The Native-American Peace Pipe (or Pipe of Peace). Two Terms Often Used as Symbol, Idiom, and Metaphor: Difference between revisions

What is a peace pipe? When asked this question, some may conjure mental images of Indigenous people from cartoons, old Western movies, and books about who smoked these pipes with European settlers to seal a treaty. However, many of these depictions are fraught with inaccuracies and stereotypes. Fundamentally, as Edward P. Morris (''On Principles and Methods in Latin Syntax'') explains: “The general meaning of the word ''pipe'' is very simple, and its range of application is wide, but it has many special meanings which belong to it only in certain connections.” This is especially true for the stereotypical phrase peace pipe.”

Incidentally, there are at least two analogous events. “The ‘Pipe of Peace’ undoubtedly has the same significance as the ‘Communal Feast’ among the Arabs and other races” (A. A. Brill, “Tobacco and the Individual,” in ''The International Journal of Psycho-Analysis'', Volume III, 1922). And a different interpretation on the Continent. “When in Europe a person presents his snuff-box to the friend who sits beside him, the act has precisely the same meaning as when the pipe of peace goes round in the wigwam of the savage” (Johann Georg Kohl, Travels in Ireland, 1844).

[[File:PeacePipe-2-politics-aberdeen-peace pipe-pipe of peace-russians-french-csl1837 low.jpg|thumb|This cartoon of Lord Aberdeen appeared in ''Mr. Punch’s History of Modern England'' (1921).]][[File:PeacePipe-3gettyimages-530859114-612x612.jpg|thumb|left|Courtesy, gettyImages.com]]As you might expect, the interpretations are many and varied. This cartoon of Lord Aberdeen appeared in ''Mr. Punch’s History of Modern England'' (1921). (see at right)

[[File:LHSSterncrest10.jpg|thumb|center|Courtesy, Doug Valitchka and pipedia.org]]

[[File:PeacePipe-112502-42924-NC-02-Native-American-Style-Leather-Peace-Pipe 46391.jpg|thumb|This new-age peace pipe of deer antler certainly does not resemble the format and style of any early peace pipes on record. Courtesy, alltribes.com]]

[[File:PeacePipe-18-81HFuBXQhlL. SL1500 1024x1024.webp|thumb|center|400px|Courtesy, mrbrog.com]]

Now to the substance of this essay. I hope that what follows is enlightening, entertaining, and educational. You might even be surprised. Its scope is a salmagundi of odds and ends, but what is common throughout are the many references to peace pipe/pipe of peace that have been used to identify different things, places, and activities. Some have taken liberties with these words for brand imagery. Both terms have become figures of speech and used in surprising ways; I include lots of assorted and unexpected things named peace pipe and pipe of peace.  

The columnist Chris Holguin posted “Americans need to stop abusing the peace pipe” (''The Bowdoin Orient'', September 23, 2016). His dispute was with the U.S. Government. My dispute is with these two words. This October 2013 quotation is attributed to the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. When he was asked: “Had you already arrived at originalism as a philosophy?” Part of his answer was: “Words have meaning. And their meaning doesn’t change.” Many words have changed as have meanings through time … and many words have more than one meaning, interpretation or connotation. The pipe of peace and the peace pipe are polysemous expressions, i.e., both have several meanings, both are culturally-sensitive words. The pipe, as a symbol, has been manipulated and used in different ways for different purposes in different contexts. I want to chronicle all the ways that these two terms, once attributed to a sacred object, have been appropriated and colloquialized—occasionally trivialized—and have become secular, materialistic, or mundane in the non-religious sense of the sacred and the profane. Wherever found and however applied, some of what follows befits Ripley’s column, Believe It or Not. Shakespeare’s Juliet asked: “What’s in a name?” You’re about to find out.

