Curious Things around the House #1

This mask is “Bookwus”, carved by Beau Dick (Kwakwaka'wakw)
It hangs in the alcove in my front hallway.

A Bookwus – or Bakwas – is a malevolent spirit in the Pacific Northwest Native American culture of the Kwakwaka’wakw. He is the keeper of drowned souls; he causes loss of reason and sanity; he lures people into the night woods; his victims survive by finding minimal sustenance in the forest.
He has a green hairy body, is nominally shy, and has a frightening, skeletal visage. The souls of those he captures are lost forever and become members of his retinue.

Bookwus is their explanation for depression and insanity. When mental illness happens, shaman healers will exorcise the depressive spirit via a medicinal ceremony.
This mask was actually used in the treatment of mental illness of First Nations people in British Columbia.
My art dealer, Mr. Reynolds, at http://www.douglasreynoldsgallery.com, knew I would want it; being fond of the Northwest Art and being a shrink.

I used to hang it in the office at work but it was too effective; not only did it frighten away evil depressive spirits, it frightened away a few patients too.

So, Mr. Bookwus hangs in the foyer and keeps the house ‘clean’.