UNIVERSITY OF ^/pNN SYLVAN! A ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS OF
THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM VOL. I NO. 1
ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS
BHiiB
FRANK G, SPECK
Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the University »1 Pen for the degree of Our.tor of Philosophy
PHILADELPHIA
PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM 1909
UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUBLICATIONS OF
THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM VOL. I. NO. 1.
ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS
BY
FRANK G. SPECK
GEORGE LEIB HARRISON FELLOW IN ANTHROPOLOGY
PHILADELPHIA PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY MUSEUM
1909
CONTENTS.
PAGE
INTRODUCTION 5
THE YUCHI INDIANS 6
HISTORICAL SKETCH 7
POPULATION 9
ENVIRONMENT 11
NEIGHBORS 11
NATURAL ENVIRONMENT 13
LANGUAGE 15
MATERIAL CULTURE 18
AGRICULTURE 18
HUNTING 19
FISHING 23
POTTERY AND WORK IN CLAY 25
BASKET MAKING 31
OTHER OCCUPATIONS 34
HOUSES 37
DOMESTIC UTENSILS 41
FOOD AND ITS PREPARATION 42
DRESS AND ORNAMENT 46
DECORATIVE ART AND SYMBOLISM 54
MUSIC 61
DIVISION OF TIME 67
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION 68
KINSHIP 68
THE CLANS 70
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS 73
THE SOCIETIES 74
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4 CONTENTS.
PAGE
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION .—Continued.
THE TOWN AND TOWN SQUARE 78
TOWN OFFICIALS AND COUNCIL 81
WARFARE 84
GAMES 86
CUSTOMS 91
BIRTH 91
NAMING 93
MARRIAGE 95
INITIATION 96
MENSTRUATION 96
BURIAL 97
MISCELLANEOUS 99
RELIGION 102
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS AND FOLKLORE 102
SYMBOLISM OF THE TOWN SQUARE Ill
CEREMONIES 112
THE ANNUAL TOWN CEREMONIES 116
NEW' FIRE RITE 120
SCARIFICATION RITE 121
THE RITE OF THE EMETIC 122
DANCING 124
TREATMENT OF DISEASE 132
SHAMANISM 132
CEREMONIES 135
AMULETS 137
MYTHOLOGY 138
SUPPLEMENTARY MYTHS.. . 143
ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS.
INTRODUCTION.
In the summers of 1904 and 1905 I spent a total of about four months among the Yuchi Indians of the Creek nation in Oklahoma collecting material for the Bureau of American Ethnology. The investigation was undertaken at the recommendation of Dr. Franz Boas of Columbia University. Funds to cover transportation and the collection of ethnological specimens were furnished by the American Museum of Natural History upon both occasions under Dr. Boas's recommendation. The greater part of the ethnological material offered in this paper was obtained at the same time, and is published with the permission of both the scientific institutions concerned.
Again during the winter of 1908 while holding a Harrison fellowship at the University of Pennsylvania, I was able under special provision of the Provost to make a third visit to the Yuchi for the purpose of completing my observa- tions, and the studies which are embodied in the present work took their final form during this period.
It has been my object simply to give an account of the Yuchi Indians as they exist at the present day and as they presented themselves to me during my several periods of residence among them, purposely avoiding any lengthy discussion of the conditions which I encountered. Much of the description is based directly upon observation; the rest of the matter was obtained from informants who are responsible for its accuracy
Among the latter were G \mbesl' ne (Jim Brown), Ekllane (Louis Long), Ka'Kd (John Wolf), George Clinton, John Big Pond, Gonlantcme (Jim Tiger), Henry Long, and Fagosonwl', all of whom held civil or religious offices in the tribe, and others who from time to time appeared to be well informed upon special topics.
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ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
THE YUCHI INDIANS.
Among the indigenous tribes of the southeastern United States, living within a territory roughly denned by the borders of Georgia and South Carolina, was one, exhibiting a type of culture common to the inhabitants of the country bordering on the Gulf of Mexico east of the Mississippi river, whose members called themselves Tsoyahd, "Offspring of the Sun," otherwise known as the Yuchi. Constituting an independent linguistic stock (called Uchean in Powell's classification), their earliest associations, in so far as these are revealed by history and tradition, were identified with the banks of the Savannah river where they lived at a very early time in contact with a southern band of Shawnee, and near the seats of the Cherokee, the Catawba, the Santee, and the Yamasi. These tribes, together with the Yuchi, represent five distinct linguistic stocks; a greater diversity of language than is usually found in so restricted an area east of the Mississippi. The Yuchi maintain that they were originally one of the large tribes of the Southeast which, suffering oppression at the hands of encroaching tribes of the Muskogian stock, became much reduced and was finally incorporated, together with the Shawnee, into the loose coalition of southeastern tribes known in colonial history as the Creek confederacy or the Creek Nation. Indeed it is supposed, and is moreover highly probable, that in the course of extended migrations the Creeks pressed for a considerable length of time upon the Yuchi, who, in a fruitless effort to check the advance of the Muskogi confederacy, resisted the pressure as long as they were able, eventually made peace and themselves joined the league.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YDCHI INDIANS.
HISTORICAL SKETCH
The early historical and literary sources of information about the Yuchi are very meagre indeed. De Soto in his invasion of the Florida wilderness (1540) is believed to have entered Yuchi territory, and it may be granted that an examination of some names mentioned by his chroniclers would appear to give some color to this belief.1 Among other examples of the kind a town named Cofitachiqui, variously spelled, where De Soto was hospitably received by the "Queen," is believed without much hesitation by some writers to have been a Yuchi town. The Yuchi, however, do not recognize the terms Cofi- tachiqui, Cutifachiqui, or any similar forms of the name given by Biedma, Ranjel, or the Gentleman of Elvas. On the other hand, evidence of De Soto's contact with the Yuchi is not entirely wanting in these narratives, for we are told of a captive who claimed to belong to a people eastward in a land called "Yupaha," which in Yuchi means 'in the distant heights,' (yuba, 'far high,' he 'in,') or 'the high people' (yuba, ha collective particle, 'people'). This piece of evidence stands quite by itself, for it is rather hazardous to attempt to identify with the Yuchi any of the other tribal names given by the Spanish explorers. There is a possibility that the French under Ribault and Laudonniere came in contact with the Yuchi, or at least with tribes of similar culture, at the mouth of the St. John's river at Fort Caroline in 1564, but the evidence furnished by a study of names is not any more satisfactory in this case. The customs of the natives encountered, however, agree with those of the Yuchi, judging from the pictures made by Le Moyne,2 the artist of the expedition.
About the year 1729 the Yuchi are supposed to have been gathered on the Chattahoochee river under the protection of the Creek confederacy. Hardly anything more is heard of the tribe until shortly before 1791, when it was visited by William Bartram of Philadelphia, who recorded a few facts about Yuchi town and its houses.3 He thought the Indians numbered 1000 or 1500, as they were said to muster 500 gun men. Later, in 1798-99, we find the Yuchi described by Benj. Hawkins,4 as constituting one of the chief towns of the Lower Creeks, located on the right bank of the Chattahoochee river, having three villages and 250 gun men. His other remarks are not of
1 Narratives of De Soto (in Trailmakers' Series), Vols. I and II. 1 De Dry, Larger Voyage, Part II, Florida (English).
3 Travels through North and South Carolina and Georgia, etc., Phila., 1791, p. 388.
4 Sketch of Creek Country, published in Collection, Georgia Historical Society (1848), p. 62.
8 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
much ethnological value. During the Creek War (1813-1814), the Yuchi took a prominent part in affairs, and later removed (1836) with the so-called Creek Nation to the lands beyond the Mississippi river where they are now located. They still maintain to a certain degree their cultural unity in spite of contact with aliens for so long a period. In 1900-1901 some of them joined the Crazy Snake band of Creeks who threatened trouble for the Dawes Commission over the allotment of lands in the Creek Nation.
The main published sources of information on the Yuchi are the following : Albert Gallatin collected and published a vocabulary almost useless on account of inadequate orthography.1 Gatschet gives some ethnologic notes,2 a brief summary of the language,3 three Yuchi myths,4 and also a very general description of the tribe.5
Other references to the Yuchi in literature are mostly quotations from the sources mentioned. A short review of the chief characteristics of Yuchi ethnology is to be found in the Handbook of the American Indians.6 In a general article on southeastern culture,7 Yuchi material was also used by the writer for comparative purposes.
The Yuchi, in accordance with their belief that they were the original occu- pants of eastern Georgia and South Carolina, have no migration legend. Their only myth of this class tells how a part of the tribe broke away from the main stock as the result of a dispute at a dance and departed westward, never to be heard of again. This tradition, like many others, is found widely distributed over America in various guises and evidently reflects certain elements common to Indian mythology rather than an actual experience of the tribe relating it. At the same time the Indians have a very firm belief that another band of Yuchi is somewhere in existence, a belief which, while it has nothing to support it except the stories that they tell, should not, perhaps, be altogether ignored.8
1 American Antiquarian, Vol. II (1836), pp. 306 et seq.
2 Ibid. (1879), p. 77.
3 Science, Apr., 1887, p. 413.
4 American Anthropologist, Vol. VI (1893), p. 280.
s Migration Legend of the Creek Indians (1884), Vol. I, pp. 17-24, Vol. II, passim. 8 Bulletin 30, Bureau American Ethnology (1907), part 2.
7 American Anthropologist, N. S., Vol. 9, No. 2 (1907), pp. 287-295.
8 A chief related the following incident in mentioning this tradition. "I was in Mus- kogee (Oklahoma). I passed an Indian on the street. We spoke together. He said he was a Yuchi from near the mountains. We could understand each other, but he was not a Yuchi of our country. I don't know where he belonged or where he went. He may have been one of the other band." On another occasion some Yuchi who were attending an Indian show were addressed by a strange Indian in the following words: " Wigya' n6nAn," ' What are you?' They observed, they say, a slight difference between his speech and theirs, but before they could find out from him where he came from he was called away by someone and they could not find him again. The Yuchi talk a great deal about those occasions, and seem to have hopes of finding the lost people some day.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YCC1II INDIANS.
POPULATION.
At the present day the Yuchi are located in the northwestern part of the Creek nation, where they have been since the removal in 1836. They inhabit the well-watered hills in the section known locally as the Cross Timber, a thinly wooded tract running in a general northerly and southerly direction through central Oklahoma, the last extensive frontier of timber on the south- western prairies marking the old boundaries of Oklahoma and Indian Terri- tory. There are in this region three so-called settlements of Yuchi, called respectively Polecat, Sand Creek and Big Pond by the whites. All of these settlements are distributed in a region extending from Polecat Creek to the Deep Fork of the Canadian river. When, however, the term settlement is used for such inhabited districts it is a little misleading because, although the Indians are a little more closely grouped in the three neighborhoods men- tioned, they are really scattered over the whole of the Cross Timber country, none of which is thickly settled by them. Their plantations, where they engage in agriculture or in cattle raising, are not in close proximity to each other, except where some passable road and the nearness to good water and arable soil combine to attract them. In such cases there may be a dozen families found within the radius of a mile or so. In some parts of their habitat, however, ten or twelve miles of forest and prairie affording good cover for game may be traversed without passing a plantation. Thus, according to their own accounts as well as those of their neighbors the Creeks, the Yuchi were accustomed to live in their old homes in Georgia and Alabama.
It is a very difficult matter at present to estimate the number of the Yuchi on account of their scattered condition. As no separate classification is made for them in the government census they are counted as Creeks. Their numbers, however, can hardly exceed five hundred. They are apparently most numerous in the vicinity of Polecat Creek. The other neighborhoods are somewhat less populous but are regarded as being a little more conservative.
Despite the fact that three settlements are recognized by themselves and their neighbors, the Yuchi constitute only a single town in the eyes of the Creeks. The latter, as is well known, had a national convention in which delegates were received from all the towns and tribes of the confederacy. Accordingly the Yuchi, as one of the confederated town-tribes, had the privi- lege of sending one representative to the House of Kings and four to the House of Warriors, as they called the two political assemblies of the Creek Nation at Muscogee. This convention met once a year until 1906 and was a modified
10 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
and modernized survival of the form of assembly held in the old days by the tribes constituting the Muskogian alliance. These bodies met irregularly to consider questions which arose between them, as a loosely united league, and the United States Government or other tribes. If the numerical strength of the tribe recorded by Bartram in 1791 and Hawkins in 1798-99 can be regarded as approximately correct the Yuchi must now be on the decrease. Bartram thought there were 500 gun men, and Hawkins stated, only a few years later, that there were 250 gun men. In any case, granting the existence of inaccu- racies in both estimates, it is safe to conclude that the numbers of the Yuchi, like the other surviving tribes of the Southeast, have dwindled slightly in the last hundred years. Numerical comparisons of this sort between past and present are, however, of very little value, as can be seen from the wide discrep- ancies in the early estimates.
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 11
ENVIRONMENT.
NEIGHBORS.
The Yuchi of the present time have nearly forgotten their old associations east of the Mississippi. Their geographical knowledge is practically limited to their immediate surroundings. They are known to the Creeks as Yu'tci, plural YutcA.'lgi, to the Cherokee as Yu'tsi, and to the Chickasaw as Yu'tci. An informant stated that they were known to the Comanche as SakydwA*.
To the Yuchi their near neighbors the Creeks are known as Ku'ba, ' looking this way' (?), plural Ku'baha. The Shawnee they call Yon'cta, the Cherokee Tsala"ki, and the Choctaw TccP'ta. Their name for whites in general is Ka"ka (Goydka) 'man white,' for negroes Go'cpi, 'man black.'
In their bearing towards other tribes it is noticeable that the Yuchi hold them in some contempt. They seldom mix socially with the Creeks, presum- ably because of their former enmity. A strong feeling of friendship is, how- ever, manifested toward the Shawnee, which is probably a sentiment surviving from early affiliation with the southern branch of this people on the Savannah river.1 It should be added, however, that the Shawnee who associate with the Yuchi are not part of the large band known as the Absentee Shawnee of Oklahoma. The former are not at all numerous, but live scattered among the Yuchi villages.
With their neighbors on the west, the Sauk and Fox, the Yuchi have devel- oped, since the removal, considerable intimacy. Their contact can be traced in trade, in attendance upon each other's ceremonies, and especially in the Plains practice of "sweating" horses, which will be described later. It is not impossible that some of the items of Yuchi culture, particularly in decora- tive art, may be found to have been derived from the Sank and Fox when more is known on both sides.
The following translation from the beginning of a myth, describing the way in which the tribes were distributed over the earth, shows the Yuchi concept regarding the origin of their neighbors : " Now the people had come upon the earth. The Shawnee came from above. The Creeks came from the ground. The Choctaw came from the water. The Yuchi came from the sun."
'Cf. Linguistic map of North American Indians, Algonkian area near Uchean (Yuchi); Mooney, Myths of the Cherokee, 19th Report, Bureau American Ethnology, p. 494; Siouan Tribes of the East, p. 83; Schoolcraft, North American Indians, Vol. V, p. 262 et seq. (1791); Benj. Hawkins, sketch of Creek Country (1798-99), pp. 34, 63.
12 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, \OL. I.
Like many Indians the Yuchi show in their manner and speech not a little suspicion and some contempt for the whites, whom they believe to be fickle and weak. These qualities are ascribed by the Yuchi to the manner of their origin, for it is explained in a myth that the white men originated from the unstable foam of the sea which is ever blown hither and thither by the chang- ing winds. When first seen they were thought to be sea gulls, but they appeared to the Yuchi again and tried to converse with them. Once more, when a year had passed they appeared again in numerous ships and this time they landed, but left before long. Another time they appeared, bringing boxes which they filled with earth in which they planted some seeds. They told the Indians that their land was fat, i. e. fertile, and asked for a portion of it to live upon. With this request the Indians complied, and the white people made a settlement and stayed. One cannot fail to suspect that this bare tradition contains a memory of Ribault's expedition to Carolina and his settle- ment at the mouth of the St. John's river.
The negroes on their part do not challenge much attention from the Yuchi. The Indians are perhaps more tolerant of what they regard as foolish behavior and frivolity on the part of the black man than on the part of the white man. At one time the Yuchi, like the other tribes of the Southeast, held slaves, but it is said of them that they were easy masters, and when the time came to do so, gave the negroes their freedom with little reluctance. It is true today that many negroes, and some poor whites as well, are eager enough to work for the Indians on their plantations.
It may be said in general that the Yuchi are regarded by their neighbors and compatriots the Creeks with some dislike, tinged, however, with jealousy and a little personal fear. The Creeks are fond of ridiculing the conservatism and peculiarities of the Yuchi, but they take care not to do so openly or to provoke personal disputes with them.1 It is noticeable that there exists a slight difference in physical appearance between the two peoples. The Yuchi are a little more inclined to be tall and slender than the Creeks and their skin is a trifle lighter in tone. These differences may be due to a mixture of negro blood, for the percentage of persons of mixed blood among the Yuchi, who, however, have received some admixture from both white and black, is smaller apparently than that observed among the Creek, Seminole and Cherokee. So far as the Yuchi are concerned the process of cross-breeding must have begun at an early date because many of those who show intermixture have no direct
1 A Creek Indian of Kawita town, for instance, gave the following belief in regard to the Yuchi and their language: "When the Creator made the ancestors of the Indians he gave them different languages until he had none left. He found that there were still some Indians whom he had not provided for. These were the Yuchi. Having no language for them, he kicked them in the buttocks saying 'B.\!' which explains why the Yuchi have such an unintelligible speech."
V. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 13
knowledge of any other than Indian ancestry. Their conservatism in this respect is shown by the fact that notwithstanding the long period of time during which the Yuchi have been in contact with other tribes and races there are very many pure bloods among them at the present day.
Calling themselves "Sun Offspring," the Yuchi believe in reality that they derive their origin from the Sun, who figures in their mythology as an import- ant being of the supernatural world. He appears as their culture hero after the creation of the tribal ancestor from a drop of menstrual blood. The name Yuchi (Yu'tcT), however, is commonly known and used by themselves and the whites and has spread among neighboring Indians as the designation of the tribe. It is presumably a demonstrative signifying 'being far away' or 'at a distance' in reference to human beings in a state of settlement, (yu, 'at a dis- tance,' tci, 'sitting down').
It is possible, in attempting an explanation of the origin of the name, that the reply " Yu'tcl" was given by some Indian of the tribe in answer to a stranger's inquiry, "Where do you come from?" which is a common mode of salutation in the Southeast. The reply may then have been mistaken for a tribal name and retained as such. Similar instances of mistaken analogy have occurred at various times in connection with the Indians of this continent, and as the Yuchi interpreters themselves favor this explanation it has seemed advisable at least to make note of it.
In the almost universal sign language of the Plains the sign for the Yuchi is the right hand raised level with the head with the index finger pointing upward ; a demonstration indicating affiliation with the sun.
NATUPAL ENVIRONMENT.
The natural surroundings of the Yuchi have not been very different in the various locations which they have occupied east of the Mississippi. Even after the removal of these Indians to their present habitat west of that river, the nature of their environment was not found to be so different as to force them to make much change in their manner of life. That is to say, the keynote of their activity was and still is agriculture supplemented by hunting and fishing. The motives for the accompanying arts of basket making and pottery, together with methods of warfare, hunting, fishing and religious observances, have all likewise remained about the same since the removal. Unlike the Siouan peoples who, when they migrated from the Mississippi basin to the Plains, gave up their agricultural life entirely and became hunting nomads, the Yuchi retained their early mode of life amid their new surround- ings and transported, with little change, their old activities. In their new home in Oklahoma they found arable soil, plenty of rivers containing edible fish, and extensive forests and savannahs inhabited by birds and mammals like
14 ANTHKOPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
those of Georgia and Alabama. Both regions are rather low and well watered and are characterized by extensive grassy uplands and patches of forest, differing to some extent in regard to flora but containing many species in common. Chief among these are the pines, the oaks, the hickory, and the bois d'arc, as well as many wild plants and vegetables made use of for food or medicines. The chief plants used in their religious rituals, Red root (Salix tristis (?) and Button Snake root (Eryngium yuccaefolium), are distributed over both areas; consequently the Yuchi were not forced to substitute, in the performance of religious ceremonies, other plants for those prescribed by tradition. One vegetable product, however, the cane, is not as abundant in Oklahoma as it is in the Southeast, and the lack of this plant has occasioned the deterioration in the art of basket making and has even threatened it with total extinction. Canes for basketry can be secured nowadays only by mak- ing long journeys to distant swampy sections and consequently remarkably few cane baskets are seen.
