One of the oldest art forms of the Algonquian peoples ( Original Natives of North America ), Birch Bark Biting is a method of making intricate designs on paper-thin birch bark ..... only by biting !!!
It was an art tradition practised exclusively by women , who used the designs created as blueprints/ design-sheets for bead work and (porcupine) quill embroidery on larger utility goods .
As the birchbark sheet is folded in four or six , before biting , the unfolded design is always symmetrical . And unique - no two pieces can be exactly alike. Like snowflakes.
Only the eyeteeth ( canines) were used for the incising . By applying pressure of varying intensities while biting , the markings made were either superficial or cut through to produce lace-like loveliness .
One small piece from 1900 , of Ojibwa tribe , is exhibited in Portland Art Museum , where I saw this amazing , ancient Craft .
The tough , flexible , waterproof bark of the Birch tree was of great importance to the Original Natives , who used it widely in making containers and bags , canoes , pictographic scrolls , shoe - uppers , teepee (tent) coverings etc.
Birch Bark Biting , as an household art, died out like many other traditions of the Natives, as they got " assimilated " with the culture of the white immigrants . Due to the fragile nature of the pieces , very few from " pre-contact" days survive .
Apparently, the vanished art has been revived in recent times by a few descendents trying to reconnect with their tribal identity .
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