SISIUTL - THE TWO-HEADED SERPENT:

A Northwest Coast version of the Push-Me-Pull-You.

Sisiutl, the two-headed serpent of the
Pacific Northwest, Wood Carving.

Of all the many portrayals of animals (zoomorphs) in rock art perhaps the most fascinating are the double ended animals known lightheartedly as push-me-pull-yous. One form is this creature that is frequently seen in the art of Northwest Coast peoples is the Sisiutl, a serpent with a head at each end. Sisiutl is often portrayed in paintings and wood carving. He was sometimes believed to be a fearsome ocean creature, a two-headed sea serpent, and was considered to be a mortal enemy of thunderbird.

Klu'bist, ‘Nlaka’pamux pictographs, Stein River Valley
north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
York, Daly, and Arnett, They Write Their Dream on the
Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley
of British Columbia, 1993, p. 156.

Klu'bist, ‘Nlaka’pamux pictograph, Stein River Valley
north of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
York, Daly, and Arnett, They Write Their Dream on the
Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley
of British Columbia, 1993, p. 115.

The Skagit people called it sulwa’us and regarded it highly as a shamanistic spirit and associated it with thunder and the rainbow. The ‘Nlaka’pamux people of the Stein River Valley north of Vancouver in British Columbia call it klu’biist and have recorded it in numerous pictographs at sites in their territory. In the first of the two illustrations this pictograph panel includes two images of klu'biist, one in the upper left, and a smaller one at bottom center. Many of the portrayals show klu’biist as a four-legged creature and native sources stated that it was a snake with a head at each end, but it could grow legs if it wanted to and then looked something like a lizard with a head at each end. Many of them believe that a sighting of klu’biist foretells a death. The ‘Nlaka’pamux people identify klu’biist as an actual creature that lives in their forests – the India Rubber Boa (Charina bottae) found throughout northwestern North America, and the northernmost member of the boa family. These 18“ brown snakes appear to have a head at both ends with a blunt rounded tail that is hard to distinguish from their real head end and looks amazingly like a length of rubber surgical tubing.

India Rubber Boa, from Ernst and Ernst, Snakes
of the United States and Canada, 2003, p. 115.

As a boy at summer camp one year in the Pacific Northwest I found an India Rubber Boa in the woods. Far from being a harbinger of death and disaster, this peaceful creature was content to be wrapped around my arm and hung on for a considerable time, probably enjoying the body warmth. Surprisingly it made no attempt to bite, or even to uncoil and drop off until I later unwrapped it from my arm and released it back in the woods.

There is a particular satisfaction in having personal connection to the source of the mythology that has led to these portrayals in rock art. Perhaps Sisiutl/Klu’biist is really my personal totem creature.

REFERENCES:

York, Annie, Richard Daly, and Chris Arnett
1993 They Write Their Dream on the Rock Forever: Rock Writings of the Stein River Valley of British Columbia, Talonbooks, Vancouver.

Ernst, Carl H., and Evelyn M. Ernst
2003 Snakes of the United States and Canada, Smithsonian Books, Washington and London.

I was just connected with a site that shows video of an India Rubber boa swallowing a mouse. It is at http://www.wildrockies.com/rocky-mountains/rubber-boa-devours-an-already-dead-mouse. I suppose Parental Warning guidelines require me to warn that some viewers may find it disturbing, but it does add an element of real life to my comments above.

MUSIC AT ROCK ART SITES (CONTINUED):

On March28, 2010, I posted a column concerning evidence of the creation of music as a subject of a painted panel in the Sanctuary of the cave of Le Trois Freres. Additional evidence of Paleolithic music in connection with rock art is presented by the upper Aurignacian carved relief known as the “Venus of Laussel” cave in France. This famous female figure is shown holding what appears to be a bison horn in her right hand. The horn is marked with thirteen striations down the side.

"Venus of Laussel", stone relief carving, Laussel cave, France.
p.41, Rault, Lucy, Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship
and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present,2000.