The anonymously-composed “Song of Big Ben,” published in the March 15, 1877 issue of Truth, contains these lines: “There the braves unite to ponder,\On the present and the future;\There they smoke the pipe, Meer-sham-ah,\Smoke the pipe of peace, Meer-sham-ah;… ''The Peace Pipe. Cantata for Mixed Voices'' (1915) is Frederick S. Converse’s chorale with mixed voices and a baritone solo for Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s words from “The Song of Hiawatha” that he had written in 1855; Part I is “The Peace-Pipe.” “Pass That Peace Pipe” was a 1947 Oscar-nominated song. “Smoke My Peace Pipe (Smoke It Right)” by the Wild Magnolias was released in 1973. “Peace Pipe” by the B.T. Express debuted on Soul Train in 1975. If you are into Beatles music, you may have listened to the fourth, solo-studio album of Paul McCartney, “Pipes of Peace,” released in 1983, consisting of lyrics describing the Christmas Day Truce during World War One. Johnny J. Blair and the Rover Boys, “Pipe of Peace,” is a 1990 Chippewa Indian song. Cry of Love’s band’s hit-single, “Peace Pipe,” was released in 1993. In 2004, Cerulean City’s hit was “We Smoke ‘em Peace Pipe.” The artist Nickodemus released “Peace Pipe” in 2005 and, in the same year, there was Robert L. Hanson, “Song of the Peace Pipe.” In 2008, Aaron Ross/Shapeshifter song, “Pass the Peace Pipe,” was released. Emerson Windy song/video, “Peace Pipe,” was released in 2014. The New Orleans group, Tin Men, released “Smoke My Peace Pipe” in 2019. Street Slang’s song, “Peace Pipe,” and “Peace Pipe” from Bronx VI were both released in 2021. Peace Pipe Gypsy’s music is on Spotify. And in 2023, there’s “Peace Pipe-Peace Tape VIII” and “Peace Pipe by The Shadows. According to lyrics.com, there are 2,446 lyrics, 109 artists, and 49 albums matching pipe of peace.

Edward Vincent Heward, ''St.  Nicotine of the Peace Pipe'' (1909) is the only book solely and wholly about pipes and tobacco. Lous Seig, ''Tobacco, Peace Pipes, and Indians'' (1971) examines the many ceremonial uses of tobacco among the native peoples of North America. As to other books with the title peace pipe or pipe of peace, there are, literally, several shelf’s-worth by authors of both non-fiction and fiction who have chosen these words for the title for different reasons and for different subject matter. A book titled peace pipes could be about theater organs or bagpipes or, for example, Penn Rabb, ''Tomahawk and Peace Pipe'', the history of the 179th Infantry Regiment, 45th Infantry Division. Suffice to say, lots of books bear either title, from the first, Vitulus, ''A Light for the Pipe of Peace''. A Word to ''John Bull from One of His Calves'' (c. 1750) to the most recent, Patrick Dearan, ''Comanche Peace Pipe. The Old West Adventures of Fish Rawlings'' (2023). Two book titles intrigued me. Roz Weaver’s ''Smoke the Peace Pipe'' (2020) is a metaphor for coming to terms with her trauma. Steven Andree’s ''The Peace Pipe'' (2022) retells the history of the human race with integrated references to Chinese characters, Middle Eastern culture, the Garden of Eden, and biblical narratives. And, having mentioned biblical narratives, I add the title of Chapter 11 of Alexei Bodrov and Stephen M. Garrett (eds.), ''Theology and the Political. Theo-political Reflections on Contemporary Politics in Ecumenical Conversation'' (2021), “The Prince of Peace Smokes a Peace Pipe: A Church Response to the Challenge of Canada’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission.” The savior as smoker?   

