M 's- s

MEMO I R SOF TH E

AMERICAN ANTHROPOLOGICA I,

ASSOCIATION

VOL UME V I

M 3

P UBL I S H ED FOR

TH E AMER I C AN AN THR OPOL OGIC AL AS SOC IAT ION

LAN CASTER , P A ., U . S . A .

P R ES S OF

THE N EW ER A P R I N TI N G COMP ANYLA N C AS TER , P A .

flufiéno .25

C ONTEN TS OF VOLUME V I

P A G E

Fu nctions of \Vampum Among the Eas tern Algonk ian. FR A N K G .

S P EC K

N otes on R eindeer N omad i sm. G UDMU N D H A TT

N otes on C och it i , N ew Mex ico . FA TH ER N OE L DUMA R E S T

P enobscot S hamanism . FR A N K G . S P EC K

TH E FUN C T ION S OF WAM P UM AMON G TH E EAS TER N

AL GON KIAN

BY FR AN K G .

i

S P EC K

IN TR ODUCTION

H E s ubj ect of . wampum has been g iven con s iderable atten

t ion by ethnolog i s ts and h is tor ians at large , bu t as yet there

rema in unan swered ‘

severa l of the mos t importan t ques t ion s

concern i ng its or ig i na l manu factu re , its geograph ical proven ience

d u r i ng d i ff eren t pe r iod s , and the funct ion s i t s erved in part icu lar

reg ion s and h is tor ical epochs . The gather ing incubus of ev idence

seems to promise no immed i a te ces s at ion of increas e , for every. year

or so sees the publ icat ion of another paper or two at tempt i ng to

prove e i ther that the Ind i an s cou ld or cou ld not make the so-cal led

counci l wampum or tubu lar bead s before they obta ined metal tools

from Eu ropean s . I ts’

beg i n n i ng has been var ious ly accred i ted to

the I roquoi s , the N ew England Algonkian , and the Du tch by dif

ferent recen t au thors more or les s se r iou s ly ,1 wh i le ear ly au thors

tooseem to have p romu lgated d ifferen t op in ions on the s ame poin t .‘

1 The authorities who do not regard th e tubu lar wampum as of aborig inal manufacture include Dr. W . H . Ho lmes . S econd A nnu al R eport B u reau of A merican Ethno logy, 1 883 . p . 245 ; L . H . Morgan. Fif th A nnu al R eport N ew York S tate Cabinet ofNatural History , p . 7 1 . A l s o, in very dec is ive terms . L afitau , Moeu rs des S au vagesA rnéricains tom 1 1 , f . 502—5 03 and 506—507, and W . M . Beauchamp ,Wampumand S he ll A rticles Used by th e N ew York Ind ians , B u lletin 4 1 , N ew York S tate Mu s eum,

xgor. pp . 327—329 . Others mention its absence before the time of contact with Euro

peans . C f . L oekie l . Mis sion of the United Brethren , L atrobe trans lation, p . 34. I m‘

movement in the ind us try, re sulting in th e production of th e tubu lar bead s after thecoming of th e wh ite peop le (after is mentioned . A ls o D . G . Brinton, Noteson the Crite ria of Wampum , B u lletin N o . 4 , Free Mu s eum of S cience and A rt, Univeralty of P ennsylvania , 1 898 , p . 1 77 . and E . B . Tylor, Jou rnal of the R oyal A nthropological Ins titu te of Great Britain and Ire land . February. 1 897 , p . 248 . R u ttenber s peaks .

of Hackensac k . N . J . , as th e prin cipa l p lace of manufacture. The meth od of manufacture among the Dutch of Bergen C o N . J . . is dealt with in detai l by Barber andHowe. Historical Co llections of N ew Jers ey, i84o, wh i le more recent stud ies are , I.

unders tand . in course of preparation by Mr. W . C . Orchard .

4 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

We are i n s hort not perm i t ted by the natu re of the ava i lable

ev idence to make wel l-defined s tatemen ts regard i ng the early s ta tus

of e i ther the manu factu re or even the u se of wampum , excep t in a

few respects to po in t ou t the boundar i es of d is tr i bu t ion a t d i ffer

en t per iod s and to speci fy its funct ions i n certa i n areas . D raw ing

concl us ion s as far as we may from publ i shed ethnological, his tor

ical ,and archaeo logical sou rces the mater ial d i v ides i tsel f obj ect ively

in to two ch rono logica l per iod s in app roxima te correspondence w i th

two types of wampum m ater ia l . The former of thes e is a prehis

tor ic per iod d ur i ng wh ich the type of bead known as the d i sc wam

pum was almos t un ivers al in its d i s tr i bu t ion over the eas tern part

of the con t i nen t i f not al l over i t . Th is is the common wampum

of archaeo log ica l s i tes occurr i ng abundan tly in the I roquoian and

Algonk ian reg ions where the later m ater ial of the type to be men

tioned next became so prom inen t . The s econd per iod s eem s to em

brace th e h is tor ic and the pe r iod preced ing i t d u r ing wh ich the olde r

d i sc wampum was rep laced apparen tly by the smal le r and finer

cyl i nd r ical or tubu lar bead s . Thes e came in to exten s i ve u se for

ceremon ia l pu rpos es i n the eas t , p r imar i ly among the I roquo i s ,

s econdar i ly among the ne ighbor ing Algonk i an .

Dr. Ho lmes . h owever. comm its h im sel f (op. cit. , p . 236) to th e op inion that th e

meth od s of manufacture of wam pum were aborig inal that th e art was not of

European introduction. by wh ich h e undoubted ly refers to th e d isc wampum , not to

th e finer tubular bead s , s ince h e qual ifies h imsel f (p . 226) by a more defin ite s tatement .J . N . B . Hewitt, in th e article on W ampum . Handbook of the A merican I ndians ,

Bul letin 30, Bureau of A merican Ethno logy, Vol . 2 , pp . 905—9 09 , doe s not indu lge in any

s peculation as to the chrono logy of wampum or its elementary functions or forms .

Horatio Hale, in an interes ting article in “Four Huron Wampum Belts .

" Jou rna l of the

R oyal A nthropological Ins titu te of Great B ritain and Ireland. V ol . 26 pp . 234

235 , als o d iscuss es th e supposed Ind ian orig in of wampum in th e pos itive sense, relying , h owever, entire ly on theolder authorities . H e , l ike th e others , does not s peci fywh ich type of wampum bead s he has in m ind .

D . I . Bus hnel l , Jr. (cf . Th e Orig in of Wampum , Jou rnal of the R oyal A nthropologica l Ins titu te of Great B ritain and Ireland , V ol . 36 p . also bel ievesthat wampum orig inated with th e Ind ians , i f by wam pum is meant a l l s he ll beads .

H e -refers to a be lt of tubular bead s in th e'Mu s eum Tradescantianum dated 1656.

A gain h e says (p . 1 77 ) it is evident that as late as the year 1 700 the Ind ians of N ewEng land were mak ing wam pum in the prim itive fas h ion, perforating th e smal l p ieceso f s hel l by means of a s tone po inted d ri l l . Th is doubtfu l conc lus ion is based on th e

tes timony of a s pec imen in th e S loane Co l lection, Britis h Museum , bearing th e date1 702 , and a record from th e old catalogue of the . co l lection as serting that the h o leswere dri l led with a s harp fl int .

S P EC K] WAMP UAI A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 5

The technology Of wampum so far as the I nd i ans Of early t imes

are concerned , has rema i ned s o m uch Of a mys tery th at the s ubj ect

does not demand treatmen t i n a paper wh ich p retend s to l im i t i ts el fto loca l and funct ional phenomena .

1 I t is very probable that the

northeas tern Algonk i a n did not them s elves manu factu re the bead s

wh ich th ey came to emp loy i n the i r politica l l i fe in his toric t imes2

for we know that the bu lk of thos e u s ed even by the I roquo i s were

Of D u tch and sou thern N ew Eng land make . The I roquo i s were

the agen ts Of conveyance Of both mate r ia l and ceremony to the

tr i bes eas tward , hence i t may be j udged to wha t exten t the actua l

bead s were d i ffu s ed a long the paths Of cu l tu re transm i s s ion .

TH E TERMINOL OGY OF W AMP UM

The synonyms for wampum i n the W abanak i d i a lects are , P en

Ob scot, (p l ura l

“wh i te s tr i ng, ka‘ka

’bas ,

“Old dark s tr i ng deno t i ng the bl ue beads ; S t. Francis Abenak i

and W awenock ,wg

‘

bgbi.’

(p l u ra l3

and s agabi"

,

“dark

s t ring”

; Ma leci te and P as s amaquoddy ,wo

'

ba’

p‘

(p l u ra l wo‘

ba’

pi'

yik) , denot i ng both the wh i te and the b l u e bead s ; M icmac of Bear

r iver , N ova S cotia , wabe"k (p l u ra l wabe

"

gal ) M icmac Of C ape

B re ton , elana’

psku k,“m an ’

s (I nd i an’

s ) s tones . Thes e are the

common gener ic term s . Th is term i nology ranges through d i fferen t

1 A s to th e P enobscot trad ition of its manufactu re and u se Joseph N icolar, a nativewriter. Th e R edMan , Bangor, 1 896, makes a s u rm ise on h is own account. W ampumis made from the d iff erent co lored seas hel ls wh ich are now extinct . Th e parts of th e

s he ll cu t ou t fit for u se are rubbed on s ome “

gritty s tone to s ha pe them . Then th e awl

is used to ma ke the h o le s . The mak ing of th e h o le s was th e s lowes t part Of th e work ;therefore, when it was made it was cons idered va luable "

(p .

2 S ee reference s in footnote on p . 3 cl s eq. fo l lowing for documentary confirma

tion of th is ded u ction .

These terms have g iven ri se to Canad ian-French wampum. The southern N ew

Eng land wampu m (p ) , (Natick , C f . Trumbul l , Natick Dictionary, B u l letin 25 , B u reau

of A merican E thnology) , Mohegan and Narraganse tt, wampamp‘, wampam (p lura l

wampumpeag wampampi"

g) , wh ite wampum (suckauhock , dark wampum ) are th e

source of derivation of Eng l is h warnpum . The firs t s tem of the term (wgb wab“wh ite "

) is a fam i l iar A lgonk ian property. Th e character of the second element-abi

’

,-ap

l

,

“ length . s tring”

) fu rther appears in th e fol lowing , (P en . ) wu skwq." bi.

“pack s trap , kwu d

’

angdn'

abi“th roat s tring . jugu lar

"

; (Ma l . ) wu s kwap‘ “pack

strap .

"

aga map‘“snows hoe s tring , maksa nap t moccas in s tring ; " (Mic) . ababe

rope .

6 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [mm oms 6

appl icat ions . The terms g iven al l refer s tr ictly to the true wam

pum excep t among the M icmac who app ly the term to large bead s

Of any sor t . I n Maleci te ka" kabas “old dark s tr ing "

does not have

the res tr ictive s ign ificance that i t does in P enobscot . I t denotes

glas s bead s as wel l .1 The ph i lolog ical ind icat ions here poin t to a

cer ta in u s e of the term wa'

bab‘

, wh ich defin i te ly spec ifies the wh i te

bead s , as a general appel la t ive for a l l s hape s and colors Of wampum .

Everyone by th is t ime , however , knows how uns afe is the pract ice

of d raw ing h i s tor ica l concl us ions from l i ngu is t ic ev idence ,2and yet

the feel i ng tha t wh i te beads may at some early per iod have been

the p revalen t type is perm is s ible upon s u rvey ing the terms ;- Th is

s u sp icion is confirmed by the archaeo logical find i ngs i n eas tern

Amer ica wh ich expos e the general p revalence Of wh i te d isco ida l

bead s over thos e Of the tubu la r or cyl i nd r ical type3 in ' the o lder

s i tes . The wh i te mater ial is ,‘

moreover, softer a nd hence cou ld

have been more eas i ly d r i l led by the I nd ians who, I be l ieve w i th

the others , were not capable of d r i l l ing the. finer tubu lar bead s un t i l

they h ad acqu ired me tal d r i l ls from the Europeans . Th is th ree

fold c i rcums tan t ial i ty is not to be l igh tly d iscou n ted . I t s eems to

re inforce a cer ta i n l ikel ihood tha t the original beads Were the wh i te

d isc-s haped ones .

The p l u rals Of the terms are . in teres t ing . W e have here a cas e

Of incon s is tency wh ich is fairly common i n Algonk ian , tha t inan i

ma te Obj ects are g iven the p lu ral s u fiix -ak, -ak, -ik) wh ich p rope rly belongs to nouns in the an imate . Th is is true of P enobscot ,

1 A more common name for the latter is wenotcwa’pskiza l white man'

s s tonesI n P enobscot th e very pecul iar. term maza

’bi'

za l“vu lva s trings "

(dim inutive) is th e des ignation for th e manufactured g lass bead s :One m igh t even make th e deduction that the orig inal beads were made of s tones ,

judg ing from certain o f . th e terms . Early observers also fel l into a s im i lar error inidentification. C f. Kas les in Jes u it R elations (Thwaites ed it ion) , v ol . 67 , p . 165 .

“Th e

I l l ino is wear co l lars and earrings made of l ittle s tones ; s ome are blue. s ome red . and

s ome wh ite as a labaster ; to these mus t be added a flat p iece of porcelain which fin

ishes the co l lar. " Th e orig ina l read s for the las t s tatement “une p laque de potcelaine qui term ine le col l ier " wh ich may better be rendered which term inates th ecol lar, "

an equiva lent more intel l ig ible in view oi'

th e probab i l ity that the large socal led shel l f‘moon

"

or gorget is meant here. an article fairly common among th eC entral A lgonk ian. R as les betrays h is uncertainty in another letter (op . cit, p .

S ee p . 16.

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 7

Abenak i , Malec i te, and P as samaquoddy on ly as app l ied to :true

wampum ; the term for common bead s tak i ng the inan imate p l u ral

form (see footnote 2, p reced i ng page) . I n M icmac we note ad

h erence .to the p roper grammat ical category . An exp lanat ion Of

th is us age , accord i ng to B r in ton’

s an im is t icway of look i ng at th i ngs ,m igh t be sough t for i n an as s umed tendency toward s the person i

fication Of s acred obj ects . Th is , however , s tr ikes me as be i ng al to

gether too ra t ional i s t ic for the nat ive m i nd , for on th is very po i n t

I d iscu s s ed the an imate and inan imate p l u ra l categor ies w i th s ev

eral i n te l l igen t in terpreters w i thou t d i scover i ng. that they had any

Obj ect ive knowledge Of the p r incip les u nderlying‘

the u se Of the

p l u ra l e lemen ts . The I ndians s eem to be qu i te unconsciou s of any

grammat ical incongru i ty in th is cas e .

W AMP UM I N N OR THEA S TER NMYTHOL OGYN e i th er in the p res en t nor in the pas t s o far as we may concl ude

from the ev idence Of mythology has wampum figured in the l i fe

of th e C ree and Mon tagna is in the regionnorth Of the S t. L awrence .

I t is not men t ioned in the mythology Of the C ree or Mon tagnais or

in the i r mod ern e thnology . Even among the Oj ibwa , whos e cere

mon ial organizat ion has developed more comp lexity than is the

case wi th the tr ibes Of s im i la r cu l tu re fur ther eas t , we have rela

;tiv e ly few ci ta t ions referr i ng to its u se in h is tor ic t imes . S uch in

s tances s eem to s how that wampum was emp loyed almos t exclu

siv ely in ceremon ials concerned w i th , _

Or der ived from the I roquois .

l

W ampum ,however , is perfectly at home in the mytho logy of

the tr i bes s ou th Of the S t. L awrence . W abanak i mytho logy

abound s in references to the s ubstance , s o m uch and in s uch a

d ramat ic l igh t general ly that one wou ld be apt to give i t its proper

p lace in eas tern cu l ture mere ly from know ing of i t th rough th is

channel . The fol low ing pas sages . quoted from sect ion s of“

P enob

Cf . R ev . P eter Jones , His tory of the Oj ebway Indians , L ondon, 1 861 , p . 1 19 and

1 2 1 . Th e Ottawa used wampum s im i larly, cf . Francis P arkman, The Consp iracy of

P on tiac, Boston, 1 883 , Vol I I , p . 65 . A ls o Jes u it R elations (1 7 16—27 ) (Thwaites

ed it ion) , v ol . 67 , p . 1 5 7 , 1 87 . Co l l iers de porcelaine”are here des ignated by Kas les .

The term is s ti l l in us e th roughout French Canada, among both wh ites and Ind iansusing French . to denote wampum be lts .

8 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

s cot text material recorded by the wr i ter th rough N ewel l L yon and

s t i l l u npubl is hed ,w i l l convey s ome idea Of the m atter .

I n a tale re lat i ng the adven tures Of the hero, an abu s ed orphan ,

he own s a b i rd wh ich has the power to th row Off wampum from its

p l um age when i t shakes i ts el f . I n the word s Of the text ,

The next morn ing the b ird made an outcry. Soon wh ite wampum cameratt l ing down. Again the fol lowing morning, then dark wampum came ratt l ingdown .

Th i s b i rd was also prophet ical . I t caus ed wh i te wampum to fal l

when good new s was imm inen t , dark to fal l to announce bad

news .

Another my t h ical personage , G eso set, who is tran spor ted by

the w ind to a pal i s aded v i l lage i n hab i ted by mys ter iou s folk cl ad

In wh i te rabb i t-sk in clothes , s ees quan t i t ies Of wampum in the

ch ie f’

s lodge . Everyth i ng i n th is ta le dep icts very ancien t cu l tu re

cond i t ion s , as is s hown by the fact that the is land re ferred to is

conce ived of as the realm Of d eparted sou ls .

I n another importan t tale the text descr ibes how the hero

G esi"

ta t, engages in a wres t l ing con tes t w i th a g ian t whos e clothes

are Of wampum .

1 The accoun t is rather graph ic.

Al l at once he met a man ly, good look ing man, and fine ly clothed . Al l hisclothes were made of wampum . H e said to him (G esi

"la t)

“L et u s wres t le.

N ow i f you throw me then we s ha l l exchange ou rc lothes . H e rep l ied ,

“N ehe”

let ’s wres t le . Then he th rew the man and won his clothes . They changedclothes . Then in the evening when he came home his s i ster said to him :

“H ow

did you get such nice clothes ? " H e said “I won them . I have wrest led with

a man whom I met. H e wanted me to wres t le, saying to me ,‘I f you throw me

we s ha l l trade c lothes ! ’ Then I th rew him and I won his clothes .

”The next

morn ing again he met another one . Dark wampum mater ia l were his c lothesand he then wanted to wres t le. H e threw him too and won his clothes .

I n the my thology Of the W awenock , one Of the m inor W abanak i

tr ibes formerl y Of the coas t Of Ma i ne bu t now at Becancou r, P . Q . , an

i n teres t ing accoun t Of the or ig in Of wampum was recorded by the

wr i ter . A l i tera l trans l at ion from the or igina l is g iven ; par t of a

smal l Col lect ion Of texts Obta ined from Francois N ep tune .

1 For further mention of wampum artic les Of cloth ing see p . 19 et seq.

S P EC K] WA IVI P UMA IWON G TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 9

H ow S OR C ER ER S OR IGIN ATED WAMP UM.

l

Accord ing ly,whenever a counci l wa s he ld ,sorcerers were there. And accord

ing to the s trength of their power, it cou ld be known wh ich were the mos t powerf u l . After the counci l wa s fini shed they l ighted p ipes , and they a l l smoked .

Then the greates t s orcerer among them , every time he wou ld l ight his p ipe,wou ldcause wampum to fa l l from his mouth

, the mos t powerfu l producing wh ite, heOf midd l ing power, his wam pum was hal f wh ite and hal f redd ish , and the leas t

powerfu l sorcerer, his wampum was almos t black . (Some old woman wou ld comeand catch it in her lap when it fe l l from the sorcerers ’ mouth s .) SO then amongthese sorcerers he wou ld be the winner who among them wou ld have produced themos t wampum when he smoked his p ipe . A ccord ingly, whenever two nationswanted to make a treaty they gave wampum a s a payment, the

'

bead s workedinto a be lt with two hand s embro idered on it, meaning that they had agreed towage no more war and that forever they wou ld never hunt one another again .

A nd that is a l l .

R e ferences to the bead s occur i n the mytholog ies Of al l th eW aba

nak i tr i be s where a fict i t iou s or ig i n is almos t a lways ascr i bed to

the mater ia l desp i te the fact tha t the I nd ians real ly knowtha t i twas a hand man u factu red product . A purely mater ia l or ig i n as so

e la t ion s eem s not s u ff icien t in the m ind Of the nat ive to accoun t

for the precious bead s , he mu s t resor t to a pseudo-or igi n i n myth

o logy . I n the tales j us t re ferred to any Of the ep isodes m i gh t be

regarded as exp lana tory Of or i gi n so far as the i n forman t’

s feel ings

go . The mere factua l h i s tor ica l ci rcum s tances are mere ly s econ

dary in the nat ive m i nd , a t leas t th is is so among the Older con ser

v ativ e folk .

2

A compariso n w i th I roquo i s wampum lore is i n teres t i ng as re

gard s th i s po i n t . I t show s tha t in th i s respect the I roquo is , too ,

were sa t is fied to en ter ta i n concepts Of a myth ical or ig i n for wampum

in sp i te Of the i r rea l know ledge Of its techn ica l qua l i t i es . S uch a

correspondence i n I roquoian and eas tern Algonk i an folk-psychology

1 Th is tale is evident ly related in orig in to part of an Iroqu ois myth recorded byMrs . E . A . S m ith , Th e Cha rmed Suit, Myth s of the Iroquo is , S econd A nnu al R eport,B u reau of A merican Ethnology , 1 880—1 , p . 95 . I n th e s tory a hero produces wampumfrom h is s p ittle, wh ich is gathered in a deer s k in.

R eferences to wampum ma k ing are not total ly lack ing in the mytho logy of the

reg ion as the fo l lowing wi l l s how. S . T . R and (L egends of the Micmacs , p . 1 03 ) record sin a myth of Inv i s ible Boy . that wampum was manufacture d in former times ou t of

ce rtain sma l l beauti fu l variegated s hel ls .

10 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

tend s to confirm an idea of der ivat ion wh ich w i l l be b rough t ou t

l ater in th is paper .

For the purpos e of es tab l is h i ng the tru th of the s upposed cor re

spondence i t migh t be wel l to ci te s ome of the ins tances i l l us trat ing

mythological or igin concep t among the I roquo is .

1

Among them the or ig in ofwampum s eems to have been con

temporaneous w i th the incep t ionof the I roquois L eague . I n a

myth recorded byMrs . E . A . S m i th2 there is an obscure connect ion

between the wampum b i rd and H iawatha , the founder . The tale

re lates how the b i rd was d is covered in the woOdsi The head ch ief

offered his daugh ter to any one who wou ld take the “ b i rd dead or

al ive . The b i rd was pu rs ued . W henever i t was h i t w i th an arrow

a shower of wampum wou ld flyfrom its fea thers , bu t no one cou ld

br ing i t down . At las t a boy from an u n fr i end l y tr ibe came to

t ry . The warr iors tr ied to p reven t him bu t the ch ief in s u red him

of an oppor tu n i ty to try his bow and arrow. The b i rd was brough t

to the ground and its p l umage became the pos s es s ion of the peop l e .

The boy was then marr ied to the ch ief’

s daugh ter and peace was

s ecu red be tween the two nat ions , the boy decree ing that thereafter

wampum s hou ld become the br inger and b inder of peace . Another

vers ion s ta tes that H iawatha, wh i l e on his way to v is i t the Mohawk

to lay the fou ndat ion of the L eague , saw a flock of d ucks al igh t on

the s u rface of a lake . W hen they flew away the lake was dry and

the bottom was fi l led w i th s hel ls . Ou t of thes e the ch ief cons tructed

the wampum bel ts wh ich were to be u sedo

in the ceremon ial s of the

new con federacy .

3

S t i l l another I roquois accoun t is recorded by C u s ick , an Onon

daga, who re la tes how H iawatha in his effort to s top civ i l s tr i fe

among the I roquois wen t fi rs t to the Mohawk . On the way he be

held an

"

old man s i t ting near a fi re s tr inging s hor t eagle qu i l ls .

Th is old man ins tructed H iawatha in the u se of the qu i l ls as a mean s

of record ing his ideas and the hero adop ted the p ract ice in s u b

1 Th e ensuing section is a repetit ion of material presented b y th e writer in apaper read be fore th e Num ismatic and Antiquarian S ociety of P h i lade lph ia .

2Mrs . E . A Sm ith ,Myth s of th e Iroquois , S econd A nnu al R eport. B u reau of A mer

ican E thno logy. 1 880-4 , pp .

“

78- 79 .

Ibid .. p . 64 .

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N . A L GON K I A N I I

sequen t deal ings in counc’

i l . . The e agle from wh ich the qu i l ls were

obta ined was s a id to be a black eagle , a b i rd of mytho logy. H ia

watha, i t s eems , acqu i red power'

to'

cal l the b i rd down to him a twi l l .1

Another I roquo is s tory has been publ ished by A . C . P arker2 in

wh ich Da-ga-no-we-da is cred i ted w i th hav ing d iscovered the or i g

ina l wampum beads d ur ing a jou rney wh ich he was mak i ng acros s

a lake .

H e noticed quantit ies of m inute purp le and wh ite she l l s adhering to the padd leof his canoe . A s he neared the s hore he d i scovered them heaped in long rows uponthe bank. These sugges ted to his cons tructive m ind a p ictorial representation ofhiS '

thought of confederat ing the d ivided nations by compact of mutual s upportand protect ion . H e fi l led his trave l ing pouches with a quantity of the s he l ls and,in the frequent rests of his journey, s trung them on thread s shred fromthe s inewsof the deer, and , hang ing them s tring by s tring, eventua l ly comp leted the firs twampum be lt.

A s hort accoun t of how the bead s or ig i nated , concep tual ly sim

ilar in one respect to tha t j us t g i ven , is fu rn i shed by the Huron of

L orette .

‘

Once a sorcerer who had been harming the“

peop le through his evi l art was

opposed and overcome by one of the ear ly m is s ionary pries ts who l ived amongthe H uron. H is body wa s ta ken to a pond in the forest and thrown m . L ateri t was d iscove red that the corpse was covered with l itt le wh ite ex crescence s '

which

turned ou t to be the wh i te wampum bead s . (They were supposed to have beenformed by

‘the concret ion of mag ic matter expe l led from the body by defeat and

death .)

C ompar ing the cognate featu res.

of the forego i ng myths.

as they

s tand ou t in the l i te ratu re of the I roquo is and Algonkian , one can

hard ly fa i l to not ice tha t the I roquois s eem not on ly to have len t

th e ceremon ia l u ses of the wampum s tri ngs -

and bel ts to the i r les s

Quoted byw. M . Beauchamp.

’

op. cit., p . 340 .

A .C

. P arker.“Myth s and L e gend s of the N ew York S tate Iroquo is , B u l letin

N ew York S tate Mu s eum no. 1 25 . pp . 139- 1 40 .

Narrated by the wi fe of Ch ief Maurice Bastien at L orette. P . in 19 14 . C .

M. Barbeau in his ex hau s tive s tudy Huron and Wyandot Myth o logy N o . 1 1 , A nthro

pological S eries , Geological S urvey,Canada speaks of Ch ie f Bas tien as an in

formant. p . xii, th ough h e seems to have overlooked th i s particu lar ta le.

Cart ie r (cf . H akl u yt'

s Voyages . 1 535 ) wrote of th e natives of Hochelaga securingmateria l for

_

making beads by throwing a s las he d body into the river for the cu ts toaccu mu late th e es u rgny , of which th e bead s were made.

I 2 AME R ICA N A NTHR OP OL OG ICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

advanced Algonk ian ne ighbors , bu t tohave exerted a d idact icinfluence upon the i r trad i t ion s .

I n the early ment ion of wampum thes e ra ther frequen t

al lu s ions to qu i l ls from a b i rd and to s hel l bead s obta i ned magic

a l ly from the p l umage of a b i rd i n mythology ,have impres s ed

s tuden ts from t ime to t ime w i th th e idea that the or ig i nal u s e of

wampum bead s may have developed from the u s e of s ect ions of

b i rd qu i l ls . There is , bes ides , some ground for a s hel l or ig i n

theory , that is tha t th e or ig i na l wampum bead s were smal l en t i re

s ea s hel ls , i f one w i s hes to regard cer ta i n myth ical re ferences as

be ing of enough importance to be u s ed for h is tor ical purpos es .

1

The d iscu s s ion of th is problem however is not demanded in th i s

pape r so the mere s ugges t ion w i l l be l e f t .

I s hou ld now l ike to turn to a matter wh ich is made somewhat

emphat ic in th i s s tudy , namely, the concl u s ion that not on ly much

of the fu nct ion and r i tual of wampum has been borrowed by the

W abanak i f rom the I roquo is , bu t mythology in connect ion w i th

wampum as wel l . An almos t conv incing cas e of th is is a ff orded

by the fol low ing s er ies of I roquo i an and P enobscot myth s concern

ing the “wampum bi rd .

"

Men t ion has j us t been br iefly mad e of th i s correspondence in

eas tern l i teratu re , bu t s i nce the cas e s eem s to y ie ld a rather defin i te

imp res s ion as to cu l tu re re la t ions h ips in the two areas , I s hou ld

l ike to p lace the ev idence before the reader . The fol low ing is the

I roquo i s vers ion of the wampum bi rd tale as record ed byMrs . E .

A . S m i th .

OR I GIN or WA M P U M2

(Iroquoi s )

A man wh i le wa lk ing in a fores t saw an unusua l ly large b ird covered with aheavi ly clus tered coating of wampum . H e immed iate ly in formed his peop le and

1 See quotations from early auth ors on page 1 1 . L . H . Morgan, Fif th A nnu a l

R eport N . Y. Cabinet of Natu ral H is tory. entertained th is op inion. H e says (op. cit

p . 73 )“th e prim itive wampum of the Iroquois cons is ted of strings of a smal l fres hwater

s p iral s hel l cal led in Seneca. oteko-a', the name of wh ich has been bestowed upon themodern wampum .

"

Wampum articles of th e Iroquois actual ly s h ow a s hel l or two of th is descriptionin their construction . A n Iroquois wampum be lt in the V ictoria Museum , Ottawa.co l lected by th e writer, contains a s ing le s hel l in one of th e wh ite figures .

2 E . A . Sm ith , Myth s of th e Iroquo is . op. citi. pp . 78-79 .

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

14 A MER ICA N A N TH R OR OL OG I C A L A S S OCIA TION . [MEMOIR S , 6

Th is precious subs tance fe l l in s howers l ike ram al l abou'

t the warr iors . I n anins tant the b ird was again covered with wampum wh ich was its on ly p lumage.

The purp le wampum covered its wings ; on the remainder of its body was thewh ite wampum .

N ot ,a bow s hot by the warr iors cou ld k i l l the wampum b ird . Wh i le theywere s hoot ing, a youth came th rough the wood s to where they s tood . H e was

of a s trange peop le. The warriors wi s hed to k i l l and s ca lp him . The ch ief per;

mitted him to s hoot at the wampum b ird . H e du t a s lender wil low from the

mars h . From th i s he fas h ioned an arrow wh ich he s hot: N one of the warriorssaw the arrow leave the“ bow of the young man,nor did they s ee it s trike , b u t the

wampum bird was dead in an ins tant . The arrow was found p ierc ing its :headth rough the eyes . The Wyandots secured more wampum

’ than cou ld be p lacedin the larges t lodge in the vi l lage.

The warriors carr ied the'

you th to their v i l lage: They s t i l l wi shed to k i l l andsca lp him ,

for they had not been ab le to kil l the wampum b ii‘d . , The ch ief saidto the young man :

“My son tel l me from whence you came. H e rep l ied thathe was a De laware. H e said his peop le l ived ina vi l lage wh ich was not far away.

.The counci l sent the young man to br ing his peop le to a great counci l wh ichi t appo inted . At th is great counci l the Wyandots recogni zed the De lawares as

their nephews . A treaty wasmade wh ich'

has not been broken to th i s day. The

young man was g iven to the Wyandots and by them adopted . H e was g iventhe wi fe h e earned by k i l l ing the wampum b ird .

Th i s treaty was confirmed between the parties to it by g iving back and forths trings of the wampum secured from the wampum b ird s lain by the young man .

S ince that day no treaty has been concluded by them without the pas s ing of the

wampum be lt.The Wyandots and theirnephews the De lawares , l ived s ide by s ide a long

time. Then they came from the north land to l ive on the banks of the S t.

L awrence.

TH E C A N N IBAL Soucs xuas s I

(Penobscot Text)

A boy los t to his parents and who l ives with his impos tor s is ter,who is a canniba l

,is -warned by a rabb it to leave her before s he eats him . H e seeks fl ight, and

is pursued by the woman. H e reaches a river,and byflattering the heron is enabledto cros s on heron ’s leg. The pursuer reaches the r iver,insu lts the heron and is

prec ip itated into the water. The -boy reaches porcup ine’

s cave, flatters him and

is adm itted . After reviving,the canniba l woman comes to the cav e ,'

ins u lts porcu

p ine, and is p ierced by his qui l ls . The boy fina l ly reaches his grand father'

s

camp, and is recognized by his mons ter dog. H e recovers his pet b ird , who is

able to cause wh ite wampum to fa l l one day and dark wampum.

the next. When

the canniba l woman arrives , the monster dog tears her to p ieces .

1 Narrated by Newel l L yon . A bs tract of trans lation of part of th e text .

S P EC K1'

WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N

The next morning the magic b ird made an outcry and sodn wh ite wampu nicame ratt ling down and on the next he made an outcry and caused dark wampumto come ratt l ing down . Then the old man said,

“N ow you mus t take good care

of your b ird , lest it besto len.

”S ure enough , the next morning a s trange man came

and packed the b ird upon his s hou lder,:and as soon as 'he had gone the old man

said to his grandson,“N ow do has ten, do be quick . That man is very swift. "

Then the boy rose and fo l lowed him to where there was an Open p lace where hecou ld see the man b u t theman cou ld not s ee him .

At las t he cou ld a lmos t see the man's W igwam . And he tried a l l his m ightrunning to overtake him before he reached the W igwam . When he came u p withthe mari he seized his b ird and brough t it back to' his own Wigwam and hung it u p .

“N ow,

"

said the old man to his grandson,“another man wi l l s u re ly

'

come and

take away your b ird . You mus t be close beh ind and have very s trong mag ic.

"

S ure enough , the next morning another man came and took the b ird on his

back and when he jumped u p to go, the boy jumped u p and ran after him with a l lhis m ight. H e ran so fas t that no one cou ld s ee him . H urrying as fas t as hecoul d at las t he saw him go ing and soon overtook him too . Wh en he was veryclose to the man's Wigwam , the boy snatched the b ird again.

“N ow,

”said the old man to his grand son, you have, indeed , done very

we l l . You are a great magician . Bu t one s ti l l more powerfu l than even thatmag ic woman, another woman there is . I f you

' take her you wi l l be able to

save your b ird .

S ure enough , the next morning the woman came in and soon s he , too, pu t

the b ird on her s hou lders and jum ped u p . And the boy running, chased her toan open p lace where he cou ld hard ly see her.

At las t he saw a wing lying on the ground and after wh i le saw another winglying on the ground , and soon he saw a camp, b u t nowheres behe ld the woman .

Then he behe ld a bund le. I t was his b ird with its head cu t off . H e had los this b ird and he gr ieved very deep ly.

Said the old man to his grand son, You can ’t he lp it ; a greater magician than

you wa s that woman ; she was a very s trong mag ician. N ow,we wi l l move from

here to where your father.

and mother are . So the nextmorning they moved .

For seven days they trave led to reach the vi l lage. When they arrived they to ldtheir s tory,~ —how they had overcome the evi l s p ir it woman, and when the peop le

saw tha t the boy who had been s to len was s ti l l al ive, L o, there was great rejo icingand fea s ting.

The ta le j us t d iscu s sed , as wel l ,as the shor t one g iven on page

9 of th is sect ion are both s impler than the I roquo i s vers ions to

wh ich they are part ia l ly analogou s . S o in con form i ty w i th the

us ua l manner of. v iew ing s uch resemblances , i t wou ld s eem that

the se vera l W abanak i th emes are l i tera ry deflect ion s from the more

comp lex reg ion' adjoi n ing,

whence the wampum'

ceremonies have

a lso probably emanated .

16 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

TH E OL DER D ISCOIDA L BEADS A N D TH E HIS TOR IC C YL INDR ICA L

W AMP UM

The fact tha t the gener ic term for wampum in the d i ff eren t

W abanak i d i a lects is regu larly a term d enot ing “wh i te s tr ing"

p res s es upon u s the conv ict ion that the or igina l mater ia l was of

the wh i te sor t . Al l th rou gh the eas t are found in archaeologica l

s i tes flat d i sco idal bead s s everal t imes as th ick bu t only abou t ha l f

as long as the cyl i nd r ical bead s wh ich are u s ed in la ter t imes .

1 Thes e

d isco idal bead s have the s ame d es ignat ion among the nat ives as

the others . They appear to have been mad e i n wh i te on ly , though

a l lowance s hou ld be made for th e fact that they are found under

s uch cond i t ions in the ground tha t part ia l d is i n tegra t ion m igh t

accoun t for a pos s i b le los s of color textu re .

Ou r knowledge of thes e bead s is sol e ly obj ect ive . W e do not,

in fact , know whether they were u s ed ceremon ial ly in ways s im i l a r

to those i n wh ich the cyl i nd r ical ones s erved ,bu t i f the references

to wampum manu factu re and u s age in preh is tor ic t imes do re fer to

the fla t d isc-s haped bead s , then , of cours e , they p robably fu nct ioned

l ike the cyl ind r ica l bead s in s ome of the var ious ceremon ia l capaci

t ies w i th wh ich we have become fam i l i a r . I n s uch a cas e , how

ever , the form of the wampum mus t have neces s i ta ted its u se in

s tr i ngs , on accoun t of techn ical l im i tat ion s , for woven bel ts and

col la rs. wou ld , I bel ieve , have been pract icable on ly w i th bead s of

the cyl i nd r ical sort .

The d i scoidal bead s were natural ly m uch more eas i ly d r i l led .

They are on the whol e not to be compared in techn ique w i th the

cyl i nd r ical bead s .

2 L arger , longer , coars e bead s of ivory and some

of bone have been col lected from the M icmacwho cal l them by the

same name as tha t wh ich they emp loy for the ord i nary wampum .

1 S pecimens of th is type of wampum in string s , used for ceremonial purposes inconjunction with the tubular form , are extant from th e Delaware (cf . N ew York S tateMu s eum B u l letin 1 2 1 p l . 24, fig . Th is is evidently th e s pecimen figuredby Beauchamp (op. cit , p l . 19. fig . 233 ) and d is cus sed by h im (op. cit , p . 365 ) reptesenting the mos t ancient type of bead s . A nother is from the Tutelo of th e S ix Nationsin th e col lection of the Museum of th e A merican Ind ian, Heye Foundation, also cf .

N ew York S tate Mu s eum B u l letin 1 2 1 , p . 1 09 . als o p l .2 Dimens ions are , length in d irection of th e perforation, to 3 mm th icknes s .

6 to 1 2 mm .

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N I 7

S pec imen s o f the d isco idal bead s are on record from a number

of loca l i t ies in the area u nder discu s sion '

in th i s paper .1 Figure 7d ,

s hows some bead s from a s tr i ng of abou t 500 found i n a bur ia l

on S wan i s l and , Mai ne , now in the pos s es s ion of a col lector in

Bar Harbor . Others qu i te s im i l ar are from a grave at P opham

beach near the -mou th of the Kennebec r iver . They appeared to

form part of a neck lace , j udg i ng by th e i r pos i t ion near the body .

S ome spec imens from th is find are m uch larger i n d i ameter than

those figu red .

The fam i l i a r wampum wh ich has become as sociated ,i n the m i nd

of the h i s tor ian and e thnologi s t, wi th I nd i an ceremony and to a

certa i n exten t Wi th commerc i a l negot ia t ions in the eas t , is cy lin

d rica l or tubu lar i n form . The perforat ion run s th rough th e greater

length of the bead . A s is more or les s wel l known now from n u

merou s works deal i ng w i th the s upposed proces s es of manu fac

tu re,the bead s of th i s type were made , not on ly by the coas ta l

tribes of sou thern N ew Eng land ,bu t also la ter by the wh i te colo

nis ts , part icu larly those of N ew N etherland s . Th ese bead s wh ich

are often d el ica te i n form occu r in pure wh i te and i n a l l the d i ff eren t

s hades of co lo r from s treaked bl ue to a den se b l ue-black . The

bu lk of the mater ial , however , is e i th er wh i te , or near ly so, and

dark b lue or very clos e to i t . Accord i ngly we need on ly s peak , s o

far as we are concerned w i th the funct ional as pect of the s ubj ect ,

of the two general clas ses of co lor , the l igh t or wh i te and the dark

or bl ue . A se r ies of meas u remen ts of examp les of thes e bead s w i l l

answer for the i r fu rther descr ip t ion?

The mater ia l of th i s type is not so common i n archaeologica l

s i tes , and s i nce i t seems to have been excl us i vely used i n some of

its var i ed funct ions among nearly a l l th e eas tern tr i bes i t looks

1 “They are als o found s paring ly th rough out th e Iroquoian area in archaeologicals ites antedating ,

accord ing to Beauchamp , the“p ictograph wampum .

"

(Cf . Beauchamp . op . at , pp . 365

—8 . and P lates 2 and

1 A verage d imens ions of tubular bead s . S mal l : length , in d irection of perfora

tion , 4 to 7 mm th icknes s 2 to 3 mm . L arge : length 1 0 to 1 7 mm . , th ickness 4 to 5 mm .

The large r bead s are regarded as be ing of more recent manufacture b y th e Dutch of

N ew Jersey. A s late as 1900 theywere made by hand b y one of the natives of Bergen

C o . , N . J .

18 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S SOC I ATI ON [MM/10 1115 , 6

plau s i ble to s ugges t tha t i t s upers eded the suppos ed ly older form of

bead and became the med i um -of d evelopmen t for art and certa in

pol i t ical ceremon ies and negot iat ion s .

Un l ike the coars er flat beads thes e were adap ted to the pu rpos es

they s erved , the i r s hape mak i n g i t pos s i b le for them to be woven

in to the var ious s tr ips in wh ich form , as bel ts ,” we find them s erv

ing d ur i ng h is tor ic t imes .

The earl ies t not ice of wampum mater ial among the nat ives of

the nor theas t , and an i n teres t i ng one too,is tha t of N icholas Denys

who wrote in 1672 as fol lows :

Th is wampum (porcelene ) is noth ing el se than the'

teeth of a certain fishwh ich is caugh t by the I nd ians of N ew England , and wh ich was real ly rare amongthem . I n those t imes it was va lued great ly among them though it is commonat present. Each grain is the length of ha l f the width of a finger. I t was a l ltheir ornament in every kind of work in wh ich it was neces sary to u se the need le.

l

The cyl ind r ical wampum is d is t inctly ind icated in th i s re ference .

TH E U S E OF WAMP UM A S A N OR NAMENT I N TH E N OR THEA S T

I f we may j udge by the frequen t al l us ions in old accoun ts to

the u se of wampum as a m eans of ornamen tat ion , i t wou ld s eem tha t

in s uch an es the t ic capaci ty wampum may have s een its fi rs t s erv ice .

I n the reg ion to wh ich we are pay ing at ten t ion now archaeological

d isclos u res s eem to ind icate the same th i ng , for the wampum beads

found common ly from the coas t of Ma ine s ou thward and repor ted

u pon by archaeo logical excavators (I n format ion , C . C . W i l loughby ,

C ol lect ions in the P eabody Mu s eum , Harvard Un ivers i ty) were al l

emp loyed os tens ibly in ornamen tat ion . Moreover ,where wampum

bead s are s t i l l kep t and u s ed among th e N ew England t r ibes they

are s e rv ing the ir las t u se as ornaments , ev iden tly by a proces s of

Nich olas Denys . The D es cription and Natu ra l History of the Coas ts of NorthA merica (A cad ia) . P aris , 1672 , ed ition of the Champ lain S ociety, Toronto, 1908 , b y

W . F . Ganong, p . 4 14. Dr. Ganong also re fers to an art icle in connection with th iss tatement, “A n A ccount of Wampum in A cad ie, B u l letin of th e Natu ra l His tory S ociety of N ew B ru nswick . N o. V I I . 1 889 . H e re fers . moreover. to a remark in L e scarbotsaying that th e A cad ian Ind ians obtained wampum from those of N ew Eng land . S ee

also Thwaites . Jes uit R elations , V 111, p . 3 1 2 .

A nother writer, Thomas Morton. Description of N ew England , 1630. quoted by

Holmes (op. cit. . p . 236) asserted that wampum was made of the s hel ls of fis h .

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N I 9

revers ion in these days of decl i ne i n art , hav ing come back to what

was p res umably the i r or ig i na l u se .

Beauchamp cal ls 1 atten t ion to a pas sage in B rad ford'

s H istoryof the P lymou th P lantation

2 wh ich defini te ly speaks of the introduc

t ion of wampum in barte r among the I nd i an s of the Ken nebec

(Abenak i ) a fter 1628 . The pas s age of mes t . importance i n th is

c i ta t ion is the fol low ing .

And it wa s s trange to see the great a lteration it made in a few years amongye I ndeans them se lves ; for al l the I ndeans of these parts , and ye Mas sachusetts ,had none or very l itt le of it ; b u t ye sachem s and s ome spetial l persons that worea l itt le of it for ornaments .

Beauch amp3 fur ther quotes s everal of th e Jes u i t R elat ions (1638

32—36) g iv i ng not ice of the u se of wampum as a mean s of ornamen

tation among the Huron in the form o f co l lars, neck laces , brace

le ts , ear pendan ts , and ha i r ornamen ts . Especi a l ly noteworthy ,

s i nce i t correspond s to a form of wampum ornament known spe

cifical ly to'

the P enobsco t , is one re ference to Bru yas i n par t icu lar .4

He men t ion s “onniatsara , porcela i n ,

” wh ich the women attached

to the i r ha i r, wh ich hangs back of the i r head . Beauchamp5 quotes

a French s ource i n 1639 wh ich obs erves tha t the C anad i an Algon

quin women

wear their hair in a knot at the back of their head in the form of a trus s , wh ichthey ornament with porce lain when they have any .

Montanu s fii

des

-

cribed the women of N ewN etherland s a s wear i nga pe tt icoat r ich ly ornamen ted w i th wampum . Th ey also bound

the i r ha i r beh i nd in a p la i t over wh ich was d rawn a cap th ick ly;

i n terwoven w i th wampum . They decorated the forehead w i th

ornaments of the same s tu fl", and around the neck , arm s , and wai s t'

1 W . M . Beauchamp , Wampum and S h e l l A rticles Us ed by th e N ew York I nd ians , B u l letin N ew York S tate Mu s eum , no . 4 1 , v ol . 8 p . 35 5 .

2Mas s ach u setts H istorical S ociety Col lections . 1 856. serie s 4 , pp“

. 234— 23 5 .

Beauchamp , op. cit. . pp . 3 56—361 .

‘Jacqu es Bru yas . R ad ices Verborum I roqu aeorum .

-J . G . S hea, N . Y 1 863 .

append ix E . 16th A nnual R eport N . Y . S tate Museum A lbany, 1 863, .p . 75 .

Op . cit. , p . 3 5 8 .

‘A rnold u s Montanus . De scriptionof N ew Netherland s . Documentary Historyof the S tate of N ew York . 4 : 75

— 83 . Quoted b y Beauchamp ,

-p . 359 .

A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

they wore bracelets of wampum . R as les (1 723) s peak i ng of wam

pum W ro te‘.

I t is with these s trings of bead s that ou r Savages tieand braid their hairabove the ears and beh ind .

Thes e s everal re ferences to the women’

s ha i r b inders a t the back of

the neck ev iden tly refer to some t rapezo id - l ike woven wampum

s tr ips wh ich are to be found i n certa i n col lect ions (C ol lect ion of

Mr . George G . Heye , one is in the pos s es s ion of the W r i te r (fig . 2c)and some are figu red by Beauchamp , op. cit , p la te 1 2) wh ich have

been conj ectu ral ly des cr i bed as cu ff s . I s hal l retu rn to th i s par

ticu lar ornamen t later (see page

R oger W i l l i ams , deal i ng w i th the s ubj ect of N arragans et t wam

pumz, spe aks of the manu factu re of wampum , men t ion i ng how

the I nd i an s d r i l led wampum w i th s tone tools and pol i s hed the bead s

w i th s tones . He goes on to speak of the u s e of wampum i n

ornamen tat ion .

They hang thef e s tr ings of money about their necks and wrif ts ; a s a lf o uponthe necks and wrifts of their wives “

and ch i ldren . Machequ oce . A G ird le :Wh ich they make cu riouf ly of one , two,

three,foure, or five inches thicknef f e

and more, of th i s money wh ich (f ometime s to the va lue of ten pound s or more)they weare about their m idd le and a s a f earie about the s hou lders and breaf ts .

Yea the P r inces make r ich C aps and Aprons (or f mai l breeches ) of thef ebead s thus cu riouf ly f trung into many formes and figures : their blacke and wh itefine ly m ixt to-gether. s

Father R as les“in 1 723 wrote in defin i te term s of the importance

of wampum i n personal adornmen t among the W abanak i of his

m is s ion at N orr idgewock .

I f you wi s h to s ee him in fine array you wi l l find his on ly ornaments to bewhat are ca l led ‘

ras sades’

; these are a s ort of s he l l work or somet imes of s tonefas h ioned in the form of sma l l bead s some wh ite some black wh ich are s trung ins uch a way that they represent d iff erent and very exact figures wh ich have theirown charm . I t is with these s trings of bead s that ou r savages t ie and braid their

1 Jes u it R elations , v ol . 67 , p . 137 .

2 R oger W i l l iam s . A K ey to the L angu age of A merica. L ondon, Dexter, 1643 .

R eprint by Narragansett C lub, 1 866, p . 1 73 .

3 Ibid . , p . 1 7 7 . C f . also W ood . N ew England P rospect, p . 74 . for mention of wamp um g ird le .

Jes u it R elation s (1 7 16 v ol . 67 , p . 137 .

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S P EC K] WA uV P UMA IWON G TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 2 1

hair, above the ears and beh ind ; they make of them earrings , neck laces , garters ,and be lts five or six inches broad and with th i s sort of finery they va lue themse lvesmore than does a European with a l l his go ld and precious stones .

Mau rau lt men t ioned , i n a few pas s i ng remarks , the emp loy

men t of wampum i n ornamen tat ion among the Abenak i .1 The

s ubs tance of h is obs ervat ion is that wampum was a very prec ious

mater ia l . I t was made of black and wh i te s he l ls s trung on th read s

or fine roots . I t was the i r S ign of wea l th , th e i r greates t proper ty ,

and th e i r mos t d es i rable ornamen t . They traded objects for i t ,

they made bel ts , co l lars , and bracelets of i t and ornamen ted the i r

robe s and clothes w i th a thou s and d i ff eren t figures .

N icho las Denys , wri t i ng o f the M icmac i n 1672 ,al so refers to

the u se of wampum in th i s reg ion as a means of ornamen tat ion },

I n th i s fringe of a hair ornament they p lace wampum wh ite and vio let.They make of it a l so pendants for

‘

the ears , wh ich they have p ierced in two or

three p laces .

W i l loughby expres s es h im s el f in favor of the as s ump t ion that

the or i ginal wampum o f N ew Engl and was o f the d i sc type and that

i t was p r imar i ly u s ed for ornamen ta t ion .

3 P r io r to I 627 , there

seem s to have been very l i t t le wampum among the N ew Eng land

tr i bes , its u se be i ng confined to“Ye S achems and S ome S petia l l

P ersons that W ore a l i tt le of i t forOrnamen t .

" 4 W i l loughby fur

ther s ummar i zes the u se of wampum in N ew England from exten

s i ve sou rces , as currency and woven to make garmen ts , bel ts ,

brace le ts , co l la rs , ear pendan ts , neck ornaments , h ead bands , for

ornamen t i ng bags ,wa l le ts , and art icles of d res s . C hamp la in , too,

saw s hel l bead s worn as ornamen ts i n N ew England i n 1606.

1 J . A . Maura u lt. His toire des A benakis , Quebec, 1866, pp . 27 and 7 8 . A ch ie f isdescri bed as having come to Fort Ge orge wearing a s k in ornamented with wampuman d confined at the wais t by a be lt of the same.

1 Nicho las Denys . Th e Des cription and Natu ral History of the Coasts of N orthA merica (A cad ia) . Ed ition of th e Cham p lain S oc iety, Toronto, 1908 , by W . F . C at

nong , p . 4 14 . See also quotation from th e same author (op. cit. , p .

C . C . W i l lough by, Dress and Ornaments of th e N ew Eng land Ind ians . A merican.A nthropologis t, N . S . , v ol . v u , no . 3 . p . 50 7 .

Brad ford , His tory of P lymo uth P lhntation . Bos ton, 1 898 , p . 282 .

W i l lough by, op . cit. , p . 508 .

22‘

A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

Ded ucing from the mater ia l presen ted a pos s ib i l i ty or two con

cern ing the s tages of developmen t th rough wh ich wampum mu s t

have pas s ed , i t s eem s reasonable to s uppos e that wampum of the

d isc type was or ig i nal ly u sed ih-

s imp l e length s or s tr i ngs funct ion ing

pr imar i ly as a means of ornamen ta t ion ,l then as ins trumen ts of

ceremony . negot iat ion , and as mnemon ic documen ts . The s u b

s titu tion of cyl ind r ica l bead s as s umed ly came l ater as an improve

m en t, permi tt i ng cons iderable techn ical developmen t from the

s imp l e s tr i ngs in to more comp lex woven obj ects , accompan ied by

an expan s ion both in function and in s u bj ect ive s ign ificance .

Ornamen ts of wampum cons t i tu ted personal property among

the nor theas tern nat ives . The personal adornmen ts of the P en

ob scot are typ ical of the specimens com ing from the whole general

reg ion so I s ha l l u s e mater ia l and in format ion from th is sou rce be

cau s e I had the oppor tun i ty oimak i n g the s ubj ect one of Special

inqu i ry in the field . The Maleci te and P as s amaquoddy , I l earned ,

have, or at al l even ts had in former t imes before they were los t,

sold or s tolen , obj ects iden t ical w i th thos e to be descr i bed both i n

techn ique and des ign , as the i l l us tra t ion s s how .

The specimens figu red i n the p l ates may be found for the mos t

part in the col lect ion of the Mu seum of the Am er ican I ndian,

’

H eye

Foundat ion ; others are rep rod uced from specimens of art in wampum

from the nor theas t now i n the Amer ican Mu s eum of N atu ral H is

tory , and the P eabody Mus eum , Harvard Un ivers i ty ; thos e s t i l l i n

the pos s es s ion of the n at ives and in the hands of the w r i ter .

The fi rs t ar t icl e toclaim at ten t ion is one that figured very p rom

inently here not alone as a personal decorat i ve he i rloom bu t one

wh ich , hav ing some th ingof the form of the s o-cal led “bel t, s erved

1 Bes ides Mr. W i l lough by (op. cit. . p . other modern auth ors have expres sedthe same op inion. I t is gathered from the text of Dr. Holmes 's work . A rt in S hel l ofthe A ncient A mericans . S econd A nnu al R eport of the B u reau of A merican Ethno logy.

1 883. p . 232, that one'

of the mos t important original functions of wampum was thato f ornament. H e also quotes Coll ections of N ew York Historical S ociety. v ol . 1 . 1 841 ,

p . 194, to th e same end . The ornamental function is als o emphas ized by L . H . Morgan. Fif th A nnu a l R eport of N ew

_York S tate Cabinet of N atu ra l History. pp . 7 1—73 .

Beverly. History of Virginia . p . 195, m igh t als o be referred to as s howing its wide u sea s a means of decoration, cf . a l so R u ttenber. History of the I ndian Tribes of Hu ds on

R iver. A l bany p . 26.

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TE R N A L GONKIA N 23

at t imes in the capac i ty of a ceremon ia l obj ect i n the proceed ings

of the counc i l or i n marr iage p roposal .

to be the chef d’

azu vre in wampum

of theW abanak i ,its s ingle pecu

liarity i n con s truct ion , (the d i ag

onal weave) be i ng u n l ike any

th i ng so far found els ewhere i n

Ame r ica . Th is art ic le is the

curved col lar cal led we’wadjiski'

‘bebi s tr ip fas tened abou t the

neck i n P enobscot ,weu wtci’

ski'

bep‘ in Maleci te and Fas s ama

quoddy . I n M icmac th i s is g i ven

as iiktogziloowokfind’ l by R and in

whose co l lect ion of myths i t is

occas ional ly re ferred to as worn

by the heroes of old. F i ne ex

amp les of thes e col lars are s hown

i n p late2I and i n fig . 1 , a . The

d imens ions of the specimens of

the cu rved col la rs acces s i b le for

meas u rem en t are as fo l low s

spec imen a , length 82 cm . , spec i

men 6 cm . , specimen 6,

62 cm .

S i nce the tech n ical deta i ls ofthe weave are s o d i s t i nct ive some

con s truct ional part iculars w i l l be

given . The bead s are s trung one

a t a t ime on double th read s , s u s

pended from a p iece of leather cu t

obl i quely . Th e upper ou ts id e

th read turns i n and pas s es be

I t seems w i thou t ques t ion

FI G . r.— P enobs cot wampum col lar

ahd be lt in th e Col lection of th e A merican Museum oi Natu ral H is tory. L efta ,

— 143 1 ; righ t. b, — 1 43o. .

1 S . T . R and ,Dictionary of the L angu age of theMicmac Indians , Hal i fax, 1 898 , p . 62 .

Cf . Beauchamp (op. cit. , p . 429 , p l . 26) for i l lustrations of two of these objects .

S pecimens in th e M u seum of American Ind ian, Heye Foundation, a and c col

lected with ou t s pecific data. I) obtained from A da S ockbesin , Oldtown, Me . . said to

have been in h er grandmoth er's fam i ly s ince about 1 825 . The oth er (fig . 1 . a ) is in

th e A merican Mu se um of Natural H is tory, and is 24 in. in length .

24 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

tween the doubled warps in each cours e of bead s . The bead woven

fabr ic is cons equen tly bu i l t u p by h and , tha t is , w i thou t a loom ,

each warp in tu rn becom i ng a d iagonal woof be tween a row of the

bead s . A cu rvature is thu s acqu i red al low ing the s tr ip when hung

over the neck tol i e flat upon the ches t w i thou t rump l i ng .

S ome symbo l i sm appears in connect ion w i th the character is t ic

d es igns , wh ich i n i ncep t ion are no doubt techn ical ly conven t ional .

The tr iangles i n wh i te and the cros s es , wh ich mos t in forman ts em

phasize as so lely ornamen ta l , are nevertheles s as soci a ted i n the

P enobscot m i nd w i th the concept ion of fr iend s h ip , happ i nes s , and

un i ty between i nd i v id uals and peop les .

One of the wampum co l la rs figu red (p la te I , fig . a) had a double

funct ion ascr i bed to i t by N ewel l L yon . As ide from its emp loy

men t as a neck ornamen t th e i n forman t added tha t the col la r was

i n tended also to have been reta ined by the P enobsco t ch ief as a

memor ia l of a trea ty of fr iend sh ip between tr i bes repres en ted on

the col la r by the n i ne cros s es enclos ed in double obl i que cros s bars .

L yon ,who was then governor of the P enobscot , en umera ted e igh t

tr i bes repres en ted by the cros ses , the P enobscot , P as s amaquoddy ,

Maleci te ,M icmac, I roquo is (Mohawk) , Eas tern C h ippewa ,Ottawa ,

and Flathead s (Tetes de Bou le) . From th is l is t the Abenak i of

S t . Franci s appear to be om i t ted , al though they were wel l known

to the P enobs cot . Th is mi gh t have been the n in th tr i be repre

s en ted by the s er ies of enclos ed cros s es .

The i nves t igator need hard ly be told , as the in forman ts rem i nd

u s , tha t the peop l e of a poorer sort who had no wampum to u s e for

personal decorat ion wou ld natural ly pos s es s only art icles made of

common bead s . The d i fferen t wampum ornamen ts j us t l is ted ,

and i n a manner descr i bed , have nearly al l a t one t ime or another

been obs erved made of ord i nary bead s i n im i ta t ion of the wampum

obj ects . One of thes e i n part icu lar is so wel l done and s o l ike the

rea l wampum col la r i n techn ique and des ign tha t i t deserves to be

i nc l uded among the or ig inals . W e know l i t tle of its his tory excep t tha t i t is of P enobscot make and is now a part of the col lect ion

of the Mu s eum of the Amer ican I nd i an Heye Foundat ion .

~Woven band s abou t an i nch i n w id th and of a length s u ffic i en t

to fi t fa i rly closely around the neck are repres en ted by s evera l

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MON G TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 25

spec imens i n col lect ions (pl . I I , a , b, c, and fig . 2 a) . 1 They bear the

same des ignat ion as the larger col lars of the type j us t men t ioned ,bu t

th ey are cons tructed i n the s tra igh t not the d i agonal weave . Thes e

art ic les were worn more often by women than by men , som e of them

F I G . 2 .—P enob s cot wampu m co l lar and neck lace a and b ; and Iroquo is wampum

h a ir ornament c.

be i ng on ly large enough for l i tt le g i r l s . Of the oth er specimen s figured

(fig . 2 a) one was obta i ned by the wri ter f rom the P enobscot , the

oth ers are i n the Mus eum of the Amer ican I nd i an . Th ey are a l ike

i n bear i ng symm e tr ical tr i angu lar des ign s i n wh i te . The specimen

firs t re ferred to is woven on th read s o f fibre from the s ta lks of I nd i an

1 S pecimens a and b are res pective ly 22 and 23 cm . in length , and were obtainedat P leasant po int from the P as samaq u oddy ; a be longed to the s on of Ch ie f TomahJoseph , b to C harles M itch e l l ; c (P enobs cot) is cm . long , is accom panied by no

s pecific data ; d is cm . long , with ou t data. and e is cm . long , and be longedto Martha Dana. a P as samaquoddy at P leasant po int. These and th e prece d ing

Bpecific particu lars were fu rn is h ed b yMr. Heye to wh ose co l lection they be long .

26 A MER ICA N A NTH R OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

Hemp (A pocynum cannabium) cal led pske‘ta

’

gu k, ramified by the

P enobscot“

who us ed th is mater i al extens ively for s ew ing pu rposes

in former t imes .

l

S everal bands (235 mm . by 40 mm .) of the s ame type , now in

the B r i t is h Mu s eum , are figured and des cr ibed by Mr . Bus hnel l .2

The character of the figures on thes e specimens , tr iangles ,and cros ses

ident ica l i n form and spacing w i th thos e of o ther specimens ,makes

i t very p robable they are of W abanak i manu facture . Thei r iden

t i ty is not given . The fact , however, that there are many wh i te

glas s beads in'

them s trengthens th i s in ference becaus e mos t of the

W abanak i , espec i a l ly the P as s amaquoddy wampums , have the

s ame defect . B us hnel l s urm i s es tha t they came from the eas tern

Algonk ian .

Another in teres t ing examp le of the wampum band is figured in

color , from the col lect ion of the Free Mu s eum of S c i ence and Art

and d iscu s s ed br iefly and fau l t i ly by D r . B r in ton .

3 Th i s “bel t

is descr ibed as be ing I'

I % inches long , hav i ng been bough t by Mr.

G . E . S tarr a t an I nd ian v i l lage near Andover , N ew B run sw ick , of

a woman named S us an P erley ,“a member of a tr ibe cal l i n g them

s elves the Tob ique, a branch of the M icmac.

" Mrs . P erley , who

d ied on ly a f ew years ago a t th i s Maleci te v i l lage ,“

was hersel f a

Maleci te . Another be l t belonging to her is now in the cas es of the

Mu seum a t S t. John , N . B. D r . B r in ton treats u s to a p iece of

pure specu lat ion when he in terprets the bel t and figu res as belong

mg

to one of a clas s of such objects cal led m i s s ionary be lts . The cros s in the centerind icates th is . The triangu lar figures in wh ite bead s on each s ide of the cros s

probably represent church s teep les and are “thus symbo l ica l of two paris hes .

I n the s ame clas s as the fore-men t ioned th i ngs as regards tech

n ique bu t not funct ion , are to be incl uded the larger bel ts of wam

1 Cf . C . C . W i l lough by, Texti le Fabrics of th e N ew Eng land,

Ind ians , A rnerican

A nthropologist, N . S . , v ol . V I I . no . 1 pp . 90 , 92 .

D . I . Bushnel l . Jr. . Th e Orig inof Wampum, Jou rna l of the R oyal A nthropologica l Institu te of Great B ritain and Ireland , v ol . 36 pp . 1 72

—7 , p l . x vm , figs .

c and d .

3 B u l letin of the Free Mu s eum of S cienceand A rt, Univers ity of P ennsylvania, no.

4 (June, p . 1 84 .

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28 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

regre t to have to say tha t the mos t pers i s ten t ques t ion ing regard

ing its deta i ls as wel l as its whereabou ts has been fu t i l e . I t is pre

s umed to have been treated to an app l icat ion of the s hears . N o

accoun t ofW abanak i wampum , however ,wou ld be comp le te w i thou t

incl ud i ng th is portra i t even for wh ich , under the ci rcum s tances , we

s hou ld perhaps be thank fu l .

The next mos t e laborate art icl e i n wampum wh ich we hear of

is the ha i r“

ornamen t cal led aso"kebi

' “s tr ip t ied on the ha i r " in

P enobscot , a so"keb .

‘ in Malec i te and P as s amaquoddy , and g i ven by

R and as sagu lobe1or s u gga lobee

'

2 i n M icmac. S o far as is known there

is not a spec imen of th i s obj ectmade of wampum extan t today fromthe reg ion of the eas tern Algonk i an . As ide from t rad i t ional know l

edge we have on ly one th i ng to rely upon , wh ich is the fact tha t

ha i r ornamen ts or b i nders of cloth d ecorated w i th common bead s

are sa id to perpetuate the fash ion of the anc ien t aff a i r ; A number

of these are pres erved i n the col lect ions p rev iou s ly referred to .

The s tr ips range from e igh t i nches to twelve i n length w i th a w id th

of from two to three i nches , somet imes taper i ng a l i tt le to the lower

part . I t was formerly the fas h ion among women to gather the

ha i r together in a bunch a t the back of the neck and to tie i t there

w i th th i s b inder wh ich wou ld thu s envelope the cl us ter of ha ir a t

the nape i n s uch a way as to pres ent the beaded decorat ion to View .

A similar'

affectation is in vogue among the women of some of the

cen tra l Algonk ian tr ibes who add to the e ffect by attach i ng long

r i bbon or bead woven s treamers to the b i nder . Fortunately we

pos ses s an in teres t i ng old descr ip t ion of the decorated ha i r orna

men t in the eas t from the pen of N icholas Denys 3 Descr ib i ng the

fash ion of the M icmac gi rls of 1672 , he s ays , G i r ls t ie the i r ha i r

beh i nd w i th cord s . The more fancy ones are made in to an orna

men ta l p i ece twelve“

by e igh teen i nches square woven w i th porcu

p i ne qu i l ls .

"

(S ee also page

1 S . T . R and , Micmac Dictionary , p . 1 27 .

3 S . T . R and , L egends of the Micmacs p . 163 , footnote. Th e Ind ianwomen of o ld used to al low their hair to grow long , then double it u p on the back of

th e head , mak ing add itions to en large the ro l l , and then b ind al l together in a bunchwith s figgétobee (long string ) ; in s hort they wore “waterfal ls .

"

3 Nicho las Denys . op. cit. , p . 4 14 .

S P EC K] WA AfI P U il/I A MONG TH E EA S TE R N A L GONKIA N 29

W h i le a t the presen t t ime we pos ses s no examp les of wampum

ha i r ornamen ts of the type referred to wh ich are defin i tely known

to be of eas tern Algonk i an make, i t is true nevertheles s that s everal

s uch obj ects , or at any rate what I deem to be the same , have been

obta i ned from the I roquo is . Thes e are broad s tr ips woven i n wam

pum , wh ich , on accoun t of the i r s i ze and form ,be i ng narrower at

one end than a t the other, have been cal led “cu ffs by several

au thors for no more of a reason apparen t ly than the i r fanc i ed res em

blance to a detached cu ff . S i nce the specimens u nder d i scus s ion ,

a l though s upposed ly of I roquo is manu facture , s eem to exemp l i fy

the ornamen ts we are try ing to learn abou t , I have in trod uced an

i l lus tra t ion of one of them i n th is pape r (fig . 2 c) . There are

severa l s pec imens in the col lect ion of the Museum”

of the Amer ican

I nd ian , Heye Foundat ion . The one figu red came from the -I ro

qu ois and A lgonqu in , at Oka, P . Q . , where I learned from thes e

peop le that s uch th i ngs were i n tended for the ha i r , though no one

encoun tered had actua l ly seen them i n u se . The fact tha t bo th of

these fabrics are too smal l to enci rcle a W r i s t of ord i nary s i ze tends

to confi rm th is exp lana t ion and to d i scred i t the idea of the i r hav i ngbeen emp loyed as cu ff s Beauch amp

1 moreover figu res two of

s ayi ng that they were obta i ned3these a ffa i rs and s ugges ts cu ffs ,’

from the reg ion of Georg ian Bay , On tar io .

Those among the P enobscot of the pres en t generat ion who te

member hear i ng the wampum ha i r ornamen t descr ibed say tha t i t

was a mos t art is t ic th ing . Among the ornamental des igns wh ich

em be l l is hed the ha i r-band , the tr iang le is specifica l ly ind icated .

Another ornamen t of wampum is recal led among the P enoh

scot . I t was i n tended to be worn in the hat or, before the per iod of

cu l tu re trans i t ion , in the ha i r, and was cal led awip‘honsi

‘

s ,“l i t tle

feather because i t symbo l i zed the p l ume . I t was common ly worn

by the men of an t iqu i ty . The manner of wear i ng th is art icle was

to a l low i t to h ang from one s ide where i t was fas tened to the hat

br im . W e are told fu rthermore that the “ l i tt le feather”was an

afiectation among young men who were fortunate enough to have

1 W . M . Beauchamp ,

“Wampum and S hel l A rticles Used by the N ew York I n

d ians ,

"

B u l letin N ew York S tate Mu s eum. no . 1 , v ol . VIII. 190 1 , p . 422 , p l . 1 2 .

30 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6'

female adm i rers so sol ic i tous as to make’

them for them . The d e

ta i ls of cons truct ion are aga in on ly trad i t ional . They were woven

i n the same manner as the ord i nary s tra igh t be l ts or col lars though

of cours e much smal ler , be i ng abou t the length of a finger and one

hal f its wid th . A wh i te tr iangle in a dark background is one of

th e common des igns remembered by N ewel l L yon as hav ing been“

execu ted i n thes e ornamen ts .

The commones t and humbles t ornamen tal art icle i n wampum :

found among the W abanak i tr i bes is'the neck lace cons is ting of a

s ingle s tr ing of bead s to be worn abou t the neck loos ely or t igh tly ,

as the q uan t i ty may al low. The P enobscot des ignate th is obj ect.

psi" ’kozewan ,

the Malec i te and the M icmac upkoo

soon ,

1 the term denoti ng that someth i n g enci rcles the neck . S peci

mens of the s tr i ng neck lace h ave been obta ined from pract ical ly al l

the tr i bes of the eas t ; so we may re fer to th is s imp le article as a per

s onal ornamen t of the mos t general character . Excavat ions along,

the coas t of Ma ine have d isclosed them i n bur ia ls , in s uch cases »

the bead s are for themos t part of the coars er d is co idal type . Mic-fmac neck l aces of wampum were m en t ioned i n th e work of Father:

L eclercq in'

I 691 .

2

I n the accompany i ng figures are s hown a number of examp les .oi'

thes e ornamen ts from s everal col lect ions . The var i at ions'

in the

spacing o f the wh i te and the dark bead s are of cours e the only

color arrangemen ts pos sib le' h ere. I n s ome spec imens the spaci ng:

is regu lar , in others not. One is told t hat the relat i ve abundance "

of the d i fferen t colored bead s was the d eterm i nant I n some P en-f

ob scot examp les we note . s uch arrangemen ts as one wh i te ,-ten dark ,

for s everal in tervals , them'

a coup le of: al ternat i ng white a nd dark

ones and final ly some more w ide s paces'

of dark . The specimens

shown‘in p l ate I V are

'

in'

the Museum of the American» I nd ian , Heye

Foundat ion ,“

a , c and f were obta ined from the son of C h ief Tomah ?

Jos eph , P as s amaquoddy ; and were u sed ,. the catalogue en try s ta tes ,

as neck laces . Thes e are respect ively and 5 5 cm . in length

doubled . S pecimen b is cm . in l ength , and d is 48 cm . long .

1 S . T . R and , Micmac Dictionary, p . 1 78 .

2 Chrétienne L ed ercq, op. cit , p . 30 1 .

S P Ecx ] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 3 1

bo th from the P enobscot, wh i le e is 90 cm . long, and was obta ined

of M is s N ico la, P enobscot . A s a ru le these‘

necklaces con ta i n from

fifty-to a hund red or-so beads . One of the marr iage p ropos al

“

wampums to be men t ioned la ter under the proper head ing , obta i ned

from the W awenock , s erved the s econdary as sociated funct ion of

ornamen t (fig . 7 a , b) . Th i s cons is ts of a loop of dark wampum about

a fathom i n length (abou t 500 bead s ) and an accompany ing loop of

abou t e igh ty beads a l l of wh ich are wh i te excep t th ree . Thes e

loops , folded accord i ng

to tas te or conv eni

ence , were sa id by the

W awenock in forman t,

w h o s e grandmother

had rece ived them at

the t ime of . her be

trothal , to have been

worn as a neck lace .

Another more com

p lex examp l e of the

wampum neck lace i n

the Amer ican Museum

of N atu ral H is tory is

one from the Malec i te

of K i ngscl ea r, N . B .

I n th is the u s ual formis var ied by a number

Of loops be ing attachedF I G . 4 .

—P as samaqu oddy wampum neck lace. lMu

seum of the American Ind ian. Heye Foundation,

to the s trand . A n1- 2806.

other specimen in the

Museum o f the Amer ican I nd ian ,Heye Foundat ion ,is abou t 44 cm .

long, and was obta ined from the P as samaquoddy (fig.

The sou rces and mater ia l wh ich have been gone through in‘

the

course of th is s tudy have con tr i bu ted natural ly toward the forma

t ion of certa in op i n ions and tenta t ive concl us ions . R ev iew ing the'

funct ions of wampum in the nor theas t, one is perm i tted to'

see

how the earl ies t h i s tor ica l no t ices emphas i ze its ornamen tal func

32 A MER ICAN A N TH R OP OL OG I C A L A S S OC I A TION [Mt-moms . 6

t ion , how a la ter h i s tor ical perspect ive shows some developmen t

of the ceremon ia l id ea wh ich had reached s uch an advanced s tage

w i th the I roquo is . Eas tward , i n the more p r im i t i ve area , the'

old

rela t ively s imp le funct ion of ornamen tat ion s u rv ived to a much

later per iod , the ceremon i al funct ion havi ng developed to on ly a

l im i ted exten t , and th is ev iden tly d u e to the s t imu l u s of con tact

w i th the I roquo i s .

TH E U S E"

or W AMP UM I N C ER EMONIES I N TH E N OR THEA S T

The category of ceremon i a l fu nct ions formerly s erved by warn

pum i n the cas e of the P enobscot , and probably among the related

W abanak i t r i bes , did not s eem to i ncl ude any extens ive u se in

connect ion w i th s uch forma l i t i es as ransom , br i bery , or compensa

t ion . C on s ider i ng the rather few ways in wh ich i t was emp loyed

we -mu s t concl ude tha t here th e bead s had some defin i te l im i ta

tions of u s e .

By con tras t w i th the I roquo i s , the eas tern nat ives i n genera l

s eem to have been lack ing in respect to ceremon i al performances .

W e learn , th rough the peru s al of the old er accoun ts and through

eth nolog ical inqu i r ies , of the.

two defin i te ceremon ial pu rpos es to

wh ich wampum was d evoted , and wh ich are more or les s wel l known

as character i s t ic of th is part icu lar cu l tu re cen ter . I n a n umber of

aspects i t was emp loyed in counc i l p rocedu res ,“

as p ledge , m es sage

bearer , rem i nder , and even m i ld ly as fe t i s h . A nd aga i n its other

next mos t s er ious pu rpos e was a s the i ns trumen t of p roposa l of

marr iage .

To deal w i th the fi rs t of thes e , the counci l s erv ice , wou ld be a

rather exten s ive undertak ing were we to pres en t matter forth

com i ng from the fou r tr ibes of the W abanak i gro up . That the

P enobscot , P as samaquoddy , Malec i te , and M icmac were al l s ev

era l ly as wel l as col lect i vely engaged i n po l i t ica l negot i a t ion s w i th

each other and w i th the I roquois we know from the i r own tes t i

mony and from the as s ert ion s of ear ly l i teratu re . Among thes e

tr i bes ex is ted a con federacy wh ich was dependen t upon and mod

e l led a fter that of the I roquo i s . W ampum p layed a very import

an t part i n its ceremon ies . The s ubj ect m at ter of the W abanak i

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

34 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

earl ier cond i t ion s had been more favorable for the p reservat ion of

knowledge in th is quarter . A s m igh t be i n ferred ,the geograph ica l

and pol i t ica l s i tua t ion of the tr ibe , be i ng clos er to the I roquois ,

certa i n i n termed iate featu res in wampum ceremon i a l s hou ld be

ev idenced . Under ex is t i ng cond i t ion s , however , the on ly s ources

worth cons ider ing s eem to be the early l i terary ones .

1 The p res en t

day i n hab i tan ts of the Abenak i v i l lage know very l i t tle of the i r

former wampum concerns . Mau rau lt has comp i led from old ac

coun ts some s at i s factory po i n ts on th i s s ubject . W hat he records

is , in s ubs tance , tha t wampum was precious and fu l l of m ean ing .

The tr i be , he s ays ,had a bag cal led pitaugan2 in wh ich wampum was

kept and guarded by appo in ted peop le . I n 1 77 1 six men and s even

women were p laced in charge of i t . The tr ibe a t th i s t ime pos

s es s ed n ine col lars of wampum and th i rteen s tr i ngs or speeches , be

s ides a s tring wh ich mean t“ the bond of the bones of the Abenak i

be respected ,

"

and another that the cover i ng of the i r bones be

also respected . The s tr ings were word s , each hav i ng some mean

ing accord i n g to s ize or color . P a in ted red they mean t war , wh i te

mean t peace . The ‘

more importan t the m es sage the larger the

s tr i ng . Bel ts were g i ven and kep t as record s of al l i ance between

tr i bes . At every counci l the wampum bag was brough t ou t and

gone th rough .

