The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1888-06-15

they Once Were badges az siav~ry--Ussd
by Ali Peoples.

The advantages which the neck, both
from its position and shape, possesses a.
| q point for adornment were early seen by
the human race, and the necklace is ono
Of the oldest Of human ornaments From
the very first broad distinction was
drawn between the necklace which could
be removed and the collar which could
not; the first being the sign of the free,
the second of the slave. Collars of metal
were twisted or riyeted upon the necks
| OF captives or house born slaves, and
| upon them the name of the owner or
| conqueror was rudely cut. This usage
survives today in the dog collars which
are placed upon household pets.
| The necklace, however, could for many
years only be worn by the freeman. In
primitive states of society it was the
badge of the warrior and was often made
of some distinctive spoil Of the chase or
of war. To this day one of the most
valuable and coveted possessions of the
western Indian is the necklace of grizzly
bears claws, a proof that he has met and
conquered the gray terror of the noun
tains. Among the Tartars of the time of
| the Genghis Khan the necklace was often
| made of human teeth, strung upon wire.
| This particular form of ornament is
| found i'm South America in the graves of
| the Indians.
The earliest known form of necklace
outside of such primitive types as shells
| and bits of colored stone comes from
Egypt. They were of two kinds-orna-
mental and what may be called, for the
lack of a better word, superstitious. The
nr IF Lotto Of
which blue was apparently the favorite
color, set in 'silver or gold and joined to-
| gether in a chain. The latter, the anu
lets, were made of figures of gods, from
three to seven inches long. Three or
four of these were hung in a chain of
| beads.
The sacred images were believed to
ward off danger of infection, misfortune
or bad luck. Sometimes these amulets
had no gods on them, but were composed
Of cowries or bits of stone arranged in
the forms of locked horns, fish or cres-
cents, emblematic of their supposed
powers. This superstitious power of the
necklace is widely spread today among
people who are not very high in civiliza-
ton. In South America there are found
necklaces of a peculiarly marked seed
which belongs to plant growing only on
the mountains along the snow line.
These seeds when first gathered are blue
in color, and are strung on strings. They
are highly valued, not only for their
beauty but because of the great difficulty
in obtaining them. In the old graves.
which are found now and then, strings
of these seeds are often discovered, and
fhny 60 ,-.,,
possible luck, especially to children.
But one does not have to 90 among the
poems of South America or the negroes
Of Africa with their gee gee necklaces to
find evidence Of superstition. Thousands
of people place necklaces Of coral beads
around the necks of babies with the be.
lief that they will assist the children in
teething, and there are many persons
who wear necklaces all the time, think
ing that they bring luck. The southern
negroes constantly wear their bead neck
laces, looking upon them as genuine
charms, and they are very particular
about keeping them intact, holding that
the charm is broken if even the relative
positions of the beads should be altered
when wear makes a new string neces-
sary.
Among men who have worn the neck
lace must be ranked the warriors of an
cient times. The gold torques of the
Celts, the massive gold necklaces of the
Modes, Etruscans and Egyptians, which
formed the most valued insignia of the
warrior class, have come down to US
through the pictures in the tombs and
the actual specimens in the tombs them
colx Of lxy
costly. They were bestowed as rewards
of valor and rs marks of civic distinc-
ton. The latter survive today in the
gold chains of Office worn by the mayors
of cities in the old world.
All orders of knighthood had the neck
lace or collar as principal insignium,
and this custom of decoration with the
necklace dates back at least as far as the
time of Joseph, for as mark Of his au-
thority in Egypt, Pharaoh put a gold
chain about his neck" The women Of
antiquity rarely wore them except as
brides, when to mark the respect in
which they were held necklaces were
placed upon them. The necklace, how
ever, was prominent adornment of the
statues of the gods.
The ornament of tho necklace was so
valued that when the Saxon dynasty was
overthrown by the Normans all persons
below q certain rank were forbidden to
wear them under heavy penalties. In
the reign of Henry VIII, that king cele-
brated both for his wives and his revolt
against Rome, any one who had not e200
per year income could not wear neck
lace.
In England amber has always been
one of tine favorite materials for the
necklace. Even in the barrows of the
early Britains amber beads are found,
and the specimens of necklaces from the
reign Of Charles have amber set in gold
The Puritans abolished them as they
abolished everything they laid their hands
on which savored of ornament, but the
necklace was revived again under the
merry monarch more extravagently then
before.-New York Press.
|
superstitions OF the Negro.
Never dig grave until the day of the