Dogfish Woman

Context

One of the most powerful supernatural beings of Haida mythology is the elusive Dogfish Woman, who derives her shamanic powers from the dogfish (a small shark). Seen here in her human form, the snout of the dogfish has become a crown and she wears a labret in her lower lip, which is a sign of aristocracy among the Haida. The story of the Dogfish Woman is difficult to trace, and only fragments of the narrative have survived into the present. Like many Haida stories, the story of the Dogfish Woman is one of transformation and movement between the human and non-human realms. Among many other themes, this story speaks to the attraction between sexes, barriers between species, and lost love.

The story as recorded by Franz Boas:

A woman went travelling with her husband. She used to make fun of the dogfish. They went to visit a small rock in the sea. When they were out there, the dogfish, whose home the rock was, came and took the woman down into the sea. There she discovered that the dogfish were really people. They had taken off their dogfish blankets. After she had stayed in the house for some time, fins began to grow upon her arms, her legs, and her back. Her husband was searching for her everywhere, but he was not able to find her. After a number of years he found her. Her face had remained unchanged; but fins had grown on her arms, on her legs, on her back, and on her head. She never returned. Ever since that time her family have used the dogfish crest, and their house is called the Dogfish House.

Additional information

Dogfish Woman and Bear Mother are elements taken from the monumental sculpture The Sprit of Haida Gwaii, and were created as stand alone sculptures.

The heads were selected by the artist to be cast in bronze as sculpture editions of nine and exhibited for sale at the Bushlen Mowat Galllery in Vancouver in 1993/96. Reid selected the images as being forms that were both aesthetically pleasing and spiritually meaningful to him. The artist’s proofs seen here, were generously donated by Allan and Faigie Waisman in 2002.