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Object #     2004-2/314
Object name     Headdress, Puppet
Culture of Origin     Kwakwaka'wakw
Title     Towkit Puppet Headdress
Maker or Artist     Beau Dick, Eugene Isaac
Materials     Wood, Cedar Bark, Leather, Graphite, Paint, String, Horsehair
Techniques     Carved, Painted, Braided, Tied, Nailed
Dimensions     L: 152.0 cm, W: 35.0 cm, D: 20.0 cm
Exhibit Label    

"Spirit of the Ancestors"-Puppet headdresses representing a skeletal human figure are rare in museum collections. The "Towkit" (or Toogwid) dancer uses magical puppets to display her supernatural power, part of the Tseyka (or Red Cedar Bark) dances of the Kwakwaka'wakw. This puppet wears a bagwikila, a cedar bark neck ring with a human body, as worn by the Hamat'sa (cannibal dancer), the most prestigious of the Tseyka dance privileges.
Source     Mr. Arthur B. Steinman
Credit     Gift of Arthur B. Steinman


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