“Not only that, but the kissing and making up after an argument can be a delicious way to remind both of you just how much you mean to each other. The Americans call this ‘peace pipe sex’ and it can help you reconnect emotionally when you find yourselves in two opposing camps” (Madeleine Lowe, ''Stop Kissing Frogs. How to Avoid Mr Wrong and Find Mr Right'', 2012). “Justine suspected that the puppy, a pug named Dartmouth, had been a kind of peace pipe, to be regarded as the end of the braces discussion” (Bill Cotter, ''The Parallel Apartments'', 2013).  “Peace is an oft used word with multiple meanings. It can affect various parts of one’s physical being. …One can have a piece of apple pie when thinking about how to make peace at their place of business. ..Instead of a peace pipe, how about a piece of chocolate layer cake or a hostess cupcake?” (Al Paulvin, ''The Ramblings of a Broken Heart'', 2020).

[[File:PeacePipe-20-Nassau1.JPG|thumb|left|Pipe of Peace, Nassau, Bahamas, Courtesy Facebook]][[File:PeacePipe-21-Nassau2.JPG|thumb|Courtesy, flemingsbond.com]]Pipe of Peace is a tobacco shop in Nassau, Bahamas. Quoting from Ian Fleming’s ''Thunderball'' (1961): “The girl gave a cheerful wave of a sunburned hand, raced up the street in second, and stopped in front of The Pipe of Peace, the Dunhills of Nassau.” It’s still in operation, and claims to have the largest selection of pipes in the world.  

Look at any map in detail and you’ll find addresses such as Peace Pipe Place, Peace Pipe Road, Peace Pipe Drive, Peace Pipe Bend, Peace Pipe Way, Peace Pipe Court, and Peace Pipe Lane. West Hammond, Illinois, founded in 1868, was renamed Calumet City in 1924, and there are 12 other places in the world named Calumet. In Rachel Field’s book of fiction, And Now Tomorrow (2022), Peace-Pipe is a mill in New England. Coreorgonel was an 18th-century Native-American Village in what is now Tompkins County, New York. Its translation is “Where we keep the pipe of peace.”

[[File:PeacePipe-22.JPG|thumb|]]This is a short list. If I am to believe radaris.com, the people-search engine, there is one person named Peace Pipe living in each of the following states: Indiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The Peace Pipe Players of Maquoketa, Iowa, is a media and entertainment company. The Peace Pipe Chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution is in Denver, Colorado. Concert organizers, Peace Pipe Productions, uses crossed calabashes as its logo.  

Pipe of Peace was a thoroughbred stallion born in Great Britain in 1954 and, in 2015, Peace Pipe was foaled in California.

“To signal engineers, the ‘pipes of peace’ are signal pipes painted with Dixon’s Silica-Graphite Paint. In peace of mind it is worth much to the man in the tower to know that the pipes under his operation are …”  (“Signal Pipes, Boston Terminal Station,” ''Graphite'', June 1913). In the late 1960s, there was a system called Peace Pipe that could pinpoint ground locations to within 25 yards with the aircraft as much as 50 miles from the drop zone. And I’m not surprised to find several, tasteless slang definitions of the phrase pass the peace pipe in the urban dictionary, most of which are not repeatable here.   

From a 1926 ad for Granger Rough Cut tobacco: “Granger makes a peace-pipe of a bucking briar. It is, in fact, a peace-pipe smoke.” Peace Pipe Smoking Blend is a mixture of nine relaxing herbs specially blended to provide a peaceful and pleasurable smoking experience, sold by Grandfather’s Spirit, Minneapolis, Minnesota.  

File:Peace Pipe - Short Sleeve - Website - Front 1800x1800.jpg|The graphic on this T-shirt probably appeals to Second Amendment-ers. Courtesy, pipehittersunion.com  

File:PipeOfPeace-Nassau-T.JPG|This T-shirt has a more appealing message. Courtesy, retrohio.myshopify.com

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There are many examples of the term used figuratively as an attention-grabbing headline. Words and context matter. I’ve included a few examples.

