On certain personages who appear in a Tusayan ceremony / by Jesse Walter Fewkes.

  • Fewkes, Jesse Walter, 1850-1930.
Date:
1894
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On certain personages who appear in a Tusayan ceremony / by Jesse Walter Fewkes. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    The black Na-tac'-ka helmet (PI. I, Fig. 1) reminded me of an alligator’s head, but neither of the jaws is movable. The leather ot which it is composed is painted black with a mixture of shale and water, the jaws being stiffened by a framework composed of strips of dried gourds or wood. Upon the back of the head are tied the stumps of corn-lmsks and radiating feathers which pro¬ ject fan-shaped when the mask was in use. On each side of the head is a curved horn* made of a gourd or an ox-horn, extending upward and backward. At its base of attachment is a strip of skin covered with fur and painted yellow. The tip of each horn is painted black and the main portion colored green and girt by a single black band. A small feather is tied near the free end of each horn. All the five helmets of Na-tac-ka bear horns of similar shape tied in the same position, and in the figurines of the same these appendages are always present. The two eyes of the helmet are each about the size of a large marble, and are made of buckskin, attached to the helmet on top of the head just above the horns. In all the Na-tac-ka helmets these eyeballs are painted black, and have a white zone painted upon them which represents the iris. They are free from the head except at their basal attach¬ ment, to which is bound a small tuft of feathers. Midway be¬ tween the point of junction of the eyes and the helmet there is an arrow-shaped figure painted green wdiich is common to all the helmets. The long, projecting upper and lower jaws are separated by a broad slit forming the mouth, which thus appears partly open. Girting the rim of this slit above and below there is a bright-red band representing the lips. Outside of this band there is a second broader band, painted white, which is common to all the helmets. DownJ feathers of the eagle are fastened to this by means oi a sticky substance, forming a scanty covering. On both edges of this band short, stiff, black horse hairs, ar¬ ranged in rows, are affixed in such a way as to contrast with the white downy zone enclosing them, standing at right angles to the helmet. The teeth of the mask are conical, arranged in single rows in both upper and lower jawrs, and project slightly below the lips. These teeth are made of dried corn husks bent into shape by folding. In the interior of the mouth, filling the *This is not represented on the Coyutl helmets.