A potlatch is a gift-giving feast practiced by indigenous peoples of the
Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada and the United States, among whom it is
traditionally the primary economic system. This includes the Heiltsuk,
Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Makah, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth,
Kwakwaka'wakw, and Coast Salish cultures. Potlatches are also a common
feature of the peoples of the Interior and of the Subarctic adjoining the
Northwest Coast, though mostly without the elaborate ritual and gift-giving
economy of the coastal peoples. Potlatches went through a history of
rigorous ban by both the Canadian and United States federal governments,
continuing underground despite the risk of criminal punishment, and have been
studied by many anthropologists. Since the practice was de-criminalized in the
post-war years, the potlatch has re-emerged in some communities.
The word comes from the Chinook Jargon, meaning "to give away" or "a gift";
originally from the Nuu-chah-nulth word paɬaˑč, to make a ceremonial gift in a
potlatch. Overview
N.B. This overview concerns the Kwakwaka'wakw potlatch. Potlatch
traditions and formalities and kinship systems in other cultures of the region
differ, often substantially. A potlatch was held on the occasion of
births, deaths, adoptions, weddings, and other major events. Typically the
potlatch was practiced more in the winter seasons as historically the
warmer months were for procuring wealth for the family, clan, or village, then
coming home and sharing that with neighbors and friends. The event was
hosted by a numaym, or 'House', in Kwakwaka'wakw culture. A numaym was a
complex cognatic kin group usually headed by aristocrats, but including
commoners and occasional slaves. It had about one hundred members and several
would be grouped together into a tribe. The House drew its identity from its
ancestral founder, usually a mythical animal who descended to earth and
removed his animal mask, thus becoming human. The mask became a family heirloom
passed from father to son along with the name of the ancestor himself. This made
him the leader of the numaym, considered the living incarnation of the founder.
Only aristocrats could host a potlatch. The potlatch was the occasion on which
titles associated with masks and other objects were "fastened on" to a new
office holder. Two kinds of titles were transferred on these occasions. Firstly,
each numaym had a number of named positions of ranked "seats" transferred
within itself. These ranked titles granted rights to hunting, fishing and
berrying territories. Secondly, there were a number of titles that would be
passed between numayma, usually to in-laws, which included feast names that
gave one a role in the Winter Ceremonial. Aristocrats felt safe giving
these titles to their out-marrying daughter's children because this
daughter and her children would later be rejoined with her natal numaym and the
titles returned with them. Any one individual might have several "seats"
which allowed them to sit, in rank order, according to their title, as the
host displayed and distributed wealth and made speeches. Besides the transfer
of titles at a potlatch, the event was given "weight" by the distribution of
other less important objects such as Chilkat blankets, animal skins and
coppers. It is the distribution of large numbers of Hudson Bay blankets, and the
destruction of valued coppers that first drew government attention to the
potlatch. Dorothy Johansen describes the dynamic:
"In the potlatch, the host in effect challenged a guest chieftain to exceed
him in his 'power' to give away or to destroy goods. If the guest did not
return 100 percent on the gifts received and destroy even more wealth in a bigger
and better bonfire, he and his people lost face and so his 'power' was
diminished." Hierarchical relations within and between clans, villages, and
nations, were observed and reinforced through the distribution or sometimes
destruction of wealth, dance performances, and other ceremonies. The
status of any given family is raised not by who has the most resources, but by
who distributes the most resources. The hosts demonstrate their wealth and
prominence through giving away goods. For some cultures, such as
Kwakwaka'wakw, elaborate and theatrical dances are performed reflecting the
hosts' genealogy and cultural wealth. Many of these dances are also sacred
ceremonies of secret societies like the hamatsa, or display of family origin
from supernatural creatures such as the dzunukwa.
Chief O'wax̱a̱laga̱lis of the Kwagu'ł describes the potlatch in his famous
speech to anthropologist Franz Boas, We will dance when our laws command us
to dance, we will feast when our hearts desire to feast. Do we ask the white
man, 'Do as the Indian does'? No, we do not. Why, then, will you ask us, 'Do as
the white man does'? It is a strict law that bids us to dance. It is a strict
law that bids us to distribute our property among our friends and
neighbors. It is a good law. Let the white man observe his law; we shall
observe ours. And now, if you are come to forbid us to dance, begone; if not,
you will be welcome to us. It is important to note the differences
and uniqueness among the different cultural groups and nations along the
coast. Each nation, tribe, and sometimes clan has its own way of practising the
potlatch with diverse presentation and meaning. The potlatch, as an overarching
term, is quite general, since some cultures have many words in their
language for various specific types of gatherings. It is important to keep this
variation in mind as most of our detailed knowledge of the potlatch was
acquired from the Kwakwaka'wakw around Fort Rupert on Vancouver Island in the
period 1849 to 1925, a period of great social transition in which many features
became exaggerated in reaction to British colonialism.
History Before the arrival of the Europeans,
gifts included storable food, canoes, slaves, and ornamental "coppers" among
aristocrats, but not resource-generating assets such as hunting, fishing and
berrying territories. Coppers were sheets of beaten copper, shield like in
appearance; they were about two feet long, wider on top, cruciform frame and
schematic face on the top half. None of the copper used was ever of indigenous
metal. A copper was considered the equivalent of a slave. They were only
ever owned by individual aristocrats, and never by numaym, hence could
circulate between groups. Coppers began to be produced in large numbers after
the colonization of Vancouver Island in 1849 when war and slavery were ended.