“The smoke in the peace pipe means many things. It may be the smoke given off by the fires of passion or the intoxicating scent of love itself. Most importantly it is the breath of words, spoken from the heart, seeking true understanding and union” (Teresa Moorey, ''The Fairy Bible'', 2008). ''The Deseret News'', August 2, 2009: “Obama’s modern peace pipe” was about his invitation to Henry Louis Gates and Police Sergeant James Crowley to share a beer at the White House. “Netflix Smokes a $50 Million Peace Pipe With the Satanic Temple” (nasdaq.com) was about the Satanic Temple’s lawsuit against the Netflix show, ''Chilling Adventures of Sabrina''. Best-selling author, Ta-Nehisi Coates used this metaphor: “I was peace pipes and treaties. My style was to talk and duck. It was an animal tactic, playing dead in hopes that the predators would move to an actual fight” (''The Beautiful Struggle'', 2009). “''It is David’s'' Heavenly Pastoral; ''a surpassing ode, which none of the daughters of music can excel. The clarion of war here gives place to the pipe of peace, and he who so lately bewailed the woes of the Shepherd tunefully rehearses the joys of the flock''” (Charles H. Spurgeon, “The Treasury of David,” romans45.org).).

I’ve saved this for last. Today, for some, tobacco smoke is inhaled. Centuries ago, smoke was inserted into another body orifice, the rectum. An early example of European use of this procedure was described in 1686 by Thomas Sydenham who, to cure iliac passion prescribed bleeding, followed by a tobacco-smoke enema. Physicians in Europe used it as treatment for a range of ailments, from colds to cholera. Intra-rectal insufflation was a resuscitation method for drowning victims in the 17th century.  

He was a longtime sufferer of bronchitis, and he patented and manufactured a pocket-size mentholinhaler and a large “Pipe of Peace,” steam inhaler using pine vapor to soothe the throat, c. 1909-1910. He claimed that it could relieve asthma, tinnitus, hay fever, and catarrh. It was also used to treat throat and chest problems such as bronchitis. Soothing vapours from water warmed with a few drops of “Dirigo,” made from Maxim’s own recipe, a mixture of liquid menthol and wintergreen oil, could be delivered right to the back of the throat via a long, swan-necked glass tube. After being criticized for applying his talents to quackery, he protested that “It will be seen that it is a very creditable thing to invent a killing machine, and nothing less than a disgrace to invent an apparatus to prevent human suffering.” Despite being an inventor his whole life, people found it hard to believe that this pipe would work. They accused Maxim of promoting fake medical practices. Eventually, word of its effectiveness spread, the inhaler became very popular and, by the early 1900s, hundreds of thousands had been sold.  

Writing about Maxim’s famous machine gun and his Pipe of Peace, in 2001, Stephanie Pain asked in “War and peace” (newscientist.com): “Had Maxim done with death and turned peacemaker?” “The words ‘Maxim’ and peace somehow don’t seem to go together.” And Paul Cornish asserted: “This [inhaler] was successfully marketed under a somewhat ironic appellation: ‘Sir Hiram Maxim’s Pipe of Peace’” (Machine Guns and The Great War, 2009).  

This pipe of peace is no peace pipe, but Maxim and the other man in this ad sure look like they’re smoking. Etsy.com offers an assortment of glass peace pipes that have an uncanny similarity to Maxim’s glass bulb. The comparison is not lost on me.

This exhaustive study has multiple levels of meaning, and I’ve made every effort to focus on one objective, to demonstrate that the peace pipe and the pipe of peace have meant and continue to mean different things at different times to different people. In closing, a few lofty quotes—historical nuggets—from George Edward Lockwood, “Pipes of Peace Idealistic Emblems of a Practical Smoker’s World” (Tobacco, August 19, 1926) are appropriate:   

What can confidently be stated is that Native Americans smoked the venerated, ceremonial, sacred Pipe. Today’s briar is not considered sacred in the definitional sense of spiritual or sanctified; it’s certainly not ceremonial, nor is it worshiped, but it is venerated in the sense that it is valued and treasured. If the distinctively rigorous ritual of pipe-smoking is followed, the result can be a divine, spiritual and, I dare say, heavenly, experience!