Exploring a Traditional Woven Haida Hat
Video
Transcript
Exploring a Traditional Woven Haida Hat
This hat was made by my great, great grandparents, Isabella and Charles Edenshaw. She was a spruce root weaver and he was a carver and form line artist.
The shapes of hats on the West Coast are somewhat similar from throughout time. But it’s a twine spruce root hat and now days, they are hats that are made out of plaited cedar bark. But the shapes are quite similar throughout the coast. It’s just that the techniques to weave them might be different.
Even though it’s a large hat, the materials are a lot finer, so it probably took a long time to make it. And it was woven without a hat mold.
My mentor, my aunt Isabelle Rourke, she was one of the only spruce root weavers who weaves the hats without the mold shape. So she shapes the hat by each stitch, and her tension creates the hat shape. Which was how they were made in the old days. But it’s a lot harder to weave like that in comparison to weaving around a hat mold. So it’s an older practice, but it’s still being done today.
The top of the hat and then to a certain point, it’s woven with three-strand twining. And then it turns into the dragonfly design on the bottom part. And that design is done with two-strand twining, but there’s a stitch pattern to create concentric diamonds and it’s called a dragonfly design.
Mostly, the hats, they were woven without colour, and then the designs, and the form line designs were painted on after.
So like the central part right here, the red, is the tongue and then right there is like the nose, and then there’s an eye. And then here’s a paw, there’s a paw.
I like this hat because it is a great example of their work together. But also, it is a very artistic piece, with the designs and the painting and also the weaving and the shape and the size. And just imagining how long it took to weave, or how many roots. It’s very interesting, and it’s so detailed.
Transcript
Exploring a Traditional Woven Haida Hat
This hat was made by my great, great grandparents, Isabella and Charles Edenshaw. She was a spruce root weaver and he was a carver and form line artist.
The shapes of hats on the West Coast are somewhat similar from throughout time. But it’s a twine spruce root hat and now days, they are hats that are made out of plaited cedar bark. But the shapes are quite similar throughout the coast. It’s just that the techniques to weave them might be different.
Even though it’s a large hat, the materials are a lot finer, so it probably took a long time to make it. And it was woven without a hat mold.
My mentor, my aunt Isabelle Rourke, she was one of the only spruce root weavers who weaves the hats without the mold shape. So she shapes the hat by each stitch, and her tension creates the hat shape. Which was how they were made in the old days. But it’s a lot harder to weave like that in comparison to weaving around a hat mold. So it’s an older practice, but it’s still being done today.
The top of the hat and then to a certain point, it’s woven with three-strand twining. And then it turns into the dragonfly design on the bottom part. And that design is done with two-strand twining, but there’s a stitch pattern to create concentric diamonds and it’s called a dragonfly design.
Mostly, the hats, they were woven without colour, and then the designs, and the form line designs were painted on after.
So like the central part right here, the red, is the tongue and then right there is like the nose, and then there’s an eye. And then here’s a paw, there’s a paw.
I like this hat because it is a great example of their work together. But also, it is a very artistic piece, with the designs and the painting and also the weaving and the shape and the size. And just imagining how long it took to weave, or how many roots. It’s very interesting, and it’s so detailed.
Image
Video
Audio
Activities
LOOK
Watch the video. What are the key points shared? If you could ask Ariane Xay Kuyaas questions about the hat, her great-great-grandparents or ginn xay (Haida weaving) in general, what would they be?
THINK
This hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hat) is painted in formline style. There are many other objects featured in this package that feature formline designs. Can you find them? What similarities do all the designs share?
Details
Date 2019
Materials Transcript
Exploring a Traditional Woven Haida Hat
This hat was made by my great, great grandparents, Isabella and Charles Edenshaw. She was a spruce root weaver and he was a carver and form line artist.
The shapes of hats on the West Coast are somewhat similar from throughout time. But it’s a twine spruce root hat and now days, they are hats that are made out of plaited cedar bark. But the shapes are quite similar throughout the coast. It’s just that the techniques to weave them might be different.
Even though it’s a large hat, the materials are a lot finer, so it probably took a long time to make it. And it was woven without a hat mold.
My mentor, my aunt Isabelle Rourke, she was one of the only spruce root weavers who weaves the hats without the mold shape. So she shapes the hat by each stitch, and her tension creates the hat shape. Which was how they were made in the old days. But it’s a lot harder to weave like that in comparison to weaving around a hat mold. So it’s an older practice, but it’s still being done today.
The top of the hat and then to a certain point, it’s woven with three-strand twining. And then it turns into the dragonfly design on the bottom part. And that design is done with two-strand twining, but there’s a stitch pattern to create concentric diamonds and it’s called a dragonfly design.
