X-RARE Penobscot, Maine, Shaman’s Spirit Totem made of Burl Wood with Pyrographs

Description

Houghton USA
Ancient Art, Antiques, & Fine
Collectibles
X-
RARE Native American, Penobscot Shaman’s Spirit Totem
Antique Wooden Burl-Head Mystical War & Healing Club
The Spirit Known as the “Great Deceiver” or “
Gluskabe
”
With Pyrographs/Pictographic Spirit Images
Penobscot, Maine
c. 19
th
Century
eBay Note:
I certify that this antique, Shaman's Ritual Spirit Club was reportedly found on private land near Penobscot, Maine, with the land owner's permission in the 1800s.
Collection of any artifacts found on federal/state land or from caves, graves, or mounds is now strictly prohibited by federal law.
NOTE:
This ancient Native American artifact is legal to buy/sell/own under the U.S. Statute covering cultural patrimony Code 2600, CHAPTER 14, and it is guaranteed to be as described or your money back.
SUMMARY:
Item:
Native American, Penobscot Shaman’s Spirit Totem
Tribe:
Penobscot
Location:
Penobscot,
Maine, USA
Material:
Hand-carved, wooden burl. {A burl is a natural, tree growth in which the grain and shape of the wooden trunk has grown in a deformed manner.
Native American’s thought that these burls contained magical powers of healing.}
Approximate Measurements:
·
Overall Length:  8” (21 cm)
·
Burl Head Diameter:  3.5”
(90 cm)
·
Weight:  8.6 oz
(244 gr.)
Condition:
Museum quality with no repairs of restorations.
Wooden burl shows signs of ancient use, weathering, and insect worm holes consistent with is age that dates to the mid-1800s.
Top end of the branch appears to have been broken off in antiquity.
Solid construction with no signs of water damage.
DETAILS
This incredibly RARE, Penobscot Shaman totem was made from a natural-formed, wooden burl that once developed on a tree branch and was made into a ritual, hand held club.
It was obtained directly from a family in the small, coastal town of Castine, Maine, who had it for generations.
It dates to the mid-1800s, based on family oral legend and upon the overall weathering and condition of the piece.
This small, Native American totem-shaped ritual club was made, blessed, and then utilized by a shaman/medicine man in the Penobscot tribe in Maine, USA.
It features a round, wooden, tree burl thought to contain magical Spirit powers as shown by its size and by the pyrographs burned into the wood!
It has a short handle that is wrapped with a treated hide that adheres rather nicely to the wood limb.
There appears to be a pyrograph of an animal, perhaps a wolf, on the flat end on the handle--see photo # 12.
NATIVE AMERICAN SPIRITS
Even more amazing are the blackened, pictographic characters that have been burned by a shaman into the wooden burl!
One small pyrograph measures only about .77” (20 mm) tall and appears to represent a Spirit—likely an image of the transformed shaman or a Woodland Spirit—and perhaps several animals flanking either side of the Spirit.
{Please see macro photos: # 4-5 & 12.}
The Spirits, contained within animals or in nature, were thought to communicate directly with the spirits of the Shaman.
But only a shaman possessed the power that enabled him or her to cross this divide unscathed.
Unauthorized use by non-Shamans was strictly forbidden and could jeopardize the entire tribal community.
Therefore, it is likely this totem was used only by a Shaman to appeal to the powerful woodland spirits to ensure a successful hunt or possibly the success of a war party against their enemies.
When the Penobscot found stones or wooden burls like this one that possessed shapes that resembled a person or a face, Shaman would keep them as totems.
Some believe such natural oddities such as a burl wood growth on a tree trunk looked like the powerful spirit
Gluskabe
or like their local Shaman, called in their language “
Medeolinu
.” These powerful shaman could become evil and often became a hideous man-eater when angry when then died.
Only after he had devoured seven people could he return to life again.
Very old examples of shaman paraphernalia are EXTREMELY RARE and only a few are known to exist in Native American museums and fine, private collections.
The Mystical World of Penobscot Spirits & Shaman
In common with many of the Woodland tribes, the Penobscot believe that the forests are the abode of powerful spirit beings whose influence can be used both beneficently and for malign purposes.
The “False Face” Spirits, who hide beneath a façade of distorted features like those found in the wooden tree burl, can bestow tremendous blessings, but can also carry disease and paralysis.
Traditionally, masks are often carved in situ on a living tree and when not in use are secluded to prevent any harmful effects that may occur by the dissipation of their power.
The Penobscot shaman exists in the vague and undifferentiated world of “somewhere” or “sometime” and yet the shaman is also considered to be an immediate and pervasive fore.
Shamanic help is implicit, for instance, in dream hunting, when the hunter dreams of tracking, cornering and catching his quarry.
Because the chase has been completed successfully with shamanic help in dream-time, it was thought that the hunter would also be similarly successful in reality if he follows the pattern given in his dream, since the outcome is already foretold.
