[110] See also characterization of wolf, p. 207.
I have had occasion to examine the Kwakiutl in greater detail in regard
to the symbols used in designating certain animals. One artist gave
me a series of eye patterns together with the adjoining parts of the
face and explained in what way each is characteristic of the animal in
question. These are shown in figs. 191 and 192.
[Illustration: Fig. 191. Types of eyes of various animals, Kwakiutl;
_a_, sea bear; _b_, grizzly bear; _c_, beaver; _d_, wolf; _e_, eagle;
_f_ raven; _g_, killer-whale.]
The grizzly bear of the sea (_a_) has a large eye, the form of which
is not definitely determined, a very large, round nostril, large teeth
and a large ear. The grizzly bear (_b_) has a round eye with white
rim, smaller than that of the grizzly bear of the sea. The nose is
not round, but high, the teeth large but smaller than those of the
grizzly bear of the sea. The ear is small and pointed. The beaver (_c_)
has, besides the large incisors, a high, round nose and a very small
ear. The wolf (_d_) has a slanting, long eye; the ear is laid down
backward; he has many teeth. The eye of the eagle (_e_) has a white
crescent behind the eyeball, the nostril is slanting and placed high
up on the beak. The eye of the raven (_f_) is white in the center.
The killer-whale (_g_) has a very large eyebrow, a long eye and face,
long nose and a long mouth with many teeth. The whale (fig. 192 _a_)
has a round eye and nose. The sea lion (_b_) has a round nose, large
teeth, the eye near to the nose and a small ear. The frog (_c_) has
an elongated eye, flat mouth and flat nose. The fabulous double-headed
serpent (_d_) has a small eye like that of the wolf, a spiral nose and
a spiral plume. The eyes of a man, of the woodman, and of the seaspirit
who gives wealth, are shown in _e_, _f_, and _g_.
[Illustration: Fig. 192. Types of eyes of various beings, Kwakiutl,
_a_, whale; _b_, sea lion; _c_, frog; _d_, double-headed serpent; _e_,
man; _f_ merman; _g_, spirit of the sea.]
The Kwakiutl also claim as the standard for the bird’s tail, a
joint with a single eye, although sometimes there may be two
eyeballs enclosed in one eye. The rounded feathers (fig. 193) are
also characteristics of the bird’s tail. The tail of the whale,
killer-whale, and porpoise, on the other hand, has two joints and the
flukes have double curvatures on the inner side.
The Kwakiutl also claim a definite distinction between the designs
representing wing feathers and those representing fins, (fig. 194). The
wing feathers should be pointed; the fin, on the other hand, has no
point and is cut off square.
In figs. 195 and 196 are represented the characteristic elements of
the halibut and of the wolf. These elements are supposed to be used
by the Kwakiutl in the representation of these animals, selected
according to the requirements of the decorative field. In the figures
here reproduced they are given without any reference to the decorative
field. Fig. 195 represents the halibut; (1) the mouth and over it the
nose, (2) the eyes, (3) the bone of the top of the head and (4) the
side of the head. In (5) are shown the gills; (6) and (8) represent
the intestinal tract, and (7) is the part of the intestinal tract just
under the neck; (9) is the collar bone, (10) the lateral fin, the bones
of which are shown in (11). (12) is the clotted blood that is found in
the dead halibut under the vertebral column; (13) represents the joint
of the tail, (14) part of the bone in the tail, and (15) the tip of the
tail.
[Illustration: Fig. 193. Styles of tails, Kwakiutl; above bird; below
sea mammals.]
[Illustration: Fig. 194. Styles of wing designs and of fin designs,
Kwakiutl; above, fin; below, wing.]
[Illustration: Fig. 195. Elements used in representing the halibut,
Kwakiutl.]
[Illustration: Fig. 196. Elements used in representing the wolf,
Kwakiutl.]
Fig. 196 represents, in the same way, the wolf. The head with the
elevated nose is easily recognized. (1) represents the throat. (2) The
humerus connected with the forearm is shown in the lower left hand
side of the pattern; (3) represents the collarbone, the four circles
(4) the backbone, (5) the back with hair. The three thin slanting lines
(6) are the ribs, (7) the sternum and the hooks over it the intestinal
tract, (9) is the hind leg, corresponding to (2), (10) the toes, (11)
the foot, (12) connects the backbone with the tail. The thin lines (13)
represent the hair of the tail, (14) is supposed to be a second joint
in the tail, (15) the hairy tail, and (16) the ears.
[Illustration: Fig. 197. Painting from bow of a canoe, representing the
wolf.]
Fig. 197 represents the wolf, a painting from the bow of a canoe. Here
again the elevated nose of the wolf will be recognized. The hachure
(1) represents the pelvis, (2) and (3) the intestinal tract, (4) the
humerus, (5) the cheek, (6) the facial bones, and (7) the ear.
[Illustration: Fig. 198. Masks and dishes representing the wolf,
Kwakiutl.]
An examination of carved and painted specimens shows clearly that this
description of symbols is theoretical rather than rigidly normative,
for in many cases considerable freedom in their use may be observed.
An example of this kind is presented by the wolf masks used by the
Kwakiutl in the dance “Brought-Down-From-Above”[111] (fig. 198). Most
of these have the slanting eye and pointed ears. In one specimen,
however, the ear is pointed forward. The snout slants backward, the
nose is high. The identity of treatment of the specimen shown in figs.
_d_ and _f_ is interesting. The former was collected by Captain Adrian
Jacobsen, 1884, and the latter by Captain Cook more than a hundred
years earlier. The double mask, fig. _a_, resembles them in general
shape, but the eye is treated quite differently and the ear, while
narrow, is not pointed and the backward slant of the snout is not
sufficiently pronounced. The double-headed wolf dish (_e_), has small
reclining ears and long eyes. The ears of figs. _c_, _d_, _e_, are
small and recline, but the eye of _c_ and _d_ is rounded.
[111] See Social Organization and Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl
Indians, Annual Report of the United States National Museum, 1895, p.
477, illustrations p. 493, Plate 37.
The forms of animals used by the northern tribes vary considerably
also. It is not safe to base our arguments on models or on objects made
for the trade. I shall use, therefore, exclusively, older specimens
which have been in use.
[Illustration: Fig. 199. House post, Haida.]
[Illustration: Fig. 200. Designs from a set of gambling sticks.]
[Illustration: Fig. 201. Designs from a set of gambling sticks.]
Swanton[112] gives two interpretations of the Haida house post fig.
199. He had two informants; both explained the top figure as an eagle
but they differed as to the meaning of the rest. The one claimed that
the lower part of the pole represented the story of a woman being
carried away by a killer-whale. The woman’s face shows just below the
eagle’s beak, and the whale’s blow-hole is represented by a small face
above the face of the killer-whale. The second informant, however,
explained the large face at the bottom as that of a grizzly bear,
presumably meaning thereby, the sea grizzly bear; and the small figure
over it as the “sea ghost” which usually rides upon its back. The
woman’s face he left unexplained. From an objective point of view, the
face at the base of the pole appears as a grizzly bear’s face. Attached
to it on each side are the ears and above these, the flippers. Just
under the talons of the eagle is found the inverted tail of a fish or
aquatic mammal, which presumably belongs to the figure at the bottom,
although it seems rather small. It seems doubtful whether the upper
face, to which belong the two hands just under it and the legs, in
squatting position below the tail, is that of a woman because there
ought to be a large labret in the lower lip. Furthermore, the face has
animal ears so that it does not seem likely that the intention of the
artist was to represent a woman.
[112] John R. Swanton, The Haida, Publications of the Jesup North
Pacific Expedition, Vol. V, p. 128.
