МАЭ № 571-33/a

Bowl in the shape of a merganser duck

Kodiak Eskimos

I.G. Voznesenskii's expedition

wood, paint, abalone shell, glass beads

length 36.5 cm, width 22 cm, height 11.5 cm

This bowl and bowls No. 571—33/b and No. 571—34 were used during winter celebrations for serving guests tolkushey—whale or seal fat mixed with dried berries. It was believed that waterfowl were blessed with magical powers. They could dive in the water, walk on land, and fly in the air and therefore, like the spirits were capable of visiting the underwater, earthly and heavenly worlds.

Ethnography of America