Ska twa Origin Story
Origin of the Four clans
House of Hagbegwatku, Dakhumhast
Ska twa Origin Story
According to Gitksan history, Damelahamid is the original city where the first of our ancestors, Hagbegwatku, was placed on earth from heaven. Our dance group is named after this city.
When the wind blows, you hear a howling in the spruce trees. It is Ska twa.
She is still reminding us of how our beginning started.
Ska twa and her granddaughter were the sole survivors of a horrific event that occurred before the known civilization of the Northwest coast. Ska twa called out to the four winds of the earth for a companion for her granddaughter. Several forms of life answered, all in the form of a man, but Ska twa refused them. Ska twa called again. A brilliant looking young man appeared in for form of light with the power to tilt the earth. Ska twa accepted him.
He was to take them on a long journey through space but they were forbidden to open their eyes. Ska twa was frightened, opened her eyes and they fell back to earth. Ska twa was not considered prepared for the journey. She was placed in a spruce tree until the end of time. The name Ska twa comes from the call she made to the four winds.
Her granddaughter was taken into Heaven. She was bathed into the likeness of light by our Heavenly Father, Simoiget Damla-ha. She had three children in virgin birth, who were placed on earth as our first ancestors. Hagbegwatku, Goldum tseam and Tsim ham haemid. They were placed in Damelahamid and given gifts and instructions and our people grew and brought their culture to the northwest coast.
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All Gitksan belong to one of four clans or phratries: the Gisgahast, Ganada, Lukiboo and Lasxeek. The first clan began with the creation story. The three children of our origin were given special gifts and instruction for when they established themselves in Damelahamid. They were given specific instructions on how to build their house. They were given a Gilhast, which was a pole that was to be placed in front of their house. The first clan, the Gisgahast, “the people of the pole” was named in reference to the Gilhast.
More clans developed to regulate spouse selection and prevent incest. The second clan was the Ganada the frog clan. The people of the Ganada established themselves across the Skeena river from the Gisgahast where the village of Kitan`max is now located. The third clan is the Lukiboo, the wolf clan, which was established where the city of Prince Rupert is presently located. The forth clan is the Lasxeek, the eagle clan, which originated on the Queen Charlottes. The people of a clan share common ancestors, crests, and privileges.
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House of Hagbegwatku, Dakhumhast
A House is a matrilineal group associated with each clan. Houses are named according to their chief’s title and everyone in Gitksan society is assigned at birth to a House. Incorporated in a House are a number of ranked chiefs, men and women, each of whom heads a sub-house unit within the House.
The title Simoiget Hagbegwatku is held by the head chief of the Dakhumhast House, “the House of the pole” the original House of the Gitksan Nation, deriving its name from the Gilhast. The House belongs to the Gisgahast, the Fireweed Clan. Today the title of Hagbegwatku belongs to our elder Chief Kenneth Harris. Inherited with the Chiefly title is a wealth of knowledge, songs, stories and family crests, along with the royal titles bestowed on his children, nieces and nephews. They define our culture by reenacting important historical events and portraying the historical development of the Gitksan Nation. The masked dances are an expression of this authority. They define social relationships, the rights to titles and crests, and provide a venue for public recognition of these rights.
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