Identifier: britishnorthamer00hill (find matches)
Title: British North America: I. The far West, the home of the Salish and Déné
Year: 1907 (1900s)
Authors: Hill-Tout, Charles, 1858-1944
Subjects: Salishan Indians Tinne Indians
Publisher: Toronto, Copp Clark Co.
Contributing Library: University of Connecticut Libraries
Digitizing Sponsor: Boston Library Consortium Member Libraries

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bes east of the Rockies. These garments, in the old days among the westernDene, were chiefly worn by the nobles of the tribeboth men and women, on festal occasions, such asceremonial dances, cremations of the dead, gift-feasts, etc. The distinctive garments composing the ceremonialattire were the head-dress of the men, the coronet ofthe women, the breast-plate and the Raz or apron.The other garments worn on these occasions, such asthe leggings and moccasins, though not distinctive,were always richly and highly ornamented to corre-spond to the other attire. The head-dresses were of different styles. FatherMorice has described two of the more characteristic ofthese. The first one is composed of three distinct parts:two horn-like appendages, a cap or head-coveringproper, and a pendent train. The horns are made ofthe stout bristles of the sea-lions whiskers, which musthave been secured from the coast by barter, this animalnot being a native of their district. The cap is formed of Plate i6
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A Dene Chief in Full Dress Fhoto by C. W. Maihers, Vancouver, B.C. To face page So DRESS AND PERSONAL ADORNMENT 8i three rows of dentalium shells attached to a strip ofcaribou-skin and fastened to the bristles by a networkof sinew. The train is of human hair, each strand ofwhich is formed of about a dozen hairs twisted into atwo-ply cord. A fringe at the bottom of the trainis formed by adding bunches of loose hair to theextremities of the strands to which they are fastenedby means of finely shredded sinew. The second one is simpler in make but of morecostly material. In place of the sea-lions bristles arestrips of ermine-skin, and the train is composed ofthree-ply strands of hair which are adorned throughouttheir whole length with additional dentalium shellsset at brief intervals. These head-dresses when usedin the festal dances were always decked with swansdown, which in the eyes of all the tribes of this regionhad a mystic, sacred significance. The owners of these head-dresses set g

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