Clark Wissler

“ Thus, we have a custom of calling upon the sun in time of need which is an almost universal practice, a more restricted form of such appeal peculiar to women in so far that sexual morality is a necessary qualification, the more specific vow of "going forward to the tongues", and the exceptional vow to perform the medicine woman's functions at the sun dance, a fair illustration of the way in which most complex folk ceremonies are supported by a pyramid of less and less differentiated practices. ”

“ Again, the fashionable lady who goes shopping tomorrow will select new and striking designs on ribbons and silks that are the advance products of a great revival in American decorative art, the foundation for which was laid by our museum collectors and scientific students of Indian life. It behooves us, therefore, to systematize and extend our knowledge of this vanishing race whose life has been trampled under foot in the ruthless march of culture's evolution, but whose own cultural achievements were too virile and too finely adjusted to local geographical conditions to be obliterated. ”

“ But these losses, incalculably great as they are, would be lost in the overwhelming economic vacuity that would result from the obliteration of maize, cacao, manioc, the potato, the squash, coca, quinine, tobacco and all the other numerous and nameless contributions the Indian has made to our culture. From that eventful day in 1492 when Columbus first laid eyes upon the Indian, down to this very hour, he has been the most studied of peoples. No other race of the world can so stir the imagination of the European. ”

“ For a man to join the band of his wife at marriage is not unusual. The reasons for such changes are usually selfish, in that greater material and social advantages are offered, but we have no suggestion of such transfers being made with the idea of recruiting a depleted band. A man who changes his band may become a head man or even a chief without hindrance, as in the case of a well-known Piegan chief now living. Thus, it appears that there is no absolute rule of descent in band membership and that what bonds exist are rather those of real blood relationship than of an artificial system. ”

“ If the husband was a head man, he used his own judgment as to the woman’s guilt and it is believed that the penalty was often due more to his unreasonable jealousy than to real knowledge of his wife’s guilt. Yet, in any event, the disgrace and shame for the relatives of both husband and wife was so great that extreme penalties for mere suspicion were considered justifiable, if the interested parties were of some importance in social life. ”

“ Each individual usually brings to this subject strong sociological biases which distort his comprehension of the idea. Thus, our particular ideas of race values and our opinions as to heredity make the assumption of a fair attitude toward even the facts of culture, extremely difficult. The zoological sciences have for their own the conception of evolution which is the heart and soul of the whole subject. Man as a mammal, or even as a primate, falls under this conception and we have seen how fruitful was its application in the discussion of New World racial affiliations with the Old. ”

“ In practice, it seems that a man never really abandons a name though always spoken of by the last conferred or current name since he will say that he has two, three, or any number, as the case may be, enumerating all those given him during his life. While to ask a man his name is very rude, he himself seems free to speak of it on his own initiative. The custom seems to rest upon ideas of politeness, since not to have heard a man’s name even before meeting him is said to reflect upon his good standing among the people. ”

“ Turning back to North America and beginning at the farthest north with the extremely simple culture of the Eskimo, we find a considerable body of regulations, as must be the case in any well-formed culture, but still no effective judicial machinery to enforce them. If a man finds his conventional rights trod upon, he has no recourse except to resort to blood vengeance. Yet, we do find some incipient judicial procedure, for among the Hudson Bay Eskimo the men of a group may, in consultation, condemn an obnoxious individual and arrange for some one to dispatch him at the first opportunity. ”

“ The tale of adventure as told by the chief actor is the delight of the fireside and entrances old and young alike when delivered by a skilful narrator. Other tales, those of tradition and hearsay, are seldom offered as it is the custom for one to narrate his own experiences, a rather high ideal of truthfulness being entertained. Of course, there are historical traditions, but they are usually given in brief without much life. Adventures with animals and of the hunt have a place, but are of far less social significance. ”

“ The shaman gets his power by an extraordinary experience. He usually seeks it in fasting and prayer; whence, if his tortured nervous system bring the desired illusion, he goes out among his fellows with the faith and confidence that convinces. While he has a great deal to learn from his fellow shamans, such learning is quite secondary and dispensable. The priest, on the other hand, may also fast and be fired with faith and zeal, but this is secondary to him, for he must master with infinite detail the arbitrary forms of rituals. In last analysis, the priest must be a man of intellect ”

