Dlam (interior housepost) depicting (upper) One Who Announces Names of the Guests and (lower) Dzunuk'wa giantess

Dateca. 1907

Maker Arthur Shaughnessy (Hemasilakw) Native American, Kwakwaka'wakw, Dzawada'enuxw, Kingcome Inlet, 1884 - 1945

Label TextMassive structural houseposts were visual complements to the rich family histories that were passed down as honored oral traditions. These posts were carved for Chief John Scow (Minlass), Gwa’yasdam’s Village, Gilford Island, British Columbia, in 1907. The figures depicted are derived from stories of the Scows’ long-ago ancestors and their connections with mythic beings, and the acquisition of powers, privileges and masked dances. This pair was made for the front of the house, near the entrance, and depicts someone whose role it is to announce all the potlatch guests, and the supernatural giantess, Dsunuk’wa, who bestows wealth.

This house post is one of a pair of house posts carved from the straight-grained heartwood of the western red cedar . The house posts were once positioned near the entrance of a great house erected in 1915 by John Scow of the Gwa'yasdams village on the central British Columbia coast. A pair of posts also flanked the rear of the house. Sometime after all four posts were erected, a special dedication potlatch was held to validate the long-ago origins of the Scow family. This history would include descriptions of the place where the first ancestor settled and the connections of the ancestors to powerful mythic beings, including stories of great deeds that brought them into contact with the supernatural beings depicted on the posts.

Symbolically, this esteemed family lineage supports the house. These posts, positioned near the entrance of the house, depict a person whose role was to announce the guests entering for a potlatch. Below this figure is the mythical giantess Dzunu'kwa.

Object number82.168.1

ProvenanceChief John Scow (Minlass), Gwa'yasdam village, Gilford Island, British Columbia; Chief William Scow (his son), Gwa'yasdam village, Gilford Island, British Columbia, until 1966; John H. Hauberg, Seattle, Washington, 1966-1982; Seattle Art Museum, Seattle, Washington

Photo CreditPhoto: Susan Cole

Published ReferencesSelected Works, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1991, p. 68 The Spirit Within: Northwest Coast Native Art from the John H. Hauberg Collection, Seattle, WA: Seattle Art Museum, 1995, p. 248

Credit LineGift of John H. Hauberg

Dimensions180 x 24 in. (457.2 x 61 cm)

MediumRed cedar, nails, paint