Western World Costume. Carolyn G. Bradley
by dark-colored tribes; social standing shown by amount of tattooing used by Yap Islander and native of the Amazonian section; tattooing by Maoris of New Zealand, after first successful fight, a fresh design for each ensuing exploit; loose garment woven from fibre worn by Maoris; loin cloth; upper part of body nude; full skirt resembling broomstick skirt of 1945, or wraparound skirt, refajo, by Guatemalan Indian woman; huipil, used by Aztec, or Mayan woman.(PEOPLES OF COLD CLIMATE)Outer upper and outer lower: trousers usually worn by both man and woman; sometimes hide and skin sewed with bronze needle; wraparound skirt and simple upper garment with opening for head; fur skirt, having fur on inside or outside of garment sometimes sewed on linen or wool; poncho; clothing made from wool, skin of livestock, horse, sheep, goat or camel, by nomad of steppe region in western Turkistan; long skirt of feathered bird skin worn by man in Aleutian Islands, fur of seal or sea otter by woman; waterproof raincoat of seal intestine with decoration of feathers with drawstring on hood and at wrist, by man and woman of Aleutian Islands; rebozo worn by Mexican woman of the highlands; perraje used by Guatemalan Indian woman; capizaje, by Guatemalan Indian man.Hair: woman’s head sometimes shaven in British East Africa; elaborate arrangement used by some African women, twisted and plastered topknot or hundreds of hanging curls by Zulu woman; gum and mud mixture used in twisting hair into curls and unusual shapes, such as cockscomb spike and knob with an added decoration of cowrie shells and feathers; numerous permanent plaits solidified with palm oil and cornwood dye keeping them in place for several months, by some African tribes; hair oiled and buttered, then set in waves by Tigré woman; decorative coils by Nigerian woman; loose flowing hair sometimes symbol of mourning by Mayagasy woman; hair dressed over an elaborate wire frame by some tribes in Africa; elaborate hairdress used as carrying place for precious objects by messenger; braids and more simple hairdress usually worn in cold climates.Headdress: simple headband of animal skin; narrow band of iron later used as a symbol of royalty; various masks, insect-like mask with pendant tassels, worn with tunic of palm fibre, and helmet when initiating young man to manhood, by South Kukuruku in Africa; white headband used to attract object of affection; shawl worn as head covering; fur turban by man in cold climate; feathers by various Indian tribes; tzut worn by Guatemalan Indian man.Footwear: woman usually barefoot; man often barefoot; sandal; low shoe or moccasin by man or woman; fur stocking and leather boot in Fox Islands; fur-lined boots worn in cold climates, also soles of shoes made especially for walking on ice; stocking of woven grass and salmon skin by Eskimo; zapato worn by Guatemalan Indian man; huarache worn by Mexican Indian.1. Earring 2. Wraparound Skirt 3. Tattoo 4. Baldrick 5. Fur Skirt 6. Bear’s-tooth NecklaceAccessories: faja worn by Guatemalan Indian woman; walking stick; ceremonial mask; torque or twisted rod of gold as mark of dignity; baldrick; hairpins; buttons; feathers worn as decoration by Indian tribes; beaded decorations, by Eskimo and Indian; fur gloves and mittens, by Eskimo.Jewelry: amber worn as ornament in Neolithic times; intricate charm and amulet, sometimes of amber; shell, bone, teeth, polished stone, and bangled copper wire necklace; flint bracelet; earring; nose, ear, arm and leg ornaments; girdle of brass rings worn by Dyak woman of Borneo. Additional forms of jewelry found in this Chapter, Section 9.Typical colors: many bright colors, in warmer climates: red sometimes used as symbol of blood of sacrifice, green, blue, yellow, orange, and sometimes purple, symbol of royalty; white used for war and black for mourning in north and west Australia, whereas white used for mourning in the south of that country; red used as symbol of mourning in some sections of Africa; red, brown, yellow, white, black, gray, and blue by Bushman; red, yellow, ochre, black and white and sometimes purple and salmon pink by Polynesian, tuft of red feathers indicating presence of Supreme Being; subdued colors of fur combined with bright colors in cold climates.Typical Materials: bark cloth, the tapa cloth of the Hawaiian, the balassor cloth of the Polynesian; leaves; handwoven cloth of fibre, wool, cotton or linen; cloth decorated with embroidery; tassels and fringe; animal skin, ordinarily softened