|
|
Haida
Villages - Canoes
and Trade
Haida
canoes were exquisite craft hewn from the gigantic
red cedar that grows on Haida Gwaii and were highly
prized by chiefs of other nations throughout the coast.
The combination of beautiful lines that pleased the
most demanding navigator with the fine craftsmanship
and the superior quality of the cedar available on
Haida Gwaii literally made Haida canoes the Cadillacs
of the coast.
Canoemakers
in each village worked on their new craft throughout
the autumn at sites where the very best red cedars
stood. After an appropriate snowfall that facilitated
sledding, the roughed-out canoes were moved from the
woods to the nearest beach and towed to the home village,
where they were finished over the winter. In the spring,
lightly manned flotillas of new canoes left Skidegate
Inlet, Masset and Rose Spit on the north coast, braving
the seasonal storms to head for the mainland. If these
vessels could withstand a crossing of the treacherous
Hecate Strait, they could withstand any weather the
coast could provide. At the Nass River, the canoes
were traded to coastal tribes assembled to take advantage
of the spring eulachon fishery. Old canoes were taken
in trade by the Haida for their return journey home.
When
the first Europeans arrived, they made drawings depicting
the Haida in their large war canoes with high prows
emblazoned with the crests of the owners. Although
there are many models of these canoes, called "head
canoes", no full-sized ones have been preserved.
|
|
A
model of an ancient style of war canoe, often
called a "head canoe," whose broad prow was designed
to display the crests of the chief who owned it.
This type of canoe had disappeared from use by
the middle of the nineteenth century, although
models were still made after that date.
Collected
on Haida Gwaii (probably at Masset) before 1892
by Edward Harris, a Hudson's Bay Company fur trader.
|
By
the end of the eighteenth century, the Haida had
learned from visiting sailors and sea captains how
to rig sails, and thereafter most large canoes were
fitted with two or three masts and sails of canvas
or cedar bark mats. These faster, more manoeuvrable
craft were capable of carrying 20 000 kg (10 tons)
of freight.
The
development of this new craft was probably responsible
for the disappearance of the "head" type of canoe.
The head canoe had a massive prow extending far
in front of the canoe, which was ideal for bearing
the crests of the war chief but was a detriment
to manoeuvrability under sail. Models of head canoes
continued to be made until they began to fade in
the memories of carvers.
|
|
A
Bear crest from the prow of a Haida war canoe.
Such figures were added for ceremonial occasions
and removed when the canoe had to be stripped
for battle.
Collected
on Haida Gwaii in 1879 by Israel W. Powell.
|
War
canoes had the same sharp projecting prow as the
freight canoes but, in addition to the two-dimensional
painted designs on the hull, they often had separate
carved crests at the bow or stern. A stunning example
of this style of war canoe was made by Alfred Davidson
and other master canoemakers (including Robert Davidson
Sr., Robert Davidson's grandfather) for a world's
fair in the United States. The paintings on it were
designed and executed by Charles Edenshaw. When
the final price proved too high for the fair's budget,
the craft was purchased for the Canadian Museum
of Civilization. At 17 m (56 feet) in length, this
is the largest Haida war canoe that has survived
(although the Heiltsuk war canoe at the American
Museum of Natural History in New York is considerably
longer).
|
|
The
only surviving Haida war canoe, 17 m (56 feet)
in length with a beam of nearly 2 m (6 feet).
It was commissioned for the 1904 Seattle world's
fair from Alfred Davidson and other Masset carvers,
including Robert Davidson Sr. The original paddles
were lost en route to Ottawa, but Charles Edenshaw
made a replacement set.
Collected
at Masset in 1908 by Reverend William Hogan and
R. W. Brock.
|
In
1985, Bill Reid was commissioned to make a 15-m
(50-foot) dugout canoe for Expo 86, the world's
fair in Vancouver. This beautiful craft he called
Lootaas (or Wave Eater). After the fair, several
replicas were made in fiberglass, the first two
of which were for the Canadian Museum of Civilization.
The original canoe was taken to France and paddled
up the Seine to Paris, in honour of the bicentennial
of the French Revolution. Later, it undertook a
much-publicized voyage from Vancouver to Haida Gwaii
and has since been kept at Skidegate for ceremonial
occasions.
Museum
of Civilization, Ottawa, Canada
PHOTOS
OF CMC ARTIFACTS: Richard Garner, Harry Foster
|
-
return to index Haida -
|
