Featured Small George Bee Totem - Any information

Raven Finned , Killer Whale just floatin around.....
a human face in the blowhole !

 

Ah ha! I didn't know what that was. Thank you!

 

Not sure if this qualifies?? But it's my favorite one that I own.

By Timber Vavalis / Woosh Kee Ton

 

Fascinating how the disparate elements come together. Of course, I had to look up Tsonokwa. Sounds like a story to scare children.

 

nice paddle.........do u know the creatures,,,?

 

Beaver and raven-- sun in his beak.

 

could be the moon..

Raven Steals The Sun, Stars And Moon
In the beginning there was no moon or stars at night. Raven was the most powerful being. He made all of the animals, fish, trees, and men. He had made all living creatures. But they were all living in darkness because he had not made the sun either.


One day. Raven learned that there was a chief living on the banks of the Nass River who had a very wonderful daughter who possessed the sun, the moon, and the stars in carved cedar boxes. The chief guarded her and the treasure well.

Raven knew that he must trick the villagers to steal their treasure, so he decided to turn himself into a grandchild of the great chief. Raven flew up on a tall tree over their house and turned himself into a hemlock needle. Then, as the needle, he fell into the daughter's drinking cup and when she filled it with water, she drank the needle. Inside the chief's daughter, Raven became a baby and the young woman bore a son who was dearly loved by the chief and was given whatever he asked for.

The stars and moon were each in a beautifully carved cedar box which sat on the wood floor of the house. The grandchild, who was actually Raven, wanted to play with them and wouldn't stop crying until the grandfather gave them to him. As soon as he had them Raven threw them up through the smokehole. Instantly, they scattered across the sky. Although the grandfather was unhappy, he loved his grandson too much to punish him for what he had done.

Now that he had tossed the stars and moon out of the smokehole, the little grandson began crying for the box containing the sunlight. He cried and cried and would not stop. He was actually making himself sick because he was crying so much. Finally, the grandfather gave him the box.

Raven played with the box for a long time. Suddenly, he turned himself back into a bird and flew up through the smokehole with the box.

Once he was far away from the village on the Nass River he heard people speaking in the darkness and approached them.

"Who are you and would you like to have light?" he asked them. They said that he was a liar and that no one could give light. To show them that he was telling the truth, Raven opened the ornately carved box and let sunlight into the world. The people were so frightened by it that they fled to every corner of the world. This is why there is Raven's people everywhere.

Now there are stars, the moon and daylight, and it is no longer dark all of the time.

 

Sure, like Komo says; the blowhole is often depicted as a face.

Yes indeed; it is said the Tsonokwa story is often used to keep one's children from wandering in the woods. The drum I think is just described as a woman; but hooded eyes are often an attribute of Tsonokwa, and it is interesting to speculate on what the story would be, of a monster who steals children, but cries when seeing a butterfly.

 

That is very fascinating that the place were whales breathe is equated with human faces. Usually, eyes are the places where we look for similarity.
Maybe Tsonnkwa's children turned into butterflies and that's why she steals human children.
Thank you for following up. I really enjoy it when members share their treasures, because they are usually the best examples.

 

she steals the kids cuz she's hungry.........

She is an ancestor of the Namgis clan through her son, Tsilwalagame. She is venerated as a bringer of wealth, but is also greatly feared by children, because she is also known as an ogress who steals children and carries them home in her basket to eat.

 

Usually depicted with round or pursed lips; as she makes a "Hu-Hu" sound, and it is sometimes told to children that the sound of the wind blowing through the cedar trees is actually the call of Dzunuḵ̓wa (there are many spellings).
She has heavy or closed eyes, as she often gets sleepy, which sometimes allows the children to escape.
But better be careful out in the woods today....

 

Fascinating how they incorporated the wind sounds into this story. More effective than words of warning. I will certainly be careful in the woods today.

 

Hi. George Bee, Kwakwaka’wakw, was born in Haxwa’mis (Wakeman Sound) and lived after his marriage in ‘Mimkwamlis on Village Island. The community is known as Alert Bay, although Village Island is a nearby island.

George is known to have carved 23 pieces. In October 2018, in a ceremony at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, a Talking Stick carved by George Bee was repatriated to the Bee family, gifted to them by the family that had purchased it 30 years ago.

Clifford George Bee is a different artist.

 

George Bee, Kwakwaka’wakw, was born in Haxwa’mis (Wakeman Sound) and lived after his marriage in ‘Mimkwamlis on Village Island. Alert Bay is the name of the community which includes Village Island.

George is known to have carved 23 pieces. In October 2018, in a ceremony at the Vancouver Aboriginal Friendship Centre, a Talking Stick carved by George Bee was repatriated to the family, gifted to them by the family that had purchased it 30 years ago. That was the only piece of George Bee’s work that was in the possession of the family, until the family was able to purchase another piece this week.

Clifford George Bee is a different artist.

 

Hi. I am the original poster of the small totem. Thanks very much for chiming in. There is so much misinformation floating around about everything on the internet. I try not to compound this problem, so when I brought up Clifford George Bee, I was just searching for some connection to another art piece with a similar name.

The paper label on the piece has no provenance, so it is pretty iffy, but the signature seems real. Whether this is the same George Bee that you are referring to, I can't determine because I haven't seen his signature.

Any information posted here though is of value to the members of the forum and the guests who read about the items. If you could share some details about his work and history, it would be appreciated.

 

I am member of the extended Bee family. We don't have a photo of a signature we could share (sometimes he just signed pieces GB) but the attribution seems reasonable.
As far as I am aware, there is only one George Bee who was a carver. There are other family members who also carved: Human Bee, John Bee, and the family is related to other carvers in the Mountain family etc.

 

Great to meet you here. While I have a great affection for this piece, it sits on my dresser so I see it several times a day. if your family is interested in acquiring it back please start a Conversation with me. See the Inbox link at the top of page.