# Journal of American Folk-Lore/Volume 13/Issue 48/Record of American Folk-Lore

RECORD OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE.
NORTH AMERICA.
Algonkian. Cree. Dr. Frank Russell's "Explorations in the Far North," published by the Iowa University (Iowa City, 1898, ix + 290 pp. 8vo), the record of explorations carried out during the years 1892–94 in the Arctic region of northwestern Canada, contains much of interest to the folk-lorist and the ethnologist. Among other things a chapter on the mythology of the Wood Crees.
Onomatology. In the "American Anthropologist" (vol. i. N. S. pp. 586, 587) for July, Mr. W. R. Gerard criticises some of the statements of Mr. Tooker, in the January number of the same periodical, concerning the etymology of poquosin and its cognates and derivatives.
Caddoan. In the "American Anthropologist" (vol. i. N. S. pp. 592–594) for July, F. F. Hilder publishes from the MS. of a Franciscan friar, dating circa 1781, a myth of "the Tasinais or Texas Indians," concerning the origin of their supreme being, Caddi-Ayo. The legend is one of the hero-child variety, and some of the incidents recall the Bloodclots Boy myth of the Sioux and Blackfeet, others the birth of Manabozho. The Caddaja, or "Devil," also figures prominently in the story.
Eskimo. In a paper on "Southern Visits of the Eskimo," which appears in the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxi. pp. 201–203) for July–August, 1899, Rev. W. M. Beauchamp finds "a suggestive resemblance to northern articles in the modern wampum belts of the Iroquois." Other evidences of Eskimo-Iroquois contact are "the broad wooden spoons still found in Iroquois houses," and certain stone implements.
Haida. In the "Journ. Anthr. Inst." (vol. i. N. S.), of London, Dr. E. B. Tylor publishes three brief articles, "On the Totem-Post, from the Haida Village of Masset, Queen Charlotte Islands, now erected in the grounds of Fox Warren, near Weybridge" (pp. 133–135), "On two British Columbian House-Posts with Totemic Carvings, in the Pitt-Rivers Museum, Oxford" (p. 136), and "Remarks on Totemism, with especial reference to some modern theories respecting it" (pp. 138–149). The articles are illustrated by two plates. The first totem-pole discussed represents the "totemic myth" of an individual of the Bear clan, Raven tribe—the prominent figure in the others is that of the killer whale. In the third article, Dr. Tylor discusses the totemic theories of MacLennan, Frazer, Robertson Smith, Jevons, Wilken, etc. He objects to classifying all theromorphic gods as totems, holding to the essential ​independence of totems and gods as shown by the instances of Yetl and Kanuk in Haida mythology. Nor are all the gods and divine animals of sacrifice totems. Dr. Tylor favors Wilken's connection of totemism with the ancestral cult, in favor of which view he cites data from Melanesia and Australia.—In the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxi. pp. 309–314) for September-October, 1899, Ellen R. C. Webber writes of "An old Kwanthum Village—its People and its Fall." Concerning a mound on the north bank of the Frazer River, about 25 miles from its mouth, an old Indian tells the story embodied in the article. Their enemies, the Haidas, and the small-pox ("the breath of a fearful dragon"), were the cause of the extermination of the inhabitants of the ancient village now represented only by the mound.
