Boas, Franz. Race, Language and Culture – T56

[Culture]

Decorative Designs of Alaskan Needlecases:
a Study in the History of
Conventional Designs, based
on Materials in the U. S.
National Museum 11

In 1878 and the following years, Professor F. W. Putnam 22 described
in detail the decorative designs found in the pottery of the Chiriqui
Indians, and was the first, I believe, to propound clearly the theory
that conventional designs develop from attempts at realistic representations,
which gradually degenerate so that ultimately a purely conventional
design remains in which the realistic origin can hardly be
recognized. Since that time this theory has been independently stated
by a number of investigators, particularly by H. Stolpe 33 and H. Balfour. 44
It has been applied extensively to explanations of primitive
ornamental art. The most noteworthy contributions on this subject are
those by Karl von den Steinen, 55 on the art of the Brazilian Indians,
and by A. C. Haddon, 66 on the art of the natives of New Guinea.

Opposed to this view has been the theory propounded by Semper,
who emphasizes the influence of material upon the development of the
design, and that proposed by Cushing and Holmes, 77 who emphasize
the importance of technique upon the development of geometrical
design. More recently Karl von den Steinen 88 has also emphasized the
importance of technical conditions upon the development of design,
and his arguments have been followed and elaborated by Max Schmidt
564in discussions of South American designs. 19 Th. Koch-Grünberg 210 follows
in the same line of argument, showing that at least in Brazil a
considerable number of cases may be found in which designs that have
developed from technical motives receive a realistic significance.

From a wider point of view, the secondary development of motives
and their re-interpretation as realistic designs have been claimed by
Heinrich Schurtz 311 and by Professor Hamlin 412 in a discussion of the
development of architectural decorative forms. The secondary character
of symbolic interpretation has also been set forth by A. L. Kroeber, 513
Clark Wissler, 614 and by myself. 715

We have therefore at the present time three distinct theories regarding
the development of decorative design: First, the theory of the
realistic origin of conventional motives; second, that of the technical
origin of conventional motives; and, third, the theory that the explanations
of conventional motives are essentially secondary in character,
and due to a later association of the existing decorative forms with
realistic forms.

I shall discuss in the following pages the decorative designs of Alaskan
needlecases, largely from the region between the mouth of the Yukon
River and the western part of Norton Sound, which seem to throw
considerable light upon the history of decorative design, and illustrate
the applicability of these various theories.

Among the carvings of Alaskan Eskimo we find a very large number
of needlecases of peculiar form. They are of the characteristic tubular
type of the Eskimo needlecase, in which the needle is inserted in a
strip of skin pulled into a tube, which protects the needle against
breakage. The peculiar type to which I here refer has, on the whole,
a tube slightly bulging in the middle, and expanding into two wings
or flanges at the upper end. It is characteristic of almost all these
specimens that at a short distance below the flanges there are two
small knobs on opposite sides of the tube. In some cases these are
well marked, while in others they are so diminutive that they cannot
565be seen at all, although they can be felt when moving the finger gently
over the surface of the tube. They are a characteristic feature of this
type, which is so well defined, and whose distribution is so restricted
that there cannot be the slightest doubt as to the unity of its origin.

A partial doubling of the spur band may be observed on figs. 3 and
5 a.

The features here enumerated comprise those of the most generalized
type of these needlecases. They may be briefly summed up as (1) a tube
slightly bulging in the middle, (2) flanges at the upper end, (3) small
knobs under the flanges, (4) long concave faces on opposite sides at the
upper end of the tube, (5) long parallel lines with small forks at their
lower ends setting off the concave faces, (6) border designs consisting
of lines at the upper and lower ends of the flanges and on the concave
face, and (7) an alternate-spur band at the lower end of the tube.568

Considering the continuous area in which the two designs occur, we
may say that their essential home seems to be the Eskimo region, beginning
with Alaska, and extending eastward and northeastward to Hudson
Bay and Smith Sound, and that a few of the neighboring Indian
570tribes may have adopted them, and that they also occur among the
neighboring Chukchee and Koryak.

