This is a traditional ceremony of the American Indians who were native tribes of Northwest part of America. The Potlatch was characterized by giving away some gifts as a show of generosity. At times it involved destruction of property as a show of wealth. This belief had been as a result of communal responsibility and democratic beliefs of the tribe. Potlatch was carried out through feasting, dancing which was costumed and masked and there was also singing. The ceremonies were well prepared for taking up to one year while setting it in place. The ceremony could take even three weeks. Potlatch ceremonies would be held to celebrate new positions and tribe’s social status (Wakefield, Helen & Hopkins, p159). It showed social equality in the community and indicated the legal power of men who had been elected as leader of the tribe. This was because once elected, the leader was made the custodian of the tribal wealth and not being given the ownership of that wealth. That was why these leaders were expected to give away their property so that the gap between the rich and the poor people would not be big. It was also to make sure that the poor people benefited from communal wealth. The leaders did not get richer because of the new positions they were holding politically. This helped to do away with cases of corruption. This ensured that the leaders were based on trust and power and not prestige and domination through abuse of power. Leaders were well respected by the people.
Apart from the reason of electing leaders in the community, Potlatch ceremonies were also held for some other purposes. For instance, if a person died, there was a burial and memorial Potlatch ceremony. In case of a rites of passage and coming of age for initiation, there was holding of Potlatch ceremony. There was a Potlatch in case of a marriage celebration. Once a person was in a position to build a new home, there was a Potlatch celebration. If a child was born, a Potlatch was conducted for celebrating that new being in the community.
Each and every person invited to the Potlatch celebration received a gift equivalent to the social rank. Before the arrival of Europeans in America the gifts used to be food staff, slaves and ornaments of coppers. The gifting practices were characterized by total presentation which represented the political, economic, social and religious values. In 1849 the European brought about population decrease since there were so many disease epidemics. The commoners started claiming for titles and the aristocrats increased the gifting to retain their titles. This drained them off their wealth since they were willing to prove their competitive exchange of gifts.
Potlatch ceremony was banned by the Canadian federal government in 1884. The missionaries and the government agents had never been happy about the Indian Act. However, it is being continued underground though it is viewed as an illegal activity (Wakefield, Helen & Hopkins, p159). Those people involved in the act were considered guilty of the offence. It was seen as formidable because no single family was supposed to accumulate wealth a practice which was dragging behind economic development. The ban law was punishing offenders through imprisoning sentencing them harshly. There were Indian agents who persecuted their fellow since they had been convinced that the Potlatch was a practice that proved uncivilized and anti-development act. It was though almost impossible to stop something that the tribe practicing it viewed as a custom of its people.
Work Cited
Wakefield, Juliet Ruth Helen, and Nick Hopkins. "Help that helps: Exploring strategic motivations in intergroup helping transactions." Intergroup Helping. Springer, Cham, 2017. 159-181.
