A Nutcracker

 

‘🎶 🎵Chestnuts roasting on an open fire 🎵 🎶’

I just read an article where the woman was saying how her kids didn’t know that nuts came in a shell.

What?

We always had a bowl of mixed nuts in the shell, with picks and nutcrackers at the ready, every holiday season. I remember my grandfather cracking open the ‘acorns’ for me to eat. Okay, they were hazelnuts, but I thought they were acorns!

Other times Dad would crack a walnut open so carefully the shell remained in 2 perfect halves.

Those were treasures you could make into something special..tiny fairy baby beds; bowls for Barbie and Ken to eat from; or decorations on a sand castle.

Fairy Gardens

It got me to thinking.

Do modern kids even know what a nutcracker is for? Is a nutcracker just an ugly soldier with a big head that dances around in tights and imaginary sword fights with giant mice on a stage?

That’s assuming any of them have been to a ballet.

Maria Doval Ballet

Is The Nutcracker Ballet where nutcrackers came from?

Hmmm…sounds like an interesting blog to me!

Let’s get cracking and find out!

(Okay, enough puns.) 

Nutcracker Ensemble, LEGO ideas

Nutcrackers are for, well, to crack nuts! Nuts have been a staple food for aeons. They are eaten raw, or ground into a nut flour to use. At some point in history someone became tired of picking out shell bits from a nut cracked open with a rock. 

Courtesy Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

The earliest nutcracker found is made from metal and dates back to the 4th century BCE.

Yeah, BCE (before 33 AD, which is when Jesus Christ died.) You can see this nutcracker in a museum in Tarant, Italy!

Courtesy Leavenworth Nutcracker Museum

This is a Roman bronze nutcracker from somewhere between 200 BCE and 200 AD. It was discovered in 1960.

Earlier nutcrackers did not survive the elements and time. A few nutcrackers have been found made from more fragile materials such as ivory and bone, but these are very rare. Nutcrackers were meant to be functional.

Victorian nutcrackers with plain handles; kentishcobnuts.com

Then German artisans began to be creative. In the 17th century woodcarvers began to make their nutcrackers more decorative. Carved wood animal and people nutcrackers were being  produced, by hand.

German folklore taught that nutcrackers were symbols of good luck to your family and protection for your home.

Folk art Father Christmas; One Kings Lane

I’m guessing a Nutcracker artisan started that folklore! Good way to get more business.

LEGO Irish nutcracker

In 1816 E.T.A. Hoffman wrote a dark fairytale that had been passed around for some time. He was just the first to write and publish 

“The Nutcracker and the Mouse King”.

 The original fairytale has some pretty dark elements to it, like so many of the folktales were. (Ever read the Brothers’ Grimm ‘Cinderella’?)  Until Alexandre Dumas.

For sale on Etsy

In 1844 Alexandre Dumas adapted the story of the Nutcracker, taking out some of the darker themes, and it was printed. It was received with mild attention. That is, until 1892 and musical composer P. Tchaikovsky enters the story. Tchaikovsky adapted the lighter version of The Nutcracker by Dumas, and turned it into a ballet.

Festival Ballet Company

The classical 2-act ballet premier was 1892 in St. Petersburg, Russia. It became popular - in Russia.

Twenty years earlier Wilhelm Fuchtner from Germany had begun mass producing nutcrackers with his lathe design. With higher production, nutcrackers became a favorite toy. The utilitarian was replaced with fanciful and decorative styles. This was much more appealing to the masses.

Decorative soldiers became all the rage. The first decorative soldier nutcrackers can actually be traced to the Ore Mountains (Erzebirge, Germany). After the ballet came out, international audiences became interested in these ‘soldier’ nutcrackers.

Mackenzie-Childs; Pinterest 

A couple things happened next. In 1944 the San Francisco Ballet Company, USA, put on a production of The Nutcracker. It became wildly popular.

San Francisco Ballet Company production of The Nutcracker

Then soldiers started returning home from World War II, bringing souvenirs with them. Nutcrackers from German Christmas markets were very popular souvenirs and not really seen in the USA.

