Kwakiutl Songs

Kwakiutl Songs

Indigenous Peoples
leisure
British Columbia
recordings

The earliest surviving sound recordings from 19th century British Columbia feature a funeral song, healing incantations and a gambling song all performed by Tom Haimasela. The round phonograph cylinders were used as methods to record sound and were kept in cases which had brightly coloured labels. The sticker states, ‘The makers of Columbia records’ which shows the European/native interaction efforts to industrialise and make technological advances within the colonial settings. The illustration on the side of the label shows a women wrapped in British flag with the colours of red, white and blue depicting Nationalism. These recordings were not often played to natives or migrant workers as many could not afford the equipment or withhold the knowledge in order to work the phonographs. This is not produced till the end of the 19th century which suggest that prior there was no evidence of sound recordings.

George A. Dorsey (American anthropologist)

Taken from C.F Newcombe and transferred to Royal British Columbia Museum

http://royalbcmuseum.bc.ca/100/object/kwakiutl-songs/

19 September 1899

Lauren-Ann Saunders

Royal British Columbia Museum archives

unknown

Material Object - phonograph cylinder

19th century British Columbia