 |
- Beaver:
- A Tsimshian legend tells of the origin of the beaver. A woman with brown
hair dammed a small stream to make a pool for swimming, and as she swam,
her leather apron kept slapping the water. The pool became a lake and, because
of scolding words from her husband, she refused to leave it. She became covered
all over with brown fur, her apron turned into a tail, and thus she became the first
beaver.
Although Beaver always has ears and rounded nostrils, the two most identifying
symbols are the tail and the two large incisor teeth. A design depicting this animal,
no matter how stylized or distorted to fit a given shape, will always carry these
telltale symbols. Quite often a U form, the tail is always crosshatched to resemble
the patterning of the scaly surface, but it may also carry a human face which
represents the tail joint. When the beaver is shown facing front, the tail is generally
drawn up against the stomach. The incisor teeth are close together and not pointed
as are the canines of the bear or wolf. Beaver will often be carrying a chewing stick
in front paws that have fingers.
Beaver, an important crest of the Haida and the subject of many legends, figured
on many items of functional, ornamental and ceremonial property, and is still a
much used crest on silver and gold jewelry and button blankets as well as
silkscreen prints.
Stewart, Hilary. Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast. Seattle: Univeristy of Washington
Press, 1979.
|
|
|
|
