Object Details
- Collector
- William J. Fisher
- Donor Name
- William J. Fisher
- From card: "A carved wood rattle in two longitudinal sections, one hinged to the other at the handle." Illus. Fig. 196, pp. 208-9 in Crowell, Aron, Amy F. Steffian, and Gordon L. Pullar. 2001. Looking both ways: heritage and identity of the Alutiiq people. Fairbanks, Alaska: University of Alaska Press.
- Part of a set of Sugpiaq shaman's objects E127802 - 7. See remarks for E127804.
- Source of the information below: Smithsonian Arctic Studies Center Alaska Native Collections: Sharing Knowledge website, by Aron Crowell, entry on this artifact http://alaska.si.edu/record.asp?id=232 , retrieved 8-30-2012: Rattle, Sugpiaq (Alutiiq), Koniag. This shaman's rattle represents a toothed bird; its eyes are copper. Inside is a sinew-wrapped charm bundle that includes a quartz crystal, a mica flake, a sliver of wood, and clippings of hair. The rattle may have been used to summon helping spirits, which were birds, animals, and human souls. Shamans performed cures and predicted the future.
- This object is on loan to the Anchorage Museum at Rasmuson Center, from 2010 through 2027.
- Reference: Crowell, Aron. “Postcontact Koniag Ceremonialism on Kodiak Island and the Alaska Peninsula: Evidence from the Fisher Collection.” Arctic Anthropology 29, no. 1 (1992): 18–37. http://www.jstor.org/stable/40316240. Copy of this article is attached to accession record.
- Record Last Modified
- 11 Feb 2025
- Specimen Count
- 1
- Culture
- Eskimo, Alutiiq (Sugpiaq), Koniag
- Accession Date
- 4 Jan 1887
- Accession Number
- 018490
- USNM Number
- E127805-0
- Object Type
- Rattle
- Length - Object
- 25 cm
- Place
- Ugashik, Alaska Peninsula / Ugashik River, Alaska, United States, North America
- See more items in
- Anthropology
- NMNH - Anthropology Dept.
- Topic
- Ethnology
- Record ID
- nmnhanthropology_8334406
- GUID (Link to Original Record)
- http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/3489d4720-b5b5-496a-a3da-f3f49dd6cca3
