362-188<BR> Plaited twill basket; yucca, cotton; w. (at bottom) 19 cm., d. (at rim) 19 cm., h. 9 cm.; ca. 1880.<BR> Ten Kate recorded that this yucca basket with calico carrying string was woven in Mishongnovi. Early twill plaited baskets were recovered from excavations at Walpi (Adovasio and Andrews 1985:54-72,100-103).<BR> 362-188, 189, 190 Plaited basketry<BR> Much Hopi basketry was made by weaving flat strips of yucca over and under each other in angles of 90 degrees, and pushing this mat into a circular rod of sumac, sewing it to the rim. Thus they created mostly round but sometimes also oblong trays and bowls, often referred to as ring baskets or sifters (RMV 362-198, 190). Also typical are square-bottomed baskets with the inclined sides ending in a circular rim, also referred to as amole bowls (RMV 362-188), oval baskets, sometimes with lids that were a late development, and rings for supporting bulbous pottery ollas (water vessels) when carried on the head, or placement on the floor. By using differently hued strands of yucca, a geometric design can be woven into the basket, including squares, diamonds, crosses, differently shaped bands, etc. (Mason 1904: plates 16,217; Hough 1919:264; Mori 1972:15-31; Wright 1979:59-60; Tanner 1983:73-75; Whiteford 1988:155-157; Teiwes 1996:29-32).<BR> 362-188, 189, 190<BR> Twilled baskets. Much Hopi basktery was made by weaving flat strips of yucca (Yucca augustissima Engelm.) in a twill or diaper pattern into a small number of types: circular shallow trays (362-189, 190), square-bottomed baskets with the inclined sides ending in a circular rim (362-188), oval baskets, sometimes with lids, and rings for supporting bulbous pottery ollas (water vessels) when carried on the head, or placement on the floor.<BR> 362-170 through 185, 362-188, 189, 190 Hopi basketry<BR> The sedentary and horticultural Hopis produced a vast amount of basketry in different techniques, a tradition reaching back into prehistoric ancestral times labeled "Basketmaker I, II and III" by archaeologists, because of the prevalence of basketry artifacts at these sites. This era stretched the period from 1 A.D. until 700/750 A.D. Coiling, plaiting and wickerwork were the main weaving techniques for baskets, with twining a minor technique used for mats to wrap wedding blankets. The Hopis obtained twined baskets from the Utes in trade, but also traded their own baskets with neighboring tribes (Hough 1919:251; Morris and Burgh 1941; Adovasio and Andrews 1985).<BR> The plant materials used in Hopi basketry offered a variety of natural colors and shades. Yucca splints from outer leaves are olive-green. Bleaching in the sun turned the splints yellow, while fresh inner shoots gathering during the summer months are almost white, and freezing these turned them even whiter. A variety of vegetal and mineral agents were used in boiling the splints to provide them with a various colors: kaolin limestone (white); sunflower seeds, sumac, navy and kidney beans, soot, lignite coal (black); navy and kidney beans, sunflower shells, trade indigo from Meso-America (dark blue); larkspur (Delphinium) (light blue); greenthread or Hopi tea (Thelesperma megapotanicum; Hopi: hohoisi), Navajo tea (Thelesperma subnudum; Hopi: siita) (orange-red); Thelesperma grass, alderbark, sumac berries, cockscomb (Rhinanthus minor) flowers, iron ochre (red); pink corn, amaranth, cockscomb, pigweed (Cycloloma atriplicifolium) (pink); cockscomb, sunflower seeds (violet); rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus; Hopi: siváapi) flowers, flowers of fetid marigold (Pectis angustifolia; Hopi: tu'i'tsma), ochre (yellow); rabbitbrush bark, copper carbonate (malachite and azurite) (green). Vegetal dyes tended to fade rapidly in sunlight. To assure the effective bonding between the fibers and dyes, and render the colored fibers more color proof, a variety of mordants were used, including alum, limonite, rock salt, copper carbonate, tannic acid, human urine, sheep manure, and smoke (Hough 1900; 1919:265; Whiting 1939:26-28; Colton 1965; Teiwes 1996:23-29,42-49).<BR> Designs on traditional Hopi basketry are primarily symbolic, and only secondarily aesthetic. Most designs refer to religious ideas about fertility and include birds, feathers, clouds, rainbows, lightning, planets and stars, snakes, butterflies and flowers, and kachinas. These are represented in abstract and geometric form as well as more naturalistic ways, with a tendency towards the latter, especially in coiled basketry, where production for an external market is involved. This external market expanded rapidly with the completion of the transcontinental railroad in 1882 (Hough 1919:268-270).<BR> The Hopis used their basketry for a great variety of utilitarian, social, and ceremonial purposes. As domestic containers they held corn, flour, bread, beans, fruits, nuts, seeds, etc. In their ceremonies basketry sometimes played a significant role. Marriage customs involve reciprocal gifts of coiled plaques, laden with food, between the families of the bride and groom. The women's Lakon Society performed the Basket Dance, carrying several varieties of baskets, and distributing them at the end of the ceremony. At the occasion of the Powamu or Bean Dance, baskets are given to girls, and baskets are buried with eagles that are ceremonially killed. Part of marriage rites is the giving of basketry plaques, some with a specific marriage-design, by the bride's family to the family of the groom, in exchange for the wedding dress (Stephen 1939: 323,837; Wright 1979:64; Breunig 1982:10; Tanner 1983:49; Whiteford 1988:150; Miller 1989).<BR> (Hovens 2008-09)<BR> <BR> <BR> 362-188, 189, 190<BR> Twilled baskets. Much Hopi basktery was made by weaving flat strips of yucca (Yucca augustissima Engelm.) in a twill or diaper pattern into a small number of types: circular shallow trays (362-189, 190), square-bottomed baskets with the inclined sides ending in a circular rim (362-188), oval baskets, sometimes with lids, and rings for supporting bulbous pottery ollas (water vessels) when carried on the head, or placement on the floor.<BR>