Native American Symbols
Beyond Aesthetics
Native American Symbols
Native American symbols are more than
art.
Animals are also used.
They encompass a cosmos and a context.
Symbols - An Overview
Point to something beyond themselves.
More descriptive than words.
Develop over time.
Often only has meaning in a context.
Some symbols are used in a number of
different contexts and cultures. For
example
More On Symbols
The symbols have a history which
includes the object itself, persons involved
and the circumstances surrounding its
development.
Native American Symbols
Symbolism in Native American is
significant but only as it relates to a
particular context which includes a
number of factors.
Significance cannot be determined by
isolating and decoding particular symbols.
They are inseparable from the
performance of which they are a part.
Examples of Symbolism in
Use
Sandpainting ritual is used as a cure
ceremony.
They are constructed on the floor of a
ceremonial hogan and depict mythic
persons who have a connection with the
cause of the illness being treated.
Context driven Sandpainting
One has to see how the sandpainting fits
into a greater picture that is itself
symbolic, created from the experience of
hearing the stories, praying the payers,
living the way of life, all of which
constitute Navajo tradition.
Self-Directed Designs and
Objects
Some Native American artifacts are selfdirected in others words to be understood
they have to be looked at from the point of
view of the wearer.
An example are the effigy pipes of the
Algonquin which are used to aid in
concentration and thought. A person by
smoking the pipe and concentrating on the
effigy that one gains power from the
guardian spirit.
Esoteric Objects
Many esoteric objects such as the
medicine bundles are very symbolic.
Their power lies in what they invoke
through history of the user and use,
stories of their origin, the occasions and
manners of their use.
Masks
Masking or masquerade?
Seneca False Faces
Many masks are related to formal and
public religious acts.
Masks are living things.
For example the society of men of the
Seneca who perform the new year’s corn
and green ceremonies to drive out evil.
These masks are called gagosa.
Use of the gagosa
These are carved out of living trees and
removed (if possible) without killing the
tree.
They are distinctly decorated with
distortions and exaggeration.
Carved out by special people.
The masks have a purpose. For example
And another example
Care
The masks have distinctive features.
They are molded according to a dream
revelation.
The masks are treated as living beings.
When not in use they are hung facing the
wall or are wrapped and carefully placed
in a box or drawer.
Treatment
They are fed periodically by putting something
on their lips.
Their faces are sometimes treated to keep
clean.
Each mask is named and has its own
personality.
Consider This
They are very powerful for they manifest
the power of the Bad twin who, when
overcome by the Good Twin at the close
of creation, was destined to aid in keeping
the health and wellbeing of human
beings.
The masks are not a covering or disguise
but are a living manifestation of the type
of spiritual being.
The Hopi
Looking Through the Mask
Meaning of the Mask
In the case of Hopi the masks represents a
way of looking at the world--a perspective.
For example masks are used to frightened
children into behaving properly--this is where
the family has to provide a considerable sum
for the life of the child.
The mask provided wearer with a
perspective of reality shown on the face of
the child.
Kwakiutl Masks and the
Notion of Place
The Kwakiutl use the mask to designate
hierarchical relationships.
For Kwakiutl reality is in grid relationships.
In it there are a fixed number of
positions, to each of which belongs a
name, referred to as seat or standing
place. An example
Another example
Conclusion
Masks are symbolic because of what they
make present: they spiritual reality.
Masks cannot be translated or decoded
because their meaning is inseparable from
what they make present--which, apart
from the masks, could not be observed or
expressed.
An explanation of masks at this site.
Native American Symbols
Life’s choices example
Tribes