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THE NORTHWEST COAST 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. January 9th, 16th, & 23rd Bellingham Cruise Terminal |
Brief course description: eMail the instructor Autochthonous Northwest Coast societies suffered from artificial economic bubbles of their own making. Sound familiar? These bubbles grew and burst within the Potlatch system. They become so severe after the population was decimated by diseases, that the Canadian Government outlawed the Potlatch, itself. In normal times, when economically advantaged classes flourished, such economic bubbles were frequent, normal, and resorbed without difficulty. How did they do it? Why, they called in the Cannibal Woman Society. Learn how this society saved their communities from economic collapse while rehabilitating antisocial elements. |
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MENU . = recently added material COURSE GALLERIES Status and Rank BACKGROUND MATERIAL Northwest Coast Indians The Hamatsa Ceremony Kwakiutl History Kwakiutl Mythology Peoples & Languages [PDF] Kwakiutl Language (Kwakwala) The Potlatch [Peabody Museum web page] Hamatsa Politics Wendigo Psychosis Voyage of the Hawai'iloa |
COURSE OUTLINE
Origins and Distribution Social Organization - Lineage, Clan and Moiety Social Stratification & Economic Organization Subsistence Economy vs Social Economy Material Symbols of Rank The Potlatch System and the Social Economy Organization of the Potlatch System Functions of the Potlatch System Instability in the Potlatch/Lineage System Periodic bubbles in the Social Economy of the Potlatch Recent History of the Potlatch Population/Lineage collapse on the NWC Kinship networks and patterns of inheritance Excessive competition within the Potlatch Outlawing of the Potlatch by Canadian government Limits in reconstructing the traditional Potlatch System The Copper - ultimate symbol of the Potlatch System Antiquity of copper use in Northwest Coast Cultures Value of copper in antiquity Symbolic value of copper in the culture and the potlatch The Copper as a symbolic object Role of The Copper in the potlatch - inflation of its value The Copper dilemma in the social economy Cannibal Woman Myths Boreal belt cannibalism and the proper way to go insane Cannibal Woman in NWC culture - deeply embedded Elements of the Myth Myth is real when you are a part of it. How myth is used in social interaction The Cannibal Woman Society - making the myth real Is your son is being possessed by Cannibal Woman? The role of the Shaman The role of the Cannibal Woman Society Completing the psychosis in the forest primeval Curing the psychosis at the Winter Dances Where did that economic bubble go, anyway? The economic drama during the winter dances The Cannibal strikes The dance of Raven and his Cannibal Birds Binding the Cannibal - Cannibal Woman is defeated The breaking of the Copper and its revaluation Benefits of the Cannibal Woman Society Mythological harmony Psychological well-being Economic stability restored Lineages bound together Humorous parallels |
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©2010 by Charles M. Nelson All rights reserved. |