Potlatches

The word "potlatch" is Chinook jargon meaning, "to give." For the Tlingit people the potlatch was an immensely important winter ceremony featuring dancing, singing, feasting , and the lavish distribution of property. Major potlatches were a means of honoring the dead, and, if successful, could serve to raise the social rank of the host. A host could easily be bankrupted from throwing a single potlatch, but if there followed a resultant raise in prestige for himself and his clan, it would be considered well worth the price and effort.

A sample of the regilia worn during a potlatch.

Traditional Tlingit potlatches were the culmination of a series of funeral rituals and ceremonies. Custom dictated a wake, cremation, and post cremation feasts. All ceremonies, including the finale--the potlatch feast--served to strengthen the alliance between the clan of the deceased and the moiety opposites (i.e. the living spouse's lineage). The opposites were in charge of several funerary rituals including preparation of the body and final cremation. If the deceased was a high ranking individual, it was customary for the moiety opposites to tear down then rebuild his home for his descendants, or at a minimum, to refurbish the existing house. Ultimately the potlatch was given ostensibly to honor the deceased, but it also provided the opportunity to repay the moiety opposites for their part in the funeral service.

The guest list for a major potlatch would include the lineage and related lineage of the deceased, the widow's lineage (assuming the male of the household died), and guest clans, usually from another village. Guests and hosts alike turned out in Tlingit regalia for what usually amounted to several days of potlatching. Elegantly prepared food was served and entertainment included singing, dancing, and eating contests. One story goes that, upon rebuilding the famous Whale House in Klukwan, a potlatch was hosted with visiting clans from Wrangell and Sitka in attendance. An eating contest was held between equal numbers of men from each visiting clan. The Wrangell team ate from a hollowed out log, while the Sitka group tackled a full large basket called the "mother of baskets." The Wrangell team was victorious, but only through trickery. During the excitement they concealed large scoops of food under nearby platforms. A more serious episode is chronicled in which an eating contest participant was unintentionally killed when he was served cranberries, dried hemlock bark and oil. After downing it all, he asked for a drink of water which, unfortunately, caused the bark to swell and his stomach to burst. The host had to pay the victim's clan several slaves in compensation.

Several early potlatch traditions have carried through to modern times. One year after the death of a Tlingit, family members may elect to host a potlatch in that person's honor. Following a solemn beginning of memorial songs and speeches, the potlatching gets underway. As in the old days, favorite foods of the deceased are served, and also given as gifts for guests to take home. Other gifts include the customary giving of blankets (commercial, today), and money to those who helped with the services (still moiety opposites). Dancing and singing continue to be major potlatch activities. People may travel from neighboring towns for the ceremony.

  For further information on Tlingit Culture please view the following links:
Basketry • Carving • Chilkat Blanket • Dance • Fishing • History • Totem Carving

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