Eastern Indian Ear "Mutilation"

[Marc Adamchek]

Exposure to different (modern) paintings of the 18th century eastern Indians has taught me that there seemed to be quite a few ways to fashionably change one's ears (and lobes)to accommodate decorative ideas. Question: Were the various ear "changes" a tribal signature of sorts or an individual's choice? Also, If it weren't for Griffith, Wright and other modern painters I would never have known about this penchant. Has anyone ever come across original documentation illustrating, by pictures or words,this practive?

 

[hollandbriscoe]

As far as your question goes I can't tell you but to tell you how wide spread this custom was next time you are in a chinese restaurant look at a buddha statue. He had the same kind of mutilation.

 

Mark, Heckwelder and Adair and many other period accounts describe this fashion and the watercolors and drawings of period artists show it as well. Seems it was a widespread style all around the Great Lakes and down into the southeast. It seems there was little difference from styles from tribe to tribe. The portraits of Cherokees, Creeks, Shawnees, Delawares, and Iroquois, Miami, Weas and Illini. It seems it was a VERY widespread practice. In the late 18th c. and early 19th c. the fashion seems to have changed around that time. By the 1830's all the portraits with ears prettied up with extended lobes are all old men.

 

[hawkeye1755]

Two paints from R.Griffing

:hatsoff:

 

[jbg]

That had to hurt!

 

[Okwaho]

Mark, Heckwelder and Adair and many other period accounts describe this fashion and the watercolors and drawings of period artists show it as well. Seems it was a widespread style all around the Great Lakes and down into the southeast. It seems there was little difference from styles from tribe to tribe. The portraits of Cherokees, Creeks, Shawnees, Delawares, and Iroquois, Miami, Weas and Illini. It seems it was a VERY widespread practice. In the late 18th c. and early 19th c. the fashion seems to have changed around that time. By the 1830's all the portraits with ears prettied up with extended lobes are all old men.

I generally agree here although I'm not sure about the wrapping of the distended lobe in this fashion.it seems to me though that I have seen copper or brass wire used.Additionally I'm not really sure how early this distending of ear lobes was used. I looked at the Nicholas drawings {Ca.1700} and found none showing distended ear lobes. Likewise I could find nothing in Lafitau who lived with the Caughnawaga Mohawks 1712-1717 although he writes{Vol.II P.42} of young Iroquois usually having their ears pierced in three places. Nor did I find any reference to distended ears in DeCreux{Vol.II 1632-35}.I do,however, also recall a quote somewhere about warriors catching the lobes on tree branches and the like when running and tearing them loose which had to smart but I'm sure this was an 18th century quote.

It should be noted that paintings by Griffin,Wright, Teeter and others cannot always be depended upon as documentation for Indian gear. This is especially true of Griffin who uses reenactors as models.With the exception of one reenactor {and one can always depend on his appearance} used by Griffin what you are seeing is what the particular reenactor{s}considered to be historically correct.Bob Griffin is a very talented artist but his work cannot be considered documentation.
Tom Patton

 

[Marc Adamchek]

hollandbriscoe - I wasn't referring to stretched earlobes through progressively bigger plugs. This practice is still widespread today with aboriginal peoples in the south Pacific and even in the good ol' USA with some members of our teenage populace awestruck with ritualistic behavior. I should have been clearer in that I was more in mind of the various slicing of the ear, one form of which is illustrated in the Griffing paintings Undertaker contributed.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Thanks, Okwaho - Yeah, that's pretty much what prompted my post. I've seen all these Muzzleloader covers through the years and, while beautifully done, they repeatably show woodland Indians sporting this practice and variations thereof which I've never read about or seen actual documentation of. I've also wondered about the accuracy of the outfits shown on these Indians. It's almost a uniform.

 

[Maestro]

Kids today think they're being so outrageous with their "piercings"... now, do something like THAT and I'll be impressed! :haha:

 

[pasmokepole]

Can you imagine the war hoot that would be produced from snagging that in the brush. I know a woman that ripped her ear ring out by snagging it on her sweater - YIP YIP YIP

 

[Kuckus]

Most of the kids I'm seein' lately look like they fell face first in their daddie's tackle box :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

I may have confused this issue some by my choice of wording. When I said extended lobes I meant the rim of the ear being slit and stretched out over a period of time. I think it was Heckwelder that described the process of this whole operation among the Delawares in particular. They would slit one ear and use buzzard down to keep it separated until it healed which took about 40 days. During this 40 day period the recipient of this surgery would have to sleep on his opposite side. After that was healed up the Patient had the other side slit and had to sleep on the other side for 40 days. The slit rim was stretched out over a period of time with lead weights and eventually were long enough to wrap with brass snare wire and shaped into a big circle or diamond shape as I saw in one instance. During war and hunting the fellow would simply tie his ear rims back behind his head with a piece of ribbon or buckskin. I don't know when this fashion started but it was big and very high fashion throughout most of the 18th century. Some of the 19th century watercolors of creeks and shawnees show some of the extended lobes or rims that had actually been ripped out or maybe frozen off. (Another risk)

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Thanks very much for that documented information, Cooner! Very interesting details as well.That's exactly what I was looking for/wondering about.

 

Ya gonna do it? :shocked2: Send some pics when ya get it done!

 

[gmww]

Gosh almighty. I'm rubbing my ears as I read this thread. :shocked2:

 

Yes sir, I know what ya mean. It makes my ears tickle just thinking about it. I'm glad it went out of style. :shocked2:

 

[dlemaster]

Mark
In the James Smith captivity, republished by the Ohio Historical Society under the title "Scoouwa",
Smith who was captured before Braddocks defeat in 1755 tells of how the young men were getting their ears cut and how they tried to compell him to do likewise. They said something like it was a fashion and was quite an adornment. Smith said he couldn't deny the former but had doubts about the latter parts of the statement. If you would like the exact wording I would be happy to get it for you.

Regards, Dave

 

[Bartek]

Sir, what was the social denotation of that practis? I beleve there was some. I found these two pictures. First made in Borneo and second in Kenya. In both cases ear "mulitation" has concrete meaning for rest of community. Among Masai women make holes in ears like that after wedding and it's mean : "i'm married"