The Sheldon Jackson Museum’s November artifact of the month is a model qasgi (SJ-II-F-63). The inside depicts an elaborate ceremonial scene with figures. Although the collector is unknown, “J.W.C. Anvik” is inscribed on the box's exterior. John W. Chapman, a missionary stationed at Anvik from 1887-1930, may have collected it.
The men’s ceremonial house model is square with a covered entrance. Several figures are sitting or lying down inside on a high bed platform. Other figures are seated on benches. One holds a skin drum and a drumstick. Another holds a drumstick that has broken. The benches form three sides of a square. On the fourth side, a piece of fish skin hangs on a cross bar. A ladder leads up to the platform. A large figure sits with his back to the door, and seven men are seated on the front of the platform.
Artist-in-residence Chuna McIntyre (Yup’ik) examined the wooden model during a cultural consultation in 2019, and artist-in-residence Golga Oscar (Yup’ik) examined it in 2023. According to McIntyre, the scene is of Qaariitaaq, a ceremony held after freeze-up. Both described Qaariitaaq as “Yup’ik Halloween.”
During the event, men painted the faces of village children with white clay and charcoal designs. The children then visited from house to house, where women gifted them with food such as akutaq and dried fish.[i] After three nights of visiting houses and receiving food, the children went to the qasgi and ate with the men, initiating the opening of the community to the spirit world. Qaariitaaq, like other ceremonial events held between the end of summer and early spring, was heavily focused on preparing for the new harvest season and feeding people.
The Sheldon Jackson Museum has six model houses and several model dance scenes in the permanent collection. Most are Yup’ik. You can view many of the models and the November artifact of the month during regular museum hours–currently Wednesday-Saturday, 10 am-4 pm, except holidays. Winter admission is $7, $6 for seniors, and free for those who are active-duty military and their family (with military ID).
[i] According to Ann Feinup-Riordan, parents instructed children to not remove paint from their faces, and when they awoke and paint was worn off, they could be assured that the Qaariitaaq had come during the night and licked off the paint.
Fienup-Riordan, Ann. Yuungnaqpiallerput: The Way We Genuinely Live. Seattle: University of Washington Press. 2007.
Bureau of Ethnology. (1892). Ethnological Results of the Point Barrow Expedition. Ninth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology. 1887-88. Washington: Government Printing Office.
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