Contributed by Maine Historical Society
Description
Wapi-kuhkukhahs is the Passamaquoddy word for Snowy Owl. Gabriel Frey (Passamaquoddy) gathered, processed, and wove the ash for Wapi-kuhkukhahs and added the leather accessories. Gabriel's mother, Gal Frey (Passamaquoddy) created the beadwork .
Some cultures associate owls with bad omens, or as messenger of death. According to Gabriel Frey, Passamaquoddy culture views the symbol the owl similarly, “though for us the message of death is really a message of change, and wapi-kuhkukhahs, the Snowy Owl, brings with him change for the better.”
This is the first collaboration between Gal Frey and her son, Gabriel Frey. Gabriel cut, pounded, and processed the ash, using only the very inner sapling sections that are snowy white. It took about four years and many trees to get enough ash to weave this purse basket, using a porcupine or pointed technique in the front to mimic the feathers of the Snowy Owl. Gal Frey beaded the face of the owl on the lid of the basket, using xx different hues of white, creating the illusion of three dimensions.
The basket is a miniature of the traditional Wabanaki pack basket made to fit under the gunwale of a canoe, updated for 21st century uses as a purse.
According to Gabriel Frey, and in Maliseet/Passamaquoddy language, “Itasu, neke Koluskap nekolat skicinu, wapi-kuhkukhahs oloqiyess etoli-mocimkahqihkek.” In English language, this translates as, It is said that when Koluskap left the people, the snowy owl went into the thick woods. Kolusckap, also spelled Glooscap and Gluscabe, is the main figure in Wabanaki creation histories. He taught the Wabanaki how to make tools, how to live, and showed them ways to respect land and resources.
About This Item
- Title: "wapi-kuhkukhahs” or Snowy Owl basket, Orono, 2022
- Creator: Gabriel and Gal Frey
- Creation Date: 2022
- Subject Date: 2022
- Location: Orono, Penobscot County, ME
- Media: Black ash, leather, glass bead, metal
- Local Code: 2023.017
- Object Type: Physical Object
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For more information about this item, contact:
Maine Historical Society485 Congress Street, Portland, ME 04101
(207) 774-1822 x230
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More to Consider
My Maine Story
Making the wapi-kuhkukhahs / Snowy Owl basket
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