Čtʼewá [c’alʼá·kstin]
- Chad Stephen Hamill
Extract
[c’alʼá·kstin]
Suspension rattle of the Native Americans of the Columbia Plateau. It is called čtʼewá by the Interior Salish and c’alʼá·kstin by the Sahaptin. Approximately 20 to 50 deer dewclaws, each about 3.5 cm long, are strung together on a buckskin thong 30 to 40 cm long. One or more lengths are wrapped around the ankles (or nowadays the knees) to accentuate ceremonial dancing, or fastened to a wooden staff or cane as used in the Medicine (or Winter) Dance, the oldest ceremony practiced today in the region. Among Sahaptin-speaking groups the ...
