Links to other web pages possibly related to PNW Indian Earthquake Legends
compiled by Ruth Ludwin, University of Washington Dept. of Earth and Space Sciences
To the Totem ForestsMany Photographs of Coastal Villages, with paintings of the same subjects by Emily Carr and ContemporariesFrom the Digital Collections of the the Government of Canada
Thunderbird and Whale, Tillamook, Makah, and Nuu-Chah-Nulth tribes
Andrea Cranmer - Traveling the ancient "grease trail" trade route, they find a Thunderbird and Whale Petroglyph at Nimpkish Lake This resource has disappeared from the web (5/2007)
"In 1970 tidal erosion uncovered an ancient whaling village at Ozette, parts of which had been covered by a mud slide hundreds of years ago. The subsequent artifacts which were found have now classified Ozette as one the most significant archaeological discoveries ever made in North America! In 1979 the Makah Cultural and Research Center opened to the public in order to share this great find. This nationally recognized museum features full scale replicas of cedar long houses as well as whaling, sealing and fishing canoes. On display are about one percent of the 55,000 artifacts recovered from Ozette."
Grand Hall Overview "The Grand Hall
houses an exhibition of six Pacific coast Indian house facades connected by a shoreline and boardwalk."
Nuu-Chah-Nulth artwork, with whales and thunderbirds
"Nuu-Chah-Nulth territory stretches from the northern part of western Vancouver Island south along the west coast to the western tip of
the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State."
"humans who encounter supernatural beings and survive receive personal power."
Central Coast House - More whales and thunderbirds "On the Central Coast live the Kwakwaka'wakw, Heiltsuk, Owikeno and Haisla, politically distinct groups of people who speak different,
though related, languages. Their territories, adjacent to one another, stretch from northern Vancouver Island to a point north of Kitimat."
"At the top of the pole is Thunderbird, Lord of the Upper World, and below is Killer Whale, Lord of the Undersea World.
Below Killer Whale is Wolf, then comes Wise One, a human figure. Next is the mythical Cannibal Bird, and below him is
Bear. At the base is Raven."
Volume 10 Figures 10-9 "A Koskimo House [Alert Bay], 10-69 "Thunderbirds and Whales"
Portfolio 10 Plate 336: "These two maked performers in the winter dance represent huge, mythical birds, Kotsuis (the Nakoaktrok equivalent of the Qagyuhl Kaloqufsuis) and Hohhuq are servitors in the house of the man eating monstor Pahpaqalanohsiwi"
Portfolio 10 Plate 337: Coming for the Bride - Q'agyutl, 1914, "In the bow qunhulahl, a masked man personating the thunderbird, dances with characteristic gestures as the canoe approaches the bride's village."
The 'Namgis
"Originally, the 'Namgis, one of the many Kwak'wala speaking nations in British Columbia, lived at the mouth of the Nimpkish River on Vancouver Island.1 They were "talked
into" moving to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island after 1870 when they were offered work in the fish canneries there.
Sisiutl - A two headed sea serpent of the Kwakiutl
Sisiutl House Posts from the Kwakwaka'wakw village of Dzawadi on the mainland of Knight Inlet
"According to legend, Sisiutl strikes terror in human hearts. He is a soul searcher who sees from both front and back. He is continually searching for truth and seeks people who cannot control their fear -- people who do not yet know truth. If people do not know how to deal with fear, they could be killed or turned into stone. The Sisiutl myth teaches the importance of staring fear in the face."
A Tsawatenok House Front (1914) "A representation of the painting that once adorned the house of Kyoti, chief of the raven clan of the Tsawatenok at Kwaustums. The upper figure is sisiutl, the double-headed sea serpent; the lower is qiqis, a sea eagle."
A Nakoaktok Mawihl (1914) "In Kwakiutle mythology the raven has the ability to tranform itself into a man. The figure in this image represents the raven in its human form." [Sisiutl in foreground].
Sisiutl - Qagyuhl (1914) "One of the principal dancers of the Kwakiutl Winter Dance. When the dancer enters the house where the dance is taking place he dons his mask, representing the double-headed sea serpent. In addition to his mask, the dancer's costume includes a shirt of hemlock boughs."
Kotsuis and Hohhuq - Nakoaktok (1914) "These two masked performers in the Winter Dance represent huge, mythical birds. Kotsuis (the Nakoaktok equivalent of the Qagyuhl Kaloqutsuis) and Hohhuq are servitors in the house of the man-eating monster Pahpaqalanohsiwi. The mandibles of these tremendous wooden masks are controlled by strings." -Curtis
Northwest Coast, Kwakiutl.
Two-sided drum. Wood,
animal skin.
Late 19th, early 20th C. H.
15.5 in.
Vancouver Centennial Museum
(Picture source:
Stewart, Hilary. Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast.
Vancouver: Douglas and McIntyre, 1979. p.70)
The Kwakiutl use this
two-sided drum in their
ceremonial life. The drum
displays a mythological
figures on both faces.
Shown is the Sisiutl, a
supernatural sea serpent
characterized by its two
heads. It serves as a
symbol of power to the
Kwakiutl, particularly for
its depiction of the
transformation process
(Stewart pp.65, 70). On its
underside is a Thunderbird
(not shown), a powerful
symbol of leadership in
Kwakiutl mythology, a crest
symbol for the most
high-ranking chiefs.
Select "Collections Database" on the left menu
Under Asian Ethnographic Collection
Under Object Name: "KADORI MYOJIN" you will find Kadori Myojin, subduer of earthquakes, sitting on the earthquake fish (namazu), and subduing him with a Buddhist thunderbolt.
Dragons in Buddhism See "The Story of the Tide Jewels and Empress Jingo", illustrated by a carp transforming into a dragon
