PRIMITIVE ART 



35 



can codices, or as they may be recognized on the garments of 

 ancient sculptured figures, shows that these types of weaving did 

 not exist before the advent of the Spaniards and the introduc- 

 tion of European fabrics. 



For this reason it is interesting to note that by some tribes 

 the designs are at present given interpretations quite analogous to 

 those found among the Prairie Indians and among other primitive 

 tribes. A collection of belts, ribbons and pouches from the Huichol 



tribe of western Mexico (Case 15), illustrates this point. The zig- 

 zag triangle, described by the Califomian Indians as the arrow 

 design, is called here the " double water-gourd " design. The In- 

 dians compare the hourglass figure, which originates from a 

 combination of two triangles, to the double gourd, which has 

 two thick ends and a constriction in the middle. The X- 

 shaped form, also quite common, is interpreted as a brush made 

 of loose fibres tied together in the middle or at one end. A series 

 of scrolls is an element which occurs very frequently in their weav- 



