Chippewa Customs

LIFE CYCLE

48 BOREAU OP AMEnICAN ETTnWLOGY LIFE CYCLE [BULl•• S() (a) Care of i:nfarnts.-In the old days the Chippewa did not have large families, several informants stating that the average was two or three children. A mother had her infant constantly with her, and the daily relation between mother and child was closer than in the white race. If a baby was born during the night it was customary to notify the people by firing guns. Immediately the men of the father's gens and those of one other gens went to the wigwam and attempted to gain possession of the child, the father and the men of his gens defending the child against the other party. The child's relatives threw water, and sometimes a mixture of flour and water, on the attacking party, and the men fought and wrestled.a1 It is said that "everybody was wringing wet" when the struggle was finished. The men who secured the baby took it to the leader of the gens who carried it four times around the fire while the people sang a song with words meaning" vVe have caught the little bird." The parents gave presents to the men to secure possession of the baby. It was said, "This was done to make the child brave from hearing so much noise as soon as it was born." It was the desire of the Chippewa that their children should be straight and vigorous, and to that end the mother began a child's training in early infancy.a2 Two means were employed for this training as well as for convenience in taking care of the child. These were (1) the cradle board and (2) a custom which arose after the Chippewa obtained cotton cloth and which may be designated as "pinning up the baby." With these forms of restraint they alternated periods of freedom when the child was" let out for exercise." It was frequently bathed but clear water was seldom used, a warm decoction of some strengthening herb being preferred for this purpose. The cradle board, in which a baby spent most of its time for the first year of its life, consisted of a board about 24 inches long with a curved piece of wood at one end to confine the child's feet and a hoop at right angles above the other end. (PI. 22, a.) A light rod was fastened loosely to one side of the cradle board and to this were attached the two binding bands, about 6 inches wide, which were pinned or tied over the child. In the old days the upper end of the board was cut in points and painted red or blue, and the entire structure was held together by thongs. Inside the curved wood at the foot 31 Mrs. English said she remembered that Conilikwe had a baby when the people were at the rice fields and the men dipped each other in the lake during their struggle for possession of the child. 32 A Chippewa said with pride, "An Indian never stooped except for age." bE!I'sMORE] OHIPPEWA CUSToMS of the cradle board was birch bark of the same shape filled with soft moss. The hoop above the child's head served as a support for a blanket in winter or for a thin cloth in summer, thus protecting the child's head from the weather. On this hoop were hung small articles intended as charms or for the child's amusement. The leather strap fastened near the hoop enabled the mother to carry it on her back. (PI. 22, b.) If she were carrying only a cradle the strap was across her chest, but if she were carrying a pack, she put the pack strap across her chest and the strap of the cradle board across her forehead. The binding bands were formerly of list cloth and decorated only on the portion above the cradle board, but as beads and worsted braid became more common the decoration was extended over the entire length. Thfl women took great pride in the decoration of these bands. Strips of hide were used in early days to hold the bands in place; these were followed by flat woven braid about an inch wide, made of yarn, one such braid being tied over each band. In old times a baby wore little or no clothing, being surrounded by moss, which, with the birch-bark tray, was removed when necessary . vVood moss...