Pueblos. Dr. F. C. Spencer's "Education of the Pueblo Child: A Study in Arrested Development" (N. Y., 1899, pp. 97), which forms vol. vii. No. 1 of the "Columbia University Contributions to Philosophy, Psychology, and Education," is one of the few recent valuable essays in pedagogical anthropology. It is based largely on personal investigation, and the four chapters treat of the following topics respectively: Geography and History of the Land of the Pueblos, Social and Industrial Life of the Pueblos, Institutional and Religious Life of the Pueblos, Education of the Pueblo Child. A bibliography for each chapter terminates the essay. Dr. Spencer considers that the Pueblos "represent a true type of arrested development," and that the civilization they have produced is the natural and necessary result of their environmental conditions, which have been: (1.) An arid climate, a fertile soil, and a scarcity of food plants and animals, which forced them to turn to the soil for livelihood; (2.) A human environment of savages whose continued attacks led them to segregate and construct fortress dwellings to protect themselves when their agricultural life had more or less unfitted them to cope successfully in battle with their savage foes; (3.) A sedentary agricultural and village life necessitated coöperation, a long train of social relations, and more systematic organization. In so far as education is concerned, it is held that "the methods employed by the Pueblos are exactly suited to perpetuate a static condition," the apprentice method obtaining "in both their industrial and religious instruction, and being reinforced by their superstitious beliefs to such an extent that variation is practically impossible." Trained to follow in the footsteps of their ancestors, the Pueblo children never leave the beaten path. The power of the priesthood and their manipulation of rite and ceremony are emphasized. Dr. Spencer's essay is of a great interest to the folk-lorist, and it is to be hoped that he will some time give us a more elaborate study of ​the question involved in the statement on page 71: "The transfer of all this lore and power from the ancient wiseacres of the tribe to the keeping of the priest societies must have been a very gradual process, which was made possible only by the close community life adopted by the people, but the transfer was completed centuries ago, and since that time the priesthood has been in control."—To the "American Anthropologist" (vol. i. N. S. pp. 251–276) for April, 1899, Dr. J. Walter Fewkes contributes an illustrated article on "The Winter Solstice Altars at Hano Pueblo." The people in question are immigrants (among the most recent arrivals in Tusayan), who "have not yet, as the others, lost their language, nor been merged into the Hopi people, but still preserve intact many of their ancient customs." The object of the Hano Tûñtai rites or Winter Solstice ceremony seems to be, like that of the Soyaluña of the Hopis, " to draw back the sun in its southern declination, and to fertilize the corn and other seeds and increase all worldly possessions." Dr. Fewkes also informs us that "the Tûñtai at Hano differs more widely from the Winter Solstice ceremony at Walpi, a gunshot away, than the Walpi observance differs from that at Oraibi, twenty miles distant." In the course of the article the author gives a list of the Tewa names for months current at Hano (p. 261), also the names (pp. 255–256) of the 136 individuals (men, women, children) belonging to Hano Pueblo. We learn, besides, that at Hano almost every one has a Hopi and a Tewa name.—In the "American Anthropologist" (vol. i. N. S. pp. 523–544) for July, 1899, Dr. J. Walter Fewkes discusses "The Alósaka Cult of the Hopi Indians." The Alósakas, as their name reveals to us, are "horned beings " whose worship still survives in Hopi ritual. The Alósaka cult is "a highly modified form of animal totemism," the Alósaka really representing the mountain-sheep. The purpose of the cult-rites seems to be "to cause seeds, especially corn, to germinate and grow, and to bring rain to water the farms." Dr. Fewkes's article is illustrated, and much interesting information concerning the sun-symbolism of the Hopi Indians is given.—To the July–August number of the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxi. pp. 209–232) Rev. S. D. Peet contributes an interesting illustrated article on "Agriculture among the Pueblos and Cliff-Dwellers." The author believes that the key to the culture of these peoples lies in the fact that they were agriculturalists, improved by long-continued sedentary life.—In the March–April number of the same journal (pp. 99–123) Dr. Peet has another illustrated article on "Relics of the Cliff-Dwellers." He emphasizes the "uniqueness" of the stone relics in question, their pottery and other implements.—The November–December number also contains (pp. 349–368) an illustrated article by ​Dr. Peet on "The Cliff-Dwellers and the Wild Tribes." The author concludes that "at the very outset of their history a very great difference between the location and social condition of the wild tribes and the Pueblos existed, and still exists." The peaceable character, industry, and high regard for women which now mark the Pueblos distinguished them from the beginning. In their art (basketry, pottery, etc.), architecture (houses, tents, etc.), their dress and their physical appearance, the Cliff-Dwellers and the Pueblos differ from the wild tribes, and with the former distinct advance and progress can be shown to have occurred.
