Wild Man of the Woods
Kwakwaka'wakw · deity · mythic perennial · Recorded classification
Male forest/death spirit; deity-class. Sometimes paired conceptually with Dzunukwa as the male wild-being of the woods. The masked Bukwus dance is part of the ceremonial repertoire.
Domains
- ghosts and the dead
- forests
Powers
- lure the living into the world of the dead with ghost-food
- Dig ghost-cockles on lonely beaches
Relations
- companion: Wild Woman of the WoodsMale and female wild-beings of the woods, conceptually paired in Kwakwaka'wakw tradition.Franz Boas, Kwakiutl Culture as Reflected in Mythology (1935) (secondary)
Sources
- Bakwas is the Kwakwaka'wakw king of the ghosts, a small emaciated green forest spirit who tries to draw the living into the realm of the dead.: Boas, Franz. The Religion of the Kwakiutl Indians, 1930. (secondary); Boas, Franz. Kwakiutl Tales, 1910. (secondary)