Dzonokwa

Not exactly a halloween mask,  one can however imagine how spooky this Dzonokwa (wild woman of the woods) mask looked around a campfire in the dark.  The graphite paint would shine and the hair would fall in her face and her pursed lips would cry "Hu hu."   A Kwakwaka'wakw tribal (west coast of Canada) myth tells of this huge hairy woman who kidnaps children and throws them into a basket on her back.  Pretty scary!!  But she also was the bringer of wealth and good fortune to the individual with the inherited rights to her.  Children who went to seek her would find treasures in her house.  

She hangs on the red wall in our dining room and every grandchild has delighted in hearing her story and can pronounce her name almost as soon as they can talk!