“Ordination Caribbean Priest Devil Tribe” Woodcarving Analysis by Phoebe Schmitt
An etching made in 1731, “Ordination Caribbean Priest Devil Tribe” was made in the colonial era of the Americas. When the English arrived in the Americas, they saw a copper-skinned, unclothed, and “uncivilized” society. Almost immediately, they started to catch smallpox and other European-brought diseases. The Amerindians had no prior exposure to these diseases, so they started dying off. 40% of the Native Americans died before colonies were established. The Puritan Europeans saw this as a sign from God that they were doing right and the Native Americans were doing wrong. Therefore, these people were below the Europeans. This prompted forced conversion to Christianity, village raids, robbery of their land, and slavery of the Amerindians.
“Ordination Caribbean Priest Devil Tribe” is a wood etching displaying the Europeans’ views of the smallpox epidemic in the Americas. It was made by Creite Fiteau, a Jesuit European who lived among the Native Americans during the smallpox pandemic. His etchings are a primary source which were later published in a book. In this particular village, diseased Indians would be placed in a sick bay. This was a large building made with woven reeds and log poles. The patients were placed in hammocks. Outside, families and loved ones would wait, unable to go inside. Knowledge of smallpox’s contagiousness was limited so any contact would be detrimental. We now know that prolonged exposure to face-to-face contact is what is needed to spread the disease. The disease had been in Afroeurasia for hundreds of years so the disease was more contained and the general population had built immunity to it. When they came over to the Americas, the unexposed Amerindians faced a high possibility of death if they were to get the disease.’
Some first settlers of the New World were Puritans. Traditionally, Puritans believe that every second of the universe has been planned in advance by God. This is called “predestination.” People are chosen whether are not they will go to heaven or hell before they are even born and they do not have free will. Also, Puritans believe that good actions are rewarded, and bad things happen because somebody did something bad or they are being tested. When the pilgrims, who were Puritans, arrived in Plymouth and saw that all the Amerindians were starting to die off after they arrived, they assumed that the native Americans were bad and therefore being punished.
Christian Europeans would often warp Native American Gods, idols, and deities into demons. There is a demon portrayed inside of a dark cloud above the sick bay in the etching. This represents a demon waiting to take the souls of the helpless Amerindians. This is most likely a reinterpreted version of a Native American deity. This could have been an angel of death, much like Mictecacihuatl, the Aztec goddess of death. Mictecacihuatl was used by the Spanish to create the Day of the Dead to get the Latin Americans to adopt Christian traditions. In this case, however, the deity would have been twisted to show how demonic their gods are to scare them into adopting Christianity. It was explained to the Native Americans that worshipping the devil and demons was evil and they would be sent to hell. The Native American in the middle hammock in the sick bay and the man praying by a table could be asking for forgiveness from God, seeing that their awful demon of death was near.
Although “Ordination Caribbean Priest Devil Tribe” shows how the English justified looking down upon the Amerindians, it is more accurate than many second-hand accounts of the Native Americans. The smallpox epidemic devastated the native life of the Americas. The Europeans used this as a sign to look down upon these people, who were seen as less than human. The depiction of the village is accurate as well as the people. However, the portrayal of people praying for forgiveness may have been less than accurate. Most of the Amerindians did not take to the Christian faith willingly. Many were threatened with their life to convert. These people were most likely praying to their gods, not the Christian God. The purpose of this wood etching is to show how the “unclean” tribes were dying because of their evilness and lack of faith. Even praying during their death will not save them, since they were so impure all their life.
“Ordination Caribbean Priest Devil Tribe” Woodcarving Analysis by Kennedy Mosley
The “Ordination Caribbean Priest Devil Tribe” is a wood etching made in 1731 by Creite Fiteau. Creite Fiteau lived among the Native Americans during the smallpox outbreak. In the early 1500s, Spanish settlers began to come to the Americas. When they arrived in the Americas, they found already establish cultures and customs,but they also brought new things such as goods and disease. This piece of art is a primary source, so it can accurately depict what native villages looked like and what was going on during this time of disease. While the wood etching can display Europeans’ view of what was going on in the Americas during the smallpox outbreak, some parts of the etching display how little the Europeans cared to learn about the Native’s culture.
