The circular shield was distributed over a large part of North America.
A conspicuous part of the arms of Mexican warriors was “the round, small
‘target’ worn by the ‘brave’ on his left arm, and made of canes netted
together and interwoven with cotton ‘twofold,’ covered on the outside
with gilded boards and with feathers, and so strong that a hard
cross-bow shot could alone penetrate them;”[2] but “merely ornamental
shields [were also] used and carried by warriors and chiefs on festive
occasions only.”[3]
According to the same author, in Pre-Columbian times some of the Pueblo
Indians used a thick disk of buffalo-hide as a shield. On the Plains,
from the Rio Grande to the Saskatchewan, the circular shield of
buffalo-hide was, until the extinction of the buffalo, a part of the
regalia of every warrior. These shields usually bore symbolic designs.
In many cases the designs were painted upon the rawhide itself, and
protected by a buckskin cover; while in other cases the designs were
painted upon the cover. Practically no shields of buffalo-hide are to be
found in the hands of the surviving Dakota; but in social and religious
ceremonies, models or shield-covers of buckskin or cloth, upon which are
painted the designs formerly placed on shields, are often used. For
purposes of study the writer secured such models of shields, with
explanations of the designs and with other shield-lore, from persons who
formerly owned buffalo-hide shields.
When the enemies of the Dakota were armed with native weapons, the
shield had some value in itself, because few arrows could get through
it, and it was of sufficient strength to ward off a blow from a club or
an axe; but even at that time the designs and medicine objects tied to
the shield seem to have been regarded as of greater importance than the
mechanical properties of the shield itself. It was the power represented
by the design to which the owner of the shield looked for protection.
Naturally, with the introduction of fire-arms, shields ceased to have a
real protective value; but their designs were still looked upon as
capable of affording protection against evil. According to the
statements of some old men who still have faith in protective designs,
the ancient shield manifested its power upon the mind of the enemy by
influencing them to shoot at the shield rather than at the exposed parts
of the body of its bearer. But when fire-arms were introduced,
experience demonstrated that the shield was no longer a desirable object
in battle, because the same influence that drew arrows to it drew
bullets also, and in this case with fatal results. From this they
concluded that guns represented a mystic power superior to that of
shield-designs, but that the latter were still efficacious, except where
so overpowered.
This explanation is interesting, because these men seem to have grasped
the idea that the shield, being a conspicuous object, would attract the
attention and thus the aim of the enemy; but they confused this
psychological explanation of the observed facts with a mystic conception
that the magic power of the design upon the shield was the cause or
force that reached out and lay hold of the attention of the enemy. Yet
the introduction of fire-arms did not relegate the shield to oblivion;
and shield-designs are still cherished by men of the olden time, because
they represent a kind of individual totem or protective power.
The following descriptions of shield-designs are given with the
interpretations of their owners.
A shield-cover decorated with feathers, bearing a design used by a chief
on ceremonial occasions, and said by him to be the copy of a shield
carried in his youth, is shown in Plate V. The black border on top of
the shield takes the form of the new moon, which it represents. In the
centre of the shield is a well executed drawing of an Indian on
horseback. The horse is in blue, with zigzag black lines extending down
the legs. The blue color of the horse indicates his connection with the
thunder, or the powers of the sky. The background of the shield is in
yellow, but the lower part has been worked over with green.
Symmetrically arranged around the mounted figure are four circles of
purplish color, representing a phenomenon observed in the sky, which
seems to have been either the halo of the sun, or the phenomenon that
passes under the name of “sun-dogs.” From the description of the owner
of the shield, it appears that these four circles were associated in his
mind with the medicine-hoop. He stated that this design as a whole was
the representation of what he saw in a dream; that the moon with its
dark color was drawn to represent the night, because that was the time
when he had this experience; and that in the dream he saw a horse and
rider appear in the sky surrounded by the four circular objects, as
indicated upon the shield. It appears from his explanation, that the
association of the rings with the medicine-hoop was his own individual
interpretation of the significance of his dream. In the dream he could
see a shield associated with these objects as they would appear in
reality; but in the design he attempted to convey an idea of what he saw
in conformity with the conventional modes of representative art
practised by his tribe.
[Illustration: Fig. 1 (50-2970). Shield-cover with Design. Diameter, 42
cm.]
