Dear Hasan Basri,In Vancouver Stanley Park near Brockton Point there are a group of Totem Poles made by Native Indians. A lot of people come to see them and attracted tourists from all over the world. The Totem Poles are sculptured from big trees, usually red cedar. The Totem Poles are storytelling, the carvings tell story about legends. Or it can be just as an artistic presentations. Europeans in 1700's misunderstood them as frightening statues that the natives are worshipping. But the Totem Poles are never object of worship. Construction of a totem pole never done in a modern method, but always in a traditional methods and with ceremonies, from getting the log from the forest, carving it and erecting it on site. Totem Poles are also used in building their traditional long houses as supporting beams. The traditional long houses are large houses that are occupied by many families. That reminded me of the traditional Batak's long houses in Sumatra, where some of the beams are carved and also occupied by many families. But Batak's traditional long houses are not desirable as living quarters in today's standard anymore, although many are still kept as monument to generation past, and also good for tourist attractions. There are many Native Indians tribe in British Columbia. The Totem Poles that are shown on photo are from the tribes of Kwakwaka'wakw, Hesquiat and Ditidaht. Mouthful aren't they.
