Star. Moqui pictographFig. 164.
Star. Moqui pictographFig. 165.
Star. Moqui pictographFig. 166.
Star. Moqui pictographFig. 167.
The Ojibwa pictograph for sun is seen in Fig. 169, taken from Schoolcraft,loc. cit., v. 1, pl. 56, Fig. 67.
Star. Peruvian pictographFig. 168.
Star. Ojibwa pictographFig. 169.
Sunrise. Moqui pictographFig. 171.
Sunrise. Moqui pictographFig. 170.
Sunrise. Moqui pictographFig. 172.
A gesture sign forsunrise, morning, is: Forefinger of right hand crooked to represent half of the sun's disk and pointed or extended to the left, then slightly elevated. (CheyenneII.) In this connection it may be noted that when the gesture is carefully made in open country the pointing would generally be to the east, and the body turned so that its left would be in that direction. In a room in a city, or under circumstances where the points of the compass are not specially attended to, the left side supposes the east, and the gestures relating to sun, day, &c., are made with such reference. The half only of the disk represented in the above gesture appears in the following Moqui pueblo etchings formorningandsunrise, Figs. 170, 171, and 172. (Gilbert,MS.)
Moon, month. Californian pictographFig. 173.
A common gesture fordayis when the index and thumb form a circle (remaining fingers closed) and are passed from east to west.
Fig. 173 shows a pictograph found in Owen's Valley, California, a similar one being reported in theAnn. Rep. Geog. Survey west of the 100th Meridian for 1876, Washington, 1876, pl. opp. p. 326, in which the circle may indicate eitherdayormonth(both these gestures having the same execution), the course of the sun or moon being represented perhaps in mere contradistinction to the vertical line, or perhaps the latter signifiesone.
Pictograph, including sun. Coyotero ApacheFig. 174.
Moon. N.A. IndianFig. 175.
Fig. 174 is a pictograph of the Coyotero Apaches, found at Camp Apache, in Arizona, reported in theTenth Ann. Rep. U.S. Geolog. and Geograph. Survey of the Territories for 1876,Washington, 1878, pl. lxxvii. The sun and the ten spots of approximately the same shape represent the days, eleven, which the party with five pack mules passed in traveling through the country. The separating lines are the nights, and may include the conception of covering over and consequent obscurity above referred to (page354).
Moon. Ojibwa pictographFig. 177.
Moon. Moqui pictographFig. 176.
A common sign formoon, month, is the right hand closed, leaving the thumb and index extended, but curved to form a half circle and the hand held toward the sky, in a position which is illustrated in Fig. 175, to which curve the Moqui etching, Fig. 176, and the identical form in the ancient Chinese has an obvious resemblance.
Sky. Egyptian characterFig. 179.
Sky. Ojibwa pictographFig. 178.
The crescent, as we commonly figure the satellite, appears also in the Ojibwa pictograph, Fig. 177 (Schoolcraft, I, pl. 58), which is the same, with a slight addition, as the Egyptian figurative character.
The sign forsky, alsoheaven, is generally made by passing the index from east to west across the zenith. This curve is apparent in the Ojibwa pictograph Fig. 178, reported in Schoolcraft, I, pl. 18, Fig. 21, and is abbreviated in the Egyptian character with the same meaning, Fig. 179 (Champollion,Dict., p. 1).
Clouds. Moqui pictographFig. 182.
Clouds. Moqui pictographFig. 181.
Clouds. Moqui pictographFig. 180.
A sign forcloudis as follows: (1) Both hands partially closed, palms facing and near each other, brought up to level with or slightly above, but in front of the head; (2) suddenly separated sidewise, describing a curve like a scallop; this scallop motion is repeated for "many clouds." (CheyenneII.) The same conception is in the Moqui etchings, Figs. 180, 181, and 182 (GilbertMS.)
Clouds. Ojibwa pictographFig. 183.
The Ojibwa pictograph forcloudis more elaborate, Fig. 183, reported in Schoolcraft, I, pl. 58. It is composed of the sign forsky, to which that forcloudsis added, the latter being reversed as compared with the Moqui etchings, and picturesquely hanging from the sky.
Rain. New Mexican pictographFig. 184.
Rain. Moqui pictographFig. 185.
The gesture sign forrainis described and illustrated on page344. The pictograph, Fig. 184, reported as found in New Mexico byLieutenant Simpson (Ex. Doc. No. 64, Thirty-first Congress, first session, 1850, pl. 9) is said to represent Montezuma's adjutants sounding a blast to him for rain. The small character inside the curve which represents the sky, corresponds with the gesturing hand. The Moqui etching (GilbertMS.) forrain,i.e., a cloud from which the drops are falling, is given in Fig. 185.