The alternate-spur-band design is releated to the single spurred line, a
pattern which is very common in many parts of the world. In the decorative
art of the Eskimo it appears often in place of the alternate-spur-band;
for instance, on some needlecases of the type here discussed (see
figs. 2 c, 10). In other cases the alternate-spur band is replaced by a
571ladder design (fig. 15 a) which on account of its rarity, may be considered
as a degenerate form of the alternate-spur band.

A specimen in the British Museum from Rawlings Bay on the West
572coast of Smith Sound is of similar type (fig. 12 b). 116 It proves that this
type extended from Hudson Bay northward over Grinnell Land to
north Greenland.

Considering the antiquity of the eastern specimens, it does not seem
plausible that the Alaskan specimens are a newly developed type. Their
great frequency and the fixity of the type are also not in favor of this
view.

It might perhaps also be argued that the knobs serve for firmly attaching
the needlecase to a skin strap, but there is no evidence whatever that
the needlecases were thus suspended. They seem to have been carried
like all other Eskimo needlecases, by an attachment to the strip of skin
into, which the needles are inserted.

It seems certain, therefore, that the diminutive knob of the Alaskan
needlecase serves no practical end whatever, and that it is a purely conventional
feature in the form of the utensil. It is true that the large
wings and flanges of the Eastern needlecases also serve no practical end;
but it seems well to bear in mind the close resemblance of the two types.

It is interesting to compare the simple types heretofore described
with a number of more complex needlecases which clearly belong to the
same type.

In figure 9 b, the border lines of the concave face consist of two forked
lines on each side, and the border lines of the flanges have been transformed
into alternate-spur bands. In fig. 10 c the same lines are etched
as spur bands, and the forked-line design is placed on the flanges. There
is no indication of knobs. In the specimen shown in fig. 5 a we find on
the concave face of the tube an alternate-spur band added, which ends
below, on the reverse and the obverse, with two parallel cross-lines. On
the lower part of the flanges is shown, on one side a double alternate-spur
band. The opposite side is laid out on the same plan, with the only
575exception that the cross-lines between the lowest pair of border lines are
drawn right across (as in the bands in fig. 15 a). The whole side of this
needlecase is flattened, beginning under the flange, down to the lower
border. This flat field is occupied in its whole length by an alternate-spur
band.

Other modifications are found in the following specimens. In fig. 15 c
there is no middle concave face, but in its place we find two parallel lines
which are carried down to the lower border. There are also two parallel
lines on each side running down from the flanges to the lower border,
and to the upper and lower border lines of the flanges are added vertical
576border lines, so that the whole flanges appear framed. The cross-section
of this specimen is angular. In fig. 15 d two parallel lines are substituted
for the concave face, as in the specimen just described. The sides of this
needlecase are also fiat while the back shows no vertical design and a
rounded surface. Its only decoration consists of a continuous alternate-spur
band design on top and at the lower end of the small flanges, continuing
the corresponding bands on the front of the specimen and on
the narrow sides of the flanges. This specimen has no indication of
knobs.

Fig. 15 e is in many respects peculiar, particularly in so far as the
two small knobs are not on the same level. The middle concave field is
carried down to the lower end of the needlecase, as in the two preceding
cases, and the whole needlecase is angular in cross-section. It has eight
faces, which taper down toward the lower end. On the three faces on
the right-hand side is the small double-angle decoration which has been
indicated in our illustration. A double angle turned with its apex downward
is also found on the lateral face on the right-hand side. As shown
in the illustration, the flanges do not extend up to the top of the needlecase,
as is the case in most specimens.

The needlecase represented in fig. 15 f illustrates a very peculiar reduction
in the general form. The flanges have almost disappeared, and
with them the upper and lower decorative border, as well as the border
at the lower end of the tube; and all that remains to remind us of the
form here discussed are four parallel forked lines, which, however, are
continued beyond the forks. Nevertheless the impression given by the
specimen in connection with the whole series is such that I do not doubt
for a moment that it belonged originally to the series under discussion.

