Dzunukwa
Encyclopedia
Dzunukwa, also Tsonoqua, Tsonokwa, is a figure in Kwakwaka'wakw mythology
. She is an ancestor of the Namgis clan through her son, Tsilwalagame. She is venerated as a bringer of wealth, but is also greatly feared by children, because she is also known as an ogress who steals children and carries them home in her basket to eat.
Her appearance is that of a naked, pale-skinned, old monster with long pendulous breasts. In mask
s and totem pole
images she is shown with bright red pursed lips, because she is said to give off the call "Hu!" She is also described having a bedraggled hair. It is often told to children that the sound of the wind blowing through the cedar trees is actually the call of Dzunukwa. Some myths say that she is able to bring herself back from the dead (an ability which she uses in some myths to revive her children) and regenerate any wound. She has limited eyesight, and can be easily avoided because she can barely see. She is also said to be rather drowsy, and dim-witted. However, she possesses great wealth and bestows it upon those who are able to get control of her child. In one myth a tribe tricks her into falling into a pit full of fire. The tribe burned her for many days until nothing is left, which prevented her from reviving herself. It is said that the ashes that came off the fire turned into mosquitoes.
At the end of a Kwakiutl
potlatch
ceremony, the host chief comes out bearing a mask of Dzunukwa which is called the geekumhl. This is the sign that the ceremony is over.
Kwakwaka'wakw mythology
This article is about the spiritual beliefs, histories and practices in Kwakwaka'wakw mythology. The Kwakwaka'wakw are a group of Indigenous nations, numbering about 5,500, who live in the central coast of British Columbia on northern Vancouver Island and the mainland...
. She is an ancestor of the Namgis clan through her son, Tsilwalagame. She is venerated as a bringer of wealth, but is also greatly feared by children, because she is also known as an ogress who steals children and carries them home in her basket to eat.
Her appearance is that of a naked, pale-skinned, old monster with long pendulous breasts. In mask
Mask
A mask is an article normally worn on the face, typically for protection, disguise, performance or entertainment. Masks have been used since antiquity for both ceremonial and practical purposes...
s and totem pole
Totem pole
Totem poles are monumental sculptures carved from large trees, mostly Western Red Cedar, by cultures of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America...
images she is shown with bright red pursed lips, because she is said to give off the call "Hu!" She is also described having a bedraggled hair. It is often told to children that the sound of the wind blowing through the cedar trees is actually the call of Dzunukwa. Some myths say that she is able to bring herself back from the dead (an ability which she uses in some myths to revive her children) and regenerate any wound. She has limited eyesight, and can be easily avoided because she can barely see. She is also said to be rather drowsy, and dim-witted. However, she possesses great wealth and bestows it upon those who are able to get control of her child. In one myth a tribe tricks her into falling into a pit full of fire. The tribe burned her for many days until nothing is left, which prevented her from reviving herself. It is said that the ashes that came off the fire turned into mosquitoes.
At the end of a Kwakiutl
Kwakiutl
The term Kwakiutl, historically applied to the entire Kwakwaka'wakw ethno-linguistic group of originally 28 tribes, comes from one of the Kwakwaka'wakw tribes, the Kwagu'ł or Kwagyeulth, at Fort Rupert, with whom Franz Boas did most of his anthropological work and whose Indian Act Band government...
potlatch
Potlatch
A potlatch is a gift-giving festival and primary economic system practiced by indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and United States. This includes Heiltsuk Nation, Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures...
ceremony, the host chief comes out bearing a mask of Dzunukwa which is called the geekumhl. This is the sign that the ceremony is over.
In popular culture
A witch-spirit named Tsonokwa was the antagonist in the 1976 film Shadow of the Hawk.External links
- Dzunukwa profile at Native Drums
- Information about Dzunukwa in DutchDutch languageDutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...
- Dzunukwa mask held at Brooklyn Museum