{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_48635/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_48635","id":"gutenberg_48635","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/48635","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - Religious","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Siouan Indians -- Religion"],"text":"TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTE:\n\nThis text uses UTF-8 (unicode) file encoding. If the apostrophes and\nquotation marks in this paragraph appear as garbage, you may have an\nincompatible browser or unavailable fonts. First, make sure that your\nbrowser\u2019s \u201ccharacter set\u201d or \u201cfile encoding\u201d is set to Unicode (UTF-8).\nE.g., with Mozilla Firefox, set it to View->Character Encoding->Unicode\n(UTF-8). E.g., with Internet Explorer, set it to View->Encoding->Unicode\n(UTF-8). You may also need to change the default font.\n\n\n\n\n SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.\n\n A STUDY OF SIOUAN CULTS.\n\n BY\n\n JAMES OWEN DORSEY.\n\n\n\n\n\n CONTENTS.\n\n Page.\nCHAPTER I.--Introduction 361\n Definitions of \u201cCult\u201d and \u201cSiouan\u201d 361\n Siouan Family 361\n Authorities 361\n Alphabet 363\n Abbreviations 364\nCHAPTER II.--Definitions 365\n Alleged belief in a Great Spirit 365\n Phenomena divided into human and superhuman 365\n Terms for \u201cmysterious,\u201d \u201clightning,\u201d etc. 366\n Other Omaha and Ponka terms 367\n Significance of personal names and kinship terms 368\n Myth and legend distinguished from the superhuman 368\nCHAPTER III.--Cults of the Omaha, Ponka, Kansa, and Osage 371\n Beliefs and practices not found 371\n Omaha, Ponka, and Kansa belief in a wakanda 372\n Seven great wakandas 372\n Invocation of warmth and streams 372\n Prayer to wakanda 373\n Accessories of prayer 373\n Omaha and Kansa expressions about wakanda 374\n Ponka belief about malevolent spirits 374\n An old Omaha custom 375\n The sun a wakanda 376\n Invocations 376\n The offering of tobacco 377\n The Ponka sun dance of 1873 378\n The moon a wakanda 378\n Berdaches 378\n Stars as wakandas 379\n The winds as wakandas 380\n Invocation 380\n Kansa sacrifice to the winds 380\n Osage consecration of mystic fireplaces 380\n The thunder-being a wakanda 381\n Omaha and Ponka invocation of the thunder-being 381\n Thunder-being invoked by warriors 382\n Ictasanda custom 383\n Kansa worship of the thunder-being 385\n Subterranean and subaquatic wakandas 386\n The inda\u023ci\u00f1ga 386\n Other Kansa wakandas 387\n Omaha invocations of the trap, etc. 387\n Fasting 390\n Mystic trees and plants 390\n I\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115 392\n Personal mystery decorations 394\n Order of thunder shamans 395\n Generic forms of decoration 397\n Specific forms of decoration 398\n Corn and the buffalo 403\n Other Omaha mystery decorations 403\n Kansa mystery decorations 405\n Omaha nikie decorations 407\n Omaha nikie customs 410\n Governmental instrumentalities 411\n Omaha and Ponka taboos 411\n Fetichism 412\n Fetiches of the tribe and gens 413\n Omaha tribal fetiches 413\n Osage tribal fetiches 414\n Kansa tribal fetiches 415\n Personal fetiches 415\n Sorcery 416\n Jugglery 417\n Omaha and Ponka belief as to a future life 419\n Kansa beliefs respecting death and a future life 421\nCHAPTER IV.--\u2534ciwere and Winnebago cults 423\n Authorities 423\n Term \u201cGreat Spirit\u201d never heard among the Iowa 423\n The sun a wakanta 423\n The winds as wakantas 423\n The thunder-being a wakanta 424\n Subterranean powers 424\n Subaquatic powers 424\n Animals as wakantas 425\n Apotheoses 425\n Dwellings of gods 425\n Worship 425\n Taboos 426\n Public or tribal fetiches 427\n Symbolic earth formations of the Winnebago 427\n Personal fetiches 428\n Dancing societies 428\n The Otter dancing society 429\n The Red Medicine dancing society 429\n The Green Corn dance 429\n The Buffalo dancing society 429\n \u2534\u0254iwere traditions 430\n Belief in a future life 430\nCHAPTER V.--Dakota and Assiniboin cults 431\n Alleged Dakota belief in a Great Spirit 431\n Riggs on the Taku wakan 432\n Meaning of wakan 433\n Daimonism 433\n Animism 433\n Principal Dakota gods 434\n Miss Fletcher on Indian religion 434\n Prayer 435\n Sacrifice 435\n Use of paint in worship 438\n The unkte\u1e23i, or subaquatic and subterranean powers 438\n Character of the unkte\u1e23i 438\n Power of the unkte\u1e23i 439\n Subordinates of the unkte\u1e23i 439\n The mystery dance 440\n The miniwatu 440\n The Waki\u207fya\u207f, or thunder-beings 441\n The armor gods 443\n The war prophet 444\n The spirits of the mystery sacks 445\n Taku\u015bka\u014b\u015bka\u014b, the Moving deity 445\n Tunkan or Inyan, the Stone god or Lingam 447\n I\u014bya\u014b \u015ba 448\n Mato tipi 448\n The sun and moon 449\n Nature of concepts 449\n The sun dance 450\n A Dakota\u2019s account of the sun dance 450\n Object of the sun dance 451\n Rules observed by households 451\n The \u201cu-ma-ne\u201d 451\n Rules observed by the devotee 452\n Tribes invited to the sun dance 452\n Discipline maintained 452\n Camping circle formed 453\n Men selected to seek the mystery tree 453\n Tent of preparation 454\n Expedition to the mystery tree 455\n Felling the tree 456\n Tree taken to camp 457\n Raising the sun pole 457\n Building of dancing lodge 458\n The Uu\u023cita 458\n Decoration of candidates or devotees 458\n Offerings of candidates 459\n Ceremonies at the dancing lodge 460\n The dance 460\n Candidates scarified 460\n Pieces of flesh offered 462\n Torture of owner of horse 462\n End of the dance 462\n Intrusive dances 463\n Captain Bourke on the sun dance 464\n Berdaches 467\n Astronomical lore 467\n Day and night 467\n The dawn 468\n Weather spirit 468\n Heyoka 468\n The concepts of Heyoka 468\n Heyoka feast 469\n Story of a Heyoka man 469\n Heyoka women 471\n Iya, the god of gluttony 471\n Ikto, Iktomi, or Unktomi 471\n \u0106a\u014botida\u014b and Ho\u1e23no\u0121i\u0107a 473\n Anu\u014bg-ite 473\n Penates 475\n Guardian spirits 475\n Beliefs about the buffalo 475\n Prevalence of the beliefs 475\n Origin of the buffalo 476\n The Tata\u014bgna\u015bki\u014bya\u014b, or Mythic buffalo 477\n The bear 477\n The wolf 477\n Horses 479\n Spiders 479\n Snake lore 479\n The double woman 480\n Deer women 480\n Dwarfs or elves 481\n Bogs 481\n Trees 482\n Customs relating to childhood 482\n Puberty 483\n Ghost lore and the future life 484\n Meaning of wana\u0121i 484\n Assiniboin beliefs about the dead 485\n Ghosts not always visible 485\n Death and burial lore 485\n Why the Teton stopped burying in the ground 486\n Importance of tattooing 486\n Ceremonies at the ghost lodge 487\n Good and bad ghosts 489\n Intercourse with ghosts 489\n Ghost stories 489\n The ghost husband 489\n The solitary traveler 489\n The ghost on the hill 489\n The Indian who wrestled with a ghost 489\n The man who shot a ghost 492\n Assiniboin beliefs about ghosts 492\n Prayers to the dead, including ancestors 493\n Metamorphoses and transmigration of souls 493\n Exhortations to absent warriors 493\n Mysterious men and women 493\n Gopher lore 496\n Causes of boils and sores 496\n Results of lying, stealing, etc. 497\n Secret societies 497\n Fetichism 498\n Public or tribal fetiches 498\n Private or personal fetiches 498\n Ordeals, or modes of swearing 499\n Sorcery and jugglery 499\n Omens 500\n Bodily omens 500\n Animal omens 500\n Omens from dreams 500\nCHAPTER VI.--Cults of the Mandan, Hidatsa, and Sapona 501\n Authorities 501\n Alleged belief in a Great Spirit 501\n The great mystery a modern deity 501\n Polytheism 502\n Worship 502\n Fasting 502\n Sacrifice 502\n The Okipa 502\n The Da\u1e23pike 503\n Cult of the Yoni 505\n Absaroka fear of a white buffalo cow 505\n Mandan cults 506\n Mandan divinities 506\n Guardian spirits 507\n Mandan belief about serpents and giants 507\n Thunder lore of the Mandan 508\n Astronomical lore 508\n Mystery objects and places of the Mandan and Hidatsa 508\n The mystery rock 508\n Dreams 510\n Oracles 510\n Fetiches 510\n Folklore 511\n Sorcery 511\n Jugglery 512\n Ghost lore 512\n The future life 512\n Four as a mystic number among the Mandan 513\n Hidatsa cults 513\n Hidatsa divinities 513\n Animism 514\n Worship of the elements, etc. 514\n Serpent worship 514\n Fetiches 515\n Tribal fetiches 515\n Personal fetiches 515\n Oracles 516\n Dreams 516\n Berdaches 516\n Astronomical lore 517\n Food lore 517\n Four souls in each human being 517\n Sorcery 517\n Disposal of the dead 518\n Hidatsa belief as to future existence 518\n Sapona cults 518\nCHAPTER VII.--Concluding remarks 520\n Peet on Indian religions 520\n The author\u2019s reply 521\n Cults of the elements 522\n The four quarters 524\n Symbolic colors 527\n Colors in personal names 533\n The earth powers 534\n Earth gentes 534\n The fire powers 534\n Fire gentes 536\n The wind-makers 536\n Wind gentes 537\n Each quarter reckoned as three 537\n Names referring to other worlds 537\n The water powers 537\n Water people 538\n Cautions and queries 538\n Composite names 539\n Personal names from horned beings 541\n Names derived from several homogeneous objects or beings 542\n Return of the spirit to the eponym 542\n Functions of gentes and subgentes 542\n The \u201cMessiah craze\u201d 544\n Epilogue 544\n\n\n\n\n\n ILLUSTRATIONS.\n\nPLATE XLIV. Siouan tents (_A_, tent of \u0500ejequta; _B_, tent of\n Mazi-ji\u00f1ga (man in the sun); _C_, tent of Heqaga; _D_,\n tent of Kaxe-\u023ca\u207fba\u2019s father; _E_, tent of Hupe\u023ca,\n Sr., and Agaha-wacuce) 361\n XLV. Camping circle at the time of the sun dance 454\n XLVI. The dancing lodge 458\n XLVII. Scarification of candidates (1, Ok\u00e1ska na\u017cin; 2,\n Ptepa kin wa\u0107i) 460\n XLVIII. The sun dance 462\n XLIX. A suspended devotee 464\n L. The double woman 480\n\n\nFIG. 156. George Miller\u2019s personal mystery decoration 394\n 157. A variant of Fig. 156 394\n 158. Robe of Wanukige 395\n 159. Tent of Wanukige 396\n 160. Robe of \u023baqube 396\n 161. Robe of \u0500ahe-\u0287ap\u2018\u0115 397\n 162. Generic decoration referring to night, etc. 397\n 163. Tent of A\u207fpa\u207f-ska, Sr. 398\n 164. Robe of A\u207fpa\u207f-ska, Sr. 399\n 165. Tent of Mazi-ji\u00f1ga (ghost vision) 399\n 166. A tent of Niku\u023cib\u023ca\u207f 399\n 167. Another tent of Niku\u023cib\u023ca\u207f 399\n 168. Blanket of Cu\u029ea ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f 400\n 169. Tent of \u2534esa\u207f; vision of a cedar 401\n 170. Tent of \u2534esa\u207f; sun and rainbow vision 401\n 171. Cornstalk decoration of the tents of Fire Chief and Waqaga 402\n 172. Robe of Ni-\u023cactage 403\n 173. Duba-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u2019s father\u2019s tent 403\n 174. Ma\u207ftcu-na\u207fba\u2019s tent 403\n 175. Wacka\u207fhi\u2019s tent 404\n 176. Tent of an unknown Omaha 404\n 177. Tent of \u2534ebi\u2018a 405\n 178. Tent of a Kansa who had an eagle vision 405\n 179. Kansa decorated tent 406\n 180. Kansa decorated tent 406\n 181. Ma\u207fze-guhe\u2019s robe 406\n 182. Ma\u207fze-guhe\u2019s tent 407\n 183. Duba-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u2019s father\u2019s blanket 407\n 184. I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tent decoration 408\n 185. I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tent decoration 409\n 186. Waqaga\u2019s robe 409\n 187. Sacred tent in which the pole was kept 413\n 188. Bear Butte, South Dakota 449\n 189. The \u201cu-ma-ne\u201d symbol 451\n 190. Eagle-wing flute 455\n 191. The tent of preparation and the dancing lodge 459\n 192. The ghost lodge 487\n 193. The \u023batada gentile circle 523\n 194. The four elements, etc. 523\n 195. Kansa order of invoking winds, etc. 525\n 196. Tsi\u0254u (Osage) order of placing the four sticks, etc. 525\n 197. Pa\u207f\u0265ka (Osage) order of placing the four sticks, etc. 526\n 198. Ka\u207f[s]e (Osage) order of circumambulation 526\n 199. Showing how the Osage prepared the scalp for the dance 526\n 200. Omaha lightnings and the four quarters 527\n\n[Illustration:\nBureau of Ethnology. Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLIV\n[image]\n GAST LITH. CO.\n SIOUAN TENTS.]\n\n\n\n A STUDY OF SIOUAN CULTS.\n\n BY JAMES OWEN DORSEY.\n\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER I.\n\n INTRODUCTION.\n\n\n DEFINITIONS OF \u201cCULT\u201d AND \u201cSIOUAN.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 1. Cult, as used in this article, means a system of religious belief\nand worship, especially the rites and ceremonies employed in such worship.\nThe present article treats of the cults of a few of the Siouan\ntribes--that is, with two exceptions, of such tribes as have been visited\nby the author.\n\n\u201cSiouan\u201d is a term originated by the Bureau of Ethnology. It is derived\nfrom \u201cSioux,\u201d the popular name for those Indians who call themselves\n\u201cDakota\u201d or \u201cLakota,\u201d the latter being the Teton appellation. \u201cSiouan\u201d\nis used as an adjective, but, unlike its primitive, it refers not\nonly to the Dakota tribes, but also to the entire linguistic stock or\nfamily.