Salishan. Bella Coola. As vol. ii., Anthropology I, of the "Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History (N. Y. 1898, pp. 25–177, plates vii.–xii.), Dr. Franz Boas publishes "The Mythology of the Bella Coola Indians,"—the treatise forming part of the series of memoirs whose publication is made possible by the Jesup Fund. The Bella Coola, or Bilqūla, are a mixed people of Salishan stock, and their mythology is here characteristically summarized by Dr. Boas. The five worlds, the supreme deity, the solar, lunar, and other divinities of lesser sort, the thunder-bird, family traditions, crests, and ceremonial masks are all considered, and the philological and psychological acumen of the author appears to advantage in his attempts at interpretation.—In the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxi. pp. 146–149) for May–June, 1899, Mr. C. H. Tout reviews briefly Dr. Boas's volume on the mythology of the Bella Coolas, and prints under the title "Tradition of Aijultala—a Legend of the Bella Coola Indians," a fuller and longer version of the myth of Se'lia, in which the number four plays an important rôle. The Kwakiutl element in the proper names of this and other myths points to the source of the borrowing that has taken place.
Uto-Aztecan. Mexican. With a commentary by Dr. E. T. Hamy, there has recently been published the "Codex Borbonicus. Manuscrit mexicain de la Bibliothèque du Palais-Bourbon" (Paris, 1899),—the production of this valuable addition to the working-materials of the Americanist being due to the munificence of the Due de Loubat and the Mexican government. This divinatory and sacerdotal record as now printed can hardly be told from the original. The tonalamatl or horoscopic book of the Codex resembles a good deal the MS. of Boturini.—In the "Verh. d. Berl. Ges. f. Anthr." for 1898 (pp. 164–177), Dr. E. Seler discusses "Das Tonalamatl der alten Mexikaner," and in "Globus" (vol. lxxiv. pp. 297, 3315) the "Codex Borgia."—To the generosity of the Due de Loubat is due also a new edition, with an introduction by Dr. E. T. Hamy, of the "Codex Telleriano-Remensis," imperfect reproductions of which had already appeared in the works of Kingsborough and de ​Rosny. This Codex, resembling (but less perfect than) the "Codex Vaticanus," contains a ritual calendar, a tonalamatl or astrological part, and a historical section treating of the events in the Mexican empire during the period 1197–1561 A.D. The MS. itself seems to be a copy of the native paintings dating (to judge by the paper and other evidences) from about 1562.
CENTRAL AMERICA.
Mayan. In the "Verhandlungen der Berliner Gesellschaft für Anthropologie" (Jahrgang, 1898, pp. 346–383), Dr. E. Seler discusses "Die Venusperiode in den Bildschriften der Codex Borgia-Gruppe."—Part x. ("Archæology," text 31–38 pp., plates 74–93) of the "Biologia Centrali-Americana," by A. P. Maudslay, published in London in the month of January, 1899, is devoted to the consideration of the Temple of the Cross, the Temples of the Sun and the Foliated Cross. Previous numbers dealt with other Palenque remains and with the sculptures at Copan. The plates and drawings are most welcome to the archaeologist and enable comparisons to be made between the two series of hieroglyphic and architectural remains. Satisfactory interpretation of the inscriptions is, however, very far from achievement.—In the "American Anthropologist" (vol. i. N. S. pp. 552–561) for July, 1899, Prof. Cyrus Thomas discusses "Maudslay's Archæological Work in Central America," or rather that portion of it relating to Copan. It is interesting to learn that "at neither Copan nor Palenque are there any indications of war or military achievements," the cities being evidently "sacred centres." It appears, also, that we must "give a still higher estimate of the culture of the Mayas than heretofore."—In the "Zeitschrift für Ethnologie" (vol. xxx. p. 377) Dr. E. Seler has an illustrated article on "Quetzalcoatl-Kukulkan in Yucatan." The author holds, and supports his thesis with great skill, that Kukulkan represents the influence of Mexico in the Maya country, that he is, in fact, neither more nor less than the Mexican Ouetzalcoatl transplanted into Yucatan. Dr. Seler detects much evidence of Mexican influence in the architecture and sculptures of Chichenitza and Mayapan.
SOUTH AMERICA.
