My posts | Petroglyphs on Hornby Island

Walking in the local village - did I say village? I mean one shop, with a few self-build very tiny shacks around it all painted in bright and shiny colors - gives you a feeling like you might be walking in The Shire. Everything is really tiny and festive, and the people are all living like in a dream. We went to get something to eat (namely, the best burger I've eaten as of yet) and then we went for a long walk on the island.

During this walk we went to look for a petroglyph on the rocks, which my mother accidentally stumbled upon 28 years ago. There are several stories about the nature of this petroglyph, and I've tried to gather them all here.

Story 1

My mom, when she first saw this, 28 years ago:
I got scared when I saw it the first time, because it looks like a small devil with a tail!

Story 2

We visited the I-Hos, the local Native American tribe, who live nearby Comox, to ask them about the petroglyph. They have the following story.

The area in which it is located is a holy area. We did not live on Hornby, but we went there for ceremonies. The petroglyph was a signal to the natives that they were not allowed to go any further. It protected that corner of the island.

Why is it not protected against destruction by tourists?

There are not many who know that it is there. If we protect it then everybody would know that it is there, and it would get destroyed by tourism anyway. People who are not allowed to see it will not be able to find it. For example: one boy of our local band knew about a few petroglyps in a cave somewhere, and he knew how to find them. He thought to make some profit by giving guided tours to tourists to the petroglyphs. However, when he went there with a group of tourists he was not able to find the cave any more. This proves that you cannot find the petroglyphs when it is not allowed, and we are not scared that it would get broken. Also in time the weather will naturally erode the petroglyph from the rocks. This is how it should be.

Story 3

A local resident living close by the location had this to say about the petroglyph:

The petroglyph, which is about 700 years old, is located near a small stream that runs down-hill. That location in the stream contained a lot of salmon, which was eaten by the natives, and therefore very important. The petroglyph depicts a human giving birth to a salmon. It is a symbol for the point where the salmon gets born.

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