The fauna of the two regions is for the most part alike. The Indians knew and utilized in both regions the bison, elk, Virginia deer, black bear, wolf, fox, panther, wildcat, beaver, rabbit, squirrel, raccoon, possum, skunk, weasel, and otter. Common to both regions too are the wild turkey, part- ridge, quail, wild pigeon, mallard duck, teal and wild goose. Eagles and herons furnished the feathers appropriate for ceremonial uses in the new home as in the old. But in leaving the Southeast they left behind the alligator, and encountered the prong-horned antelope and coyote, and they noticed changes in the number and distribution of their former animal acquaintances. Lastly the streams and rivers of Oklahoma were found to contain the fish which had been familiar and useful in the Southeast, namely catfish, dogfish, suckers, garfish, pickerel, mullets, and several kinds of bass.
The summers of Oklahoma, like those of Georgia and Alabama, are long and hot, but the winters west of the Mississippi are somewhat colder and more severe than in the Southeast. This change of climate has had its detrimental effect upon the Yuchi, for it seems that their habits of life are not so well adapted to the severer western winters, and most of their present sufferings are due to exposure at this time of the year. On the whole, however, the Yuchi, men, women and children, are a remarkably strong and healthy set of people.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 15
LANGUAGE.
My original purpose in visiting the Yuchi was to collect linguistic matter, which is now being worked up for special purposes in the interest of the Bureau of Ethnology. Although the detailed results of my linguistic studies are not available for the present paper it will be of advantage to introduce here a general statement regarding some characteristics of the language.
It is quite certain now that Yuchi is spoken in only one dialect, although there is a current opinion that formerly the stock was more numerous than it is at present and that the language was spoken in two dialects. These dialects are stated according to tradition to have been mutually intelligible when spoken slowly. The language is characterized as regards processes by the use of postpositional and prepositional particles to show local modification of the noun, and by the use of auxiliaries to show adverbial and modal qualification of the verb. Position also plays some part in the expression of adverbial modification, verbal subordination, and sentence syntax. Inflection is not a characteristic of Yuchi, and reduplication is only used to denote the idea of distribution in tune and space. The parts of speech seem to be nouns, verbs, adverbs, pronouns and particles. There are no syntactical cases, as in the neighboring Muskogian. The position of words indicates their syntactical relationship. Neither do there appear to be case affixes; the whole range of such ideas, locatives, instrumental, simulative, ablative, demonstratives and others being expressed by particles. In this class are also the temporal, modal and other particles used with verbs. There are a number of mono- syllabic local and adverbial particles which have very general meanings. These syllables may enter into combination with each other and form thereby new word complexes which may have arbitrary meanings not necessarily derivable from the logical sum total of the thoughts expressed by them. Such compounds may be used as new verbs, new nouns, adverbs or auxiliaries. This psychological trait of Yuchi is, however, not an uncommon one in other American languages. There is apparently no true plural, either in nouns or verbs. The place of the plural is taken by the distributive idea which is expressed by reduplication. Verbs are mostly monosyllabic, but many have developed by combination into polysyllabic forms impossible to analyze. Nouns are of the same sort. In the noun compound the possessive pronominal elements are quite prominent, and their place is often taken by particles going with the name of the object, and immediately before it, which denote its possessor. These possessive particles, however, do not mark off any par-
1C ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. 1.
ticular categories. As in other American languages, many verb and noun stems are difficult to distinguish apart. The difficulty of distinguishing between verbs and nouns is further increased by the homology between the possessive pronominal and the active subject pronominal forms. As regards personal pronouns, we find only two categories, both of which are closely related. Whether active or neutral, transitive or intransitive, the subjective pronominal forms are the same. In this paradigm are also included the possessive pronominal forms. The other category is the objective which in all but the first and second persons is a development of the subjective or of the absolute, independent forms. All of the pronominal forms are independent words capable of standing by themselves. In the pronominal persons we have first, second, third masculine, third feminine (both of which refer more particularly to Yuchi Indians), and a third indefinite form which includes whites, negroes, other Indians, animals and indefinite objects in general. Besides these forms, which are all singular, there is a first person plural and a second person plural. No difference is recognized in the pronouns between the third person singular and plural.
To conclude this brief sketch, it may be said that the whole sentence, hing- ing upon the verb, which comes last in position, is built up with various loca- tive, adverbial, and pronominal particles which have fairly definite places in the sentence but which are not inseparably affixed to the words they refer to. Thus the sentence may be built up more and more, expressing details by simply stringing on particles or particle compounds with arbitrary meanings before one another, the verb, immediately preceded by its pronouns and these by its adverbs, coming last.
The subject of phonetics has bean left until the last in order to make a some- what special mention of the sounds and characters to be used in recording terms hereafter. The language, generally speaking, is acoustically soft and flowing and abounds in arrested sounds and nasalized vowels. The present- day Yuchi assert that they speak more rapidly than the old-time people, and, they add, the purer forms of the expressions are often mutilated in consequence. Another notice in connection with phonetics should be made here in outline at least. It is the constant tendency to combine phonetically pronouns with words, and words with other words, when certain vowels and semivowels come together at the beginning and end of words. This phonetic coalescence has a tendency to obscure some particles and to knit parts of the sentence into a closer unity, giving the whole something of the appearance of incorporatiou where it really does not exist. The following is an explanation of some of the sounds encountered in the recording of terms, and the characters which represent them.
In the stops we have the glottal catch represented by 8. The palatal surd k and sonant g are both similar to the English sounds. The alveolar dentals
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 17
/ and d and the labials p and b arc found, both pairs being rather difficult to determine as to their surd and sonant quality. In the spirants we have the palatal c like English sh, and the surd tc, a single sound, like ch as in English church, with the corresponding sonant dj. The alveolars are 5, to, and dz, similar to the English sounds. The labial dental surd / occurs, but there is no corresponding sonant. All of the surds given so far occur also followed by a catch and are represented in such cases as follows, t£, pK, tc?, se, /8, etc. The nasal n occurs, but independent m is wanting. The lateral spirant surd sound made by pressing the tip of the tongue against the upper alveolar ridge and forcing the breath out over both sides of the tongue, is represented by I. A common / like that in English is also found. The semivowels are h, y, w; and the bilabial aspirate of the last hw, also occurs.
The vowels are a, e, i, o, u, with their continental values. They are short when not marked ; long with the mark over them as d, e, J, o, u. Other long vowels are a like a in English fall, and a like a in English fan. Besides these there is an obscure vowel represented here by A which is similar to u in English but. Nasalized vowels, which are very frequent, are written on, an, dn, etc. Breathed vowels are a', A' , etc. The diphthong ai occurs rarely. Stress and prolongation are indicated by !. Accent is marked by '.
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MATERIAL CULTURE.
AGRICULTURE.
Although the Yuchi of today are cultivators of the soil, as they were in former times, the manner and method of agriculture has undergone many radical changes since the first contact with Europeans. The modification of this branch of their culture has been so thorough that we can only construct, from survivals and tradition, an idea of its former state.
The villages were surrounded by fertile spaces, cleared of timber and other vegetation by burning in dry springtime. These spaces were converted into garden patches where vegetables were sown and tended as they grew up, by a daily but irregularly-timed cultivation.
It is not now remembered whether particular parts of the arable ground were the personal property of the individuals or clans. Hawkins states, however, that both men and women labored together; the Yuchi differing in this respect from the Creeks. The old people and children found daily employment in acting as guardians over the growing crops, in driving away crows, blackbirds and other troublesome creatures.
In general, the land of the tribe belonged to whosoever occupied or util- ized it. The boundaries of fields, plantations and real estate holdings, where encroachment was likely to occur, were marked by upright corner stones with distinguishing signs on them to indicate the claim. A man would simply adopt some optional design or figure as his brand and make this his property mark. Trees were also blazed to mark off property limits. In blazing, a piece of bark about as large as the hand was sliced off about five feet from the ground, leaving the white wood exposed. Sometimes the space was marked with pigment. The above devices are still in common use throughout the Creek Nation.
The most important native vegetables were flint corn, tsofio', beans, tsodi' ', sweet potatoes, tosdn/, melons, tcan, pumpkins and squashes. These are believed to have been given the Yuchi by the supernatural being, Sun. Tobacco, i'tci, was grown by each family near the house. This was believed to have originated from drops of semen. The plant was named by a boy, in mythical times, and distributed among the people for their use. When tobacco was smoked sumach leaves were added to it. Gourds were also raised, to be used as household receptacles.
When the crops of corn and other vegetables were taken in they were stored away in outhouses and cribs, dadd, raised on posts, to be used when wanted.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YDCHI INDIANS. 19
Before the harvest could be devoted to general use, however, it was thought necessary to perform certain ceremonies of personal purification and propi- tiation in behalf of the supernatural beings who gave the crops and who brought them to maturity. Taking into account the number and importance of such rites together with the amount of daily time and labor that was devoted to the cultivation of the crops, we are led into the general classifica- tion of the Yuchi as an agricultural type of people.
HUNTING.
Hunting was pursued by the men either singly or in bands. While the attendance upon the crops kept them at home much of the time, there were seasons of comparative idleness during which parties set off on the hunt. The flesh of nearly all the mammals and birds of their habitat was eaten by the Yuchi with the exception of such as were sacred for ceremonial pur- poses or were protected by some taboo. The chief game animals hunted by them for their flesh were the deer, wtPyA*', bison, wedlngd, bear, sag2ef, raccoon, djatyA™, opossum, wAtsagowA™ ', rabbit, cddjwane, squirrel, cayd; while those whose skins were chiefly sought after were the panther, u'etc^A*', wildcat, pod', fox, cadPane, wolf, dald, otter, culane, beaver, caganf, and skunk, yussAn/. The flesh of these was also eaten at times. Wild turkeys, wetc^d', quail, spdnsl', partridge, ducks, geese and other birds were continually hunted for food.
The game animals were believed to be very cunning and wise in knowing how to avoid being captured. So in order to blind their senses, and to over- come their guardian spirits, the magic power of certain song burdens was em- ployed by hunters. Shamans held these formulas in their possession and could be induced to accompany the hunting party to the field to aid in the bewitching of the quarry. Shamans might also teach the formula to some one for the same purpose, upon the payment of some price or upon being promised a share in the spoils.
One of these songs used for charming the deer is,
ya ha gi do gi do da ni ho
do gi do gi do* da ni ho. hai" ya.
(4*1*1.)
*The syllables gi do are sometimes given three times, sometimes four, with no seeming regularity.
20 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
Not only had the hunter himself to be careful to keep the game animals and supernatural protectors well disposed toward him by observing all the taboos, but those connected with him in any way had to be careful too. This was particularly true in regard to his wife. Her main care was to remain faithful in her husband's absence, no matter how long he might be away. Any remiss- ness on her part would cause his guiding spirit to leave him and then his hunt would turn out unsuccessful.
Besides these magic aids the Yuchi made use of more material means to bring down game. The bow and arrow and blowgun were the chief hunting implements, while a kind of deer call was carried on a string about the neck to call the bucks during the rutting season and the does when they were rearing their fawns.
The bow, cstade' (Fig. 1), is a single almost straight stave of bois d'arc
Fig. 1. Bow.
(Toxylon pomijerum) or Osage Orange, about five feet in length. Sassafras and hickory bows were sometimes made. No backing of sinew is known to have been used. The stave is broadest in the middle, where it is about one and one-half inches in width, tapering to one inch at the ends. The thick- ness of the stave is about three-quarters of an inch. The rich dark color of the wood is brought out by greasing. In section the bow is almost rectangular. The ends are cut out into little knobs of several shapes (Fig. 2) to hold the
Fig. 2. Bow Notching.
.string. The bow string is made of deer sinew, yAnht', or strips of rawhide twisted tightly. Squirrel skins are much in use for bow strings. The skin is cut around the edge spirally toward the center, thus giving a single long strip. As extra strength is desired, four such strips are twisted together, forming quite a thick cord. A guard, gonsajane, of leather is used by archers to protect the wrist from the bow string when this is released. The guard is bound on by two thongs attached to holes in the leather (Fig. 3).
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OP THE YUCHI INDIANS.
21
Arrows, la cu', for hunting are made of the straight twigs of arrow-wood or of cane stalks of the proper thickness (Fig. 4). In the former case it was only necessary to scrape off the bark and season the twigs. The Yuchi do not seem to have had the idea of the fore-shaft. The point, lacipd, which was formerly of stone is nowadays made of iron and is bound by means of sinew into a split in the shaft (Fig. 4). The arrows are feathered prefer- ably with hawk feathers, as the Indians believe the hawk to be swift and sure in
Fig. 3. Wrist Guard.
its flight. Turkey tail feathers are much used also. The split plumes, two in number, are bound to the shaft at both ends with sinew. One side of the feather is shaved clean of ribs up to within an inch ofj the outer end. The lower or base end of the quill is then lashed on [flat.
Fig. 4. Arrows.
The outer end is turned down and the turned down length is lashed on. In this way an ingenious twist is given to the feather, which causes the arrow to revolve in its flight, acting on the principle of the rifled bullet (Fig. 4, d). There is some diversity in the length of the arrow shaft and in the size of the arrow head. For killing large game and in warfare the shafts used are almost three feet long with iron triangular arrow heads. But in hunting
22 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
small game they have simple round sharpened shafts which are seasoned in heat to make them stiff (Fig. 4, b). The arrows used for shooting fish are somewhat different from the ones described above, as we shall see. Blunt wooden-headed arrows, so common everywhere, were also used for stunning small animals and birds (Fig. 4, c).
The arrow shaft in all cases is cylindrical, and of the same width through- out. In some specimens, however, there is a slight widening at the notch to give a better grip. Several instances were also noticed where there were two notches at right angles to each other. This feature, according to the native idea, makes it possible for the shooter to send his arrow so that the iron point is either vertical or horizontal. In the former case the point passes more readily between the ribs of deer, bison and other animals, while in the latter case it is designed to pass between the ribs of man. The double notch- ing also facilitates adjustment in rapid shooting. An old arrow, one that has seen use, is thought to shoot better and to be more effective in general than a new one. In shooting with the bow it is held nearly vertically, the release to the string being given by the index finger, between the third joint of which and the thumb the butt of arrow is grasped. The release, in general terms, comes nearest to that described by Mason as the tertiary release.1
One form of the blowgun, which is obsolete now, was, according to mem- ory, made of a cane stalk with the pith removed. It was between five and a half and six feet long. The darts were made of hard wood, the points being charred and sharpened. A tuft of cotton wrapped about the end of the dart like a wad formed the piston. This was almost exclusively used for bringing down small animals, squirrels and birds.
Another part of the former hunter's outfit was, frequently, a stuffed deer head which he put over his shoulders or elevated on a stick in front of him when he was approaching the deer. Thus disguised he could be surer of getting a favorable shot. The formula given above was sung at intervals during this process of getting nearer.
Dogs, tsene, have always been the invariable companions of the hunters, whether alone or in bands, their principal office being to track game and hold it at bay. The present Indian dogs are mongrels showing intermixture with every imaginable strain, but the wolfish appearance and habits of many of them would suggest that their semi-domestic ancestors were of the wolf breed.
Hunters are usually proficient in calling wild turkeys by several means. One instrument made for this purpose is the hollow secondary wing bone of the turkey, about five inches in length. The hunter draws in his breath through this tube, making a noise which can best be described as a combination of
1 North American Bows, Arrows and Quivers, O. T. Mason, Smithsonian Reports (1893), p. 636.
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 23
smacking, squeaking and sucking. By skillfully operating the calls the birds are lured within range. Sometimes the palm of the hand is employed in making the noise. Another device is to grate a piece of stone on the top of a nail driven fast into a piece of wood. The rasping sound produced in this way will answer quite effectively as a turkey call if manipulated with skill.
The Yuchi do not seem to have used the deer fence so common in many parts of America. They have been known, however, to employ a method of driving game from its shelter to places where hunters were stationed, by means of fire. Grassy prairies were ignited and when the frightened animals fled to water they were secured by the band of hunters who were posted there.
The deer call, w&yA.nkan6, mentioned before, which is used in calling deer within range, is a rather complex instrument and probably a borrowed one, at least in its present form (Fig. 5) . A hollow horn is fitted with a wooden mouthpiece which contains a small brass vibrating tongue. When blown this gives a rather shrill
but weak sound which can be modified greatly jpjg 5 Deer Call
by blowing softly or violently. A tremulous tone
like the cry of a fawn is made by moving the palm of the hand over the open- ing of the horn. Much individual skill is shown by the hunters in using this instrument.
FISHING.
Quite naturally fishing plays an important part in the life of the Yuchi who have almost always lived near streams furnishing fish in abundance. Catfish, cu dfd, garfish, pike, cu cpd, bass, cu wadd, and many other kinds are eagerly sought for by families and sometimes by whole communities at a tune, to vary their diet. We find widely distributed among the people of the Southeast a characteristic method of getting fish by utilizing certain vegetable poisons which are thrown into the water. Among the Yuchi the practice is as follows. During the months of July and August many families gather at the banks of some convenient creek for the purpose of securing quantities of fish and, to a certain extent, of intermingling socially for a short tune. A large stock of roots of devil's shoestring (Tephrosia virginiand) is laid up and tied in bundles beforehand. The event usually occurs at a place where rifts cause shallow water below and above a well-stocked pool. Stakes are driven close together at the rifts to act as barriers to the passage and escape of the fish. Then the bundles of roots (Fig. 6) are thrown in and the people enter the water to stir it up. This has the effect of causing the fish, when the poison has had time to act, to rise to the surface, bellies up, seemingly dead. They are then gathered by both men and women and carried away in baskets to be dried for future use, or consumed in a feast which ends the event. The catch is equally divided among
24 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
those present. Upon such an occasion, as soon as the fish appear floating on the surface of the water, the Indians leap, yell and set to dancing in exuber- ance. If a stranger comes along at such a time he is taken by the hand and presented with the choicest fish.
As the fish are taken out they may be cleaned and salted for preservation, or roasted and eaten on the spot. A favorite method of cleaning fish the instant they are caught, is to draw out the intestines with a hook through the anus, without cutting the fish open. A cottonwood stick shaved of its outer bark is then inserted in the fish from tail to head. The whole is thickly covered with mud and put in the embers of a fire. When the mud cracks off the roast is done and ready to eat. The cottonwood stick gives a much-liked flavor to the
In the way of a comparison, we find that the Creeks use pounded buckeye or horse chestnuts for the same purpose. Two men enter the water and strain the buckeye juice through bags. The Creeks claim that the devil's shoestring poison used by the Yuchi floats on the water, thus passing away down stream,
while the buckeye sinks and does better work. It is probable, however, that neither method of poisoning the streams is used exclusively by these tribes, but that the people of certain districts favor one or the other method, accord- ing to the time of year and locality. The flesh of the fish killed in this way is perfectly palatable.
It frequently happens that the poison is not strong enough to thoroughly stupefy the fish. In such a case the men are at hand with bows and arrows, to shoot them as they flounder about trying to escape or to keep near the bottom of the pool. The arrows used for shooting fish are different from those used in hunting. They are generally unfeathered shafts with charred points, but the better ones are provided with points like cones made by pounding a piece of some flat metal over the end of the shaft (Fig. 4, a). The men fre- quently go to the larger streams where the poison method would not be as effective, and shoot fish with these heavy tipped arrows eithei from the shores or from canoes. Simple harpoons of cane whittled to a sharp point are used in the killing of larger fish which swim near the surface, or wooden spears
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 25
with fire-hardened points are thrown at them when found lurking near th»- banks.
Formerly the Yuchi made use also of basket fish traps. These were quite large, being ordinarily about three feet or more in diameter and from six to ten feet in length. They were cylindrical in shape, with one end open and an indented funnel-shaped passageway leading to the interior. The warp splints of this indenture ended in sharp points left free. As these pointed inward they allowed the fish to pass readily in entering, but offered an obstruction to their exit. The other end of the trap was closed up, but the covering could be removed to remove the contents. Willow sticks composed the warp stand- ards, while the wicker filling was of shaved hickory splints. The trap wa* weighted down in the water and chunks of meat were put in it for bait.
Gaff -hooks for fishing do not seem to have been used, according to the older men, until they obtained pins from the whites, when the Yuchi learned how to make fish hooks of them. Prior to this, nevertheless, they had several gorge- hook devices for baiting and snagging fish. A stick with pointed reverse barbs whittled along it near the end was covered with some white meat and drawn, or trolled, rapidly through the water on a line. When a fish swallowed the bait the angler gave the line a tug and the barbs caught the fish in the stomach. Another method was to tie together the ends of a springy, sharp-pointed splinter and cover the whole with meat for bait. When this gorge device was swallowed the binding soon disintegrated, the sharp ends being released killed the fish and held it fast. Lines thus baited were set in numbers along the banks of streams and visited regularly by fishermen.
