Transformer (spirit-being)


The Transformer is a pre-eminent spirit-being in many traditions of the indigenous peoples of the Pacific Northwest Coast of North America and among some Interior peoples in the same part of the continent. Often appearing as more than one being, and seen in the plural as Transformers, the name of this/these being varies from people to people, though all Coast Salish names are similar:
The name of one of the Transformers in Kwakʼwala is Q!aʼneqe lak, who married the daughter of a chief of the ʼNamgis at the village of Whulk at the mouth of the Nimpkish River; the chief, Gwaʼ nalalis, was later transformed by Q!aʼneqe lak into the Nimpkish River.