Fig. 257.
WAR SHIELD USED BY THE PIMA INDIANS.
Ogee Swastika (tetraskelion) in three colors: (1) blue,
(2) red, (3) white. Cat. No. 27829, U. S. N. M.
Fig. 258.
WAR SHIELD WITH OGEE SWASTIKA IN CENTER.
Pima Indians. The hole near the lower arm of the Swastika
was made by an arrow. Property of Mr. F. W. Hodge.
Dr. Matthews informs me that he has no knowledge of any peculiar meaning attributed by these Indians to this Swastika symbol, and we now not whether it is intended as a religious symbol, a charm of blessing, or good luck, or whether it is only an ornament. We do not know whether it has any hidden, mysterious, or symbolic meaning; but there it is, a prehistoric or Oriental Swastika in all its purity and simplicity, appearing in one of the mystic ceremonies of the aborigines in the great American desert in the interior of the North American Continent.
The Pimas.—The U. S. National Museum possesses a shield (Cat. No. 27829) of bull hide, made by the Pima Indians. It is about 20 inches in diameter, and bears upon its face an ogee Swastika (tetraskelion), the ends bent to the right. The body and each arm is divided longitudinally into three stripes or bands indicated by colors, blue, red, and white, arranged alternately. The exterior part of the shield has a white ground, while the interior or center has a blue ground. This shield ([fig. 257]) is almost an exact reproduction of the Swastika from Mycenæ ([fig. 161]), from Ireland ([fig. 216]), and from Scandinavia (figs. [209] and [210]). [Fig. 258] shows another Pima shield of the same type. Its Swastika is, however, painted with a single color or possibly a mixture of two, red and white. It is ogee, and the ends bend to the left. This shield is the property of Mr. F. W. Hodge, of the Bureau of Ethnology. He obtained it from a Pima Indian in Arizona, who assured him that the hole at the end of the lower arm of the Swastika was made by an arrow shot at him by an Indian enemy.
COLONIAL PATCHWORK.
