zux˚um (House Post)

House posts are installed and displayed inside a family’s bighouse; the painted and sculpted features represent supernatural ancestors and family history.

Zux˚um (house post), made around 1850, collected by Methodist missionary Dr. G.H. Raley between 1893 and 1906. Raley collected carvings from an abandoned Haisla village called Wayigiwa.mia’s – a site on the Gich-laa-lees-la (Kitimat River) that the Haisla were using seasonally for juh-qwin (eulachon) processing. The Raley catalogue (1934) stated: "Kitamaat. Kwatluh image from house corner post." Barbeau (1939) noted: "Small carved pole inside house, bearing rafter. From deserted village between Kitimat and Lakelse. Village inhabited long before 1893." (From Barbeau photo notes, in the Archives at the Canadian Museum of History, near Ottawa.)

Carved, wooden rectangular shaped house post figure of a squatting man, holding legs below knees; knees are held together. He has a large ovoid shaped head with facial features carved in relief; protruding nose. Painted black with red paint is noticeable on face and body; remnants of light green paint along bottom edge. Circular design in fine relief on the chest with outer ring and inner fine crosshatched design. Back and body are flat.