The underlying importance of dreaming is reflected in the fact that the word for “dream” is also the word for “destiny”, and that everyone seeks “a dream of life” through which their destiny can be controlled.
{Ref: Shamanism in North America. Pgs. 47-48}
The short handle clearly suggest that this object was NOT used as a weapon, as the handle is much to short for close contact fighting or even to be used during “coup” to touch an opponent.
Rather, this object would have been made and used by a Penobscot shaman as part of his paraphernalia to contact the
spiritual forces that were thought to dominate the Universe, especially an all-powerful being called “
Ketci-Ni-weskwe
” or “Great Being” and the most important being in Penobscot religious lore called “
Gluskabe
” or Deceiver/Liar, who was also known as “Man from Nothing.” However, this term, was not a negative or derogatory one, but rather an honorific term that infers the first man on Earth, who had the ability to outwit his enemies by strategy and cunning.
Thus,
Gluskabe
is the legendary hero and the famous transformer of the Wabanaki tribes. He made man and gave him life and made the wind to make the waters move.
Penobscot mythology credits
Gluskabe
with some 20 major achievements for the benefit of man.
The Milky Way or “Spirit Way” is the trail over which ghosts of the dead travel on their way to the realm of the Spirits.
Like many Native American people, the Penobscot believed that everything had a soul or spirit and was, therefore, capable of will and motivation that could be controlled by spiritual beings like
Gluskabe.
The 7
th
son of a family is thought to be gifted with a knowledge of medicinal herbs and the magic of healing.
The number seven is thought to be magic. {pg. 31}
The spirit contained within this small burl-wood totem was thought to protect a person from injuries in war and it is also said that it possesses the power to cure sickness.
It was reported that a Penobscot soldier who fought for the Union during the US Civil War was given a charm by his father, which had been empowered by a Shaman, with instructions to keep it as a safeguard.
The man reported used it to freshen his power and thanks to its power he returned home safely after the war.
{pg. 30}
Penobscot Beliefs About the Supernatural
The word "Penobscot" originates from a mispronunciation of their name for themselves:
Penawapskewi
. The word means "rocky part" or "descending ledges," and originally referred to their territory on the portion of the Penobscot River between present-day Old Town and Bangor.
The Penobscot believed that
the spiritual force which dominated the Universe was a an all-powerful being called “
Ketci-Ni-weskwe
” or “Great Being.”
“By his will, all things moved; all power comes from him…. He is in the Sun, Moon, stars, clouds of heaven, mountains, and even the trees of the Earth.”
The antithesis of the Great Being was called “
Madji-anhan-do
” or Evil Spirit, which were thought to take the form of noxious insects and to cause disease and misfortune.
The most important personage in Penobscot religious lore is called “
Gluskabe
” or Deceiver or Liar, also known as “Man from Nothing.”
However, it was not a negative or derogatory term, but infers to the first man on Earth who had the ability to outwit his enemies by strategy and cunning.
Thus, he is the legendary hero and the famous transformer of the Wabanaki tribes. He made man and gave him life and made the wind to make the waters move.
Penobscot mythology credits
Gluskabe
with some 20 major achievements for the benefit of man.
The Milky Way or “Spirit Way” is the trail over which ghosts of the dead travel on their way to the realm of the Spirits.
Appraised Value
Estimated appraised value for this antique, Shaman's Ritual Spirit Club with provenance to Penobscot, Maine, is ,000--,000.
This is your chance to add an extremely RARE Shaman's Burl Wood Spirit Club to your collection for a fraction of that price!
PROVENANCE:   Chronology of Ownership
This authentic, Shaman's Burl Wood Spirit Club was acquired several years ago from the estate of a prominent collector who lived in Penobscot, Maine, and
I only recently acquired it from a private collector in Colorado.
This Spirit Club will be accompanied by an ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS Certificate of Authenticity at no additional charge.
REF:
The Spirit World,
by the Editors of Time Life, 1992.
Shamanism in North America, Norman B. Hunt, Firefly Books, 2003.
Frank G. Speck,
The Journal of American Folklore
, Vol. 48, No. 187 (Jan. - Mar. 1935), pp. 1-107, Published by: American Folklore Society, DOI: 10.2307/535328.
Please examine the attached photos carefully as they are part of the description and bid accordingly.
Note:
Each object I sell is professionally researched and compared with similar objects in the collections of the finest museums in the world.
I have been dealing in fine antiquities for almost 50 years and although certainly not an expert in every field, I have been honored to appraise, buy, collect, and enjoy and recently sell some of the finest ancient art in the world.
When in doubt, I have worked with dozens of subject matter experts to determine the condition and authenticity of numerous antiquities and antiques.
This documentation helps to insure you are buying quality items and helps to protect your investment.
Please ask any questions you may have
before
you bid!
All sales are Final, unless I have seriously misrepresented this item!
Member of the Authentic Artifact Collectors Association (AACA) & the Archaeological Institute of America (AIA)
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