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Loop drumstick with carved head covered in hide and cloth / Unidentified

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Essay/Description

Wooden drum stick with carved head, which is covered with rawhide and cloth.

Curatorial Remarks

This drumstick would be used for a single religious ceremony with a water drum or a basket and then discarded under a growing juniper. The drumstick has to be made out of a special type of material including juniper, oak, or wild cherry. The leather wrap was made with sacred buckskin, and it is sacred if the animal is killed without blood.

Tags: drumstick, curved, loop
People: Possibly Apache or Navajo
Places: Southwestern, Arizona, New Mexico
Purpose: ceremonial events

From interviews with Dr. Garrick Bailey, 2018-2020 University of Tulsa, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology

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©Gilcrease Museum
Title(s): 
Loop drumstick with carved head covered in hide and cloth
Creator(s): 
Unidentified (Author)
Culture: 
Native American; Navajo (Diné)
Date: 
20th century
Materials/Techniques: 
wood, hide, cloth
Classification: 
Ethnographic Objects
Object Type: 
Drumstick
Accession No: 
84.1086
Previous Number(s): 
8427.1086
Department: 
Anthropology
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