\n\n\n SIOUAN FAMILY.\n\nThe Siouan family includes the Dakota, Assiniboin, Omaha, Ponka,\nOsage, Kansa, Kwapa, Iowa, Oto, Missouri, Winnebago, Mandan, Hidatsa,\nCrow, Tutelo, Biloxi, Catawba, and other Indians. The Sapona, who are\nnow extinct, probably belonged to this family.\n\nThe author was missionary to the Ponka Indians, in what is now part of\nNebraska, from 1871 to 1873. Since 1878 he has acquired native texts\nand other information from the Omaha, Ponka, Osage, Kansa, Winnebago,\nIowa, Oto, Missouri, and Dakota.\n\nIn seeking information respecting the ancient beliefs of the Indians\nthe author has always found it expedient to question the Indian when no\ninterpreter was present.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES.\n\n\u00a7 2. This study is based for the most part upon statements made\nby Indians, though several publications were consulted during the\npreparation of the fifth and sixth chapters.\n\nThe following Indians had become Christians before the author met them:\nJoseph La Fl\u00e8che, Frank La Fl\u00e8che, John Big Elk, and George Miller,\nall Omaha. Joseph La Fl\u00e8che, who died in 1888, was the leader of the\ncivilization party in the Omaha tribe after 1855. He was at one time\na head chief. He spoke several Indian languages, having spent years\namong other tribes, including the Pawnee, when he was in the service\nof the fur company. His son, Frank, has been in the Indian Bureau at\nWashington since 1881. The author has obtained considerable linguistic\nmaterial from the father and son. The father, with Two Crows, aided\nthe author in the summer of 1882 in revising his sociologic notes,\nresulting in the preparation of \u201cOmaha Sociology,\u201d which was published\nin the third annual report of the director of the Bureau of Ethnology.\nJohn Big Elk, a full Omaha, of the Elk gens, furnished an article\non \u201cSacred Traditions and Customs,\u201d and several historical papers,\npublished in \u201cContributions to North American Ethnology, Vol. VI.\u201d\nGeorge Miller, of the Ictasanda or Thunder gens, is a full Omaha, from\nwhom was obtained nearly half of Chapter III, including most of the\nOmaha illustrations.\n\nThe following Indians were not Christians: Gahige, Two Crows,\n\u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d, and Samuel Fremont, all Omaha; Nuda\u207f-axa, a Ponka; and\nthe Kansa, Osage, Missouri, Iowa, and Winnebago informants.\n\nTwo Crows has been connected in several ways with the ancient\norganizations of his people. He has been a head man, or nikagahi, being\nthus an ex-officio member of the class which exercised the civil and\nreligious functions of the state. He has been a policeman during the\nbuffalo hunt. He has acted as captain, or war chief, and he is the\nleading doctor in the order of Buffalo shamans, being the keeper of the\n\u201csweet medicine.\u201d\n\n\u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d, or He-who-fears-not-the-sight-of-a-Pawnee, is a member\nof the Black Bear subgens, and he is also one of the servants of the\nElk gens, it being his duty to be present at the sacred tent of that\ngens, and to assist in the ceremonies pertaining to the invocation of\nthe Thunder Beings.\n\nGahige was the chief of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115, a Buffalo gens, and at the\ntime of his death he was the keeper of the two sacred pipes.\n\nSamuel Fremont is a member of the Eagle subgens. He came to Washington\nin the autumn of 1888 and assisted the author till February, 1889.\n\nNuda\u207f-axa is a chief of a part of the Thunder-Being gens of the Ponka.\nThe author has known him since 1871.\n\nThe other Indian authorities need not be named, as they are in\nsubstantial agreement.\n\nThe following authorities were consulted in the preparation of the\nDakota and Assiniboin chapter:\n\n BRUYIER (JOHN), a Dakota, MS. Teton texts. 1888. Translated by\n himself. Bureau of Ethnology.\n BUSHOTTER (GEORGE), a Dakota, MS. Teton texts. 1887-\u201988.\n Translated by J. Owen Dorsey. Bureau of Ethnology.\n FLETCHER (Miss ALICE C.), The Sun-dance of the Ogalalla Sioux. In\n Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Montreal meeting, 1882, pp. 580-584.\n FLETCHER (Miss ALICE C.), several articles in Rept. Peabody\n Museum, vol. 3, 1884, pp. 260-333.\n HOVEY (Rev. H. C.), \u201cEyay Shah,\u201d in Am. Antiquarian, Jan., 1887,\n pp. 35, 36.\n LONG (Maj. S. H.), Skiff Voyage to Falls of St. Anthony. In Minn.\n Histor. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 1, pp. 18, 19, 55.\n LYND (J. W.), Religion of the Dakotas. In Minn. Histor. Soc.\n Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, pp. 57-84.\n POND (G. H.), Dakota Superstitions. In Minn. Histor. Soc. Coll.,\n vol. II, pt. 3, pp. 32-62.\n RIGGS (S. R.), Theogony of the Sioux. In Am. Antiquarian, vol. II,\n No. 4, pp. 265-270.\n ----. In Am. Antiq., vol. V, 1883, p. 149.\n ----. In Am. Philolog. Assoc. Proc., 3d An. Sess., 1872, pp. 5, 6.\n ----. Tah-koo Wah-kon, or, The Gospel Among the Dakotas, 1869.\n SAY (THOS.), in James (E.), Account of Long\u2019s Exped. Rocky Mts.,\n vol. I, Phil., 1823.\n SHEA (J. GILMARY), Am. Cath. Missions, N. Y. (after 1854).\n SMET (Rev. P. J. DE), Western Missions and Missionaries, N. Y.\n (n. d.).\n WOODBURN (Dr. J. M., Jr.), MS. Letter and Teton Vocabulary, 1890.\n Bureau of Ethnology.\n\n\n ALPHABET.\n\n\u00a7 3. With the exception of seven letters taken from Riggs\u2019s Dakota\nDictionary, and which are used only in the Dakota words, the characters\nused in recording the Indian words occurring in this paper belong to\nthe alphabet adopted by the Bureau of Ethnology.\n\n[TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTE: many of the letters in the original book cannot be\nrepresented faithfully in the character set available. The following\ntable explains the conventions used to represent such characters. In\nthe table, \u2018x\u2019 and \u2018y\u2019 are used to mean \u201cany letter\u201d.\n\n Symbol Symbol in book\n \u2018 Inverted comma, to the left of a letter and raised above the\n baseline, like a single opening quotation mark.\n \u2019 Comma, to the right of a letter and raised above the baseline,\n like a single closing quotation mark.\n \u00b4 \u201cAccent mark\u201d--a diagonal slash indicating a stressed syllable.\n [x] The letter upside-down. This is used for upside-down\n lower-case \u2018p\u2019, because an upside-down lower-case p looks too\n much like a \u2018d\u2019; and for upside-down \u2018s\u2019, which looks too much\n like a right-side-up \u2018s\u2019; and for an upside-down upper-case K,\n because I don\u2019t think that character exists in Unicode.\n \u023c A lowercase \u2018c\u2019 with an acute accent and a mark below.\n \u023b An uppercase \u2018c\u2019 with an acute accent and a mark below.\n\nEND OF TRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTE.]\n\n a, as in _father_.\n \u2018a, an initially exploded a.\n \u0103, as in _what_, or as _o_ in _not_.\n \u2018\u0103, an initially exploded \u0103.\n \u00e4, as in _hat_.\n c, as _sh_ in _she_. See \u015b.\n \u0254, a medial _sh_, a sonant-surd.\n \u0107 (Dakota letter), as _ch_ in _church_.\n \u00e7, as _th_ in _thin_.\n [\u00e7], a medial \u00e7, sonant-surd.\n \u023c, as _th_ in _the_.\n e, as in _they_.\n \u2018e, an initially exploded e.\n \u0115, as in _get_.\n \u2018\u0115 an initially exploded \u0115.\n g, as in _go_.\n \u0121 (in Dakota), _gh_. See x.\n \u0265 (in Osage), an h after a pure or nasalized\n vowel, expelled through the mouth\n with the lips wide apart.\n \u1e23 (in Dakota), _kh_, etc. See q.\n i, as in _machine_.\n \u2018i, an initially exploded i.\n \u012d, as in _pin_.\n j, as _z_ in _azure_, or as _j_ in the French\n _Jacques_.\n \u029e a medial k, a sonant-surd.\n k\u2019, an exploded k. See next letter.\n \u1e33 (in Dakota), an exploded k.\n \u014b (in Dakota), after a vowel has the sound\n of _n_ in the French _bon_. See \u207f.\n \u026f (in Kansa), a medial m, a sound between\n m and b.\n \u00f1, as _ng_ in _sing_.\n hn, its initial sound is expelled from the\n nostrils and is scarcely heard.\n o, as in _no_.\n \u2018o, an initially exploded o.\n [p], a medial b or p, a sonant-surd.\n p\u2019, an exploded p.\n q, as German _ch_ in _ach_. See \u1e23.\n [s], a medial z or s, a sonant-surd.\n \u015b (in Dakota), as _sh_ in _she_. See c.\n \u0287, a medial d or t, a sonant-surd.\n t\u2019, an exploded t.\n u, as _oo_ in _tool_.\n \u2018u, an initially exploded u.\n \u016d, as _oo_ in _foot_.\n \u1e75, a sound between o and u.\n \u00fc, as in German _k\u00fchl_, _s\u00fcss_.\n x, _gh_, or nearly the Arabic _ghain_. See \u0121.\n \u017a (in Dakota), as _z_ in _azure_. See j.\n dj, as _j_ in _judge_.\n tc, as _ch_ in _church_. See \u0107.\n tc\u2019, an exploded tc.\n \u0287\u0254, a medial tc, a sonant-surd.\n ts\u2019, an exploded ts.\n \u0287[s], a medial ts, a sonant-surd.\n ai, as in _aisle_.\n au, as _ow_ in _how_.\n yu, as _u_ in _tune_, or _ew_ in _few_.\n\nThe following have the ordinary English sounds: b, d, h, k, l, m, n,\np, r, s, t, w, y, and z. A superior n (\u207f) after a vowel (compare the\nDakota \u014b) has the sound of the French n in bon, vin, etc. A plus\nsign (+) after any letter prolongs it.\n\nThe vowels \u2018a, \u2018e, \u2018i, \u2018o, \u2018u, and their modifications are styled\ninitially exploded vowels for want of a better appellation, there being\nin each case an initial explosion. These vowels can not be called\n\u201cbreaths,\u201d as no aspiration is used with any of them; nor can they be\nspoken of as \u201cguttural breaths,\u201d as they are approximately or partially\npectoral sounds. They have been found by the author not only in the\nSiouan languages, but also in some of the languages of western Oregon.\nIn 1880 a brother of the late Gen. Armstrong, of Hampton, Va., who was\nborn on one of the Hawaiian islands, informed the author that this\nclass of vowel sounds occurred in the language of his native land.\n\n\n ABBREVIATIONS.\n\nThe abbreviations in the interlinear translations are as follows:\n\n sub.--subject.\n ob.--object.\n st.--sitting.\n std.--standing.\n recl.--reclining.\n mv.--moving.\n col.--collective.\n lg.--long.\n cv.--curvilinear.\n pl.--plural.\n sing.--singular.\n an.--animate.\n in.--inanimate.\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER II.\n\n DEFINITIONS.\n\n\n ALLEGED BELIEF IN A GREAT SPIRIT.\n\n\u00a7 4. It has been asserted for several hundred years that the North\nAmerican Indian was a believer in one Great Spirit prior to the coming\nof the white race to this continent, and that, as he was a monotheist,\nit was an easy matter to convert him to Christianity. Indians have\nbeen represented as speaking of \u201cThe Great Spirit,\u201d \u201cThe Master of\nLife,\u201d etc., as if the idea of the one and only God was familiar to our\naborigines during the pre-Columbian period.\n\nWhile the author is unwilling to commit himself to a general denial\nof this assertion, he has been forced to conclude that it needs\nconsiderable modification, at least so far as it refers to the tribes\nof the Siouan stock. (See \u00a7\u00a7 7, 15, 21-43, 72-79, 92-99, 311, 312,\n322-326, 341-346.)\n\nOn close investigation it will be found that in many cases Indians\nhave been quick to adopt the phrases of civilization in communicating\nwith white people, but in speaking to one another they use their own\nterms. The student of the uncivilized races must ever be on his guard\nagainst leading questions and their answers. The author has learned by\nexperience that it is safer to let the Indian tell his own story in\nhis own words than to endeavor to question him in such a manner as to\nreveal what answers are desired or expected.\n\n\u00a7 5. In 1883 the author published an article on \u201cThe Religion of the\nOmahas and Ponkas,\u201d in The American Antiquarian of Chicago. Since then\nhe has obtained additional data, furnishing him with many undesigned\ncoincidences, which lead him to a broader view of the subject.\n\n\n PHENOMENA DIVIDED INTO HUMAN AND SUPERHUMAN.\n\n\u00a7 6. In considering the subject from an Indian\u2019s point of view,\none must avoid speaking of the supernatural as distinguished from the\nnatural. It is safer to divide phenomena as they appear to the Indian\nmind into the human and the superhuman, as many, if not most natural\nphenomena are mysterious to the Indian. Nay, even man himself may\nbecome mysterious by fasting, prayer, and vision.\n\nOne fruitful source of error has been a misunderstanding of Indian\nterms and phrases. It is very important to attempt to settle the exact\nmeanings of certain native words and phrases ere we proceed further\nwith the consideration of the subject.\n\n\n TERMS FOR \u201cMYSTERIOUS,\u201d \u201cLIGHTNING,\u201d ETC.