tuxw'id długwe' (Puppet)

Traditionally used in potlatches by a tuxw’id (towkwid) dancer, a woman of high rank. At a recent potlatch in Alert Bay, the dancer emerged wearing a bearskin cloak with replicas of human skulls, carried a long copper dagger, and danced to the four corners of the bighouse, drawing the creatures of the spirit world towards her. The dagger was used to cut through to the spirit world. As tension builds and the drum beats accelerate, the tuxw’id spirits emerge and they can represent spirits of the sky, the earth (including humans), or the sea. There might be a puppet box buried in the floor, and the puppet would emerge, manipulated by strings. The human beings might represent the family holding the potlatch or one of their ancestors.

This pair of puppets (2607/1-2) was presented to Judge Scow by his nephew Barry on his retirement from the provincial court bench June 27, 1992. Barry chose the male and female puppets in recognition of the spirit of determination and achievement that Alfred's career as a First Nations person represented, along with the support of his wife Joan, on that journey.

Male tuxw'id puppet with cotton-stuffed white cloth body and carved wooden head, hands and feet. Unsewn strips of red fabric are tied around his neck, wrists, and ankles. The face is marked by brightly painted red lips, black pupils and thick black eyebrows. Coarse black hair extends in tufts from holes covering the top and back of the head. It has been braided and secured with a twist tie.