Lightning. Moqui pictographFig. 187.
Lightning. Moqui pictographFig. 186.
The same authority gives two signs forlightning, Figs. 186 and 187. In the latter the sky is shown, the changing direction of the streak, and clouds with rain falling. The part relating specially to the streak is portrayed in a sign as follows: Right hand elevated before and above the head, forefinger pointing upward, brought down with great rapidity with a sinuous, undulating motion; finger still extended diagonally downward toward the right. (CheyenneII.)
Lightning, fatal. Pictograph at Jemez, N.M.Fig. 189.
Lightning, harmless. Pictograph at Jemez, N.M.Fig. 188.
Figs. 188 and 189 also representlightning, taken by Mr. W.H. Jackson, photographer of the late U.S. Geolog. and Geog. Survey, from the decorated walls of an estufa in the Pueblo de Jemez, New Mexico. The former is blunt, for harmless, and the latter terminating in an arrow or spear point, for destructive or fatal, lightning.
Voice. Antelope. Cheyenne drawingFig. 191.
Voice. "The-Elk-that-hollows-walking"Fig. 190.
A common sign forspeech, speak, among the Indians is the repeated motion of the index in a straight line forward from the mouth. This line, indicating the voice, is shown in Fig. 190, taken from theDakota Calendar, being the expression for the fact that "the-Elk-that-hollows-walking," a Minneconjou chief, "mademedicine." The ceremony is indicated by the head of an albino buffalo. A more graphic portraiture of the conception ofvoiceis in Fig. 191, representing an antelope and the whistling sound produced by the animal on being surprised or alarmed. This is taken from MS. drawing book of an Indian prisoner at Saint Augustine, Fla., now in the Smithsonian Institution, No. 30664.
Fig. 192 is the exhibition of wrestling for a turkey, the point of interest in the present connection being the lines from the mouth to the objects of conversation. It is taken from the above-mentioned MS. drawing book.
Voice, talking. Cheyenne drawingFig. 192.
The wrestlers, according to the foot prints, had evidently come together, when, meeting the returning hunter, who is wrapped in his blanket with only one foot protruding, they separated and threw off their blankets, leggings, and moccasins, both endeavoring to win the turkey, which lies between them and the donor.
In Fig. 193, taken from the same MS. drawing book, the conversation is about the lassoing, shooting, and final killing of a buffalo which has wandered to a camp. The dotted lines indicate footprints. The Indian drawn under the buffalo having secured the animal by the fore feet, so informs his companions, as indicated by the line drawn from his mouth to the object mentioned; the left-hand figure, having also secured the buffalo by the horns, gives his nearest comrade an opportunity to strike it with an ax, which he nodoubt announces that he will do, as the line from his mouth to the head of the animal suggests. The Indian in the upper left-hand corner is told by a squaw to take an arrow and join his companions, when he turns his head to inform her that he has one already, which fact he demonstrates by holding up the weapon.
Killing the buffalo. Cheyenne drawingFig. 193.
The Mexican pictograph, Fig. 194, taken from Kingsborough, II, pt. 1, p. 100, is illustrative of the sign made by the Arikara and Hidatsa fortellandconversation.Tell meis: Place the flat right hand, palm upward, about fifteen inches in front of the right side of the face, fingers pointing to the left and front; then draw the hand inward toward and against the bottom of the chin. Forconversation, talking between two persons, both hands are held before the breast, pointing forward, palms up, the edges being moved several times toward one another. Perhaps, however, the picture in fact only means the common poetical image of "flying words."
Talking. Mexican pictographFig. 194.
Talking, singing. Maya characterFig. 195.
Fig. 195 is one of Landa's characters, found inRel. des choses de Yucatan, p. 316, and suggests one of the gestures fortalkand more especially that forsing, in which the extended and separated fingers are passed forward and slightly downward from the mouth—"many voices." Although the last opinion about the bishop is unfavorable to the authenticity of his work, yet even if it were prepared by a Maya, under his supervision, the latter would probably have given him some genuine native conceptions, and among them gestures would be likely to occur.
Hearing serpent. Ojibwa pictographFig. 198.
"I hear, but your words are from a bad heart." OjibwaFig. 197.
Hearing ears. Ojibwa pictographFig. 196.
