hamsalagamł (Mask)

Used in the Bumblebee dance, which is a children's dance and is often one of the first dances a child participates in during the Winter Ceremonial among the Musgamagw Dzawada'enuxw.

Used in potlatch by Alec Nelson, Kingcome Inlet, 1938 (D. Hawkins, 1966).

Represents a bumblebee. In the dance, a father and mother bee lead progressively smaller bees out onto the dance floor one by one. When the children are led back into their 'beehive' at the end of the dance one child is discovered to be missing. The father bee circles the floor four times searching for this lost child. On the fourth round the child is found hidden amongst the spectators and is led home.

Small round mask with large bulbous eyes, cut out nostril holes, and painted with green, white, black, and red linear designs. Gray coloured cloth is nailed to the perimeter and hangs at the back. Attached to the cloth are metal grommets and fibre cording.