This figure actually suggests two possible musical implications. One, the horn might be played trumpet fashion. In Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, Lucy Rault (2000) provided pictures of tribal people playing animal horns trumpet fashion. In playing a trumpet the sound is provided by vibration of the player’s lips blown into the mouthpiece, in these examples a hole drilled into the side of the horn down near the pointed end. Although the Venus of Laussel does not have the horn held to her mouth we must allow the possibility.

Side-blown Kudu horn, Chad. p.198, Rault, Lucy,
Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition
from Prehistory to the Present, 2000.

Another possibility relates to the thirteen striations on the side of the horn. With these it is possible that the horn was played as a rhythm instrument known as a rasp. The Ute Indians of Colorado and Utah use a rasp called a morache for their annual Bear Dance in which a notched stick or bone (reportedly originally a bear jaw bone) is held against a resonator such as a basket, a drum, or a plank over a hole in the ground, and rubbed with a stick. The rubbing of the stick back and forth over the notches provides the vibration of the instrument. The sound was felt to reproduce the growling of the bear. Back in 1980 my wife Charlotte and I attended the spring Bear Dance at Ignacio in the Ute Mountain Ute reservation in southwestern Colorado. The continuing low drone of the morache is immensely compelling and quickly begins to resonate in the mind of the listeners. Rault points out that with the striations marked on the side of the horn held by the “Venus of Laussel” it could have been played as a rasp, rubbed with a stick like the Ute morache and the conical form of the horn would also provide the resonating chamber. Perhaps this sound echoing within the cave would provide a roaring or growling sound to emulate one of the great animals painted on the cave walls.

Stalactites as lithophone, South Africa. p.25, Rault, Lucy,
Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition
from Prehistory to the Present, 2000.

Another interesting possibility for music played within a cave is provided by the presence of stalactite and stalagmite formations which can be played as a percussion instrument. Such a formation used to make music is known as a lithophone, a stone instrument. Rault stated that in some of the painted caves of Europe evidence remains as signs of impact on such stalactite and stalagmite formations that would ring like a xylophone when struck with a wooden, bone, or perhaps an antler hammer.

As I stated in my previous posting none of this is proof that there was ever any playing of music in company with rock art painted on the cave walls. We must, however, acknowledge that it could have been, and I prefer to assume that on ceremonial occasions music and other sound effects would have been included in at least some of the ceremonies.

REFERENCE:

Rault, Lucy
2000 Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.

METEOROLOGY IN ROCK ART – LIGHTNING:

For people who live in the environment the weather is a major determinant of the exigencies of life. Especially in the availability of food, both plant, and animal, the amount of sun, rain, and storm, provide the conditions that allow the society to survive and hopefully prosper. The facets of weather that lead to this survival and prosperity are usually focal points of religious rites in those communities in the attempt to favorably affect the conditions upon which their survival depends. Thus clouds, rain, rainbows, and lightning become elements in the imagery of the people, and can often be found in their rock art as well.

The Hogback, Pinyon Canyon Maneuver Site,
southeast Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris, 1997.

Elemental lightning is a force that can be dangerous, and as such is possesses great spiritual power. Places where lightning strikes tend to be seen as spiritually powerful, and items that have been struck by lightning contain strong medicine. A piece of lightning struck wood would contain tremendous spiritual power and, as such, would be prized for a medicine bundle or for use in fabricating weapons. A locale that lightning is seen to strike frequently would tend to attract other manifestations of spiritual importance such as rock art.

For large expanses of open countryside in the arid West in a lightning storm the features at greatest risk of lightning strike are the geological features that stick up the highest. These are often features such as volcanic dikes. I know of two volcanic dikes that have attracted considerable rock art and also show evidence of attracting lightning strikes.

Lightning Strike at The Hogback, Pinyon
Canyon Maneuver Site, southeastern
Colorado. Photo: Peter Faris, 1997.

