Dance belt

674-3, 6°Kachina dance sash (in two halves); ta-kun-i-kwi-kya-tsi-napa, or kâkâthléom (TK); cotton, wool, pigments; l. 102 cm. (without fringe), w. 26.5 cm.; ca. 1880.‖ The oldest known kachina dance sashes were collected among the Hopis in the 1870s by John Wesley Powell and Colonel James Stevenson (Stevenson 1883:fig. 501; Sayers 1981:71; cf. Hedlund and Dittemore 2004:61, fig. 2 ). Although the Hopis also traded these with their sedentary neighbors and even the Navajos as Ten Kate noted, very similar sashes were woven at Zuni and in many New Mexican Pueblo villages, as the fieldwork of Douglas has documented (Douglas 1938, 1939, 1939a, 1940; Mera 1943; Kent 1983:76-79). When Stevenson was collecting in Zuni in 1879 for the Smithsonian Institution, he acquired a whole series of kachina dance sashes of either Hopi or Zuni manufacture (Stevenson 1883:373-374, figs. 500-502). As parts of ritual dress, the kachina sashes were standardized to a great extent, and show only few variations. Because virtually all kachina sashes that have been published are identified as Hopi, and for their interpretation we rely heavily on fieldwork done at the Hopi villages.The warp of the upright loom in which kachina dance sashes are woven, usually in two identical parts, varies from 8-12 inches (MacLeish 1940:310). The cotton used for these sashes was specially treated before spinning by whipping it with withes on a bed of sand, a procedure with symbolic connotations (Hough 1915:85). Natural handspun white wool is used for the weft in a warp plain weave. The two halves are sewn together at the top, resulting in a long sash, the standard size being about ten inches wide and ninety inches long. The design is executed in (now) rather faded 4-ply Germantown yarns. The weaver has changed the weft to a cotton twine in the brocaded area. The sash is trimmed with a strip of red trade cloth. In the 1880s cotton cloth began to replace wool as the material from which the sashes were made.The kachina sash consists of two identical woolen (later cotton) panels, sewn together at the top, two-thirds of which are plain, while the lower thirds are decorated with patterns of colored yarn, the sash ending in a fringe. These decorative lower parts of the sash are woven into the fabric in a technique called "Hopi brocade", a relatively recent technique developed or acquired before 1880. The painting and embroidery of textiles was much older. Frederic H. Douglas (1938) has analyzed the technical aspects of brocading and stressed that it should not be confused with embroidery, as brocading involves the insertion of colored threads into the fabric while it is still being woven on the loom. Not standardized is the narrow band where the plain weave merges in the brocaded panel, and variations have been interpreted as individual signatures of weavers. According to Alexander M. Stephen the design represents Wúyak-küita, Broadface Kachina, with the diamond-shapes its bulging eyes, the zigzag bands bared teeth and the hooked and striped elements the face painting of warriors. This interpretation corresponds with the role of Broadface as a guardian and protector of other kachinas (Stephen 1936:35,240) and he appears in this role during the Bean Dance (Powamu) on all three Hopi mesas, carrying a whip to underline his authority and protective role. The dancing Broadface Kachina also has a prominent row of teeth, executed in triangularly twisted light-colored cornhusks on a black facemask (Colton 1959:26). The straight white double lines in the dark band are referred to as Püükoñhoya, the Twin Warrior Gods, and are symbolized by similar designs in facial painting. The lower end of the sashes is almost always finished with a band of red cloth sewn on, and finally the natural white woolen fringe, sometimes referred to as the beard of Broadface Kachina. Voth who worked mainly at Oraibi around 1900 identified the zigzags as mountain lion teeth, the lozenges as melon blossoms or squashes, and the hooks as bean sprouts, an interpretation partially approximating that solicited from Second and Third Mesa informants in 1968 (Wade and Evans 1973; also cf. Sayers 1981:71-73,75). Wade and Evans (1973) suggest that the apparently diverse interpretations are interrelated and complementary, and refer to rain and fertility, protective deities and spirits, natural and ceremonial cycles, the maintenance of cosmic and social order, thus expressing the Hopi world view in spatial, temporal, natural, spiritual, and mythic dimensions. The degree of consistency in Native explanations of designs generally decreases over time, and earlier interpretations therefore adhere more closely to traditional origins and meanings. However, any interpretation at any time provided by any weaver serious about his work fits into the fabric of Hopi metaphysics and life and should be regarded as authentic as such. The typical design of the dance sash has also been used on a Hopi man's shirt that was collected around 1900 at Oraibi, and represents an adaptation of a traditional element to a new use (Whitaker 2002:392-393; cf. Kent 1983:81).‖ Kate described this sash as: \"dress for a mythical drama". The kachina sash was part of the ceremonial dress worn by male kachina dancers, wrapped around their waist, with the ends draped to the right side of their bodies, almost touching the ground, the brocaded panels facing outwards. Less traditional is the wearing of these sashes as breechcloths, with the brocaded ends hanging at the front and back (James 1914:166-167; Hough 1919:258-260; Bartlett 1949:2; Rodee 1977:125-130; Fox 1978:56-58; Sayers 1981; Kent 1983:76-81; cf. Conn 1979:186; Wright 1979:35; Fane 1991:149). In addition to the kachina sash, the Hopis braided a plain white cotton or wedding sash, ending in cornhusk balls with long fringes, symbolizing precipitation. It was presented to the Hopi bride on her marriage. A special weaving technique called "sprang" was used for such sashes (Fox 1978:33-36,58-59; Kent 1983:82-84).\n362-155, 674-3,4,5,6 Zuni weaving Zuni Pueblo is exceptional in that in historic times women rather than men sat at the loom, although the latter were not excluded from weaving. The major textile made at Zuni was the woman's blanket or shawl with embroidered borders, woven from native cotton. Men's dance kilts follow the same pattern. Wool was used for a great variety of daily, festive and ceremonial dress items. Traditional dyes for yarn included a yellow from thistles (Circium sp.) or rabbit-weed (Bigelovia), a brownish red from tickseed (Coreopsis) flowers, and black from the bark of sumac (Rhus). For mordant alum was locally available.\Many black blankets were woven for men and worn wile participating in and observing ceremonies. Used as shrouds for people to be buried in, they disappeared in the 1880s. Striped blankets, often with a white foundation, were the other main type. These tend to be less elongated and a bit more square that those of other Pueblos, as well as a bit more coarse, thick, and fuzzy (Douglas 1940). Zuni textiles are a subject deserving more scholarly attention.（Hovens, Rodee and Vogelsang-Eastwood 2008-09） Pueblo textiles. Textile weaving has a long pre-history in the Southwest. The weaving of textiles has a long history in the Southwest. The threads spun from it were woven by hand (finger-weave). Around 800 AD, the vertical loom was adopted, after which larger pieces of textile could be produced. Since 1100 fabrics were provided with embroidery. In the sixteenth century, Pueblo weavers and Zuni weavers produced cotton shirts, shawls, loincloths, kilts and belts. The cotton garments were often dyed in a bath of mineral or vegetable dye. Embellishments were also applied by embroidery.‖ In the seventeenth century, the Spanish introduced sheep, wool spinning, western looms, and new natural dyes, including indigo and cochineal. Blankets and Òser-apesÓ (shawls) were new products brought by the whites and served as examples for Indian weavers to emulate. Among the Pueblos, it was the men who worked at the loom, with the exception of the Zunis where the women did so. Both cotton and wool textiles were woven.‖ Sheep farming, wool spinning, and blanket weaving by Navajos date back to the seventeenth century and were learned both through intertribal trade contacts and through the incorporation of Pueblo slaves and refugees. By the eighteenth century, the distinction between Navajo and Pueblo weaving was blurred. In addition to blankets, serapes (shouldered cloaks based on the Spanish model) and mantas (traditional wide shawls or shrugs), shirts, loincloths and belts were also woven.With the introduction of Western trade goods, the Pueblo weaving tradition fell into decline. Production was limited to a few pieces of ceremonial clothing and accessories. The Hopis continued to weave on a modest scale, trading their products with their Pueblo neighbors to the east and south.\Some of the distinctive Pueblo textiles are:\Òthe plain manta; this is a rectangular dark-colored cloth worn as a shawl or shawl, but sewn together also serves as outerwear and undergarments (shirt and skirt); other mantas were predominantly white and featured a red, dark blue, or black border at the top and bottom;Ó the bridal manta; also a rectangular but white shawl offered by the groom to the bride, wrapped in a reed mat; later, the top and bottom edges were embroidered;‖ serapes or blankets, usually provided with colored bands, a Spanish introduction, and used as clothing and bedding;‖ kilts; sashes; their characteristic is that they are woven on such a surface as to make the surface appear embroidered; in fact, this is a weaving technique called "Hopi brocade"; the pattern predominating therein is possibly a stylized Breedge face-kachina in which the two diamonds represent the eyes and the row of toothed figures below the mouth the teeth; these were usually worn by the men suspended from a belt along the right hip; sometimes they were worn across the upper body as a sash; in other cases as a hipcloth;‖ girdles worn around the hip or around the knees. \Dance belt consisting of two panels, embroidered at the ends. The two diamonds symbolize the blossoms of pumpkins, one of the most important food crops. The zigzag patterns represent the teeth of the puma or of one of the kachinas.This belt is almost always worn by kachina dancers, with the embroidered panels hanging down the leg on one side.\If the kachinas are supernatural beings, spirits but not gods, each possessing one or more specific characteristics. These are expressed in forms, colors and symbols such as body painting, woven and embroidered clothes, objects they carry (dance sticks, dance boards), sounds they make, the shape of the head or parts of the head, etc. They bring rain and sunshine, help people personally, punish transgressors and connect people with the gods by acting as messengers between two worlds. The kachinas are represented during ceremonies by masked dancers who, during the ritual, are possessed by the spirit they portray. The literal meaning of kachina is "life father" or "spirit father". The kachina cult, consisting of a series of masked dances in the first half of the year, is the most important in the Hopis' ceremonial yearly calendar. Among the most notable kachina characters are the various clowns such as the brown mudheads and the black-and-white striped potsherds. They show how people should not behave, entertain the audience between dances, assist the dancers and see to it that the spectators behave respectfully.\ The dolls representing kachinas are made by men, are 25-30 centimeters long. The dolls, along with other gifts, are distributed to the children during the breaks of the kachina dances, especially to girls who are not initiated into religious societies. The dolls are hung from the ceiling or wall by a string at home. Through their parents' and families' stories about the kachinas, children are gradually initiated into their significance to the tribe. The dolls are called by the Hopis "tihü" or "kachintihü", meaning "doll" or "figure".It is likely that kachina dolls were first manufactured in the eighteenth century. They may have been developed from what are known as pahos, small wooden prayer sticks decorated with feathers and corn leaves, often painted and sometimes carved into the shape of a face. The oldest forms of kachina dolls are simple in form and execution. They are usually flat and show little detail except for the head and mask. Later, the dolls became round. It was not until the mid-nineteenth century that the dolls were collected by whites.Due to the interest of whites in such dolls and their secular nature to the Indians, their production gradually increased. Emerging tourism contributed to this development and led to the making of simple wooden dolls and miniature kachinas. The body of the kachina dolls was initially portrayed mostly statically but shapes and painting became more naturalistic over time. Dolls that depicted movement, called "action dolls", also brought in more money. Besides movement, more and more attention was paid to the details, both in terms of woodcarving and painting, as well as adding accessories. Recently, some woodcarvers have returned to making kachina dolls in traditional style, such as Manfred Susunkewa. Collectors and museums stimulated the production of high quality artistic dolls made by a limited number of artists. They signed their work and often sold it through the regular art trade and museum shops. Prominent collectors of kachina dolls include Senator Barry Goldwater and actor John Wayne.