Fetish-Badger TB02b

This travel bug has the modest goal to circulate more than five years and to be moved by at least 25 cachers.  As of 24-Oct-19 it had survived for 3.0 years and had been moved by 22 cachers.

Please drop it in rural OR Pre0ium Member Only caches.  Do not place it in an urban cache or abandon it at a caching event where there is no security.  Transport the bug in the original plastic bag for as long as the bag lasts; the bag keeps the trackable clean, protects the number and prevents tangling with other items.  Otherwise, take the travel bug anywhere you wish.  No permission is needed to leave the U.S.

Travel bug photos are appreciated and will be re-posted here.

I have a small collection of animal fetish carvings. This is one of a series of travel bugs showing some of my favorite pieces. Fetishes are an animals or figures carved from natural materials-- stone, minerals, gems, shell, antler, wood, amber, coral, fossil ivory and probably many more. Most of mine are quite small, less than two inches in height or length. Most of my collection is from Zuni artisans (New Mexico), but I also have items from carvers in other western states, including Alaska. The original fetishes were probably some items that just resembled something, a bird maybe, and mystical powers were often ascribed to it. Using primitive tools the distinguishing features were often embellished.

Over centuries there became specialists in fetish carving and it eventually grew into an art form. Leekya Deyuse (a Zuni), made jewelry and fetishes in the 1920s and some of his fetish necklaces are now valued at more than $20,000. However, the average cost per piece in my collection is probably around $65. While many still believe in the power of fetishes, in the present time most them are for sale to tourists and collectors. If you doubt this, just go to the shops in Zuni (and elsewhere) and note the mass production using grinding wheels, belt sanders and Dremel tools. 

According to Zuni tradition, the guardian animals of the six directions are intrinsically involved in the kiva rites--the badger is the guardian of the south.   The characteristics of the fetish animals and their possible usefulness for the owner are the basis of their selection.  Aggressiveness is the trait associated with this animal.