SHIELD-DESIGNS.
The circular shield was distributed over a large part of North America. A conspicuous part of the arms of Mexican warriors was “the round, small ‘target’ worn by the ‘brave’ on his left arm, and made of canes netted together and interwoven with cotton ‘twofold,’ covered on the outside with gilded boards and with feathers, and so strong that a hard cross-bow shot could alone penetrate them;”[[2]] but “merely ornamental shields [were also] used and carried by warriors and chiefs on festive occasions only.”[[3]]
According to the same author, in Pre-Columbian times some of the Pueblo Indians used a thick disk of buffalo-hide as a shield. On the Plains, from the Rio Grande to the Saskatchewan, the circular shield of buffalo-hide was, until the extinction of the buffalo, a part of the regalia of every warrior. These shields usually bore symbolic designs. In many cases the designs were painted upon the rawhide itself, and protected by a buckskin cover; while in other cases the designs were painted upon the cover. Practically no shields of buffalo-hide are to be found in the hands of the surviving Dakota; but in social and religious ceremonies, models or shield-covers of buckskin or cloth, upon which are painted the designs formerly placed on shields, are often used. For purposes of study the writer secured such models of shields, with explanations of the designs and with other shield-lore, from persons who formerly owned buffalo-hide shields.
When the enemies of the Dakota were armed with native weapons, the shield had some value in itself, because few arrows could get through it, and it was of sufficient strength to ward off a blow from a club or an axe; but even at that time the designs and medicine objects tied to the shield seem to have been regarded as of greater importance than the mechanical properties of the shield itself. It was the power represented by the design to which the owner of the shield looked for protection. Naturally, with the introduction of fire-arms, shields ceased to have a real protective value; but their designs were still looked upon as capable of affording protection against evil. According to the statements of some old men who still have faith in protective designs, the ancient shield manifested its power upon the mind of the enemy by influencing them to shoot at the shield rather than at the exposed parts of the body of its bearer. But when fire-arms were introduced, experience demonstrated that the shield was no longer a desirable object in battle, because the same influence that drew arrows to it drew bullets also, and in this case with fatal results. From this they concluded that guns represented a mystic power superior to that of shield-designs, but that the latter were still efficacious, except where so overpowered.
This explanation is interesting, because these men seem to have grasped the idea that the shield, being a conspicuous object, would attract the attention and thus the aim of the enemy; but they confused this psychological explanation of the observed facts with a mystic conception that the magic power of the design upon the shield was the cause or force that reached out and lay hold of the attention of the enemy. Yet the introduction of fire-arms did not relegate the shield to oblivion; and shield-designs are still cherished by men of the olden time, because they represent a kind of individual totem or protective power.
The following descriptions of shield-designs are given with the interpretations of their owners.
A shield-cover decorated with feathers, bearing a design used by a chief on ceremonial occasions, and said by him to be the copy of a shield carried in his youth, is shown in [Plate v]. The black border on top of the shield takes the form of the new moon, which it represents. In the centre of the shield is a well executed drawing of an Indian on horseback. The horse is in blue, with zigzag black lines extending down the legs. The blue color of the horse indicates his connection with the thunder, or the powers of the sky. The background of the shield is in yellow, but the lower part has been worked over with green. Symmetrically arranged around the mounted figure are four circles of purplish color, representing a phenomenon observed in the sky, which seems to have been either the halo of the sun, or the phenomenon that passes under the name of “sun-dogs.” From the description of the owner of the shield, it appears that these four circles were associated in his mind with the medicine-hoop. He stated that this design as a whole was the representation of what he saw in a dream; that the moon with its dark color was drawn to represent the night, because that was the time when he had this experience; and that in the dream he saw a horse and rider appear in the sky surrounded by the four circular objects, as indicated upon the shield. It appears from his explanation, that the association of the rings with the medicine-hoop was his own individual interpretation of the significance of his dream. In the dream he could see a shield associated with these objects as they would appear in reality; but in the design he attempted to convey an idea of what he saw in conformity with the conventional modes of representative art practised by his tribe.
Fig. 1 (50-2970). Shield-cover with Design. Diameter, 42 cm.
