Kleekleeha: The Saga Continues

Kleekleeha: The Saga Continues.
      This blog entry has been, what I think appropriately named Kleekleeha: The Saga Continues.  This song is still growing and in a state of transformation! I have previously blogged about this song but the stage was set, so to speak, and she has transformed just a little bit more. We have seen and heard the song that was once just performed with the children of Huuayaht when I was their teacher, we have seen it become the Grand Entrance Song of the King & Queen of our great nation, and now we have seen the Saga of Transformation Continue. This honor is thanks to Ha-koom Hu-min-iki for it was her involvement in the Capitol Theatre that lead to this performance. Her network of friends and colleagues helped us the Huuayaht to transform our Ancient Spirit Song; The Kleekleeha: The Saga Continues!

The Lightning Canoe & Thunder Drum: A Timeless Bond. 

Kleekleeha Dancers Enter the stage!

       Is the name of this particular skit a short one about thirteen minutes in length and it is a story, in a nutshell of just one song. It has not only transformed the song but the story telling as well. It is my wish to add more theatrics to our Modern Mind presentations, while still holding true to our Ancient Spirit! That is the motto of my people the Huuayaht. This performance was on Friday the Twenty-seventh of Two Thousand and Fifteen at the Capitol Theatre in Port Alberni BC.  While there has been performances of our songs and dances in the Theatre before, this was the first, as far as being a part of a much larger Multi-Cultural society such as ours in Canada. We The Huuayaht had the fortune of opening the stage for the Third annual arts district grant program hosted the Rotary Arts Council. The opening act was a fitting one, we got to acknowledged the host nations whose territory we were fortunate enough to be within a custom of ours in the beginning of any ceremonies. For us The Huuayaht it was truly an honor!

A Sacred Journey: The Proposal. 04-08-2007

Transformation: The Song.
       As I have stated the song went through a little transformation, and at a glance it may not seem like very much at all. To the Huuayaht however it is significant. I clearly outline here in the presentation, the story and song, what is unsaid though will one day in the future have much more significance. Right before the main chorus of our song where it is saying Kleekleeha, Kleekleeha, Huuayaht, Huuayaht the singers pause for just a moment and the steersman of the canoe yells out Kleekleeha-Olio and we respond by yelling out who; who; who; who that is the transformation, and that is the addition. Its significant because Olio represents our Huuayaht Princess Olio is her nickname, and it reflects the sacred journey aboard the kleekleeha when her dad Tlii-shin proposed to her mom Hu-min-iki. That gesture reminds us aboard the Kleekleeha~Huuayaht, and in life itself that: "Our canoe, and our people best move in unity" for it is for the betterment of our children, our future Huuayaht that we move in unity.

Transformation: The Story Telling.

Thunder Drummers, Tyee Tlii-shin, & His Speaker

      The story telling too has been transformed, I have always been a little bit theatrical, not dramatic ;) Wink, wink. Something old becomes new once again, because from what I have been told the people of The Huuayaht and our larger language group The Nuuchahnulth we have always been the grandest of story tellers. I am simply trying to live up to that old adage, and make it new once again. Take note of the talking stick in hand, and to my Tyee Tlii-shin and Ha-koom Hu-min-iki the talking stick is very symbolic of history in the making. He first hands the Talking Stick to me the seekh-ci "The Speaker", and I take it with my receptive hand (The Left) and it is a reminder to me to not only talking from a place of my teachings but my heart as well. It is important to The King and Queen that my thoughts are aligned with my heart that allows for the teachings of the talking stick to transcend time.

Wedding Day: The arrival 05-06-2015

The Saga Continues! 
      We now know that the sacred canoe of my people The Kleekleeha Huuayaht its song and story attached to the our peoples and on the eve of the Huuayaht princess' birthday the story and song transformed just a little bit. Our people of the Huuayaht will tell of this day when we performed at the Capitol theatre. For this song is the spirit of our people and only together can we move forward. This invitation to perform our song The Kleekleeha Huuayaht was a perfect opportunity and all whom were there to witness seen both our Ancient Spirit and our Modern Mind. We also bore witness to a transformation, one day this will be a song and story that our princess Olio to tell, and she is a representation of the future of Huuayaht and its for them our future generations that we remember; Kleekleeha Huuayaht; Our Canoe and our People Best Move in Unity!