The arrival of Europeans resulted in the introduction of numerous diseases
against which indigenous peoples had no immunity, resulting in a massive
population decline. Competition for the fixed number of potlatch titles grew as
commoners began to seek titles from which they had previously been excluded
by making their own remote or dubious claims validated by a potlatch.
Aristocrats increased the size of their gifts in order to retain their titles
and maintain social hierarchy. This resulted in massive inflation in gifting
made possible by the introduction of mass-produced trade goods in the late
18th and earlier 19th centuries. = Potlatch ban=
Potlatching was made illegal in Canada in 1884 in an amendment to the Indian
Act and the United States in the late 19th century, largely at the urging of
missionaries and government agents who considered it "a worse than useless
custom" that was seen as wasteful, unproductive, and contrary to 'civilized
values' of accumulation. The potlatch was seen as a key target in
assimilation policies and agendas. Missionary William Duncan wrote in 1875
that the potlatch was "by far the most formidable of all obstacles in the way
of Indians becoming Christians, or even civilized". Thus in 1884, the Indian Act
was revised to include clauses banning the Potlatch and making it illegal to
practice. Section 3 of the Act read, Every Indian or other person who engages
in or assists in celebrating the Indian festival known as the "Potlatch" or the
Indian dance known as the "Tamanawas" is guilty of a misdemeanor, and shall be
liable to imprisonment for a term not more than six nor less than two months
in any gaol or other place of confinement; and, any Indian or other
person who encourages, either directly or indirectly, an Indian or Indians to
get up such a festival or dance, or to celebrate the same, or who shall assist
in the celebration of same is guilty of a like offence, and shall be liable to
the same punishment. In 1888, the anthropologist Franz Boas
described the potlatch ban as a failure: The second reason for the discontent
among the Indians is a law that was passed, some time ago, forbidding the
celebrations of festivals. The so-called potlatch of all these tribes hinders the
single families from accumulating wealth. It is the great desire of every
chief and even of every man to collect a large amount of property, and then to
give a great potlatch, a feast in which all is distributed among his friends,
and, if possible, among the neighboring tribes. These feasts are so closely
connected with the religious ideas of the natives, and regulate their mode of
life to such an extent, that the Christian tribes near Victoria have not
given them up. Every present received at a potlatch has to be returned at another
potlatch, and a man who would not give his feast in due time would be
considered as not paying his debts. Therefore the law is not a good one, and
can not be enforced without causing general discontent. Besides, the
Government is unable to enforce it. The settlements are so numerous, and the
Indian agencies so large, that there is nobody to prevent the Indians doing
whatsoever they like. Eventually the potlatch law, as it
became known, was amended to be more inclusive and address technicalities
that had led to dismissals of prosecutions by the court. Legislation
included guests who participated in the ceremony. The indigenous people were too
large to police and the law too difficult to enforce. Duncan Campbell
Scott convinced Parliament to change the offence from criminal to summary, which
meant "the agents, as justice of the peace, could try a case, convict, and
sentence". Even so, except in a few small areas, the law was generally
perceived as harsh and untenable. Even the Indian agents employed to enforce
the legislation considered it unnecessary to prosecute, convinced
instead that the potlatch would diminish as younger, educated, and more
"advanced" Indians took over from the older Indians, who clung tenaciously to
the custom. = Persistence=
Sustaining the customs and culture of their ancestors, indigenous people now
openly hold potlatches to commit to the restoring of their ancestors' ways.
Potlatches now occur frequently and increasingly more over the years as
families reclaim their birthright. The ban was repealed in 1951.
Anthropological theory In his book The Gift, the French
ethnologist, Marcel Mauss used the term potlatch to refer to a whole set of
exchange practices in tribal societies characterized by "total prestations",
i.e., a system of gift giving with political, religious, kinship and
economic implications. These societies' economies are marked by the competitive
exchange of gifts, in which gift-givers seek to out-give their competitors so as
to capture important political, kinship and religious roles. Other examples of
this "potlatch type" of gift economy include the Kula ring found in the
Trobriand Islands. See also
Athabaskan Potlatch Competitive altruism
Conspicuous consumption Gift economy
Guy Debord, French Situationist writer on the subject of potlatch and commodity
reification. Koha, a similar concept among the Māori
Kula ring, a similar concept in the Trobriand Islands
List of bibliographical materials on the potlatch
Moka exchange, a similar concept in Papua New Guinea
Potluck Pow wow a gathering whose name is
derived from the Narragansett word for "spiritual leader"
References External links
U'mista Museum of potlatch artifacts. Potlatch An exhibition from the Peabody
Museum, Harvard University. University of Washington Libraries
Digital Collections – Oliver S. Van Olinda Photographs A collection of
photographs depicting life on Vashon Island, Whidbey Island, Seattle and
other communities around Puget Sound, Washington, Photographs of Native
American activities such as documentation of a potlatch on Whidbey
Island.