In this case also it would seem exceedingly difficult to interpret the
simple geometrical form of the needlecase as a later development from
the animal representations here discussed. In this case, similarities of
the decorative designs on the tubings would be entirely unintelligible,
while the assumption that the animal forms have developed from the
geometrical forms seems to give a very plausible explanation of the
forms.

The specimens in which the upper end has been so modified as to
become a double walrus head lead us to another group in which the
walrus head is repeated a number of times along the sides of the tube.
Specimens of this kind are represented in figs. 22 b and c. In both of
these traces of the old upper and lower border decoration remain, and
fig. 22 c also shows the typical oblique spurs in pairs in the same position
which has been described several times. It therefore seems perfectly
natural to interpret these forms as the result of repetitions of the animal
design, which was first developed from the flanges of the needlecase.
Figs. 22 c and e differ from other specimens of their kind in that they
have the walrus head developed only on one side, while on the opposite
side the flange is suppressed.

As has been indicated, the geometrical decorations of the typical
flanged needlecases reappear in many of these highly modified specimens.
Attention may also be called to the forked-line designs which
rise from the lower border in the usual number in the specimens shown
in figs. 22 d, f and g. In the last named specimen the number of these
lines is five. The deviation in number may be due to inaccuracy in laying
out the ornament. In fig. 22 d there are two forked designs on opposite
sides, while on each side from the tails of the animals down to the
lower border runs an alternate-spur band. Between the alternate-spur
bands and the long forked lines there are short forked lines, as indicated
in the illustration. Only in fig. 22 h do we find an important modification
of the lower end of the needlecase, which forms a ring. That in our
specimen has been broken. The backs of the two needlecases shown in
figs. 22 c and e are somewhat flat. It is of interest to compare the line
decoration of the latter needlecase with the one shown in fig. 4 b, which
is a simple modification of the fundamental type.583

The similarities which I am discussing here are even less
clear in some of the other specimens represented here. Fig.
23 c evidently represents a human leg, the design on one side
being a representation of tattooing. In this case faint traces
of the upper border design and of the lower border design remain,
and the outline of the whole specimen still recalls to a certain extent
the bulging tube below and the wider part with its flanges above.
If we agree to accept this specimen as belonging to the present series,
the specimen shown in fig. 23 e, must be considered as belonging
here also. There is no doubt that fig. 23 d belongs to our series.
The tube and the knobs are the same as those occurring in the
most typical specimens. Instead of the concave faces, we have merely
flat surfaces, and the flanges have been much reduced in size, but are
perfectly distinct and sharply set off. The ornamentation, however,
differs on the flanges and concave faces from the ordinary decoration.
Besides the designs shown in the illustration, we have on the back of the
flange to the right, a line with two pairs of one-sided oblique spurs running
585downward and a forked line running down from the black ring,
like the one shown on the right-hand side of the illustration. On the
right-hand side of the lower part of the needlecase an etched design,
representing a quadruped with long tail, will be observed. Fig. 23 f
shows a simple tube with four groups of knobs, which may have been
suggested by the knobs of the specimens here described. Figs. 23 g and h
represent a needlecase, which on one side shows the typical form of the
flanged specimens, while on the opposite side the head, neck, and forepaws
of an animal are set off.

The conclusion which I draw from a comparison of the types of
needlecases here represented is that the flanged needlecase represents an
old conventional style, which is ever present in the mind of the Eskimo
artist who sets about to carve a needlecase. The various parts of the
flanged needlecase excite his imagination; and a geometrical element
here or there is developed by him, in accordance with the general
tendencies of Eskimo art, into the representation of whole animals or of
parts of animals. In this manner, the small knobs or the flanges are developed
into heads of animals. After this modification has once set in, the
animal figures may be repeated on other parts of the implement. Besides
this, associations between animal forms and the form of the whole
needlecase seem to have taken place, which have to a certain extent
modified the manner of representing animal forms which were adapted
to use as needlecases; so that the old form and style of the needlecase
determined the treatment of the animal form.

