FFWKES] ARCHKULOOICAL OBJECTS 199 Guadeloupe of weai'ing "* two bands of woven cotton, the one fastened

FFWKES]

ARCHKULOOICAL

OBJECTS

199

200 THE

ABORIGINES OF PORTO RICO [eth. ANN. 25 eyeballs have been removed, but it is evident

from

fragmentsinthe resinwhichstilladheresto their sockets that theywere

made

ofshell and have been torn

from

theirformer attachments.

The

chin, face, and breast

show

the leastwear, the varnish in these regions being l)lackandglossy. One-half ofthe

mouth

is occupied bya piece of shell,

upon

which are carved the teeth; the otherhalf shows only a comparatively deepcavityand isdestitute of insertedshell. There is

a cavity within the head with anopeningattheback with whicha tube onceapparentlycommunicated. This image

may

wellbe considered oneof thoseidols thatthe Indians consulted for oracularpurposes and

from

whichthey aresaid tohavereceived responses.

Probablythepriest

who

gave^thesereplieswasconcealed

somewhere

near and spoke through a tube that communicated with the cavity ofthe head. In

some

of the early writingsit was said that onone occasion the Spaniard.s,having destroyed an image and its parapher- nalia,detectedand exposeda deception ofthiskind.

Few

specimensof theseidolswith hollow headsexist in collections, althoughitisprobablethat .some of the

known

stonemasks,especially tho.sewith perforatedmouths,

may

have been headsof similar images.

One

of the most complicated

wooden

idols

from

the

West

^Indies

is

shown

inaand«',plate xci; thiswasfirstdescribedandfiguredby ProfessorMason,

who

writes:

This carving representstwoindividualsseatedona canopiedchair. The whole thingisinteresting tothe highestdegree. Thechairhasa high back ornamented withscrollsand concentric rings. Both individualshave embroideredskullcaps, thenearestapproachtowhichare the basket-work,close-fittingembroideredhats of the IndiansoftheGreatInteriorBasinofthe United States. Theears,much^dis- tended,are tobe lookedfor. The most noteworthy^feature,however,^is thebands ofembroidered cottonjustabovethecalves. Inhissecond voyage,cruisingamong the CaribbeeIslands,Columbus came onthe 10thofNovember,149.3,toSantaCruz Island. Here he hada^fightwithsomenatives inadugoutand wounded someof them. The hair of thesesavages waslongand coarse, theireyesw-ere encircled withpaint so as togivethema hideousexpression,and bandsofcottonwerebound firmlyaboveandbelow the muscular partofthearmsandlegsso as tocausethemto swell to adisproportionedsize. (Irving'sColumbus, i, 333.) Height,31 inches.

Profes,sor

Mason

accompaniedhisdescription of this idolwithtwo goodfiguresthat have been repeated!}'copiedbylaterwriters.

The two new

figuresof theidolunderconsideration are reproduced

from

the original, one(</')aview fromthesideand the otherone('/)from thefront,showingcertain features notclearly ])roughtoutinprevious illustrations.

Initsgeneral form and ornamentation ^thestoolon whichthesefig- ures are seated resembles the Antillean seats called Jii/ios,specimens ofwhichfrom Turk.? island and Santo

Domingo

arementioned later in this report. Thisseatwas onceelaborately decorated,especially'on the back,whereparts of theformer ornamentsare^stillclearly seen.

FEWKEs]

ARGHEOLOGICAL

OBJECTS

201

Itmustnot necessarily be supposed that the natives

drew up

their legsinthe

way shown

inthe

wooden

idolsoccupyingthesestools, for,

owing

tothe smallsizeof theseseats,such a positionwould have been impossible.

Thesefigureswere undoubtedlyidolsWorshippedby^theaborigines of the island

upon

which theywerefound.

They

probablystood in nichesincaves orinspecialhouses dedicatedtothem.

The

twinning of idols in one figure recalls statements of early authors that the great deity of the Haitians hadtwoattendantsto do her bidding.

The

authorofthispaperhas referred toa twinamulet

from

Santo

Domingo

andhasheardof animageof claycomposedof two unitedidols. AlltheseHgurines evidently represent thesameor averysimilarconceptioninAntilleanmythology.

The wood

of whichthis idol is

made

^issoeatenin partsbyinsects thatits surfaceisriddledwith holes and has been so exposedtothe elements thatanyvarnishorresinwith whichitwasonce covered has almostwhollydisappeared.

Itisnot

known

whetheranotheridol formerlystood on the raised canopjrabove the twin figures; if so, it

may

have represented the greatEarth

Mother

of the Haitians, mentionedearlierin thisreport,

who

isreputedtohave hadtwoservant gods.

In hisreportonthe

Guesde

collection. Professor

Mason

describes another

wooden

idol,

shown

inplatexci, hand^}j':

A

humanfigurecarvedfroma single log ofwood. Theportionsbrokenawayrender itinij^ossible totell howlargetheimagewasoriginallyandwhatpositionthefigure occupied. Especially noticeable arethe earplugs and the bandsdrawn tightly aroundthemuscleofthearm. Length,43 inches.

These objects,according to

Mr

F.A. Ober, were found in acave near the ruins of Isabella, thefirstcityfounded by Columbus, onthe north coast ofSanto

Domingo. He

^writes:

Isawtheoldnegrowhodiscoveredthem,someyearsago,and hedescribedtheir positionandthegreat frightthey gave him. ^{. . .} Theywere placedina niche beneathanoverhangingrock, atthe entrancetoadeep cavern,and doubtlessthey had remainedfor at leastfourhundredyears

—

^{sincetheadventof}the Spaniards

—

andhow much^longernoone knows.

An

examinationofthelast-mentioned

wooden

idolbrings outsignifi- cantdetails.

The

canopy^ishere attached to thetop of theheadinstead ofarising, as inthetwinidol,fromthestool.

The

^filletoverthefore- headisdecorated withparallel incised lines that arebrokenat inter- vals,following a design constantly occurringinAntillean geometrical decorations.

The

ferrules surrounding the upper arm. resembling armlets, represent

woven

cotton bands. It ishighlj- probable that in

making

thisimagethe intention

was

to represent an animal's

body

with a

human

head. Itsnormalpositioniswiththebody,not upright, butslightly inclined, asindicatedin the plate. This object isoneof