SIXTH REPORT OF THE DIRECTOR I909 6 1 



Ethnology 



In collecting ethnological specimens the policy of the Department 

 is to acquire all that illustrates the Iroquois culture. Many of the 

 specimens are old and have been preserved for years as heirlooms 

 or keepsakes. Some of the specimens however are absolutely 

 new, but their value is not lessened thereby. Such objects 

 serve to illustrate the persistency of Iroquois material culture 

 and are similar in all respects, save age, to specimens v^hich have 

 been kept through the years. Our aim is not to collect objects 

 m.erely because they are relics, but to collect specimens which 

 illustrate a material culture. 



Some of the old arts of the Iroquois exist merely in the mem- 

 ory of a few aged persons and we have been seeking to revive 

 these arts where we have few or no specimens of them. 



Silver w^orking and certain forms of basketry, w^eaving, por- 

 cupine quill and moose hair decoration, skin working, carving 

 and beading have become almost lost arts and it is hoped that 

 a revival of these arts by a few individuals will furnish our col- 

 lections with certain specimens now impossible to obtain. If 

 we were merely collecting antiquities this policy would not be 

 feasible. 



Notable additions to the collection. Several masks of the 

 False Face Company (Ja'di'go^'sa sho"o') have been added to the 

 collection. Some of these are of unusual interest. One large 

 mask representing the " ash blower " was purchased by the 

 Director. This mask is one of the old and unusual varieties. 

 Other masks are a " doctor " face, a '' wolf mouth " and one 

 having the eye-plates cut in semilunar form and the lips in the 

 form of the figure 8 laid horizontally. The three masks last 

 mentioned were obtained on the Cattaraugus Reservation during 

 the midwinter ceremonies of the Senecas in January 1909. 



There are yet many facts to be collected before a complete 

 description of the Iroquois False Face Company can be written. 

 This statement indeed holds good for the various folk so- 

 cieties. The Archeologist is using every opportunity to get at 

 the facts and already has a large amount of data on hand. 



During the Strawberry Thanksgiving in late June, the Arche- 

 ologist made a special effort to get some additional information 

 and succeeded in getting photographs of the officers of the False 

 Face Company carving a '* medicine " or " doctor face." Such 

 faces are carved upon a living basswood tree and vi^hen com- 