\n\n\u00a7 7. The attention of the author having been called to the article\non \u201cSerpent Symbolism\u201d of the Iroquoian languages, by Mr. Hewitt[1] of\nthe Bureau of Ethnology, a similar investigation of the Siouan terms\nwas made, the results of which are now presented. In connection with\nthe terms for \u201cserpent,\u201d Mr. Hewitt showed how they are related in the\nlanguages with which he was familiar with other terms, such as \u201cdemon,\u201d\n\u201cdevil,\u201d \u201cwizard,\u201d \u201cwitch,\u201d \u201csubtile,\u201d \u201coccult,\u201d \u201cmysterious,\u201d and\n\u201csupernatural.\u201d\n\nIn Dakota we find the following: Waka\u207f, mysterious, wonderful,\nincomprehensible, often rendered \u201choly\u201d by the missionaries; waka\u207f-hdi\n(in Santee), waka\u207f-kdi (in Yankton), lightning, perhaps containing\na reference to a zigzag line or forked lightning; waka\u207f etco\u207f, to\npractice sleight of hand; and wa\u207fmducka, serpent. There are many\nderivatives of waka\u207f, among which are, Taku Waka\u207f, literally \u201csomething\nmysterious,\u201d rendered \u201csome one mysterious,\u201d or \u201choly being,\u201d and\nWaka\u207f-ta\u00f1ka, literally, \u201cGreat mysterious (one),\u201d both of which terms\nare now applied to God by the missionaries and their converts, though\nWaka\u207f-ta\u00f1ka is a name for the Thunder-being.\n\nIn Riggs\u2019s alphabet (Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol. VII), these words are\nthus written: Waka\u014b, waka\u014bhdi, waka\u014bkdi, waka\u014b e\u0107o\u014b, wa\u014bmdu\u015bka, Taku\nWaka\u014b, and Waka\u014bta\u014bka. One of the Dakota words for \u201caged\u201d is ka\u207f (ka\u014b\nin Riggs\u2019s alphabet); but though this refers to persons we can not tell\nwhether it is related to waka\u207f (or waka\u014b).\n\nIn the \u023begiha, the language spoken by the Ponka and Omaha, Wakanda\nmeans \u201cthe mysterious\u201d or \u201cpowerful one,\u201d and it is applied in several\nsenses. It is now used to denote the God of monotheism. Some of the old\npeople say that their ancestors always believed in a supreme Wakanda\nor Mysterious Power. It sometimes refers to the Thunder-being. On one\noccasion, a Ponka shaman, Cramped Hand, said to the author: \u201cI am a\nWakanda.\u201d Wakandagi, as a noun, means a subterranean or water monster,\na large horned reptile mentioned in the myths, and still supposed to\ndwell beneath the bluffs along the Missouri River. With this term\ncompare the Dakota U\u00f1kteqi (U\u014bkte\u1e23i, of Riggs) and the Winnebago\nWaktceqi, the latter having given a name to the Water Monster gens\n(Waktceqi ikikaratcada). Wakandagi is sometimes used adverbially, as,\nsi wakandagi, he is wonderfully stingy! E wakandagi, he (a small child)\nspeaks surprisingly well (for one so young)! \u2534a\u207f\u023ci\u207f wakandagi, he runs\nvery well (for one so young)! Ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f wakandagi, he (a small child)\nwalks very well! Wakandi\u023ce, to be in great haste, perhaps contains the\nidea of putting forth a great effort in order to accomplish something\nspeedily. W\u0115s\u2018\u0103, a serpent, is not related to the others just given.\nNor can the word for \u201cwizard\u201d or \u201cconjurer\u201d be found related to them.\nIn Kansa, Wakanda is used of superhuman beings or powers, as in\nOmaha and Ponka, but the author never heard a shaman apply the term\nto himself. Wakandagi has another meaning, mysterious, wonderful,\nincomprehensible, as, nika wakandagi, mysterious man, shaman, juggler,\ndoctor; nan\u00fc\u016d\u207fba wakandagi, mysterious or sacred pipe; wakandagi\nwagaxe, the sleight-of-hand tricks of the mysterious men and women.\nWakanda qudje, the gray mysterious one, the elephant. Waka\u207f does not\nmean serpent, but pumpkin, answering to the Omaha and Ponka, wata\u207f, and\nto the Osage, wakqa\u207f and watqa\u207f. [M]yets\u2018a (almost, Byets\u2018a) is the\nKansa word for a serpent.\n\nIn Osage, Waka\u207f\u0287a answers to the Kansa Wakanda, and Wa\u0265ka\u207f-\u0287a-\u029ei is the\nsame as the Kansa, Wakandagi. Wets\u2018a is a serpent. In Kwapa, Waka\u207f\u0287a\u029ei\nseems to answer to the Kansa Wakandagi.\n\nIn \u2534\u0254iwere (Iowa, Oto, Missouri), Waka\u207f\u0287a is the same as the Kansa\nWakanda. Waka\u207f means a serpent. Waka\u207f ki\u029era\u0287\u0254e, the Serpent gens.\nWa-hu-pri\u207f, mysterious, as a person or animal; but wa-qo-nyi-ta\u207f,\nmysterious, as an inanimate object.\n\nIn the Winnebago, three names for superhuman beings have been found.\nOne is Wa\u029eu\u207fse or Wagu\u207fze, which can not be translated; another is\nMa\u207f\u2018u\u207f-na, Earth-maker, the third being Qo-pi\u207f-ne qe-te-r\u0103, Great\nMysterious One. Qopi\u207fne seems related to waqopini (with which compare\nthe \u2534\u0254iwere, wahupri\u207f), a term used to distinguish people of other\nraces from Indians, just as in Dakota wacitcu\u207f (in Riggs\u2019s alphabet,\nwa\u015bi\u0107u\u014b), now used for \u201cwhite man,\u201d \u201cblack man,\u201d etc., retains in the\nTeton dialect its ancient meaning of superhuman being or guardian\nspirit. Wakawa\u207fx, in Winnebago, denotes a witch or wizard. Waka\u207f-na\nis a serpent, and waka\u207f ikikaratca-da, the Serpent gens; Waka\u207ftca, or\nWaka\u207ftca-ra, thunder, the Thunder-Being; Waka\u207ftca\u00f1ka-ra, a shaman or\nmysterious man.\n\n\n OTHER OMAHA AND PONKA TERMS.\n\n\u00a7 8. Other terms are given as being pertinent to the subject. They\noccur in the language of the Omaha and Ponka. Qube, mysterious as a\nperson or animal (all animals were persons in ancient times); but a\nmysterious inanimate object is spoken of as being \u201cwaqube.\u201d Uqube\nmeans the mysteriousness of a human being or animal. Uqubea\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\npertaining to such mysteriousness. Wakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f, pertaining or\nreferring to Wakanda. Nikie is a term that refers to a mythical\nancestor, to some part of his body, to some of his acts, or to some\nancient rite ascribed to him. A \u201cnikie name\u201d is a personal name of\nsuch a character. I\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115, literally, \u201cto pity him on account of it,\ngranting him certain power.\u201d Its primary reference is to the mysterious\nanimal, but it is transferred to the person having the vision, hence,\nit means \u201cto receive mysterious things from an animal, as in a vision\nafter fasting; to see as in a vision, face to face (not in a dream);\nto see when awake, and in a mysterious manner having a conversation\nwith the animal about mysterious things.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 9. The names for grandfather, grandmother, and old man are terms of\nveneration, superhuman beings having these names applied to them in\ninvocations. (See \u00a7\u00a7 15, 99.)\n\n\n SIGNIFICANCE OF PERSONAL NAMES AND KINSHIP TERMS.\n\nIn a note upon \u201cThe Religious Ceremony of the Four Winds or\nQuarters, as Observed by the Santee Sioux,\u201d Miss Fletcher[2] remarks:\n\u201cA name implies relationship, and consequently protection; favor and\ninfluence are claimed from the source of the name, whether this be the\ngens or the vision. A name, therefore, shows the affiliation of the\nindividual; it grades him, so to speak, and he is apt to lean upon its\nimplied power. * * * The sacred import of a name in the mind of the\nIndian is indicated in that part of the ceremony where the \u201cSomething\nthat moves\u201d seems to overshadow and inclose the child, and addresses\nthe wakan man as father. The wakan man replies, calling the god, child,\nat the same time invoking the supernatural protection and care for\nthe boy, as he lays at the feet of the messenger of Unseen Power the\nofferings of gifts and the honor of the feast. The personal name[3]\namong Indians, therefore, indicates the protecting presence of a\ndeity, and must, therefore, partake of the ceremonial character of the\nIndian\u2019s religion.\u201d\n\nIn this ceremony the superhuman being is addressed by the term\nimplying _juniority_, and the human being, the wakan man, by that\nassociated with _seniority_, an apparent reversal of the usual custom;\nbut, doubtless, there can be found some explanation for this seeming\nexception to the rule.\n\n\n MYTH AND LEGEND DISTINGUISHED FROM THE SUPERHUMAN.\n\n\u00a7 10. The Omaha, Ponka, and cognate tribes distinguish at the present\nday between the myth (higa\u207f, higu) and the legend or story (iu\u023ca, etc.)\non the one hand; and what on the other hand is called \u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\u201d\n\u201cuqubea\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\u201d and \u201ci\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115a\u0287a\u023cica\u207f.\u201d The former are told only for\namusement and are called, \u201ciusicta\u207f iu\u023ca,\u201d lying tales. They are\nregarded as \u201ciqawa\u023c\u0115a\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\u201d pertaining to the ludicrous. With this\nmay be compared the statements of Lang:[4]\n\n\u201cAmong the lowest and most backward, as among the most advanced races,\nthere coexist the mythical and the religious elements in belief. The\nrational factor (or what approves itself to us as the rational factor)\nis visible in religion; the irrational is prominent in myth.\u201d * * *\n\u201cThe rational and irrational aspects of mythology and religion may be\nof coeval antiquity for all that is certainly known, or either of\nthem, in the dark backward of mortal experience, may have preceded the\nother.\u201d The author has found certain Indian myths which abound in what\nto the civilized mind is the grossest obscenity, and that too without\nthe slightest reference to the origin of any natural phenomena. Myths\nof this class appear to have been told from a love of the obscene.\nNothing of a mysterious or religious character can be found in them.\nPerhaps such myths are of modern origin; but this must remain an enigma.\n\n\u00a7 11. The Omaha and Ponka are in a transition state, hence many of\ntheir old customs and beliefs are disappearing. Some have been lost\nwithin the past fifty years, others within the last decade, according\nto unimpeachable testimony. The Ponka are more conservative than the\nOmaha, and the Kansa and Osage are more so than the Ponka, in the\nestimation of the author.\n\n\u00a7 12. Though it has been said that the Indians feared to tell myths\nexcept on winter nights (and some Indians have told this to the\nauthor), the author has had no trouble in obtaining myths during the\nday at various seasons of the year.\n\n\u00a7 13. James Alexander, a full Winnebago of the Wolf gens and a\nnon-Christian, told the author that the myths of the Winnebago, called\nwai-ka\u207f-na by them, have undergone material change in the course of\ntransmission, and that it is very probable that many of them are\nentirely different from what they were several generations ago. Even in\nthe same tribe at the present day, the author has found no less than\nthree versions of the same myth, and there may be others.\n\nThe myth of the Big Turtle is a case in point.[5] The narrator\nacknowledged that he had made some additions to it himself.\n\n\u00a7 14. No fasting or prayer is required before one can tell a myth.\nFar different is it with those things which are \u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\u201d or\nare connected with visions or the secret societies. This agrees in\nthe main with what Mr. James Mooney, of the Bureau of Ethnology, has\nlearned from the Cherokee of North Carolina. Mr. Frank H. Cushing has\nfound that the Zu\u00f1i Indians distinguish between their folk-lore and\ntheir cult-lore, i.e., between their legends and mythic tales on the\none hand, and their dramatized stories of creation and their religious\nobservances on the other, a special name being given to each class of\nknowledge. To them the mythic tales and folk-lore in general are but\nthe fringe of the garment, not the garment itself. When they enact\nthe creation story, etc., they believe that they are repeating the\ncircumstances represented, and that they are then surrounded by the\nvery beings referred to in the sacred stories. Similar beliefs were\nfound by Dr. Washington Matthews, as shown in his article entitled \u201cThe\nPrayer of a Navajo Shaman,\u201d published in the American Anthropologist of\nWashington, D.C., for April, 1888.\n\n\u00a7 15. At the same time there seems to be some connection between\ncertain myths and the personal names called, \u201cnikie names.\u201d This will\nbe considered in detail in a future monograph on \u201cIndian Personal\nNames,\u201d now in course of preparation. One example must suffice for the\npresent. In the [K]a\u207fze gens of the Omaha there is a nikie name, \u0500asi\nduba, Four Peaks. The author did not understand its derivation until he\nstudied the myth of Haxige and observed the prayers made in gathering\nthe stones for the sweat-bath. Each stone was invoked as a venerable\nman (see \u00a7 9), the Four Peaks were mentioned several times, and the two\nsuperior deities or chief mysterious ones (Wakanda \u0287a\u00f1ga ag\u023ca\u00f1\u029ea\u207fha\u207f\nhna\u00f1kace) were invoked.