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Wintertime – 2015

“Haida life has for generations been dominated by the seasonal rounds of available foods, most of which are preserved in spring, summer and early fall for the cold, inclement winter months.

Names of the months refer to seasonal and climatic changes, such as Taan Kuu.ngaay (Bear hibernate month) for November and T’aaGaaw Kuu.ngaay (Snow month) for December. Winter months are punctuated by a succession of storms, precipitation and up to seventeen hours of low light.

In times past as well as today, winter is a time for ceremonies. Because temperatures rarely drop to freezing, some plant and animal life are dormant until spring. Wintertime evokes the quietude of life unseen, below the earth’s surface, within the ceremonial house.”
–Robert Davidson: Abstract Impulse, 2013.