Hamatsa Mask Depicting Hokhokw, the Monster Bird
CultureKwakwaka'wakw (Kwakiutl)
Dateca. 1920
MediumWood, polychrome, cloth, cedar bark
DimensionsOverall: 67 3/4 inches (172.09 cm)
Credit LineGift of Ralph T. Coe in honor of Mr. and Mrs. Morton I. Sosland
Object number81-51
On View
Not on viewCollections
DescriptionA mask depicting Hokhokw, one of the monster birds represented in the most significant winter riturals of the Kwakiutl, the Hamatsa dance, a ceremony which was redolent with ritualistic overtones of cannibalism. It is a masterful carving in wood, painted, and with stripped cedar-bark attachments and hinged so that the entire long beak can be articulated.
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2018.72.49
