t'ULL. 30] 



FETISH 



457 



ons power that causes an object to be 

 regarded as indispensable to the welfare 

 of its possessor. 



In the belief of the Indians, all things 

 are animate and incarnate — men, beasts, 

 lands, waters, rocks, plants, trees, stars, 

 winds, clouds, and night — and all pos- 

 sess volition and immortal life; yet many 

 of these are held in perpetual bondage by 

 weird spells of some mighty enchantment. 

 So, although lakes and seas may writhe 

 in billows, they can not traverse the 

 earth, while brooks and rivers may run 

 and bound over the land, yet even they 

 may be held by the potent magic power 

 of the god of winter. Mountains and 

 hills may throb and quake with pain and 

 grief, but they can not travel over the 

 earth because they are held in thraldom 

 by the powerful spell of some potent en- 

 chanter. Thus it is that rocks, trees, 

 roots, 'stocks and stones', bones, the 

 limbs and parts of the body, and the vari- 

 ous bodies of nature are verily the living 

 tombs of diverse beings and spirits. Of 

 such is the kingdom of the fetish, for even 

 the least of these may be chosen. More- 

 over, a fetish is an object which may also 

 represent a vision, a dream, a thought, 

 or an action. 



The following extract from Cushing's 

 Zuni Fetiches \2d Kep. B. A. E., 188.3) 

 will show the reputed connection between 

 the object and its quickener, between the 

 object and the thing it represents. In 

 speaking of the Two Sun Children, Cash- 

 ing says: "Now that the surface of the 

 earth was hardened, even the animals of 

 prey, powerful and like the fathers (gods) 

 themselves, would have devoured the 

 children of men; and the Two thought it 

 v.as not well that they should all ])e per- 

 mitted to live, 'for,' said they, 'alike will 

 the children of men and the children of 

 the animals of prey multiply themselves. 

 The animals of prey are provided with 

 talons and teeth; men are but poor, the 

 finished beings of earth, therefore the 

 weaker.' 



" Whenever they came across the path- 

 way of one of these animals, were he a 

 great mountain lion or but a mere mole, 

 they struck him with the fire of lightning 

 which they carried in their magic shield. 

 TJdu! and instantly he was shriveled and 

 burned into stone. 



"Then said they to the animals that 

 they had changed into stone: 'That ye 

 may not Ije evil unto men, but that ye 

 may be a great good unto them, have we 

 changed you into rock everlasting. By 

 the magic breath of prey, by the heart 

 that shall endure forever within you, 

 shall ye be made to serve instead of to 

 devour mankind." 



"Thus was the surface of the earth 

 hardened and scorched and many of all 



kinds of beings changed to stone. Thus, 

 too, it happened that we find, here and 

 there throughout the world, their forms, 

 sometimes large like the beings them- 

 selves, sometimes shriveled and distorted. 

 And we often see among the rocks the 

 forms of many beings that live no longer, 

 which shows us that all was different in 

 the 'days of the new.' 



"Of these petrifactions, which are of 

 course mere concretions or strangely 

 eroded rock forms, the Zuni say, 'Whom- 

 soever of us may be met with the light of 

 such great good fortune may st'e (discover, 

 find) them and should treasure them for 



fetish necklace of human fingers; cheyenne, 

 (bourke) 



the sake of the sacred (magic) power 

 which was given them in the days of the 

 new.' " Such is the Zufii philosophy of 

 the fetish. 



A fetish is acquired by a person, a fam- 

 ily, or a people for the purpose of pro- 

 moting welfare. In return, the fetish re- 

 quires from its owner worship in the form 

 of prayer, sacrifice, feasts, and protection, 

 and from its votaries it receives ill or 

 good treatment in accordance with the 

 character of its behavior toward them. 

 Some fetishes are regarded as more etfi- 

 cacious than others. The fetish which 

 loses its repute as a promoter of welfare 

 gradually becomes useless and may de- 

 generate into a sacred object — a charm, 

 an amulet, or a talisman — and finally into 

 a mere ornament. Then other fetishes 

 are acquired, to be subjected to the same 

 severe test of efficiency in promoting the 

 well-being of their possessors. 



The fetish is clearly segregated from 

 the group of beings called tutelars, or 

 guardian spirits, since it may be bought 

 or sold, loaned or inherited, while, so 

 far as known, the tutelar is never sold, 

 loaned, or, with the Iroquois, inherited. 