[6]\n\nThis last refers to the Wakanda residing above and the one in\nthe ground. It is therefore possible that in past ages the\nSiouan tribes did not differentiate between the myth and what is\n\u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f.\u201d But we have no means of proving this.\n\n\u00a7 16. Most of the Omaha governmental instrumentalities (\u201cwewaspe\u201d) were\n\u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\u201d but there were things that were \u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\u201d\nwhich were not \u201cwewaspe,\u201d such as the law of catamenial seclusion.\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 1: Am. Anthropologist, April, 1889, pp. 179, 180.]\n\n[Footnote 2: Op. cit., p. 295.]\n\n[Footnote 3: And also the kinship term in some cases.]\n\n[Footnote 4: Myth, Ritual, and Religion, pp. 328, 329.]\n\n[Footnote 5: See Contr. N. A. Ethn. Vol. VI, 271-277.]\n\n[Footnote 6: Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol. VI, pp. 234, 242]\n\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER III.\n\n CULTS OF THE OMAHA, PONKA, KANSA, AND OSAGE.\n\n\n BELIEFS AND PRACTICES NOT FOUND.\n\n\u00a7 17. There are certain beliefs and practices which have not been\nfound among the four tribes whose cults are treated of in this chapter.\nAncestors were not worshiped. They were addressed reverently when\nalive, and when they died it was not contrary to custom to refer to\nthem by name, nor did their deaths involve the change of name for a\nsingle object or phenomenon. It was a very common occurrence for\nthe name of the deceased to be assumed by a surviving kinsman.\nThis is shown by genealogical tables of a few Siouan tribes, the material\nfor which was collected by the author, and which will form part\nof his monograph on \u201cIndian Personal Names,\u201d now in course of\npreparation for publication by the Bureau of Ethnology.\n\n\u00a7 18. They never heard of Satan or the devil until they learned of him\nfrom the white people. Now they have adopted the terms, \u201cWan\u00e1xe pi\u00e4j\u012d,\u201d\n\u201cI\u00f1g\u023ca\u207fxe pi\u00e4j\u012d,\u201d and \u201cWakanda pi\u00e4j\u012d.\u201d The first is used by the Omaha\nand Ponka, the others were heard only among the Ponka. They have a\ncertain saying, applicable to a young man who is a liar, or who is bad\nin some other way: \u201cWan\u00e1xe pi\u00e4\u00b4j\u012d \u00e9ga\u207f \u00e1ha\u207f,\u201d i.e. \u201cHe is like the bad\nspirit!\u201d This becomes, when addressed to the bad person, \u201cWan\u00e1xe pi\u00e4\u00b4j\u012d\n\u00e9\u023cikiga\u207f\u00b4-qti ja\u207f\u00b4,\u201d i.e. \u201cYou act just like the (or a) bad spirit.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 19. Though it has been said that hero worship was unknown among the\nOmaha and Ponka, it has been learned that Omaha mothers used to scare\ntheir unruly children by telling them that Icibaj\u012d (a hero of the\n\u2534e-s\u012dnde gens) or his friend \u2534exuja\u207f (a hero of the [K]a\u207fze gens) would\ncatch them if they did not behave. There was no worship of demigods, as\ndemigods were unknown. Two Crows and Joseph La Fl\u00e8che said that phallic\nworship was unknown, and they were surprised to hear that it had\nbeen practiced by any tribe. (See \u00a7 132, 164.) As the Ponka obtained\nthe sun-dance from their Dakota neighbors, it is probable that they\npracticed the phallic cult.\n\n\u00a7 20. Totems and shamans were not worshiped, though they are still\nreverenced. Altars or altar-stones were unknown. Incense was not\nused, unless by this name we refer to the odor of tobacco smoke as it\nascended to the Thunder-being, or to the use of cedar fronds in the\nsweat lodge. There were no human sacrifices, and cannibalism was not\npracticed.\n\n\n OMAHA, PONKA, AND KANSA BELIEF IN A WAKANDA.\n\n\u00a7 21. According to Two Crows and Joseph La Fl\u00e8che, the ancestors of\nthe Omaha and Ponka believed that there was a Supreme Being, whom they\ncalled Wakanda. \u201cWakanda t\u2018a\u207fi t\u0115 e\u023cega\u207fi, they believed that Wakanda\nexisted.\u201d They did not know where He was, nor did they undertake\nto say how He existed. There was no public gathering at which some\nof the people told others that there was a Wakauda, nor was there\nany general assembly for the purpose of offering Him worship and\nprayer. Each person thought in his heart that Wakanda existed. Some\naddressed the sun as Wakanda, though many did not so regard him. Many\naddressed Wakanda, as it were, blindly or at random. Some worshiped the\nThunder-being under this name. This was especially the case when men\nundertook to go on the war path. [7] Mr. Say recorded of the Kansa:\n\u201cThey say that they have never seen Wakanda, so they cannot pretend to\npersonify Him; but they have often heard Him speak in the thunder. They\noften wear a shell which is in honor or in representation of Him, but\nthey do not pretend that it resembles Him, or has anything in common\nwith his form, organization, or size.\u201d\n\n\n SEVEN GREAT WAKANDAS.\n\n\u00a7 22. \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207f-paj\u012d said that there were seven great Wakandas, as\nfollows: \u201cUgahana[p]aze or Darkness, Maxe or the Upper World, \u2534ande\nor the Ground, I\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f or the Thunder-being, Mi\u207f or the Sun, Nia\u207fba\nor the Moon, and the Morning Star. The principal Wakanda is in the\nupper world, above everything.\u201d (This was denied by Joseph La Fl\u00e8che\nand Two Crows; see \u00a7 93.) The author thought at first that these were\nthe powers worshiped by \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d and the members of his gens or\nsubgens; but subsequent inquiries and statements occurring in the\ncourse of texts furnish cumulative evidence favoring the view that some\nor all these powers had many believers among the Omaha and the cognate\ntribes.\n\n\n INVOCATION OF WARMTH AND STREAMS.\n\n\u00a7 23. \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d said that Macte or Warmth was a good Wakanda. Ni\n\u023ci\u207f, the flowing Stream, according to him, was thus addressed by a man\nwho wished to ford it: \u201cYou are a person and a Wakanda. I, too, am a\nperson. I desire to pass through you and reach the other side.\u201d Two\nCrows denied this, saying that his people never prayed to a stream; but\nGeorge Miller said that it was true, for his father, Little Soldier,\nprayed to a stream when he was on the war path, and that such\ninvocations were made only in time of war.\n\n\n PRAYER TO WAKANDA.\n\n\u00a7 24. Prayer to Wakanda, said La Fl\u00e8che and Two Crows, was not made for\nsmall matters, such as going fishing, but only for great and important\nundertakings, such as going to war or starting on a journey. When a\nman wished to travel he first went alone to a bluff, where he prayed\nto Wakanda to help him and his family by protecting them during his\nabsence and by granting him a successful journey. At a time when the\nPonka were without food, Horse-with-yellow-hair, or Ca\u00f1ge-hi\u207f-zi,\nprayed to Wakanda on the hill beyond the Stony Butte. The latter is\na prominent landmark in northern Nebraska (in what was Todd county,\nDakota, in 1871-\u201973), about 7 miles from the Missouri River and the\nPonka Agency (of 1870-\u201977)[8]. Several Omaha said that the places\nfor prayer were rocks, high bluffs, and mountains. \u201cAll Omaha went\nto such places to pray, but they did not pray to the visible object,\nthough they called it Grandfather.\u201d--(Frank La Fl\u00e8che.) They smoked\ntowards the invoked object and placed gifts of killickinnick, etc.,\nupon it. Compare with this the Dakota custom of invoking a bowlder on\nthe prairie; calling it T\u016d\u00f1ka\u207fcida\u207f (Tu\u014bka\u014b\u015bida\u014b), or Grandfather,\nsymbolizing the Earth-being.[9] Though it has been said that a high\nbluff was merely a place for praying to Wakanda, and that it was not\nitself addressed as Wakanda, the author has learned from members of the\nOmaha and Pouka tribes that when they went on the warpath for the first\ntime, their names were then changed and one of the old men was sent\nto the bluffs to tell the news to the various Wakandas, including the\nbluffs, trees, birds, insects, reptiles, etc.[10]\n\n\n ACCESSORIES OF PRAYER.\n\nAmong the accessories of prayer were the following: (_a_) The action\ncalled \u023cistube by the Omaha and Ponka, ri\u00e7towe by the three \u2534\u0254iwere\ntribes, and yuwi\u207ftapi (yuwi\u014btapi) by the Dakota, consisting of the\nelevation of the suppliant\u2019s arms with the palms toward the object\nor the face of the being invoked, followed by a passage of the hand\ndownward toward the ground, without touching the object or person (see\n\u00a7\u00a7 28, 35, 36). (_b_) The presentation of the pipe with the mouthpiece\ntoward the power invoked (see \u00a7\u00a7 29, 35, 40). (_c_) The use of smoke\nfrom the pipe (See \u00a7\u00a7 27, 36), or of the odor of burning cedar needles,\nas in the sweat lodge. (_d_) The application of the kinship term,\n\u201cgrandfather,\u201d or its alternative, \u201cvenerable man,\u201d to a male power,\nand \u201cgrandmother\u201d to a female power (see \u00a7\u00a7 30, 31, 35, 39, 59, 60,\netc.). (_e_) Ceremonial wailing or crying (Xage, to wail or cry--Dakota\n\u0107eya. See \u00a7 100).[11] (_f_) Sacrifice or offering of goods, animals,\npieces of the suppliant\u2019s flesh, etc. In modern times the Kansa have\nsubstituted the lives of animals, as deer, grouse, etc., for those of\nhuman enemies (see \u00a7\u00a7 28, 33, etc.).\n\n\n OMAHA AND KANSA EXPRESSIONS ABOUT WAKANDA.\n\n\u00a7 25. Samuel Fremont said that before the advent of the white race the\nOmaha had certain expressions which they used in speaking of Wakanda.\nWhen an Indian met with unexpected good fortune of any sort the people\nused to say, \u201cWakanda has given him some assistance.\u201d[12] Or they might\nsay, \u201cWakanda knows him.\u201d[13] Sometimes they said, \u201cWakanda has planned\nfor his own (i. e., for his friend, relation, or subject).\u201d[14] If a\nKansa prospers, he says, \u201cWakan\u00b4da ak\u00e1 a\u207fma\u207f\u00b4y\u00fcx\u00fc\u00b4dje aka\u00b4 eya\u00fa,\u201d i.\ne., \u201cWakanda has indeed been looking at me!\u201d And in speaking of the\nsuccess of another, he says, \u201cWakan\u00b4da ak\u00e1 n\u00edka yi\u00f1k\u00e9 uy\u00fc\u00b4x\u00fcdje ak\u00e1\neya\u00fa,\u201d i. e., \u201cWakanda has indeed been looking at the man.\u201d\n\nSamuel Fremont said that when an animal detected the approach of the\nhunter and consequently fled from him, the man prayed thus:\n\n Hau\u00b4 Wakan\u00b4da, wani\u00b4ta wi\u207f a\u207f\u023c\u00e1\u2018i \u00e9i\u207fte c\u012d i\u207f\u023c\u00e9g\u023cize\n Ho, Wakanda, quadruped one you gave perhaps again you take\n to me yours\n back\n from me\n\n \u00e9ga\u207f. C\u012d wi\u207f\u00b4 wa\u023c\u00ed\u0254naa\u207f\u023c\u00e1ki\u023ce ka\u207fb\u023c\u00e9ga\u207f,\n somewhat again one you cause to appear I hope\n to me\n\ni. e., \u201cHo, Wakanda, you may have given me an animal, but now it seems\nthat you have taken it from me. I hope that you will cause another to\nappear to me.\u201d But if the hunter shot at an animal and missed it, he\nsaid nothing.\n\n\n PONKA BELIEF ABOUT MALEVOLENT SPIRITS.\n\n\u00a7 26. About eighteen years ago, the author was told by the Ponka,\nwhose reservation was then in southern Dakota, that they believed death\nto be caused by certain malevolent spirits, whom they feared. In order\nto prevent future visits of such spirits, the survivors gave away all\ntheir property, hoping that as they were in such a wretched plight the\nspirits would not think it worth while to make them more unhappy. At\nthe burial of Mazi-kide, an Omaha, the author observed that some one\napproached the corpse and addressed it. In referring to this in 1888,\nSamuel Fremont said that the speaker said, \u201cWakanda has caused your\ndeath.\u201d In telling this, Fremont used the singular. \u201cWakanda aka.\u201d On\nrepeating this to George Miller, the latter said that it should have\nbeen \u201cWakanda ama,\u201d in the plural, \u201cthe Mysterious Powers,\u201d as the\nOmaha believed in more than one Wakanda before they learned about the\none God of monotheism.\n\nThis agrees with what was learned about the Dakota by the late\nmissionaries, Messrs. S. R. Riggs and G. H. Pond, and by the late James\nW. Lynd, as stated in chapter V.\n\n\n AN OLD OMAHA CUSTOM.\n\n\u00a7 27. \u201cAbicude,\u201d said Samuel Fremont, \u201cis a word which refers to an\nold Omaha and Ponka custom, i.e., that of blowing the smoke downward\nto the ground while praying. The Omaha and Ponka used to hold the pipe\nin six directions while smoking: toward the four winds, the ground,\nand the upper world.