Guatemalan Display

THE DARTMOUTH COLLEGE Museum on October 14 placed on display a large and colorful collection of native Indian handiwork assembled for it in Guatemala this summer by Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Tozier of Winchester, Mass. Textiles form the larger part of the collection, which is deemed of great importance because of the rapidity with which native work is being replaced by machine production for the tourist trade.

Dr. and Mrs. Tozier spent six weeks in Guatemala this summer as representatives of the Dartmouth Museum, traveling some 1500 miles by car, foot and horseback to reach the innermost tribes of the country. The hundreds of items which they were able to collect include not only textiles but also carvings, masks and robes used for religious dances, pottery, musical instruments, jewelry, and implements of everyday life.

A striking feature of the display is evidence of the way in which the Guatemalan Indians have carried on the traditions and symbols of the ancient Mayan civilization, adapting these as well as newer Spanish symbols to their own tribal beliefs. In this respect the Tozier Collection admirably complements the rare collection of Central American artifacts presented to the Dartmouth Museum a few years ago by Mrs. Victor M. Cutter, wife of the Dartmouth trustee.

Among the most valuable textile items in the collection are the brightly woven garments of the various Indian tribes, each made strictly in accordance to the traditional style and colors of the tribe represented. In addition to the garments themselves, several purchased from the Indians who were wearing them, a collection of Guatemalan dolls displays the various tribal costumes.

Especially interesting in the Tozier Collection are the elaborately gaudy costumes and carved wooden masks used in the Indians' religious dances. Most of the masks depict the faces of Spanish conquerors, who suppressed some of the pagan dances and adapted others to their own traditions.

The Tozier Collection was displayed at the College Museum for several weeks. Dr. Tozier will come to Hanover in November to lecture on his expedition experiences and at that time will show the color movies which he made of Indian life in Guatemala. A remarkably fine collection of slides in natural color was also made by Dr. Tozier as part of his expedition for Dartmouth.