Whitechristmaswreaths

The Nutcracker was on his way to becoming a permanent part of Christmas celebrations and decor.

Temu-Egypt

New York City, New York

1954

Famous ballet choreographer George Balanchine put on a production of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker.

This sealed the deal, so to speak.

Pinterest

Since then The Nutcracker ballet, musical score and numerous variations of nutcrackers have remained immensely  popular at Christmas.

Neiman Marcus

You can find just about any nutcracker-themed item, in numerous sizes and styles. Here are just a few:

Merry Collectibles ornament, Etsy

Home Depot pillow

Teapot, Dunn Deals

Beaded earrings, Etsy

Butter knives, A Taste of Kentucky

Let’s play a little bit and have some fun with nutcrackers next.

Here are 2 ways to draw a nutcracker-

Art Projects for Kids

Here are a couple of graph patterns you can use for perler beads, beads, embroidery - whatever you can think of!

Pinterest

DIY Candy

Here are a couple of puppets you can print, color and cut out. You could put on your own version of The Nutcracker ballet!

Pinterest

MOMMYMADETHAT.com

Let’s close with a couple coloring pages. You should take a photo and put it in ‘comments’ so I can share with everyone!

ColoringPagesForKiddos.com

That’s it for today! 

‘Til next time,

inkspired

A few of the websites I checked out to write this blog, in no particular order:

Pinterest

whyChristmas.com

Christmasgals.com

Britannica.com

Nutcracker.com

Usghostadventures.com

Wikipedia

nutcrackermuseum.com

kentishcobnuts.com

The Pawnee of North America

Nawah

(Friendly greeting in Pawnee)

The Native American tribe of the Pawnee (Chatiks si chatiks- literally ‘Men of men’)

was originally from the Great Plains area of what is now Nebraska and Kansas, United States of America, North America.

It is now called 

Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma.

Pawnee man, probably circa 1868

The Pawnee were once one of the largest tribes of North America. Archaeological sites date them to about 1250 CE; living in the same area for almost 700 years.

Pawnee women 1868 photo cred: William Henry Jackson

To put that in perspective, The Crusades
were winding down in Europe. A new middle class of merchants and shopkeepers was developing between the nobles and the serfs. England’s Hundred Years’ War was starting. The Holy Roman Empire was rapidly falling into chaos and infighting after a period of political power.

Dramatization of The Crusaders’ war

Across the world, the Pawnee lived in packed earth lodges, settling close to rivers. The door always faced East towards the rising sun. Each lodge housed 30-50 people, all related families of 10-15 households. A settlement might have 300-500 people living in it. 

When a young man married, he went to live with his wife’s family. They were considered a matriarchal society, meaning they followed the mother’s bloodline (in the US traditionally we follow the father’s bloodline).

Pawnee family 

Pawnee man

A Pawnee man would shave his head, leaving what is called a scalp lock - a strip of long hair along the very top of the head, from forehead to back of the head. This was often adorned with a porcupine decoration on top, called a roach.

Pawnee man, 1868

Lewis and Clark, on their expedition of 1804, recorded meeting Pawnee along the way.

William Fulton Soare (1896-1940)

Cover Art for BOYS’ Life Magazine, Sept 1934

The early 18th century saw Pawnee populations around 60,000.

Then other tribes began to move into their territory. The Dakota, Lakota, Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes started pushing the Pawnee around.

White Eurasians were ever expanding their explorations and settlements. With them came infectious diseases the Pawnee had never been exposed to, such as small pox, measles and cholera. Between those two events the Pawnee numbered 4,000 in 1860.

By 1873 there were only 2,400 left.

Ruling His Son, Pawnee Indian Scout, died 1928 at 102 years old.

The US government forced the Pawnee off their tribal lands and relocated them to poor areas of Oklahoma. Many warriors enlisted with the US army as Indian scouts to help track their traditional enemies - the Lakota, Dakota and Cheyenne. They also had frequently fought with the Apache, Kiowa and Sioux.

Pawnee scouts

When the re-location happened no consideration was given to these Indian scouts and they were forced to move to Oklahoma also.

