Richard Tylman, Tsonoqua (Tsonokwa, Dzunukwa), Oil on Linen

The Spirit of Tsonoqua

The Tsonoqua, oil on linen, 59" x 56" by Richard Walking Buffalo [1] Tylman

DESCRIPTION OF LEGEND [2]

Expanded to include new content.

The Tsonoqua (aka Dzunukwa) belongs to the family of mythological giants who dwell in the mountainous rainforest of coastal British Columbia. She controls the magical Water of Life, clumsily spilling it around, imparting good fortune. She is the all consuming Tsonoqua, black as soot, with a house filled with riches. She kidnaps little children wandering in her woods, and eats them.

Bare naked and alluring, with deep-set eyes and pendulous breasts, Tsonoqua is often thought of as being vain and stupid. She captivates the attention of those who wish to outsmart her and steal from her coffers – their desire for possession, like the Tsonoqua's obsessive appetite for children are no laughing matter – both feeding upon mental anguish and unhappiness.

Background

The Tsonoqua is the best known sacred creature of the West Coast Indigenous myth. In ritual masks and in totem-pole carvings she is shown with pursed red lips. Her appearance is that of a naked monster with large breasts and grabbing hands. She is also described as having long and rough hair that shines around her head as if bleached by the sun. It is often believed that the wailing noise of the wind howling through a cedar forest is made by the Tsonoqua blowing a "Hoo! Hoo!" sound. Some myths claim that Tsonoqua can bring herself back from the dead (an ability which she uses to regenerate her own deeper wounds).

D'Sonoqua study by Emily Carr, 1912, W/c.

The Tsonoqua, known also as the Wild Woman, or the Cannibal Woman of the Woods, is often portrayed with bad squinted eyes luring her victims into a trap. She is an Earth Realm Goddess whose spiritual attributes include eternal life and the ability to transform herself into swarms of mosquitoes when burned in fire. Tsonoqua owns invaluable treasures that all gluttonous men wish to steal. She smells awful. She collects children who sometimes escape her, because she is dull-witted. Parents warn their offspring, "be watchful or Tsonoqua will get you!"

Ancestry

Tsonoqua, Tsonokwa, or Dzunukwa, is a progenitor of the Namgis family through her son, Tsilwalagame. She is a bringer of wealth, but she is also greatly feared, because she is known as a ruthless ogress. Twice the human size, Tsonoqua lurks in the forest ubiquitously. The warriors who could tame her (which is unlikely), would bring back great treasure.

Dzonokwa by Edward Curtis, 1914

There were stories whispered about her demise. Her head was smashed with a stone, but it was known that she never dies.[4] In one story transcribed by George Hunt for Franz Boas the Dzō'noq!wa (her name in original spelling) was killed in a plot devised by Chief K·!ā'dē and his daughter She-who-will-be-made-a-Princess. One day the Dzō'noq!wa lured the girl into her house but was dazzled by her beautiful eyebrows cut straight with the eyebrow-cutter. Dzō'noq!wa wanted the same for herself. They went together to the house of the chief. The chief's warrior came in with his chisel, asked the Dzō'noq!wa to lie down, close her eyes, and he drove his stone eyebrow-cutter right through her skull with a hammer. The whole tribe went to her house to retrieve her immeasurable riches. This story was printed in 1906. A completely different one about a young pretty boy splitting her head open with a boulder at her very own place appeared in the Report to the National Museum from 1895, as recorded by Hunt at a separare location. But Tsonoqua's own song said something different: "I have the magical treasure and the supernatural power, and I can return to life" she sang as she walked.[4]

During the Winter Ceremony known as Hamatsa, Tsonoqua is represented by an oversized mask worn by a master dancer. The dancer moves clumsily to represent the monster's confusion. The chief may also wear her mask when distributing wealth at a potlatch.[3][4]

Painting development process

The Tsonoqua was painted as the first being in the supernatural spirit series. Her depiction was essentially a blind journey into the future. Most of the subsequent revisions were inspired by the spirit series itself. In the original version, the main subject resembled a surreal bust. The painting included a brighter forest background and a slightly different colour scheme.