3 C ondolence and indemn i ty for m urder were com

m u nicated th rough wampum among the Abenak i as is specifical ly

s tated by the same au thor .‘

S ome years ago I made an inqmry in to the afi’

airs of the Wa

banak i con federacy , as they were rem embered among the P enobscot .

l J es u it R e lations (Thwaites ed ition) , v ol . v 11 ( 1 7 16 pp . 33. 35 . Th isadvises th e send ing of a co l lar by S ieur de R amezay to th e A benak is as awarning agains tth e ir settling

'

near th e Eng l is h . A ls o P . de Charlevo ix, His to ire Général de la N o-

u vel le

France, v ol . 111, pp . 7T, 79 .

2 P enobscot pi tsang'ngan pouch . Th e Delaware h ad a Counsel Bagg for

th is purpose . (Cf . P ennsy lvania A rchives , 16644 790, Hazard ed ition, v ol . 1 , p . 762 ,

quoted by Beauchamp , op . cit. . p . 384. Th e Moh ican of Hud s on R iver had a bag inwh ich was kept their wampum be lts and s trings . Cf . R u ttenber. op . cit. . p . 43 . Th e

office of custod ian is evidently a borrowing from the Iroquo is .

a S ummarized from J . A . Mau rau lt, Histoire des A benakis , Quebec, 1 866. pp .

5 7 1—5 72 and 2 7 .

Ibid . , p . 1 99 .

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 35

The res u l ts were publ i s hed in a pape r1 to wh ich I s hal l now beg

leave to re fer, becau s e thes e pages wou ld be quite'

incomp lete

w i thou t the incorpora t ion of some of the obs ervat ions bear ing upon

wampum con ta ined in i t . L ater though t and inqu i ry have , be

s ides , enabled me to m ake some extens ions to the or igi nal matter .

The Wabanakitr ibes , had from th e ear l ies t times s ufl'

ered more or les s fromincu rs ions of the I roquo i s who ,were evident ly, accord ing to their usua l po l icy,bent upon forcing them to jo in th e L eague ?

At length de l iberations brought an end to the wars in the foundationof ana l l iance between the Wabanak i , headed by the P enobs cot, and the Mohawk of

C aughnawaga and Oka, together with other neigh boring tribes whose fortuneswere in d if ferent ways l inked with those of the principal s . From th is t ime onward ,s ti l l fol lowing th e genera l trad it ion , th e confederacy grew in . importance ; theWabanak i tr ibes form ing them se lves into an eastern member with their conv ention headquarters at Oldtown among the P enobs cot ; and the whole confederated

group, embracing the Wabanak i tr ibes , the Mohawk and th e neighbor ing Algonk ian a s sociates , with the Ottawa at their head , appo int ing C aughnawaga as th e

confederacy cap ita l . H ereregu lar meet ings were he ld among de legates from the

a l l ied tribes where their forma l re lations h ip was maintained by series of symbo l ica lceremonies . Inc identa l ly, we can read i ly s ee what a profound effect th is s teadycontact with th e super ior cu lture of the I roquo i s mus t have had upon the s imp lernomad ic hunting tribes of the Wabanak i group . The ef fect appears clear ly inth e wampum procedures , the condolence ceremony, the e lection of ch iefs,th e

1 F . G . S peck . The Eas tern A lgonk ian Wabanak i C on federacy ,

'

A nierican A nthro

polOgist, N . s ., v ol . x v n , N o . 3 , 19 1 5 . pp . 492-508 .

1 Th is pe riod of h os ti l ity (approximately'

1661— 1 7oo when peace was es tabl is hed )is a top ic of frequent treatment in th e h istorical l iterature concerning these tribes as

we ll as in the ir own trad itions . For example, cf . S . T . R and . L egends of the M icmac,

pp . 220—222 ; J . D . P rince. The P as samaquoddy W ampum R ecord s , P roc. A mer. P hil .S oc v ol . 36, N o. 1 56. p . 483 ; Notes on P assamaquoddy L iteratu re. A nna ls of N ew

York A cademy of S cience, v ol . x 111, N o. 4 , pp . 382-3 ; Some P as samaquod dy Documents ,

ibid v ol . x 1, pp . 370-4 . W . H . Mech l ing , Malecite Ta les , pp . 106—133 . J . A .Maur

ault.Histoire des A benakis , pp . 230 , 1 5 7 pas sim. The Jesuit R e lations al so have much

to say of early Iroquois oppres s ion. I n my own col lections of A benak i . Montagnaisand P enobs cot texts and tales references to th e same are particu larly common . One

e p isode in this ca tegory of tales is es pecia l ly wides pread among th e northern and

eas tern A l gonk ian . I t relates how a hosti le Iroquois canoe party was lured to des truction in a waterfa l l th rough the strategy of a captured gu ide. Cf . Mech l ing, MaleciteTa les . p . 1 06, who remarks on its extended d istribution. I t is recorded by J . D .

P rince. op . cit. . p . 374 . A . B . S k inner. N otes on the Eastern Cree and Northern Sau l:teaux , A nthropo logica l P u b l ications of A merican Mu s eum of Natu ral H is tory, v ol . 1x ,

p p . 1— 1 78 . F . G . S peck , Myth s and Folk-L ore of the T im is kam ing A lgonquin and

Timagami Oj ibwa.Memo ir 7 1 , Anth ropo log ica l Series . N o. 9 , pp . 26—7 ; and R and .

L egends of the Micmacs . p . 344.

A MER ICA N A N THR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

send ing of delegates , and functions of peace and war in genera l wh ich characterizedthe internal Operations of the Wabanak i confederacy, th e who le fabric of wh i chwas mani fes t ly modeled after the pattern of the I roquo ian L eague.

1

FIG . 5 .— Old P enobs cot Counci l h ouse on Ind ian is land where th e Confederacyde legates h e ld their meetings . (P hoto F . G . S peck , Jan . ,

A s I have already ind icated , the P enobscot,2 P as samaquoddy,Ma lecite, andM icmac, form ing the Wabanak i group ,

had a certain nat iona l identity basedupon their close ethnica l re lat ions h ip . N o doubt the po l it ica l bonds wh ich l inkedthem together exi s ted long be fore the a l l iance with the I roquo i s and their neighbors . .These tribes in common e lected each other's ch iefs , cal led upon each other

1 That the evidences for th i s conclus ion prove satis factory to ethno log is ts is

s hown by th e remarks of Dr. Sap ir, “Thus there is.

no doubt tha t the s o-cal led VVabanakiConfederacy of certain Eas tern A lgonk ian tribe s was brough t into be ing largelyb y th e sugges tive influence of the powerful Iroquo is Confede racy that haras sed thesetribe s . (Cf . E . Sapir, Th e S ocial Organization of th e W es t Coas t Tribes , Trans actionsof the R oya l S ociety of Canada, S e r. 1 1 1 , v ol . I X p .

3 Th e ph otograph (fig . 5 ) s howing th is bu i ld ing at th e P enobs cot vi l lage may be of

inc identa l interes t to the reader. I t is now occup ied as a res idence by the aged informant, Newel l L yon. The P enobs cot s ti l l d i s p lay th e Ind ian flag at e lection times . ast h e accompanying figure s h ows . oppos ite the counci l hal l ; The photograph was takenon January 1 , 19 1 7 , when G overnor Newel l Franci s and L ieutenant Governor P eterN eptune were inaugurated for two years .

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 37

for aid agains t outs ide enem ies , and held meetings to treat upon matters wh ichaff ected their common interes ts . So, apart from their as sociat ions with the

confederacy, at large, they formed a sort of independent group of a l l ies . A s

m ight be expected , the documents of their organi zat ion cons i sted of be lts and

s trings of wampum wh ich were he ld in a s h igh es teem a s among the I roquo i s .

A lthough none of the orig ina l nationa l be lts are at th is day extant among the

Penobs cot or their neigh bors , with the exception of the M icmac, I succeeded inhaving a number of Penobs cot fac-s im i les made by an Ind ian gir l . These werebased on s pecificat ions as to form and des ign furni s hed by N ewe l l L yon, whoremembered the actua l art icles h imse l f

,

from having seen them used in his youngerdays . These reproductions now serve a valuable purpose in provid ing u s withi l lus trations of objects and ideas wh ich otherwis e would be irrevocab ly los t.We know that the other three tribe s a lso had their sets of ceremonia l wampumwh ich were kept in their counci l houses in th e ca reof their head ch iefs res pec

tiv e ly .

1

Ou r firs t examp le s h'

ows th e type of belt carried by th e P enobs cot de legateto the counci l at C aughnawaga. Th is is about 1 5 inches long (p l . 111, fig.

The wh ite ground co lor symbo l izes its peacefu l m is s ion, the blue rectangle in thecenter represents the four Wabanak i

.

tribes grouped about their counci l fire ,wh i le the four smal l cros ses ranged at the s ides again denote the four tribes .

A nother somewhat variant interpretation may be g iven in wh ich the centra lrectang le represents the counci l fire of the con federacy at C aughnawaga, to wh ichthe four tribes ind icated by the cros ses owe their a l leg iance .

1 A be lt in the N ew York S tateMu seum at A lbany is said to have come fromO ld town wh ich . i f true. m igh t identify th is as one of the d is persed P enobscot ceremonia lbe lts . A . C . P arke r (N ew York S tate Mu s eum B u l letin 1 2 1 , R e port of th e Director,1907 , pp . 1 08—9 ) g ives its description and a photograph (P late 49 , Figu re A be lt22 inche s long . e igh t rows wide. purchase d of W . C . H i l l of N ew York . The des igncons is ting of six d iagona l bars of wh ite bead s . three bars on each s ide o f a centra lcross , th e arms of wh ich rad ia te from a centra l square , composed of eigh t wh ite bead sstrung on vegetable twine, probably hemp . Sa id to have come from Oldtown, Maine.to be o f Iroquo is manufacture and a condo lence be lt, a command and summons to a

condo lence council at Onondaga. The symbo l i smand interpretation here are ap

parently in accord . Th e central rectang le representing th e counci l center (wh ichwas at Caugh nawaga instead of at Onandaga) . th e four rad iating l ines symbo l iz ingthe four Wabanak i tribe s and the six obl ique bars ce rta in of the other a l l ies . thoughnot the S ix N a tions .

'

beca u se the Iroquois at Caughnawaga had no off icial connectionswith them . (C f . J . N . B . Hewitt. A merican A nthropo log i st n .s . , v ol . x1x , N o. 3 , 19 1 7 .

p

I t may be reca l led that s ome of the wampum co l lars a lso ha d dou ble functions .

Newe ll L yon s tated that one of the co llars which he saw in th e P enobs cot co l lection ofthe HeyeMuseum was intended also to represent a memorial of a trea ty between tri besrepresented on the col lar b y th e nine cros se s enclosed in double obl ique cross -bars .

(See p . 24 of th i s paper and p late I , figu re a . )3 I fee l obl iged to ad d that, in the matter of precise s i ze. th e memory es timate of

the informant s hould not be imp l icit ly re l ied upon .

38 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

N ext in importance is , perhaps , the be lt representing the union of the foureas tern tribe s in their loca l a l l iance (pl . 111, fig. b) . Th i s was a somewhat broaderbe lt with a dark background , denoting former hosti l ity among th e tribes , l ightenedOn the marg ins with wh ite borders denot ing the bonds of friend s h ip that nowsurround them . The a lternating pane ls of b lue and wh ite at the end s are evident lya convention im itated from the Iroquo is . Th e four wh ite triangles are

,tribal

“wigwam s,

”th e P enobs cot, Pas samaquoddy, Ma lecite, and M icmac. I n th e

center is the p ipe wh ich is the sym bo l of th e peace ceremony by wh ich th e a l l iesare joined . S uch a be lt wou ld serve very genera l purposes in the days of the

confederacy .

l I t was a rem inder of the confederacy to be carried by mes sengersfrom any counci l as a tes timonial .When any of the Wabanakia l l ies were menaced with war it was their right

to ca l l upon the other three for support . For th i s purpose,when occas ion arose ,the P enobs cot had a war be lt and a peace belt,of wh ich reproduct ions are s hown .

Each ch ief of the other tribes is al so said to have had a s im i lar s et. The warbe lt (p l . 111, fig. c) , about 15 inches long,

had a sol id b lue background with four

pairs of cros sed tomahawks acros s it . The dark background s tand s for war,th e four pairs of axes cons titute a cal l to the four nations to jo in in taking u p the

tomahawk in the common cause. To u s e th e informant ’s phraseology, I f any

troub le arose in s ight of the ch ief he wou ld send th is belt by runners to the ch ief ofthe neares t tribe accompanied by his mes sage Stating th e circumstances .

"The

receiver wou ld then forward it to the ch ief, of the next tribe,and so on, unti l thebe lt wou ld u ltimately be '

retu rned to its s tarting p lace. The mate to th is be ltwas the peace be lt, one of about the same s ize, entire ly Wh ite with the figure of, a

p ipe in blue in the center (pl . 111, fig. d) . Th i s was to inform the al l ies that over

tures of peace had been received from the enemy, and also served as a summons

to council to cons ider the proposa l s .

Upon the occas ion of the d eath of a ch ief s everal delegates were

s en t by the P enobscot to the i r neigt rs carry ing the so-cal led“mourn ing belt ”

.

The wampum they carriedwas either inthe form Of the Wabanak i al l iancebe lt, the wh ite one with four dark tr iang les (pl . 111, fig . a) , or one more special lysymbo l ica l . The latter as a mourning be lt was smal ler than the rest, about

twe lve inches long, mos t ly wh ite with a section of b lue in the cente'

r represent ingthe dead ch ief, and flanked by two b lue cros ses denoting the second ch iefs or

captains in mourning (pl . 111, fig. e) .

1 Beauchamp (op. cit. . p . 403. quoting Kid der, Eas tern Ma ine and Nova S cotia inthe R evolu tion, p . s peaks of a

“be lt g iven by th e Ind ians of Maine a s a p ledge offriend sh ip to the United S tates and France. A cros s s ign ified th e French , th e 13 rowsof the belt th e United S tates and th e Ind ian vi l lages were s h own b y severa l wh itefigures .

AMER IC A N A N TH ROPOLOG IC A L AS S OC IATION MEMOIR S

R EP RODUCTION S OF P EN OBS C OT C ER EMONIA L WA M P UM BELTS

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40 AMER ICAN A N TH R OP OL OGTC A L A SSOCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

A treaty wa s made and to make it las t ing a large co l lection .of wampum wasmade from a l l parts of the country, wh ich was afterward s woven in a wampumband two hands wide and twenty-one hands long, and a long in the m idd le partmany d iff erent characters were woven in represent ing what the band was madefor and who were concerned in it . Th i s band was the grand counci l fire wh ichwas left in the care of theMegwe (Mohawk) who were very fai th fu l to their dutyunt i l recent ly when they began to s how s igns of a change in demeanor. Whenth i s was d is covered the vis its to the counci l fire were after a wh i le s topped . The

d iscont inuance was brough t about by the act ion of the Od u rwu r (Ottawa) wh ichwas s oon fo l lowed by a l l the other tribes . The spot selected where the grandcounci l fire was to be es tab l is hed was at the head of the firs t big rap ids of the

G reat Lake R iver (C aughnawaga at L ach ine R ap id s ) l and the name g iven to itwas ktci

’skwu ’dek,

‘big fire .

’

A s has been stated before al l the tribe s vi s ited th i scounci l fire every seven years , and during the counci l days al l k ind s of s ports wereenjoyed by the young. At firs t the Mohawks seemed p leased to have the peop lecome and took pr ide in being ab le to enterta in decent ly al l that came. Theyseemed de l ighted in serving a s the keeper, b u t after a long wh i le wanted to bethe commander. Th i s the peop le cou ld not tolerate, and quit going there. The

las t vis it was made from the eas t on ly fifty-three years ago (1840) and s ome ofthe young men who went with the old men on that las t vi s it are s ti l l l iving. One

feature of the Federat ion that can be cal led p leasant was that the peop le d ividedthemse lves into three

,

c las se s , the father, the e ldes t son and the younge s t son .

Odu rwu r was the father, Wabnaki“dawn lander,

"

the e ldes t s on, and Mikm u r

(M icmac) the youngest, was the younges t son, and after the d ivi s ion was madethe oldes t M icmac present was undres sed and put into a crad le board where hewas kept tied and fed a l l day l ike a little ‘baby . Every t ime the de legates met atthe grand council fire th i s performance was repeated .

2

TH E W AMP UM MA R R IA GE P R OP OS AL

Afte r hav ing p res en ted in the prev ious chapter the mater ia l

obta i ned concern ing the u se of wampum in connect ion w i th the cere

mon i als of the C on federacy , i t now rema ins to d iscu s s the funct ion

of wampum among the P enobscot ch iefly in its other impor tan t

capaci ty, namely, as an ins trumen t in the propos al of marr iage .

D ur i ng the pas t years hav i ng talked over with a n umber of i n

forman ts among the d i fferen t t r i bes of the reg ion the general i t i es of

of American Ethno logy, p . 908 . S im i lar terms for wampum are common in Iroquo isl iterature, cf .

'Hewitt, in Ho lmes A nniversary Volume. W as h ington. 19 16, p . 168 et

seq ., where it is styled the ir word .

"

Th e Delaware app ly the terms covenant. "

and“answering to notification and treaty be lts . cf . D . G . Brinton, E ssays of an

A mericanis t, p . 1 88 .

2 Joseph N icolar, The R edMan. Bangor. 1 896, pp . 137 , 139.

FI G . 7 .— W awenock marriage proposal wampum , a and 17; s tring of Moheganwampumbead s , c; and d isco idal wampum bead s from burial s ite in Maine. 11 .

42 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

the wampum propos al , the fol low ing s uccinct facts may be s um

marized from the knowledgega i ned i n th is way together w i th the

actual specificmater ial gathered concern i ng the procedure . The pro

pos al is commun icated from the man des i r ing tomarry to the fam i l y

of the g i r l in v iew th rough the med i um of a delegate , or two,who

carr i es a quan t i ty of wampum in whatever form it may beava i lable,to the paren ts of the g i r l . I n vary ing degrees the wampum fu nc

t ions as a mnemon ic or symbol ical documen t, the comb inat ion of

colors some t imes symbol iz ing the textu al mean ing of the speech

as i t was del ivered by the d elegate .

1 I n other cases , the bead s

s imp l y s erved as tes t imon ials of s i ncer i ty : g i fts of val ue expres s ive

of es teem , or as a ceremon i a l in s trumen t of negot iat ion .

2 The ac

ceptance of the wampum by the g i r l’

s paren ts or guard ians s ign ified

accep tance . A nd they could keep the wampum in the i r pos s es s ion

as personal p rope rty} thou gh we are told that i t was some t imes

tu rned over to the gi r l hers el f (see Wawenock cas e , p . I ts re

jection and retu rn s i gn ified re fus al . I n general , i t s eem s tha t i f the

g ir l re fu s ed the p roffer, in sp i te of affirmat ive p res s u re brough t to

bear by her re la t ives , i t was cus tomary in earl ier t imes to pres s her

in to the ' contract. Th is has not been the pracf'

tice , however, in

later years . I n forman ts expre s s the i r conv ict ion.

that n ormal ly in

the other case i f the gi r l favored the match aga ins t her relat ives'

w i l l , sh e wou ld be forced to accep t the i r decis ion unles s she cou ld

v io la te cus tom and get away w i th the s u i tor .

Fro'

m th is general scheme of operat ion there were many dev ia

t ions i n p ract ice , governed by the ci rcums tances of the ind iv idual

cas e . Many personal cons iderat ions wou ld natu ral ly ar ise upons u ch occas ion s to convert the wampum proposa l in to noth ing more

than a'

rather u nun i form ceremon i a l formul a . Th is w i l l appear in

the presen tat ion of the concrete mater ial to fol low in the body of

th is s ect ion .

S eelaccou nt of P as samaquoddy procedure, p . 5 2 .

See account of A benak i and P enobs cot procedure, pp . 47 , 54.

I n anoth er connection the importance of the uncles as subs titutes for th e fatherin th is area has been emphas i zed . I n th e case

‘

of proposa l we learn that i f the g irlis l iving with h er uncle

’

s fam i ly, though h er father be l iving, th e uncle may keep th e

wampum .

SP EC K] WAMP UM, AMON G TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 43

Before p res ent i ng the concre te facts , however , a few remarksare cal led for concern i ng a change in the procedu re of the marr i age

p ropos a l wh ich s eems to have taken p lace in h is tor ic t imes . I n

some respects the ins titu tion of p roposa l i n th is reg ion is the mos t

impor tan t phas e of ou r i n format ion becaus e i t a ff ord s a s l igh t t ime

pe rspect ive, th rough two per iod s of the ceremony , based upon older

and la ter record s .

_

Thes e s eem to ind icate w i th s ome’

degree of

p laus i b i l i ty two chronological pe r iod s . One‘

of them re fers to a

pe r iod when the propos al was carr ied on w i thou t the aid of w'

ampum ,

the marr iage reques t hav i ng been accompan ied by gi fts of another

sor t and the speech of p roposal not formal ized by any symbol i sm .

I n the later per iod wampum seems to have come i n to u se as an in

s eparable part of the ceremony in a l l the tr ibes of the W abanak i

group excep t the M icmac. The la tter reta ined the s imp le proced

ure of the earl ie r per iod . The ind icat ion s of th i s t ime d iv is ion are

forthcom i ng from the‘ older l i teratu re of the N ortheas t, and from

the ethnological material‘

ob tained from - the tr i bes thems elves in

mod ern t imes . Thus we have knowledge of the two per iod s com

ing d i rect ly from Abenak i and P as s amaquoddy sources ,l and cer

ta i n i nd icat ions along the same l i ne from a comparat ive interpre

ta tion of the data from the M icmac w i th the other W abanak i

t ribes .

P ENOB SCOT P R OP OS A L W ITH W AMP UM

The P enobsco t,in h is tor ic t imes at leas t, i nvar iably fol lowed the

p roced ure of the p roposal w i th wampum kal'

u lawa’dawe,

“p roposa l

s peak i ng”

; kal‘

u’

ladin“p ropos al .

” They reta i ned th i s pract ice as

l a te as abou t 1900 .

The fol low i ng mono logueis in tended to repres en t a s er ies of

typ ical proposa l announcemen ts . I t was recorded from the die

ta tion of N ewel l L yon at Old town , who had , fi fty years ago, him

s el f officiated several t imes i n the capaci ty of delegate ; kal‘

u lawe'

djig,“p ropos ers .

”

He says that they carr ied walk ing s t icks and wore h igh beaver

hats ; that on the i r way toward the home of the g i rl they enjoyedm uch h i la r i ty,

the meanwh i l e thump i ng the ends of the i r s taffs on

1 S ee pp . 5 2 and 54 of th is paper.

44 A MER ICA N A NTH R OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TI ON [MEM0 1R 5 , 6

the roadway w i th a m i e n of grea t importance . The delegates com

manded no compens at ion for the i r s erv ices beyond rece iv ing, as

s omet imes happened , pres en ts of tobacco.

The delegate en tered the dwel l i ng and p l aced a handkerch ief

con ta in ing th e wampum bead s‘ i n the lap

'

of the gi r l’

s mother say

ing,

ni‘

u'na ktcida

"mat na

'

ga wali"d9ba

‘da

‘tc tom

”

On an errand we [are] important and sacred it mus t

a to ale masit‘

e da’

ma wzam ta nedu’dji

’

mgdj e'bmau ait ski

’no

‘s

also be as everywhere because whenever commencing to l ive young man

tca"

sala"ki ta

'ma oma

’wina

‘wa l p

‘he

"nemu l

‘bad a

’nyu

'

lsurely comes a time where in h e sett les upon a woman maybe th is one

ni‘

zau zi"

li°

djil nani“’kwu p be

"s ago ama

’

wina‘wa l kadéz

[to be] as his own companion. A nd now one h as sett led upon your

uiwa l

‘.

2 N i“’kwup i

‘

bz'"td e gi

'

zi‘

i'

dam wu li'

s e'na be na

‘skino samna

daugh ter. N ow on ly I can say [that] he is a good ou r young manman

P an‘

a kes u ni‘

a me"sma na

”mi

‘

ka ke'

gwu s a’

li‘

a’wobala lo

“kei

'

bi’

tdeSable I nev er saw anyth ing h ow wrong do ing on ly'. I I I I ( I

m gt m z dam wu h s e na be no go mam ge gwa s u d lm ta tu n

I can s ay h e is a good man and everything h e can do

tawa’di

'

elu na’

ga ta’u‘tolu (then the delegate pu ts the

expert hunter and expert canoe bui lder.

wampum i n the woman’

s lap) gi'

ziW hen you are ready you answer u s .

Free Trans lation

We are come on an important and sacred errand , a s it mus t be everywhere,because,whenever a young man commences to l ive, there surely comes t ime whenhe sett les upon a woman to become his companion. So now one [young man]has sett le d upon your daughter. N ow I can on ly say that ouryoung man , Sab le,is a good man . I never s aw him in any wrong-do ing. I can on ly s ay that he isa good man and can do everyth ing . H e is an expert hunter and canoe bui lder

When you are ready, answer u s .

The woman sat there , not touch ing the wampum un t i l the dele

gate had gone ou t of s igh t . Then she pu t i t down i n some con

spicu ou s p l ace and s en t a man ou t among the relat ives to ask them

to come and d iscus s the affa i r wh ich had been pres en ted to them for

dec is ion .

1 I n Newel l L yon's time from 1 50 to 200 bead s were offered ord inar i ly, 5 00 in th ecase of a wealthy man . They were general ly made into a neck lace.

2 I n th is case dual pos ses s ion is denoted , kado’zal ‘

“your i f only one

parent is l iving .

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MON G TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 45

Thereupon the p roposal was p l aced under cons iderat ion by the

members of the g i r l’

s fam i ly both on the m aternal and the paternal

s id e . The d iscu s s ion that took p lace was someth i ng in the natu re

of a character analys i s of the s u i tor and the gi rl . A cons iderat ion

of major impor tance, we are told ,was th e ques t ion of compat ib i l i ty .

The fu tu re happ i nes s of the young peop le was the reason for th i s

so l ici tude . The I nd i an s seem to feel acu tely that s eparat ion is apt

to fol low i n cas es where d ispos i tions are not wel l matched . Fam

i ly gather ings for s uch a purpos e were regarded by thos e concerned

as occasion s of fes t iv i ty . I t was des i red th at al l the l iv i ng blood re

lations of the gi r l be on hand so that , in cas e an un favorable an swer

to the p roposal had to be rendered , al l together wou ld share the

respon s i b i l i ty of off ens e i n the eyes of the s u i tor ’s fam i l y . A good

ind icat ion of th i s d ip lomacy appears i n part of the speech aecom

pany i ng the re turn of the wampum i n case of refus al , as w i l l be

s een . The m embers who came were provided for by the g i r l’

s

fam i ly . We are told , moreover, that the op in ion s of the gi r l’

s

uncles , both maternal and paternal , were s er iou s l y we ighed . An

answer was general ly awa i ted by the delegate i f the decis ion cou ld

be made in a day or so . I f, however , a longer t im e was requ i red

for consideration r

'

the delegate wou ld return and his cl ien ts wou ld

awa i t the rep ly wh ich i n th i s cas e was carr i ed by some delegate

s elected for the m i s s ion among the older members of the g i r l’

s

fam i ly .

S hou ld the gir l’

s fam i l y accep t the propos al , the fol low ing is an

examp le of the spe ech wh ich was mad e to the delegates .

P rologue ;“N awe

'dj z

'

be’dj o

‘s

’

ek mazi"

W here fore come we have to answer you al l

gwewelda’

mena tomed u’dji

'

a'wen ma

'

gana t

we know whenever anyone selects an own companion

len”i

’

te pebek‘ha

’me

‘

lo wzam tanedu’dji

'

ki"zi

'

ni"zwak ki

‘

zi'

itm u s t be very carefu l because whenever have two have

tcui"

tc ta n nawe’dji

'

married it has to l iving together for as they l ive thereforebe long as

tcu"i

'

awe'n we

’dji

’

tc s a n‘kewi

’dahazit

it is [for] anyone very care fu l so tha t [they be ] contented inneces s ary m ind

46 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

t'

e u bi"dehazit (after th is p rologue comes the forma l

and at the ha ppy.

"

same time

accep tance) N i"kwup nakskwe

'mana u da lna

'bema ki

”zi‘ me'

la k,

“N ow ou r g irl her relatives have gathered .

nda”l ama be

"sago wudu

’

i'

wan ta’nowo ke

’

gwu s ne’mi

'

ha t goski‘

no"

not one there whatsoever anyth ing has seen your youngsmowal

‘. ke

’

gwali'

ni.

"kwu p kadli

’a zide

‘mlabana

man anyth ing so [in] wrong do ing N ow we g ive you a final answer

noI/i'

daha’mama ko

'

ski‘

no"

smowal ki‘

la'wa ni" 'kwup a

”yu kpa

’d

‘

inowakwe acce pt him , your young man you now it is in your handsth ink wel l of him

tane’

dudji'

na tc ali"dabi

‘

lewhenever you are ready and then wi l l take p lace whatever you wis h .

"

Free Trans lation

Wherefore we come to answer you . We a l l know that whenever anyonese lect s his own companion for l i fe, it mus t be done very carefu l ly because, whentwo peop le marry, they mus t remain together as long a s they l ive. The refore itis neces sary to be very carefu l so that the pa ir may be contented in m ind and happyas we l l . N ow the re latives of our girl have gathered and not one there hasseen anyth ing whatsoever wrong in the behavior of your young man. N ow we

g ive you a fina l answer. We accept your young m an. The matter is now inyour hand s . Whenever you are ready, what you wi sh may take p lace.

I n the case o f re fu s al the fol low ing ra ther pe remp tory speech

came d i rectly upon the heels of the prologue , accompan ied by the

re tu rn of the wampum .

Gizimf’

lak mazi"ngkskwe

’

mna udalna’bemak ni

‘

a be'sago

The y have gathered a l l ou r g lrl h er relatives I one

node’ldaman kadi

"la rza a tama

'

mo’tcke be

"saga

I am sorry to te l l you not even one accepts him

m"

kwu p kda"tcwiizaho

’lbana .

your young man . N ow must we refuse you .

Frec Trans la lion

Al l the re latives of ou r g ir l have gathered . I , for one, am sorry to have totel l yo u that not even one accept s your young man ! So nowwe mus t refuse you .

Then the mes senger re tu rned the wampum to the delegates ,

who conveyed i t back to the fam i ly of the d isappo in ted young man,

or in the cas e of a longe r parley , the same speech was sen t by one

o f the g i rl 's re lat ives . Thes e speeches may typ i fy the ancien t

p roceed ings .

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48 AMER I C A N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A SSOCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

afiords an ex amp le of how s u ch art icles in a s ubord i nate fu nction

came to be u s ed i n conv eying marr iage propos al s . A bel t

which is now in the N ew York S tate M us eum a t Albany is

recogn i zed by Gabe P au l l as the one wh ich he emp loyed in pro

pos i n g marr iage to the woman who became his w i fe . An ideaof

the trans fers wh ich such an art icl e u ndergoes in the cou rs e of its

l i fe may be der ived from th e fol lowi ng facts conce rning th i s be l t

wh ich his memory fu rn ishes. Or igi nal ly , as has been po i n ted ou t,

th is bel t m us t have s erved in s ome of the in tertr i bal negot iat ions .

After the d i s sol u t ion of the C on federacy , pas s i n g from hand to

hand , i t came in to the pos s es s ion of old Joe S u sep . Des i r ing to

u s e i t for a propos al of m arr iage , Gabe P au l bou gh t i t of him in

1892 for I t was sen t by him in its ceremon ia l capac i ty to

J u l ianne N ewel l , accompan ied by a marr iage propos al to her pro

te’

gée K'

atlyn (Kathar i ne) and accep ted . S he then kep t the wam

pum . Aga in i n 1902 i t was bough t by S apie l P au l to be u s ed in

p ropos i ng to Jenn ie S hay . I t was accep ted by L o la C oley,who had

adop ted her , and kep t by him . Gabe P au l s ubs equen tly bough t

i t back for and la ter (abou t 1906) sold i t to W . C . H i l l for

Beauchamp in his monograph'

on wampum2 figures and gives

in format ion concern i ng s everal P enobscot specimens us ed i n pro

pos ing marr iage. One o f thes e , a s tra i gh t woven bel t , is s a id to

have belonged to Mol ly Molas s es , a former cha racter in the tr ibe .

The two other specimen s of d i agonal ly woven col lars are sa id

to have'

belonged to Mrs . L i zz ie N icola. One of them has s ea

s hel ls on its border . Another s uch specimen in the Amer ican

Museum of N atu ra l H is tory (fig . 1 , b) is from the P enobscot . I ts

ca talogue en try s tates that i t was a'

marr iage be l t s howingthe figu re

,

of a man and woman in the m idd le , two cros s es and four

w igwams in wh i te beads .

"

(28 1— 2”by

'

l —4 The symbol ism

may be conjectu red .

Other obj ect i ve and h is tor ical in format ion regard i ng the wam

pum may be added here from ex is t ing P enobscot sou rces though'

a

1 A Malecite who has l ived at Oldtown for 29 years .

2 Beauchamp. op . cit. . pp . 429-30, p l . 26. figs . 278

—279—280 .

\MER IC A N A N TH ROPOLOG IC A L A S S OC IATION MEMOI R S . 6 , P LATE IV

P EN OBS COT A N D PA S S A MAQ UODDY WA M P UM STRIN GS FROM TH E MUS EUM OF TH E A M ERIC A NIN DIA N , H EYE FOUN DATION . FROM LEFT TC RIGH T : A , 1

-28 07 ; 8 , 1-1234 ; C . 1-2807 ; D, 1- 1234 2

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 49

m uch larger ser ies of ins tances wou ld certa i n ly be des i rable . S ev

eral concl us ions can be d rawn , one veryI

simple one that the wam

pum p roposa l pe rs is ted in general pract ice un t i l a l i tt le more than

a decade ago, another that the actual wampum mater ial was cere

mon i al , not i n tr i ns ic, i n character .

P as samaquoddy P roposal Wampum

I n the case of the P as s amaquoddy the symbol ical natu re of the

wampum accompany ing the propos a l of marr iage is even more

p ronounced . I n th is tr i be there are several s tr i ngs of wampum

wh ich are known to have been emp loyed for many years as ins tru

m en ts of propos al .1 The P as s amaquoddy s t i l l to a certa i n exten t

reta i n the cu s tom of propos i ng by wampum,and so i n th i s connec

t ion occas ion is offered for the d i s cu s s ion here of two reproduct ions

of spec imens of the wampum propos al s tory wh ich s eem to be val u

able as contrib u tions to ou r know ledge . Among the Fas sama

quoddy the obse rver is imp res sed by the i nd icat ion s of a cons ider

able degree of conse rvat i sm .

S everal reprod uct ion s of proposa l s tr i ngs were obta i ned for me

by G . A . P au l a t P leas an t poin t . W h i le they are not actual

s pec imens , they have some i n teres t a t leas t becau s e they p rov ide

u s w i th d up l icate data . The fi rs t th ree loops (fig . 8) repres en t

s tr i ngs used in propos al , accep tance and re fu s al . The fi rs t (a ) has

two groups of two wh i te bead s near each end , represen t i ng the br ide

and groom-to-be . A p i nk r i bbon is t ied at one end , a dark blue

one at the other . The p i nk symbo l i zes the happ ines s hoped for i n

the accep tance , the blue denotes the gloom to be fel t i n case of

re fusa l . S tr i ng (b) has a s im i l ar arrangemen t o f the bl ue and wh i te

bead s save that on each s tr i ng a wh i te bead is m idway between

the pa i rs of .wh i te ones near the ends . Th i s s ign ifies accep tance ,

the wh i te bead s m idway represen t i ng the l i nk of happ i nes s . Here

the r i bbons are red ,the co lor of good . S tr ing or loop (6) is sma l l

w i th on ly two wh i te bead s located as far apart as they can be p laced .

I t denotes re fu sa l of the offer, the symbol i sm rep resen t i ng the br ide

1Mrs . W . W . Brown of Calais ,Maine , is said by th e o lder Ind ians to have maderecord s of the function of these strings in th e days when they were in frequent u se .

I t would be very des irable to have th is vers ion of th e materia l p laced on record .

50 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

and groom to-be , as under . I t has on ly dark r i bbon s a t its ends .

Another spec imen form s one large loop (fig . 9) w i th five s ect ions

s eparated by red , p i nk , and dark bl ue r ibbons . The group ing of

FI G . 8 .— R eproductions of P as samaquod dy wampum strings used in propos ing

marriage.

the colors of the beads is here s im i la r to the preced i n g descrip t ion ,

though not so regu lar . Th is s tring con ta ins the symbol ism of the

S P EC K] WAMP UAl, A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 5 1

FI G . 9 .— R eproduction of Passamaquoddy wampum used in marriage proposa l

ceremony.

whole proced ure , the prologue , the , proposal , the acceptance, the

refusa l , and the wedd i ng dance ceremony at the concl us ion . Th i s

s tr i ng is exp la i ned as con ta in i ng the whole speech to be del ivered

52 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

by the delegates of the man . The read i ng of .the str ing is com

menced at the s ect ion where a p i ece of common wh i te s tr i ng is t ied

wi th the r i bbon . I n th is specimen we s tr ike a real cas e of mne

mon ic read i ng . The exp l anat ion of the s ections of the loop is g iven

i n the qua in t word s of the informan t . The F i rs t S tr i ng (mean i ng sec

t ion of the loop) ,“H ow the man wan ts a woman or a br id e to be his

w i fe .

"

S econd S tr i ng, Thes e word s I br i ng to you ,tha t th is young

man wan ts you r daugh te r to be his l i fe’

s compan ion till death .

(Th is is'

where the mes s enger makes his long talk .)“A nd thes e

word s— if you are w i l l i ng to marry him , give u s an answer .

”

(Here

the gir l’

s fam i ly can cons ide r the propos al and reach a d ecis ion . )Th ird S tr ing,

“A nd

'

this is where the whole body of re lat ions are

w i l l ing and g i ve cons en t [for the i r daugh ter] to mar ry the young

man .

" Fourth S tr i ng, A nd th is is where they are not wi l l ing to

marry . F i f th S tr i ng, Th is repres en ts the b ig wedd i ng dance [in

the even t of an

TH E AN C IEN T R ITE1

I t was the duty of the young I nd ian man who wi s hed to marry to in formhis parents of his des ire

, stat ing the name of the maiden . The young'

man'sfather then notified a l l the re lat ives and fr iends of the fam i ly that his son wi s hedto marry such and such a gir l . I f the fr iend s and re lat ives were wil l ing, the son was

perm itted to offer his suit. The father of the young man prepared a clean sk i n

of the bear, beaver, or deer, wh ich he presented to his son. P rovided with th i sthe suitor went to thewigwam of his prospective br ide

’

s father and p laced the h ideat the back of the W igwam or 110t (nau tek, at the The g ir l

’

s fatherthen not ified his re latives and fr iend s , and ,

i f there was no object ion, he orderedhis daughter to seat herse l f on the s k in as a s ign that the young man

’

s suit wasacceptable. The usua l wedd ing ceremonies were then he ld .

TH E MA R R IA GE C ER EMON Y I N L ATER DA YS

After the adoption of the wampum laws the marriage ceremony was much

more comp l icated . (P rof. P r ince add s that M itche l l , the Ind ian informant, interpolated th i s remark .

“When the young man had in formed his parents of his des ire to marry, andthe father had secured the consent of the re lat ions and fr iend s , an I nd ian wasappo inted to be the Kelollwel or Marriage H era ld who, tak ing the s tring of wam

pum ca l led the kelolwawei, went to the W igwam of the g ir l’

s father, genera l ly ac

J . Oyne ley P rince, The P as samaquod dy Wampum R ecord s , P roceedingsA merican P hilosophica l S ociety, v ol . XXXVI, N o. 1 56, pages 493—5 .

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54 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

W e have a fu rther specific ins tance of a s im i lar ceremony from

another m uch les s known tr i be of th is area . The W awenock in

hab i t i ng Georges bay and S agadahock bay , Mai ne, before the i r re

moval abou t the m idd le of the e igh teen th cen tu ry to Becancour ,

P . Q . , were enclos ed by tr ibes who made con s tan t u se of the wam

pum ceremon ial of p roposal . They emp loyed i t l ikew i s e . The

eth n ical pos i t ion of the W awenock s eems to have been in termed iate

between the P enobscot , the i r nor thern and eas tern ne ighbors , and

the compos i te Abenak i bands along the coas t on the i r wes t . On a

s tudy tr ip to Becancour I obta ined an in teres t i ng specimen of Wa

wenock p ropos al wampum (fig . 7 a , b) , probably the on ly one of its

k i nd , con s is t ing of s everal s tr i ngs wh ich were pres en ted w i th a pro

pos al of marr iage by the grand father of my in forman t, Frangois

N ep tune , to his grandmother whos e name was P abi‘

welama't,“On

le cro i t pe t i t . N ep tune h ims el f was abou t s even ty years of age at

the t ime of my v i s i t to him , s o one can j udge from th i s as to the per

iod of u se . Th is wampum compr is es one loop of dark bead s of a

s i ze smal le r than us ual , abou t a span in length , and another loop

of wh i te bead s abou t ten inches in length . The two together formed

a proposal gi ft of extraord inary worth .

That the Abenak i of S t. Francis at one t ime in the i r former

h is tory p ract is ed the p ropos al w i th wampum we know from a de

s cr ip t ion of the p roced ure recorded byMau rau lt .

1 W hat he s ays

is as fol lows

A young man who wi shes to marry offers to the g ir l that he des ires a bracelet

, a be lt, and a co l lar of wampum (wanbébi, wh ite I f the g ir l acceptsthese presents the two l ive together for awh i le. After th is tria l , i f the gir l is

p leas ing to the young man, permanent marr iage is ce lebrated . Bu t i f the gir l

does not p lease him he loo ses the presents and chooses a g ir l from another fam

i ly. These unions were contracted in the presence of the ch iefs and their parents .

The Abenak i of S t. Franc is , however , fu rn i sh at leas t one p iece

of tes t imony to s how that , l ike the P as s amaquoddy , in s ome pre

viou s per iod of the i r h is tory they p ract is ed a s imp le r form of pro

posal i n wh ich wampum was not a neces sary adjunct .2 I n the fol

1 J . A .Mau rau lt, His toire des A benakis , p . 1 7 .

3Mau raul t (op. cit.. p . 5 74) tel ls u s that th is form of proposa l was adopted after1 760 though h e does not as s ign a reas on for the assertion.

s pecx ] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 5 5

low ing text, obta i ned s ome years ago, the trad i t ional proces s of .

proposa l con ta ined no re ference to wampum .

1

Wa’

dj i'

gada’wi

‘

kalu'ldi

‘

mu‘k do

'ni

'

a’

gwa wa’dj i

’

W hen one wan ts to propose marriage. W h en ever in order to

gada’wi

’

ku lu’

lowa‘t wski

"a’lnomba‘ ni

"'wi

‘

gawas'

a“

h e wants to propose marriage young man at that time his mother

obi‘

tha’kali

"

n ma”ksa wi

’

gwoma k .

2ni

"da

_

ni‘

th rows in blanke t into the W igwam . Thereupon i f they l ike himni

'

dji"

na’

nawalda‘mana ma

'

ksa"

ni‘

gano'wa

'nda wali

‘

damama’k

th en they accept blanket b u t i f then not they l ike h im

patagosadawanq.’ma

’

ksa"

.

th ey g ive back the blanket.

The in sti tu t ion.

of p ropos al w i th wampum s eems not to haveattracted the a tten t ion of the ear l ie r w r i ters on the cus toms of the

M icmac . Those who, l ike Denys , and L eclercq, do speak of mar

riage cus tom s , fa i l to g i ve any prom i nence to wampum as an in

s trumen t i n the negot i a t ions . Th i s corroborates the res u l ts of

e th nologica l inqu i ry tod ay in the tr i be wh ich s how that the proced

u re of proposa l was abou t the s ame as among the other W abanak i

d ivis ion'

s excep t tha t the delegates to the paren ts of the gir l de liv

e red the i r errand w i thou t s ubm i t t i ng the wampum documen t . I n

v es tigation on this'

point by the W r i ter among the M icmac of Bear

R iver, Tru ro and S yd ney, C ape B reton , s howed s uch to be the

case . R and , too , in his M icmac L egend'

s3 gives an accoun t of a pro

posa l in wh ich no wampum was emp loyed , thu s add i n g a certa i n

confirmat ion to the more recen t tes t imony .

C ommon be ad s , however , are a t leas t known to have p l ayed a

minor pa rt a t t imes in the nup t ial formal i t ies of the N ova S cot i a

M icma c w i th i n the las t forty years . I n format ion el ici ted from a

son of Abraham Toney, ch ief of the Yarmou th band , s hows tha t

the s u i tor, after his accep tance by th e g i r l’

s fam i ly and the ch ief of

the band , occas ional ly gave the g i r l a s tr ing of beads as a pres en t .

1 Narrated by Maude Bened ict .The house of s ome des irable gir l is meant, and the subs equent pronouns refer to

the family of the g irl . A s was usual among the eas tern Ind ians . the proposal was madethrough some intermed iary, in this case the mother of the young man.

S . T . R and , L egends of the Micmacs , p . 1 74.

56 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

R ESUME OF W AMP UM AMONG TH E TR I BE s OF S OUTHER N N Ew

ENGL AND

(Mohegan , P equot, N arragans et t , Mas sachus etts , and C onnect icu t

R iver d iv is ions )

Among the fol low ing tr ibes whos e hab i tat extended th rough

sou thern N ew England , approximately from the Hud son northeas t

ward to the Merr imac, we find , by recons truct i ng e thnological and

h is tor ica l fragmen ts , that the funct ion of wampum was qu i te many

s ided . C h ief among thes e tr i bal d i v is ions , da ta is fortt ming

concern ing the Mas s achu s e tts , around Mas sachus e tts bay , the N ar

ragansett, of the N arragans et t Bay reg ion ; the Mohegan and P e

quot of the lower Thames r iver, the N ehan t ic, of L ong I s land

sound near the mou th of the C onnect icu t r iver, and the peop le of

the Hou saton ic reg ion , la ter known as the S catticook .

B r iefly we may s ummar ize the fol low ing u s es as s igned to wam

pum in th i s area ; for ornamen ta t ion , as tr i bu te , as a br i be for

m urd er , as ransom for cap t ives or as a compen s at ion for cr ime , as

a fine , as an urge r to peace or as an i ncen t ive to war , as pres en ts

between fr iend s , as‘

a recompens e for the s erv ices of s haman s , as

a means of p ropos i n g marr iage, as conc i l i a t ion for bereavemen t,

and as the ins ign i a of ch ie fs . I n later t imes i n sou thern N ew England wampum s eems to have been emp loyed pr imar i ly as tr ibu te

paid by s ubj ugated tr i bes e i ther to the I roquo i s Or to the colon is ts .

I ts earl ier funct ions here were ev iden tly clos ely s im i l ar to the s imp l e

ornamen tal funct ion as among the northern N ew England t r i bes ,

the wampum phenomena becom i ng more comp lex and more I ro

qu oian in comp lex ion as con tact be tween the two groups d eve loped .

I n the fol low ing pages I have as s embled , u t i l i z i ng ch ie fly one or

two comprehens i ve sou rces , a n umber of pas s ages il l us tra t ing the

funct ions of wampum among thes e sou thern N ew England d i v is ions .

C oncern i ng wampum in ornamen tat ion certa in h i s tor ica l sou rces

have al ready been presen ted (pp . 1 8 ; 20 , wh ich cover the area

of sou thern as wel l as northern N ew England . S o we may pas s by

the d iscu s s ion of wampum i n th is capaci ty among the tr i bes j u s t

m en t ioned by referr i ng back to the p rev ious s ect ion of th is paper .

S P EC K] WAMP UJMA NI ON G TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 5 7

C oncern i ng the late r pol i t ical funct ion of wampum as tr ibu te

in th i s region , we learn that Thomas S tan ton i n 1650 was comm is

sioned to en umerate the conquered P equot and to col lect the arrears

of tr i bu te wh ich had been lev ied upon them by the Engl i s h . The

next year ,at N ewHaven ,N inigret'

s men pa id 91 fathoms of wampum

i n beh al f of the N arragan se t ts ; the L ong I s land P equot pa id 32 ;C as sasinamon pa id 56 ; wh i le another brough t 54 fathoms and prom

ised to de l i ver the 30 , wh ich was s t i l l du e from his band . .Uncas

for the Mohegan s pa id 79 fathom s down , and agreed to hand i n the

res t later . He then , w i th s everal others , demanded on behal f of

the P equot , why th is tr ibu te was requ i red , and whether i t would

descend to the next generat ion . The C omm i s s ioners of C onnecti

cu t re ferred to the treaty of 1638, and s a id that the P equot had been

overcome i n a war j u s t ly waged aga i n s t them by the colony , and

had con s en ted to s ave the i r l ives by pay i ng a smal l annual acknowl

edgement. Tr ibu te had not been paid for twelve years , the C om

m i s s ioners cla imed , bu t ou t of clemency , they wou ld rem i t a l l that

was pas t provided th at the P equo t wou ld pay regu larly for the next

ten years .

1 I nc iden tal ly we learn later that the P equot made paym en ts of t r i bu te th rough 1663, wh ich is th i r teen years l ater in s tead

of the ten agreed upon .

Tremendou s quan t i t ies of wampum mu s t have been i n ex is t

ence in those days , or el se the terms of the agreements that we hear

of were greatly exaggerated : for, i n 1653, Hermon Garre t pa id 13

pound s , 3 s h i l l i ngs’ worth of wampum to the Engl ish toward a

se tt lemen t of his accoun ts ; wh i le C as sasinamon pa id over I 1 pound s'

worth ; the P equot u nder N i n igre t pa id 8 pounds’

wor th , wh i le

Uncas pa id ten .

2

I n 165 5 , the P equo t handed i n more tr i bu te , as fol low s : P auca

tu c, 58 fathoms ; W ecapau g, 37 fathom s ; from Uncas , 143 fathoms .

3

P equot tr i bu te , i t s hould be remembered , was pa id by tr i bes to

whom P equo t capt ives had been as s igned by the colon i s ts .

W i th the overth row of the P equot i n 1638 , the 200 s urv ivors re

1 De Fores t. H istory of the Ind ians of Connecticut, Hartford , 18 5 2, p . 243 ,

quoting Haza rd , Coll ection of S tate P apers ,

"

v ol . 11. p . 1 88 .

1 Ibid . , p . 244 .

Ibid . . p . 346 and footnote.

5 8 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCI A TION (trau mas . 6

ma in i ng in the hands of the Engl is h and the I nd ians were d i v idedas fol low s : 80 toMiantonomo ; 20 to N in i gret, both of them N arragansett ; and

‘

100 to Uncas . For thes e cap t ives the ch iefs were to

pay annual ly a fa thom of wampum for every man ; hal f a fathom for

every you th ; and a hand for every male ch i ld .

1

I n 165 8, a fine was lev ied upon s ome tr ibal con federates who had

engaged in an at tack upon the Mohegan , i nciden tal ly damaging

the p roperty of some Engl is h . Th is fine con s is ted of 40 fathoms

of wampum , 10 from the Tunx is , 1 5 from the P ocomtock , and 1 5

from the N arragans e t t .2

L ater, for var iou s gr ievances brough t aga ins t him by ne igh

bor ing s achem s , Uncas was fined 100 f athoms of wampum , part of

wh ich was to be paid to the Engl i s h , and part to the s ervile I nd i answho had s u ffered at the hands of the Mohegan ?

A s another ins tance Of tr ibu te wampum pa id by one tr ibe to

another, we learn that in 165 1 S equ as sen arou s ed the j ealousy of

Uncas becaus e s ome r ivals in tended mak ing a s achem of him and

he had as ye t refus ed to pay Uncas the acknowledgmen t of wam

pum wh ich he owed him as his conqueror . 4

A s a_

somewhat more abor ig i na l p roced ure , we have occas ional

not ice of wampum be i ng emp loyed as a means of i nduci ng agen ts

to”

comm i t m u rder . An i ns tance of this'

occu rs i n the fo l lowing

ep i sode . The N arragans et t , hav ing sough t in var iou s ways to

caus e the death of Uncas after the i r s ubj ugat ion , s en t a man to

mu rde r him . He had been pa id w i th wampum . The attemp t

fa i led . W hen the wou ld-be ass as s in was ques tioned , he s aid tha t

his s achem , the N arragans e tt , had s en t him to k i l l Uncas ,and had

off ered him a large quan t i ty of wampum . Hav ing accep ted th i s , he

d eclared that he had spen t i t and thus p laced h im s el f in the i r power .

H ad he fa i led to fu lfi l l his barga in , they wou ld have s la in him .

5

I n 1646, S equ as s en , a ch ief of the band s on C onnect icu t -r iver,was found to have p ropos ed to an accomp l ice how he cou ld murder

1 De Fores t. p . 160, quoting the R hode Is land H is torical Col lection, v ol . 111. p . 1 77 .

3 Ibid . . p . 1 04 .

Ibid . . p . 230, quoting Hazard , v ol . 11, p . 89.

4 Ibid .. p . 239.

5 Ibid . , p . 236.

s p s cx ] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 59

the governor and Other au thor i t i es at Hartford , and then flee to

the Mohawk w i th a s tore of wampum wh ich wou ld be g iven to him .

“The s achem (S equas s en) d rew ou t of his pouch three p i eces of

wampum and part of a gi rdl e of the s ame mater ial , wh ich he gave

to his accomp l ice , and p rom is ed him a grea t deal more .

1

Even earl i er , the un for tunate P equot, for hav i ng mu rdered ,i n

1634, some Eng l is h under C ap ta i n S tone ,who had made depreda

t ions upon them ,had to pay the Engl is h 40 beaver sk ins , 30 otter ,

and 400 fa thoms of wam‘

pums . I n add i t ion they were obl iged to

al low the Eng l is h the p r iv i lege of s et tl i ng i n the i r coun try . More

over, in 1636, for the mu rder of Joh n Oldham ,the P equot were

obl iged to fu rn i s h fa thoms more , and to g i ve u p some of the i r

ch i ld ren .

A s men t ioned on the prev iou s page , the P equot tr i bu te of 1663cons is ted of 50 fathoms from C as sasinamon and 30 from Hermon

Garret . An annual paymen t of 40 fathom s thereafter was decreed .

A s the P equot were u nder s uch heavy tr i bu te,they s eem to

have been ob l i ged to hun t w idely formater i a l ou t of wh ich wampum

cou ld be made . L ong I s l and s eems to have been a favor i te p lace

for these excu rs ion s . I n 1667, or thereabou ts , the Mon tauk s achem

of eas tern L ong I s land commenced oppos i ng the v i s i ts of the P e

quot . S ince the Mon tauk had been for some t ime tr ibu tary to

the‘

P equot, pay ing not on ly s hel ls bu t wampum i ts el f, the P equot

comp la ined before the cour t of the Un i ted C olon ies that the i r an

c i en t righ ts of s upremacy over the Mon tauk had been v iola ted .

The Montauk sachem was ordered , as a cons equence , to ceas e h i n

der i ng the P equo t from gath er ing s hel ls on L Ong I s land .

2

So m uch for wampum se rvi ng in the region as tr ibal tr ibu te .

Indemn i ty for m urder o ften took the form of a wampum paymen t .

For hav ing m u rdered a wh i te man in 1656, the Farm i ngton I nd i ans

were forced to pay to the colony an annua l fine of 80 fathoms of

wampum for 7 years .

3 The P od unk of C onnect icu t r iver , in 1656,

when found gu i l ty of mu rdering a ne ighbor i ng s achem , offered a

quan t i ty of wampum by way of s at is fact ion . . Uncas , however , re

1 De Fores t. p . 2 19 .

261 . quoting Hazard , v ol . 11, pp . 387-388 .

Ibid . , p . 263 .

60 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

fus ed i t , and actual ly w ished the P od unk to give him six of the i r

men to be pu t to death , i n atonemen t .l

We have s evera l i ns tances of wampum hav i ng been us ed to ran

som l i ves .

2 I n 1644 the N arragans et t held a counc i l w i th repre

s entativ es of the Mohegan at Hart ford to concl ude a peace between

them . The former referred to a s um of wampum wh ich had been

agreed upon be tween them for the ransom of the N arragans e t t ch ie f,

Miantonomo,who had been captu red and execu ted by Uncas .

The N arragan s ett cla imed that s ome of the wampum had al ready

been paid , and that Uncas had acted fa i th les s l y i n pu tt i ng his

pr isoner to death (quot ing Hazard , v ol . 11, p .

Uncas flat ly denied that any such ransom had been agreed upon ; as sertedthat the wampum so sent was so incons iderable in amount a s to be total ly inadequate for such a purpose, and that it had moreover been g iven away by M iantonomo in presents , either for the sake of obtaining favor or in return for favorsreceived .

’

I n 1645 the N arragans et t were forced by the colon is ts to agree

to very s evere term s of peace . They were ordered to pay to the

colon is ts of C onnect icu t fathoms of wampum to i ndemn i fy

them for the expen s es wh ich they had cau s ed them by pers i s t i ng

in figh t ing the Mohegan .

4

An i n teres t ing bu t pathe t ic cas e of l i fe ransom and extort ion a t

‘D e Fores t, p . 25 0 .

2A toning for murder b y paying wampum was a characteris tic Iroquo is ins titution. The Huron valued a man’

s l i fe at “30 presents , a woman

'

s at 40 . For th e

murder of a s tranger theyas ked more. A“present meant at leas t 700wampum bead s

(Jes uit R elat ions , 1 548 , p . 80 Morgan s tates tha t among the Iroquo is 6 s tring swas th e value of a l i fe ; L os kie l says , for the murder of a man 1 00 yards of wampumand for th e murder of a woman 200 yard s m u s t be paid by the murdered . The Onondagas to ld Beau champ (“W ampum and S hel l Articles Used by th e N ew York Ind ians ,B u l l etin N ew York S tate Mu s eum . N o. 4 1 , v ol . VIII. p . 641 ) that 20 s trings of wampumatoned for a l i fe. An author in the Jes uit R elations for 1642, p . 53 , sums u p th e function of presents , includ ing wampum presents among th e Huron, as fo l lows Th e

presents among the peop les arei

a l l the affairs of the country: they dry th e tears , theyappease anger, th ey del iver prisoners , and revive the dead . N oth ing is said as it wereand noth ing is answered b u t by presents . They make presents to animate men to

war, to invite peace, to invite a fam i ly or nation to dwel l near you . to satis fy th osewho have received any harm , especial ly i f b lood has been s hed .

3 De Forest , p . 2 1 2 .

4 Ibid . . p . 2 1 8 .

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62 A MER ICA N A N THR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMO I R S , 6

they s hou ld be accompan ied by a large amoun t of wampum .

l He

then demanded a league be tween his peop le and the Engl is h . Aga i n

we note thatMiantonomo wh i le the cap t ive of Unca s rece ived s ev

eral packages of wampum , some of wh ich he gave to Uncas , s ome

to Uncas’

s w i fe , and some to his pr i nc ipal counci l lors , partly as

thanks for cou rteou s treatmen t and partly to pers uade Uncas to

pu t his cas e in the hand s of the Engl is h . B u t, as has been men

tioned before , the N arragans et t l ater cla imed tha t th is wampum

was giv ena s a ransom .

2

C i ta t ions of cases where wampum was pa id to shamans for the i r

s erv ices are as fol lows : I n 1646, Uncas was accus ed by a colon is t of

hav ing h ired a P equot conj u ror for 1 5 fathoms of wampum to wound

another I nd ian and then to charge the cr ime u pon s t i l l another .

3

I n 165 1 , N in igre t , a N arragans e tt , was accus ed of hav ing s en t a

p resen t of wampum to a d is tan t sachem , ask ing him to s end a man

sk i l l fu l in magic and poison ing, p rom is ing that when the conj u ror

had fu lfi l led the need he had for him ,he wou ld s end him back w i th

a p res en t of 100 fa thom s more .

The character is t ic wampum propos al among the tr ibes of the

W abanak i group find s a paral le l among the sou thern N ew England

tr ibes in the men t ion of Trumbul l ,4“W hen an I nd ian you th w is hed

to obta i n a g i r l whom he fancied in marr iage h e made her presen ts

of ornamen ts wrough t in wampum , and i f she accepted them i t was

con s idered as a p ledge of betrothal . The cons en t of the s achemwas

then obta ined : and he hav ing joined the i r hand s together, they were

looked upon as hus band and w i fe . I n general , the husband s eem s

to have obta ined his w i fe of her paren ts , by mak ing them a presen t

of from five to ten fa thoms of wampum .

A s among the I roquo is , wampum was off ered as a conci l iat ion

to thos e who had been bereaved . S ome t ime d ur ing 1647 , upon

the death of one of Uncas’

s ch i ld ren , Uncas h ims el f pres en ted g i f ts

of consol a t ion to the mother , and at the s ame t ime ordered the s u b

1 De Fore s t, p . 79.

2 Ibid . , p . 1 92 .

Ibid . , p . 228 .

4 Trumbul l , History of Connecticut, v ol . 1, p . 38, quoted by de Fores t, pp . 1 7— 18 .

S P EC K] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TE R N A L GONKIA N 63

j ugated and ens l aved P equot ; under th reats ; to do the s ame .

Tass aqu anot, however , a P equot sachem , opposed th is impos t , ob

serv ing that they had better g ive the wampum to the Engl i s h to

s ecu re favor wh ich wou ld s ave them the trouble of car ing abou t

wha t Uncas wanted . N evertheles s , abou t 100 fathom s of consola

t ion wampum were col lected and g iven , as theyhad been ordered .

Unca s was h igh ly grat ified , and prom i sed that thenceforth he wou ld

trea t them on an equal i ty wi th his ancien t s ubj ects .

‘

W ampum i n N ew England is frequ ently '

mentioned as the in

S Ignia of ch i e fs . K i ng P h i l ip is s a id to have had a bel t wh ich was

n ine inches broad reach ing from his s hou lders to his ank les mad e

of“b lack and wh i te wampum i n var ious figures

.

and flowers and

p ictu res of many b i rd s and beas ts .

” He had two other be l ts , one

w i th two flags upon the back , wh ich hung from his head ; the other ,

w i th a s tar upon the end , wh ich hung from his breas t .2 W hen

King P h i l ip v is i ted Bos ton he wore a‘

coat and leggings ornamen ted

w i th wampum and a broad be l t of the s ame .

8

Miantonomo is sa id to have beaten one Of his sachems at P om

ham and-

to have taken away his wampum , as a pun ishmen t for

having s ubm i tted to the Engl i sh . De'

Fores t s ays that s achems

and great men had caps and apron s W rough t w i th beads , and that

be l ts con ta i n i ng a greater quan t i ty of wampum were worn , and that

they were valued by the Engl i s h colon is ts at e igh t and ten pound s

s terl i ng .

‘

Those who are acqua i n ted w i th the wel l-known character of

the I roquo i s ce remon ial wampum procedure w i l l not need to be‘

in formed why the fol low ing accoun t is i n troduced,

here . I t s how s

how comp le te ly the C onnect icu t tr i be s had patterned the i r formali ties i n negot i at ion a fter the pat tern of the I roquo is ,w i th whom they ,

l ike the tr ibes o f northern N ew England , were i n pol i t ical and geo

graph ical con tact .

1 De Fores t. p . 230, quoting Hazard . v ol . 11, p . 89 .

1 C . C . W i l lough by, Dress and Ornaments of th e N ew Eng land Ind ians , A mer

ican A nthropologist, N . S . , v ol . V I I , no. 3 , 1905 , p . 5 08, quoting Drake , History of

P hilip'

s W ar. p . 142 .

‘W il lough by, op. cit. . quoting Jos selyn, Two Voyages to N ew England, Veaz iereprint. p . 1 00 .

4 D e Fores tf p . n .

64 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

During the war of 1 744 with France, G overnor C l inton of N ew York, and abody of comm is s ioners from Mas sachusetts and C onnect icut, had an aud iencewith the S catacooks and R iver Ind ians , and made them an addres s ca lculated toeither keep them at peace or engage them on the Engl ish s ide. They began, asis usua l on such occas ions , by s ty l ing the Ind ians neighbors and friend s ; expres sing th e p leasure wh ich the governor and comm is s ioners fe lt in seeing them , and

declaring that they s hou ld henceforth look upon them as their very near re lat ions .

After these comp l iments , they said that they had s poken with the S ix N ations , andnow came to S peak with them : that it was a very proper t ime to brighten thechain of peace ; for the French , without any cause, had jus t begun a war on theEng l is h : that the latter m ight therefore want the as s is tance of their good friendsand brothers , the S catacooks and R iver Ind ians : and that, when a convenienttime arr ived , they wou ld make them such a present a s wou ld be suitable to thecircum s tance s . S uch was the substance of a speech deliv ered . by one of the

comm is s ioners . On the next day the Ind ians made the fol lowing'

rep ly :

“Fathers of the Mas sachusetts Bay and C onnect icut. We are g lad to see

you here, and we bid you we lcome. We are incl ined to l ive in peace and lovewith these three governments and a l l the res t of his Majesty

's subjects .

“Fathers : we are very g lad that we are al l united in one covenant chain ;we are reso lved that it s ha l l not rust, and wi l l therefore wind it with beaver s k ins .

“Fathers : we are ready topromote good th ings ; and what ou r uncles , th eSix N at ions , have prom ised we wi l l read i ly concur in on ou r part.

Fathers : you are the greates t, and you des ire u s to s tay at home, wh ich

we prom i se to do, and we hope that no harm wi l l come to u s .

“Fathers : we are united with the Six N at ions in one common covenant, andth i s is the be lt wh ich is the token of that covenant.

“Fathers of Boston and C onnecticut : whatever you des ired of u s yesterdaywe engaged to perform ; and we are very wi l l ing to keep and cu lt ivate a closefriends h ip with you ; and we wi l l take care to keep the covenant chain bright.

“Fathers : you are a great peop le and we are a smal l one ; we wi l l do what

you des ire, and we hope you wi l l take care that no harm come to u s .

"

The I nd ians then presented a belt of wampum and th ree mart in sk ins .

l

Another examp le of im i ta t ion of the I roquois mes sage bel t ap

pears in a h i s tor ical not ice dated 1 720 . A bel t of wampum arr ived

from the sou th , reached G reenw ich , and , u l t imately, N ew M i l ford ,

C on n . ,betoken ing that a t each p lace where i t was accep ted cap t ive

I nd ians wou ld be rece ived and s o ld .

2

The mos t recen t occas ion noted in h is tor ical an nals when wam

pum cou ld have been us ed s er iou s ly by the Mohegan ,

'

or when i t

1 Indian P apers , v ol . 1 . Document 262 , quoted by de Forest, op. cit. , pp . 4 1 1—4 13 .

1 D e Fores t, p . 349 .

S P EC K] WA NI P UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 65

cou ld have been sen t to them from the ou ts ide , is when the S tock

br idge I nd ians of Mas s achus etts , in 1 755 , s en t a mes s enger to the

Mohegan to wake them u p and ind uce them to jo i n the Mohawk

and S tockbr idge aga i ns t the French and I nd i ans of C anada .

1 I t

may be in ferred that th i s mes s enger i n accordance w i th the cu s

toms of the day carr ied a Wampum tes t imonia l .

The only s u rv iv ing s pecimens of nat ive wampum among the

so u thern N ew Eng land tr ibes today comp r is e , s o far as I have been

able to d iscover , a neck lace of bl ue wampum bead s pos ses s ed by

a daugh ter of the late Mrs . Mary Baker of Mohegan ,who, i n her

g i r lhood , remembered s ee ing a bel t i n the hand s of some of the old

Mohegan , wh ich s he s a id s eemed long enough to have reached

from a man'

s s hou lders to the ground . The neck lace spoken of is

a s imp le s tring of bead s a l ternat i ng w i th gold bead s . The bead s ,

i t was though t, m igh t,

have been rel ics from the bel t j us t men t ioned .

S everal wood en bowl s in the co l lect ions of the H i s tor ical S oc i ety

of N ew L ondon,C onn . , con ta i n wh i te wampum beads ins erted

l ike a mosa ic i n the hand les . W i l lough by has figured one o f thes e

bowls i n a recen t art icl e .

From M i s s C yn th ia Fowle r o f Mohegan the wr i ter obta i ned

th i r teen blue cyl i nd r ical beads (fig . 7 c) wh ich bear the ev idences of

hav ing been smeared w i th red ochre . N oth i ng is known of the

h i s tory o f thes e bead s excep t tha t they may have or ig i nal ly be longed

to the aforemen t ioned Mohegan bel t . Fou r beads from the s ame

sou rce were obta ined by me a number o f years ago for Mr . George

G . Heye . One can hard ly imag i ne , ih concl us ion , W hat has be

come of the s tupendous quan t i t ies of wampum formerly made and

owned by the sou thern N ew Eng land tr i bes .

My concl u s ion s based upon an in terpre ta t ion of the facts g iven

here are th at the manu factu re of the cyl i nd rical or so-cal led“coun

cil wampum was an o r ig i na l ach ievemen t of the Algonk i an who

lived along the N ew Eng land coas t . The or ig i na l mot ive of man u

fact u re , i t s eems to me , was pr imar i ly for ornamen tat ion along

1 D e Fores t. p . 449 .

1 C . C . W i l lough by. W ooden Bowls of the Al gonqu ian Ind ians , American A nthropologis t, v ol . x , no . 3 , 1908 , p late 27 . p . 428 .

66 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

the nor thern por t ion of the coas t .’

I t s erved as a med i um of

exchange and i ndemn i ty as wel l as for ornamen tat ion in s ou thern

N ew Eng land .

'

W i th the expans ion of the I roquo i s i n the s even

teenth cen tu ry, and the i r acqu is i t ion of modern tool s from the Eu ro

peans , wampum manu factu re m u s t have been greatly fac i l i ta ted

and pe rfected .

1 Th i s ind us tr ia l growth , con temporaneous w i th the

extens ion of the I roquo is league , brough t bead mater ia l in to the

hands of'

the I roquois ,Who, th rough the i r pol i t ical gen i us , s oon con

ceiv ed a more comp lex funct ion for the wampum than i t had hith

er to known , and crea ted a sys tem of m nemon ic record keep i ng and

symbol ism . The developmen t s eem s s ubsequen tly to have s pread

th roughou t the eas tern Algonk ian tr ibes and deepened among the

I roquoi s them selves . Th is accoun ts for the abundance o f bo th

the wampum i ts el f and the elabora te ce remon ia ls wh ich we hear

of in the s even teen th ahd e igh teenth cen tu r i es ex is t ing among

p ract ical ly al l of the nor theas tern tr ibes .

Among ceremon ial funct ions , however , requ i r ing wampum , one

s hou ld not be overlooked as a probable abor iginal Algonk i an cu s tom .

Th is was the u se of wampum as a means of propos ing marr iage .

Th is cu s tom preva i led formerly among mos t of the eas tern Algon

k i an tr ibes , and , by con tras t , is not character is t ic of the I roquo i s .

I ndeed , marr iage W ampum s urv ived w i th more pers is tency i n to

modern t imes among thes e tr i bes than the as soc i a t ion wampum

funct ions . The la tter,i t s eems , depended for the i r ma in tenance

upon the s urv ival of nat i ve pol i tica l l i fe .

HIS TOR ICA L P ER S P ECTIVE

I n th i s es s ay an endeavor has been made to pres en t a'

s ys temat ic

s u rvey of ou r know ledge of wampum in the northeas tern reg ion

from early t imes to the pres en t, and on the bas is of th is in format ion

to determ ine wha t was its earl i es t as s ignable funct ion , and , final ly,

C f . C . C . W i l lough by. Dres s and Ornaments of the.

N ew Eng land Ind ians ,

A merican A nthropologist, N . S v o l . V I I p . 50 7 . W i l lough by refers to the growthof the wampum industry after th e natives had obtained Eu ropean too ls . H e expres sesth e same op inion, “T here s eem s to be litt le evidence that the smal ler tubular s he l lbead s of th e variety known as wampum were made to any extent by the N ew Eng landnatives previous to the seventeenth century.

"

s pscx ] WA MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GONKIA N 67

to trace the sou rce from wh ich wampum ceremon ials may have

been de r ived . A s ummary of ou r find i ngs may now be j uxtapos ed

to the quer ies

As s um ing tha t the format ion of the L eague of the I roquo i s

provided an or ig i n for mos t of the ceremon ials i nvolv ing the u se o f

wampum , a date may be rough ly as s igned from wh ich to trace the

diflu sion of wampum ceremon ia l s i n the ne ighbor i ng area of th e

northeas t . W e have reason to regard , on good author i ty , the I ro

qu ois L eague to h ave been founded d ur i ng the las t quarter of th e

s ixteen th cen tury or abou t I n the ch ron icles of the L eague

of the I roquo is we do not encoun ter reference to the W abanak i

a l l i ance , a l though the other A lgonk i an and S iouan confederates

(Delaware , N an t icoke , Moh ican ,Mis sas au ga, Tutelo and S apon i )

are we l l known .

2 I f we v iew the format ion o f the W abanak i con

federacy as an even t dat ing back‘

no earl ier than to a per iod s u b

s equen t to the es tab l i s hmen t of the I roquo i s at C augh nawaga

( 1668 ou r d i fficu l ty on th i s po i n t dis so lv e s ,'

since i t was on ly

w i th th e C aughnawaga"C hr i s t i an s and th e i r al l i es , wh ich formed

i ndependen t groups a l i enated from the L eague“

, tha t the W abanak i

con federacy was concerned .

J . N . B . Hewitt is th e auth ority for th is estimate,wh ich he g ives in several papers .

The R equickening A ddre ss of the L eague o f th e Iroquo is , Holmes A nn ivers ary Vo lume. W as h ington, 19 16, p . 163 ; and

“S ome Es oteric A s pects o f th e L eague o f th e I ro

quois , P roceedings of the N ineteenth'

C ongres s of A mericanis l s , Was h ington, 19 1 5 . p .

3 22, and Handbook of th e A merican Indians , v o l . 1, p . 61 8 .

Earl ier es timates have come to be d iscre d ited . S everal gues se s b y oth er writershave to be d isregarded , for instance, 1390 , cf . Trad ition a l His tory of the Conf ederacy of

the S ix Nations , prepared by a Comm ittee o f Ch ie fs , pre sented by D . C . S cott, R oyaS oc iety of Canada, 19 1 2 , pp. 196. and 1400

— 1 45 0 , L ewis H . Morgan, A ncient S ociety(N ew York . p . 1 26 (es timate bas ed part ly on Ind ian tes timony) .

1 The lack o f mention o f the W abanak i cau sed s ome surprise in the m ind o f DavidBoyle. Cf . A rche ological R eport of Ontario , 1905 , p . 1 5 1 . N ow the. remarkableth ing about a l l th is is th e tota l want of al lus ion in Huron-Iroquois myth or fo lk- loreor h i storic trad ition to th e Wabanak i peop les , on th e one hand , and th e frequent re fcrenees to the Iroquo is by th e Wabanak is on th e other.

1 Th i s band , under th e influence of th e Jesuits . became permanently d is soc iatedfrom the L eague of th e Iroquo is . Though several futi le attempts were made to ind u cethem to return.

they were final ly renounced in 1684 . Th e Iroquo is sett lement atL a ke of Two Mountains , known als o as Oka , and Kanesatake on th e h i l ls ide "

(fromwh ich th e Wabanak i des ignative for th is band is derived ) was founded in 1 720 b y Cath

o l ic Iroquo is from Sault a u R éco l let (cf . Handbook of A merican Indians , v o l . 11, p .

A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

N ext, in s eek ing for a po i n t i n the h is tory of the con tact be

tween the VVabanakiand the I roquo i s from wh ich to trace the ac

cu l tu ration of the con federacy idea and the as soc i a ted wampum

funct ions among the northeas tern tril ) es ,~ we find some tru s tworthy

ind icat ion s . I n 1 700 the hos t i l i ty wh ich had preva i led between

the I roquo i s and the W abanak i d i v i s ion s for a cen tu ry 1 came to

an end i n th e treaty of peace between a l l the tr i bes concerned as

far wes t as the Ottawa , con firmed on Augu s t 4, 170 1 . I t s eem s

reasonable to i n fer tha t the W abanak i-I roquo i s al l iance came in to

ex i s tence a t the open i ng of th is era o f peace .

J udgi ng by what v relativ ely l i t tl e pos i t i ve in format ion we pos

s es s a t th is t ime , i t deve lop s tha t wampum funct ion s were more

elaborate among thos eW abanak i whos e terr i tor i es lay i n clos er prox

imity to the I roquois , and tha t m i l i tary pol i t ical funct ion s were

more general in the who l e a rea‘ than o thers . Thes e i nd icat ions

harmon ize not a l i ttl e w i th the expectat ions i n s uch a cas e as tha t

wh ich we are con s ider i ng , where an organ i zed progres s i ve cu l tu re

came to bear upon the fron t i ers of a cruder nomad ic peop l e .

W i th some idea , then , of the i r or igina l s ou rce , severa l ins titu

t ion s wh ich became conven t ional i zed w i th the format ion of the

L eagueand wh ich were recorded l a ter in the s u rround i ng Algonk ian

reg ion , may be regarded as cu l tu re loan s from the L eague by tran s

fer th rough the I roquo i s oiC aughnawaga to the W abanak i . One

of these is the u se of“wampum as l egal tender of a prescr ibed pr ice

of the l i fe of a man wh ich Hew i t t gives as one of the fundamen tal

pract ices pu t in force by the L eague . Twen ty s tr i ngs of wampum

was the paymen t for hom icid e . On page 59 of th is paper is

g iven certa i n i n format ion under th is head i ng (paymen t for com

pound ing mu rder) from the reg ion of sou thern N ew Engl and , dat

i n g from abou t the per iod 1656. Here , ev iden tly ,is a p l au s i bl e cas e

C f . P . Charlevoix, Histoire de la Nou vel le France, v ol . 111. pp . 3 7 1—373 . Jes u it

R e lations , 1662 , pp . 1—2 . Mau rau lt. His toire des A benakis , p . 1 5 7 . and 160— 1 . Morgan . L eagu e of the Iroqu ois , v ol . 1. p . 1 2- 14 . Wabanak i Myth ology, it may be added .

is rep lete with undated re ferences to events in the Iroquois wars . Only one o f the se.s o far as I know can, be even approx imatelyas s igned to a date . I n th is case an A be

nak i s tory o f an encounter with th e Iroquois at W da ’

ps a k , P lace of th e S kul l , seems

to be the native vers ion of an event recorded b y Mau rau lt. supposed to have takenp lace in 169 5 . (Cf.Mau rau lt. op. cit. . pp . z3o

~ z3 1 . )

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70 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

facts tha t the I roquo is did not act ual ly or ig i nate the wampum pro

posal ceremony .

l For s uch was the i r fixed tendency to emp loy

wampum i n ceremon i a ls that , i f th ey had had the cu s tom ,i t wou ld

probably have been re tained . Hence , s i nce i t is d i fficu l t to s ee how

the pract ice cou ld have been borrowed from the I roquo i s , we are

le ft w i th the theoret ica l a l terna t ive of v iew ing i t as a local devel

opment among the wes tern W abanak i tr ibes .

