The Nehalem Tillamook : an ethnography / Elizabeth D. Jacobs ; edited and introduced by William R. Seaburg.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jacobs, Elizabeth Derr.

Contributor:

Seaburg, William R.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Nehalem Indians--History.

Nehalem Indians.

Nehalem Indians--Folklore.

Nehalem Indians--Social life and customs.

Tillamook language--Oregon--Nehalem River Watershed.

Tillamook language.

Manners and customs.

History.

Nehalem River Watershed (Or.)--Social life and customs.

Nehalem River Watershed (Or.).

Oregon--Nehalem River Watershed.

Genre:

Folklore.

Physical Description:

xii, 260 pages : illustrations, maps ; 23 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Corvallis : Oregon State University Press, 2003.

Summary:

The first book-length ethnography of any Western Oregon native group, The Nehalem Tillamook fills an important gap in what was previously known about southern Northwest Coast native cultures.

In 1933 and 1934, Elizabeth Jacobs, advised by her husband, the noted anthropologist Melville Jacobs, conducted fieldwork on the Nehalem Tillamook culture of northwestern Oregon. Working with her extraordinarily able Nehalem Tillamook consultant Clara Pearson, Jacobs recorded extensive ethnographic and folkloric materials that far surpass in quality and quantity the Tillamook research of previous investigators.

Jacobs's collaboration with Pearson eventually resulted in the publication of Nehalem Tillamook Tales, an exceptional collection of myths and tales recorded in English. But the companion ethnography was never finished.

The Nehalem Tillamook grew from that unfinished manuscript. In consultation with Elizabeth Jacobs, the manuscript was expanded and extensively edited by William Seaburg. After Elizabeth Jacobs's death in 1983, Seaburg added careful annotations and a detailed historical introduction. The result is a remarkable book that makes a major contribution to our understanding of Nehalem Tillamook culture and will be invaluable for drawing comparisons with other Northwest native cultures.

Contents:

Principal Ethnolinguistic Groups of the Southern Northwest Coast x

Major Tillamook Ethnolinguistic Subgroups xi

Principal Nehalem Tillamook Villages in the Mid-Nineteenth Century xii

Editor's Introduction to The Nehalem Tillamook: An Ethnography 1

1. The Tillamook 2

2. Rocking Chair Ethnography 5

3. History of Ethnographic and Linguistic Research on the Tillamook Indians 28

4. Jacobs's Tillamook Research in Comparative Perspective 36

5. Biographies 47

6. The Editor's Role in Transforming the Ethnography 58

1 Material Culture and Subsistence 69

Houses 70

Canoes 73

Hunting 75

Cooking 76

Important Seasonal Foods 80

Body Decoration 84

Clothing 87

Ceremonial Attire and Accessories 89

Natural Medicines and Hygiene 91

Miscellany 94

2 Social Organization 96

Slaves and Slave Raiding 97

War Expeditions 99

Dispute Settlement 101

Headmen 103

Marriage and Sexuality 107

Wedding Arrangements and Ceremony 107

Polygyny 112

Extent of Levirate-Sororate 114

Child Betrothal 115

Behavior Toward In-Laws and Other Affines 117

Post-Menopause Sexuality 118

Transvestism 120

3 The Life Cycle 122

Birth, Infant Care, and Adolescence 122

Babyland 122

Pregnancy 124

Wet Nurse 126

Ear Piercing and Naming 130

Care of Children 131

Daily Round of a Child 132

Adolescence 134

Death, Burial, Purification, and Mourning 140

Death 140

Burial 141

Reburial 143

Purification 144

Mourning 146

Inheritance 148

4 Worldview and Ceremonial Expression 149

Obtaining Guardian Spirit Powers 150

Shamans and Shamanism 153

Procedures of a Drawing Doctor 155

Sucking Doctors: Female 159

The Winter Dance 163

Spirit Doctors and the Spirit World 168

Two Spirit Doctors Known to Pearson 174

General Notes on Shamans 175

The Love-Doctor 175

Guardian Spirit Powers 177

Doctoring Powers 177

Hunting Powers 182

Wealth Powers 184

Bird Powers 185

Miscellaneous Powers 187

Bad Powers 189

Wild Woman and Insanity Concepts 190

The Southwest Wind Dance 195

Cosmology 198

Sun and Moon 198

Eclipses 200

Solstices 201

Stars 201

Earth 201

Weather 202

The First Salmon Ceremony 203

Treatment of Animals 205

5 Expressive Culture 206

Folklore 206

Music and Songs 206

Lullaby 207

Spirit Power Songs 207

Fun Songs 207

Dreams 208

Games 213

Etiquette 215

Appendix 1 Northwest Coast Language Classification 216

Appendix 2 Biographical Notes on Tillamook Persons Discussed in the Ethnography 219

Appendix 3 Inventory of Jacobs's Nehalem Tillamook Sound Recordings 229

Appendix 4 A Guide to the Nehalem Tillamook Linguistic Transcriptions 233.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-253) and index.

ISBN:

0870715569

OCLC:

52721122