Peace Pipe

The Catawba peace pipe is most likely a remnant of the Mississippian Period. No other Indian potters make such a vessel unless they learned the form recently. The peace pipe commonly has four stems oriented in the four cardinal directions. Thus, the peace pipe is the Sacred Fire in miniature. If one looks down on the vessel, it is easy to see that the stems represent the four logs that feed the Sacred Fire. The smoldering tobacco placed in the peace pipe bowl becomes the Sacred Fire. The peace pipe is truly a wonderful symbol of peace and was used as such in the making of peace treaties.
The Catawba peace pipe was probably last smoked ritualistically at Albany, New York, in 1751 when the Catawba and the Six Nations of the Iroquois made a solemn peace to end a war which had become genocidal for the Catawba.
It is odd that the Catawba potters continue to make this curious peace pipe. It is difficult to make, for the four stems must face the four cardinal directions. Indeed, the Catawba lavish some of their best work on the peace pipe. If it is incised, the marks most often represent the Sacred Circle, but this may only be realized by observing a peace pipe from the top, not the side. Today the peace pipe is often given to high government officials as an object of respect. It is unthinkable for a Governor of South Carolina to visit the reservation and not receive a peace pipe.

Written by
Tom Blumer