2 I t may , moreover ,

be pronounced as a relat ively recen t acqu is i t ion among thos e p rae

tising i t , s i nce we have references to an ear l i e r per iod when wam

pum was“

not emp loyed for p ropos al (s ee p . Th is funct ion ,

then , s eem s to be a local featu re ,res u l ting from con tact s t imu lat ion

by the I roquo i s a fter the adopt ion of othe r wampum ceremon ia l

p rocedu res . A reas on for th is may be found in the rela t ive ly greater

s ocial impor tance of the'

r i tes of marr iage among the W abanak i

than among the I roquo i s . The p red ict ion m i gh t accord ingly not

be too i l log ical tha t i f the au tomat ic progres s of nat ive cu l tu re

forces had not been checked by Eu ropean influence , the wampum

propos al ceremony wou ld have con t inued spread i n g eas tward , reach

ing in t ime the M icmac.

W e s hou ld not overlook th e fact , at some po i n t i n ou r i nves t i

gation'

, that wampum never s eems to have become as soci a ted w i th

1 The ex is ting record s avai lable, so far as I can learn, d is close re latively few ih

s tances where wampum was used b y the Iroquo is in th e proposal of marriage. A

s tring in the Museum of th e Geo log ical S urvey of Canada, col lected by Dr. Sap ir a tthe S ix Nations R es erve. Oh swe ken , is des ignated as

“s ometh ing l ike a wedd ing g i ft

"

wh ich is g iven to th e bride'

s parent . The s pec imen is a loop C ontaining 34 dark bead s .

I n th e same co l lection is a s im i lar loop of 30 dark bead s concerning wh ich D r. Sap irk ind ly furnis hes the fo l lowing information

I I I . I , 3 23 . S tring of blue wamp um . Th is string is to be u sed by a widow whosend s it as a proposal to the man s h e wis hes to marry. I f h e keeps th e wampum , it

means that h e is wi l l ing to marry h er. Th e widower can als o propose in th e same wayb y means of th is wampum s tring .

’

Th e characteris tic symbo l ism in th e s tring cons istso f th e blue co lors of the bead s and the fact that th ere are th irty of them . W hen one

is to be married for the firs t time , it is th e parents of th e boy or g irl wh o send a stringof fifteen wampum bead s with a lternating blue and wh ite color. Onondaga name

u t‘

gzie"(marriage wampum ) . Obtained from Ch ief Gibs on by E . Sapir

March . 19 1 2 .

Beauchamp , in h is monograph on Iroquo is Wam pum , does not l is t th is functionamong th ose known to th e Iroquo is .

2 I t has been s hown (p . 5 5 ) that th e M icmac are the only peop le of the group wh olack the wampum proposal .

! P EC K] WA .MP UM A MONG TH E EA S TER N A L GON KIA N 7 1

some C u l tu re fea tu res wh ich , i n the l i fe of the northeas tern tr i bes ,

may be very fundamen tal ones . For i ns tance , we know o f no cas es

where wampum en te red i n to med ic i ne p ract ice as a charm or cura

t ive agency ,l nor does i t become concerned w i th s haman ism ,ex

cep t local ly i n s ou thern N ew Eng land where we hear of i t as a

paymen t for pro fes s iona l s erv ice .

2

gam ing pract ices .

I t does not s erve any purpos e i n

S uch negat ive cons idera t ion s s eem to lend color

to the idea o f th e recen t developmen t of wampum funct ions amongthe tr i bes i n ques t ion .

A s represen t i ng the wr i ter’

s impres s ion of re lat i ve importance

and d i s trib u t ion , the fol low i ng tabu lat ion of the featu res of us age

is off ered .

D e laware and

S o u thern 8 " Francis M a leciteIroq u o is and H uron N ew Eng land A benak i and P enob scot and P a s s a Micmac

A lgonk ian Wawenock maqu od dy

Negotiatory Be lts . S imi lar S im i la r S im i lar S im i lar S im i larP eace. W ar. DeathMes sages .

S peec h "

Symbo l ism S im i lar S im i lar S im i larand Synonymy.

R ansom .

Money.

Ch ief 's Condo lence ceremony with wampum .

Marriage P roposal with S im i lar S im i larwampum unusual . to pre to pre

ced ing ce d ing

Myth lcal A s soc iations , S im i larW ampum B ird . Bead s ,

fal l ing from mouth .

etc.

Wampum as Ornament Wampum S im i lar S im i lar S im i lar(on ly secondary in la important to pre to pre to pre

ter times ) . as orna ced ing ced ing ced ingmentation

1 Mr. F . W . W augh , of th e Ge o log ica l S urvey o f Canada. inform s me that onemed icina l s pec imen is known to him among

'

the Iroquo is . Th is is a s tring of purp lewampum bea d s worn tightly around th e neck for go itre accord ing to Jim Davis . aCa yu ga . of the Grand River re serve .

S ee page 62 of th i s paper.

N OTES ON R EI N DEER N OMAD I SM

G UDMUN D H ATT

N OTES ON R E IN DEER N OMAD IS M

BY G UDMUN D H ATT

INTR ODUCTION

R . L au fe r ’s paper The re indeer and its demes tication” l

rep res en ts a cons iderable advance w i th in the s tudy of

re i ndeer nomad i sm . The ques t ion of the or igi n and h i s tory

of th is cu l tu re-form h as not been trea ted before s o fu l ly nor e luci

dated th rough s uch a weal th of facts . H is d iscus s ion of the C h ines e

h is tor ic s ou rces , bear ing upon re i ndeer breed i n g, is of grea t impor

tance ; and , be i ng a s i nologue , he was bette r qual ified for th i s task

than perhap s any oth e r s tuden t of re indeer nomad i sm . Another

po i n t of a speci a l val ue is his demons trat ion of the m i s unders tand

ing wh ich l i es at the bottom of the s tory abou t the re i ndeer-r id i n g

S amoyed of the fi fteen th cen tu ry . On the other hand ,i n his trea t

men tof the early h is tory of re indeer nomad ism i n S cand i nav ia ,L au fe r

has not been very s ucces s fu l ; th i s may be du e ,perhaps , to a l ack-

of

acqu ai n tance w i th the con s iderable S cand inavi an l i teratu re on the

s ubj ect . Anothe r d rawback is his d i s regard of the b iologyof the

re i ndeer ; th i s negl ect impa i rs s e r ious l y the value of his theor ies

abou t the or ig i n of re i ndee r-domes t icat ion . A -nd fu rthermore , he

has not been'

aware of th e fact tha t the geograph ical d i s tr i bu t ion of

the cu l tu ra l e lem en ts of re indeer nomad ism makes i t pos s i ble to

de term i ne the relat ive age of thes e elemen ts— a fact of the greates t

importance in an attemp t to t race the evol u t ionary h i s tory of

re i ndee r nomad i sm .

R e i ndee r nomad i sm has i n teres ted me th rough a number of

years . My presen t notes are not mere ly a d iscus s ion of L au fer ’s

pape r ; th ey con ta i n my own ideas upon the s ubj ect .

ON TH E R EL A TIVE A G E OF TH E C UL TUR AL EL EMENTS OF R EINDEER N OMADISM.

A comparat i ve s tudy of re indeer nom ad i sm d isclos es two im

po rtan t groups of facts . A . W e find tha t certa in cu l tural e lements

Memoirs of the A merican A nthropological A s sociation, v ol . I V , no. 2

7S

76 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEM0 1R 5 , 6

are d is tributed al l over the area of re indeer nomad i sm ; among thes e

elemen ts , i nheren t in al l re indeer nomad ism ,are cas trat ion by

b i t ing,l mark i n g of the re i ndeer’

s ear,2_u s e of the l as so, u se of the

h ighes t developed typ e of s nows hoe (the ski) , u s e of human u r i ne

or s al t as means of at tract ing and tam i ng the deer . B . On the

other hand , som e cu l tu ral e lemen ts h ave a more res tr icted dis tri

bu tion , not cover ing the whol e area of re indeer nomad ism , e. g. ,

re indeer r id ing, re indee r d r iv ing, me thod s of s l au gh ter ing, m i lk ing,and m ethod s of u s i ng the m i lk . Any theory of the or igi n and

spread of re i ndeer nomad i sm ough t to exp la in both A and B . The

featu res mentioned under A may s ugges t a common or ig in of a l l

re indeer nomad ism ; the facts u nder B are fu l ly as im portan t , how

ever, and a d i scu s s ion of th em is bou nd to th row l igh t u pon the

h is tory of re indeer nomad i sm .

R e indeer r id i n g is not p ract is ed by al l re indeer nomad s . The

Tungus , Yukagh i r, S oyot, and Karagas r ide the re indeer ; the

Koryak and C hukch i do not (excep t in a few cas es where Tungus ian

in fl uence is ev iden t) r ide the re indeer, ne i the r do the northern

S amoyed , the Os tyak , nor th e Vogu l . W hen Hahn s tates tha t the

S amoyed in earl ie r d ays u s ed to r ide on re i nd eer-back , th i s op in ion ,

bas ed u pon a pas s age in L eh rbe rg’

s“Un ters uchungen zu r E rlau

terung der al teren Gesch ich te R us s l ands ,”is qu i te e rroneous

,

‘

as

L au fer h as demon s trated (p . 96 Indeed , th e German text is

not at al l cl ear ;3 i t wou ld be impos s i ble to d is cern the true mean ing

1 The Soyot are th e only reindeer-breed ing tribe of wh ich it is as serted that cas tration is not used ; cf . Orjan Olsen, Et primitivif olk (Kris tiania. p . 67 . Olsenals o s tates that the las s o is not used b y the Soyot in reindeer-tend ing (p . Theses tatements . l ike some others in O lsen's book . are so remarkable that it wou ld be des irable to have them confirmed by other obse rvers .

2TheYakut are th e only reindeer-breeders who do not mark th e re indeer ’s ear;

th e Yakut owner’s mark is branded with red h ot iron seals on th e h ind quarters of th e

re indeer (cf . W . Joche ls on, The Koryak, Jesup Exped ition, v ol . v 1, p . This

method has evidently been derived from that of mark ing h orses and horned catt lewith iron seals . A mong the Os tyak-Samoyed near th e river Tas , mark ing of the

reindeer's ear is not use d . and h ére it seems that th is practice would not be of muchu se, as the reg ion is s o s parsely inhab ited that th e d iff erent herd s of tame re indeerbecome very seldom m ixed . C f. KaiDonner, B land S amoj eder iS ibirian , (Hels ingf ors

p . 1 72 .

1 “A u s L ap ina zogen den R ussen ju gris che Ftirs ten au f R ennthieren entgegen. S ie

waren v on Obdor gekornmen . Wie es s cheint. s ch los sen die ju gris ch en Fil rs ten

https://www.forgottenbooks.com/join

78 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

or S oyotian u s e of there i nd e e r as a pack-an imal , for the L app ish

packs add le is absol u te ly u n ique , its con s truct ion hav i ng noth i ng

in common w i th the packs add le of the Tungu s or S oyot, nor w i th

the hors e packs add le us ed by the S cand inav ian s .

‘ Accord ing l y,

there s eem s to be reason s for as s um ing that the L app is h packs add le

is d u e to a loca l d evelopm en t . On the oth e r h and , the Tungus ian

and S oyotian packs add l e and r id i ng s add l e2 s how a s ign ifican t

F I G . 1 0 .

—L app is h pack-sad d le (s vaekka or spakka) , cons i sting of two curvedboard s ( length 5 5 cm .) wh ich are jo ined b y means of a sort of dove-tai l cons tructionover th e back of th e d eer and connected by means of a s trap beneath th e animal 'sbel ly. Th rough smal l h o les near th e m idd le l ine of the board s narrow s trips of s k inare pu t form ing loops wh ich serve in ‘attach ing front and rear s traps for h o ld ing th e

sad d le in p lace. A re indeer s kin or blanket is s pread u nde r th e board s to preventtheir chafihg the deer and th e packages are hung upon the pro jecting u pper end s ofth e board s .

res em blance to hors e s add les u s ed by nomad s of Tu rk ish andMongolic s tock .

3 Th is res emblance . is one of the facts wh ich s upport

1 Th e L app is h packsadd le cons is ts of two curved narrow. board s jo ined by asortof dove-tai l construction over the back of the deer and connected by means of a s trapbeneath th e animal 's be l ly ; a reindeer s k in or a blanket is s pread under these board s toprevent the ir chafing th e deer. and th e packages are hung upon the projecting u pperend s of th e board s . A s il l u s trations of th e L app is h packsadd le are rather s carce , I

inse rt a s ketch h ere . I n case of emergency a pair of b irch twigs may be emp loyedinstead of th e board s ; th is exped ient I found in u se among th e Karesuando L app of

northern Sweden.

2 Cf . I l lus trations of Tungus ian sadd les on pp . 1 276 and 1489 in Middendorfi’sR aisein den du s ers ten Norden and Os ten S ibiriens . v ol . I V , and descr iptions and i llustration s of S oyotian reindeer sadd les in e an O lsen's E l P rimitivtFo lk, pp . 7 1

-76.

C i.. e. g . , W . R ad ion'. A u s S ibirien (L eip z ig , v ol . 1, pl . v n , h orse sadd lesused by th e nomad s in A ltai .

H A TT ] NOTE S ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M 79

the as s ump t ion that the S i ber ian u s e of the re i ndeer as a r id i ng and

pack-an imal is d u e to acu l tu re loan wh ich re indeer nomad i sm owes

to more s ou thern forms of nomad ism .

A s to re indee r d r iv ing, Bogorasland others have obs erved tha t

the re i ndeer harnes s is of the s am e general type everywhere ; local

var ia t ions occu r, especial ly w i th regard to the mod e of p l ac i n g the

harnes s upon the re indeer and the mod e of attach ing the an imal to

the s l edge, bu t the s ame fundam en tal type of re indeer harnes s is

found f rom L ap land to the C hukch i pen ins u la . In teres t i ng as th i s

fact is , i l l u s trat i ng the un i form ity of re indeer nom ad i sm , we .m u s t

not forge t that not al l re i ndee r nomad s u s e the re indeer for draugh t .

The S oyot and Karagas do not p ract i s e re indeer d r iv ing at al l ; and

of the Tungus , a part on ly are re i ndeer d r i vers . S chrenck2 as s erts

even that the on ly Tungus prae-tising re indeer d riv ing are the Oroki

o f S agha lin who, accord i ng to S ch renck ,had gotten the idea from

the dog d r iv i ng of the G i lyak . On the northern tund ra , however,

between Kolyma and L ena , the Tungu s ian s have in some cas es

adop ted re indee r d r iv ing .

3 The ma in body of Tungu s ian re i ndeer

nomad s do not p ract is e re indee r d r iving .

Typ ical re i ndee r d r ivers are the L app , S amoyed , Os tyak ,

.

Vogu l ,

Koryak , and C h ukch i . Typ ica l re indee r r iders are the S oyot ,

Karagas , and Tungu s . Both re indee r r id i ng ( i n s umm er) and

re indee r d r iv i ng (in w in ter) are p ract i s ed by some northern'

Tungu

s i ans , the re indeer breed ing Yaku t , the Yukagh i r , and even by a

few C hukch i and Koryak who l i ve in c losep rox im i ty to the Tungus .

4

Accord i ng ly, re indee r r id i ng and re indeer d r iv ing have the i r

a reas of d i s tr ibu t ion pa rtly overlapp i ng , ye t qu i te d i s t i nct . The

area of re i ndeer r id i ng thrus ts wedge-sh aped i n to the area of re i n

dee r d r iv i ng . Th i s pecu l i a r form of d i s tr ibu t ion gives s upport to

the op i n ion s e t forth on h i s tor ica l ground s by L au fe r (p . tha t

re indeer d r iv ing is a n older fonn than re i ndeer r id i n g .

That re i ndee r r id i ng was fi rs t p ract i s ed by a “t r ibe that h ad

ga i ned s ome exper i ence w i th hors es”

(L au fer , p. 140) is confirmed1 The Chu kchee (Jesup North P ac ific Exped ition) , v ol . V I I . p . 88 .

2L eopo ld v. Schrenck , R eis en and Fors chu ngen im A mu r-L ande, v ol . I I I , pp . 492—495 .

W . Joch els on, The Koryak (j esup North P acific Exped ition) . v ol . V I , p . 477 .

W . Joche lson , The Koryak. p . 475 .

80 A MER I CA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION tmemom s . 6

by the fact men t ioned above , tha t the re indeer s add le bears a

fundam en ta l s im i la r i ty to the hors e s add le of the Alta i peop l e .

The ques t ion l ies clos e at hand : I s it'

pos sib le to find s im i lar ind i

cat ions oi the cu l tu re-form to wh ich re indee r nomad ism owes the

re indee r harnes s ?

I f i t m igh t be p roven that the re i ndeer harnes s h ad or iginated

from s ou thern s ou rces , th i s wou ld be a s t rong argumen t in favor of

L au f er’

s theory, that the old er m ethod of us ing hors es and oxen for

d raw i ng veh icl es was“

simp ly tran s ferred to the re indeer (L au fer,

p . S uch a p roof can hard ly be p roduced , however . C arts

d rawn by hors es or oxen were ce rta in ly us ed early by the s teppe

nomad s ; the l arge veh icl es s een by R u bru ck in the m idd le of the

th i rteen th cen tu ry on his v oyage to Karakorum l were p robably

on ly in s ize very d i fferen t from the Kalm uk carts p ictu red by P al l as

la te in the e igh teen th cen tu ry .

2 Bu t the d i ff erence between the

Kalmuk hors e harnes s , as p ictu red by-P al l as , and the re i ndeer

harnes s is s o fundamen tal , tha t any clos e h is tor ical rela t ion between

them s eem s qu i te ou t of ques t ion .

On the whol e, i t s eem s d i fficu l t to p rod uce any val id ground s for

the theory that re indeer d r iv ing aros e in im i tat ion of hors e or ox

d r iv ing . That s tags are p l aced on an equal i ty w i th hors es and

oxen as d raugh t an imal s , i n Hue i S hen’

s fan tas t ic accoun t of Fu

s ang , does not g ive any s uppor t a t al l to the theory ; and the co

ex is tence of the re i ndee r w i th hors es and oxen in the Ba ikal region

wou ld be of val ue for the theo ry on ly i f i t cou ld be shown that

re indeer.

d r iving con ta ined e lemen ts bo rrowed from hors e or ox

d r iv ing .

Much eas i e r is i t to adduce grou nds for as sum ing that re indeer

d r iv ing aros e i n im i tat ion of dog d r iv ing . L au fer adm i ts (p . 138)tha t

the ethnograph ica l facts we l l warrant the conc lus ionthat the reindeer-s ledge isbased on the dog-s ledge, and that reindeer-driving s prang into ex is tence as a

perfect ly conscious and vo l it iona l im itation of driving with dogs1 The Jou rney of Wil liam R u bru ck . Trans l . and ed . by R ockh i ll . W orks is sued by

the Hak luyt S ociety. and . ser. , v ol . xv , pp . 53—5 7 .

2 P al las : S amml u ngen his toris cher Nachrichten u ber die mongolischen Volkers chaf ten

(S t. P eters burg , v ol . 1, p l . 1 .

H A TT] NOTE S ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M

w i thou t not ici ng , i t s eem s , the con tras t between th i s s tatemen t

and the theory pu t forward on p . 1 1 8,that re indee r d riving aros e

in im i ta t ion of hors e and ox d riv ing . The ethnograph ic rea' l i t ies

wh ich s ugges t a connection between re indeer d r iv ing and dog d r iv ing

are , however, not confined to the s ledge . In fact, the s im i lar i ty

of re i ndeer and dog s l edges wou ld not by i ts el f s erve as s uffic i en t

ev idence of re i ndee r d r iv ing’

s evol u t ionary dependence upon dogd r iv i ng ; s omeone m ight perhaps try to comb i ne L au fer

’

s d i verg ing

theor ies by as s um i ng tha t th e re indeer h ad been u s ed for d r iv i ng

before it ever was pu t to a veh icl e of the dog—s ledge type . A s a

matter of fact , not al l re i ndeer s ledges have their dog-s ledge equ iv

a lent ; the L app i s h s ledge type is never u s ed with dogs . Anothe r

part of the ou tfi t u s ed in re i ndeer d riv ing , namely the harnes s , is

of very much greater importance for ou r p roblem .

A s s hown above, p roofs of the re i ndeer harnes s havi ng been

borrowed from hors e o r ox d r iv i ng are not a t hand . Bu t if we

s tud y the types of dog harnes s , us ed i n northern coun tr ies , we shal l

find tha t a ce rta i n typ e of dog h arnes s , form erly w idely d i s tr i bu ted

i n eas te rn S iberia , bears a s tr ik i ng l ikenes s to the re i ndeer harnes s .

W . Joche ls on has mad e a thorough s tudy of the d i fferen t types

of dog harnes s .

l He d ist ingu i she s 5 types : (I ) the W es t S iber ian ,

(2) the (mod ern ) Eas t S i beri an , (3) the Esk imo dog harnes s , (4)the Amu r dog harnes s , and (5 ) th e old Kamchadal dog harnes s .

Among thes e types , he regard s (2 ) as a res u lt of R u s s i an influence

i t has s ome res emblance to a hors e harnes s . He th i nks that the

Amur harnes s and the old Kamchadal'

harnes s were the oldes t in

eas tern S i ber i a ; and as the old Kamchadal type was merely a

mod ificat ion of the Am u r typ e, we s hal l have to reckon w i th on ly

two fundam en tal types of dog harnes s in.

old S i ber i a ; one eas tern

and one wes tern . Both of thes e types con s is t of a s i ngle b ight ;

bu t in eas te rn S i ber i a th i s b igh t is p l aced around the forepar t of

the dog, i n wes tern S i beria arou nd the lo ins , j us t i n fron t of the

h i nd legs . The eas tern type is pecu l iarly in teres t i ng to u s .

The Am u r harnes s is a very p r im i t ive form , con s is t i ng of a

s i ng le b igh t or col lar wh ich is pu t over the dog'

s head , so tha t the

1 Th e Koryak , pp . 504-507 .

A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

an imal pu l ls w i th its neck . Th i s form is u s ed by the A inu , the .

G i lyak , and the Tungu s ian tr ibes on the Amu r who h ave learned

dog d r iv ing from the Gi lyak , accord ing to S ch renck .

l I t is not

only p r im i t ive , bu t also d i s advan tageous , as th e dog, pu l l i ng w i th

its neck ,may eas i ly get s u ffocated u nde r great exc i temen t and

exert ion . Among the old Kamchadal , a very fortunate m odifica

t ion of th i s harnes s was u s ed . The old Kamchadal dog harnes s ,

descr ibed by Krash eninnikoff2 and D i tmar ,3 con s i s ted l ikew is e of a

s ingle b ight or col l a r, bu t i t was p l aced on the an imal in a way dif

ferent from the Am u r harnes s . The col l a r was p u t over the head

and one fore leg of the dog , s o that the an im al pu l led w i th the

s hou lder and in part w i th the ches t . The r igh t-hand dog had the

head and l eft fore leg in the collar , and accord i ngl y pu l led w i th th e

ch es t and the r ight s hou lder ; the left-hand dog had its head and

r igh t fore leg i n the col la r and p u l led w i th the ches t and the left

shou lder . Krasheninnikoff was the fi rs t obs e rver who not iced the

s im i la r i ty between the Kamchadal dog harnes s and the Koryak

re i ndeer harnes s ; he also s aw the d i fference, that in the Koryak

re i ndeer team both an imals have the col l ar pas s ing over the r igh t

s hou lder blade (i. é. , they both pu l l w i th the left s hou lder) .4 Th e

re i ndeer harnes s , u s ed by the northern Tungu s i ans and Yaku t,isnot on ly s im i la r to the old Kam chadal -dog harnes s , bu t i t is even

p l aced u pon the an im al i n a s im i l a r way , the r igh t re i ndeer pu l l i ngw i th the r igh t s hou lde r, and the l eft re i ndee r w i th the l eft s hou lder ;

th i s s t r ik ing s im i lari ty has been not iced by Joche ls on .

5

The fundamen tal l ikenes s , between the re indeer harnes s and

the old eas tern type of S iber i an dog harnes s , makes i t extrem ely

p robable that re i ndeer d r iving aros e in im i ta t ion of dog d r iv ing .

1 L eopold v. S chrenck , R eis en u nd Fors chu ngen im A m u r—L ander, v ol . 111, pp . 484 ,

49 1 . 496 s eq. , p l . xx x v1—x x x v u . Th e A inu h arness is seen in a Japanese drawing ,

p u b l is hed b y MacR itchie (“Th e A imos ,” I nternatio‘na les A rchiv j iif E thnographie,

S upp lement to v ol . I V ) , p l . xv, fig . 2 .

2 Krash eninnikoff . Opis am'

e zemliK amEatki, v ol . 11, p . 79 (S t. P eters burg . 1 8 19 .

N ew Ed ition, Kras h eninnikoff ’s journey was made 1 733a K . v on Ditmar, R eis en u nd

'

A uf enthalt in Kamts chatka in den J ahren 1 85 1 5 5 .

Beitrage zu r Kenntnis s des R us s is chen R eiches . 3 Folge . v ol . v 11, p . 161 (S t . P etersburg .

4 Krash eninnikoff , op . cit. . v ol . 11. p . 2 1 0 .

5 W . Joch e l s on , op. cit. . p . 507 .

NOTES ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M 83

We have good reas on s for as s um ing that re indeer d r iv ing owes its

ex i s tence to cu ltu ral influ ence from dog d r iv ing ; and on the othe r

hand , the theo ry , wh ich in re indeer d r iv ing s ees a resu l t of cu l tu ral

i n fluence from hors e and ox d r iv i ng ,h as not yet been founded upon

e th nograph ica l ev idence .

I s hal l abs ta i n from d i l a t i ng upon the local var iat ion s of the

reindeer harnes s ; they a re noth ing but variat ions , ma in ly touch ingthe mode of p l acing the harnes s upon the an imal— the fundamen tal

type is the s am e , f rom L ap land to the C hukch i pen ins ul a .

1 I f we

kn ew the form er geograph ical d is tr ibu t ion of the type of dog harnes s

from wh ich the re indeer harnes s s eem s to have sp ru ng , and wh ich

Joche lson regard s as the oldes t i n eas tern S iber ia , then th is m igh t

he lp u s somewhat in determ in ing the reg ionwhere re i ndeer d r iving

was fi rs t developed ; we s tern S iber i a is excl uded , becaus e there

another p r im i t ive type of dog harne s s is prevalen t .

M i lk i ng is not p ract i sed by a l l re indee r nomad s ; we find th is

u s age d i s tr ibu ted over two s eparate areas , one i n no rthern As i a ,

another i n S cand i nav ia . The S oyot m i lk the i r re indeer and even

make chees e and butte r from the m i lk .

2 The Karagas m i lk the i r

1 N ot a l l des criptions or i l lustrations of re indeer harnes s are re l iable. Even th eexcel lent obse rver, A . Erman. has made a serious m is take in des crib ing th e harnes sused b y the Samoyed and Os tyak . R eise um die Erde. Historis cher R e is eber icht,Berlin, 1 833 . v ol . 1. p . 632 . H e has overlooked the mos t important part of the harnes s .th e col lar to wh ich the trace, pu l l ing th e s ledge. is attach ed ; h e says that th e traceiss u es from the be lt wh ich is p laced beh ind the fore legs of th e an imal . A s a matter offact, th is be lt is th e leas t ind ispensable part of th e harnes s , its function be ing to keepth e trace and th e rein from sink ing down when th e reindeer s tops . Good i l lu s trationsof th e Samoyed and Ostyak harnes s are g iven b y Ernst H ofimann , D er nord liche Uralu nd das Kas l engebirge P ae Choi, S t . P etersburg . 1 856, v ol . 11, pp . 56 s eq. fig . 16. F . R .

Martin, S ibirica . S tockh olm , 1 89 7, fig . 79 in text to pl . x v r. F . G . Jacks on, TheG reat Frozen L and , L ondon, 1 895 , pp . 1 1 5 s eq. and title figure. The old style L appharnes s may be seen in S ch efferu s , L appland (German trans lation) , Frankfurt a .M. ,

1675 , figure on p . 306; or in L eem . B es kn'

vels e over Finmarkens L apper, Copenhagen,1 767 , p l . L I V . Th is old type of reindeer harness is s ti l l used in L ap land . Th e L appsin northern Scand inavia have introduced an improvement. th e co l lar being rep lacedby a cou p le of wooden hames— this may be d u e to influence from horse or ox harness ;th e s ing le trace for drawing th e s ledge h as been retained , h owever. C f . Em i l ie DemantHatt, Med L apperne i H ¢jfieldet, note 5 2 and several i l lus trations . A ccord ing to

P rof. K . B . W iklund . Upsala. this . improved form of reindeer harnes s is a loan fromth e reindeer-owning F innish settlers in L ap land .

e an Olsen, op. cit. , p . 84 .

84 AMER I C A N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION hu m mu s , 6

re indeer ;1 and among the Tungu s ian s , m i lk i n g of the re i ndeer s eem s

to be a genera l cu s tom . A number of obs ervers as s er t th a t but ter

mak i ng is absol u tely u nknown among the Tungu s ,2and L au fer also

decl a res th at bu tte r is never p roduced by any Eas t S iber ian tr i be

(p . P ekarski and Ts v'

atkov 8 in form u s , h owever , of an

in teres t i ng, pr im i t ive method of bu tter—mak ing, u s ed by the Tungus

of Ayan

From reindeer m i lk butter is prepared : the m i lk is poured into tu rs u ks (i. e .

leather sacks , used as m i lk-containers ) and at camp-movings t ied on top of the

load ; during the journey it is s haken and in that way churned into butter. Butteris made to a sma l l extent on ly, because the m i lk-yie ld and the m i lk—supp ly isincons iderab le. The m i lk is often used as

“white ~maker

" in tea .

The very p r im i t ivenes s of th i s method of butter-mak ing may

ind icate that i t is not very recen t among the Tungu s . Accord ing

to Georgi, the re indeer-Tungus have als o m ade chees e, for u se in

w in ter .4 W hen L au fer accep ts the t ran s lat ion“and make cream

of the i r m i lk ” in his render ing of Hue i S hen’

s accoun t of Fu -s ang

p . the obj ect ion m igh t j us tly be m ade that re i ndeer m i lk does

not gather cream l ike cow s m i lk a nd therefore .is never sk immed ;

and L au fer’

s s tatemen t re ind eer-m i lk is notm ade in to any p roduct

in nor thern As i a”is con trad icted not on ly by the bu t ter-m ak ing of

the Tungu s of Ayan , bu t also by the bu tter and chees e—m ak ing of the

S oyot

The geograph ical d i s tr ibu t ion of m i lk i ng among the re indeer

nomad s of As i a co i ncides nearly w i th that of re i ndeer r id i ng .

Among the C hukch i and Koryak , regu lar m i lk ing is an unknown

art ; occas ional ly, in an emergency, the herd smen may catch a

female re indee r , th row her down and try to s uck s ome m i lk from

her udder ; the C hukch i herd smen m ay even try to col lect a sma l l

amoun t by sp i tting the m i lk , thu s ga ined , ou t in a bladde r . 5 S tick

1 H . F . Katanov a in ZapiskiImperators kago R us s kago G eografiées kago Ob sces tv a .

v ol . XVII, 2 , p . 1 48 . S t. P eters burg. 1 89 1 .

2 Cf . e . g . Ferd inand Mu l ler, Unter Tu ngu s en u nd Jaku ten, p . 48. L eipz ig, 1 882 .

V . L . S'arosev s ki, Yaka li, p . 1 47 . S t. P etersburg. 1 896.

3 "

Oéerkibyta P riayans kix T ungu s ov ,

"

P u bl ications deMu s ée d ’

A nthropologie et

d’

Ethnographie, v ol . 11, 1 , p . 34 . S t. P etersburg. 19 13 .

4 J . G . Georg i , R us s land , B es chreibu ng al l er Nationen des ru s s i s chen R eiches ,

p . 320 . L eip z ig , 1 783 .

5 B ogoras , op. cit. . p . 84 . W. Joch e lson , op. cit. . p . 494 .

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86 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

chees e and p res erved m i lk were a lways found in a L app is h hou s e

hold ;“the last chees e m u s t s ee the fi rs t one , i t was said . A fu l l

d escr ip t ion of the m i lk i ng indu s try of the L app wou ld m ake a very .

l a rge paper, and wou ld p rove i t to be a fa i rly deep-rooted elemen t

of the L app cu l tu re .

-W e have h is tor ic ev idence, tha t re indeer

m i lk i ng was h igh ly developed among the L app as early as the six

teenth cen tury .

1 There s eem s to be every good reason to as s ume,

however, tha t the whol e m i lk i ng ind u s try of the L app'

is d u e to

cu l tu ral influ ences from th e i r S cand inav ian ne ighbors .

2 The

L app is h word s form i lk and chees e , and mos t of the n am es of imple

men ts , etc. , connected w i th the m i lk ing indu s try , are of S cand i

nav ian or ig i n . The whol e techn ique s eems to be der ived from

S cand i nav i an sou rces . The v e ry s upers t i t ions connected w i th

m i lk and m i lk ing a re borrowed from the S cand i nav ians . The

on ly u s e of re i ndeer m i lk wh ich we may s afely as s ume to be or ig i

nal ly L app i sh , is the s uck ing of the does , wh ich is occas ionally '

p ract is ed by ch i ld ren and herd smen , and m en t ioned even by a

s even teen th cen tu ry au thor .

3 There s eem s to be no reas on whatever

for as s um ing any connect ion between the Tungu s i an-S oyotian and

the L app is h m i lk i ng i ndus try ; and as we have the words of com

peten t obs ervers l ike P al las and I s lav in for the abs ence of any

m i lking indus try among the nor thwes tern As iat ic and Eu ropean

S amoyed , the re is no reas on whatever for as s um ing that re indeer

m i lk i ng was t ransm i tted from the S am oyed to the L app . L app i s h

re indee r m i lk ing m u s t be du e to S cand inav ian influ ence— or, in

other word s , m i lk ing did not or ig i nal ly belong to L app i sh re indee r

nomad i sm .

R e indeer m i lk ing certa in ly m u s t be d u e to in fluence from cow

1 OlaiMagm’ Goth i D e gentiu

i

m septentrionalium variis conditionibu s . etc. Basileae ,

1 567 , l ib . x v u , cap . 20—21 . I n a document from 1 5 76 (pu blis hed by Isak Fel lman inhis great co l lection, H and lingar och Upps ats er angdende Fins ka L appmarken och L ap

parne. v ol . 111. p . 338 . Hels ingfors , 19 1 2) reindeer cheese is mentioned as an articlewh ich was g iven as a tribute to the authorities b y th e L app in northern Sweden.

J . K . Q v igs tad . Nord ische L e h nworter im L app ischen. Vidensk . S els kabets

Forhand linger, p . 65 . Chris tiania, 1 893 .

G . Tu deru s . 0m the as terbothniske lappar u nder Kiemigebit. Ed ited by K . B .

W ik lund in Bidrag ti l l Kannedom om de S v ens ke L andsmal en och S v enskt Folklif ."

v ol . x vn , 6. Upsala, 1905 . C ap . 1x , p . 22 .

H ATT] NOTES ON R E INDEER NOMA DISM 87

or hors e cu l tu re . Ou r analys is h as g iven the res u l t, however, tha t

m i lk i ng does not belong among the oldes t elemen ts of re indeer

nomad i sm . R e indee r m i lk i ng aros e w i th in two s eparate areas ,

northern As ia and L ap l and , j ust l ike the u s e of the re i ndeer as a

pack-an imal ; ne ither of the s e p ract ice s has sp read to al l re i ndeer

nomad s .

The method s of s l aughter i ng the re i ndee r a re not the s am e

everywhere . Un fortunately, ou r knowledge is incomp le te w i th

regard to the geograph ical d i s tr ibu t ion of the d i fferen t me thod s .

A few facts m ay be po i n ted ou t, _

howev er: Among the Tungus ,

S amoyed , and Os tyak , the c u s tom of s trangl i ng the re i ndeer s eem s

to be fa i r ly general ,1 al though other method s of k i l l i ng the re indeer

are also descr i bed in the l i terature . Th i s s trangl i ng of the vict im

rem i nd s one somewhat of the methodsu s ed a t hors e s acr ifice by th eKalm uk of Al ta i ,2 and i t wou ld s eem p robable that i t spread through

northern As i a toge the r w i th certa i n s haman i s t ic r i tes . I t has not

spread th rough the whole area of re indeer nomad ism , however— it

never reach ed L ap land , nor the Koryak and C hukch i . I t s eems

p robable that s tabb i ng the an im al at th e heart , or in the back of

the neck , or i n both p l aces , is an older method than s trangl i ng and

throat-cutt i ng . I n L ap l and , the re indee r is s tabbed w i th a kn i fe i n

the heart ; among the s ou thern L app , i t is the cus tom to s tab the

re i ndee r a t firs t i n the back of the neck , between the fi rs t vertebra

and the sku l l , and a fterward s i n the heart . Th is L app is h me thod

of s l au ghter ing has not been borrowed from the S cand i nav ians ,

as i t is qu i te d i ff eren t from the S cand i n av ian way of s l augh ter ing

oxen ; we find s im i la r method s , however, in northeas tern As i a , u s ed

by the Tungu s i an tr ibe on S aghalin , the C rok i , who s tab the re i n

deer in the baek of the neck w i th a smal l knife fi The C hukch i and1 C f . J . B u litsch e f . R eise in 0s tsib1

'

rien , p . 90 (the Tungu s’

of Ochots k ) . L e ipz ig .

1 85 8 . Erns t Hofmann. D er no’

rd l iche Ural , v ol . 1, p . 28 (sacrificial feas t among th eOs tyak) . S t. P eters burg . 1856. A . G . S ch renk , R e is e nach dem Nordos ten des eu ro

paz’

schen R u s s lands , vol . 1, p . 406—7 (sacrificia l feas t among th e Samoyed of north

m s tern R us s ia ) . Dorpat. 1 848 . KaiDonner has to ld me oral ly tha t among th e

Samoyed . vis ited by h im . it is cus tomary to k i l l th e reindeer by s trang l ing and afterward s th e animal 's throat is cu t in order to obtain th e blood .

2W . R ad loff , A ns S ibin’

en , v ol . I I , p . 25—6 .

S . Ishida in The Jou rnal of theA nthropological S ociety of Tokyo. v ol :x x v , no . 286.

January. 19 1 0 . (I am indebted to P rof . K . B . W ik lund . Upsala. for th is re ference. )

88 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MI-mom s . 6

Koryak method of s tabb i ng the re indee r at the hear t1 is m uch l ike

the L app i s h method ; the L app , however always u s e a kn i fe for that

pu rpos e, not a spear .

I n the techn ique of re i nd eer—tend i ng, we find a number of tra i ts

wh ich are d is tr ibu ted th roughou t the area of re indee r nomad i sm .

N ot on l y do we find s uch s im i l ar i t ies wh ich may be exp la i ned as du e

to the re i ndee r’

s own natu ral ins t incts— e. g.,the u s e of u r ine as a

m eans of attracting the dee r, or the taking advan tage of the gre

gariou snes s of the deer . W e also find s im i l ar i t i es of another k ind ,

s ugges ting cu l tu ra l rel at ions— e. g. , the las s o, and the u s e of cas tra

t ion by b i t i ng (wh ich is undertaken for two reas ons : to p romote the

fatten i ng of the males , in tend ed for s l augh ter ; and to m ake the

anim als more tam e and doci l e) . On the othe r hand , a few featu res

in the techn ique of re indee r tend ing have a more l im i ted d is tr i bu t ion ;among thes e we s hou ld emphas i ze the u s e of the watch-dog wh ich

is found , fu l ly d eveloped , on ly in L ap l and and among the Eu ropean

S amoyed .

2 The As i at ic S amoyed do not u s e watch-dogs , accord i ng

to Middendorff,3 andMiddendorfi's exp l ana t ion ,4 tha t the wo lves ofnorthwes tern Siber i a are too num erous for the dog, is qu i te fal la

c ions ; i f the dogs cou ld not get along, i t wou ld be even wors e for

the reindeer— and as a mat te r of fact , the dog is a good guard aga in s t

beas ts of p rey . The Kalm uk of Al ta i le t the i r dogs guard the herd

of cattl e aga in s t n i gh tly a t tacks by wol ves ;5 the Kirghis of the

I rtys h-s teppe gu ard the i r herds at n igh t by mean s of dogs .

6 I t

s eem s that the S oyot u s e the i r hunt ing dogs occas ional ly as watch

dogs .

7 The Tungu s i n Yen i s e i sk u s e the watch—dog in re indeer

tend i ng ,accord i n g to KaiDonner .

8 Other Tungus ians tend the i r

herds w i thou t the u s e of watch -dogs , and the s ame is t ru e of the

C hukchiand the Koryak .

1 Bogoras , op . cit. . p . 85 . W . Joch e ls on , op. cit. . p . 95 .

3 F . G . Jackson, The GreatFrozen L and, p . 7 7—78 .

3 F ins ch mentions . h owever, th e u se of watch-dogs in re indeer-tend ing in wes ternS iberia. O. Finsch , R e is e, p . 474

—475 .

Middendorfi , R e is e in den d u s s ers ten Norden and Os ten S ibiriens , v ol . I V , p . 1333 .

5 R ad loff , “Brie fe au s dem A ltai ," Erman'

s A rchiv . , v ol . x x x, p . 1 82

5 T . W . A tk ins on. Orienta l and Wes tern S iberia, p . 289 . L ondon. 1 85 2 .

7 e an Olsen. op. cit.. p . 80 .

KaiDonner, op. cit. . p . 1 00.

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90 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

w i th hors e and cow cu l tu re, and does not belong to the oldes t form

of re indeer nomad i sm . S ome featu res -of minor importance , as the

s laughter ing of rei ndeer by s trangl ing and th roat-cu tt i ng, m u s t als o

be du e to influence from s ou thern sou rces , and cannot be reckoned

among the old es t featu res of re i ndeer nomad i sm . I n L ap l and ,

re indeer m i lk ing and the p repara t ion of chees e , bu tter, etc. , mu s t

be due to influence from the S cand inav i ans , and the u s e of the

re indeer as a pack-an imal may p erhaps be regard ed as a speci a l

L app i s h tra i t, at leas t the pecu l iar L app is h packs add l e has no

re lat ion to any other packs add le, known to me . Th e watch-dog,

u s ed in re i nd eer tend ing, is a featu re character is t ic of the wes tern

re i ndeer nomad s .

I n recon s truct ing the oldes t re indeer nomad i sm ,we m us t s u b

tract then the fol low i ng elemen ts : the u s e oi the re i ndeer as a

r id i ng“

and pack-an imal , re i ndeer m i lk ing, and the watch-dog .

The form s of re indee r nomad i sm wh ich we find among the S oyot,

the Tungu s , and the L app , are very far from p r im i t ive .

On the othe r hand , i f we regard the areas where the s a id elemen ts

are m is s ing, we do not find p r im i t ive cond i t ions there e i ther . The

re indee r nomad ism of the Koryak and C hukch i and tha t of the

S amoyed in northwes te rn S i ber ia are certa i n ly in some respects

comparat ively o ld fash ioned; bu t they als o con ta i n tra i ts wh ich

can not be very old . The great s i ze of the herds , and the re i ndeer

breeder’

s almos t excl us ive dependence upon the p roducts of his

herd , are not p r im i t i ve features . I n P al las’

s days , the S amo’yed i n

the d i st r ict of Obdo r did not s'

lau gh ter many of the i r re i ndeer ; for

food they rel ied largely upon th e p rod ucts of the chas e, especi a l ly

the hun t ing of w i ld re indeer .

“D iese H au s thiere d ienen aber hau ptsach lich nu r b ey ihrenZu gen zu Fortbringu ng der S ch l itten . S ie vers tehen nicht se l b ige zu me lken, u nd zum S lachten

s ind ihre H eerden theil s zu swach,theils die Bes itzer zu geitzig . I h r H aupt

bes tand is t, wie bey den Tu ngu s en u nd einigen N ordamerikani s chen Volkern, die

Jagd u nd sonderl ich die W i lden R ennthierh eerden,we lchen sie au f al ler lei Art

nach zuste l len wi s sen .

" 1

Th is s tate of aff a irs , that re indeer nomad i sm and hun t i ng ,espec i a l ly re indeer hun t i ng , wen t hand i n h and ,_ s eems to have been

1 P al las , R eis e. v ol . 111, p . 69 .

H A TT] NOTES ON R EINDEER NOMA DI SM 91

general . Among the Tungu s , S oyot, Karagas , and Vogul , the

domes t icated re i ndee r is s t i l l m a i n ly a means of transport, a valu

able acces s ory to the l i fe of hun ters . I n L ap l and , re i ndeer hun t i ngwas formerly of great impor tance in the economy of the L app , as

tes t ified by many of the old au thors .

1 The large herds , wh ich make

i t pos s ible for the i r own ers to l ive excl us ively on the p rod ucts'

of

re indeer breed i ng , rep res en t an extrem e developmen t favored by

the excel len t pas tu res of the S cand i navian moun tain s and the

tund ras ; th is form of re i ndee r nomad ism has great ly impa i red the

cond i t ions of the w i ld re i ndee r, and so has d im i n i s hed the pos s i

bilities of re indee r hun t ing, and at the s ame t ime it has pu t the

economy of the nomad s on a more s ecu re bas i s .

The old re indeer nomad s were re i ndeer hun ters , however ; and

w i thou t doubt , re i ndee r hun t ing m us t have been an importan t

occupat ion i n northe rn As i a and Eu rope , long before the era of the

domes ticated re i ndeer . Th e ques t ion ari s es : what has re indeer

nom ad i sm i nhe r i ted from re i ndee r hun t i ng ?

I have repeated ly'

spent happy days w i th L app i s h herdsmen .

The i r l i fe is pecu l i a rly fasci nat i ng ; and i t has s truck me that the

charm is l a rgely d u e to a s trong elemen t of the hun t . We go ou t

i n the early morn i ng, s earch ing for scattered parts of the herd ; i t

may take u s al l day , or perhaps s evera l d ays before we have found

and col l ected the s tragg le rs . The re indeer troops are traced i n

many d i ffe ren t ways ; the down trodden gras s tel ls when the deer

pas s ed by and what d i rect ion they took ; from the appearance of

the i r excrem en ts i t may als o be found ou t whether t he re i ndeer

we re here today or yes terday, or perhap s the day before ; i f the

an imals have pas s ed over a s nowd r i ft , the i r footp r i n ts are exam ined ,

to see wheth er i t happened th i s morn i ng or yes terday . The gray

moun ta ins ides , s everal m i le s away, are s canned m i n u tely, to s ee

whether the gray po i n ts over there may be re i ndeer or on ly rocks .

R e i ndee r tend i ng requ i res the s ame sort of powers and the s am e k i nd

of know ledge wh ich the forefathers of the L app u s ed in re i ndeer

hu n t ing . An in timate fam i l i a r i ty w i th the hab i ts and wavs of the1 O laus Magnus , lib . Iv. cap . x 1, l ib. x v u, cap . x x I . S che ff eru s , cap . x rx . L eem .

p . 1 8 1— 1 85 . Am ong th e L app . hunting was and is most ly done by poor men . owningb u t a few domesticated reindeer. R ich reindee r-breeders have no time for hunting .

92 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

deer and w i th the orog'

raphy of the coun try, is ind i spens able ; i f

the w i nd has blown for s om e length of t im e from that d i rect ion , we

may expect to find re indee r in th i s val ley or upon that moun ta in ;

i f i t has been cold and rainy , they may have sp read th rough thes e

wood s , etc. The h erd smen’

s wond erfu l ab i l i ty to run and j ump for

m i les and m i les th rough tracts covered w i th rocks and acros s s wamps

and moors , ca rry ing p rovi s ion s upon the back and perhaps a sk in

or a blanket for camp i ng i n the open,is al s o d u e to i nh er i tance from

an un to ld l i ne of s tu rdy re indeer hun ters .

A nd from thes e sam e p rogen i tors , the re indeer nomad s have a ls o

inher i ted more mate r ia l and palpable cu l tu re-elem en ts . The

las s o, u s ed by al l re i nd eer nomad s , is an old hun t ing imp lemen t .

The As syri ans u s ed the las so i n hun t i ng, as i t appears from‘

a rel ief

i l l us tra t i ng a hun t ing s cene .

1 I n s om e parts of N orth Amer ica ,

the las so s eem s to have been u s ed i n h un t ing ; in a Kwak i u tl ta le,2

th is imp l em en t is men t ioned as u s ed for catch ing moun ta i n-s heep ;

i n a G reen land Es k imo ta l e,

3 a man belong i ng to the myth ical“in land peop le

”catches s eal by th row ing a s nare from the beach ;

L ahon tan4 descr ibes a bu ff alo hun t among the A rkans as Ind i ans

and p ictu re s a bu ffalo, cau gh t by mean s of s everal ropes , held by

four men . There may perhap s be s ome evol u t iona ry connect ion

between the las so and the s l i ng-t raps or s nares wh ich are so w idely

u s ed byhun ters in north ern Eu rope, Asia , and Am er ica , especial lyfor smal l game , bu t in s ome cas es als o for l a rge game . The moos e

h as been cau gh t by means of s nares by N orth Am er ican Ind i ans ,5

w i ld re indee r and elk by the S amoyed .

6 The L app have cau gh t

w i ld re indeer in s nares m ad e of s i new ;7 even the bear h as been

caugh t in s l i n g- traps , accord i ng to Johan‘

Tu rifl

1 S churz . Urges chichte der Ku ltu r, figu re on p . 345 .

1 Franz Boas and George Hunt. Kwakiu tl Texts (Jesup North P ac ific Exped ition,Vo l . p . 36.

3 H . R ink , Es kimoiske Eventyr 0g S agn, Copenhagen, 1 866, p . 1 1 4.

L ah ontan, N ew voyages to North-A merica (re printed from the Eng l ish ed ition of

1 703 . b y Thwaites . Ch icago. v ol . I , p . 204 . and frontis p iece p icture. “a beevecatch

’

d b y th e horns with rope s .

5 L ah ontan, op . cit.. v ol . 1, p . 1 06.

5 P al las , R e i se, v ol . 111. p . 89 .

7 L eem , op. cit , p . 1 84 .

3 Em i l ie Demant, D as B u ch des L appen , Johan-T u ri , p . 1 1 8 .

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94 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

I n L ap l and , and also among the S oyot and Tu ngu s , we find the

p ract ice of d r iv ing the reindeer 'into enclos u res , for m i lk ing and

other purpos es . The or ig i n of th i s p ract ice s hou ld perhap s be

s ough t i n a hun t ing me thod wh ich h as been des cr ibed from L ap

l and ,

1 the S amoyed ,

2and s everal tr ibes of N orth Amer ican I nd ian s .

3

Th is modeOf hunt ing con s i s ts in d r iv ing the deer in to an enclos urethrough a s or t of fun nel , compos ed of two long d iverg ing fences or

rows of s t icks and the l ike . The L app s t i l l m ake s uch a f unne l

s haped en trance to the enclos u re in wh ich they col lect the re indeer

herd .

4

On the whol e , the cul ture of the re i ndeer nom ads conta in s a

number of featu res wh ich are ev iden tly older than the domes t icat ion

of re indeer, and m any of wh ich m us t h ave been i nher i ted from a

hun t ing per iod . A comparat ive s tudy of the mater i al cu l tu re of

the re indeer nomad s and tha t of the re ind eer hun t ing Am er ican

tr ibes of nor thern Athapas can and Algonk ian s tock wou ld d isclos e

a cons iderable n um ber of fundam en tal s im i l a r i t ies . I n fact, i f

thes e northern Indian tr ibe s had adop ted the re indeer as a d rau gh t

an im al , they wou ld have fi tted remarkably wel l in to the ens emble

of re i ndeer nomads .

TH E BEGINNINGS OF R EINDEE R N OMADISM

H ow cam e i t abou t that the re indeer hu n ters of nor thern As ia

adop ted the re i ndeer as a d rau gh t an imal , pu t t ing a harnes s u pon

him, s im i l a r to tha t wh ich they

-were won t to u se on dogs ?

S ee ing a re indeer herd on its pastu res , espec i a l ly i f it was not a

very tame herd ,any obs erver mu s t have wondered ,

how i t ever

m igh t occu r to a human be i ng i n s ober earnes t, tha t s uch an imals1 Torh aus , cited b y C as trén . N ordiska resor och f ors kningar, v ol . 1, p . 44

—45 .

L eem . op. cit.. p . 1 84— 1 85 .

2 P al las . R eis e, v ol f m , p . 90 .

‘Frederick W hym per, Travel and A dventu re in the Terr itory of A laska (L ondon,p . 1 87

— 1 88 and i l lustration ; Samuel Hearne. A Jou rney f rom P rince of Wa les 'sFort in Hu ds on's B ay, to the Northern Ocean (L ondon, p . 78

— 80 ; L ah ontan,op . cit. . p . 1 06—1 07 .

4 I t mus t be adm itted . h owever, that th e name of th is reindeer-enclosure (gardde )is a word of Scandinavian orig in. On th e Faeroes , the shepherd s u se enclosures made.-oistones and with a funnel-shaped entrance. cf . Daniel B ruun , Fra de fm ¢ske B ygder

(Tid s skrift for L andakonomi, Copenhagen. i l lus tration p . 80-8 1 .

H A TT] NOTES ON R EINDEER NOMA DIS M 95

wou ld be good for hau l i ng s led s . I t is tru e that in myths and

l egend s we find al l s orts of.

queer d raugh t an imals men t ioned ; in a

G reen land ta le, even re i ndeer d r iv ing occu rs , and i n the s ame tale

also the bear and certa i n fabu lou s beas ts p lay the rOle of d rau gh t

an imals .

l S uch fan tas t ic m yth ica l ideas wou ld ,however , never

con s titu te any p ract ical m ot ive for a great cu l tu ral move‘l ike the

s ubs t i tu t ing of the re i ndee r for the dog i n sl edge d r iv ing . I th i nk

i t wou ld involve a psycholog ica l impos s i b i l ity i f we as sum ed tha t

man h ad tamed the w i ld re i ndeer for the clear pu rpos e of obta in ing

a d raugh t an imal . I find i t n eces s a ry to as s um e that the re i ndee r

was al ready to s ome exten t tamed at the t ime when m an began to

t ra i n i t to the s l ed .

An easy way of gett i ng rid of the mys tery has been p ropos ed by

Ed uard Hahn }, T he fi rs t re i ndeer breeders were— accord i ng to

Hah n— o r ig i nal ly cow and hors e breeders , who moved i n to north

eas te rn As ia and there , los i ng the i r cat t le on accoun t of the hard

cl imate , had to domes t icate another so rt of an im al , and chos e the

re i ndee r for th at purpos e . Th i s hypoth es is has one great adv an

tage— it actua l ly relieves its ad heren ts f rom al l specu lat ing abou t

the or ig i n of re i nd eer nom ad ism . R e i ndee r dom es t icat ion is s imp ly

regarded as an off s hoot of hors e and cow dom es t icat ion— that’

s al l .

I t is no wonde r that s uch an easy th eory has become qu i te popu lar .

L au fer even goes so far as to s tate (p . 1 14)

A l l obse rvers agree in regard ing th e domest ication of th e reindeer as an im itative

proces s leaning toward s that of horse and catt le .

I wou ld ma i n ta i n that -th i s s tatemen t is somewhat too broad .

Hahn'

s th eory does not bear a clos e exam inat ion . A s a matter

o f fact , hors es and cow s are thr ivi ng beau t i fu l ly in a large part of

the area of re i ndeer nom ad i sm . The Yaku t have at some po i n ts

brough t ho rs es and cow s north of the P ol a r ci rcle , in a few cas es

even to the shores of the Arct ic ocean .

3 Of cou rs e , there are port ions

o f nor thern Euras i a where hors es and cows cannot l ive , and large

1 R ink , Es kimoiske Evenlyr of S ogn , p . 1 1 2— 1 13 .

1 Eduard Hahn . Die Hau s tiere. p . 263 .

1Middendorfl'

, R eis e, v ol . I V , pp . 13 1 1 seq . , 1324 seq . Ferd inand Mij l ler, Unl erTu ngu s en and Jaku ten, p . 205

— 206.

96 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

areas a re found where re i ndeer breed i ng m us t always rema in the

more p rofi table i ndu s t ry. The Yaku t .have , however , p roved the

pos s i b i l i ty of carry ing hors e and cat tle breed i ng very far nor th

and therefore , i f Hahn'

s theory was correct , we s hou ld have to as

s ume that the “cen ter of dom es t icat ion was to be found somewhere

in the ne ighborhood of the a rct ic t ree linch which wou ld , for s evera l

reason s , make i t exceed ingly d i fficu l t to exp l a i n the p res en t dis

trib u tion and ch aracter of re indee r nom ad ism . N ow, i f we leave

that po i n t as ide , another obj ect ion to Hahn’

s theory p res en ts i ts el f :

The m anagem en t of a re indeer herd , espec i a l ly i f i t be not very

tame , is no easy m atte r . I t certa i n ly wou ld be a d i fficu l t task for

hors e and cattle breed ers , hav ing los t the i r s tock , to tam e w i ld

re i ndeer i n s tead . I rather th ink the cat tle breeders , i n s uch a

p red icamen t , wou ld p refer to adop t indu s tr i es of’

old s tand ing in

the coun try they had en tered , v i z . , fis h i ng and hu n t i ng . I t is ,however, the s tronges t obj ect ion aga ins t Hahn

’

s theory , tha t

influence fromhors e and cat tle breed i n g is apparen t on ly in the

younger cu l tu ral elem en ts of re i nd ee r nom ad i sm .

I t is not to be den i ed tha t some re i ndeer nom ad s have taken

ove r certa i n th ings from hors e and cattle breed i n g . C erta i n

cu l tu re-elemen ts , among wh ich re indee r r id i ng and m i lk i ng are

the mos t importan t , are u ndoubted ly du e to cu l tu ra l impu l s es from

cow and -hors e breeders ; th es e,however, do not belong to the oldes t

s tra tum I n reindeer nom ad i sm . A s I have s hown ,re i ndeer r id i n g

and m i lk i ng m us t be compara t ively young fea tu res . R e indeer

d r i v ing, on the o ther hand ,is an old featu re ; bu t we have no eth

nographica l ground s for as s um i ng tha t th is elemen t was taken over

from hors e or cat tle breed i ng,wh i le we have every eth nograph ical

reason to bel ieve that re indeer d r iv ing aros e as a s ubs t i tu te for or i n

im i ta t ion of dog d r iv i ng ._

A nd a l though i t is hard ly pos s ible to

ind icate th e or i g i n of every cu l tu ra l elemen t belong ing to re indee r

nom ad i sm , i t is qu i te eviden t that a la rge part of tha t cu l tu re

form is d u e to a sor t of i nher i tance from re i ndee r hun t ing .

I find i t neces s ary to as s um e th at th e fi rs t re i ndee r nomad s were

re i ndee r hun ters , i n pos s es s ion of a thorou gh fam i l iar i ty w i th the

ways and h ab i ts of the an im al . A s the o ldes t re indeer nomad s did

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A MER I CA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

t ion of an im als . R el ig ion cer ta i n ly cl ings to every branch of

hum an l i fe and act ivi ty ; bu t to look for the or ig i n of pu rely eco

nom ic form s in the rel ig iou s not ion s or u s ages w i th wh ich they are

as soci a ted ,is abou t as m u ch topsy-tu rvy as to regard a tree as a

natu ral ou tcom e of the l i anas and ep iphytes i t s upports .

1

The id ea of catch ing w i ld re indeer and keep ing them as a l iv i ng

s upp ly of p rovi s ion s , wou ld hard ly occu r to a hun t ing t r ibe , and

moreover , i t wou ld not be a very easy s cheme to carry ou t. The

bear may b e kep t i n cap t iv i ty and fattened for the big feas t , as i t

is done hy ‘ the G i lyak . The re i ndeer , however , is . a migratoryan imal .2 I t could not l i ve i n a cage , l ike the bear, and i t wou ld

never thr ive in an enclos ure ,nor cou ld i t be kept permanen t ly w i th i n

a deer-p ark , l ike the fal low dee r , the roe , and the s tag .

3 The

m igratory i n s t i nct of the re indeer is s o s t rong tha t i t hard ly can

be s ubdued , and i t determ ines l argely the annual wander ings of the

re i ndee r nomad s .

W e may safe ly as s ume that al ready i n a per iod an terior to the

dom es t icat ion of the re indeer , the hun t i ng t r i bes of northe rn As i a

fou nd i n the w i ld re i ndeer herds a ma i n sou rce of l ivel i hood . The

re indeer hu n ters of S i ber i a p robably led a l i fe not very d ifferen t

from that of the car ibou-hun t ing northern Athapascans , of whom

S am ue l Heam e w rote

A s their who le aim is to procure a com fortab le subs i stence, they take themos t prudent method s to accomp l i s h it ; and by a lways fo l lowing the lead of the

deer, are seldom exposed to the gripp ing hand of fam ine .

4

1 That Eduard Hahn s ees in rel ig ious rites the orig in of th e domes tication of oxen.and even th e orig in of th e p lou gh -culture. is one of th e fundamental errors in h is

famous book D ie Haustiere.

2 C f . e . g . , A . G . S ch renk , R e is e nach dem Nordos ten des eu r. R u s s lands (Dorpat.1 848 v ol . 1—11, pas s im . Middendorff , R eise. v ol . Iv, pp . 1 1 25 s eq . . 1 146 s eq ..

1 1 77 s eq. I t mus t be adm itted that th e mountain reindeer of s outhern S iberia makeles s extens ive wanderings than th e northern re indeer, whereforeMiddendorff g ives toth e former th e name of

“S tand-R ennthie1:e

"

as compared with th e latter wh ich h ecal l s “W ander-R ennthiere . Th e

“S tand—R enn thiere " wander, h owever, every

winter downward s into th e val leys . and every summer upward s into th e mountains .

E inar L Onnberg . Om R enarne och deras L ef nadsv anor (Uppsala, p . 24— 139.

3Of late, an unsucces s fu l attem pt h as been made to u se a portion of th e h eath sof Jyl land for reindeer breed ing . Th e an imals , bough t in Norway,were kept in averylarge enclosu

're. Th e'y grew extremely fat and clum sy; and after a wh i le, th ey began

to die off .

1 A Jou rney f rom P rince of W a les ’

s Fort, etc. , p .,83 .

H A TT] NOTES ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M 99

W i thou t doubt , long before re i ndee r domes t icat ion began , the

hun ters knew the ways and h ab i ts of th i s an imal and fol lowed it on

its m igrat ions , ou t on the tund ra or u p in the moun ta i n s in s umm er,

back i n to the wood s and val leys i n w i n ter . The wander ings of the

re indeer nomad s were , to’ some exten t , al ready a form ed hab i t before

dom es t icat ion began .

S om e au thors have s ugges ted that re i ndeer nomad i sm was a

gradual ou tcome of re indee r hun t i ng , the ind i v idual group of hu n ters

gett i ng especial ly in teres ted i n the part icu l ar w i ld herd upon wh ich

i t s ubs is ted , and by and by tak i ng care of the an imals .

1 Th i s

th eory requ i res s ome qua l ificat ion . Ethnograph ica l facts do not

warran t the as s ump t ion that a tr i be of hun ters wou ld take to

tend i ng and dome s t icat ing an animal speci es as long as they regarded

that an imal s imply as a s ort of gam e . A nd to th i s day , the re i ndeer

nomad s regard th e w i ld re i ndee r from the v iewpo i n t of the hun ter ;

th e domes t icated re indee r is to be cared for and spared as far as

poss i ble , the w i ld re indeer is to be k i l led and eaten . I t is quite

s ign ifican t tha t the re i ndeer peop l e u se difl‘erent word s for the w i ld

and the dom es t icated re ind ee r .2 The L app bel i eve that domes ti

cated re i ndee r were obta ined by tam ing w i ld ones ; bu t the i r ideas

of how s uch tam ing was brough t abou t a re rather unc lear and do

not th row any l ight upon ou r p roblem . W hen w i ld,

re i ndeer were

cau gh t a l ive i n enclos u res , they were as merc i les s ly k i l led by L app

and S am oyed a s by N orthMer ican I nd i ans .

Th i s s tr ik i ng difi'

erence in a tt i tude toward s w i ld and dom es ti

cated re indeer is so d eep rooted , tha t w e mu s t regard i t as ve ry old ;

in fact , I do not see why i t s hou ld not have been at work i n the

very earl i es t s tages of re i nd ee r nomad i sm .

Ou r p roblem may be pu t thus : H ow cam e i t abou t that hun ters

began to regard cer ta i n re indee r as the i r personal p roperty to be

tended and gu arded and spared , wh i l e the en t i re rema i nder of the

reindeer s peci es was to be k i l l ed and eaten ? I t s eem s ev iden t , tha t

1 W . R ad loff . A u : S ibirien (L e ipz ig , v ol . I , p . 4 14 ; K . B . W ik lund . D e

S vens kt; N omadi m as Flyu ningar (Uppsala, p . 7 and note 1 5 .

1 Cf . Jochel son, The Koryak. p . 475 . where th e Koryak . Y u kagh ir, Tungus . and

Yakut ter u s are g iven. I n L app ish . the wi ld re indeer is cal led “godde. th e domes

ticated re indee r “ boaco .

100 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

the in teres t wh ich bound there indeer owner and his herd togethermus t have been a s trong one from the very outs e t, and s uch as

wou ld appeal to re indee r hun te rs . A nd th is i n teres t cannot at

fi rs t have been bas ed u pon the u s e of the re indeer as a means of

tran spor t .

We find , however , tha t re i ndee r breeders in northern As ia and

Eu rope have us ed tame re indee r als o for another pu rpos e wh ich

wou ld make them exceed ingly va luable to hun te rs , v iz . , as decoy

animal s . That th is p ract ice is old , fol low s from the fact tha t i t was

u s ed i n S cand inav i a as early as the n in th cen tu ry , wh ich we

know from Oh there’

s famou s accoun t (ci ted by L au fer on p .

I n th is p ract ice , we find a u s e of tame re i ndeer i n the clos es t pos s i bl e

connect ion with re indee r hun t ing .

S ta lk ing the gam e , is a hun t ing method fou nd al l over the world .

W ide s pread is also the cu s tom that the hun te r d i s gu is es h im s el f so

as to appear l ike his gam e . The Bu shman of S ou th Afr ica , hun t ing

os tr iches , app roaches th e gam e u nder cover of an os tr ich -m ask .

1

The Apache hun te r, s talk i ng an telopes , wore an an telope-mask .

2

The Esk imo , when he s oftly and s teal th i ly approaches the s ea l on

the ice , looks verym uch l ike a s ea l h ims el f in his s ealsk in clothes ,3

and he l u res the an imal by s cratch ing on the ice .

4 A beaut i fu l

d escr ip t ion of how the As s in ibo i n u s ed to decoy a

‘

bu ffalo herd i n to

an enclos u re , has been g i ven by Alexander Hen ry ;5s everal expert

hun ters , d res s ed i n bu ff a lo h id es and walk ing .in s uch a manner that

they resemb led the an im als them s elves , l u red the bu ff alo herd in to

the pound .

” Also i n northe rn As i a , s im i l a r t r icks have been u s ed

I n descr ibi ng the Tungu s i an cos tum e , Georg i wr i tes :

des W inters u nd au f der Jagd aber tragensie Miitzen we lche au s derrauhen H aut v on R eh kopfen, an denen die Ohren aufgerichtet, u nd wen sic jungeH om er haben, auch d iese s tehen, u nd seh r hcs lich aus sehen .

1 Ge orgeW . S tow. The Native R aces of S ou th A f rica (L ondon, p . 82 and p l .v 11 .

2 C arl L umhol tz , B landt Mexicos I ndianere (Kri stiania, v ol . 1 , p . 60—61

and i l lus tration.

3 Franz Boas , The Central E sk imo. S ixth A nnu al R eport, B u reau A merican

Ethnology. p . 484 .

‘E . W . Ne lson, The Es k imo about Bering S tra it Eighteenth A nnu al R eport,B u reau A merican Ethnology , .p L 1 29

— 1 30 .

“A lexander Henry, Travels and adventu res in Canada and the Indian Territories

(new ed . by J . Bain, Toronto, pp . 299 s eq .

J . G . Georg i, R e is e im R u s sischen R e ich (S t. P eters burg. v ol . I , p . 25 5 .

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102 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

the hun ter sof t l y pu l ls his re i ndeer clos er to h im sel f, and the w i ld

re i nd ee r fol low un t i l they are w i thin easy range of s hot . Another

m ethod is u s ed by the Tungus i n the pa i r ing s eason of the w i ld

re i ndee r . The hun ter s el ects two of the s tronges t males in his herd .

H aving found th e tracks of a herd of wi ld reindeer, the hunter lets one s tagloose, after having tied a thong in severa l loops around its ant lers . Fee l ing itsel ffree, the rutting s tag, tak ing the s cent of th e tracks of th e wi ld dam s , runs toovertake them .

‘ The wi ld s tag does not a l low his adversary to approach the

females , bu t engages in a s ingle fight with him , and becomes entangled in th e

thong . The hunter, mounted on the other s tag, find s th e combatants with theirant lers entang led, and s lays the wi ld reindeer. The th ird method cons is tsin enticing wi ld s tags in the autumn by means of domes ticated dams . Th i smethod is resorted to in wooded loca l it ies that are free from wo lves . H avingfound a pas ture of wi ld reindeer, the hunter leaves there, a lone and unguarded ,some dams from his herd , wh ich are then in their rutt ing-period . The dam s at

tract th e wi ld s tags . A day or two later th e hunter s tea lth i ly approaches hisdam s

, and endeavors to s hoot the wi ld reindeer that have imprudent ly gone toonear them .

Jochels on te l ls u s fu rthermore that the'

Koryak and the C hukch i

s l ay the w i ld m ales v i s i t i ng the tam e females i n the i r herd s , the

C hukch i even con s ider ing i t an i l l omen i f i n s uch cas es the w i ld

s tag escapes from the herd .

1 He obs e rve s r igh tly that the p r i nc ip l e

i n al l the th ree method s descr ibed is to kil l the w i ld re indeer (not

to catch it and keep i t al i ve) , wh i le i n the l as t m ethod i t is als o

des i red to obta i n a cros sbreed from the u n ion of the w i ld w i th th e

dom es t icated re indee r .

P al las d escr ibes how the S amoyed hun t w i ld re i ndeer by u s i ngtame ones as decoy . H idden between fou r or five tam e re indeer ,

wh ich are tra ined espec i a l ly for the pu rpos e and are h eld by ropes ,

the hun te r approach es'

the re i ndee r herd ; u s ual ly fem ale re i ndeer

w i th the i r fawns are emp loyed . Another method , p ract is ed by

the S amoyed i n fa l l , in the ru tt ing s eas on , is very .m uch l ike the

s econd m ethod des cr ibed b y Joch el s on . The S am oyed s elect a

s trong re indeer buck and.

look for a w i ld re i ndee r herd . W hen

they h ave found a w i ld herd , they fas ten a s l i ng round the antlers

of the tam e buck , and i t is l e t loos e ; i t app roaches the w i ld herd ,

1 Th e Chukch i hunt als o reindeer b y means of special decoy deer ; cf . Bogoras ,

p . 136. A ccord ing to Bogoras , the bes t decoy-deer is a cross with a wi ld reindeer.

H A TT ] NOTE S ON R EINDEER NOMA DIS M 103

and very s oon en te rs in to a fight w i th a w i ld re i ndeer buckwho getshis an t lers en tangled i n the s l i ng . W hen the hun ter app roaches ,the w i ld re i ndeer attemp ts to flee ; bu t the tame re indeer th rus ts his

an tle rs down towards the ground and hold s the r iva l firm ly un t i l

the hun ter a rrives and k i l ls his game . The S amoyed u s e f or that

purpos e s trong and fie ry bucks

u nd zerknil pfen ihnen die eine H ode mit den Zahnen, dam it sie bes ser bey Kraften

bleiben.

l

That the Sam oyed of nor thern Europe have m ade u s e of s im i la r

hun t i ng method s , we know from C orne i l l e le B run , who pas s ed

through Archangel in 1 70 1 on his jou rney to the or i en t . After

having descri bed how the S amoyed hun t the s eal on the ice , clothed

i n s uch a manner that they res emble anyth i ng bu t human

be ings— a m ethod wh ich s eem s iden t ica l w i th the Esk imo method

of hun t i ng s eal , men t ioned above— he goes on descr i b ing the re in

deer hun t :

I ls se servent a pe u pres da meme s tratagéme pour prendre des rennes , s e

gl issant, couverts de leurs peaux, sans etre reconnus , entre ceux quiSont appriv oisez, puis s

'

approchant des sauvages , il s les percent de leurs dard s : Mais ilfaut qu

'

ils se t iennent sous le vent, parce qu e ces animaux, quiont l’

odorat ad

mirable, ne manqueroient pa s de le s découvrir sans ce la, 8cains i ils parviennent aleur but font de bonnes prises .

2

Th i s method s eems to be iden t ica l w i th the firs t one descr i bed

by P al las . L e B run ’s accoun t is in teres t ing , as i t s hows that he was

aware of the connect ion between the u s e of d ecoy d eer and the

hun te r'

s d isgu i s e .

We know from Oh there’

s accoun t that d ecoy deer were u s ed by

th e L app in northern S cand inav i a as early as the n i n th cen

tury . The L app is h mode of us ing d ecoy deer was descr ibed i n the

seven teen th cen tu ry by Joh . Tornau s and S amuel R heen (or R ehn ) ,

two of the w r i ters from whos e commun icat ions S chefferu s took the

mate rial for his famous book L appon ia . In the fal l , i n the ru tt ing1 P al las , R eis e. v ol . 111, p . 90

—9 1 . C f . alsoMiddendorff , R eis e. v ol . I V . p . 1382 on

the u se of decoy-deer by the Samoyed in th e Taimyr tundra. Th e Os tyak betweenOb and Jeniseihave hunted wi ld reindeer in a s im i lar way , accord ing to A . Erman(R ein um die Erde , v ol . 1, p . 653

Corneil le le Brun. Voyage par laMoscom'

e. en P erse et au x Indes Orienta les (A ms terdam . p . 1 1 .

104 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

s eason , the L app take a number'

of female re indeer to a p lace ,

f requen ted by w i ld re i ndeer, and b i nd them there ; when the w i ld

bucks app roach the females , they are s hot by the hun ters .

1_(I t w i l l

be noticed that th i s p roced u re s how s some s im i l ar i ty to the th i rd

me thod descr i bed by Joch el son .) Tom ans descr ibes al so another

method in his m anu s cr ipt; some L app is h hun te rs p l ace a s l i ng in

the an tle rs of the i r tame bucks , and in thes e s l i ngs the w i ld bucks

are en s nared .

2 (The res emblance of th i s mode of hun t i ng to the

s econd method d es cr ibed by Joche lson ,is eas i ly recogn i zed . )

Knud L eem h as a ls o d es cr ibed the hun t ing of w i ld re indeer i n the

r u tt i ng s eas on by means of a number of tame female re indeer , u s ed

as decoys ; he adds that when two w i ld bucks arr ive at the s ame

t ime , they w i l l engage i n a figh t and i n tha t way mak e i t eas ier for

the hun ter to k i l l one3 of them .

The u s e of d ecoy d ee r m u s t have been character is t ic of the

in i t ial s tages of re i ndee r breed i ng . I find i t h igh ly p robable tha t

th is hun t ing method— a decided improvemen t upon the hun ter’

s

older p ract ice of d i sgu i s ing h im s el f s o as to look l ike the deer— wa s

the fi rs t mot ive wh ich brou gh t abou t the domes t icat ion of th e

re indeer .

There is no reas on to bel ieve, though , tha t th e idea of us i n g

tame an imal s as m ean s of a l l u r i ng w i ld members of the s ame spec i es

aros e independen tly in th e m i nd of S i ber i an re indeer hun ters .

The u se of decoy an ima ls is not res tr icted to re i ndee r hu n t ing— it is

w idesp read in the coun t r ies of old c iv i l izat ion . I n Eu rop e , the u s e

of decoy d ucks for catch ing waterfow l is of a ve ry old s tand i ng on

the Fr is i an is l and s and i n Hol l and .

‘ In P ers ia , swans are lu red i n to1 S ch efieru s , t h e German cd . , p . 261 .

2 Johannis , Torn t‘

iiB era'

ttel s e om L apmarkerna och deras titls tdnd . Ed . by K . B .

W ik lund (Bidrag ti l l Kannedom om de S v ens ka L and smalen och S v ens kt Folkliv .

v o l . x v u , 3 , p . 58 . Upsala.3 L eem , op . cit. . p . 1 83 .

4 Th e Eng l ish word decoy ha s been derived from Dutch eend . duck , and kooi, cage.

The u se of d ecoys or traps , into wh ich W i ld fowl are al l u red , was introduced from H ol

land to Eng land in th e reign of James I . C f. Encyclopaed ia of S port and Games .

Ed . by th e Earl of S uff olk and Berk s h ire, v ol . 11 (L ondon, article on Decoys .

"

S everal s pecies of land b irds have been caugh t by means of decoy-b ird s . C f e . g“G rtind lich e A nweisung al le arten Vogel zu fangen, etc. Nebs t A nmerkungen tiberH erv ieu x v on C anas siu s Voge ln u nd Joseph Mite l liJagd lu s t (N tirnberg,

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106 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMO1R 5 . 6

zu r S u hne 45 So l id i bezah len . War der H irsch noch n icht au f der Jagd gebrauchtworden, sobetrug die Siihne beiden sal ischen Franken 35 , beiden ripuarischendagegen nu r 30 So l id i . Im a lamanni s chen u nd langobard i schen Vo lks rech twurde beiEntwendung eines zahmen H irs ches der neun— bezw. acht fache Betrag,

d . h . die gebrau ch lich e Dieb s tah ls s trafe gefordert . Dabei ga lt eine zahme H irs chku h nu r als ha l b so wertvo l l wie _ ein gezahmter H irsch . Doppe lt war dieS trafe, wenn der getutete H irsch zu seiner Zeit brunS tete gegem

’

iber einemso lchen, der d ies nicht tat.

I n the la ter m idd l e-ages , tam ed deer were s t i l l u s ed occas ional ly

in hun t i ng .

1 S i nce then , th is hun t i ng m ethod has fa l len in to

d i s us e in Eu rope ; bu t s im i l a r modes of hu n t ing have pers i s ted i n

As ia u n t i l th is day . In Ind i a , w i ld male elephan ts are l u red i n to

enclos u res by mean s of tam e cow elephan ts .

