Writing the Hamat'sa: Ethnography, Colonialism, and the Cannibal Dance

The Hamat̓sa is a crucial hereditary privilege of the Kwakwa̱ka̱wakw of British Columbia, which has been documented by anthropologists since the late nineteenth century. Writing the Hamat̓sa examines attempts to record, describe, and interpret the dance over four centuries, focusing on Indigenous agency and textual mediation in the process of fashioning modern identities under settler colonialism.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 512 pages
Publication date: 15 March 2022
Publisher: University of British Columbia Press

Long renowned as the Cannibal Dance, the Hamat̓sa holds immense significance as one of the most cherished hereditary prerogatives among the Kwakwa̱ka̱ꞌwakw of British Columbia. During the late 19th century, when anthropologists arrived to document this practice, colonial agents were actively working to eradicate it, while the Kwakwa̱ka̱ꞌwakw were adapting it to survive. As a result, the dance, characterized by its dramatic choreography, magnificent bird masks, and eerie aura of cannibalism, found its way into a vast corpus of ethnographic texts.

In Writing the Hamat̓sa, we embark on a critical exploration of the various attempts made over four centuries to record, describe, and interpret this dance. This book goes beyond the prevalent postcolonial critiques of representation, which often overlook the agency of Indigenous people in the ethnographic encounter. Instead, it delves into the intricate forms of textual mediation and Indigenous responses that played a pivotal role in transforming the ceremony from a series of specific performances into a widely recognized cultural icon. Through meticulous research, this work sheds light on how Indigenous people actively contribute to, contest, and repurpose texts in the process of forging modern identities amidst settler colonialism.

Weight: 760g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780774863780