Photograph by Addison Doty. Copyright 2009 School for Advanced Research.
Dress | Eha yadonanne
Date: 1870-1880
Artist or Maker: Unknown
Dimensions:
111 × 145 cm (43 11/16 × 57 1/16 in.)
Medium: wool | dyes
Credit Line: Gift of Amelia Elizabeth White, 1963.
Place Made:
Zuni Pueblo, McKinley County, New Mexico, Southwest, United States, North America
Object Number: IAF.T623
Not on view
Tribal Collection Review RemarksJim Enote and Octavius Seowtewa during collection review visit June 10 and 11, 2009 (Events Record “Collection Review: Zuni Tribe, Review 2”): This is a ceremonial textile that was used as a dress. It is a type of textile used in many pueblos, not just Zuni. When made into a dress, the Zuni word for it is yadonanne. It is folded in half and stitched together at the edges using red wool yarn (see detail photo for this piece). Not many people at Zuni still know how to do this stitch, which is a type of chain stitch called dolounna in Zuni. (There are several variations of this stitch, but the word dolounna refers specifically to these stitches used for sewing a manta into a dress, and not to any other type of stitch.) It is worn so that the stitch at the top sits on the wearer’s left shoulder, while the corners of the piece fall open over the left shoulder. When it is not stitched together, it can be used as a shawl or blanket, called ba’inne. The word Zuni word eha means black in English. So, in the case of this piece, it would be called eha yadonanne, because it is a black dress. In order to dye this textile a stable black, it would have first been dyed red, using dye made from the berries of a holly-like bush. It would then have been dyed using a dye made from the outer skins of wild black walnuts (found near Springerville, AZ). If it were just dyed with the black walnut skin dye, and not with the red dye first, it would have faded to gray when washed.
In the past, this type of textile was worn as a shawl at specific times of the year. It could also be worn as a dress for everyday wear and also during ceremonies. In the contemporary context, this type of textile is no longer worn as everyday clothing and it is mostly used at ceremonial events. It is also worn during social events such as parades, Zuni dances at school, and at inaugurations.
In Collection(s)
Bibliography:
The Indian Arts Research Center, in collaboration with Native American community scholars, strives to present accurate collections records. Records may be updated as new information becomes available and is reviewed with the Native American community having cultural affinity to particular items. Please write to iarc@sarsf.org if you have questions or concerns related to the documentation.