New Year Earring

This earring design pays homage to the Heiltsuk New Year and the herring fish that come to mark it's arrival. The Heiltsuk word for the month of March is qṃsistá which means 'moon tipped over.' Our ancestors believed that when the crescent moon was tipped in the sky during this time of year the herring fish were beginning to spawn. This is a sacred time of year, and one that marks the beginning of our harvesting cycles or baqvla (to harvest food for the winter).

Size: length 3.5 inch, width 2.5 inch
Material: Abalone inlay, mirror and shiny or translucent acrylic
Hardware: silver plated stainless steel