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Cultural Context

shelter; transportation; domestic

Description

Small, rectangular mat made from cat-tail reeds woven together with cotton twine. Cat-tail leaves are arranged in horizontal rows, which have been creased before they were woven together. Mat is doubled for thickness.

History Of Use

This mat was reportedly used as a canoe mat. Mats of cattails or tule reed stems were produced by Salish groups. Homer Barnett notes that cat-tail was "an all-purpose fabric and turned the rain very well. In summer, long mats covered the framework of temporary dwellings. In winter, they padded the walls of the plank houses. At all times they were used to sit, to eat, and to sleep on, and as coverings and paddings of various kinds (1955:122). Sizes varied depending on the purpose, and most families would possess a range of sizes.

Specific Techniques

The leaves used for making cat-tail mats are gathered in the summer, cut to even lengths, dried in the sun on the beach, and then stored until needed. The leaves were layed out side by side, alternating the tops and bottoms, and threaded at 10 cm intervals (See Turner, 1979, p150). The cat-tail mats were then sewn together by passing a long hardwood needle through a series of stems, then crimping the stems over the needle with a coarse wooden creaser to prevent splitting, before drawing the thread through. (By contrast, tule mats are twined together with cordage).