Mostly, the hats, they were woven without colour, and then the designs, and the form line designs were painted on after.
So like the central part right here, the red, is the tongue and then right there is like the nose, and then there’s an eye. And then here’s a paw, there’s a paw.
I like this hat because it is a great example of their work together. But also, it is a very artistic piece, with the designs and the painting and also the weaving and the shape and the size. And just imagining how long it took to weave, or how many roots. It’s very interesting, and it’s so detailed.
Historical Context
Choose one of the three levels below to match your needs.
- In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hat).
- Ariane points out the dajáng (hat’s) distinct characteristics, and identifies it as a work of Isabella and Charles Edenshaw, her great-great-grandparents.
- This hat likely took a long time to make, and was probably worn only on special occasions. It’s possible it was made for trade or sale as this was a time period when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hat). Ariane points out distinct characteristics of this dajáng (hat) that led her to identify it as a work of Isabella and Charles Edenshaw, her great-great-grandparents.
This hat is unique because it is larger than typical hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hats) and is woven with very finely split hlíing (spruce roots). As a result, it probably took a long time to make. It was probably worn only on special occasions such as potlatches. It’s also possible that this hat was made for ’Yáats X̱aadée (Europeans) to buy or trade. As explained earlier, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a time when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajangée (spruce-root hat). Ariane points out distinct characteristics of this dajáng (hat) that led her to identify it as having been woven by her great-great-grandmother Isabella Edenshaw, and painted by her great-great-grandfather, Charles Edenshaw.
This hat is unique because it is larger than typical hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hats) and is woven with very finely split spruce roots. As a result, it probably took a long time to make. It was probably worn only on special occasions such as potlatches. It’s also possible that this hat was made for ‘Yáats X̱aadée (Europeans) to buy or trade. As explained earlier, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a time when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
- In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hat).
- Ariane points out the dajáng (hat’s) distinct characteristics, and identifies it as a work of Isabella and Charles Edenshaw, her great-great-grandparents.
- This hat likely took a long time to make, and was probably worn only on special occasions. It’s possible it was made for trade or sale as this was a time period when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hat). Ariane points out distinct characteristics of this dajáng (hat) that led her to identify it as a work of Isabella and Charles Edenshaw, her great-great-grandparents.
This hat is unique because it is larger than typical hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hats) and is woven with very finely split hlíing (spruce roots). As a result, it probably took a long time to make. It was probably worn only on special occasions such as potlatches. It’s also possible that this hat was made for ’Yáats X̱aadée (Europeans) to buy or trade. As explained earlier, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a time when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajangée (spruce-root hat). Ariane points out distinct characteristics of this dajáng (hat) that led her to identify it as having been woven by her great-great-grandmother Isabella Edenshaw, and painted by her great-great-grandfather, Charles Edenshaw.
This hat is unique because it is larger than typical hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hats) and is woven with very finely split spruce roots. As a result, it probably took a long time to make. It was probably worn only on special occasions such as potlatches. It’s also possible that this hat was made for ‘Yáats X̱aadée (Europeans) to buy or trade. As explained earlier, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a time when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
Summary
- In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hat).
- Ariane points out the dajáng (hat’s) distinct characteristics, and identifies it as a work of Isabella and Charles Edenshaw, her great-great-grandparents.
- This hat likely took a long time to make, and was probably worn only on special occasions. It’s possible it was made for trade or sale as this was a time period when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
Essential
In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hat). Ariane points out distinct characteristics of this dajáng (hat) that led her to identify it as a work of Isabella and Charles Edenshaw, her great-great-grandparents.
This hat is unique because it is larger than typical hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hats) and is woven with very finely split hlíing (spruce roots). As a result, it probably took a long time to make. It was probably worn only on special occasions such as potlatches. It’s also possible that this hat was made for ’Yáats X̱aadée (Europeans) to buy or trade. As explained earlier, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a time when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.
In-Depth
In this video, award-winning Haida weaver Ariane Xay Kuyaas shows us a hlíing dajangée (spruce-root hat). Ariane points out distinct characteristics of this dajáng (hat) that led her to identify it as having been woven by her great-great-grandmother Isabella Edenshaw, and painted by her great-great-grandfather, Charles Edenshaw.
This hat is unique because it is larger than typical hlíing dajángée (spruce-root hats) and is woven with very finely split spruce roots. As a result, it probably took a long time to make. It was probably worn only on special occasions such as potlatches. It’s also possible that this hat was made for ‘Yáats X̱aadée (Europeans) to buy or trade. As explained earlier, the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries was a time when the Xaaydaa (Haida) were forced to adapt to colonial social and economic systems.