and made pliable, used by Indian tribes and the Eskimo; shoe of hide, wood, fibre or other plant products.Make-up:Body Painting: in hot climates, to ward off perils of warfare, evil spirits, illness, and death; to prevent excess sleeping (a superstition of the Moroccan man); as an aid in obtaining food; for courtship; during funeral rites; also coconut and palm oils used as protection from burning rays of sun.Decoration and mutilation:Lips: huge disks inserted; piece of wood put through wife’s lip as symbol of husband’s authority by Saras-djingas; labret worn in perforation of lip and cheek by Eskimo.Teeth: filed to a point; blackened in order not to resemble teeth of a dog; sometimes two upper teeth knocked out during a special initiation ceremony in Australia.Nose: ivory nose plug worn by members of some tribes in Africa; quills, beads, plugs and rings inserted in nose among some Eskimo tribes; nose ring through one nostril worn by tribesman in South America, by woman of the Sudan, by Zouia child; wedding ring in nose of woman to distinguish social rank; porcupine quills pulled through nostrils, fashionable in French Equatorial Africa; broken, flattened nose of Polynesian distinguished him from European with unbroken nose, called “canoe nose” by natives.Eyes: crossed eyes considered beautiful by ancient Mayan, ornament dangled on forehead helped to cause this defect.Eyebrows: plucked by members of some African tribes so that they would not resemble the ostrich.Ears: ear lobes weighted with an ornament in childhood, reaching to shoulder in adolescence, by members of some Peruvian tribes; weight or jampot in lobe of each ear by Kikuyu native; tooth earrings along edge of ear by members of some African tribes; rings in ear lobes worn by woman until death of husband in Masai tribe in British East Africa; ears sometimes pierced in several places by members of some Eskimo tribes.Neck: series of brass rings around neck progressively added to increase its length by Padaung woman of the hill tribes of Burma; necklace of wire with copper bangles, wire coils, seeds, and beads.Fingers: mutilated to show distinguished person of a certain profession in an Australian tribe; finger cut off as a sign of mourning or cure for illness by Bushman, Hottentot, and Kaffir.Legs: huge anklet plates used by tribesman of African tribe, also bands of brass or other metal.
SIGNIFICANT MOTIFS
Designs of the huntsman from the Stone Age were evident; in the Bronze Age geometrical designs were used; and in the Iron Age motifs of birds and horses have been found. The designs used by various Indian groups of the United States and Mexico include the stylized human figure, deer, frog, monkey, bird, lizard, snake, bow, scalp, pine cone, seed-pod, cloud, cyclone, lightning, rain, scroll, moon, star, cross, crossed sticks, whirling sticks, sling shot. Among the most popular motifs in Guatemala are: double-headed eagle, stylized human figure, figure of girl, bat, gadfly, bee, wasp, peacock and turkey, deer, monkey, tiger, armadillo, sun, moon, star, cross, scroll, lightning, rain, fields, hills and trees, plumed serpent; designs of the Polynesian include geometric decorations named morning star, light of the sea, bloodstain or honey-sucker; very small realistic designs are used by Eskimo.
INFLUENCES ON LATER COSTUMES
Bustle, 1931 and 1940’s, showed influence of certain African tribes; wraparound skirt, middle 1940’s, developed from the primitive skirt, broomstick skirt also reflected influence of the Mayan Indian whose skirt is dampened and pulled into pleats and then dried; costume jewelry including that made with shells, from primitive jewelry; saddle bag, 1949-52; decoration on side of hose, 1949, might be compared to tattooing.
BOOKS OF REFERENCE
(See also GENERAL BIBLIOGRAPHY, p. 433)
Boaz, Franz, Anthropology (New York, W. W. Norton and Co., 1928)
Buschan, G., Illustrierte Volkerkunde (Stuttgart, Strecker and Schröder, 1922-28)
Cordry, Donald Bush, Costumes and Textiles of the Aztec Indians of the Cuetzalan Region (Los Angeles, Southwest Museum, 1940)
————, Costumes and Weaving of the Zoque Indians of the Chiapas, Mexico (Los Angeles, Southwest Museum, 1941)
Hiler, Hilaire, From Nudity to Raiment (London, W. G. Foyle, Ltd., 1929)
Kamps, Norman, and Adrian, Rupert, Aztec Costumes and Customs (Norman Kamp, 1949)
Lewis, A. B., New Guinea Masks (Chicago, Field Museum of Natural History, 1922)
Meyrick, Samuel Rush, The Costume of the Original Inhabitants of the British Islands (London, J. Dowding, 1815)
O’Neale,