If we were to apply to the present series the theory of the origin of
conventional form from realistic motives, it would be exceedingly difficult
to account for the general uniformity of the fundamental type. It
seems to me that, on the basis of this theory, we could not account for
the diversity of realistic forms and the uniformity of general type.
Neither does it seem possible to account for the series of types by assumption
of any influence of technique; and my impression is that the only
satisfactory explanation lies in the theory that the multifarious forms
are due to the play of the imagination with a fixed conventional
form, the origin of which remains entirely obscure. This I freely
acknowledge. If, however, we are to form an acceptable theory of the
origin of decorative designs, it seems a safer method to form our judgment
based on examples the history of which can be traced with a fair
degree of certainty, rather than on speculations in regard to the origin
of remote forms for the development of which no data are available.

I believe a considerable amount of other evidence can be brought
forward sustaining the point of view that I have tried to develop,
namely, that decorative forms may be largely explained as results of the
588play of the imagination under the restricting influence of a fixed conventional
style. Looking at this matter from a purely theoretical point of
view, it is quite obvious that in any series in which we have at one end
a realistic figure and at the other end a conventional figure, the arrangement
is due entirely to our judgment regarding similarities. If, without
further proof, we interpret such a series as a genetic series, we simply
substitute for the classificatory principle which has guided us in the
arrangement of the series a new principle which has nothing to do with
the principle of our classification. No proof whatever can be given that
the series selected according to similarities really represents an historical
sequence. It is just as conceivable that the same series may begin at the
conventional end and that realistic forms have been read into it, and we
might interpret the series, therefore, as an historical series beginning at
the opposite end. Since both of these tendencies are active in the human
mind at the present time, it seems much more likely that both processes
have been at work constantly, and that neither the one nor the other
theory really represents the historical development of decorative design.

The assumption of a development from realistic design to conventional
design also omits the consideration of one exceedingly important
element, namely, the style of convention that prevails in the types of art
of different areas. If geometrical designs developed from realistic motives
the world over, it still would remain to be proved why a certain
style of conventionalism belongs to one art and another style to another
art; and in order to explain in a satisfactory way the different styles of
art, we should have to accept these as given at a very early stage during
the process of conventionalization of realistic designs.

The attempt to explain the processes of conventionalization by the
theory of the influence of technical motives does not seem to offer an
entirely adequate solution of this problem. It is true that certain very
simple designs seem to be due almost entirely to the influence of technique
upon simple decorative tendencies. This influence, however, does
not reach so far as to determine in detail the character of design in the
same kind of material or in the same technique. As examples of such
differences may be mentioned, for instance, the designs in woven checkered
mattings from West Africa, where peculiar realistic figures alternate
with geometrical band designs; the designs of cedar-bark mattings
of the Ojibwa and of those of the North Pacific coast, and of designs
made in the same technique by the South American Indians. In all
these cases the technical conditions are practically the same, but the
589styles differ vastly. It seems necessary, therefore, to assume in the development
of design the existence of tendencies which are due to causes
different from the technique, and unrelated to the realistic motives
which may be current or may have been current.

I have no theory to offer in regard to the origin of these types of convention,
which presumably was connected with a whole series of activities
determining the perception and reproduction of forms; but it seems
desirable to illustrate by a number of instances the fixity of these conventional
forms and the deep influence that they have had even in apparently
realistic forms. I have pointed out in the discussion of the
designs of the blankets of the Chilkat Indians that a great many of the
older forms can be reduced to two fundamental types, and that, no
matter what animal may be represented in the art of the weaver, it is
almost always reduced to one of these two forms. 119 In the same place I
have shown that the treatment of the animal figure on carved boxes of
the Tlingit has other fixed conventional forms, which, although closely
related to the blanket design, are quite permanent and applied only in
the manufacture of boxes. 220

In a quite different region, among the Tungus tribes of the Amur
River, Dr. Berthold Laufer has shown that one of the essential types determining
the whole arrangement of decorative designs, which consist
of realistic figures as well as of curved lines, is based on the type of
“cocks combatant.” 321

