Case file · Folklore / legend
Dzunuk'wa, the wild woman of the woods (Kwakwaka'wakw)
In Kwakwaka'wakw tradition Dzunuk'wa is a giant, sleepy, black-bodied woman of the forest who carries off children in a basket, but who also brings wealth to those who outwit her.
1897 CE · 50.59, -126.93 · status: legend
The account
Franz Boas and George Hunt recorded her stories and her role in the winter ceremonies in 'The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians' (1897). Her mask, with pursed lips for her cry 'hu-hu', and her image on feast dishes remain central to Kwakwaka'wakw art; the 'Tsonoqua' feast dishes are among the best known Northwest Coast carvings.
The sceptical view
She is a figure of ceremony and story with layered meanings, and community members object to her being lumped in with 'Sasquatch' as a supposed animal.