POTTERY AND WORK IN CLAY.
The sedentary life of the Yuchi has given ample opportunity for the development of the art of making pottery. The coiled process is in vogue, but it may be remarked that the modern pots of these Indians are of a rather crude and unfinished form, which is probably traceable to deterioration in later years.
The process of manufacture of ordinary pots for domestic use is as follows. A fine consistent clay is selected and washed in a flat vessel to separate all grit and stones from it. Then lumps are rolled between the palms and elon- gated in the form of sticks. A flat piece, the size of the bottom of the desired pot, is made and the lengths or sticks of rolled clay are coiled around on this base and so built up until the proper height and form is obtained. What- ever decorations are to be added are now either produced by incision with a sharp stick or by impression with a stick or shell. The whole surface is afterwards scraped with a fresh- water mussel shell, ctangane (Fig. 7), until the outside of the pot is smooth, and then, with the back of the shell, the scraped
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
Fig. 7. Shell Scraper.
surface is rubbed to varying degrees of polish, or the hand may be used to give a dull lustre to the surface. The surface is moistened after the clay is dry and then rubbed until it assumes a fairly perma- nent polish. The pot is next allowed to dry for a few days out of the sunshine. Then it is baked near a fire. When several pots are being baked they are arranged in rows at a little distance from the fire on each side of it and turned at intervals. These pots become hard and brick-like and may be used directly over flames. If they are not baked they are used as household receptacles or dishes and not put near fire. This industry is en- tirely in the hands of women.
Pots, s^a'cudidane, 'earthen bowl,' or dldanr (PI. Ill), which are made in general for ordinary domestic use are of several different shapes. The outlines shown in Fig. 8, a, b, c, d, f are the commonest. The low flat type, a, is ordinarily used for food dishes or recep- tacles for boiled beans and corn. They / \
are usually about eight inches in di- f \
ameter and three in height. A series of conventional straight lines running ob- liquely is often incised upon these ves- sels for the purpose of decoration, but without any known interpretation. Outline b shows the shape of a class of pots used for boiling vegetables. They are held upright by means of stones placed around the base. Their size is variable, ranging from those having a capacity of about three quarts to those holding five or six quarts. A little decoration, in the way of shallow impressions of semicircles, frequently appears near the rim of these boiling vessels to give, it is said, a decorative effect. The type represented by c is of an unusually rough and unfinished ap- pearance and is said to be used to mix
flour and dough in. The flat bottomed pot d, with a wide opening and almost straight sides, is the regular boiled corn soup pot which is made in different sizes according to the size of the family; they hold two quarts at least, and stand about the house or camp with food in them ready to be eaten cold or warai at any time. The two latter types do not bear on them any attempt at
Outlines of Pots.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 27
decoration whatever. Small cup-like vessels, /, not more than three or four inches bioad, with rounded bottoms, are made for general utility in holding seeds and other objects. This is said to be the kind of clay vessel put in the grave with the body at burial.
One type of vessel, however, which is manufactured particularly for cere- monial purposes is invariably ornamented on a specially made portion about the rim. This type of pot (Fig. 8, e, Plate III, Fig. 9) is used as the receptacle for the sacred concoctions at the annual ceremonies, the crescent-shaped im- pressions on the lip being said to represent the sun and moon, the former of which is the chief figure in mythology and the supernatural object of worship in the tribal ceremonies. The height of these pots, two of which are used during the ceremonial events, is never less than twelve inches. The crescent- like impressions are made with a bent-up twig when the clay is soft before being burnt.
The little platter ydda dam (Fig. 8, g, and PI. Ill, Fig. 1), which is about three inches in diameter, is another form for a special purpose. It is made for the use
Fig. 9. Outlines of Gourds.
of women who are in seclusion away from the main dwelling during their men- strual periods. As these little trays are only used to carry food in to such women they are left unbaked. When their function has been performed they are destroyed with other objects which have come into contact with women in this state.
' It is noticeable in the above pottery forms, which are designed solely for domestic use, that no particular decoration is given them. But where this does occur at all it is always on or near the rim and never on the body of the vessel. Specimen 5, PI. Ill, and Fig. 8, b, have a curved impression surrounding the rim which is said to represent the moon. The series of oblique scratches on specimen 8, PI. Ill, had no meaning or name given them.
A question of origin naturally arises here, in relation to the pottery industry of this tribe, which seems to deserve mention at least. The prominence of the
28 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
gourd shape, or that of the pumpkin or squash, may have had some influence upon the development of forms in Yuchi pottery. The outline figures and the general appearance of pots suggest this question. The Yuchi themselves comment on the similarity between the shape of pots and pumpkins, and when asked about the form of. this or that pot, the answer frequently is "It is like a pumpkin or gourd." The figures show how this similarity in form appears (Fig. 9). The similarity is further carried out by the smoothness of the body of the pots, and the diminishing diameter near the top. The drinking gourds found in use today, and the gourd receptacles used about the camps in the same way as pottery receptacles are similar to these in shape. The suspicion of this relationship between pottery forms and pumpkins or gourds was aroused by the replies given to questions which were asked in trying to find out whether the pottery shapes symbolized or represented anything else. For instance the bowls of wooden spoons are supposed to represent wolf ears.
It may be said of the modern Yuchi pottery forms that, according to the description given by Holmes1, they bear more resemblance to those of the prehistoric Chesapeake-Potomac group in their prevalent gourd-like outline and lack of ornamentation on the body, than they do to the highly ornamented and complex forms of the Southern Appalachian group.
PIPES.— A large number of tobacco pipes of clay, sacu' yiicPe', 'earth pipes' (Fig. 11), were formerly made and used by the Yuchi. The variety in form shown by these pipes indicates that at an earlier time work in clay must have been a rather important activity with them. It seems that pipe making was, and is yet to a limited extent, practiced by the men. Clay is prepared in the manner described before for pots, and made into lengths about an inch in diameter. With a knife, cylinders of various lengths are cut out which are to be bent and hollowed into desired forms for the pipes. This shaping is done with the knife, the sides being shaved down round or square and the angles squared to suit the artisan's taste. The narrower end is twisted at right angles to the bowl to form the stem- holder. The knife is then used to gouge out and hollow the bowl. A small pointed stick (Fig. 10, a)
Fig. 10. Pipe Borer (a) JB twisted into the stem end to make a hole for the stem, and when it has nearly reached the bowl cavity
a small sharp twig is used to connect the two openings. After the exterior has been finished off with the knife the pipe is complete except for a cane or hollow twig stem. A piece of flint (Fig. 10, 6) is often used to rub the pipe with and give it a polish, but generally none is thought necessary. The making
twentieth Annual Report, Bureau of American Ethnology.
T. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHi INDIANS.
Fig. 11. Clay Pipes.
30 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OP PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
of effigy forms in pipes is mostly done by pressing and shaping with the fingers. The pipes are seldom baked, as this is gradually effected when they are lighted and put into use.
There seems to be no limit to the forms which different individuals give to the pipes they make. Personal taste appears to play an important part, however, within certain broad but traditional limits. The pipe forms observed seem to fall into a few different classes. It may be said that the com- monest type is that having a stem-base at right angles to the bowl as illustrated in some of the examples shown in Fig. 11. These are rather small pipes, aver- aging a little over an inch in height. The bowls are squared, rounded or formed into hexagons. Another sort is barrel-shaped, also with different sectional forms and of the same small size as the first. These lack the stem-base, having the reed or cane stem inserted directly into the bowl. A third general type has a much larger and heavier form and suggests the catlinite calumet forms met with among the Plains Indians. The red color and carefully given polish of the specimens under discussion increase the apparent similarity between the two.
Effigy pipes (see Fig. 11) are favorites with the Yuchi and often show considerable skill on the part of the maker in imitating living forms. It is rather curious that those representing the human face never have eyes. The rings sometimes seen about the rim represent the Sun, who is the tutelary deity of the Yuchi. The frequent occurrence of the frog form in pipes is explained by the desire on the part of the men to emulate the Wind, a super- natural being who, according to the myth, used a frog for his pipe and a snake for the pipe-stem during one of his journeys.
A noticeable similarity in form appears between the modern pipes of the Yuchi and those found in the burial mounds of the Appalachian region, described by Holmes.1
The collections of objects from the mounds of Alabama, Georgia and Florida made by Mr. Clarence B. Moore2 also contain many pipes in stone and earthenware which resemble the forms known to the modern Yuchi and illustrated in Fig. 11.
CLAY FIGURES. — The Yuchi men sometimes mould by hand pressure small figures of animals or parts of animals in clay. Just what part these clay figures play in their life it is hard to say. It would seem, however, that they are merely the product of an idle hour or are based on some esthetic motives. Where quite a little work is being done in clay by the women in making pots and by men who are fashioning smoking pipes, it would seem natural that some would idly try to shape, out of the unused material, figures
1 Twentieth Report Bureau American Ethnology, Pis. cxxiv, cxxv, cxxvi.
2 Journal of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia, X, XI, XII, etc.
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 31
of objects familiar to them in their daily environment. The figures of this sort are rather clumsy and naturally fragile since they are not baked. The speci- mens on which this description is based are a crudely made lizard about eight inches long, several life-size frogs, and a cow's head several inches in height (Fig. 12). Another correspondence between the modern Yuchi and the ancient inhabitants of the Southeast is to be found in these clay figures. Mr. Moore in his archaeological explorations of the mounds of Volusia Co., Florida,1 found numbers of rude clay figures among which some of the animal forms resemble the ones given here and obtained from the modern Yuchi. The general tech- nique in both modern and prehistoric specimens is similar.
Fig. 12. Clay Figures.
Finally it must be noted, in regard to the subject of pottery and work in clay, that this branch of native handicraft has undergone a great deterioration since the beginning of contact between the Yuchi and Europeans, and that the progress of decline in this, as in other arts, has been much more rapid in the last twenty-five years. Most of the specimens described above were obtained by request, whereupon some were brought from remote districts where they may have been in actual use while others were fac-similes made for the occasion by reliable persons.
BASKET MAKING.
Another handicraft in the seemingly well-rounded industrial life of the Yuchi is basket making. The women possess the knowledge of at least two processes of basket weaving; the checker work and the twilled. The baskets in general are of two sorts. One is a large rough kind made of hickory or oak splints not unlike the ordinary splint baskets made by the Algonkian tribes, with handles for carrying. The other kind, in the manufacture of which cane rinds are chiefly employed, is distinctly characteristic of the Southeastern and Gulf area. A collection of Yuchi baskets resembles those of the Choctaw or Chitimacha in general appearance and technique, although the Yuchi forms
1 Collection of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia.
33 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
obtainable today do not show as much diversity as the others. In their present location, unfortunately, the Yuchi are handicapped by the lack of basket stuffs, while the other tribes still occupy territory where cane is abundant. This may perhaps be the reason why we find the Yuchi comparatively deficient in variety of basket forms and weaves, when other tribes of the southern or Gulf area, as the Chitimacha, Attakapa and Choctaw, are considered. The regular basket material is cane (Arundinaria) . For baskets of the common household stor- age type, intended as well for general domestic utility, the cane rind is the part used, as the outside is fine and smooth. Splints from the inner portion of the cane stalk are employed in the construction of basket sieves and other coarser types. The forms and outlines of common utility baskets, dast!', shown in PI. IV, Figs. 1, 2, seem to resemble the common pottery forms in having the opening somewhat narrower than the bottom. Another type of basket (PI. IV, 5, 7) is the flat one used in the preparation of corn meal. The largest of this class is two feet in breadth with walls not more than an inch or so high. This tray basket is used with another, the sieve (PI. IV, 6), which is also rather flat but not so much so as the former. The bottom of the sieve basket is of open work. Corn meal is sifted through this into the broad tray. Some idea of their respective proportions is given in PL IV, Figs. 5, 6. The plan of the bottom of all of the basket forms described is rectangular in gen- eral, while that of the top is nearly round; at any rate, without angles. The sides of the typical basket invariably slope inward with a rounding outline. This form, as can be readily seen, is largely determined by the nature of the weave.
Nearly all baskets of this region, with little exception, are manufactured by the twilled process of weaving. It is noticeable that the bottom is cus- tomarily done in one pattern of twill and the sides in another variety of the same. For example, we find one of the common forms like a, Fig. 13, woven at the bottom in the two over two under pattern, but when the turn for the sides is reached the vertical strands no longer run in twos but are separated, each simply alternating in crossing over two weft strands; the weft in its turn crossing four of the warp strands. This mixture of technique seems to be a favorite thing with the Yuchi weavers. Such purposeless variations in weave may be attributable to the rhythmic play motive which Dr. Boas has recently shown1 to be prominent in the technique. of many primitive tribes. An example is shown in PI. IV, 2, 3, where a matting bottom (Fig. 13, a) is turned up into a woven side b with an over four under four weft. The rela- tionship between ordinary mats and baskets consequently appears to be a very close one. At almost any stage in the process of mat weaving it appears
1 Decorative Designs of Alaskan Needlecases, Proceedings of United States National Museum, Vol. xxxiv, p. 339-40.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS.
33
that the operator can turn the strands up, fill in with a weft, and change the product into a basket.
Some examples of the varieties of twill which enter into the construction of mats and baskets are given in Fig. 13. The common diaper pattern may appear woven with double strands producing the variety shown in a. Baskets with
11
JJ.
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r T i |
r |
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Fig. 13. Basket Weaves.
this weave in the bottom and an over four under four on the sides are most characteristic, as will be seen. The basket sieves outlined before are woven in open mesh on the bottom, leaving open squares about one third of an inch square, c. Here the twill is the same, over two and under two as in Fig. 13, a,
34 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
but done with narrower splints. The sides, however, of the basket sieve are filled in with weft strands going over two and under two, thus closing up the open spaces, as shown in d. The other cuts show some different varieties in which the number of warps crossed by the weft strands vary. Fig. 13, b is from the side of the work baskets in which the bottom appears as shown in a. The others, e and /, show the mat twill, the style that is oftenest found in the basket trays. The sides of the tray are changed to an over four under four twill as in b. The latter are held in the lap to catch the sifted corn meal that is shaken through the sieve. The use of the basket sieve, however, and this tray will be described in more detail later.
The basket border is commonly formed of a few warp lengths bent down and wrapped by a runner of cane. A row of twined weaving underneath this holds in place the warp strands that have to be cut off. The figure1 illustrates this border finishing very well (Fig. 14).
Fig. 14. Basket Border Finishing.
Intentional decorative designs seem to be almost entirely lacking in the baskets of today, and it is impossible to say whether or not they ever developed such designs. About the only decorative effect attempted seems to be the employment of cane splints of different shades of red and yellow in the weaving. Rather pretty diagonal patterns are in this way brought out, but they seem to have no assigned meaning or names. These patterns are quite evidently accidental in many instances, for the mere presence of one or two different colored splints in the warp and woof would work out into some geometrical pattern without any previous knowledge as to what this would be.
OTHER OCCUPATIONS.
WOOD WORKING. — The Yuchi men spend part of their time, when not engaged directly in procuring food, in manufacturing various useful articles out of wood. One form of knife, yanllbof, 'knife bent/ used in whittling such objects, consists of a piece of iron curved at one end and sharpened on the side
1 Taken from Mason's Aboriginal American Basketry in Report of U. S. National Museum, 1902.
F. G. SPECK - ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS.
35
after the fashion of a farrier's knife (Fig. 15). The handle part of the metal is
bound around with cloth or skin to soften it for the grasp. The wood worker
draws the knife towards himself in carving. Thus are made
ladles, spoons, and other objects that come in handy about the
house. Larger objects of wood are shaped not only by whit-
tling with knives, but by burning. For instance dug-out canoes,
tcu si', were made of cypress trunks hollowed out in the center
by means of fire. As the wood became charred it was scraped
away so that the fire could attack a fresh surface, and so on
until the necessary part was removed.
It sometimes falls to the lot of women to help in the manu- facture of certain wooden objects. One such case is to be seen in the hollowing out of the cavity of the corn mortar. After the man has sectioned a hickory log of the proper length and dia- meter, about 30 by 14 inches, he turns the matter over to several women of his household. They start a fire on top of the log, which is stood up on end. The fire is intended to burn away the heart of the log, so, to control its advance and to keep it going, two women blow upon it through hollow canes. By pouring water on the edge the fire is kept within bounds and confined to the center. As the wood becomes charred it is scraped away, as usual, with the shells of fresh water mussels.
No decorative effects are produced in wood carving nor is it likely that any particular development in technique was reached by the carvers in former times. ^^ Knife'
PREPARING HIDES AND SEWING. — In preparing hides and skins for use the brains of animals are employed to soften and preserve them. Hides are placed over a log, one end of which is held between the knees while the other rests on the ground, and are then scraped with a scraping implement to remove the hair. The scraper, tssame/satan^, for this purpose is a round piece of wood about twelve inches long with a piece of metal set in edgewise on one side, leaving room for a hand grip on each end (Fig. 16). This implement resembles the
Fig. 16. Scraper.
ordinary spokeshave more than anything else. A sharp edged stone is said to have taken the place of the iron blade in early times. Hides are finally thoroughly smoked until they are brown, and kneaded to make them soft and durable.
36 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
Sewing is done by piercing holes in the edges to be joined with an awl. Two methods of stitching are known, the simple running stitch and the overhand. The latter, on account of its strength, is, however, more com- monly used. Sinew and deerskin thongs are employed for thread.
One specimen of awl, for sewing and basket making, consists of a piece of deer antler about six inches long into which a sharp pointed piece of metal is firmly inserted (Fig. 17). Bone is supposed to have been used for the point part before metal was obtainable. Several chevron-like scratches on the handle of this specimen are property marks.
A few knots and tying devices observed in use and on specimens, are given in Fig. 18. Softened deerskin thongs were employed for tying and binding purposes.
SHEET METAL WORK. — The manufacture of German silver ornaments, such as finger rings, earrings, bracelets, arm bands, breast pendants, head bands and brooches, seems to have been, for a long time, one of the handicrafts practiced by the Yuchi men. This art has now almost passed away among them and fallen into the hands of their Shawnee neighbors. The objects mentioned in the list were made of what appears to be copper, brass and zinc alloy. The metal was obtained from the whites, and then fashioned into desired shapes by Awl cutting, beating, bending, and punching in the cold state. The favorite method of ornamentation was to punch stars, circles, ovals, curves, scalloped lines, and crescents in the outer surface of the object. Sometimes the metal was punched completely through to produce
Fig. 17.
Fig. 18. Tying Devices.
an open-work effect. Several pieces of metal were sometimes fastened together by riveting. Ornamental effects were added to the edges of objects by trim- ming and scalloping. It is also common to see fluting near the borders of brace- lets and pendants. Judging from the technique in modern specimens, metal
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 37
workers have shown considerable skill in working out their patterns. It is possible, moreover, that this art was practiced in pre-historic times with sheet copper for working material, in some cases possibly sheet gold, and that some of the ornaments, such as head bands, bracelets, arm bands and breast orna- ments, were of native origin. Some of the ornamental metal objects will be described in connection with clothing.
BEAD WORK. — Like many other Indian tribes the Yuchi adopted the practice of decorating parts of their clothing with glass beads which they obtained from the whites. Beadwork, however, never reached the development with them that it did in other regions. What there was of this practice was entirely in the hands of the women. There were two ways of using the beads for decora- tion. One of these was to sew them onto strips of cloth or leather, making embroidered designs in outline, or filling in the space enclosed by the outline to make a solidly covered surface. The other way was to string the beads on the warp threads while weaving a fabric, so that the design produced by arranging the colors would appear on both sides of the woven piece. For the warp and woof horse hair came to be much in use. Objects decorated in the first fashion were moccasins, legging flaps, breechcloth ends, garter bands, belt sashes and girdles, tobacco pouches and shoulder straps. The more complex woven beadwork was used chiefly for hair ornaments and neck- bands.
The designs which appear in beadwork upon these articles of clothing are mostly conventional and some are symbolical with various traditional interpre- tations. They will be described later. It should be observed here, however, that there is some reason to suspect that the beadwork of this tribe has been influenced by that of neighboring groups where beadwork is a matter of more prominence. The removal of the Yuchi and other southeastern tribes from their old homes in Georgia and Alabama to the West threw them into the range of foreign influence which must have modified some characteristics of their culture.