\u201d The exact order has been forgotten by Fremont,\nbut Lewis and Clarke have recorded the corresponding Shoshoni custom.\nCapt. Lewis tells how the Shoshoni chief, after lighting his pipe of\ntransparent greenstone (instead of catlinite), made a speech, after\nwhich he pointed the stem of the pipe toward the four points of the\nheavens, beginning with the east and concluding with the north. After\nextending the stem thrice toward Capt. Lewis, he pointed it first\ntoward the heavens and then toward the center of the little circle\nof guests, probably toward the ground, symbolizing the subterranean\npower.[15]\n\nIn addressing the four winds, a peculiar expression is employed by the\nOmaha:\n\n \u2534a[p]\u00e9 d\u00faba h\u00ed\u023ca\u023c\u0115 \u023c\u00e1\u023ci\u207fc\u00e9, i\u207f wi\u00f1\u00b4\u029ea\u207fi-g\u0103, Thou who causest\n Wind four you cause you (sing.) help ye me.\n it to reach who move\n there\n\nthe four winds to reach a place, help ye me! Instead of the singular\nclassifier, \u023ca\u023ci\u207fce, the regular plural, na\u00f1k\u00e1c\u0115, ye who sit, stand, or\nmove, might have been expected. (See \u00a7 33.)\n\nIn smoking toward the ground and upper world, the suppliant had to\nsay, \u201cI petition to you who are one of the two, you who are reclining\non your back, and to you who are the other one, sitting directly above\nus. Both of you help me!\u201d \u201cHere,\u201d said Fremont, \u201cthe ground itself was\naddressed as a person.\u201d Two Crows said that some Omaha appealed to a\nsubterranean Wakanda when their word was doubted, saying, \u201cI\u207fc\u2018\u00e1ge\nh\u00eddea\u0287a ak\u00e1 a\u207fn\u00e1\u2018a\u207fi,\u201d \u201cThe venerable man at the bottom hears me.\u201d The\nauthor is unable to say whether this was \u2534ande or Wakandagi. (See \u00a7 37.)\n\nThe following was recorded of the Omaha, and refers to a custom\nrelating to the buffalo hunt.[16]\n\n On coming in sight of the herd, the hunters talk kindly to their\n horses, applying to them the endearing names of father, brother,\n uncle, etc. They petition them not to fear the bisons, but to run\n well and keep close to them, but at the same time to avoid being\n gored.\n The party having approached as near to the herd as they suppose\n the animals will permit without taking alarm, they halt to give\n the pipe bearer an opportunity to perform the ceremony of\n smoking, which is considered necessary to their success. He lights\n his pipe, and remains a short time with his head inclined, and the\n stem of the pipe extended toward the herd. He then smokes, and\n puffs the smoke toward the bisons, and the earth, and finally to\n the cardinal points successively.\n\n\n THE SUN A WAKANDA.\n\n\u00a7 28. In the Osage traditions the \u201cmysterious one of day\u201d is invoked\nas \u201cgrandfather.\u201d[17]\n\nHe replies that he is not the only Wakan\u0287a. That the Kansa worshiped\nthe sun as a Wakanda appears from the following: \u201cOn one occasion, when\nthe Kansa went against the Pawnees, the stick was set up for the mystic\nattack or \u2018waqpele gaxe.\u2019 The war captain addressed the rising sun thus:\n\n \u201cP\u00e1yi\u207f \u00e1qli k\u016d\u207f\u00b4bla eya\u00fa. C\u016d\u00f1\u00b4ge w\u00e1bli\u207f al\u00ed k\u016d\u207f\u00b4bla\n Pawnee I stun by I wish indeed. Horse I have I have I wish\n hitting them come back\n\n eya\u00fa. Way\u00fc\u00b4qpe ck\u00ed k\u016d\u207f\u00b4bla eya\u00fa. Hal\u00e9je u\u026f\u00edblage.\n indeed. Pulling down too I wish indeed. Calico (shirt) I tell you\n (a foe) about it.\n\n Haqi\u207f\u00b4 u\u026f\u00edblage. Hask\u00e1 cki P\u00e1yi\u207f \u00e1qli-da\u207f\u00b4 m\u00edk\u2019\u00fc\n Robe I tell you Blanket too Pawnee I stun when I give to\n about it. by hitting you\n\n t\u00e1 mi\u00f1ke, W\u00e1kanda-\u00e9, \u00e9 g\u00fc\u00b4a\u207fyakiy\u00e9-da\u207f. \u201cI wish to kill\n will I who O Wakanda! that you cause me to when.\n (sit) be returning\n\n[Transcriber's note: the hyphen in \u201cg\u00fc\u00b4a\u207fyakiy\u00e9-da\u207f\u201d was at the end of\na line; the word may have been \u201cg\u00fc\u00b4a\u207fyakiy\u00e9da\u207f\u201d or \u201cg\u00fc\u00b4a\u207fyakiy\u00e9-da\u207f\u201d.]\n\na Pawnee! I desire to bring horses when I return. I long to pull down\nan enemy! I promise you a calico shirt and a robe. I will give you a\nblanket also, O Wakanda, if you allow me to return in safety after\nkilling a Pawnee!\u201d When warriors performed the \u201cwaqpele gaxe\u201d or the\nattack on the stick representing the foe, no member of the L\u1e75 or\nThunder gens could participate. On such an occasion the warrior turned\nto the east and said: \u201cA\u207fma\u207f\u00b4pye k\u016d\u207f\u00b4bla a\u00fa. Hask\u00e1\n To follow me(?) I wish . Blanket\n or We follow it(?)\n\n u\u026f\u00edblage a\u00fa, W\u00e1kanda-\u00e9,\u201d i.e., I wish my party to pass along\n I tell you of it . O Wakanda\n\nthe road to the foe(?). I promise you a blanket, O Wakanda (if I\nsucceed?).\u201d On turning to the west he said: \u201cU\u207f\u00b4h\u016d\u207f\n Boiling\n\n u\u026f\u00edblage a\u00fa, W\u00e1kanda-\u00e9,\u201d i.e., \u201cI promise you a feast, O\n I tell you of it . O Wakanda\n\nWakanda (if I succeed?).\u201d\n\nWhen it was decided to perform the \u201cwaqpele gaxe,\u201d the duda\u207fha\u00f1ga or\nwar captain made one of the lieutenants carry the sacred bag, and two\nof the kettle tenders took bundles of sticks, which they laid down in\nthe road. The four remaining kettle tenders remained at the camping\nplace. The next morning all the warriors but those of the L\u1e75 gens went\nto the place where the sticks had been laid, drew a circle around the\nbundles, set up one of the sticks, and attacked it, as if it were a\nPawnee. This ceremony often caused the death of real enemies.\n\nAmong the Osage and Kansa prayer was made toward the rising sun in the\nmorning and towards the setting sun in the afternoon and evening.\n\nAmong the Omaha and Kansa the head of a corpse is laid towards the\neast. For this reason no Omaha will consent to recline with his head\ntowards that point. The Kansa lodges also are orientated, and so were\nthose of the Omaha (see \u00a7 59). The east appears to symbolize life or\nthe source thereof, but[18] the west refers to death; so among the\nOsage the course of a war party was towards the mythic or symbolic\nwest, towards which point the entrances of the lodges were turned[19]\n(see \u00a7\u00a7 83 and 384).\n\nGahige, the late Omaha chief, said that when he was young all the Omaha\nprayed to the sun, holding up their hands with the palms towards the\nsun and saying, \u201cWakan\u00b4da, \u023c\u00e1\u2018ea\u207f\u00b4\u023ca-g\u0103,\u201d etc., i. e., \u201cO Wakanda, pity\nme!\u201d They abstained from eating, drinking, and (ordinary) smoking from\nsunrise to sunset; but after sunset the restrictions were removed.[20]\n\nFor four nights the men who thus prayed did not sleep at home. At the\nend of that period the task was finished. \u201c\u00cdwacka\u207f g\u00e1xai,\u201d i. e., they\nmade or gained superhuman power. They could thus pray at any time from\nthe appearance of grass in the spring until the ground became frozen.\n\n THE OFFERING OF TOBACCO.\n\n\u00a7 29. In 1889 George Miller gave an account of what he called \u201cNin\u00ed\nbaha\u00ed t\u0115,\u201d i. e. the offering or presentation of tobacco. Whether this\nphrase was ever used except in a religious or superhuman connection\nis more than the author is able to say. Whenever the Indians traveled\nthey used all the words which follow as they extended the pipe with\nthe mouthpiece toward the sun: \u201cHa\u00fa, nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4 Wakan\u00b4da, Mi\u207f\u00b4 \u023c\u00e9\n Ho tobacco that Wakanda Sun this\n lg. ob.\n\n ni\u00f1k\u0115\u00b4c\u0115! Uja\u00f1\u00b4ge \u023ci\u023c\u00ed\u0287a k\u0115 \u00e9ga\u207fqti u\u00e1ha t\u00e9 \u0103.\n you who sit Road your the just so I follow will !\n lg. ob. its course\n\n I\u00f1g\u00e1xa-g\u0103! Ed\u00e1da\u207f ct\u00e9cte \u00fada\u207fqti \u00e1kipa\u00f1ki\u023ca\u00b4-g\u0103! Ed\u00e1da\u207f\n Make it for me What soever very good cause me to meet it What\n\n j\u00faaj\u012d wi\u207f\u00b4 \u0115ded\u00edte \u029e\u012d\u00b4 \u00edbeta\u207fa\u00f1ki\u023c\u00e1-g\u0103! \u023bi\u00b4-na\u207f\n inferior one it is there if cause me to pass Only thou\n around it\n\n \u00e1musta wa\u023c\u00ed\u0254na \u023cag\u023ci\u207f\u00b4, n\u00ed-u\u023can\u00b4da \u023c\u00e9\u023ca\u207f \u023c\u00e9\u023ca\u207fska \u00e9dega\u207f,\n directly in sight you sit island this this large but\n above (us) place\n\n ed\u00e1da\u207f wan\u00edta \u0287an\u00b4de ucka\u207f\u00b4cka\u207f \u023ca\u207f b\u023c\u00fagaqti n\u00edkaci\u207fga\n what quadruped ground mv. on it here the all person\n and there\n\n \u023ca\u207f\u00b4 ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4 wi\u207f\u00b4 a\u207f\u00b4ba ata\u207f\u00b4 \u00ed\u023ca\u0254ni\u00b4g\u023ca\u207f \u029e\u012d, \u00e9ga\u207f-na\u207f.\n the soever one day how you decide for when always so.\n long him\n\n \u00c1da\u207f wi\u00b4\u029ea-na\u207f ma\u207f\u00b4 h\u0103, Wakan\u00b4da\u201d This may be rendered\n Therefore I ask a favor alone . Wakanda\n of you\n\nfreely thus: \u201cHo, Mysterious Power, you who are the Sun! Here is\ntobacco! I wish to follow your course. Grant that it may be so! Cause\nme to meet whatever is good (i. e., for my advantage) and to give a\nwide berth to anything that may be to my injury or disadvantage.\nThroughout this island (the world) you regulate everything that\nmoves, including human beings, when you decide for one that his last\nday on earth has come, it is so. It can not be delayed. Therefore, O\nMysterious Power, I ask a favor of you.\u201d\n\n THE PONKA SUN DANCE OF 1873.\n\nIn the summer of 1873, when the author was missionary to the Ponka\nin what was Todd County, Dakota, that tribe had a sun dance on the\nprairie near the mission house. The scarifications and subsequent\ntortures and dancing lasted but three hours instead of a longer\nperiod, owing to the remonstrances of Bishop Hare, the agent, and the\nmissionary. The head chief, White Eagle, was tied to his pony, after he\nhad been scarified and fastened to the sun pole. Some of his policemen,\narmed with whips, lashed the pony until it leaped aside, tearing out\nthe lariat that fastened the chief to the sun pole, and terminating his\nparticipation in the ceremony. (See Pl. XLVI and \u00a7 187.) For obvious\nreasons the author did not view the sun dance, but he was told about it\nby some of the spectators. As the chief, Standing Buffalo, had said to\nBishop Hare in the council previous to the sun dance, \u201cYou white people\npray to Wakanda in your way, and we Indians pray to Wakanda in the sun\ndance. Should you chance to lose your way on the prairie you would\nperish, but if we got lost we would pray to Wakanda in the sun dance,\nand find our way again.\u201d\n\n\n THE MOON A WAKANDA.\n\n\u00a7 30. No examples of invocations of the moon have yet been found\namong the Omaha and Ponka. But that the moon is \u201cqube\u201d appears from the\ndecorations of robes and tents. (See \u00a7\u00a7 45-47.)\n\nThe moon is addressed as a \u201cgrandfather\u201d and is described as the\n\u201cWakan\u0287a of night\u201d in \u201cOsage Traditions,\u201d lines 55-59.[21]\n\n\n BERDACHES.\n\nThe Omaha believe that the unfortunate beings, called \u201cMi\u207f-qu-ga,\u201d are\nmysterious or sacred because they have been affected by the Moon Being.\nWhen a young Omaha fasted for the first time on reaching puberty, it\nwas thought that the Moon Being appeared to him, holding in one hand\na bow and arrows and in the other a pack strap, such as the Indian\nwomen use. When the youth tried to grasp the bow and arrows the Moon\nBeing crossed his hands very quickly, and if the youth was not very\ncareful he seized the pack strap instead of the bow and arrows, thereby\nfixing his lot in after life. In such a case he could not help acting\nthe woman, speaking, dressing, and working just as Indian women used\nto do. Louis Sanssouci said that the mi\u207f-quga took other men as their\nhusbands. Frank La Fl\u00e8che knew one such man, who had had several men\nas his husbands. A Ponka child once said to the author, \u201cMi\u207fji\u00f1ga-ma\nnuji\u00f1ga ama \u0287i-gaxe-nandi, mi\u207fquga, ai,\u201d i.e., \u201cIf boys make a practice\nof playing with the girls they become (or are called) mi\u207fquga.\u201d This\nterm may be rendered \u201chermaphrodite\u201d when it refers to animals, as \u201c\u0287e\nmi\u207fquga,\u201d a hermaphrodite buffalo. It must have been of this class of\npersons, called \u201cMi\u207f-quge\u201d by the Kansa that Say wrote when he said:\n\n Many of the subjects of it (i.e., sodomy among the Kansa) are\n publicly known, and do not appear to be despised or to excite\n disgust. One was pointed out to us. He had submitted himself to it\n in consequence of a vow he had made to his mystic medicine, which\n obliged him to change his dress for that of a woman, to do their\n work, and to permit his hair to grow.