“ Thus, there is not only the same freedom here as between man and wife, but the conventional necessity for license. As practically all other relatives by marriage are forbidden the least reference to such subjects, the force of the exception is greatly magnified. For example, a man will not even relate the obscene tales of the Old Man and other tales containing such reference in the presence of his brothers-in-law nor before their immediate relatives. If we add to this an equal prohibition against the presence of his sisters and female cousins, we have marked out the limits of this taboo. ”

“ We must now take leave of our brief review of culture in the New World. We have found the highest centers of culture in Mexico and Peru to be not really unique growths, but to possess many of the fundamental traits common to the wilder folk in the marginal areas of both continents. New World culture is thus a kind of pyramid whose base is as broad as the two Americas and whose apex rests over Middle America. We have found no just ground for assuming that the culture of the Maya was projected into the New World from the Old, where it rested as an isolated replica of cultures beyond the Pacific. ”

“ When one is taken ill the family sends for a medicine man, promising him a horse. If the family is of some importance they may call in a number of such men, to each of whom a horse is promised. They sit around the tipi and work their magic powers in turn while their women assist with the songs. Food and other comforts must be provided for them and their enthusiasm stimulated by gifts of additional horses. A long acute illness will deprive the family of its accumulated property. Often a man will tell you that he is very poor now since he or some of his relatives have been ill for a time. ”

“ Thus, if we accept the theory that man first reached America after the opening of the ice in Alaska, we are under the necessity of assuming a sudden unprecedented growth of culture, unless it turns out that the lapse of time has been greatly underestimated. It seems far more consistent with the facts to assume that the peopling of the New World was contemporaneous with that of Western Europe, and that the subsequent return of the ice practically isolated the two hemispheres, leaving each to develop as it might. ”

“ For example, the system developed by systematic zoology is not strictly applicable, because the existing peoples of the earth are very near to each other. Our experience with zoological classification leads us to expect that when we offer a morphological grouping of mankind, we shall base it upon descent. While this may be asking too much of a mere classification, we must not overlook the fact that here is the real problem in the case. Thus, in the New World, we must eventually know from what kind of men the original stock sprang and what elements, if any, have been later assimilated by it. ”

“ Under the general name of folklore, we have a more or less distinct department of inquiry, with its own particular societies and journals whose supporters consider the whole unwritten literature of the earth as their province, whether it pertains to primitive groups or to the most advanced nations. However, in our country, the American Folk-Lore Society has given its attention almost wholly to the mythology of the aborigines. Every such tribe, so far examined, has been found to possess two kinds of tales, those referring to a previous order of events, and those having to do with the present. ”

“ An important problem is the origin of Plains art as a whole. Though we have shown that bead technique imposes textile limits upon the decorations, the fact that the Plains area is in direct contact with basketry-making peoples and the weavers of the Southwest reveals the possibility of diffusion. While this, like most other problems, is one for the future, there are several good reasons for believing that the art of the bison, or Plains area, is in the main an independent development. In the first place, its center is in the very heart of the area, while it is weakest on the margins. ”

“ But passing on to less material traits, we find even stronger claims to unity of culture. Thus, society itself was almost everywhere composed of the same kind of units, whose conceptions of property and political rights were the same. Ritualism, priestcraft, and shamanism, mythological conceptions, and religious attitudes also show many specific cases of uniformity. Hence, we are fully justified in regarding the New World as one distinct culture province. ”

“ The phenomenon of English culture is made the subject matter of English history, but it is a fair assumption that the causes that operate in it are of the same general type as those that operate in Eskimoan culture. Hence, in dealing with problems of culture, we must take our points of regard from the historian, because he deals with the phenomena where the approaches are most complete and direct. We assume, therefore, that the culture complex of the Eskimo grew up in the same type manner as that of England and is, in other words, a historical fact. ”

“ Its pursuit will prove no light task, but to him who has a grasp of some of these subjects and a working insight into the others, anthropology offers problems of the most enticing sort. Naturally, but few of us can hope to grapple first-hand with these great inquiries, but the anthropology of today has moved forward so far that no man who wishes to be considered well educated can afford to ignore its fundamentals any more than he can those of zoology or sociology. ”