The natural sign forhear, made both by Indians and deaf-mutes, consisting in the motion of the index, or the index and thumb joined, in a straight line to the ear, is illustrated in the Ojibwa pictograph Fig. 196, "hearing ears," and those of the same people, Figs. 197 and 198, the latter of which is a hearing serpent, and the former means "I hear, but your words are from a bad heart," the hands being thrown out as in the final part of a gesture forbad heart, which is made by the hand being closed and held near the breast, with the back toward the breast, then as the arm is suddenly extended the hand is opened and the fingers separated from each other. (Mandan and HidatsaI.)
The final part of the gesture, representing the idea ofbad, not connected with heart, is illustrated in Fig. 236 on page411.
The above Ojibwa pictographs are taken from Schoolcraft,loc. cit.I, plates 58, 53, 59.
Fig. 199, a bas-relief taken from Dupaix's Monuments of New Spain,in Kingsborough,loc. cit.IV, pt. 3, p. 31, has been considered to be a royal edict or command. The gestureto hearis plainly depicted, and the right hand is directed to the persons addressed, so the command appears to be uttered with the preface ofHear Ye! Oyez!
Royal edit. MayaFig. 199.
To kill. DakotaFig. 200.
The typical sign forkillorkilledis: Right hand clinched, thumb lying along finger tips, elevated to near the shoulder, strike downward and outward vaguely in the direction of the object to be killed. The abbreviated sign is simply to clinch the right hand in the manner described and strike it down and out from the right side. (CheyenneII.) This gesture, also appears among the Dakotas and is illustrated in Fig. 200.
"Killed arm." DakotaFig. 201.
Fig. 201, taken from theDakota Calendar, illustrates this gesture. Itrepresents the year in which a Minneconjou chief was stabbed in the shoulder by a Gros Ventre, and afterwards named "Dead Arm" or "Killed Arm." At first the figure was supposed to show the permanent drawing up of the arm by anchylosis, but that would not be likely to be the result of the wound described, and with knowledge of the gesture the meaning is more clear.
Fig. 202, taken fromReport upon the Reconnaissance of Northwestern Wyoming, &c., Washington, 1875, p. 207, Fig. 53, found in the Wind River Valley, Wyoming Territory, was interpreted by members of a Shoshoni and Banak delegation to Washington in 1880 as "an Indian killed another." The latter is very roughly delineated in the horizontal figure, but is also represented by the line under the hand of the upright figure, meaning the same individual. At the right is the scalp taken and the two feathers showing the dead warrior's rank. The arm nearest the prostrate foe shows the gesture forkilled.
Pictograph, including "kill." Wyoming Ter.Fig. 202.
Pictograph, including "kill." Wyoming Ter.Fig. 203.
The same gesture appears in Fig. 203, from the same authority and locality. The scalp is here held forth, and the numeraloneis designated by the stroke at the bottom.
Fig. 204, from the same locality and authority, was also interpreted by the Shoshoni and Banak. It appears from their description that a Blackfoot had attacked the habitation of some of his own people. The right-hand upper figure represents his horse with the lance suspended from the side. The lower figure illustrates the log house built against a stream. The dots are the prints of the horse's hoofs, while the two lines running outward from the upper inclosure show that two thrusts of the lance were made over the wall of the house, thus killing the occupant and securing two bows and five arrows, as represented in the left-hand group. The right-hand figure of that group shows the hand raised in the attitude of making the gesture forkill.
Pictograph, including "kill." Wyoming Ter.Fig. 204.
As the Blackfeet, according to the interpreters, were the only Indians in the locality mentioned who constructed log houses, the drawing becomes additionally interesting, as an attempt appears to have been made to illustrate the crossing of the logs at the corners, the gesture for which (log-house) will be found on page428.
Veneration. Egyptian characterFig. 205.
Fig. 205 is the Egyptian character forveneration, to glorify(Champollion,Dict., 29), the author's understanding being that the hands are raised in surprise, astonishment.
The Menomoni Indians now begin their prayers by raising their hands in the same manner. They may have been influenced in this respect by the attitudes of their missionaries in prayer and benediction. The Apaches, who have received less civilized tuition, in a religious gesture corresponding with prayer spread their hands opposite the face, palms up and backward, apparently expressing the desire toreceive.
Mercy. Supplication, favor. EgyptianFig. 206.
Fig. 206 is a copy of an Egyptian tablet reproduced from Cooper'sSerpent Myths, page 28. A priest kneels before the great goddess Ranno, while supplicating her favor. The conception of the author is that the hands are raised by the supplicant to shield his face from the glory of the divinity. It may be compared with signs for asking formercyand for giving mercy to another, the former being: Extend both forefingers, pointing upward, palms toward the breast, and hold the hands before the chest; then draw them inward toward their respective sides, and pass them up ward as high as the sides of the head by either cheek.(KaiowaI;ComancheIII;ApacheII;WichitaII.) The latter,to have mercy on another, as made by the same tribes, is: Hold both hands nearly side by side before the chest, palms forward, forefinger only extended and pointing upward; then move them forward and upward, as if passing them by the cheeks of another person from the breast to the sides of the head.
