ID#:
1982.0087.000001
Description:
Untitled (Lummi Dancer), c. 1945
Watercolor and white gouache on paper
Gift of Wesley Wehr, 1982.87.1
Helmi's relationship with Lummi elders led her to the Potlatch House in Bellingham to witness ceremonial dancing. Aboriginal Coast Salish tribes made only one type of ceremonial mask, called Sxwaixwe, (pronounced xwixwi) whose ritual use was inherited by particular families. Lummi dancers wore them during winter ceremonies and at important stages in life — birth, marriage and death. As it symbolized the coming together of opposites, particularly sky and sea, references to birds and fish motifs were often found together.
Watercolor and white gouache on paper
Gift of Wesley Wehr, 1982.87.1
Helmi's relationship with Lummi elders led her to the Potlatch House in Bellingham to witness ceremonial dancing. Aboriginal Coast Salish tribes made only one type of ceremonial mask, called Sxwaixwe, (pronounced xwixwi) whose ritual use was inherited by particular families. Lummi dancers wore them during winter ceremonies and at important stages in life — birth, marriage and death. As it symbolized the coming together of opposites, particularly sky and sea, references to birds and fish motifs were often found together.
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