One aspect of the wood etching displays the way in which Native American tribes handled the smallpox outbreak. The artist, Creite Fiteau, was able to accurately depict what a Native American village looked like at the time. For example, in the etching, the Native Americans had a house for the sick supported with big rods. Those that were sick would be placed in hammocks and isolated from the outside world to prevent further spread of the disease. Loved ones of the sick would wait outside the sick bay wishing to be with their loved ones in their final moments.
While the artist was able to accurately depict what a Native American village looked like, certain parts of the etching portrayed that the Europeans did not truly understand the Native’s culture. For example, the author depicted a devil over the sick bay. The Europeans believed the devil was plaguing the Natives with smallpox because they did not practice Christianity. The Natives had their own religions and gods that they would worship. However, the Europeans did not approve of the different religion. As a result, the artist added the devil coming down above the sick bay. While the wood etching accurately depicts what a native village looked like, it shows how little the Europeans cared to learn about the Native’s culture.
Note: In class we compared the above image: “Florida Indians planting seeds of beans or maize” by Bry, Theodor de, 1528-1598, engraver and Le Moyne de Morgues, Jacques, 1533?-1588. This paper compares the two, so I will includes it above.
Differences in Indians’ Depictions: ORDINATION-CARIBBEAN PRIEST-DEVIL-TRIBE-Creite-Fiteau-1731 and Timucuan Indians planting maize, from ‘La Floride Francais by Margaret Francis
The different photos of Timucuan Indians planting maize and the Natives from a Caribbean tribe signify the opposing points of view of Europeans and Indians. The image on the left depicts the European perception of Indians, whereas the photo on the right provides the reality and conditions Indians were experiencing. The different points of view illustrate how little the Europeans truly understood, respected, and recognized the Indians.
The left photo depicts Indian women planting crops in a field from a European point of view. The drawing of the Indian women displays their hardworking dispositions, ability to provide for their village, and the idea of equality between men and women. This artwork displays a form of realism. However, the piece visually misrepresents the Timucuan Indian women. The work does not accurately depict the Indian women; instead, it visually shows them as European women due to their lighter skin and hair tones versus tan individuals. Indian women Stewart are also depicted as muscular similar to male Indians—a stereotypical notion for many Europeans at this time. The inaccuracies of this picture show little understanding Europeans have of the Indians, especially the women.
The image on the right accurately represents an Indian village during the seventeenth century. It reveals the suffering Indians experienced from Christopher Columbus and other European explorers. The explorers brought diseases like smallpox to their lands. The diseases spread through communicating and trading with the Natives of America, which introduced dangerous conditions. Smallpox caused dying and the elimination of families and communities. In the image, the devil is floating above the quarantine building, showing him taking the souls of the Indians dying of smallpox. While this happens, the Indians who were not exposed watched their friends and family get carried away. The devil could signify what happened to Indians if they did not convert to Christianity when Christopher Columbus and his men came to the Americas—inspiring more Natives to change to Christianity. The illustrated photo shows a depiction from a Native Indian’s perspective or someone who understood the suffering Indians experienced from smallpox—due to Europeans not genuinely understanding the amount of suffering they caused Native Indians.
Indian Women Planting Crops by Mary Catherine Stanley
This image depicts “Indian” women planting crops; however, it is fairly inaccurate. The purpose of this document was to create an image of how uncivilized and savage natives were. The artist may have succeeded in defeminizing the women, but it is very obvious they had never seen a native.
In order to make these people uncivilized, the artist changes their appearance in many ways. First, the women are wearing small cloths, and their chests are not covered. These women were not given breasts. Because breasts are a symbol of maternity, the author chose to not give them any in order to create them in a more savage view. Another way the artist defeminized the women was by making them very muscular. Because the women are defeminized, this also leads people to the explanation they were uncivilized. In a civilization, for example, European societies, women did not work. They stayed at home, meaning they would not have such a large build. The artist is trying to prove the natives as uncivilized and therefore savage.
The artist may succeed in creating an image that natives are uncivilized; however, they missed some points for accuracy. It must be true that this image was made for the people in Europe by someone in Europe. The women in this photo have light hair, possibly blond. They also have a very light skin tone. If these people were native they would have a naturally darker skin tone. They would also have a darker skin tone due to the time they spend in the sun working. The women are also working with European tools, but Natives would be using their own and different tools.
The artist shows the native women by depicting them without breasts, small cloths, and a large muscular build to imply the natives were uncivilized and savage. This may have been effective for the people living in Europe at the time, but we know now that the artist can not prove any of this. They drew the natives with light hair, light skin tones, and European tools. All these are incredibly inaccurate.
