Gitxsan Feasts

The word potlatch which means giving, is from the Chinook language and was not commonly use by the Gitxsan. Gitxsan people refer to these events as “yukw” - usually translated as feasts. An individual of social standing could only begin to use his or her titles and privileges after they had been publicly proclaimed at a feast. All the guests acted as witnesses to the event, and in this way the social system, with its many inherited rights and privileges at birth, puberty, marriage and death, was maintained and validated.

A chief’s prestige depended on the accumulation of wealth that was then given away as payment to the witnesses at the feast; status came with the distribution of wealth. Traditional gifts included carved wooden objects such as feast bowls and spoons, furs, rare shells and hand woven blankets. After the traders arrived, woolen blankets and other manufactured goods were used. Only those who earned their places attended feasts. They were seated in places according to their rank and received gifts relative to their status. The entire group present shared the food and gifts as they were all witnesses.

The forms taken by feasts varied according to the nature of the occasion that they commemorated. They could be held outdoors or indoors, in winter or spring; some were confined to local villagers, and others included outsiders; some lasted days and others a few weeks. In 1884 the potlatch was banned by law as a result of the disapproval of the missionaries and government officials. The Gitxsan people could not abandon the laws of their grandfathers however, so the giving of feasts continued in secret until 1951 when the law forbidding potlatches was repealed.

For the  Gitxsan today, the feast hall still unites their social system. Memorial feasts, stone or pole raising feasts and shame feasts are still being held. It is in front of all the witnesses who are called in, that titles, rights and privileges are validated and publicly proclaimed.

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