One is the prominent dike known as “the Hogback” on the Pinyon Canyon Maneuver Site in southeastern Colorado, so excellently recorded by Dr. Larry Loendorf. This broken basalt prominence not only shows rock art, and discolored patches caused by the heat and blast effects of lightning strikes, but, as a location of such power, it also possesses the remains of spirit quest enclosures.

Lightning and sky theme petroglyphs,
Galisteo Dike, New Mexico.
Photo: Peter Faris, 1997.

Lightning portrayals in rock art may also be expected to be found on such high positions as these. The third illustration provided came from Galisteo Dike, south of Santa Fe, New Mexico. The rock art at Galisteo Dike is also found on the surfaces of a high, prominent volcanic dike, and includes a very large amount of sky symbolism including eagles, stars, sun signs, clouds, and lightning. This illustration includes an eagle (the Pueblo beast deity for the sky above), a star, and a lightning blast, combining multiple aspects of spiritual power.

Sun Symbols with possible lightning strike,
Three Rivers Petroglyph Site, New Mexico.
Photo: J & E Faris, 1988.

Another volcanic dike which possesses considerable rock art is the dike at 3-Rivers, New Mexico, where thousands of symbols and images cover the eroded surfaces of blocks of basalt. There are also instances of remaining evidence of possible lightning strikes at 3-Rivers. The illustration here shows a basalt boulder with an apparent lightning strike on the top and a pair of concentric circle sun signs on the side. The question here is did the rock apparently blasted by lightning attract the petroglyphs, or did the spiritual power of the petroglyphs attract the lightning strike?

MUSIC AT ROCK ART SITES?

On February 24, 2010, I posted a column titled “Rock Art and Sound Effects”. In that posting I discussed the possibility that sound effects may have enhanced the experience of viewers of painted panels in European caves. Also, that many rock art panels are located in places that display unusual echo effects. Another possible manifestation of sound at rock art sites would be music. This could be music played in the presence of rock art, and could also be music as a theme of the imagery in the rock art.

Trois freres sanctuary, sketched by

Abbe Breuel,Musee de l'Homme.

One example of music as a theme of rock art is found in the sanctuary at Le Trois Freres, sketched by the Abbe Breuel. Often considered a shaman figure, this therianthropic character seems to be dancing on human legs but possesses a bison head, horns and forelimbs. Additionally, this enigmatic figure is obviously carrying a bow and appears to be pursuing a group of bison. This has led to previous classifications of this scene as a portrayal of hunting magic.

Les Trois Freres, Abbe Breuil, 1912, p.21

In Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, Lucy Rault, suggested that this figure was, in fact, playing music on a musical bow. She described the technique of playing the instrument as “the player places the string between his lips and strikes it with a thin stick. Modifying the volume by altering the position of his lips, and of the tongue within the mouth cavity the musician creates different harmonics to produce a tune” (2000: 151). Rault included a photo of a Dan musician from the Ivory Coast and pointed out the position of the bow relative to the mouth as representative of the figure playing the bow as an instrument.

Musical bow, Dan, Ivory Coast, p.151.

In another connection between music and cave painting bone flutes have been excavated from deposits within caves that also possess cave paintings. It is no great stretch to imagine those flutes being played in a context of ceremonials in front of painted panels within the cave, although we cannot by any means prove that both the flute playing and the painted panels were involved in the same performance.

Paleolithic bone flutes,Isturitz, p.33.

Since we find the concept of music played in the context of rock art panels so interesting, we can probably assume that the prehistoric inhabitants of those regions would like the idea as well, and, since they had all the ingredients available – who knows?


Rault, Lucy
2000 Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.

ROCK ART - AND A TIME WARP:

B1-B flying over the Purgatoire River,

southeastern Colorado.

Photo: 1998, Peter Faris.

