The White Is The Native Color And The Fringe Of
Both Cape And Blanket Is Undyed.
To strengthen and give solidity to the
garment, the fibrous bark of the yellow root is twisted into the warp.
CHAPTER XVIII. Pueblo And Navaho Pottery And Silverware
Primitive Processes. The primitive industries of a primitive people are
always interesting to the student. They are more; they often reveal more
than appears at first sight. We, with our present knowledge of improved
mechanical methods, stand and watch an Indian silversmith or potter, and we
laugh at the crudity of the methods employed, naturally comparing them with
our own. But this is not the proper way to look upon the work of the
aborigine. Rather let the gazer imagine himself without any of his advanced
knowledge. Let him project himself into past ages, and find himself groping
his way out of the darkness of primitive ignorance. He will find himself
seeking for many centuries, ere he invents and discovers even the rude
processes used today by the Indian. As an inventor, the aborigine has laid
us under great obligation, for he discovered the first steps of mechanical
progress, without which all later steps would have been impossible.
Hopi Pottery. In the Hopi House, the processes of making pottery
and silverware by primitive methods may be seen in active operation, though
in the manufacture of silver, some modern appliances have taken the place
of the ancient ones. In the pottery, however, everything is exactly as it
used to be before the white race appeared on the American continent. The
Hopi woman brings her clay with her from some pit or quarry in Hopiland,
where experience has demonstrated a good pottery clay is found.
After thoroughly washing, pulverizing and crushing, it is ready to be
worked up into domestic and other utensils. Squatted upon the ground, the
potter places in her lap a small basket, wood, or pottery base, upon which
she places a "dab" of clay. This she thumbs and pats, until it forms the
basis of the new vessel. Then another piece of clay is rapidly rolled
between her hands, until it is in the form of along rope. This rope is then
coiled around the edge of the base already made, pressed well into it and
then smoothed down. After four or five coils of clay are thus added, the
potter takes a small "spat," generally a piece of dried gourd skin, dips
it into water, and proceeds to smooth out and make thin the clay coils. As
quickly and dexterously as can be, her hands and the spat manipulate the
vessel, until it has the desired shape. More coils of clay are then added,
and the shaping continues until the vessel is complete. Now it is put out
into the sun to dry, and when reasonably solid, it is ready for the
painting and decoration. With a rude brush made of horsehair or yucca
fibre, and paints gathered and ground by herself, she works out the design
that her imagination has already created and pictured upon her piece of
work.
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