Araucanian. As a reprint from the "Añales de la Universidad de Chile," Dr. Rodolfo Lenz publishes "Critica de la Lengua Auca del Señor Raoul de la Grasserie" (Santiago, 1898, pp. 21, 8vo), the same article appearing as "Kritik der Lengua Auca des Herrn Dr. iur. Raoul de la Grasserie," reprinted from the "Verh. des Deutschen wissensch. Vereins in Santiago, Bd. IV." (Valparaiso, 1898, pp. 53, 8vo). These articles are a scathing criticism of the ​Auca linguistic labors of the distinguished French philologist.—To the "Añales," Tomas Guevara is contributing a series of articles on the "Historia de la Civilizacion de Araucanía," which are of considerable value and interest. The articles which have already appeared (from November 1898 to June 1899) occupy vol. ci. (1898) pp. 615–653, 865–908; vol. cii.–ciii. (1899), pp. 279–317, 499–560, 691–698, 753–782, 1025–1040, and treat of geography,—a long list of place-names, with their signification, is given at pp. 875–908, besides many native names of trees (pp. 868–872),—archæology and physical anthropology (pp. 279–317), language and literature (pp. 499–543), ethnology (pp. 544–560), political and social organization (pp. 691–698, 753–782), mythology and religion (pp. 1025–1040). An excellent map of the Araucanian region and many engravings accompany the essay. Besides the list of geographical names, there are given a sketch of Araucanian phonology and morphology, based on missionary data, with some references to Dr. Lenz's studies, from which the author also transcribes (p. 517) a Pehuenche story; several specimens of Araucanian in prose and verse, with translations (pp. 522–536); a list of words of Araucanian origin in mere or less use among the population of Spanish stock (pp. 538–543),—in this respect the Araucanian is in northern Chile a more important element in Castilian speech than the Quechua; a list of relationship-terms, male and female (pp. 771–775), forms of address, etc. The Araucanians, besides erotic poetry, war-songs, satires, funeral songs and verse of the common sort, possess innumerable brief ballads of a historical nature, inspired by the lives of famous caciques, like Lorenzo Colipì, Mariluan, Mañil and Quilipan, Namincura, etc. Following is the translation of one of these ballads telling how a cacique made war on Colipì, boasting that he would marry his favorite wife:—
1. I am going to kill Colipì, you said, to take away from him his property, and his best wife.
2. Why do you sleep all the time? You were going to marry the wife of Colipì.
3. The sun is high. Why do you not wake?
4. Your red hair is scattered on the ground.
5. The couch of the woman is very soft. Why do you not wake?
The irony at the expense of the chief, who fell in battle, is very noticeable here. Among the chief figures in the mythology of the Araucanians, according to the old chroniclers, are Pillan (the god of thunder) and his malign imps the Huccuvus; a maleficent deity called Epunamun, a sort of goblin, apparently; Cherruve, a deity of ​fire, originator of the comets and of meteors; Meulen, a personification of the whirlwind; Anchimallen, wife of the sun, an amiable and protecting deity,—a deification of the moon. The sun himself seems not to be worshipped by these Indians. Anchimallen, it is believed, still appears to travellers in the form of an evasive llama. Besides, there is quite a modern deity, Ngune mapun, "lord of the earth," a sort of Fortunatus for invisibility, and probably a making over of missionary ideas about God. Other creatures of a mythological nature are Huitranalhue, a protective deity of flocks and herds; Perimontum, a sort of surrogate deity, who appears in the villages to announce great events; Alhue, a goblin-phantasm; Am, the ghosts of the dead; Colcolo, a subterranean lizard, whose germ is found in bad or very small hen's eggs, or "cock's eggs" as they are called; Nguruvilu, a cat-like monster of the deep waters; Trelquehuecuve, a cuttlefish, whose arms have claws—the word means "skin of the Huecuvu;" Huaillepeñ, a water-monster with the head of a calf and the body of a sheep; Chonchoñ, a human-head monster, that uses its ears to fly by night. Indeed, these Indians' imagination is very fertile in goblins, sprites, and monsters of all sorts, and their beast-mythology is very extensive. The oldest caste of priests among the Araucanians seem to have been the huecuvuyes, evidently connected with the belief in huecuvu. It was these whose opinion decided war, peace, etc. They seem also to have led a solitary or hermit life.
