Ceremonial fans were employed by the Native Americans; there is an account of the visit of a Taensas chief on the banks of the Lower Mississippi to Le Sieur de La Salle in 1682: “The Chief condescended to visit La Salle at his camp. A master of ceremonies and six attendants preceded him, to clear the path and prepare the place of meeting. When all was ready, he was seen advancing and preceded by two men bearing white fans, while a third displayed a disc of burnished copper, to represent the Sun, his ancestor, or, as others will have it, his elder brother.” It is safe to assume that these fans were of feathers, and the incident is an evidence that the use of the fan in high ceremonial was universal, and common to both East and West.
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