Bakwas facts for kids
Bakwas (sometimes called bokwus, bookwus, or bukwis) is a special spirit from the stories of the Kwakwaka'wakw people. These people live along the coast of British Columbia in Canada. Bakwas is often known as the "wild man of the woods."
He lives in an invisible house hidden deep in the forest. The spirits of people who have drowned are said to gather there. Bakwas eats "ghost food" from small shells called cockle shells. He tries to offer this strange food to humans who get lost in the woods. If a human eats this food, they would turn into a being just like Bakwas, joining the ghost world. In some old stories, Bakwas is described as the partner of another spirit named dzunukwa, and the father of her children.
Bakwas and Other Spirits
Bakwas is similar to other ghost-like beings found in the cultures of different Indigenous tribes along the Northwest Coast.
- The Tlingit people have spirits called kushtaka, who are like land-otter people.
- The Haida people tell stories of gagit, who are ghosts of drowned spirits.
- The Nuu-chah-nulth people have spirits called pukubts. This name sounds a lot like Bakwas.
- The Tsimshian people also have a similar spirit known as ba'wis.
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