XXIV REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. 



of his cultured brother. Thus, to the priiTiitive thinker there 

 is an association between directions, or points of the compass, 

 and colors, and so directions and colors have become synony- 

 mous in his understanding; then directions and colors are 

 habitually enumerated in a certain order, and thus the smaller 

 numerals are added to the body of synonyms. x\gain, since 

 it is important that every man, woman, and child shall always 

 remember the connotive symbolism, many primitive peoples 

 arrang-e themselves in a definite order when sitting- about the 

 camp fire in the family group, and in this way relative posi- 

 tions of individuals become associated with directions, colors, 

 and numerals, and practically synonymous therewith. The 

 associative symbolism does not stop here, but indeed goes 

 much fai-ther. Among some primitive peoples, individual 

 names are applied connotively in such manner as to indicate 

 order or rank, which is synonymous v,'\th position in the camj)- 

 ing group; and among many peoples tradition is crvstallized 

 and preserved from generation to generation by means of a 

 wide-reaching connotive association in which direction, color, 

 number, and nanies all play important parts. In many 

 instances organs of the body enter into the system; and where- 

 soever the connotive system is well developed, the traditions 

 run back into myth and sometimes through myth into curi- 

 ously elaborate cosmogony; and the myth and cosmogony 

 are pei-petuated by ceremonials in which direction, color, 

 number, etc, perform essential roles. These are but a few of 

 the ways in Avhicli the prescriptorial symliolism is employed; 

 they serve only to indicate its fundamental and far-reaching 

 character and the influence of the system on the primitive 

 mind. By means of this sv^mbolism, the social organization, 

 the traditions, the myths, the ceremonials, the language, the 

 industrial arts, and indeed all of the activities of the American 

 Indians are interwoven to the extent that no class of activities 

 can be studied thoroughly without careful study of other 

 activities. 



As these far-reaching relations of the arts of expression 

 were brought out through the early researches of the Bureau, 

 the organization and plan were modified as seemed necessary. 