Supplication. Mexican pictographFig. 207.
A similar gesture forsupplicationappears in Fig. 207, taken from Kingsborough,loc. cit., III, pt. I, p. 24.
Smoke. Mexican pictographFig. 208.
An Indian gesture sign forsmoke, and also one forfire, has been described above, page344. With the former is connected the Aztec design (Fig. 208) taken from Pipart,loc. cit., II, 352, and the latter appears in Fig. 209, taken from Kingsborough, III, pt. I, p. 21.
A sign formedicine-man, shaman, is thus described: "With its index-finger extended and pointing upward, or all the fingers extended, back of hand outward, move the right hand from just in front of the forehead, spirally upward, nearly to arm's length, from left to right." (DakotaIV.)
Fire. Mexican pictographFig. 209.
Fig. 210, from theDakota Calendar, represents the making of medicine or conjuration. In that case the head and horns of a white buffalo cow were used.
"Making medicine." Conjuration. DakotaFig. 210.
Meda. Ojibwa pictographFig. 211.
Fig. 211 is an Ojibwa pictograph taken from Schoolcraft,loc. cit., representingmedicine-man, meda. With these horns and spiral may be collated Fig. 212 which portrays the ram-headed Egyptian god Knuphis, or Chnum, the spirit, in a shrine on the boat of the sun, canopied by the serpent-goddess Ranno, who is also seen facing him inside the shrine. This is reproduced from Cooper'sSerpent Myths, p. 24. The same deity is represented in Champollion,Gram., p. 113, as reproduced in Fig. 213.
Fig. 214 is an Ojibwa pictograph found in Schoolcraft, I, pl. 58, and given aspower. It corresponds with the sign fordoctor, ormedicine-man, made by the Absarokas by passing the extended and separated indexand second finger of the right hand upward from the forehead, spirally, and is considered to indicate "superior knowledge." Among the Otos, as part of the sign with the same meaning, both hands are raised to the side of the head, and the extended indices pressing the temples.
The God Knuphis. EgyptianFig. 212.
The God Knuphis. EgyptianFig. 213.
Power. Ojibwa pictographFig. 214.
Fig. 215 is also an Ojibwa pictograph from Schoolcraft I, pl. 59, and is said to signifyMeda's power. It corresponds with another sign made formedicine-manby the Absarokas and Comanches, viz, The hand passed upward before the forehead, with index loosely extended. Combined with the sign forsky, before given, page372, it means knowledge of superior matters; spiritual power.
The common sign fortradeis made by extending the forefingers, holding them obliquely upward, and crossing them at right angles to one another, usually in front of the chest. This is often abbreviated by merely crossing the forefingers, see Fig. 278, page452. It is illustrated in Fig. 216, taken from the Prince of Wied'sTravels in the Interior of North America; London, 1843, p. 352.
Meda's Power. Ojibwa pictographFig. 215.
To this the following explanation is given: "The cross signifies, 'I will barter or trade.' Three animals are drawn on the right hand of the cross; one is a buffalo; the two others, a weasel (Mustela Canadensis) and an otter. The writer offers in exchange for the skins of these animals (probably meaning that of a white buffalo) the articles which he has drawn on the left side of the cross. He has, in the first place, depicted a beaver very plainly, behind which there is a gun; to the left of the beaver are thirty strokes, each tenseparated by a longer line; this means, I will give thirty beaver skins and a gun for the skins of the three animals on the right hand of the cross."
Trade pictographFig. 216.
Fig. 217 is from Kingsborough, III, pt. 1, p. 25, and illustrates the sign for togiveorto present, made by the Brulé-Dakotas by holding both hands edgewise before the breast, pointing forward and upward, the right above the left, then throwing them quickly downward until the forearms reach a horizontal position.
Offering. Mexican pictographFig. 217.
Fig. 218 is taken from theDakota Calendar, representing a successful raid of the Absarokas or Crows upon the Brulé-Sioux, in which the village of the latter was surprised and a large number of horses captured. That capture is exhibited by the horse-tracks moving from thevillage, the gesture sign for which is often made by a circle formed either by the opposed thumbs and forefingers of both hands or by a circular motion of both hands, palms inward, toward each other. In some cases there is a motion of the circle, from above downward, as formed.
