While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
The principle of opposition, as between the
right and left hands, and between the thumb and forefinger
and the little finger, appears among Indians in some
expressions for "above," "below," "forward," "back," but is
not so common as among the methodical, distinguished from
the natural, signs of deaf-mutes. It is also connected with
the attempt to express degrees of comparison. Above
is sometimes expressed by holding the left hand horizontal,
and in front of the body, fingers open, but joined together,
palm upward. The right hand is then placed horizontal,
fingers open but joined, palm downward, an inch or more
above the left, and raised and lowered a few inches several
times, the left hand being perfectly still. If the thing
indicated as "above" is only a little above, this
concludes the sign, but if it be considerably above,
the right hand is raised higher and higher as the height to
be expressed is greater, until, if enormously above,
the Indian will raise his right hand as high as possible,
and, fixing his eyes on the zenith, emit a duplicate grunt,
the more prolonged as he desires to express the greater
height. All this time the left hand is held perfectly
motionless. Below is gestured in a corresponding
manner, all movement being made by the left or lower hand,
the right being held motionless, palm downward, and the eyes
looking down.
The code of the Cistercian monks was based in large part on
a system of opposition which seems to have been wrought out
by an elaborate process of invention rather than by
spontaneous figuration, and is more of mnemonic than
suggestive value. They made two fingers at the right side of
the nose stand for "friend," and the same at the left side
for "enemy," by some fanciful connection with right and
wrong, and placed the little finger on the tip of the nose
for "fool" merely because it had been decided to put the
forefinger there for "wise man."
This site includes some historical
materials that may imply negative stereotypes reflecting the culture or
language of a particular period or place. These items are presented as
part of the historical record and should not be interpreted to mean that
the WebMasters in any way endorse the stereotypes implied.
Sign Language
Among North American Indians Compared with
that Among Other Peoples and Deaf-Mutes,
1881
