20" diameter round glass panel designed by Tsimshian artist Terry Star and fabricated at John Nutter Glass Studio. There are two soul catchers depicted on the panel. One on the top half, and an opposite one on the bottom half.
Soul catchers are used by northwest coast Indigenous shamans to transport spiritual entities from one location to another. The shaman will travel to the spirit world during a healing ceremony for a patient that has lost his or her soul. There he will search for the lost soul that appears as a little light, like a firefly darting around. He’ll capture it in the device, and plug the ends with cedar bark. Then he’ll bring the soul back to this world and blow it into its rightful owner. Shamans also use the soul catcher to capture and remove malevolent spirits from people that are ill.
Soul catchers are tubular in shape with slightly flaring ends. They’re usually made from hollow leg bones of bears. Bears, grizzlies in particular are powerful and ferocious. This quality imbues the device. They are intricately carved and sometimes inlaid with abalone. The abalone is believed to possess spiritual power related to vision. There are heads carved facing outwards on each end depicting spirit helpers. These could be bear heads, otters, wolves, or other animals. There is a human looking head carved in the centre which could represent the shaman himself, his spirit helper, or a trapped spirit.
Soul catchers are worn around the neck by shamans. They are an integral part of their toolkits. Shamanic healing arts access resources from a dimension that medical science is unaware of. These rituals have been practiced among earth based cultures all over the world with positive benefits for many millennia. Knowledge of shamanic healing is kept secret among its practitioners. Very little is known publicly.