It is also important to note that figures conforming to such fundamental
types may be interpreted in a great variety of ways by the people
who use them. I have pointed out such a similarity of type and fundamental
difference of interpretation in explanations given by the Huichol
Indians. 422 Here we find practically the same figures once interpreted as
the freshwater crab, and then as oak leaves and stems. Other more
extended series of such ambiguous interpretations may be found in the
art of the Plains Indians as well as in those of other parts of the world. 523

I have suggested before that in many cases these forms seem to compel
590us to assume that the interpretations of many simple forms are entirely
secondary; that often the forms have been borrowed; and that later on,
according to their use in the life of the people, they have been given a
fitting interpretation. 124

I think evidence can be brought forward also to show that the tendency
to play, and the play of the imagination with existing forms, have
deeply influenced the decorative art of primitive tribes as we find it at
the present time.

The first of these traits appears with particular clearness in the
tendency to use rhythmic repetitions of varying forms. Bead necklaces
are one of the most striking examples of the pleasure that man receives
through the use of rhythmic repetition of colors and forms. Among
primitive tribes the rhythmic and symmetrical order of such arrangements
are often exceedingly complex, — so complex, in fact, that they
can be recognized by us only by a close study of the arrangement. A
case of this kind occurs in the fringe on a pair of leggings collected
among the Thompson Indians, which I have described. 225 In this specimen
we have a fringe which hangs down in a very disorderly fashion, so
that the constituent elements cannot be seen distinctly. Nevertheless a
most painstaking arrangement of the component elements is adhered
to, the rhythmic unit consisting of five elements, — one string having
one glass bead and two bone beads in alternating order, one undecorated
string, one having alternating glass and bone beads, one undecorated,
and one having one glass bead and two bone beads in alternating order.
I have found still more complex rhythmic repetitions and symmetrical
arrangements on the embroidered borders of coats of the Koryak. These
contained sometimes ten and more elements in one group. 326 Still another
case of similar kind, from Peru, has been described by Mr. Mead. 427 Here
a rhythmic repetition of six units seems to be very common.

I consider it particularly important to observe that in the first of these
specimens the rhythmic repetition cannot be seen when the leggings are
in use, because this suggests strongly that the reason for the application
of the rhythmic repetition is not the aesthetic pleasure in the effect which
it produces, but the pleasure felt by the maker. If this is true, then we
591do not need to assume that in the other cases a much more highly developed
appreciation of complex rhythm is found among primitive people
than the one we possess. Corroborative evidence in regard to this point
is offered by the basketry of the Thompson and Lillooet Indians. I have
noticed that here, where in a fine imbricated technique color bands are
produced, the basket weavers tend to use with great regularity certain
groupings of the number of stitches belonging to each color, although,
owing to the irregularity of the size of the stitches, these modifications
can hardly be observed. 128 If these facts have a wider application, it
would seem that on the whole the pleasure given by much of the decorative
work of primitive people must not be looked for in the beauty of the
finished product, but rather in the enjoyment which the maker feels at
his own cleverness in playing with the technical elements that he is using.
In other words, one of the most important sources in the development of
primitive decorative art is analogous to the pleasure that is given by the
achievements of the virtuoso.

Examples may also be given illustrating the effect of the play of imagination
upon the development of design. One of the best examples of
this kind is offered by the decorated bag of the Thompson Indians illustrated
by Professor Farrand. 229 The analogy of this soft rectangular bag,
which is decorated with rows of large diamonds, to other similar bags
shows quite clearly that the rows of diamonds have the same origin as
the rows of diamonds which are painted on parfleches of the Plains
Indians. In this case the diamonds suggested the idea of ponds; and, in
order to emphasize this idea, which came to the mind of the woman who
used the bag, she added a number of birds flying toward these ponds.
Other examples of this kind have been mentioned by Doctor Koch-Grünberg
in his observations on the drawings of South American Indians.
The development of the triangles in the designs of the Plains
Indians to tent designs or cloud designs brings out similar points.

Thus it would seem that the development of decorative designs cannot
be simply interpreted by the assumption of a general tendency
toward conventionalism or by the theory of an evolution of technical
motives into realistic motives by a process of reading in, but that a considerable
number of other psychic processes must be taken into consideration
if we desire to obtain a clear insight into the history of art.592