A large number of conventional figures representing feathers have been
identified, but there are many others which yet remain to be interpreted,
and the particular genus of birds to which each should be referred is
likewise problematical. There is no doubt, from a study of the uses of
different kinds of feathers in modern Hopi ceremonials, that each form
depicted on pottery represents a feather which played an important rôle
in ancient Hopi rituals.
Many unquestionable feather designs pictured on Sikyatki pottery are
found depicted on serpents, or are attached to inanimate objects, such as
rainbows, clouds, and lightning.
It is probable that the majority of feather designs on ancient Hopi
earthenware are included in the following types, to which no doubt other
forms of feather designs will be added later. These types are abundant in
vessels of the Sikyatki epoch.
[Illustration: FIG. 57.—Feather symbol with black notch.]
From the above pictures of birds and many others it may be seen that
feather symbols assume a variety of forms in sikyatki pottery decoration.
There are probably more than 50 different designs, each representing
a different kind of feather, and implying for each a distinct use or
ceremonial efficacy, as among the modern Hopi. Our knowledge of ancient
Hopi symbolism is not yet sufficient to enable us to identify all the
different birds to which these various forms of feathers belong, nor do
we know the uses to which all these feathers were put.[20]
Several wooden slabs and idols on Hopi altars have features drawn upon
them, and many ceremonial sand-pictures contain designs representing
feathers. In rare instances, as in the altar of the Powamû,[21] typical
Sikyatki symbols of feathers are still used, but feather symbols of a
form not found on Sikyatki pottery far outnumber those from that ruin.
The existence of one type of Sikyatki feathers on the figure of Pokema in
kachina altars may point to the derivation of this feather symbol from
Sikyatki, but some of these types are widespread.[22]
[Illustration: FIG. 58.—Feather symbol with black notch.]
The forms assumed by feathers on Sikyatki pottery may best be presented
by considering a few examples of the more common types. Figure 57
represents an unusual type of feather symbol, readily distinguished from
others by the notch at the end, the edge of which is commonly rounded.
There are two subdivisions of this type, one with a dotted shaft (fig.
58), the other plain. This form of feather design is found in most
unexpected associations, occurring on the heads of serpents or attached
to various parts of the body and under the wings of birds. It also hangs
from diametrical bands drawn across the inside of food bowls and from
other objects constituting the decoration of vessels. In a few instances
this type of feather is enlarged and constitutes the essential part of
the design, with other symbols attached.
This type of feather sometimes forms a part of a bird’s tail, but it does
not occur in the wings, although, as above stated, it occurs under a
wing or on the body or the head of a bird, a localization that leads to
the belief that the device was designed to represent a breast feather,
such as the Hopi now use in their prayers. In ancient Hopi symbolism it
is often attached to circles representing the sun and represents a tail
feather.
In plate 76, _a_, three feathers are represented with pointed tips and
without interior markings. It is one of the simplest drawings of the type
mentioned.
This figure illustrates a well-known type of feather symbol. It has many
variations, all clearly differentiated from the form last described,
from which it differs in its elongate form and pointed tip. What may
be regarded as a subtype of this is marked with diagonal bands drawn
either at right angles at one edge or extending across the figure and
terminating at right angles to the opposite edge. Feather symbols of
this type, which have not been identified with any particular bird, are
constantly found in birds’ tails and wings.
The next design (pl. 76, _b_) is similar in outline, but the three
feathers are painted solid black and are separated by spaces. This
conventional form of feather is common on wings and tails of birds.
The group of symbols shown in plate 76, _c_, has pointed tips, like the
others described, but part of the shaft is painted, while the other is
plain, the line of demarcation between which is drawn diagonally. This
form occurs on the tails rather than on the wings of birds.
The tips of the feathers in plate 76, _d_, are connected by a black band
and are divided by short vertical lines. A distinguishing feature of this
symbol is the oblique marking of each feather on the right side, by which
the feathers are narrowed at the base. A solid semicircular figure with
a double notch ornaments the upper edge. The few known examples of this
type of feather symbol are from the tails of unknown birds.
The next form of feather, shown in _e_, differs from the last in that the
shaft is spotted and the proximal end is cut diagonally in a somewhat
different way.[23] The tips are slit as in the figure last described.
The width of the feathers shown in _f_ is uniform throughout. The distal
ends are tipped with black; the proximal ends are each ornamented with a
black triangle. Midway of the length of the feathers are four continuous
parallel horizontal lines.
The two feathers shown in _g_ have in one instance a black and in the
other a white tip separated from the rest of the shaft by an oblique
line. The essential difference between this form of pointed feather and
those previously considered is that the diagonal line marking the tip is
drawn at a greater angle.
[Illustration: