Dance belt

362-187Hopi woven belt, faja (TK); wool; l. 239 cm., w. 9 cm.; ca. 1880.\Such belts were usually used by women to secure their dress, but on ceremonial occasions men adopted these for their costume (Bartlett 1949:6; Fox 1978:52). Marian Rodee (1992) noted of this rather damaged specimen: \"Belt with wool warp and weft, a rather unusual specimen as there is no cotton present. The weft contains brown wool yarn, and handspun indigo wool laid in pairs in the center. The edges are red and green two-ply split from four-ply. Although the Navajo-style belt was woven by Navajos and Hopis, the Hopi-style belt was only made at Hopi and possibly other Pueblos, but not made or worn by Navajos. Their manufacture and design differ in a number of respects. Their origin has not yet been exactly established, but the oldest fragments have been recovered from Salado sites in Tonto National Monument (McLeish 1940; Kent 1983:85-89).\Hopi textilesDuring the Pueblo I period (900-1100), the Anasazi ancestors of the Hopis, Zunis, and Rio Grande Pueblos began cultivating a native species of cotton, Gossypium hopi, that was well adapted to the altitude and semi-arid climate of the Colorado Plateau. It was used to weave garments, varying from breechcloths, shirts, and sashes to kilts, shawls, dresses, and belts, and especially the Hopis developed into accomplished cotton growers and weavers, trading their textiles with neighboring tribes (Kent 1957, 1983a; Teague 1998). After the Spanish introduced sheep into the Southwest in the early 17th century, textiles of wool were woven by Pueblo men and increasingly replaced clothing from animal skin. Typical woven items dress included mantas (shoulder and dress blankets), shirts, kilts, belts, sashes, breechcloths, leggings, garters, and headbands. Cotton garments became increasingly associated with ceremonial occasions, except for white cotton pants that were commonly worn by the men. Hopi men did the spinning and worked the traditional upright looms in the kivas. The Hopis went to great lengths to assure the quality of their textiles. Thorough carding and spinning resulted in a strong yarn that was twisted evenly with a spindle. The yarn was sometimes finished by smoothing it with a corncob. Different types of weaving and cording were mastered, and could occur in the same textile (Stevenson 1884:plate 44; Hough 1915:84-86; Colton 1931:4-5; Bartlett 1949; Kent 1983:9-13,33-38). To assure the effective connection between the fabric and dye, and render the yarns color proof, a variety of mordents were used, including alum, limonite, rock salt, copper carbonate, tannic acid, human urine, sheep manure, and smoke (Hough 1919:235,252-255; Colton 1965; Kent 1983:31-34). The Spanish introduced indigo and lac dyes, and commercial cloth, the bayeta variety of which was often raveled for the red yarn to be reused in Hopi textiles (Kent 1983:29-30).In 1848 the United States wrested control of the Southwest from Mexico, and from 1875 the amount of industrially produced textiles, commercial wool (Germantown) yarns, cotton string, and aniline dyes arriving by way of the Santa Fe Trail steadily increased. The arrival of the railroad accelerated the import of such western trade goods, and traditional weaving among the Hopis, Zunis, and Rio Grande Pueblos declined as a result (Kent 1983:14-19).‖ (Hovens 2008-09)‖ Pueblo textiles. Textile weaving has a long pre-history in the Southwest. The main reason is that the textile is a product of a certain type of production. 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. \ÒKachinas 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 clothing, objects they carry (dance sticks, dance boards), sounds they make, the shape of their heads or parts of their heads, etc. They bring rain and shine, 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 annual 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.\And Kate Catlogue674-3 Hopi dance sash or beltCottonstring warp and natural white wool, handspun (and cotton?) weft.\Hopi dancing sashes were standardized to a great extent, and show only few variations. The decorative lower part of the sash is woven into the fabric with colored yarn in a technique called "Hopi brocade" (Douglass 1938), a relatively recent technique developed or acquired before 1880 during the Classic Period (1848-1880). According to Alexander M. Stephen the design represents Wuyak-kuita, Broadface Kachina, with the diamond-shapes its bulging eyes, the zigzag bands bared teath, and the hooked and striped elements the face painting of warriors. This interpretation corresponds with the role of Broadface as a protector of other kachinas (Stephen 1936 : ) and he apprears in this role during the Bean Dance (Powamu) on all three mesas, carrying a whip to underline his authority and protective role. The dancing Broadface Kachina also has a prominent row of teeth, executed in triangulary twisted light-colored cornhusks on a black facemask (Colton 1959:26). On the basis of his informants, Hopi missionary H.R. Voth (1901: ) identified the zigzags as mountain lion teeth, the lozenges as melon blossoms of squashes, and the hooks as bean sprouts. \The same type of sash was made and used by the Pueblos on the Rio Grande in Northern New Mexico. 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).\The sashes were woven by men on a narrow upright loom, usually in two identical parts which were then sewn toegether at the top, and resulted in a long sash. The standard size was about 10 inches wide and ninety inches longThese sashes were worn by men, wrapped around their waist, with the ends draped to the right side of their bodies, almost touching the ground. Less traditional is the wearing of these sashes as breechcloths, with the brocaded ends hanging at the front and back (James 1914:166-167; Kent 1983:76-81). \The lower end of the sashes is almost always finished with a band of red cloth sewn on, and finally the natural white woollen fringe.‖ Colton, Harold S. - Hopi Kachina Dolls. University of New Mexico Press; Albuquerque, 1959 (revised edition).\Douglas, Frederic H. Notes on Hopi Brocading. In: Plateau 11:35-38; 1938.\nJames, George Wharton - Indian Blankets and their Makers. A.C. McClurg and Company; Chicago, 1914.\nKent, Kate Peck - Pueblo Indian Textiles. School of American Research Press; Santa Fe, 1983.\Sayers, Robert - Symbol and Meaning in Hopi Ritual Textile Design. In: American Indian Art Magazine 6:70-77; 1981.\nStephen, Alexander M. - Hopi Journal. Edited by Elsie Clews Parsons. Columbia University Press; New York, 1936.\nVoth, H.R. - The Oraibi Powamu Ceremony. Field Columbian Museum, Publication 16, Anthropological Series 3/2; Chicago, 1901.\Wade, Edwin and Evans, David - The Kachina Sash: a Natural Model of the Hopi World. In: Western Folklore 32:1-18; 1973.