Sitka

We woke up in Sitka with two truly postcard views from our private Deck 2. 

Wolf was our tour guide for a historic tour of this proud little town. He was knowledgeable, witty, and had a gentle storytelling manner. Surprisingly, he ran the Sitka jail for 15 years

When the Russians came, they named their settlement New Archangel, after their Russian city. 

Our first stop was the old St. Micheal's Russian Orthodox cathedral in the heart of town. 

Wolf explained a lot about the church, but only two concepts are simple enough to report in this blog. 

First, he explained the many icons in the church.  An icon, in church-speak, is an image "written" on wood and used for meditation.  The term "painted" is not used, even though that is what we would say it is. To protect the image, most of "the writing" is covered with decorative metal. 

Second, the most beloved and prevalent icons in this cathedral are of the Virgin Mother and Child. 

It was a normal Sitka day--cloudy and rainy-- as we left town and drove to the Sheldon Jackson Museum near Sitka National Historic Park.  

One could spend two or three days looking at all the artifacts in the museum. We had 45 minutes! And because of the rain, we did the museum instead of the park's rainforest trail. 

A few things caught my interest. The native people, who claim to have lived here "before trees" did fabulous bead work.  When the Russians came, they introduced buttons and the textiles changed to incorporate them

Many totem poles, or "story poles" were exhibited. The poles are the public records of a clan's identity and pride. 

I asked  about the tongues hanging out on some of the figures. Tongue-to-tongue meant the figures were talking to each other. A single tongue meant the figure was talking to everyone.

Only after making this totem collage, did I notice that the hands in all three were similarly placed. Now I wonder why. 

I was particularly fascinated with the "mortuary" poles. Mortuary poles had a large hollowed-out interior space. 

These poles were used before the Russians and Europeans introduced the native people to cemeteries. 

The native people cremated their dead, then placed the remains in water-and air-tight bentwood boxes--the boxes themselves evidence of the ingenuity and artistic talent of these early inhabitants. 

The mortuary box would be placed inside the pole cavity. Multiple boxes (and bodies) were stacked. One pole to a clan. 

There was a carver on site demonstrating the use of his handmade tools. 

Back on the bus, we were glad the rain had stopped, but realized that clouds hang low over Sitka--raining or not. 

Our final stop was delightful: a Russian folk dance presentation by the New Archangel Dancers.  None of the dancers were Russian. All of them were women. It was fabulous fun!!