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Source:
Moon Handbooks
British Columbia,
8th Edition About this
Guidebook
Purchase
information
Summary and reviews
Chapter and map list
About the
author
Highlights of
British Columbia
Introduction
Featured accommodation
Whistler
Okanagan wineries
Queen Charlotte Islands
Tips for Travel to Canada
Getting to Canada
Getting around Canada
Where to Stay
Visas and Officialdom
The Seasons
Information and Services
Money |
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Totem Poles of British Columbia
Traveling through British Columbia you can't help but notice all the totem
poles decorating the landscape. All totem poles are made of red (or
occasionally yellow) cedar painted black, red, blue, yellow, and white,
with colored pigment derived from minerals, plants, and salmon roe. They
are erected as validation of a public record or documentation of an
important event. Six types of poles are believed to have evolved in the
following order: house post (an integral part of the house structure),
mortuary (erected as a chief's or shaman's grave post, often with the
bones or ashes in a box at the top), memorial (commemorating special
events), frontal (a memorial or heraldic pole), welcome, and shame poles.
None is an object of worship; each tells a story or history of a person's
clan or family. The figures on the pole represent family lineage, animals,
or a mythical character.
Since 1951, when a government ban on
potlatch ceremonies (of which the raising of totem poles is an integral
part) was lifted, the art form has been revived. Over the years,
 many
totem poles have been moved from their original locations. Both historic
and more modern poles can be viewed in British Columbia. The Haida, of the
Queen Charlotte Islands, were renowned for their totem poles; many "totem
villages," long since abandoned, remain on the remote southern tip of the
archipelago. Of these, Ninstints is regarded as the world's best
example of an ancient Haida totem village. More modern totems can be found
at Stanley Park, Vancouver; Thunderbird Park, Victoria;
Alert Bay, Cormorant Island; and Kitwancool, at the south end
of the Stewart-Cassiar Highway. The Museum of Anthropology in
Vancouver also has an excellent collection.
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