Soulcatcher

A soulcatcher or soul catcher (haboolm ksinaalgat, 'keeper of breath') is an amulet (aatxasxw) used by the shaman (halayt) of the Pacific Northwest Coast of British Columbia and Alaska.

Soulcatchers were constructed of a tube of bear femur, incised on one or both sides, and often ornamented with abalone shell.

Soulcatchers were decorated with a sisiutl-like animal: a land-otter or bear head at both ends of the tube, and an anthropomorphic face in the middle.

The soulcatcher was plugged at both ends with shredded cedar bark, to contain the lost soul, or to hold a malevolent spirit "sucked out" of a patient.

Sickness incurable by secular (herbal) means was believed to be caused by "soul loss" through: To cure the patient, the shaman would wear the soulcatcher as a necklace.