Another shield-cover (Fig. 1) bears a bird-design, representing to the owner the osprey (?). One half of the background of this shield is in yellow; the other half, in light green.[[4]] These two colors represent the appearance of the sky at sunrise; the yellow corresponding to the region of the dawn, and the green to the dark sky above. The four stars symmetrically arranged are colored black for the night, yellow for the dawn, blue for the evening, and red for the day; or in other words the whole circle is represented. The design of the bird presents some interesting details. The lightning-symbols represent the death-dealing power conferred upon the owner of such a shield-design at the time of his dream. The red marks upon the breast of the bird, representing the national emblem of the United States, were interpreted by the owner as symbolizing such death-dealing power in contending with soldiers. The peculiar feature upon the tail of the bird represents an additional experience, and was added to the shield about the year 1867, after a successful engagement with the United States troops, in which the owner of the shield participated. According to his account, the design on the tail of the bird is the conventional symbol of the spider-web, but is used here to represent an experience preceding the above engagement. As the war-party were moving forward, they saw a strange appearance in the sky, which took the form of this symbol. The sight of it caused the war-party to scatter; and the interpretation placed upon this by the owner was, that its manifestation of supernatural power, which was to be conveyed to them, would cause their enemies to scatter in like confusion. During the confusion into which the party fell, the stars moved rapidly through the sky and the lightning flashed in all directions. This is represented by the four corners of the design. At the top of the shield is a braid of sweet-grass and a small buckskin bag containing medicines of a supposed charm-value. Before going into battle, some of this sweet-grass was to be burnt, and ritualistic songs pertaining to the shield were to be sung. This having been done, the shield was supposed to protect its owner from his enemies. Eight feathers, arranged in pairs, are attached to the shield, and their quills are painted to correspond to the parts of the background to which they are attached.
Fig. 2. Shield-design,
from a Drawing by a Native.
There is one interesting feature connected with this shield-design, and that is the fact that some of the old men disapproved of the owner placing the spider-web design upon the tail of the bird, because it was a mixing of supernatural manifestations. The incident connected with this design was regarded by them as most extraordinary, and as having been worthy of distinct and separate representation. According to the accepted modes of interpretation, this experience should have been represented upon a new shield.
The specimen shown in [Plate vi] is not a shield-cover, but was nevertheless spoken of as a shield; and the design upon it is an old shield-design. The specimen is a cape (made of cotton) worn around the shoulders in such a way that the design could be seen upon the back of the wearer. Here are represented the rainbow, the thunder-bird (possessing in this case characteristics which indicate that it was copied from the national emblem of the United States), the new and full moon, and the stars. It will be observed that the stars in this case are four-pointed, similar to the design of the spider-web, and they are regarded by the Indians as an example of the old original method of representing them.
Fig. 3. Drawing, by a Native, of a Shield-cover.
As a great many Indians who formerly owned shields do not now possess shield-covers, the writer secured drawings made by them of their former shields. Such a sketch is reproduced in outline (Fig. 2). In the centre is a design of the spider-web filled in with red. The ground of the shield is in blue, representing the sky. Above and below are circular areas in yellow, representing clouds or heaven. Lightning-symbols in red connect the yellow cloud-symbols with the four corners of the spider-web design. As a final suggestion relative to this interpretation, the informant said, “The spider is the friend of the thunder.”
Fig. 4. Shield-design, from a Drawing by a Native.
The manner in which the owner secured the shield-design represented in Fig. 3 is as follows. Once when a war-party of which he was a member were about to take the war-path, it was predicted by an old man that he would be killed in the first battle. Before leaving with the party, he went to an old medicine-man for help, and this man made him a shield bearing the design described below. The bird represented is the hawk,—flying from the sky, protected by the thunder from the hailstones that fly thick and fast about him,—and symbolizes the manner in which the owner of the shield will pass safely through the hail of lead from the enemy. Four pairs of hawk-feathers are arranged symmetrically on the circumference of the shield.
In the shield-design in Fig. 4, we find a large circular area in the centre painted yellow and the surrounding portion red. Around the circumference of the yellow portion are black spots, representing tufts of short crow-feathers. Upon the original shield, across the top, there was tied the skin of a weasel, represented in the drawing by a pictograph of that animal. Four pairs of feathers are arranged symmetrically on the circumference of this design.
The design represented by Fig. 5 is rather striking, since an image of the spider is placed in the centre of the shield surrounded by a circle of red, through which the numerous red lines radiate to the circumference of the design. These red lines represent the web of the spider. One end of a string is tied to the mouth of the spider, with an eagle-plume at the other end, painted yellow. Around the circumference of the design is a wavy blue line, representing water. The owner of this design received such a shield when a young man, and stated that he never understood why the medicine-man who made it for him placed the blue line around it, and for that reason he could not explain its significance.
Fig. 5. Spider-design for a Shield, from a
Drawing by a Native.
The design represented in Fig. 6 was dreamed of by the owner himself, and in this dream he was presented with a shield bearing a design similar to the sketch. As he was almost blind, the sketch is very crude. In it appear again the thunder-bird, the stars, the yellow clouds, the red and blue lightning, the new moon, and the bear. It was claimed that the curved double line at the bottom represented both the moon and the lightning; the former by the colors, the latter by its form. Another interesting point in this design is the representation of an eagle-feather upon the head of the bear. This is the conventional way of representing a supernatural bear as distinguished from a real bear.[[5]] The owner of this shield-design claimed, that, while he did not now and had not for years carried or kept about him a drawing of the design, he felt it as a kind of magic presence hovering around him, shielding him from harm. He stated, further, that, while he knew that other men used the symbols represented in his shield-design as the signs of particular powers and ideas, he himself had no such interpretation; for in the dream he saw nothing more than a shield bearing these designs, and received no instruction or information as to their significance. Their protecting power to him lay in the peculiar supernatural presence which he always felt.