2 Of more in teres t for

ou r p roblem is the u s e of tam e m ares a s decoys i n hu n t ing the w i ld

hors e of the s teppe3and the dshiggetei of Mongol ia . G . R add e

g ives a v iv id d escr ip t ion of how Tungu s i an hu n ters manage to get

w i th i n easy s hoot i ng range of the sw i ft dsh'iggetei,who en ters sou th

eas tern Transbaikalia (the A ltangana p la teau , sou th of the Onon

and Bors a r ivers ) in the fal l , i n the ru t t ing s eason . The Tungu s i an

hun ter s elects a r id ing hors e of a l igh t yel low color and ,hav mg

d i scovered a herd of dshiggeteis , he app roaches s teal th i ly as near as

pos s i ble w i thou t be ing detected . He removes then the s add le

from his hors e , b ind s the ha i r of its ta i l together,'

so that i t may ap

pear l ike a dshiggetei(th i s an imal havi ng a ta i l of the donkey—type) ,

and l ead s i t to the top of a h i l l , wh ere he leaves i t graz i ng ,h id i ng

h ims el f a s hor t d i s tance off w i th his gun ready . After a wh i le,a

mal e dshiggeteibecomes aware of the .hors e , and tak ing i t to be a

fem ale of his own race , he app roaches in gal lop , and fal ls an easy

prey to the hun ter’

s bu l le t .4

I find i t p robable that th e u s e of d ecoy an imal s came to the

S iber i a n hun ters from the s ou th . Bu t the adap tat ion of th is

m e thod to the hunting of re i ndeer wou ld requ i re specia l modifica

t ion s , and cou ld on ly be u nde rtaken by men who were re i ndeer

hun ters and fam i l i ar w i th the ways and hab i ts of the re indee r .

1 R einhardt, op. cit. . p . 569 .

3 Encyclopaed ia of S port and Games , v ol . 11, p . 1 77 .

3 P al las . R e is e, v ol . 1, p . 2 1 1 .

G . R ad de, B erichte fiber R e is en im S aden von Ost-S ibirien, p . 430—43 2 .

H an ] NOTE S ON R E INDEER NOMA DISM 107

I t wou ld not be very d i fficu l t to catch a few re indeer a l i ve

th is m i gh t be done , and h as been done i n d i fferen t ways . N e i ther

wou ld i t be impos s i b le to tame young an imals , especial ly fawns .

The d i fficu lty comes in at another poin t : how to bi nd th is m igratory

an ima l to man ?

A s I have al ready s tated , the re i ndee r cou ld not l ive in a cage ,l ike the cap t ive bear among the Gi lyak , nor i n band s , l ike the youngfoxes wh ich the Os tyak rea r for the s ake ‘

of the pel try .

1 N e i ther

wou ld the re indee r th r ive in an enclos u re , l ike other speci es of deer ;

I t may be that the keep i ng of tam e deer in the coun tr ies of early

ci v i l i zat ion2 has in some way or other i nfluenced the firs t s tep s in

re indeer domes t icat ion ; tame roe-dee r exi s t i n the Ba ika l region }

and i t is wel l known that t he maral deer is reared i n capt ivi ty i n

Alta i , its an tle rs be i ng an importan t art icl e of comm erce in C h ina .

The re indeer , however, be ing a m igra tory an imal , wou ld not thr ive

in cap t iv i ty ; i t is not k ep t in cap t ivi ty by the reindeer nomads of

the pres en t day , and mo reover, the re is noth ing i n re i ndeer nom ad

ism wh ich wou ld ind icate that the re i ndeer was at any t ime kep t

pe rmanen tly w i th in enclos u re s or the l ike .

Fu rthe rmo re , the re indeer hun ters were them s elves m igratory .

In order to make u s e of th e i r tamed re i ndeer as d ecoys , they wou ld

have to take thes e w i th them .

-I find i t p robab le, therefore , that

the bond between man and re i ndee r did not ar i s e th rough s imp le

coe rcion from the re indeer ’s mas ter, bu t rather th rough a Sort of

m utual in teres t .

I t is true that man does not regu l arly p rovide‘

food for his

re i ndeer— on ly i n extrem e cas es , the herd sman m ay cu t down trees

in orde r to procu re l ichen s for his dee r . Of more im portance is the

protect ion he afford s his deer aga in s t beas ts of prey , especi a l ly the

wo l f .4 Joche lson and S’

arosev ski5 te l l u s how the Tungus and

1 Georg i , R u s s land (L e ip z ig, v ol . 1, p . 74 .

L aufer, p . 13 1— 1 33 . S . G . Gme l in (R eis e du rch R u s s land , v ol . 111, p . 486) says

that in P ers ia it is cus tomary to catch young red-deer, roes and fal low-deer and keepthem as pets .

R oe -dee r have been kept in captivity by the Buriat at th e Baika l lake , and thatfor purely econom ica l reasons , the dee r be ing ca ugh t when young and s laugh tered forfood later 011 . Cf . G . R adde , op . cit. . p . 278 .

The Koryak , p . 480 .

Yakuti, p . 148 .

108 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

Yaku t re indee r h erd ru n s to the camp for s hel ter when wolves are

around . In L ap land , herd sm en have told u s that even the mos t

u n tam ed d ee r may come to the ten t for p rotect ion when wolves

attack the herd .

1 The re indeer may als o app roach the campfire

in orde r to get the benefi t of the smoke wh ich keeps away the

mosqu i toes . In northe rn As i a , and in L ap land as wel l , the herds

m en somet imes make smok i ng fi res ln order to rel i eve the herd from

the mosqu i to p lague . Middendorff remarks tha t even w i ld an imal sm ay be at tracted by fi res , a c i rcum s tance wel l known to and u t i l i zed

by hun te rs .

2 We m us t acknow ledge that the fear o f wolves and of

mosqu i toes wou ld make the herd smen and the i r camp not u nattrac

t ive to the re i ndeer herd— and s t i l l w e have to men t ion one cur iou s

th i ng wh ich con s t i tu tes a s t rong bond between man and re i ndeer :

th i s an imal’

s p ecu l i a r appe t i te for s al t and for human u ri ne.

The crav i ng of w i ld an ima l s for s al t is a wel l-known featu re .

L edebou r obs erved wel l-worn tra i ls , whos e ex i s tence was d u e to

w i ld an imals hav i ng th rough ages frequen ted certa i n p laces where

the ground con ta i ned s al t .

3 Johan S i evers re la tes that the e lk

h unters i n the Yab lonnoimoun ta i ns lay in wa i t for the e lk at s uch

p laces where the an imals wou ld com e at n igh t to l ick s al t .

4 W e

have al ready men t ioned Middendorfi ’

s and R adde’

s accoun t of

Tungus i an hun ters s al t i ng the ground in order to i nduce the deer

to frequen t certa i n p laces .

The u s e of s al t was ev iden tly an exped i en t by wh ich th e hun ters

at tracted game to their'

territories . Th is same m eans , and s t i l l

more the other above-men t ioned del icacy,5 wou ld s erve to keep the

1 Em i l ie Demant-Hatt,Med L apperne iH pjjj eldet, p . 7 1 .

2Mid dendorff , R e is e, v ol . I V ; p . 1389 .

Carl Fried rich v on L e debou r'

s R e is e du rch das A ltai-Gebirge and die soongaris che

Kirg is en-S teppe (Berl in, v o l . 1, p . 203 .

4Brief e au s S ib irien (S t. P eters bu rg , p . 63—64 .

5 Th e eagernes s of th e reindeer to obtain human urine is quite astoni sh ing . W hen aherd of reindeer comes near to a L app is h camp . the animals search for th e p laces wh erepeop le have urinated , and s crape for urine. Even such animals a s are not partienlarly tame may then go close to th e tent, search ing and scrap ing for th is del icacy.

Th e cry with wh ich th e L app is h herd sman ca l ls his re indeer is cu s (i. e urine) . C f .Em i l ie Demant Hatt,Med L apperne iH pjfj eldet, pp . 61 , 1 14 and note 46. C f . als o,

Middendorff , R eis e, p . 1 275 :W . Joche l son, The Koryak . p . 483 . Bogoras , The Ch u ckchee, p . 8 5

— 86. R ic. J . Bus h , R e indeer, dogs and s now-s hoes (N ew York . p, 279 .

6Th e S oyot salt th e ground for th e bene fit of their domes ticated reindeer. Q .

O lsen, p . 5 7 .

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1 10 A ME R ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

s ledge by means of a sort of tack l e-block sys tem , i ns u r ing that each

deer does his s hare of the work , was taken over from dog d r iv ing .

1

The L app s l ed was , on the other hand , p robably never u s ed for

dog d r iv ing ; i t was rathe r , in its p r im i t ive form , a hand -s led , d rawn

by the hun te r h im s el f, and is s t i l l s omet ime s u s ed in this qu al i ty .

A cus tom wh ich m u s t have come'

in ve ry early ,is the u s e of

ownersh ip-m arks , cu t or b i t ten_

in the ears of the d eer . Th i s

cus tom is u n ivers al am ong the re indee r nomads . K . B . W ik l u nd

h as g i ven a fu l l s er ies of the elem en ts con ta i ned i n the ear-marks

u s ed by the L app of nor thern S weden ;2 th i s s er i es compares fa i rly

wel l w i th the Tungus i an ear-marks publ i shed by P ekarski and

Ts v’

atkov .

3 I t wou ld s eem l ikely that the cu s tom of ear-mark inghas a common or igi n for al l re indeer nomads ; but there is no reason

to s uppos e that they or iginated i t them s elves—~ ear-marks of a

s imi la r k i nd are w idely u s ed not on ly by S cand inavian s heepherders , bu t also by the K i rgis , who cu t ownersh ip-marks in the .

ears of the i r s heep and hors es .

4 The ques t ion cannot be solved

withou t a comparat ive analys is of al l the ear-marks u s ed i n As i a

and Eu rope— and for s uch an analys is , mos t of the mater i al is not

yet at hand .

Geld i ng by b i t i ng is another cu s tom wh ich mus t have come in

very early , as i t is general th rou ghou t the area of re indeer nomad

ism . The m ethod has a very p r im i t ive appearance ; I have not

been able to find in the l i tera tu re any i ns tance of cas trat ion by

b i ting p ract ised by man upon any other an imal than the re indeer .

The L app herd sman m ay cas trate his watch-dog, al though th is is

an exemp t ion , bu t he never does that by b i t ing, he u s es a kn i fe .

N e i the r do the C hukchi and Koryak dog d r ivers cas trate the i r

1 C f . tit le figure in F . G . Jacks on, Th e Great Frozen L and , or fig . 16, p . 5 7 . in

Ernst Hofmann, D er nordliche Ura l with fig . 5 0 in O. Finsch , R eis e nach Wes t-S ibirien(Berlin.

P u bl ished as a note, p . 1 75— 1 77 in Em i l ie Demant-Hatt,Med L apperne iH ¢ifiel

dd .

3 P u b lications deMu s ée d 'A nthropologie et d'

Ethnographie de l'

A cadémie Impérialedes S ciences de S t.-P éters bou rg, v ol . 11. pt. 1 , p . 3 7 .

4 R . Karatz , Unter Kirgis en and Tu rkmenen (L e ipz ig, p . 50 . A bout marking of s heep in S cand inavia, s ee 0 . V . W ennersten, Got land s farmarken (Meddelanden

f rdn Nordiska Mu s eet, S tockho lm,

H A I TI NOTES ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M I I I

dogs by b i t i ng .

1 In the Al ta i ; cas trat ion.

of horses is done w i th a

kn i fe .

2 The ques t ion where cas t rat ion by b i t i ng or ig inated and

how i t cam e to be us ed by the re indee r nomad s , s eems therefore to

be a d ifficu l t one .

3 The reason why th i s s imp l e method has te

m a i ned in force is p robably the fact tha t the dee r s u ffers les s than

when the opera t ion is perform ed w i th a kn i fe . At leas t, L app is h

herd smen have tbld me , that som e L app had tr ied to u se a kn i fe,

bu t found i t an inconven ien t method becaus e the an imal los t too

m uch blood by i t .‘

C as trat ion is a valuable exped i en t i n the p roces s of tam ing the

males wh ich are to be u s ed as beas ts of bu rden . The old cas trates

are the mos t s table part of the herd ; when the re indeer are d r iven

in to th e . enclos ure , and does , fawns , and bucks are gal lop ing round

and round l ike hors es in a ci rcu s , then i t is cur ious to s ee the old

cas tra tes s tand i ng qu ietly in the m id s t of the herd ,unmoved by

the general u p roar . Another eff ect of geld i ng i t is tha t the cas trates

grow fatte r and s tronge r than the u ngelded males ; as we are told

by P al las , the S amoyed u s ed to hal f-cas trate the tam e bucks wh ich

were s elected to figh t w i th the w i ld bucks .

W h i le the or ig i n of ear-mark i ng and cas trat ion cannot be deter

m i ned by m ean s oithe mater i a l at hand , we do not need to be much

in doubt wi th regard to m i lk i ng and re i ndeer r id ing. A s I have

shown in the fi rs t part of the p res en t paper ,m i lk i ng and r id ing mus t

be compa rat ively recen t featu res wh ich the southern and cen tral

part of the north As iat ic re indeer nom ad s have adop ted from hors e

and cow breed i ng ; and in L ap land , re i ndee r m i lk ing aros e in a

s im i la r way , u nd e r in fl uence from the S cand i n av i ans .

A s a comparat ively new fea tu re we m u s t regard the great s i ze

of the domes t icated re i ndeer herd s of the tu nd ras and the S can

dinav ian moun ta in s . The g rowth o f the domes t icated herds has

run para l le l to a gradual ext i nct ion of the w i ld re indeer . I t wou ld

Bogoras , op. cit. . p . 1 03 . W . Joch e ls on , op . cit. . p . 5 19 .

iW . R a d lofl'

, A u s S ibirien, v ol . 1, p . 28 1 .

W e have every reas on for regard ing cas tra tion by b iting as a prim itive methodanima ls . figh ting with each other in the rutting season, may d isable their rivals bythis crude method of ca s tration . C f . Hahn , Hau s tiere . p . 48 .

Am ong th e Samoyed of northern R uss ia, A . G . S chrenk saw the operation performed with a kni fe, R eise, v ol . 1, p . 54 1 .

1 12 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA ‘L A S S OCIA TION lMEMOI R S , 6

hard ly be correct to s uppos e that th i s s hou ld be d u e to a gradua l

absorp t ion of the w i ld re indee r i n to the dom es t ica ted herd s . The

d is appearance of the w i ld re i ndeer is rathe r du e to hun ting and to

the occupat ion of the pas tu res by dom es t icated re i ndee r herd sfi

A certa i n amoun t of absorp t ion -has taken p lace , however .

I t is a wel l-known fact that cros s -breed ing between w i ld and

dom es t icated re i ndeer takes p l ace of ten , and also that the'

off spring

of s uch u n ion s is h igh ly val ued by al l re indee r breeders . I t is

p robable that s uch cros s -breed i ng h as been a factor of great im

portance i n the format ion of local races of domes t icated re i ndeer .

At the per iod when re i ndee r nomad i sm sp read over northern

Euras i a , we m u st as s ume that the dom es t icated herd s were smal l ;

and th erefore the i r raci a l character wou ld be s trongly influenced

th rough cros s -breed i ng w i th w i ld s tocks .

On -the oth er h and ,i t s eem s th at tam ing o f w i ld re i ndeer is a

d i fficu l t p roces s wh ich is bu t rare ly attem p ted , excep t w i th you ng

fawn s . Torh au s rel ates an i ns tance of s uch tam i ng, wh ich he

ev iden tly regarded as a remarkable occu rrence :

Some t ime before my ch i ldhood,one of th e Birkarls [i. e ., S cand inavians , l iving

among the L app and trad ing with them] happened to catch a wi ld reindeer-fawnwh ich he kept a l ive and tamed it for h is own u s e , s o that h e drove with i t in one

day 41 [Swed i s h ] m i les , wh ich wou ld usual ly be covered by three or four daysof convenient driving .

1

Accord i ng to L app is h trad i t ion , young re i ndeer fawn s have

somet im es been cau ght al i ve and brough t u p w i th the tame herd .

I s ha l l quote a pas s age from a m anu scrip t by Johan Tu r i , wh ich is

be i ng ed i ted by Em i l i e Deman t Hatt .

The wi ld reindeer have been the food of the L app . A nd there is no d i fferencebetween tame reindeer and wi ld re indeer ; b u t a s th e reindeer have been takenunder the herd sman-’s care, th e wi ld reindeer have become tame, and then thename was changed from wi ld reindeer to reindeer .

A nd furthermore I have heard , how they have got the wi ld reindeer domesticated : sometimes they have found many wi ld reindeer in the S pring, at theca lving season, and then they have s cared them , and then th e wi ld reindeer-doeshave ru n away, and the fawns have remained beh ind ; and then they have takenth e fawn s and brough t them to the herd , and then they are eas i ly accus tomed tobe a s tame as th e re indeer .

1 Johannis Tornai , B erattels e om L apmarkerna , cap . 1 5 .

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1 14 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

the S ayan moun ta i ns ; and inface of th at , i t becom es extrem ely

un l ikely that the w i ld re indee r s hou ld eas i ly adop t the ways and

habi ts of the domes t icated dee r who s tand 40°C els . down in the

wood s in s ummer . e an Ols en does not m en t ion any part icu l a r

m ethod of tam i ng the w i ld re indeer, excep t tha t w i ld does are bound

to t rees and have the i r fron t and h ind legs’

bou nd together when

m i lk ing is taking'

p lace . I t s eem s qu i te p robable that Ols en , not

know ing the S oyot l anguage , may have m i s unders tood what he

s aw. I n L ap l and , you ng does ,wh ich are not accu s tomed tom i lk i ng,m u s t always undergo a s ort of tam ing and are often bound to trees

they are in a way “w i ld .

”W hen Ols en s tates that w i ld re indeer

a re cons idered espec i a l ly good for r id i ng p u rpos es , it s eem s p rob

able that the an im al s in ques t ion were the off spr ing of cros s -breed i ng

between w i ld m ales and domes t icated does— s uch u n ion s are of

frequen t occu rrence , alsoi n the S ayan mou n ta i ns .

1

A large re i ndee r he rd is the u l t im ate des i re of every genu ine old

fas h ioned moun ta i n L app ; re indeer l uck is the form of happ i nes s

he unders tand s and values Therefore , the typ ical L app does not

l ike to s l au ghte r many re i ndeer, even i f he is r ich . The herd is

s t i l l his s tand ard of valu e and fortune, and his feel ings toward s his

herd have s t i l l .a s em i-re l i g ious t i nge ; he loves his herd w i th a s trong

and mys te r ious love . Th is feel ing is p robably inheren t in a l l

re indeer nomad s , and i t is perhap s a common featu re in al l nomad

ism . I f we wan t to u nders tand the p roces s wh ich led to the de

v elopment of the l arge re i ndee r herd s of the tund ras and the S can

dinavian moun ta ins , we mu s t not forge t the owner’

s love toward s

his herd ; i t was not exact ly the wan t of d rau gh t an imals nor of meat

that, p romp ted him to do his herd sman

’

s work~ it was rather the

lu s t of ownersh ip . The owner’

s love toward s his pos s es s ion im bued

the nomad’

s m i nd so deep ly that i t became a part of his rel ig ion ;and therefore , re i ndeer breed ing not on ly p l aced his econom ic l i fe

on a more s ecure foot ing , bu t also gave to his sp i r i tual l i fe new r iches ,u nknown to the re i ndee r hu n te r .

I t is cu r ious and s ad to s ee , how th i s deep-rooted love of the

herd becomes a h i nd rance to econom ic p rogres s u nder mode rn

1 (brjan Olsen, op. cit. . p . 5 1 . seq.

a m ] NOTES ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M 1 15

circum s tances , becau s e i t is adverse to the fu l l and rat ional u t i l iza

t ion of the herd . R e indeer breed ing m i gh t be a source of great

income i f two mode rn po i n ts of v iew were in trod uced : the s i ze of a

re i ndeer herd s hou ld not be la rger than the s ize and qual ity of the

pas tures al low ,and the u l timate obj ect of re i ndeer breed ing s hou ld

be the la rges t pos s i ble meat p roduct ion . S uch modern rat ional ism

is fore ign to o ld L app ideals ; w i thou t doubt, however, i t w i l l pre

dom i nate in the cou rs e of t ime , and in that way a new, modern

layer is be ing added to the s er ies of cu l tu ral layers wh ich con s t i tu te

the evol u t ionary h i s tory of re i ndee r nom ad ism .

ON TH E A G E or R EINDEER N OMADISM

I t w i l l thu s be s een that re i ndee r nomad i sm is the ou tcome of a

long evo l u t ion whos e d i fferen t s tages were d u e to d i fferen t impu l s es .

We cannot s ay tha t re i ndeer nom ad ism is s imp ly the res u l t of an

im i tat ive p roces s , l eaning toward s hors e and cow breed i ng ; re i ndeer

nomad i sm certa i n ly has been influenced by impu ls es from hors e

and cow breed i ng , especia l ly a t a l ater pe r iod ; bu t i t has borrowed

from dog breed i ng at a very early p er iod , and some of its roots may

be t raced back in to a pe r iod of re indeer hu n t i ng .

From Hue i S hen’

s accoun t of Fu -s ang (L au fer p . 102 we

know tha t re indee r nom ad i sm in S i ber i a had a lready reached a

s tage character ized by regu la r m i lk i ng i n the fi fth cen tu ry of ou r

era . A s I have p roven , regu la r m i lk i ng mu s t be reckoned among

th e younger elemen ts of re indeer breed i ng . Therefore , we mu s t

as s ume tha t re i ndee r nomad ism had already pa s s ed through a long

evol u t ion in A .D. 499 . H ow many cen tu r ies th i s evo l u t ion had

requ i red , I s hal l not attemp t to calcu late . W hen L au fer as s erts ,

that the dome s t icat ion of"

the re i ndeer fa l ls w ith in the h i s tor ical

era , the mean ing of th is s tatemen t is not qu i te clear to me . Of

cou rs e, C h i nes e h i s tory began long before the evol u t ion of re indeer

nomad ism h ad taken its s tart the reg ion of northern As i a where

the firs t s tep s were taken i n re lndeer nomad i sm , was not, however ,

a t that t im e eluc id ated by the fu l l l ight of h i s tory . I f the begin

nings of re i nd ee r nomad i sm a re not .p reh i s tor ic, then i t m igh t as

wel l be ma in ta in ed tha t the olde r i ron-age of Denmark was not

1 16 A MER ICA N A NTHR’

OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

p reh is tor ic, becau s e s ou thern Eu rope l ay d ur ing that per iod w i th in

the fu l l dayl igh t of c i v i l i zat ion , and G reece and R ome got occas ional

gl imps es o f in form at ion abou t north e rn Eu rope .

R e indee r nomad i sm , as des cr i bed by the C h i nes e accoun t of

A .D . 499, had al ready reached a s tage of evo lu t ion s uper ior to tha t

wh ich mu s t have been characte r is t ic of th e old es t L app i s h re indeer

nomad i sm— for we h ave good reason s to bel i eve th at the L appdeve loped regu la r m i lk i ng under S cand i nav i an influence . The

C hukch i and Koryak l ikew is e took over re i ndeer nomad i sm in a

form older than tha t descr i bed by Hue i S hen , and to th i s day the

C hukch i and the Koryak do not pract is e m i lk i ng, except where

Tungu s i n fluence has been very s t rong .

I f the C hukch i and Koryak took ove r re ind ee r nomad i sm from

the Tungu s , as L au fer as s e rts (p . then th i s m u s t have hap

pened at a pe r iod when t he Tungu s re i ndeer breeders did not yet

m i lk the i r re ind eer nor u s e them for r id i ng nor for carry i ng bu rdens .

There is no reason whateverto bel i eve that the C hukch i and Koryak

s hou ld not have adop ted thes e u s es of the re i ndee r, if the i r fi rs t

i ns tructors had p ract i s ed them . I donot doubt , tha t the C hukch i

and Koryak , be ing or ig ina l ly peop l e w i th a m ar i t im e cu l tu re , took

over re indee r breed ing from s ome in l and tr ibe ; I do not fee l as su red ,

however, tha t th i s tr ibe belonged to the Tungus , and I th i nk th is

would"

be hard to p rove .

Th e re is s omewhat more reas on to bel ieve , tha t i t was the S am

oyed who t ransm i t ted re ind ee r nomad i sm to the L app . The

S amoyed form of re indeer harnes s rem i nd s s trongly of the old

fash ioned L app i s h form ; and m i lk ing ,wh ich the fi rs t L app is h

re i ndeer breeders p robably did not p ract is e , is not u s ed'

by the

north ern S amoyed . I t is not advi s able , however , to regard the

pecu l i ar L app i s h s l edge as a cu l tu ra l loan from the S am oyed , as

L au fe r does (p . True enough , Oleariu s w r i tes abou t th e

S amoyed

sie s pannen d iese l be (i. e. , the reindeer) v or k leine leich te Sch l itten,welche wie ha l be Kahne oder Bothe gesta lt, mit welchen sie fiber die masses chwinde rennen u nd fortkommen k

'

onnen .

l

1 A dam Oleariu s . Vermehrte Newe B es chre ibu ng der Mus cowitis chen u nd P ersis chenR eys e (S ch les s v ig , p . 162 .

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1 18 A MER ICA N A NTHROP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION lMEMOI R S . 6

th is book . He did m eet w i th S amoyed re indee r d r ivers , however,

on the s ou th s id e of th e Yu gor s tra i ts , in Ju ly 1 594 ; s ome of thes e

s l edges were d rawn by three re indeer , s ome by two .

1 The i l lu s tra

t ion of the S am oyed s ledge in L inschoten’

s book is cer ta i n ly not

free from errors— the harnes s of the re i ndeer is as fau l ty as in Olaus

Magn u s ’ i l l us trat ions of L app i s h re indeer d r iv ing, and the s ledge

i ts el f rem ind s one somewhat of a rocke r . I t is qu i te ev iden t, how

ever, that the S amoyed s ledge , s een by L i n schoten , had noth i ng in

comm on w i th the L app is h s ledge ; i t m us t have been of the s ame

type as today . The s ledge d r iv ing of the S am oyed farthes t to th e

wes t, neares t to L ap l and ,was descr ibed before the end of the s even

teenth cen tu ry . A N orwegian trade r, S lytter, made a journey

A .D . 1693 , from Ko l a on the Mu rman coas t to Archangel and

C holmogory . He w rote down his obs ervat ions on the road ,and

cop i es of his m anuscr ip t are s t i l l extan t . Travel i ng along the

s ou thern s hore of the W h i te S ea, he m et the S amoyed at the Onega

bay,between the v i l lages Kjanda and N ischmos erskaje ; th is fact

has a speci al i n teres t, becau s e i t s hows that the S amoyed at the

clos e of the s even teen th cen tu ry wen t farther wes t than they did a

cen tu ry l ate r . S lytter gives a br i e f descr ip t ion of the S amoyed as he

saw them , and i t appears that the i r ten ts , d res s , and s ledges had

abou t the s am e character as now.

They keep wh ite reindeer and do not ride in kja'

rris [i. e., the boat-s haped s led ofL app ish type], b u t in smal l s ledges on wh ich man and

'

wi fe are s itt ing together.Furthermore, they h itch two reindeer to one s ledge .

“

S lytter, be ing fam i l i a r with the L app is h kjarris , was eviden tly

s truck by the d i fference between that and the S amoyed s ledge and

m ad e a note of i t .

A few years l ater, in 1 701 , C orne i l l e le B run s aw the S amoyed

at Archangel and descr i bed and figu red the i r ten ts , d res s , and re in

1 Op . cit. , Fol . 1 1 and p icture of Samoyed reindeer-driving on map of th e coas tsof northern Europe . I n S ept. , 1 595 , the Dutchmen made friend s with th e Samoyednear th e Y ugor s traits and h ad the opportunity of rid ing in th e ir reindeer-s ledges(Fol .

2 S lytter’

s account of the Samoyed h as been p u bl is hed by O. So lberg (Die Wes tgrenze der Samojeden am Ende des xv11 Jah rhunderts , Zeits chrij

’

t f ir Ethnolog ie.48, Jah rg . , 19 16, pp . 8

H A TT] NOTES ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M 1 19

deer d r iv ing, etc. H is p ictu re of the S amoyed s ledge is not al l bad ,

and s how s no s im i l ar i ty wh atever to the L app s ledge .

1

The L appis h re i ndee r s ledge is a h ighly d eve loped form ,the

fin i s hed res u l t of a long evol u t ion . I t cannot have been developed

from the S amoyed s l edge ; bu t certa i n s l edge—form s of a more

p r im i t ive characte r, u s ed by the L app , the F i n l anders of Os ter

bo tten and Karelen , and the Tsheremis , ind icate the way i n wh ich

the L app s l edge Was developed . I shal l not en ter here upon any

d iscu s s ion of the or ig i n of the L app s ledge ; in my art icl e.

“L appiske

S laed e former, G eografisk Tid s skrif t, v ol . X X I I I cal led atten

tion to the fact th at the L app in Ves terbotten u se occas ional ly

a s l edge made of a who l e re i ndeer-sk i n and anothe r form con s i s t i ng

of a hol lowed trunk . S hortly afterward s , U . T . S ire liu s publ is hed

(i n J ou rna l de la S ociélé Finno-Ou gm’

enne) his paper“Uber e i n ige

P rototype des S ch l i t ten s , an i ngen ious p i ece of work, where i n he

se ts forth the theory (bas ed upon ethnograph ical and archaeological

m aterial ,m a in ly from F i n l and , R u ss i an Karelen and the Tsheremis )that a certa in p r imit i ve hu n ter

’

s s ledge , u s ed in nor thern F i n land

and Kare len (l a tely fou nd by me i n northe rn S weden al so) was.

the

p rototype of the L app i sh re indee r s ledge . S ire liu s goes even further

and s hows how the re i ndeer s ledges of wes tern S i ber i a may have

been developed from a sim i lar p roto type . Th i s l at ter part of his

theory s eem s to me les s conv mcmg , bu t I th i nk wemay regard i t asce rta in tha t the L app is h re i ndeer s ledge is a perfect ion of the o lder

hunte r’

s s ledge , wh ich was— and is s t i l l— d rawn by the hunter

him s el f .

I do not agree Wi th some au thors who find i n the pecu l i ar i ty of

the L app is h s ledge a proo f aga in s t the as s um p t ion that re i ndeer

breed ing cam e to the L app th rough the S amoyed ; when th e L appadop ted re i ndee r d r iv ing , they wou ld natura l l y take over the re in

d ee r ham es s ,bu t there was no reason for doing away w i th the i r old

and in a wood ed coun try v ery'

practical type of s ledge .

At what t ime the L app adop ted re i ndeer d r iv ing we do not

know . W hen Herbers te in and Olau s Magnu s made known L app i s h

re indeer nomad i sm tothe Eu ropean publ ic, i n the s ixteen th cen

Voyage dc Corneille le B ru n par laMostovie, etc., pp . 8—9 and fig . 9 .

A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

tury, re indee r d r iv ing was i n fu l l sw ing ; even re i ndeer m i lk ing is

p ictu red i n Ol aus Magnu s book .

Ohthere'

s accoun t , from the n i n th cen tu ry , does not s ay

anyth i ng abou t re i ndeer d r i v ing or m i lk i n g ; bu t s t i l l , i t te l ls u s

tha t L app i s h re i ndeer nomads ex is ted i n S cand i nav ia i n the n in th

cen tu ry .

L au fer'

s i n te rp retat ion that the th i ng men t ioned by Oh there

was

merely the venture of a sportsman, who had an aesthetic p leasure in the animal s ,l ike a park owner in fa l low deer (L aufer, p .

con ta in s a t leas t two impos s i b i l i t i es . I n the fi rs t p l ace , a N o rs e

man in H alogaland in the n i n th cen tu ry wou ld never th i nk of

keep i ng dee r in a park . S uch luxur ies wou ld not be i n harmony

w i th the cu l tu ral s tage of the old N ors emen— the deer park is a

featu re characte r i s t ic of h igher cu l tu re , the s agas do not tel l u s

anyth i ng abou t deer parks . A nd then , the s econd and s tronges t

object ion -to L au fe r’

s i n terp retat ion is the fact that the re indeer is a

m igratory an imal wh ich cannot be kep t i n parks or enclos ures .

For tha t very reas on , we can hard ly bel i eve th at Oh there h im s el f

tend ed his re i ndee r-herd . W hen we as s ume that i t was the L appwho tended Oh there

’

s re ind eer , th i s theo ry is by no mean s bas e les s ;

i t has been from early days and is s t i l l a recogn i zed cus tom in north

ern S cand i nav i a , tha t N orweg i an s and S wedes own re i ndeer wh ich

the L app tend for them . A N orweg i an or S wed i sh re indeer herd s

man is a rare phenomenon , al though re indee r breed i ng is recog

nized as a p rofi table bus i n es s . Du r i ng the las t cen tu ry , re indeer

breed ing has been attemp ted , partly w i th s ucces s , by N orwegi an

farme rs on the Harangmoun ta i n s ; thes e re i ndee r owners know often

very l i t tl e abou t re indeer breed ing, becau s e the tend ing is done by

L app i s h h erd smen .

l

For Oh th ere , i t wou ld have been especial ly hard to tend his

re indee r h im s el f, becau s e th e re indee r, in the d i s tr ict where he

l ived ,undertake long m igrat ions acros s the d i fficu l t border-moun

1 C f . I nds til ling fra Fjeld beitekomiteen om H arangv id dens U tnytte ls e (Kristiania,pp . 16 and 3 7 seq .

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122 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

L app is h nomad s are dependen t upon , and very anx iou s not to

incu r the i l lw i l l of the farmers and land lord s whos e 'domains they

have to pas s th rough.

The relat ion s of Oh there to the L app were s im i l a r to thos e wh ich

the S wed ish Birkarls 1m a in ta ined ; the L app h ad to pay him tr ibu te

in sk i ns , feathers , whalebone , rope of s ealsk i n , and the l ike .

2 W e

m us t assume that there were then as now a L app is h fis h ing popu

la t ion l iv ing at the coas t, and L app i sh nom ad s in th e moun ta ins .

Two th ings of specia l in teres t in Oh there’

s narrativ e abou t the

re indeer are the s ize of his herd and the m en t ion of decoy deer .

The hun t i ng of w i ld re i ndeer bymeans of d ecoy d eer wou ld natu ral ly

appeal s trongly to the hun ter and spor tsman ins t incts of a S cand i

navian ; we not ice, however, that Oh there does not s tate that he

h ims el f had p ract i s ed th is s ort of hun tsmans h ip .

These are much prized among the Firm, because they capture the wi ld deer withthem ,

L au fer s eem s to en ter ta i n s ome doubt as to the nat ional i ty of the

Finn °"

s uch doubt is qu i te u nneces s ary— in N orway ,the word

Finn'

mean s“L app (the Finlanders are cal led

We lea rn from Oh there’

s accoun t that the L app hu n ted re i ndeer

by means of decoy d eer in the n in th cen tu ry— and the re is no

reason to dou bt that they u s ed the s am e m ethods wh ich were

descr ibed in the s even teen th cen tu ry by Tornau s and R heen , and

in,

the e ighteen th cen tu ry by L eem . Th i s k ind of hun t i ng was

u nde rtaken m a in ly in the fal l , i n the ru tt i ng s eason ; thefefore i t is

qu i te p robable that Oh there had w i tnes sed hun t i ng w i th decoy

deer in the N orwegi an wood s .

The number of Oh th ere’

s re indee r herd , 600 ,is qu i te con s ider

able for a S cand inav i an re indee r owner . A r ich L app may own

s evera l thou s and re i ndeer ; bu t a N orwegi an or S wede s eldom owns

1 Th e“birkarlar

” were Swed ish traders , l iving far north in Sweden and havingthe privi lege of trading with th e L app and exacting taxes from them . They are

mentioned as early as 1 328 in a document about th e adm ini s tration of justice in nor

therm Sweden. C f . Isak Fel lman, H andlingar och Upps al ser angdende Finska L app

marken och L appam e. v ol . 111 (Hels ingfors , p . 336.

2A description of Europe. and the voyages of Oh th ere and W ul fs tan. written inA ng lo-Saxon by King A l fred th e Great. L iteral Eng l ish tran s lation by Joseph Bos ~

worth (L ondon, p . 1 2— 13 .

m m ] NOTES ON RE INDEER NOMA DIS M 123

a very large num ber . Oh there’

s s tatemen t s how s u s defin i tely

that re i ndeer breed i ng in S cand i nav ia was not in the'

initial s tage in,

the n in th cen tu ry .

1 A s I have .p roven above , we mu s t as s um e that

the tame re i ndeer herd s were a t firs t qu i te smal l and s erved ma in ly

as decoys . Th i s s tage ev iden tly had been pas s ed i n Oh th ere'

s

days ; the tam e re i ndeer herd s were of a cons iderable s ize , and on ly

a sm al l part of the herd , speci a l ly tra i ned , was u s ed as decoy deer

Wh y did Oh there not tel l K i ng Al fred abou t any other us es of

the dee r ?

I n the fi rs t p l ace , i t is qu i te pos s ibl e that Oh there did not tel l

al l tha t'

he knew . Ou r old forefathers were not ethnographers ;

ou r science does not appeal to p ract ical m en , i t imp l i es a certaindegree of cu l tu re and refinem en t . I n al l Eu rope , very few men of

the n in th century were able to app reciate e thnograph ic deta i ls .

King Al fred was an unu s ua l man— were i t riot for him ,we s hou ld

now have no d i rect h i s tor ical ev idence of re i ndeer-nom ad ism in

S cand i n av i a ea rl ie r than the clos e of the fi f teen th cen tu ry

I t is , howeve r, qu i te pos s i ble that Oh there knew noth i ng abou t

re i ndeer m i lk i ng— th is u se of the re i ndee r may not have been de

v e loped among the L app of th e n i n th cen tu ry .

-A nd we have

no ground s for s uppos i ng tha t he m igh t be fami l i ar w i th re i ndeerdriving ; s l eds are not u s ed by the L app i n s umm e r when they vi sit

these parts of N orway ; the s l ed s and harnes s e s are le ft i n the

moun ta i ns i n spr i ng, and are not i n u s e aga i n un t i l the beg i nn i ng

of the w in ter when th e L app are retu rn ing to S weden . That

Oh there h im s el f s hou ld have any pers ona l exper i ence i n re i ndeer

d ri ving ,there is no reason to s uppos e . He was a s ea-far i ng man,

as the N orwegians are s t i l l in thes e parts . The country of the

N orthmen was a long and narrow coas tal s tr ip , the ocean was the i r

h ighway . Oh there speaks abou t the was te moun ta ins between

N orway and S weden , and says that they are i nhab i ted by the

F i r m (i. e . , the L app) .

I do not agree with J . A . P rus (En S ommcr iFinmarkcn , R u s s is h L apland 0g

N ordkaielm ,Ch ris tiania. 1 880 , p . 1 2 ) wh o find s th e s i ze of Oh th ere

’

s reindeer-herdincons iderable and takes it as a proof of a s l igh t development of reindeer breed ing inthe ninth century ; we mus t remember that Oh th ere was a Sm ndinav ian ; the herds ofthe nomad s were probably larger than his .

124 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA T ION [MEMOIR S , 6

H e said that the country of N orthmen was very long and very narrow. Al lthat can be either pastured or p loughed l ies by the sea, and that, however, is insome p laces very rocky ; and , on the eas t, l ie wi ld mountains along the inhab itedland . I n these mountains [was tes ] Finns dwe l l . (Bosworth

’

s trans lation, p .

That the L app l i ved in the moun ta i nou s was tes between N orway

and S weden , may be regarded as an add i t ional p roof of the i r be i ng

re i nd eer nom ad s in the n i n th cen tury . Hun t i ng alone wou ld

not ind uce m en to l ive or dwel l (Anglo-S axon : eardian) upon thes e

moun ta in s ; hun te rs wou ld inhab i t the wood s , and on ly make occa

s iou al excurs ions to the moun ta i n was tes ; noth ing s hor t of re i ndeer

nom ad i sm wou ld al low a tr ibe to spend a part of the year above the

fores t .

The moun ta ins were , of cours e , no_

i ns u rmoun table barr ie r to

the S cand i n av ians . Oh there men t ions S weden and C wena l and

on the other s ide of the moun ta i ns , and he tel ls abou t wars be tween

the C wenas (p robably a F i nn i s h tr ibe) and the N orthm en .

The C wenas somet imes make war on th e N orthmen over the waste ; sometimes the N orthmen on them . There are very large fresh water meers beyondthe was tes ; and the Cwenas carrv their boats over land into the meers , and thencemake war on the N orthmen . They have very l itt le boats , and very l igh t.

I t appears tha t thes e warl ike exped i t ions were undertaken in

s ummer, the C wenas u s i ng the i r l igh t boats on the l arge moun ta i n

lakes of S wed i s h L ap land .

1 Therefore , even i f Oh there may have

made jou rneys acros s the .mou ntains , we have no reason to as sume

that s uch jou rneys were undertaken i n w i n ter , nor that he ever had

any opportun i ty of s ee ing or p ract i s i ng re i ndee r d r iv ing?

That re i nd ee r nom ad i sm is not m en t ioned in other h i s tor ic

documents from the fi rs t cen tu r ies of the m idd le ages , mu s t be

ascr ibed to the fact, al ready po i n ted ou t, th a t ou r forefathers were

not ethnographers . The L app are m en t ioned occas iona l ly in the

1 Even today, the L app and Finlanders in northern S cand inavia u s e very l igh t.narrow boats ,wh ich are carried around or s teered through the rap id s and very usefulin travel ing upon the rivers and lakes of L ap land . Th e Norweg ians have neveradopted th is type of boat.

2 Tore Hund , the relentles s foe of k ing Olaf th e Saint. knew probably m ore aboutth e winter l i fe of th e L app . H e h ad much intercourse with the L app , and h ad th e

reputation of be ing versed in witch craft. W e read in H eims kringla tha t Tore Hundvis ited th e L app in winter. trad ingwith them , and s pent much time in th e mountainsin winter. S norre, H eims kn

'

ngla , ed . Finnu r Jons son (Copenhagen) , v ol . 11, p . 440 .

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126 AMER ICAN A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [Mi-mom s , 6

pares th is in s tance to the re indee r d r iv ing of Gu s a in the above

men t ioned Icel and ic s aga .

l

Eduard Hahn ,

2and afte r him L au fe r a re l ay i ng m uch s tres s on

the abs ence of re i ndeer nomad i sm in the Finn i s h ep ic Kalevala , of

wh ich L au fe r s ays that it g ives

a true p icture of the primeva l cu ltura l cond it ions in wh ich the F inn l ived prior totheir ch ris tiani zat ion (A .D . a l so a descript ion of their re lations to the L app(L aufer, p . 100

Th is s tatem en t con ta i n s a s e r iou s m is concep tion . Kalevala , the

ep ic ed i ted by L onnrot i n 1849 (the en la rged s econd ed i t ion ) , con

s is ts of a number of Finn is h trad i t ion al songs , col lected by L onn rot

and others , ch iefl y in Kare len, and fi tted together by L onn rot,who

made certa in al terat ions and add i t ions of h is own, s o that the col

lect ion m igh t appear as a whole , wh i le the elemen ts from wh ich i t

was compos ed certa inly never con s t i tu ted an ep ic-whol e . L onn rot'

s

Work was at fi rs t regarded as an ep ic of the s am e k ind as the Eddas ,

the Odys s ey, and the I l i ad , etc. , and i t was ma i n ta ined that Kale

val a gave a true p ictu re of the re l igion and cu l tu re of the Finn

p r ior to the i r chr is tian i zat ion . Modern folk lore , the s cience wh ich

has in Fin l and s om e of its ables t workers , has d i spel led th is i l lus ion .

The cu l tu re-h i s tor ica l va lue of Kalevala , or rather of the t rad i t ional

s ongs u pon wh ich it'

i s bas ed ,is certa inly imm ens e . The songs ,

the mag ic formu las , al l the r ich s tore of trad i t ion brou gh t together

by the fa i th fu l col lectors of Finn is h folk lore , g ive u s a weal th of

in form at ion abou t the inner and ou ter l i fe of the Finn . That the

Songs s hou ld h ave been p res e rved unal tered th rou gh many cen

tu ries , un t i l they were w r i t ten down , we h ave no reason to bel ieve,

however . I t is ' a wel l-known fact th at the folk-s ingers wou ld

change the form of the songs and the reby also the contents ~ this

exp la ins the imm ens e n umber of var ian ts ; even L onn rot was aware

of tha t, and found h ims el f j u s t ified thereby i n al ter ing, combin

l Ax e l Olrik , S aks es'

Oldhis l orie, N orréne S agaer 0g D onske S agn (Copenhagen,p . 22 .

2Die Hau s tiere. p . 263 , note 1 .

NOTE S ON R E IN DEER NOMA DIS M.127

ing and mak ing add i t ions to the s ongs , j u s t as the bard s them

s elves d id .

l

A s th is is the t ruth abou t Kalevala , we shou ld not regard th is

ep ic as a true and pe rfect p ictu re of the F i n n before chr i s ti an izat ion .

A nd to regard the descr ip t ions of L ap land and the L app , con ta i ned

in Kaleval a, as real i sm , wou ld be perfect ly r id icu lou s? N obody

who has any knowledge abou t the L app w i l l recogn ize L app is h

cond i t ion s i n thes e d escr ipt ion s . S ee , 6. g., twel fth s ong, vers es

390—402 ,

where L emm i nk'

ai nen h as arr ived i n P ohjol a (the north)and vi s i ts the L app i s h w i tches and w izards . The whol e scene is

F i n n is h : a wooden hous e w i th a large room , be nches along the wal l

and at the fi rep l ace . One th i ng on ly m igh t be L app i sh : the w izards

are s i ng ing ; th i s featu re is , however , even more character is t ic of

F i n n i sh w izards . I f we shou ld regard Kalevala as a s ou rce of

know ledge of the p r im eval cond i t ion s of the L app , then we shou ld

bel i eve th at the L app l i ved form erly as wel l-to-do Finn i s h peas an ts ;

and th is'

i s perfectly abs u rd , of cou rs e . Ju s t as the cu l tu ral back

ground of the s agas is Iceland ic and S cand i n av i an , so the background

of the F i n n i s h t rad i t ional songs is Finn is h .

I t wou ld not be fa i r to expect more than a fa i n t gl imm er ing of

knowledge abou t re indeer breed i ng i n th es e songs . A nd th i s fa i n t

g l imm er i ng is there . In the th i rd song of Kaleval a , in the poet ic

tournamen t be tween Vain‘

amoinen and Joukaha i nen , the l atter

s i ngs (vers es 165 I f th i s does not s at i s fy you , then I know

furthermore s ometh i ng el s e , I know one thing more

I n Po h ja (i. e. , the north ) there is p loughed with reindeer, b u t in th e south with amare, and far away in L ap land with an e lk .

Here the re i ndee r is s et u p as the L appis h equ ivalen t of the hors e .

1 Th e l iterature on Ka leval a is unfortunately largely p ubl is hed in th e F innis hlanguage (Kaarle Krohn, Kaleva lcm ru noj cn his toric, He ls ingfors , 1903 Bes idesD . C omparetti

'

s I l Kalevala (R oma, cf . K B . W ikl und . Om Kalevala och f orsk

ningarna ronm de I Ka le v alafragen, (Uppsala,Kaarle Krohn,

“Zur Ka lev a la frage

"

(Finnis h-Urgris che Forsch u ngen v ol . 1. p . 3 . H e l

singfors , F . Oh rt, “D es eks' f ors te S ongs of Kalevala, overs atte 0g ind ledede

(Copenhagen,A bercromby has righ t ly observed that, in th e F innish s ongs , th e term L ap land is

general ly us ed in quite a vague sense as th e dark , northern-land of s orcery and magic.

John A bercromby, “The pre and prom-his toric v ol . 1, pp . 3 1 8 seq. (L ondon,

128 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

That a peas an t of Kare len may en ter ta in the idea that the L appt ra i n the re i ndeer to a p lough , is not s u rp r i s i ng . I do not quote

th i s pas s age as a p roof of the an t iqu i ty of re i ndeer nom ad ism in

S cand inav i a ; bu t i t may s erve as an am endm en t to L au fer'

s s ta te

men t, tha t i n Ka levala

there is not the faintes t a l lus ion to reindeer kept in captivity under th e contro lof man (p .

Oh there'

s accoun t of L app i s h re indeer-nomad ism s tands alone

as a h i s tor ic docum en t ; bu t i t is corroborated perfectly by the sci ence

of ph i lo logy .

That the L app al ready l ived in clos e p rox im i ty to the S cand i

nav ians a t a per iod when the l anguage of the oldes t rune i n scrip t ions

was spoken , i. e . , before A .D . 800, was p roven by the em i nen t

Dan i s h ph i lolog is t V i lhe lm Thom s en .

1 The L app is h language

con ta in s a cons ide rable n umber of cul tu re-word s wh ich m us t have

been borrowed from the S cand i n av i ans a t that per iod . K . B .

W ik l und2 has s hown that some of thes e loan-word s ind icate that the

L app were re i ndee r nomad s a t the t ime when the word s were bor

rowed ; among thes e word s is the L app ish word for“tame ,

”dames ,

u s ed not for the domes t icated re i ndeer as d i s t i nct from the w i ld

re i ndee r, b lit on ly of the re i ndeer t ra i n ed to the s ledge and carry i ngbu rdens . I t is ev iden t th at the L appw ou ld have no u s e for s uch

a word at a per iod an ter ior to the i r adop t ion of re i ndeer breed i ng.

That re indeer nom ad i sm ex is ted i n S cand i n avia i n the n in th cen

tu ry,and even s om ewhat earl i e r ,m ay accord i ngly be regarded not

as a m ere hypo thes is , bu t as a s o l id fact .

I n concl us ion , I wou ld l ike to po i n t ou t the fal l acy of one of the

argumen ts wh ich has often been s et forth in s upport of the theory

that re indee r nomad i sm is of very recen t or ig i n : the s l igh t degree

of domes t icat ion.I t is qu i te true that the re i ndee r is not s o per

fectly domes t icated as is the cow and the hors e , bu t th i s has noth i ng

to do w i th the age of re indeer-nomad i sm . The reas on for the im

perfectnes s of re i ndeer domes t icat ion is to be found in two other

l Vilh e lm Th omsen, D en gotis ke sprogklas s es indflydels e paa den finske (Copenhagen, Cf . th e German ed it ion (Uber den Einfiu s s der German ischen S prach enauj die Finn is ch-L app is chen , H a llo, p . 1 19

— 1 20 .

2 K . B . W ik lund , D e sv enska N omadlapparnas F ly l ningar, etc. , p . 7 .

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130 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OG ICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

R e indeer were hun ted th rough long ages in -Eu ras ia, before

re i nd eer nomad ism aros e . That the paleo l i th ic re i ndeer hu n ters

of Eu rope were not re indeer nom ad s , may be j udged from the

abs ence of any evidence to the con trary .

l

a b

FI G . 1 1 .— A . S hed ant ler of unca s trated male reindeer. N ote the form of th e

root-end . B . S hed ant ler of cas trated male . Note th e form of th e root-end .

1 A propos th e paleol ith ic reindeer, I s hould l ike to po int ou t a cur ious feature.wh ich is characteris tic of the ant lers of every cas trated reindeer, and wh ich m igh t beof archaeo log ica l interes t . W hen a L app finds a s hed re indee r ant ler, h e sees at a

g lance whether th e’

animal was cas trated or not. My L app friends have taugh t me th e

criterion wh ich they u se in such a case. A shed h orn of an uncas trated male reindeerh as at th e root such a form as is seen from fig . 1 1 , a . On a s hed h orn of a cas tratedreindeer, th e root has a different form— the blunt projection or neck below the

“cab-o

bage"

is entirely lack ing , and theremay even be a s hal low cavity from be low, cf . fig . 1 1 , b.

The L app bel ieve th is criterion to be unfai l ing, and I agree with them , as far as my

l ittle experience goe s . I t seems to me . that th is criterion may b e of s ome interest toarchaeolog ists . I have h ad th e opportunity of seeing a few fos s i l s hed ant lers of malereindeer, from Denmark and from France, and they al l had th e

“neck ,

"

and a L appwould deem them to be th e antlers of uncas trated males . S hed ant lers of th e Greenland caribou have also the “neck ,

" although in a les s marked degree than the Europeanforms . I fee l convinced . a priori, that al l root-ends of paleol ith ic reindeer-ant lerss how th is mark . For archaeolog is ts in north ern Euras ia it may , h owever. have s omevalue to be able to judge whether a shed reindee r-h orn has be longed to a cas trated maleor not. Cas tration of reindeer would . of course, ind icate reindeer domes tication .

Th e L app al so main tain that th e ant lers of cas trated reindeer have a looser and lessregular texture and therefore are les s fit as material for carving, than th e antlers of

uncas trated males ; th is criterion does not seem to be rel iable, however, and would not

be of any u se in th e case of fos s i l antlers .

COP EN H A GEN ,

March , 19 1 8

NOTES ON R E INDEER NOMA DIS M

P osrscmpr

S ince the'

s e notes were writ ten and s en t to the A merican A h

thropologist, two importan t con tr i bu t ions to the s ubj ect of-re i

'

ndeer

nomad ism have come to my no t ice .

U . T . S ireliu s’

s“Uber die Art u nd Ze i t derZahm u ng des R enn

t iers ,”Ex trait da J ou rnal de la S ociéte

’

Fl nno-ou grienne, (Hels i nk i ,

1916) was unknown to me'

wh en I wrote my paper ; i t has been

d ifficu l t or impos s ib le d ur i ng the war to get books from F i n l and .

S ire liu s is of the op i n ion that re i ndeer dom es t icat ion was evolved

on the bas is of a hun ter’

s cu l tu re . I n the u s e of tame'

reindeer as

d ecoys i n the re i ndeer h un t , S ireliu s find s the very beg i nn i ng of

re i ndeer domes t icat ion ; the u s e of the re i nd eer as a beas t of burden

came next , and l ater on the keep i ng of l arge herd s .

~

M ir scheint a lso, dass die Z'

ahmu ng d es R enntiers als eines H u lfsmitte lbei der Jagd angefangen u nd weiterh in als eines H erdentieres fortgesetzt wordenis t.

That S ire liu s and I have arr ived , i ndependen tly, at very s im i la r

theo ries regard i ng the in i t i a l s tage of re i ndeer breed i ng, is very

encourag ing to me .

S ire liu s m a i n ta i n s tha t the firs t s teps i n re i ndeer breed i ng were

taken at a very early per iod . I n Fi n n i s h moors , some very in

teres ting s led run ners have been found , dati ng from the F i nn i s h

stone age . One of thes e runners , found at S aar i jarvi , mus t have

be longed to a re indeer s l ed ,accord i ng to S ire liu s ; i t is too big and

heavy for a dog s led , and as th e hors e did not ex i s t i n Finland in

thos e days , the s led m us t h ave been hau led by re i ndeer . A c

cordingly , S ire liu s as s erts : S icher s teh t , cl as s das R enntier s chon

wahrend d er fin l'

andischen S te i nze i t als L as t —u nd Zugt ier ben u tz t

worden is t .

”

I con fes s that I am not yet conv mced of that . I t s eem s to

me th at the S aar ij arv i s led is not proof enough . I f, however ,

re i ndeer dom es t icat ion ex is ted in the F i n n is h s tone age , the ar

chaeologis ts of F i n land w i l l cer ta i n ly m ake that ev iden t s ome day .

P erhaps i t m ight be us efu l to look ou t for s hed an tlers of cas trated

male re i ndeer (cf . fig .

132 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S SOCIA TION [memom s . 6

S ire liu s is of the op i n ion tha t one s tep i n the evol u t ion of re i n

d eer breed i ng con s i s ted in the tam i ng of herd s of w i ld re i ndeer ,

caugh t w i th in large enclos ures . At th i s po i n t , I cannot agree w i th

him . The w idely d is tr i bu ted hu n t i ng m ethod , wh ich cons is ts i n

d r iv i ng the gam e in to an enclos u re th rough a funnel-shaped en

trance , has cer ta i n ly h ad s ome i nfluence u pon the techn ique of

re indeer tend i ng , as I have poin ted ou t in my notes ; I find i t , how

ever,improbable tha t a sys temat ic tam i ng of w i ld re indeer herd s

w i th i n la rge enclos u res has taken p l ace at any t ime . The biology

of the re indeer wou ld make s u ch a proced ure extremely d i fficu l t

or impos s i ble , and I do not find anyth ing i n the cu l tu re complex

of the re i ndeer nomad s that Wou ld s ugges t th is p roces s of re i nd eer

domes t icat ion .

K . B . Wik lu nd’s Om R ens kotse lns Uppkom s t Ymer, Tids

krij t u tgiven av S venska S all skapet f or A ntropologi och G eografi,

(Arg . 1918 ,H . con ta i ns an analys i s of d i fferen t forms of re i ndeer

domes t icat ion . W ik l u nd advocates the op i n ion that re indeer

dom es t icat ion aros e independen tly w i th i n-s everal areas . W ik l u nd

regard s the re i nd eer breed i ng of the C hukch i and Koryak as au toch

thonou s and of another or ig i n than the Tu ngus i an and S oyotian

re i nd eer domes t icat ion , in wh ich he s ees a res ul t of cul tu ral in

flu ence from Turko-Mongol i an hors e breed i ng . Among the S amo

yed and Os tyak ,W ik l u nd find s another type of re i ndeer domes t ica

t ion , i nd epend en t of the Tungu s i an or S oyotian type . A nd final ly,

he th i nks i t improbable that any cu l tu re-h i s tor ical connect ion ever

ex is ted between the re i ndeer breed i ng of the L app and any S i ber i an

form of domes t icat ion . Wiklu nd’

s analys i s con ta i ns many val u

able de ta i ls . I agree with him in the neces s i ty of thorough analys is

and carefu l d is t i nct ion between the d i fferen t forms and elemen ts

from wh ich the h ighly comp l ex phenomenon" re indeer domes t ica

t ion ” is compos ed . I find i t p robable , however, tha t we .shal l

find a fundamen ta l l ayer , common to al l re i ndeer breed i ng, and that

a thorough s tudy of the n umerous form s and elemen ts s hal l make

i t cl ear , s om e day ,how a p r im i t ive type of re i ndeer domes t icat ion

was changed th rough external cu l tu ral influences and local developmen t . The re indeer p lays , however , s uch a grea t part in the l i fe

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AMERIC AN AN TH ROP OLOG IC A L As S OC IATlON MEMOIRS . O. P LAYS V

IM P ER SON ATION OF POTS H ROW IS HT S H IWA N NA .

R eproduction from water colors by Father M ichael D umares t.

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P R ES S or

ru e N EW ER A P R I N TI N G C OMP ANYLA N C AS TER , PA .

C ON TEN TSP A G E

Training of Ch i ldrenOccupations .

Init iation of Boys

S icknes s and Cure

A l l S ou ls '

Day

Th e Dead and R ain-mak ing .

B u rlesques

Qu irana and KoshareNote on chaiam

’

of Jemez

A pache and Navajo Magic

Nahia (war priest) , Crudos , Mata lotes

Ceremonial Calendar .

Myths and Ta les .

Mas ewa and OyoyawaW h y Sca rabae us H as N o

Montezuma .

Bear G irls

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140 P R EFA CE

he was trans ferred to S pr i nger , deep ly regrett ing tha t h e was com

pe lled to l eave his fr iend s , the I nd i ans , to whom he had devoted him

sel f . H is cond i t ion not improv i ng, he was compel led to l eave his

parish and go to th e hosp i tal a t S an ta Fe. From here , a t the s u g

ges t ion of his bro ther , h e le f t for France where h e received the bes t of

m ed ical care . After a year and a hal f h e though t h im s el f s trong

enough to retu rn to take u p some work w i th the I nd i ans at Ban n i ng ,

C a l i forn ia where the B is hop of C a l i forn i a appo i n ted him . W hen

on his way to his new pos t he was me t by his brother who found,his

cond i tion s o s er ious tha t h e took him to S t. Jos eph hosp i tal a t

A lbuquerque where he d i ed , January 13 , 1903 . He was bur ied a t

P eh a B lanca .

S TEW A R T C UL IN

N OTES ON COC H I TI , N EW MEX I C OBY FATH ER N OEL D UMA R ES T

B I R TH A N D C ON FIN EMEN T

P R EGN AN T woman or a woman who des i res a ch i ld rece ives

from the shi'wanna‘ an oalea2 together w i th a m i n i a tu re

crad le (p l . V I , fig . The oaka is a wooden cy l i nder u s ual ly

w i th a rudely made face a t the top (p l . v 1, fig . 3 ; fig . 1 z a) . Female

oaka are s urmoun ted by a terrace pattern3 wh ich repres en ts the board

headd res s worn by women dancers“(p l . V I , fig . 3 ; fig . 1 2 b) . The

woman w i l l carry the oaka on her back as she wou ld a baby . S he wi l l

say to i t,“Oh how you cry , you keep me from do i ng anyth i ng . You r

father is com i ng al ready . He w i l l have noth i ng to eat . C ome , le t

me pu t you i n the crad le , to get someth i ng to eat .”

S he rocks i t .

S he may take i t to bed w i th her . I f the woman die , the oaka is

buri ed or h idden w i th her other th ings .

5 The oaka are the s p i r i ts

of ch i ld ren sent at d eath to wenima .

6 The i r sp i r i ts i s s ue from the

caves 7 or from s hlpapu .

8

1 Mas ked dancer. S ee p . 1 74— ED . Ed itorial notes wi l l be ind icated as in th e

forego ing ins tance or enc losed in brackets .

2 Uwak is at L aguna and S ia th e term for baby. A t L aguna it als o refers tothe

“do l ls "

g iven by mas ked dancers . (E ls ie C lews P ars ons , Ceremonia l ism at L a

guna, A nthropo logica l P apers , A merican Mu s eum of Natu ral His tory. v ol . x xx . pt.

The cus tom occurs among th e Zuni and th e Hop i . I ts character as a pha l l ic practiceas wel l as an expre s s ion of im itative mag ic h as h ith erto not been noted — ED . S incewr iting th e forego ing note th e Ed itor ha s paid a vis it to Zuni and learned that here, asat Cochiti , a wiha (baby) may be g iven to an expectant mother.— Eo .

3 A t Zuni feather-sticks with terraced top and cal led wiha (baby) are p u t in h ouses hrines . W ith both th is type o f feather-s tick and th e wiha or uwak or oaka g iven bydancers , figs . 1 2 b, 1 2 c, have traits in common. A l ike stick co l lected by me in L aguna(fig . 1 2 d ) was referred to by one informant as a feather-stick and by

another, as an uwak . For com parative purpose s se e fig . 13 .

— ED .

4 See p . 1 82 .”See p . 168 .

“See p . 1 72 .

Hop i and Zu ni data render th is s tatement les s obs cure. Hop i ch i ldren are

buried in rock crevices . (P . E . Goddard , Indians of the S ou thwes t, p . 1 05 . N ew York ,

Th e“baby g iven to a Zuni woman is subsequent ly referred to as

“the

heart of the ch i ld "

and scu pu lou s ly ch eris hed .-ED .

8 See p . 1 72 .

142 A NI E R I C A N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

A pregnan t woman w i l l wear a tu rkey feather i n her bel t that

the ch i ld may be born w i th much ha i r On his head . The turkeys ,

they s ay , have the power to take the ha i r of l i t tl e ch i ld ren in the i r

beaks and to pul l i t to make i t grow .

l

After b i rth , the in fan t is was hed . The cord is fas tened and the

end bu rned w i th the em bers of a cob Of young corn . The whol e

F I G . 1 2 .— a, Oaka (male) in Brook lyn Ins titute Museum . He igh t, 7% inches .

b , Oaka (female) or hachamu ni-in Brook lyn Ins titute Mus eum . Heigh t 9% inches .

c. Oaka (male?) or hacharnu niin'

Brook lyn Institute Museum . Heigh t, 1 0 inch e s .

d , IJwak or hachamu ni from L aguna in the A merican Museum of Natural H istory.

Heigh t, 6% inches .

body is ano i n ted w i th greas e , greas e of any k i nd , to p recl ude a

malady very common hereabou ts cal led kashtrate (eczema) .

The i n fan t is pu t on a crad l e board (ou ets l ne) . N ext to the

ch i ld l i e an ear of com , a kotona2, and a maneador3 or

i

paya leant4

wh ich are the guard i an s of the ch i ld aga ins t w i tches .

1 A t L aguna wi l low cuttings may be pu t in the hair was h ing sud s to make the hair

grow long — ED .

2 A comp letely kerne l led ear of corn . See p . 1 5 5 . Corn is p laced next to an in

fant at S ia (M . C . S tev ens oni“Th e S ia , p . 1 40 . E leventh A nnu a l R eportB u reau of Eth

nology) ( 1 889 and at L aguna. A t Zuni , on leaving an infant a lone, an ear of cornm igh t be p laced near it on guard . Here it is th e earwh ich is flattened and branch ingat th e tip

— ED .

3 A stick used to s tir corn in cook ing . I t is used l ikewise by’ Mex icans . (See

fig .

A t L aguna a paikaniis said to be a s tick for s tirring not the pot b u t th e fire .

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DUMA R E S T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 143

At the b i r th a fi re is l i t not to be ext i ngu is hed for four days .

D ur i ng th i s t ime a man mus t guard the ly i ng—in woman for fear

les t the w i tches ca r ry the ch i ld away and make a w i tch of him .

To give the ch i ld an I nd i an name , a god father (kanarshtiafi’

and a godmothe r (kanafa ) are i nv i ted . S ubs equen tly the same

FI G . 1 3 . FI G . 1 4 .

FI G . 1 3 .

—S tone image from the Tewa col lection in th e A merican Museum of N at

ura l H istory . Th e inse ts for the eyes are turquo ise s . Height , 2} inch es .

FI G . 1 4 .

—P ayakani(s tirring s tick) in Brook lyn Institute Mu seum . L ength , 16§inche s .

pe rsons act a t the bap t i sma l fon t . Th e mother of the i n fan t carr i es

him ? They go‘

out at dawn . They off er s hel l3 to the r i s i ng s u n ,

to the mou n ta i n l ion ,

‘ to the bear , to the badger , to the wo l f , to

the eag le , to the maitu jbo.

5 They s pr i nk le to the north , wes t ,

5. e. , it is a poker. I t gets its kokimum’

, supernatural power. from the fire . To

gether with an ear of corn of wh ich it is said to be the protector, it is laid a longs ide th ecorps e . See p . 166. I know a L aguna woman who . when s h e is a lone over night ,s leeps with ,

a paikam' along s ide as a protector, a mag ica l protector.— ED .

1 H is father (his mother) . Ceremonial parents i

are s im i larly cal led at Zuni .

[ I n another pas sage th e auth or s tates'

that] the godmother carries the infant,the god father taking h im to offer h im to the S u n .

3 “ Sacred meal " as S tevenson ca l ls it, mea l m ix ed with shel l , Father D umares t

usual ly ca l ls conqu e ,

"

s he l l . Th is is c lose r to the Zuni term , k lo'o , hard . A t L agunashe l l m ixture, com po l len, and corn mea l may be ofi

'

ered separate ly.— E I ) .

4 The anima ls assoc iated with the six d irections are named . S ee p . z1o.— ED .

Maitu bo is s hrew at S ia . Th e S ia .

"

p . A t Zu fiimaitu po may also beg iven as th e an ima l of th e nad ir. -ED .

A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

sou th , eas t , to the zen i th and nad i r . Then the god fa ther s ays , to

the kopershtaia payatyama , i f i t is a boy , to the kopershtaia kochi

na leo,

l i f i t is a g i r l :“There has been born a ma le (or female) i n fan t

of clan (hanu ts h) . W e off e r him to you , s o that when he grows u p'

and beg ins to talk and a sks good fort une of you , you may recog

n i ze2 him by his name . We give him the nam e of

The rOle of the man who has guarded the woman i n confinemen t

is fin i s hed ; the woman may s tay by hers el f ; bu t alongs id e the ch i ld

the kotona and the maneador shou ld rema in . They are though t of

as yaya ,

3 mothers , becaus e th ey are sou rces of l i fe , the kotona i n

g iv i ng i ts el f to be eaten , the maneador i n s t i rr ing the corn . To

the hood of the crad l e two chaparra l—cock feathers are a ttached .

They h ave been d res s ed by chaianri4 the Day of the Ep iphany

(L e J ou r des R ois ) , for they are to p rotect aga i ns t the a ttacks of

w i tches . Becau s e th e C haparra l-cock has a track the d i rect ion of

wh ich cannot be i n ferred , he is able to thwart pu rs u i t by w i tches ,

the cau s e of al l ev i ls .

TR A IN IN G OF C H IL DR EN

A ch i ld is taugh t to get u p early, to go and was h his face i n th e

r iver,not to be l azy , to o ff er s hel l to the kopershtaia i n retu rn for

good for tune and good heal th . S omet im es , i n the m id s t of w i n te r ,

the ch i ld’

s father w i l l take him and , a fter break i ng the ice , w i th

the gay cry of the bathers 5 w i l l immers e him i n the r iver .

6 For

merly when , i n w i n ter , ch i ld ren came from bath i ng iii the r iver they

1 S ee pp . 208—9 .

2 A t L aguna the face of the dead is said to be painted so that th e Mother wi l lrecogn ize th e deceased , and newly elected offic ials offer feath er-s t icks to get supernatura l recognition .

—ED .

3 A t L aguna yaya is a baby word for na iya , mother. Borrowed by Hop i andZu fii, it is , at Tusayan, a term for certain pries ts . at Zuni , a term for a ceremonia l .ED .

4 S ee p . 1 87 .

5My informant said that th e water wou ld b e so co ld that h e cou ld only cry ou t

ou hou l” ins tead of im itating his fath er

'

s“hou ha ha ha ha !

6 C p . E . C . P ars ons , “Th e Zu r'iiA ’dosh lé and S u u ke . A merican A nthropolog ist.

N .S v ol . XVIII p . 344 . Th e Zu fii practice may be an instance of a survivalin ceremonial . A t L aguna I heard recently of a duck ing th rough river ice for ritualis tic offense. b u t wh eth er as punishment or as purification I do not know.— ED .

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A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

OC C UPAT ION S

The women gr ind the cereals , and cook . W i th a fla t s tone,

they sp read the floor w i th earth m ixed w i th water or w i th the

blood of cat tle . P ot tery mak i ng is the i r on ly art .

Early i n l i fe men take to the heavy labors of the field i n wh ich

they are u n r ivaled . They excel i n the ar t s of the h u n t, us i ng the

mos t rud imen ta ry weapon s , bow s or an t iquated guns . Traps

made of p lanks p laced _

in equ i l i br ium are put at the en trance of the

la i rs of w i ld -beas ts . F i s h are blocked up i n l i t t le b igh ts and

cau gh t i n a sa rape or blanket or by a fork or even by hand . Men

make moccas i n s , s ew ing them w i th eelsk i n or w i th s i n ew, and

some t imes d ecorat i ng them w i th m any colored bead s . Men cu t

ou t the i r s h i rts and s ew them . They weave women’

s bel ts and ,

even , at S an Fel ipe, sarapes . They weave baskets .

IN IT IAT ION OF BOYS

W hen a boy reaches the age when he is though t capable of

keep ing a s ecre t from his younger brothers or s i s ters , they tel l him

tha t the dancers do not come from wentma , but that they have in

them the sp i r i ts of the shiwanna . They tel l the boys tha t some day1

they w i l l do them the favor of pu tt i ng on them the masks of the

shiwanna? so that th e pueblo peop l es and a l l the world may have

good for tune, tha t much ra in may fal l tha t there may be abundan t

harves ts . Gi rls and women are kep t in'unbroken ignorance .

3

1 W hen they are about s ixteen, s tates th e auth or e lsewhere. L es Indiens duNou veau -Mex iqu e,

”

p . 22 . S oc i été d '

A nth ropologie de L yon, v ol . x x 1, —ED.

1 Th is rite figures in the initiation at Zu fii(M . C . S tevens on, Th e Zuni Ind ians ,p . 1 04 . ( 1901—2 ) (Twenty-th ird A nn . R ep. B u r. A mer. Ethnol . ) There is a l ike ritein th e initiation at L aguna, at Jemez , and among th e Navajo (Franciscan Fathers . A n

Ethno logicDictionary of theNavaho L angu age, p . 499 . S t.M ichaels , A rizona,-ED .

3 A s at Jemez , b u t not today at L aguna or Zuni . A Zuni g irl to ld me that th ekoko (s hiwanna ) or, as they s ay at L aguna. th e koks hiwanna , s tood beh ind the maskeddancers and thatwhen the dancers with drew to th e river (akwe kaipa ) th e koko changedinto ducks and flew back to kol uwela . W hether th is exp lanation is reserved for th euninitiated I do not know, nor what conceptual connection there is , if any , with th e

reversed duck feather, ca l led “ look ing back always used in th e feather-s t ick of the

koko.

— ED .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO I 47

MAR R IAGE

W i th rare excep t ions does a pers on m arry w i th in his or he r

clan , the clan of his or her mother . The young man, hav i ng chos e n

a g i rl from anothe r clan , s ays to her father 1 “Father, I wan t to

marry your daugh ter . The father answers , I f i t is her w i s h , i t

is we l l . That is wh at we m u s t l earn .

”Thenf if the father knows

of any v ice or lack i n the s u i to r l ikely to imper i l the'

happ i nes s o f

h is daugh ter , he s ays to her i n the pres ence of her moth er ,“My

daugh ter , so and s o wan ts to m arry you . I f i t is your w i s h , w e

can not p reven t i t, bu t i f you have an unh appy l i fewi th him , know

tha t we take no res pons i b i l i ty for what you are abou t‘to do . You

w i l l have to get j us t ice for you rs e l f, we w i l l not l is ten to you r

comp la i n ts becaus e you took the r i sk aga i ns t ou rWi l l , and w i thou t

conso la t ion from u s you w i l l have to s u ffer .” I f the young man

appears d e s irable to the paren ts , in propos ing him to th e i r daugh ter

they as s um e the respons i b i l i ty of look i ng after her i n cas e of mis

fortu ne or infidel i ty . I f s he agrees , her father transm i ts her answer

to the you ng man and embraces him . He arr ives the next day ,

early i n the morn ing, br i ngi ng some pres ent for his fiancée— corn ,

meal , coff ee , whatever h e can aff ord . He s ays to the person who

lets him i n “Take .

” 2 They know what that m eans . The fathe r

says to him , I t is wel l , my son . Thu s shou ld you work to s uppor t

you r w i fe a l l the days of you r l i fe , l ikew i s e her paren ts shou ld

your m ean s pe rm i t i t , for you w i l l be l ike ou r daugh ter i n ou r aff ec

t ions ; i t w i l l be as i f we had g i ven l i fe to you both .

" The youn g

man con t inues to br i ng pres en ts every day un t i l his marr iage .

S oon the father cal ls toge th er the m embers of both fam i l ies and

says ,“S o and s o has a sked for my daugh ter i n marr i age . S h e

has s a id yes , s he wou ld m arry him W hat do you th i nk of i t ? ”

W i th rare excep t ions everybody. s ays , I t is we l l , i t is wel l . Then

the“

young man and the g i r l are cal led together and the fa the r

puts his arm s abou t them and s ays , You are now my ch i ld ren .

"

Thos e pres en t embrace them , pu tti ng thei r hand s beh i nd the i r

l C p . Th e S ia . p . 2 1 .

2 The same formu la and the same practice of present-bring ing exi s ts or ex istedamong th e a

‘

ii. —Eo .

148 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A SSOCIA TION [MEMoms , 6

s hou ld ers and p res s i ng them to the i r heart . Many tears are s hed

on th i s occas ion , par t icu larly on the par t of the g i r l'

s fam i ly , for

she is s eparat i ng from them to l i ve in the fam i ly of her fiancé. At

C ochitiI where the chu rch ru les of marr iage are defin i tely as

tab lish ed ,

2 the fathe r now s ays to his child ren ,“The r igh t of l i vi ng

A t S an Fel ipe , th e governor. Juan Ignacio Montano, a man of forty and of u nu s u

a l ly s trong intel l igence ,worked zealous ly to destroyex is ting abuses . Many parents hadlet th e ir sons and dau gh ters l ive in immoral i ty for years , and h ad refu s ed to get themmarried . although their dau gh ters already h ad large fam i l ies , under the pretext thattheir ch i ldren did not ask to b e married . Th e governor cal led together h is counc i land dec lared that h e was go ing to force parents to consent by punis h ing them and , i fthat fai led , h e

'

wou ld ignore their re fusa l . S erious d ifl‘icu l ties arose. One of the

principa les h ad two unmarried daugh ters who were mothers . H e pers is ted in withh o ld ing his consent, and in vio lent word s th reatened every one present. Th e governorremained ca lm . H e began to smoke, lowering h is eyes with an expres s ion of contemptrarely seen . Then h e ordered th e algu a zz

’

l s to take away th e two g irl s and th e two

young men . Th e next day he presented them to me . say ing , Here they are . Dowhatyou th ink your duty. For my part I d o not want peop le to l ive any longer in mypueblo l ike p igs . A s th e young peop le asked for noth ing be tter than to be married .

th e ir consent was reg istered , and the marriage was ce le brated in th e ch u rch .

im

med iately. [A more vivid or more naive account of cultura l c las h -were hard to f ind llA t S anto Dom ingo , as soon as th e young peop le are united by th e g irl

'

s father,they are though t to have the righ t to l ive togeth er. S anto Dom ingo custom ,with rareexceptions , is to have th e marriage celebrated on ly

'

on the day of Santo Dom ingo.

I t is not uncommon, there fore, to see them com ing u p to be married with a ch i ld intheir arm s .

Th e_

S anto D omingans are very jealous about conserving cus tom s unimpaired .

(Santo Dom ingo (T ihua) is the conservative pueblo par excellence) , and they woul dcons ider themse lves im proper ly married i f th e sacris tan were not perm itted to pas s beh ind th e s h ou lders oithe coup le a sto le to be knotted in front of them . A s a ru le. thisceremony is no longer performed b y th e church , b u t in Santo Dom ingo it is s ti l l permitted . [Vil lagram an early S panis h poet, describes a native wedd ing at which th e

brida l garments were tied together. Ind ians of the S ou thwes t, p .

There. as in th e other pueblos , a church marriage is regarded as a lone renderingth e union ind is so luble .

2 [Th e author record s a trad ition that there were once no native ru les for marriageor mannerl iness . Th e

“trad ition is faint ly sugge stive of the clear-cu t Zuni trad ition of

th e s l imy ex is tence of their tai led and webbed forebears ]A fter emerg ing from s hipapu [S ee p . and going to th e S outh , it came to

pass that th e Cac ique and h is a id s and a lso masewa and oyoyawa [see p . 199] realizedthat nobody took ca re of h im sel f, nor com bed h im se l f, nor was hed nor dres sed himsel f we l l . Mas ewa and oyoyawa held a meeting with th e Cacique and h is aid s to determ ine what to do . Then th e Cacique and h is aid s decided that peop le h ad to marry.

and that th e Mother [u rets ete, seep . 2 t 2] wished for many peop le, and that men and

women s hou ld take good care of themselves in order to'

be p leas ing to one another.

