The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #68747 Message #1206285
Posted By: Stilly River Sage
13-Jun-04 - 12:55 PM
Thread Name: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper
Subject: RE: BS: I Read it in the Newspaper
http://www.heraldnet.com/stories/04/06/13/loc_salmon001.cfm
Return of the king
Traditions of ceremony are passed down to a new generation
By Diana Hefley, Herald Writer
TULALIP - Standing side by side, young and elderly tribal members blended their voices together to welcome the first salmon of the season. They sang to bless the fishermen, to honor visiting tribes and those who have passed along tribal traditions, and they sang to greet Haik Saib Yo Bouch - Big Chief King Salmon in the Lushootseed language. Every year, the Tulalip Tribes celebrate the return of the first king salmon with a ceremony.
On Saturday, hundreds gathered inside the tribal longhouse to hear how the first salmon of the season must be revered. "If we greet him and treat him with the respect he deserves, he provides for us all through the year," said Glen Gobin, who led the ceremony. Women and girls garbed in bright shawls danced around a circle of drummers. A dozen fishermen and women were blessed with a feather dipped in water. Soon a young boy ran into the smoky longhouse, announcing the arrival of the Big Chief.
The drummers and dancers walked to the water's edge, where a canoe carried the treasured salmon. Joe Gobin carved this year's canoe. The tribes' master carver, Jerry Jones, taught Gobin the tradition. Jones died last fall following a traffic accident. "Our teachings have come down through the years," Glen Gobin said. "There are those who have stepped forward to keep us together as one."
The gathering is an opportunity for young tribal members to understand more about their culture, said tribal member Judy Gobin. "We learn the ways of our ancestors. I think that's the greatest thing about this," she said.
The ceremony proceeded as the Big Chief was placed on a bed of ferns and cedar boughs and carefully carried back to the longhouse. Tribal members ate the fish and later returned its bones to the water. Tradition says the Big Chief will return to the Salmon People and report back to the others about how he was treated. More salmon will return if the tribe has shown him enough respect.
"If only we could work on the price of fish," Gobin joked during the ceremony.