The Origin Of Smoking
World Religions, Protology, General Eschatology and Eternalism present/feature Eternal Archetypes (universal, original prototypes) for objects, practices and themes such as Bowls And Reeds (Flutes) for Therapeutic Fumigation, incense and Worship. Bibles describe visions of symbolic Elders in Heaven; holding symbolic, unidentified instruments and Censers.Screenshot For News Reporting Purposes Submit a Repatriation Request |
Addendum
Excerpt: Catawba Indian Pottery The Survival of a Folk Tradition By (Non-Indian Historian)Thomas John Blumer 1937
"The Catawba pipe tradition traces its roots to the very origin of tobacco use and the invention of smoking paraphernalia in the Southeast."
"The Catawba have been known for their pipes for centuries, and the pipe trade itself is ancient in origin among the Catawba. The two are linked."
"Although the invention of the smoking pipe is American Indian, we often fail to think of the pipe as Native American, primarily because the Indians lost control of this market as soon as Europeans applied modern industrial methods to its manufacture. This happened almost as soon as tobacco smoking was introduced in Europe."
"THE PEACE PIPE"
"Although the peace pipe is no longer used ceremonially, it typifies the tradition’s tenacity. This pipe remains a symbol of what it means to be Catawba, and as such it is a much sought after pipe form, particularly among collectors who know something of Catawba history and culture. All of the Catawba potters make this difficult shape, yet the versions differ somewhat from one potter to another. Some Indians make more than one style, but the basic form is a small bowl with four stems representing the four cardinal directions. The peace pipe is either supported by three legs or has no legs at all. In order to smoke the peace pipe, four river cane reeds are inserted into the clay stems. This pipe is not actually used, so the reed stems are almost never offered with the pipe. Although the four stems represent the four cardinal directions, the Indians have lost the peace pipe’s ritual connection. The contemporary Catawba explanation for this pipe’s existence is not very informative. “We have used the peace pipe or the pipe of peace that the Indians used instead of signing treaties. They couldn’t write, and so they would smoke this pipe which had four stems. That was the way they signed their treaties” (Doris Blue, interview, 20 March 1980, BC). While most peace pipes have four stems, it is not unheard of for the potters to make such pipes with as many as ten stems. Alberta Ferrell often made her peace pipes by special order according to the size of the family, one stem per family member (Alberta Ferrell, interview, 22 February 1977, BC)."
"To date, archaeologists have been able to tell us little of the curious peace pipe. George A. West called it the circular or chief’s pipe. He noted, without a citation, that this pipe can have up to fourteen stems. Archaeological specimens are found principally south of the Ohio River and are made of steatite, sandstone, or clay (West 1932:225– 226). None of the specimens described by West have legs. Unfortunately, all of them were from pothunter collections rather than from scientific archaeological excavations. Once found, examples uncovered by archaeologists might shed some light on the Catawba tradition. One such ancient peace pipe was reportedly found in Pike County, Illinois. It is three inches in diameter, does not have legs, and has five holes for the inserting of reed stems, which enter the bowl at its base (Thompson 1973). While the absence of legs and stems is significant, the Pike County pipe looks very much like a traditional Catawba peace pipe in both size and shape."
"A second example of an excavated peace pipe was reportedly found in a mound near Edgefield, South Carolina. The Edgefield pipe is made of steatite, and nine stems surround its shallow bowl (West 1932:Plate 167). This pipe bears little resemblance to any contemporary Catawba peace pipe, except in its overall form."
"Unfortunately, the Catawba peace pipe was not an object of scholarly curiosity until the twentieth century. J. D. McGuire noted that when the Catawba visited the Iroquois Confederation in 1751 a pipe of peace was smoked: “The Catawbas came down from their quarters singing, with their colors pointed to the ground, and having lit their pipes, the king [Hagler] and one more put them in the mouths of the chief Sachems of the Six Nations who smoked out of them. The chief sachems of the Senecas lit a pipe and put it in the mouths of each of the Catawbas, who smoked out of it and then he returned it among the Six Nations” (McGuire 1899:561). While we are fortunate to have this brief description of the ceremony, it is regrettable that it raises more questions than it answers. The writer apparently saw nothing unusual about the pipes used. There is no indication that the peace pipes were similar to or different from contemporary Catawba peace pipes. We are left to wonder if the pipes used were of Indian manufacture; however, the Catawba certainly would have used one of their own pipes."
"The survival of the peace pipe among the Catawba is due both to Catawba dedication and to its popularity among collectors. The potters remain determined to make this complicated vessel. Balancing a small bowl, three legs, and four stems is no easy task for a beginning potter."
"The peace pipe suffered a kind of metamorphosis during the twentieth century. This occurred through a change in the environment of use, a lack of ritual and ceremonial use, and the detrimental influence of the tourist trade that dominated the tradition from the 1930s to the 1960s."
"First, originally the pipe was small, just a bit larger than a regular smoking pipe—large enough to allow for the four stems. Through a lack of use and in response to a mass production need in the second quarter of the twentieth century, the tendency was to make the bowl larger, far more so than would be practical for the smoking of tobacco. Although this process has been reversed in recent years, it is still possible to occasionally find peace pipes that resemble small jardinières.
Second, the oldest examples of the peace pipe, both those found by pothunters and nineteenth-century Catawba vessels, are without legs. It is assumed that the pragmatic Catawba added the three legs in response to the demand of curio hunters and collectors who wanted to set their treasures on a table or in a China cabinet. By 1900, all Catawba peace pipes had three legs and the old form was forgotten. Today, some of the potters have returned to occasionally making peace pipes without legs."
"A third factor in this metamorphosis is the migration of the stems up the sides of the bowl. Originally, as a practical matter, the stems were properly located at the bottom of the bowl so the tobacco would feel the effects of air being pulled through the stems and would thus burn evenly. In such a pipe all of the tobacco would be smoked. A lack of use and the North Carolina mountain tourist trade prompted this stem migration. It is sometimes possible to find peace pipes with stems placed so high on the bowl that the pipe could never be smoked."
"The Catawba potters still construct the long-obsolete peace pipe, in spite of its difficulty, because it is so key to the Catawba tradition; it must be placed right next to the cooking pot and snake pot in ranked importance. The potters consider a well-constructed peace pipe to be a sign of a true master potter. Indeed, the peace pipe requires mature skills. The potters are rightfully proud of this ancient shape."
"Although this pipe is no longer smoked, it is commonly presented to important visitors to the reservation and to politicians the Catawba wish to honor. In 1986, the Tribal Council made formal presentations of peace pipes, made by Georgia Harris, to Senators Strom Thurmond and Ernest Hollings and to Representative John Spratt on the occasion of the publication of the Bibliography of the Catawba (Blumer 1986)."
"South Carolina governors are frequent recipients of Catawba peace pipes. The peace pipe is also represented on the Catawba Flag and the logo of the Catawba Cultural Preservation Project."
| Screenshot For News Reporting Purposes Submit a Repatriation Request Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act |
| Screenshot For News Reporting Purposes Submit a Repatriation Request Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act |
| Screenshot For News Reporting Purposes Submit a Repatriation Request Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act |
| Screenshot For News Reporting Purposes Submit a Repatriation Request Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act |
| Screenshot For News Reporting Purposes Submit a Repatriation Request Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act |
| Screenshot For News Reporting Purposes Submit a Repatriation Request Under the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act |