article
Postcontact Koniag ceremonialism on Kodiak Island and the Alaskan Peninsula: evidence from the Fisher Collection
Arctic anthropology • 29 (1) • Published In 1992 • Pages: 18-37
By: Crowell, Aron.
AbstractBrief abstract written by HRAF anthropologists who have done the subject indexing for the document
Late nineteenth century dance masks, beaded headdresses, and other ceremonial articles from Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula provide evidence for the extended postcontact continuity of Koniag religious beliefs and shamanic practices. Objects were selected for study from the large and well-documented William J. Fisher collection at the National Museum of Natural History. Postcontact innovation in the styles, media, and uses of ceremonial art are discussed on the basis of the Fisher materials. Results included documentation of a Koniag hunting ritual similar to the 'Doll Ceremony' of the mainland Alaskan Yupik. Sources employed in the description and interpretation of the objects include Fisher's field catalogs and correspondence, ethnographic and historical records, recent archaeological research, linguistic analysis, and material studies (p. 18).
- SubjectsDocument-level OCM identifiers given by the anthropology subject indexers at HRAF
- Reviews and critiques
- Recording and collecting in the field
- Historical and archival research
- Artifact and archive collections
- Acculturation and culture contact
- Sociocultural trends
- Special garments
- External trade
- Visual arts
- Musical instruments
- Shamans and psychotherapists
- Organized ceremonial
- cultureCulture name from the Outline of World Cultures (OWC)
- Alutiiq
- HRAF PubDateThe date HRAF published the document
- 2005
- RegionThe area the document pertains to
- North America
- Sub RegionThe more specific area the document pertains to, which is located within the Region
- Arctic and Subarctic
- Document TypeMay include journal articles, essays, collections of essays, monographs, or chapters/parts of monographs
- article
- Evaluation
- Creator TypeThe type of person writing the document, e.g. Ethnographer, Missionary, Archaeologist, Folklorist, Linguist, Indigenous Person, and so on.
- Ethnologist
- Document Rating A ranking done by HRAF anthropologists based on the strength of the source material on a scale of 1 to 5, as follows: 1 - poor; 2 - fair; 3 - good, useful data, but not uniformly excellent; 4 - excellent secondary data; 5 - excellent primary data.
- 4: Excellent Secondary Data
- AnalystThe HRAF anthropologist who subject indexed the document and prepared other materials for the eHRAF culture/tradition collection
- John Beierle ; 2004
- Field DateThe date the researcher conducted the fieldwork or archival research that produced the document
- no date
- Coverage DateThe date or dates that the information in the document pertains to
- 1780s-1884
- Coverage PlaceLocation of the research culture or tradition (often a smaller unit such as a band, community, or archaeological site)
- Koniag Eskimo, Kodiak Island and the Alaskan Peninsula, Alaska, United States
- NotesAdditional notes
- Includes bibliographical references (p. 34-37)
- LCCNLibrary of Congress Control Number
- sf 78000711
- LCSHLibrary of Congress Subject Headings
- Koniagmiut Eskimos