Stampede of horses. DakotaFig. 218.
Fig. 219, from Kingsborough I, pt. 3, p. 10, representsChapultepec, "Mountain of the Locust," by one enormous locust on top of a hill. This shows the mode of augmentation in the same manner as is often done by an exaggerated gesture. The curves at the base of the mountain are intelligible only as being formed in the sign formany, described on pages359and488.
Chapultepec. Mexican pictographFig. 219.
Fig. 220, taken from Pipart,loc. cit., is the Mexican pictograph forsoil cultivated,i.e., tilled and planted. Fig. 221, from the same authority,shows the sprouts coming from the cultivated soil, and may be compared with the signs forgrassandgrowon page343.
Soil. Mexican pictographFig. 220.
Cultivated soil. Mexican pictographFig. 221.
The gesture sign forroad, path, is sometimes made by indicating two lines forward from the body, then imitating walking with the hands upon the imaginary road. The same natural representation of road is seen in Fig. 222, taken from Pipart,loc. cit., page 352. A place where two roads meet—cross-roads—is shown in Fig. 223, from Kingsborough. Two persons are evidently having a chat in sign language at the cross-roads.
Road, path. Mexican pictographFig. 222.
Cross-roads and gesture sign. Mexican pictographFig. 223.
Small-pox measles. DakotaFig. 224.
If no gesture is actually included in all of the foregoing pictographs, it is seen that a gesture sign is made with the same conception which is obvious in the ideographic pictures. They are selected as specially transparent and clear. Many others less distinct are now the subject of examination for elucidation. The following examples are added to show the ideographic style of pictographs not connected with gestures, lest it may be suspected that an attempt is made to prove that gestures are always included in or connected with them. Fig. 224, from theDakota Calendar, refers to the small-pox which broke out in the year (1802) which it specifies. Fig. 225 shows in the design at the left, a warning or notice, that though a goat can climb up the rocky trail a horse will tumble—"No Thoroughfare." This was contributedby Mr. J.K. Hillers, photographer of the United States Geological Survey, as observed by him in Cañon De Chelly, New Mexico, in 1880.
"No thoroughfare." PictographFig. 225.
The present limits permit only a few examples of the manner in which the signs of Indians refer to sociologic, religious, historic, and other ethnologic facts. They may incite research to elicit further information of the same character.
Raising of war party. DakotaFig. 226.
"Led four war parties." Dakota drawingFig. 227.
The Prince of Wied gives in his list of signs the headingPartisan, a term of the Canadian voyageurs, signifying a leader of an occasional or volunteer war party, the sign being reported as follows: Make first the sign of the pipe, afterwards open the thumb and index-finger of the right hand, back of the hand outward, and move it forward and upward in a curve. This is explained by the author's account in a different connection, that to become recognized as a leader of such a war party as above mentioned, the first act among the tribes using the sign was the consecration, by fasting succeeded by feasting, of a medicine pipe without ornament, which the leader of the expedition afterward bore before him as his badge of authority, and it therefore naturally became an emblematic sign. This sign with its interpretation supplies a meaning to Fig. 226 from theDakota Calendarshowing "One Feather," a Sioux chief who raised in that year a large war party against the Crows, which fact is simply denoted by his holding out demonstratively an unornamented pipe. In connection with this subject, Fig. 227, drawn and explained by Two Strike, an Ogalala Dakota, relating to his own achievements, displays four plain pipes to exhibit the fact that he had led four war parties.
Sociality. Friendship. Ojibwa pictographFig. 228.
The sign of the pipe or of smoking is made in a different manner, when used to meanfriend, as follows: (1) Tips of the two first fingers of the right hand placed against or at right angles to the mouth; (2) suddenly elevated upward and outward to imitate smoke expelled. (CheyenneII). "We two smoke together." This is illustrated in the Ojibwa pictograph, Fig. 228, taken from Schoolcraft I, pl. 59.
Peace. Friendship with whites. DakotaFig. 230.
Peace. Friendship. DakotaFig. 229.
A ceremonial sign forpeace, friendship, is the extended fingers, separated (R), interlocked in front of the breast, hands horizontal, backs outward. (DakotaI.) Fig. 229 from theDakota Calendarexhibits the beginning of this gesture. When the idea conveyedis peace or friendship with the whites, the hand shaking of the latter is adopted as in Fig. 230, also taken from theDakota Calendar, and referring to the peace made in 1855 by General Harney, at Fort Pierre, with a number of the tribes of the Dakotas.
