Chippewa Customs

DWELLINGS

22 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY BEADWORK [BULL.S6 manido'mrnes (manido, spirit; m~n, seed bead. or berry; 6S, diminutive). manido'mrnesikan' beadwork. mllzina'bido'iglln (from m'12zin'12be, he or woven beadwork. she pictures). kwackwac'kllndjimrnes'ikan (kwac- "jumping pattern." kwack'12n, jumping). wawa'ckigwa'sllwrn (wag is part of stem "zigzag pattern." of word applied to things bent, curved, or crooked). ni'gigwa'sowllgwa'slln (nigig, otter; s'12n otter-tail pattern. implies sewing). kuku'kigwa'sllnnn_nnnnnnnn' pattern in squares. wa'wie'gwasun (wawie, round) nn round pattern. ajage'cigwa'slln __ n crawfish pattern. anllIJg'egwa'slln (an'121Jg, star) star pattern. mllzini'jiganlln' (from m'12zin'12be, he or cut pattern. she pictures). MISCELLANEOUS gi'krno'iglln (gi~no is modified stem of map, message, or record in picture verb meaning "to mark"; g'12n, ar- writing. ticle or thing). gawe'llg__ n porcupine quill work. na'gllmo'mnu n n n song (applied only to human beings, a different term being used for the song of birds). ni'mimn dance. DWELLINGS The principal types of dwellings were the wlgwam, the peaked lodge, the bark house and the tipi. To these may be added a conical lodge of evergreen boughs for temporary use. (a) The wtigwwm.-This term is commonly applied to the domeshaped Algonquian dwelling which in early times extended from Canada to North Carolina. The word wigwam appears in English as early as 1634 (Wood, Wm., New England's Prospect, 65, 1634). It seems to have been used originally by the Abnaki, an Algonquian confederacy centering in the present State of Maine. The proper term in Chippewa is wigilwarm, from the root wigiw, "he dwells." 25 This term is applied by the Chippewa to any habitation. The type under present consideration is designated as a waginoga:n, from wagin, bent, 0 connective, and gan, dwelling. The materials entering into the structure of a wigwam were poles or saplings, birch bark, and bulrushes tied together with green basswood bark and basswood twine. The dwelling might be round or oval, and of any 25 Cf. Article "W~am," Handbook of American Indians, Bull. 30, Bur, Amer. Etlm., pt. 2, p. 951, 1910, . , DENSMORE] OHIPPEWA OUSTOMS 23 size, but was characterizetl by a dome-shaped top. (PI. 3, a and b.) The structure may be briefly described as consisting of poles planted in the ground, brought together in arches, and covered with mats. The framework was left on a camp site, and the coverings carried from place to place. Dwellings of this type are still seen among the Chippewa, and the erection of such a one on the White Earth Reservation was described by its owner. This wigwam was 12 feet long and 10% feet wide, with an entrance at one end. It was on slightly sloping ground, and a shallow ditch was dug across the back, terminating halfway down each side, to carry off the water in case of rain. The frame consisted of six slender poles (three on each side) set in the longer diameter, and eight poles (four on each side) set in the shorter diameter of the lodge. The poles on the longer diameter were about 38 inches apart, and on the shorter diameter about 14 inches apart. These poles were of ironwood, which is pliable when green and tough yet elastic when dry; thus it was possible to make a secure lodge of poles an inch or less in thickness. The poles were stuck firmly in the ground, those on the longer diameter being implanted first and the ends twisted together overhead, the length of the poles being such that the arch formed by them was about 5% feet above the ground at its highest point. The poles at the ends of the lodge were then implanted and their ends similarly twisted, the overlapping portion being 1 to 1% feet. The intersections of the two parts of the frame were then tied with freshly cut strips of the inner bark of the basswood tree. The lengthwise and crosswise supports having been placed in position, two similar ironwood poles were arranged around the sides of the lodge, the lower of these being about 4 feet from the ground, and the other about 3 feet higher. These encircling poles were fastened around the erect framework, each intersection being tied with basswood bark. At one end of the lodge an opening was left in the lower of these braces for the doorway. The framework...