Object Details
- Local Numbers
- Accession #1976-95
- Creator
- Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
- Maddux, Phoebe
- Roberts, Helen H. (Helen Heffron), 1888-1985
- Collection Creator
- Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
- Topic
- Karok language
- Shasta language
- Konomihu language
- Language and languages -- Documentation
- Linguistics
- Names, Geographical
- Names, Ethnological
- Ethnobotany
- Ethnology
- Ethnomusicology
- Basket making
- Karuk
- Creator
- Harrington, John Peabody, 1884-1961
- Maddux, Phoebe
- Roberts, Helen H. (Helen Heffron), 1888-1985
- Culture
- Indians of North America -- California
- Karuk (Karok)
- Shasta
- See more items in
- John Peabody Harrington papers
- John Peabody Harrington papers / Series 2: Papers Relating to the Native American history, language and culture of northern and central California
- Biographical / Historical
- Much of John P. Harrington's major work of recording Karok vocabulary and ethnographic notes was undertaken during an uninterrupted period of six and one-half weeks from late March to early May 1926. Part of the work was conducted in cooperation with Helen H. Roberts, the ethnomusicologist. The principal Karok speaker that Harrington worked with at the time was Fritz Hanson, a speaker of the Katimin dialect, who was considered to be especially knowledgeable regarding material culture and tribenames. Sylvester Donohue acted as interpreter. Lesser amounts of data were given by Donohue's younger brother, Ben, and a number of other speakers. Harrington first officially requested permission to work on the ethnology of the Karok in May 1928. In August of that year he returned to the Klamath and Salmon River area. It was at this time that he began working extensively with Phoebe Maddux. Maddux, whose mother was a native doctor, had been raised at Ishipishrihak (Ishi Pishi), a village on the northwest bank of the Klamath River opposite Katimin. While in the region, Harrington obtained sizable vocabularies of the Shasta and Konomihu languages from a Mrs. Grant (further unidentified) and her older sister, Susan Brizelle, both of whom worked with Roland B. Dixon, Jaime de Angulo, and Helen H. Roberts. Daughters of a Konomihu mother and a French father, the women apparently had also learned some Shasta from their maternal grandmother, a Cherokee, who, after her capture, had adopted the "Etna language" (Scotts Valley Shasta). In October 1928 Harrington brought Phoebe Maddux back with him to Washington, D.C., where she remained until July of the following year when they began the return trip to the west coast via Chaco Canyon, New Mexico. During this lengthy period, Maddux reheard the Karok notes obtained from Hanson, furnished much grammatical information, dictated numerous texts, and examined many artifacts and specimens in the collections of the U. S. National Museum. In addition, she commented upon the Shasta and Konomihu notes, particularly the placename data. In April, Harrington and Maddux were authorized to meet with Franz Boas in New York City for the purpose of making several wax cylinder recordings of the Karok language. En route to Maddux's home in late July 1929, Harrington and Maddux stopped at Eureka, California, to work briefly with Fannie Orcutt, an Orleans Karok woman. Harrington returned briefly to his study of the Shasta and Konomihu languages in October 1933 when his presence in Takelma territory facilitated a second visit with Brizelle. At that time he "touched up" his earlier notes by adding language identifications and once again rechecked the material. Brizelle's brother, Henry, and her son, Johnny, were also present at these sessions. Nonlinguistic information was provided by Carl Langford, Harrington's host in the area, and F. B. McCann, as well as by a variety of specialists in the natural sciences. He was assisted in much of the work by George W. Bayley of Santa Barbara, a friend who had helped in the excavation of the Burton Mound some years earlier.
- Extent
- 49 Boxes
- Date
- circa 1925-1933
- Archival Repository
- National Anthropological Archives
- Identifier
- NAA.1976-95, Subseries 2.9
- Type
- Archival materials
- Manuscripts
- Field notes
- Vocabulary
- Songs
- Narratives
- Collection Citation
- John Peabody Harrington papers, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution
- The preferred citation for the Harrington Papers will reference the actual location within the collection, i.e. Box 172, Alaska/Northwest Coast, Papers of John Peabody Harrington, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution. However, as the NAA understands the need to cite phrases or vocabulary on specific pages, a citation referencing the microfilmed papers is acceptable. Please note that the page numbering of the PDF version of the Harrington microfilm does not directly correlate to the analog microfilm frame numbers. If it is necessary to cite the microfilmed papers, please refer to the specific page number of the PDF version, as in: Papers of John Peabody Harrington, Microfilm: MF 7, R34 page 42.
- Rights
- Contact the repository for terms of use.
- Existence and Location of Copies
- Microfilm and digital surrogates of microfilm are available. See Volume 2, reel 6-19. Only original documents created by Harrington, his collaborators and field assistants, or notes given to him were microfilmed.
- Genre/Form
- Manuscripts
- Field notes
- Vocabulary
- Songs
- Narratives
- Scope and Contents
- This subseries of the Northern and Central California series contains Harrington's research on Karok, Shasta, and Konomihu. Materials include notes on vocabulary, grammar, placenames, and basketry; biographical data on various Karok people; texts consisting of stories, myths, formulas, songs, and ethnographic accounts; notes from rehearings of secondary sources; and notes and drafts of Harrington's writings. There are also notes from his interviews with Sandybar Jim, Francisco Capitan, Fritz Hanson, Mrs. Grant, and Fannie Orcutt. The section of Karok vocabulary is extensive and includes terms for cosmography/minerals, plants, animals, kinship, geography, material culture, and tribenames. The list of plant names also include information on botanical specimens that Harrington collected in the field. A mixture of Shasta and Karok vocabulary can be found elsewhere in the subseries, covering natural history, material culture, kinship and rank, tribenames, and placenames. Etymologies and ethnographic data can be found in both sections for some of the vocabulary. The section on Karok grammar is also fairly large. The notes include observations he made on the language while working with Fritz Hanson and Sylvester Donohue in 1926. Most of the notes were rechecked with Phoebe Maddus in 1928-1929. There are also miscellaneous vocabulary and short sentences with glosses and translations, elicited to illustrate a variety of phonetic and grammatical principles. Harrington's notes on placenames include a set of diaries of trips he made throughout Karok territory. He also conducted a detailed study of the Konomihu region of Salmon River. Information that he gathered include etymologies, physical descriptions, locations, and related ethnographic data. The scope of subjects covered in Harrington's ethnographic notes is broad and mostly reflect his work with Maddux. There are descriptions of life in the living house and sweat house, dress, and food preparation. Various ceremonies, dances, doctoring songs, and formulas are discussed. A wide variety of customs, practices, and beliefs, are mentioned as well as biographical information and anecdotes relating to Maddux and fellow members of her tribe. Maddux also dictated in Karok stories, myths, formulas, and ethnographic accounts. Some include English translations or summaries. The stories include numerous tales about Coyote and other mythical figures. The formulas include prayers and recitatives, as well as chants used as medicine. The ethnographic texts concern such topics as gathering sugarpine nuts, bear hunting, and marriage customs. Partial transcriptions of Karok and Konomihu songs also form a substantial part of the textual material.
- Restrictions
- No restrictions on access.
- Record ID
- ebl-1626971434170-1626971434852-4
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