Not THAT Kind of Fetish!
Marc and I were rather surprised when we were initially
looking at purchasing Kelly Place, to find that they were selling
fetishes. We were from San Diego—What
did we know….?
For those of you (like us) who are unfamiliar with Native
American fetishes, here is the scoop:
The Zuni people (northern New Mexico) have, in their
tradition, picked up stones which remind them of particular types of
animals. Over time, they began to modify
the stones, shaping them to more closely resemble the animals. Now, there is an entire generation of artists
who carve, inlay and shape a wide variety of rock types to represent many
different kinds of animals and also corn maidens. These are not objects of worship, but objects
meant to convey a particular trait such as strength or wisdom in honor of or to
assist the owner in this characteristic.
It brings the characteristics associated with the animal to the
owner. Others are meant to remind the
owner of or bring some connection to a particular aspect of life such as the
energy of the earth or the web of life.
This bear is carved from turquoise by Farlan and Paulette Quam. The bear is a popular fetish animal. It is the protector and symbolizes physical strength, leadership, and the wild, untamable side of humanity.
We at Kelly Place are proud to offer a variety of unique
Zuni fetishes in our gift shop. They
grow on you. Sometime I have a hard time
parting with certain ones (like this bear!). I have
resolved to keep aside my personal favorites and let the others go to good
homes. They are ideal gifts when
traveling because they are small and
most will not break easily.
Furthermore, even if you have a collection, you can always find
different interesting animals, made from different types of beautiful stone,
and carved uniquely by an artist.
Each artist has his or her own recognizable style. Jayne Quam does the most beautiful and
intricate inlaid pieces. Herbert
Halate’s smooth organic style is unmistakable in black jet. I often suggest that a buyer search the web
for the artist who carved their fetish.
It is interesting to see the faces of the artists and the other pieces
they have created.
Corn maidens are different from the animal fetishes. They usually have two sides—one a younger
side and the other a more mature. Often,
the corn with which they are associated is also shown as younger and more
mature. Most of them are made from turquoise
and the carving is exquisite. The legend
is that the corn maidens brought the corn and saved the Zuni people from
starvation.
Other Native American tribes are carving fetishes too, but
they are not held in as high a regard as the Zuni fetishes. The Zunis are the best carvers of fetishes.
For more information, you can refer to these historic
articles by Frank Cushing:
or these articles and books about Zuni:
