IROQUOIS USES OF MAIZE 



83 



Husks now are placed over the back of the neck and carried .diag- 

 onally across the chest from eitiher side. The same process is re- 

 peated from the front and the husk drawn diagonally across the 

 back. This produces body and shoulders. The legs are then 

 braided or neatly rolled into shape, wound spirally with twine and 

 tied tightly at the ankle. The foot 

 is then bent forward at right 

 angles to the leg and wound into 

 shape. The arms undergo a simi- 

 lar process but no attempt is made 

 to simulate hands. The head and 

 body are now ready for covering. 

 For the head the wide husks are 

 held upward against the top of 

 the head and a string passed 

 around them. The husks are then 

 bent downward and the string 

 tightened. This leaves a little cir- 

 cular opening at the top of the 

 head. The hea'd cover husks are 

 drawn tightly over the form and 

 tied at the neck, which is after- 

 ward wound neatly with a smooth 

 husk. More diagonal pieces are 

 placed over the shoulders fore and 

 aft and drawn tightly down to the 

 waist. A wide band is then 

 drawn around the waist and tied. 

 The doll is now ready for corn 

 silk hair which may be sewn on, 

 and its face may be painted 

 on. These dolls are sometimes 

 dressed in husk clothing but more 

 often cloth or skin is used. 

 Dolls are dressed as warriors and 

 women and are given all the ac- 

 cessories, bows, tomahawks, baby- Canada 

 boards or paddles, as the sex may require. 



Among the articles made from husks, moccasins are perhaps as 

 uncommon as any. Morgan collected a pair for the State Museum 

 in 1851, but the specimens are not now to be found. In 1910 



Fig. 1 8 Common type of the husk doll 

 made by the Iroquois of New York and 

 Figure is half size. 