STONE WORK. — Lastly we know, from the evidences of archeology, that at an early age the Yuchi, like the other Indians, were stone workers. All vestiges of this age, however, have passed beyond the recollection of the natives, so that nothing can be said first hand on the subject.
HOUSES.
As the native methods of house building have nearly all passed out of, use some time ago, we have to depend upon descriptions from memory supple- mented by observations made in the ceremonial camp where temporary shelters are made which preserve old methods of construction.
38 ANTHKOPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
The dwelling house of the present-day Yuchi is like that of the ordinary white settler: a structure of squared or round notched logs, with a peak roof of home-made shingles and a door on one side. Windows may be present or not, according to the whim of the owner. The same is true of the fire- place, which may be an inside open grate at one end of the building, or a hearth in the middle of the room with smoke hole directly above. These houses show all possible grades of comfort and elaboration in their construction. Directly in front of the door it is customary to have a shade arbor raised where cooking is done. Here spare time is spent in comfortably lounging about while light occupations are carried on by various members of the family. Such a house is called tsole* , and may be, in its main idea, a survival of one form of original house. Bartram and other travelers who saw the southeastern Indians at an early date describe notched log houses among the Cherokee, so there is some possibility of the native origin of the simple square log house of the modern Yuchi and their neighbors the Creeks. Fortunately, however, we find in the work of Bartram1 a fairly good, though short, description of the houses of the Yuchi as he saw them in the village on Chattahoochee river, Georgia, in 1791.
"The Uche town is situated on a vast plain, on the gradual ascent as we rise from a narrow strip of low ground immediately bordering on the river: it is the largest, most compact and best situated Indian town I ever saw; the habitations are large and neatly built; the walls of the houses are constructed of a wooden frame, then lathed and plastered inside and out with a reddish well tempered clay or mortar, which gives them the appearance of red brick walls, and these houses are neatly covered or roofed with cypress bark or shingles of that tree. The town appeared to be populous and thriving, full of youth and young children. . . ."
At certain times of the year when the people remove from these perma- nent houses and assemble at some convenient place for hunting, fishing or social intercourse they commonly make use of tents with an open struc- ture nearby in which much unoccupied time is spent during both night and day. With some families this open-sided structure is merely a shade arbor, and no care seems to be given to its appearance. But with others it serves as the dwelling upon occasions and is fitted out and furnished with some semblance of permanent occupancy. During the annual tribal ceremony of the corn harvest, when the assemblage of families is largest, these structures may be best seen. The following descriptions of these temporary dwellings, in which are preserved earlier forms of architecture, are based upon observa- tions made at such times.
lOp. cit.,p. 388.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS.
39
To begin with, the camp shelters, as they are commonly called, are scattered irregularly about, in no wise forming a camp circle such as is found on the Plains or a camp square like that of the Chickasaw.1 They are left standing after they have served once and are reoccupied by the owners when they return to the place where the ceremonial gatherings are held.
Fig. 19. Roof Support.
The ground space covered by a lodge of this sort varies somewhat, but may be said to be in general about sixteen feet by eighteen. The floor is simply the earth. Branches of oak with the leaves compose the roof (Figs. 19, 20, C). Eight feet above the ground is a common height for this dense screen of leaves. The branches themselves are supported by cross poles (B) resting on stout
Fig. 20. Roof Support,
horizontal end pieces or beams. In the support of these beams, lodge builders employ different devices. One of these, and perhaps the commonest, is the simple forked or crotched post (Fig. 19, A). When trees happen to be handy, however, a modification has been observed in the roof support which shows a
1 Cf. Journal of American Folk-Lore (1907), p. 50-58.
40
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
rather clever adaptation of the material at hand to suit the occasion. In such a case standing trees take the place of sunken posts, and forked posts with the beams resting in the crotch are leaned against them, as in Fig. 20, A.
The general ground plan of these camp shelters is square (Fig. 21). They usually stand east of the entrance to the tent (D). In the center of the ground space (A) blankets, skins and other materials to make comfort are strewn, and here the people eat, lounge and sleep. In one corner is a square storage scaf- fold or shelf (B) elevated about five feet above the ground. This is floored with straight sticks resting upon cross pieces which in turn are supported by uprights in the floor. On this scaffold is a heterogeneous pile of household untensils and property. Ball sticks, weapons, baskets, clothing, harness, blankets and in fact nearly everything not in immediate use is all packed away here out of reach of dogs and children. Out from under the roof to one side is the fireplace (C). The diagram (Fig. 21) gives the ground plan of one of these lodges.
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DE |
E O |
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EQ |
Fig. 21. Plan of Yuchi Dwelling.
The Yuchi remember still another type of family dwelling house which seems to show that the common house type of the Algonkian tribes bor- dering the Atlantic coast farther north was known to the Yuchi as well. We are informed by the Yuchi that the framework of this type of house, yu, consisted of poles stuck in the ground in parallel rows at certain distances apart. These were bent over and lashed together at the top, forming an arched passage underneath. The whole top and the sides were then covered with strips of bark cut entire from cypress trees and attached in overlapping layers to the cross pieces connecting the upright poles. Matting is also said to have been used as house covering material. Such structures are commonly remembered to have been about ten feet high and about sixteen feet square on the ground. The roof slabs were weighted down with halved logs secured at the ends to the framework. The fireplace was in the center of the floor space. It was excavated about six inches below the surface of the ground. A hole was left in the roof directly above the fireplace for the smoke to escape.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 41
In the way of household furniture the Yuchi remember that beds, ten' fa, used to consist of a framework of parallel sticks, supported by forked uprights, upon which skins were piled. These bench-like beds were ranged about the walls. Mats were suspended to form screens when desired.
Children were stowed away in hammock cradles when they were too young to walk. The hammock cradle is used very generally nowadays. It consists of a blanket stretched between two ropes. To keep the sides apart thwarts with notched ends are at the foot and head. The hammock is hung up out of doors from convenient trees, while in bad weather it is swung indoors from house posts or beams.
DOMESTIC UTENSILS.
In the preparation of food several kinds of wooden utensils are employed. The largest and perhaps the most important piece of household furniture of this sort was the mortar, dlld, and pestle, died Id. The mortar (PI. Ill, Fig. 10, a) which is simply a log several feet high with the bark removed having a cavity about eight inches deep, seems, moreover, to be an important domes- tic fetish. We find that it is connected in some way with the growing up and the future prospects of the children of the family. It occupies a permanent position in the door yard, or the space in front of the house. Only one mortar is owned by the family and there is a strong feeling, even today, against moving it about and particularly against selling it. We shall see later that the navel string of a female child is laid away under- neath the mortar in the belief that the presiding spirit will guide the growing girl in the path of domestic efficiency.
The pestle that goes with this utensil is also of wood (PI. Ill, Fig. 10, 6) . Its length is usually about six feet. The lower end that goes into the cavity
Fig. 22. Pestle Tops.
of the mortar and does the crushing is rounded off. The top of the pestle is left broad, to act as a weight and give force to its descent. Several forms of carving are to be observed in these clubbed pestle tops which are pre- sumably ornamental, as shown in the cuts (Fig. 22).
42 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OP PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
Spoons, ydda ctlne, showing some variation in size and relative proportions, are found commonly in domestic service. They are all made of wood, said to be maple. The size of these varies from six or seven to fourteen inches. The bowl is usually rather deep and is widest and deepest near the handle. The latter is squared and straight with a crook near the end upon which an owner- ship mark consisting of a few scratches or incisions is frequently seen. PI. VI, 3 shows common spoons used in eating soup or boiled vegetables. This type is said to represent, in the shape of the bowl, a wolf's ear and to be patterned after it.
Wooden paddle-shaped pot stirrers, cadi' , are nearly always to be seen where cooking is going on. They vary greatly in size and pattern. Ordinarily the top is simply disk-shaped. The use of the stirrer comes in when soup and vegetables are being boiled, to keep the mess from sticking to the pot. (See models in Fig. 36, 6.)
Gourds, ta'mbactti', of various shapes are made use of about the house in many different ways. They are easily obtained and require little or no labor to fit them for use. As drinking cups, general recep- tacles and dippers they come in very handy. A common drinking ladle is shown in Figure 23. Besides these utensils, of course, baskets, mats, and pots, which have been dealt witli already, figure prominently in the household economy. Pots are used chiefly as cooking vessels and receptacles from which prepared food is eaten. Baskets are commonly used for stor- ing things away, for carrying purposes and for the keeping of ornaments, trinkets, small utensils and other personal effects. The several specialized forms, the riddle, or basket sieve, and the fan, or flat basket tray, are, as has been mentioned, used ~Fig."~23. directly in the preparation of corn for food. The part they Drinking Gourd, play will be described in more detail in another place.
FOOD AND ITS PREPARATION.
FIRE MAKING. — In the preparation of most vegetable and animal products for consumption fire is an indispensable agent. It is also procured for ceremo- nial purposes. To obtain it the Yuchi claim that originally two pieces of stone were struck together, either two pieces of flint or a piece of flint and a piece of quartz or pyrites. In the annual tribal ceremony this method is preserved yet. Two persons are ordinarily required in producing fire, one to do the striking, the other to hold the bed of fire material into which the spark is projected when obtained. A single individual might succeed very well, but two together obtain fire much more quickly. Even then the operation often takes fifteen minutes or more. It is likely, however, that
P. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. -43
the manipulators were already out of practice when the method passed out of common use. It is nowadays admitted that the town chief who strikes the spark at the annual ceremony is greatly worried at this time over the ultimate result of his efforts. It takes him about twenty minutes to secure a flame. The method, as observed on several ceremonial occasions, is as follows: the flint, yat*a dawone, is held between the thumb and forefinger of the right hand with a small piece of punk material, tcing2of, alongside of it. This punk appears to be a very close-pored fungus. In his left hand he holds the striker. The helper stands by, holding a curved tray of hickory bark heaped up with decayed wood, sambi', which has been dried and reduced to powder (Fig. 24). The chief operator then strikes the two stones together,
Fig. 24. Tinder Tray.
and when several good sparks have been seen to fly, a moment is given to watching for evidence that one has been kept alive in the punk. If the spark smoulders in this it is gently transferred to the tinder in the bark tray. From this moment the responsibility rests with the helper. He begins to sway the tinder very gradually from side to side and gauges his movements by the thin wisp of smoke that arises from the smouldering bed. After a few minutes, if things go well, the smoke increases and the helper becomes more energetic. The climax is reached when from the dried wood tinder-bed a little flame springs up. Small twigs are piled on and then larger ones until the blazing mass can be safely deposited beneath a pile of firewood. Nowadays at any rate, the fire-producing materials, flint and punk, are a part of the town chief's sacred paraphernalia and he has the prerogative of manipulating them. A piece of steel is more often used as a sparker in the modern operation, as it is more effective.
The most convenient fireplace arrangement is to have a large, not too dry backlog with the fire maintained along one side according to the number of pots to be heated. When the backlog burns away in one place the fire is moved to another, or the log itself is pushed along.
As to the origin of fire we find here the common American explanation. It is believed to have been stolen, by the mythical trickster Rabbit, from a people across the waters and brought by him to the Yuchi.
44 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
FOODS. — Foodstuffs in which corn or maize is the principal ingredient should be mentioned first in this connection. In its various forms corn has always been the staple article of diet in the region inhabited by these Indians, while at certain times of the year game, fish and fruits have supple- mented the daily menu. Pumpkins, potatoes, beans, melons and squashes rank next in the list of cultivated plant foods. The variety of corn best known seems to have been what is commonly called flint corn
The simplest way of preparing corn for use is to boil it or roast it in the ear and eat it directly from the cob. There is, however, only a certain time of the year in which this can be done and that is when the crop has matured, after the supernatural powers had been propitiated and the bodies of the people purified by ceremonies to be treated later under the subject of religion. One of the chief articles of diet is ts&ci, a kind of corn soup.1 To make this the grains of corn, xvhen dry, are removed from the cob and pounded in the mortar until they are broken up. These grits and the corn powder are then scooped out of the mortar and boiled in a pot with water. Wood ashes from the fire are usually added to it to give a peculiar flavor much to the native taste. Even powdered hickory nuts, or marrow, or meat may be boiled with the soup to vary its taste. It is commonly believed, as regards the origin of this favorite dish, that a woman in the mythical ages cut a rent in the sky through which a peculiar liquid flowed which was found to be good to eat. The Sun then explained its preparation and use, from which fact it was called tso'ci, inferably 'sun fluid.'
A kind of corn flour, tsukhd, is made by pounding up dried corn in the mortar. At intervals the contents of the mortar are scooped up and emptied into the sieve basket. The operator holds a large basket tray in her lap and over it shakes and sifts the pounded corn until all the grits and the finer particles have fallen through. According to the desired fineness or coarse- ness of the flour she then jounces this tray until she has the meal as she wants it, all the chaff having blown away. The meal, being then ready to be mixed into dough, is stirred up with water in one of the pottery vessels. In the meantime a large clean flat stone has been tilted slantwise before the embers of a fire. When the dough is right it is poured out onto this stone and allowed to bake. These meal cakes constitute the native bread, kdnlo. Berries are thought to improve the flavor and are often mixed in with the dough. Besides corn the Yuchi preserve the knowledge of a variety of foods some of which are still commonly used. Hickory nuts, yAe, were commonly stored away for use in the following manner. They were pounded and then
lfThe common name for this corn soup is sofki, the Creek term, which has come now to be widely used for the dish among both Indians and whites.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 45
boiled in water until a milk-like fluid was obtained. This after being strained was used as a beverage or as a cooking ingredient.
Almost any bird, animal or fish that was large enough to bother with was used as food. The names and varieties of such have been already given. The flesh of game mammals, birds, kandl', and fish, cu, was roasted or broiled on a framework of green sticks resting on cross pieces which were supported on forked uprights over the fire. The device was simply a stationary broiling frame. When large hauls of fish were made, by using vegetable poison in streams in the manner described, or more game was taken than was needed for immediate use, it is said that the surplus flesh was artificially dried over a slow smoky fire or in the sun, so that it could be laid away against the future. Crawfish, tcatsd, were very much liked and quantities of them were also treated for preservation in the above manner.
Wild fruits and nuts in their proper seasons added variety to the compara- tively well supplied larder of the natives. Berries, yabaf, were gathered and dried to be mixed with flour or eaten alone. Wild grapes, ca, were abundant. The Indians are said to have preserved them for use out of season by drying them on frames over a bed of embers until they were like raisins, in condition to be stored away in baskets.
Salt, ddbi, was used with food except during the annual tribal ceremony and for a short time before it, when it was tabooed in the same sense as corn or intercourse with women. It was obtained from river banks in certain places, but, on the whole, was rather a rare article with the Yuchi.
Meals were seldom eaten at regular times. Since food of some sort was nearly always over the fire or ready to eat, the different members of the family, or even outsiders, partook of what they wanted whenever they felt inclined. At least once a day, however, one good meal would usually be prepared for all.
The food supply of the Indians of the fertile Southeast, regulated by their forethought in preserving gram and fltsh, seems to have been on the whole, fairly constant and abundant. Accordingly we do not expect to find them making use of matter that is not acceptable to the average human taste, such, for instance, as insects, larvae, and small reptiles. They did, however, and do today, find the raw entrails of the larger mammals and their contents to be much to their liking, esteeming the substance a delicacy.
A more extensive list of special vegetable foods could hardly be gotten from the Yuchi today as they are out of their original habitat, and have discontinued the use of wild plants for some time.
In connection with animal foods it should be remembered that there were numerous clans having particular animals for their totems, and that there existed for each clan the taboo of killing or eating the particular animal which bore the form of its totem.
46 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
DRESS AND ORNAMENT.
For a people living in quite a warm climate the Yuchi, as far back as they have any definite knowledge, seem to have gone about rather profusely clothed, but the descriptions -obtained refer only to a time when the white traders' materials had replaced almost entirely the native products.
A bright colored calico shirt was worn by the men next to the skin. Over this was a sleeved jacket reaching, on young men, a little below the waist, on old men and chiefs, below the knees. The shirt hung free before and behind, but was bound around the waist by a belt or woolen sash. The older men who wore the long coat-like garment had another sash with tassels dangling at the sides outside of this. These two garments, it should be remembered, were nearly always of calico or cotton goods, while it sometimes happened that the long coat was of deerskin. Loin coverings were of two kinds ; either a simple apron was suspended from a girdle next the skin before and behind, or a long narrow strip of stroud passed between the legs and was tucked underneath the girdle in front and in back, where the ends were allowed to fall as flaps. Leg- gings of stroud or deerskin reaching from ankle to hip were supported by thongs to the belt and bound to the leg by tasselled and beaded garter bands below the knee. Deerskin moccasins covered the feet. Turbans of cloth, often held in place by a metal head band in which feathers were set for orna- ment, covered the head. The man's outfit was then complete when he had donned his bead-decorated side pouch, in which he kept pipe, tobacco and other personal necessities, with its broad highly embroidered bandolier. The other ornaments were metal breast pendants, earrings, finger rings, bracelets and armlets, beadwork neckbands and beadwork strips which were fastened in the hair. The women wore calico dresses often ornamented on the breast, shoulders, and about the lower part of the skirt with metal brooches. Neck- laces of large round beads, metal earrings and bracelets were added for orna- ment, and upon festive or ceremonial occasions a large, curved, highly ornate metal comb surmounted the crown of the head. From this varicolored rib- bons dangled to the ground, trailing out horizontally as the wearer moved about. The woman's wardrobe also included an outside belt, decorated with bead embroidery, short leggings, and moccasins at times.
The above articles of clothing, as can quite readily be seen, are largely of modern form if not of comparatively modern origin. However, owing to the fact that no period is remembered by the Yuchi going back of the time when these things were in use, we are left to our own resources in trying to determine which of them were native and which of them were borrowed from outsiders.
If we are warranted in judging by the material used and by the form of decoration which is given them, it would seem that among the garments de- scribed, leggings, breechcloths, moccasins and perhaps shirts and turbans at
P. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 47
least were of native type. The same, furthermore, might be said of some forms of the metal ornaments, ornamented necklaces, hair ornaments, sashes and knee bands. So far as is now known, the decorative art of the Yuchi is almost exclusively confined to the latter articles, and it may be that the antiquity of the decorative designs is paralleled by that of the objects which carry them. Reference is made in myths to the turban, woman's skirt, man's sash and carrying pouch with its broad bandolier in connection with one of the supernatural beings, Wind. The peculiar form of these articles as worn by him then gave the motive for the conventional decorations which are still put on such articles by the Yuchi. This, however, is to be dealt with more fully under the next heading.
The bright colored calico shirt worn next to the skin was called god bilane, 'what goes around the back;' and was provided with buttons and often a frill around the collar and at the wrists. The outer garment, god stal£, 'over the back,' of calico also, was more characteristic. This had short sleeves with frilled cuff bands which came just above the frills of the under shirt, thereby adding to the frilled effect. A large turn-down collar bordered with a frill which ran all around the lapels down the front and about the hem, added further to this picturesque effect, and a great variety of coloring is exhibited in the specimens which I have seen. The long skirted coat, god staked/, worn by the old men, chiefs and town officials, was usually white with, however, just as many frills. An old specimen of Cherokee coat is shown in PI. V, 1, which shows very well the sort of coat commonly worn by the men of other south- eastern tribes as well as the Yuchi. The material used is tanned buckskin with sewed-on fringe corresponding to the calico frills in more modern specimens. It is said that as the men became older and more venerable, they lengthened the skirts of their coats. A sash commonly held these coats in at the waist.
The breechcloth, gontsone" (PI. V, Fig. 2), was a piece of stroud with decorated border, which was drawn between the legs and under the girdle before and behind. The flaps, long or short as they might be, are said to have been decorated with bead embroidery, but none of the specimens preserved show it.
Leggings, toso', were originally of deerskin with the seam down the outside of the leg arranged so as to leave a flap three or four inches wide along the entire length. The stuff was usually stained in some uniform color. In the latter days, however, strouding, or some other heavy substance such as broadcloth, took the place of deerskin, and the favorite colors for this were black, red and blue. The outside edge of the broad flap invariably bore some decoration, in following out which we find quite uniformly one main idea. By means of ribbons of several colors sewed on the flap a series of long parallel lines in red, yellow, blue and green are brought out. The theme is said to represent sun-
48
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
rise or sunset and is one of the traditional decorations for legging flaps. A typical specimen is shown in Plate V, 3. The legging itself reaches from the instep to the hip on the outer side where a string or thong is attached with which to fasten it to the belt for support.
