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TheKwakwakaʼwakw peoples have practicedsacred and secular music for thousands of years. The Kwakwakaʼwakw are a collective of twenty-fivenations[1]: 12–13 of theWakashan language family who altogether form part of a larger identity comprising theIndigenous Peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, located in what is known today asBritish Columbia,Canada.
The Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples useinstruments in conjunction withdance andsong for the purposes ofceremony,ritual, andstorytelling (see alsoKwakwakaʼwakw mythology).[2]: 94 Certain Kwakwakaʼwakwtraditions includeghosts who are able to bring back the dead with their song.[3]: 320–321 Love songs are also an important part of Kwakwakaʼwakwmusic.[1]: 45 [3]
A mixture ofpercussive instrumentation, especially log andstick, and box or hide drums, as well asrattles,whistles, and theclapper (musical instrument) create abeat while vocal expression establishes therhythm. Instrument makers specificallydesign new musical instruments for each respective dance.[2]: 94
The Kwakʼwala word for "summer song" isbaquyala, and the word for "winter song" istsʼēʼkꞏala.[4]: 75 The arrival of the next winter season is celebrated each year in a four-day festival of song and dance calledtsetseqa, or Winter Ceremonial.[5]: 101–102 Tsetseqa begins with singing the songs of those who died since the last winter season.[2]: 103 The entiretsetseqa season is devoted to ceremony, including initiation of the young into various dancing societies.[2]: 36
Another very important festival involving song and dance is thepotlatch (Chinook: "to give"),[1]: 16 a Kwakwakaʼwakw tradition of sharingwealth andprestige in order to establishstatus and ensure witnesses remember the respective stories celebrated.[2]: 33–34 Potlatches often occur duringtsetseqa to announce a new initiate into one of the secret dancing societies.[1]: 23–24
There are four main groups of Kwakwaka'wakw dancingsocieties sinceancient times:Hamatsa ("Cannibal"),Winalagilis ("Making War All Over the Earth"),[5]: 108 Atlakim ("Taken Far Away Into the Woods"), andDluwalakha orKlasila.[2]: 43 There is a house for each dancing society, and only members may enter.[6]: 201 The ceremony is intended to recreate the original encounter with the ancient spirit. Each society delegates a song master to invent and memorize songs for all members of the respective society. Unlike other social positions, the song master is not an inherited position, but is chosen for his talent in creating and remembering songs. The song master is even paid for his services, creating and memorizing from one to four songs for every novice initiate.[2]: 41 Children of song masters are placed inside a drum, and the father sings and beats the drum in sequences of four to try and pass down his talent.[1]: 45
Hamatsa ("cannibal")[3]: 414–415 [4]: 57 is the most important secret society, replacing the earlierfeminine dancehamshamtses of ancient times.[5]: 40–45 Hamatsas receive their food and gifts before any other potlatch attendee. Only the sons of chiefs are eligible to become ahamatsa.[1]: 23–24 The Man Eater Spirit,Baxbakualanuxsiwae,[5]: 40–45 makes a whistling sound causing the spirit to possess thenovice.[2]: 45–46 The novice disappears into the woods, and returns crying and biting members of the audience. The musicians change tempo to match the possessed spirit. Eventually the dancers calm the spirit. The ritual concludes when the new initiate sings his newly-acquiredhamatsa song. The novice performs a trick on the final day after a potlatch is held in his honour.[6]: 203–204
The Kwakwakaʼwakw ofFort Rupert, the largest of the Kwakwakaʼwakw villages at the time of European contact,[1]: 12–13 raided aHeiltsuk canoe in 1835 and stoleHamatsa whistles. The nation subsequently adoptedhamatsa dance traditions.[2]: 45–46
Contemporary historians argue thathamatsa initiates were not real cannibals, rather they used fake or real flesh as props of which they did not actually consume.[7]
Winalagilis ("Making War All Over the Earth") dances tell the stories of violent and possessed warriors. Ghost dancers revive the dead warrior spirits and afterward sing a song together.[2]: 47 Song leaders of ghost dancers memorize two songs only.[8]: 917
The song for theAtlakim ("Taken Far Away Into the Woods") dance introduces the dancers. Singers repeat the song for each new dancer they introduce.[2]: 48
The Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples restrictDluwalakha ceremonies to the spring season. They hold a potlatch on the last day of the ceremony to repay the mask makers and everyone else who was affected by the novice dancer. Dancers sometimes use aDluwalakha dance to announce their intentions of one day becoming ahamatsa.[6]: 205–206 Cedar whistles introduce the supernatural motivation for theDluwalakha dance. Masks accompany the song and dance, which collectively tell the story of the novice being overtaken by a supernatural power of the familydloogwi.[2]: 49
Kwakwakaʼwakw ensemble includes a variety of different musical instruments depending on the purpose of the dance being performed, with vocals being the only melodic instrument in the soundscape of their ensemble.
The rattle is the most important instrument in the ceremony of theKwakwakaʼwakw rituals. In his bookCrooked Beak of Heaven, Bill Holm describes the sound of the rattle as being a "direct contact with the supernatural."[9]: 26
The box drum is another instrument central to Kwakwakaʼwakw music. It is usually made fromcedar, which has a spiritual significance for the Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples (seeKwakwakaʼwakw mythology). A large number of people collectively beat the drum and sing the song that they are drumming to.[9]: 25
The Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples use a variety of whistles each containing its own unique pitch. Sometimes they combine several chambers together so the player is able to produce up to three combined pitches without switching instruments. Whistles announce the presence ofsupernatural spirits.[9]: 23–24 Whistles also represent voices of the spirits in the stories being told.[6]: 203–204
A singer's baton, or rhythm instrument, is the main form of percussion in Kwakwakaʼwakw music.[4]: 50 The baton is typically one foot in length and made of a variety of wood depending on whether for temporary or long-term use.[9]: 23–24 Simplefirewood comprises the temporary batons, which every guest receives so they can drum along with, and be part of, the beat.[2]: 41 Song leaders, or baton masters, use elaborately carved sticks they use more than once[2]: 41 made from hardwood or cedar. The carving is typically a sea lion because they have a similar shape comparable to the singer's baton, however the significance of the design is unclear. The box drum is also a form of percussion used for thousands of years by the Kwakwakaʼwakw Peoples.[9]: 23–24
Woodenrattles are used in Kwakwakaʼwakw music for ceremonial purposes to establish contact with the supernatural world.[4]: 69 The rattle is an ancient icon intended to keep the dancer calm and free of spiritual possession.[9]: 26 Rattles also reportedly bring back the dead.[10]: 465
Kwakwakaʼwakw musicclappers are a combination of the rattle and singing baton, and are traditionally made ofleather and wood. The clapper is a one-handed instrument that produces sharp and sudden sounds when the two pieces of wood clap together.[9]: 26