Traditionally, Zuni fetishes are small carvings made from various materials by
the Zuni Indians. These carvings serve a ceremonial purpose for their creators
and depict animals and icons integral to their culture. As a form of
contemporary Native American art, they are sold with non-religious intentions to
collectors worldwide.
Traditional
Description
According to the Second Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology as
submitted by Frank Hamilton Cushing in 1881, and posthumously published
as Zuni Fetishes in 1966, the Zuni world is made up of six regions or
directions. At the center of each region is a great mountain peak that
is a very sacred place. Yellow mountain to the north, blue mountain to
the west, red mountain to the south, white mountain to the east, the
multi-colored mountain above, and the black mountain below.
Each direction is represented by a "Prey God", or guardian animal, and
are listed by Cushing as follows: north - the yellow mountain lion, west
– the black bear (represented by the color blue), south – the red
badger, east – the white wolf, the sky or upper – the multi-colored
eagle, and the underground or lower – the black mole. Each prey god is
the "guardian and master" of their region with the yellow mountain lion
being the elder brother of all animals and the master and guardian of
all regions. Each one of these regions contains an order of all the
guardian animals, but the "guardian and master" of a particular region
is the elder brother to all animals of that region. These guardians are
considered as having protective and healing powers. They are held by the
priests of the medicine orders as if "in captivity" and act as mediators
between the priests and the animals they represent.
A second group of fetishes, the "Prey Gods of the Hunt", belonging to
the Hunter Order, or Society, are given in the "prayer songs of the Sa-ni-a-kia-kwe".
These guardian animals are the same as the original regions with the
exception of the coyote, which replaces the bear; and the wildcat (or
bobcat), which replaces the red badger. Sa-ni-a-kia is the awakening of
the fetish and subsequently the power of the hunter.
Typically Zuni fetishes depict animals such as the wolf, badger, bear,
mountain lion, eagle, mole, frog, deer, ram, and others. There are many
more subjects of contemporary carvers that may include dinosaurs, for
example, that would be considered non-traditional, or some insects and
reptiles that are traditionally more integral to petroglyphs, symbolism,
and the patterns of design in pottery, e.g. dragonflies and butterflies,
water spiders, and lizards. Other
animals, such as the horse, were carved mainly for trade. The Zuni was
not a horse culture but their horse carvings were considered by the
horse cultures to the north as having great power for the protection of
their herds.
Materials
Traditionally, the materials used by carvers were often
indigenous to the region or procured by trade. The most important of
these materials was turquoise which is considered by the Zuni as the
sacred stone. Jet, shell (primarily mother-of-pearl), and coral are also
frequently used. These materials and their associated colors are
principle in the Zuni sunface, a cultural symbol which is present in
Zuni jewelry and fetishes and represents their sun father. Other
materials used are Zuni rock, fishrock, jasper, pipestone, marble, or
organic items such as fossilized ivory, bone, and deer or elk antler.
Even artificial substances such as slag glass are used. But historically
the most-used stone has been serpentine, a local soft stone found
abundantly in the Zuni Mountains and also in Arizona. In recent years
Zuni carvings, or fetishes, have become popular collectibles and Zuni
artisans have familiarized themselves with materials available from all
parts of the world in order to serve the aesthetic tastes of collectors.
Sacredness
In tradition, each animal is believed to have inherent
powers or qualities that may aid the owner. The Navajo, for example,
treasured and bartered for figures of horses, sheep, cattle or goats to
protect their herd from disease and to insure fertility. The Zuni
hunter, or "Prey brother", was required to have his fetishes (prey gods
of the hunt) with a "Keeper" and practice a ceremony of worship when
procuring a favorite or proper fetish to aid in a successful hunt. In
the ceremony of the hunt the Keeper presented a clay pot containing the
fetishes to the hunter. Facing in the direction appropriate to the
chosen fetish the pot was sprinkled with medicine meal and a prayer was
recited. The fetish was placed in a buckskin bag and carried by the
hunter over his heart. The fetish aids in the chase and represents "the
roar of the animal" and is also fed on the blood of the slain prey.
In addition to the Prey Gods of the Six Regions with their guardian and
medicinal powers, and the Prey Gods of the Hunt that aid in the chase,
Cushing names three Prey Gods of the Priesthood of the Bow, a society of
which he was a member, that aid a Priest of the Bow when traveling in a
region where he may be captured by the enemy. These are the mountain
lion and great white bear, which belong to the "skies", as well as a
prey god of human form adorned with "flint knife-feather pinions and
tail". An arrowhead, "emblematic of Sa-wa-ni-kia", or the "medicine of
war", on the back or side of either of these animals prevented a warrior
from being taken by surprise by his enemy, and an arrowhead on the belly
or feet erased the tracks of the carrier so that they could not be
followed by the enemy. Unlike the Prey Gods of the Hunt these fetishes
were never deposited with a keeper, but like the Prey Gods of the Hunt
they were fed on the blood of the slain and their ceremony involved
depositing sacred flour to the four directions and reciting a prayer,
and like the Prey Gods of the Six Regions they were protective of the
carrier.
On the subject of feeding, it is believed from tradition that the
fetishes require a meal of cornmeal and ground turquoise periodically.
Fetishes may be kept in a clay pot as it is the tradition, although
collectors usually like to keep theirs somewhere where they can be
admired. Any but the very delicate fetishes could be carried by the
owner in a pocket, pouch or bag.
Religion As Art
The artist's styles are as unique as the artists
themselves, and there are many whose works are highly sought after by
collectors. Some collectors prefer a figure that is more realistic in
appearance, while others prefer the more traditional styles that are
intrinsic to Zuni belief. The traditional belief of the Zuni is that the
least modification of the original material maintains, or heightens, the
power of the fetish as a "natural concretion".
Realism in carving style is a matter relative to the beliefs of its
owner, and the realism in contemporary carving is a product of collector
request and demand and the intent of Zuni carvers to raise the level of
their art form through participation in the world of contemporary art.
The enigma, or apparent paradox relevant to Zuni belief and realism in
art is resolved in the notion that carvings for sale and collection are
produced without religious intent. For this reason some carvers prefer
the term "carvings" rather than the term "fetishes" when referring to
offerings for collectors.
A fetish may be signed by the carver, or not. Personalization by signing
a piece of art traditionally violates the Zuni notion of community
purpose, and the signing of artwork is a concept introduced to the Zuni
by Anglo collectors at the beginning of the twentieth century.
Often, though, a Zuni carver feels that their own unique style is
readily identifiable and the fetish's style will be enough to identify
the carver as surely as would any other mark. Most carvers are the
recipients of a family tradition and have learned their skill from
parents, grand parents, or siblings, and have passed the art to their
own children as well.
Besides being made from various stones and other materials (each
material has unique properties), the contemporary fetish may carry an
offering of a smaller animal or a prayer bundle of carved arrowheads
with small beads of heishe. It may be adorned with a heishe necklace,
feathers, etchings representing ancient petroglyphs, or an etched or
inlayed heartline. These small items, although colorful to the eye, are
intended to protect and feed the fetish itself.
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