Brazil. Under the title "Nei dentorni della sorgente dello Schingù: Paesaggi e popoli del Brasile centrale," Dr. Herrmann Meyer publishes in the " Arch, per l' Antrop. e la Etnol." (vol. xxix. pp. 41–53) a brief account of the region about the source of the Xingù in Central Brazil and the people inhabiting it. The author notes the great diversity of peoples and languages in the region in question, and the way in which they have adapted themselves to local environment; also the generally pacific relations which seem to exist between the tribes. It is interesting to learn that with the Indians on the Xingù "hunting is considered neither more nor less than a sport, for, by reason of their very defective weapons, these savages cannot count upon a constant and certain booty, sufficient to keep them in food." Not so, however, with fishing, for they all were supplied with instruments. Nevertheless, the mandioca root forms the staple of their subsistence. In one of the villages of the Kamayura Dr. Meyer met an Akuku-Yamarikuma man, who had travelled five days away from his home after urucu, the well-known body-dye. Noteworthy, also, are the friendly flute-concerts given in honor of strangers and other visitors, and the inter-tribal festivals, songs, dances, etc. The art of these people bears unmistakable evi​dence of local environmental influence,—aquatic animals, not beautiful flowers, or noble trees, are the chief motif.
Catuquinarù. In the "Archivio per l' Antropologia e la Etnologia" (vol. xxviii. pp. 381–386) Dr. Giglioli gives an account (after that of G. E. Church in the London "Geographical Journal," for 1898) of the remarkable primitive telephone discovered by Dr. Bach among the Catuquinarù, a nomadic Indian tribe of the northeast frontier of Bolivia and Peru. These Indians are the Katukina of Ehrenreich and the Catoquina of Brinton. The cambarysù, as this instrument is called, is of a very ingenious construction, the details of which must be read in the two articles referred to. It is said that every house among these Indians possesses one of the instruments, by the beating of which, in various ways, signals are given, and that the sound is transferred subterraneously for more than a mile. This remarkable invention certainly deserves the most thorough investigation. Dr. Giglioli gives a plan of its construction.
Guarano. In the Parisian "Journal d'Hygiène" (vol. xxiii. pp. 505–508), M. H. Chastrey writes of "L'hygiène et la medecine chez les Indiens Guaranos."
Patagonia. Domenico Melanesio's "La Patagonia. Lingua, industria, costumi e religioni del Patagonia" (Buenos Aires, 1898, 8vo) is another evidence of the activity of Italian ethnographers and writers in the meridional countries of South America.
Peru. In the "American Antiquarian" (vol. xxi. pp. 271–277) for Sept.–Oct, 1899, Mr. A. F. Berlin writes briefly of "Terra-cotta Antiquities from the Land of the Incas," describing certain specimens in the collection of the late Dr. T. W. Detwiller, of Bethlehem, Pa. The pottery of Peru representing human and animal forms is of great interest. The author notes the occurrence of the swastika on one of the clay stamps.
GENERAL.
Anthropophagy. In the "Internationales Archiv für Ethnographie" (vol. xii. 1899, pp. 78–110), Theodor Koch publishes a thoroughgoing study on "Die Anthropophagie der Südamerikanischen Indianer." After a general discussion of allied customs and the belief in the transference of the qualities of an animal or a human being to another by the eating of his flesh, or a part of it, the author discusses in detail the past and present cannibalism of the various tribes of South American Indians. The author distinguishes eating one's enemies and eating one's own people. The spirit of revenge, heightened by the shedding of blood and the hand to hand combat, incites to the use of the old-time natural weapons of man, his teeth, and lust and revenge are satiated by cannibalism. ​Later on, however, psychological motives prevail. The savage eats his enemy, or some part of him, to gain his prowess, or to assimilate to himself his soul or souls. The dead are eaten in order that their spirits may not wander about to the disadvantage of the living. The psychological motive also is at the basis of the eating of one's own fellow-tribesman or relative, the drinking of their pulverized bones, and many other like customs, which, as Mr. Koch points out, are often very closely connected with the food-regulations before and after birth. Dr. Koch also emphasizes the ceremonial-element in cannibalism. The article is a most valuable contribution to the limited scientific literature of the subject.