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150 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

The ceremony over,1 there is a great feas t2 to wh ich a l l the pueblo

is i nvi ted . On en ter ing th e'

gala room th e father embraces his

ch i ld ren , and everybody fol lows him , many of the women w i th

tears in the i r eyes . Then the fa ther g ives his ch i ld ren advice ,

te l l i ng them tha t they have marr i ed to l i ve i n peace , that they

owe each other help , fidel i ty , e tc. , and he gives them his bless i ng .

Then the feas t beg i ns . The k i n swomen of ' the br idegroom br i ng

i n l arge pottery bowls fi l led w i th the bones and gelat i nous parts

of beef, mu tton or g'

oat . Th i s m eat has been cooked for a longt ime on a s low fi re in water colored w i th red chili.

Th i s is the conven t ional wedd i ng d i s h . The bowls are p l aced

onthe ground , and the'

bridal coup le and al l the peop l e help them

s elves . There are p i l es of bread and of mats enfi or wafer bread .

3

Every one d ips a p i ece of bread in the s tew , catch i ng u p at the s ame

t ime a l i ttl e p i ece of m eat . After you have eaten enou gh and

d runk -enough of the coffee , you r i s e and say , ou ehe, thanks ,”to

wh ich the hos ts rejoin ,“humo,

”or

“may i t fal l , i. e. , ra in . Then

you wi thd raw , vacat ing you r p lace for the others who are wa i t ing .

Al l the t ime the feas t las ts , th e hos ts feel cal led upon to s ay to

those who are com i n g in , En ter , en ter , or to thos e who are eat i ng ,

“Eat eat , eat .

" Men and women never s top s ay i ng,“C hupe ,

humo, or“C hape chaps

"

(eat) . I t is the one sound one hears .

I f there are ten marr iages on the Same,day , you eat ten t imes i n

s ucces s ion . That is the rule . You may ea t as l i ttl e each t ime , to

be s ure , as you w i s h .

W hen the law of marr iage [C athol ic C hurch law] was pu t in to

e ff ect a t C och i t i , to off s et the careles s nes s of paren ts , the governors

wou ld s end the algu azils i n to hous es where d isorder was s u spected .

The algu azil s wou ld arr ive on the s cene w i thou t no i s e and w i th a

lan tern under the i r blankets . The gu i l ty coup le had to p rom is e

R ecent ly at L aguna I went to a jo intwedd ing of two coup les , in each case the manand woman having l ived together several month s before the ceremony. The on lynotable particular was th e presence of th e two godparents of each coup le. Th e eigh t

persons s tood _

in l ine be fore th e altar.— ED .

2 C p .

“Th e S ia ,

"

p . 22 .

3 A bal l of dough is s pread quick ly over a smooth , h ot s tone. The blue, paperth in leaves are folded two, th ree, or four times over. S ometimes wh ite meal is used .

and m i lk instead of water,

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 1 5 1

to get marr i ed or the young man had to mix mu d and carry i t

to the woman for her to p las ter the exter ior of the church . Al l

the pueblo knew wha t that mean t . Therefore th e gu i l ty coup l e

a lmos t a lways prom is ed to get marr ied rather than be mocked at

by the en t i re p ueblo . A coup l e that wan ts to go on l i v i ng apar t

and yet i n sin is p un is hed w i th from s ixteen to twen ty -four blows of

a b i g wh ip kep t by the governor . W hen the principales have

j udged and s entenced , the governor s ays to the coup l e,“Kneel .”

They are comp letely n ude . The alguazil who is to wh ip them is

chosen for his s trength , and he is warned that un les s he wh ips w i th

al l his force the s ame pun ishmen t wi l l be app l i ed to him . S o he

s trikes w i th al l his force . At the fi fth or s ix th s troke blood flows .

A t the s even th s troke the pat i en ts los e con scious nes s .

A man who catches his w i fe i n ad u l te ry may ask for j us t ice

aga i ns t the gu i l ty ones or may adm i n i s ter j u s t ice h ims el f— the

more common cours e .

'

R ecen tly a chaianihad to go to his hous e

to get corn h usks to m ake some cigarettes . He was not expected

by his w i fe . To her and her accomp l ice he s a id ,

“ I am occu p i ed

for the momen t . W a i t u n t i l I am fin ished . I need no one to

righ t my wrong . My own a rm s are good enough. W hen he

retu rned he pun i shed them u n t i l h e was t i red . The fles h on the

back of the gu i l ty man was raw . For a long t ime he could not

move, and he is s t i l l i l l . l

S IC KN ES S A N D C UR E

W hen a pe rson is s ick , he and thos e around him s ee no th ing

in his s icknes s bu t a malevolen t fate cas t upon him by w i tches .

I n thes e ci rcum s tances an end l es s s er i es of phan toms obses ses .

A n owl a t n igh t heard hoo t ing , a coyote that approaches the

house of the inval id ,a bear or a w i ldcat from the moun ta i ns s een

i n the v ic i n i ty ,a black dog grubb i ng near the cemetery ,

2crows

1 There is a trad it ion at Zuni that in s im i lar c ircum s tances a s hiwanni actedd iff erent ly. H e caused an earthquake or s l ide wh ich terrified al l the peop le. That isthe reason wh y nowadays men are prudent in connection with th e wives of th e ashi

wanni.— ED .

1 A t Laguna the grave is supposed to be wa tched unti l the fourth day after deathles t witches in the shape of animals dig it Up . A fter tha t time witches would makeno attempt to rob the grave beca u se the th ings in itwou ld be spo i led . Grave robberybywitches is ta lked about also at Zuni . —ED .

152 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

fly ing over th e town , any cry or s t i r whats oever i n the s i l ence of

the n igh t, al l are so many p roofs tha t w i tches are engaged in tor

menting the i nval id , s i nce w i tches are sa id to . have the power to

trans form them s elves a t p l eas u re and to en ter the bod i es of animals .

S oon s tor i es spread . I t w i l l be s a id that some one has s hot his

cu C nm s on .

I nc“.

0“( Vin s on

F I G . 1 5 .— Oshas ha payatyama . I n Brooklyn Institute Museum . Heigh t, 9} inches .

For th e drawing as we l l as for Figs . 16— 1 8 , 2 1 , 26—29. and 3 1 , I am indebted to C .

Grant L a Farge.

arrow or his gu n at a certa in w i tch trans formed i n to a beas t, bu tne i ther a rrow nor bul le t has h u rt .1 Then the fam i ly of the pat i en t

beg ins to advi s e, L et the chaiam'

come, they w i l l res tore you .

"

The p ropos al appears good , bu t execu t ion is cos tly . The aha/Lani

and especial ly the i r ch ief, the C aci que, have rece ived the i r powers ,

no doubt , for the good of the I nd i an s and i n general of al l the wor ld ,

but they mu s t-

be pa id for the i r s erv ice . The I nd i an is not by

nature free handed . I f he d ec ides on spend ing, i t is in order to

get back more .

The inval id w i l l have p laced beh ind his head a bow and arrow,

1 I n jus t such a case I heard of recent ly at Zuni the witch did not escape . A t

the door of th e s ick man's room “awo l f-witch was seen. Th e inval id 's brother snatchedu p a s tick and hit the“wo l f . " Next morning bloody tracks were found and th e man

who was though t to be the wo l f-witch d ied within a few days .

—ED .

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154 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGI CA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

(gian t) chainni, or for the shikarne (shikame) chaiani, doctors

belong ing to the s ociety of the guirana . (Al l the guimna are not

chaiani.)The chainni s ummoned l becomes . the god father (parrain) ,

as i t were , of the pat i en t— kanarshtia [his father]. I n inv i t ing

kanarshtia the pat ien t’

s relat ions wi l l give the chaiam'

some shel l or

some corn meal or corn pol len (ha tawe) wrapped incorn husk, and

they add res s to him t h is p rayer : We come to s ummon you , father

(ormother) becaus e the s ick man bel ieves that you and you r Mother

(the fare/lea)2as wel l as the doctors , your col leagues , can res tore to

him his former heal th . S o we others , rel at ives and fr iends of the

inval id , hope th a t you and your Mother wi l l g ive him the good

heal th we wis h him and a long l i fe . Tomorrow w i th th e fi rs t rays

of ou r father S u n w i l l be the firs t day tha t we and the inval id w i l l

add res s th is s upp l icat ion to you . Fou r days thereafter we wis h

you to cu re the inval id . S o we hope that al l you r col l eagues wi l l

agree to the reques t we make to ou r Mother . W e hope that we

s hal l be s at is fied . W e w is h you the good fortu ne to have ou r

Motherwork wel l the'

night you wi l l go to trea t the inval id who is

cal l ed (for examp l e) M i tch yaka bana fsh [C orn

Then the chaiam'

whom kanarshtia has s elected as col leagu e'

s

wa i t fou r d ays to commence the t reatmen t of the inval id . Every

n igh t they m eet together . D ur ing th is t ime, they s ay , the w i tches

l ikew i s e p repare for the fray . They conj u re in the i r caves , in

them they col l ect broken bones , dwarf palm s w i th s harp po i n ts ,

cact us and th is tles , al l of u se to them in p rodu ci ng sharp pa i ns in

the head and i n the s tomach and bel ly . They also prepare rat tl e

s nakes , l i t t le s nakes , s tones , p ieces of broken gl as s , ashes and blood .

I t is by s end ing thes e th ings by magic in to the body of the inval id,

say the ckaiani, the wi tches take his l i fe .

The chaiani thems elves p repare . They g ive the pat i en t th e

herb cal led katshrana .

3 W i th i t in th e hous e,4 the wi tches become

powerles s .

1 The Cacique as wel l as any other chaianimay be s u'

rnmoned . S ee p . 1 55 .

3Th is herb is used al so for headache. I t is either burned and th e smoke inhaledor it is ground and eaten. [P oss ibly th e u se of th is herb is S panish . I n th e CapeVerde i s land s an herb is used to fum igate the house against witches ]

C haiam' l ikewi se carry this herb in their pockets .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 15 5

On the fou rth n igh t , abou t m idn igh t , the pat ien t is taken ou t i n

a blanket by the chaiam'

. H e is taken to a hous e w i thou t w indows

ope n ing ou ts id e . S uch a hou s e at C och i t i is of two s tor ies . You

reach the firs t s tory (see fig . 16)

of an ad j acen t hou s e (I ) by a

ladder (A ) and cros s the roof

to descend by another ladder

throu gh a trap door (B ) . You

go th rou gh a door (C ) or w indow

in th e wal l i n to hou s e I I . The

pat ien t (D ) is p laced on a blan

ket near the wal l to the r igh t of

the rear of the hous e where the

doctors (E , E’

) sit. Back of the

pat i en t or at his s ides sit his

relat ives or fr i end s (F) . The

chaiani i n charge, kanarshtiaF lo . 16.

— D iagraan for Curing ceremonia l .By Father Noel D umares t.

and the other chawm have

in fron t of them the i r iareko (G ) , the image of the i r Mother (yaya) .1

The iareko is mad e of an ear of corn , of wh i te or blue corn ,wrapped in wh i te cotton cloth or cotton th read or form erly i n

thongs of d eersk i n . The ear mu s t be a kotona ,an ear i n wh ich

not a gra i n is lack i ng and at the top of wh ich r is es a head of

gl umes .

2 The tip is wrapped w i th‘ wh i te eagle-down over wh ich are

parrot feathers .

3 Under them is fas tened a co l lar of green tu r

quois es , of b i ts of s hel l , of fl in t arrowpoints , bi ts of s i lver, etc.

The cotton or deers k in represen t cloth i ng ; the eagle-down , ha i r ;

the parrot feathers , a crown . The arrowpoints i nd icate tha t

m sewa , the war cap ta i n , protects .

1 The auth or sugges ts other altar settings , b u t he fails to speci fy them . The l ine toC is undoubted ly the l ine of meal (iam

‘

, road ) ind ica ting a roadway characteris tic of

th e a ltars . I n another d iagram th e author p laces a l ion fetis h at th e end of th e ianiin front of th e farako . The patient is carried in over th e iam'

.— ED .

W henever a man find s an ear of this sort in his field he p laces it devout ly in th ebow l where [sacred mea l is ke pt. A kolona is supposed to have supernatural power.The grains of a kotona

'

are sown li. e. , not ea ten].3 L ikewise turkey feathers , the auth or elsewhere s tates .

1 56 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

The chaiani beg in to s ing a s ong preparatory for the combat

w i th the w i tches . The song of the irs h leanichaianiis as fol lows :

keme hawe tonae k ik io kanileu k iano kaenoW h o comes here from th e north comes in com ing th is onewehe kanakiaiani kanileu k iano katiame kanirs h tiewho witch comes in com ing turning th e back com ingtsats e niuwetawa tiumako kuikiume honawa h aete ku ekame

not wi l l know me eas i ly chaiani when

keu rs hka1 k iano ts a hawe tawa notako

wi l l drink in com ing not that one is good wi l l be .

W ho is th is one who comes from th e nor th ? Who is he? I t is

the w i tch who comes tu rn ing his back so one cannot recogn i ze

him . You cannot recogn i ze him . B u t thes e two chaianiwhen they

have d ru nk the med ici ne,2 when w i l l they not recogn i ze him ?

The doctors proceed to take ou t the sorcer i es from the body

of the pat ien t by m eans of the eagle ’s feathers they hold i n each

hand . W i th them theybru s h the pat ien t , and s tr ik i ng the feather

in the l e ft hand wi th the feath er i n the r igh t hand3 they throw the

ev i l to the north , to the wes t , to the sou th , to the eas t , above and

below.

Kanarshtia takes in his hand a k ind of a round , wh i te, trans

paren t s tone . He waves i t in c i rcl es above his head , defy i ng th e

w i tches . P eop l e bel i eve that he s ees i n th is s tone , as in a m i rror ,

where the wi tche s are and the th i ngs they have m ad e u s e of to

i nj u re the pat ien t .

4 They bel i eve that th is s tone has the power to

d raw the witches agains t ,their w i l l i n to the ne ighborhood . I n

fact , loud knocks soo

'

n resound at t he door and a s hr i l l and dis

greeab le voice is heard s ay i ng : C haiam'

, you are powerles s . You

can do noth i ng aga ins t me . I am a man . I have com e to the

p l ace where you are and I w i l l not depart. Your Mothers (yaya ,

i. e . , iareko) are also powerles s .

1 R eferring to th e rite of suck ing the med icine water from th e eag le feath er d ippedin th e med icine bowl .

2 During th e curing ceremony th e chaianiimmerse an eag le feather in th e med icinewater and p u t it into th e ir mouth .

I t is no doubt th e k ind of cutting motion 1 have seen at L aguna. I t is ca l ledku kats .

—~ ED .

4 I heard of a stone s im i larly used in connectionwith a curing ceremonial conductedin th e house of th e patient by a member of the halokwe s ociety of Zu fii.— Ep .

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158 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [menoma 6

tia and his two compan ion s who have retu rned v ictor ious over th e

w i tches . Kanarshtia hold s a p i ece of cactus i n his hand . I n th e

m idd l e of i t is a l i tt le dol l abou t ten inches long and made of some

sor t of cloth . I t repres ents the pat ien t, for when the w i tches wan t

to harm anyone they make an image of him and p ract is e on the

image the torm e'

n ts they des i re the i r v ict im to exper i ence .

1

Kanars htia h as in fron t of him two potte ry bowl s fi l led w i th

the med icine-water that is l e ft after the chaianihave asperged the

yaya . Kanars htia tears off a p iece of the cloth the dol l is m ade of ,

burns i t i n a cand le,and in the smoke i t makes envelopes the pat i en t .

He repeats th is operat ion and goes on repeat ing i t, th row ing the

ashes in to one of the bowls , un t i l a grain of wh i te corn is d i scovered ;

I t is the heart of the pat ien t wh ich was s tol en by the w i tches .

Kanarshtia looks at i t clos ely and s ays ,“R awatsu , i t is s t i l l good "

or,“i t is wh i te,

"

mean ing that the w i tches have not yet s ucceeded

in spo i l i ng i t al together . Together the chaianirejoin ,“rawa , rawa ,

rawa , good , good ,good ,and they expres s joy . Kanarshtia ap

proaches the pat ien t , rubs him , approaches his l ips to t he aff ected

part of his body , and d raw s a long breath .

2 S udden ly kanarshtia

fal l s down , s ome times as i f d ead . H is two chainni compan ion s

ra is e him u p ,having fi rs t d rawn on to the i r le ft forearm a bear ’s

paw. They ru b kanarshtia grad ual ly back to l i fe , they pu t him on

his fee t, and s uppor t him du r ing the eff orts h e m akes to vom i t .

Then wi th great pai n , they s ay , kanarshtia vom i ts s tones , p i eces of

cactus , broken bones , th is tles ,.

an ts , l i ttle s nakes and even rat tle

s nakes .

3 Of thes e th i ngs“a l i t tl e p i l e (pakana) is made to be th rown

i n to the r iver by the chaiani.

1 C p . p . 165 .

2 From this and what fo l lows I infer that, as at L aguna and at Zuni , th e doctor issuck ing ou t the injurious th ing in th e body of th e patient . —ED .

3 To catch th e snakes . the chaiani, a few days before th e cure, go ou t to hunt withtheir hand s rubbed with grease and 'tobacco. Then to get th e snakes into their s tomach s they do as fo l lows : Th e snakes are we l l fed s o that th ey wi l l do no hurt. Thenin a room where there are several s nakes , th e chaiani l ies down with his l ips coatedwith corn po l len and his mouth ful l of it. Th is preparation suff ices to make th e snakes .

wh ich l ike warmth , go into h is s tomach . There they turn themse lves around so as

to have their head near th e mouth of th e chaiani. Th e chaianiputs his fingers in hismouth to make h imse l f vom it.

[ I n another account th e auth or s tates that] a chaiani jumps to attack th e snakewith the bear's paw . H e puts it on the snake wh ich th en ceases to move .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 1 59

I t rema i ns on ly for kanars'

htia to give the pat ien t his heart .

I n med ic i ne-water he gives the pat ien t the gra in of corn (winershka)e i the r broken u p or whole . I n conclus ion the chaiani s i ng amongothers‘ th is song

'

H an i ya hani hani ya hani ya han i kos ha no ia kos ha no ia tiateth is night th is night here

kitis hiu ko pihis hini yotes hia kawamara s h tes id e of the north th e dark red s the old they are already about to p lace th em se lvess hiumo aers h keu ni kowersh towe tiakia hapa wehe ts ats e taenonis edead bones tak ing th ose ones not have shame

hiwayu na tsikiayuma nieias hatetiakianow we are going to be tel l ing .

Th is n igh t here at the north ou ts id e of th is hous e the w i tches ,

[the dark red sz] the old ones were engaged i n work . They w ere

mak i ng arrows of the bones o f the d ead . They are withou t shame .

N ow a l though the s u n is h igh (i. e .

, in pub l ic) we wi l l s ay wha t they

were do i ng .

Th i s song l as ts for a long t ime and has many repet i t ions , for

ex amp l e for kitishiu ko, the s id e of the north , w i l l be s ubs t i tu ted i n

tu rn, ponishu ki, the s ide of the wes t , konishuko, the s id e of the

sou th , hamis hu ko, the s ide of the eas t .3

N ow kanars htia takes his ia reko i n his hand and , tu rn ing to

the peopl e , s ays“Here take , ou r fathers and officers , mas ewa ; kotshanikiani

(kanarshtia hold s the iareko ou t to take kiani i n order to

have good hea l th from the Mother . W e are con ten t ; s i nce yes ter

day ou r Mo ther has been s eated among u s thanks to the aid of ou r

father ma s ewa . W e are con ten t . C on ten t too is (the name of

The song of th e shikarne chaianid uring th e rite of vom it ing th e pakana is

yayaya yayaya m ihanna miyaya hama mi tuna aikitimokaira h onawa h aete kanile

kiaiano yayaya harni .W h en to—daycomes from th e north th e l ion comes to ovcja saying I am chaiani.

[ I n anoth er note the author s tates that'

cu ring chaiani s ing ,] You th e l ion. th eba r, th e eag le, the badger, cure him .

3 Wh en witch es are to engage in work ing evi l they paint their hand s and legs b lackm ix ed with red .

Note th e circuit observed — ED .

H e moves it, I s u rmize , four times . Th is circu lar motion of th e sacrosanct ohjcet to be brea thed from is a characteris tic rite at L aguna and at Zuni— ED .

160 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

the person ) who has sough t hisMani. N ow ou rMother has al ready

comp leted her tas k . A l ready they (the yaya and o fficers ) have

com p l eted the i r tas k . I f the s ick man p lace his fa i th or heart

i n mas eiva i t may be that we can return i t or res tore to him his

l i fe and heal th as he had i t before . N ow, ou r mayores w i l l go and

res t . (To mas ewa) You who repres en t mas ewa go and res t . A nd we

FIG . 1 7 .

— S tone fetis h an ima ls . I n Brook lyn Ins titute Museum . From zfi inchesto 5 } inches long .

too w i l l go and res t . Take the breath (he g ives them the breath)of ou r Mother , l i fe and heal th . G o and res t .

“A nd also to thos e who did not come to a s s is t at the office of

ou r Mother, from here ou r Mother gives.her breath to them al l ,

and w i th i t they s hal l l i ve i n good heal th . I t is true that my breath

is w i thou t power, bu t the Mothers‘give me the i rs and I s end i t

to you . Here ou r Mother has grasped u s in her heart .” (He

moves the fareko from his heart toward s the peop l e .)Then mas ewa w i th his s taff m akes the s am e bened ict ion .

The ceremony concl uded , the pat i en t leaves w i th the chaiani

1 Urets ete and h er s is ter (S ee p . 2 12 ) or s isters . I n L aguna myth s h e has th rees is ters — ED.

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162 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

For w i tches there is no mercy i n the next world .

1 A s th e i r

fa th er was born w i thou t the perm i s s ion of u rets ete, i. e . ,h e did not

obey her o rd er to l eave s hipopa , so a t d eath , when his ch i ld ren

wou ld en ter s hipapu , th ey wou ld not be recogn i zed .

To und ers tand the fea r the I nd i ans have of w i tches and the i r

prudence i n not tak i ng r i s ks , one m us t real i ze that they be l ieve

witch es to be a race apart , men l ike th em s elves , bu t endowed w i th

ev i l power, power to'

k i l l when in s ul ted . W hen u rets ete adv is ed

p eop l e not to m ake u s e of ev i l word s , s he wan ted them to keep from

p rovok i ng the w i tches nobody recogn i zes , w i tches who are able to

concea l the i r character because they do not always act u p to i t .

S i nce a w i tch d i ffers from others on ly i n his bad heart , i t is diffi

c u l t to recogn i ze him . W hy are the P ueblo I nd i ans so pacific .

p2

W hy do they not try even to defend them s elves inquarrels ? Be

caus e from the i r you th the i r e ld ers have taugh t them that nobody

can know the hearts of m en . There are w i tches everywhere, and

woe to him who has trouble w i th them becaus e one can manage to

overcom e the con s eque nces of w i tch-craft only w i th great d i fficu l ty .

i f a t al l . There are hearts fi l l ed w i th thorn s and other bad th ings .

th ey say , and men can not d is t i ngu ish them .

W i tches are the cau s e not only of s icknes s , bu t of al l ev i ls .

I f there is a grea t d rough t after the d ance of s hiwanna ,for examp le ,

w i tches are a t the bot tom of it.

a

W i tches there w i l l a lways be i n the world ; and i nces s an t con

flicts between w i tches and chaiani. W hen kanakaia came i n to the

1 S ee p . 1 72 .

2 Indeed much of P ueblo Ind ian mannerl ines s is motivated b y fear of witches . A t

Zu fiii f you ask for any artic le, it is s traigh tway g iven to you — you m igh t be a witch ,

and ,were you re fused . you m igh t work injury. Th e reas on we a lways as k vis itors toeat.

"

I have been to ld ,

“is because a witch m igh t enter and be angry i f not asked .

I n any gathering of mere acquaintances . it is felt there may be a witch and th e reiteration of

“eat, eat

"

at th e wedd ing feas ts mentioned b y the author is s omewhat of aprecaution, I s u rm ise, agains t s l igh ting s ome witch . A t L aguna and probably el sewhere, reck le s s ta lk ing . saying about anyone anyth ing you want to say . is one s ignthat you are a witch — En.

3 A t Zuni , l ikewise , witches may cause a drough t . A nd black mag ic may causeh igh winds . I f a man h as a grudge agains t a dancer— perhaps th e man h as taken h iswife from h im— he has only to s prink le red s hel l at large to cause awind s torm wh i le th edance is on .

-ED .

on u ns s r ] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 163

wor ld h e organ i zed a society l ike that o f the chaiani and into i t

i n i t i ated a large n umber . They say tha t many join the w i tch

s oci e ty everyyear . The old members al l u re young peop le to the ir

caves and say to them ,

“W e wan t to do you a favor . W e can com

m u nicate to you ou r powers . W e can make you famous hun ters

or s ucces s fu l cap tu rers of hearts , we can make you r ich . C hoos e

the g i ft you l ike . W e make bu t one cond i t ion ; you m us t i n retu rn

sacr ifice that wh ich is d eares t i n the world to you . I f i t is your

fath er , your moth er , one of you r s i s ters , renounce ever s ee i ng them .

aga i n .

” 1 Once a member of the w i tch soc i e ty , always a member . .

The very word kanakiaia is the terror of wom en and ch i ld ren

and of the major i ty of men . I f you as k an I nd i an confidential ly

( i n ca s e you have his confidence , a long and d i fficu l t ach ievemen t) ,

i f you as k ,

“W el l , have you s een may an swer,

“Y es ,

I have s een them “W hat are th ey l ike ? “A s they appear

only at n igh t, i t is d i fficu l t to see them ; bu t they have large round’

eyes , l ikew i s e a round mou th , the i r hand s are black becaus e they

have been bu rned by the fire of he l l . S omet imes they have black

and wh i te l i nes on the body , and cornh u sks each s id e of the body ;

somet imes theyare very big, somet imes l i t tle , and the i r vo ice s eems

to be that of a ch i ld W hat language do they speak ?“ I have

h eard them s peak i n th ree languages , i n Mexican , i n Tewa , and in

the language of Tes uque .

“Have you s een them very clos e ?“Yes . Once they -cam e i n to the

‘

hous e o f R eyes who was s ick .

They came i n unafra id ,the chaianiwere abs en t . The C ac i q ue was

alone. h e was s ing ing as he wa i ted for th e chaiani. Three w i tches

came i n , they fas tened his hand s and fee t w i th a cord o f yucca ,

they took off his (2) pu t i t around his neck and th rew him ou tdoo rs .

S oon the chaianicame i n The w i tch es fled , s ay i ng , I am a man .

I am not afra id of you , and add i ng a lot o f obscene word s . The

chaiani unloos ed the C ac i que . He threw h imse l f on the w i tches ,

s tr ik i ng at them w i th a bear ’ s claw . Th ey fled . One of the

w i tches appeared at the w indow o f th e room where they were cu r i ngth e pat i en t . A chaianis en t an arrow in to his s hou ld er . He los t a

1 There is the same bel ief of fam i ly sacri fice at Zuni , l ikewise be l ie f in a witchsoc iety.

— E0 .

164 AMER ICAN A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [Mt-moms , 0

great deal of blood , he cr ied ou t, and he th rew the s ame arrow back

in to the room th rough the w i ndow .

Once José and his w i fe were abou t to go to s leep . The woman

wen t ou t doors . S he looked toward s th e corral , s he s aw a man , a

koshare .

l S h e was fr igh tened and hurr i ed i n . S he s a id ,

“S ee who

goes down there , a kos ha re .

” José wen t ou t. There was a moon .

The kos ha re came clos e to th e corral i n the s hadow . He was h id i ng

h im s el f . . He wen t i n to an old hou s e . J uan C harez was dy i ng .

The kosha re crouch ed down at his w i ndow . José wondered how

he wou ld ca tch the kosha re. He wen t u p on the roof l ike a cat and

he came u p to the kosha re who was a long t ime a t the w i ndow .

‘I n 1896 a terr i ble - ep idem ic ravaged the pueblos of the R io

G rand e and the W es t . At C och i t i they attr i bu ted the ep id em ic to

w i tchcraft . S p i es watched n igh t and day abou t the cemetery and

the chu rches . They sa id they saw two dogs , one black and one

wh i te , wand er i ng in the ou tsk i rts of the pueblo, and a coyote s cra tch

ing a t the door of the chu rch . Arrows and guns were fi red , they

say , a t thes e an imals w i thou t cau s i n g th e s l igh tes t wound . S hortly

af ter m idn igh t the nahia'r’

of C och i t i was talk i ng w i th v is i tors ,when

his son-in-law , go i ng on the roof to go to the tapes te (a k i nd of open

barn ) and th row hay to the hors es , s aw p rowl i ng abou t the w i ndow

a man or ra th er a mons ter , his body pa i n ted wh i te , hand s black ,

black rags on his shou lders and hanging from h is bel t, eyes and

mou th s u rrounded by com hus ks tw i s ted and rol led i n a ci rcle , over

each ear a bunch o f corn h usks (p l . V I I , fig . I t was a w i tch .

The son-in- law at once purs ued the w i tch . He caugh t him w i th diffi

cu l ty after leap i ng over th e d i tch at the foot of the h i l l on wh ich

C och i t i is bu i l t . He s a id to him , W hat are you do i ng a t th i s

hour in the pueb lo i n th i s cos tume? " My bus i nes s concerns

1 Th e sacred clown,of th e Keresa ns . Th e description of th e appearance of a

witch in th e preced ing paragraph wou ld do more or les s for th e kosh are make-u p as I

have seen it represented or bu rlesqued at Zuni . Th e ne'

wekwe, th e homo logue at Zu fiiof th e kos hare, are said to bes trong in black mag ic — ED .

2 S ee page 1 98 .

0

3 I n Zuni myth th e firs t corn is brough t b y witches . Th e mask wh ich the k_os hare

of L aguna wear to init iate h as corn husk earrings .

"

Th e mas k is made of buffaloh ide, a fact po inting perhaps to north ern or P lains provenience.

— ED .

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166 AMER ICAN A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [mom ma o

OMEN S

W hen one hears a l i t tl e ch icken cry i n the water, one’

s ch i ld

is go i ng to be very s ick or to die .

W hen the left eyel id t rembles , al l the fami ly of the person

aff ected w i l l be s ick or die .

1

W hen one goes ou t and a crow2 fl i es , i t is bad l uck .

W hen you d ream o f a r iver , that you a re a ttacked , or that you

are s tepp i ng upon d ung , you w i l l die .

W hen you d ream of old clothes , of shiwanna , of branches of th e

royal p i ne ,8you w i l l be r ich

'

or l i ve long .

W hen a gu n or bow or s taff breaks , s icknes s or m is for tune w i l l

occu r .DEATH

Over th e heart of the corps e la id ou t i n a corner of the room is

pu t a maneador , and alongs id e an ear of corn ca l led iaka wh ich

means th e s am e th ing as kotona . I t is the hear t of the d eceas ed ,

peop l e say , or ra ther his sp i r i t, isats .

” The maneador is the

p rotector of the heart of the d eceas ed .

4

D u r i ng th e n igh t , i f the d eceas ed h as d i ed after s uns et (dy i ng

before s un s et , he is bur i ed at once) , the body is waked i. e ., s u r

rounded w i th cand les and v i s i ted by rela t ives and fr iend s who take

from a l i t tl e bow l near the dead a p i nch of cornmeal and th row i t

i n the -mou th of the dead tha t he m ay eat i t d ur i ng his jou rney of

fou r d ays to shipapu .

After the grave is d ug the body is carr i ed on a ladder to th e

cem etery . At C och i t i 5 there is no d i ff erence between Ind i an buri a ls

1 To dream of loos ing a tooth or fal l ing o ff a h ouse ladder means m is fortune(L aguna) . I f you dream o f th e death o f a re lative you s hou ld heat th e poker andb u rn h is hair at th e nape of

'

the neck — E b .

2 Crow feathers at L aguna and Zuni are as s ociated with witchcraft .— E D .

3 Once at L aguna, when I was laid u p, I was g iven a s pruce twig b y a cheaniand

to ld to preserve it among my c lothes , it wou ld bring me health and fortu ne . A t

L aguna twigs are taken by on lookers from th e spruce armband s and belts of th e k'

atsina

to make into a brew for headache . A t Zuni I have seen pers ons approach th e dancers ,

s prink le them with meal , and rece ive a s pruce twigf Exp lanat ion of the l itt le riteh as always been with held — ED .

S ee page 1 42 .

5 A t S anto Dom ingo th e body is la id ou t on a ladder and wrapped head and feetin a blanket. A cros s is carried at th e h ead of th e process ion. On either s ide two

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168 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

The chaianiwho is neares t to the repres en ta t ive ear of corn

r i s es and t ran s fers th e ear together w i th the maneador and a feather

s t ick (hachamum'

)1pas s i ng from B to C ,

2 mak i ng before the obj ects

ci rcl es i n fron t of h ims el f as if propel l i ng s ometh i ng ou t from

w i th in . Another chaiani gives to the father and mo ther of the

deceas ed an iareko to hold i n the i r hand s

un ti l the retu rn of the chaianiwho,near

the door , g ives to ano ther chaiani, he in

tu rn pas s i n g them on to the father of the

d eceas ed , the ear of corn , the maneador and

the hacizamum’

, and who then carr i es off i n

a s heep sk i n the d i ff eren t v ictuals offeredFI G I 9 .

- Miniattu re 11100 to the d eceas ed to bury them a t a d i s tance .

“w ins in Broom)““mm“ At the sam e t ime he carr i es a pa i r of min i

atu re moccas i ns (fig . 19) .

3 The r icher s or t

i ncl ude, i f the deceas ed is a woman , a d res s , bucksk in leggi ngs ,

Mus eum . L ength , 3 7} inches .

bel ts , j ewel ry ,etc. For a man , are i ncl uded bi ts 4 of a l l his dance

outfi t , i. e. , of the s kunk sk in w i th wh ich he covers his feet, of

the foxsk i n hang i ng from his back, of the cot ton be l t or of s om e

of its fr i nge , of the armband s , The r icher or more l i beral

incl ud e the comp l e te cos tume . The gra ins of corn i n the repre

s en tative ear are pres erved for p lan t ing .

6 The maneador is res tored

to cu s tomary u s e .

The p lace where thes e off er i ngs are m ade is abou t 500 yard s

north of C och i t i i n a l i ttle ravi ne h idden beh i nd a h i l l . Here

there is a monumen t ca l led the gate of s hipapu .

’ I t is a k ind of

1 Th e hacham um’ repre sents th e S u n towhom th e deceased was cons ecrated at b irth .

1 Unfortunately th e author fai led to p u t down these letters on his d iagram , pe r

haps theywere intended to mark th e circ les at 1 4 and 1 5 .

— ED .

3 L ikewise, I infer from th e co l lection in th e Brook lyn Institute Museum , m iniatu res h irt and trousers (fig .

— ~ED .

4 A t L aguna b its of al l the good s of the decease d , even ename l from a be d or

s crap ings from a trunk , are co l lected and bu rned in th e hou se fire . Th e deceased istold that the good s as a wh ole wi l l fo l low these b its . H e is begged not to return forprope rty or for anyone in th e fam i ly — E D .

6 S ee p . 1 80 , p l . v.

5 A s are th e grains in th e Zuni H . Th e mi'lior feather-g irt comp letely kerne l led

ear of corn pos ses sed b y every member of th e curing part of a fraternity is a ls o th e

representative, i. e. , l i fe token of its owner.— ED .

7 C p . E . C . P arsons , Notes on A coma and L aguna, A merican A nthropolog is t,N . s . . v ol . x x p . 1 7 7 .

nm nzs r ] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 169

round enc los ure , a yard i n d i am eter , m ad e of l arge s tones . I n

the m idd le are two large upr igh t s tones . Around them are bu r i ed

hachamu ni. N ear the two s tones are als o round bow l s the s i ze

of the hand . The shape of

these funerary bowls is u n

us ual . Th e rim is terraced

i n four or five s teps and i n the

tops of the terraces are holes

whereby hachamu ni may be

attach ed . The decorat ions

repres en t cloud s , l i gh tn i ng ,

ra i n , and tracks of the chaparra l -cock .

_

I n th e cen ter, in

s ide , is pai n ted a cros s , . the

s ides o f the arm be i ng d i spa

rate , or a th ree- fold ligh tn i ngfigu re (fig . Thes e bow l s

con ta i n com po l len for the F l o w s— M iniature trou se rs

l

dn Brook lyn

dead 0 1‘

o ther food . S im i l a rIns titute Museum . L ength . 8 4 inches .

ly , wes t of C och i t i , in the l i t t le fla t oppos i te the church , one find s

many bowls and p i eces of d ance cos tume ; etc . Off er i ngs to the

dead a re a lso h idd en away i n l i ttle caves i n the r idge of (P) . On

top of th i s h i l l may be found s tructu res l ike tha t ca l l ed the gate

of shipapu . Bead s and tu rquo i s e are s trewn i n the enclos ures , and

i n the rocky crev ices i n the ne ighborhood are hachamum'

and p i eces

of dance cos tume .

1

The chaianiwho have s tayed beh i nd s i ng as fo l lows

haia ha wina obaha ie , haia ha wina haia ha wina

kikiapu loni s hipap u nima nas as h teehioat the north at the entrance of s hipapu let u s go

pasa tiotsaio pas a ts hots aioyou wi l l take care of him I wi l l take care

haia ha wina ohaha ie haia ha wina haia ha wina

1 A t Jemez in fo l lowing an arroyo one find s , about 200 yard s to the left of th e churchin the s ide o f a rid ge. a ma s s o f th ings— Navajo bas kets . broken bow ls . bead s , arrows ,eag le feathers . a quantity of hachamum

'

, etc. Th is is th e p lace where the chaiani

hide th e th ings for the dead . A t San Fel ipe, at th e foot of th e ruins of the old church ,

in the les s acces s ible p lace s , there is als o a quantity of such things .

[ 70 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MemorR S . 6

is hr h u more tih u a l nasas h teehio pasa tiotsaioname you rse l f man let u s go you wi l l take care of him

pas a ts hots aio haia ha wina haia ha wina haia ha winaI wi l l take care

L et u s go down there to the nor th , to the en trance of shipapu .

Take care of him for me

on th e jou rney (sa id to

the Mothers )”

"‘I w i l l

t a k e c a r e o f h im .

C om e , man cal led Waio,

come . You w i l l take care

of him on the journey

I w i l l take care of him .

On the retu rn of the‘

chaiam'

from bu ry i ng the

food and the cos tume orits

symbo l s , he bu r i es the ha

chamum’

in the room once

occup i ed by the deceas ed . I t w i l l be a protect ion , peop le th i nk,

agains t the d eceased for, say th ey ,the d ead retu rn to the hous e

i f they are neg l ected , i. e .,i f food is not given to them . They

re tu rn and at n igh t they knock on the door . S omet imes bes ides

bury ing a s i ngle fea ther-s t ick , peop l e w i l l ask the chaiani for fou r

more feather-s t icks to bu ry i n the card i na l d i rect ion s . Of ten , too,

d ur i ng en t i re n i gh ts after the d eath peop l e“ w i l l th row ou t i n th e

town or i n the ch u rch p i eces of meat for the d ecea s ed .

After th i s ceremony peop le forget the deceas ed or, ra ther,

F I G . 2 1 .

— Des igns on funerary bowl . By FatherNoel D umares t.

remember him o nly a t rare i n terva l s , for examp l e , on the day of

the dead , the s econd of N ovember .

A L L SOUL S ' DAY

At th is time . ev ery fam i ly offers to the i r d ead and d epos i ts

i n the chu rch wheat , corn , beans , peas , waterme lons , tortillas ,

wafer bread , panacha ,

2 boi led '

m eat, etcf There is some t imes i n a

ch u rch as many as twen ty wagon load s of thes e p rov i sion s The

1 H onorific term .

1 Swee t made of th e roots of germ inating wheat .

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I 72 A MER ICA N A N TH R OP OL OG I C A L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

Al l s i ng the en t i re n igh t . The cru s go from hous e to hous e1 to

dance a few momen ts to en terta in the d ead .

2 I n each as s emblage

of men everybody con tr i bu tes some offering to the dead , pump

k ins , melons , bread , etc. Thes e th i ngs are cu t in smal l p i eces and

th rown ou ts id e for the d ead to eat . B und l es of tu rkey feathers

are also bur i ed on th i s day in d i ff eren t p l aces in the pueblo tha t

th e pueblo may come under th e p rotect ion of u rets ete3. The dead

a re s uppos ed to carry away the food and i n the i r d ances d ecorate

the i r head s w i th the fea thers . (The shiwanna wear

TH E DEAD A N D R A IN —MAKIN G

S hipopa is not the heaven of the I nd i ans , i t is the i r p lace of

exp i a t ion .

5 The i r heaven is cal led wem’

ma . Wem'

ma is the land

of the S hiwanna , 12. e . , of the d ead cl eans ed of the i r s i n s or s i n les s

on the i r com i ng to shipopa . S hipapu is situated somewhere to

the north of N ew Mexico,i n C olorado, under the wa ters of a lake

to wh ich “

peop l e somet imes make p i lgr image . W hen the deceas ed

arr ives at shipopa , at the end of fou r days he is rece ived i n the an te

room of u rets ete . Two guard s exam i ne his hachamuml and l et

him i n to his mothe r .6 S he s ays to him : My s on, take th i s road

1 A t Zuni boys s ing from h ouse to h ou se on th e nigh t of ahoppa swan tewa (th e

d ead their day ) and co l lect food . S im i larly in the s calp ceremonial for fou r nigh tsmen cal led du ku yada s ing and co l lect food , b its of wh ich they th row u p to th e s cal pon its po le. I t is of interes t to see th e two practices in relation at Coch iti . I n th iscase, as in others . organization is more d i fferentiated at Zuni than among the Keresans — ED .

2 C p . E . C . P ars ons . A l l S ou ls ' D ay at Zuni, A coma, and L aguna, Jou rna l.A merican Fo lk-L ore, v ol . x xx pp . 495

—6.— ED .

3 A t Zuni , th e day th e S halako come in during th e koko awia (god s come) ceremonial ,feather-s ticks are buried or immured in s ix p laces in a c ircuit o f town. On com ing inS h u lawitsi ins pects th e feather-sticks . and their pos it ion, erect or prostrate, is an

omen (tel iu na) of publ ic fortune or m i s fortune — ED .

A t Zuni I have been to ld that no dancer would wear turkey feathers on h is h ead,

because. as turkeys are hard to rais e , turkey feathers are a token of mortal ity. I t

may be noted , however, that there is a crown of turkey feathers on th e mas k of sh u

maakoli (“Zuni Ind ia ns , p l . th e mask of the s h umakwe or dead peop le,

corps es (S h uma in Keresan means dead ) .

— ED .

5 Or rather p lace of emergence . The conception of judgment after death and ex

p iat ion is undoubted ly-Ch ris tian .-ED .

5 C p .

"

Th e S ia"

p . 1 45 .

p um as-s ij NOTES ON COCHITI , N EW MEXICO

where S 1 w i l l tel l you whether you are to s tay here a s hor t wh i le or

a long to exp i a te you r fau l ts or-whether you a re to go to hel l or

d i rect ly to wanimo .

”The d eceas ed proceed s . I f he has been a

w i tch , a sin for wh ich there is never a pardon , S s ays to him :“My

son , you r sin is very great , go to he l l . ” Thenthe deceas ed goesi n to a round hous e i n the form of an oven (or tower) . Here are

i nex t i ngu i s hable flames and here the d eceas ed has to s tand up r igh t

th roughou t e tern i ty . C e rta in s i nners are condem ned not to go ou t

from a ci rcl e of s hel l d rawn around them by the mas ewa [war

cap ta i n s ] of s hipopa , and the c i rcl e is very sma l l . They may eat

only s uch i n s ects as come near them , fl i es , worm s , etc. The les s

s i n ful appear to exp iate mo re espec ia l ly th rough hunger and th i rs t .

W hen rela ti ves th row down food for them , a l l the d ead rus h for i t

and take b i ts from i t .

The s i n les s go at once to wenima and become s hiwanna . Weni

ma is i n the wes t . I t is a p lace l ike the mos t beau t i fu l moun ta i ns .

I n i t are royal p i n es and trees of al l k i nd s , game , lakes ,and meadows .

Here there are two es tu fas2 wh ere the shiwanna guard the i r flashes

of l igh tn i ng . There is a l so an immens e bowl of the s hape of a

funera ry bowl .

W h en u rets ete wants i t to ra i n s he s end s one o f her guard s to

wenima by the road of s he l l wh ich conn ects tha t p lace w i th shipopa .

The guard commun icates the o rder to the greates t of the shiwanna

who g i ves a hachamu nito each s hiwanna he s end s ou t to d i s tr i bu te

the ra i n . The bowl has been fi l led w i th water by‘ the s hiwanna .

Then they moun t on the s teps of the rim of the bowl wh ich r is es of

i tse l f to the back of the cloud s .

” There the bowl tu rns and fo l lows

1 I t doe s not appear h ere for what th is letter s tand s , b u t in other pas sages th eauthor s tates that u rets ete send s the dead to G od or kiinikama to be j u dged . (Ki ini,above, kama , his h ouse .) I t is pos s ible that th is S s tand s for s u sis tininako.

S p ider. S ee p . 227 , n . 5 , and compare “Th e S ia , pp . 145-6. E lsewh ere th e au thor

re fers to the mothe r creator as s eu tshaahanaya (L es I ndians da Nou veau -Mex iqu e , p .

'

1 There appear to be two es tufas (ts hikia ) at Coch iti— the T urquo ise and the

Sq uas h— b u t of them the author g ives l itt le or no account . Th e two es tufas of

Jemez have th e same names — ED .

A t Zuni , I have heard th e terraced bow l referred to as gh os t bowl . From it arain pries t wi l l pour ou twater for the decease d rainmakers to take into the ir bowl .— ED .

1 74 AMER I C A N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A SSOCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

the d i rect ion the s hiwanna wis h to take . The s hiwanna dip th e i r

hachamum’

i n the water together w i th the turkey fea thers attached

to the top of the terraces of the bowl , and they s hake them gen tly

over th e land i n al l the d i rect ions . W h en th e ra i n fal ls i n large

d rops it means tha t th e spr i nk l i ng s hiwanna are m en ; women

skiwanna spr i nk le fine ra i n . The s hiwanna make the th under .

The s hiwanna are perfect ly happy at wenima , a l though they

ea t on ly. the corn pol len that the peop le of the pueblo th row them .

They spend the i r t ime i n danc i ng and i n s i ngi ng for the pueb los ,

and i n V i s i t i ng the pueblos .

After a man d i es , i f by chance ra i n fal ls , peop l e are p leas ed and

say ,

“He was w i thou t sin , he is al ready a s hiwanna , he gives u s

ra i n .

" l I f on the other hand , a h igh w ind blows , form i ng d us t

wh i rls , i t is proof tha t the d eceas ed was a w i tch . I n th is way he

s end s to the s hi‘wanna the smel l of dead an im als s o that the shiwanna

w i l l l eave the p ueblo and not s end down ra i n .

Abou t fou r years ago a man ca l led I rowe was often heard to

say ,

“W hen I die I am go i ng to be a shiwanna and I w i l l come from

the s id e of the north . L ook clos ely when they are danc i ng the

kachina . I rowe d i ed . S oon a fterward s there was a dance . A

child remembered the word s of the deceas ed . He looked toward s

the north and when he saw the shiwanna com i ng from tha t d i rect ion ,

he though t he recogn ized I rowe , and he cal led ou t,“L ook at my

fa ther I rowe who comes walk ing l ike a turkey !”

The shiwanna

grew very angry , the‘

y k icked the boy , and th e principales took him

as id e and s colded him very s evere ly ,tel l i ng him that none should

evermen t ion the “

nam e of a shiwahna he though t he recogn i zed , i t

was a very great sin . Everybody at C och i t i s t i l l remembers th is

inciden t .

MASKED IM P ER SON AT ION S

The s hiwanna are god s who g i ve ra i n , heal th , and l i fe , i n s hor t

every th ing that m akes for the wel fare of man . I t is mos tly in

the i r v i s i ts to the pueblos that they br i ng an abundance of benefi ts .

By the mos t cred u lous and ignoran t part of the comm un i ty , the

1 C p . Notes on L aguna Ceremon ial ism .

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176 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

so tha t al l the peop l e w i l l have long l i fe and abundan t harves ts of

corn , wheat , m elons , etc . The meet i ng is ad jou rned to the next

day . Then the nahia gives a d efin i te an swer , for he has spoken to

thos e who are to dance the kachina , and he retu rns to each of the

principa les a p i nch of th e corn m eal and of the tobacco given the

n igh t before . Th e mea l is th rown ou t to the s hiwanna and th e

tobacco is smoked by the pri-ncipales .

From th i s day the young men1 who have been not ified to prepare

to dance th e kachina have every morn ing to take on an emp ty

s tomach s ome warm water , and to vom i t . Du r ing fou r days they

are given by the nahia ,who s upervi s es them , on ly a l i t tle p i ece of

tort i l la or imaresh once a day . Du r ing the n igh t they pract i s e the

songs , s ongs very d i fficu l t to l earn . The songs are ord i nar i ly the

s ame for every dance . S om et imes , however , the nahia w i l l s end to

ne ighbor ing pueblos or even as far as Zuni young men pos s es s ed of

good m emor ies to s tay un t i l they have lea rned new s ongs and are

able to teach them .

'

On the fou rth day after the pet i t ion to the nahia , the dance is

performed i n a p l ace h idden from pas s ersby . Moreover guard s are

p l aced on al l the he igh ts . I f a traveler w i shes to pas s th rough a

p lace where he m igh t s ee s ometh i ng, he is tu rned as id e by the guard s

who s how him a roundabou t way . S trangers res iden t i n a pueblo

are reques ted not to l eave the i r hou s e , th e i r p l aces are watched ,

and whatever they wan t is brough t to them . I n cas e t ravel ers or

res iden ts are unw i l l i ng to forego s ee i ng what is go i ng on , th e dance rs

are a t once warned and they go i n to h id i ng un t i l the alarm is pas s ed .

The dance is held i n some a rroyo between the h i l ls wh ich r i s e on

one s id e or the other of the R io Grand e . The dances of C och i t i

frequen tly take p lace und er an aven ue of trees on the ranch of th e

nahia at S an ta C ruz .

2 I t is a d el ic iou s spot . N ot far ofl flows th e

1 W omen are not al lowed to dance becau se of their ind is cretion . W omen are

represented by two men dres sed as women . [A t Jeme z women dance. However theydo not jo in th e m en dancers in the es tu fa. A ny woman g iven some sacred mea l b yth e

“headman ”

mus t dance ]2 I n another pas sage th e author refers to th e dance p lace surrounded by houses ,

a p lace wh ich was former ly, in th e wars . a p lace of refuge . Here the “publ ic "

danceswere performed and in the sanie connection certain burles ques are mentioned . A t

A coma and L aguna th e dance p lace for a l l ou t door dancing is a centra l p la za, kakau’

,

th e m idd le.-ED .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO [ 77

R io G rand e , and i n the s ummer the cool nes s of the p lace and the

ou tlook combi ne to refres h the sou l .

The firs t personage to appear to the on lookers is the heru ta

or ch ie f of the sh'iwamza .

l The kos ha re are as i nd i spensable i n the

s ecre t dances as i n every th i ng . The i r ch ie f is accos ted by the

heru ta ,who s ays to him i n s i gns (the shiwanna nev e r speak) ,“Here

I have the shiwanna who have come to vi s i t the pueblo and pres en t

a dance .

” “Wh at a l i ar !"

s ays the kos hare .

“W here are the

dancers ? C los e by h ere . A sk the peop l e i f they wan t to see

them .

” Then the kos ha re begs the C aci que to ask the peop l e i f

they wan t to see the s hrwanna or i f the kos ha re asks them h imsel f

he sp ices his ques t ion s w i th p l easan tr i es wh ich are a del igh t to the

peop le . Th i s old man asks i f you wan t to s ee his dancers , the

The women

beg in to cal l ou t, Yes , yes The heru ta is a lways deaf as wel l as

shiwanna . I f you wan t to he b id s you s ay‘

yes .

d umb . He s ays i n ges tu res I hear noth i ng at a l l . The women

then s ta rt to cry ou t louder , Yes , yes !" The Izeru ta po i n ts to his

ears and holds u p one finger , h e has heard on ly one pers on .

“Yes ,

yes ,” beg i n s agai n . The kosha re s ays , C al l louder . Th is old

man has t icks i n his ears , he is d ea f .”

Everybody laughs . F i nal ly

the kerato has heard . The kos ha re s ays to him ,C ome ,go get your

s hiwanna . S how u s i f you are l igh tfooted i n run n i ng and bri ng

them to u s qu ick ly .

" The heru ta dances where he s tands and then

d isappears around som e corne r .

2

1 A ccord ing to jemez inf ormation acquired at Z uni . at Jemez hel u l a goes at s u n

rise to th e Cac ique and says , My ch i ldren wi l l come if you want them .

" “A l l righ t,

"

says th e Caciq ue. and he l u ta returns to th e e s tufa to lead ou t the dancers . H el u ta

was equated with he'

hc’

a . C p . A nthropo logic Dictionary of the Navaho L angu age

p . 384.— ED .

2 [ I n another note on the p lay between koshare and kerato th e author writes zlThe berata enters th e e s tufa by th e righ t. (There is a ru le for entering th e estu fa.

They go in by th e righ t, ou t by the left . ) Th e kos harc are in the es tufa mak ing th epeop le la u gh . They say , Here is the h eru ta .

"

Th e heru ta sees th e kos hare . The

heru ta comes and s trikes th e kos hare . The kos hare as k s , W ho come s here? Herecomes my friend .

"

A cts frigh tened W here do you come from ? W hat a l iar youare . H ow comes th is one here? A re yo u go ing deer h unting ? H e is a l iar. "

The h eru ta does not s peak , makes s ign s on ly. Yes , I was go ing to h unt ." “

You are

a l ia r. A nd the other kosh arc says to them , You don't knowwhat you are saying .

”

The hernia says , "

I f you want to see my dance. I wi l l bring it here. Th e kosh er:

1 78 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

S oon he retu rns w i th his shiwanna . At the i r head com es th e

nahia W ith his s taff of au thor i ty i n his hand . I t is a l i t tl e black

wood en rod t ipped w i th some wh i te eagl e fea thers . H is face is

l i t u p w i th p r ide . He is the k i ng at the feas t , he is the bene factor

of h uman i ty . He po i n ts to th e s hiwanna w i th his s taff and s ays

to the peop l e ,“My son s and daugh ters , th ink of noth i ng el s e bu t

of . ou r yaya , the s kiwanna . I t is they who give u s heal th , l i fe ,

abund an t harves ts of corn , whea t , watermelon s , etc. Be care fu l

not to th ink of any th ing els e .

”Eve rybody accla im s him , s ay i ng,

nahe ts hra ! nahe tshra ! thanks ! th anks ! 1

Beh i nd the nahia comes the kerato . He wears the tr i bal cos

Fié. 22 .

—a ,Mas k of heru ta ; b, Mas k of ahaye ; c, Mask of os h as ha (s u n ) . From

s ketches by Father Noel D umares t.

tume— s h i r t of d eersk i n , d eersk i n fr i nges on the s hou lders , and

d eersk i n trous er l egs fas tened to the bel t . He has a black mask ,

a k i nd of leathern box the top of wh ich 18 covered w i th wooly bu ffalo

h ide .Acros s the lower par t of the leathern ears are two l i ttl e

wh i te eagle feathers . L igh tn i ng s ign s are pa i n ted on the face . To

the bo ttom of the mask a ro l l ed u p coyote sk i n is s ewn (fig . 22

says .

“Th is one is deceiv mg u s (To the peop le)

.

Th e h eru ta says ‘that i f you wis h

him to make his peop le dance, say so; i f not, say , N o.

’

A l l th e women s ay , Yes , we

want to s ee th e dance . Th e kos hare says ,

“Th e peop le say yes .i

’

T h e heru la pre

tend s to be ( leaf , in ord er that they may answer th ree times . T hey s peak lou d ly, thath e may h

ear.

“Have you unders tood ?"

says th e kos hare to th e kerato .

“Y es , now I

hear. “You are not go ing to deceive me ? “

N o, I wi l l come at once with my

dance. Y ou s hal l see how nimble it is .

"

Th e her-

um goes ou t s tam ping . I n fiv e

minutes th e dancers enter, together with others , th e s hru iyana, they wh owatch around

the dancers . sometimes eigh t with th e hcru ta . They a l l go before th e dancers .

l Elsewh ere th e au th or s tates that th is termof thank sg iving is used on ly by'

th e

women — ED .

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A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

down . The women s a id , nahe tshra , thanks . H eru ta took a ko

sha re by the shoulder , s ayi ng to him i n s i gns :“ I am l ead i ng a dance

H

of the s kiwanna and i f the peop l e w i s h to -s ee Be i ng deaf,heru ta did not need to an swer and spoke th ree t imes . H eru ta le ft .

Al l the s hi'wanna appeared , com i ng t wo by two . They came ou t

of a p l ace where they were h idden , perhaps i t was from a cave i n

ord er that peop le m igh t s ay they came from a lower world .

1 The

order was : ( I ) nahia , (2) heru ta , (3) shruiyana , (4) os hasha [s u n]katsina , (5 ) s hiwanna [ the n umber i n the s et is not g i ven] .

The two s hrm’

yana had al l the body pa in ted black ,the mask

also, excep t for green on the forehead and lower j aw . The teeth

d es ign was v . The eyes , bal ls of bucksk i n pa i n ted black

and red were on the outs ide of th e mask . A w i ld -cat sk i n was beh i nd ,

and i n fron t , a beard of bu ffalo ha i r . One fea ther was on top o f

the m ask (fu r on top) and downy feathers und er the ears . A bel t

of sk i n of s ome sor t . Fr i nges of red woo l . Before the parts a

fr i nge of corn leaves . Beh i nd , a fox sk i n ; on the feet the sk i n of

a skunk . I n the hand s two la rge p i eces of yucca . Os has lza

wore a green mask not of the round type , w i th black tr i ang led eyes .

A s u n p i ece above the head was g i r t w i th red yarn . The face of

the s u n was green too (fig . 22 c) . S hi'wanna: The i r arm s were

painted wh i te w i th a hank o f yel low green yarn around the wr i s ts .

From the l ef t s hou ld er to th e r igh t they were pa i n ted yel low .

A gourd2 i n ther igh t hand , i n th e le ft , a branch of royal p i ne . C otton

bel t,

"3 manta red , wh i te and black ;4 yarn a t the knee ; a rattl e

of turt le s hel l and hoofs of smal l an imals 5 beh i nd the leg ,

amoccas i ns

1 Sometimes hcru ta pretend s that he h as los t some of th e shiwanna and h e begs thekos hare to find them . W here can we find them? One wou ld have to b e a witch tofind them . Begged again th e kos hare may go 05 s oon to return to report that th em is s ing s h iwanna were carried away to a d is tance by witches , or th e kos hare may pre

tend to pu l l u p b y th e roots a pine tree that was stu ck into a trench d u g the nigh tbe fore . Through the ho le th e s hiwanna wi l l emerge from th e trench . to th e acclamations of th e peop le .

1 L aguna, gourd -ratt le. oyatsikina .—ED .

L aguna, k'

as tu pa , rain belt s trings — ED .

L aguna, hotsini.— ED .

l'L agu na , turtle s he l l , heati (They get turt les from Is leta) ; ratt le of deer, goat ors hee p h oofs . chichichichika .

— E D .

The on ly oth er s ound th e s hiwanna dance to is that of a notch ed stick rubb ingagainst a s h eep scapu la he ld vertical ly on top of a squas h h o l lowed ou t and dried in th e

s u n .

DUMAR ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 18 1

On ly the cru dos impers onat i ng s hi'wanna wear the m ask figured

below (fig . 22 b) . At the back o f the mask there is a l i t tle s t ick

s u rmoun ted by two smal l eag le fea thers ,and there is als o a bunch of

smal l parrot feathers . At the top of the tablet and at

'

the s ides ,

eag l e feathers . B eard 1 [col l ar P] of roya l

p i n e2

(pl . v ; p l . v i, fig . 2 ; fig . 25 )

At noon t im e the shruiyana angri l y dis

m is s ed the peop le — the i r ca l l is u

3— in ord er that the shiwanna m igh tu . u

not be s een eat i ng . (The ch i ld ren bel i eve

that the s hiwanna eat noth i ng bu t s he l l

off er i ngs .)'

Women4 brough t food forthe

shiwanna , but they did not bri ng it d i rect ly

to the s hiwanna . The war cap ta i ns took pm , “ Mas k of potshro

the food from th e women to the shiwanna .wish ! s hiwanna R epresent

s

Wh en the dance was finis hed at s u n tk

gzszrfné roomyn h is“

set, the nahia , mas ter of ceremony , spoke

by s igns to the kos hare, s ay i ng ,

“ I t is fin i s hed . W e w is h a l l

to be con ten t and take ou r advice and have the good heal th

and abundan t corn we bri ng . I t is go i ng to ra i n heav i ly . W e

shiwanna are very glad to have s een you i n good heal th and g lad

that you be l i eve wha t we tel l you . A nd so we are go i ng .

”W hen

the dance was concl ud i ng a l l the onlooke rs ros e and danced wi th

the i r shiwanna . A s the s hiwanna l e ft i n s i ng le -file , al l th rew them

1 I n a note elsewhere th e author refers to th e beard s as made of pa lmil la

[ju cca? ] to represent rain. A t L aguna th e beard , for examp le, of ku chinninaku , th e

k'

ats ina fema le impersonation (cp . be low) is sa id to represent rain . Th e yel low on th e

face represents corn po l len, and brings rain, perhaps in accordance with th e fam i l iarP ueblo Ind ian princip le of l ike produc ing l ike— c om po l len th rough rain, and s o in

turn caus ing rain. The yel low p igment on the s houlders of th e shiwanna may be to

th e same end — ED .

2 The evergreen co l lars of dancers at Zu fiiand at L aguna are of spruce (L aguna,hakak , s pruce, wishgom

’

, co l lar) . and I s urmize that “royal p ine as th e author use s th eterm always refers to s pruce — ED .

‘They [th e shruiyanai’] have not as at San Fe l ipe thunder [board s , if e. ,

bul l roarers ] tiumots ta or komots ta .

Th e tw owomen who prepare the food are let in to the secret about th e s hiwanna .

The women chose n are d is tinguis hed for their reticence .

1 82 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEI/toms , 6

s hel l , s ay ing, Eat, fathers s hiwanna , ea t that you may give u s

l i fe, heal th , melon s , etc.

”

S ome t im es the shiwanna g ive the aud i ence arrows wh ich protect

aga ins t w i tchcraft and ,as noted , to barren women they give oako.

S hi'wanna who give crops have cot ton l on the head , and wear

black (fig . 24) or ye l low or red beard s , symbols o f ra in-pou r ; they

who give m eat wear horns of deer or bu ff alo ; they who give male or

female ch i ld ren give oako,male or female . S omet im es the s'

hiwanna

carry ar t icu la ted s t icks to s im u la te l igh tn i ng . Thes e s t icks can

be m ad e to dart ou t to a d i s tance of almos t th ree yard s .

The ch ie f male shiwanna are : N orth , skraka lza ;2W es t , s hruitera

wana ; S ou th , ma fiotehino ;3 Eas t , s hruisininawe ; Zen i th , koatiuma

mashtitiamo ; N ad i r, morikiamo. The females are monako, black

woman ; knirshkilinako, dark yel low woman ; koshinako, l igh t yel low

wom an; merinako, green woman ; keu kaninako, red woman ; kashi

anako, wh i te woman .

4 A s al ready noted , female s hiwanna are

personated by men .

W hen the clouds come , thes e women are weari ng haetchoni

(s teps ) , as the i r des i gn5 is cal led , beh i nd the clouds . W hen clouds

com e , peop l e w i l l say ,

“Here come haetchoni. "

Other masked impersonat ions are : tsayanawa (bad men) who

keep women and ch i ld ren from approach i ng the dancers6and who

1 R epresenting cloud s .

3 L aguna.

-s hakak.

— ED .

L aguna,maiu dj urna .— ~ED .

4 C p .

“The S ia , pp . 4 1 , 130 . U tset appo inted six women,

‘

one for each d irection,as interces sors with the cloud peop le. C p . too , the c loud (cach ina) youth s and maidensof th e six d irections of th e Tewa. (j . P . Harrington, “Th e Ethnography of the TewaInd ians ," p . Twenty-ninth A nnu a l R eport, B u reau of A merican Ethno logy (1907Co lor does not seem to be as s oc iated with d irection either at Coch iti or at L aguna.

at leas t not d irect ly asat Z uni or among th e Tewa or Hop i . I t seems probable, h owever, that th e lack of as soc iation is mere ly a fai lure in‘

the record . I n another note th eauth or ass oc iates red with the s u n, green and ye l low with the yaya , and wh ite withth e kos hare.

S ince writ ing th e above a L aguna informant has g iven me th e co lors of l igh tningaccord ing to d irection— ye l low north ; blue (kwisk) , wes t ; red

‘

south ; wh ite (dj amu ts ) , ea s t ; green nad ir ; brown (kwis hdyi) , zenith . I n

L aguna tales , too, th e color as sociations of th e first four d irections are reiterated — ED .

5 Th e familar terrace patternrr’r

— ED .

tf To be identified , presumed ly, with s hruiyana (p . 1 80 ) and with ts anowani

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184. A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

N iatsetako

Oou e

A 'wam'

ha l

Otatatimsh le pashko

Tablafies ta 2

Zu fii3

Matashina otshini

A iaehinatsekanto

R shpenini

S hkarapo TanoanTshakuincfl W inter bow dance

probably re ferred to as the ku rena eith er because for s ome years th e foremost survivingcheam

’

was a shikam’

cheam’

or becau se th e ku ‘rena are as soc iated with the s um— ED .

The women have verm i l ion on their cheek s . On th e left s ide of their h ead themen and women wear feathers of chil ika . shruis , sisikka and arahoma . The qu ironohave no other object than danc ing .

1 The Zuni annua l war dance was owm ahaye . The L aguna and A coma war dance( l ikewise th e Hop i ) is cal led hoinawe. S ee Notes on A coma and L aguna,

"

pp . 162— 1 7 1 .

W omen dancers wear green head tablets . On their face they paint large c irc lesof verm i l ion. (L es Indiens d u Nou veau -Mex iqu e, p .

— ED .

3 Th e dance iswith orwith out mas k s . Th e bodyis painted b lack . l ikewis e s tomachand ches t and a l l beh ind . The arms are yel low to th e neck . Th e face is painted withred och re. U p to the knee s . ye l low ; knees black ; th igh s wh ite .

4 I n Zu ni ceremonia ls there appears to be no such a l ignment of married and u n

married as is seen at Is leta or at th e northern pueblos . A t Jeme z , I have been to ld .

there is gamb l ing at wedd ings , and the winner g ives a dance. I f th e winner is nu

married , th e unmarried dance, i f married , the married — ED .

5 S ometimes take p lace in th e church where th e pries t is not present. and agains th is wi l l . [There is dancing today in th e church at L aguna ] See p . 1 86 and fig . 23 .

0 Into the es tufa Turqu o iseMexicans are adm itted . Two men dance at a time, onefrom es tu fa Turquoise , one from estufa S quash . Th e Turquo ise dancer is painted black .

s triped wh ite ; attached beh ind h is head is a s u n of eag le feath ers , and d isk of corn.

Th e body of the S quash dancer is painted red . H e h as th e same headdres s . b u t th e

feath ers are from the turkey. Both dancers have a fox tai l . a hank of yarn at th e

knees , and ratt les on the feet . Their face is pa inted with red och re. A pebble in th erigh t hand . in the le ft. eag le or turkey f eathers accord ing to th e es tufa. A con

tinu ou s dance from sundown to noon. Th e dancer remains on th e same s pot .The s ong goe s on for a long time. I t is repeated on ly four times during th e dance.

Th e S quas h dancer ha s a seat to th e wes t. th e T urquo ise dancer to th e East. W hen th eTurquo ise dancer h as finished . h e s its down and th e S quas h dancer beg ins .

W hen a dancer becomes tired , th e women (say ) : Tipats a . Have s trength . Theyp u t on another dancer. Great s hame. Th e women c lap their hand s . Th e danceis in order tha t it may not freeze. They make four s igns that they may makewaterme lons , corn, ch i le. A l l those wh o wish may dance. whether chaiani,

qu irana , or others .

7 Th e chakwena is dance d b y Hop i and at Zu r‘

ii'

and L aguna . L arge bows are car

ried by th e dancers and on the ir bod ies is painted th e s ign of th e bow, X . Th e dance

MataloteDanced in the estu fa in the springWar

Of the p lank (De la planche)

By th e bachelors‘

Ma lachina"Dance in winter in the estufa6

ov um sr] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 185

Tsham'

koame At the sunset , a dance with an aureole offeathers .

I n l ine, the dancers are in l ine.

Duck . Masks have a duck b i l l .

BUR L ES QUES

[The au thor re fers to burlesque dances or performances w i th

wh ich he imp l i es or s ta tes tha t the kosha re are as soc i a ted ] I

have seen i gnoble im i ta t ions of re l i g ious [C athol ic] ceremon i es .

I have a lso h eard the Governor asked s uch ques t ions as : “Who are

you? One who command s or one who is command ed ?” I n

S pan i sh th e p lay of word s 2 is s ub t le , and the po i n t is the s harper

becaus e the Governor is weak and t im id .

3 There is a h un t i ng

comedy . Th e d ance p laza is tr imm ed w i th art i fic i a l trees , w i th

one i n the cen tre . They rep res en t the moun ta i ns where d eer or

bea r are hun ted . The actors are covered w i th the s k i ns of deer ,

the an tlers over th e head , or the s k i ns of wi ld s heep , bear , e tc .

Others are d res s ed i n old rags . General ly there is a gu i tar p l ayer

in im i ta t ion of the Mexican p layer— wherever there are Mexicans

there are dances . The Mexican m im ics cal l one another compad re,

and treat one anothe r in a fr i end ly way . Then for no th i ng at a l l

they beg i n to figh t and to tear the clo thes oflr one another . Th ey

keep i t u p . S omet imes they throw th em s elves i n to the m ud of an

artifici a l pond or cl imb u p the trees break i ng down the branches .

The d eer impe rsonat ion s purs ue the Mexican h un ters and fina l ly

appears to be one of the o ldes t of th e mas ked dances . and it is undoubted lyas s ociatedwith war .

—ED .

1 Waiyu s h , at L aguna ; mu l u ktakya . at Zu fii.— ED .

7 B u t the ques tion has no doubt an ins titutional as we l l as a personal edge . A t

Z uni the Governor and h is group are merely go-be tweens for th e h ierarch'

y.

— ~ En.

The figurative phrases and th e comparisons o f th e peop le wou ld fi l l pages . For

examp le, they wou ld sa y to me . Father, do not try so hard to change u s , a pop lar wi l lne v er be a fruit tree . They cal l a man whose h orses are always th in from hardrid ing pcs ets ere, a k ind of b ug wh ich d ries u p melons when it gets on top of them and

st ings them . W hen I firs t ca me to my post among th e Keres they said that Iseemed to be very good to peop le. A n old counc i l lor of S an Fel ipe said to th e counc i l ,"

S trangers with u s are l ike mules ; as long as they are th in. you ca n approach th emwithout fear. as soon as they are fat. there are no animals l ike them to k ick .

"

Of a gadabout youth who comes home late they say . H e has eyes l ike an owl .

Bu t it is in their farees tha t their imag ination is most al ive .

1 86 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION we s te rns . 6

carry them ofic on the i r backs S omet imes i n the dances two

or three koshare p retend to be sow ing or cu l t ivat i ng . Another

kos ha re, d res s ed grotesquely as an Amer ican,w i l l approach , carry i ng

i n one h and a p i ece of bread and , in the oth er , h idden beh i nd his

back , a big whip f The firs t kos hare s ee the trap and run off at ful l

s peed , mak ing d i abol ical faces . The moral of th is pan tom ine is

always to beware of W h i tes , whatever the i r appearance .

Another s at i r ical p i ece is pres en ted every year , a t leas t a t S an

Dom i ngo, to r id icu le S pan i s h-speak i ng peop l e— the dance of the

malachines . Accord i n g to I nd i an t rad i t ion , th is dance was i ns t i

tu ted by Mon tezuma that the d es cendan ts of his race m i gh t have

the p l eas ure of mock i ng the i r conquerors . A burlesque of the

matachines is performed on the Day of the Kings at S an Dom i ngo ,

I nd ian s repres en t ing the bul l-figh ters and d res s ed in rags tu rn the i r

head s from s id e to s id e l ike abs en tm inded and d is tracted persons

and move the i r l imbs grotesquely and extravagan tly . The queen

to whom they com e to pay . homage , ins tead of be ing chos en from

the mos t beau t i fu l ch i ld ren of the town , is a b ig man who -crouches

down to look l i ttle . He has a w ig of tow and his cheeks are pai n ted

carm i ne . The b u l l is a man covered w i th the h id e of a bu l l , th e

horns of the bul l oh th e top of his head . At the momen t when

the bu l l is k i l l ed , the b u l l impersonator and the bu l l figh ter del igh t

th e aud i ence w i th obscene ges tu res .

C ER EMON IAL R AC ES

W hen the shiwanna are to run , they fi rs t fas t four days , i. e. ,

they. take noth ing i n the morn i ng excep t water a fter wh ich they

make them s elves vom i t, noth i ng i n the even ing, and at noon only

a l i ttle wafer brea'

d . The na hia s ays to them : N ow, my ch i ld ren ,

do not eat m uch . Today you have to end ure to help ou r mothers ,

th e skiwanna .

”

The shiwanna runners wear only masks and a coyote sk i n around

th e neck , a bel t of cow h id e and a hand fu l of corn leaves over the

pr iva te parts .

Each s hi‘wanna runs four t imes . I f the other runners l do not

R acers have the ir faces painted half red and hal f green. (L es Iad ieu s da Nou veanMexiqu e, p . S . ) -ED .

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A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

and the S hru’

e .

‘ Els ewhere he notes the toahe, a s ubd i v is ion of

the soc i e t ies , who are ju gglers fi]

S chkoio FeverI rshteam

'

[F l int] WoundsI pani

3 BurnsH akam

'

[fire] Fever,burns

S kra’

e [snake] B ites of po isonous anima ls

The hakam’

chaianiw i l l take a h and f ul of burn i ng s traw , pu t ou t

the flame , and pu t the as hes i n to thei r mou th . The sal i va-mo is tened

ashes are cu ra t ive .

C haiam'

may a l so be asked for non-mag ical m ed ici nes , and cer

ta i n chaiani know how to cure the b i tes of po i sonou s beas ts , to

s et broken l imbs , to pu l l ou t teeth , etc.

[The au thor is not al together exp l ici t i n regard to the weather

con trol ceremon i als o f the chaiani. B es id es the s u n ceremon ia l

re ferred to on p . 198, he refers to fas t i ng by the chaianito bri ng ra i n .

S ee pp . 190 , 192 , 205 ]

W hen th e chaianifas t , and after two or th ree days no ra i n fa l ls ,

they get a frog and i n a s unny p lace they fas ten h im by a foot to a

s take to cal l for ra i n . I f his appea l s ucceed s he m us t be s et free

for the S hiwanna .

4

B e fore s tart i ng on a h un t a man w i l l s eek ou t a chaianiwho

alone h as the r igh t to attach feathers [make or comp l e te a feath er

s t ick] and s ay to him , I beg you to fas ten thes e feathers on my

accoun t i n order tha t ou r Mother or the kopershtaia may g ive me

wha t I s eek , good for tune i n hu n t i ng deer and turkey .

”The chaiani

fas tens th ree or fou r feathers , eagl e , tu rkey , ye l low-bi rd . The

h un ter th rows i t [the s t ick or pu ts i t u nder a s tone . The shi

wanna take i t , they say , to ornamen t them s elves .

I rshteaml chaiani perform a dance after swa l low i ng arrows the

fl i n t po i n ts of wh ich are ve ry s harp . Hence the i r name .

5

l Th e h akani and skra '

e soc ietie s are confused with oth er s oc ieties , at leas t atCoch iti . 2 S ee p . 195 .

3 By a Zuni informant equated with the k'

oshikwe of Zuni , b u t th e equation iss omewhat d oubtfu l as th e k'

os hikwe s pecia l ize in curing wound s .—ED .

4 A mem ber o f a s hiwarmi h ouseh o ld at Zu fii suggested that th is practice wasfo l lowed at Coch iti because there they did not have th e s tone frogs th e ashiwanniof

Zuni s et ou t on th e ir altars . se t ou t fora l ike purpose — ED .

5 A t L aguna, F l int. Fire, k '

ap ina and kos harewere stick swal lowers .— ED .

h u mm er] NOTE S ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 189

S kikam e chaianiare m uch afra id of a m ed ic i na l p lan t cal led s hie

trets e u'

a'wa (med ici ne) , i n S pan is h osha . They bel i eve they w i l l .

fal l i l l from its very smel l"

. To eat i t wou ld be d eath . For a l ike

reason shikarne chaiani? keep from eat i ng wako, a p lan t wh ich is

eate n when young af ter i t is cu t u p l ike sp inach and bo i led . For

shikarne chaiani, rabb i t meat is also a po i son .

1 N othing ed i ble is

abs ta i ned from by irs hteam'

or by schkoio chaiani.

Women can be chaiani. Th e re are a lways two women chaiani,

S hi'wanna chaiani, in every p u eblo . I t is they who carry food to the

chaiani. The shi'wamza chaianihave i n the i r hous e an iareko wh ich

they u se on ly at th e i r office i n the spr i ng t ime . The i r office con

s is ts of mak ing foam (mu s hkatiumi) w i th the root of s hiwanna mosha

(speci es of pa lm tree) wh ich repres en ts clouds and wh ich the womenth row to th e six major s hiu a nna to obta i n cloud s .

2

W hen the s hit/La nna chaianimove i n to ano ther hou s e they carry

the tareko w i th them .

’

As s i s tan ts th row meal on the ia reko and

moan and cry as i f they were los i n g a member of the fam i ly .

The S hia'

anna chaiani are respect i vely under the head of the

s ki/tam e and of the schk-

Oio chaiani. The othe r soc i e ties h ave no

shiwanna chaiani.

3

Bu t to al l the curi ng soc i e t i es women may be adm i t ted . Becaus e

of t im id i ty , however , they ra re ly app ly . S i nce peop le bel ieve that

the office is extreme ly hard , hard on accoun t of long fas ts , of figh ts

aga i n s t w i tches , and of g reat jou rneys taken n ud e of a cold n igh t,

somet imes i n th e s now , i n purs u i t of th e w i tches , for many years

on ly one woman docto r has been known . Abou t fi fteen years

ago s h e l i ved at C och i t i u nder the name of C armel i ta , and s he was

famou s for he r bravery — I n cu res women doctors wear on ly th e i r

1 Taboos on rabb it ( jack-rabb it) meat and on wako (R ocky Mountain bee p lant)are a lso obs e rved by the s hikani-ku rena ch eaniof L aguna and by the S hi

'

wanakwe of

Zui’l i . —ED .