The moccasin, defia', still in use (P1.V,4, and Fig. 25), is made of soft smoked deerskin. It is constructed of one piece of skin. One seam runs straight up the heel. The front seam begins where the toes touch the ground and runs along the instep. At the ankle this seam ends, the uppers hanging loose. The instep seam is sometimes covered with some fancy cloth. Deerskin thongs are fastened at the instep near the bend of the ankle with which to bind the moccasin fast. The thongs are wound just above the ankle and tied in front. Sometimes a length of thong is passed once around the middle of the foot, crossing the sole underneath, then wound once around the ankle and tied in front. This extra binding going beneath the sole is employed generally by those whose feet are large, otherwise the shoe hangs too loose. The Osages, now just north of the Yuchi, employ this method of binding the moccasins quite gen- erally, but the moccasin pattern is quite different. The idea, however, may be a borrowed one. Yuchi moccasins have no trailers or instep
flaps or lapels, the whole article being extremely plain. It seems that decora- tion other than the applications of red paint is quite generally lacking.
The turban, to cine, seems to have been a characteristic piece of head gear in the Southeast. The historic turban of the Yuchi was a long strip of calico or even heavier goods which was simply wound round and round the head and had the end tucked in under one of the folds to hold it. The turban cloth was of one color, or it could have some pattern according to personal fancy. Plumes or feathers were in the same way stuck in its folds for the artistic effect. That some head covering similar to the turban was known in Precolumbian times seems probable inasmuch as a myth mentions that Rabbit, when he stole the ember of fire from its keepers, hid it in the folds of his head dress.
The sashes, gdgddl kwent, 'the two suspended from the body' (PI. V, 5, 6, PI. VI, 7, 8), worn by men, are made of woolen yarn. The simplest of these consists merely of a bunch of strands twisted together and wrapped at the ends. A loose knot holds the sash about the waist. But the characteristic sash of the southeastern tribes, and one much in favor with the Yuchi, is
Fig. 25. Man's Moccasin.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 49
more complex in its makeup, and quite attractive in effect, the specimens I have seen being for the most part knitted. The sashes of the Yuchi seem to be uniformly woven with yarn of a dark red color. Some specimens, howevec, show an intermixture of blue or yellow, or both. The main feature is a dark red ground for the white beads which are strung on the weft. Figures of triangles and lozenges or zigzags are attractively produced by the white beaded outlines and the conventional design produced is called 'bull snake.' The sash is tied about the waist so that the fixed tassels fall from one hip and the tassels at the knotted end depend from the other. Customarily the tassels reach to the knee. The sash is a mark of distinction, to a certain extent, as it was only worn in former times by full-grown men. Nowadays, however, it is worn in ball games and upon ceremonial occasions by the participants in general, though only as regalia.
The woven garters, tse tsxnr (PI. VI, 3), or gode' kwene, 'leg suspender,' should be described with the sash, as their manner of construction and their conventional decoration is the same. The garters or knee bands are several inches in width. They are commonly knitted, while the tassels are of plaited or corded lengths of yarn with tufts at the ends. Here the general form and colors of the decorative scheme are the same as those of the sash. The func- tion of the knee band seems to be, if anything, to gather up and hold the slack of the legging so as to relieve some of the weight on the thong that fastens it to the belt. The tasseled ends fall half way down the lower leg.
Rather large pouches, latl', two of which are ordinarily owned by each man as side receptacles, are made of leather, or goods obtained from the whites, and slung over the shoulder on a broad strap of the same material. It has already been said that various articles were thus carried about on the person : tobacco and pipe, tinder and flint, medicinal roots, fetishes and undoubtedly a miscellaneous lot of other things. The shoulder strap is customarily decorated with the bull snake design by attaching beads, or if the strap be woven, by weaving them in. There seems to be a variety in the bead decora- tions on the body of the pouch. Realistic portrayals of animals, stars, crescents and other objects have been observed, but the realistic figure of the turtle is nearly always present either alone or with the others. The turtle here is used conventionally in the same way that the bull snake is used as the decorative theme on sashes and shoulder strap, that is, in imitation of the mythical being Wind who went forth with a turtle for his side pouch. In PI. IX. Fig. 5, one of the chief ornamental designs is reproduced.
The next ornamental pieces to be described are the neckbands, tsutson la', 'bead band' (PI. VI, 5, 6), worn by men. These are usually an inch in width and consist of beads strung on woof of horse hair; each bead being placed between two of the warps. Beadwork of this sort is widely used by the
50 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. 1.
neighboring Sauk and Fox and Osage and it may be that we are dealing here with a borrowed idea. Not only the idea of the neckband, but also many of the decorative motives brought out on it, may possibly be traceable to Sauk and Fox or other foreign sources. The religious interests of the Yuchi are largely concerned with supernatural beings residing in the sky and clouds, so we find many of the conventional designs on these neck- bands interpreted as clouds, sun, sunrise and sunset effects, and so on. Animal representations, however, are sparingly found, while on the other hand representations of rivers, mountains, land, and earth, are quite frequent. On the whole it seems that most of the expression of the art of these Indians is to be found on their neckbands and the hair ornaments. In thus bearing the burden of conventional artistic expression in a tribe, the neckband of the Yuchi is something like the moccasin of the Plains, the pottery of the Southwest and the basketry of California.
Fastened in the hair near the crown and falling toward the back, the men used to wear small strips of beadwork, tsu'tsetsl', 'little bead' (PL VI, 4), avowedly for ornament. They were woven like the neckband on horse hair or sinew with different colored beads. One which I collected is about eight inches long and one half an inch wide, having three-fold dangling ends orna- mented with yarn. The designs on these ornaments are representative of topographical and celestial features.
A woman's belt, wante gaho'nde kwene, 'goes around woman's waist', is shown (PI. VI, 1). The belts were of leather or trade cloth and had bead embroidery decorations representing in general the same range of objects as the neckbands and hair ornaments. Such belts were usually about two
Fig. 26. Women's Necklaces.
inches wide. Women's dresses, nongsa', will not be described, as they present nothing characteristic or original. Most women are found with strings of large round blue beads about their necks (Fig. 26). It is stated that necklaces of this sort have something to do with the fertility of women.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS.
51
The ornaments which were made of silver alloy beaten and punched in the cold state are exceedingly numerous and varied. The use of such objects has been very general among the Indians and a general borrowing and inter- changing of pattern and shape seems to have gone on for some time during the historic period. No particularly characteristic forms are found among the Yuchi except perhaps in the breast pendants, which are generally crescent shaped, and the men's head bands and the women's ornamental combs. Some of these objects deserve description.
Ornamental Comb.
Fig. 27 shows one of the combs. The narrow band of metal is decorated with punched-in circles, ovals and toothed curves. The teeth are cut out of another strip of metal which is riveted on. The upper edge of the comb is scalloped. Women's bracelets are shown in Fig. 28, with similar ornamentation
Fig. 28. Bracelets.
on the body, and grooves near the edges to render its shape firm. The rings, gompadi'ne, and earrings (Fig. 29) need no description. Hardly any two are alike.
We have evidence in the myths that robes, Antcwd, or hides of animals,
P'ig. 29. Finger Rings.
as the name implies, were worn by the men over their shoulders. The case referred to mentions bear and wildcat skins used in this manner and it is also to be inferred that two different branches of the tribe were charac- terized by the wearing of bear and wildcat skins robes.
52 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
The men furthermore affect the fan, wetcd, 'turkey' (PI. VII, 9), of xvild turkey tail feathers. The proper possession of this, however, is with the older men and chiefs who spend much of their time in leisure. They handle the fan very gracefully in emphasizing their gestures and in keeping insects away. During ceremonies to carry the fan is a sign of leadership. It is passed to a dancer as an invitation to lead the next dance. He, when he has completed his duty, returns it to the master of ceremonies who then bestows it upon someone else. The construction of the fan is very simple, the quills being merely strung together upon a string in several places near the base (Fig. 30) .
The Yuchi men as a rule allow the hair to grow long all over the head until it reaches the neck. It is then cropped off even all around and worn parted in the middle. The portrait of the old man (PI. I) shows this fairly well. Something is usually bound about the forehead to keep the hair back from the face; either a turban, silver head band or strip of some kind. The beadwork hair ornaments used to be tied to a few locks back of the crown. Some of the older men state that a long time ago the men wore scalp locks and
Fig. 30. Feather Attachment of Fail.
roached their hair, removing all but the comb of hair along the top of the crown, in the manner still practiced by the Osage. Men of taste invariably keep the mustache, beard and sometimes the eyebrows from growing by pulling them out with their finger nails. The hair was formerly trimmed by means of two stones. The tresses to be cut were laid across a flat stone and were then sawed off, by means of a sharp-edged stone, to the desired length.
The women simply part their hair in the middle, gathering it back tightly above the ears and twisting it into a knot or club at the back of the neck. The silver combs, already described, are placed at the back near the top of the head.
Face painting, as we shall see, is practiced by both men and women for certain definite purposes. There are four or five patterns for men and they indicate which of two societies, namely the Chief or the Warrior society, the wearer belongs to. These patterns are shown in PI. X, and will be described in more detail later on. Although the privilege of wearing certain of these patterns is inherited from the father, young men are not, as a rule, entitled to use them until they have been initiated into the town and can take a wife.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 53
Face painting is an important ceremonial decoration and is scrupulously worn at ceremonies, public occasions and ball games. A man is also decorated with his society design for burial.
The only use ever made of paint in the case of women seems to have been to advertise the fact that they were unmarried. Women of various ages are now. however, observed with paint, and it is generally stated that no significance is attached to it. One informant gave the above information in regard to the past use of paint among women and thought that to wear it was regarded then as a sign of willingness to grant sexual privileges. The woman's pattern consists simply of a circular spot in red, about one inch across, on each cheek (PL X, Fig. 4). A few other objects of personal ornament which are, however, functionally more ceremonial will be described when dealing specifically with the ceremonies.
54 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
DECORATIVE ART AND SYMBOLISM.
Something has already been said about decorative designs in the descrip- tion of clothing, but the designs themselves and the general subject of art deserve a little attention. As regards the artistic expression of this tribe it seems that, in general, special conventional decorations symbolizing concrete objects are confined to a few articles of clothing such as neckbands, sashes, hair ornaments, leggings and carrying-pouches. The whole field is permeated with a strong religious significance. Decorations of a like sort with a still more emphatic religious meaning are found on pottery, though rarely, as well as on other objects. Besides this xve find occasional attempts, 011 the part of the men, to make realistic pictures of familiar objects by means of pig- ments on paper, bark or skin, not to mention the fashioning of a few crude representations in plastic material. Considering, however, the part that con- ventional decoration plays in the present case, it seems to outweigh the importance of pictorial art. It must be admitted, though, that this sup- position is founded entirely on the consideration of modem material, and, as there appears to be no way of going back of this for an insight into earlier stages, the only course is to treat it as a native feature. A suspicion regarding the foreign origin of Yuchi ornamentation has already been mentioned. We must also reckon with considerable deterioration resulting from contact with the whites- Lacking, then, the ability to deal with Yuchi art in its definitely pure state we shall undertake the consideration of some decorative designs dn clothing as representing the most specialized and characteristic surviving forms. Some of these are simple conventional geometrical patterns which are used with variation by different individuals and often regarded as religious symbols. For instance, we find the conventional bull snake pattern on sashes, garters, neckbands and shoulder straps, with a religious significance attached to it. Inasmuch as the Wind on one of his excursions made use of bull snakes for his sash, garters and shoulder strap and was highly successful in his under- taking, the emulation of this great being is sought after by human beings when they decorate their sashes, garters and shoulder straps with the symbolic bull snake design.1 The same emulative motives are to be found in the frog
lrThe likelihood that the snake design was predominant in the decoration of shoulder straps and sashes of most of the southeastern tribes is to be inferred from the frequency with which this design, to the exclusion of others, appears in the portraits of Creeks, Semi- nole and Cherokee published by McKenney and Hall (History of the Indian Tribes of North America, 3 vols., 1848-50).
F. 0. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 55
effigy pipes and in the turtle design which is common on the side pouches (PI. IX. Fig. 5).
Other patterns lack, so far as is known, any religious associations, being merely conventional decorative representations of familiar natural objects. In this category we find patterns of mountains, clouds, rivers, the moon, sun, milky way, and rainbow, while representations of such living forms as the centipede and the bull snake are also met with. The greatest variety of patterns showing minor differences and bearing the same interpretation seem to be those representing sky and cloud effects. The religious interest of the Yuchi in the upper world of the sky may have influenced them in their taste for celestial symbols. In this connection it should be remembered that they regard themselves as the offspring of the sun and point to that orb as the tribal sign in gesture talk. It was remarked by one of the men who supplied the specimens illustrated here, that some years ago when the Yuchi were more given to roving about the plains for game they were distinguished among the Osage, Sauk, Pawnee and other tribes encountered, by the predominance of cloud, sky, sun and moon designs shown in their beadwork neckbands. In fact, the decorative motives seem to be of a more or less fixed tribal nature. No symbols for abstract ideas, as for example those of the Arapaho for thought and good luck, have been found.
In depicting objects and in conventional patterns naturally the outlines give the chief character to the figure, though colors have their conventional uses. Blue represents sky or water, dark blue, the sky at night, and white or yellow, light or illumination. Green represents vegetation. Brown, earth or sand, and red, earth and fire. As among many tribes of North America, colors are furthermore associated with the cardinal points by the Yuchi.
kodanfd, north; hitsA."', green or blue. fakanfd, east; yakd, white. waf fa, south ; tcald, red. fanfd, west; ispV, black.
Of these, two carry the symbolism further. The east and its whiteness signify the propitious, the west and black stand for the unpropitious, while red is symbolical of war and turbulence. These concepts, at least the black west and the white east, are undoubtedly connected with day and night.
In different accounts the colors going with the cardinal points vary some- what. It appears that no fixed symbolism is maintained but that the idea of color in connection with the points is general but variable. The same tendency seems to be found in other tribes, which would explain the conflicts xvhich are often recorded.
The illustrations given here were mostly made from specimens secured from the Indians and the interpretations are those offered by their makers. In
56 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
some cases, however, patterns were remembered by Indians but no actual specimens showing them could be obtained. Pigment representations in color were then made by the Indians of a few designs which were familiar to them but out of use, and the interpretations were secured at the same time as the sketches. Other designs were copied from specimens which could not be ob- tained. PI. VIII, Fig. 8 is a general pattern representing the bull snake, cankd, on earth or sand. It was done in pigment and said to be intended for use on shoulder straps of pouches, garters or sashes. Fig. 7 also shows a pattern of the bull snake design for similar use; the body material here is supposed to be of some white cloth and the red, yellow and blue outlines are to be produced by sewing the beads on or weaving them singly in the fabric. Fig. 6 is an actual design taken from a pair of woven garters. The white beads are woven in the fabric and the whole also symbolizes the bull snake. Fig. 2 is a pattern representing the centipede, totcengane. It was done in pigments and is intended for use on beadwork neckbands. Figs. 3 and 4 are both from specimens of beadwork neckbands and show three-color conven- tionalizations of the centipede. Fig. 5 represents the same with the difference that the legs are shown in the outside marginal row. Fig. 1 and PI. IX Fig. 4, show mountain designs seen on breechcloth flaps, blankets, and belts, and used also on neckbands. This is called ^a'yaboha p?*en, 'many crooked mountains.' PI. VIII. Fig. 9, is a pattern, tse^a', river, taken from a neckband representing a river, in blue, flowing through arid country, indicated by the brown ground color. Fig. 15 is another neckband design showing the same idea with a little variation in color. Fig. 14 is a hair ornament representing likewise a river flowing through a fertile prairie land. In Fig. 13 is a pigment pattern for belt, shoulder strap or neckband. It represents an otter, according to its well-known habit, sliding down the bank of a stream into the water which is represented by the blue area. The red portion shows the muddy bank. Fig. 12 is taken from a beadwork neckband and shows the milky way, tsene yuctanr, 'dog's trail,' in white, as seen on a starlight night. The dark blue represents the sky at night and the white beads in it are stars. Fig. 11 shows the design on a woman's belt done in beads and cloth appliquee. The whole represents the breaking up of storm clouds, showing glimpses of the blue sky in between the cloud banks'. Fig. 16 is from a beadwork necklace and represents a bright sky with various kinds of cumu- lus clouds which are shown in the different shaped rectangles. Fig. 10 is another neckband design representing the rainbow, yifia' or wefia'. Fig. 17, taken from a neckband, is similar in content to Fig. 16, showing cumulus clouds.1 The right angle L represents the moon. Figs. 18 and 19 are neckband and hair ornament designs representing different sunrise or sunset effects, tsonh.nr.
One informant gave the additional name of "boxes" to the rectangles.
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 57
Fig. 20 is a variation of the idea represented in Fig. 17, showing also the moon symbol. This was taken from a beadwork neckband. Fig. 21, also a neck- band idea, is uniform red representing the glow of sunset in the sky, and is called hoponle tcaldla, 'sky red all over.' Figs. 22 and 23 are beadwork design elements also representing sunrise or sunset amid clouds.
The most characteristic and important example of religious symbolism is to be found in the public area or town square of Yuchi town where the cere- monies are performed and tribal gatherings take place. Although this will be described and figured further on under another heading (see PI. XI), it deserves mention here. The town square itself, with its three lodges on the north, south and xvest, symbolized the rainbow. The natural coloring of the brown earth floor of the square, the green brush roofs of the lodges, the gray ashes of the fire in the center and the red of the flames formed altogether an enormous ashes, earth and vegetation painting, if such an expression might be used, which was the tribal shrine. The colors of this town square altar corresponded to those of the rainbow. The ceremonial event which took place annually on this shrine furthermore symbolized the various actions of the chief supernatural being and culture hero Sun who taught the people the ceremony as it was per- formed by the inhabitants of the sky in the rainbow during the mythical period. Like the symbolism of many primitive peoples in America that of the Yuchi was closely connected with religious life.
It is observable that most of the geometrical figures used here as design elements, such as rectangles, triangles and zigzag lines, are commonly found in a similar capacity in other regions with, however, different and arbitrary sym- bolisms and interpretations in different localities. This seems to be in accord with what Dr. Boas has shown for parts of North America, that certain figures have become disseminated through wide areas and have received secondary, oftentimes symbolical, interpretations when adopted by different tribes accord- ing to their particular interests. Below, in Fig. 31, is given a summary of Yuchi conventional figures from the material at hand to facilitate the com- parison of American motives and their interpretations. The significance of the various colors has already been given. To conclude this very brief account of art and symbolism a few examples of pictorial representations are given. These drawings in color were brought in by Indians to further explain various features of ethnology while investigation was being car- ried on. No claim is made regarding their spontaneity or native orig- inality. In Plate IX, Fig. 10 represents a buffalo fish which has been shot with an arrow, Fig. 9 shows a cow's head with an arrow crosswise in its mouth. The picture of a mortar, pestle and two potstirrers (Fig. 11) was drawn to show the miniature domestic utensils which are hidden away with the navel cord of a female child to influence its future. Fig. 6 represents a war club of an ancient type no longer seen, with a String of feathers. Fig. 7
58 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. f.
10
1 1
12
13
14
15
o
L6
17
O
o
18 19 20
1 o
22 23
2-1
1, 2 Snake. 3, 4 Centipede. 5, 6 River. 7 Rainbow.
Fig. 31.
8, 9 Morning or Evening Sky. 17-19 Stars.
10 Milky Way. 20-22 Moon or Sun.
11-15 Clouds. 23-25 Sun.
