Canoe model

Museum number:
2-19117
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21020019117
Accession number:
Acc.854
Description:
Eyak model of hunting canoe. Unpainted. Eyak name: ə́x̣ə̀ki.
Donor:
Ellinor C. Davidson and George Davidson
Collection place:
Lower Copper River, Copper River, Valdez-Cordova Borough
Verbatim coll. place:
Alaska; Copper River; Lower Copper River
Culture or time period:
Eyak
Collector:
unknown
Collection date:
1889
Materials:
Yellow cypress (wood)
Taxon:
Cupressaceae
Object type:
ethnography
Object class:
Canoes and Models (concepts)
Function:
5.7 Objects made for sale, souvenirs, models, and reproductions
Accession date:
1945
Context of use:
Eyak dugout canoe models, traditional to the Northwest Coast. Specimens specifically for hunting can be distinguished by a projecting keel at the bow, those carved out for racing were particularly slim, and canoes used in war were sometimes decorated with carvings. Canoes were paddled with the single-bladed crutch-handled paddle (kuvskł) which is much more slender and pointier than Aleut models. A specific steering paddle (qə́t’łáqἑiyá’) was used if the canoe was piloted by one person. Sometimes a stool was built into the canoe to make traveling more comfortable. Dugout canoes could hold up to 16 people and could have sails attached to them, though they typically carried 2-6 people. They are seaworthy despite seeming like they tip over all the time. Canoes could be built by anyone, but only men could paddle. Dugout canoes were made by burning and then scraping the inside of a log, yellow cedar was often the tree of choice. The sides were forcefully shaped by making the wood more pliable with heat in the form of hot rocks and boiling water. However, canoes were mainly used for transportation since it was far more convenient than traveling by land, where there were no trails. They did not travel far up the Copper River, as the waters were too rough. Sometimes, salmon were speared from canoes.
Department:
Native US and Canada (except California)
Dimensions:
length 12 inches
Comment:
cf. 2-16666 and 2-18871
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 3 titled Canoe model, accession number 2-19117, described as Eyak model of hunting canoe. Unpainted. Eyak name: ə́x̣ə̀ki.Hearst Museum object 2 of 3 titled Canoe model, accession number 2-19117, described as Eyak model of hunting canoe. Unpainted. Eyak name: ə́x̣ə̀ki.Hearst Museum object 3 of 3 titled Canoe model, accession number 2-19117, described as Eyak model of hunting canoe. Unpainted. Eyak name: ə́x̣ə̀ki.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Canoe model, accession number 2-19117, described as Eyak model of hunting canoe. Unpainted. Eyak name: ə́x̣ə̀ki.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Canoe model, accession number 2-19117, described as Eyak model of hunting canoe. Unpainted. Eyak name: ə́x̣ə̀ki.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled Canoe model, accession number 2-19117, described as Eyak model of hunting canoe. Unpainted. Eyak name: ə́x̣ə̀ki.

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