Alcheringa Gallery
665 Fort Street
Victoria, BC, Canada
TEL: (250) 383-8224
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Salmon Rattle
Luke Marston
(Coast Salish)
Northwest Coast
2003
yew wood, abalone, paint
11.5" long
$4,700.00 CDN
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"The inspiration for this rattle came from the salmon ceremony, an old tradition that is still practiced every year. When the first salmon are caught, there are four children who paint it with red ochre paint. They carry the salmon carefully up to the fire. The fire is prepared with many different ingredients, including green alder branches and ferns; finally it's sprinkled with duck down. The fish is prepared by the oldest women, then placed on sticks and cooked in the traditional way. When it's cooked, the children eat before everyone else. Every bone must be kept. The children carry all the bones a blanket to the ocean, where they return the bones to the water. This is done to show respect to the salmon people and to ensure that they will return next year.
"One belief is that some of our ancestors were turned into salmon and live in a village under the sea."
-Luke Marston
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