16 Sunset or Sunrise. 26, 27 Mountains.
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI .INDIANS. 59
is the sun and moon or moon and star symbol, which was placed over the entrance of the Yuchi house as a tribal mark symbolizing the kinship of the people to the sun. Fig. 8 is a design taken from a drum head. It represents the color symbolism of the cardinal points, lacking, however, the black for west. The Yuchi seem to perceive no intrinsic difference between approxi- mate shades of green and blue. When these colors are placed side by side, however, they note an existing difference when attention is called to it. The language has one word for the two colors, hits\nt ' . Shades and tones of other colors are seldom distinguished. Even the extremes do not call forth particular mention unless they border on each other. Thus indigo might be called black. Yellow and green, however, are clearly distinguished apart and are covered by particular xvords, dl yellow, hits\nr green or blue. Aesthet- ically green or blue and yellow were claimed as the favorite colors by the majority of those wrho were questioned about the matter. It may also be noted here that designs representing cloud effects and celestial phenomena are held in the greatest fondness. by the Yuchi, in which preference they may have been influenced by religious associations. The favorite patterns are commonly called by such names as engedjinen, 'dressed up/ and gatse' 'ponpane , 'pretty.' Several more complex pictures are reproduced on Plate IX, which may be of native origin. They were made by a chief of his own accord on paper to illustrate several things that were mentioned in the myths. They are comparable to some of the pictures made by the plains tribes for similar purposes. Fig. 3 depicts the milky way, tsene yucta™ , 'dog's trail,' at night and the clear sky studded with stars. This is to explain the belief that the milky way is the trail of White Dog, a supernatural being, who travels over it every night. The ramification to the right, which is rather difficult to distinguish in the milky "way, is supposed to be a blind trail leading toward the earth. The White Dog frequently blunders and takes the blind trail, getting quite near to the earth before he discovers his mistake. The Indian dogs are quick to perceive this and thereupon set up a howl which they keep up until White Dog has passed on. Thus the weird howling at night of the Indian dogs is accounted for. Fig. 2 shows the rainbow, yifia', 'big house (?),' the trail over which the soul travels toward the spirit land. The brown area represents earth with a mountain in darker shade ; the blue is water in the background, with sky in green above all. In Fig. 1 is a river, land, a mountain range and sky in their respective conventional colors. In the foreground are trees, and a raccoon which has been fishing and is now bound for the tree on the left where he has his hole. Fig. 5 is given to show a design used on the side pouches and shoulder straps which sup- port them. The upper figure is a turtle, tdbzar. The turtle and snake de- signs on these pouches have already been described so it is not necessary to explain their significance again. The other figures on the lower part of the
60 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
pouch are a hand and a tomahawk. I could not find out what idea they are intended to convey, or what their reason was for being here. The aesthetic and symbolic forms exhibited in pipes (Fig. 11) and clay figures (Fig. 12) have been described before and hardly need to be more than mentioned.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS.
61
MUSIC.
Singing at ceremonies and dances was accompanied by drums and rattles of two kinds.
The large drum was made of hide stretched over a log sometimes three feet high and was used to call the townspeople together, and to accompany dancing. This in later times was replaced by a smaller type of drum, the pot-drum, didane (Fig. 32) now used at ceremonies. It was made by stretching a piece of hide over an earthen pot standing about 18 inches high, containing water. An ordinary stick was used xvith it as a drum stick. The hide covering was decorated usually with a painted wheel-like design, suggesting a correspond- ence with the cardinal symbolism (See Fig. 8, Plate IX). The black for west seems to be lacking and yellow is substituted for white in this specimen. The drum had its special resting place in front of the chiefs lodge in the town square and the privilege of beating it was vested in a certain individual.
Fig. 32. Pot Drum.
The hand rattle, tanban6 (PI. VII, Figs. 3, 4), was formerly a gourd, but nowadays is a cocoanut shell scraped thin and filled with small white pebbles a stick being run through the nut to serve as a handle. Small circular orifices are made in the shell to let the sound out. The gourd rattle was held at right angle to the forearm in the right hand. Sun symbols (Figure 31, Nos. 23, 25), often are carved or etched around the perforations on the shell.
A characteristic and peculiar instrument is the tsonta' (PI. VII, Figs. 10, 11) the rattles worn only by women in the dances. They are composed of six to ten terrapin shells containing small white pebbles, attached to sheets of hide. Each shell has a number of holes in it and is comparable in function to the single hand rattle. One such bunch of rattles is bound to each leg below the knee. A shuffling up and down step produces a very resonant sound from this instrument. Two women usually carry them and
62 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
may enter most of the dances when they have been well started. The tsonta' is said to be chiefly destined for the Turtle Dance, but was observed in use in others.
All of the above instruments were functionally ceremonial. There is another, however, which is strictly informal in its use. This is the flute or perhaps more properly the flageolet, lok\nf, (PL VII, Fig. 2). It is made of cedar wood, being about two feet long and one inch in diameter. A stick of the proper thickness is split down the center and the sections gouged out until about one-eighth of an inch thick. The concave sections are then placed together in their original position and bound in five or six places with buckskin or cord. The mouthpiece is formed by simply tapering off the end abruptly. The red cedar wood used is sacred. There are six hole stops on the upper side of the lower half of the instrument. A flat piece of lead is bound with its edge at the air vent which is about four inches from the mouthpiece. The air channel to the lead is formed by the raised interior and is covered by a peculiar block of wood which is gummed and bound on. The following seven tones are produced. The pitch is about one-half a tone higher than that of the medium absolute scale.
This type of flute is one that is found widely distributed over the continent. Here as elsewhere it is employed by men as an important aid in influencing the emotions of the opposite sex. Very plaintive and touching strains are pro- duced on the flute. They seem to have a deep effect upon the Indians, often moving the hearers to tears. Young men intentionally play these sad tunes to arouse the emotions of young girls, and the players themselves appear to be as much affected as anyone. The owner of a flute keeps his instrument wrapped up in a package and treats it with extreme care. It was formerly put to another use sometimes. When the people were traveling from a distance toward the town square to attend ceremonies there, the flute was often made to give forth a few measures of music as a sort of travelling song. When passing isolated farms or settlements on the route the flute was also played to signal the presence of the travellers and to call the hearers to join them on their journey to the town square.
One of the tunes played on the flute as a love song was recorded on the phonograph and a transcription of it is offered below. The man who gave this tune exclaimed something like the following when he had finished: "Oh, if some girls were only here! When they hear that they cry and then you can fondle them. It makes them feel lonesome. I wish some were here now. I feel badly myself."
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS.
The strain is as follows : —
^-rF==P^^^-7-n--i— i-p==
'— a— — *-- f*^-» — a—
The above theme is repeated over and over again with all possible varia- tions, as shown in the five typical staffs given.
The vocal ceremonial music of the Yuchi shows one feature at least which is rather more complex than what is generally found among Indians. The char- acter of the music of the other southeastern tribes also resembles theirs in this respect. The characteristic trait is that, in many of the ceremonial dance songs, the leader gives one measure and his followers respond in chorus in another measure or in a variation of the leader's. It resembles what is commonly known as "round" singing where there are two members. A concrete example will, perhaps, better illustrate this point. In one of the favorite dances, the leader steps out from the lodge on the town square where his rank entitles him to sit, and walks over to the fire in the center of the square, passing around it several turns from right to left. At about the second turn he assumes a posture and rhythmic step, holds up his elbows and sings with a deep resonant voice
ho ho - 6
Before he has finished the final glide the other men, who have by this time filed in behind him, repeat the syllables on a lower note somewhere near the end of the glide, but with less of a musical tone
64 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. 1.
Immediately following this the leader repeats his first notes, changing the syllables to ha ha — ha. The file responds in chorus as before, changing their syllables to correspond with those of the leader. This may be repeated over again, by the leader, three or four tunes, sometimes varied with the syllables he he — e, then he introduces a change. He sings
ah! hi yo
the dancers respond with
ah ! hi yo
and this is repeated four times. Then the leader changes again. With increasing vehemence he sings
ah hi ya« a
to which the dancers respond with
ah hi ya£ a
and this is gone through four times. The leader then gives a shorter measure,
which the other dancers repeat, sounding their first note immediately after his last. The leader now, on his part, follows without a pause with
ho ho
which the other dancers repeat after him. What has already been sung may constitute, with of course many fourfold repetitions, the first song of the dance and the leader closes it with a shrill yell which his followers echo. This type of song is very characteristic and common. There are, however, other ways of varying the "rounds," either by repeating the last two syllables of the leader's part on the same notes that he uses, or on different
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 65
notes in harmony with them. Another variation has been noted in which the syllables of the line dancers' responses are entirely different from the leader's. We have, for instance, in another song
*
ah hi ya« a sung by the leader, to which the dancers respond with
yo ho and the leader finishes the couplet with
to which the dancers answer
yo ho
Other examples of the syllables which appear in the leader's strain and in the dancers' responses can be seen in some of the dance songs which will be given later on.
It is characteristic of the ceremonial dance songs that they consist al- most entirely of meaningless syllables. Only in rare instances do words appear for a few measures, to be lost again in the rhythmic jumble of mere syllabic sounds.
The rhythm of the songs which coincides in most dances with the beat of the drum or the shake of the rattle is predominantly one-two. The shuffling step of the dancers also accommodates itself to this time. The only other drum rhythms heard were three-fourths, four-fourths and an attempted tremolo which occurs oftentimes at the end of a song or where a break is made. Both of the rattles, the hand rattle and the woman's terrapin shell leg rattles, are shaken in accordance with two-fourths time, either slowly or rapidly according to the circumstances. Vehemence or excitement naturally tends to increase the speed of the rhythm.
As regards the intrinsic harmony of the dance songs it must be added that to the ordinary European ear they are remarkably agreeable. The simple rhythm accented by the drum or rattle, and visualized by the steps and motions of the dancers has a noticeable carrying force. To the natural voices of the Indians the songs in both tone and syllable, are well adapted.
66 ANTHEOPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
Much practice in singing the dance songs from early youth makes the unison and promptness of the responses almost mechanical.
There is another feature of the dance songs deserving of mention here. It is a common thing for men \vho are clever in this line to compose new songs, and words to go with them. They usually choose some occasion when dancing is going on to present their pieces. Naturally, of course, there is nothing radically original in either the wording or the music of the new dance songs. They are, as far as observation goes, largely plagiarized from more or less stereotyped native sources. In presenting a new piece the composer usually steps into the dancing space between dances and leads off with some famil- iar introduction until a few dancers have joined in behind him. Then when all are well started he begins his composition, while those behind him simply keep on with what they commenced. So the composer as dance leader carries on his new song much to the enjoyment of his consorts and the amusement of the spectators. No drumming accompanies these dances. Unfortunately full examples of this kind of musical innovation are not available in Yuchi. Such songs do not seem to have any religious bearing whatever. Their most prominent characteristics appear to be the humorous, the obscene and, in some respects, the clownish. Part of one song composition, which I remember, describes a man's attempt to plow with a castrated hog and a bison bull harnessed together. Before the first furrow is finished, as the song goes, the hog wants to wallow in the mud and the bison bull wants a drink. Then they break out of bounds and run away, leaving the man dumbfounded. An example of obscene composition is one which alternates stanzas of meaning- less syllables, such as ya le haf, yo ha he*, with short phrases describing coha- bitation or mentioning the private parts.1
The Indians regard a good singer and dancer as an accomplished man, hence no little pride is manifested in the art. Love songs are also common and are sung to give vent to related emotions, such as loneliness, sorrow, joy and other passions. One of these songs, which are, for the most part, also burdens without meaning, was given in a paper on the Creek Indians2, but this might be taken for a Yuchi song as well, being apparently common to both tribes.
1 The words of another pantomimic song of the same sort in Creek have been given in "The Creek Indians of Taskigi Town." Memoirs American Anthropological Asso- ciation, Vol. II, part II, p. 138.
'Ibid., p. 120.
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 67
DIVISION OF TIME.
The seasons are four in number. Spring, called hlnA.nwadeU, 'when sum- mer is near/ is the time when agricultural activities are resumed after the comparative idleness of the winter. 'Summer/ wade*, a term apparently related to wdfd, 'south,' is the long and active season. Autumn, yaca- dltt, 'when the tree leaves are yellow/ is a period of combined rest, hunting and enjoyment. Winter was called wlctd, 'snow comes (?).' This season the people spent in idleness and recreation.
The year is further divided into moons or months, each of which has its name. The names of eleven of these moons with translations and the corresponding months in our calendar are as follows:
5s a latcpl' Ground frozen month January.
Ho' da dzo Wind month February.
WadPd' slug0' Little summer March.
WdcfiaPa' Big summer April
Decso' nendzo Mulberry ripening month May.
Cpdco nendzd Blackberry ripening month June.
Wag£a' kya Middle of summer July.
Ts6ne agd Dog day August.
Tsogd ll'ne tsese Hay cutting month September.
Tsofid' honstan$ Corn ripening month October.
Ho'ctA.nd?a' kya Middle of winter December.
The passage of time during the day time is commonly observed by glancing at the sun. During the night time the moon and stars, if the weather is clear, serve the same purpose.
The day itself is divided into different periods equivalent, in our reckoning, to morning, noon, afternoon and evening. The names for these are agyatt, 'at dawn/ 'morning'; yubal£n, 'noon/ derivative from yu'ba 'high/ referring to the sun; padonAnhogy£, 'afternoon/ 'toward the night;' fd 'evening/ and lastly, padof 'night.'
ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
SOCIAL AND POLITICAL ORGANIZATION.
The social and political organization of the Yuchi is, for a primitive people, rather complex. What is offered here upon this subject probably does not represent all that could be said ; neither is it to be supposed that the In- dians of today retain a complete knowledge of earlier social conditions. . The social groups outside of the ordinary family consisting of man, wife or wives and offspring, are two, namely the clan, and another which for want of better terms we may call the society or class. The whole tribal •community, inclusive of the various groups, forms another unit with special institutions, called the town. At several periods in history the town has been co-terminous with the tribe. At other times, when its settlements have been scattered over wider areas, the tribe has divided itself into several towns, some of these assuming independent names and the privileges of self control in political and religious matters. Anticipating somewhat the discussion of the clans we find these to be maternal totemic groups with the regulation of exogamy. These clans number about twenty. The society or class divisions, on the other hand, show a grouping of the males of the tribe into a two-fold division. This identity descends from father to son, certain public offices connected with religious ceremonies and political matters going with it. The societies, besides, are the only social divisions which have distinctive personal insignia, in the form of designs in facial painting. Lastly the town, or the tribe, we shall find to be the all-embracing institution with its elective officials, its annual religious ceremonials and its public square-ground where councils and social gatherings are held, and which, once a year, becomes, in the native mind, a religious shrine where the whole community is ex- pected to assemble for the annual ceremonies.
After the Yuchi became a part of the confederacy instituted by the Creek (Muskogi) tribes a slight development is to be noted. The tribe then became politically a town of the confederacy and had to appoint a representative to the confederacy council, without, however, suffering the loss of its independence in most matters. The Yuchi tribe thereafter owed a certain amount of support to the Creek confederacy and was to a slight extent subject to its military decisions.
KINSHIP.
The family, in our sense of the word, as a group is of very little social or political importance in the tribe. The father has a certain individual social
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 69
standing according to his clan and according to his society. The woman oh the other hand carries the identity of the children, who may be said to belong to her. The bonds of closest kinship, however, being reckoned chiefly through the mother, it would appear that the closest degrees of consanguinity are counted in the clan. This matter of kinship is better illustrated by the list of terms which I give below. The list does not claim to be exhaustive.
1. dltso t*dnf, my father.
2. dltso hanf, my mother.
3. dls2dne, my son.
4. dfiyane, my daughter.
5. dlgosne, my child (indefinite).
6. dltso dane, my brother, my clan brother.
7. dltso wcfine, my sister, my mother's sister's daughter.
8. dltso dflne, my children (both sexes), great grandchildren, etc.
9. dltso hdnsl' (literally "my little mother") my mother's sister.
10. dltso tsansl', (literally "my little father") my mother's brother, my
father's brother.
11. dfiyA™, my mother's sister's son.
12. dl lahd, my father's sister, my mother's mother, my mother's grand-
mother, great-grandmother, etc., my father's mother (and her sisters and brothers).
13. dltsozo'} my mother's father, my mother's grandfather, great-grandfather,
etc., my father's father (and his sisters and brothers).
14. dlga'tA™, my wife, (if there is more than one all are included under the
same term), my husband (woman speaking).
15. dltso gewosahA.™ , my wife's father, my wife's mother.
16. dltso kydne, my wife's sister, my wife's father's sister, my wife's mother's
sister.
17. dltso djane, my wife's brother, my wife's father's brother, my wife's
mother's brother.
18. dlga'tl', my friend.
A few remarks on this list will perhaps make the reckoning some- what clearer. The children of the father's sisters and the children of the brother are not in the list, as they are expressed , not by any specific term of relationship, but by a combination of the involved terms, i. e., dl lahd se s2dne, 'my father's sister, her son', and dltso dane honssdne, 'my brother, his son.'
So also with the children of 'my wife's brothers and sisters/ and 'my wife's father's sisters and brothers. ' In fact, by means of the first six terms (omitting
70 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
5) almost any relationship can be expressed. It is, moreover, frequently done in this way by those who are not well informed on the terms.1
The terms of relationship from 14 onwards answer as well for a man speaking as for a woman speaking.
It can readily be seen from this list that the lines of closest kinship are within the clan. (See 6, 7, 9, 10, 11.)
Contrary to what might be expected in America, it appears that no dis- tinction in terms is made between elder or younger brothers and sister1 and elder or younger sons and daughters.
Sex appears to be a distinctive characterizer as shown in most of the equivalents for dl lahd (12) and dits*o & (13).
It is also rather peculiar that, after the first generation from the speaker, posterity is not differentiated, but is grouped promiscuously under the one term ditso djin£ (8).
THE CLANS.
One of the social units of the Yuchi requiring to be taken up in detail is the clan. This is a group in which membership is reckoned through maternal descent. The members of each clan believe that they are the relatives and, in some vague way, the descendants of certain pre-existing animals whose names and identity they now bear. The animal ancestors are accordingly totemic. In regard to the living animals, they, too, are the earthly types and descendants of the pre-existing ones, hence, since they trace their descent from the same sources as the human clans, the two are consanguinely related.
This brings the various clan groups into close relationship with various species of animals and we find accordingly that the members of each clan will not do violence to wild animals having the form and name of their totem. For instance, the Bear clan people never molest bears, but nevertheless they use commodities made from parts of the bear. Such things, of course, as bear hides, bear meat or whatever else may be useful, are obtained from other clans who have no taboo against killing bears. In the same way the Deer people use parts of the deer when they have occasion to, but do not directly take part in killing deer.
In this way a sort of amnesty is maintained between the different clans and different kinds of animals while the blame for the injury of animals is shifted from one clan to the other. General use could consequently be made of the animal kingdom without obliging members of any clan to be the direct murderers of their animal relatives.
1 To illustrate this I might add that several times young men who were asked for various terms of relationship gave the indirect or combined expressions instead of the actual term. For instance, I was given ditso hdn' hongdwa^ne, 'my mother, her sister,' instead of ditso hdnsi',"my little mother,' 'my mother's sister' (9).
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YDCHI INDIANS. 71
In common usage the clan is known collectively by its animal name : the men of the Panther clan calling themselves Panthers, those of the Fish clan, Fish, and so on through the list. The totemic animals are held in reverence, appealed to privately in various exigencies, and publicly worshipped in dances during the annual ceremony so often referred to.
The idea of the clan or totem is expressed by the word yu'ta, 'on the house.' The Bear clan, for instance, is designated by the expression sagty yuta, 'bear on the house,' or, in a somewhat different manner, by the expression sag2e/tahat ' those who have the bear on them.' By these etymologies, the inference is that in former times, the members of one clan resided together in the same dwelling under the same totem, and that some realistic or symbolic sign about the person distinguished the different clansfolk from each other. It should be recalled in this connection that the tribal totem, the sun, was painted over the doorway of the Yuchi house and that the men wore decorative designs in beadwork which indicated their affinity to the sun. Clan totemic designs may have been displayed in a like manner.
It will be shown later on that the young man or boy in the course of his adolescence reaches a period when he is initiated into the rank of manhood in his town. This event is connected with totemism. For from the time of his initiation he is believed to have acquired the protection of his clan totem. Thenceforth he stands in a totemic relation similar to the young man of the plains tribes who has obtained his "medicine. " Here in the Southeast, however, the "medicine" is not represented by a concrete object, but is the guiding in- fluence of a supernatural being. The earthly animals nevertheless are believed in many cases to possess wisdom which may be useful to human beings, so the different clans look to their animal relatives for aid in various directions. Among the tribes of the plains, however, each man has an individual guardian spirit, which is not necessarily the same as his gens totem.
From several informants the following list of clans has been collected, but there seems to be some doubt about those which are marked * as they were not generally agreed upon.
