Martinsburg herald. [volume] (Martinsburg, W. Va.) 1881-1920, 1900-10-13

TYPES OF INDIAN woMEN's HEADS.
couver island. Among these the fancy
for head deformity is strongly marked.
Three distinct types of deformity ex-
list and are distinguished by the name
of the tribe which makes use of each.
There Is the Chinook head, which is
excessively fattened, the forehead be-
ing depressed, so that the head grows
laterally. The Chinook type in Puget
sound is regarded as the mold of fash
ion in the region of the Columbia riv-
er. The second type is that adopted
by the women of the Cowitchin, whose
heads are modified In shape by a strong
pressure on the lower part of the head.
The forehead, owing to the altered con-
ditions, fattens in growth. The third
fashion prevails among the KoskimO
tribe and is the result of combinations
of occipital and lateral pressure. Sci
entists, of course, have technical names
for the varieties of deformity. They
seek as eagerly for treasure troye In
the way of abnormally deformed skulls
as does the china hunter for bit of
rare Sevres or Wedgwood
DIR. Franz Boas the eminent ethnolo-
gist, who Is regarded as the authority
on the British Columbian Indian tribes.
says that the change in the shape of
the head so far as he has observed has
had no disastrous effects on the intelli.
gence of the Indians.
The Kwatiul tribe, which is more
intelligent and better known than the
other tribes. and which was the object
of recent study. marks its good taste by
impartially adopting all the varieties
OF head deformity, so that the style of
q Kwatiul Indian lady's head depends
altogether on the taste of her parents.
The heads have been subjected to a
severe treatment in infancy to acquire
the lines of beauty popular in these
tribes. Young infants are strapped into
fat cradles of bulrushes and birch
bark, the head being firmly held In
place by a fat obliquely placed series
OF stout bulrushes held In place and
frightened by thongs of deerskin. Be
meath the headboard are placed cush-
ions of birch fiber and pieces of wood,
Strips of birch fiber are tied about the
head and in this way the growth
Is directed while the bones of the
head are still soft aud pliable. The
system is a very painful one hut the
Indian girl whose parents had not thus
7 looked after her beauty would likely
later he regarded with bitterness by
the daughter. The woman whose head
presents the most fantastic appear
ance is the belle of the tribe.
The belle Of the tribe of course is
the young woman who has the most
numerous and desirable sultors and who
is chosen above all the other women
TO take a prominent part in the vart
Gus ceremonial dances with which the
northern Indians enlivcn the long
evenings. The belle, too, is welcomed
as a member in the secret societies o.
the tribes, such as the order Of the
Bear or the Wolf or the Salmon, which
are the Indian substitutes for Holland
Danes, Daughters of the Revolution
and Colonial Danes Every really
swagger Indian woman belongs 10 AT
least one order and Is entitled to wear
its insignia around her neck or q the
doors of her dwelling as "A coac If
arms. The secret orders are supposed
TO be especially under the care OF tho
spirit of the animal they worship and
claim kinship with the type they seek
10 appease. Thus an Indian man or
woman of the Wolf society says
1.-The wolf is my brother" and be
lieyes that no wolf will harm him or
her.
The idea for the deforming Of tho
head is by some thought to have its
remote origin in this native worship,
an effort TO look like the patron saint
1. e., animal Of the family. At the dances
and ceremonials masks and skins are
worn TO heighten the resemblance.
A very fine thing about many OF
these northern Indians is the higf
place they give to women. The In
dian mans wife is the oracle OF the
<amily. Her voice is respected IL
council and ii is from her that chill
dren inherit their name and they en-
ter her secret societies. Women
are eligible 10 chieftainships, and they
are w every way looked upon as wor
thy OF consideration and respect.
CAROLINE WRTHERELL-