Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, December 1898: Volume LIV, No. 2, December 1898 — John Shaqi
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, December 1898: Volume LIV, No. 2, December 1898Various
Science
Appletons' Popular Science Monthly, December 1898: Volume LIV, No. 2, December 1898
Various
Science -- Periodicals; Technology -- Periodicals
In all the ceremonies, both religious and civil, an important part
of the costume is the mask. These are generally of wood, and portray
all manner of real and fanciful personages. Some of them are wonders
of ingenuity, being so constructed that the eyes, mouth, and often
the ears can be moved at the will of the wearer. Some of them are
even double, and so arranged that by drawing open the outer mask, an
inner one of an entirely different character can be revealed. One of
the rarest masks which was ever brought out of the Tsimshian country
is one in the possession of the museum, which was acquired some time
ago. It is of bone and finely carved, while the teeth and tusks are
those of animals.
Hazelton is of much interest to the observer of the human
countenance, for, while the residents of the town are Tsimshians,
there is a village near by on the Bulkley River, the people of which
belong to the great Tinneh or Athabascan stock, which extends from
the Arctic Circle on the north to the Territories of Arizona and
New Mexico on the south, where it is represented by the Apaches. In
some respects the differences between the Tsimshians and Tinnehs,
or Howgelgaits, as this branch is called, are quite marked, and
these differences stand out in greater relief because more or less
of the population of Howgelgait spend a part of their time in
Hazelton, and so one sees representatives of the two stocks in close
contact. The Tsimshians, like the Haidas, are great canoe people,
and are rather short-legged, with great development of the chest
and shoulders. Like the Haidas, also, they have strong, long arms,
which bespeak familiarity with the paddle. The Howgelgaits, on the
other hand, are a pure mountaineer people, and are tall, robust, and
finely proportioned. Their hair is black, coarse, and abundant. The
eyebrows are thick and remarkably wide at the outer side. This same
peculiarity may be observed in the masks of this tribe. The beard is
sparse, but it must be remembered that the hair is generally pulled
out as it appears, particularly on the cheeks, while the mustache and
the chin tuft are allowed to grow. Among the Tsimshians the face is
wide and the cheek bones are prominent. The nose is narrow, with a
depressed root. Neither the Tsimshians nor Tinneh practice artificial
deformation of the head. With the Tinneh, or more exactly the
Howgelgaits, the forehead is broad and less receding than is usual
with the American aborigines. The face is full and broad and the
cheek bones prominent, but the nose, unlike that of the Tsimshians,
is well formed and generally aquiline, although occasionally it is
thick and flattish. Their lips are also thick and the chin is more
prominent than is usual among the Tsimshians. The eyes are large and
of a deep black color; the jaws are generally very heavy and massive.
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