DESERT BASKET-MAKERS
In the midst of a region so repellent that a large part of it remains
comparatively unknown and unexplored, one art has reached a state of
perfection unattained in civilized communities. This is the art of
basket-making.
When, in 1539, Marcos de Niza, in his explorations northward from
Mexico, entered the great desert region, he found peoples equipped with
baskets of wonderful make and of marvelous fineness, such as the
enlightened nations of Europe could not produce.
The basket-makers of that time had all the skill that is known to their
descendants to-day. More than three and one-half centuries have passed
since then, but it has marked no improvement in the art. It was perfect
then; it was perfect as far back as the traditions of that early day
could trace it. It is an art to which civilization can add nothing; on
the contrary, civilization threatens it with retrogression.
[Illustration: A MOJAVE INDIAN POUNDING MESQUITE BEANS IN WOODEN MORTAR
From photograph by C. C. Pierce & Co.]
Neither history nor tradition goes back far enough to determine when
the art of plaiting and weaving had its birth, nor can we find evidence
of a period when the work of the weaver has been less perfect.
Progressiveness in those lines has been at the expense of the quality
of the article produced. While the Indian is weaving a single blanket
the modern loom will produce thousands, but never has loom been
invented which could produce a blanket equal in quality to the
hand-made blanket turned out by some of the Indian tribes who inhabit
the arid lands of the West.
Almost all the basket-weaving tribes--and that includes nearly every
tribe west of the Rocky Mountains--have legends pointing to the
antiquity of the art. The Pomo Indians of Northern California tell that
when the progenitors of their tribe were created, the Great Spirit
furnished them with food in conical, water-tight baskets which served
them as patterns for future work in that line. The Navajos learned the
art by patterning after the baby-baskets in which the infant gods of
war were sent to them, and the Havasupais believe that the daughter of
the good god Tochopa taught the art to her daughter, from whom the
tribe descended.
The basket plays an important part in the affairs of the desert Indian.
It is his cradle in infancy; it is necessary in his domestic life,
baskets being used in which to store his grain, cook his meals, serve
his food, and carry his burdens. It figures in religious ceremonies, in
marriage festivals, and in funeral rites. It forms a part of the
decoration of his home, and serves him as a repository for his precious
turquoise, wampum, and other treasures. His water-supply is brought and
stored in baskets, the history and traditions of his tribe are woven
into basket designs, and of late years, since the curio hunter is
abroad in the land, the basket has become a very fertile source of
revenue, bringing, in some instances, actual wealth.
Indian baskets may be divided into four general classes:
1. Burden baskets, such as are used for the carrying of loads
of various kinds. These are generally of coarse material and
are quite likely to be the work of old men who are
incapacitated for other labor, or of young members of the
tribe who are learning the art of basket-weaving.
[Illustration: RARE TULARE AND POMO BASKETS
From photograph by C. C. Pierce & Co.]
2. Domestic baskets, including the granaries, cooking
utensils, water-bottles, and other baskets in general use
about the house. In this line may be classed the baskets in
which are cradled the infants.
3. Jewel baskets, which are used for holding articles of
value and trinkets prized by the householder, and baskets
used solely for ornamental purposes.
4. Ceremonial, embracing such as have sacred significance and
historical import, and those used at feasts and festivals and
at marriages and funerals.
It may seem strange to speak of using baskets in which to cook food,
but this is a common practice with certain tribes. Vegetables are
boiled and mush is cooked in baskets, by dropping into the basket with
the food stones which have been heated on live coals. Certain foods are
also cooked in shallow baskets, which have been lined with clay, by
placing live coals beside the food, and then skilfully twirling the
basket in such a manner as to keep the food and coals constantly
changing places, but at the same time separate from each other. By
occasionally blowing into the dish the mess is kept free from ashes and
the coals are kept glowing.
The designs which appear in Indian baskets are not merely artistic
conceptions of the weavers, but have significance. The sacred baskets
are dedicated to certain purposes suggested by the designs woven in
them. Thus the cobweb pattern in a Hopi basket signifies that it is to
be used in conveying offerings to the "spider woman," as one of the
deities or saints in the Hopi calendar is designated. Even the seeming
miscalculation in the weaving of patterns is by design, as in the
instance of patterns which apparently are calculated to run entirely
around the basket but fail to join at the place of meeting. The opening
is purposely left that the evil spirits may find a place of exit and
pass out before they have opportunity to work harm to the possessor of
the basket.
The colors in the design have their significance. Red means triumph or
success; blue signifies defeat; black represents death; white denotes
peace and happiness. Colors are also used to designate the points of
the compass. Yellow symbolizes the north because, as the Indians
explain, the light of the morning is yellow in the winter season when
the sun rises toward the north instead of directly in the east. Blue
stands for the west because the blue waters of the Pacific are in that
direction. Red is the sign of the south, for that is the region of
summer and the red sun. White represents the east, for the sky grows
white in the east at the rising of the sun.
[Illustration: A YUMA WOMAN WEAVING COARSE BASKETS
From photograph by C. C. Pierce & Co.]
With most tribes red is a sacred color. It is symbolical of blood,
which is the life and strength of man, and is therefore the source of
his success and achievement.
A variety of material is used in basket-making, and by observing the
kind of material used the expert collector is able to determine very
closely the authorship of the basket, as well as to read from the
designs the purpose for which it was created. Different tribes use
different materials, and, naturally, those found nearest at hand.
Southern California Indians make use of tule and certain fine grasses
found in that part of the State. The Pomos, who are exceedingly adept
weavers, use a tough slough-grass, capable of being split, and willow
shoots. Havasupais use willows and certain fibrous plants found growing
in the strange cañon which is their home. The Hopi Indians use yucca
and grasses, while the Indians of Northern California make use of
spruce roots and fibrous barks found in that locality. The Panamint
Indians of Death Valley use year-old willow shoots, stalks of the
aromatic sumac, fibers of the pods of the unicorn plant, and roots of
the yucca.
Color is gained by various methods. Sometimes the bright red, green,
and scarlet plumage of birds is used. Natural colors are much employed.
The brown designs are mostly made by the use of maiden-hair fern
stalks. Black is usually obtained by dyeing the material used with
martynia pods; red from yucca roots and certain berries; green from
willow bark; pink and various shades of red from the juice of the
blackberry, and other colors and shades from various barks and fruits.
Basket-making has recently become a fad with white women, but the dusky
woman need not fear the rivalry of her white sister. Civilization has
too many claims upon her, and she has too little time and strength to
devote to the work to permit of her spending weeks in searching
mountain, valley, and plain for the material, and toiling months in the
weaving, of a single basket. Even were she to do this, she could not
weave into it the traditions of a race, the faith of a religion, the
longings of a soul, and the poetry of a people. Until this is possible,
the Indian basket will stand without a peer and its maker without a
rival.
[Illustration: MOJAVE BASKET-MAKER
From photograph by C. C. Pierce & Co.]