124-A10-2 | UNI Museum @ Rod Library

Previously CS 247 2.

Displaying 1 - 2 of 2

	Catalog #	Name	Description
1	1970.78.10.10	Headdress	This headdress has ivory feathers forming a three quarter fan around the band made from vine. There are black, blue, purple, yellow, and red macaw feathers that have been cut to be the same length at the base of the ivory king vulture feathers. The vines are wrapped in white, bright pink, and dark gray string and form a pattern that runs along the base of the feathers and ends with alternating stripes of gray to pink to gray to white along the featherless side of the headdress' band. When worn, the feathers will stand straight up because of the way they have been attached to the vine. Crafting headdresses is a male craft among the Cashinahuans. Though women do know about the art, when interviewed around men they pretend to be ignorant. This headdress is classified among the Cashinahuans as "dani maiti" which titles it as a "body hair" or "body feather" headdress ("maiti" means "headdress" and "dani" means "body"). The name of the headdress is further changed to detail what kind of feather or hair was used in the making. This particular headdress was made with the body feathers from a King Vulture and decorated with Macaw feathers cut to be the same length. Because the Macaw feathers were cut, it is difficult to distinguish where on the Macaw the feathers originated, though it is common among the Cashinahuan men to use small feathers from areas like the legs, neck, and under-wing. The dani maiti are made by tying the base of the body feathers to a strip of vine that has been cut and prepared with "bui"- a native mixture of wild rubber, chicle, and beeswax. There may be up to four flattened strips of vine, but only one of them will have the bui on it. Feathers are tied to the strip of vine in bunches of up to six feathers tied about 1cm apart from each other. Doing this enables the headdress to have volume because the feathers are often overlapping. When all the feathers that will be added to the strip are tied on it, the headdress is tied together with cotton and waxed string forming a circle that will fit upon the man's head. In this case, as is occasionally seen, the vine has been covered in a patterned design created by wrapping cotton string around it. It is very rare to see headdresses made with this kind of feather as normally they are crafted with feathers from a trumpeter bird, a white heron, or a wild turkey. Dani maiti are crafted by men, often for their sons, for ceremonial events. Such events include "kacha nawa" (fertility ceremonies), "nishpu pi" (initiation rites), and "chidin" (the headman's ceremony).
2	1970.78.10.12	Headdress	This headdress has a band of yellow macaw wing feathers that fan out to create a three quarter crown around the band. Some of the feathers have shades of brown and black present on them as well. There is a second tier of trumpeter bird breast feathers that are black and a third tier of macaw body feathers that yellow and red, all of which are cut to be the same length. The vine is covered in the front by a woven pattern that is blue and white. The back of the headdress shows that the feathers were attached to a loose string of cotton from the woven pattern covering the vine by bending the barb and tying them in place. They are held to the vine by white cotton string that has been covered in "bui"- a native mixture made of wild rubber, chicle, and beeswax. This allows the feathers to be flexible and move with the wearer and fold down upon themselves. There is a thin, white cotton string that runs from the beginning of the fan of feathers on the proper left (if looking from the front) through the middle of the yellow macaw feathers and ends at the last feathers on the proper right. This allows the feathers to move in unison. The featherless base of the band is wrapped in the same white cotton string that forms the pattern covering the second and third tiers of feathers. Crafting headdresses is a male craft among the Cashinahuans. Though women do know about the art, when interviewed around men they pretend to be ignorant. This headdress is classified among the Cashinahuans as "pei maiti kuin" which titles it as a "real wing feather" headdress ("maiti" translates to "headdress", "pei" translates to "wing", and "kuin" to "real"). These types of headdress are further classified depending on their flexibility. This headdress is considered "babui" or "flexible". It is designed so that the feathers form a floppy brim instead of standing straight out. Pei maiti kuin are crafted by men, often for their sons, for ceremonial events. Such events include "kacha nawa" (fertility ceremonies), "nishpu pi" (initiation rites), and "chidin" (the headman's ceremony).