The first major changes were made after the Dance of Swai-Xway painting came into existence at which point, the bust idea was given up; arms were added, and the Tsonoqua creature was made to look like a complete being, positioned behind the front panel.

In the original painting, the Tsonoqua wore her hair tied back. Many years later my daughter remarked that it looked as if she had short hair. It was a revelation which led to the final revision (Photoshop design mock-up pictured), long after other elements were already deeply revised. The Tsonoqua's torso was first redesigned on Mylar and repainted as nude with a tattoo on her chest depicting a spirit bear. It was the first major revision made soon after the other two spirit paintings were already finished (Swai-Xway Dance, and The House of Bookwus). The two stretched-out hands were painted in. She was made into a ghost ready for action; her face frozen in a silent scream. At present, the Tsonoqua is awaiting the complete transfer of her new hairstyle from digital image to canvas with AR tracing.

Painting inspired dance

An interpretive dance inspired by the Tsonoqua painting was performed in camera. The studio performance translated Tsonoqua’s supernatural existence into body movements and dramatic expressions.

[1] The name 'Walking Buffalo' (Mostos Takohtêw) was bestowed upon Richard Tylman by the Master of Ceremonies Okimaw Piyesiw Awasis (Cree Chief Thunderchild) at the Tsawwassen Nehiyaw Matot'sân on the Tsawwassen Lands Reserve in Vancouver on 19 May 2018.

[2] Stories from separate locations about the Tsonoqua's improbable death: Franz Boas, George Hunt (1906), Kwakiutl Texts – Second series. The Jesup North Pacific Expedition; New York, Vol. X, Part 1 and 2, pp. 86-93. Also in the preceeding volume: Franz Boas, Kwakiutl texts; vol. 5, 1902-1905, pp. 354-355; including transcription of the Kwak'wala original by George Hunt: Chapter XI. "Traditions of the L!a'sq!enoxu": 1. Dzo'noq'wa. English translation available from: "The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians" by Franz Boas [in] Report of the U.S National Museum for 1895, pp. 372, 373. American Museum of Natural History, Digital Repository; New York, NY., retrieved from Internet Archive.

Read Biographical Inset about the Writings of George Hunt (click on-and-off)

George Hunt wrote thousands of pages of Kwakwaka'wakw texts about the Kwakiutl culture. He sent his hand-written manuscripts to Boas in Chicago on regular basis. Hunt was born in 1854 in Fort Rupert, a well established trading post on Vancouver Island with a big wharf and a number of comfortable houses. Raised among the Kwakiutl, Hunt became a Hudson’s Bay Company employee already in his teens and later a professional interpreter. His father was English, and his mother Tlingit from Northern BC – his Tlingit name was Xawe. From the age of 25 until the rest of his life, Hunt served as a buyer, fieldworker, and consultant for collectors, museum officials, and ethnographers largely based in the United States. He was a prolific writer. He mailed massive bundles of pages by post to Boas at the American Museum of Natural History. Boas only made intermittent visits to British Columbia due to considerable distance and the expense. Hunt wrote his manuscripts by hand — usually featuring one line of text in Kwak'wala followed by an interlinear translation line in English. He used a phonetic transcription system developed with Boas during their earlier work together in Chicago. Hunt gathered stories, genealogies, charter narratives, songs, and historical accounts from local elders and family members in Fort Rupert. He transcribed accounts shared by high-ranking community members and family including his Kwakiutl wife Tsukwani. Boas covered the costs. (Dictionary of Canadian Biography et al.)

[3] Kwakwakaʼwakw myth: P. Alden Knowlton, TSONOQUA. A Metaphor for Duality, California State university, 144 pages (direct PDF download).

[4] The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians, by Franz Boas (Report of the U. S. National Museum for 1895, pp. 372–), Full text with excerpt, Internet Archive. The woman rooted to the floor said: "It is the fourth time that somebody tried to kill her. – She had hardly finished speaking when the Ts'o'noqoa came in, singing as she walked: I have the magical treasure, I have the supernatural power, I can return to life." That was her song.