Art, Prehistoric; Folk literature -- History and criticism
The grizzly bear of the sea (_a_) has a large eye, the form of which
is not definitely determined, a very large, round nostril, large teeth
and a large ear. The grizzly bear (_b_) has a round eye with white
rim, smaller than that of the grizzly bear of the sea. The nose is
not round, but high, the teeth large but smaller than those of the
grizzly bear of the sea. The ear is small and pointed. The beaver (_c_)
has, besides the large incisors, a high, round nose and a very small
ear. The wolf (_d_) has a slanting, long eye; the ear is laid down
backward; he has many teeth. The eye of the eagle (_e_) has a white
crescent behind the eyeball, the nostril is slanting and placed high
up on the beak. The eye of the raven (_f_) is white in the center.
The killer-whale (_g_) has a very large eyebrow, a long eye and face,
long nose and a long mouth with many teeth. The whale (fig. 192 _a_)
has a round eye and nose. The sea lion (_b_) has a round nose, large
teeth, the eye near to the nose and a small ear. The frog (_c_) has
an elongated eye, flat mouth and flat nose. The fabulous double-headed
serpent (_d_) has a small eye like that of the wolf, a spiral nose and
a spiral plume. The eyes of a man, of the woodman, and of the seaspirit
who gives wealth, are shown in _e_, _f_, and _g_.
[Illustration: Fig. 192. Types of eyes of various beings, Kwakiutl,
_a_, whale; _b_, sea lion; _c_, frog; _d_, double-headed serpent; _e_,
man; _f_ merman; _g_, spirit of the sea.]
The Kwakiutl also claim as the standard for the bird’s tail, a
joint with a single eye, although sometimes there may be two
eyeballs enclosed in one eye. The rounded feathers (fig. 193) are
also characteristics of the bird’s tail. The tail of the whale,
killer-whale, and porpoise, on the other hand, has two joints and the
flukes have double curvatures on the inner side.
The Kwakiutl also claim a definite distinction between the designs
representing wing feathers and those representing fins, (fig. 194). The
wing feathers should be pointed; the fin, on the other hand, has no
point and is cut off square.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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