Photo: Tanita Sampson
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Kekulis
After the salmon season, my ancestors moved into kekulis or subterranean homes for the winter months. They were typically located near a good supply of water with access to fish, game and gatherable foods.
To make a winter dwelling, they would dug a deep pit. Support poles were placed in the pit vertically and they were lashed with cross beams in the shape of a dome. Poles were notched so that shorter logs could be placed horizontally across the poles, spanning from one pole to another. The effect was the look of a spider web being made of wood.
The next layer was made from cedar bark, deer hides, or woven rush mats, followed by another layer of sod with grass. This layer was placed carefully from the base of the kekuli, circling the dome, upwards to the centre of the structure. When finished the kekuli looked like a grassy hill.
My Great Great Grandmother, Christina Allen, recounted many stories about Kekuli building. She taught my uncles how to make them. She insisted that men and women had separate entrances. The men’s entrance was in the top of the kekuli. They climbed a ladder that was made from a notched log. Their entrance also acted as the smoke hole for the fire below.
The women had an entrance that usually faced the water. It was made from weaker limbs of trees and my Great Grandmother Mary Thomas said the entrance often collapsed in winter when snow was heavy.
Most kekulis faced west, facing the rising sun. Morning was greeted with prayer to the sun before emerging from the dwelling.
To make a winter dwelling, they would dug a deep pit. Support poles were placed in the pit vertically and they were lashed with cross beams in the shape of a dome. Poles were notched so that shorter logs could be placed horizontally across the poles, spanning from one pole to another. The effect was the look of a spider web being made of wood.
The next layer was made from cedar bark, deer hides, or woven rush mats, followed by another layer of sod with grass. This layer was placed carefully from the base of the kekuli, circling the dome, upwards to the centre of the structure. When finished the kekuli looked like a grassy hill.
My Great Great Grandmother, Christina Allen, recounted many stories about Kekuli building. She taught my uncles how to make them. She insisted that men and women had separate entrances. The men’s entrance was in the top of the kekuli. They climbed a ladder that was made from a notched log. Their entrance also acted as the smoke hole for the fire below.
The women had an entrance that usually faced the water. It was made from weaker limbs of trees and my Great Grandmother Mary Thomas said the entrance often collapsed in winter when snow was heavy.
Most kekulis faced west, facing the rising sun. Morning was greeted with prayer to the sun before emerging from the dwelling.