For many years I have been intrigued by “totem” figures sometimes referred to as Watchman figures. On a recent trip to Hawaii I found one at the Pu’uhonua o Honaunau National Historical Park south of Kona on the Big Island of Hawaii. They are called ki’i in the Polynesian culture. Their purpose was to guard or protect life, to defend or to provide sufficient land or food to sustain a family. Similar figures have been found or represented in the legends of Native American tribes in the Pacific Northwest. There is a verge large Watchman totem at Fisher Point on Seaforth Channel just east of Ivory Island near Bella Bella, British Columbia. It stands looking towards the sea maybe to protect early seafaring canoes on their journeys or perhaps serve as a warning to warring parties seeking to attack villages nearby. On the coastal streams of Washington, Watchman wooden figures were placed to guard fish traps. They were said to be powerful figures and could invoke the Gods to assist them in their responsibility to ensure a plentiful return of salmon.
Hawaiian Watchman Staring Out to Sea; photo by Fred Cooper
