Bakwas: The Tricky ‘King Of Ghosts’
Spirits of the West Coast Art GalleryA Bakwas mask.
The water babies might have found a home with this next ghostly spirit: Bakwas, also called the “King of Ghosts,” “Man of the Sea”, or the “Wildman of the Woods.” He is known to associate with the souls of the drowned.
According to Native American ghost stories told by the Kwakwaka’wakw peoples of British Columbia, Bakwas can be found in the forest, usually where the woods meet a body of water. Legend states that he lives in invisible houses, usually alongside spirits of the drowned, and that they enjoy eating cockles (which are a bit like clams).
Though shy, he’ll seek out living people and offer them something to eat. Sometimes, he’ll offer salmon. Other times, berries. But these are cursed “ghost” foods. Though they look like salmon or berries, they’re actually rotten wood, maggots, snakes, or lizards. Anyone who eats them will be doomed to become like Bakwas themselves.
Wikimedia CommonsA dancer in a Kwakwaka’wakw mask of Bakwas.
Legend describes Bakwas as skeletal, with long hair, round eyes, and a pointed nose. He’s allegedly the husband of Dzunukwa, a cannibal giant known to eat children.
Some legends state that Bakwas themselves once drowned. Others say that the first Bakwas was a strong warrior who walked every morning to a mountain stream to bathe — but one day couldn’t find his way home. Lost in the woods, he became a “wild man.”
In acknowledgment of the Bakwas legend, many tribes carve terrifying, detailed Bakwas masks. They feature the spirit’s arching eyebrows, round eyes, and long nose. Often, these are worn for ceremonial dances during which the dancer holds his hands in front of his face, symbolizing the spirit’s shy nature.
Though Bakwas might be shy, he certainly wants company.