As-Sau-Taw-Ka (White Horse), scout, 1868

Later several Pawnee men joined Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show.

Pawnee men with Buffalo Bill

The Pawnee were both farmers and hunters. They excelled at farming crops of corn, beans and squash. The women were in charge of the crops, dividing resources and trade, and inter-lodge social matters. The older women looked after the children. 

Prairie Chicken aka Ta Tow Ou do Sa; 1868

The men were hunters, and made war decisions, along with health and spiritual decisions.

Knife Chief, Pawnee Chief and Buffalo Bill’s Wild West show actor

Pawnees were considered spiritual, and put great emphasis on their sacred bundles. These bundles were considered a source of power and good fortune, and were passed down as an inheritance from father to son through generations. A sacred bundle might contain things like feathers, stones, animal hides or a sacred ear of corn. Each item had a spiritual and symbolic meaning. The great bundles were considered ‘alive’ with supernatural powers. Thus, they were not to be seen or used other than certain ceremonies. However an individual could have a lesser bundle of more personal sacred items that he would carry with him.

World History Encyclopedia 

The Pawnees were divided into two groups - the Skidi/Skiri Federation and the South Bands. The Skidi had the larger population, but the South Bands were the political leaders. 

Skidi Pawnee Dog Chief, son of Crooked Hand; US scout 1868-1876; Smithsonian

There was one Skidi village that practiced human sacrifice occasionally in a reenactment of the creation of the Pawnee people, and giving fertility to the land. A young girl would be kidnapped from a neighboring enemy tribe and sacrificed with her blood being an offering to the land for continued life on the plains - both crops and buffalo. This was an extreme version of the Pawnee cosmic beliefs in the Morning Star and the Evening Star, made by the creator deity Tirawa. The last known sacrifice was in 1838. 

Man Chief aka Chief Petalashara 1858-1859

Chief Petalashara was instrumental in helping to abolish this practice, along with pressure from missionaries, settlers, and a growing discontent with the current affairs of the tribe and old spiritual practices.

A yearly event for the Pawnee was Buffalo hunting. After Europeans brought horses to the Americas in the 1700s the tribes were able to greatly expand their hunting territories. In summer/winter hunting seasons they might travel as much as 500 miles per season. 

Part of their travel included dogs pulling travois.

Dog travois, unknown Plains tribe

A travois is a kind of sled, with 2 long poles and a sling in between. Both dogs and horses were used to pull the travois.

Dog travois

promotional card from the National Biscuit Company, 1949-1952

The Pawnee were known for their artistry in pottery making, basketry and hide paintings. Traditionally the artists were men. The hide paintings depicted scenes of daily life and war wins; and commonly buffalo and elk.

Donaldellisgallery.com

Pawnee pottery; All Things Native American; Pinterest 

Shawnee pottery; History.Nebraska.gov

Where are the Pawnee today? There are about 3,200 registered Pawnee (2020 census) with a minimum of 1/8th pure Pawnee blood required. Nearly all of them live in Oklahoma still today, after being forcibly moved there in 1876. Most live in or around the city of Pawnee, OK, where the tribal headquarters are located.
Here are a couple of jointed puppets you can print, color and cut out, then assemble. What would make them look more authentic?

Found on Pinterest

The Pawnee Nation of Oklahoma owns tribal lands, gas stations, a truck stop, 2 casinos, smoke shops and various other businesses. These bring in revenue to support programs such as education, welfare and a new Behavioral Health Center.

From being one of the largest North American tribes, to being nearly wiped out; from thriving villages to poor living conditions far from their tribal lands; from  the children being prevented from speaking their own language and moved to Indian ‘schools’ far from home - the Pawnee Nation has proved to be resilient, courageous, and resourceful.

I have enjoyed learning about them. I hope you have too!

‘Til next time,

Inkspired

A few sites I visited to research this blog,

in no particular order:

Indians.org

Castle.eu.edu

Wikipedia.org

welcomenativespirit.com

Pawneenation.org

BigOrrin.org

Worldhistory.org

Pinterest