It is noticeable that while the ceremonial gesture of uniting or linking hands is common and ancient in token of peace, the practice of shaking hands on meeting, now the annoying etiquette of the Indians in their intercourse with whites, was not until very recently and is even now seldom used by them between each other, and is clearly a foreign importation. Their fancy for affectionate greeting was in giving a pleasant bodily, sensation by rubbing each other on the breast, abdomen, and limbs, or by a hug. The senseless and inconvenient custom of shaking hands is, indeed, by no means general throughout the world, and in the extent to which it prevails in the United States is a subject of ridicule by foreigners. The Chinese, with a higher conception of politeness, shake their own hands. The account of a recent observer of the meeting of two polite Celestials is: "Each placed the fingers of one hand over the fist of the other, so that the thumbs met, and then standing a few feet apart raised his hands gently up and down in front of his breast. For special courtesy, after the foregoing gesture, they place the hand which had been the actor in it on the stomach of its owner, not on that part of the interlocutor, the whole proceeding being subjective, but perhaps a relic of objective performance." In Miss Bird'sUnbeaten Trades in Japan, London, 1880, the following is given as the salutatory etiquette of that empire: "As acquaintances come in sight of each other they slacken their pace and approach with downcast eyes and averted faces as if neither were worthy of beholding each other; then they bow low, so low as to bring the face, still kept carefully averted, on a level with the knees, on which the palms of the hands are pressed. Afterwards, during the friendly strife of each to give thepasto the other, the palms of the hands are diligently rubbed against each other."
Friendship. AustralianFig. 231.
The interlocking of the fingers of both hands above given as an Indian sign (other instances being mentioned under the head ofSignals,infra) is also reported by R. Brough Smyth,Aborigines of Victoria,loc. cit., Vol. II, p. 308, as made by the natives of Cooper's Creek, Australia, to express the highest degree of friendship, including a special form of hospitality in which the wives of the entertainer performed a part. Fig. 231 is reproduced from a cut in the work referred to.
But besides this interlocked form of signifying the union of friendship the hands are frequently grasped together. Sometimes the sign is abbreviated by simply extending the hand as if about to grasp that of another, and sometimes the two forefingers are laid side by side, which last sign also means,same, brotherandcompanion. For description andillustration of these three signs, see respectively pages521,527, and317. A different execution of the same conception of union or linking to signifyfriendis often made as follows: Hook the curved index over the curved forefinger of the left hand, the palm of the latter pointing forward, the palm of the right hand being turned toward the face; remaining fingers and thumbs being closed. (DakotaVIII.) Fig. 232.
Friend. Brule DakotaFig. 232.
Wied's sign for medicine is "Stir with the right hand into the left, and afterward blow into the latter." All persons familiar with the Indians will understand that the term "medicine," foolishly enough adopted by both French and English to express the aboriginal magic arts, has no therapeutic significance. Very few even pretended remedies were administered to the natives and probably never by the professional shaman, who worked by incantation, often pulverizing and mixing the substances mystically used, to prevent their detection. The same mixtures were employed in divination. The author particularly mentions Mandan ceremonies, in which a white "medicine" stone, as hard as pyrites, was produced by rubbing in the hand snow or the white feathers of a bird. The blowing away of the disease, considered to be introduced by a supernatural power foreign to the body, was a common part of the juggling performance.
A sign forstoneis as follows: With the back of the arched right hand (H) strike repeatedly in the palm of the left, held horizontal, back outward, at the height of the breast and about a foot in front; the ends of the fingers point in opposite directions. (DakotaI.) From its use when the stone was the only hammer.
A suggestive sign forknifeis reported, viz: Cut past the mouth with the raised right hand. (Wied.) This probably refers to the general practice of cutting off food, as much being crammed into the mouth as can be managed and then separated from the remaining mass by a stroke of a knife. This is specially the usage with fat and entrails, the Indian delicacies.
An old sign fortomahawk, ax, is as follows: Cross the arms and slide the edge of the right hand, held vertically, down over the left arm. (Wied.) This is still employed, at least for a small hatchet, or "dress tomahawk," and would be unintelligible without special knowledge. The essential point is laying the extended right hand in the bend of the left elbow. The sliding down over the left arm is an almost unavoidable but quite unnecessary accompaniment to the sign, which indicates the way in which the hatchet is usually carried. Pipes, whips, bows and arrows, fans, and other dress or emblematic articles of the "buck" are seldom or never carried in the bend of the left elbow as is the ax. The pipe is usually held in the left hand.
The following sign forIndian villageis given by Wied: Place the open thumb and forefinger of each hand opposite to each other, as if tomake a circle, but leaving between them a small interval; afterward move them from above downward simultaneously. The villages of the tribes with which the author was longest resident, particularly the Mandans and Arikaras, were surrounded by a strong circular stockade, spaces or breaks in the circle being left for entrance or exit.
