Poetry and Symbolism of Indian Basketry
George Wharton James
Paperback
(Forgotten Books, Aug. 16, 2012)
The weaving of baskets undoubtedly ante-dated that of textiles. Holmes, dishing, Fewkes, and other ex perts of the U. S. Bureau of Ethnology, have clearly shown that the basket is the mother of the pot. In other words, that the first pieces of pottery were undoubtedly the accidental discovery of aboriginal women who had lined their baskets with clay to prevent burning while parching corn and other seeds. There is little doubt but that basket-weaving was simultaneously discovered and developed in many different lands, but in no country has it reached so high a state of development as on the Western Coast of North A merica. The finest baskets of the world have been made by the Pomas, the Gualalas, the Tulares, the Monos, the Shoshones, the Indians of the Kern River, and the Aleuts of A laska. Much of aboriginal life is revealed in a study of the uses of Indian Baskets, for to these primitive people, unacquainted with vessels made of wood, glass, iron, brass, or of any of the metals, the basket was called upon to serve practically every purpose. It was used at wed dings, dances. medicine, and other ceremonies. The babys cradle, the mothers treasure-basket, the family mush-bowl, the jars for storing and carrying water, the basket seed-winnowers, the basket drums, the fans for striking seed into the carrying-baskets, the gamblingplaques, are but a few of the thousand and one uses to which the basket is placed. Equally interesting would it be to watch the Indian woman as she travels on foot or horseback far afield for the gathering of her mater ial. She knows the name, the habitat, and the life-history of every piece of material within a radius of one to two hundred miles that can IK- used fur basketry purposes.(Typographical errors above are due to OCR software and don't occur in the book.)About the Publisher Forgotten Books is a publisher of historical writings, such as: Philosophy, Classics, Science,