116 



THK I'IMA INDIANS 



|KTH. ANN. 2G 



and binding it there with sinew, then braiding the loose ends of the 

 strips together into a cord 15 cm. h)ng. In this way tl»e featliers 

 are permanently fastened to one another and may lie easily attached 

 when it is desired to wear them as a fetish, or they may be readily 

 attached to the hair to form a portion of the headdress. 



Wau Headdress 



At Gila Crossing we were so fortunate as to .secure a specimen of 

 an old Pima headdress made from the hair of an Apache and the wing 



feathers of three species of large raptorial 

 birds (fig. 40). The hair is about 45 

 cm. long and is gathered in strands 1 

 cm. in thickness, which are held by 

 two strips of cotton tliat are twisted or 

 twineil on each other a half turn between 

 each pair of hair strantis." Viewing the 

 headdress from the rear there are on 

 the left four owl feathers, symbolizino- 

 keenness of vision by night; next are 

 three liawk, then one owl, and again 

 hawk feathers to the number of five, 

 symbolizing keenness of vision by day; 

 on the right are two eagle feathers, the 

 ■symbol of swiftness. Thus the wearer 

 of tliis headdress possessed tlie cour- 

 " " age and cunning of the hated cneniA', 



Fig. 39. a. Fetish; b, hair ornament. ,i~ i • i a i i i i . i ' n 



the keen sight by da_v and bv night of 

 the birds that have great magic power, according to Pima belief, and 

 the swiftness as a trailer of the king of birds, which occupies a 

 prominent place in Piman inythology. 



Hairbrush 



Using tlieir fingers as combs, the women become very skillful in 

 straightening out tangled locks. They frequently smooth the hairwith 

 a brush wliich was formerly made of the roots of the " Sacaton grass," 

 Sporobolus wrightii (fig. 41, a),' but as this no longer grows along tlie 

 river, where the majority of the villages are situated, they now make 

 use of maguey fiber, Agave lecheguea. Yucca paccata, etc. (fig. 41, b).'^ 



" The general use of human hair for cords and in headdresses hy the Pimas suggests Lower Califomian 

 affinities, as we are told by Vcnegas that the natives of that peninsula were aeeustomed to adorn them- 

 selves on ceremonial occasions w.th "a large cloak cover ng them from their head to their feet, and 

 entirely composed of human hair." II. story of Calitom a, i, 99. 



>> Length of spe?imen figured. 22 cm.; diameter. 3~ mm. 



c Length of specimen figuied, 17 em.; diameter, 18 nmi. 



