BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY—— SEVENTEENTH ANNUAL REPORT PL. CXLIX
FOOD BOWLS WITH SYMBOLS OF FEATHERS FROM SIKYATKI
The figures on the vessel shown in [plate clxvii] are so arranged that there can be little question of their homologies, and from comparisons it is clear that they should all be regarded as representations of birds. There appears no necessity of discussing figures a and b of the plate in this interpretation. In figure c the center of the design becomes circular, recalling certain sun symbols, and the tail-feathers are readily recognized on one side. I am by no means sure, however, that the lateral terraced appendages at the opposite pole are representations of wings, but such an interpretation can not be regarded as a forced one. Figure d shows the three tail-feathers, lateral appendages suggestive of wings, and a square body with the usual decorations of the body and head of a bird. The design shown in figure f suggests in many ways a sun-bird, and is comparable with those previously studied and illustrated. There is no question of the homologues of tail, head, and wings. The meridional band across the bowl is similar to those already discussed, and its relationship to the head and tail of the bird identical. This design is interpreted as that of one of the numerous birds associated with the sun. The crescentic extension above what is apparently the head occurs in many bird figures and may represent a beak.
Many food bowls from Sikyatki are ornamented on their interior with highly conventionalized figures, generally of curved form, in which the feather is predominant. Many of these are shown in [plates cxlviii] to [clvii], inclusive, and in studying them I have found it very difficult to interpret the symbolism, although the figures of feathers are easy to find in many of them. While my attempt at decipherment is not regarded as final, it is hoped that it may at least reveal the important place which the feather plays in Tusayan ceramic decoration.
[Plate cxlviii], a, shows the spiral ornament worn down to its lowest terms, with no hint of the feather appendage, but its likeness in outline to those designs where the feather occurs leads me to introduce it in connection with those in which the feather is more prominent. Figure b of the same plate represents a spiral figure with a bird form at the inner end, and a bundle of tail-feathers at the outer extremity. On this design there is likewise a figure of the dragon-fly and several unknown emblems. Figure c has at one extremity a trifid appendage, recalling a feather ornament on the head of a bird shown in [plate cxxxviii], a. Figure d has no conventionalized feather decoration, but the curved line terminates with a triangle. Its signification is unknown to me. For several reasons the design in e reminds me of a bird; it is accompanied by three crosses, which are almost invariably found in connection with bird figures, and at the inner end there is attached a breath feather. This end of the figure is supposed to be the head, as will appear by later comparative studies. The bird form is masked in f, but the feather designs are prominent. This bowl is exceptional in having an encircling band broken at two points, one of the components of which is red, the other black.
Feather designs are conspicuous in [plate cxlix], a, b, in the former of which curved incised lines are successfully used. In c, however, is found the best example of the use of incised work as an aid in pottery decoration, for in this specimen there are semicircles, and rings with four triangles, straight lines, and circles. The symbolism of the whole figure has eluded analysis. Figure d has no feather symbols, but e may later be reduced to a circle with feathers. The only symbols in the design shown in f which are at all recognizable are the two zigzag figures which may have been intended to represent snakes, lightning, or tadpoles.
When the design in [plate cl], a, is compared with the beautiful bowl shown in [plate cxlvi], d, a treatment of somewhat similar nature is found. It is believed that both represent birds drawn in profile; the four bands (a) are tail-feathers, while the rectangle represents the body and the curved appendage a part of the head. From a similarity to modern figures of a turkey feather, it is possible that the triangle at the end of the curved appendage is the feather of this bird. An examination of b leads to the conclusion that the inner end of the spiral represents a bird's head. Two eyes are represented therein, and from it feathers are appended. The parallel marks on the body are suggestive of similar decorations on the figure of the Plumed Snake painted on the kilts of the Snake priests of Walpi. The star emblems are constant accompaniments of bird designs. Figure c has, in addition to the spiral, the star symbols and what appears to be a flower. The design shown in d is so exceptional that it is here represented with the circular forms. It will be seen that there are well-marked feathers in its composition. Figure f is made up of several bird forms, feathers, rectangles, and triangles, combined in a complicated design, the parts of which may readily be interpreted in the light of what has already been recorded.
The significance of the spiral in the design on [plate cli], a, is unknown. It is found in several pictures, in some of which it appears to have avian relationship. Figure b of the same plate is a square terraced design appended to the median line, on which symbolic stars are depicted. As in many bird figures, a star is found on the opposite semicircle. There is a remote likeness between this figure and that of the head of the bird shown in [plate cxlv], d. [Plate cli], c, is a compound figure, with four feathers arranged in two pairs at right angles to a median band. The triangular figure associated with them is sometimes found in symbols of the sun. Figure d is undoubtedly a bird symbol, as may be seen by a comparison of it with the bird figures shown in [plate cxxxviii], a-f. There are two tail-feathers, two outstretched wings, and a head which is rectangular, with terraced designs. The cross is triple, and occupies the opposite segment, which is finely spattered with pigment. This trifid cross represents a game played by the Hopi with reeds and is depicted on many objects of pottery. As representations of it sometimes accompany those of birds I am led to interpret the figure ([plate clvii], c) as that of a bird, which it somewhat resembles. The two designs shown in [plate cli], e, f, are believed to be decorative, or, if symbolic, they have been so worn by the constant use of the vessel that it is impossible to determine their meaning by comparative methods. Both of these figures show the "line of life" in a somewhat better way than any yet considered.
