tikinaagan

tikinaagan

tikinaagan

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Introduction

Miniature or toy cradleboard. Wooden board painted green; cloth cover; green plaid cloth and leather moss bag. Butterflies are embroidered on the cloth cover. Metal cones on rawhide fringe.

Name of Maker(s): Ojibwe artist
Nation of Maker: Algonquin Anishinaabe Ojibwe
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular nation(s)

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology lists the origin as the Southeastern Ojibwe of Canada.

Place of Origin: Ontario, CAN
Date Made or Date Range: 20th century
Summary of Source(s) for this Relative

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University

Materials

Wood, Plaid Cloth, Rawhide, Ribbon and Paint.

Techniques or Format

The backboard is a plank of cedar or birch. A crossbar piece is soaked in hot water or steamed and carefully bent. The crossbar protects the child. It also can be used as a handle to lift the tikinaagan. The women sew the tikinaagan covering using hide, cloth, sinew, thread, beads, embroidery, and porcupine quills. A moss bag is made from animal hide, cotton linen, and lace.

Motifs and Patterns

The wooden plank is cut into a rectangle shape and painted green. On its headboard, there are carved triangle symbols. The covering for the tikinaagan has embroidered images of butterflies. Inside the butterflies, there are circular shapes, straight lines and wavy contours. The moss bag is made with plaid fabric. The outer portion of the moss bag has green rick rack trim sewn on it. The rawhide strings are used for lacing the infant inside the moss bag. The moss bag keeps the infant warm and comfortable, just like the baby was in the mother's womb.

Original and Subsequent Uses

The tikinaagan primary purpose is to safely carry the baby on the mother's back while she worked or moved from one camp to another. Both mother and baby would accompany each other while harvesting berries and medicine. The baby is laced into the cradleboard under a protective covering to keep away the underbrush and insects. Its secondary purpose is childcare. It is used to keep the baby near the mother. The tikinaagan is usually placed against the trunk of a tree or hung from a branch. From this vantage point, the baby could watch the mother and her social interactions. The tikinaagan is constructed with a crossbar. Its function is to protect the baby in case the tikinaagan falls. A third benefit was how the cradleboard kept the baby's back and legs straight.

Condition: Good condition.
Reasons for connecting this relative with particular times, materials, styles and uses

Peabody Museum's records.

Current Location: Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Cambridge, MA, USA
Catalogue, Accession or Reference Number: 984-20-10/59612
Date of Acquisition by the Institution: 1984
Date Relative was First Removed or Collected from its Community Context: 19th Century- 20th Century
Collection Narratives and Histories

In 1983, John Nichols sold the tikinaagan to Byron Harvey, III. In 1984, Byron Harvey donated the tikinaagan to the President and Fellows of Harvard College. It was then displayed in the Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology at Harvard University.

Exhibition History

The Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology: Display Title: cradleboard

GKS Reference Number: 58941
Approximate Place of Origin

43.0612, -78.4489

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