^'"No.^T^f^^" IROQUOIS MASKS AT ONONDAGA — ^HENDRY 395 



others, while they denied using pictures, acknowledged the influence 

 of the old masks, both those on the reservation and those they have 

 seen in museums. Several said they had visited the collections in 

 Syracuse and Albany for the express purpose of "getting ideas," and 

 one man admitted that he had once made an exact copy of a mask in 

 a museum, although he "didn't think much of it" after it was finished. 

 Most of the men regard the old carvings simply as a source of inspira- 

 tion rather than as models. "I just like to look at them. Makes me 

 want to carve." 



It is worth noting that none of the carvers spoke of dreams or visions 

 of the Hodo'wi which Fenton has reported dictate the formal treat- 

 ment of the masks. While it may be that my informants do carve 

 according to dreams and deliberately withheld this information, Pete 

 Hest, who seems to have their confidence, is familiar with what he 

 calls "the Fenton theory" and told me that it is "ridiculous." 



Certain practical considerations may enter in as a limiting, though 

 not a determining, factor in design. One man pointed out that since 

 the vision of the dancers is greatly restricted by masks ("hard to see 

 while dancing except just a small bit in front"), there is much bumping 

 and jostling during the course of the rituals. This means that masks 

 with long sharp noses, while they may be considered artistically 

 effective, are regarded with disfavor from the standpoint of comfort 

 and safety. 



All the sources of design cited by the carvers — the mythology, the 

 literature, and the old masks — encourage the retention of the tra- 

 ditional patterns and stabilize the style. To a degree, the Indians 

 recognize and accept their dependence on these sources, since for 

 them tradition is a positive value and they feel that they should 

 produce carvings which are typically Iroquois. At the same time, 

 however, they minimize the extent to which they rely upon models, 

 either masks or pictures of masks, and stress the necessity of imagi- 

 nation and originality. "Sometimes I look at old masks but carving 

 is mostly a matter of imagination"; "I never copy; I get my ideas out 

 of my own head"; ''I use my own ideas because I like to be original"; 

 "I just start thinking about masks and get an idea." 



There can be little doubt that the carvers reaUy do believe that their 

 ideas come from their own heads. Nor do they see the contradiction 

 between their statements to this effect and their efforts at conformity 

 to Iroquois style, a fact which was strikingly illustrated when Allison 

 Thomas told me he never copied old masks and then proceeded to 

 describe an antique false face he had seen at the Allegany Reservation 

 and which he intends to reproduce as accurately as he can from the 

 detailed sketches he has made of it. 



I can only interpret the discrepancy between words and actions 