’ C p . M . C . S tevenson ,

'

Ethnobotany o f th e Zuni Ind ians . p . 93 , Th irtiethA nnu a l R eport. B u reau of A merican Ethno logy — ED .

I t is tempting to see in th is office of s hiwanna chaianiof th e s hikarne and schkoio

societies the origin of th e Zuh i as hiwanni. H ow th e ashiwanniorganizations becamed iff erentiated from th e tikya

'we (curing s oc ieties or fraternities ) is a problem . The

as hiwanniare guard ians of enawe (iareko) . the woman in each s hiwanm’

group be ingthe guard ian par exce l lence, and th e ettone is as sociated with th e hou s e , female property.

— ED .

190 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

manta , a k ind of sk ir t o f woo l [the nat ive woolen d res s wh ich leaves

the le ft s hou lder bare] .

QU I R A N A A N D KOS HAR E

The ch ief of the quirana is gairana nawa . l They are modeled

upon the guirana‘

who l i ve u nder the wa ters of yam"

kawes hra ,

nor theas t of S anta Fé. The i r chiefs wileore and koetsame have as

w ives s hru tia and nau tia The father o f the p res ent C ac i que s ays

tha t a fter th row i ng i n hackamu nihe s aw wikore and koetsame come

FI G . 26. FI G . 27 .

FIG . 26.

— Mask of qu irana . Twelve s parrow-hawk feathers on s ide are , tied in setsof two . R epresents mas k in th e Brook lyn Ins titu te Museum .

F I G.27 .— U nidentified mas k . R epresents mas k in the Brook lyn InstituteMuseum

ou t, walk on the water , and speak . Then they s ank back . Th is

happened the day they wen t.

to get water to fas t2 at Tes uque .

H on hon ton ontonto is the cry of'

w'ikore and koetsame when they

are angry . The ch ief is con t i n u al ly scold ing .

The funct ion o f the guirana is to p rocure rain .

They have the i r s ecre t dances of S h fi'wanna .

3 The ch ie f has a

1 H onorific term . [A t L aguna na'wai' is a term app l ied in the kin or c lan group .

meaning fam i ly or clan head or senior— s eniority is imp l ic it b u t it is not ind is pensable .

A s there are no longer cheani groups at L aguna, th e term is not heard in connectionwith cheam

’

; b u t when I wou ld app ly th e term theoretical ly to Cheam’

my informantswou ld repeat th e app l ication as i f it were suitableenough and not unfami l iar]

2A t Z uni on th e ev e o f their fas t or retreat for rain th e ashiwanu ifetch water froma s pring — ED .

3 A gain it is tempting to see in thes e fragmentary notes a description of th e germ s

of what at Zuni deve loped into th e organization of the as hiwanm’

and into th e kokowho

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192 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

W hen a l l were ready to l eave s hipapu ,mas ewa sa id to the kosha re

tha t th e true c lowns or the s p i r i ts o f ' the kosha re s hou ld rema i n

(at koakents hr P) ,Iand that the guirana s hou ld s tay i n the d i rect ion

of the north i n the p lace ca l led yanikawersh . Thes e are the two

p laces where the koshare and the qatrana l ive . The irshteaniand

the others were given the lot of l i v i ng in wenima becaus e they were

ne i ther kos ha re nor qatrana— they were pure s hiwanna .

W hen al l the peop l e s tarted for the s outh and .when they began

to dance and to have d i vers ions , two clowns always came ou t to

am u s e the peop l e ,2and the offici a ls (the th ree ch i e f chaiani)

though t that very wrong ,

3or rather were j ealous , becaus e the clowns

performed many m i racles and becau s e they did whatever came i n to

the i r head s . Al l the other offici a l s s a id to the two clown s that they

wen t beyond bound s , tha t they were perform i ng more m i racles

than the Mother . Thereupon the two koshare s a id that they would

retu rn to shipapu to ho ld counci l w i th her who had given them

power . They wen t there. W hen they had pres en ted thems elves

w i th the i r yaya , they s a id that the th ree offici a ls had cr i t ici s ed the i r

performance of m i racl es . Then the Mother sa id to them that the

kosha re wayatyama had no power to do s ecret th i ngs or m i racl es ,

tha t he had power only to am u s e th e peop le and to make th e ski

wannacom e and to have kosha re dances .

Before th e chaiani d ance they soak and crus h a speci es of

moun ta i n gras s , bea t i ng i t w i th a s ton e upon a fl at s tone . S ud s are

made , and the chatanipu t them on the i r head s“to rep res en t clouds .

The r i te. is a p rayer for ra i n .

After a fas t of fou r d ays , ordered by the war cap ta i n , the chaiani5

1 A t L aguna the_

kos hare are sa id to come from th e eas t where th e s u n l ives . Theyl ive under a lake wh ere there is a wh ir lpoo l They go ahead of th e

k'

ats ina. at sunrise s ing ing, Th e k'

ats ina are here, I brough t them .

— ED .

2 S ee p . 1 86.

3 For a l ike trad it ion of grievance agains t encroachment of th e kos hare at L agunasee

“Ceremonial ism at L aguna .—ED .

4 Th e groups are not s pec ified . s o that chaianiother than th e qztirana and kos haremay be referred to .

— ED .

5 C p . F . H . Cus h ing . Z u niFolk-Tales . pp . 253 it . N ew York and L ondon, 1 901 ;

E . C . P ars ons . “P ueblo Ind ian Fo lk-Tales . P robably of S panis h P rovenience .

"

Jou rna l of A merican Folk-L ore. v o l . x x xi 2 1 7 n . i .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCHITI , N EW MEXICO 193

perform a dance ceremon ial w i th an atchts e . The atchts e is a figure

repres en ting the s u n and the moon .

1 I t is cos tumed I nd i an fas h ion

excep t for a fea ther i n the head and two feathers near the armp i ts .

The s h i r t is mad e of d ee rs k i n becau s e formerly cot ton was not worn .

The eyes are tu rquo is es . The head and arm s are a ttached to the

tru nk by p i eces of bucksk i n . The arms are ben t . I n danc i ngon ly the legs and th e head move . Th e danc i ng las ts throughou t a

song . [ I n anoth er note the au thor i nd icates tha t th i s accoun t

of a puppe t dance has been got ten from Mexican ne ighbors o f

the l ndians of S an Dom i ngo and S an Fe l ipe . The I nd i ans them

se lves re fus ed to s ubs tan t iate it. ]Wh en peop l e wan t to know the ou tcome of a proj ect, they may

s end for a chaianiwho, after fas t i ng , w i l l d raw a l i ne of meal from

the doo r to the oppos i te wal l where the kopershtaia are s et ou t .

W h i le the chaianis i ngs , his tarc/so w i l l advance from its pos i t ion on

the m eal l i ne i n fron t of the other idols toward s the door , provid i ngthe ou tcome is to be favorable , o therw is e i t rema i ns immob i le .

At other t imes the tare/eawi l l be p laced i n a bow l beh i nd wh ich ala rge p i ece o f cloth is s tretched . I f the ou tcom e is to be favorab le ,

th e ta reko w i l l s lowly r is e u p d ur i ng the s i ng i ng and move i n the

a i r from eas t to wes t .

S im i larly the chaia nican make a gou rd rattl e (gu aj e) s tand on

end w i thou t touch i ng i t, and they can make feathers wave i n th e

d i ff eren t d i rect ions as i f they were a l i ve .

N OTE ON C H A I A N I OF JEMEZ

tiami (Eagl e) chaiani

I f one wants to belong to th is s oc i e ty wh ich ex is ts on ly at Jemez ,

one m us t go to Jem ez to a cave not far from the town . On arr iv i ng

at the cave , i f one s ees i n the m idd le o f i t foo tp r i n ts l ike ch i ld ren’

s ,

foo tpr i n ts of a peop l e who l i ve i n the cave and are i nv is ible , i t is a

s ign that the pos tu lan t w i l l be a very good chataniand have good

l uck hun t i ng eag l es .

2

E lsewhe re the author ass oc iate s the koshare with th e s un and the qu irana withthe moon forwhom they fas t every month . (L es Indiens du Nou veau -Mexiqu e, p . 1 7 ) .

E

TI I n anothe r pas sage the author loca te s th e cave or tunne l near P ecos ] A fter thete st th e pos tu lant undergoe s , if tracks of deer. ante lope . or l ion are seen in the s oi lof the cave it is a s ign of future succes s .

194 A MER ICA N A N TH R OP OL OG I C A L'

A S S OC I A T I ON [MEMOIR S , 6

W hen thes e chaiani wan t to perform the i r offices they fas t

e igh t days . I f they are marr i ed , they have to m ake the i r w ives

fas t . The fas t is nom i nal : They m us t be con t i nen t . On the

n i n th day they leave hom e for the Va l les , a very p l easan t p lace

northwes t of C och i t i . The w i fe knows sh e m u s t fas t , m u s t re

m a i n con t i nen t and m us t not cook w i th greas e i n the pot. I f by

chance a w i fe can not meet thes e cond i t ions , however far from home

the husband may be , i n the pit where he is ly i ng i n wait for an eagle ,

he hears the greas e s i z zle in the pot and knows tha t a t that very

momen t his w i fe has broken th rough the cond i t ions . The trapper

wa i ts for the'

eagl e to com e . He catches i t . I f the eagle is fu l l of

fa t , th e man know s for a cer ta i n ty tha t his w i fe has broken the fas t

and u s ed greas e a t her meals . I f the trapper catches many eag les

and the b i rd s are handsomely fea thered , he know s tha t his w i fe has

kep t fa i th .

The p i ts made by thes e Eagl e chalani i n the Val les are enci rcl ed

with p lan ts . At the bottom of the pit is a bow l fi l led w i th water

wh ich s erves as a m i rror to re flect the eagle . Fas tened in the

p l an ts is a rabb i t to a t tract the eagle . A s s oon as the eagl e a l igh ts ,

the chalanican catch him , for the eag l e is unw i l l ing to abandon his

prey .

1

Thes e chalani keep the i r h un t i ng i ns trumen ts far ou t of s i gh t

from town . They make a pal is ade of s takes and cover i t w i th

branches of royal p i n e . They s upp ly the cu ri ng s ociet ies w i th th e

eagl e feathers'

needed i n r i tual .

Th is socie ty ex is ts on ly to tel l fortunes . I t has more work

i n w i n ter than'

in'

s ummer . W hen the labaji go ou t in a body

i n to the town , it I S a S ign that m uch s now w i l l fa l l becau s e they go

ou t on ly when i t is go i ng to s now or s torm . At o the r times peop l e

as s emble i n the es tu fa to undertake the office of mag ic (pojacante) .

C p . A n Ethnologic Dictionary of the Navaho L angu age, p . 5 08 ; A . L_. Kroeber,

Th e A rapah o .

"

B u lletin A merican Mu s eum of Natu ra l His tory . v ol . x vm p . 22 .

A L aguna informant fam i l iar with Navajo customs asserts that th is way of trapp ingeag les is not P ueblo b u t N avajo. A t Zuni young-eag les are taken from the cl iff-bui ltnes t b y a boy let down over th e edge of th e cl ifl

'

.— ED .

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[ 96 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

they are some t imes i nvi ted to exh i b i t th e i r powers . The Apache

j ugg ler is hand somely d res s ed i n garm en ts fr i nged w i th yucca

fiber . H is moccas i n s are covered a l l over w i th many co lored bead s ;

h e wears a green mas k w i th a'

green horn curvi ng backward s from

the forehead and repres en t ing the horn of the wa ter s erpen t . l

W hen N avajo c ome i n to th e ne i ghborhood , the I nd i ans (the

Mexican s as wel l) cons u l t them abou t find i ng s trayed an imals .

The sonamb u lis t N avajo w i l l “

s i ng and , clas p i ng his hand s , w i l l

move them abou t as he s p in s around un t i l h e fal ls down i n a k i nd of

catalepsy . The d i rect ion his r ig id hands po i n t to is the d i rect ion

of th e los t obj ect 2 “Yes , the N avajo ou tdo u s i n magic, s ay the

P ueblo peop l e , i n a s i ng l e n igh t they can br ing to matu r i ty a

gra i n of co rn th rown on the fi re .

C A C IQUE3 (irs hteamoni) 4

The C ac i que belongs to th e irshteam'

chalani. He is the oldes t

in office of the irs hteam'

, and h e rece i ves his power (l ike a l l the

chaiani) When his p red ecessor is at the po i n t o f d eath . A mor i

bund C aci que names his s ucces sor, bu t he is bound to name the

o ld es t irs hteam'

chaiani.

5 Ex ofiicio the C ac i que belongs to the

hakani, skra’

e, and kosha re .

6

Whether or not the C aci que may be d epos ed is an open que s t ion .

S ix years ago, a t S an Fel ipe, the p redeces sor of the pres en t C aci que

was charged w i th favor i ng modern id eas and he was d epos ed by

his enem i es . Th i s novel and s evere proced ure arou s ed oppos i t ion

wh ich is s t i l l a s ource of d i sord er . I i n fer tha t th i s s i ngl e i ns tance

C p . Hop i Katch inas . p l . x x v r.— ED .

2 E . C . P arsons .

“A Zu fiiDetective, Man . v o l . X V I pp . 168—70 .

There is in everypueblo a cac ique. L ikewise a nahia . a governor. a vice-governor.a lgu azils (th e number varies with th e importance o f the pueblo) , a war captain and h is

aid s , a fis ca l and h is subord inates .

[A Jemez informant recent ly at Z uni mentioned for his pu eblo th ree mayores .

two war captains , two fisca l s ]4 S pe l led als o sch teamom

'

and rshteam u ni. Th e term tiamom’

is fam i l iar at S iaand L aguna. Th e Cac ique or tiamom

’

of L aguna was als o referred to . part icularlyin tales . as hach amu m

’

kaiak , prayer-s tick broken, bent.— ED .

5 H e is dec lared succe s s or [ ins tal led ? ] by th e nahia and war captains .

6 [ I n another pa s sa ge th e author s tate s that] th e Cac ique is at th e head of a l l th e

secret s ocieties , b u t h e is more particu lar ly th e head of the irshteam'

and the kos hare.

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 197

w i l l not be fo l lowed , and i t may be s a id tha t the C aci que is appo i n ted

for l i fe . Bu t the C ac i q ue is s ubj ect to pun i s hmen t . I f he offend

aga i ns t the cus tom s es tabl i s hed by the Mo ther or by Mon tezuma ,1

he is j udged by the war cap ta i n ; i f agai ns t th e laws or morals

wh ich the governor p rotects , by the governor . A gu i l ty C ac i que

m us t kneel and rece ive from an a lgu azil the number‘of las hes de

creed by his j udge .

N evertheles s , the respect pa id to the C aci que is very grea t .

At certa i n per iod s of the year the war cap ta i n organ i zes h un ts for

the benefi t of the C ac i que , and land s are cu l t iva ted for his ma i n

tenance . The C ac iq ue has two ass i s tants (schtraekatsi) , the fi rs t

is the head o f the s hikarne chaiani, the s econd is the h ead of the

s chkoio cha lani.

The C ac i que is ca l l ed yaya , mother , bu t he is accoun ted the

father as we l l as th e moth er of al l the peop l e . He has to p ray and

fas t for al l , for the whole world , even for theW h i tes , that al l may ob

ta i n iani, i. e . , l i fe , heal th , and good harves ts . He can en ter i n to

no soc i a l entang lem en ts , he is a man of peace . Therefore is he

re l i eved of al l execu t ive funct ions . He ne i ther d enounces nor

pun i s hes . He g i ves advice and couns e l s harmony .

“L et u s be

un i ted as brothers . Thus ou r Mother w i l l aid u s and keep u s i n

heal th . Thu s from h er breath we s ha l l rece ive the heal th s he is

herse l f pos s es sed of .

The C aciqu e has a l i t t le j a r . W h at he keeps in i t I do not

know .

2 He has no s taff of office . He has exper i ence i n m ed ic i ne .

I f he reveals the wo rk i ngs of m ag ic, l ike any o f the chaiani, he m u s t

d ie .

3

The.

C aciqu e nom i na tes year ly the governor and al l offic i a l s

not ho ld i ng office for l i fe . H is appo i n t i ng au thor i ty however is

not uncond i t iona l . He m igh t make nom i nat ions agai ns t the w i s h

of a l l , bu t pract ical ly h e does not . Toward s the clos e o f the year

1 S ee p . 228 .

a C p . Zu fiiInd ians , p . 163 .

3 The betrayer of secrets is said to be s hut u p in the room of th e qu irana . Th e

war captains guard him . They make a sq uare and p lace h im in it and s ay to him ,

“I f you stir from there . you die . H e s tand s there entire ly nude. W ere h e to pu t

a foot outs ide the square. theywou ld s hoot h im with arrows .

198 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

he s ummons the principales and s ays to them : I havecons idered

g iv ing you as governor or war cap ta i n so and s o who s eems to me

fi t to fi l l the office in a way to s at i s fy you .

"

Ord i nar i ly the pro

posa l is received w i th acclamat ion . S ome t imes obs ervat ions are

h umbly expres s ed , bu t rarely does anyone en terta in th e idea of

i n terfering w i th the nom inat ions of the C ac i que , part icularly a t

the sol em n moment of the i r proclamat ion

On very solem n occas ion s the C acique makes the s u n travel .

A wagon cover is s tre tched aga i n s t a wal l and a d i sc of wood pa i n ted

green is p laced on the ground towards the eas t . Then the C aci que

and his compan ion chaianiord er the d i sc to move . At the word s ,

hina oshm tsha payatyama ,

“Move, S u n , ou r father [ P

the d i sc grad ual ly descr i bes a quarter o f a ci rcl e , then s tops for a

mom en t a t the order ,“pana (s top) , i t is noon .

” Then i t con t inues

its cou rs e, s ubs id ing on th e ground only at the clos e of the song .

N A H IA l (WA R P R IEST) , C R UDOS , MATAL OTES 2

S econd in the h ierarchy is the nahia . The office of nahia is

u s ual ly s hared by two of the principales . The office is for l i fe and ,

l ike the C aci q ue , the nahia is named by his p redeces sor . He is

always chos en from the cru dos , i. e . , m en who are not chalani, who

b e'

l 'oinlg to no society .

The nahia is chos en for his in tel l igence and his memory ,

3 for he

is both advisor to the C aci que and guard i an of trad i t ions u nknown

i n part even to the principales and some t im es even to the C acique .

4

1 Th e word als o means down, under. [There is some amb iguity here. Un les sthe h is s ounded the word is th e same as that for mother.]

2 Cru dos and mata lotes are presumably S panish terms . Th e au th or in a vocabu laryg ives ta ia'ma formata lote, and h e s ometimes subs titutes for cru dos the French equivalent ,cru s . R aw , crude. hence uninitiated in Keresan (L aguna) is s hu ts . Th e term is usedfor those who as s is t cheam'

. e.g . , s h u ts ku rena ch eam’

or s h u l s shiwanna cheoui. S h u ts

k'

atsina cheam’

is also said . and sh u ts mas ewa is a term app l ied to th e war captains ind is tinction, I suppose , to the opi, as s calp-takers of L aguna. A coma, and S ant A na werecal led .

3 H e is a great l iar. H e says every th ing contrary towhat th e priest says in church .

4 The apil as hiwannimosiis the homo logue at Zuni of th e nahia . Th e Keresanconception of the offi ce as that of trus tees h ip of cus tom lead s one to th ink that some o fthe recorded activities of th e apilas hiwannimosiat Zuni are not ind ividua l istic b u to fficial . (S ee

“Notes on Zuni ." pt. u . 267 ff . ) Indeed th e apilas hiwannior bow priestsof Zuni. th e tsatio hoch em

’

or war captains of L aguha. and th e nah ia and h is as s is tantso f Coch iti are a l l ritual istic —ED .

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200 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

has the greates t n umber of k i l ls to his cred i t . The head -o f the

mata lotes is the leade r i n the war dances . The C acique is not neces

sarily mata lote,‘bu t he has the r igh t in the war dances to as s ign to

each dancer his ma linche or female partner . R ecen tly , at C och i t i ,

th is r igh t was u s urped by the nahia who is also head of th e mata lotes .

He was on his way,

to fetch to the dance one of the women he had

chos en when the C ac i que met him and had h im make the poor

woman change from her d ance d res s and give i t over to the woman

the C ac i que h im s el f had chos en . The ep i sode made cons iderable

no i s e .

OFFI C ER S

The foremos t is the cap ta i n of war the mas ewa . He is

l eader i n cas e of war . He is guard i an of the cu s toms and when the

cu s tom s are not carr i ed ou t, he pun i s hes . H is l i eu tenan t (teniente)

has l ike funct ions . Thes e o fficers are appo i n ted annual ly .

The governor has charge only of the external aff a i rs of the pueblo.

He has the chu rch bu i l t and repa i red and he keeps in good repa i r

the es tu fa or cou nci l room . He as s igns to each his work at the t ime

of the communa l p l an t i ng . He negot ia tes wi th s trangers who

wan t to ren t land and he arranges for the open i ng of publ ic road s .

H e is j us t ice of the peace , act i ng upon cas es aga ins t moral s and

publ ic"

order . I f he h im s el f is gu i l ty of cr ime he is depos ed3and

pun i s hed . I f he is s u spected of u nbel i ef in connect ion w i th the

cu s tom s , as i n a recen t cas e, he is d enounced to the cap ta i n of war

who j udges him and pun i s hes accord i ng to cus tom .

The mos t common pun i s hmen ts i n fl icted by the war capta i ns

1 Th e last Cac ique of L ag u na was one . H e was also a F l int cheam’

. N aiuch iof

Zu fii‘

was ch ief bow pries t as wel l as ch ief rain priest of th e north .—ED .

2 I n another passage th e author says tha t it is d i ffi cu lt to know i f his offi ce isi nferior to th e Governor's , for h is au th ority extend s to matters quite d iff erent. I n

c ivi l matters , h owever, th e captain of war is s u bord inate to th e governor .— ED .

[A s s tated on p . 197 h e and th e other o ffi cers are e lected annua l ly and they maybe ree lected ] For a lmos t ten years Jos é H i lario Montoya ha s he ld th e offi ce of governor. H e is a man of rap id and profound though t, incred ibly active, and endowed ina h igh degree with a talent for gent le d ip lomacy and with unfai l ing virtue. H e h as

encou raged men to send their ch i ldren to schoo l and h e ha s always d irected th e peop leinto l ines of progres s , retaining th e sympathy a l ike of the Ind ians and of a l l W h iteswh o have come into re lation with him .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 20 1

and by the governor are the s tocks (cepo) and wh ipp i ng . I n s tocks

the head and fee t are he ld between two board s , and the impr ison

m en t w i thou t food or d r i nk may l as t th ree d ays . The wh ipp i ng

may cons i s t of as many as fi fty las hes . Af ter con fes s ion , the cu l

p r i t has to kneel down or be fas tened to a .beam by his wris ts so

tha t his fee t barely touch the ground . Then the algu azil , after

be ing warned tha t he w i l l s ufi‘er the s ame pun is hmen t u nles s he

s tr ike w i th al l h is force , p roceed s to app ly the lash of bra id ed raw

h ide .

“

At the th i rd lash the blood flows , and a woman w i l l fa i n t .

Men w i l l some t imes take'

th e pun i s hm en t w i thou t a m urmu r and

i t is i n general a d i sgrace to s how i n be i ng pun i shed any s i gn of

weaknes s .

W hen a man has refus ed to take part i n the dances or has s hown

any con temp t for the ceremon ia ls the war cap ta i n in terrogates

him . A con fes s ion is the hard es t th i ng i n the wor ld to get from an

I nd i an , and the accus ed may keep the court wa i t i ng for days .

1

I f final ly h e re fus es to ans wer, the war capta i n w i l l have him“

s tr ip

and w i l l trace a ci rcl e around his feet ou t of wh ich he may not go

un t i l he con fes s es . Accord i ng to his s en tence he may s tand or

sit, bu t both pos i t ions are cruel . An old man told me that he was

once charged w i th unbel i e f and had to s tand upr igh t in th e c i rcl e .

At the end of a day he fa i n ted . They ra is ed him u p and asked him

i f he p lead gu i l ty . By nature very d i rect and s imp le , he s a id to

h im s el f,“ I f I say yes , I l i e and do wrong ; i f I say no , I s ha l l die

F i nal ly h e s a id , Yes , my brother , I adm i t I have done wrong .

He was d el ivered . The next day he fled to S an ta Fé and app l i ed

for Amer ican ci t i zens h ip . Th i s audac ious and u nprecendented

move brough t him the con temp t of everybody , even of his ch i ld ren .

The old nahia adv is ed peop l e publ icly not to im i ta te “cr im i nals

who free th em s elves from the i r s anct ions and become Amer ican

ci t i zens as a horse s hu t u p w i th o ther bronchos i n a corral m igh t

throw down the Iota (a p i ece o f wood form i ng the enc los u re . )

1 I f an Ind ia n is taken in th e act. h e wi l l deny with assurance enough to make hisCaptor dou bt h imse l f . Th e Ind ian be l ieves tha t it is for G od to punis h him i f. h e can

esca pe his judges . On ly when a man sees that his jud ges a re inflex ible wi l l h e confessto a part of the truth .

202 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

However, th e examp l e of th e innovat ion has s ingularly in t im idated

the au thor i t ies of C och i t i and red uced the number and s ever ity of

the i r, pun i shmen ts. At S an Fel ipe and part icu larly at S an Dom i ngo

p r imi t i ve r igor s t i l l a t taches to pun is hmen ts . At J emez, on the

con trary , the sanct ions have l i t tl e force . Only th ree years ago the

governor was s tr ipped and pu t i n to the s tocks after a general orgy

nat ive as wel l as federa l law proh ib i ts fermen ted l i quor .

The head a lgu azil obeys both the governor and the war capta i n .

He has charge of publ ic works , in part icu lar of the i rr igat ion . H e

gives not ice abou t comm unal work , and he s ees to i t tha t workmen

are not la te . I f they are la te or abs en t wi thou t perm i s s ion , he

p un i shes them . He i s sues perm i ts to l eave town . The alguazil

has to guard the dances and ceremon ies aga i ns t i nqu i s i t ive eyes .

1

He keeps the comm unal moneys . H is tem'

ente has the s ame func

t ion s . At S an to Dom i n go there are twelve a lgu azils .

The office of fis cal“

appears to be a recen t i ns t i tu t ion . The

fis cals were or iginal ly the s ervan ts of th e pr ies t when there was a

p r ies t i n every’

pueblo . The head fiscal s t i l l has charge of church

repa i rs , of cu l t ivat i ng the land s of the p r ies t , and of i rr igat ing a

d i tch of the church . He br i ngs i n the p r i es t'

s h arves ts , he looks

after his hors es , and on his paroch i al v i s i ts he s upp l i es him w i th

food . The s t ick of office of the fiscals is s urmoun ted by a cros s .

The fis cals en force the u s e of the rosary on S unday . They pun is h

peop le i f they come la te [to chu rch go i ng from hous e to hous e to

wh ip .

2

They are i n charge of l shiril lo kiz'

m’

kama (wh ip , above , his hou s e,

l . e . , G od ) , God’

s wh ip , a wh ip hung u p i n the chu rch and u s ed

l i ghtly on s i nners who ask this,fav or of the fiscals .

3

The s acris tanis appo i n ted for l i fe , bu t he has no s tick of office

and is not cons idered an officer . However , he is over the fiscals .

Warshtetshra (b i rd ) is an honorific term app l i ed to s ome o f the

officers , e . g. , pis hkale warshtetshra , bi rd fis cal .

S ee p .

'

1 5 7 , n . 4 , for a l ike function at cures .

2 C p . th e provis ion forwh ipp ing as a sanction in connection with the governor andtenientes o f Zuni . (

“N ote s on Zuni ," pt. 11, p . 27 5 )— ED .

3 Th is practice is of extreme interes t in a s tudy of th e general P ueblo practice of

wh ipp ing as a rite of exorcism .

— ED .

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204 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

days la ter the cap ta i ns g i ve not ice to al l the p eop l e tha t in the

n igh t cures w i l l be made . The s ick are pu t i n th ree hou s es . l An

al tar is s et i n each hous e, the s chkoio,irshteani, shikarne i n each . The

canes of the cap ta i n and his lenien te are i n the‘

hou se of the irshteam'

,

thos e o f the governor and his leniente i n the hou s e of the s chkm’

o,

thos e of the fis cal and his teniente i n the hou s e of the s hikarne .

Guns , ch ie fl y thos e wh ich have done harm , and arrows are p laced

near th e canes . Everybody is p res en t . The chaiani are a t the

al tar w i th the ta reko and the monos . [S p ., bunches of feathers ,i. e . ,

i n th i s cas e fea ther-s t icks ]One chataniadvances in fron t of th e others before the kopers htaia .

He takes the crys tal bal l and pu ts i t i n the sacred water A s he looks

i n to the bal l , h e says

Tu o poakachani hao masewa kawe tiame poakachani kn its elook here h is s ons look h ow they are

chawekie masewa k u its e chiawekia tiamu ni hao heme kawas ah is s ons how they are h is s on cacique here thus pain

kanate hao ts enitiknows profound ly here knows th e body to th e coremoh i na s h rooako s h raats ete hatche i ne meiawelet u s go let u s go l ike m en

The chaianial so cure the canes , and t h ey sp i t .

2

' Then the chaiani s pr i nk l e s hel l on the canes , g i v i ng the canes

to the officers and s ay i ng to them , Th i s cane does not s eem l i t tl e,

i t is a great th i ng , i t is ou r fath er .

” 3 They give th e gun s , s ay ing,

Do not be a fra id l es t they harm you . They are cu red .

”

[ I n the l is t of dances , certa i n dances are referred to as w i n ter or

s pr i ng dances , bu t the t ime of perform i ng the greater n umber of

the dances is un specified . I n th is respect, therefore , the calendar

is very incomp l e te . The fol lowi ng general note may be added :]

I n th e mon th of N ovember they s i ng to the S u n and they dance for

1 Th is nigh t of general cu re occurs at Zuni and at Is leta d u ring th e winter s ols ticeceremonial . A t L aguna at th e close of th e a l l-nigh t s o ls tice ceremonial everybody is

g iven a drink of med ic ine .— ED .

2 R eferring , no dou bt, to a rite of exorcism common among th e Keresans and at

Zuni . — ED .

3 A t Zu fiiand elsewhere th e canes of offi ce have an obviou s ly fetich istic character.b u t th is s prink l ing of meal on th e canes is th e p laines t avowal of that character I have

yet h eard of — ED .

DUMA R ES ’

I‘

] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 205

him that h e may p res e rve the i r l i fe and that i t may not be cold .

The C acique has a bas ket (jicarilla) fu l l of hachamum’

. (C p . fig .

The fas ts . I n the beg i n n ing of June they begi n the fas ts . There

is a feas t given by the peop l e i n

th e even i ng . N oth i ng the next

day . The day fo l low ing at noon

another l i ttle feas t . They s topeat i ng . The fourth day another

feas t l ike the firs t day . They

s i ng un t i l s undown . Others are

not ified they are go i ng to come

in .

1

The fas t i ng is not over un t i l

the firs t fros t . I n the'

au tumn

the fas t l as ts s tr ictly ‘the whol e

four days .

I n cas e of a great d rough t

the ord er of fas t i ng2 by the

chaiani is : irshteani, shikam e,

schkoio, guirand s hreu ts e.

3

F I G . 28 .

— H achamu ni robab ly of a

The chamm have an al tar p

society. I n th e Brook lyn Institu te Mu

behind which they smg , the mo scum , L ength , 7 inches .

nos i n front

s hiwanna ts a tse no tona hei hai k i t i he s hrakaka kas h i wans tecomes north rain help ing

tsate no s hiwanna ts ate no hinia ia a a s hiwanna tsats e no h ima ya

hawa ‘

pon i konihihanihitonahainots kik i n i no“

The men are nud e , the women wear a manta . The chaiani

smoke . I n s ummer the re is a r i te w i th s uds . D ur ing the fas t th e

1 I infer that. as at Zuni , th e annua l fas ts are made by succes s ive grou ps — ED .

2 S ee p . 1 88 .

P res umed ly the group of wh ich the nahia. ca l led (see p . 199 ) s hreu ts enawaia is th e

head . i. e the crudos or matalotes -ED .

4 [ I n'

anoth er note the author write s :] That th e rain may fal l . the fas ters s ingOver there at the N orth comes s hiwanna or yaya with cloud s and brings rain in ordertha t it may fel l upon ou r land s to make ou r corn. watermelons ,wh eat, me lons and al l

that we sow. grow .

"

206 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

cap ta in and algu azil are on watch aga i ns t i n t ru ders . The door is

clos ed excep t i n s ummer . The cap ta in decid es on the t ime to clos e

the ceremony .

[C e remon ial races are men t ioned by the au thor , al though the

t ime of hold i ng them is unspec ified . Of the communal hu n ts in to

wh ich ceremon i al ism also en ters the a u thor makes no ment ion . I n

October , 1913 , I happened to be pas s i ng through C och i t i the day of

a h un t and , at a d i s tance ,1 I s aw the s tar t and the gay homecom i ng .

R iding i n to town abou t 9 a . m . we pas s ed abou t an e igh th of a m i l e

to the northeas t of the town an e lderly man s i t t i ng at p rayer before

a smal l fi re . An hou r or s o la te r, i n th i s local i ty , thehun ters , men

and women , gathered together and I heard s i ng i ng . At s uns et they

retu rned . Abou t an e igh th of a m i l e to the nor thwes t of the town ,

a group of men gathered together for a few m i n u tes . The women

in two ’

s and th ree ’s came i n on foot, laugh i ng and talk i n g and carry

i ng th e game —rabb i ts , smal l roden ts , and qua i l . I was told that

the woman fi rs t to reach a h u n ter after he had m ade a k i l l became the ,

rec ip i ent ]2

ESTUFAS A N D C ER EMON IAL P L AC ES

[ I n a note on dances3 the au thor imp l i es tha t there are two es tu

fas , th e Turquois e and the S quas h . The two es tu fas of Jemez go

by the s ame nam e,and the J emez sys tem of two es tu fas is charac

teris tic of the Keresans of the R io G rande . The s umme r and w i n

ter divi s ion s of the Tewa are cal led Turquo is e and S qu ashfl]

N ear C och i t i to the nor th there is a p lace formed of s tones

p laced i n a round . Two are upr igh t . I n the m idd l e are p rayer

s t icks . I n the ne ighborhood areto be found the feathers of eag l es

I was not al lowed to jo in th e hunt . Theywou ld on ly let you go , said my guidefrom Santa C lara. “ i f you to ld them you were the daugh ter of the Cacique of SantaC lara. S eeing me look interes ted . h e s traigh tway repented of even that s l igh tre ference to cus tom or loca l joke, and with held exp lanation — ED .

3 A l ike practise is or was fo l lowed at L aguna. I infer from an account of a commu na l hunt recorded by Dr. Boas .

“W hen s omebody k i l ls a rabb it for you women,

you wi l l have to ru n for it.

’

Thus says the head war ca ptain (before th e h untersstart ou t) . —ED .

S ee p . 1 84 , n . 6.

Harrington, p . 62 .

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208 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MI—m oms , 6

A l i tt l e to the sou theas t of schkoio schkakahau s h are found twocaves cal led kanakiaia eartm

'

ts h , the hous e of the w i tches . One of

thes e has been s truck by l i gh tn i ng and d es troyed . I t is the one

fu rther sou th and below P ena B lanca . I n the other cave the

w i tches are repu ted to hold the i r meet i ngs at n igh t .

A l i t tl e further to the s ou th , l ikew i s e on the banks of the R io

G rande , i n the arroyos , th e shiwanna teach each other the songs

wh ich are s a id to or i gi na te i n wenima . N ear by are two p l aces

l ike natu ral c i rcus es , tha t is to say , p laces hol lowed ou t by water,

W here th e s hiwanna u s ed to dance . N owadays the ch ie f of the

s ecre t d ances p re fers a very h idden and ret i red a rroyo. Once a

s hepherd was s eated in the shad e of a cedar on the s id e of the r iver

oppos i te the danc i ng p lace . The s hepherd was a poor i n nocen t ,

bu t nevertheles s the I nd i ans were afra id l es t he s hould tel l the peop l e

of the p lace what he had s een . The r iver-

was very h igh . I t s eemed

impos s ible to cros s . B u t the d ance would have h ad to s top had there

been a w i tnes s of i t . Then the shiwanna saw a ch i ld d r iv ing beeves to

pas tu re ; they took two beeves , made them sw im the r iver and held

on to the i r ta i ls . Thus they were able to cros s the r iver and d r ive

away the s hepherd who was look i ng a t them . The i nciden t s how s

how carefu l the I nd i an s are to keep the ircus toms j ealou s ly to them

s elves .

Fu r ther down , nearly a hal f m i le , is a p lace where the shiwanna

races are held . The cou rs e is abou t 460 paces .

Abou t two m i les to the nor th is the p l ace (tsits [water] s ehtotro

eam'

ch) where the ado l es cen t boys got the i r s upernatura l exper ience .

‘

PAN THEON

[The au thor is con fu s ed i n regard to the s upernatural or s uper

n atu rals referred to as kopersktaia . He g ives l i t tl e or no d efin i t ion

and his references are con trad ictory . To the I nd i ans thems elves

the term , no doubt , is i ndefin i te . I t is the term u s ed for G od or

the h i gher powers , s ay s Father D umares t i n one pas s age . At

L aguna the term certa i n ly refers to a number of s upernatu ral s , to

1 S ee p . 145 .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 209

various natu re powers .

l A nd th i s s eems to be the app l icat ion of

the term at S ia . Bu t at both L aguna and S ia j u s t wh ich s uper

natura ls are to be i ncl uded is ambiguous . The term has been us ed

at Zuni even more ambiguou s ly .]Kopers htaia l i ves at shipopa and is always accompan ied by

ma s ewa and oyoyawa . Kopers htaia is als o ca l led s cu l s h raanaya ,

ou r mother . [Bu t kopershtaia are both ma le and female , koper

shtaia payatyama and kopers htaia kochinako. S ee p . The

C ac i que is i n every pueblo the repres en ta t i ve of kopershtaia . The

war cap ta i n and his v icar are cal led by the names of th e twi ns and

s erve the C ac i q ue as mas ewa and oyoyawa s erve kopershtaia i n

the world below ,i. e .

, und er the waters of the lake i n C o lorado cal led

s hipopa . P i lgr images are s ome t imes made to th i s lake i n honor of

ie'opers htaia .

2

Th e images of kopershtaia wh ich I have s een i n hous es are made

o f s tone (fig . 29 , 3 1 ) or pai n ted on a round board fig . The

p ictu res are symbo l s of thos e th i ngs i n th e un ivers e wh ich mos t

i ns p i re venera t ion i n the I nd i an becau s e o f the i r u t i l i ty . I n figure

30 may be seen the s u n , the“

moon , the s tars , arrows of l igh tn i ng,

clou d s (represe nted by the wh i te color pa i n ted on th e back Of the

wood en idol ) .

The s u n was mad e by u rets ele . I t is a d is c of shel ls beh i nd wh ich

is h idd en payatyama ,S u n-man , who i l l um i nes the world in his

fl igh t th rough s pace .

3

[For u rets ete, s ee-pp . 160 , 1 72 , and for masewa and oyoyawa , s ee

pp . 19 1 , 199 . The au thor s umma ri zes Thus the Mo ther and mas ewa

A nd I have heard it trans lated th ere as ange ls .—Eo .

Formerly the Ind ia ns of P ecos [in one copy. Taos ] made kopers htaia h uman sacrihees . They chose a young man and a young woman. and dres s ed them as i f theywerebetrothed . They adorned their head s with th e mos t beautifu l parrot feathers theycou ld find . and they cond u cted them to th e edge of th e lake.

-There they began tos ing in honor of the god and they bade th e ch i ld ren enter th e wate r . S ome trap havingbeen se t in advance. in a l l proba b i l ity, th e victims wou ld advance and be grad ua l lysubmerged . W hen th e feathers on th e top of th e ir head d isappeared . th e song wou ldend . [Th is inc ident figures in th e mytho logy of S ia and o f Zuni . (and Dr . Mason hasjus t reco rded it among the Papago) and it seems probable that th e auth or has taken amyth ica l trad ition at Coch iti as h is torical ]

S ee p . 222 .

2 10 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

and oyoyawa perfected the world , the Mother by i ns t i tu t i ng the

chaiani, the tw i ns by free i ng the world from g i an ts and an ima l s , i n

m ak i ng them s ubs erv i en t to th e chaiani, and by fo rcing thes hiwanna to perform th e i r d u ty .

[For th e shiwanna s ee pp . 1 74 ff . Th e reremain th e an imals

to wh ich s upernatural qual i t i es are a ttr i bu ted ]

[The an imals as soc i a ted w i th the six d i rect ion s are as at S ia ,

-FI G . 29 . F I G . 30 .

F l o . 29 .

— Image of kopershtaia . Drawn from a ph otograph taken b y Father Noe‘ l

D umares t .

FI G . 3o.

— W o

‘

oden representation of kopersh laia . Drawn by Fath er Noel D umare s t .

L aguna and Zuni the “

mou n ta i n l ion of the north , the bear of th e

wes t , the badger of th e sou th , the wol f o f the eas t , the eag l e of the

zen i th , the s h rew of the nad i r . ]

The six an imals were l i v i n g i n shipopa . Mas ewa gathered to

gether his counci l lors to let them k now his p roj ects and to cons ul t

w i th them abou t i n s t i tu t i ng th e officers of the s ecret cu l t . Th e

d eci s ion of the counci l was th a t the six an imal s s hou ld d i ves t them

s elves of the i r power , as one s h ed s a garmen t , and give i t to men for

the mak i ng of cu res . In s tead of thes e an ima ls cer ta i n men wen t

on the em i grat ion to the s ou th . That is the reason why the

chaianitake a part o f the sk i n of th es e an ima ls to clothe them s elves

w i th d ur i ng the ceremon i es . They wear a t the neck a p i ece o f

the h id e and the c l aws of a moun ta i n l ion ; on the arm , the s k i n of a

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2 12 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

venera ted ; it _figu res among the kopers htaia . Th e badger bu rrows ,

and is very keen at h un t i ng ou t rab bi ts , j ackrabbi ts , rats , etc.

He is ,therefore , venera ted . The sh rew bu rrows . A l though h e is

very l i t t le , he d igs deep . Th ere is a be l i ef th at wh en the deer s leeps

and m akes w i nd ,th i s roden t en ters his i n tes t i nes and k i l ls h im .

l

Therefore they venerate him . He has a ls o the power to excavate

i n the earth a pas s age for w i tches who are s u ppos ed _s ometimes to

go u nder ground . The eagle has th e power to hun t rabb i ts , bears ,

e tc., and to h un t i n the a i r . The chataniwear the i r c law s becau s e

they impart the power to hun t and to attack w i tch es who have the

g i f t of fly i ng .

MYTHS A N D TAL ES“

U R ETS ETE

Gues s ing by Tracks ; On whom Fal l th e Firs t R ays of th e S u n? ; Creation from th e

Dead ; Th e Institu tion of th e Curing Orders .

N aotsete and Urets e te quarreled from ch i ldhood becau s e

N aots ete , the elder s i s ter , mother of W h i tes , was j ealous of the

younger , Uretsete , moth er of I nd i ans . Both s i s ters wan ted to go

to the s ou th to peop l e tha t region . They were to have a’

contes t

to determ i ne who had the r igh t to go . The eld er s i s ter s a id one

day to the younger s is ter who l i ved s omewhere i n the north in a

hou s e w i th fou r room s ,“C ome , I have need of you . S h e s howed

her a road of corn m eal wh ich led from the wes t to a room i n the

eas t . On th is road were th e tracks of a b i rd . N aots ete s aid to

U rets ete , L ook at thes e tracks . C an you tel l m e to wh at creature

they belong ?”

Urets ete was w i s e , sh e did not speak at once .

S h e s a id sad l y ,

“Thes e t racks go from wes t to eas t .

”N aots ete

s a id qu ick ly ,

“W hat creatu re do they belong to ? C al l i t by name .

”

The younger s is te r s a id ,

“Turkey Man , come ou t f rom you r h id i ng

p lace .

"

The creature was i nd eed a turkey . He cam e ou t. He

sat down next to Uretsete and s a id to her , Mother , here I am .

A nd he leaned his head agai ns t her ch eek as if to cares s her .

N aots ete got i r r i ta ted and s a id ,

“You are on ly a w i tch . I am qu i te

r igh t i n always thu s cal l i ng you .

” A l i t tl e later U rets ete ca l led

1 Th is exp lo it by mo le (ch ina) figures in th e twin war god s cycle among th e S iaTh e S ia ,

"

pp . 5 2 and in a L aguna tale recorded by Dr. B oas th e war god s puts h rew u p bear

’

s nose to k i l l h im .— ED .

DL'MA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 2 13

her s i s te r and s aid to her , I need you here . L ook a t thes e tracks .

C an you tel l me the d i rect ion they go i n ?” The tracks of the t ime

before had th i s form (the narra tor marked /I\ ) bu t the d i rect ion of

the tracks Urets ete s howed to N aots ete was m uch more d i fficu l t to

tel l . They had th is form— X . Meanwh i le N aots ete cons idered

them cas ua l ly and , l augh i ng , s a id to h er s ister,“Thes e tracks cer

tainly go to the eas t . H ow cou ld you h ave s hu t u p th i s creatu re i n

the wes t i n a room fi l led w i th a refu s e heap of as hes and fi l th ? ”

Ure ts ete sa id to her,“C a l l the creatu re by name . W hat is i t ?

“ I t is certa i n ly a crow . There are no o ther creatu res wh ich make

s uch tracks . C rowMan ,

”said s he ,

“ tu rn to the eas t, come ou t.

"

A s i lence fo l lowed . N aots ete looked cros s . S he began to s ee

her m i s take . Then U retsete t u rned to th e eas t and s a id ,

“C hapar

ra l—cock come ou t !"

T hen the C h aparral-cock came ou t from the

room on the eas t and approached Urets ete i n a fr iend ly way to

jo i n the tu rkey in car i ng for h er. Angered , N aotsete agai n ca l led

her s is ter a w i tch and w i thd rew sad ly . Another day s he cal led her

s i s ter and s a id to her ,“U rets ete , my s i s ter , look at thes e tracks on

the road of mea l . “7hos e are they ? ” U rets ete began to weep ,

for s he was afra id of be i ng de fea ted . Her s is ter s co ld ed her , s ayi ng ,

“C ome , and you a w i tch ! S ay wh a t you are afra id of .

"

B u t

Ure ts e te was not a w i tch . S h e h eard the vo ice o f kopershtaia who

encouraged her and prom i s ed her s u cces s . Then s he s a id ,

“Th is

t rack is tha t of a s erpen t . Bu t of what s erpen t ? Of a ra ttle

s nake “You s ee I am r igh t i n cal l i ng you a w i tch . A nd i n

what d i rect ion does he go? " “

To the north eas t .

" Then Uretsete

turned to the nor theas t and s a id , S erpent Man , come ou t.

"

A nd the s erpen t came ou t, s ay i ng , My mother, here I am .

”A nd

Uretse te took some corn meal and pu t i t on the h ead of the s erpen t

who took i t i n to his mou th w i th his tongue , and app roached Uretsete

w i th a ff ect ion . N ao ts ete s a id to the s erpe n t,“You may go w i th

A nd the s erpen t an

swered ,

“Yes , I wan t to s tay w i th my mother .” A final tr i al was

you r mother to hel l . I do not wan t you .

mad e . Ure ts e te ca l led her s i s ter and s howed her tracks l ike thos e

of the crow. S he sa id to her elder s i s te r,“W hos e tracks are thes e ,

my s i s te r?” N aotse te got angry and s a id to her ,“W i tch , why do

2 14 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

you always m ake i t hard forme ? My s is ter, I did not chal lenge

you . I t was you who obl i ged m e to take part in the s tru gg le .

"

Then N aots ete exam i ned the tracks of the b i rd and s a id ,

“Thes e

are tracks of a crow com ing from the s ou th . A nd tu rn ing to the

north sh e s a id ,

“C row Man , com e ou t.

”S h e rece ived no respons e .

Then Urets ete tu rn ing to the s ou th , s a id , Tehana Man , come ou t .

"

A nd he cam e ou t and l i ned u p on th e s id e of Urets ete .

l

N aots ete was so angry she wanted to s tr ike her s is ter and sh e

s e i zed her by the ha i r . B u t Urets ete sa id to her,“N o, my s i s ter ,

I do not wan t to harm you nor have you harm me . You were th e

firs t to chal lenge, bu t l i s ten . W e are going to mee t a final tes t and ,

i f you agree, after a fas t of four days , we w i l l s tand on the s ame l i ne ,

facing the eas t . You are b igger than I , you have the ad v an tage .

”

N aotsete agreed . Then the two s is ters gave not ice to the i r fa thers ,mothers , brothers and ch i ld ren . The peop l e of t he p lace d iv ided

i n to two s ides , one for N aotsete , the other for Ure tsete . Both

s ides mad e arrow s d u r i ng the fou r days the s is ters fas ted , becaus e

the s ides too were to figh t aga i ns t each other after the tes t of the

s i s ters .

2 At the end of fou r days the s is ters took a s tand s ide by

s ide on top of a l i ttle h i l l . On top of her head each had an upr i gh t

eagl e feather . N aotsete who s tood to the north was a head tal l er

than her s i s ter , and chance appeared to be i n her favor . Beh i nd

the s is ters were the cap ta ins and the s u b -cap ta i ns charged w i th

watch i ng . Then came fu r ther back the two groups . Then S p ider

Man s en t th e magp ie (shrou akaia)3 (or hakiaia) to the eas t . The

magp i e s pread a w i ng over the northern part of the s u n and covered

i t, par ticu larly the top oi-it. Thus when the fi rs t rays reached the

two s is ters they fel l fi rs t on the top of the fea ther worn by Urets ete ,

and when they fel l on the feather of N aotsete they were al ready

l i gh t i ng u p the s houlders of Uretsete . Urets ete s aid ,

“Only look ,

1 C p . Th e S ia . pp . 3 1— 2 .

2 I t was agree d tha t the s ide of th e victorious s ister s h ou ld always b e victorious .

That is wh y th e P ueb lo peop le. the ch i ldren of U re tsete were always victorious agains tth e Navajo, th e ch i ldren of N aots ete .

3 A rare b ird wh ose ye l low feathers are a part o f th e tietchte or co l lection of feathersof the difi erent b ird s reputed mag ica l (eag le. turkey.

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A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

bad l y ? C oyote s a id , I do not know . Uretsete s a id to him ,

G o to the peop l e and take them thes e packages of m eal and of

tobacco, and tel l them to s end me two from among them s elves .

Two men arr ived . Dur i ng the jou rney of C oyote'

and of the men ,

Urets ete had , reflected upon a m eans of remedyi ng the i l l s of her

s ons . S he had p lanned an iareko. S he wou nd thongs of deer

h ide abou t an ear of corn and p laced at its top feathers of a turkey

wh ich at her order had s haken ou t its feathers for her . 1 B u t

find i ng tha t her work was not per fect, s he had cal led S p id er , s ay i ng

to him , I have w i s hed to make for my peop l e some th i ng endowed

wi th the s ame power as mys el f, and to give i t to them . I know

that you are thoughtfu l . H ow does my work s eem to you ? S p id er

s a id ,

“ I t is good , bu t pu t at the top s ome parrot feathers , and

at the neck s ome eagl e-down , and al l w i l l be wel l . U rets ete did

th i s , and th us was created the ta reko, wh ich s h e gave to the two

men s en t by the em igran ts . S he s a id to the two, af ter hav i ng i n i

tiated them i n to the mys ter i es of the chatani, Th is has the s am e

power as I . Take i t to my peop l e,tha t the s ick may recover

heal th .

”2 Thes e two men , made chataniorm ed ici n e-men, re tu rned

to the peop l e w i th the order to confer on others the same power

wh ich they thems elves had rece ived . Then they s et thems elves to

cu r i ng peop l e , and cures took p lace i n great n umber .

MA S EWA A N D OYOYAWA

l mpregnation b y S u n ; S tuffed Bear ; Burrow to Heart of Mons ter ; P rey CreaturesDes troyed ; Tes t of th e Twins by F ire ; Tes t b y F ierce A nimals ; Carrying th e S o larD isc ; S un

'

s Throwing-S tick ; Destruction of G iants ; S to len L igh tning ; Th eS hiwanna Es tabl is hed .

I t was very long ago . When the peop l e wen t ou t from s hipopa

to s ettle thems elves a t tyu onior R i to de los Fr i jol es , a woman ,

toge ther w i th her h us band and l i t tl e daugh ter, s eparated from the

1 That feath ers for ceremonia l u s e shou ld come from a l iving b ird is a common con

cept in th e Southwes t .— ED .

2 I t is notable that h ere th e tareko is ass oc iated with curing rather than with rainmak ing . A t Zuni too, the m i 'ti is as soc iated with curing as it be longs only to membersof the med ic ine order in a s oc ietys — ED .

num m i] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 217

other em igran ts1 to go and l i ve s omewhere to the north of the

moun ta i ns of S an ta Fé. W hen the g i r l was so b ig (The narra tor

he ld ou t his arm at the he igh t of his s hou lder) there came to her a

great d es i re to have , l ike h er paren ts , a ch i ld to fond le"

My

mother ,”s a id s h e ,

“has had a ch i ld ; I m us t have one also . A nd

s he wandered abou t the moun ta i ns , torm en ted by the idea that ,

pe rhaps , un les s s he found a hu sband , s he would not have the

happ i nes s of be i ng a mo ther . F i na l ly one day s he noticed a ray of

s unl igh t wh ich en tered th rough the top of th e grotto, and s he prayed

to i t to give her a son . S he was soon as s ured that her prayers had

been gran ted .

2

At the end of the day her p regnancy was so advanced tha t her

father reproach ed her crue l ly and s a id to h er,“My daugh ter , i n

what cond i t ion do you re tu rn ?”

S he pers i s ted for a long t ime i n

making no rep ly ; s he cou ld on ly answer,“There I S noth i ng th e

matter w i th me .

” The father ’s ques t ions con t i n ued at l ength .

He as ked his wi fe , W hat is the ma tte r w i th ou r daugh ter ? L ook at

her .

“S he is pregnan t ,

”s a id the mothe r .

“My daugh ter , s i nce

you d esp ise ou r au thor i ty over you , you may go to l i ve w i th him

whom you se ek as a h u s band . W e recogn i ze you no longer as ou r

daugh ter . G o away . Thereupon the father and mother did not

even le t he r keep her cloth ing , and the poo r th i ng wen t away to th e

south , to the s umm i t o f the moun ta i ns of Bernal i l lo . S he was very

sad . S p ider, under the form of a very old woman , so old tha t sh e

A ntonio says that h e has see n in Cal i fornia. near S an L uis Ob is po , a descendantof a chaianiof the em igration . Th is Ind ian sang

Kom i ha cha hiru

Kom i ha ha h ituT hat happened in the pas tThus it ha ppened in the past .

Th e cha laniof Ca l ifornia went to fast in th e s pring for four days on an is land .

I n the ir song it was said that th e s u n ough t to s tand s ti l l at‘

noon . There was a Cal ifoth ia Ind ian in Coch iti who sang a cha l anis ong : Th ose wh o ch ose arrows .

2 C p . P . E . God dard .

“Myths and Tales from the San Carlos A pache, p . 8 ,

A nthropological P apers . A merican I ll u s eum of Natu ra l H istory . v ol . xx-1v . p t. 1 . 19 18 ;

F. R usse l l , “Myths of th e J icari l la A pache. Jou rnal , A merican Fo lk-L ore, v o l . x 1

25 5 ; P . E . Goddard .

“Myths and Tales from the W h ite Mountain A pache,”

pp . 93 . 1 16, 1 20 . A nthropological P apers , A merican Mu s eum of Natu ral-

H istory, v ol .

x x rv . pt. 11

2 1 8 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

could not wa lk , came and s a id to her , My d augh ter , do not weep .

You carry someth i ng grea t i n your womb . Al l w i l l go wel l ; you

w i l l have a very happy l i fe . I n two days you w i l l be del ivered , and

I w i l l take care of you .

” The ch i ld consol ed hers el f . At the end of

two days s he und erwen t the pangs of ch i ldb i rth and brough t into

the wor ld a son ; he was Mas ewa ; then another , he was Oyoyawa .

They were born four days after be i ng conce ived . N e i ther of them

h ad any infancy ; at b i r th they began to walk and to speak .

1

W hen four days old , Mas ewa s a id to his mother ,“Mothe r, we

have no meat ; what shal l we eat ?”

B u t, my ch i ld , what wou ld

you do ? W e cannot k i l l any d eer . “W hat are d ee r , mother?

They are yel low an imals .

” “ I wan t to k i l l s ome B u t what do

they k i l l them w i th ? W i th a bow and arrows .

”Mother ,make

me a bow and s om e arrows . I wan t to kil l s om e d eer . “Bu t,

my ch i ld , they are too far away . They eat peop l e ; you cannot go

there .

” “H ow long does i t take to go where they are ?

” “You

cannot go there . Ah ! what a ch i ld ! He does noth i ng bu t tormen t

me !"

‘Mother , i f you wanted u s to die of hunger, why did you

br ing u s i n to the world ?” “Ah"

, what a t i resome ch i ld ! At las t

the mother, to get rid of his ins i s tence , made him a bow and some

arrows . Mas ewa looked a t them and s a id : “B u t th es e arrows are

no u se . S ometh i ng is m is s i ng here . Mother , what is i t that they

l ack ?” “Feathers .

” “Bes ides , th is crooked wood is no good .

Mother , where is the mater ial to make good arrows of ?” “I n a

p lace you may not app roach becaus e i t is guarded by L ion Man

who devou rs peop l e .

”I s th i s p lace far away ?

”One day from

here .

“That is noth i ng . I am go i n g there .

”

Desp i te the comp l a i nt s of his mother , Mas ewa and his brother

departed for th e p l acewhere the l ion was . H ow are you ,Ma s ewa ?

s a id L ion . W e l l , L ion Man .

“W here are you go i ng ?

” “Here

only . W e come to look for wood to make arrows .

” That is

not pos s i bl e, Masewa .

" Then we w i l l figh t . I have the means

here to d efend mys el f . L ion hu rled h im s el f upon the ch i ld ren

and they shot him w i th the ir poor bow and w i th the i r featherles s

arrows . They sk i n ned him and carr i ed away the h id e . Then

1 C p . Th e S ia, p . 43 .

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220 A ME R ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR 5 6

of the an telope . The an telope tr i ed to s tr ike the two ch i ld ren

w i th his horns , bu t he could not reach them , and he d i ed .

1

Then Mas ewa cl eaned ou t the d eer , fi l led the i n tes t i nes w i th

blood , pu t one of them abou t his neck , two others cros s ed2 abou t

his Ches t and lo i n s , and wen t to the p l ace wh ich the nes t of the

eag l e overhung . Oyayawa mad e the s ame preparat ions and wen t

w i th him . The eag l e s e i zed Ma s ewa by the i n tes t i ne wh ich he had

p laced about his neck , and l i f ted him u p above the nest. Mas ewa

laughed , and he fel l near the nes t w i thou t h u rt i ng h im s e l f, for the

i n tes t i ne had broken . I t was the tu rn of Oyoyawa ; he had the s ame

l uck . The eag l e s ta rted to swoop dbwn on them , bu t before he

had t ime to clos e on them he was p i e rced by an arrow and he d i ed .

They tore ou t his feathers and s aid : “N ow i ndeed we have deer ’s

mea t to ea t and for ou r arrows feathers .

” I n the nes t there were

some eaglets . Mas ewa and Oyoyawa took them and s a id to them :

“L i t tl e eagles , henceforth you mus t not eat human flesh . You

have rabbi ts and j ackrabb i ts and bi rd s ; why do you eat men?"

Becaus e we l ike the i r mea t be tter .

”Henceforth tha t m us t be

s topped .

”A nd i t was s topped

3 Then the two ch i ld ren retu rned

to the i r mother and s a id to her : W h at l i es you told u s when you

s a id i t took two days to go to the p l ace where Eagle l i ved . You

l C p . Th e S ia . p . 53 ; (Zuni ) P ars ons , in m s . ; Myth s and Tales of th e San

Car los A pache . pp . 1 5— 16;

“Myth s of th e J icari l la A pache. p . 256.

2Mos t men s ew on th e breas t of their sh irts narrow red band s , one ab ove th e other ;or even in th e form of a cros s ; X . Th is cu s tom is probably an al lus ion to the abovelegend . I t is an h onor rendered Masewa in ord er to be lucky in h unting . The figu reof Mas ewa used as Kope rs h taia or amu let carries th is s ign X on th e ches t (fig .

[ I n th e P eabody Mus eum in Cam bridge th ere is a s im i lar image co l lected by

Cu sh ing at Zuni . Th e s ign is a cros s . A mong th e Hop i . th e two para l le l l ines havebeen repeated ly noted by Fewke s as a war god s ign. The cros s or h our g las s is paintedon th e chakwena of L aguna and Zuni . A t Zu ni it is interpreted as a b ow s ign . Paintedon the bod ie s of th e war god s of th e Navajo it has been interpreted as a qu eue s ign

(W . Matthews ,

“Th e Nigh t Chant. a .

N av ajo Ceremony.

"

p . 23 . Memo irs , A merican

Mu s eum of Natu ra l H istory . v o l . V I Th e mas ewa-chakwena im pers onation ofL aguna not on ly ha s th e s ign painted on h is body, b u t together with his brother hewears a k ind of double bando l ier cros sed on his ch est quite in accordance with Fath erD umares t

'

s s u gges tion. ]3 C p . j icari l la A pach e Texts . pp . 1 97

— 8 ; Myth s of th e J icari l la A pache, p . 25 7 ;

R . H . L owie. “Th e Tes t Theme in North A merican Mytho logy, Jou rna l , A mericanFo lk-L ore, v ol . x x i p . 1 20 .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCHITI , N EW MEXICO 22 1

s a id to u s tha t he ate peop l e ; here we are al ive, together w i th what

is needed to m ake good arrows , and w i th m uch mea t .”

Another day Mas ewa and Oyoyawa s a id to the i r mother ,

Mother, who is ou r fa ther ? W e wan t to know him . The

mother excla imed ,

“W hat a ch i ld ! H ow he wars agai ns t me !

You r father l i ves very far to the eas t, very farfrom here .

”H ow

long does i t take"

to go there ?” “Fou r days .

” Mas ewa sa id ,

“That is noth i ng , we are go i ng there . Mother , prepare some pro

v is ion s for u s .

” F i na l ly the mother cons en ted . They wa lked for a

long t ime . Havi ng arr ived at the dwe l l i ng of S u n , the i r father— it

was bl u e and its port ico was a ra i nbow— the i nhab i tan ts of the eas t

asked them ,

“Where are you go i ng ?”

W e are come here to s ee

ou r fa ther,S u n .

”B u t you are not his sons ; you do not res emble

him . Yes , we are his sons .

”A s S u n was far from havi ng fin i shed

his d a i ly task , the principales he ld a meet i ng and d ec ided to prepare

a grea t pyre , to l ight i t and to pu t the two ch i ld ren upon i t ; for,

sa id th ey , i f they are the son s of S u n they w i l l come ou t s afe and

sound ,wh i le i f th ey l i e , they

‘

wil l be j us tly pun i s hed .

” Th us i t

was done . The.

two ch i ld ren were th rown upon the funeral-p i le .

Th ey cam e ou t s a fe and sound . N evertheles s the w i fe of S unwas

not sa t is fied . Her j ealou sy p romp ted h er to d emand another

proo f of wh ethe r or not her h u s band had d ece ived her . Th ere

were fou r rooms i n wh ich were confined l ion s , wh i te bears , wolves

and badgers . S he s a id to the principales tha t s he wou ld not recogn i ze thes e ch i ld ren as the s on s o f h er hu sband before they had

confined them i n the fou r room s s ucces s i ve ly . They told Ma s ewa

and Oyoyawa o f th e tes t they were go i ng to s ubj ect them . Mas ewa

began to laugh . The principa les ope ned the door of the north

and th rew them i n w i th the l ion s , th en c los ed the door . After

som e t ime the principa les and the w i fe of S u n s a id ,

“They are

s u rely dead . They opened and s aw th e two brothers p lay i ngwi th th e l ion s and u s i ng them as moun ts . They s hu t them i n a t

the wes t w i th the wh i te bears . Th ey Opened the door a f ter a

certa i n t ime . Masewa and Oyoyawa were play i ng w i th the wh i te

bears and u s i ng them as moun ts . They s h u t th em u p w i th the

wol ves of the so u th and the badgers o f the north ; thes e an imals

A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

did them no harm . Then the principales s aid : Yes , thes e ch i ld ren

are i ndeed the sons of oshrats ha (S u n) . Al ready i t was dark . They

wa i ted for S u n a t the m ee t i ng hal l . W hen he en tered , the prin

cipa les began to laugh and to make fun of him . Os aiha (L i a r and

d i r ty one) ! You s aid tha t you were fa i th ful to you r w i fe , and here

are two ch i ld ren who have come s ay i ng they are your s ons . They

are i ndeed you r sons ; for we have th rown them upon a pyre and they

came ou t of the flames s afe and s ound ; we sh u t them in w i th the

l ions , the bears , the wo l ves and the badgers , and they p l ayed w i th

them . 0 , what an oshratsha/ W hat a d i r ty one !"

S u n laughed

also. He s a id : “Do you not know that I have to v is i t the whol e

world and tha t I know everybody ? Bu t I am fa i th fu l to mywi fe .

”

H is w i fe m ad e the s ame remons trances to him . He mad e her th e

s ame answer , bu t added :“Why did you not make them com e i n to

my Then he . as ked , W here are they ? They mad e

them come i n“Yes , s aid he ,

“ thes e are my s on s . A nd th e

ch i ld ren s a id , Father, we great ly w i s h ed to know you and we have

come to s ee you .

” “ I t is we l l , my s ons ; I am i ndeed g lad to s ee

you . He mad e them come.

in to his pa lace , and his w i fe rece ived

them as her own son s .

1

The next day Mas ewa s a id to S u n : Father , I wan t to help i n

you r wo rk .

"

S u n s a id ,

“That is wel l . Then he d el ivered to him

th e so lar d i s c, i nd icated to him the l i ne he s hou ld fol low . He s a id

to him ,

“W hen you have arr i ved at the m idd le o f the earth , eat ,

bu t s top on ly for a few momen ts . Then when you have arr ived

a t th e wes t you w i l l s ee much water . P erhaps you w i l l be afra id

to p l u nge i n to i t . Bu t fear no th i ng , p lunge w i thou t hes i ta t i ng .

Mas ewa s a id ,

“N o , no, I s hal l not be afra id .

”Up to the even i ng

he acqu i tted h ims el f of his tas k w i th s ucces s . Bu t when the

momen t came for him to p l unge into the water , the principales

laughed great ly to s ee the s u n hal f d is appear below the horizon ,

then d raw back , then s i nk , then d raw back . S u n was obl iged to

take anothe r s o la r d i s c and goto th e s uccor of h is s on . He wen t

off in to s pace and arr ived near Mas ewa , he s ubmerged him abrup tly

1 C p .

“Th e S ia . pp . 43

-4 . Myth s and Tales of th e San Car los A pache. pp . 9

10 ;“Myth s and Tales of th e W h ite Mountain A pache, pp . 96

—7 , 1 1 7 , 1 22 .

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224 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

bu t h e s et them back upon the ground . Then Mas ewa took the

h un t i ng-s t ick and th rew i t a t the gi an t, cu tt i ng him cros sw i s e in

two . B u t the trunk and the legs soon jo i ned together aga i n and

he ros e u p . Once m ore Mas ewa th rew the h un t i ng-s t ick at him ,

cu tting'

him apart as before , and th e two brothers c los ed i n . W i th

al l his s trength Mas ewa held on to the head and trunk ,and Oyoyawa

to the legs . I n th i s way they p reven ted the two parts from re

u n i t i ng, and the gi an t d i ed .

1 Then Mas ewa and Oyoyawa d rank

the i r fi l l . They retu rned to the i r mother and recoun ted the i r ex

ploits . They add ed : “W e m us t now go and k i l l another g i an t .

A s u s ual . the i r mother obj ected , bu t she l e t them go .

A s they d rew near a wood , a gi an tes s sa id to them , W here are

you go i ng ?“W e are tak i ng a wa lk .

” “Do you wan t to come

and s ee my hou s e ? Yes ,”-s a id Mas ewa . The gian tes s carr i ed

a s or t of basket on her back .,S he pu t them i n to i t . S h e arr ived

w i th i n the wood . Mas ewa and Oyoyawa fel t uneasy , and they

s a id ,

“S he is go i ng to eat u s .

” Mas ewa asked her for s om e of the

gras s wh ich ch i ld ren chew , then for s tones to cru s h i t w i th . S he

gave them wha t they wan ted . Mas ewa s a id ,

“Thes e s tones are

not good ; give me som e larger s tones .

” The g ian tes s gave him some .

He asked for more , fi rs t in one way , then i n another, u n t i l he had

got a big load i n the baske t where he was w i th his brother . The

gian tes s kep t s ay ing to them ,Do not s l eep ; you are to heavy when

you s l eep .

”A s they pas s ed u nd er a p ine tree Mas ewa and Oyoyawa

took ho ld of a branch and moun ted to the top of the tree . The

gi an tes s took no not ice . Bu t a t las t , s ee i ng tha t her ques t ions re

ceiv ed no rep ly , s he m i sdoubted someth i ng, s et her basket on the

ground and was very angry to see the way i n wh ich she had been

t r icked by the ch i ld ren . S he

'

retraced her s teps , and after walk i n g

for a long t im e , s he saw the two ch i ld ren a t the top of the p i ne . S he

s a id ,

“N ow I am not go i ng to forgive them , I w i l l e at them for my

break fas t .” S he took Mas ewa and Oyoyawa and s a id to them , Why

have you p layed th is farce on me ? N obody has ever mocked me

l ike you .

” They rep l i ed ,

“W e found i t very p leas an t there and s o

we s tayed there . Th e gian tes s arr ived at her lodgi ng . S h e sa id

1 C p .

“The S ia . p . 45 .

DUMA R ES T} NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 225

to the ch i ld ren who told her that they were hungry and wanted to

eat ,“Very we l l , go find me p len ty of wood and I w i l l give you some

th i ng to eat .”The ch i ld ren obeyed . The g i an tes s made a bon

fire of the wood ; then s he opened a room fi l led w i th human corpses .

S h e took a head al ready rot ten and began to eat i t ; then s he gave

one to the ch i ld ren who did not wan t i t . H ow fi l thy to eat rotten

corpses ! W e do not eat s uch th i ngs .

” The gi an tes s s a id to them ,

I t is my food . Tomorrow I s ha l l have a better break fas t , becaus e

I am go i ng to cook you on the wood you brought me , and eat you

to pun i s h you for the farce yOu p layed on me .

” Mas ewa answered ,

“You r break fas t w i l l certa i n ly be good , for we are bu t ch i ld ren and

ou r meat w i l l be tender . S he took the two chi ld ren and th rew

them i n to the bonfire . A s th ey were sons of the S u n they did not

bu rn . Duri ng the n igh t they pu t fi l th i n the i r p l ace and went to

h id e themse lves , i n a room next to that where the g i an tes s s lep t

in large earthern bowls . The nex t day , wh i le the gi an tes s was

tak i ng the excremen t to be the ch i ld ren and breakfas t i ng . Mas ewa

cr ied ou t from the i n te r ior of the bowl ,“L ook at the d i r ty g i an tes s !

S ee what s he makes her breakfast o f ! The gi an tes s , w i thou t

know i ng who spoke , sa id , I t is not true . I am eat i ngMas ewa’

and

Oyoyawa . The mock i ng recommenced un ti l s he grew t i red of i t

and , be l i evi ng tha t the bowls spoke , s he h i t them a s troke w i th a

s t ick . Mas ewa and Oyoyawa came ou t,mak i ng fu n of the gi an tes s .

S he aga i n made a b ig bonfire , al l the wh i le wonder i ng how the ch i l

d ren had escaped . S he ca l led upon them to he lp her . Th ey did

th i s w i th good grace ; they even helped her to l igh t the bonfire,

and wh i le the g i an tes s blew the fi re so that i t s hou ld catch we l l i n

s evera l p laces at once , the ch i ld ren s a id to her,“Here i t is not wel l

lit ; come and blow .

”W h i le the g i an tes s was very

_

busy a t th is

tas k , together Masewa and Oyoyawa pushed her i n to the bonfire,

where s he d i ed .

1

Th ey wen t to the i r mo ther to tel l her tha t the g i an ts had been

des troyed , and how. The mother found i t hard to bel i eve i n the

C p .

“The S ia . pp . 48- 50 ; (L aguna) Boas , in ms . ; E . L . Handy, Zuni Tale s ,

Jou rnal , A merican Fo lk-lore, v ol . xx x x pp . 462-3 ; (Is leta ) P u eblq Ind ian Fo lk

S tories , pp . 209— 1 2 .

226 A MER ICA N A N TI I R OP OL OG I C A L A S S OCIA TION [mm oms . 6

audaci ty of her ch i ld ren . The weather had been very dry for a

long t ime . The earth was wh i te ; the dee r , the bu ff alo and al l the

an ima l s were dv ing o f th i rs t : Mas ewa s a id ,

“Mother , where do

the shiwanna l ive ? W e wan t to know why th ey g ive no ra i n .

”

“B u t,

'

my ch i ld , they l i ve very far away i n the wes t Do not r isk

m i s for tune from go i ng i n th a t d i rect ion .

”They i n s i s ted , so the i r

mother let them go. They walked for a long t ime to the wes t .

They arr i ved at a p lace where there was a grea t hol e and they heard

the songs o f the s hiwanna . Mas ewa s a id then to his brother,“Th i s hole s eem s very d ee p . N everthe les s I w i sh to go down i n to

i t . I f you s ee that I do not retu rn q u ick l y , that is a bad s ign . Do

not th row yours el f in .

” Mas ewa then th rew h im s el f in to the vo id .

For a long wh i le he rema i ned s tunned from his fa l l . Oyoyawa los t

pat i ence at not s ee ing his bro ther come back and sa id to h im s el f ,

Afte r a l l , i t matters l i tt le whether I die i f my brother be dead .

I wan t to go down also i n to the ho le . Mas ewa came to h ims el f

when he heard the fal l of his broth e r, who was also s tu nned for a

long t ime . W hen Oyoyawa began to comp la in ,Mas ewa s a id to him :

“W hy did you come? I had p la i n ly s a id to you not to come i f

I did not return qu ickly . They wen t to look abou t the p lace,

wh ich s eemed to them very p retty . Masewa s a id ,

“ I am no longer

s urpri s ed that the s hiwanna do not com e to v i s i t ou r earth . I t is a

fact tha t they have a bet te r p l ace here .

” The s hiwanna were abou t

to dance, ou t of s igh t of the ch i ld ren . The heru ta , the ir ch i ef and

cour i er , was as l eep . Ma s ewa and Oyoyawa wen t i n to an es tu fa

and each pu t on one of the masks of the s hiwanna and took a shea f

of l igh tn ings . W hen i t came to going u p aga i n , Oyoyawa sa id ,

“H ow s ha l l we go?

" Mas ewa answered ,

“ I f the s hiwanna go

h ence , we can go too, for we are s hiwanna . Then Mas ewa um

bound the l igh tn i ng wh ich he held w i th a firm hand . There aros e

a grea t no i s e i n wenima . B u t Mas ewa was ou t of reach: A lmos t

at the s ame t im e Oyoyawa worked the s ame s tratagem , and together

they regai ned the dwel l ing o f the i r mother , al l the wh i le l au nch i ng

the l igh tn i ng , wh ich , after mak i ng a nois e , retu rned to the i r hands .

R a i n began to fa l l abundan tly . The i r mother , on rece iv i ng them ,

saw what had taken place and fel t grea t fea r . A l i tt le wh i le afte r,

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228 A ME R ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

Uretsete en tru s ted the s tars i n a s ack to s carabaeu s (ishits e) . He had

two eyes wh ich s hone l ike s tars . The Mother ordered him not to

look into the s ack . Wh en‘

he d isobeyed and opened the s ack , the

s tars van i s hed together w i th his eyes . Overcom e , the poor scara

baeu s was scratch i ng the ground , when a guard of Urets ete took him

away to shipopa where he con fes s ed . Uretsete s a id to him , You

have done a great w rong, and pun is hed him w i th b l i ndnes s . S h e

gave him two horn s to feel his way w i th .

1

MONTEZUMA

There was a very ugly l i t tl e orphan gi r l who neg lected to keephers el f cl ean ; bu t s he was v i rtuou s . One day , when the peop l e of

her town wen t for pinon nu ts , the gi r l conce ived from eat i ng a

pinon nu t? S he bore a s on . I n fou r days he cou ld walk and h e

had reached the age o f reason . W hen the peop l e of the pueblo3

wen t hun t i ng , the boy wan ted to go . H is mothe r sa id ,

“N o, you

w i l l get los t . The people do not wan t you .

”N evertheles s , h e

made h im s el f a bow and arrow and wen t hun t ing ; bu t as none wou ld

teach him abou t hu n t i ng or abou t game , he mad e h ims el f a nu i s ance

w i th his ques t ions and his heed l es s nes s . For examp le , one day he

m is took a man kneel i ng at a burrow p ul l i ng ou t a rabb i t for the

rabb i t i ts el f . Th is m i s take tu rned everybody aga i ns t him . F i na l ly ,

however , after the peop le had s een h im return i ng s everal t imes w i th

game bound w i th yucca , they agreed to take him along . He mad e

h ims el f a flu te and he procla imed tha t he was go i ng to give meat to

th e pueblo . He s e t to p lay i ng th e fl u te on top of a hous e ; Al l

the an imals came . The peop l e had only to k i l l them .

4 They

1 C p . Th e S ia, p . 37 .

2 I n a variant, th e g ir l was g iven a p inon n u t b y a very smal l ch i ld . On h er re

tu rn h ome. s he was b itterly reproached by h er parents because of h er a lready advancedpregnancy.

3 A ccord ing to one vers ion, Montezuma was born at P ajarito , a journey of a dayand a hal f from ty uoni; accord ing to another vers ion, h e was born in Mexico.

C p .

“The S ia . pp . 59 . 63 Monte zuma is to be identified with poshaiyanki.

The greater part of th e myth . i f not the who le of it. is a Christ myth . (S ee NativityMyth at L aguna and Zuni , " pp . 261— 3 ; Bandel ier, Fina l R eport. pt . I , 3 1 0

—3 1 1 . A mong

th e P apago, Dr . Mas on h as recent ly recorded a myth about Montezuma wh o returnsto l i fe after h is peop le k i l l him . and wh o frees them from a cannibal istic g iantes s and aman-eating b ird— a s ingu lar m ixture of Ch ris t and war god myth s .

