Chippewa Customs

WEAVING OF BANDS

DENSMORE] CHIPPEWA CUSTOMS 159 per edge of the work was sewed in a seam, forming the lower edge of the bag, and the lower edge of the work, which formed the upper edge of the bag, was finished with a space of" open work." The bag was closed by sewing the upper edges together with twine. WEAVING OF BANDS This industry is considered with reference to the materials used in the work. (a) St1'ips of cloth.-Every Chippewa woman carefully conserved the cloth obtained from the Government or from the trader, and from strips of old cloth she wove bands which were sewed into rugs for the floor of her dwelling. These rugs are sometimes seen at the present day. Some are round or oval, but the most typical are oblong with the bands extending the length of the rug. The writer saw a Chippewa woman engaged in this industry, her loom and a piece of unfinished work being shown in Plate 68. This woman, Ma'gidins by name, was more than 70 years old at the time and said that she, learned this work from her grandmother when a child. The loom is of cedar 13 by 13 inches in size, with bars 1 inch wide separated by spaces. Each bar has a hole midway its length. Strips of cloth were passed through the holes and also through the spaces between the bars. The strips were fastened at one end to an iron bedstead, while the other ends were fastened to the belt of the worker, who maintained the right tension for weaving by adjusting her own distance from the bed. As the work progressed she "let out" the strips that were tied to the bed and slipped the finished work through her belt, tying it in place. The loom was placed an easy arm-length from the worker's body and about the same distance from the bedstead. A similar implement from a Salishan tribe is in the City Museum at Vancouver, British Columbia. The process of the work is like that of weaving rag carpets, except that no shuttle is used. A strip of cloth 3 or 4 yards long is wound in the form of a little roll and used as woof, other strips being added as may be necessary. The worker holds the roll of woof in her right hand, passes it between the warp threads, elevates the weaving frame, and returns the roll of woof with her left hand, the change in position of the frame producing a change in the relative position of the woofs. The pattern is determined by the arrangement of colors in the warp, only one color being used in the woof. A great variety is seen in the patterns. (Pl. 68.) The usual width is about 11fz inches, but much wider braids are frequently made. (b) Yarn.-Similar braids were made entirely of yarn and tied above the bands on cradle boards. 160 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY· [BULL. 86 (0) Yarn and thread.-Belts were similarly made, using yarn as the warp and carpet warp as the woof, this being a comparatively modern form of the industry. (PI. '71, a.) (d) Bark.-A. narrow belt made of soft basswood bark was worn by hunters, the knife sheath being attached to this belt. No loom was required for this purpose, the threads being crossed diagonally. This process was not observed by the writer. NETTING OF BELTS Belts made of yarn are the most common and characteristic among the Chippewa, and are usually about 9 inches wide and 2 yards or more in length. One of these belts was woven under the writer's observation, a portion of the yarn being colored with native dye. The frame on which the work was done consisted of two poles or stakes about 4 feet long, driven firmly into the ground about 3 feet apart. The end of the yarn was tied to one of these stakes and wound around them both, beginning about 2 feet above the ground. The belt which the write); saw on the frame was of red, blue, and yellow yarn in stripes. The red and blue strands were first used, three red and three blue strands being used in alternating colors placed one below another. (PI. 69, a.) Yellow strands were then added, the colors being separated at one side of the frame and intermingled at the other side. This portion of the process being completed , the poles...