In the Park's Permanent Collection

From time to time Tohono Chul Park will showcase pieces from the Park's Permanent Collection. Our Collection houses more than 250 mostly Native American fine crafts, including pottery, baskets, weavings and carvings.

Man in the maze plaque 
artist: unknown  Tohono O’odham

Gift of the Estate of Agnes and Don Smith

Dimensions D:11 5/8”

98.1.1 (S#1)

                                                            

Basketry is an ancient craft which preceded pottery. The Tohono O’odham people first wove baskets to serve practical functions: gathering food, cooking, storing materials and transporting items. Today, making baskets is more of a commercial endeavor for them, with many weavers making a living by selling baskets. The baskets are more decorative, and there are interesting patterns in the weaving. Plants native to the Sonoran Desert were used in basketry, and they soon became a universal and essential part of daily life. A plaque is not considered a basket, but rather a type of coiled ware. Tohono O’odham people had no use for them, so plaques were only made to be sold. Commonly to hold hot food (similarly to a hot plate), tourists began to take interest in them as not only a functional item but also as a decorative piece once handles were added for hanging them.

Coiled plaques are made by wrapping the weft around the warp in a circular motion. The weft, the fibers which are more flexible, is yucca stitched with devil’s claw. It is coiled in a counterclockwise direction around the stiffer beargrass. There were no commercial dyes available to the Tohono O’odham, but none were needed. Nature’s natural pigments made wares like this naturally colorful. Yucca and beargrass are light in color, while the devil’s claw fiber is naturally darker. Devil’s claw is stronger, so is used to make sturdier items and beautiful designs. Traditionally, baskets were not made with designs but as time went on the women who wove became more expressive. Once tourists showed interest in the Tohono O’odham weavings, baskets and plaques became more design-oriented rather than function-oriented. This design was coiled in an all-over layout, meaning that the weaver started in the center, and moved the design out almost all the way to the edge of the plaque. The man at the top is an important element, but not the most prominent element of the piece.

The plaque was acquired in 1952 by Don and Agnes Smith. It was bought in Southern Arizona , the home of the Tohono O’odham. The Man-in-the-maze plaque is the symbol of the Tohono O’odham Nation and has an important significance to the people.

There are many variations of the story, but the most common is that it is the story of a desert people who forgot their spirituality. The Creator brought about these desert people; after a time all became sinful except for one man, I’itoi (Elder Brother). The Creator warned I;itoi of a flood which would come and sent him to the top of Baboquivari Peak , a sacred mountain of the Tohono O’odham. After the flood, I’itoi helped the Creator create the Hohokam, which the Tohono O’odham are descended and taught the people right from wrong. They lived in harmony for a time, but eventually turned on I’itoi and killed him; his spirit went back to Baboquivari Peak and remains there today. The man represents birth (of individual, of family, of tribe). The turns of the maze are changes in his life.

Looking at the image, you can see the man on top of the maze. The maze under him represents the changes one goes through during life. With each twist and turn, the man becomes more understanding and stronger as a person. The dark center of the maze represents death. The man can avoid death for awhile by taking different directions in the maze, but after awhile in the maze, he reaches a place of harmony and is peaceful with death.

DeWald, Terry The Papago Indians and Their Basketry. 1979

Griffin-Pierce, Trudy. The Encyclopedia of Native America . New York : Penguin Books USA , 1995

Tanner, Clara Lee. Indian Baskets of the Southwest.Tucson: The University of Arizona Press, 1983

Whiteford, Andrew Hunter. Southwestern Indian Baskets. Santa Fe : School of American Research Press, 1988