Note 16 — THE HOOP.
Reading edition
In the Report of the Peabody Museum (Vol. III, p. 286) is a description by Miss Fletcher of some ceremonies in which the hoop and the mirror played a part. “The neophyte held one, having a circular mirror, fastened by four cords, from which he cast a reflection of the sun from time to time upon the ground, or held up the hoop, and flashed the mirror.” The explanation given by this author of the significance of the mirror in these ceremonies differs from that secured by the writer; but Miss Fletcher’s account seems to refer to a form of ceremony pertaining to the elk rites not mentioned in his notes.