A study of Navajo symbolism - Free History Ebooks

NOTES ON CORRESPONDING SYMBOLS: WHEELWRIGHT 87r-—^JuFigs. 1-4. 1, a, b, c, d, four versions of Dontso. e, f, g, h, ancient Chinese calligraphic symbols for Cicada,(e-h, courtesy Metropolitan Museum of Art.) 2. Gold symbol from Colombia in British Museum. 3. Jadecircle from British Honduras in British Museum. 4. Symbol associated with Ka.the Chinese idea shown in the figure of Cicadalarva on Shang period bronzes. He furtherstates that the Cicada symbol is not only oneof resurrection but of renovation. Hentze'sfirst page of representations of the Cicada somuch resembled the Navajo Dontso that Itried for years to locate the Japanese book byNakashima, Shu-clfieh yuan-yuan, from whichhe quoted on this subject and finally located itin the Freer Gallery in Washington, D. C.Mr. John Hadley Cox, who has lived andstudied in China, and is now making a studyof the Ch'angsha Codex in the Freer Gallery,has given me the following notes on the subject."This character appears generally in inscriptionsand calligraphy; not usually onbronzes. A character which does not fit intoeither calendric nor zodiacal system, unlikethe characters meaning rabbit, turtle, tiger ordragon, it is not associated with any specificorientation or particular time of year. Itmeans only itself, and stands for the precursorof First Man as a symbol of rebirth, accordingto the Ch'angsha Codex. Later it was con-