1 Bear, Sag8?'. 11 Otter, Culant.
2 Wolf, Data. 12 Raccoon, Dja'tien.
3 Deer, We*y±nf. 13 Skunk, YusAnf.
4 Tortoise, Tdbsaf. 14 Opossum, Wetsagou>An'.
5 Panther, WetcKAnf. 15 'Rabbit, Cadjwant.
6 Wildcat, CadPant. 16 Squirrel, Cdya.
7 Fox, Catient. 17 Turkey, Wetc*A.
8 Wind, Godd. 18 Eagle*, Cd'na.
9 Fish, Cu. 19 Buzzard*, 10 Beaver, Cagd™. 20 Snake*, Ca.
72 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
A mythical origin is ascribed to clans. When the earth was completed, the beings upon it were made to assemble and told to advance to a certain distance. Upon their return, in full view of the assembly, some would ask, "What does he look like?" Then Goha 'ntone1 ', a supernatural being, gave them names according to the nature that they exhibited in their movements. Those who jumped on trees became birds, and those showing other physical peculiarities became various animals, thenceforth the ancestors of clans. This account, taken from the Creek, is asserted by the Indians to be identical with that of the Yuchi. Tribal myths relating to the various exploits of animals that appear in the clan list are told for the purpose of praising the totem and showing his superiority over the other totems. Into this class some negro myth elements, and perhaps whole animal tales, may have become incorporated, since each clan welcomes praiseworthy stories of its totem's exploits and is ready to repeat such tales as though they were of native origin. Most Indians, however, distinguish between what is original and what is borrowed.
The social rank of these clans is not equal throughout. Four at least are classed above the others, and from one of them the town chief is chosen. Others, given at the foot of the list are rather looked down upon and seldom if ever represented in official positions.
The town chief of the Yuchi, the four head chiefs of the ceremonies, and the medicine priest, must be chosen from either the Bear, Wolf, Tortoise or Deer clans. There is some attempt made to have two of the four ceremonial chiefs from two different clans. At the last celebration of the ceremonies two were from the Bear clan and two from the Wolf, the town chief himself being a Bear. The neighboring Creek towns are likewise headed by a member of the leading clan in each town. The modern explanation given for this hegemony is that the head clan is the most numerous and most powerful in the town, but the real explanation, as in all such cases, is probably a very different one, although we have no means of knowing what it is. The next to the highest official at the ceremonies, the gocone, who represents the Warrior society, is usually taken from the Panther clan.
No particular insignia is found to distinguish the different clans from one another. There are, furthermore, no esoteric clan ceremonies among the Yuchi, all clan religious worship being held in common by the town at the annual festival. Dances are likewise performed by the townsmen irrespective of their clan, the dances being for the honor and propitiation of the clan totem for whom the dance is named. It would appear from this that the clan organizations and clan religious rites have become subordinated to the town organization in the course of time. Direct historical evidence for such a supposition, however, is wanting, except for the fact that in their old home the Yuchi are reported to have lived in clan communities more centralized than we find them now.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 73
No clan groups or phratries are recognized at the present time, nor are clans subdivided. There are, besides, no historical evidences of convergence. From the beginning clans are believed to have remained separate and distinct and must continue so. In regard to the antiquity of the present clan system it appears that no historical changes have taken place, except where occasional extinction may have occurred.
One fact should, however, be mentioned, at least in connection with a possible clan grouping in some former period. Reference is made, in a myth to a time when the tribe was holding a dance. The people were divided into two bands, those dancing with bear hides over the shoulders and known as the Bear-hide people, sag8 e hhntcwd, and those dancing with wildcat skins, the Wildcat-hide people, catlene' h&ntcwd. A dispute arose amongst them and the two groups separated. The Bear-hide people departed westward and were never heard from again. Those that remain today are all Wildcat people. What the historical significance of this myth or tradition may be it is unsafe to say. The important restriction of exogamy which holds for all the clans equally, will be described under marriage.
Until recently the blood-feud prevailed, but reprieve was granted to an offender who was able to get inside the public-square ground during the annual ceremonies without being apprehended. Maintenance of clan honor and reverence for their totem were exacted of all people, because the displeasure of the totem was feared. As the taboo of taking the life or eating the flesh of the totemic animal rested upon all, should the taboo be broken, propitiation had to be made in the nature of a fine, which was paid to the clan, either in live stock or property, else the offender was punished by a whipping.
Upon the death of a man the ordinary property of the household which properly belonged to him is divided among his own and his sister's children who are naturally of his clan. All of the personal property of a woman descends to her cMldren. If she has none, it goes to her nearest clan relatives.
CRIMES AND PUNISHMENTS.
Before becoming subject to our laws the Yuchi had their own regulations in regard to crime. Punishments were not inflicted by any organized body, but it was understood that whoever discovered the wrong, or whoever caught the wrongdoer, had the privilege of giving the punishment, The clan as a body was often the agent.
Murder was considered the greatest wrong. The clan of the victim usually hunted down the culprit and took vengeance upon him. Sometimes, however, only the immediate family was concerned. When the murderer was found he was killed as nearly as possible in the same way that he had committed the
74 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
murder. If the murderer had used a knife on the victim, then he was executed with a knife, the same one if possible. If he had used a rifle then he was shot in the same xvay that he had done the deed. No vengeance, however, was under- taken by the clan of a murderer for his death. There was only one way for a man who was outlawed for a misdemeanor to be forgiven, and that was for him to hide away until the next harvest ceremony and then try to get safely inside the town square during the event. If he succeeded in this he was not molested and was thereafter exempt from vengeance.
Adultery and fornication were the next most serious offences. The hus- band or his family were the agents of punishment in this case, although anyone discovering the parties in the act had the right to inflict mutilation. Fornica- tors and adulterers when caught were invariably punished by having their ears cut off. The man and the woman were both treated in this way.
Thieving was a minor offence and the matter was usually settled without much of a disturbance, the property being returned or an equivalent rendered.
Personal injury was revenged by personal retaliation. Sometimes, how- ever, the victim's clan would help him to retaliate.
It would also happen that sometimes families, or a few townspeople, would band together to rid the community of an undesirable member, or to inflict chastisement on some intolerable mischief maker. For instance, it often happened that young women who were pestered too much by some man would conspire together, waylay him and abuse him until they thought he had enough of a lesson. Not infrequently men of this sort were very seriously mutilated by enraged and vindictive women. A case is remembered where a woman cut off the private parts of a man who had forced her into cohabitation.
THE SOCIETIES.
Another social grouping entirely separata and distinct from the clan system exists among the Yuchi. Its members are not necessarily considered as kin, but represent two divisions of the tribe which include the entire male popula- tion. Every male child is born into one of these two divisions and counts his eligibility to membership through his father. The two divisions are the Chief society and the Warrior society, respectively, balen and sanbd. Inherited membership in these societies is as rigid as it is in the clan, alienation being impossible. Certain rights belong to these societies, which will be described in separate paragraphs. But perhaps the chief idea con- cerned with them is that the Chief society is a peace band, and the Warrior society is a war band. Tribal subdivisions based on the same functional idea are characteristic of several other southern tribes, among whom may be mentioned the Creeks, and the Osage. Un- doubtedly, when more is known, other tribes will be found to have similar
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 75
institutions. The Sauk, for instance, have something apparently quite similar.1
1 As so little on the subject of the social subdivisions among the southern and south- eastern tribes has appeared in print, it seems advisable to present here what little is avail- able for comparison.
The Creek tribes in general recognized the difference in function between two classes of men in some of which membership was elective. These were the Chiefs and the Warriors, the former less numerous but more influential in some towns, the latter having the political control in other towns In Taskic;i town, for example, the highest permanent authority was a Chief instead of a Warrior, on account of which the town was classed as a white or peace town. Facial painting among the Taskigi had for its object the designation of the two divisions. (Cf. Creek Indians of Taskigi town, pp. Ill, 114.)
Among the Chickasaw all the clans are grouped into two divisions which, in sentiment, are manifestly ill-disposed to each other, reciprocally attributing sickness to each other, holding separate ceremonies, having separate officers, a separate camping place, and wearing different facial painting. Here, too, one group is held in higher esteem, the other being considered inferior. (Cf. Notes on Chickasaw Ethnology, Journal American Folk-Lore, Vol. XX, p. 51).
The Osage gentes are grouped together in two divisions, politically opposite in func- tion. Tht one is for war, the other for peace, each having its own camping place, personal marks, officers and local interests. (Cf. Siouan Sociology, Fifteenth Report Bureau American Ethnology, 1893-94, and Notes on the Ethnology of the Osage Indians, Trans- actions of the Department of Archeology, University of Pennsylvania, Vol. II, part 2, p. 166-7).
"The warriors of the Saukie nation are divided into two bands or parties, one of which
is called Kishkoquis, or the ' Long Hairs,' and the other Oshkush, the brave The
Kishkoquis, or ' Long Hairs,' are commanded by the hereditary war chief Keokuk, whose
standard is red; the head man of the Oshkushies is Kaipolequa whose standard is
blue. The 'Long Hairs' take precedence in point of rank. The formation of these parties is a matter of national concern, and is effected by a. simple arrangement. The first male child who is born to a Kishkoquis is marked with white paint, the distinguishing color of the Kishkoquis, and belongs to that party; the next male of the same family is marked with black paint, and is attached to the Oshkushies, and so on alternately, the first son belong- ing to the band with his father, and the others being assigned in turn first to one band, and then to the other. Thus all the warriors are attached to one or the other band, and the division is as nearly equal as it could be by any arrangement commencing with infancy.
"Whenever the whole nation or any large party of warriors turns out to engage in a grand hunt, or a warlike expedition, or for the purpose of performing sham battles, or ball plays, the individuals belonging to the two bands are distinguished by their appropriate colors. If the purpose of the assemblage is for sham fighting, or other diversion, the Kish- koquis daub their bodies all over with white clay, and the Oshkushies blacken themselves with charcoal; the bands are ranged under their respective leaders and play against each other rallying under the red and blue banners. In war and in hunting, when all must be ranged on one side, the white and the black paints are mingled with other colors, so that the
distinction is kept up, and after the close of the expedition the trophies of each band
collectively art compared and the deeds of each repeated. The object of these societies will be readily seen. They form a part of the simple machinery of a military government. . .
From early youth each individual is taught to feel that the honor of his band as
well as his own is concerned in his success or failure "
Cf. McKenny and Hall, History of the Indian Tribes of North America, etc., Phila- delphia, 1848, vol. I, p. 117.
76 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
The Chief society, baien, has the right of being seated, during ceremonies, in the west lodge of the town square, and from its ranks are chosen the highest public officials. Four chiefs occupy the front of the lodge, the principal or town chief being of their number and their head. These four are the first to come forward to participate in the ceremonial events. In the town council it is a Chief who must light the pipe and start it around. The main recognized function of the Chief society is to manage the governmental affairs of the town so that peace is preserved. They are, above all, conservative in everything. If anything, the Chiefs hold themselves above the Warriors in general esteem. They are the thinkers, the speakers, the dignified superiors of the town.
Although there exists no strictly regular design for the facial decoration of a Chief, yet the following limitations are traditionally observed. Little or no black is used, both eyes are surrounded with red, and usually on each cheek alternating bars, less than two inches long, of blue and yellow are laid horizon- tally (PI. X, Fig. 5). Frequently three small blue spots are placed in a line between the corner of the eye and the temple (Fig. 8). Any of these markings may be omitted or varied to suit personal fancy, yet the character- istics are prominently retained. The young child members of the Chief society, who have not yet been formally initiated to the band, are usually decorated with red on the eyebrows, cheeks and forehead (Fig. 2). It is asserted that this society has the privilege of exercising more freedom in the use of various colors than the Warrior society.
The Warrior society, sanbd, has four representatives, who are seated two in the north lodge and two in the south lodge, during the ceremonies. One of their number is head, and is called gocone. He is the highest in rank of the Warrior society his special office during the ceremonies being to insure con- tinuous dancing, to take care of the fire while dancing is going on, and to appoint players in the ball game. The Warrior society forms one side in the ball game ; they are known as mean players, while their opponents, being of the other society, display a more dignified demeanor. The four Warriors are second to the Chiefs and follow them when the emetic is taken. This society also supplies the official who performs the scratching operation at the ceremonies. In the council and at the ceremonies the common members of the Warrior society are seated in the north and south lodges, ranged behind their representatives. Their tendency in political affairs was formerly, to advocate the appeal to arms. When war was decided upon, the Warriors embarked in a body under their heael man, who might accordingly be called a sort of war chief.
The characteristic pattern of this society is to have one half of the face red, the other black, (PI. X, Fig. 7). A variation of this pattern, said to be a simpli- fication, is to paint only one eye socket black and the other red. Accompanying this modification the upper lip is often blackened (Fig. 3).
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YDCHI INDIANS. 77
Exceptions to the above formulae in facial decoration are quite frequent and unexplainable. At the 1905 ceremonies one occupant of the Warrior lodge had merely a red line drawn from the corners of the mouth to the angle of the jawbone (PI. X, Fig. 1). Both in 1904 and 1905 the Yuchi town chief wore no paint whatever, neither did the functionary who performed the scratching operation. Chiefs have been observed at other times with red blotches or two or three red bars on the cheeks (Fig. 6) .
If anything, something of a hostile feeling is manifested and felt between the two societies. This is allowed to break out in a mild way, upon the occasion of the ball game, where, as before stated, the two societies make up opposite sides. Jealousy on the part of the Warriors may be at the bottom of this. The inheritance of property partially follows the paternal line, thereby keeping within each society much of the property of its members. At his death each male among the Yuchi is painted with the design ap- propriate to his society, and slight differences in mortuary observances are supposed to exist. A mythical origin is ascribed to the societies. A super- natural being, Gohdntone, is believed to have been their originator, as was stated by those who claimed to know anything at all on the subject.
In general, it may be added that at the annual ceremony the office of the Chief society is to care for the medicine plants and their administration, while the Warrior society presides over dancing and games, each society being rep- resented in the field of ceremonial action by the four members with special privileges. In all affairs, however, the Chief society takes precedence.
From all appearances men of the Chief class prefer to have their daughters marry Chiefs rather than Warriors for the sake of maintaining the social superi- ority of their line. There is, though, no strict rule about this. If the tendency toward endogamy were carried much further in the societies, they might be described as non-totemic gentes, in the restricted American sense of the term, and we should have an instance here of both a clan and a gentile system flourish- ing in the same tribe.
When the whole matter is considered as it stands among the Yuchi today, it seems, if anything, that the society organization has a more prominent place in the social life of the town than the clan organization. Whereas the position of town chief is kept in the hands of a certain clan and many of the ceremonial dances are supposed to have been formerly more in the nature of clan dances, we find, nevertheless, that military, religious and most political officers are chosen according to their society. As for military and most political matters of the town they are quite evidently more the concerns of the societies than of the clans.
As nothing definite regarding the actual history of the society organization can be stated, it can only be said that the two social groups exist side by side, having the tribal honors and privileges fairly equally divided between them.
78 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
In a general way there appear to be some points of resemblance between these divisions and the ceremonial and military societies of the plains. The simple inheritance of the society privileges, which characterizes the Southeast, offers a contrast in some respects to the custom as we find it in other regions. In some tribes of the plains heraldic and society rights invested in sacred bundles are transmitted by sale and purchase, while among the Kwakiutl, whose social organization has been thoroughly studied, and so serves well for purposes of comparison, the rights to ceremonies and heraldry are acquired by marriage.
To a certain extent, bearing in mind the feeling of superiority on the part of the Chiefs, and their position in the town, the two Yuchi society groups remind one of the social castes of the Natchez, if we rightly interpret the nature of the latter from historical records.
THE TOWN AND TOWN SQUARE.
We now come to the consideration of the town. This is the ruling institu- tion in the life of the Yuchi, the same holding true for most of the other south- eastern tribes. It has superseded in political importance the other social group- ings, and, as far as any governmental activities are carried on at all, they too are the affairs of the town. The societies are represented by officers in town gatherings, while some of the clans have assumed the right to fill the highest town office, as we have seen before. The town is extremely democratic, how- ever, as all of the men are expected to be present at its meetings, having the equal right to express opinions upon public matters which may be up for debate and to acclaim their vote for or against candidates for the town offices. The ritualistic and ceremonial life of the community is also a matter of town interest. The chief religious rites take place once a year publicly in the town square. Here again every male is a common participant in the events that take place, and the leaders of the minor social groups become for the time the ceremonial officials as well. Besides these officials, with double functions as it were, there are several others who do not seem to have any special con- cern with clan or society, but who have to do chiefly with the town when it is assembled either on religious or political occasions.
The Yuchi town, consisting of families, clans, and societies, forms by itself an independent social group, as has been shown. The identity, politically speaking, between the terms town and tribe has also been mentioned. There are three such towns recognized today, one of them less important than the others: Polecat, Sand Creek, and Big Pond, the last being the least. The town comprises an area of settlement having a common public ceremonial and council square-ground. It has a chief representative, who is called 'bdlen,' the chief religious official as well. He was also the representative of his town in the Creek House of Kings. Two towns, Polecat and Sand Creek, perform an annual ceremony at which the presence of all townsmen is
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YDCHI INDIANS. 79
required, under penalty of a fine "which is paid to the four principal chiefs and used to defray the expenses of the attendant feast.1
Membership in the town is decided entirely by birth. But "with proper recognition a stranger who marries a Yuchi woman may become a member by being initiated at the annual ceremonies. Initiation merely consists in under- going the ceremonial operations with the men of the town. The town has the power to make peace or war. Redress for individual wrongs inflicted by aliens is demanded by the town, and the town, furthermore, must be party to all under- takings or stipulations with foreigners.
In taking a view of the old town idea and the later developed Creek Con- federacy, let us consider the condition of the Yuchi in their original seats, in the east. There they lived in scattered communities, each having a public town square and town ceremony just as today. Representatives were chosen to appear at the tribal gatherings which occurred once a year when all the settle- ments or villages were assembled. With the inroads of the unorganized Mus- kogi from the west, and their incorporation of the indigenous southeastern stocks, it would be very natural for them to seize upon a town system which was found on the soil, well fitted to their mode of life and adaptable to a loose protective confederacy. The loose confederacy then, when the Muskogi had completed their conquest of the natives and become properly organized, appeared as nothing more than an improved and extended type of the town system in vogue among themselves and the Yuchi.
THE TOWN SQUARE. — The center of the town is a square plot of ground kept free from vegetation and trampled down smooth and hard all over. This plot is known as the rainbow, or big house, yifia'. Its four sides face north, east, south and west respectively. Here is the sacred ground of the town where civil and ceremonial events take place. The square, moreover, is the town itself in sentiment. It is located near water, and at a point con- venient to the townsfolk. Its sides are about 75 feet in extent. Three lodges constructed of upright posts roofed with brush, open on all sides, stand on its borders, one on the north, one on the west and one on the south side of the square. In the center of the square is a spot where the fire is kept burning during night gatherings. Some idea of the general appearance of the town square and the lodges can be obtained from the photographs illustrating the different stages of the ceremonies (Plates XII-XIV) . The archi- tecture of the lodges is the same as that of the dwellings figured before. It is commonly reported, however, that some generations ago the lodges on the square-ground were quite different from those of today. They were
1 In the 1905 ceremonies, the gocont, through intoxication, was unable to undergo the scratching operation. For this, he and several others were each fined $2.50 by the chiefs. If money is not forthcoming the equivalent in stock or property is exacted.
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ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
without roofs, being merely four tiers of logs intended for seats. These were graded in elevation so as to afford all the audience an unobstructed view of the square. The front and lowest seat consisted simply of a log resting
07 08
PUBLIC SQUARE GROUNU
NORTH
Fig. 33. Diagram of Yuchi Town Square, showing seating of officials in council.
A. Chief Society Lodge
B. Warrior Society Lodge
X. Fire Place.
1. Town Chief, Bear Clan.
2. Assistant, Wolf Clan.
3. Chief, Wolf Clan.
4. Chief, Bear Clan.
( 5. Scratching Official, ) 6. Warrior Official, j 7. (Master of Cermonies) ' 8. Warrior Official,
Bear Clan.
Gocone, Panther Clan. Bear Clan.
upon the ground. The second was several feet higher, supported by crotched or forked posts. The third was still higher, and the last bank of
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 81
seats was some feet above the ground, enabling those sitting there to see over the heads of the spectators in front.
A diagram of the town square showing the seating arrangement for the in- habitants and for the different groups and officials is given in Fig. 33. It should be added that the ordinary members of the Chief society are ranged on log seats behind their leaders 1, 2, 3, 4 in the west lodge A. The other two lodges, B, are for the Warriors whose leaders are seated at 5, 6, 7, and 8. The clans of the various officials are given with the explanation of the figure, to show how these are represented among the leaders at the time of this writing. No particular arrangement in the location of different clans and societies about the square seems to have been thought of. Aliens and strangers are allowed on the square-ground at all times except during the second day of the annual ceremony.
