The
potlatch was, and to some extent still is, an institution among the
Kwakiutl people that was at once community-building as a time to come together, and as a time to set oneself apart and raise ones own personal status. A family or an individual would hold a large feast upon some special occasion--perhaps a
wedding, a
funeral, or the
birth of a child--and would give gifts and provide a great
feast and
entertainment for the guests. While at first glance, this appears magnanimous and generous, it was a way to show off a family"s wealth and customs.
In many ways, the potlatch looks much like many ceremonial institutions of America today--weddings, bat and
bar mitzvahs, and
debutante balls (at least for the southern regions of the country.) This big fancy "everything must be perfect" party is not so much thrown by us for births or funerals as it was under potlatch jurisdiction. Births and
baby showers are usually thrown by someone else for the parents, and funerals are taken as too
somber and not any excuse to "show off". But the
party occasions of today look much like the Kwakiutl potlatch. Most people strive to throw the biggest, fanciest, most perfect party they possibly can, with
expensive venues, entertainment, pricey clothes, an elaborate
banquet and often
classy party-favors. Among certain southern social circles, debutantes are just one big excuse to outdo your
neighbor when your
daughter is presented into
Society for the first time.
However, the potlatch was never quite so stiffly
formalized, and had other social implications than showing others up. In an age of far less communication than now, it gave people from different families and locations an excuse to get together and
catch up with one another's lives and going-ons. Potlatches also served to some extent as a "
swap meet", at least in various points in history. People
traded others for things they did not have but either desired or needed.
As well as being a
prestige event for the giver to show off his fortune, it was a prestige event for those attended--the higher ranked you were, the better and more food you were given at feast, the better accommodations you were given, and the more
costly gifts were awarded to you. Being treated as the
elite at a potlatch signified to others that your status was important; being looked over implied you were of little
concern.
There were two items most traditional and central to a potlatch that go beyond the standard material goods of
hides,
bowls,
tools,
blankets and the like, and into important symbology.
Coppers--beaten disks or "
shields" of copper, then engraved and painted--and
masks are what hold central significance here.
Coppers were a household"s most valued possession because of their relative
rarity and investment to procure. If coppers were given at a potlatch, the giver was someone of
great wealth indeed. But more important than coppers was the breaking of the coppers. If the host of a potlatch
broke a valuable copper by cutting off a piece of the item and giving it to a perceived rival (either a
rival in status ore more commonly reserved for one who had done a perceived
wrong to the family), it was seen as the highest of
challenges. The rival then was obligated to break a
more valuable copper of his own, throw a bigger potlatch than his "host", or sometimes both. This practice was
outlawed later (by whites) almost entirely because it was seen as far too hostile and akin to a socially-acceptable
death wish. For if the rival could not fulfill his obligations, he was
shunned and all but
exiled from his community after being
publicly shamed.
Masks were the next important item. These were not traded or gifted, but rather displayed as family
heritage. Each family had specific
dances they had learned from their
ancestors, and with each dance a beautiful hand-carved wooden mask representing a character in the dance. These traditions were highly-prized possessions and to
display them in
honor before others brought the families great
pride.
Potlatches provided the Kwakiutl people many services. They were
social events,
commercial events, time to share
news, time to
remember and honor the past, time to
celebrate, a bloodless way to vie for social status and settle
feuds without killing. They were a valuable and deeply ingrained part of the
culture.