[22]\n\nAfter giving an account of the Mi\u207fquga which agrees with what has been\nwritten above, Miss Fletcher[23] tells of \u201ca man who had the misfortune\nto be forced to this life and tried to resist. His father gave him a\nbow and some arrows, but the penalty of his vision so wrought upon his\nmind that, unable to endure the abnormal life, he committed suicide.\u201d\n(See \u00a7\u00a7 212, 353.)\n\n\n STARS AS WAKANDAS.\n\n\u00a7 31. That the Omaha and Ponka regarded the stars as Wakandas seems\nprobable from the existence of nikie names and the personal mystery\ndecorations. (See \u00a7\u00a7 45, 47, and 52.) There are star names in the\nNight gens of the Kansa, and they point to the mythical origin of the\ngens. The Kansa made offerings to the morning star. Among the Osage\nthe traditions of the Tsi\u0254u Wacta\u029ee and Bald Eagle people mention\nseveral Wakan\u0287as among the stars. These are as follows: Watse \u0287u\u029ea,\na \u201cgrandfather;\u201d Watse mi\u207f\u029ea, a \u201cgrandmother;\u201d Mi\u207fkak\u2019e pe\u023c\u016d\u207f[p]a,\nthe Seven Stars (Pleiades?), a \u201cgrandfather;\u201d the constellation\nTa \u023ca[p]\u023ci\u207f or the Three Deer, a \u201cgrandfather;\u201d the morning star,\nMi\u207fkak\u2019e ta\u00f1\u029ea (literally, large star), a \u201cgrandfather;\u201d the small\nstar, a \u201cgrandfather;\u201d the bowl of the Dipper, called \u201cWa[p]aha\n\u023ci\u00f1kce; the Funeral Bier,\u201d a \u201cgrandfather,\u201d and the Female Red Bird,\na \u201cgrandmother,\u201d the eponym of the Tsi\u0254u Wacta\u029ee or \u201cRed Eagle\u201d gens.\nShe, too, was probably a star.[24]\n\n\u00a7 32 Ga\u207f ed\u00e1da\u207f \u023ci\u207f\u00b4 ct\u0115wa\u207f \u023caha\u207f\u00b4-na\u207fi ni\u00b4aci\u207f\u00b4ga ama\u00b4, [p]ahe\u00b4\n And what the soever usually Indian the hill\n col. prayed (to) pl.\n ob. sub.\n\n \u0287a\u00f1ga\u00b4 \u023ci\u207f, ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4. \u201cWakan\u00b4da b\u023cu\u00b4gaqti wi\u00b4\u029eai \u0103,\u201d e\u00b4-na\u207fi.\n large the soever Wakanda all I ask a ! they said\n col. favor of usually\n ob.\n\n \u201cHau, \u2534an\u00b4de ni\u00f1k\u0115\u00b4 c\u0115, \u029ea\u00b4ci ji\u00f1\u00b4ga e\u00b4ga\u207f a\u00b4wita\u207f te\u00b4 \u0103,\u201d\n Ho Ground you who sit some little so I tread will !\n time on you\n\n ai\u00b4 ni\u00b4kaci\u207f\u00b4ga ama\u00b4. \u2534ade\u00b4 ui\u00b4\u023c\u0115 du\u00b4baha t\u0115\u00b4 ct\u012d\n say Indians the Whence the wind in four the too\n pl. sub. is sent hither(?) places\n\n \u023caha\u207f\u00b4-na\u207fi. \u201c\u2534ade\u00b4 ui\u00b4\u023c\u0115 du\u00b4baha na\u00f1ka\u00b4c\u0115, i\u207fwi\u00f1\u00b4\u029ea\u207fi-g\u0103.\u201d\n they usually Whence the wind in four ye who are help ye me\n pray (to) is sent hither(?) places\n\n Ga\u207f\u00b4 gage\u00b4gi\u023ca\u207f\u00b4i ni\u00b4aci\u207f\u00b4ga uke\u00b4\u023ci\u207f ama\u00b4, Wakan\u00b4da\n and they speak in that Indian ordinary the pl. Wakanda\n manner to (one) sub.\n\n wa\u00b4\u023caha\u207fi t\u0115\u00b4di. \u201cThe Indians used to invoke various objects,\n they pray to when\n them\n\nincluding the mountains, saying, \u2018O, all ye mysterious powers, I ask a\nfavor of you!\u2019 They prayed to the ground, saying, \u2018O, you who are the\nground! May I tread you a little while longer!\u2019 i. e., \u2018May my life on\nearth be prolonged!\u2019 When one prayed to the four winds, he would say,\n\u2018Ho, ye four winds, help me!\u2019 Thus did speak when they prayed to the\nWakandas.\u201d--(George Miller.)\n\n\n THE WINDS AS WAKANDAS.\n\n\u00a7 33. The Omaka and Ponka invoked the winds, as has been stated in\npart of the preceding section. See also the statement of Samuel Fremont\n(\u00a7 27).[25]\n\nIn preparing for the pipe dance the tobacco pouch, two gourd rattles,\nand the ear of corn have a figure drawn on each of them with green\npaint; it is the cross, indicating the four quarters of the heavens or\nthe four winds.[26]\n\n KANSA SACRIFICE TO THE WINDS.\n\n\u201cIn former days the Kansa used to remove the hearts of slain foes\nand put them in the fire as a sacrifice to the four winds. Even now\n(1882) offerings are made to every Wakanda by the Kansa, to the\npower or powers above, to those under the hills, to the winds, the\nthunder-being, the morning star, etc. As Ali\u207fkawahu and Paha\u207flegaqli\nare Yata men (i. e., members of gentes camping on the left side of the\ntribal circle), they elevate their left hands and begin at the left\nwith the east wind, then they turn to the south wind, then to the west\nwind, and finally to the north wind, saying to each, \u2018G\u00e1-tc\u0115, Wakan\u00b4da,\nmik\u2019\u00fc\u00b4 eyau\u00b4,\u2019 i. e., \u2018O Wakanda, I really give that to you.\u2019 In former\ndays they used to pierce themselves with knives and splinters of wood,\nand offer small pieces of their flesh to the Wakandas.\u201d[27]\n\n OSAGE CONSECRATION OF MYSTIC FIREPLACES.\n\nThe author considers that the following statement of the Osage\nchief, [K]ahi\u029ee-wa\u0287ayi\u00f1\u029ea (of the Tsi\u0254u Wacta\u029ee gens), refers to the\ninvocation of the four winds. It appears to have been associated with\nfire or hearth worship. Whenever a permanent village of earth lodges\nwas established among the Osage and Kansa, there was a consecration of\na certain number of fireplaces before the ordinary fireplaces could be\nmade by the common people. The consecrated fireplaces were made in two\nparallel rows, beginning at the west and ending at the east. Among the\nKansa there were seven on one side and six on the other, but among the\nOsage there seem to have been seven on each side. Among the Osage, the\nTsi\u0254u Wacta\u029ee and Pa\u207f\u0265ka gentes were the \u2018roadmakers,\u2019 i. e., those who\nconsecrated the two rows of fireplaces. [K]ahi\u029ee-wa\u0287ayi\u00f1\u029ea said, \u201cWhen\nthe old Tsi\u0254u man made his speech, he went into details about every\npart of a lodge, the fireplace, building materials, implements, etc.\nFour sticks were placed in the fireplace, the first one pointing to the\nwest (see \u00a7\u00a7 40, 84). When the first stick was laid down, the Tsi\u0254u\nleader spoke about the west wind, and also about a young buffalo bull\n(Tse\u0287\u1e75-\u0254i\u00f1\u029ea), repeating the name, Wanie-sk\u0103 (meaning not gained). When\nthe stick pointing to the north was laid down he spoke of Tsehe-q\u1e75\u0287[s]e\n(gray buffalo horns), or a buffalo bull. When the stick at the east was\nlaid down, he spoke of Tse-\u0287\u1e75\u029ea-ta\u00f1\u029ea (a large buffalo bull). On laying\ndown the fourth stick, pointing to the south, he spoke of Tse mi\u207f\u029ea (a\nbuffalo cow). At the same time a similar ceremony was performed by the\naged Pa\u207f\u0265ka man for the gentes on the right side of the tribal circle.\nIn placing the stick to the east, he mentioned Ta\u0287[s]e [K]aqpa ts\u0115 (the\neast wind) and Tahe ca[p]e (dark horned deer). In placing that to the\nnorth, Ta\u0287[s]e \u0500a[s]a\u207f ts\u0115 (the north wind, literally, \u2018the pine wind\u2019)\nand Tahe q\u1e75\u0287[s]e (the deer with gray horns) were mentioned. In placing\nthat pointing to the west, Ta\u0287[s]e Ma\u207fha ts\u0115 (the west wind) and an\nanimal which makes a lodge and is with the Tahe pa[s]i\u029ee (probably a\ndeer name) were mentioned. In placing the stick pointing to the south,\nhe spoke of Ta\u0287[s]e Ak\u2019a ts\u0115 (the south wind) and Ta wa\u00f1ka he a\u029e\u023ca\u0254i\nskuta\u00f1\u029ea (probable meaning, a large white female deer without any\nhorns).\n\n\u00a7 34. In time of war, prayers were made about the fire (\u00a7 287), when a\nwarrior painted his face red, using the \u201cfire paint,\u201d a custom of the\nleft or Tsi\u0254u side of the tribe. Those on the right or Ha\u00f1\u029ea side used\n\u201cthe young buffalo bull decoration,\u201d and probably offered prayer in\nconnection therewith, in order to be filled with the spirit of their\n\u201clittle grandfather\u201d (the young buffalo bull), as they rushed on the\nenemy. This will be seen from the words employed by the warrior: \u201cMy\nlittle grandfather is always dangerous as he makes an attempt. Very\nclose do I stand, ready to go to the attack!\u201d[28]\n\n\n THE THUNDER-BEING A WAKANDA.\n\n OMAHA AND PONKA INVOCATION OF THE THUNDER-BEING.\n\n\u00a7 35. Among the Omaha and Ponka, when the first thunder was heard in\nthe spring of the year, the Black bear people went to the sacred\ntent of the Elk gens, and there they assisted the Elk people in\nthe invocation of the Thunder-being. At a similar gathering of the\nPonka, the Ponka Black bear people said, \u201cHau, i\u207fc\u2018\u00e1ge, \u023ci\u0287\u00facpa \u023c\u00e9\u023cu\na\u00f1\u00b4ga-ta\u207f gan\u00e1xiwa\u023c\u00e1\u023cai. Ma\u207fci\u00e1\u0287ah\u00e1 ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1\u00b4g\u0103,\u201d i. e., \u201cHo, venerable\nman! by your striking (with your club) you are frightening us, your\ngrandchildren, who are here. Depart on high.\u201d[29]\n\n[Transcriber\u2019s note: The hyphen in \u201ca\u00f1\u00b4ga-ta\u207f\u201d was at the end of a\nline; the word may have been \u201ca\u00f1\u00b4gata\u207f\u201d or \u201ca\u00f1\u00b4ga-ta\u207f\u201d.]\n\n THUNDER-BEING INVOKED BY WARRIORS.\n\nThe Thunder-being is invoked by all present during the feast\npreparatory to starting on the warpath, when there is a small party of\nwarriors. Each one addresses the Thunder-being as \u201cNuda\u207fha\u00f1ga,\u201d leader\nin war, or war captain.[30]\n\nWhen a large war party is desired, the Thunder-being is invoked\n(See history of Wabaskaha, in Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol. VI, p. 394).\nWabaskaha himself prayed, saying, \u201cOh, Wakanda, though foreigners\nhave injured me, I hope that you may help me.\u201d All who heard him knew\nthat he desired to lead a large war party. When the four captains\nwere chosen, they had to cry incessantly at night as well as by day,\nsaying, \u201cOh, Wakanda! pity me! help me in that about which I am in a\nbad humor.\u201d During the day they abstained from food and drink; but they\ncould satisfy their thirst and hunger when night came.\n\nAt the feast preparatory to starting off as a large war party, the\nkeepers of the sacred bags sing thunder songs as well as other sacred\nsongs. One of the thunder songs used on such an occasion begins thus:\n\n \u201cWi-\u0287\u00ed-ga\u207f na\u207f\u00b4-pe-w\u00e1-\u023c\u0115 \u00e9-ga\u207f,\n Wi-\u0287\u00ed-ga\u207f na\u207f\u00b4-pe-w\u00e1-\u023c\u0115 \u00e9-ga\u207f,\n W\u00e9-ti\u207f k\u0115 g\u023ci-ha\u207f\u00b4-ha\u207f \u029e\u012d,\n Na\u207f\u00b4-pe-w\u00e1-\u023c\u0115 ----.\u201d\n \u201cAs my grandfather is dangerous,\n As my grandfather is dangerous,\n Dangerous when he brandishes his club,\n Dangerous ----.\u201d\n\nWhen he had proceeded thus far, \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d stopped and refused to\ntell the rest, as it was very \u201cwaqube.\u201d He said that the principal\ncaptains of a large war party tied pieces of twisted grass around their\nwrists and ankles, and wore similar pieces around their heads. But\nTwo Crows, who has been a captain, says that he never did this. (See,\nhowever, the Iowa custom in \u00a7 75.)\n\n ICTASANDA CUSTOM.\n\nThe following \u201cnikie\u201d or ancient custom of the Ictasanda gens was\nrelated by George Miller:\n\n Naji\u207f\u00b4 da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115a\u207f\u00b4 \u029e\u012d, na\u207f\u00b4pai \u029e\u012d, ga\u207f\u00b4 Wakan\u00b4da-ma\n Rain perhaps if they fear if so the Wakandas (pl. ob.)\n seen danger\n\n nini\u00b4 uji\u00b4 wa\u2018i\u00b4i t\u0115. Ga\u207f\u00b4 nini\u00b4 uji\u00b4 wa\u2018i\u00b4i\n tobacco put in they the (past and tobacco put in they gave\n gave to act) to them\n them\n\n t\u0115\u00b4di e\u00b4gi\u023ca\u207f\u00b4i t\u0115: \u023b\u00e9\u023cu waqpa\u00b4\u023ci\u207f-qti a\u00b4\u023ci\u207fhe\u00b4,\n when they said to the Here very poor I who move\n (one) (past act)\n\n[Transcriber\u2019s note: the hyphen in \u201cwaqpa\u00b4\u023ci\u207f-qti\u201d was at the end of a\nline; the word may have been \u201cwaqpa\u00b4\u023ci\u207fqti\u201d or \u201cwaqpa\u00b4\u023ci\u207f-qti\u201d.]\n\n a\u207fwa\u207f\u00b4wa\u0287a\u00b4\u023cica\u207f cte\u00b4ctewa\u207f \u023ci\u00fade ti\u00b4g\u023ce g\u00e1xai-g\u0103,\n in what direction soever to become abandoned make ye\n (suddenly)\n\n \u0287iga\u207f\u00b4ha. \u0114\u00b4dedi\u00b4 \u023ca\u00b4\u023ci\u207fc\u00e9 (\u00e9) ja\u207fmi\u207f\u00b4.\n O grandfather. You are mv. there I suspect.