carve. Haida, and all other Native Americans, respect the land and every living thing around them.


They only take what they need and never throw anything away, everything can be useful in some way or another. When they are carving they are a part of their work, it speaks to them and guides them in their craft. All totem poles have a story, or a meaning. Haida poles have their own unique look and can be recognized by their pure lines and meticulous attention to basic design and symbolic convention (Gunn). Their totem poles usually have a type of family or tribal crest along with a mythological story that has been carefully crafted into the large columnar sculpture. Some totem poles are as high as twenty-four meters high, but are on average between three and eighteen meters high.


They are carved on the ground and when finished are erected to their enormous hight. To read a Haida totem pole you must understand the symbols and many legends and myths of the tribe itself. There are so many different symbols that when put together in the right order tell a story that is understood by all in the Haida tribe ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................

...................You are reading a preview................... Visit our Blog and Unlock Full Access to this essay

Continue READING the FULL Essay by clicking HERE

Essay Tags: people understand, meters high, native americans, rules and regulations, myths and legends

This is an Essay sample / Research paper, you can use it for your research of: Myths And Legends Rules And Regulations