16 



ADORNMENT 



[B. A. K. 



the community. In thig wise, by the ac- 

 tion of the constituted authoritiei>, the age 

 of an adopted group was fixed and its 

 social and political iinpurtance thereby 

 determined. Owing to the jieculiar cir- 

 cumstances of the expulsion of the Tus- 

 carora from North Carolina it was deemed 

 l)est by the Five Nations, in view of their 

 relation to the Colonies at that time, to 

 give an asylum to the Tuscarora simjily 

 by means of the institution of adoptioji 

 ratlier than by the political recognition 

 of the Tuscarora as a member of the 

 League. Therefore the Oneida made a 

 motion in the federal council of the Five 

 Nations that they adojit the Tuscarora as 

 a nursling still swathed to the cradle- 

 board. This liaving prevailed, the Five 

 Nations, by the spokesman of the Oneida, 

 said: "We have set up for ourselves a 

 cradle-ljoard in the extended house," 

 that is, in the dominions of the League. 

 After due probation the Tuscarora, by 

 separate resolutions of the council, on 

 separate motions of the Oneida, were 

 made successively a boy, a young man, 

 a man, an assistant to the official woman 

 cooks, a warrior, and lastly a ))eer, hav- 

 ing the right of chiefship in the council 

 on an equal footing with the chiefs of the 

 other tribes. From this it is seen that a 

 tribe or other group of i>eople may be 

 adopted upon any one of several planes 

 of politico] growth, corresponding to the 

 various ages of human growth. This 

 seems to explain tlie problem of the al- 

 leged subjugation and degradation of the 

 Delawares by the Iroijuois, which is said 

 to have been enacted in open council. 

 When it is understood that the Five Na- 

 tions adopted the Delaware tribe as men 

 assistants to the official cooks of the 

 League it becomes clear that no taint of 

 slavery and degradation was designed to 

 be given by the act. It merely made the 

 Delawares probationary heirs to citizen- 

 ship in the League, and citizenship would 

 l)e conferred upon them after suitable 

 tutelage. In this they were treated with 

 much greater consideration than were 

 the Tuscarora, who are of the language 

 and lineage of the Fiye Nations. The 

 Delawares were not adopted as warriors 

 or chiefs, but as assistant cooks; neither 

 were they adopted, like the Tuscarora, as 

 infants, but as men whose duty it was to 

 assist the women whose f)tficial function 

 was to cook for the people at public as- 

 semblies. Their office was hence well 

 exemplified by the possession of a corn 

 ])estle, a hoe, and petticoats. This fact, 

 nnsunderstood, perhaps intentionally 

 misre])resented, seems to explain the 

 111 ysterycont'crning the "making women" 

 of the Delawares. This kind of adoption 

 was virtually a state of prol>atiou, which 

 could be made long or short. 



The adoption of a chief's son by a fel- 

 low chief, customary in some of the 

 tribes of the N. W. coast, differs in mo- 

 tive and effect from that defined above, 

 which concerns ]iersons alien to the 

 tribe, upon whom it confers citizen- 

 ship in the clan, gens, and tribe, as this 

 deals only with intratribal persons for 

 the purpose of conferring some degree of 

 honor upon tliem rather than citizenship 

 and political authority. 



The InKjuois, in order to recruit the 

 great losses incurred in their many wars, 

 put into systematic practice the adoption 

 not only of individuals but also of entire 

 clans and tril)es. The Tutelo, the Saponi, 

 the Nanticoke, and other tribes and por- 

 tions of tribes were forced to incorporate 

 with the several tribes of the Iroquois 

 confederation l)y formal adoption. 



After the Pecjuot war the Narragan- 

 set adopted a large Ijody of the Pequot. 

 The Chickasaw adopted a section of the 

 Natchez, and the Uchee were incorpo- 

 rated with the Creeks. In the various 

 accounts of the American Indian tribes 

 references to formal adoption and incor- 

 jjoration of one people by another are 

 abundant. It is natural that formal 

 adoption as a definite institution was 

 most in vogue wherever the clan and 

 gentile systems were more or less fully 

 developed, (.j. n. b. ii. ) 



Adornment. The motive of personal 

 adornment, aside from the desire to 

 appear attractive, seems to have been to 

 mark individual, trilial, or ceremonial 

 distinction. The use of paint on the face, 

 hair, and liody, both in color and design, 

 generally had referenc-e to individual or 

 clan beliefs, or it indicated relationship 

 or personal bereavement, or was an act 

 of courtesy. It was always employed in 

 ceremonies, religious and secular, and 

 was an accompaniment of gala dress 

 donned to honor a guest or to celebrate 

 an occasion. The face of the dead was 

 frequently painted in accordance with 

 tribal or religious symbolism. The prac- 

 tice of painting was widespread and was 

 observed l)y both sexes. Paint was also 

 put on the faces of adults and children 

 as a protection against wind and sun. 

 Plucking the hair from the face and body 

 was generally practised. Deforu)ation, 

 as head flattening, and tattooing, accord- 

 ing to some writers, were personal embel- 

 lishments. Fats were used to beautify 

 the hair and to ceremonially anoint the 

 face and body. Sweet grass and seeds, 

 as those of the columbine, served as per- 

 fume. 



Ear ornaments were a mark of family 

 thrift, wealth, or distinction, and indi- 

 cated iionor shown to the wearer by his 

 kindred. Ceremonies, occasionally re- 

 ligious in character, some of which seem 



