Seven Elements of Culture in Kwakiutl Tribe
Irfan
Suryana
5130511018
Abstract
This essay
talks about seven elements of culture in Kwakiutl Tribe based on
novel I Heard The Owl Call My Name by Margaret Craven. First is
about language. Language of Kwakiutl tribe is called Kwak’wala. Second is about
religious syestem. There are three aspects of religious system, they are
mythology, symbols, and funerals. Third is about art. The most popular art in
Kwakiutl tribe is totem pole. Fourth is about technology system and equipment.
The technology system of Kwakiutl tribe is woodworking. Five is about
livelihood system and economic system. Kwakiutl people work as fishers and gatherers. Sixth is about
social organization. There are three ranks of social class in Kwakiutl tribe,
they are upper class, middle class, and low class or michimis community.
Seventh is about knowledge. Kwakiutl children learn about their culture from
the elders and the chiefs.
Key
words: novel,
seven elements, culture, Kwakiutl
I Heard The Owl Call My Name is a novel about a clash of culture.
This novel was written by Margaret Craven. She created an admirable character
in Mark Brian. He is a young Anglican vicar who is unaware that he has only a
few years to live and he is sent to work among the Tsawatanieuk, an American
Indian tribe of the Kwakiutl people. For centuries, the Kwakiutl lives along
the Northwest Coast in British Columbia, Canada. Through the novel, the readers will know about the culture of
Kwakwaka'wakw (Kwakitul).
According
to Koentjaraningrat (1985), there are seven elements of culture such as
language, religious system, art, technology system and equipment, livelihood
system and economic system, social organization,
and knowledge.
First
element is language (page 11). The language
family of Kwakiutl people is Wakashan. The Wakashan
language of the Kwakwaka'wakw is only spoken on the Northwest Coast of the
North American continent. In modern times, the language is called Kwak'wala.
Some example words of Kwak'wala are bagwanam means man, t'sadak means woman, nla
means sing, and bau means leave.
The
most important element that appears in the novel is religious system (page 12). Mythology, symbols, and funerals are
included in religious system of Kwakiutl
people. The religion of the Kwakwaka'wakw is based on their beliefs that such
powers are found in all things in nature. Some animals and a tree play an
important part of their beliefs such as salmon, raven, owl, and cedar tree. Kwakiutl people believe that
salmon are supernatural beings which live in their own village under the sea and become a symbol of extraordinary
power and perseverance. They also believe that it is the raven with the
supernatural powers which places the sun, the moon, and the stars in the sky.
They believe that owl is a sign of death. When someone hears the owl call his
name, he knows his time of death is coming.
Moreover, they believe that cedar tree is the main wood which has power to make
vicarage, canoe, and clothes.
In
addition,
there are three ways of
funeral. First, the body of dead people is placed in the open box and hoisted
into a tree or hole of stone. It is done with a reason that the body of dead
people is to be eaten by birds. Second, the body of dead people is burnt and
the ash is scattered. The reason is to be eaten by salmon. Thrid, the body of
dead people is buried in the ground. It is done for important chiefs only.
Besides
that, the readers will know that the deepest beliefs of the tribe are relieved
in the ritual dances. The dances are Potlatch dance,
Grouse dance, Moon dance, and Cannibal dance
(Hamatsa dance).
Third
element of culture is art (page 10). The
Kwkwaka'wakw people
use cedar tree to make
remarkable canoes, large food bowls, and everyday utensils. The most popular
art in Kwakiutl tribe is totem pole. Totem pole is large wooden pole that
depicts the animals and family symbols that family believe to link them to the
spirit world.
Fourth
element is technology system and equipment (page 7).
The technology system of Kwaiutl tribe is woodworking. They make everything that
they need in their daily life from
cedar tree. Sometimes, they use spruce roots, or grass as well.
Next
element is livelihood system and economic system (page 15). Traditionally, the Kwakwaka'wakw people are
fishers and gatherers. Economic
system that they have depends on their livelihood as fishers and gatherers.
Sixth element is social organization (page 16). Social organization of Kwakiutl tribe
is formed by three ranks of social class. First is upper class (people who were
born in chief's family). Second is middle class (people who have artistic
skills, such as carvers). Third is low class or michimis community (people who cut down cedar tree, build houses,
and repair fish traps).
The
last element of culture is knowledge (page 12).
Kwakiutl children learn about their culture such as language, ceremonial
dancing, mythology, and the traditional arts from their elders and their
chiefs.
After all the readers
will know about the culture of Kwakiutl tribe in the Northwest Coast in British
Columbia, Canada through the novel that they never
know that the tribe in the novel is a real tribe. They will find seven elements
of culture, for example language, religious system, art, technology system and
equipment, livelihood system and economic system, social organization, and knowledge.
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