1884.58.2

Collection type

Object

Description

Carved bone soul catcher with round face in centre and two animal figures on either end.

Long description

Carved bone soul catcher with round face in centre and two animal figures on either end. The soul catcher has been carved from a single piece of bone, likely from the leg bone of a bear, in the form of a tube with slightly wider ends and a narrower middle section. The animal figures and face are carved on one side of the soul catcher. The ends have been carved so that the animals appear with open mouths. Teeth are visible on the upper and lower mandible, and each animal has a single large eye above its mouth. One of the animals has what appears to be a snout. The face in the centre has a down-turned mouth, circular nostrils, eyes and eyebrows. Symmetrical form-line elements fill the spaces between the animals and face. A thin strip of leather is strung through two holes on the top of the object [NM]. Shredded cedar bark has been inserted in one end of the tube. [CAK 22/06/2009]

Geographical reference

Canada

Northern America > North America > Canada

British Columbia Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast

Cultural groups

Haida

Person

Maker Unknown Maker

Field collector Unknown Collector

PRM source Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers founding collection

Date / Period

Date made: Before 1874

Date collected

By 1874

Acquisition information

Donated: 1884

Materials and processes

Material Animal Bone, Material Animal Leather Skin, Material Cedar Bark Fibre Plant, Process Carved, Process Perforated, Process Plugged

Dimensions

Length: max 161 mm

Object numbers

Accession number: 1884.58.2 PR Cat other PR nos: 2125

Research and responses

On page 57 of George MacDonald's book "Haida Art" (published by the Canadian Museum of Civilization and Douglas & McIntyre), he describes soul catchers in the following way: "It is said the shaman on the north coast could see the soul departing from a patient's body, as if it were a firefly or small light darting around, and the Haida also seemed to identify the Dragonfly and Butterfly with human souls. The shaman's task was to capture the lost soul in a double-ended soul catcher, then trap it inside with a plug of shredded red cedar bark until it could be blown back into the patient." [CAK 09/06/2009]

The following information comes from Haida delegates who worked with the museum’s collection in September 2009 as part of the project “Haida Material Culture in British Museums: Generating New Forms of Knowledge” :

This soul catcher was viewed alongside other shamanic material on Friday Sept 11, 2009. Christian White and Candace Weir said that bear leg bones were often used to make soul catchers. Delegates informed us that a shaman would use a soul catcher to suck the illness out of an unwell person. Candace noted that she has not seen many inlaid examples of soul catchers. [CAK 03/03/2010]

Search terms: Medicine, Figure, Religion, Medical Accessory, Animal Figure