bU 



HERALDRY HESHOTA AYAHLTONA 



[b. a. e. 



Heraldry. Amono; the tribes of the great 

 plains, and perliapsof otlier sections, there 

 existed a well-detined system of miUtary 

 and family designation comparal)le with 

 the heraldic system of Europe. It fountl 

 its chief expression in the painting and 

 other decoration of the shield and tii^i, 

 with the body paint and adornment of 

 the warrior himself, and was guarded by 

 means of religious tabu and other Cere- 

 monial regulations. The heraldic tipis, 

 which might number one-tenth of the 

 whole body, usually belonged to promi- 

 nent families by hereditary descent. The 

 shield belonged to the individual warrior, 

 but several warriors might carry shields 

 of the same origin and pattern at the 

 same time, while so far as known the her- 

 aldic tipi had no contemporary duplicate. 

 Both tipi and shield were claimed as 

 the inspiration of a vision, and the de- 

 sign and decoration were held to be 

 in accordance with the instructions im- 

 parted to the first maker by the pro- 

 tecting spirit of his dream. The tipi is 

 commonly named from the most notable 

 feature of the painting, as the ' buffalo 

 tipi,' 'star tipi,' etc. The shield was 

 more often known by the name of the 

 originator and maker of the series, but 

 certain more noted series were known 

 as the 'buffalo shield,' 'bird shield,' 

 'sun shield,' etc., the 'medicine' or pro- 

 tecting power being believed to come 

 from the buffalo, bird, or sun spirits re- 

 spectively. Shields of the same origin 

 were usually but not necessarily retained 

 in the possession of members of the fam- 

 ily of the original maker, and handed 

 down in time to younger members of the 

 family, unless buried with the owner. A 

 certain price must be paid and certain 

 tabus constantly observed by the owner 

 of either shield or tipi. Thus the heir 

 to a certain heraldic tipi in the Kiowa 

 tribe must pay for it a captive taken in 

 war, while those who carried the bird 

 shield were forbidden to approach a 

 dead bird, and were under obligation on 

 killing their first enemy in battle to 

 eat a portion of his heart. Those of the 

 same shield generally used a similar body 

 paint and headdress, pony decorations, 

 and war cry, all having direct reference 

 to the spirit of the original vision, but no 

 such regulation appears to have existed 

 in connection with any tipi. The flag 

 carried on the upper Columbia by the 

 followers of the prophet Smohalla is an 

 instance of the adaptation of Indian sym- 

 bolism to the white man's usage ( Mooney 

 in 14th Rep. B. A. E., 1896). 



Among the Haida and some other tribes 

 of the N. W. coast, according to Swanton 

 and other authorities, is found the germ 

 of a similar system. Here, in many cases, 

 the clan totem, or perhaps the personal 



manito of the individual, has evolved into 

 a crest which persons of the highest rank, 

 i. e. of greatest wealth, are i)rivileged to 

 figure by carving or painting upon their 

 totem poles, houses, or other belongings, 

 tattooing upon their bodies, or painting 

 upon their bodies in the dance, on pay- 

 ment of a sufficient number of "potlatch" 

 gifts to secure recognition as chiefs or 

 leading members of the tribe. The privi- 

 lege is not hereditary, the successor of the 

 owner, usually his sister's son, being 

 obliged to make the same ceremonial 

 payment to secure the continuance of the 

 privilege. (j. m. ) 



Hermho [Ilcrm'-ho, 'once'). A Pima 

 village on the n. side of Salt r., 3 m. 

 from IVIesa, Maricopa co., s. Ariz. — Rus- 

 sell, Pima MS., B. A. E., 1902. 

 A'mu A'kimult.— Russell, ibid. 



Hero Myths. See Mijtliologi/, Religion. 



Herring Pond. A former settlement on 

 a reserve established for Christian Indians 

 in 1655 at Herring Pond, Plymouth co., 

 Mass. It is probably identical with Co- 

 massakumkanit, mentioned by Bourne in 

 1674, and the Indians there seem to have 

 been considered a distinct tribe. In 1825 

 there were but 40 left, and these were of 

 mixed blood. (j. m.) 



Heshokta ( 'ancient town of the cliffs'). 

 A ruined pueblo, formerly inhabited by 

 the Zuni, on a mesa about 5 m. n. w. of 

 Zuni pueblo, N. Mex. Cf. Shopakia. 

 Heshohtakwin.— ten Kate, Reizen in N. A., 291, 

 1885 ( Heshoktakwin, or). Heshokta. — dishing, 

 Zuni Folk Tales, 365, 1901. Hesh-o-ta-thlu-al-la,— 

 Fewkes in Jour. Am. Ethnol. and Archaol., I, 111, 

 1891. 



Heshota Ayahltona ('ancient buildings 

 above'). The ruins of a group of stone 

 houses on the summit of Taaiyalana, or 

 Seed mtn., commonly called Thunder 

 mtn., about 4 m. s. e. of Zuiii pueblo, N. 

 ^lex. This mesa has been a place of refuge 

 for the Zuni at various periods since they 

 have been known to history, Coronado 

 mentioning it as such, although not by 

 name, in 1540. In 1632, after having 

 killed their first missionary, the Zuni 

 fled to the heights, remaining there until 

 li 35. The ruined pueblo now to be seen 

 on the summit was built proljably aljout 

 1680, on the site of the ancient fortifica- 

 tions alluded to by Coronado, as a refuge 

 against Spanish invasion during the 

 Pueblo revolt of that year, when the vil- 

 lages in the valley below — those that re- 

 mained of the Seven Cities of Cibola — 

 were abandoned. The tribe doubtless 

 occupied this stronghold uninterruptedly 

 for at least 12 years during the Pueblo 

 revolt, being found there by Vargas in 

 1692. In 1703 the Zuni again fled to 

 their mesa village, after having killed 4 

 Spanish soldiers. This time they re- 

 mained until 1705, when they returned 

 to the valley and began to build the pres- 



