Sisiutl

The sisiutl is a legendary creature found in many cultures of the Indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast, notably the KwakwakaŹ¼wakw people group.[1] Typically, it is depicted as a double-headed sea serpent. Sometimes, the symbol features an additional central face of a supernatural being. The sisuitl features prominently in Pacific Northwest art, dances and songs. The sisuitl is closely associated with shamans because both are seen as mediators between the natural and supernatural worlds.[2]

A Kwakwaka'wakw Sisiutl dance mask made of cedar by Oscar Matilpi.

Design

The sisiutl is typically depicted as a double-headed serpent, although it is sometimes shown with just one head. Kwakwaka'wakw depictions often show a central, humanoid face between the double heads. All three heads are usually horned, and the serpent heads typically have protruding tongues and spiral or upturned noses, with crescents along the body.[2] Among Pacific Northwest cultures, horns or plumes indicate a supernatural being. The spiral nose (or "inflated nostrils") motif is used on Hamatsa masks depicting Baxbaxwalanuksiwe, where it indicates hunger (dilated nostrils to sniff out food). The protruding tongue is associated with lightning, supernatural power, and the transfer of power from an animal source to a novice. Crescents may represent stylised scales or the segments of a caterpillar.[2]

Other depictions, by the Kwakwaka'wakw or other Pacific Northwest peoples, omit or modify some of these features. The Tlingit "grubworm" or "woodworm" (caterpillar) is a "peculiarly northern" variation that lacks the central head, and has an insatiable appetite.[2]

Where a central humanoid head is depicted, it most often is taken to represent Baxbaxwalanuksiwe, although it has also been associated with Qomoqua. In the northern grubworm variant, the central head is believed to be the princess who suckled the grubworm.[2]

The sisiutl also sometimes takes the form of a canoe, as in a myth where it returns a woman from Qomoqua's spiritual realm to her home village, or a squirrel.[2]

Indigenous practices

Shamans of various indigenous tribes believed that killing the sisiutl would transfer its healing magic to them. Warriors similarly believed that its blood would make them invincible in battle, and they would often accessorize their cultural garb with images of the sisiutl for this magical protection. Similar designs were painted onto canoes or carved into wooden entrances to ward off evil spirits. For some tribes, the beach mineral mica was believed to be the scales of the sisiutl, and as such would be incorporated into these aforementioned traditions accordingly.[1]

See also

References
  1. "The Sisiutl or Sea Serpent Symbol". Spirits of the West Coast Art Gallery Inc. Retrieved 2022-05-27.
  2. Paterson, Roderick Paul (1975). The northwest coast sisiutl (Thesis). University of British Columbia.
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