It is true that in some other cases in which this same story is
represented,[113] the person sitting on the back of the killer-whale
has no labret, while in other cases it is shown. Obviously in this case
the symbolism is not clear enough to enable an Indian who does not
know the artist or who does not know the meaning of the carving, to
interpret it correctly.
[113] See Swanton, The Haida, pl. 15, fig. 1, where the woman is shown
without labret while in the specimen pl. 14, fig. 5, she wears a large
labret.
The uncertainty of interpretation becomes the greater the more
fragmentary the figure. A set of gambling sticks which in 1897 I
submitted to the best carver and painter (Charles Edensaw) among the
Haida, could not be satisfactorily interpreted by him (figs. 200, 201).
For example: Number 35 he recognized as a series of three dorsal fins
without being able to tell to what animal they belonged. Number 36 he
explained as a shoulder on the right, and a tail on the left, but he
was unable to identify the particular animal. Number 37 he explained,
hesitatingly, as a mosquito. For the following group he felt quite
unable to give any satisfactory explanation.
The uncertainty of explanation appears particularly clearly in the
interpretation of Chilkat blankets. I give here a few examples
according to Lieutenant George T. Emmons.[114]
[114] George T. Emmons, The Chilkat Blanket, Memoirs of the American
Museum of Natural History, Vol. 3. Part 4, N. Y. 1907, pp. 352, 369,
372, 377, and 387.
The blanket shown in fig. 202 represents a bear with young. The large
central figure represents the male bear; the two inverted eyes in the
middle of the lower border, with the adjoining elongated designs with
round tips, the hind quarters of the bear and the legs; the three heads
in the middle of the upper margin, the female and the young bears.
The central head in the middle of the upper margin was also explained
as the forehead of the bear. The lateral panels represent each a
young bear. The design along the lower border of the lateral panel is
the freshwater stream on which the bear lives. According to John R.
Swanton the blanket represents the sea grizzly bear. The explanation
of the principal parts is the same as that given by Lieutenant Emmons,
except that the three heads in the middle along the upper border were
explained, the middle one as the top of the head, the lateral ones as
ears. The wing designs which extend sideways from the border, cutting
into the middle parts of the lateral panels, were explained as part of
the forelegs, representing, probably, the fins which are believed to be
attached to the arms of the sea grizzly bear. The two inverted eyes in
the lower border, with the ornaments attached to the right and left of
the eyes, were said to represent the hind legs.
[Illustration: Fig. 202. Chilkat blanket.]
[Illustration: Fig. 203. Chilkat blanket.]
The blanket shown in figure 203 represents, according to Emmons, a
female wolf and young. The body of the wolf is given the form of a
hawk; the two eyes and the wing designs between them, near the lower
border of the blanket, being the face of the hawk. The double feather
design over these eyes represents the hawk’s ears. The face in the
center of the lower border of the blanket represents the body, the
wing feather designs extending downward under the corners of the jaws
of the wolf, the wings of the hawk. In the lateral panels the young
wolf is shown sitting up. These designs represent probably at the same
time, the sides and back of the wolf’s body. According to Swanton the
blanket represents a young raven. The body of the raven is occupied
by two profiles of ravens, represented by the two large eyes near the
lower border of the blanket. The face in the centre of the lower border
is the raven’s tail. The lateral wing designs extending downward from
under the corners of the jaws of the large head, are the wings of the
raven. The lateral panels represent two young ravens in profile.
[Illustration: Fig. 204. Chilkat blanket.]
The blanket shown in fig. 204 shows, according to Emmons, on top, a
brown bear sitting up. On the body of the bear is a raven’s head. The
hind-quarters are treated like a whale’s head. The eyes being at the
same time the hip joints, the mouth the feet of the bear. He was given
another explanation: the principal figure being explained as a whale,
the head of which is below. The body, which is turned up, is treated as
a raven’s head, and the tail as a bear’s head. The side panels are the
sides and the back of these animals, but represent at the same time,
an eagle in profile on top, and a raven in profile below. According to
Swanton the design represents a halibut. The head is below. The whole
large middle face represents the body; and the large face nearer the
upper border, the tail. The wing designs in the lateral panels, next
to the lowest head, are the small pectoral fins and the rest of the
lateral fields, the continuous border fin.