Another shield-cover (Fig. 1) bears a bird-design, representing to the
owner the osprey (?). One half of the background of this shield is in
yellow; the other half, in light green.[4] These two colors represent
the appearance of the sky at sunrise; the yellow corresponding to the
region of the dawn, and the green to the dark sky above. The four stars
symmetrically arranged are colored black for the night, yellow for the
dawn, blue for the evening, and red for the day; or in other words the
whole circle is represented. The design of the bird presents some
interesting details. The lightning-symbols represent the death-dealing
power conferred upon the owner of such a shield-design at the time of
his dream. The red marks upon the breast of the bird, representing the
national emblem of the United States, were interpreted by the owner as
symbolizing such death-dealing power in contending with soldiers. The
peculiar feature upon the tail of the bird represents an additional
experience, and was added to the shield about the year 1867, after a
successful engagement with the United States troops, in which the owner
of the shield participated. According to his account, the design on the
tail of the bird is the conventional symbol of the spider-web, but is
used here to represent an experience preceding the above engagement. As
the war-party were moving forward, they saw a strange appearance in the
sky, which took the form of this symbol. The sight of it caused the
war-party to scatter; and the interpretation placed upon this by the
owner was, that its manifestation of supernatural power, which was to be
conveyed to them, would cause their enemies to scatter in like
confusion. During the confusion into which the party fell, the stars
moved rapidly through the sky and the lightning flashed in all
directions. This is represented by the four corners of the design. At
the top of the shield is a braid of sweet-grass and a small buckskin bag
containing medicines of a supposed charm-value. Before going into
battle, some of this sweet-grass was to be burnt, and ritualistic songs
pertaining to the shield were to be sung. This having been done, the
shield was supposed to protect its owner from his enemies. Eight
feathers, arranged in pairs, are attached to the shield, and their
quills are painted to correspond to the parts of the background to which
they are attached.
[Illustration: Fig. 2. Shield-design,
from a Drawing by a Native.]
There is one interesting feature connected with this shield-design, and
that is the fact that some of the old men disapproved of the owner
placing the spider-web design upon the tail of the bird, because it was
a mixing of supernatural manifestations. The incident connected with
this design was regarded by them as most extraordinary, and as having
been worthy of distinct and separate representation. According to the
accepted modes of interpretation, this experience should have been
represented upon a new shield.
The specimen shown in Plate VI is not a shield-cover, but was
nevertheless spoken of as a shield; and the design upon it is an old
shield-design. The specimen is a cape (made of cotton) worn around the
shoulders in such a way that the design could be seen upon the back of
the wearer. Here are represented the rainbow, the thunder-bird
(possessing in this case characteristics which indicate that it was
copied from the national emblem of the United States), the new and full
moon, and the stars. It will be observed that the stars in this case are
four-pointed, similar to the design of the spider-web, and they are
regarded by the Indians as an example of the old original method of
representing them.
[Illustration: Fig. 3. Drawing, by a Native, of a Shield-cover.]
As a great many Indians who formerly owned shields do not now possess
shield-covers, the writer secured drawings made by them of their former
shields. Such a sketch is reproduced in outline (Fig. 2). In the centre
is a design of the spider-web filled in with red. The ground of the
shield is in blue, representing the sky. Above and below are circular
areas in yellow, representing clouds or heaven. Lightning-symbols in red
connect the yellow cloud-symbols with the four corners of the spider-web
design. As a final suggestion relative to this interpretation, the
informant said, “The spider is the friend of the thunder.”
[Illustration: Fig. 4. Shield-design, from a Drawing by a Native.]
The manner in which the owner secured the shield-design represented in
Fig. 3 is as follows. Once when a war-party of which he was a member
were about to take the war-path, it was predicted by an old man that he
would be killed in the first battle. Before leaving with the party, he
went to an old medicine-man for help, and this man made him a shield
bearing the design described below. The bird represented is the
hawk,—flying from the sky, protected by the thunder from the hailstones
that fly thick and fast about him,—and symbolizes the manner in which
the owner of the shield will pass safely through the hail of lead from
the enemy. Four pairs of hawk-feathers are arranged symmetrically on the
circumference of the shield.
In the shield-design in Fig. 4, we find a large circular area in the
centre painted yellow and the surrounding portion red. Around the
circumference of the yellow portion are black spots, representing tufts
of short crow-feathers. Upon the original shield, across the top, there
was tied the skin of a weasel, represented in the drawing by a
pictograph of that animal. Four pairs of feathers are arranged
symmetrically on the circumference of this design.
The design represented by Fig. 5 is rather striking, since an image of
the spider is placed in the centre of the shield surrounded by a circle
of red, through which the numerous red lines radiate to the
circumference of the design. These red lines represent the web of the
spider. One end of a string is tied to the mouth of the spider, with an
eagle-plume at the other end, painted yellow. Around the circumference
of the design is a wavy blue line, representing water. The owner of this
design received such a shield when a young man, and stated that he never
understood why the medicine-man who made it for him placed the blue line
around it, and for that reason he could not explain its significance.
[Illustration: Fig. 5. Spider-design for a Shield, from a
Drawing by a Native.]
The design represented in Fig. 6 was dreamed of by the owner himself,
and in this dream he was presented with a shield bearing a design
similar to the sketch. As he was almost blind, the sketch is very crude.
