62 EEPOET OF THE SEORETART. 



descent which is normal to the lowest stage of culture; the devices are at once blood- 

 signs, definite as the face-marks of gregarious animals, and clan-standards, significant 

 as tartan or pibroch; and the confinement of their display to the recognized blood- 

 carriers of the clan attests, perhaps more clearly than any other phenomena thus far 

 noted, the strength of that semi -instinctive feeling expressed in maternal organiza- 

 tion. In like manner, the representation of local tutelaries in the painted devices 

 attests the intensity and dominance of that zootheistic faith which seems to be nor- 

 mal to the lowest stage of intellectual development. The details of the investigation 

 are incorporated in a memoir appended to an earlier report. 



In the course of his work among the Hopi Indians, Dr. Fewkes succeeded in defin- 

 ing certain steps in the development of the drama. The ceremonies of the folk, like 

 those of other primitive peoples, are primarily fiducial, and involve representation, 

 or even personation, of the deified potencies forming the tribal pantheon. The 

 motive of one of the dramatic — or rather dramaturgic — pieces is the growth of corn; 

 and the mise en scene comprises realistic representations of both the maleficent and 

 the beneficent agencies connected with the making of the crop and the development 

 of the plant in general. The performance is designed primarily to invoke the favor 

 of the mysteries by appropriate symbols of both being and action, but an ancillary, 

 or perhaps coordinate, design of this ceremony is the edification (combining instruc- 

 tion and diversion) of the-tribe at large; accordingly a portion of the interior is set 

 apart as a stage, while the greater portion is reserved as an auditorium. Both the 

 mystical and the human powers are represented or personified by actors, who, with 

 their properties, occupy the stage; and since that part of the mechanism connected 

 with the portrayal of the mysteries is esoteric, a screen is provided to conceal it and 

 give an air of realism to the performance. The screen is painted with appropriate 

 symbols tending to heighten the illusion to the childlike minds of the audience, and 

 it is perforated to permit the passage of masked effigies representing the mystical 

 potencies, which are operated by shamans hidden behind the screen, something after 

 the fashion of marionettes. The front of the stage is occupied by a symbolized field 

 of corn; it is the role of the symbolized potencies representing storm and drought 

 to emerge from their respective apertures in the screen and destroy the symbolic 

 cornfield; but they are opposed, in part by musical and other incanations of a group 

 of shamans occupying one side of the stage, and in part ])y human actors who wrestle 

 with and finally overcome the evil marionettes. The entire dramatization stands on 

 a higher plane than that prevalent among most of the tribes of the territory of the 

 United States, though lower than that reached among the Nahuatlan and Mayan peo- 

 ples and reveals various connecting links between primitive dramaturgy and theatrical 

 representation proper. A specially significant feature of the performance is the role 

 assigned to human actors in boldly defying, and eventually overcoming, the powers 

 of darkness and evil; for this aesthetic feature reflects a noteworthy aspect of industrial 

 development. Dr. Fewkes' s detailed descriptions, with the attendant photographs 

 and drawings, are in preparation for an early report. 



WORK IN TECHNOLOOT. 



As indicated in earlier reports, the researches of the last decade have shown that 

 the esthetic motives of primitive jieoples arise in symbolism; and, as noted in one or 

 two recent reports on the work, various indications have been found that industrial 

 motives similarly arise in symbolism connected with zootheistic faith. The suggest- 

 ive phase of industrial develojiment is that in which teeth, horns, claws, mandibles, 

 and other animal organs are used as implements or weapons in a manner imitating 

 more or less closely the natural functions of the organisms. In completing his studies 

 of Seri technic during the year, Mr. W J McGee has discovered definite survivals 

 of this stage of industrial development. The favorite Seri awl is the mandible of a 

 bird, and even when the material is hard wood the implement is shaped in imita- 