Signs fordogare made by some of the tribes of the plains essentially the same as the following: Extend and spread the right, fore, and middle fingers, and draw the hand about eighteen inches from left to right across the front of the body at the height of the navel, palm downward, fingers pointing toward the left and a little downward, little and ring fingers to be loosely closed, the thumb against the ring-finger. (DakotaIV.) The sign would not be intelligible without knowledge of the fact that before the introduction of the horse, and even yet, the dog has been used to draw the tent- or lodge-poles in moving camp, and the sign represents the trail. Indians less nomadic, who built more substantial lodges, and to whom the material for poles was less precious than on the plains, would not have comprehended this sign without such explanation as is equivalent to a translation from a foreign language, and the more general one is the palm lowered as if to stroke gently in a line conforming to the animal's head and neck. It is abbreviated by simply lowering the hand to the usual height of the wolfish aboriginal breed, and suggeststheanimalpar excellencedomesticated by the Indians and made a companion.
Several examples connected with this heading may be noticed under the preceding head of gestures connected with pictographs, and others of historic interest will be found among theTribal Signs,infra.
It is considered desirable to indicate some points to which for special reasons the attention of collaborators for the future publication on the general subject of sign language may be invited. These now follow:
It is probable that signs will often be invented by individual Indians who may be pressed for them by collectors to express certain ideas, which signs of course form no part of any current language; but while that fact should, if possible, be ascertained and reported, the signs so invented are not valueless merely because they are original and not traditional, if they are made in good faith and in accordance with the principles of sign formation. Less error will arise in this direction than from the misinterpretation of the idea intended to be conveyed by spontaneous signs. The process resembles the coining of new words to which the higher languages owe their copiousness. It is observed in the signsinvented by Indians for each new product of civilization brought to their notice.
An interesting instance is in the sign forsteamboat, made at the request of the writer by White Man (who, however, did not like that sobriquet and announced his intention to change his name to Lean Bear), an Apache, in June, 1880, who had a few days before seen a steamboat for the first time. After thinking a moment he gave an original sign, described as follows:
Make the sign forwater, by placing the flat right hand before the face, pointing upward and forward, the back forward, with the wrist as high as the nose; then draw it down and inward toward the chin; then with both hands indicate the outlines of a horizontal oval figure from before the body back to near the chest (being the outline of the deck); then place both flat hands, pointing forward, thumbs higher than the outer edges, and push them forward to arms'-length (illustrating the powerful forward motion of the vessel).
An original sign fortelegraphis given inNatci's Narrative,infra.
An Indian skilled in signs, as also a deaf-mute, at the sight of a new object, or at the first experience of some new feeling or mental relation, will devise some mode of expressing it in pantomimic gesture or by a combination of previously understood signs, which will be intelligible to others, similarly skilled, provided that they have seen the same objects or have felt the same emotions. But if a number of such Indians or deaf-mutes were to see an object—for instance an elephant—for the first time, each would perhaps hit upon a different sign, in accordance with the characteristic appearance most striking to him. That animal's trunk is generally the most attractive lineament to deaf-mutes, who make a sign by pointing to the nose and moving the arm as the trunk is moved. Others regard the long tusks as the most significant feature, while others are struck by the large head and small eyes. This diversity of conception brings to mind the poem of "The Blind Men and the Elephant," which with true philosophy in an amusing guise explains how the sense of touch led the "six men of Indostan" severally to liken the animal to a wall, spear, snake, tree, fan, and rope. A consideration of invented or original signs, as showing the operation of the mind of an Indian or other uncivilized gesturer, has a psychologic interest, and as connected with the vocal expression, often also invented at the same time, has further value.