Medicine. In the "Medical Magazine," London (vol. viii. N. S. pp. 79, 346), G. Sharp treats of "The Civilization and Medicine of the less advanced American Indian Races."
Music. A valuable paper on "The Harmonic Structure of Indian Music," prepared by the late Prof. J. C. Fillmore for the Boston meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, appears in the "American Anthropologist " (vol. i. N. S. pp. 297–318) for April, 1899, having been edited by Miss Alice C. Fletcher. The author gives the musical notation of several Navaho, Kwakiutl, Yaqui, Tigna, Omaha, Fiji, Dahomey, and Arab songs. Professor Fillmore's general conclusion is of great interest (p. 318): "In short, there is only one kind of music in the world, but there are vast differences between the stages of development represented by the savage and by the modern musician; and there are also ethnological differences resulting from the physical and mental peculiarities of the races; yet, essentially and fundamentally, music is precisely the same phenomenon for the savage as it is for the most advanced representative of modern culture." The author's extended investigations in primitive music enable him to declare: "I have yet to find a single song of our aboriginal peoples which is not as plainly diatonic and harmonic as our own." Between these aboriginal musical compositions, the children's play-songs ("This is the way we wash our clothes"), and the old hymn-tunes ("When I can read my title clear"), the differences are "merely of an ethnological character, that is, they are differences of style and manner, not differences in essential structure." It is evident, according to Professor Fillmore, that "the forms assumed by primitive songs are determined (unconsciously to those who make them) by a latent sense of harmony," and that the "question of the scale on which any given song is built is a wholly subordinate matter, and really resolves itself into the question of what is the natural harmony implied or embodied in the song."—In "Globus" (Braunschweig), vol. lxxv. (1899), pp. 14–16, Dr. Richard Andree writes of "Alte Trommeln indianischer Medizinmänner."
​Religion. In the "Monist" for April, 1899 (vol. ix. pp. 381–415), Dr. Paul Cams has an illustrated article on "Yahveh and Manitou," in which are discussed the resemblances between the Jahveh of the ancient Israelites and the "Great Spirit" of the Indians. Mr. Mooney's account of the "Ghost Dance Religion," in the Report of the Bureau of Ethnology for 1892–93, is drawn upon for many interesting details.
Technology. Under the title "Amerindian Arrow Feathering," Prof. O. T. Mason writes in the "American Anthropologist " (vol. i. N. S. pp. 583–585) for July, of the various methods of arrow-feathering in use among the aborigines of America.
Tobacco. To the "Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus." for 1897 (Washington, 1899), Mr. Joseph D. McGuire contributes (pp. 351–645) an extended and profusely illustrated account of the "Pipes and Smoking Customs of the American Aborigines, based on Material in the U. S. National Museum." This essay is of value to the student of folk-lore, on account of the numerous items of folk-lore and folk-custom which it contains passim. According to Mr. McGuire, in Europe, Asia, and America, "up to a period probably as recent as the first half of the seventeenth century, the employment of smoke appears to have been chiefly, if not entirely, due to its supposed medicinal properties, added to which the Indians used it in their functions of every kind, attaching at times mysterious properties to the plants from which the smoke was produced" (p. 623). Its supposed power to allay hunger or fatigue added to these alleged medicinal properties led the Spanish, French, and English in turn to acquire the habit of drinking or smoking tobacco. Smoking "as a pastime," Mr. McGuire thinks, is a creation of the white race, the successor of the panacea-idea. Smoking tobacco in pre-Columbian times in America seems to have been less widespread than commonly supposed, for the leaves of many other plants were employed, then as now, for the same purpose. It is only through commerce and trade with the Russians, French, and English that the use of tobacco has come to prevail among certain North American Indian tribes at all.
A. F. C. and I. C. C.