[Illustration: Fig. 205. Chilkat blanket.]
The blanket in Fig. 103 (p. 108) represents, according to Emmons, a
diving whale and the lateral fields a raven sitting. The head, with
nostrils and mouth, is shown below. The central face represents the
body. The eyes near the upper border are the flukes of the tail. The
face designs at the sides of the body represent the fins. In the
lateral panels is shown a raven sitting. According to Swanton the same
blanket represents a wolf with young. The head is shown below. The hind
legs and hip joints are represented by two large eyes and the adjoining
ornaments along the upper border, the two dark segments just over the
eye, being the feet. The face in the middle of the design represents,
as usual, the body of the animal. The small eye design, with adjoining
ear and wing feather designs, in the middle on each side of the body,
are interpreted as foreleg and foot. The lateral panels are explained
as representing each a young wolf sitting.
There are also considerable discrepancies in the explanation of
the blanket shown in fig. 205. According to Emmons it represents a
killer-whale. In each lower corner is one half of the head with teeth;
right in front of the teeth, the nostril; between the two halves of
the head, in the lower border of the blanket, the tail. The inverted
face in the middle of the upper border, represents the body. The
large square designs containing the goggle design, on each side, are
interpreted as water blown out from the blow-hole. One half of the
dorsal fin is indicated by a small round wing feather design in each
upper corner, the human face in profile under it, representing one
half of the blow-hole. According to Swanton a spirit of the sea is
represented. One half of the head is shown in each lower corner, the
eye design in front of the tongue being interpreted as chin. The two
faces in the middle of the lower border are explained as the young
ones of this sea spirit; the flicker-feather designs over them, as the
inner part of the body of the old animal; the inverted large face in
the middle of the upper border, as its hat; the large square designs on
each side of this face, containing the goggle designs, as the dorsal
fin; the two human faces in profile near the upper corners, the young
ones whose bodies are shown by the round feather design over the face.
Still another explanation of the same pattern was given to me. In each
lower corner is shown one half of the head of a killer-whale. Its food
is represented by the eye design in front of the mouth. The tail is
below in the middle; the two halves of the dorsal fin are just over the
tail; the inverted face in the middle of the upper border is the chest;
the adjoining square designs and the attached round feather design
are the flippers. Accordingly the profile faces near the upper, outer
corners should be the blow-holes.
[Illustration: Fig. 206. Model of totem pole with three figures
representing, from below upward; sculpin, dog-fish, and sea-monster;
Haida.]
These examples show clearly that there is ample room for the fancy of
the interpreter. The symbols lend themselves to various explanations,
which are presumably selected in accordance with totemic affiliations
of the owner. Not all of them seem quite consistent with the best
northwest coast usage; for instance, Swanton’s explanation of the last
named blanket seems doubtful on account of the inverted position of the
hat and the explanation of a single wing design as a body.
So far I have considered the symbols only in connection with their use
in representing various animals. It now becomes necessary to inquire in
what manner they are used to identify the animals. We have seen that
in a number of the preceding cases entire animals were represented,
and that they were identified by means of these symbols. However, the
artist is allowed wide latitude in the selection of the form of the
animal. Whatever its form may be, as long as the recognized symbols are
present, its identity is established. We have mentioned before that the
symbols are often applied to human faces, while the body of the figure
has the characteristics of the animal.
We find this principle applied on the totem pole, fig. 206. Each of
the three animals represented has a human face, to which are added
characteristic symbols. In the top figure the ears indicate an animal;
the arms, to which flippers are attached, the sea-monster (see fig.
183). The next figure below represents the shark. Originally a large
lip with a labret was attached to it. This would indicate that a female
shark is represented. Its symbols are the peculiar high snout which
rises over its forehead, and the fins, which are placed under the chin.