In the examination of sign language it is important to form a clear distinction between signs proper and symbols. The terms signs and symbols are often used interchangeably, but with liability to misconstruction, as many persons, whether with right or wrong lexical definition, ascribe to symbols an occult and mystic signification. All characters in Indian picture-writing have been loosely styled symbols, and, as there is no logical distinction, between the characters impressed withenduring form and when merely outlined in the ambient air, all Indian gestures, motions, and attitudes might with equal appropriateness be called symbolic. While, however, all symbols come under the generic head of signs, very few signs are in accurate classification symbols. S.T. Coleridge has defined a symbol to be a sign included in the idea it represents. This may be intelligible if it is intended that an ordinary sign is extraneous to the concept and, rather than suggested by it, is invented to express it by some representation or analogy, while a symbol may be evolved by a process of thought from the concept itself; but it is no very exhaustive or practically useful distinction. Symbols are less obvious and more artificial than mere signs, require convention, are not only abstract, but metaphysical, and often need explanation from history, religion, and customs. They do not depict but suggest subjects; do not speak directly through the eye to the intelligence, but presuppose in the mind knowledge of an event or fact which the sign recalls. The symbols of the ark, dove, olive branch, and rainbow would be wholly meaningless to people unfamiliar with the Mosaic or some similar cosmology, as would be the cross and the crescent to those ignorant of history. The last named objects appeared in the class ofemblemswhen used in designating the conflicting powers of Christendom and Islamism. Emblems do not necessarily require any analogy between the objects representing, and the objects or qualities represented, but may arise from pure accident. After a scurrilous jest the beggar's wallet became the emblem of the confederated nobles, the Gueux of the Netherlands; and a sling, in the early minority of Louis XIV, was adopted from the refrain of a song by the Frondeur opponents of Mazarin. The portraiture of a fish, used, especially by the early Christians, for the name and title of Jesus Christ was still more accidental, being, in the Greek word ιχθυς, an acrostic composed of the initials of the several Greek words signifying that name and title. This origin being unknown to persons whose religious enthusiasm was as usual in direct proportion to their ignorance, they expended much rhetoric to prove that there was some true symbolic relation between an actual fish and the Saviour of men. Apart from this misapplication, the fish undoubtedly became an emblem of Christ and of Christianity, appearing frequently on the Roman catacombs and at one time it was used hermeneutically.
The several tribal signs for the Sioux, Arapahos, Cheyennes, &c., are their emblems precisely as the star-spangled flag is that of the United States, but there is nothing symbolic in any of them. So the signs for individual chiefs, when not merely translations of their names, are emblematic of their family totems or personal distinctions, and are no more symbols than are the distinctive shoulder-straps of army officers. Thecrux ansataand the circle formed by a snake biting its tail are symbols, butconsensusas well as invention was necessary for their establishment, and the Indians have produced nothing so esoteric, nothing which they intended for hermeneutic as distinct from descriptive or mnemonicpurposes. Sign language can undoubtedly be and is employed to express highly metaphysical ideas, but to do that in a symbolic system requires a development of the mode of expression consequent upon a similar development of the mental idiocrasy of the gesturers far beyond any yet found among historic tribes north of Mexico. A very few of their signs may at first appear to be symbolic, yet even those on closer examination will probably be relegated to the class of emblems.
The point urged is that while many signs can be used as emblems and both can be converted by convention into symbols or be explained as such by perverted ingenuity, it is futile to seek for that form of psychologic exuberance in the stage of development attained by the tribes now under consideration. All predetermination to interpret either their signs or their pictographs on the principles of symbolism as understood or pretended to be understood by its admirers, and as are sometimes properly applied to Egyptian hieroglyphs, results in mooning mysticism. This was shown by a correspondent who enthusiastically lauded theDakota Calendar(edited by the present writer, and which is a mere figuration of successive occurrences in the history of the people), as a numerical exposition of the great doctrines of the Sun religion in the equations of time, and proved to his own satisfaction that our Indians preserved hermeneutically the lost geometric cultus of pre-Cushite scientists.
Another exhibition of this vicious practice was recently made in the interpretation of an inscribed stone alleged to have been unearthed near Zanesville, Ohio. Two of the characters were supposed, in liberal exercise of the imagination, to represent theΑandΩof the Greek alphabet. At the comparatively late date when the arbitrary arrangement of the letters of that alphabet had become fixed, the initial and concluding letters might readily have been used to represent respectively the beginning and the end of any series or number of things, and this figure of speech was employed in the book of Revelations. In the attempted interpretation of the inscription mentioned, which was hawked about to many scientific bodies, and published over the whole country, the supposed alpha and omega were assumed to constitute a universal as well as sacred symbol for the everlasting Creator. The usualmenuof Roman feasts, commencing with eggs and ending with apples, was also commonly known at the time when the book of Revelations was written, and the phrase "ab ovo usque ad mala" was as appropriate as "from alpha to omega" to express "from the beginning to the end." In deciphering the stone it would, therefore, be as correct in principle to take one of its oval and one of its round figures, call them egg and apple, and make them the symbols of eternity. In fact, not depending wholly for significance upon the order of courses of a feast or the accident of alphabetical position, but having intrinsic characteristics in reference to the origin and fruition of life, the egg and apple translation, would be more acceptable to the general judgment, and it is recommended to enthusiasts who insist on finding symbols where none exist.