\n\n \u023big\u023c\u00edze-ma\u207f\u00b4\u023ci\u207f, \u0115\u00b4ded\u00ed \u023c\u00e1\u023ci\u207fc\u00e9 (\u00e9) ja\u207fmi\u207f\u00b4.\n Walking Forked-lightning, you are mv. there I suspect.\n\n\n \u023bia\u207f\u00b4ba-ti\u00b4g\u023ce, \u0115\u00b4ded\u00ed \u023ca\u00b4\u023ci\u207fc\u00e9. (\u00e9) ja\u207fmi\u207f\u00b4.\n Sheet-lightning flashes you are mv. there I suspect.\n suddenly\n\n \u023bia\u207f\u00b4ba-g\u00ed-na\u207f, \u0115\u00b4dedi\u00b4 \u023c\u00e1\u023ci\u207fc\u00e9 (\u00e9) ja\u207fmi\u207f\u00b4.\n Sheet-lightning is often you are mv. there I suspect.\n returning hither.\n\n G\u00e1agig\u023c\u00e9da\u207f \u0115\u00b4ded\u00ed \u023c\u00e1\u023ci\u207fc\u00e9 (\u00e9) ja\u207fmi\u207f\u00b4. Ga\u207f\u00b4\n (a name referring you are mv. there I suspect. And\n to passing thunder)\n\n gat\u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xa-b\u00e1j\u012d \u029e\u012d\u00b4ct\u0115 n\u00edaci\u207f\u00b4ga ci\u207f\u023ciq\u00e1de \u023c\u00e9ga\u207f\n in that manner he does not if man (See Note.) thus\n\n naji\u207f\u00b4i, maqpi\u00b4 k\u0115\u0287\u00e1\u023cica\u207f xag\u00e9 naji\u207f\u00b4i. Ga\u207f\u00b4 Wakan\u00b4da\n stands, cloud toward the lg ob. crying stands. And Wakanda\n\n am\u00e1 w\u00e9gi[p]aha\u207f\u00b4-bi, a\u00ed. N\u00edkaci\u207f\u00b4ga\n the pl. sub. that they know about they say. Person\n them, their own\n\n ta\u207f\u00b4wa\u207fg\u023ca\u207f w\u00e9daj\u012d am\u00e1 a\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 na\u207f\u00b4pai,\n gens elsewhere the pl. sub. to have it they fear seen danger,\n\n ij\u00e1je g\u0115\u00b4 ct\u0115wa\u207f. \u00c1gudi\u00b4ct\u0115 n\u00edkaci\u207f\u00b4ga am\u00e1\n name the pl. in. ob. even. In some places person the pl. sub.\n (not specified.)\n\n i\u023ca\u2018e\u00b4\u023c\u0115 am\u00e1 Icta\u00b4sanda \u00facka\u207f e\u0287ai\u00b4 t\u0115 e\u00b4ga\u207f\n those who have visions, etc. Ictasanda custom their the ob. so\n\n ga\u00b4xai. Waa\u207f\u00b4 \u0115\u00b4qti ga\u00b4xai da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 gia\u207f\u00b4\n they do. song they themselves they make perhaps singing their own\n\n naji\u207f\u00b4i. Nini\u00b4ba k\u0115 uji\u00b4 a\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i e\u00b4ga\u207f maqpi\u00b4\n they stand. Pipe the lg. ob. filled they have as cloud\n\n k\u0115\u0287\u00e1\u023cica\u207f \u00fagaq\u023ce baha\u00b4 naji\u207f\u00b4i. Ni\u00b4kaci\u207f\u00b4ga\n towards the lg. ob. facing holdingoutto they stand. Person\n\n ama\u00b4 a\u00b4ji ct\u012d ga\u00b4xe-na\u207f\u00b4i. Ata\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 nini\u00b4ba\n the pl. sub. different too they often do. Sometimes pipe\n\n a\u023ci\u207f\u00b4-baj\u012d ga\u207f\u00b4 waa\u207f\u00b4 si\u00b4a\u207f\u023ce\u00b4 da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 naji\u207f\u00b4-na\u207fi. K\u012d\n they do not have so singing alone perhaps they stand often. And\n\n ni\u00b4kaci\u207f\u00b4ga ama\u00b4 \u023ce\u00b4 i\u00b4\u023ca\u2018e\u00b4\u023c\u0115 ama\u00b4 \u00facka\u207f eda\u00b4da\u207f \u00fada\u207f\n person the pl. sub. this those who have deed what good\n visions, etc.\n\n uha\u00b4 \u2018i\u00b4\u023c\u0115 tai\u00b4 \u029e\u012d\u00b4ct\u0115 i\u00b4baha\u207f\u00b4i, c\u012d \u00facka\u207f\n to follow the course promise will even they know, again deed\n\n j\u00faaj\u012d a\u00b4kipa tai\u00b4 \u029e\u012d\u00b4ct\u0115 i\u00b4baha\u207f\u00b4i. Ga\u207f ni\u00b4kaci\u207f\u00b4ga \u023ci\u207f\n unsuitable they will meet even they know. And person the\n mv. one\n\n a\u207fwa\u207f\u00b4wa\u0287a gaq\u023ca\u207f\u00b4 ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4 nini\u00b4 uji\u00b4\n in what direction large hunting walks soever tobacco puts in\n expedition\n\n \u2018i\u00b4i e\u00b4ga\u207f wa\u023ci\u00b4g\u023ca\u00f1ki\u023cai\u00b4. E\u2018a\u207f\u00b4 uja\u00f1\u00b4ge uha\u00b4 tai\n gives to as causes him to prophesy. How road he will follow its\n him course\n\n \u029e\u012d\u00b4ct\u0115 i\u00b4baha\u207f gi\u00b4ga\u207f\u023cai\u00b4 e\u00b4ga\u207f waa\u00f1\u00b4ki\u023cai\u00b4. K\u012d\n even to know wishes for him as causes him to sing. And\n\n ata\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 ni\u00b4kaci\u207f\u00b4ga ama\u00b4 e\u00b4ga\u207fi, a\u00b4\u023cade-na\u207f\u00b4i,\n sometimes person the pl. sub. just so, they often pronounce,\n\n wani\u00b4ta da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 ube\u00b4[s]ni\u207f \u029e\u012d, wani\u00b4ta d\u2018u\u00b4ba a\u207f\u2018i\u00b4i h\u0103, e\u00b4\n quadruped perhaps they find if quadruped some they have . he\n out given to me says\n\n da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115a\u207f\u00b4i.\n perhaps.\n _Notes._\n\n383, 4, et passim. \u023ba\u023ci\u207fce eja\u207fmi\u207f, contracted in rapid pronunciation\nto, \u023ca\u023ci\u207fceja\u207fmi\u207f.\n\n383, 4-6. \u023big\u023cize-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f, \u023bia\u207fba-tig\u023ce, \u023bia\u207fba-g\u00edna\u207f, and Gaagig\u023ceda\u207f\nare \u201cnikie names\u201d of the Ictasanda or Thunder gens of the Omaha. They\nmay refer to four Thunder beings, one at each point of the compass, or\none dwelling in the direction of each of the four winds.\n\n383, 8. Ci\u207f\u023ciqade, with the arms elevated and the hands stretched out,\npalms down, towards the clouds.\n\n383, 9-10. Nikaci\u207fga wedaj\u012d ama, etc. Other gentes of Omaha fear to\nmention these Ictasanda names, or to bestow them on members of their\ngentes.\n\n383, 11. Agudict\u0115 ... i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115 ama, etc. Refers to the I\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115\nama, or the Thunder shamans, of the other Omaha gentes.\n\n\n _Translation._\n\nWhen the Ictasanda people become fearful during a shower, they fill a\npipe with tobacco and offer it to the Thunder-beings. And when they\noffer the tobacco, they speak thus: \u201cO grandfather! I am very poor\nhere. In some direction or other cause a place to be abandoned by those\n(who would injure me?). I think that you are there O \u023big\u023cize-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f! I\nthink that you are there. O \u023bia\u207fba-tig\u023ce! I think that you are there. O\n\u023bia\u207fba-gi na\u207f! I think that you are there. O Gaagig\u023ceda\u207f! I think that\nyou are there.\u201d\n\nAnd when they do not offer the tobacco, they stand with the arms\nelevated and the hands stretched out, palms down, as they cry towards\nthe clouds. And they say that the Thunder-beings know about them, their\nworshippers.\n\nThe Omaha of the other gentes fear to mention these Ictasanda nikie\nnames, or to bestow them on members of their gentes, as well as to\ninvoke the Thunder-being or beings, unless they belong to the order of\nThunder shamans. In that case, they can do as the Ictasanda people do.\nThey make songs about the Thunder-beings, and stand singing their own\nsongs. They fill the pipe with tobacco, and stand, holding it with the\nmouth-piece toward the clouds, as they gaze towards them.\n\nThese shamans often act otherwise. Sometimes they do not fill the\npipe, and then they stand singing the Thunder songs, without offering\nanything to the Thunder-beings.\n\nAnd these shamans know when anything promises to result in good or\nevil to the person undertaking it. So when a person wishes to join a\nlarge hunting party, he fills a pipe with tobacco, and offers it to\na shaman, thus causing him to prophesy. As he wishes him to know the\nresult of following a certain course, (i. e., of traveling in a certain\ndirection), he induces the shaman to sing (sacred songs). And sometimes\nthe shaman predicts the very occurrence which comes to pass; if, for\ninstance, he foretells that the inquiring man will kill game, he may\nsay, \u2018The Thunder-beings (?) have given me some quadrupeds.\u2019\n\n KANSA WORSHIP OF THE THUNDER-BEING.\n\n\u00a7 36. The following was a custom of the L\u1e75 or Thunder-being gens. At\nthe time of the first thunder-storm in the spring of the year, the L\u1e75\npeople put a quantity of green cedar on a fire, making a great smoke.\nThe storm ceased after the members of the other gentes offered prayers.\nThe Buffalo or Tced\u016d\u00f1ga gens aided the L\u1e75 gens in the worship of the\nThunder-being, by sending one of their men to open the sacred bag of\ngray hawk skin and remove the mystery pipe. These objects were kept by\na L\u1e75 man, Kinuyi\u00f1ge, who was not allowed to open the bag.\n\nPaha\u207fle-gaqli, of the Large Ha\u00f1ga gens, and Ali\u207fkawahu, of the Small\nHa\u00f1ga, are the leaders in everything pertaining to war. Paha\u207fle-gaqli\nfurnished the author with a copy of his war chart, on which are\nrepresented symbols of the mystery songs. In the middle of the chart\nthere should be a representation of fire, but Paha\u207fle-gaqli said\nthat he was afraid to draw it there, unless he fasted and took other\nnecessary precautions. The songs used in connection with the chart\nare very \u201cwakandagi,\u201d or mysterious. They are never sung on common\noccasions, or in a profane manner, lest the offender should be\nkilled by the Thunder-being. One of the three songs about the sacred\npipe, sung when the wrappings are taken from the pipe (See \u00a7 85) by\nAli\u207fkawahu is as follows:\n\n \u201cHa-h\u00e1! tc\u00e9-ga-n\u00fa ha-h\u00e1!\n Ha-h\u00e1! tc\u00e9-ga-n\u00fa ha-h\u00e1!\n Ha-h\u00e1! tc\u00e9-ga-n\u00fa ha-h\u00e1!\n H\u00fc-h\u00fc\u00b4!\u201d\n\n(Unintelligible to the author. Said when Ali\u207fkawahu presses down on the\ncovers or wrappings of the pipe.)\n\n \u201cYu! yu! y\u00fa! H\u00fc-h\u00fc\u00b4! H\u00fc-h\u00fc\u00b4!\u201d\n\n(Chorus sung by all the Large and Small Ha\u00f1ga men.)\n\nThis last line is an invocation of the Thunder-being. The arms, which\nare kept apart and parallel, are held up toward the sky, with the\npalms of the hands out. Each arm is then rubbed from the wrist to the\nshoulder by the other hand.[31]\n\nAfter the singing of these three songs, Paha\u207fle-gaqli carries the\nsacred clam shell on his back.\n\nThe second figure on the chart is that of the venerable man or Wakanda,\nwho was the first singer of all the Ha\u00f1ga songs. When Ali\u207fkawahu and\nPaha\u207fle-gaqli are singing them, they think that this Wakanda walks\nbehind them, holding up his hands toward the Thunder-being, to whom he\nprays for them.\n\nWhen the war pipe is smoked by any Ha\u00f1ga man, he holds the pipe in his\nright hand, and blows the smoke into the sacred clam shell, in his\nleft. The smoke ascends from the clam shell to the Thunder-being, to\nwhom it is pleasant.\n\nThe Kansa used to \u201ccry to\u201d the Thunder-being before going on the\nwarpath. When the captain (the head of the Large Ha\u00f1ga gens) smoked his\npipe, he used to say, Ha\u00fa, W\u00e1kanda-\u00e9, P\u00e1yi\u207f-m\u00e1ha\u207f mi\u207f\u00b4 ts\u2019e k\u016d\u207f\u00b4bla\n Ho? O Wakanda! Skidi one to die I wish\n\n eyau,\u201d i. e. \u201cHo, Wakanda! I really wish a Skidi\u201d (or, Pawnee Loup)\n indeed\n\n\u201cto die!\u201d\n\nThe men of the two Ha\u00f1ga gentes unite in singing songs to stop rain,\nwhen fair weather is needed, and songs to cause rain when there has\nbeen a drought. (See \u00a7 43.)\n\n\n SUBTERRANEAN AND SUBAQUATIC WAKANDAS.\n\n\u00a7 37. The Omaha and Ponka believe in the Wakandagi, monsters that\ndwell beneath the bluffs and in the Missouri river. These monsters have\nvery long bodies, with horns on their heads. One myth relates how an\norphan killed a Wakandagi with seven heads.[32]\n\nThe Omaha have a tradition that a Wakandagi was seen in the lake\ninto which Blackbird creek empties, near the Omaha agency. It is\nimpossible to say whether the Wakandagi and the \u2534ande or Ground were\ndifferentiated (See \u00a7 27). The Kansa Mi-\u00e1-l\u1e75-cka were somewhat like\nthe Wakandagi, though in one respect they resembled the mythical\n\u0500\u00e1-[s]nu-ta of the Omaha, i. e., in having enormous heads. The Kansa\nspeak of the Mial\u1e75cka as a race of dreadful beings with large heads and\nlong hair.[33] They dwelt in remote places, to which they were supposed\nto entice any unwary Indian who traveled alone. The victim became crazy\nand subsequently lived as a mi\u207fquga or catamite. Some of the Mial\u1e75cka\ndwelt underground or in the water, sitting close to the bank of the\nstream. The ancient Mial\u1e75cka was a benefactor to the Indians, for he\ntook some wet clay and made first a buffalo calf and then three buffalo\nbulls, which he ordered the Indians to shoot, after teaching them how\nto make bows and arrows and to use them.\n\n\n THE INDA\u023bI\u00d1GA.\n\n\u00a7 38. The Ponka, in 1871, told the author of a being whom they called\nthe \u012cnd\u00e1\u023ci\u00f1ga. This being was a superhuman character, who dwelt in the\nforests. He hooted like an owl, and he was so powerful that he could\nuproot a tree or overturn a lodge. The Ponka had a song about him,\nand mothers used to scare their children by saying, \u201cBehave, else the\n\u012cnda\u023ci\u00f1ga will catch you!