The Name KLOOSH comes from Chinook Jargon.
Chinook Jargon was a trade language of the Pacific Northwest. It is related to, but not the same as the indigenous language of the Chinook people, upon which much of its vocabulary is based.
Many of the words from Chinook Jargon remain in common use in the Western United States and Canada.
kloosh — good, correct, right.
- kloosh nanitch — a byword meaning "watch yourself", "take care", literally "watch well".
- kloosh mamook — to fix, to mend, to heal, to become healed, to get better, and a host of other potential meanings. If followed by another noun or verb which makes mamook into an auxiliary, kloosh in that case gives the sense of the conditional or obligational - "you should do this....".
- Kloosh mamook klatawa - "you'd better go".
- Kloosh serves the same function with other verbs as well: Kloosh chako — "please come", "it'd be good if you come".
The Blessing
As for the blessing, it was performed by a shaman named John Elliot. It took place as the sun was rising. As our offering, we brought tobacco, 2 strips of red cloth, and 2 strips of white cloth. He wrapped tobacco in each of the pieces of cloth and tied them closed, and recited a blessing/chant while he made each one. One of each color was placed at the bow and in the stateroom. The other matching set was buried on some sacred land on Mt. Newton, here on Vancouver Island. This was to assure our safe return home. Actually, at the time, we never planned to return home, so I guess the chant and the tobacco worked!
He also put some sage in a large clam shell and burned it. The smoke was fanned throughout the boat with an eagle feather. He asked if there were any particular areas we would like to make sure were protected, so we opened the engine room and various compartments. He was not comfortable walking forward on deck, so Mark assisted him by fanning the sage smoke on the sails, mast, and anchor windlass.
He then beat a small drum and sang a beautiful chant. All in all, it was a very moving ceremony.
Unfortunately, the dampness of Alaska made the fabric wrapped tobacco soggy and a bit fuzzy, so it was not included in the "equipment" list!
Barry & Karen Philbrook
Original Owners of KLOOSH