Periodically in the study of rock art an amazing or inexplicable occurrence will happen that reminds us of the mystery in our field. Twice in my three decades (so far) of rock art study I have been presented with an amazing contrast of the old imagery in a futuristic context. In 1998 I was in front of a petroglyph panel on a large boulder in the bottom of the Picketwire (Purgatoire) Canyon in southeastern Colorado when a B-1B came roaring over the canyon at a relatively low altitude. In spite of its speed I managed to get a picture that shows it with only a minimum amount of blurring. Upon reflection it was not that unlikely that it happened because the U.S. Air Force maintained at that time an electronic bombing range over southeastern Colorado where no bombs were actually dropped, but airplane crews could realistically practice aerial countermeasures and electronic detection of targets and threats.

Rock art site along Purgatoire river,

southeastern Colorado.

Photo: 1998, Peter Faris.

Earlier that same year I had been at the Three Rivers petroglyph site west of Ruidoso in New Mexico when an even more remarkable contrast had been presented to me. At that time the U.S. Air Force 49th Fighter Wing which flew the remarkable F-117A Nighthawk, the so-called “Stealth” fighter, was stationed at Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico, literally next door to Three Rivers. While absorbed in the remarkable rock art which can be viewed at Three Rivers on three different occasions my attention was attracted upward to see the fabled “stealth” fighter fly over at a fairly low altitude. Three Rivers is apparently pretty much under the landing patter for Holloman. Disappointingly, because of lighting conditions, I was unable to personally take a successful photograph of one.

F-117 Nighthawk "stealth fighter".

In both of these instances the weird feeling came from the contrast of being there concentrating on petroglyphs dating from some hundreds to some thousands of years in age, and being distracted by a surprising and unexpected view of something on the modern cutting edge of futuristic-appearing aerial technology. The remarkable contrast gave me a feeling that I can only describe as the feeling of being within a time warp, the ancient past and the SciFi future within the same view.

Now I have personally never been able to accept the reality of so-called UFOs although I know at least one rock art researcher who claims to have seen them. I also know of people who claim to be serious rock art researchers who believe they see evidence of outer space aliens in rock art. And, although I am a science fiction fan I never felt the need to complicate my world with aliens and UFOs. Not only rock art has been appropriated by UFO believers, the F-117 Nighthawk is one of the advanced aircraft that cultists have claimed was made possible by our government’s unacknowledged possession of UFOs and alien artifacts.

I do believe that both the study of ancient rock art, and modern cutting-edge technology, are exciting enough as they are without trying to read in imagined aliens. People, let’s give the credit where credit is due. We did it all, and we should be proud.

ECHOES AT ROCK ART SITES:

On February 24, 2010, I posted a column which broached the subject of the acoustics of rock art.

Entrance to Grotte du Pech-Merle, p.14,
Lucy Rault, 2000, Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship
and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present.

According to some researchers it is possible to find interesting acoustics at many rock art sites. In locales where the rock art is on cliffs they believe that the form of the cliffs often provides for a stronger echo than other nearby sections of cliff. Measurements of the strength of echoes from various surfaces in painted European caves suggest that this can indeed be the case. In 2000 Lucy Rault wrote in Musical Instruments: Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, that “comparable investigations at Niaux have similarly demonstrated that in this cave places with particularly strong echoes also have images associated with them, some if these, significantly, mark places where sounds linger for several seconds. We can therefore conclude that the choice of locations for wall figures seems to have been made largely on the basis of their acoustical value. Sometimes whole walls remain empty where the corresponding space, however vast it may be, produces no echo. On the other hand, places favorable for echoes are marked and painted, even if their location made such decoration difficult to accomplish.” (Rault 2000:22).

Horse, Grotte de Niaux, Ariege, p.22
Lucy Rault, 2000, Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship
and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present.

The accompanying illustrations are examples from her interesting book of painted panels that display strong echoes in European caves.

Bison, Grotte du Portel, Ariege, p. 23,
Lucy Rault, 2000, Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship
and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present.

