Evening star., 1902-02-19
PRIMARY IDEA IN SAVAGERY Is
FAMILY RELATIONSHIP.
Maternal Consanguinity Basis Of Law
Women and Girls Advertise
Their Social Status.


Prof. McGee said today. The original
form of expressing an idea was by means
OF designs placed upon the face. So far
as Known. the primary idea Is family re-
iationshfp. In saragery the basis Of law
Is consanguinity, and that consanguinity ia
maternal alone. To be more specific. ma
tcrnat relation is recognized. while paternai
is not
Accordingly. the younger women and
girls are desirous of advertising their sta
tion. making known tn the world what
their relationship is. They represent th..
motherhood of the family or clan and the.
tribe, and are proud of the fact. as all per-
sons are of their blood and lineage. For that
reason they paint their faces with the de-
sign OF the family or clan totem. the totem
defined as the animal tutelary deity of
cOnsanguineal group.
Designation of Group.
Frequently members OF the group desig-
nate themselves collectively by the name OF
this tutelary. Thus the so called Fox tribe
of Indians call themselves Muskwakf mean
ing red earth fox people, their tutelary
being the fox. This tribe again comprises
a number of clans. one bearing the same
design as that of the tribe. the others NAM
ed after other animal tutelaries or totems
including wolf beaver etc
The various tribal laws including and
pertaining to marriage are based on this
totemic organization. Accordingly. In some
tribes the Beavers are prohibited to inter
marry with the Wolves. but not with the
Foxes or the Crows. Throughout that stage
or society called Savagery. In any part of
the world. children are named after the
clan tutelary of the mother and belong to
her clan. In the same stage the father
commonly has no authority In the house
hold OF his spouse where he remains az
a sort Of perpetual guest, and may even be
recalled by his own clan or tribe to engage
In warfare against his wife's relations or
his own children
Superiority Of Clan.
Frequently the authority in the family.
which is reckoned In terms OF relative age,
is such that children may exact obedience
OF the father. for when the mothers clan
or tutelary Is the elder in their belief all
it's members including its children. may
have authority over members of any other
man of the Beaver clan marries a woman
of the Red Fox clan the children of the
union may exact obedience of their father
by reason of the superior rank of their to-
tenn.
These instances serve to show the ex-
treme compiexity of the savage law and
the Importance of mnemonic devices-that
is. Of devices expressing the consanguineal
system of keeping it in mind. Among some
tribes this aim is effected 10y face paint
ing, the matrons smearing their faces with
conventional representations of their to-
TENS. That illustrates the primary funda
mental face painting. so far as known
I'm the lowest stages of society men
don't count for much in their own philos
Ophy. while women count for very much
more. Women are the blood carriers. rep
resenting a long line of successive genera
tions The way it is carried out by some
tribes Is interesting. In this stage men do
not deem it worth while to paint at all.
The Male Line.
"In the somewhat higher stage known as
harbar.sm where the law is based on con-
sanguinity traced In the male line. the men
paint their faces largely to represent their
totems or tuteIaries, especially when go
ing on the warpath. The Indian VIXEN h.
goes on the warpath strives to attain the
strength cunning and ferocity OF his tutc
larry. So. II he belongs to the Bear clan
or tribe he paints devices his face in
tended to represent a bear. These designs
arc invocations to his bear god He seeks
to invoke and obtain the attributes of his
deity In this way. He tries to make him
self bear, wolf, beaver or whatever clan
he belongs to.
$50 much for the painting in general.
Among the American Indians tattooing Is
not particularly common. at least among
men. In many of the tribes the women are
tattooed for reasons analogous to those that
lead to face painting. The most prevalent
devices. although not primary are used
for indicating conjugal conditions. A wo-
man, on her marriage has tattooed two or
more lines extending down from her mouth
IL her chin. Sometimes these devices are
supplemented by others indicating her clan
and that of her spouse.
1.-THE tattoo devices among men or war
ricrs are designed for various purposes.
In some tribes a shield is tattooed on the
b3ck to protect the warrior from enemies
in the rear, the shield usually containing
a symbol or emblem repre- senting his to-
temic deity.
Result Of Careful Study.
''The explanations thus given are ra-
tional explana tions, those that white men
have formed. and are based upon a care
full study Of Indian customs and beliefs
The Indians themselves have an elaborate
Hydrologic system to which they appeal I'm
explanation of their customs. Thus most
OF the clans and tribes consider themselves
liEeal descendants of their animal tute-
laries, and old men likely recite traditions
or legends recounttng their descent with
attendant circumstances of the creation of
the world. the origin of the sun. moon and
stars. and the differentiation of the
animals
A legend as to why Indians paint their
faces was told recently by a former Indian
agent Prof. McGee said that it was
typical Of the race.
Red Mans Legend.
] The story runs:
Long ago. when men were weak and
animals were big and strong. a ciief Of
tho red men who lived in these mountains
went out to get deer. for his people were
hungry. After walking all day he saw a
deer. and shot at it; but the arrow was
turned aside. and wounded a mountain
Hon. which was also after the deer. When
the lion felt the sting of the arrow he
jumped up and bounded after the man.
who ran for his life.
He was almost exhausted, and when
he fat h , strength giving way, he fell to
the grcuni. calling on the big bear-who.
you know. Is the grandfather of men-to
save him. The big bear heard the call,
and saw that to save the man he had to
act quickly: SO he scratched his foot and
sprInkled his blood over the man.
New you must know that no animal
will eat Of the bear or taste Of his blood
So when the Hon reached the man he smell
ed the blood and turned away: but as ns
did SO his foot scraped the face OF the msn.
leaving the marks of his claws on the
blcod-smeared face.
] "When the man found that he was un-
injured. he was so thankful that he left the
blood to dry on his face. and never washed
Sif at all, but left 1t until II peeledFon
Where the claws Of the lion scraped
iit on, there were marks that turned brown
in the sum- and where the blood stayed on
ii was lighter. Now all men paint their