Pipes for the natives typically evoke images of “peace pipes” with long, decorated, stems and a small bowl at the end. But not all tribes used that style of pipe. This example is a traditional pipe, carved in soapstone by David Big Bear. The pipe here is a fetish pipe of a turtle.
This style of pipe does not require a stem, where symbols, colors, feathers, furs, hair, and other spiritual items would be adorned. Instead, the focus is concentrated on the carving of the animal. The bowl is the inside of the mouth, and the mouth piece is the tip of the tail. Turtle is considered to be one of the Great Healing Animals. In some tribes,such as the Lenni Lenape (Delaware) , Turtle is also believed to have created the world.
For more information about native fetish work click here or type in “fetish” into the search bar in the top right of our page.
