Rock Paddle - More Info - Where From

Saqiyun / Rock paddle. “We believed that the bathhouse has a spirit called maqim sungngua’a; or ‘person of the bathhouse.’ If you heated rocks for him, he made your hunt successful” (Bobby Stamp, Prince William Sound Elder, 1989). Steam bathing in the banya is part of life today in every Alutiiq village. Water is thrown on hot rocks or a metal stove to make the steam. This paddle, used to carry rocks for the bath, is from the Karluk 1 archaeological site.