Since rock art is often found on large, reasonably flat cliff surfaces I have experienced many times in various parts of the American West the phenomenon of echoes from rock art sites. It appears to be an unavoidable function of the location that echoes will be heard. I had assumed that it was simply a coincidence; it simply had not occurred to me that there might be a connection between the echo and the art. Given this information concerning echoes and cave paintings in the painted caves of Europe I believe now that I have to re-evaluate this connection.
REFERENCE:

Rault, Lucy
2000 Musical Instruments, Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.

ROCK ART AND SOUND EFFECTS:

Black Salon, Grotte de Niaux, Ariege, France. From: Rault, p. 18.

One small but interesting subset in the study of rock art concerns the acoustics of rock art sites. According to some researchers it is possible to find interesting acoustics at many rock art sites. In locales where the rock art is on cliffs they believe that the form of the cliffs often provides for a stronger echo than other nearby sections of cliff. Measurements of the strength of echoes from various surfaces in painted European caves suggest that this can indeed be the case. In 2000 Lucy Rault wrote in Musical Instruments: Craftsmanship and Tradition from Prehistory to the Present, that “comparable investigations at Niaux have similarly demonstrated that in this cave places with particularly strong echoes also have images associated with them, some if these, significantly, mark places where sounds linger for several seconds. We can therefore conclude that the choice of locations for wall figures seems to have been made largely on the basis of their acoustical value. Sometimes whole walls remain empty where the corresponding space, however vast it may be, produces no echo. On the other hand, places favorable for echoes are marked and painted, even if their location made such decoration difficult to accomplish.” (Rault 2000:22).

Bison, Grotte du Portel, Ariege,France. From: Rault, p.23.

Given the strong echoes and reverberation found in these sites in the painted caves of Europe, we have to ask ourselves what were they echoing? The most obvious guess would be the sound of the animal depicted on the wall. The call of this creature might be imitated by spiritual leaders or vocally talented members of the clan. Another possibility could be the eerie moaning sound of a bullroarer. Regarding this, John Pfeiffer wrote in 1982 (p. 180) that “oval bone and ivory objects with abstract designs carved on them and a hole at one end make a high whining hum when whirled from a string, suggesting that the sound of a bullroarer moved people in the upper Paleolithic as well as in modern times” (Pfeiffer’s “high whining hum” would have come from a smaller bullroarer on a short string, a larger model on a longer string could give a much lower roaring sound). Especially in the case of a painted bison or other animal whose vocalizations are grunting, roaring, or rumbling sounds, hearing the sound of a bullroarer echoing and reverberating through the chamber would have been startling to say the least.

Halo Shelter, Val Verde County, TX., Photo: Peter Faris, 2004.

Another effect that can often be found in caves and rock shelters is the phenomenon of the whisper channel. When the walls are of the correct shape they will often pass the frequencies of a soft voice smoothly to the other end of the chamber in such a way that they are inaudible to people standing in between. I observed this effect in a rock shelter at Val Verde county in west Texas, where I could hear a soft conversation of people standing about 20 feet away at the other end of the shelter but individuals standing between us could not discern their comments.

A number of years ago, during a visit to the Grand Gallery of Horseshoe Canyon, in Canyonlands, Utah, one visitor had lugged a tape recorder and microphone all the way from the canyon rim to the panel and had set up his sound equipment while he walked back and forth along the rock art panels tapping the surface of the rock with a little hammer made of deer or elk antler. I thought at the time that this was a pretty silly practice, but I now see that it actually may have had some validity. Although I could not really see back then what the value would be in having that sort of information available, it is now obvious that it might add to the overall metadata of cultural knowledge of the people involved, and would allow evaluations based upon a broader knowledge of their cultural concerns, and this would benefit everyone interested in the prehistory of humanity.

REFERENCES:

Pfeiffer, John E.
1982, The Creative Exlosion: An Inquiry into the Origins of Art and Religion, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York.

Rault, Lucy
2000, Musical Instruments: Traditions and Craftsmanship from Prehistory to the Present, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York.