DUMA R ES T] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 229

recogn i zed him as kopershtaia . They parad ed him in the s treets .

Th e principales wen t alongs id e as i f for a s ai n t . They had s tafls

of bone . The peop le p ros trated them s elves as he pas s ed .

Mon tezuma mad e a hous e where none cou ld find him , becaus e

he had enem i es , and where he could del ibera te on what he had to

do . He had to re form the u nmarr i ed mothers . He made a s erpen t

l ike a fis h w i th w ings . I t wou ld go i n to a hous e and th row i ts el f

upon the mothe r and ch i ld as i f to d evou r them . I t l i ved i n a

lake where i t became ve ry large . I ns tead of mere ly fr i gh ten i ng

the mothers and ch i ld ren , i t ended by d evour i ng them . Mon tezuma

had to confine the s erpen t to the lake forever .

Meanwh i le Mon tezuma con t i n ued his m i racl es . He always

carr ied w i th him a l i t tle bowl (waers hte) wh ich he l i fted u p to the

sky when water lacked . W h en he lowered the bowl , every one

cou ld se e tha t i t was fi l l ed w i th wate r . H is food was diflerent from

that o f men ; i t was tha t of the kopers htaia . I t was com po l l en and

w i ld honey (tsirs htent'

) 1 m ixed together . W i th wh at was lef t of

i t h is fo l lowers could feed thems elves w i thou t fear o f not havi ng

enough .

Mon tezuma spoke al l languages . He s pen t his t im e in mak i ng

known h is d iv i n e m is s ion by work i ng m i racl es in the d i ff eren t tr i bes .

W i th i n a s hor t s pace he as s igned to the peop les — at tha t t ime a l l

were nomad s — the p l aces whe re th ey were to bu i ld towns and he

gave th em the form of governmen t th ey have today .

Ma l i nche , the w i fe of Mon tezuma , had the s ame power of work i ng

m i rac les ? Once, when s he was in C a l i forn i a , the gues t of a Mexican

wh i le Mon tezuma was vis i t i ng Mexico , s he w is hed to recompens e

her hos tess for her k i nd nes s . S he gave the woman a rol l of paper

bread , say i ng to her ,“Here I am poor , bu t I wis h to recompens e

you accord i ng to my means . The Mexican wrapped the bread

i n her shaw l and on h er re tu rn home was g rea tly s urpr i s ed to find

i n s tead of wafers of bread . wafers of go ld .

The Hop i ofl'

er h oney in the corn hus k package attache d to th e prayer-stick .

A t Zu fliif any one find a bee h ive h e wi l l g ive the h oney to a member of some curingsoc ie ty for med ic ine — ED .

1 I n the S ca lp dance s h e is represented b y a woman, th e onlywoman in th e dance,wearing parrot feathers on her head and in a boa on her s hou lders . (L es Indiens d uNou veau-Mexiqu e , pp . 5

— ED .

230 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MBA/10 112 5 , 6

I n the end Mon tezuma s aid he was go i ng w i th the Mal inche to

the eas t . They were to await him w i th s hel l every morn i ng at

s un r i s e .

[ I n ano ther accoun t the au thor s tates tha t i t is bel i eved that

Montezuma was k i l led i n Mex ico .] From th e roof of the p r i son where

he had been p laced by the S pan ia rd s , h e had begu n to re fu te the

charges brough t aga i ns t him and to p rove to his doubt i ng fo l lowers

that his imp r i sonmen t was bu t for a t ime , when he was k i l l ed by

a s tone th rown a t his forehead by one of his own race . One day

he is to -reappear in_the world and to del iver his peop le from the

yoke of the i r conquerors . Un t i l th is d el iverance peop le bel i eve

that , i n accordance with the couns el of Montezuma ,1 they s hou ld

keep the i r d i s tance from the W h i tes , s urround i ng the i r cu l t w i th

mys tery and , as far as pos s i b le , res i s t i n novat ion

Be l i e f in the retu rn of Mon tezuma is no longer held to by the

younger .peop l e , bu t the bel i e f appears i n the pract ice of the old

men who spri nk l e m eal for him toward s the eas t , th e d i rect ion from

wh ich he is to retu rn , as wel l as i n the fol low i ng s tory . L as t year

an a lgu azfil of S an to Dom ingo came to my hou s e i n grea t has te .

“Father , come q u ick ly , he s a id ,

“S om eone wan ts to con fer w i th

you at the pueblo.

" I cou ld l earn noth i n g morez ; bu t , d r i ven by

cur ios i ty , I had my hors e s add led and I rod e to the pueblo . There

two cha i rs were hand somely bes pread . One of t he cha i rs was for

m e , the other for Mon tezuma . The p roph e t soon appeared . He

was an aged Mexican , d res s ed i n rags ; one s hoe d i fferen t from the

o ther , and on his head a crown of wh i tened i ron tha t s ome joker

had m ade for the poor fool . I n h is hand he carr i ed a bag s tu ffed

w i th papers to wh ich he pompou s ly d rew my at ten t ion . I t was

a col lect ion of w i tt ic i sm s recogn i z i ng his maj es ty as lord over dif

f eren t terr i tor i es . The poor foo l w i s hed me to adv i s e the peop l e

of my d i s tr ict of his r igh ts . F i nal ly we were both escor ted to a

repas t . I had no d i fficu l ty abou t keep i ng my face , as the fol ly of

th e one and the s tup id i ty of the others al ike i ns p i red p i ty . At

1 I t was als o at his d irection that th e m ines that were worked be fore th e com ingof th e S paniard s were c losed u p and carefu l ly covered with s o i l and s tones .

2 I t is characteris tic of P ueblo Ind ian mes sengers not to enter into part icu lars .

T h ey merely de l iver a summons — ED .

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232 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

ou t a s h rew-mouse (keios hro) (or s p ider) wh ich had heard the cry i ng

of the two s is ters and s a id to them ,

“Why do you weep , my ch i l

d ren ? ” “Becau s e we have los t a gra in of ou r mo ther kolona ;

we have k i l led her ; s h e no longer s peaks .

” “Do not weep , my

d augh ters , I am go i n g to s end my fam i ly to find th is gra i n of the

kotona . .They w i l l find i t and give i t back to you , my daugh ters .

"

Th e s h rew fi rs t ordered one of her son s to br i ng a d r i nk to the

younger ch i ld . He wen t off and b rough t back i n his mouth an

acorn cu p . The two ch i ld ren began to cry , bu t the s h rew s a id ,

Do not cry , bu t d r i nk . A nd the younger d rank . The l i t tl e cu pdid not get emp ty al l th e t ime s he d rank . The elder d rank al so ;

the l i t t l e cu p did not dry u p . The s h rew ord ered her sons to s earch

i n the cracks of the rock for the los t gra i n . They found i t and

one of them brough t i t i n his mou th . They gave i t to her ; when th e

young gi r l had i t , s he pu t i t in to p lace . Kotona began aga i n to

talk . I told you to take care of me , to trea t me wi th care s o .that

no gra i n s hould fa l l ou t of m e . Another t ime take me i n you r

bosom and do not l e t me fa l l . I f you l e t me fa l l aga i n , we are

los t .” W h en she had taken kotona i n to her bosom aga i n , katona

s a id , N OW then , my d augh ter , l e t'

us walk .

” A l i ttle way along

the road a bear came ou t. Kotona s a id , Take th is bear w i th you

i n order tha t he may keep you company w i th the turkeys . N ow,

my daugh ters , walk along one s id e of the path , so that the turkeys

and the bear can also l eave th e i r tracks on the s tone . S ome day

you r father and mother w i l l s ee you r tracks , and the t racks of the

tu rkeys and the bear . L et u s s ee what they w i l l s ay upon s ee i ng

the tracks of you whom they abandoned .

”l They began agai n to

wa lk. They soon s aw on the hor izon the P otrero de l a C anada .

“S ee , my daugh ters ; on tha t potrero are your fa ther and mother .

They and the i r compan ions have al ready. formed a town . I t is

there that they l i ve . B u t no, they are gone to Jemez , to s ee th e

d ance of F low i ng Hai r (C abel lera)2 L e t u s not go to the potrero,

One can s ee the tracks of a ch i ld , of turkeys . and of a bear to th e north of th e

Canada de Coch iti .P oss ibly th e dance wh ich is said to corres pond at Jemez to th e u pikaiu pona

(a variant of th e kokokshi) of Zuni . Th e flowing hair. in th e Z uni dance, is an es sentialfeature. A ccord ing to a Jemez informant in Zu fii,

'

th ere are b u t few mas ked dances at

num ns s r] NOTES ON COCH ITI , N EW MEXICO 233

bu t to Jemez . They con t i nued to advance . Arr ived at Jemez ,

the kotona sa id , Here is the hous e where your father and moth er

are . B u t do not en ter a t once ; p lace yours elves a'

t the foot'

of the

ladder where th ey th row ou t the sweep i ngs of the hou s e . Do not

answer when you r paren ts i nv i te you to en ter . Be s tubborn ,

be s tubborn un t i l the mas ters of the hous e g i ve you an i nv i tat ion .

"

The paren ts of the young g i r ls sa id to th em ,

“C ome near , ou r

ch i ld ren , en ter .

”They answered ,

“N o ,

-here we are in ou r p lace .

You have cons ide red u s sweep i ngs and w i th the sweep i ngs we re

m ai n . B u t when the mas ter of the hous e spoke to them they

s a id , W i th you , yes , we w i l l s tay . Only we have w i th u s ou r

fam i ly wh ich is very un t idy“

; i t w i l l be we l l to pu t a roos t i n the

house for them to s leep on , for they are very un t idy . A roos t was

placed , and the two g i r l s wen t i n to eat and s l eep . B u t the i r

paren ts were so ashamed , that they w i thd rew to ano ther p l ace and

did not s tay to s ee the d ance o f F low ing Hai r .

”

HIDE A N D S EEK .

2

A woman whowas cal led Kots hatosha and Mas ewa and Oyoyawa

were h id i ng thems elves . Kotshatos ha wai ted .

" Oyoyawa wen t

north al l a lone to h id e h ims el f . There was a d eer ly i ng down . He

hid h im s el f und er the d eer . Then the woman s a id : “You who

have gone to the north , you h ave p laced yours e l f under a deer .

C ome here .

" Then he came . S he we n t to the wes t to h id e her

se l f . S he found a rabbi t and s he en tered i t th rough the mou th .

Then Masewa sa id : “You who wen t to the wes t and en tered the

mouth of a rabb i t, come back here . Th en Mas ewa hid h im s el f

i n his tu rn i n the chongo (queue) of the woman . He turned i n to

a lous e . Th en Kots ha l os ha s a id : “You who wen t below where th i s

is , come here . Noth i ng came .

“You who fled to

come and be caugh t . You who wen t to the north come here ,

you p laced you rs e l f below , come . N oth i ng cam e .

Jemez com pared with Zuni and h e mentioned u pikaiu pona , chakwena , hemis hikwe.

wo lemla — ED .

1 C p .

“Notes on Zuni ," pt . 11, 3 16Ff .

— ED .

C p . H . R . Voth . Th e Trad itions of the Hopi, no. 3 7 , F iel d Co lumbian Mu s eum

P u b lications . 96 (Is leta ) P u eb lo Ind ian Fo lk S tor ies . pp . 89—9 7 .

234 A A/I ER I C A N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

Then Mas ewa won . Then th i s woman asked them to l e t her

h id e once more . I f they fou nd her sh e would los e . S he hid agai n ,s h e fl ew u p and

‘

covered the s u n w i th her queue . They cou ld not

find the woman . Mas ewa adm i t ted it .

'

Oyoyawa pu l led a wh i te

feather from the eagle , blew i t on h igh and sa id that wherever i t

wen t the wom an wou ld be found . Then they found her . He took

another fea ther , wh ich he .held i n his hand , and l e t i t fly away .

I t wen t to the north . I t is there that the shiwanna were confined .

They brough t them to the pueblo .

BEA R GIR L S

W hen the pueblo of C och i t i was made , a h unter was at P era l ta

to h un t a t s uns et . W hen he wan ted to retu rn he found it very

la te . I n pas s i n g by the p lace cal led Barrancos B l ancos , W h i te

C l i ff s , he turned to the nor th and saw a l igh t in the m idd l e of the

cl i ff s , and s a id to h im s el f : “W ho can l i ve down there ? I am go i ng

to s ee i f I can s l eep there ; i t is very dark and I cannot reach C och i t i .

W h en he reached the foot of the cl i ff s , he s aw tha t the l i gh t was

very h igh u p and that he cou ld not get to i t . B u t he heard a

woman’

s vo ice wh ich ca l l ed to him from above : “C ome, young

man .

”H ow can I ? I t is very h igh “ I w i l l take you u p .

“H ow ? A young gi r l came down . C om e here upon my back ;

take good hold of me and clos e you r eyes .

” He did s o, and i n a

momen t found h im sel f i n the cave from which the l igh t s howed .

The young gi r l then s aid to him , N ow open your eyes . He saw

that he was i n a room i n the com pany of two young gi rls , sh e who‘

had carr i ed him u p and anoth er g i r l , her younger s i s ter . The

younger s i s ter had been the fi rs t to s ee the hun ter . S he s a id to her

s i s ter ,“L ook a t th i s hand some young man . I am go i ng to br i ng

him here to l i ve w i th him .

” The elde r leaned over and saw that

i t was true and s a id to the younger , N o, i t is to me tha t h e belongs ,

becaus e I am the e lder . ” The g i r l s were very wel l d res s ed ; they

wore mantas or robes of cot ton ; co l lars of green and wh i te tu rquo is e ;

bracel ets and r i ngs of s i l ver . The young man sa id to them , W hat

beau t i fu l persons you are , and he though t of marriage . Then

the e lder s a id to him ,Fear no th i n g here ; we are good peop l e and

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236 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

corn is good the two ch i ld ren and the i r mother w i l l come to eat ,

d u ri ng every n igh t , the f ru i t of you r labor . On the fol low ing days

the peop l e o f C och i t i (rem ember wel l what I say to you ) w i l l g ive

warn i ng that th ree bears have been i n you r cornfield . I recommend

to you not to go ou t to hun t bears , becau s e you w i l l be the firs t

tha t the bears w i l l take . Th ey w i l l open your ches t and tear ou t

you r heart ; th en you w i l l rema i n here and w i l l l ive w i th u s always .

B u t i f you do not d is tu rb you rs e l f a t the news tha t the bears have

come i n to you r field , noth i ng bad wi l l ever happen to you and you

wi l l l i ve on among you r own peop le . W h en this young man

heard the new s tha t the th ree bears had come i n to his cornfie ld ,

he was the fi rs t one to go there . The bears s e ized him and carr ied

him off . They did no th i ng to the bears . The young man remained

at Barrancos B lancos , and l i ved w i th the bears as i f h e belonged to

the i r race .

P EN OBS COT SH AMA N I SM

FR ANK .G . S P ECK

C ON TEN TS

IntroductionMode

’olinu . .

Fam i ly S hamani smMeans of A cquiring S haman

'

s P owerInd ications of th e Ex i s tence o f a S haman'

s S oc ietyTh e B aohi

’

gan

Th e Trans it ional P eriod s of th e S h arhans . .

Made’olinu Exp lo itsTh e DreamerThe Older A lgonk ian S hamani sm .

Texts of S ome S hamanist ic Tale s in the W abanak i D ialects

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240 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

next , the k nowledge and memory of N ewel l L yon have been em

p loyed on the s ubj ect .

A mat ter al l importan t in any s tudy of the pract ices of rel i g ion

or, as we m igh t preferably s peak of i t , the emp loymen t of s uper

natural power or magic, is the term , i n P enobscot ,

wh ich has the mean i ng of greal manitu . The elemen t -han'

do

here appears as the cognate of manitu in the C en tral Algonk ian

d i alects . I ts us age in the texts is also s im i l ar ; the mos t carefu l

in terpreters render i ng i t as great magic.

” I t is us ed general ly

as an ad j ect ive qual i fy i ng an imate be i ngs and inan imate obj ects ,

too , when thes e are in some way the m eans of conj ury or magical

pract ice .

2 S o far Penobscot ,’

P as samaquoddy , and Maleci te co

incide as regard s th is ‘ term and its s ign ificance . I n the wr i ter’

s

P enobscot mater i al there is not any ins tance of its u s e todenote

an i ndependen t abs tract idea , so we are ata loss howto approach“

a defin i t ion of the concep t . A s an ad j ect ive , i t s eem s to mean

mys ter ious , m agical , powerfu l, miracu lous , enabl i ng th i ngs to be

done s upernatu ral ly .

The power of ktaha'n

’

do appears as a s ource of dynam ics wh ich

empowers not only the ou t and ou t myth ical personal i t i es bu t

s em i profes s ional magic i ans even down to the pres en t t imes . I n

th is i t is a concep t ion wh ich , though wan t i ng in d efini t ion , becomes

functional ly “

s im i l ar to the m an i tu concep t d iscus s ed by Wm . Jones

among the C en tral Algonk ian"

.

MEI DE'OL I N UThe P enobscot s haman is denoted by the term made

'ol lnu .

Op i n ion s eem s to be s ettled on the der ivat ion of the firs t par t of

fl Malec ite and Pas samaquOdd y ktahdnl is th e corres pond ing term ,M icmac buéwin .

2 I l lus trat ions of th e u se of th e term are k lahan‘

dwi'

élamu s .

“great mag ical dog ,

ktahan'

dwinan u‘‘

great mag ic appearing . madj a'

han’

do“evi l power,

" “Devi l .el han

'

do‘“s o magica l . negate wéwil e lan

i

u dol‘hd

‘

n’

dowin wi l l know how

powerful h is mag ic is .

“S p irit (Devi l ) fish P enobscot proper name ;

au han’

dosi‘

s“ l itt le devi l ," th e generic name for insects , gi

’

nhan'

do“g reat (monstrous )

magician,

"-

ndalidaha dames'

in al'han

‘ddwangan, I th ink I feel mysel f to have equa l

mag is'

m'

.

s cf also A B . S k inner, Journa l of A men'

can Fol k L ore, v ol x x v m , no ._1 09 , p .

261 , for Menom ini equivalent‘‘A god, th e supernatu ral power imparted by a

god . or th e seat of th i s supernatural power . " For Jones , see ibid . . v ol . x vm , pp . 1 837

1 90 .

s pacx ] P ENOB S COT S H AMA NIS M 24i

the term (made from‘

sound of d rumm ing .

” W h i le the con;

sciousne'

s s of s uch a der ivat ion is al together los t in the modern

nat ive l i ngu is t ic k nowledge,sOme confirmat ion for i t may be found

in the u s e-

of the elemen ts o f the term.

"

The trans l a t ion“d rum

sound person s ugges ts i ts el f as an equ ivalen t .2 The term is

s imp ly known as'

the equ ivalen t of

al though by analogy from what we know of shamans i n the neigh f

bor ing reg ions , it may be concl uded that part of thei

shaman'

s

power was though t to l i e inhis d rum ; I n l ater l i terature , however ,

l i t tle or no m en t ion is made of the s haman’

s d rum and th is is true

even i n the myths .

D rums are nevertheles s ment ioned by the early m is s ionar i es

as being

'

the property-

oii

shamans .

2 The m is s ionar ies thems elves

may have been respons i ble for the decl i ne of d rum -sorcery in later

t imes . W e have one specific reference to d rum-magic in Fas sama

quoddy by P rofes sor P r ince, who gives the text of a w i tch s ong .

3

l J . D . P rince, “ Some P as samaquod dyW itch craft Tales f P roceedings of A rnericanP h i losoph ical S ociety, N o. 160 p . 1 86. comments on the term b y saying

e.g . . a witchdoctor, referring to th e practice of th e med ic ine men of beating drums to drive awayevi l s p irits . Thus Delaware meteohet is a drum or any ho l low body. I n

'

modern

De laware mel eu denotes a turkey-cock ,wh ich drums with its wings (A nth onyin BrintonL enape L egend s , p . C f . Oj ibwa medé

’sc=in

“sorcery "

and tewe‘

ige“h e

,

beats adrum .

"

I n another paper P rofes s or P rince says the P assamaquoddy m'

deolinwu k are

drum beaters from their method s of exorc ism .

I n P enobscot the term for drum is pa khola’

ngan, that wh ich is h o l low s truck witha stick Malec ite pagaho lagen , Montagnais léwe

‘

h z gan. M icmac dji'

gama-ya n (als o

bepkwej edaak . see R and Dictionary. p . I n th e various d ialects made denotes“sound "

or“no ise .

" M icmac mide "du (S ee al so S . T. R and . Micmac D ictionary ,

p . 245 ) wh i le in P enobscot and Malec ite madé denotes “ th e noise of someth ing ,

’

for instance modedénke “th e sound of talk ing ,

"

madéo‘s

’

e“the sound of walk ing,

(Malecite) madébs gahél u th e sound of drumm ing , made’

gan‘“

th e sound of danc ing .

I t seems that -o l in th e term madéolinu is th e e lement denoting s ometh ing h ol low,

as n’

bagaho’

la n“I drum The final element -inu is the P enobscot form of th e common

A lgonk ian term for person. W h i le in P enobscot com p lexes th e aln aln'

Occur(a lna be

“ Ind ian person’

) th e usua l fina l form in word s of th is character is -inu

m'

déau lz’

n wizard appears in old Delaware as mel e’

u“one wh o drums ,

(pmau zowi'no

“ l iving pers on. no peo sawino“warrior,' etc. ) wh ich makes it more

probable tha t the element -ol 1n madéolinu is to be exp lained as above.3 “ R e lation of Fath er D rou il lets

" Jes u it R elations (Thwaites edition) .(v o l xxx i pp 193

— 197 )

J . D . P rince. Notes on P as samaquod dy L iterature. A nnals . N ew York Academyof Sciences . v ol . x m . nO . 4 , p . 38 5 .

“I sit down and beat th e drum . and by th e sou nd

242 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

S everal s pecimens of d rum s have been p rod uced by the P enobscot

s how ing that one type of ins trumen t , at leas t , res embles in general

cons truct ion the d rum s of the tr i bes nor th of the S t. L awrence

and hav ing the s nare s tr ing acros s the head . One of thes e speci

mens , 25 cm . i n bread th by 90 mm . in th icknes s , has a head of

green d eersk i n s tretched over the hoop of wood . The s k in head s

are l aced i rregularly w i th bab iche . A wrapped hand l e of rawh id e

is fas tened on one s id e acros s one face , two s tr i ngs of bab iche

(rawh ide) are s trung to act as s nares , wh i le around the oppos i te

s ide is a row of bab iche s tr ings t i ed s o as to represen t fr inge . The

d rum -s t ick is a s imp l e affa i r of cedar (arbor v i tae) 25 cm . long .

The pres ence of th e s nare here is in teres t i ng, s i nce i t is a featu re of

the d rum s of Algonk ian tr ibes nor thward th rough L abrador .

‘ The

P enobscot regard the buzz i ng no i s e m ade by the s nare as a k i nd of

s inging .

A s w i l l be noted in the footnote references , the character i s t ics

o f P enobscot s haman ism are s hared al ike by the Abenak i , W awe

nock , Malec i te , and P as s amaquoddy , even i n respect to the term s

invol ved .

2 The character i s t ics , too, are the s ame i n the cas e of

the related M icmac, though here we have a d i fferen t term desig

nat ing th e s haman .

3 On the whol e there is grea t u n i form i ty i n the

o f th e drum I cal l th e animals from th e mountains . Even th e ‘

great s torms harken toth e sound of my d rum . I s it down and beat th e drum and th e storm and thunderanswer th e s ound of my drum . The great wh irlwind ceases its rag ing to l is ten to thes ound of my d rum . I sit down and beat the drum and the s p irit of th e nigh t aircomes and l istens to th e sound of my drum . Even th e great W uch owsin wi l l ceasemoving h is wings to harken to th e s ound of m y drum . I sit down and beat th e drumand th e s p irit under th e water comes to the surface and l istens to the s ound of my

d rum . and the wood s p irit wi l l cease chopp ing and harken to the sound of my drum .

I sit down and beat th e d rum and th e great A ppod umken wi l l come ou t of th e deep andharken to th e sound of my d ru m . The l igh tning , thunder, s torm s . gales , forest s p irit.wh ir lwind .water s p irit and s p irit of the nigh t air are gathered together and are l isteningto th e s ound of my d rum .

1 S pec imens col lected by th e writer from th e Montagnais and Nas kap i of S outhernL abrador for th e Museum of th e Geo log ical S urvey of Canada. th e Museum of th e

A merican Ind ian, and the A merican Museum of Natura l H istory. C f . a lso L . Turner,“Ethno logy of th e Ungava D is trict,

"

Eleventh A nnu al R eport, B u reau of A merican

Ethnology, pp . 3 24—5 .

2 A benak i (S t . Franc is ) madau limi and W awenock , madeolemi, Malecite and

P as samaquoddy m'

déu lin‘.

8 M icmac bu o’win. Cf . also Bou hinne . L eclerq N ew R elation of G a s pesia

(P aris . Ed ition of Champla in S ociety , Toronto. by W . F . Ganong , 19 10 , pp .

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244: A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

Al though everyone knew .th e made’olinu when he had becom e

famed th rough h is ach ievemen ts , there is no rem embrance of a

s haman hav i ng been s la i n for vengeance by the fr i end s of his

v ict im s or of his hav i ng been attacked on accoun t of his maleficence .

Th i s s eem s a l i t tl e extraord i nary s ince nearly every m is hap and

ev i l cons equence i n the l i tt le nat ive comm un i ty was in the early

t imes attr i bu ted to the act ion of a s haman whos e iden t i ty, i f not

actual ly k nown was , we are told , at leas t general ly s uspected .

A s to spec i a l publ ic fu nct ions , the s hamans appear to have had

none , excep t occasional ly i n the myth s as des troyers of tr ibal

enem ies , mundane or sp i r i tual , and d ispel lers of tr i bal m is fortunes .

FAMIL Y S HAMANISM

A s haman is t ic featu re of cons iderable importance now des erves

some atten t ion , though we are grea tly hand icapped by the u n

avo idable ci rcums tance that ou r knowledge of i t is obscured by

an t i qu i ty and th e decay of the old l i fe . Fam i ly s haman ism is

d i rectly ind icated by trad i t ion among the P enobscot . Di ff erent

fam i ly groups , we are told ,had the i r own s hamans whos e talen ts

were emp loyed i n the protect ion of the i r fam i ly hu n t i ng terr i tor i es

aga ins t tres pas s ers . A s haman Cou ld detect when other h u n ters

were in trud i n g upon his fam i l y tract . He cou ld then take m eas u res

to thwar t and pun i s h the i n fr ingemen t . From th is s i tuat ion ar i s e

n umerous tales (s ee pages 23, 29, 35 , 64) i n wh ichwe hear howin tru ders are d iscovered in an imal gu is e , in wh ich traps are sprung,

hu n t ing tr ips s poi l ed by _

bad l uck and the l ike . The malefactors are

then sp i r i tual ly pers ecuted by the s haman of the group , who may

h ims el f be the proprie tor of the terr i tory . One gathers an impres s ion

that s uch a s haman i s t ic funct ion may have been fu ndamen tal among

a h un t ing peop l e of th i s character . Bes ides the P enobs'

cot tales of

th i s sort we h ave other references to a s im i la r funct ion i n other par ts

of the nor thern area . R eferences occur among the-Montagnais l '

1 Th e writer ’s Montagnais and Mi stas s ini notes ind icate that conjurors had the“

power of as certaining bymag ic means when trespas s occurred On their hunting ground s ;Th ey sometimes frigh tened intruders by

‘

p lacin'

g gh osts as guard ians a'

t d iff erent s pots‘

in th e d is tricts . “

.Conju rors a l so caused s icknes s or badilu ck t'

o fal l'

u pon persons whdtres pas sed on their hunting ground s .

S P EC K] P ENOB S COT S HA MA NIS M 245 .

and among the nor thern Oj i bwa .

1 The featu re of fam i ly s haman i sm

is , however , a pos ter ior d i scovery in the region so we have not as

yet s u ffic i en t in format ion to as s i gn to i t a con t i n uous d i s tribu t ion

over nor thern N orth Amer ica . N evertheles s i t may be ex pected to’

,

be reported from i n terven i ng A lgonk i an tr i bes and even from the.

northwes t . I t is of no l i t tl e s i gn ificance that the sam e featu re has

analogues among the P aleoasiatic peop l es . Bogoras d iscus s es i t and‘

makes a po i n t of its probable an t iqu i ty among the C h u kchi.2 I n

cons ider i ng , however , the ques t ion of d is tr i bu t ion we cou ld hard ly go

fu rther a t pres en t than to rem i nd ours elves of the many pos i t ive and

negat ive s im i l ar i t i es between the Athapascans and Algonk i ans of

northern C anada and the nat ives of northeas tern As i a , not only i n

sh aman i sm bu t i n other top ics of cu l tu re .

MEANS OF ACQUIR ING S H AMA N’

s P OW ER

The means of acqu i r i ng magic“

power were cons idered to be

more or l es s invol u n tary accord ing to the P enobscot .

,

we l earn , from L ionf’ th at a group of s even or e igh t men were

known somet imes to have got ten together i n a“dark lodge ” “

and camp ou t i n th i s way in a company . Here they wou ld each

pe rform tr icks after wh ich i t wou ld be learned that some perhaps

had acqu i red mag ic power and secured som e part icu lar baohi"

gan

l C f . Fam i ly Hunting Territories and Soc ial L i fe of Various A lgonk ian Band sof th e Ottawa Val ley,

” Memoir 7 0,A nthropo logical S eries , N o. 8 , Geo logica l S u rvey of

Canada p . 4. Each fam i ly as a ru le h ad seme s haman in its ranks who cou ldbe ca l led upon towork malefic influence upon a mem ber

.

Of another fam i lywho wasknown to have intruded (upon the fonner

'

s hunting ground s ) . I n th is way we can see

h ow , in the community of old . a much invo lved system of Cros s -conjuring mus t havegrown u p often, as th e Ind ians th emse lves state, caus ing more or les s rivalry and feud sbetween certa in fam i l ies . S icknes s in general came to be attributed to these sourcesit is claimed .

”

2W . Bogotas ; Th e Chukchee (R el ig ion) , Memoirs of the A mer ican‘Mu s eum of

Natu ral History, v o l . v ii‘

, part 2 p . 4 13 .

“Fam i ly s hamanism being qu ites im p le and prim it ive probably antedated t he s hamanism of ind ivid uals having Spec ials k i l l and invention. and the latter seem s to have been based '

on th e former: Familys hamans ex i st among th e Korya k , A s iat ic Es k im'

o ,

‘ and probably ex isted‘

a lso amongth e Kamchada l and Yukagh ir . "

“Newel l L ion was one of th e principal contributors to our infomiatioh' On earlyP enobs cot l i fe. H e lOs t h is l i fe in th e wood s I n theS pring of 19 19 .

b7 59gi’k

’

an“dark ‘

W I gwam , a smal l conica l bru s h W igwam.

246 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

or helper (see p . To ord i nary peop le the mode’olinu was , and

s t i l l is , extremely mys ter iou s . N o one p rofes s es to know j us t how

any s haman firs t obta i ned his power or even how he operated i t .

In the m i nd s of mos t of thes e I nd i ans , I th i nk , the s haman is

though t to have acqu ired power invol u n tar i ly , p res umably to

have been born w i th i t or to have h ad i t grow on him .

1

The s ame impres s ion is to be gathered from some of the myth s

and anecdotes . Folk lore i nc iden tal ly cl a im s that to have s ta i ns

i n one’

s nether garments is a s ure s ign o f the poss es s ion of

s haman i s t ic power . S om e i nd i v id u als -are even s uppos ed to pos s es s

i t w i thou t know ing that they do . A s to hered i ty , there are no

general obs ervat ion s ; the p revalen t idea wou ld ind icate that

s hamans develop , perhaps th rough some s upernatural s elect ion of

wh ich they are bu t the pas s i ve i ns trumen ts .

A s to sex we have ment ion of both male and female made’olinu ,

2

the latter hav i ng the d es ignat ion made’olina s

'

kwe“s haman woman ,

"

and ,accord i ng to the op in ion of men , being the more v i ru len t

m an i fes tat ion .

S haman i s t ic power also s eems to have been capable of d is i n tegra

t ion and los s . I n the myth s we learn of heroes u s i ng u p the i r

power and hav i ng to res t and recuperate . Th i s featu re is d i s cus s ed

1 C . G . L e land , A lgonqu in L egends of N ew England , p . 340. makes a s im i lar statement Ooncerning th e P as samaquoddy. H e als o says that it is s ometimes acquired(p . 343 ) th rough training . A gain (p . 367 ) th e meth od is by fast ing and abstinencefrom s leep . S . Hagar, Jou rnal of Amer ican Folk-L ore, v ol . 1x , no . 34 , p . 1 72 , describe sh ow th e M icmac bel ieve mag ic power can be acquired . Th e novice mus t keep hisobject a secret wh i le camp ing alone in thewood s with an outfit for two. the other,an invis ible com panion. A be ing wi l l final ly appear, it is th ough t, who wi l l g ive h imth e g i ft of mag ic, th e power to as sume animal s hapes , to wa lk th rough fire unharmed .

th rough water without be ing drowned , to trans late h imse l f th rough th e air with th e

quickness of th ough t. to contro l th e elements , towalk on the water, and the l ike. The

idea of contracting to trade onese l f for the g ift of mag ic comes ou t in M icmac th rougha tale in th e writer's co l lection where a man agrees to pay it with h is next boy baby.

H is next baby is a g irl . S o he is claimed b y h is s p irit mas ter for wh ich th e M icmacfind proof in th e vio lent death wh ich h e suff ered . H is bodywas burned by h is re latives .

A Malecite informant said that h e h ad heard that i f a Ch ris tian om itted saying h is

prayers for seven days and nigh ts h e wou ld become a s haman .

2 C f . also for P assamaquod dy s tatement , C . G . L e land , A lgonquin L egends of

N ew England , p . 342 , and S . T . R and , Micmac Dictionary, p . 245 . Th e M icmac of

N ova S cotia, accord ing to late ch ief A be Toney, be l ieved that th e s hamans were “

mos tl v women .

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248 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , _6

ever , even from N icolar,no very deta i l ed accoun t of the more

s ecret s ide of s haman i sm . S ome in teres t ing general i t i es , however,des erve quotat ion .

The S p iritual men when closely cornered wou ld d isappear onthe spot ; at other t imes on ly some swi ft-footed anima l cou ld be seen leaving theS pot, wh i le others wou ld turn into b ird s and fly away. Although the shamanshad been told never to u se their power in taking l i fe, in pain of los ing i t, yet manytimes th is, was d isregarded , and one shaman would chase another,

'

ov ertake him

and s lay'

h im . H is remains never wou ld be found because the s layei’nev er told

how it was done.

Also, i n One of th e s tor i es of C i v i l ‘

s tr i fe among thes e north erntr i bes where the oppos ing s hamans were s elected to carry on the

battle or lead the i r band s ,

the leaders of sp iritual men met first and very often without g iving orders to

their men p lunged head long into the batt le us ing a l l the power that was in themwh i le the rest wou ld be look ing on. They were ab le to d isappear in an ins tant,and when one conquered he wou ld ~ be seen com ing toward his men . I n th e

ear ly days the power of the shamans was not al ike, there were some who cou ldsee a long d is tance, and otherswho cou ld hear a long way; some cou ld send theifvo ices through the air to any d istance, wh i le others had the

'

power in their warcry or ye l l to take away the s trength of those they intended to d isab le so theyfa l l to the ground and lay help les s for some moments .

1

I n regard to the format ion of thes e s haman bands , i t s eem s that

they were'

s elected by the ch iefs , and fu rthermore that d is s en t i ngor j ealou s bands grew u p to oppos e th e s elected ones . Once at

leas t i n the trad i t ional h i s tory of the tr i be , we hear of a d is rup t ion

and war res u l t i ng from th i s .

2

A final i solated accou n t s tates that a dance of the m ed ici ne-m en

u s ed to .occu r i n the spr ing of the year when they retu rned from

h u nnng .

The above reference m i gh t be regarded a s hav ing some al l u s ion

to .a s h aman society l ike the M idew i n of the C en tral Algonk i an ;

bu t there is not m uch ev idence to warran t th i s s i nce it appears to

have been a temporary band i ng together , more for m i l i tary than

rel i g ious ends . N o fu rther s ugges t ion of a society -ois hamans of

the typ ical Algonk i an s ort is met‘

with in the P enobscot region.

“

1 N icolaif op . cit. . p .

‘

1 16.

2 Ibid . , p . 108 .

smacx ] P ENOB S COT S HA MA NIS M 249

The i nd iv id u al independence of th e s hamans res u l ts i n a great

dea l of speci al i zat ion i n the i r behav ior-and i n the i r tr icks , so that

only the few general facts s et down“

above s eem to app ly to th em

as a clas s . For the res t they have to b e con s idered as s eparate

personages , hav i ng th e i r own pecul i ar attr i bu tes for wh ich i t is

neces s ary to refer to the co l lect ion of anecdotes and s haman s tor ies .

TH E BA OH I"G A N

Every magici an had his helper wh ich Seem s to h ave been an

an ima l ’s body i n to which he cou ld trans fer his s tate of bei ng at

w i l l . The helper was v i r tua l ly a d i sgu is e , though we do not know

whether the an imal was bel i eved to ex is t s eparately from the s h aman

when not i n the s haman’

s s erv ice or wh eth er i t was s imply a mater i a l

form as s umed by the s haman when engaged i n th e pract ice of

mag ic. The h elper th en is known by the term baohi"

gan ,a very

i n teres t i ng term which may be exp la i ned as mean i ng “ i ns trumen t

of mys te ry .

The P enobs co t s tem ba.o wh ich I bel ieve denotes th e concep t

o f mys tery , is common property i n some capac i ty to mos t of th e

northeas tern tr i bes .

1 I n-

P enobscot thei

s tem eviden tly appears

aga i n i n the term nabauI

’Iinu

“mys tery man

”descr i bed as a puzzle

makerwhos e speech was couched i n“

symbol ism Or a l legory . Th es e

men , a few of whom are“

remembered by'

older members of the l i v i nggenerat ion , pos ed as s ages . The i r u tterances were cons idered too

p rofound to be unders tood excep t af ter careful though t . Th ey

not only spoke at cou nc i l meet i ngs bu t frequen t ly pract is ed the i r

ar t for amu s ement . Mech l i ng ev iden tly refers to s im i lar men

among the Malec i te2 and L e land defines n’

paowlin among th e

P as s amaquoddy3 as a man learned i n mys ter i es,a scholar , com

parable to M icmac bu o’win pow—wow man .

A s tr ict correspondence between th e nam i ng and funct ions of

1 M icmac hu o Malecite and P as samaqu oddy pu t, _

A benaki_

bao Natick pow(J . H . Trumbu l l , Natick Dictionary, B u l letin 25 , B u reau of A merican E thnology.

1)

2W . H . Mech l ing , Malecite Ta l es ; p . 1 8 , footnote.

1“C . G . L e land , A lga u in Tales of N ew England , p . footnote . Th e Ma leciteterm nepriu lin means a_

-learned_man

"

in mod ern usage .

250 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

the an imal helper ex is ts on ly among the P enobs cot and Fas s ama

quoddy and Maleci te .

1 Excep t for the d is s im i lar ity of the designating

'

term (M icmac nti'

o’m, nti

’

o’mel , th i rd person) we cou ld

also incl ud e i n th is group ing the M icmac, among whom the tales

of the exp lo i ts of s hamans and the i r helpers are almos t id en t ical

th roughou t w i th thos e of the P enobscot , Maleci te ; and Fas s ama

quoddy .

The var iat ion of the an imal helper idea among the tr i bes nor th

of the S t. L awrence who form the cu l tu re area correspond i ng to

that sou th of the r i ver , is very in teres t i ng . The an imal d i s gu is e

o f the s haman here s eem s to be a les s emphat ic featu re i f we may

concl ud e from the nature of the in format ion pres en ted by pu b

lished sources . S k inner s ays of the C ree :2

Evi l conjuring is performed by miteo against his rivals or enem ies . Adream informs him what course to take. Sometimes a b ird or animal is captu redand imbued with malevolent power. I t is sent to the intended victim and strikesor fa l ls upon him,

k i l l ing him .

The Mon tagna i s , as I have learned , also d ream of the v is i t of some

part icu lar an imal whos e adv ice rece ived i n the d ream is fol lowed

for the procu r i ng of game .

3 I n the lower S t . L awrence the Montagna is of

.

Escouma ins bel ieve that the s haman has a black bird

wh ich he , cons u l ts for s upernatural knowledge and wh ich he may

also s end away on sp i r i tual errand s . C oncern i ng the N askapi,Tu rner

s ays someth i ng s im i l ar .

4

1 P as samaquodd y'

and Malecite pu " h i gan . I n M icmac_

th e term corres pond ingto the baohi

"

gan‘

of th e th ree tribes j u st mentioned is nti‘

ém, firs t pers onal form(u tié

‘

mel , th ird pers on) .C f . also S . T . R and , L egends of th e Micmacs . p . 133 , H is teom u l is th e loon

wh ose form and hab its h e immed iately as sumes ,

"

and p . 161 ,

“sundry animals passed

by al l of them animals and brutes wh ich were at the same time men who ha d

the power of as sum ing the form of their tute lary deities , their teomu l s ,

"

and p . 1 2 ,

BooOin as tutelar deity of C h epich kam"

(snai l ) . S ee also R and , MicmacD ictionary,

p . 267 ,

“totem-ootooOmu l .

2A lans on B . S k inner, Notes on the Eas tern Cree and N orthern Saulteaux ,A nthropological P apers of the A merican Mu s eum of Natu ral H istory , v ol . 1x , part 1 ,

p . 67 .

1 C f . F . G . S peck . Game Totems of N ortheastern A lgonkians , A merican 4nthro

pologis t, N .s . , v ol . x xx no . 1 p . 16.

1 L . M . Turner. Ethno logy of the Ungava District, Eleventh A nnu al R eport,B u reau of A merican E thnology, p . 272 .

“Each person has a patron sp irit. These

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252 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

Among the var ious an imal forms , some be i ng land and others

water creatu res ,”as s umed by s hamans we find by glanc i ng over

the ava i lable P enobscot mater i al , both i n s er iou s myths and i n the

m inor tales relat ing to recen t t imes , the fol lowi ng gu is es : otter

beaver muskrat , porcup i ne , wh i te bear , wh i te owl , m i nk ,loon ,

wh i te loon , b i rd , eel , s nai l , bear, pan ther , dog, sp ider , bal l of fire,

bu l l , wol f, b ig s nake body l ike a s nake w i th scars on cheeks ,.w i nd fal l , and person p l ay ing on J ew

'

s harp .

2

A s haman us ual ly had bu t one“baoh1l

"

gan , bu t Joh n N eptune ,who was a powerfu l m ag ici an , accord i ng to Mr . Ferr is

’3 i n forma

t ion , had s even .

Some of th e tribe fol lowed John N eptune one day unti l h e s topped by the

_s hore of a lake. There he sang and sang unti l an immense eel arose from the

water and making its way to the shore crawled to where John N eptune s tood .

H e took its head between his hands and stroked it soft ly, thus cementing the

bond between them as master and servant . The wol f, the beaver, and the bearwere s ome of his other servants and he would never hurt them nor eat their flesh .

A s amp l e of the k i nd of firs t-hand anecdote concern ing the

baohi"

gan related tod ay at Old town is the fol low i ng .

I was hunting u p in the country by the waters of the S t. j ohn R iver. One

night a tremendous ba l l of fire appeared rush ing through the airmovmg upstream .

I t had a large head and beh ind was a snake-l ike body. I cou ld even see s cars onthe cheek of the creature . P retty soon another appeared . I thought they were“fire creatures ,

”eskuda

’

hit, b u t my father said they must b e madeoli’nuwa k.

N ewel l L ion told Mr . Ferr is the fol low i ng

The usual way for a witch-man to secure his animal helper was to go ou t

in the wood s or by the shore of a lake accord ing to the home of the anima l ands ing to it. G radual ly it wou ld appear and then the witch-man wou ld stroke i twith his hand in order to b ind the anima l to him as a servant .

I n another ins tance i t is related how one t ime a s haman wen t

off alone in to the wood s tak i ng w i th him a toad wh ich he changed

i n to a woman to afford him compan ionsh ip d ur ing his hunt i ng tr ip .

1'

The figures here denote th e number of instances recorded .

2 P ractical ly al l of these are s im i larly as s igned to Malec ite and P as samaquoddys hamans . I n add it ion I have tales in Micmac where th e creature was a jel lyfis h(s asap

'

) and a cat.

3 Mr"

R . H . Ferr is . a stu dent in th e Department of A nth ropology, Univers ityof P ennsylvania, undertook tos tudy P enob scot

g

s hamanism with Newel l L ion whileh e was vi s it ing th e writer in P h i ladelph ia in 19 14.

S P EC K] P ENOB S COT S HA MA NIS M 253

I n th e memory of the oldes t peop l e at Old town s everal made’olinu

,

w i th the names of the i r baohi" gan , are remembered . The mos t

famous of thes e was G ov . Joh n N ep tune whos e baohi"

gan was an

eel He figures frequen tly i n ou r data . Another man ,

M i tchel l Franc i s , a P as s amaquoddy who l ived much of h is l i fe

atOld town and d i ed there ,h ad a wol f (ma’lsam) forhis . He figures

i n one of the anecdotes .

C er ta i n taboo relat ions h ips ex i s ted between the man and his

baohi"

gan . The s haman

'

nev er k i l led the an imal , nor did he tel l

even its name nor men t ion the th i ng at al l . N evertheles s everyone

knew the baohi”gan of each noted s haman . N ot only did the

w i tch men , moreover , never k i l l th is an imal b u t they wou ld not

partake of its fles h when k i l led by another .

Th is was the test for d iscovering the baohi"

gan of a witch -man ; for i f a l lwere at tab le and the meat of a beaver, for examp le, was pas sed around and an

ind ividua l refused to eat of it everyone knew immed iately that the beaver wasth is man's baoki" gan .

1

S ome s h amans are s a id to have us ed figures of the i r an imal

he lpers cu t ou t of b i rch bark in the i r performances . Thes e , i t is

cla imed , cou ld be s en t abroad on the i r errand s .

An imal helpers d i s t i nct from the baohi”gan, are of frequent

men t ion i n the myth s . They s eem , however , to be on ly vol u n teer

helpers, who take a tempora ry i n teres t i n the fate of the human

hero,though some of them p rom i s e to render aid aga i n , i f need be ,

when s ummoned by a w i s h . I n th is category we hear of rabb i t ,

dog, porcup i ne and C h ickadee s everal t im es , and k i ngfis her , deer ,

bear,woodchuck , s hark ,

h eron , and other an thropomorph ic s uper

natural creatures , s uch as Thunder ,Morn i ng S tar ,

S ke’

gade-mu

‘

s , and“old man and old woman .

”

The fo l low ing tab le is arranged for conven ience to s how the

cognate s haman i s t ic terms i n the langu ages of the W abanak i t r i bes

and some of the i r ne igh bors and cu l tu re relat ives . W here the

sources are not ment ioned the i n format ion is d er ived from the

wr i ter ’s fie ldnotes .

1 I n th e word s of Newe l l L ion .

254 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

TA BL E or S H A MA N IS TIC TER MS m NOR TH EA S TER N A L GON KIA N DIA LEC TS

M ontagna is

Mag ic power,S orcery k tah én

‘

do ktahan’tQ

b u6winu‘

manit'o’

di

(boooinwadagan

l )

S haman mad éolinu madau linu 3 madéolin4 b u éwin

A nimal s p iritua l h e lper baoh i’gan pu h i

’

gan nti‘

orn“ my

u tiome ih is

. wu le lmu -3 madaédo’ wu le lm fig ebat'

e'

gam wewélci

gwéwom wewagan‘5

pélcwagan

TH E TR ANS ITION AL P ER IODS OF TH E S HAMANS

S tor ies of magicians’ exp lo i ts fal l i n to th ree groups wh ich afford

an in teres t i ng in s i gh t i n to the ques t ion of how the whol e field of

i n format ion concern i ng the pract ice of personal magic, as an anci en t

mytholog ical doctr i ne , has‘

s u rv ived in a cont inual ly weaken i ng

s tate from the myth ical flour is h i ng age through the h is tor ical s tage1 S . T . R and , Micmac Dictionary , p . 245 . booowinode .

2The same means th e “devi l in M icmac. Here it also means G od . For

the Natick term s see J . H . Trumbul l , B u l letin 25 , B u reau of A merican Ethnology,

p . 1 20 , and 64 .

3 See A bena k i text. p'

. 283 .

4Malecite and M icmac have sti l l another des ignation gt’nap wh ich has been

defined'

to me as a warrior; a “brave," not necessari ly a mag ician. (S ee als o W . H .

Mech l ing , h l a lecite Ta les . p . 26, and footnote, and p . 1 25 . Th e ginap d iff ers frommedeolin

’

in .t hat his mag ica l power is not restricted to warl ike deed s . j

5 The wabi-’nu (

“s eeing man is genera l lya member of a s pecific‘ gra de of s hamans

among th e Central A lgonk ian who posse ss th e graded Med icine L odge (M idewin) .6L iteral ly “

one wh o deal s with snakes "

at Escoumains on th e S t. L awrence.

Th e animal helper of th e s haman is known as kama dzi’t one who d oes evi l . "

7 Cf . S . T . R and , L egends of the Micmacs , p . 133 ; also S ._

T . R and , Micmac Dic

tionary , p . 267 , who g ives it as“teomu l .

"

The stem here s horn of its pronom inaland intervocal elements is s imp ly -i

'

om .

3 L iteral ly,

“good luck imp lement.

"

9 C i. , A .Mau rau lt, H is to ire des A benak is (Quebec, p . 29 and 1 22 .

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256 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OC I A TI ON [MEMOIR S , 6

is about comp l ete, for they can not now boas t of a s i ngle per former .

The las t pos s i b le cla iman t to th i s d is t i nct ion d i ed a few years ago .

H is character was so colorles s , s o unemphat ic, and his performances

so ch i ld is h to the m inds of his con temporar i es that we may wonde r

whether he was s tr ictly i n his sound s ens es , and as s uch whether

he is to be es t imated as a s haman i s t ic character or a m ere imbec i l e

(S ee anecdotes of Edm und Francis , p .

MaDE’OL I N U EXP L OITS .

W e have the fol low i ng specific mag ical acts attr ibu ted to magi

cians among the P enobs cot . Thes e have been l is ted from myths i n

my col l ect ion of texts , from specific s haman anecdotes wh ich are

g iven w i th th is paper , and from d i rect trad i t ion . I n s ome cas es

the latter is s o br ief that we are told noth ing more than that a

made'olinu was once d is covered to have done th is or that . The

category of exp lo i ts wi l l , of cours e , be extended w i th the increas e

i n amoun t of trad i t ion and mythology that w i l l be col l ected in the

fu tu re . Even as i t s tand s , however , the l i s t s hows the general

character of the P enobscot s haman’

s feats and ,moreover , i t shows

tha t the s ame general ep is odes occur i n th e ta les of the related

ne ighbor ing tr i bes . W e find accord i ngly that s hamans are ac

cred i ted w i th the power to ki l l or i nj ure creatu res by point ing.

the

finger at them , to prove the i r s trength over r i vals e i ther in comba t

or in con tes t , to escape from the i r enem i es by magic means , to s py

on enem ies , to impr i n t the i r footpr in ts i n hard s u rfaces , to increas e

or d im in is h the i r s i ze , to s poi l the l uck of trappers and hunters , to

caus e th ick ice to heave , to pas s th rough barr i ers (doors and the

l ike) , to rol l away a heavy rock , to l i ft them s elves from the floor ,

to fores ee the approach of s trangers , to rema i n beneath water , to

force r i vals to th row off the i r an ima l d i sgu is es , to render them s elves

i nv is i ble , and s o on .

Among the more cons ervat ive nor thern and cen tral Algonk i an

tr i bes s hamans are almos t in s eparably as sociated w i th the i r d rums .

For s ome reason i n th i s region , however , we hear l i ttle of the

s haman'

s d rum , thou gh whether i t be on accoun t of decu ltu rati'

on

I can not s ay . W e hear on ly occas ional ly th rough d i rect trad i t ion

S P EC K ] P ENOBS COT S HA MA NISM 25 7

of anoth er mechan ical aid emp loyed ; a flu te of cedar wood pos s es s

ing the power to ca l l game an imals and helpers , to attract th e

a ffect ions of women , and to l u re enem i es in to an ambus h . Th i s

i ns trumen t is cal led“bi

‘

bi'

(onomatopoet ic) tube .

”

I n the myth s we learn that a bel t s erved frequ en tly as an

i ns trumen t of magic. G lu s kap had one w i th wh ich he gi rded on

his magic power , so to speak .

1 At d i ff eren t t imes i n the myths

s uch objects as a bal l or a p ipe2 are an imated temporar i ly w i th

the sorcerer .

I t wou ld hard ly s eem es s en t i al to the d i scus s ion of the shaman

to men t ion al l the i ns tances wh ich we pos s es s in the col lect ion of

texts , of th e var iou s exp lo i ts i nvolv i ng acts of magic wh ich fal l

under th e clas s ificat ion of s hamans’

deed s . A few s uch , however ,

chos en from the texts ,may help to define th e feel i ng toward s haman

ism wh ich the I nd i ans have today der ived from the i r knowledge of

mytho logy .

Among the mos t importan t myth cycl es here thos e of G lu skq.’be,

Kwu n‘

a"wu s , Bi

“tes and o thers , are to be i ncl uded

i n the category of record s of magic, th e s ame as thos e of h is tor ic

s haman is t ic personages . Magic i an tes ts come i n to a grea t many

of the myth s .

Often when a s trange hero— general ly an abandoned boy who

grows rap id ly i n to a prod igy— comes to the v i l lage he is tes ted

by the res iden t v i l lage mag ici ans .

Mythology in fact s eem s fu l l o f the idea that in early t imes

every s tranger was a potent i al magical antagon is t . I n almos t

every i ns tance a meet i ng be tween the hero of the tale and some

other pers onage res u l ts i n a con tes t of shaman i s t ic power . Agai n,

when s tor i es d escr i be how fam i l i es occupy ne ighbor i ng camps , we

soon find that the i r i n nocen t fr i end s h ip endu res only u n t i l an

opportu n i ty offers i tsel f for one to mag ical ly tyrann i ze the other .

From th e impor t of the myths , one cou ld wonder whether the old

I nd i an fam i l i es were ever free from s uspicion of mal ice toward

1 C f . C . G . L e land , A lgonqu in L egends of N ew England , p . 86. for a s im i larM icmacre ference .

3 S . T . R and , L egends of the Micmacs , p . 29 5 , H e (G l u s kap ) was a great mag ic ianand one o f his principal s ou rces of power was th e p ipe.

258 A MER ICA N A N TH R OP OL OG I C A L A S S OC I A TION [mm om s 6

.e ach other . I n th is s ett i ng , then , we s eem to fijnd the greater part

.of W abanak i mythology to be s haman is t ic i n character .

I n one cas e the hero , W h i te W eas el , br i ngs a whale’st a i l i n to

‘camp to eat and another s haman at a chal lenge takes i t away .

-Then he tears th i s s haman’

s arm from its socket w i th one twi s t .

A wres t l i ng match fol lows i n wh ich W h i te W eas el throws his

opponen t i n s uch a manner that e very t im e he sinks u p to his

knees i n a s tone ledge . F i na l ly h e breaks off his l egs and k i l ls him .

1

He also d rags a great rock , makes a canoe of i t, l u res his enem i es

on to i t ,and blows them to sea to d rown , then trans form s the v i l lage

i n to a s umach bed .

I n another tale a hero nam ed Fas t R unner is given a tes t i n

wh ich he is to break a great bone by tw is t i ng i t w i th his two hand s .

2

_H e races w i th m i racu lou s s peed . The hero la ter is p laced where" he is to spear a beaver . He ou tru ns his r ival brothers—in-l aw ,

t u rns

h ims el f i nto a beaver wh ich none of them can s pear excep t - the

younges t . L ater he as s umes the form of a bear , and k i l l s h is

brothers -in-l aw . He a lso u ndergoes the freez ing tes t and overcom es

h is opponents by cau s i ng them to freeze to death .

3 The wres t l i ngtes t is also on record , wh i le tes ts in runni n g are m en t ioned s everal

t imes . Another cas e of tes t occurs i n a tal e where W h i te Bear

(Wampsk‘w) whos e baohi

”

gan was a wh i te bear d i ed when the

l atter was k i l l ed . A hero nam ed W h i te Owl k i l ls him by s hoot i ng

his heart wh ich , his on ly vu l nerable spot l ike Ach i l les ,was i n his heel .

G l u skabe ,the m ajor trans former personage , is regarded as the

ch ief of s hamans . Among the s haman is t ic feats wh ich he perform s

is the red uct ion i n s ize of the moos e and the s qu i rrel,the s ubj ugat ion

of the,

gras s hopper , th e ‘

fox and other an imals and things ,. s u ch as

wind“

,waterfal ls , a nd w inter-man . He makes a canoe of rock ,

.overcomes r ivals i n the end urance of cold and smok i ng con tes ts

w i th the magic p ipe , i n the bowl game con tes t w i th mag ic bow l ,

lift ing .

a;great s tone dis h ,

~

and bes ides.

he . gives power to Turtle to

j ump over_

a w i gwam , towin a race , b'al lgame , and so on .

’1“

See als o.

pagei

263

‘

and footnotes:

‘

2For th e M icmaccorres pondence see S . T . R and

,L egends of theM icmacs ,

'

p . 275 .

3 Th is was a °

cb'

mr'

non popular game , a' beaver tib ia being '

u s'

ed .

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260 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

P enobscot , though i t frequently occu rs i n the l i teratu reof the other

W abanak i tr ibes .

1 Among the P enobscot , i n recen t t imes , doctors

who form a special clas s of profes s ionals cal led nu tsi"

pi‘

lewet“one

who cu res ,”have u s ed almos t excl us i vely th e pract ical means of

cur i ng, th rough herbs , roots , bark , l eaves , berr ies , and s im i l ar

th i ngs , in the i r trade .

2 S om e few fet is hes have als o been found in

u se , general ly pres erved among the s tores of herbal remed i es , w i th

the obj ect of l end ing s trength both to the doctor and to the m ater ial

m eans . A perforated s tone hav ing a s tr ing attached to i t has been

known to s erve in th is capac i ty . I n the old accoun ts of the tr ibes

of Maine m en t ion is mad e of th e s am e pract ice and the s am e fet is h .

S o we have a som ewhat s at i s factory confirm at ion of ou rmodern data

d esp i te the i r s can t i nes s .

3 Thes e fet is hes were termed madaodo

(P enobscot madj aha’n

’

do ev i l There are now i n the

tribe no prom i nen t profes s ional healers . S ockalex is , s a id to have

been the las t med ici n e man , d i ed abou t twen ty years ago . The

herb pract i t ioner never p l ayed the part of magici an or conj urer ,

nor was he held i n fear .

The ab i l i ty to recogn ize another shaman engaged i n m is ch ief

m ak i ng in his an imal d i sgu is e, and to encompas s his end by k i l l i n g

the creatu re, is frequen tly at tr i bu ted to the made’olinu . Th i s form

1 Th e o ld er writers on th e M icmac seem to emphas ize th e shaman’

s function as ahealer. L eclercq N ew R elation of G as pes ia ,

"

Edition of Champla in S ociety,

Toronto, 19 1 0 , by Dr. W . F . Ganong , pp . 2 1 7 , 223 , 299 . A ls o Nicho las Denys“Des cription and N atural H i story of the Coasts of North A merica. same series ,

ed it ion by W . F . Ganong p . 4 1 7 .

2A l is t of north eas tern A lgonk ian pharmacope ia is g iven by th e writer in a paperentitled Med icine P ractices of th e N ortheastern A lgonquians . P roceedings of the

Nineteenth I nternationa l Congres s of A mericanis ts , December. 19 1 5 .

3 A . Mau rau lt, His toire des A benakis , Quebec, 1 866, p . 1 22 says : Each Ind iangot various objects from th e s hamans l ike l itt le s tones , bones or s im i lar th ings wh ichthey preserved . These were cal led madaodos . They th ou gh t tha t they pro

:

tected them from accidents and m is fortunes and‘brough t th em good luck in th e h unt,

games and warfare.

"

A ls o Father D rouil letes (cf . Jes u it R elations , v ol . x x x 1

p . 19 1 ) says of th e Ind ians of th e Kennebec that they kept stones and other th ings “asa token of dependence upon th e Demon, in order to be happy in th e h u nt, in p lay or

in war. I t is g iven them by s ome s orcerer or they dream that theywi l l find it in s omep lace. or their imag ination makes them be l ieve that the Man itou presents to th emwhatever th eyencounter. " Th is be l ief s ti l l prevai ls in th e reg ion ; th e modern Ind ianscal l an object wh ich is sudden ly encountered géskamazi', “someth ing found by chance."

and occas ional ly ch eris h it as a fetis h .

S P EC K] P ENOB S COT S HA MA NISM 261

of tale is very common not only th roughou t the whol e northeas t

bu t in I roquo i an folk lore as wel l . W e have s everal P enobscot

tal es of th i s Character (s ee pages 252 and 287) and a n umber from the

ne i ghbor i ng related tr ibes .

1

A P enobs cot examp le is the fol low i ng

The Ind ians were camp ing on the S t. John river and liv ing'

on ee ls wh ich theywere spearing through the ice . One day a wh ite loon appeared sudden ly. A fterth is the s pears of the ee l catchers struck on ly rock instead of mud and of coursethere were no eels . The shaman in the camp told them that the wh ite loon wasa m isch ievous French mag ician who must be kil led . The hunters k i l led the loonand immed iately afterwards the eel ing became al l right again .

An account of a typ ical s hamans’ exp lo i t of a s im i lar nature

is th e fol low i ng anecdote to ld at Old town .

One nigh t some hunters were camp ing in a W igwam near some friend s . D u r

ing the night an otter appeared at the doorway and one of the men in the bed atthe back of the lodge .Oppos ite the door began talk ing in his s leep . One of the

hunters awakened , sei zed a brand from the fire and poked the otter wh ich ran ou t .

A noise as of someone running away was immed iate ly afterward heard outs ide.

They went ou t and there lay the otter dead,surrounded by a ki nd of hoar frost

,

near the wind break or fence of brush wh ich encircled the camp . The nextseason the same band camped at the same p lace and two boys of the band ran to

a we l l to get a bucket of water . One of the boys got the po le of the we l l buckets tuck in his s ide. H e staggered right over to the brush fence at the same s potwhere the otter had d ied , and a frost gathered round him .

’

I n the morning hewas dead ,

lying in the same S pot . They al l thought that he was the made’olinu

who had appeared as an otter the year before . I t was an uncanny aff air.2

C harl i e (Dayl igh t) M i tchel to ld how his father was once h un t i ngu p on the P enobscot waters , and came under the influence of a

made'olinu ,

a woman named C ar i bou-quarter from Ma tna'

gu k3

He cou ld catch noth i ng i n his traps . Every t ime he vi s i ted them

he found a s t ick s tuck i n them and the traps sprung . One n igh t ,

however , he heard s omeone i nv is i ble p l ay i ng on a j ew'

s harpacros s on the other s id e of his fire . He took a s harp s t ick and fix ed

i t near the fire . The next n igh t when he heard the p l ay ing he

1 A lso A benak i , K u loskap the Mas ter, C . G . L eland and J . D . P rince , p . 244. A

s haman in the form of a muskrat is k i l led b y a Mohawk s haman. I n another tale(ibid . , p . a s im i lar contes t is waged between shamans in th e guise s of bat, snowyowl , and wo lverine .

1 R e lated b y Old Joe Francis .

3 Th is is the uppermost vi l lage of the P enobscot on an i s land oppos ite L inco ln,Me .

262 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

th rus t forward w i th i t and s truck s ometh i ng . The next morn ing

his hun t ing”

l uck was al l He retu rned home to the

v i l lage w i th p l en ty o f fu r after a s ucces s fu l,tr ip ; S hortly after his

retu rn he l earned that a woman atMa tn g'

gu k was s u ffer i ng from a

wound . S h e soon d ied and everyone s aid that s he was a made’olinu ,

the one who had annoyed M i tchel i n the woods .

1

C hief a mong the s hamans’

act i v i t i es s eem to have been the

waging of feud s between one another for caus es wh ich are far

frorricer ta i n ; s eem i ngly for l i t tl e more than the demons trat ion of

the i r power or for s ubd u i ng r i vals , or from fanci ed offence , j ealou sy

or trespas s .

The s haman is referred to as hav ing the power of i nfl ict i ng

i nj u ry and even death upon the obj ect of his temper by po i n t i ng

at him w i th the forefinger and s aying “Kelci

’

kdli'

na’mi

“tu n

You ! You wi l l see s ometh ing be fore long !dj en t

Th is imprecat ion was s u fficien t to scare the v ict im and to res u l t

e i ther i n s teps for the p l acat ion of the off ended s haman or els e i n

the phys ical decl i ne of the v ict im th rough obs es s i ve fear . Mere ly

havi ng been cross ed ,i n the I nd ian-Engl i sh vernacu lar m ean i ng

-.con trad icted or d ispl eas ed , was a s uflicient bas is for s uch male

vol en t , pos s i bly hypnot ic act ion . Other anecdotes i n th is category

are as fol lows

A party of h u nters

i

ou t in a canoe happenedlto have a shaman among them .

Some ducks came flying over. The hunters said that they wis hed they cou ld

get some; a lthough the flock was ou t“

of range .

“The s haman thereupon po intedhis finger-at the

’ b i rds , and every-time he did s oa duck fe l l dead . Johnny S u s u p'

s

story .

Whenever a s haman grew angry at anyone or was d isappo inted at beingrefused someth ing by a certain man he stretched ou t his arms po int ing with hisindex finger at the per

'

son and said ,‘‘You wi l l regret it .

"

S hort ly afterward stheperson either d ied of some

-

fou l d isease orwas found in the woods cu t and

wounds‘

which resu lted in his death . Ii.

‘the shaman'sbaohij

’

ganj iv ed in the water his victim met his death by drowning .

2

A_

wide ly known feat‘ a ‘

rnong the shamans of northeas tern N orth

America nisn that to s ink knee ‘deep at each s tep i n. s v

.

13 . m . .

‘

i1 C . G . L eland? A lgonqu in L egends of N ew England, p . 342 , g ives a somewhat

s im i lar tale of a hunter's luck be ing s po i led by a ma leficent-s orcerer.t ,

1 R e lated byNewel l L ion to Mr. R . H . .Ferris .

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264 AMER ICAN A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A SSOCIA TION [MEMO1R 5 , 6

and even among the G reenland Esk imo .

1 I n one part icu lar cas e

the feat is also ascr i bed in a general way to the P enobscot conj urers

of the pas t , the'

direct tes t imony wh ich I have gathered be i ng con

tained i n the fol lowing pas s age , from the d ictat ion of Old Joe

Franc i s who d i ed i n 1916.

My grand father was regarded as a made’olinu . Often at night he wou ldmake his footprints in the s ol id rock where everybody could see them in th e

morning. H e worked at nigh t .

Another cas e occurs in a myth . Here the hero wres tles w i th

an opponent . Each t ime that he is brough t down u pon the ground

on his feet he s i nks u p to his knees and becomes s tronger a t each

occas ion un t i l h e is able toovercome the enemy .

2

Old M i tchel l Franc i s , a P as s amaquoddy whos e baohi"

gan was a

wol f, is also accred i ted w i th hav ing accomp l is hed th is feat at Old

town , where he l ived and d i ed . The tale relates how hav ing been

pers uaded to try his power on one occas ion

near Bucksport , he m ade tracks in hard ground , den t i ng the ground

as d eep as his ank les . S everal peop l e l iv ing at Old town un t i l

recen tly , one of them old S abatt is S hay , bel ieved th i s account and

cl a imed beforeme that they had s een the tracks .

A number of s hor t accoun ts of the do i ngs of the s hamans , m any

of wh ich-

from the nat ive s tandpo in t m igh t , i ndeed , j u s t as wel l b e

i ncl uded among the myth s , are given here where they s eem to bear

mos t d i rect ly . I t is l argely from th is cl as s of mater i al , the s upp l y

o f wh ich s eems almos t inexhau s t ibl e among thes e I nd i ans , tha t one

has to ded uce his general facts . Even the I nd i ans them s elves pos s es s

no more general means of i nqu i ry i n to the s ubj ect , wh ich I fear is

capable of defin i t ion now on ly by means of s uch br i ef descript ive

narrat i ves .

1 R ink , Ta les and Trad itio ns of the E skimo, p . 59 .

2 A very interesting M icmac vers ion of th is theme was related to th e writer byJoe Toney of th e Yarmouth band . I n

'

ab s tract it tel ls of a war between th e M icmacand th e wes tern W abanak i (Keni

'

bawa" tc) . Th e figh ting menwou ldth rus t each oth er into th e ground above th e ank les . Hence they came to des ignateth e stick wh ich is th rus t d iagonal ly into th e ground in camp for the sus pens ion of the

tea-pot, asMi'gemawa”tc and Kent" bewa "tc, th e one by th e other. W hen members of

th e two tribes are camp ing together they refrain from referring to th e pot-stick les t.

the rem inder awaken th e trad it ional sentiments .

s pac e ] P ENOB S COT S H A MA NIS M 265

A t Bucksport, Maine, where the I nd ians usual ly camped the second nigh t in

going by canoe down to sa lt water there is a fine spring of water. On one occas ion they found that a big rock had s l id down the bank and choked it u p . The

party had to camp without water that nigh t . Bu t a made’olinu in the partytold them that he would make it al l right . The band made camp and went tos leep . I n the morning it was found to be true . The rock had been removed ,

a lthough no one had heard it done, and the water was flowing free ly again .

1

A pa i r of Malec i te tw i ns l i v ing a generat ion ago on S t. John

r iver were made’olinu . Among the tr icks attr i bu ted to them , i t was

s a id that one of th es e boys cou ld hang his hat on a s u nbeam , cou ld

le t peop l e in th rough locked doors , and cou ld fas ten ropes on a

burdock p l an t from wh ich to make a swing for h ims el f . A good

m any peop l e had s een thes e tr icks .

2

There was a boy in the country to the northeast who was made ’olinu . One

of the strange th ings he did was to pres s a ch ip of wood agains t his mother'scheek once when she sco lded him . The ch ip stuck to her cheek and could not

be removed unti l he h im se l f took it ofl'

.

N ot long ago a man hereabouts had occas ional made'olinu power. For somereason they sent u p to arrest him . H e was camp ing by a frozen lake when the

po l iceman and a deputy took him . H e said he wou ld subm it, b u t declared thati f he wanted to he could s lay them both . W h i le they were cros s ing over on the

ice , he caused it to s hake vio lent ly though it was severa l inches th ick , and his

captors were very much frightened . They bel ieved that he could do a lmos tanyth ing. H owever, h e went along with them , though later escaped from the

jai l . A nother man when he gave h imse l f u p to C hristianity, forsook his s hamanistic powers though it cos t him such pangs that he shook and tremb led a l l overand nearly d ied before his power left him .

A l l the men of the tribe were afraid of these witch men and did not dare totouch them les t they (the witches ) injure them in some way.

The fam i l i a r and oft—ci ted pract ice of s ympathet ic act ion i n

wh ich i nj ury could be i nfl icted by s hoot ing the p ictu re or l ikenes s

of the in tended v ict im , was known i n th i s region .

3 N ewel l L ion

relates the bel i ef that , hav ing made an image by ou tlining in s and

Th e power to l i ft u p and throw a boulder of great s izeis included in the repu tation of a s haman at Yarmouth , N . S . , accord ing to a M icmac informant. A s im i larfeat is attributed to th e Malec ite s haman previous ly mentioned . H e is be l ieved to

have l ifted u p and thrown, s ome d i s tance, a boulderabout five feet in d iameter. Th i shero ic feat is a l so accred i ted to th e trans former G l u s kabe .

2 I have heard of these boys from a number of peop le. Gabe P aul furnis hed th isanecdote.

A n independent ‘Malecite s ource. Gabe P erley, g ives identical information .

266 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

or d raw i ng w i th a charred s t ick on bark the figu re-oihis v ict im ,

the

s haman named i t and then shot , s tabbed , cl ubbed or b u rned‘

th e

l ikenes s .-A s a cons equence of th is act ion the v ict im wou ld s u ff er a

corres pond i ng fate u n les s he cou ld br ibe th e operator to w i thd raw

the caus e or to annu l i t . I t is bel i eved th at a ‘

smal l q uant i ty of

the v ict im’

s hair cou ld be operated upon w i th th e s ame eff ect .

R emov ing'

dis eas e by suct ion is a s haman is t icfeat recorded of the

tr i bes over-

extens i ve areas i n Amer ica . I t s tands ou t prom i nen tly

among -the C en tral Algonki an . H ere i n th e northeas t , however ,

the on ly i nd icat ions of s tich a pract ice are found i n earl ier accounts .

1

Another s haman’

s tr ick wh ich I h ave heard spoken of i n the

P enobscot v i l lage , is tha t of cau s i n g an i ron ra i l to float on water'

.

2

The s hamans , moreover , often prophes i ed ; for examp l e , - the

com i ng of a d i refu l swan was foretold by a s haman , the wh i te

crea tu re s ubs equen tly becom i ng ident ified w i th the Europeans when

they firs t appeared i n s h ips off the s hores of the P enobscot bay .

N icolar te l ls the s tory .

3 P rophecy is one of the genera l‘

character

is tics of the anc ien t s hamans .

4 The power of i ncreas i ngor d im i n i sh

i ng his s i ze is another s h aman ’

s at tr i bu te .

5 Agai n we hear o f

others who cou ld even ‘bore a hol e i n a tree and extract the i r

favor i te d r i nk from it, p l uggi ng i t u p when they had d rawn enough .

6

The ab i l i ty to hand l e fire , so common ly attr ib u ted to s hamans

Nicholas Denys , Des cription and Natu ral H is tory of th e Coas ts of NorthA merica ” Edition of the Champlain S ociety , p . 4 1 7 , Toronto, 1908 , by W . F .

Ganong, and Ch rétienne L eclerq ,

“N ew R e lation of G as pesia

"

p . 2 1 7—223 ,

ib id . , 1 9 10 , by W . F . Ganong . These authors describe practices of M icmac s hamansin s ome detai l , mentioning blowing, and ev identlyis ncking th e seat of pain in case of

s icknes s .

3 Th e same is mentioned among th e M icmac accord ing to S . Hagar, M icmacMag ic and Med icine , Jou rnal of A mer ican Fol k-L ore, v ol . 1x ,

‘

no. 34, p . 1 73 . The

M icmac of Nova Scotia-

als o attribute th is feat to Sapic i Sagaman‘, a_

'

mag ic ian wh od ied about twenty-fiv e years ago . I t is c laimed that h e was seen to make float a s tone.ax e , and

‘

saw .

3 Joseph N icolar, p'

p .-97

— 1 05 . For a M icmac mention of th e powet of prophecy,

see S . T . R and , L egends of the Micmacs , p . 144 , footnote.

4 Th e power of proph'

esying‘

is mentioned exp l icit ly of th e ancient A benaki b yA . Mau rau lt, His toire des A b‘

enak is , pp . 29 , 30, 1 22 , 1 25 .

5 A ls oMicmac R and , L egends of th eMicn’

wcs r p . h e was a bravebooin having th e power of en larg ing or d im inish ing h is s ize at wi l l .

6 A s im i lar feat is ascribed ‘

to'

a

'Micmac shaman“by JoeToney.

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268 A ME R ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

to scare them . He pus hed as ide the poles and s tayed down un ti l

he got t i red , then j umped u p from the water and s u rpr is ed them al l .1

Another t ime he became s tranded on a rock i n the m id s t of a very

swi ftly ru nn i ng rap id s . He j umped u pon what he though t was a

log rus h ing by . I t carr ied him i n to a log jam , and when i t s truck

he j umped from i t and then d iscovered that i t was merely a rol l of

hol low bark . He though t i t was a m agic tree .

Upon another occas ion Francis cl a imed to have been able to

bend his gunbarrel so that when he fired at a curved l i n e of d ucks his

bu l let took a course that penetra ted al l the d ucks i n the l i ne .

TH E D R EAMER

The s econd order of m agical pract i t ioners is repres en ted by

ind iv id uals whos e power lay in the i r ab i l i ty to fores ee events , to

penetrate in a d ream v i s ion the barr i ers wh ich p reven t ord i nary

human be i ngs from s ee i ng the sp i r i tual forces wh ich underl i e acts

and wh ich an imate var ious creatures . They were s hamans of a

humbler sort . A d reamer , as we may cal l him , was known as

“man who s earches abou t in d reams . Ou r

d i rect i n format ion abou t th is cl as s of funct ionar i es , s i nce they are

persons of the pas t , is very meager i ndeed , and l eaves a number of

vacan t gaps . Th is makes i t difi’

icu lt to coord i nate the soc i a l pos i t ion

and funct ions of the d reamer wi th what we know of s im i l ar person

ages among the Algonk i an north of the S t . L awrence and thos e of

the cen tral group . From s everal in forman ts , ch i ef among whom

N ewel l L ion aga in figures , I w i l l now quote the data wh ich have

been brou gh t to l igh t , l eav ing the ten tat i ve d i scu s s ion and com

parativ e t reatm en t un t i l la ter when we have learned al l that there is

to know from the P enobscot sou rces .

The d reamers had the power to go to s l eep and , wh i le i n th is

cond i t ion , to s ee what even ts where go i n g to take p lace i n the fu tu re .

1 S . T . R and , L egends of the M icmacs , p . xl i i i , xl iv, mentions the same of th e Micmac. The writer's M icmac notes contain reference to th e claim that at one of th e

W abanak i counci ls with the Iroquo is at Caugh nawaga the M icmac delegate swamth rough th e L a Ch ine rap id s under water.

P enobscot trad ition in genera l confirms th e claim that s ome s hamans cou ldremain for a long t ime under water. (Informants , .Charles Dayl igh t and others . )

2 X i'

go ing about, -gwaso dream .-i

’

no person.

s p ecx ] P ENOB S COT S H AMA NIS M 269

The i r d u ty i n th i s capac i ty was to warn of danger so that thos e who

rece ived the warn i ng cou ld emp loy means to ward the trouble off

or to avo id i t . Th e power of th e d reamer was emp loyed not on ly

for i nd i v id ua l s bu t for the benefi t of th e comm un i ty . Before u nder

tak i ng a h u n t i ng tr ip part ies wou ld i nd uce a d ream er to l i e down ,

go to s leep , and look around ”By the natu re of

the v i s ion wh ich th e d reamer h ad , th e party would form its p lans

or al ter them i n cas e p lans had been made wh ich appeared u n

advan tageou s from th e d reamer’

s revelat ion . D ream ers , moreover ,

were o ften i nd uced to accompany h un t i ng or war part i es i n order to

s erve w i th the i r g i fts of v is ion . I t was on ly neces s ary for th e

d ream er to spend one n igh t obta i n i ng th e answer that he des i red .

