Gushing.] dJO [Xov. (5, 



The symbolic unity, or general similarity of painted designs on the 

 masks with human features to the face paintings or markings on the very 

 realistic animal figureheads grouped or associated with them, gave me a 

 new insight into the meaning of mask painting in general, and into the 

 meaning also of even simple face painting as practiced so widely among 

 primitive peoples, especially among such as use masks in their dances or 

 other sacred and dramatic ceremonials. That the interpretations I shall 

 presently venture to ofler may seem less far-fetched than otherwise they 

 might seem, I will explain a little more fully, the tendency peoples of 

 this kind have, toward reproducing, in their face- paintings or upon their 

 masks, the characteristic marks or features of animal faces. I cannot bet- 

 ter do this than by making a few statements regarding the philosophvof 

 form I was taught whilst living with some veiy primitive-minded people — 

 the Zuni Indians— some years ago. Since they observe that life is never 

 manifest save in some sort of form, they argue that no form is without 

 some sort of life, and since they further observe that each particular kind 

 of life is manifest in some particular kind of form, they argue that form 

 strictly conditions life — its powers and other characteristics. Naturally, 

 therefore, they accord to forms (or rather to semblances) even of inani- 

 mate things, such potencies as they see manifested in the forms of the ani- 

 mate beings these things most resemble externally or otherwise. Let me 

 illustrate this. They connect the wave-, or ripple-like scales of fishes with 

 their ability to live and float in the wave-fretted waters ; they believe it is 

 chiefly because of the cloud-like down under or between the feathers of 

 a soaring bird that he is able so lightly to fly among the similai', flufty or 

 downy clouds — for these of themselves like the mist of living breath, 

 ever float without efli"ort. To such a people, of course, form, semblance, 

 aspect, is therefore all important ; and they naturally think that by re- 

 producing a given form or appearance which of itself gives rise to a cer- 

 tain eft'ect, they may again and unerringly produce, or help to reproduce 

 the same etfect, with the form of their own making. 



This sort of reasoning about analogy between form and function, be- 

 tween creatures and the phenomena that resemble their operations, be- 

 tween animals and things, is only touched upon here — ^just sufficiently to 

 indicate how a people thus reasoning further reason that as the lives, 

 conditions and powers of animals difler as do their forms, so the speci- 

 fic traits or characters of animals differ according as do their differing as- 

 pects, especially according as do the expressions of their countenances ; 

 and finally, that since the facial expression of each kind of animal is un- 

 varying in all members of the species, and the corresponding trait or 

 character of each is equally unvarying, they reason that expression con- 

 trols, rather than that it is the result of, character or disposition — so far 

 at least as these animals are concerned. It follows that they believe the 

 changes in the expression of a man's face to be similarly eff"ective. They 

 observe that liis face is far more mobile than is that of any animal, and 

 lience believe that lie is more capable of changing ; that according as his 



