The Pima Indians/Esthetic arts

by Frank Russell

ESTHETIC ARTS

Personal Decoration

The Pimas of to-day are rapidly adopting the personal adornments of their civilized neighbors. With the exception of the manner of treating the hair, the old methods of enhancing personal beauty have been almost entirely abandoned. Judging from the statements made by the old people, this art could never have reached the development among the Pimas that it did among the Pueblos. Their status recalls that of the Yuman tribes on the great river to the westward.

Pride of person manifested itself among the men in the care of the hair and the elaboration of the designs painted upon the skin. Feathers and beads were also worn in abundance. When through uncleanly habits a man became too filthy his associates said "skulof," "He smells like an old man." But the whole tribe has a characteristic odor that is easily detected by the nasal organs of the whites; even the school children who are regularly bathed and well clothed exhibit this characteristic.

HAIR

Men wore their hair long (see pl. XLIII, c); that of the old chief Tiahiatam reached to his heels when he stood upright, but usually the hair fell about to the waist. At the age of 20 the young men began to braid or twist their hair into skeins, which retained the hairs shed—and other things besides—a marvelously convenient abiding place for microbes. It was the fashion to wear the skeins cut squarely across at the bottom, and they did not scruple to piece out their shorter locks with hair from the tails of their horses. Sometimes, indeed, they even added the hair of their women, who trimmed their hair in mourning for lost relatives. The skeins were from 1 to 2 cm, in diameter; the hair of one old man, purchased from him, is 1.1 m. long; one of the skeins has been broken in the middle and tied in a hard knot. Such flowing locks could not, of course, be worn unconfined at all times; they were usually wound around the head and inclosed beneath a headband or by a cord of variegated colors (pl. XLIII, a; see also fig. 75). The earlocks that are the pride of so many tribes were sometimes braided by the Pimas and ornaments of shell, bone, and, later, tin and scarlet cloth, were tied to them. The front hair was cut squarely across the forehead.

The eyelashes and eyebrows were not tampered with, but the scanty beard was plucked out with tweezers. The hair of children was formerly "cut" with a burning brand whenever it reached their shoulders, in order that it might grow more abundantly. The portion cut off was mixed with mud and plastered on the head again for a few hours that it might improve the growth of the new hair. It was an evil omen if the child should chance to touch the hair just cut from his head, for was it not a sign that he would steal the sacred salt?

Women wore their hair long, but not twisted into skeins as was that of the men, and, furthermore, they were accustomed to cut it in mourning to a much greater extent than the men, so that it never attained extreme length. When at work it was twisted up on the head in a temporary coil that was confined by any convenient cord or bit of cloth. Unless engaged in vigorous exercise, as grinding with the metate, the older women allowed their hair to hang loose (pl. XXXVIII, a, XLVI, c). The front hair was trimmed to fall just clear of the eyes, as in same plate, b. Incidentally, it thus protected the eyes from the sun, though it is questionable how far the originators of the fashion were conscious of this useful purpose. Above all else the hair was the pride of Pima women; twice at least each day it was brushed until it shone in smooth, ebony waves that were ever luxuriantly abundant. "Every once in a while," or about once a week, the hair was treated to a mud bath made by mixing black river mud with mesquite gum and allowing the plaster to remain over night (pl. XXXVIII, c). Sometimes the gum was diluted with warm water and applied as a wash before the mud was laid on. The mud killed the vermin and cleansed the hair as does soap. The gum is believed to darken the hair and prevent it from growing gray. The Pimas declare that when widows mourn for four years without washing their hair it becomes a rusty red from being burned by the sun. The method of cleaning the hair above described is still practised, even by the younger generation.