String

Museum number:
1-10360
Permalink:
ark:/21549/hm21010010360
Alternate number:
584 (original number)
Accession number:
Acc.216, Acc.217, Acc.218, Acc.220, Acc.222, Acc.226, Acc.227, Acc.229, Acc.230, Acc.231, Acc.234, Acc.235, Acc.236, Acc.237, Acc.238, Acc.241, Acc.242, Acc.243, Acc.244, Acc.245, Acc.246, Acc.249, Acc.250, Acc.251, and Acc.254
Description:
Knotted, 19 knots. Made of baling sisal twine.
Donor:
Phoebe Apperson Hearst and Samuel A. Barrett
Collection place:
Rail Road Flat, Calaveras County, California
Verbatim coll. place:
California; Calaveras; Railroad Flat
Culture or time period:
Eastern Miwok
Maker or artist:
Ephe Cummings
Collector:
Edwin Lincoln McLeod and Samuel A. Barrett
Collection date:
1906
Object type:
ethnography
Function:
7.1 Writing and Records (including religious texts)
Accession date:
1906
Context of use:
Sent as invitation to a ceremony. Sent from Ephe Cummings (Miwok) to Alfred L. Kroeber via E.L. McLeod as an invitation to attend a dance at Railroad Flat in October 1906.
Department:
Native California (archaeology and ethnology)
Dimensions:
length 57 centimeters
Comment:
Native name and meaning: "sutela". Another string, obtained by C. Hart Merriam at the same time has more complete information. See also 1-20890 and a similar string in C. Hart Merriam notes. "Soo'-te-lah", the knotted string sent to a person as an invitation to a ceremony. The number of knots indicates the number of days before the ceremony. This particular "soo-te-lah was my invitation to a 4-day ceremony held at "Ha'-cha-nah" (Railroad Flat) Calaveras Co., Calif. Oct. 9-12, 1906. It was sent to me on Sept. 22, from which date the count begins. It has 19 knots. One knot should be untied each day till only 2 are left. On the night of this day, (the 17th after the sending of the invitation) the "yum-me" or mourning ceremony begins. Two nights later (when the last knot has been untied) the "Kal-la-"ah" or dancing ceremony begins. I went and remained through the entire ceremony." - from the notes of C. Hart Merriam. Photo: 15-5978. Published: Milwaukee Publ. Museum Bull. v. 2, pl. 63.
Images:
Hearst Museum object 1 of 2 titled String, accession number 1-10360, described as Knotted, 19 knots. Made of baling sisal twine.Hearst Museum object 2 of 2 titled String, accession number 1-10360, described as Knotted, 19 knots. Made of baling sisal twine.
Legacy documentation:
Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled String, accession number 1-10360, described as Knotted, 19 knots. Made of baling sisal twine.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled String, accession number 1-10360, described as Knotted, 19 knots. Made of baling sisal twine.Documentation associated with Hearst Museum object titled String, accession number 1-10360, described as Knotted, 19 knots. Made of baling sisal twine.

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