The shield-design in Fig. 7 represents a thunderstorm. At the top, the clouds are represented in blue. Below this, falling rain is represented by short irregular lines, and the lightning and thunder by zigzag lines extending downward from the clouds on a background of clear sky. This design originated in the same manner as did the preceding; that is, a finished shield was seen in a dream.
Fig. 6. Shield-design, from a Drawing by the Man who dreamed of it.
Fig. 7. Shield-design representing a Thunderstorm, from a Drawing by a Native.
[Plate vii] is the reproduction of a model of a shield made of shrunken bull-hide covered with buckskin. It was collected by Dr. J. R. Walker. The design is somewhat similar to the preceding. The upper part is painted in blue to represent the clouds, and the lower part in bluish-green to represent the sky. In the cloud-area is the drawing of a horse, symbolizing a dream-horse (probably the thunder-horse). The thunder, or power, is symbolized by red zigzag lines extending downward from the cloud-area. An eagle-feather and twelve hawk-feathers are tied to a small buckskin bag of medicine, fastened to the shield in a manner suggesting their attachment to the mane of the horse. The circumference of the shield is decorated with small feathers, and four pairs of eagle-feathers are also arranged symmetrically around the circumference.
Fig. 8 (50-5456). Model of a Shield
with Pictographic Design. Diameter, 47 cm.
A shield (Fig. 8) similar to the preceding represents a vision in which the dreamer was apparently supported by the thunder-horse in a contest with the mythical turtle. A small bag of medicine and a pendant eagle-plume are attached to the shield, as in the previous case. Feathers are again arranged in four pairs. This specimen was collected by Dr. J. R. Walker.
In the Museum collection from the Sauk and Fox Indians, made by Dr. William Jones, is a shield captured from the Sioux, at the time of the outbreak of 1866, by a Fox in the employ of the United States Government. The design was painted upon the rawhide, but is now almost obliterated. Fig. 9 is a diagrammatic restoration. The writer saw an old buffalo-hide shield in the possession of an Assiniboine, at Fort Belknap, Montana. The design was painted upon buffalo-hide, and was similar to that in Fig. 9. He collected also from the Dakota a number of drawings representing military exploits. While twenty shields are represented in these drawings, fourteen of them bear simple circular designs, as shown in the adjoining figure. This suggests that the older type of shield-decoration made use of simple circular designs. This idea was supported by the testimony of a number of old men who ought to be competent to speak upon the subject. Of course, there is no reason why the image of the thunder-bird, so common upon modern shield-designs, should not have been used in ancient times; and the writer wishes to be understood as expressing this as an opinion based upon indirect evidence.
Fig. 9 (50-3569). Design on Sioux
Shield captured by a Fox Indian.
Diameter, 42 cm.
These circular designs often represented the sun, other heavenly bodies, or the sky, which suggests that formerly the shield as a whole may have been considered as a symbol of the sun. The survivors of shield-using days seemed to have no actual knowledge of any connection between the shield-form and the sun, but usually expressed it as their opinion that it represented the sun, and that the feathers represented the sun’s rays. This may have been suggested by the fact that eagle-feathers were sometimes arranged in a half-circle to represent the rays of the sun, and that, furthermore, the rays of the sun were sometimes spoken of as feathers.
Shield-designs could originate only in dreams and visions, and were painted by the person experiencing them, who prayed and sang over his work to give the shield power. Usually but four shields could be made from a single dream: to make a great number was sacrilege. Among the Blackfoot, the shield was often accompanied by a ritual composed of songs and prayers; and they possessed a few shields with such important rituals that they were distinguished from the others as “medicine-shields.” There seems to have been a similar condition among the Dakota, for it was often said that medicine-shields were hung outside the tepees, upon tripods, and that during the day they were changed from time to time so as to keep them facing the sun. This practice was observed by a number of Plains tribes. However, among the Dakota the tripod often gave place to a single pole.
| [2] | Bandelier (Reports of the Peabody Museum, Vol. II, p. 109). |
| [3] | Bandelier, op. cit., p. 108. |
| [4] | In the drawings, colors are indicated by the following devices: red, by horizontal shading; yellow, by vertical shading; green, by left oblique shading; blue or purple, by right oblique shading. Black and white have their conventional qualities. The drawings were made by Miss R. B. Howe. |
| [5] | For an illustration see Catlin, North American Indians (7th ed., 1848), Plate 102. |