70 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 187 



through the water. The swimming action may be straight ahead or 

 serpentine in playful progress or flirtation. A fish can also leap out 

 of the water. At any event, he is slithery, and is appropriately por- 

 trayed by slithery motions. It is obvious, however, that the Seneca 

 dancers do not have enough feet to represent all of the sets of fins, 

 and do not invoke the aid of flipping hand motions, as do the Wis- 

 consin Chippewa. 



Though fishing has always been a major Iroquoian activity — more 

 so than hunting — there is no record of an esoteric dance for the fish. 

 It remains a Seneca diversion, though the Allegheny River residents 

 catch many fish, raise little corn, and do less hunting. 



FUNCTIONAL CHANGE 



The seasonal distribution of food ceremonies and the numerous 

 dances with animal and plant names would suggest an intimate con- 

 nection with the environment and the food supply. It is true that 

 the Iroquois knew the creatures in their choreographic roster, except 

 for the alligator, whose dance is of very minor importance. The 

 buffalo, bear, duck, pigeon, and fish provided food; furs and skins 

 provided covering; feathers, ornaments; bear claws and teeth served 

 as amulets. On the other hand, eagle and robin did not appear in 

 the menu. And deer, which were extensively hunted as food, have a 

 clan in their name but no dance, although Algonquians have retained a 

 deer dance to this day. The transference of function from hunt to 

 cure or sociability was natural after the extinction of the creature. 

 The bear, however, was associated with shamanism and medicine 

 rites long before shortages and game laws. For instance, in 1615, 

 Champlain saw medicine dancers in bear skins (Kinietz, 1940, pp. 

 140-141). Similarly, the eagle's war associations were converted into 

 beneficial channels with the obsolescence of the ancient war patterns 

 and with the peaceful influence of Quakerism. 



Plants have retained their economic functions to a greater degree 

 than the animals. The summer food festivals actually coincide with 

 the ripening of the berries and crops and are timed in accordance with 

 their maturity. In contrast with the animal dances, the bean and 

 corn dances show no mimetic tendencies. The Women Planters do 

 not enact the words of the songs. Male and female participants in 

 Corn Dance use no gestures comparable to those of the Cherokee 

 (Speck and Broom, 1951, p. 77). When they wind in and out among 

 the benches, they stylize geometrically the creeping of bean vines up 

 cornstalks. 



The Iroquois demonstrate a capacity for stylization, even abstrac- 

 tion, in their mime; they are preoccupied with geometric patterns 

 rather than symbolic gestures. Though their ancestors evidently 

 observed and choreographed animal ways at a time when they were 



