Apache burden baskets are cone shaped, with flat or rounded bottoms. Buckskin and cone jingles made of tin are added to enhance the basket. Nearly all baskets will have a buckskin carry strap, which was once worn around the forehead or shoulders. The baskets were once made for everyday use in collecting or gathering wild foods or to cultivate crops like corn. Large burden baskets were sometimes made for food storage. As the baskets were carried, the tin cones would jingle and scare off snakes. Small baskets were given to children and the jingling alerted parents to where the children were. It is said that these are hung outside a home and visitors are to place their burdens in the basket before entering the home. The saying “leave your burdens at the door” originated with these baskets.
Today, however, burden baskets are made to sell, or for special use during a young girl’s puberty ceremony, or “sunrise dance,” as many now call it. The burden basket of the Apache tribe is one of the most quickly recognized items of material culture of the Apache people.
