Native Boats, Indigenous Languages

November is officially Native American Heritage Month - so I'll be including a few postings throughout the month to honor this.

The National Museum of the American Indian (NMAI) employs "American" in the broadest sense, encompassing in its scope diverse indigenous cultures across the Americas. Prominently displayed on the entrance level are 3 boats representing different cultures: a Hawaiian boat, an Inuit kayak, and a reed canoe constructed by Aymara people (see this website and gallery for more). Above, descriptions of the boats in the Inuit language (which uses a syllabary) and the Hawaiian language (which uses Roman letters). [Click the image to see a larger version.]

Note the use of the backwards apostrophe [ʻ] in the word Hawaiʻi. This punctuation mark, called the ʻokina, represents the glottal stop, a sound that does not exist in English.

The description of the reed canoe is written in Aymara, an indigenous (and co-official) language of Bolivia and Peru.

The English translations of these texts are written on the reverse of these signs - sorry I didn't include them here!

Disorienting Braille Maps

Braille maps feature prominently in "America on the Move," an ongoing exhibition at the National Museum of American History). This map depicting streetcar paths in DC circa 1900 provides inscriptions in raised letters along with Braille dots. You can also use your fingers to trace the contours of the city and discern the routes streetcars could take as they moved people about the city. Note the standard map orientation here, with north as as "up."

This map depicting harbor travel in New York City in the 1920s is a little more complicated. It includes inscriptions and Braille dots on either side of the map, so that side that is "up" is not based on absolute cardinal directions - instead, what is "up" depends on how you are positioned in relation to the map.

(For related posts, click the "Braille" tag below or on the right hand side of this page.)

The Language of Flags (Star-Spangled Banners)

The huge, tattered flag that inspired the lyrics of "The Star Spangled Banner" (the US National Anthem) is indeed a "star attraction" at the National Museum of American History (the screenshot above is a detail from a page on the online "Star Spangled Banner" exhibition). The huge flag on display was flown over Fort McHenry and survived the War of 1812, and it bears 15 stars and 15 stripes - representing the 13 original colonies, plus the 2 additional states (Kentucky and Vermont) that had joined the Union by that time. (The original plan was to keep adding 1 star and stripe for each new state that was admitted, but at some point this became too unwieldy and the number of stripes was "fixed" at 13.)

This website (as of September 2010) indicates that there's a Spanish translation of the anthem lyrics on display alongside the flag. (Note that this is NOT the same as the Spanish version that made the news back in 2006 - listen to the story here.)

Another intriguing version of the US flag in the NMAH is this Civil War era banner: the regimental colors of the 84th Infantry, 1866. This regiment was formed from the Corps d'Afrique of Louisiana, comprising of free black soldiers who fought for the Union. Note the French-derived place names on the red stripes (you can read more about this flag here and here). Interestingly, the writing in this flag is "backwards" - it reads left to right with the blue part (canton) on the right. As I understand it, the flag is typically flown facing the other direction (with canton on left).

A more stylized version of the "backwards" flag can be seen on this sign outside Newseum during Obama's inauguration in January 2009. (The number refers to Obama as the 44th President of the US.)

These versions of the US flag were displayed on the east façade of the Capitol when Obama was inaugurated in January 2009. The flags on the outside are the original stars and stripes (13 stars in a ring). The flag in the center is the current flag (50 stars). The other flags have 21 stars: this what the US flag looked like just after Illinois (Obama's home state) entered the Union in 1818.

As is the case with other flags, the "Star-Spangled Banner" is sometimes modified in order to make a political message. See, for instance, the protest flags here and here.

Dégustation de Tripes

More from Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian (NMAH), November 2009. Vintage French restaurant signs like these (exotic and quirky to American audiences at the time) were used as props for Julia Child's TV show. For more on tripe in French cuisine, try searching Larousse Gastronomique online.

Bon Appétit!

Anyone practicing the art of French cooking this Thanksgiving? Here's Julia Child's diploma from Le Cordon Bleu. The French text seems to reflect her status as the only woman in her graduating class: M. (for "Monsieur") is replaced by "Mrs." The reading "M. Mrs." is an unexpected quirk - it seems to me that the calligrapher could have simply added two more letters to make M. (Monsieur) into Mme. (Madame) or Mrs.

For more on Julia Child's kitchen at the Smithsonian, see the National Museum of American History website.

P.S. Mrs. Julia Child was not the first female graduate of Le Cordon Bleu; that honor actually goes to English chef Dione Lucas.

Berlin Wall, 20 Years Later

Pieces of the Berlin Wall, NMAH, November 2009. The Berlin Wall fell on November 9, 1989. A few remnants of the wall now are scattered around DC. This NMAH display houses a few original fragments of the Berlin Wall within a concrete "replica" segment that bears the German word "Freiheit" (Freedom) as well as the English words "Torn Apart."

P.S. Large segments of the original Berlin Wall and a guard tower are on permanent display in the Newseum (see this online exhibit for more). DC is commemorating the Eastern Bloc revolutions of 1989 in a variety of ways; see my subsequent posts (here and here).

Live Long and Prosper!

Philadelphia's South 7th Street synagogue was full of Trekkies. Torah ark, late 18th-early 19th century. National Museum of American History.

A piece of artwork at the Supreme Court offers another take on the ten commandments.

P.S. I've been informed that the "Vulcan" salute actually has Jewish origins; Leonard Nimoy (who portrayed Captain Spock) adapted the ברכת כהנים (birkat kohanim), a blessing used in certain services.