Wooden halibut hook with bone barb lashed on and carved with a bird swallowing a fish. [CAK 26/06/2009]

Collection type: Object
Description: Wooden halibut hook with bone barb lashed on and carved with a bird swallowing a fish. [CAK 26/06/2009]
Long description: Wooden halibut hook with bone barb lashed on and carved with a bird swallowing a fish. The hook is carved from two pieces of wood, nailed and lashed together with string to form an acute angle. One arm is carved from cedar wood and has a carved bone barb positioned to face the second arm, and lashed into place with string. The lashing includes a particular knotting to hold the barb in place. The other arm is carved from yew wood and depicts a long-billed bird with a fish in its mouth: the body and tail of the fish are visible. The underside of the bird's head has been carved out. This arm has been perforated through the bird's bill and a length of cord inserted and knotted on the underside of the arm. The cord is wrapped around the first arm and is tangled with the end of the string used to lash the two arms together. [CAK 26/06/2009]
Geographical reference: Canada
Northern America > North America > Canada; British Columbia Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands) NW Coast
Cultural groups: Haida
Person: Field collector Unknown Collector; PRM source Wellcome Historical Medical Museum
Date / Period: Date made: Before 1951
Date collected: By 1951
Acquisition information: Donated: 1951
Materials and processes: Material Wood Plant, Material Bone, Material String, Material Iron Metal, Process Carved, Process Bound, Process Twisted, Process Nailed, Process Perforated, Process Knotted
Dimensions: Length 227 mm
Object numbers: Accession number: 1951.6.59
Research and responses: 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 hook was viewed alongside other fish hooks on Monday Sept 14, 2009. Delegates described this as a halibut hook, used to catch large halibut. The hook and barb are of such a size that only large fish would be able to bite down on it. Christian White thought the bird figure was a raven with a halibut in its mouth and identified the wood as cedar and yew wood. Jaalen Edenshaw also identified the bottom arm as cedar wood and the top as yew wood. Christian clarified that the cedar arm with the hook would float, while the yew wood is denser and would sink, enabling the proper orientation of the hook in the water (i.e. the arm with the barb is above the carved arm). He thought the bird was shown with a fish, and wondered if it was a cormorant. Another delegate identified the figure as a seagull because of the bump in the beak, or a raven. Candace Weir provided a Haida translation for fish hook: t'aawal One delegate added that octopus was used as bait when fishing for halibut.
The bone hooks and wood are bound together using particular tying techniques. This involves laying a length of thread loose along the length of the wood that is to be bound to the hook and binding that under the wound cord. Once enough cord has been wound about the wood and hook this thread is picked back up and used to tie the other end off and to clamp together the sinew / fibres used to tie the hook up. This helps to guard against the binding coming loose as the hook is submerged and begins to absorb water, or as the fish takes hold.
To gauge the hook size a maker would use the width of their thumb across the joint inserted between the bone hook and the outer wooden frame. [CAK 20/05/2010]

Search terms: Figure, Fishing, Hook, Fishing Accessory, Bird Figure, Fish Figure