The body of the lowest figure which is shown under the face represents
a fish; and the two large spines which rise over the eyebrows specify
the sculpin.
In many cases the bodies of the animals are not represented and the
essential symbols are applied to a purely human face. This style is
found on masks and in facial paintings.
[Illustration: Fig. 207. Mask representing the hawk, Tlingit.]
Fig. 207 has a human face with human ears. Only the nose indicates that
the mask is not intended to represent a human being. It is strongly
curved, and drawn back into the mouth, thus symbolizing the hawk.
[Illustration: Fig. 208. Mask with painting symbolizing the flicker,
Tlingit.]
In fig. 208 we see the face of a woman with a moderately large labret.
The ears, as explained before, are those of an animal. The nose, which
has been lost, had undoubtedly the form of a bird’s beak. Thus the face
was characterized as that of a bird. It was specified partly by the
form of the beak, but principally by the ornaments painted in red and
black on the cheeks and forehead. These represent the feathers of the
red-winged flicker.
[Illustration: Fig. 209. Mask with eyebrows symbolizing the squid,
Tlingit.]
A small mask representing a human face (fig. 209) has, in place of the
eyebrows, two rows of circles, the sucking-cups of the squid. By means
of this symbol the face is recognized as that of the squid.
[Illustration: Fig. 210. Mask with painting symbolizing the
killer-whale, Tlingit.]
In the same manner the mask fig. 210 is identified as the killer-whale
by the two black ornaments painted on the left cheek and extending down
to the chin. They represent the dorsal fin of the killer-whale.
These symbols are also used as facial paintings and body paintings
by dancers, who are thus recognized as personifying the animal in
question, or as belonging to the social group with which the animals
are associated (see figs. 264, 265, pp. 250, 251). Sometimes these
symbols are attached to the garments. To this class belongs the
ornament (fig. 212), which represents the dorsal fin of a killer-whale
and which is worn attached to the back part of the blanket.
Having thus become acquainted with a few of the symbols of animals,
we will next investigate in what manner the native artist adapts the
animal form to the object he intends to decorate. First of all, we
will direct our attention to a series of specimens which show that he
endeavors, whenever possible, to represent the whole animal on the
object that he desires to decorate.
[Illustration: Fig. 211. Wood carving representing the killer-whale,
Tlingit.]
Fig. 211 is a club used for killing seals and halibut before they
are landed in the canoe. The carving represents the killer-whale.
The dorsal fin, the principal symbol of the killer-whale, cannot be
omitted. If placed in an upright position on the club, the implement
would assume an awkward shape. Therefore the artist bent it down along
the side of the body, so that it covers the flipper. The tail of the
whale would have interfered with the handle, and has been turned
forward and lies flat over the back.
The distortion of the body has been carried still further in the handle
of a spoon (fig. 176 _a_, p. 195) which represents the same animal. The
large head of the whale, to which the flippers are attached is near
the bowl of the spoon. The body has been twisted backward so that it
is completely doubled up. Therefore, the surface pattern of the tail
is carved on the back of the spoon, and the two projections just below
the mouth are the two tips of the whale’s tail. The dorsal fin extends
upward from the head of the whale, between the legs of the man who
forms the tip of the handle.
[Illustration: Fig. 212. Wood carving representing dorsal fin of the
killer-whale, Tlingit.]
[Illustration: Fig. 213. Model of a totem pole representing a shark,
Haida.]
Fig. 213 is a small totem pole representing the shark. The tip of its
tail forms the top of the pole, while the face is placed at its lower
end. Since most of the symbols of the shark are found on its face, it
was necessary to bring the face into such a position as to be seen in
front view, but the artist also desired to show the back of the fish.
For this reason the head has been twisted around entirely, so that it
appears in front view over the back of the fish. The flippers are made
visible by having been pushed backward far beyond the place to which
they properly belong.
[Illustration: Fig. 214.