V-shaped wooden hook with two arms fastened together with split spruce root and twine. The barb is fashioned from a piece of iron. One of the arms has been decorated with a carving of what appears to be a sea lion. A twine line has been threaded through a hole made through the centre of the sea lion and knotted into a loop.
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You Know?
The halibut is one of the largest types of fish to be caught along the coast of British Columbia. It was an important source of food to the more northerly communities whose members did not have access to large quantities of salmon as did their neighbours to the south.
A large V-shaped wooden hook was used to catch halibut that averaged between 13 and 16 or more kilograms. One arm of the hook was usually carved by the fisherman with a “spirit helper” that provided supernatural assistance with the capture of this large and powerful fish. The other arm of the V hook had a barb lashed to it that impaled the fish through its mouth.
Traditional barbs were made from bone, but following contact with Europeans, these were often replaced with metal versions.