Th e i n forman ts agree th at th e d reamers were h arm l es s i n the i r

behav ior toward s other men ,th ey never i nfl icted i nj u ry , s icknes s ,

or m i s fortune upon”

r i vals , as we find th e made’olina s o frequen tly

do i ng . They, too ,

were not formed i n to any s oci e ty . S i nce we

have very l i t t le defin i te know ledge of th e ach ievem en ts of d reamers

we have to re ly upon anecdotes wh ich appear , i n the op i n ions of

m odern narrators , to be long to th e category of d reamer accomp l i s h

men ts . For i n s tance , N ewe l l L ion h im s e l f c i ted s everal occas ions

upon wh ich h e had encou ntered i n d ream s th e s p i r i t h e lper (baohi"

gan ) o f m alevo len t persons . Th es e v i s ions he though t i l l us tra ted i n

some res pects th e mental v i s i ta t ions wh ich h e unders tood to hav e

been s o extens i ve ly re l i ed upon by th e anc i en t d ream ers . Tak i ng

ou r i n format ion even at its maxim um i t is p la i n th at here we have

on ly a ves t ige of wh at m us t ev id en tly have been a prom i n en t m atter

of ear ly I nd i an l i fe i n th i s reg ion . Th e anecdotes wh ich fa l l under

th is category are as fo l lows :

N ewel l L ion ’

s W i fe’

s uncl e once d reamed th at h e was camp i ngnot far f rom his broth er- ln - law , to whom he had at tr i bu ted cer ta i n

i l l- l uck . Th e two did not get along we l l togeth er . S o th i s s eason

wh en th e h un t i ng had becom e very bad , th e uncl e d reamed th at

a wo l f en tered the door of his W i gwam . I n his d ream h e h i t the

an imal w i th a s t ick and i t d eparted . S hor tly a f ter th i s d ream a

fr i end from his brother-in- l aw ’

s camp cam e to ask him for some

1gm: la

’

o to search for, —'wa b to se e .

270 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

med ici ne for a s ick man . I t was known th at only med ic i ne g iven

by th e v ictor who caus ed the wound cou ld cure the conquered

magic i an . The unc le then wen t to his bro ther-in- law ’

s camp and

d i s covered him s u ff er i ng w i th a s evere h urt on his s hou lder . S aid

the u ncl e , Don’

t s neak around my camp any more ! He then

gave him some med ici n e wh ich s ubs equen tly cured him . I f he

h ad not given his brother-in-law the med icine the la tter wou ld

have d i ed .

1

N ewel l L ion’

s grandmother once d reamed that s he saw a dogcome i n to her camp . The dog bi t her on the elbow . W hen s h e

h i t the dog i t fel l over dead . I t then pres en ted the appearance of

a certa i n person whom s h e knew . W hen sh e awoke s he found

that her e lbow was sore and i t rema ined s o for the res t of her l i fe .

The person whos e l ikenes s she s aw i n the dead dog i n her d ream

d i ed s hor tly after .

N ewe l l L ion h im s e l f cla im s that he d reamed of s ee i ng a bu l l

a t the en trance o f his s han ty . He attacked th e bul l and threw i t

over , whereupon he recogn i zed a cer ta i n man whom he knew to

h ave been frequen tly speak i ng aga ins t him i n the v i l lage . Upon

another occas ion h e d reamed that a b i g s nake attacked him .

Tak i ng a s t ick he s truck i t on the head . A s i t fel l over and d i ed

he recogn ized one whom he had s uppos ed tobe a fr i end . W hen he

cons u l ted w i th an o lder man about the d ream he was i n formed

that i t was a warn ing concern i ng an enemy i n d i sgu i s e .

1 Four years be fore th e above account was g iven b y Newe l l L ion, Mr. Ferristook down one from h im wh ich c lose ly fo l lows m ine, except in th e last four sentences .

I t affords u s anoth er instance of th e extent to wh ich an informant may vary h is narrat ive at d i fferent times .

Th e uncle , h owever, procured an ord inary root and cured h im with it. H e

to ld th e man never to match h is power agains t h is and th e man was g lad enough to '

prom ise the same, as the uncle h ad g iven s u fficient proof of h is ab i l ity as a dreamer . "

Mr. Ferris h as th e fo l lowing to say in h is notes on th e same subject.“Th e dreamer, h owever, h ad b u t to dream (th is dream was general ly always of

th e same type except that th e animals varied as to s pecies ) of an animal com ing intoh is W igwam or pu rsuing h im in one way or another and to k i l l th is animal with h isc lub wh en th e form of th e witch—man wou ld rep lace that of his

“baohi"

gan . I f th e

dreamer then wis hed it h e h ad th e power to cure th e witchman u pon wh om h e had

th rown th e fatal s pe l l . A s to h is own experience Newel l L ion s poke of two dream s

that h e h im se l f had had of animals and both th e men into whom they h ad changedwh en h e attacked them in the dream had been h is enem ies and h ad d ied afterward .

H e stou t ly d isclaimed , th ough , that h e was a d reamer.

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272 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

And rew P aul , of K i ngscl ear , N ew B runsw ick , rece ived a propos al

of marr iage accompan ied by the wampum m es s age from a young

man whom s h e refus ed . S oon afterward becom i n g afiiicted w i th

sore th roa t s h e l a id the blame upon the d is appo i n ted man . S u b

s equen tly her father d reamed that th is man entered his camp ,

upon wh ich h e s e i zed a s t ick and s truck him w i th i t . A few days

after i t was l earned that th i s man had rece ived a h urt i n the head .

The i nc iden ts governed by the nat ive concep t i n s uch a cas e became

as soci a ted in the m i nd s of thos e concerned and the two fam i l i es

became u n fr iend ly .

The ne ighbor ing tr ibes (M icmac,1 Maleci te , P as s amaquoddy ,

Abenak i3) as may be expected , s eem to s how s im i lar character is t ics

1 L eclercq ( 169 1 ) says of th e M icmac Ou r G as pesians are s ti l l so credulous aboutd reams that they yie ld eas i ly to everyth ing wh ich th e ir imag ination or th e Devi l pu tsinto their head s wh en s leep ing and th is is s o much th e case among th em that dreams

wi l l make them come to conclus ions upon a g iven subject quite contrary to th os e wh ichth ey h ad earl ier formed . C h r. L eclercq, N ew R e lation of G as pe sia , Ed ition of the

Champla in S ociety. Toronto, 1 9 1 0, b y W . F . Ganong , p . 227 . A ls o ( ibid . , p .

They imag ine als o that th e ir jugg lers can know from the ir Devi l whom they cal lOu ahich (pos s ibly waitci

‘

tc“ l itt le beas t " meaning an animal helper) the bes t

p laces for hunting , and that a l l the dream s of th ese impos ters are j u s t s o many reve lations and prophecie s . and again, on page 223 ,

“S ome of th ese jugg lers also

medd le with pred ictions of future aff airs and in such a way that i f their pred ictionsare found correct, as happens s ometimes by chance, th ey derive cred it and repu tationfrom th is fact . S . T . R and , L egends of the Micmacs , Boston, 1 88 1 , p . 1 39 , narratesa tale o f h ow a hunter dream s of trouble at h ome and retu rns to find that th e Mohawkshave attacked his fam i ly.

Th e M icmac emp loy two terms to des ignate th e dreamer, ne'badi deu k , c lair

voyant, and nu dj i’

bu"wat

“dreamer.

2 Cf . C . G . L eland , A lgonqu in L egends of N ew England , Boston, 1 884, pp . 343—5 ,

where a talk is g iven in wh ich a young man wish ed to acquire th is power o f dream ingfor luck . H e was to ld to tes t h imsel f by l iving in abs tinence for a wh i le with a virg in.

H e did s o and acquired th e power to d ivine al l th ings by dream s when h e s lept on amag ic bear

'

s s k in . H e cou ld te l l wh ere to find good hunting and fis h ing . H e foredreamed war with th e Mohawk . S tones in th e fores t are th ough t to g ive power todream . One informant claimed to have dreamed that h e s aw mag icians d ive underthe water from one is land to another (p . (Malecite.

3 C f . A bbeMau rau lt, H is toz'

re des A benakis , Q uebec, 1 866, p . 1 22 .

“They h ad

jugg lers wh o cou ld foretel l good or bad fortune by messages from the s p iritsib id . , p . 1 25 .

“Th e s hamans h ad a way of pred icting that such or such a person or

party wou ld have bad fortune by fal l ing into th e hand s of th e Iroquois . Thus theywon their pres tige as prophets

“

, ibid . , p . 29 . Conj u rers had th e power to predictgood and bad weath er, good or bad fortune in hunting , th e m is haps wh ich wi l l happenon a journey, th e result of a cam paign and a thou sand other th ings .

"

S P EC K] P ENOB S COT S H AMA NIS M 273

i n respect to the d reamers as thos e wh ich s tand forth ' among the

P enobscot . The accoun ts of d ream funct ionari es i n earl ier l i terary

sources fa l l i n wel l w i th wha t we learn from modern i n form an ts

on the s ubject , as may be s een . Th e older au thor i t i es do not con

ta i n m uch that is not obta i nable even today , wh i le i n what they

do g i ve th ere is no th i n g contrad ictory to the modern mater i al .

The abs ence o f organ i zat ion as an art ifici al soci a l u n i t is a note

worthy featu re h ere and the s ame is true of th e N as kap i and Mon tag

na is, wh i le i n the prov i nces of th e C en tral Algonk i an and on the

P la i n s the d reamers s eem to have cons t i tu ted groups of ceremon i al

is ts . The s i tuat ion i n the far eas t i n res pect to the d reamers re

s emb les tha t al ready d i scus s ed i n th e cas e of the s hamans . Th i s is

true of the tr ibes both north and sou th of the S t. L awrence . For

i ns tance , among th e N askap i1and th e Mon tagna is ,who are the mos t

remote from the area where organ i zed ceremon ia l groups preva i l ,

th e d reamers and sh amans are pure ly i nd i v id ual i s ts . The eas tern

C ree2 s eem s to be the firs t group , pas s i ng toward th e wes t , where

th e graded soc i ety of s hamans of th e M idew i n type occurs .

TH E OL DER AL GONKIAN S HAMANISM

C oncern i ng s h am an i sm i n the northeas t , no s tr ik i ng cas es

of s im i l ar i ty e i th er i n name or i n funct ion have been recorded

among the Algonk i an tr i bes ou ts ide of th e immed i a te area of the

re lated group . The form con ten t of the var ious types of magical

p ract ice , wh i le i t is fa i r ly un i form th roughou t the whol e A lgonk i an

area s eem s to have its parts d is tr ibu ted rath er unequal ly among

th e d i fferen t tr i bes . I n the eas t , among the W abanak i , th e magi

cians do not form the cons t i tuen ts of a soci e ty group , as is the

1 “They are also guided to a great extent b y th e ir dreams , for th ey imag ine thatin th e n igh t they are in d irect communications with th e sp irits wh ich watch over th e irdai ly occupations . Certain pers ons obtain mu ch renown in d ivining the dreams and

thes e are consu lted with th e greatest confid ence. The drum is brough t into u s e , and

d u ring its tumult th e pers on pas ses into a state of stupor or trance and in a few momentsarouses h im se l f to reveal th e meaning of the other’s d ream . L . M . Turner, “Ethno logyo f th e Ungava D is trict, E leventh A nnu a l R eport, B u reau of A mer ican E thnology ,

W as h ington, p . 272 .

2 C f . A . B . S k inner, Notes on the Eas tern Cree and Northern Sau lteau x , A nthro

pologica l P apers , A mer ican Mu s eum of Natu ra l History , v ol . 1x , part 1 p . 63 ,

67 , for dream function‘

s .

274 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

cas e among the central tr ibes . I n the eas t there are on ly two

orders of magic i ans , i n the central area there are from th ree (Oj i bwa)to six I n the eas t the magic i an of the one k i nd

performs j ugglery , i n fl icts inj u ry , removes i nj ury , cures i l l nes s ,

figh ts r ivals and.

operates to carry ou t his arb i trary in ten t ions

th rough th e aid of an an imal sp i r i t helper . I n the central reg ion

thes e act ivi t i es are d i v ided among d i ff eren t k i nd s of performers who

are ord i nar i ly organ i zed into s epara te s oc i e t ies , and then i n add i t ion

the fu nct ions of the an imal helpers are m uch s peci a l i zed or l im i ted .

I n s hort , as respects shaman i sm , the eas tern tr ibes s how a lack of

s ocial izat ion , a lack of special i zat ion in funct ion .

Al though the p res en t s tate of d i sorgan i zat ion may be d u e to

cu l ture d egeneracy it s eems nevertheles s to be a rather genu ine

qua l i ty of the ethnology of the region , becau s e we do not encoun ter

men t ion of more e laborate ceremon ies i n th e early record s . I t

s hou ld be remembered also tha t ou r informan ts’

knowledge dates

back abou t 60 years to a per iod when nat ive l i fe was m uch more

in tact .

The s uppos i t ion that we have an old Algonk i an featu re i n the

i nd i v id ual i s t ic character of s haman ism in the north and northeas t

is in harmony w i th the exp l anat ion , given by D r . W is s ler , of cer ta i n

c i rcums tances in connect ion w i th the s haman is t ic cu l ts of the

P la i ns area. Here , among the Algonkian tr ibes of the P l a i ns , the

cu l t-l ike as sociat ions of s haman ism are “consp icuous ly abs en t ,

s haman ism be ing les s in tens e and en t i rely ind iv id ual i s t ic 2 I n

th e P la ins area the cu l t-l ike organ izat ion s are s hown by W i s s l e r

and L ow ie to be probable di u sions from a cu l tu re-tra i t cen ter

wh ich have reached the more remote tr ibes on ly i n part , or in some

cas es not at al l . S u bs equen t s tudy may s how that a s im i la r'

relat ions h ip ex i s ts between the C en tral Algonkian , on the one hand

and the northern and nor theas tern branches of the s tock on the

o th er as respects s haman is t ic cu l ts . The cen tral tr ibes pos s es s an

1 Cf. A . B . S k inner, A s sociat ions and Ceremonies of th e Menom in i Ind ians ,

A nthropological P apers of the A mer ican Mu s eum of Natu ral His tory, v ol . XIII, part 11

2 C f . C lark W is s ler, Soc ieties o f th e P lains -Ind ians , A nthropological P apers -ofth e A merican Mu s eum of Natu ral His tory, v ol . X 1 p . 858 .

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276 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

o f th is region , a not iceable port ion are recorded i n s im i l ar form by

var ious au thors d eal ing w i th the Esk imo . The fol low i ng are a

few '

s tam p i ng feet i n to ice or s tone , l i f t i ng a heavy rock , render ing

one 5 s el f i nv is i ble , caus i n g a heavy obj ect to float , rema i n i ng u nder

water , fatal poin t ing w i th the finger , d im i n i s h i ng one’

s s i ze , miracu

lou s wres tl ing, foretel l ing the fu tu re , and other les s s tr ik i ng paral lels .

Esk imo angakok tr icks not occu rr ing among the northeas tern

tr i bes are , the changi ng of s ex , tear ing the sk i n from the face ,

s ubm i t t i ng to d ecap i tat ion and burn i ng, and d iv i nat ion by head

l i ft i ng .

Turn i ng from the nor theas t toward the cen tral area thefol low i ng

featu res are common to both , s haman figh ts by p roxy , prophesy i ng

th rough v is ions and d reams , the overpower i ng vo ice , and some

o thers ,wh i l e the fi re tr ick and the sword swa l low ing tr ick common

in the central area do not occur i n the northeas t .

There are th ree pos s i b l e ways of exp la i n i ng thes e Esk imo

A lgonk i an correspondences .

‘ (1) The featu res cou ld have been

acqu i red by borrow i ng from the Esk imo i f we as s ume Algonk i an

i nvaders to have exper i enced a per iod of contact wi th earl i er

Esk imo inhab i tan ts . (2) The featu res could have been i nde

penden tly conce ived by the two groups , the s im i l ar i t i es res ul t i ng

from convergen t s teps i n the i r d evelopmen t . (3) They cou ld have

been borrowed by the Esk imo from the I nd i ans . The two la tter

pos s ib i l i t i es i n th i s cas e are hard ly to be cons idered probable .

The firs t , however , appeals m uch more to reason . The analogous

t r icks are w id ely k nown among the Esk imo, even among thos e of

G reen land who have had no d irect con tact w i th I nd i ans , and

cons equen tly may have cons t i tu ted old Esk imo property . I n

general , as s um ing the I nd ians to have k i l led off th e Esk imo, i f

there were any on.

the C anad i an mar i t ime coas t , at some early

t ime , the rel ics of the i r cu l ture cou ld on ly have pers is ted among the

s urv ivi ng I nd i ans and the i r des cendan ts .

Al though much more deta i led m ater i al is awa i ted concern i ng

1 Inc idental ly it may be noted that s ignificant ethnolog ical s im i larities are by no

means restricted to s hamanism when alone Es k imo and northeas tern Ind ian cu ltureare compared .

S P EC K] P ENOB S COT S H AMA N I S JLI 277

the tr i bes north of the S t . L awrence as wel l as the others of the

W abanaki group i t s eem s to me that almos t enough has al ready

been accumu lated and pres en ted to s how that the c i rcums tances

here of s imp l ici ty and the i nd iv id ual i s t ic character of s haman ism

are real qu al i t ies i n the eth nology of th is region .

C orrespond i ng s impl ici ty and i nd i v id ual ism together character

i ze the i ns t i tu t ion of s haman ism among the tr ibes north of the

S t . L awrence . Thus both thes e extreme eas tern regions , wh ich are

equal ly remote from con tact w i th the more compl ex and more

ceremonia lized C en tral A lgonk i an tr i bes , we find to be noteworthyfor the s ame elemen tary s imp l ic i ty and lack of organ i zat ion . There

are two ways i n wh ich the con tras t be tween th e north eas tern and

the cen tral phas es of cu l ture may be looked at . On the other hand

as s um ing a proces s of degenerat ion to accoun t for pres en t s tates ,

we may attemp t to trace the eas tern cond i t ions backward to a

former more elaborate s tage comparable perh aps to th at wh ich

flour i shed among the tr i bes of the cen tral group . L et u s br i efly

rev iew th is pos s i b i l i ty . There is someth i ng to favor s uch an

as s ump t ion i n the facts of h is tory and geograph ical as soc i at ion,

for we know through local trad i t ion that the Montagna is and

N askap i are imm i gran ts from the wes t to the northeas t1 and we

have reason to cred i t a s im i lar W abanak i cl a im that the i r prede

ces sors came from farther wes t . Thus there appears to have been

a two—fold , pos s i bly a b i furcated d r i ft , down the S t. L awrence bas i n

from the central reg ions , one s tream penetrat i ng the coun try north

of its shores , and the other cover i ng the region of its s outhern

water-s h ed to the ocean . The cul tu re gradat ions among the Algon

k i an from the Atlan t ic coas t on the eas t to the cen tral lake reg ion

may be exp l a i ned if one choos e to do so, by as s um i n g a p roces s of

decu ltu ration as m igrat ion p roceeded f rom the cen tral reg ion eas t

ward toward the north Atlan t ic coas t .

There is , however , s t i l l the other att i tude toward the s i tuat ion ;

one that accepts th e ev idence of s imp l ic i ty i n cu l ture as natural ,

1 S uch a trad it ion is current among th e Montagnais genera l ly and it is confirmedby the tes timony recorded in the Jes u it R elations wh ich deal with the tribe s of easternQuebec

278 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

repres en tat ive of a more elementary type . I n th i s cas e we wou ld

in terpret cond i t ions here by i n ferr i ng that the eas tern tr ibes have

reta i ned a form of s imp l e pr im i t ive cu l tu re wh ich the central tr ibes

have ou tgrown , or perhaps wh ich the latter have los t th rough the

acqu is i t ion of a h igher ,more formal one res u l t ing from con tact w i th

s uper ior cu l tu re forces . The l ikel ihood of the eas tern em i grat ion

of the Algonk i an does not pos e as a s trong obj ect ion i n th i s cas e

becaus e s uch a m igrat ion at an early t ime wou ld have s erved to

remove part of the p r im i t ive Algonk i an group from the range of

ou ts ide cu l tu re i nfluence and l ef t th i s body as the cons erver of

s imp l e cu l tu re by reason of its s el f-isol at ion . I n th is cas e , go i ng

from eas t to wes t , we s hou ld expect to find the cu l tu re gradat ions

j us t spoken of and bes ides th is a cer ta i n local ind iv id ual i ty in

cus tom s d u e to the i rregular i ty of tr i bal developmen ts when they

are progres s i n g from a s imp l e nascen t s tage th rough th e var ious

per iod s of growth congen i al to the i r c i rcums tances . W e do find

thes e var i at ions in many m i nor respects of cu l tu re , from t r ibe to

tr i be in the group , so much so in some ethnological top ics that the

d i fferences wou ld be natural to tr i bes wh ich are w id ely s eparated

ins tead of to ne ighbors as is the cas e in some respects among the

P enobscot , Maleci te , and M icmac.

L ocal variat ions are cons iderably les s in the Mon tagna is -N askap i

group nor th of the S t. L awrence , the more marked un i form i ty here

be i n g p la usi bly an ev idence of a more recen t d i spers ion from the

earl i e r cu l tu re cen ter . There is amp l e h is tor ical ground for th is idea

becaus e w i th in h is tor ic t imes the Mon tagna is have expel led the

Esk imo from the S t. L awrence coas t and have thems elves been

pres s ed upon by the I roquois . The W abanak i group on the other

hand has been res iden t where we find i t located for s om e t ime pr ior

to the open i ng of the h is tor ical per iod s i nce we have no record s here

of extens i ve tr i ba l movemen ts . Hence , i t wou ld s eem , thes e bod i es

have had a longer per iod of s tab i l i ty in wh ich to develop local m i nor

d i fferences .

On the whol e the s econd pos s ib i l i ty appeals more s trongly to my

m i nd as a m eans of exp lanat ion than the firs t . I n th is cas e sim

plicity , l ack of comp l ex social , rel i gious and ceremon i al organ i zat ion ,

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280 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [m m m s 6

s hort obscure vowe l of uncerta i n qua l i ty l ike e i n flower .

bi labia l s tops . Va ry i ng between

a lv oe lar s tops , no l i ngua l—denta l contact . true sonant and

med ia l pa lata l s tops . intermedia te s u rd

dorsa l s i b i lants . s onant .

surd and sonant aflricativ es correspond i n P enob scot res pec

tively to Eng l i s h ch and j . In S t. Franci s Abenak i these

sound s are l ike Engl i s h ts and dz.

as i n Eng l i s h .

pa lata l nasa l l ike ng of Engl i sh sing.

as i n Eng l i s h .

cros sed l , s o ft latera l surd , tongue tip and a lveolar contact ,

preceded and accompan ied by as p i rat ion . The eff ect of

th i s s ound is approx imated by condens i ng vowe l fol lowed

by as p i rat ion and l ;

v

as i n Engl i s h .

(I , Q, a, nasa l i zed vowe l .

asp i ration fol lowing vowe l or consonant .

accent s tres s , secondary accent .

a dot fol lowi ng denotes vowe l or consonant lengtheni ng.

I . The Trial-C ontes tMeetings of theMagicians (P enobscot)B o

’ski

'

nawat made’oli

‘

nawak na° ’dji

'

agwet‘ha n

’

do'l dowak

Occas ional ly long ago mag ic ians went trying th e ir mag ic power

nagwa'zabem

’

u k pi'

gwa’

du k ta ndj u dli”gi

°

zi’

to th e lake . A bundance of Game " 1 h ow at last cou ld th ey d isappear andescape

kmip‘ha gwa

'loden co

’di

‘

mge kadi'

se‘ka

’wode ne

'd u dji

’

a’eda

if th ey were pursued in war about to be defeated . S o then a’cda

na’

na gwu tc kamgwi"

g9daho tcawa‘

pi”g9daho mu

'ski

'

de eli'

gi"zi

'

some dove into the water jumped into th e water emerg ing how cou ldkwu l bi

‘

ha’lzu ki

"u ni

'

ge ntci'

gada'k u kamgwi

"

gadahin mu skte’si

'

ge

change h im sel f into otter and others dove into th e water wh en emerg ingali

’

gwu lbi’

ha’lzu made

'fwi

'

le ntci'

goda'k u kamgwi

”gadahin mu skte

’si

’

ge

h ow change h im se l f into loon and others dove into the water wh en emerg ingmu skwe

"s

'

u ntci'

gada’

kh ow cou ld change h imsel f into mus krat and others how cou ld change h imsel f into

tama"k'we ntci

‘

gada’k u kamgwi

”g9dahin mu skte

'si

’

ge eli'

gwu lbi‘

ha’lzu

beaver and others dove into th ewater whenemerg ing how change h imsel f into

N ow known as P us haw L ake .

smacx ] P ENOB S COT S H AMA NISM 28 1

u l -i’

dahazo’

ldowak eli‘

gi"

zi‘

el’

han'

m ink . They re jo iced how cou ld they dis p lay [to each oth er] such

they pe rform mag ic.

Free Trans lation

Occas iona l ly long ago the s hamans were accus tomed to go to

P us haw L ake to tes t the i r mag ic power . One of

the i r performances was to caus e th em s elves to d i sappear as they

wou ld do i f they were d efeated by an enemy and forced to escape

by fl igh t . S ome of them wou ld i ndeed , d i ve into the water and

emerge after hav ing been trans formed i n to otters , others i n to loons ,

musk rats , beavers , and m i nks . They rejo iced i n be ing thus ab le

to d i sp lay to each other how they cou ld perform magic acts .

2 . Two S pies C hange Themselves into A nima ls and Es cape f rom the

I roqu ois (P enobscot)

N awa't ni

"zwak s ki

'

no"sak nadawahewi

"n

°

owak ta'

gui’

t‘

e

L ong ago two young men s py men both indeed

ktaha’n

‘

dowak u na'dji

‘

u nada’u hana Megwai wa

l

ka’lozan magi

"

great mag icians went [to] they s py into Iroquo is s tockade a l l

agi"ei

‘

nadau hada’mana u

'edj i

"

tc gi'

zi"

se‘kawa

’dit me

’

gwa‘

they could they investigated s o that cou ld th ey defeat th e Iroquo i s .

nonadagwa”si

‘

nq. edolima gwa’

gwek skamo’ni

’

bagwu l nogazadegu'a"si

‘

naThen theywent to s lee p where on a h eap corn hus ks then they overs le pt .ma

'lam sankhi

"

le gi"zo

's sala

"ki

'

ma sku 'a’lamit me

’

gwe nodo‘ki

"mgieona

Then rose the s u n sudden ly wh oop ing Iroquo i s . they they awoke

mala’

m ki"zi

‘

angau'z

’

ha’zowak

and jumped u p they ro l led them se lves Th en after th eywere ou t of s igh tdown ou t of s igh t .

nogwu lbi'

ha’lzi

'

na awe"s u s pe

’sego kada

’

k tci'

ma’

l sam ma’ni

'

then they trans formed bear one man th e other panther thereuponth em se l v es into a

“big wo l f " 1

me’gu 'al odji

'

ma ndj e‘kawa

’di

'

nathey rus hed upon th e Iroqu o i s after running away from they le ftke

’nu k masi

"u gi

’

za’

bada‘mana ela lok

‘ha

’

di'

ma k tane’du dji

'

gwi'

lda'

b u t a l l th ey had looked it over what th eywou ld do wh enever they wou ldmohadil wa

‘ka

’

lozan .

charge u pon th e S tockade.

Free Trans lation

L ong ago th ere were two young men who acted as sp i es . Both

were i ndeed great magic i ans . They wen t to spy abou t an I roquois

s tockad e so tha t they cou ld overcome the I roquo is . After hav i ng

1 The ord inary term for panther is bi"

ta’lu long tai l .

"

The animal is now u n

known to these tribe s except by h earsay.

282 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

done what they i n tended they wen t to s l eep upon a p i l e of corn

h u sks , and they overs lep t . W hen the s u n aros e s udden ly the

I roquo is began whoop i ng and the young men awoke , j umped u p

and rol led them s elves down the other s ide ou t of s igh t . Be i ng

thereupon ou t of s igh t of the enemy they trans formed them s elves ,one in to a bear , the other in to a panther . The I roquo is then

rushed upon them bu t they had run away . To be s ure they left

the p lace bu t they had looked i t al l over and they k new what cou ld

bes t be done when i t was t ime to attack th e'

s tockade .

3 . A Magicians ’ Contes t at N es eik (P enobscot)

N aic'a’

t ni"zwak ktci

'

mede'olinowak u dao

’di

'

na pe’sago ali

"wizo.

L ong ago two great mag ic ians they fough t one was cal ledktci

'

asa's N ep

‘tain1 k9da

’k P lansi

'

s S osep N ep‘ta n u dawe

‘ka ha

’na

Big John Neptune th e oth er Francis Joseph Neptune they em p loyedu baohi

'

ga’nu negwa

'zabemu k nagwa

’zabemu k

the ir s p irit helpers . I n a lake there they fough t in th e lake .

ktci'

naha’mu naga ktci

‘

wi‘

wi"lyamek

‘wedu dji

'

sa"

gi pana‘ldi

'

hi’

ditBig ee l and b ig snai l so hard they fough t

e'bagiva

‘tc nagwa

’zabem u nes

'

e‘

po'du na e

’skwat

‘

e ni" ’kwup

‘

on account of it th e lake a l l they ri led u p even yet now

ns e"

gan na negwa'zabem e

'bag

'wa‘tc ni

'”kwup

‘a li

'

wi‘

tazu

it is ri ley that lake on account of it now it is s o cal ledne

"se

,gele.

2

R i ley [L ake] .Th e informant ad ded that th is figh t was a draw ; Old John Neptune was a fam i l iar

character at O ldtown for many years .

Free Trans lation

L ong ago two grea t s hamans engaged i n a figh t . One was

named Big John N ep tu ne, the other Francis Jos eph N ep tu ne .

They both emp loyed the i r s p i r i tual helpers . They fough t i n a

lake the (s p i r i tual helpers ) b ig eel and the b ig s na i l . They fou gh t

so hard tha t on account of i t the l ake became al l r i l ed u p and even

to th is day that lake is s t i l l r i ley and for th i s reas on is cal led R i ley

L akei”

Another vers ion of th is s ame s tory was obta ined by Mr . Ferr i s

from N ewel l L ion i n 1914 wh i le he was in P h i ladelph ia . A s

d up l icate vers ions of tales told by the s am e pers on at difi‘erent t imes

1 Th is man was a P enobscot, h is antagonis t a P as samaquoddy.

2The lake is now known by its P as samaquoddy cognateN e"s e ih ri ley [ lake] .

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284 A A/I ER I C A N A NTH R OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

nagodji"ni

'

u"mandji

"na ma

’

gwak na’

go

A fter th is they went away, th e Mohawks , having k i l led th e A benak i . Th enwikwu s a

’na wda

'

psa k ni’

ni"

u d u s u kii"niina. na

’

g'wa

they camped at S k u l l P lace there they camped for th e A nd then returned from th e

nigh t. h untieo

‘

ba’

nakia'

k ni’

lo"na

'

ga’s

‘

i‘

nloma k u da’dalno

‘mbamu . nago

’

dji‘

th e A benak i s th e y were to ld h owmanywere k i l led of their peop le. Thereuponu londji

’

di'

t wa’

dji‘

nu s-

u ka’wandi

'

t magwa’

. nagoda’

yin ba’zu gu

they prepared to fo l low th e Mohawk s . A nd therewas certain one

mdau’inu

‘1nagwa

’na gwi

’

la'ombin wa

’

dji'

wawa'ldamondi

'

t do’

ni

s haman and h e s ough t (by conjuring ) to know where

wileu sa’rli

'

t magwa’k . nago mdau

’linu

‘u nami

'

a’n alemsiwi

"kawa l

cam ped th eMohawk s . A nd th e s haman saw h ow (they) al l were<li

'

di"

t na’

gu'o odj c

‘

i’

ga ma pka’

ga nt ni'

wa’dj i

’

la’mbasa

‘k msi

"wi

‘

s leep ing and h e went ou t acros s so as to cu t open a l l

un'

gwa’ola l nagwozi

‘

bi’wi

‘

gada’

gik wo‘

ba’nakia

‘k pha

’

go di'

t a’

ni‘

their bark canoe s . A nd th ereupon th e others A benak i cros sed over therema

’

tc-i'

nzsi"wi

'

lo"na ma

'

gwak . na'

g'wa i

‘

biwi‘

k i l led al l (kil led ) th em as theywere s leep ing th e Mohawks . A nd on ly

ba’

za gou-a‘

nu gu dj i'

ta'nq mag

'wa’

na’

gu'ani

'

gadji'

one they s pared a Mohawk . A nd then off th ey'

cu t h is ears .

ni'

u dji’

ni"

di'

la’na wa

’dji

‘

ma ndji"t ni

‘

u da ndji'

mi"

n ale’

msiwi'

A fter th is theyto ld h im to go away and tel l abroad h ow al lmada

’

mak u dalno’mbama

‘.

h ad been pu t h is peop le.

an end to

Free Trans lation2

Once u pon a t ime s trange Mohawk cam e for the purpos e of

k i l l i ng the Abenak i . A great dance was going on at the t ime .

One of the Mohawk took p i ty on the Abenak i . and he told an

Abenak i woman abou t it -and warned her to ru n away when the

Mohawk appeared . Desp i te th is warn ing the other Abenak i wou ld

1 A mong oth er th ings . th e conj u ror was able to trans fer h im sel f from one p lace toanoth er in th e gu ise of an animal wh ich s erved h im as a guard ian and helper.

2A noth er A benak i (S t. Franc is ) vers ion is g iven b y J . D . P rince (K u loskap, The

Mas ter, b y C . G . L e land and J . D . P rince, p . Here the scout as sumes th e

guise of a beaver ; th e res t of th e tale corres pond s very closely to the above.

There may be some h istorical foundation for th is legend . A . Mau rau lt record san event, in th e war between th e A benak i and th e Iroquo is , wh ich took p lace about1695 . (Cf . A . Mau rau lt, op. cit. . pp . 20 1 and H e records that a war party of

Mohawk camped on an i s land in L ake Champ lain . Th ey were d iscovered by s omeA benak i wh ose scout (shaman?) cu t their canoes . Th e Iroquois were then attackedand k i l led . I t happened

"

that th e Iroquo is had been cook ing a bu l l'

s head over theirfire so th e p lace was named “

Oteps ek i s land of th e head "

(A . Mau rau lt, p .

Mau rau lt th ink s that Charlevo ix mus t have known th e tale for h e h as th e i s landmarked on h is map o f L ake Champ lain as “

d'i le au x tetes .

s p ecK] P ENOB S COT S H AMA NIS M 285

not bel i eve her when s h e to ld them and wou ld not run away . Al l

thos e who did not were accord i ng ly k i l l ed . The Mohawk took

al l th e i r crad le-board s and la id them i n the b ed of a l i t t l e creek so

th at they could cros s over . Then after hav i ng k i l led the Abenak i

the Moh awk depar ted . They lodged that n igh t at S ku l l P lace "

where they camped . L ater when the res t o f the Abenak i retu rned

f rom the h un t th ey were to ld how that many of the i r peop l e had

been k i l led . Th ey at once prepared to fo l low the Mohawk .

Among them was a certa i n s h aman and h e conj u red and l earned

where the Mohawk had camped . The s haman also saw how th ey

a l l were s l eep i ng and he wen t acros s to wh ere they were and cu t

open al l the i r bark canoes . Thereupon th e other Abenak i cros s ed

over and k i l led a l l the Mohawk wh i le they were s leep i ng . Only

one Mohawk was spared . Th ey cu t off his ears and to ld him to go

forth and tel l abroad how al l his peop l e had been pu t to death .

5 . H ow S orcerers Originated Wampum (Wawenock)1

Tanl awe’i

'

aida’dane

’

d u djibodau ra’zi

'

ma k’ni

'

nawa'u tai

‘

na’madd

ol ni'

da ni”

yu’

gik medeolino'wa

’k . ni

‘

nda’l i

weu 'ela'n aweni

"mliks ani

’

da’

ni‘

gisi"bodawazi

'

ma’k ni

'

u bas’

kwa

eta ma nq.’ni

'

u da m‘hadi

'n ni

’

wa’ktci

'

madeolinu’

ges ta’

pkwu detama’nt

so’

gahazo‘

a ndji"wu dona

’k wa

'

bi'

ga'k ni

’

u 'a’

madeolinu'

tebabwi'

wi.

’edu tsani.

’t niwa

‘

babi’m ebas

'

i'

wi"

wa'

bi'

ga’n si

’

bi'

wi"

eba elwemkwi'

ga'n ni

‘

u'a'nodas

'

ani'tmadeolinu

'nelewe

'mkazewi

'

ga'n

no'

habi’

n ni‘

u au 'a’

yugi"

k madeolinowa’

k tanyu'

gadji’

seko’si

’

dji‘k

ni‘

gi'

gadji"

peme'ltodetci

"wa

'

babi'

made’oli

nowak ni'

talawe’

i‘

kadowl"u 'ale s

'

ta yu gi’k ni

'

zok’

ani”

g9 so

u'a‘k ni

‘

wa tambenkek'

tona’wa

'

babi"

kadagwabi‘

zu'n

ni‘

dala’

mpskahqzu'ni

'

zno’

l u oldji'

a’

l’

eli'

danlawei"

gi'

zi"wala

's‘

tawade

kidi“l nda

’la ma ma d a be

'

k‘w

nda'tci

'

ni'

askami'

wi"

ni‘

a’

tci'

nimsi'

u 'i".

L itera l Trans lation

Accord i ngly whenever a counci l was held , sorcerers were there .

A nd accord i n g to the s trength of the i r power , i t cou ld be known

wh ich were th e mos t powerfu l . After the counci l was fin is hed they

l i gh ted p ipes , and they a l l smoked . Then the greates t sorcerer

among them , every t im e he wou ld l i gh t his p ipe , wou ld caus e

Narrated at Becancour, P . Q . , by Franco is Neptune, 19 13 .

286 A ME R ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S , 6

wampum to fal l from his mou th . The mos t powerfu l produced

wh i te , he of m idd l i ng power his wampum was hal f wh i te and hal f

redd is h , and the l eas t powerfu l sorcerer , his wampum was almos t

black . l S o then among thes e s orcerers he would be the w i nner who

among them would have prod uced the mos t wampum when he

smoked his p ipe . Accord i ngly whenever two nat ions wanted to

make a treaty they gave as a paymen t , the bead s worked i n to a

bel t w i th two hand s embro idered on i t , mean ing that they had

agreed to no more war and that forever they would never h u n t

one another agai n . A nd that is al l .

A S haman Dis covered in Bird Form (P enobscot)

B e'zegweda ni

"zwi

'

ek u s'

agi”a‘kwamal s u ni

'

be’

bi“tawa n

Once . my wife became very s ick . I s at u p with h er

nabedji‘

ga’

du ksin nage’

wi'

a elgu'

al 'si

’

a lei"sala

l ’kit

'

e ma t‘

gami‘

gi‘

podethen I fe l l as leep . W h i le I s lept d ream ing ki.

lsud den ly ground heaved

ma'n

'

aba tegu’

pab‘mi

”wi

"wu ni

'

la‘de eda

'li

'

a”kwama

‘l sit

l ike wave moving u p and down go ing around . W here the s ick one [ lay]

ni"zwi

°

ek nelabi°

a"

. si"

psi'

s pebami"dawi

"la t ala mka

’

mi'

gwe ndi"la n

m y wi fe th en I looked b ird flying u p and down under ground . I saidk9na

’mi

‘

h u l gi‘

s moski’

a'zi gi

'

s kena’mi

'

hu l ki’

a

don ’t h ide yourse l f I see you already h e emerged already I see you you

nela'lo‘ka n we

'dji

'

a‘kwa

'mal sit ni

"zwi

‘

ek‘en

'

ekwabado’nka nab

‘mi

"

do ing th is so that s he is s ick my wife. A s I said th is moving u p and

down

moski'

posi nna’ste u me tei

’

noi nando ki'

hazin to‘ki

"la mewi

'

ama’

l s u

h e emerged ; soon h e d ied then I fe lt W hen awake felt bettermyse l f to waken.

ni”zwi

’

ek‘

ne’bagwa nga

"win na

’t‘

e aska’mat we

’la yu sit.

mywi fe on account of it s h e s lept at once entirely s he recovered .

Free Trans lation

Once when my w i fe was s ick , I sat u p w i th her and soon fel l

as l eep . W h i le s l eep i ng I d reamed that the ground s udden ly began

to heave l ike a wave , r is ing and fal l ing round and round near where

the s ick one , my wi fe , l ay . Then I saw the movement of a b i rd2

fly ing abou t u nder the grou nd and I s a id ,

“Don’

t h ide yours el f ,

I have s een you .

” The b i rd emerged .

“ I have s een you already .

1 S ome old woman wou ld come and catch it in h er lapwhen it fe l l from th e sorcerersmouth s .

2 Th e informant said ‘ that th is was‘

a red bird . pos s ibly th e scarlet tanager(P iranga erythromelas ) .

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288 A MER ICA N A NTHR OP OL OGICA L A S S OCIA TION [MEMOIR S . 6

he tumbled off and made away i n to the wood s . N ow, s a id the

hu nter ,“we w i l l have good l uck after th i s . That was a s haman .

W hen they next v is i ted the i r traps they found a good catch , and

the i r l uck con t i n ued good . W hen they got home they to ld th e i r

s tory and d i s covered that a cer ta i n man i n the v i l lage had , as he

cla imed , met w i th an acc iden t . He h ad his face d i s figured . The

h un ters wen t u p to s ee him and found that his face was broken

j us t wh ere he had been h i t w i th th e b ig s t ick .

A D reamer A s s umes the Form of a B al l of Fire1 (P enobscot)

An old man and his s on wen t h un t i ng . H is w i fe and daugh ter

in- l aw did not l ike to s tay at home s o th ey wen t w i th him . They

bu i l t the i r camp ou t of boughs and made a fire i n the m id s t of a

s hel ter . The father and son wen t ou t hun t i ng and l e ft the women

at th e camp alone . They were to be back i n th ree d ays , bu t a t the

end of th ree days th ey did not retu rn . The s on ’

s w i fe got weary

and did not know what kep t th em so long , s i nce i t was four or

five days s i nce they had gone . That n igh t th e moth er-in- law who

was very fond of smok i ng lay down near th e fi re to smoke . Her

d augh ter-in—law was ly i ng i n one co rner of th e camp on the bough s .

Th e old '

woman to ld the younger th at she was go i n g to s leep and

d ream abou t where the m en were, and what they were do i ng .

W hen sh e fin i shed smok i ng sh e l ay on her back . F i nal ly the young

woman s aw a bal l of fire com e ou t of her mouth . S he became very

fr igh tened . S he j umped u p and tr i ed to arou s e the old woman ,

she tu rned her on her s id e and s hook her . Then s he bel ieved the old

woman to be dead . The bal l of fire that came from th e old woman’

s

mou th wen t round and round th e camp and around the old woman .

The young woman turned her over aga i n and when s h e did so th e

ba l l of fire wen t back in to the old woman ’

s mou th . Then s he began

to move abou t . S he s aid that she had had a long s leep . S h e s a id ,

“Don ’

t wor ry they w i l l be back tomorrow . They have had good

l uck and are br i ng i ng lots of gam e . I j u s t saw them s i tt i ng by the i r

fire eat i ng s upper .

” The next day the h u n ters appeared w i th an

abundance of gam e of a l l sorts .

W ritten by Katie M itche l l

I N DEX TO VOL UME V I

A benak i name of wampum , 5Ta le concerning , 284

—5

U s e of wampum in marriage proposa l ,S4

as ornament by , 2 1

in trade b y , 19

A bercrom by, John, c ited , 1 27

A cquis it ion of s haman's power, 245— 247A du ltery, P unis hment for, 1 50 , 1 5 1

A ge of reindeer nomad i sm , 75—9 4 .

1 1 5— 130

A inu dog harnes s , 82A l fred th e Great , 1 22 , 1 23A lgonk ian, M igrat ions o f the , 277

— 2 78

Th e Functions of W ampum A mongthe Eas tern, 1

—72

A lgu azil s . civi l officers , 1 50 , 20 1 , 202 , 206

A l l Sou ls '

D ay , 1 70 , 1 72

A ltai peop le . Horse sadd le of , 80A merican Museum of Natural H istory ,

W am pum in , 22 , 3 1

Amur type of dog harnes s , 8 1 , 82

A nimal fetis h e s , 160figures . 207helpers , Figure s of , 253

of s haman. 250 , 258

l ikene ss in ceremonies . 1 8 7

A n imals in ce remonies . P arts of . 1 87Sacred , 1 5 7 . 2 10

A pache mag ic. 195 , 196

Method s emp loyed in hunting b y , 1 00

A rrow swal lowing in ceremonies , 1 88A s syria n u se of la s s o . 92

A tha pa scan . Caribou hunting by , 94. 98

A tk inson. F . W . , c ited . 88

Baohi’

gan (s p irit h e lpe r) . 249- 254Deed s of 27 1how acquired , 25 1 , 25 2

Barbeau. C .M. , c ited . 1 1

Barber, c ited . 3Bath ing , 144 , 14 5

Md s buried with the dead , 168

Dis co idal , 16Tubu larwampum , 3

Bear, a healer of d isea se , 235a pe t, 232

G irls , Myth conce rning , 234— 236

S haman in th e form of , 25 8 , 282

Beauchamp . W . M c ited , 3 , 1 1 . 19 , 23 .

Beverly, c ited , 22

Be l ls used on re indeer, 89Belt as mag ical instrument . 25 7

'

Be lts , S ignificance of des igns in wampum ,

38

Belts , W ampum , 1 8

mes sage. 64mourn ing . 38

peace. 38war, 38

Bergen County. N . J . , W ampum manufactu red in , 1 7

Betrothal , 1 47B ird , H iawatha and th e wam pum , 1 0

Myth ology of W yandot wampum , 13W ampum , 1 2 , 1 3

B irth custom s , 1 42— 143

Boas , Franz , cited , 92 , 1 00

Body painting ceremonials . 1 80Bogoras , W . , cited . 7 5

— 133 pas sim. 245Bones o f th e dead used in witch craft, 1 59Boyle. David , 67

Boys , Initiation of , 146

Brad ford , c ited , 19

Bree d ing of reindeer, Cross 1 1 2 , 1 1 3

Brinton , D . C . , c ited , 3 , 26, 40 , 24 1

British Museum , W am pum in , 26

Bru yas . Jacques , c ited , 19

B u l itsch e f , J . , c ited , 8 7

Bul l with supernatural power, 270Burial of dead , 166

Burials . Cha laniat, 167 , 168

Feast at'

. 167Bur les que, 1 85 . 1 86

Bushman, Method emp loyed in huntingby. 1 00

Bushne l l , Jr D . I . , c ited . 4, 26

Cac ique , h ead prie s t, 1 5 2 . 1 53 , 163 , 1 75 ,

1 77 , 190 , 196—198 , 203 ,

h ow chosen, 196, 197

Office rs appo inted by , 19 7— 198

Calendar, Ceremonial , 203Cane as badge of office, 203— 204Cannibal sorceres s and wampum , 14

Card inal po ints . 1 44 , 1 82

Caribou hunting b y th e A thapascan. 94,

98

Cartier, Jacque s , c ited , 1 1

Cas trated reind eer, A ntlers of , 1 30Cas trating , Method of , 76, 88 , 1 10, 1 1 1

290 INDEX TO VOL UME V I

Caughnawaga. 67

Counc i l at. 3 7Central A lgonk ian, Hairdres s ing of , 28

S hamanis tic practices of , 274 , 27 5

Ceremonial , B ody-painting , 1 80

calendar, 203—206cave. 207 , 208

c loth ing, 1 78

costume, 1 80 , 19 1 , 2 10

danc ing , 1 76

fasting , 183 , 1 86, 1 88 . 192 , 194 , 199 ,

205

mask , 190

pa inting , 1 84

racing , 203 , 206

R ain, 1 86, 18 7

s ing ing , 193

u s e of parts of animals , 2 1 0wampum , 4 , 1 1 , 1 8 , 32

wam pum belts , R eprod u ction of , 38

Ceremonies , A nimal l ikenes s in , 1 8 7

parts used in, 1 87A rrow swal lowing in , 1 88

C lown s in, 1 83 , 19 1 , 192

Eag le feathers u sed in , 1 56, 167 . 199

Feas ting in , 161 , 1 89

Fox s k ins worn in , 1 80

Heal ing , 1 5 5 , 161

Herbs in , 1 89

Hunting , 1 88

Ido ls in , 193Mas k s used in. 1 78 , 1 86, 196

Meal 1 89

P aint 199

P o l len 1 74

R ain caused by , 1 8 1

R epresentation of l igh tning in , 209

moon —i, 209s u n 209

S hel l used in. 1 73 , 204

S ongs in h ealing , 1 59us ed in, 1 76

S pruce bough s worn in, 1 80 , 1 8 1

Tobacco used in , 1 7 5

Turkey feathers use dVom it ing in heal ing , 1 56

W omen 1 89

C liaiani, 162 . 163 ,

194 ,— 204 , 205 , 2 1 0 , 2 1 2 , 2 16

at bu rials . 167 , 168

hea l ing s oc ieties , 1 5 2— 161

of Jemez ,, 193— 195Songs of , 169 , 20 5

Champ lain , mentioned , 2 1

Chaparral-cock , 144Tracks o f , 169

Charlevo ix , P c ited , 68

Ch i ldren, Discip l ine of , 1 45Training 144, 1 45

Ch inese h is toric sou rces , 7 5

a

s ources of re indeer breed ing , 1 1 5 , 1 16

Ch u kch i , and re indeer breed ing 1 16

Dogs castrated b y , 1 1 0

L as so used b y , 93

method of s lau gh tering reindeer. 87Orig in of re indeer breed ing among.

1 32

R e indeer ridden b y , 76

u s e of d ecoy deer, 1 0 2re indee r, 7 7

C lan regu lat ions . 147

C loud s . R epresentation of , 169 , 1 82 , 192

C lowns in ceremonies , 1 83 . 19 1 , 192

Coch it i , N . M. , Notes on , 1 3 1— 236

mas k . i l lus trated , 143 , p l .

Co l lar, W ampum , 23 , 25

Conne l ly, W . E . , c ited , 1 3

Cos tume. Ceremonial . 1 78 , 1 80 , 19 1 , 2 10

made by wh om , 146

W ed d ing , 149

C ow breed ing , influ ence u pon reindeer,

Counc i l at Cau ghnawaga, 3 7Coyote in myth s , 2 16Crad le board , 142 , 1 44

Cree myth o logy, Wampum in , 7Crime detected by s haman, 244 , 245

Cru dos , m i l itary soc iety, 1 7 1 , 1 72 , 1 79.

1 8 1 , 1 98 , 199 , 2oo

Cuffs o f wampum , 29

Cu l in, S tewart , preface by, 139 , 140

Cu lture, R e lative age of tra its of reindeer, 96Currency, Wampum strings u s ed

'

as , 37

Cus ick , Dav id , c ited , 1 0

Cus tom s , Death , 166—1 70

Eating , 1 50

Marriage re lat ions and , 147— 1 5 1

W ar, 145

C wenas , 1 24Cyl indrica l wampum , 16

Dances guarded from s trangers , 1 76, 208

L i st of , 1 83 . 1 84

Dancing , Ceremonial , 1 76Dayl igh t, Chas . , mentioned , 27 1

Dead , Bead s buried with , 168

Be l ie fs concern ing sp irits of , 1 7 1Buria l of , 166Dres s of , 168Food offered to , 1 70

Mas s for, 1 7 1Offerings to, 169 , 1 7 2

P o l len off ered to , 169

P unishment of , 1 73s hiwanna , sp irits of , 161s p irits of th e , cause rain, 1 72

- 1 74— tabooed , Name o f , 1 74used in witch craft. Bones of , 1 59

Death -cus toms . 166—1 70

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292 INDEX TO VOL UME V I

Hahn, E c ited , 76. 95 , 98 , 1 1 1 , 1 26 Huron of L orette,Wampum in mytho logyHair ornaments o f wampum , 28 o f , 1 1

H ak lu yt'

s Voyages , 1 1

Hale. Horatio , c ited , 4

Harnes s . A inu d og . 82

A mur type of dog , 8 1 . 82

Derivation of reind eer, 80Dis tribution of dog . 83G i lyak dog , 82

Influence upon reindeer of dog , 8 1

Kamchada l type of dog . 8 1 , 82

R e indeer, 79 , 1 10

Samoyed , reindeer. 1 16S iberian dog, 82

Hatt, G u dmu nd . Notes on R eindeerNomad ism , 77

— 133

Em i l ie Demant. c ited , 7 7 . 92 , 1 08 .

Heal ing ceremony, 1 5 5

H enry, A lexander, c ited , 1 00

Herbs in ceremonies . 1 89

used in curing , 1 54 , 260

H eru ta , an oflficer. 1 77 , 1 79 , 1 80

Hewitt, J . N . B . , cited , 4 . 37 , 39 . 67 , 70

Heye Foundation, p . 22, p l . 1

W'ampum in, 37

Heye. George G . , Co l lections of . 20

H iawatha and wampum b ird , 10

Mohawk vis ited b y , 1 0

H ide and s eek . (a tale) , 233 , 234

H is torical S oc iety of N ew L ondon, 65H istory of wam pum . 4

Hoffmann, Erns t, cited , 87 , 89 , 1 1 0

Holmes . W . H . , c ited , 3 , 22 ,

Horse, Influence on re indeer breed ing ,

79 1 95 1 1 5 » I 3 ?

Howe , cited , 3

Huei S hen, c ited . 80

H unt, George , c ited . 92

Hunting b y A pache, Mask emp loyed in ,

1 00

by A thapascan, Caribou, 94 , 98

Bus hman method emp loyed in , 1 00

Ceremonies for, 1 88Decoy deer us ed in , 100 , 1 22

Deer mas k 1 0 1 , 1 09Enc los u re 94. 132

Esk imo method s emp loyed in , 1 00

influence of domes tication upon, 94L app method of , 92

of eag les , 193— 194reindeer, 9 1 , 130

by im itation. 1 0 1

influence of , upon re indeerbreed ing , 99L as so used in reindeer, 92R elations o f reindeer nomad ism and

reindeer, 1 3 1 , 1 32

S nares u sed in , 92“a U se of s kiand snowsh oe in , 93 L afitau , c ited , 3

I areko, sacred ear of corn, 1 5 5 , 167 , 1 7 1 ,

I 92— 193

Ides , E . Y s b rau ts . c ited , 1 0 1

Ido l s , 2 1 1

in ceremonies , 193

Image of owner, 2 1 1Ind ian hemp . S tring made from , 2 5Init iation of boys , 1 46

Ins ignia of ch iefs , Wampum a s . 63Invis ib i l ity produced by s haman, 2 59Iroquo ian area, W ampum in, 1 7Iroquo is , L eague o f the , 67

s hamanistic practices . 275U s e of

'

wampum by ,

'

3 , 9 , 34, 62 , 68 ,

69

wampum hair ornament , 25 , 28

myth o logy of th e orig in of wampum ,

1 0 , 1 2

Wampum ritual borrowed from . 1 1 , 1 2

Is h ida, S c ited , 8 7

Jackson, F . G c ited , 1 10

Jeme z , cha laniof , 193— 195Jesuit R e lations , c ited , 6, 7 . 1 8 , 1 9 , 20.

Joch e l son , W . , c ited , 7 5— 1 33 pas sim

Johannis , c ited , 1 04

Jones , R ev . P eter, c ited , 7

Jones , Wm . , c ited , 240 , 27 5Ju gg l ing by shamans : 2 74

Kalevala, cited , 1 26

Kamchada l type of dog harness , 8 1 , 82

K anakiaia , father of witches , 161Karagas , R eindeer rid ing by, 76

m i lk ing 84

Karu tz , R . , cited , 1 1 0

Katanov a , H . F . , c ited , 84

K ach i‘

na, a dance, 1 7 5 , 1 76

Kidder, qu oted , 38

King P h i l ip , mentioned , 63Kopers htaia , d ivinity, 144 . 145 , 161 , 1 75 .

204 , 208 , 209 , 2 1 2

Koryak and reindeer breed ing, 1 16

Dogs cas trated by, 1 1 0

method of s laugh tering re indeer, 87R eindeer not ridden by , 76

U se of re indeer by, 7 7

Orig in of re indeer breed ing among , 132

Kos hare, order of priests , 164 , 1 7 7 . 1 79 .

1 8 1 , 1 86, 190— 193 , 203

Kotoma, Myth concerning , 23 1— 233

sacred ear of com , 1 42 , 1 5 5 , 166

K ras h eninnikoff , c ited . 82

INDEX TO VOL UME V I

L ah ontan, c ited . 92

L app att itude toward the herd , 1 14herd smen, 9 1

meth od o f h unting , 8 7 , 92

M i lk ing by. 85R eindeer rid ing b y , 7 7

re lations to th e Scand inavians . 1 28S ledge of , 8 1 , 1 1 7 . 1 1 8 , 1 19

u s e of decoy deer, 1 03L apps . A ge of reindeer cu ltu re among ,

1 24

P ack “

sadd le of , 78

L ass o. A s syrian u s e of , 92

u sed by th e Ch u kch i , 93in hunting re indeer, 76, 92

L aufer, B . , c ited , 7 5 , 79 , 80 . 95 . 1 07 . 1 20

L eague of th e Iroqu o is , 67le Brun, Cornei l le, 1 03 , 1 1 8

L eclercq . C h retienne , c ited . 30 , 33 . 5 5 .

L eem . c ited . 92 , 93 , 94 , 104L e h rberg , cited , 77

L e land , C . G . , c ited , 243 , 246, 249 , 25 5 .

25 7 , 25 9, 261 , 262 , 263,267 , 27 1 , 2 72 ,

283L evitation practiced b y s hamans , 267L ightning in ceremonies . R epresentation

of , 209

sym bo ls , 169 , 1 78

L insch oten, Jan H u ygen , c ited , 1 1 7 , 1 1 8

L ionMan, cal led b y war god s , 2 1 8

L ion, Newe l l , mentioned , 8 , 3 7 . 43 , 44 ,

4 5 461 47

informat ion from , 24 , 30

quoted . pas sim

text from , 14

L onnberg, E inar, cited , 98

Lo s kie l , c ited , 3

L oss of power of s haman, 246. 247L umholtz , Carl , c ited , 1 00

L yon, Newel l , see L ion

Mag ic. 165A pache. 195 , 196

Death produce d by , 261 , 262

Navajo, 19 5 , 196

power, Tricks performed , by , 245S ickness cause d by , 272

Sympathetic . 265

Mag ical instrument, Belt as , 25 7Mag ic ians ' Contes t at N eseik , 282

Mag icians , Exp lo its of , 256. 2 5 7Tria l Conte s t Meetings of th e , 280

28 1

Wabana k i , 2 73Magnus , O laus . c ited , 9 1 , 1 1 7 . 1 1 9 , 1 20

Malec ite, Name o f wampum in, 5Wampum u sed b y , 5 3

Maneador, corn s tirrer, 142 , 144 , 168

Man itu , Concept of , 240

293

Manufacture of W ampum 5 , 16, 20 . 65by Du tch . 3 , 1 7in Bergen County, N . J . , 1 7

Mark ing of reindee r, 76Marriage at San Fel ipe, 148

Santo Dom ingo, 1 48

ceremony, P as samaquoddy, 5 2

g i fts , 1 47 , 149

proposals among the M icmac, 5 5P as samaquoddy, 49

—5 5

P enobs cot. 43 . 44 , 45 , 46, 47Myth of , 42

W ampum in . 23 . 40 . 43 . 44. 45 . 46.

regu lations and custom s , 147- 1 5 1

Mas ewa , war captain , 1 53 , 1 5 5 , 19 1 , 192.

Duties of , 160Mas k , Coch iti , 143

i l lus trated , p l . v r

Ceremonial , 190Mas ked impersonations , 1 74— 1 83Mask s used in ceremon ies , 1 78 , 1 86, 196

Mas s for dead , 1 7 1

Matalotes , 198—200

Materia l used in wampum , 16, 59Mau rau lt. J . A . , c ited , 21 , 34 , 54 , 254 .

Meal used in ceremonies , 1 89d rawing l ines , 193

Meal , Sacred , s ee s h e l l . 1 43Mech l ing , W . H . , c ited . 3 5 . 53 . 249 , 254 .

259 . 267

h b deo linu , 248 . see s hamanis tic exp lo its .256

—268

Medewin , 248 . 254 , 2 75

Mex ico vis ited b y Montezuma, 229M icmac, 43 , 70

Marriage proposals among , 5 5Name of wam pum in , 5

Midd endorf f , c ited . 78 , 88 . 89 , 93 , 9 5 ,

98 , 1 03 . 108

M i lk ing , Method of reindeer, 83 , 84 , 8 5 .

M isdeed s , how p u n is hed . 200- 20 1

M itchel l , Kate. qu oted , 288

Mnemonic u se o f wamp um , 22

Mohawk , keepers of wam pum , 40

Tale concerning , 284 , 285vi s ited b y H iawatha, 1 0

Mohegan, W ampum used by , 56, 58

Montagnais .W amp um in myth o logy of , 7Montanus , A rno ld u s , c ited , 19Montauk , 59

Montezuma, Bel ie fs concerning, 1 86

Mex ico vis ited by , 229

Myth concern ing , 228—23 1

Bel ief in , R etu rn of , 230

Moon, R epresentation of , 1 93in ceremon ies , 209

294 INDEX TO VOL UME V I

Morgan, L . H . , c ited . 3 , 1 2 , 22 ,

Thomas , c ited , 1 8

Mountain l ion, sacred animal , 2 1 1Mourn ing be lt, 38Mij l ler, F . . c ited , 84

Museum of th e A merican Ind ian , W am

pum in , 22 , 23 , 25 , 29 , 30 , 3 1 , p l . 1 .

p l . 11

Myth concerning Bear G irl s . 234— 236

kotona , 23 1— 233

Montezuma. 228— 23 1

S carabaeus , 227

Myth s and Ta les , 2 1 2- 236C oyote in , 2 16

Tel l ing of , 145Mytho logy, W ampum in North eas tern, 7

Nahia , 164 , 1 7 5 , 1 76, 1 78 , 1 79 , 198—200

Name g iving of ch i ld , 1 43

of dead tabooed , 1 74

N ames for s haman , 24 0 , 24 1

N aots ete, 2 1 2- 2 16

N arragansett , W ampum used by , 56—66

Nas kap i , 2 7 7—278Navajo Mag ic. 195 , 196

Neck lace o f wam pum , 30

Nelson, E . W . , c ited , 1 00

N eptune . Franco i s . text from , 8

Governor John, 253 , 282

Sau l ,wearing wam pum , 27

N e seik , Mag ic ians' Contes t at, 282

N ew Netherland s , W ampum u s ed in ,

1 7 , 19

N ew York S tate M u s eum . W am pum be ltin . 37 . 48

N icolar, Joseph , c ited , 5 , 39 , 47 , 247— 248 ,

266

Nomad i sm , A ge of reindeer, 7 5—94 ,

1 1 5— 1 30

Beg innings of re indeer, 94— 1 1 5and re indeer hunting , R e lations o f

reindeer, 1 29 , 1 3 1 , 13 2

Notes on reindeer, 7 5- 133Nomad s , Turk is h , 78

Norweg ians , R eindeer not kept by , 1 20

Notes on Coch it i , N . M. , 1 34—236

reindeer nomad ism , 7 5— 1 33

Oaka . feti sh , 14 1 , 142

Occu pations , 146Offerings , S h e l l u sed as , 1 43

to dead , 169 , 1 72

Officers , algu az i ls , c ivi l , 1 5 0appo inted by Cac ique, 197 , 198Civi l , 200—202

Offic ial , fis cal . 202heru ta, 1 7 7

Oh th ere , c ited , 1 03 , 1 22

O j ibwa. Wampum in mytho logy of . 7

O leariu s . A dam , cited , 1 16

O lrik , A xel , cited , 1 26

O ls en, Orjan. cited . 76, 78 . 88 , 1 13 , 1 14Omens . 1 5 1 , 166Orig in of Wampum , Myth , 1 2

Ornaments of wam pum , 1 8 , 56. 69used by A benak i , 2 1

Ors on , A ttean, mentioned , 27 1

Os tyak , R eindeer m i lk ing b y , 8 5R eind eer ridden b y , 76

u se of re indeer. 7 7Otter, a shaman h e lper, 261Ow l , h ooting o f , an omen, 1 5 1

Owners h ip marks , 1 10Oxen , in fl uence o f , on reindeer, 80Oyoyawa , 2 10 , 2 16— 227 , 233

— 234

P ack animal , R e ind eer as , 7 7sadd le, 7 7

of L apps , 7 8Sandinav ian u se of , 78

P aint used in ceremon ies , 1 99P ainting , Ceremonial , 1 84P al las , c ited , 80 , 85 , 90 , 92 , 94 , 1 03 , 106

P anth eon of Coch it i , 208— 2 1 2P anth er, S haman in the form of . 282

P arker, A . C . , c ited , 1 1

P arkman, Franc is . c ited , 7P arsons . E . C . , cited , 1 3 7

— 236 pas sim .

P arts of animal , Ceremonial u s e of . 2 1 0

P as samaquod dy, Marriage proposalamong, 4Q

“

S S

ceremony among , 5 2

Name o f wam pum in, 5

wampum , 3 1

P au l , Gabe , mentioned , 48 , 53P eabody Mus eum , Harvard Univers ity,

Wam pum in , 2 2

P eace be lt, 38P e kars ki, c ited ,

_1 10

P enobscot Counci l h ouse, P ictu re of . 36

Marriage proposals among , 43-47

Myth of Cannibal S orcerers , 1 4Name of wam pum in, 5s hamanism , 239

— 288

Wampum among , 34co l lar, 25in Myth o logy of . 7

P etl u ot , Wampum u s ed by . 56—66

P e t, Bear as a, 232P ets , Deer kept as , 97 . 1 20

P h onetic note, 279—280P odunk , U s e of Wampu

'

m by. 59P o l len o ffered to dead , 169

used in ceremonies , 1 74P opham beach , W ampum found at , 1 7

P regnancy, R egu lations concerning , 14 1

P rince , J . D . , c ited . 33 , 3 5 , 5 2 , 239, 241 .

P unis hment for ad u ltery. 1 50— 1 5 1

m i sdeed s . 200- 20 1

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296 INDEX TO VOL UME V I

R elative age of traits of re indeer cu lture ,

R el ig ious elements in reindeer cu lture,97 » 93 ' 1 14

R id ing . R e indeer, 76, 96, 1 14R ink , H . , c ited , 85 , 92 ,

R ito de Fri jo les , 2 16

R itual of wam pum borrowed from I ro

qu ois , 1 1 , 1 2

by W abanak i , 1 1 , 1 2

R u b ru ck , W . , c ited , 80

R u ttenber. c ited , 3 , 22

Sacred an imals , 1 43 , 2 1 0

S acrific ing by feath er sticks , 1 70

Sad d le of L apps , P ack , 77 , 78

R eindeer, 80R id ing , 7 7

Scand inavian u s e of pack , 7 8

Sagas , Information in , concerning reindeer, 1 25

Saints , Images of , 1 53Salt used to attract deer, 1 08Samoyed , 7 5

influence upon L app re indeer breed ing,

1 19

re indeer harnes s , 1 16m i lk ing by th e , 8 5 , 86

in reg ion of . 76

s ledge, 1 1 7U s e of decoy deer by, 1 02, 1 03

re indeer 77

watch dogs 88

S an Fe l ipe, Marriage at, 1 48

Santo Dom ingo, at, 1 48

Sap ir, E c ited , 36, 70

S’

arose v s ki, V . L . , c ited , 84

S calp s , Tak ing of , 1 99S cand inavia, R e indeer nomad ism in , 7 5S cand inavian infl uence on re indeer, 86S cand inavians , L app re lations to th e , 1 28

Scarabaeus , Myth concerning , 227

Scatacooks , mentioned , 64

S ch e fferu s , c ited , 1 02

S ch renck , L eopo ld v . , c ited , 79 , 82 , 85 ,

Schurz , c ited 92S equ as s en , mentioned , 5 7

—58

S haman , A ctivities of a , 242 , 243

Crime detected b y , 244 , 24 5

and animal h e lper, R e lations of , 25 5A nima l helper of , 25 0 , 25 8

as dreamer, 268— 273Curing of s icknes s by , 243

d is covered in b ird form , 286, 287

Disease cured by , 259Drum s us ed by. 256

Exp lo its of , 25 4 , 25 5Feti sh es u s ed b y , 260

Guard ian s p irit of , 249—250

in d isguise as a porcup ine, 287 , 288form of bear,

sp ider, 287panth er, 282

Invis ib i l ity produced by , 259in wa rfare , 248

J u gg l ing b y , 274

L evitation practised b y , 267L os s of power b y , 246

—247Names for, 240 , 24 1

s inks into th e ground , 262 , 263

s oc iety, 247— 249

wrest ler, 27 1S hamanism , Degeneration of , 277Fam i ly, 244, 245in th e S t. L awrence val ley, 27 7

Old er A lgonk ian, 273— 279P enobscot, 237— 288S ources of , 276

information in P enobscot, 239S hamanistic contes ts , 243 , 25 7 , 25 8

performances , Drums used in , 24 1 , 242

practices , Central A lgonk ian, 274 , 2 75Es k imo , 2 75 , 276

Iroquo is , 275

soc iety, 269 , 2 73

tales , 2 79, 288

terms , 254

S hamans paid with wampum , 62

Taboos of , 253

S h e l l us ed as of’fering , 143

in ceremonie s , 1 73 , 204

S h ipapu , p lace of emergence , 1 4 1 , 161 ,

162 , 166, 168 , 1 70 , 1 72 , 1 73 , 1 87 , 192 ,

S hiwanna , s p irits of the dead , 161 ,

1 7 2— 1 78 , 1 80, 1 8 1 , 1 86, 203 ,

234

brough t to earth b y th e war god s ,

S h rines , 206, 207 , 208

S iberian dog harnes s , 82S icknes s and cu re, 1 5 1— 161

curing of , by shaman, 243

Cau se of , 164cau sed b y mag ic, 272

S ievers , Johann, 93

S ing ing ceremonial , 1 93S ire l iu s , U . T . , c ited , 1 19 , 1 3 1

S kius ed in hunting , 93

S k inner, A . B . , cited , 35 , 240, 2 50 , 273 ,

274 , 27 5S k u l l p lace , a myth , 285S ledge of L apps , 8 1 , 1 19

Orig in of , 8 1

used with re indeer, 95 , 1 09 , 1 16, 1 3 1

S m ith ,Mrs . E . A . , c ited , 9 , 1 0 , 1 2

S mok ing, R e lations concerning , 145

S nai l as “animal h e lper, 282

S nakes cause of d is eas es , 1 58

INDEX TO VOL UME V I

S nares used in hunting , 92

S norre , c ited , 1 24

S nowsh oe. U se of , 76, 93

Soc ieties , chaianiheal ing , 1 5 2— 161

S ocietie s . Curing and weather contro l ,1 8 7

— 190

S ociety, cru dos , m i l itary, 1 7 1— 1 72 , 1 79

Soc iety, Tu baji, Jemez , 194— 19 5S ongs in heal ing ceremony. 1 59

of chaiani, 169 , 205

used in ceremon ies . 1 76

S orcerers and wampum , 9

Cannibal , 14orig inated wampum . how, 285 , 286

S oyot, R eindeer m i lked by , 83

rid ing b y . 76

S peck . Frank G . , Th e Functions of

W am pum A mong th e Eastern A lgonk ian , 1

—72

P enobscot S hamanism ,

237—288

S p id er woman. 2 1 7

S p ies change into anima ls and escapefrom Iroqu o i s , 28 1 , 282

S p irits of dead , Be l iefs ,concerning , 1 7 1

cause rain, 1 72— 1 74

S pruce bough s worn in ceremonies , 1 80,

1 8 1

S tars . Orig in of . 228S tevenson , M . C . , cited , 137

—236 pas sim

S tockbridge, mentioned , 65S torm , Gustav. c ited , 1 2 1

S tocks use d in punis hments , 20 1—202S tow, G . W c ited , 100

S uck ing , a meth od of curing , 19 1

S u n . offi cer of war god s , 2 1 7

prayed to . 203

R epresentation of , 1 93 , 209

vis ite d b y war god s . 220 , 22 1 , 222

— wors h ipped , 143 , 1 53

Swan i s land , Wamp um found at, 1 7

Swedes . R eindeer not kept b y , 1 20

S ymbo l lism in wampum , 24 , 69

S ym bo ls , L igh tning , 169 , 1 78

S ympathetic mag ic, 265

Tabooed , Name of dead , 1 74Taboos , 1 89

of shamans , 253

Term ino logy of wampum , 5Terrace pattern . 14 1 , 169 . 1 73The Functions of Wam pum A mong th e

Eas te rn A lgonkian, 1 — 72

Thom sen, W i lhelm , c ited , 1 28

Tobacco used in ceremonies , 1 75Tomai , Johannis , cited . 1 1 2

Tornau s . c ited , 94

Trai l ing of reindeer, 9 1Tra its of reindee r cultu re, R elative age

of , 89, 96, 132

297

Trial contes t meetings of mag ic ians .280—28 1

Tricks performed by mag ic power, 245Transport, R eindeer used for, 9 1 , 1 29

Trumbu l l . J . H . , c ited , 5 , 62 , 249 , 254Ts v

'

atkov , c ited , 1 1 0

Tu deru s , G . , c ited , 86

Tungus , Influence upon reindeer breeding .

R eindee r rid ing by , 76

Turk is h feathers u sed in ceremonies . 1 74nomad s , 78

Tu baji, Jemez s oc iety, 194— 195

Turner, L . , c ited , 242 , 250, 273

Ty le r, E . B cited , 3

Types of wampum , 6

Uncas . mentioned . 5 7—5 8

Uses of wampum , Ceremonial , 4, 1 1 . 7 1

Urets ete, god des s , 160 , 161 , 1 72 , 1 73 , 209 ,

2 1 2

Urine used to attract reindeer, 76, 88 , 93 ,

108

Vogu l , R eindeer not rid den by . 76

Vom it ing in cu ring d isease, 1 58 , 235

v on Ditmar, K c ited , 82

v on L edebour, Carl Friedrich , c ited . 1 08

Wabanak i , 43 , 27 7

borrowed ritual of wam pum , 1 1 , 1 2

confed eracy. 67 , 68

mag ic ians , 273— tribe s , W ampum among . 7 , 20 , 35 , 3 7

Wampum Among the Eas tern A lgonk ian,The Funct ions of , 1 - 72

Iroq u o is . 9

tribe s of southern N ew Eng land ,

56

and sorcerers , 9as ins ignia of ch iefs , 63

med ium of exchange, 3 7 , 66mnemonic document. 22, 32, 66

ornament, 1 8 , 56, 69

by A benak i , 2 1tribute, 5 7 , 59

belt in N ew York S tate Museum .

be lts , 1 8 , 27

s igni ficance of des igns , 38b ird , 1 2 , 1 3

Myth ology of Wyandot , 1 3H iawatha and , 10

Cannibal S orce rers and , 14

ceremonial be lts , R eproduction of ,

u ses of , 4. 1 1

co l lars . 23 , 24 , 34 . i l l u strated , p l . 1

Co lor o f , 1 7 , 34

Cyl indrica l . 16Delaware. 16Dis co idal , 4 , 22

298 INDEX TO VOL UME V I

Wam pum , Fines pa id in, 5 8 , 68

found at P opham beach , 1 7

Swan is land , 1 7in bu rials , 30Functions of , 3, 3 1 , 69

—70

h at ornament, 29H istory of , 4

H ow sorcerers orig inated , 285 , 286

in A merican Mus eum of NaturalH istory, 22

Bergen C o N . J Manufacture of ,

Heye Museum , 23 , 3 7

marriage proposal , 23 , 3 1 , 3 2, 40 ,

by P as samaquoddy, 49—55

Northeas tern mythology. 7

P eabody Mu s e um , Harvard U ni

vers ity, 22

treaty of friend s h ip , 24Iroquo is , 3 , 1 7

Manufacture of , 5 , 16, 20 , 65b y Dutch , 3 , 1 7

Material used in , 16, 59

mes sage be lt. 64Mohawk keepers of , 40

Myth o logy o f , 7 , 1 2

Names of , in various d ia lects , 5 , 6, 7

Orig in of , 9

P o l it ical funct ion of . 5 7Quantities of , 5 7

Q u i l l s a s prototype of , 10R itual of , borrowed from Iroquo i s ,

1 1 , 1 2

b y W abenaki, 1 1 , 1 2

S hamans paid with , 62

S ize of , 1 7S pread o f u s e of , 68

s trings . i l l u stra ted . p l . I V

used as summons , 39Symbo l ism of , 24 , 69

Term ino logy of . 5tubu lar bead s , 3Type s of , 6

Usage o f . 56, 7 1

used by Iroqu o is , 62Malec ite, 53Moh egan. 5 8

Narragansett. 56—66P equot, 56

P odunk , 59in ceremonies , 1 8 , 32

condo lence, 34 , 69

Counc i l procedure, 3 2negotiations , 33

N ew Netherland s , 1 7 . 19

tra de by A benak i , 19Value of , 47worn by W abanak i , 20

W ar belt, 38captain, Duties of , 1 45 , 20 1

mas ewa , 1 53 , 209

custom s , 145

god s secured weapons from s un, 223Water snake , 195W augh , F . W . , c ited , 7 1

W awenock Ind ians , 54W ampum in mytho logy of , 8

used among , 3 1

W edd ing c loth ing , 149

feast, 1 50W em

’

ma , p lace of the departed , 14 1 , 1 46.

W h ipp ing , Ceremonial , 1 83as p unis hment, 1 5 1 , 202

W hym per, P 5. c ited , 94

W ik lund , K . B . , c ited , 99 , 1 2 1 , 1 28 , 1 32

W i l l iams , R oger, cited , 20

W i l lough by, C . C information from , 1 8 ;

quoted , 2 1 ; c ited , 22 , 26, 63 , 65 , 66

W is s ler, C lark . c ited , 274 , 2 7 5

W itch cra ft , Bones o f dead u sed in , 1 59

Be l ief in , 239

W itches , 161— 165cause of d is ease , 1 5 1

— 1 5 2 , 1 5 7 , 1 87Figh t with , 2 1 1

guarded agains t, 144kanakiaia , fath er of , 161P rotection agains t, 1 82

\Vol f as animal h e lper, 25 3 , 264

W omen in ceremonies , 1 89W ood . c ited , 20

W ors h ipped , S u n , 143 , 1 53

Wyandot myth of Wampum b ird , 13

Yaya , s ee iareko , 1 5 8

Yukagh ir, R eindeer breed ing among , 79

rid ing b y . 76

Yakut, 79

Y ugrian , 7 7

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