Only the political aspect of the town square has been thus far dealt with. Its religious aspect, however, is even of greater importance It has already been said that the square-ground symbolizes the rainbow. In this sense it represents the rainbow as the town square of the supernatural beings, the idea having been brought to earth, with instructions to perpetuate it, by the tribal deity, the Sun. In emulation of the supernatural beings who were holding a meeting upon the rainbow in the world above when the Sun himself was borri, the earthly people now congregate upon the earthly rainbow-shrine for their communal events. At the tune of the annual ceremonies the square- ground is decorated in places with colored material, ashes, paint and vegeta- tion to carry out the symbolism, the place becoming, for the time, a great religious emblem. As this, however, is more closely connected with religion than with the present heading, the description of the square as a tribal shrine is reserved for another place.
TOWN OFFICIALS AND COUNCIL.
TOWN OFFICIALS. — The following deals with various town officials and their functions, as far could be learned. The officers are given in the list in the order of their rank.
Bdlen gabidane. — A tribal chief having this title is chosen for life to represent the tribe in the Creek confederacy councils.
BalenKa'. — This is a town chief elected from the Bear clan as the civil and religious head. He must be of Chief class. A worthy clansman of his is chosen to assist him and to inherit his place. This man, too, has an important place in the ceremonies and is called also bdlen.
Bdlen. — Three Chiefs having this title comprise the town chief's staff.
GoconG. — This is a master of ceremonies from the Panther clan and repre- sents the highest official of the Warrior society. He is the treasurer, so to speak, of the town and possesses the power of a kind of policeman. He is
82 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
the master of dances and the fire guardian at the night ceremonies. His duties cease at the beginning of the ball game which concludes the annual ceremony.
Gocone or Sdnbd. — Three other Warriors comprises the staff of the preced- ing officer, being called also gocone. They, with the master-of-ceremonies, form a sort of Warrior committee. >..
All of these officers are both the civil and religious functionaries upon ceremonial occasions. The qualifier yusahe, 'square ground,' is prefixed to their titles, as in yusaho'balen.
The following few officers seem to have had occasion for employment only at the annual ceremonies, in the various capacities mentioned.
YdtcigV . — Four young men about to be initiated were given their first official duties under leadership of one of their number. They were the actual police of the public square, their badges of office being staffs about seven feet long. They had to keep women and dogs from the square and to prevent men from sleeping or leaning against posts during ceremonies. They handled the sacred fire materials and procured and prepared the emetic. They will be mentioned again later. This town square ceremonial service was really the culmination of their initiation period, and the young men entered into full tribal manhood after it was over.
Gondlne or Yatsd. — The scratcher, one of the four gocone, was chosen from the Warrior society to perform the ceremonial scratching operation upon the men.
Ka'kd, 'white man.' — Two butchers had entire charge of the feast prepara- tions at the ceremony. Their insignia were also staffs. They were also the heralds for the town at this time.
All of these offices are given by simple election or appointment in council in the public square, and are held for life unless deposition is warranted on grounds of inefficiency or for some other good reason. The yatcigl', however, leave their office when they marry and other boys take their places.
THE COUNCIL. — The Yuchi council is the town assembly under the charge of the officials. It is held in the public square at intervals appointed by the town chief, as a rule lasting all day. Every townsman is expected to be present and seated in either the Chief lodge or the Warrior lodges, according to his society. The four principal chiefs occupy the front log of their lodge and the four 'gocong', two in each opposite Warrior lodge, are seated upon the front log of that lodge. The town chief is the first to speak announcing the purpose of the assembly. From the fire, which is started in the usual place in the center of the square, a pipe is lighted by a member of the Chief society and passed around. After due deliberation in smoking a speech can be made by anyone wishing to do so. It is usual, however, for the town chief to be the first to make an address. He rises from his seat and states the subject under consideration, at the same time giving words of advice and asking for serious thought in connection with the matter. Should the town chief for
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 83
any reason not wish to make the speech himself, he can dictate it to an assistant, \vho will commit it to memory and, at the proper time, deliver it in public as though he were the town chief himself.
In tunes of the election of officials, speeches are made by the supporters of the candidates, or those opposing them, until a majority is reached in the case of each candidate. This is necessary in all elections to office. In the actual election or casting of ballots, the men of the town assemble on the town square in a long line. Then, as they start to walk toward the town chief, those who are in favor of the candidate step out of the line to one side. A man of the Warrior society, usually the gocone, counts them and reports the result to the town chief, who concludes with a speech of inauguration. Councils and elections of this sort are usually ended by night-time and the towns folk then fall to dancing in the square-ground until daybreak. The seating in the council is the same as that in the ceremonies. The decisions of the body are made public throughout the town and carried into effect by the gocont. Two Warriors often serve as heralds during council meetings and during the ceremonies. These are the ka'ka. They are a sort of police as well.
The Yuchi tribe has a head chief who is known as its highest representative. His town, the Polecat settlement, is now the center of religious and political activity.
Every individual not a Yuchi by blood is held as an inferior, and a separate pronominal gender in the language distinguishes the Yuchi from all other tribes and races. Nevertheless, men of other tribes often marry Yuchi women and thenceforth are obliged, under penalty of a fine, to take part in tribal activities. Such, however, are not often elected to offices. They sit in the Warrior society lodges in the square. A few Creeks and Shawnees are thus intermingled with the Yuchi. As a part of the Muskogi confederacy, the Yuchi tribe occupied an equal place with the various other tribes and stocks that composed this body. Officially it was called in Creek,Yuchi Town, Yu'tsi tdlwa, and sent one represen- tative to the Creek House of Kings and four (sometimes called Commissioners) to the House of Warriors at Muscogee, I. T., the then capital of the Creek Nation. Yuchi Town is looked upon as quite an important one in the confed- eracy, for it. always has been somewhat aggressive.
If in conclusion we interpret the social conditions correctly it would appear, from what has been said, that certain of the clans had established their own prominence in the village community, made up different totemic groups, and assumed the prerogative of filling the highest governmental office, namely that of town chief. From this point on, we may venture to say, the various social elements of the town obtained representation in public offices until a balance of power was reached and the present town organiza- tion resulted.
84 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
WARFARE.
The military was only a moderately developed institution with the Yuchi. As far as we are able to judge, the training of young men for the war path was undertaken as a means of defense, rather than for the purpose of aggression. The original idea was apparently to maintain the political unity of the tribe, and to protect its territory against the encroachments of foreigners. The town council, consisting of the chief as chairman and representatives from the Chief and Warrior societies, together with war leaders and other old men of integrity and experience, exercised the privilege of declaring war against an enemy, calling all the able-bodied men of the Warrior class into action. In such a case the town was said to "go out" and the movement was a unanimous, tribal one. The matter, however, would be debated in the town square for some time, the Warrior society usually clamoring for action, the Chief society bringing to bear a conservative influence on the debate.
On the whole, little seems to be known of the military history of this tribe. Hawkins states that Benjamin Harrison attacked one of the Yuchi towns and killed sixteen gun men. Historically we know of another such instance during the Creek War, 1814, when the Yuchi joined the Creeks in an effort to repulse General Jackson and suffered, in consequence, quite serious losses at the hands of the troops. They as a tribe no doubt supported the Creek towns at other times after their incorporation into the Creek Confederacy.
There was, however, nothing to prevent the gratification of individual inclinations toward making up parties for raiding or for war with other tribes. The Yuchi, like typical Indians, often proceeded to do this. Such parties often comprised the members of a clan who were bent on retaliation, or they might be made up of restless, violent fellows who thirsted for excitement or plunder. In such a project, we are told, the town itself had no share of responsibil- ity and often manifested openly its disapproval. Neither would the town acknowledge the blame before the representatives of other tribes which had been assaulted by such parties.
For warfare the Yuchi used the same kind of bows and arrows as for hunt- ing. These have been described. In addition, a club, geg2ane or yaksa', was carried. A sketch of one of these is given, PL IX, Fig. 6, as it was remembered by an Indian. Its handle was of wood and the head was a wooden ball. A string of feathers ran from the end of the handle to the head. Axes with stone, and later with iron heads, are remembered to have been used. They were called tcldV. A modification of the iron tomahawk, tctd&yudPa', 'tomahawk pipe, ' was much in vogue, during the colonial times, among the
F. G. SPECK ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 85
Yuchi as among most of the eastern tribes. These, of course, were obtained from white traders. Nothing, however, is remembered of spears or shields.
Before going into action the warriors were careful to have their faces painted with the design appropriate to their society or class. A head covering or helmet was made of leather stiffened and rounded on top to deaden the im- pact of a club or arrow. The whole affair was rather low and dome-shaped and was colored red, symbolic of war.
In the attack an attempt would often be made to take captives. These would be taken to the town and burnt at the stake right off or kept until the next annual ceremony. Here, then, they were sacrificed by being burnt in the southeast corner of the town square at high noon of the second ceremonial day, as an offering to the Sun. The shedding of human blood upon the town square shrine at this ceremonial time was, as we shall see later, quite an important rite.
Scalps were taken by removing the whole scalp, the hair of men being dressed to form one entire scalp lock covering the crown. When scalps were brought to the town, they were stretched on hoops and carried in a dance at night, by the women relatives of those who took them, as among the prairie tribes. A cry, said to be in imitation of the wolf, was given by a warrior when a scalp was taken, and the same cry is nowadays given by a player in the ball game who throws a goal. This is called the 'gobble-whoop/ as it ends in a trem- ulous gobble made in the throat ; a very popular cry among all the southern tribes. Before going to war the town would perform all the dances and many of the ceremonies of the annual ceremony, to propitiate and secure the favor of the clan totems and other beings. This performance was called the War Dance in the common parlance of the Indians and white men.
86 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
GAMES.
With the Yuchi, all games have a strong ceremonial aspect. They are, most of them, of a public character, taking place in the allotted playground adjacent to the public square. The afternoon of the second day of the an- nual festival is the usual time for playing them ceremonially. Many of the games are accompanied by ritual, more especially the ball game. Stakes are "wagered in nearly all games by both players and spectators. Like most Indian games the betting is a very important item of consideration.
The first to call for description is the ball game played with two rackets and known quite generally among the tribes of the Southeast. A number of descriptions of the game as played by various tribes are available and offer inter- esting material for comparison.1
This game commands more interest among the Yuchi than any other, and is always played after the emetic is taken and the feast completed, on the second day of the annual ceremony. It has been, however, played at other times of the year by different parties in the tribe or made an intertribal or inter- town contest for the purpose of betting. The Yuchi have frequently played against other towns of the Creek Nation. The game is still played in a modified manner.
A rite, called the Ball Game Dance, is performed the night before, in honor of the sticks which are used in the game, and the supernatural power residing in them. The sticks are placed on a scaffold, usually in the west lodge of the square ground, with a line of women standing behind it. Men, including the players, are lined up on the opposite side. They all sing and stamp their feet, but in this dance the loudest singing is done by the women . Sometimes the sticks are painted red for this ceremony, to symbolize their combative function.
As many players as wish or are fitted to do so may take part in the game, though the sides must be evenly matched. On this occasion, men of the Chief class form one side and Warriors the other. The latter are tradition- ally mean players, even nowadays resorting to foul play and violence. Each side choses a chief or leader, and his regalia at the present day consists of a
1 A compilation of much of the material has been made by Culin and published. See games of the North American Indians, in Twenty-fourth Annual Report of Bureau American Ethnology (1902-1903), p. 561, et seq.
F. G. SPECK — ETHNOLOGY OF THE YUCHI INDIANS. 87
cow's tail stained red, worn sticking out from the back of the belt, or a collar of red cloth having a number of blue strips hanging from it. Common players must not wear foot coverings or hats. The custom now is to have a handkerchief bound around the head. Formerly no clothing save the breechcloth and sash or cow's tail was worn.
Goals consisting of two uprights and a cross piece are erected at each end of a level stretch, about 250 feet apart. The course of the ball field is east and west. Each goal is sacred to one side, and various means are attempted to bewitch that of the opponents. If a woman with child can be made to encircle the goal of the opposite side it will cause that side to lose. In very formal games certain taboos of actions and diet were enforced, but these practices are now obsolete.
The sticks used in this game are made of hickory. Two are used by each player, that in the right hand often being longer by several inches. These ball sticks, dagancd (PL VI, Fig. 2), are usually about three feet long, of heavy, well-seasoned hickory wood. They are sometimes circular, sometimes polygonal in section. The scoop to catch the ball in is formed by cutting about one foot of the shaft down flat, then turning and bending it back upon the handle end, where it is lashed fast in several places. The open scoop is then netted with rawhide or deerskin, one thong running lengthwise across the open and another crosswise. In some particularly good sticks there are two thongs each way. Holes through the rim of the scoop are made for fastening the thongs. Some variety in detail is found hi different specimens. The crosswise thongs are twisted up tight, so as to hold fast the lengthwise strand which passes through the twist perpen- dicularly.
The ball, daganf, is made of buckskin stuffed with deer hair and contains a conjured object in the center. It is about two and one-half inches in diameter, the cover consisting of two round pieces of soft deerskin sewed together all around their edges. A specimen ball, when opened, proved to contain a core of red cloth which was itself sewed up in the form of a ball. The large ball, dagdnsd, used in the football and handball game, is six inches in diameter and much softer than the small one. Several auxiliary lines of stitching are put on the opposite sides of the joining seam to take up whatever slack might result from violent usage.
The other tribes using two sticks in this game, in contrast to the one-stick game of the northern Plains and Algonkian tribes, are the Creek, Seminole, Cherokee, Choctaw, Chickasaw and Shawnee. The Choctaw seem to have carried the ball game to its highest athletic and ceremonial form.
Before the Yuchi begin a game, an address of encouragement and instruc- tion is given by an old man of the Warrior society who has charge of the event. In one form of the game the sticks are laid on the ground in a pile and at a
88 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
signal the players scramble for them. At other times, time is taken up in conjuring the score-ground. An old man, a Warrior, marks a line on the ground near the ball field. He cuts small sticks to represent points or goals. Then he begins a harangue to the sticks and the mark, telling them to be fair and so on, pointing all the time at the different objects He names the sides on the line and the little score sticks. After this conjuration he takes the ball and, when the players are ready, being arranged in squads near their goals, tosses up the ball from the middle point between the goals. Then he runs to one side to escape the clash of the opponents. The players close in to catch the ball in their rackets and force it through their opponents' goal posts.
Strict care must be taken by the players not to allow the ball to be touched by their hands. This is about the only rule of the game, every sort of strategy and violence being allowed. When a player makes a goal he throws his body forward, elevates his elbows and gives the ' gobble ' yell, a tremulous whoop also given as a scalp cry. This is a taunt.
From this point on the game is a wild struggle. The bystanders add to the confusion by shouting and yelling cries of encouragement, gya, 'hurry up,' kye, 'here/ and other directions intended to aid the players, just like white spectators. Wherever the ball is there is a pushing, shouting, yelling crowd of
Goal
Goal
Fig. 34. Plan of Ball Field.
players trying to get it in their rackets. Those on the inside are fumbling and trying to prevent others from securing it, while those farthest away are pushing and hammering with their sticks to break a passage toward the center, until someone secures the ball and sends it up in the air over the heads of the crowd toward the opponents ' goal if possible. Then someone else who has been waiting at a distance for just this occasion has time to seize the ball between his rackets and line it off for a goal before the crowd reaches him. He is lucky if he does not get clubbed by some angry opponent after this. If his throw falls short or misses the goal someone else has a chance to get it and make a throw. Or if the player who catches the ball is near the hostile goal he may try to run with the ball tightly gripped in his rackets. Then his success depends upon his speed, but his pace may be slackened by a blow from the racket of some one of his pursuers, whereupon he drops the'ball and the crush closes in about him. Or he may circle off and by outrunning the rest succeed in carrying the ball through the goal posts, while everyone sets up a yell and the sides line up with suppressed excitement for another inning.
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The line-up was observed as follows : according to the number of players a certain force was placed to guard the goal post on each side, while the majority were grouped on opposite sides of the center of the ground where the ball is tossed up. Thus there were two squads on each side. Between these squads few half-way men were stationed. The diagram, Fig. 34, shows a typical ar- rangement, the black dots representing one side, the circle their opponents. The cross X is where the ball is tossed up. As the games observed were be- tween members of the two societies of the tribe, the players in the figure, in- dicated by circles and dots, represent respectively Chiefs and Warriors.
Goals obtained are marked by the score-keeper, by driving small sticks in the ground on the side of the line which has scored. The first side to score twenty goals wins. In this game men arc often seriously injured and killed. It is stated that, in a game between the Yuchi and one of the Creek towns some years ago, four men were fatally injured. The photographs (PI. XVI. ) show groups of players at different stages of a game which took place in conclusion of the annual ceremony of 1905.
A similar game in which women may take part on both sides, or against men, is played with a large ball (Fig. 35), the bare hands alone being used. This is an informal and very amusing event. Played in another way the ball is kicked by men and women on opposite sides. This was called dagAn tent, 'ball kick.'
Another game is called cow's head. A cow's head is elevated on a pole about twenty feet high, and men and women strive to hit it with a small ball, which the women throw with their hands and the men with ball sticks. Counts are as follows:
Fig. 35. Foot Ball.
Hitting cow's head counts for men
" horn " " " .
" two feet below head " ".
1, for women . 5 1, " " ... 2 1, « " ... 1
Played in another way, the women throw the ball, which was a large one in this case, while the men kick it. Twenty players were on each side. Betting was carried on with both of these games.
Like the prairie tribes, the Yuchi women also played a game with two balls connected by a thong. This they tossed by means of a simple straight stick. There was no goal, the object merely being to get the chain ball away from the opponent. The hoop and throwing stick game was also knoxvn to the Yuchi. Cat's cradles or string games are well known by children and adults. Four
90 ANTHROPOLOGICAL PUB. UNIV. OF PA. MUSEUM, VOL. I.
or five of these string figures were seen. One of them, for instance, was called Crowfoot,1 another resembled the common Jacob's Ladder,2 while the others, extremely long and complex, could not be named. All of the figures were made by one person alone and the figures were brought out chiefly by manipulating the right hand. A common figure was similar to that known to white children under the name of 'sawing wood.'3 Some of the string figures may have been learned from white people.
Horse racing, foot racing and trials of strength and endurance are greatly to the liking of the Indians. On such occasions they usually indulge freely in betting. Among other contests carried on by men is a form of wrestling. The first grasp is an elbow grasp, each man holding the other somewhere near the elbow and trying to throw him backwards by dexterous twisting or by combined strength and weight. The semiformal giving of presents to guests and friends is also a fairly common practice upon the occasion of the gatherings. The event is hardly to be called formal, as the giver simply offers tobacco to the person he wishes to honor and states aloud what he will give. The recipient is under no obligations to return the favor until some time has passed, when he is expected to return to the giver another and more valuable gift.
1 The finished pattern resembles "Leashing of Lochiel's Dogs" (cf. String Figures, by Caroline F. Jayne, New York, 1906, pp. 116, 120; also the Tanana " Raven's Feet") (ibid. p. 306, fig. 825) ; and the Cherokee " Crow's Feet" (cf. A. C. Haddon, American Anthropologist, Vol. V, No. 2, p. 217).
2 This resembles an Osage figure recorded by Mrs. Jayne (cf. String Figures, p. 27, Fig. 50.)
3Cf. ibid. p. 357 Fig. 805.
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CUSTOMS. BIRTH.
Before child-birth takes place the prospective mother retires to a secluded temporary camp always east of the usual dwelling. Here she is attended by one or two old women relatives and her mother.
In order to facilitate delivery a decoction is made by placing a bu'let in a cup of water, and the woman is given this to drink. During delivery she lies flat on her back on the floor or on the ground. Sometimes the family
Fig. 36. Objects Deposited With Navel Cord.
induces an old woman to come and help the woman in labor by sitting on her abdomen so that she can be held in her arms. As soon as the child is born it is washed, but no clothes are put on it until the fourth day, when it is named. The mother is allowed to partake of nourishment; the child, how- ever, is not given suck until the fourth day. The taboos shortly to be described which devolve upon the father go into effect as soon as the child is born.
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The fetal coverings are disposed of by inhumation. Care is taken to pre- serve the umbilical cord. In the case of a male child it is treated in the following manner: the father has prepared a small bow about eight inches long and strung with wound sinew, an imitation of the larger weapon. Four arrows, notched but unfeathered, with sharpened shafts, accompany the bow (Fig. 35, a). The arrows are then bound, together with the navel cord, at the center of the little bow, and the whole thing is thrown where the brush is very dense and where no one will see it. This is an invocation and prayer that the boy grow up to be a masterful handler of the bow both in hunting and in war.
In the case of a female child the cord is likewise preserved. It is carried to the great log mortar which stands in the space before every Yuchi house, and tucked snugly awajr beneath it in the earth at the base. The father then carves a