My crafty sister sent out a picture a while back with my new niece in a moss bag. The moss bag was a gift to my sister, after the birth of her third daughter. I was made by the mother of one of my sister's friends. Doesn't my wee niece look cozy?
This piqued my interest. I decided to do a bit of internet research to find out more about this First Nation handicraft. This is what I found out:
The moss bag was used as a child-rearing device by most North American indigenous societies. A moss bag was made of hide and filled with dry moss, cattail down and sometimes buffalo chips were added. Babies were wrapped in a moss bag and the soiled moss was emptied and replaced when needed. The moss bag was tied to a cradle board and the mother would tie the cradle board to her back and go about her work, or she could lean the board against something.
The moss bag also played an important spiritual aspect in the Metis and First Nations culture with the mother being the symbol of creation and the child being the symbol of spirit. It is believed that due to the restrictive function of the moss bag that the children developed a natural disciplined and secure character.
What a beautiful gift.
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