In it appear again the thunder-bird, the stars, the yellow clouds, the
red and blue lightning, the new moon, and the bear. It was claimed that
the curved double line at the bottom represented both the moon and the
lightning; the former by the colors, the latter by its form. Another
interesting point in this design is the representation of an
eagle-feather upon the head of the bear. This is the conventional way of
representing a supernatural bear as distinguished from a real bear.[5]
The owner of this shield-design claimed, that, while he did not now and
had not for years carried or kept about him a drawing of the design, he
felt it as a kind of magic presence hovering around him, shielding him
from harm. He stated, further, that, while he knew that other men used
the symbols represented in his shield-design as the signs of particular
powers and ideas, he himself had no such interpretation; for in the
dream he saw nothing more than a shield bearing these designs, and
received no instruction or information as to their significance. Their
protecting power to him lay in the peculiar supernatural presence which
he always felt.
The shield-design in Fig. 7 represents a thunderstorm. At the top, the
clouds are represented in blue. Below this, falling rain is represented
by short irregular lines, and the lightning and thunder by zigzag lines
extending downward from the clouds on a background of clear sky. This
design originated in the same manner as did the preceding; that is, a
finished shield was seen in a dream.
[Illustration: Fig. 6. Shield-design, from a Drawing by the Man who
dreamed of it.
Fig. 7. Shield-design representing a Thunderstorm, from a Drawing by a
Native.]
Plate VII is the reproduction of a model of a shield made of shrunken
bull-hide covered with buckskin. It was collected by Dr. J. R. Walker.
The design is somewhat similar to the preceding. The upper part is
painted in blue to represent the clouds, and the lower part in
bluish-green to represent the sky. In the cloud-area is the drawing of a
horse, symbolizing a dream-horse (probably the thunder-horse). The
thunder, or power, is symbolized by red zigzag lines extending downward
from the cloud-area. An eagle-feather and twelve hawk-feathers are tied
to a small buckskin bag of medicine, fastened to the shield in a manner
suggesting their attachment to the mane of the horse. The circumference
of the shield is decorated with small feathers, and four pairs of
eagle-feathers are also arranged symmetrically around the circumference.
[Illustration: Fig. 8 (50-5456). Model of a Shield
with Pictographic Design. Diameter, 47 cm.]
A shield (Fig. 8) similar to the preceding represents a vision in which
the dreamer was apparently supported by the thunder-horse in a contest
with the mythical turtle. A small bag of medicine and a pendant
eagle-plume are attached to the shield, as in the previous case.
Feathers are again arranged in four pairs. This specimen was collected
by Dr. J. R. Walker.
In the Museum collection from the Sauk and Fox Indians, made by Dr.
William Jones, is a shield captured from the Sioux, at the time of the
outbreak of 1866, by a Fox in the employ of the United States
Government. The design was painted upon the rawhide, but is now almost
obliterated. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic restoration. The writer saw an old
buffalo-hide shield in the possession of an Assiniboine, at Fort
Belknap, Montana. The design was painted upon buffalo-hide, and was
similar to that in Fig. 9. He collected also from the Dakota a number of
drawings representing military exploits. While twenty shields are
represented in these drawings, fourteen of them bear simple circular
designs, as shown in the adjoining figure. This suggests that the older
type of shield-decoration made use of simple circular designs. This idea
was supported by the testimony of a number of old men who ought to be
competent to speak upon the subject. Of course, there is no reason why
the image of the thunder-bird, so common upon modern shield-designs,
should not have been used in ancient times; and the writer wishes to be
understood as expressing this as an opinion based upon indirect
evidence.
[Illustration: Fig. 9 (50-3569). Design on Sioux
Shield captured by a Fox Indian.
Diameter, 42 cm. ]
These circular designs often represented the sun, other heavenly bodies,
or the sky, which suggests that formerly the shield as a whole may have
been considered as a symbol of the sun. The survivors of shield-using
days seemed to have no actual knowledge of any connection between the
shield-form and the sun, but usually expressed it as their opinion that
it represented the sun, and that the feathers represented the sun’s
rays. This may have been suggested by the fact that eagle-feathers were
sometimes arranged in a half-circle to represent the rays of the sun,
and that, furthermore, the rays of the sun were sometimes spoken of as
feathers.
Shield-designs could originate only in dreams and visions, and were
painted by the person experiencing them, who prayed and sang over his
work to give the shield power. Usually but four shields could be made
from a single dream: to make a great number was sacrilege. Among the
Blackfoot, the shield was often accompanied by a ritual composed of
songs and prayers; and they possessed a few shields with such important
rituals that they were distinguished from the others as
“medicine-shields.” There seems to have been a similar condition among
the Dakota, for it was often said that medicine-shields were hung
outside the tepees, upon tripods, and that during the day they were
changed from time to time so as to keep them facing the sun. This
practice was observed by a number of Plains tribes. However, among the
Dakota the tripod often gave place to a single pole.
-----
[2] Bandelier (Reports of the Peabody Museum, Vol. II, p. 109).
[3] Bandelier, op. cit., p. 108.
[4] In the drawings, colors are indicated by the following devices: red,
by horizontal shading; yellow, by vertical shading; green, by left
oblique shading; blue or purple, by right oblique shading. Black and
white have their conventional qualities. The drawings were made by Miss
R. B. Howe.
[5] For an illustration see Catlin, North American Indians (7th ed.,
1848), Plate 102.