Kwakwakaʼwakw music

There are four main groups of Kwakwaka'wakw dancing societies since ancient times: Hamatsa ("Cannibal"), Winalagilis ("Making War All Over the Earth"), The ceremony is intended to recreate the original encounter with the ancient spirit. Each society delegates a song master to invent and memorize songs for all members of the respective society. Unlike other social positions, the song master is not an inherited position, but is chosen for his talent in creating and remembering songs. The song master is even paid for his services, creating and memorizing from one to four songs for every novice initiate. Winalagilis Winalagilis ("Making War All Over the Earth") dances tell the stories of violent and possessed warriors. Ghost dancers revive the dead warrior spirits and afterward sing a song together. Atlakim The song for the Atlakim ("Taken Far Away Into the Woods") dance introduces the dancers. Singers repeat the song for each new dancer they introduce. Dluwalakha The Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples restrict Dluwalakha ceremonies to the spring season. They hold a potlatch on the last day of the ceremony to repay the mask makers and everyone else who was affected by the novice dancer. Dancers sometimes use a Dluwalakha dance to announce their intentions of one day becoming a hamatsa. Cedar whistles introduce the supernatural motivation for the Dluwalakha dance. Masks accompany the song and dance, which collectively tell the story of the novice being overtaken by a supernatural power of the family dloogwi. ==Kwakwakaʼwakw ensemble==

Kwakwakaʼwakw ensemble includes a variety of different musical instruments depending on the purpose of the dance being performed, with vocals being the only melodic instrument in the soundscape of their ensemble. The rattle is the most important instrument in the ceremony of the Kwakwakaʼwakw rituals. In his book Crooked Beak of Heaven, Bill Holm describes the sound of the rattle as being a "direct contact with the supernatural." The box drum is another instrument central to Kwakwakaʼwakw music. It is usually made from cedar, which has a spiritual significance for the Kwakwakaʼwakw peoples (see Kwakwakaʼwakw mythology). A large number of people collectively beat the drum and sing the song that they are drumming to. Clapper Kwakwakaʼwakw music clappers are a combination of the rattle and singing baton, and are traditionally made of leather and wood. The clapper is a one-handed instrument that produces sharp and sudden sounds when the two pieces of wood clap together. ==References==