DISCUSSION OF A SYMBOL

A resident of Ajo, a short time ago, took the highway department to task for the swastika insignia used as part of the highway department emblem. Others have accused us of appropriating the use of the German been censured in other ways. Herr Hitler certainly isn't trying to win friends or influence people, if we can judge by those remarks directed to the Arizona highway department in recent months in connection with the department's emblem. To settle the matter once and for all, we have called upon Odd S. Halseth, Phoenix city archaeologist, to explain the history and the meaning of the symbol. We present Mr. Halseth:

By Odd S. Halseth

SINCE the recent adoption by the Nazi of a symbol which is variably known as SWASTIKA, GAMMADION, or FYLFOT its use has become odious to some people while others spend a lot of time and energy arguing its "proper" American use. The fact remains that the sign is no more, and no less, Nazi than it is American, Greek, British, Italian, Scandinavian, African, Asiatic, European, Christian, Buddhist, or heathen. It is a universally used symbol and decorative figure dating back to the dawn of aesthetic consciousness.

Its common name-Swastika-comes from the Sankrist Su, meaning "well" and Asti, meaning "being"; hence its association with "Good Luck." It was once used as such a symbol by a group of Tibetan nationals. In antiquity the sign has been found recorded variously on neolithic stone implements in Europe, Asia, Africa, and America; on tombs near ancient Troy dating back some 3000 years; on ancient heraldic items; and on early church vestments.

In prehistoric America the Swastika sign was known from Alaska to Patagonia and its use has continued both as a symbol of religious meaning and as a simple decorative figure. In the southwest it is found among most Indian tribes. The Navajo Indians use the form in ceremonial sand paintings, as well as in ornamental decoration of blankets and silverware. The Pima and Yavapai use the form in basket designs, and until recently it was a common figure on Maricopa pottery. Now the traders are asking the potters to discontinue its use because the buying public voice objections to a "German" symbol on an article of American manufacture.

As to the origin of this sign and whether its first use was symbolic or purely decorative are philosophical questions. Technically the form is an elaboration of a cross which in itself is asto be a legitimate symbol. In that case the figure itself will become standardized and in case of the Swastika the arms will rotate in either one or the other direction.

Taken as a decorative element only, the rotation of the arms in the Swastika sign probably would depend on several factors, such as nature of the space to be decorated, the working position of the artist, and whether the artist was right -or left-handed. If the natural tendency of a right-handed person is to draw the extensions of the cross to the right, it is equally natural that a left-handed person should draw them both to the left. This would apply to drawing or painting as well as pecking with stone tools. In weaving, particularly in basketry, technique must also be considered. In most Pima baskets the arms extend to the left, but the design itself has no known symbolic meaning connected with the etymology of the word Swastika. If the Pimas are questioned on this point they might offer the suggestion that the figure is a water sign. They need water.

Other tribes using the sign may offer other explanations and one may even get more than one explanation withinone tribe or social group. This suggests that the symbolism of the Swastika sign is not as common as its decorative use, or that if it had a general symbolic meaning among all tribes that meaning has been lost traditionally.

In making present day investigations among the Indians it must be remembered that these people have been subjected to our teachings and ideas for several centuries and that much information they give out as original with them has been suggested to them by white people. We also to a large extent still suffer from the teachings of an old school of ethnologists who firmly believed that whatever the Indians did had a symbolie meaning. Indians made and still make the Swastika sign with the arms extending in both directions, as illustrated by the photograph of a Navajo saddle blanket in the writer's possession. This blanket is older than the Nazi government.

The question as to which is the correct use of the Swastika figure should be reduced to the consideration of the motivating thought behind it. Whether it is rightor left-handed its use becomes proper and its form correct whenever a group decides to adopt it as a symbol, emblem, or marker.