kóok gaaw “box drum” Language: Lingít

Eeshaan du keedí (Our poor Killer Whale.) I’m just going to say the words to you. Goosú du aaní? (Where is its land?) Gaashú ch’á I aaneex´yéi eetí? (Why didn’t you stay at home?) Eeshaan du keedí. (Our poor Killer Whale.)…And the old ladies began to cry, and they said, ‘Our poor Killer Whale. Where is your home?

—Clarence Jackson, 2005

Drums sound out the heartbeat of grief, as expressed in the Killer Whale mourning song. Box drums accompany singing during funerals and at the memorial ku.éex’ (memorial potlatch) ceremonies that come later. The box drum is a wide plank of red cedar, steamed and bent at the corners, with a separate top piece attached by nails. The painted design represents the Killer Whale. Box drums were traditionally suspended from the ceiling of a lineage house and played by young men; the technique is to hit the inside with fist or fingers to vary the volume and tone.

Culture: Tlingit Region: Southeast Alaska Village: Wrangell Object Category: Ceremony Dimensions: Length 96cm Accession Date: 1905 Source: Dr. John R. Swanton (collector) Museum: National Museum of Natural History