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- Title: wi’lutum tthu qe’is sxt’ekw’ | New Totems are Displayed
- Title spoken by: Pul-hwuletse’ | Wayne Charlie
- Description: Many people gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the new Totem Collection and recognize Duncan as the City of Totems.
hwuhwilmuhw knowledge
- Speaker/Story Teller: Sti’tuma’t | Ruby Peter (Kwa’mutsun Elder)
- Date of recording:
- Listen to the recording in Hul’q’umi’num’:
wi’lutum tthu qe’is sxt’ekw’ | New Totems are Displayed
- sxt’ekw’ ’i’ nilh tthu Simon nilh ni’ st’e ’ukw’ yuw’i’na’qws tthu ’i’ xut’ukw’ ’u tthu xut’ustum’ totem poles.
That Simon was the head person for the totem poles project. - qxe’luts niis xuthiinu lhq’utsse’lu ’uw’ niis kw’iinu tthu ni’ xt’ekw’ ’u tthu…’u tthey’ swe’s tthu tawun, swe’stewut tthu tawun.
There were many people (four or five of them) selected to carve totem poles for the townthe city of Duncan. - ’apun ’i’ kw’ lhihw tthu ni’ thuytum kwus hay ’ul’ naalts’.. yu naalts’tul.
There were 13 poles that were made with all different kinds of carvings on them. - ’i’ nilh tthu niilh le’lum’utus ’u kw’un’a wulh hith ’u tun’a sht’es kwus ’i ’u tun’a tumuhw.
The carving goes back into the history of what was seen a long time ago here on this earth. - tthu yuxwule’, tthu …. we’ tthu mustimuhw ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ xt’ekw’tum.
Like the eagles (and other creatures) and even the image of a person were carved on them. - spaal’, yuxwule’, qwunus, tthu ni’ le’lum’nuhwus tthu…le’lum’utus tthu hwulmuhw mustimuhw nilh ni’ xt’ekw’tum.
Raven, eagle, whale, it was all the things that the Indigenous people saw that they carved. - niilh ’uw’ t’at ’uw’ st’ees tthu quw’utsun’ mustimuhw suw’ ’uy’st-hwus kws they’t-s tthuw’ stem ’ul’.
The Cowichan people always liked to make things …copy things of many different things, such as carving. - ’i’ nilh tthu tth’uytsun niilh thuytum, hakwushus kwus xt’ekw’.
And it was the horn that was prepared that was used to do the carving. - ’i’ kwthu…. oo ni’ tsun mul’qt kwthu niilh tl’uw’ hakwushus.
And I forgot what they used, (it was another thing that was and it was some kind of rock or shell). - qe’is thulh tthun’a shuptun tthun’a totem poles ’i’ shuptun tthu ni’ hakwushus ’eelhtun kwus xt’ekw’.
But today they use different kinds of knives to do the carving. (And also the chisel is the other thing that is used). - ni’ xtsutus tthu sht’es kws this tthu qwlhey’.
And they always figure out the size of the log. - ’uwu niis ’uw’ ’eey’ ’ul’ tthu qwlhey’.
And they didn’t just start in on the log. - ’uw’ hay tthu xpey’ nilh ni’ hakwushus, nilh ni’ xt’ekw’tus ni’ ’uw’ hul’iq ’ul’ ’u kwus xt’ekw’tus.
With the red cedar that is used, you cannot just use any kind of wood, that is what is used, what’s easy to carve on. - thuytus kwthu sht’es tthu ni’ xetstus ’u kwthu ni’ sht’es tthu spaal’ sht’es tthu qwunus we’ kwsus xt’ekw’tus tthu mustimuhw ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ yu sthuthi’st-hwus.
And they will do the images of different things that they like raven or whale, or even a man or body of a person then they would do that too and do it properly. - tl’i’ syaays tthu xut’ukw’ kwun’s yu they’t tthu s’athusth tthu mustimuhw.
Carving is a serious job, when you are doing a face of a person. - skw’ey kws ’uy’qs, skw’ey kws me’kwulhs tthu ni’ yu they’tus ’uw’ yath ’uw’ yu tl’ul’im’.
You can’t make a mistake, you can be getting injured when you are working with carving. - qe’is tun’u ’i hwu xuxul’utum’, ’i’ xulutum’ tthu ni’ yu shlhun’es tthu sxt’ekw’.
It is just lately that they have used a pencil to mark where you are going to carve. - sht’es kwus yu sthuthi’st-hwus tthu s’athus tthu spaal’ tthu ni’ le’lum’utus.
And make sure that they do it perfectly of the images of the raven or anything that they are carving. - thi syaays tthu suw’wuy’qe’ ’i’ nilh tthu Simon Charlie nilh ni’ hw’iw’tsun’uq tl’uw’ yuw’i’na’qws tthu ni’ xut’ukw’ tthu totem pole.
It’s serious work that these men did and it’s Simon Charlie that was the teacher and leader in teaching people how to carve totem poles. - tl’uw’ tl’lim’ ’uw’ tus siiye’yus tthu Simon, tthu Francis Horne, susuw’ hw’uw’tsustus ’u tthu sxt’ekw’.
Many relatives of Simon, for example Francis Horne, came to learn how to carve. - ni’ tl’uw’ q’a’t tthu Cicero August kwus … nilh Simon nilh shni’ kwus ta’ultus tthu sxt’ekw’.
Cicero August also learned to carve from Simon Charlie. - ’uw’ hay’ ’ul’ kwun’s sthuthi’stuhw kwthun’ shqwaluwun kwun’s yu xut’ukw’ ’u tthu xpey’, yathulh ’uw’ xut’ust-hwus tthu s’eluhw kwus ’uw’ huli tthu xpey’
You have to have a clear mind to be able to carve cedar. - yathulh ’uw’ xut’ust-hwus tthu s’eluhw kwus ’uw’ huli tthu xpey’, skw’ey kwun’s ’uw’ hakwush ’ul’.
The elders always that the cedar is alive, and you can’t be just using it. - ha’ ch xt’ekw’ ’u kwthun’ syaays ’i’ hay ’uw’ skw’ey’ kwun’s kwun’et tthu st’i’wi’ulh, kwun’s yu sthuthi’stuhw tthun’ shqwaluwun.
When you work with the cedar, you have to have prayers in your heart and have a clear mind. - ’i’ nilh yath ’uw’ sqwaqwul’ tthu s’ul’eluhw, ha’ ch ni’ qul tthun’ shqwaluwun ’uw’ niihw yaays ’u tthu xpey’ sisuw’ ’i ’ey’q.
And the elders always said, if you have bad thoughts when you work on the cedar, you will be making mistakes. - xe’xe’.
It is sacred. - ’i’ tl’i’ syaays tthu xut’ukw’.
And carving is very serious work.
Key information
- Time period or Date: 1986
- Theme(s): Totems and House Posts, Ceremonies, Sharing Indigenous Perspectives
- Location: Duncan
- Source info (type – name): Museum — Cowichan Valley Museum & Archives
- Photographer credit: Unknown
- Individuals identified: Not Specified
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