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In Milton, Geraldine Spurr, Phoebe Rinehart were members, now deceased and would be over a hundred years old. Symbols were a great part of the Camp Fire Girls. Not the kind you bang together in a band but a sign of such as a tree, a snake, a bird, the moon, etc. A bird sign may have his wings drooping to suggest protection, or it may be painted with its wings directed upwards to suggest soaring. Some symbols in the months of the year: January- The Snow Moon; February- The Hunger Moon; March- The Crow Moon; April- The Wild Goose Moon; May- The Song of Planting Moon; June-The Rose Moon; July- The Thunder Moon; August- The Green Corn or Red Moon; September- The Hunting Moon; October- The Leaf Falling Moon; November- The Ice Forming Moon; December, The Long Night Moon. All have symbols which I cannot draw here in the paper. The Signs which the Camp Fire Girls used can be found in the American Museum of Natural History, the Museum of The American Indian, Heye Foundation, and other places. Remember, signs and symbols were used first before spokin words. Every Indian tribe had its own code of symbols. It may happen that two tribes use the same sign, but in all probability, they will differ in their interpretation. In almost all cases, the symbols, which we may term elemental symbols, were originally pictures of objects. A good elemental symbol is one which is easy and quick to draw and one which contains only essential features. As I stated a picture of a tree, is a tree, is simple to make and anybody can understand what it is. Among the Arapaho Indians, there are two symbols for turtles. They had many signs or symbols in their language; mountains, rocks, rain, star, sun, tent, cloud, house, fence, box, buffalo track, bear ear, bear foot, etc. The most famous to me is the drawing of the THUNDERBIRD which most everyone in the west recognizes. Even the symbol of a rat or a frog or a bee, even the spider is easy to recognize. The butterfly and the caterpillar are a little more difficult to see in pictures. When you make a symbol, do you want it in the shape of a triangle or a circle or some other? If you were a camp fire girl and you chose the name firefly, why did you pick that? Did you see a firefly? Of course it was in the evening and the flash of light came from a small spot you saw which was of interest. First you make a picture of the firefly, squaring the corners of the wings and the tail and the head, and find symbols expressing light and darkness and small wings. And then combine them and form a symbol which is in no way a picture of the firefly anyway, but tells the same story. Show it to someone who is interested in design and ask for her opinion and maybe she can make a suggestion as how to make it better. If you want to make a design of it for a symbol on your paper, you can reproduce it in color. Remember signs and symbols go back to the Egyptians. They had beautiful ones; the ones on their pyramids are of course the ones we know best. The bird, in many shapes and forms are easy to understand. The King, of course is easy to understand. Remember these were used the world over so in NEW Mexico, the Pueblo, in Argentina, and most of interest and easy to find are the rugs on the southwest. After you get your firelfy perfect, if that is possible, then you need to make it beautiful. BEAUTY in the design is most important. Designs are made by combining various elemental primitive symbols, some you can recognize at once, after you have become familiar with the symbols that have been printed before you and therfore you are able to study them and keep them in your mind. By use of color, the symbolism of your Camp Fire designs may be emphasized and developed, since the meaning of the colors reinforce the design. A tree is usually green or brown, the bird can be red or a bright color; snakes are usually brown; black is usually a background color for contrast of pattern, and the symbols shining out in their particular and meaningful colors to lighten the darkness, show a real use for the black The Naqaho Indians who are familiar to us became of their superiority in the art of working silver and rug making, had a very distinct interpretation of colors. Colors to them were sacred and no color was used haphazardly; it was chosen, just as the design was chosen, for its significance. To understand the Navaho color symbolism, we must visualize first of all, where this nation of Indians lived. In New Mexico, Arizona and Utah, where the sun beat down most of the time, the Indian lived, hunted, made wars, did his work. Without sunshine, the Navaho Indian pined, sickened and died. The sun was warmth and life, so he wove it into his blanket to keep him warm when the sun did not shine, and his colors were red, bright red, of the sun he knew. Red is used a great deal in the Indian paintings. Out of the East came the white light, (or morning) white is a symbol of the East. When the Navajo turned to the south, he saw cloudless blue skies so to him blue was the color of the south. Every afternoon he saw the yellow of the sunset. And when dark came clouds did come and they came out of the north, so that black came to mean the north and bleakness and cold. Now, what did the CAmp Fire Girl see to make her symbol? Well, that was up to her own mind. The colors of symbolism are : Green-Youth, growing things, hope, work, spring; Yellow, blue, orange, red- Maturity, peace, happiness; Brown and Gray- Death and decay, late autumn and winter. White- Purity, blanket of snow. Much like the Indians. The dress and the moccasins of the Camp Fire Girl are made using primitive symbols, no stripes of silk ribbon. Best decoration is opaque beads, leather and color by stencilling: pictorial symbolism is out of place. If you go back to the primitive art of say the Egyptians or even the Incas, the product will be most effective. © Copyright 2010 by Mifflinburg Telegraph Weekly Newspaper Top of Page |
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