'The First Carvers' is one of the stories about the Haida learning carving from the supernatural world. This rattle was carved from yellow cedar, inlaid with copper and abalone, and painted by Haida master carver Jay Simeon.
"This rattle was inspired by a Haida story about the origin of the house post. A story we studied in one of the language classes I took at Old Masset. 'A group of Yakoun Stlaang got tired and took a break while they were paddling toward Rose Spit. Looking over the edge of the canoe they saw a beautiful carved house post under the water. They stared and studied it for a long time, memorizing it.' This is just part of the story but it serves as inspiration for this piece. On the front we have a killer whale in human form with a hawk face in his blowhole. He has copper eyes to show that he is a supernatural. I also have his side fin and tail present. The other side has a human face in red looking over the side of his canoe down at the killer whale. The handle of this rattle represents the dorsal fin." Jay Simeon
