VIDEO: Hobiyee 2012 Ts'amiks Edition

Nisga'a New Year, known as "Hobiyee," was celebrated in Vancouver at the Agrodome last week and we have some video.

Hobiyee is the new year celebration of the Nisga'a First Nation that celebrates the first crescent moon that is shaped like "hoobix," which is the the shape of the Nisga'a spoon. This special crescent shaped moon with its bowl facing upwards indicated that the following season would be a bountiful harvest of oolichan, salmon, berries and other resources.

From Hobiyee 2012 Ts'amiks Edition, here's an explanation on the meaning of "Hobiyee":

The Simgigat-Nisga'a Chieftains in past centuries studied the celestial heavens. They were knowledgeable in the behaviours of the stars in proximity to the moon which forecasted the weather patterns. They studied the astrology not from text books but by years of observing the heavens.

The Halayt-Simgigat (Spiritual Leader- Chief) studied the "Buxw-laks" moon, The Moon of February. Over time, they observed that whenever the first crescent moon is in the shape of a "Hoobix"- the bowl of a Nisga'a wooden spoon, thin shaped and the ends pointing upward- that in the following seasons the resources of our lands would be plentiful, the oolichan, salmon, berries and various other resources, bountiful.

Hobiyee is about the point in time when our "Gal-ha'ink" Cedar Bent Boxes of the Nisga'a are near empty of their winter provisions and they have begun to ration the last of their provisions. The Nisga'a are hoping and praying for a bountiful season of oolichans (saviour fish) and a fruitful year.

So the Nisga'a say, "Hobiyee" meaning "the spoon is full".

Hobiyee is celebrated with a potlatch filled with traditional song and dance. This year in Vancouver, the Hobiyee celebration was taken to a new level when it was hosted by the Nisga’a Ts’amiks Organization at the PNE Agrodome and streamed live onto the internet.

The event included hundreds of drummers, singers and dancers from around British Columbia and lasted 2 nights. Although this event has already passed here in Vancouver, there is an even more traditional event happening in the traditional territory of the Nisga'a in Gitlaxt'aamiks, which is the capital of the Nisga'a Nation 97 kilometers of Terrace, British Columbia. For more info on that event, visit: nnkn.ca/content/hobiyee-2012-feb-24-252012-gitlaxtaamiks-bc-rec-centre.

The archived live stream of the Vancouver Hobiyee celebration is some of the best footage capture of the event. Here is the grand entry:

Watch live streaming video from broadcastliveca at livestream.com

New 'Potlatch Music' Blog Shares Cultural Videos

The Potlatch Music blog has brought together a great compilation of west coast potlatch videos from a large group of nations within the 'Potlatch Coast'.

Just across our desk here today at RPM.fm, the Potlatch Music blog is a new blog site that compiles a large number of amazing potlatch videos from nations like the Haida, Nuxalk, Tlingit, Tsimshian, Nuu-chah-nulth, Nisga'a, Kwakwaka'wakw and Coast Salish peoples.

The potlatch is a ceremonial gift-giving festival that has been practiced since time immemorial on the northwest coast of Canada and the United States. In 1884, the potlatch ceremony was banned in Canada and became a criminal act until the 1950's when it started to make a resurgence in the northwest coast Indigenous cultures.

Now thriving within this resurgence, videos and other media have been circulating on the internet and the culture grows as the population of Indigenous nations grow as well. Like the powwow videos that hit YouTube on the Sunday night of the powwow, potlatch videos are showing the strong energy of co-creation through music and culture in these ceremonies.

A lot has changed in societ'y since the early to mid 1900's when Indigenous cultures were illegal and Indigenous people couldn't gather in more than a group of three without intervention of the authorities. Now Indigenous people can enjoy their gatherings as well as invite their loved ones remotely through the comfort of the internet.

The Potlatch Music blog features videos old and new, some from archival footage and more from the newer potlatches of today.

Here's a video from the 2010 Hobiyee Nisga'a New Year celebration's Chiefs entrance:

Hychga to Manik for letting us know about this blog site.

Do you have an Indigenous music blog or website you'd like to share?

Drop us a line at info@rpm.fm or leave us a comment below.