\u201d Joseph La Fl\u00e8che had heard it spoken of\nas a monster in human shape, covered with thick hair. As the Ponka\nfor wearing a mask is \u201c\u012cnd\u00e1\u023ci\u00f1ga g\u00e1xe,\u201d or \u201cto act the \u012cnd\u00e1\u023ci\u00f1ga,\u201d it\nmay be that this character was an aboriginal bogy. Compare the Dakota\n\u0106a\u014botida\u014b, Ho\u1e23no\u0121i\u0107a, U\u014bgna\u0121i\u0107ala, etc. (\u00a7 232.) Omaha mothers used\nto scare their children by telling them that if they did not behave,\nIcibaj\u012d (a hero of the \u2534e-s\u012dnde gens) or \u2534exuja\u207f (a hero of the [K]a\u207fze\ngens) would catch them.[34] Another fearful being was \u012cnde-na\u207fba, or\nTwo Faces, the very sight of whom killed a woman who was enceinte.[35]\nThis being resembled, in some respects, Ictinike, the deceiver,[36]\nthough Ictinike was usually the counterpart of the Dakota Ikto, Iktomi,\nor U\u014bktomi. (See \u00a7\u00a7 228-231.) As a worker of evil Ictinike may be\ncompared with the Dakota An\u016d\u014bg-ite or Two Faces, and the latter in turn\nresembled the \u012cnd\u00e1\u023ci\u00f1ga of the Ponka. (See \u00a7\u00a7 233, 234.)\n\n\n OTHER KANSA WAKANDAS.\n\n\u00a7 39. The third figure on the Kansa war chart is[37] that of the Wakanda\nor aged man who gives success to the hunter. He is thus addressed by\nAli\u207fkawahu and Paha\u207fle-gaqli: Ts\u2018\u00e1ge-ji\u00f1\u00b4ga ha\u00fa! D\u00e1ble\n Venerable man Ho! To hunt\n large quadrupeds\n\n ma\u207f\u00b4yi\u207f-a\u00fa! D\u00e1da\u207f wadj\u00fc\u00b4ta n\u00edkaci\u207fga ck\u00e9da\u207f w\u00e1yak\u00edpa-b\u00e1[p]a\u207f\n walk thou What quadruped person soever you meet them and\n (pl.)\n\n[Transcriber\u2019s note: the hyphen in \u201cma\u207f\u00b4yi\u207f-a\u00fa\u201d was at the end of a\nline; the word may have been \u201cma\u207f\u00b4yi\u207fa\u00fa\u201d or \u201cma\u207f\u00b4yi\u207f-a\u00fa\u201d.]\n\n ts\u2019\u00e9ya-b\u00e1na-hau!\n kill ye !\n\n[Transcriber\u2019s note: the last hyphen in \u201cts\u2019\u00e9ya-b\u00e1na-hau\u201d was at\nthe end of a line; the word may have been \u201cts\u2019\u00e9ya-b\u00e1nahau\u201d or\n\u201cts\u2019\u00e9ya-b\u00e1na-hau\u201d.]\n\ni.e., \u201cVenerable man, go hunting! Kill whatever persons or quadrupeds\nmeet you!\u201d They think that this being drives the game towards the\nhunter.\n\nIn the war chart there are seven songs of the Wakanda who makes night\nsongs. Fig. 16 of that chart refers to a song of another Wakanda who is\nnot described. Fig. 18 refers to two shade songs. Shade is made by a\nWakanda. Fig. 19 is a dream song. There is a Wakanda who makes people\nsleepy, an Indian Somnus.\n\n\n \u00a7 40. OMAHA INVOCATIONS OF THE TRAP, ETC.\n\n J\u00e1be da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 \u00faji \u029e\u012d, maka\u207f\u00b4 \u00edgaxe ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i \u029e\u012d, \u00e9\n Beaver for instance he if, medicine making he walks if, that\n traps for that\n it purpose\n\n nin\u00ed bah\u00e1 e\u0287\u00e1 t\u0115 \u00e9. (The invisible being who first made\n tobacco showing his the it.\n\n the medicine was thus addressed:) N\u00edkaci\u207fga paha\u00f1\u00b4ga maka\u207f\u00b4\n Person first medicine\n\n \u00edcpaha\u207f ni\u00f1k\u0115\u00b4c\u0115, [p]\u00e9jeh\u00edde cka\u207fz\u00e9 ni\u00f1k\u0115\u00b4c\u0115, nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! \u023b\u00e9\u023cu\n you knew you who medicine you you who tobacco that Here\n (sit), taught (sit), lg. ob.\n\n ed\u00e1da\u207f cka\u207fz\u00e9 g\u0115 i\u023c\u00e1paha\u207f-maj\u012d\u00b4-qti wi\u207f\u00b4 \u00e1i\u023c\u00e1ga\u023ca\u023ci\u207fh\u00e9\n what you taught the I do not know at all one I am carrying on\n pl. my arm and in my\n in. ob. hand as I move\n\n \u023ca\u207f\u00b4ja, ca\u207f\u00b4ed\u00e1da\u207f ct\u00e9cte \u00edwamak\u00e1a\u023c\u0115 t\u00e9 \u0103. Nin\u00ed\n though, yet what soever I get it easily by will ! Tobacco\n means of\n\n gak\u0115\u00b4, a\u00ed n\u00edaci\u207fga am\u00e1. (He then prays to the beaver:) Ha\u00fa, J\u00e1be!\n that, says person the mv. Ho, Beaver!\n lg. ob., sub.\n\n Nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! \u00dabahi e\u2018a\u207f\u00b4 ck\u00e1xai g\u0115 b\u023c\u00fagaqti ug\u00edg\u023caca\u207f\u00b4i-g\u0103!\n Tobacco that! Feeding how you made the all travel ye in your\n place them pl. own!\n in ob.\n\n Nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! (Next, to the medicine:) Ha\u00fa, \u0500\u00e9jeh\u00edde, nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4!\n Tobacco that! Ho, Medicine, tobacco that!\n lg. ob. lg. ob.\n\n \u2018A\u207f\u00b4qti ct\u00e9cte wan\u00edta wi\u207f uh\u00e9 ea\u207f\u00b4\u023c\u0115 tat\u00e9, e\u023c\u00e9ga\u207f\n No matter how it quadruped one pass me on the shall, thinking it\n is (_or_ At any road (to the\n rate) trap)\n\n naji\u00f1\u00b4-g\u0103. \u2018A\u207f\u00b4qti ct\u00e9cte [p]\u00e1q\u023cuge a\u207f\u00b4\u023ca\u207fsk\u00e1 tat\u00e9,\n stand thou. At any rate nostrils large enough shall,\n for me (i. e., to\n smell me.)\n\n e\u023c\u00e9ga\u207f naji\u00f1\u00b4-g\u0103. Nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! (Invocation of the trap:) Ha\u00fa,\n thinking it stand thou. Tobacco that! Ho,\n lg ob.\n\n Ma\u207f\u00b4z\u0115 na\u00f1k\u00e1c\u0115! nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! \u2018A\u207f\u00b4qti ct\u00e9cte wi\u207f\u00b4 wat\u2019\u00e9a\u023c\u0115\n Iron ye who (sit) tobacco that! At any rate one I kill it\n lg. ob.\n\n t\u00e1 mi\u00f1ke, e\u023c\u00e9ga\u207f g\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i-g\u0103. (Invocation of the pack-strap:)\n will I who, thinking it sit ye.\n\n Ha\u00fa, W\u00e9\u2018i\u207f ni\u00f1k\u0115\u00b4c\u0115! nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! A\u207f\u00b4qti ct\u00e9cte w\u00ed\n Ho, Packstrap you who (sit)! tobacco that! At any rate I\n lg. ob.\n\n wan\u00edta \u00e1higi we\u00e1t\u2018\u0115, e\u023c\u00e9ga\u00f1-g\u0103. Ha\u00fa, \u2534ij\u00e9be \u00ed\u0254nuga\u0287\u00e1\n quadruped many I touch think thou. Ho, Entrance at the right\n them, side\n\n \u023c\u00e1ta\u207fc\u00e9! nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! \u2018A\u207f\u00b4qti ct\u00e9cte w\u00ed wan\u00edta a\u207f\u023ca\u207f\u00b4bak\u012dn\u00b4de\n you who tobacco that! At any rate I quadruped brushing by me\n stand! lg. ob.\n\n an\u00e1ji\u207f t\u00e1 mi\u00f1ke, e\u023c\u00e9ga\u00f1-g\u0103. Ha\u00fa, \u2534e-s\u012dn\u00b4de ug\u00e1cke\n I stand will I who think thou. Ho, Buffalo-tail tied to it\n (sit),\n\n \u023c\u00e1ta\u207fc\u00e9! nin\u00ed gak\u0115\u00b4! \u2018A\u207f\u00b4qti ct\u00e9cte w\u00ed wan\u00edta a\u207f\u0287\u00e1p\u2018\u0115\n you who tobacco that! At any rate I quadruped near to me\n stand! lg. ob.\n\n an\u00e1ji\u207f t\u00e1 mi\u00f1ke, e\u023c\u00e9ga\u00f1-g\u0103. Ha\u00fa, Un\u00e9\u023c\u0115 ni\u00f1k\u0115\u00b4c\u0115! nin\u00ed\n I stand will I who think thou. Ho, Fireplace you who tobacco\n (sit), (sit)!\n\n gak\u0115\u00b4! \u2018A\u207f\u00b4qti ct\u00e9cte wi wan\u00edta a\u207f\u00b4naa\u00ed ag\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 t\u00e1 mi\u00f1ke,\n that! At any rate I quadruped drops over I sit will I who\n lg. ob. on me (from (sit)\n the kettle)\n\n e\u023c\u00e9ga\u00f1-g\u0103.\n think thou.\n\n\n _Notes._\n\nTold by George Miller. In the last invocation, he began to dictate thus:\n\n \u201cHa\u00fa, N\u00e1wi\u207fxe d\u00faba \u00e1kipasan\u00b4de na\u00f1k\u00e1c\u0115!\u201d i. e., \u201cHo, ye\n Ho, Firebrand four meet at a common ye who\n point\n\nfour firebrands that meet at a common point (i. e., in the middle of\nthe fireplace)!\u201d He subsequently changed it to an invocation of the\nfireplace itself. But it is very probable that there was an invocation\nof the four firebrands, resembling the ceremonies of the Kansa and\nOsage (see \u00a7 33). George has given all that he remembers of the\ninvocations, but he does not recollect the exact order.\n\n 387, 3. [p]eje-hide, \u201clower part,\u201d or \u201croots of grass,\u201d an archaic\n name for \u201cmaka\u207f\u201d, medicine. Nini gak\u0115--the classifier k\u0115 shows that\n a long object, the pipe, is referred to, the tobacco being in the\n pipe when it is offered to the powers.\n\n 388, 1. ai\u023caga\u023ca\u023ci\u207fhe, contr. from \u00e1i\u023c\u00e1ga\u023ca \u00e1\u023ci\u207fh\u00e9, used here in\n the sense of \u201cab\u023ci\u207f,\u201d I have.\n\n 388, 12. a\u207f\u023ca\u207fbak\u012dnde, eq. to a\u207f\u023ca\u207fbista \u023c\u00e9wa\u023c\u0115, to send them\n (through) when they are so close that they touch me.\n\n\n _Translation._\n\nThe invisible being who first made the beaver medicine and taught\nits use to mankind, was thus addressed: \u201cOh, Thou who didst teach how\nto make the medicine, here is tobacco! Though I have your medicine, the\nnature of which I do not understand at all, grant that I may easily\nacquire something or other by means of it! Here is tobacco!\u201d\n\nWhen he addressed the beavers, he said, \u201cHo, ye Beavers! Here is\ntobacco! Let all of you travel in your feeding places which you have\nmade. Here is tobacco!\u201d To the beaver medicine itself, he said, \u201cHo,\nMedicine! Here is tobacco! Stand thinking thus, \u2018At any rate an animal\nshall surely pass me and be caught in the trap, and its nostrils shall\nbe large enough to smell me.\u2019\u201d The trap itself was thus addressed: \u201cHo,\nye pieces of iron! Here is tobacco! Sit ye and think thus: \u2018At any\nrate I will kill one!\u2019\u201d To the pack-strap was said, \u201cHo, pack-strap!\nHere is tobacco! Think thou, \u2018At any rate I shall press against many\nquadrupeds.\u2019\u201d The right side of the entrance to the tent (?) was thus\naddressed: \u201cHo, Thou who standest at the right side of the entrance\nto the tent! (\u00a7 232) Here is tobacco! Think thou, \u2018At any rate I shall\ncontinue to have some one bring dead animals on his back and send\nthrough me suddenly, rubbing against me as they pass through.\u2019\u201d To the\nprincipal tent pole these words were said, \u201cHo, Thou who standest with\nthe buffalo tail tied to thee! Here is tobacco! Think thou, \u2018At any\nrate, I shall have a quadruped to come near me.\u2019\u201d When the man invoked\nthe fireplace, he said, \u201cHo, Fireplace! Here is tobacco! Think thou,\n\u2018At any rate I shall sit and have the water fall on me in drops as it\nboils over from the kettle containing the quadruped.\u2019\u201d\n\nThese invocations may be compared with what the prophet Habakkuk tells\nus about the Chaldeans, in the first chapter of his prophecy. In his\nprayer to God, he says, \u201cThese plunderers pull out all men with the\nhook, draw them in with their casting net, and gather them with their\ndraw net, and rejoice and are glad in it. Therefore they make offerings\nto their casting net, and burn incense to their draw net, for through\nthem their catch is rich and their food dainty.\u201d[38]\n\n\n FASTING.\n\n\u00a7 41. This topic naturally precedes that of visions or dreams about\nmystery, animals, and objects. Two Crows and Joseph La Fl\u00e8che heard\nthe following spoken of as an ancient custom. It was told them in\ntheir youth by some of the old men of that day, who had received it\nfrom their elders as having been practiced by the tribe for unnumbered\ngenerations. When old men had sons, sisters\u2019 sons, or grandsons, who\napproached manhood, they used to direct those youths to abstain from\nfood and drink, and to put clay on their faces, saying: \u201cQa\u207fxa\u00b4\u0287a\n Far away\n\n xage\u00b4 ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i-g\u0103. A\u207f\u00b4ba \u023ca\u00b4b\u023ci\u207f du\u00b4ba ja\u207f\u00b4 \u029e\u012d, wa\u023c\u00e1ta-baj\u00edi-g\u0103,\n crying walk ye. Day three four sleep if, do not eat (pl.),\n\n k\u012d n\u00ed \u023cata\u207f\u00b4-baj\u00edi-g\u0103. \u023biqu\u00b4baj\u012d cte\u00b4ct\u0115wa\u207f, ca\u207f\u00b4 Wakan\u00b4da\n and water do not drink (pl.) You are not even if, still Wakanda\n \u201cqube\u201d\n\n ak\u00e1 u\u023ci\u00b4\u029ea\u207f t\u00e1 aka. Wa\u00b4\u023cawaqp\u00e1ni ma\u207f\u0254ni\u207f\u00b4i \u029e\u012d,\n the sub. he will aid you. You act as if poor you walk if,\n\n wa\u0254n\u00e1ha\u207f-de \u023cax\u00e1xage \u029e\u012d, u\u023ci\u00b4\u029ea\u207f ta\u00b4 aka,\u201d i. e., \u201cWalk ye in remote\n you pray when you cry if he will aid you.\n\nplaces, crying to Wakanda. Neither eat nor drink for three or four\ndays. Even though you do not acquire personal mysterious power, Wakanda\nwill aid you. If you act as poor men, and pray as you cry, he will help\nyou.\u201d\n\nWhen their throats became dry, their voices gave out. When they had\ncompleted their fasts, they went home, being exceedingly emaciated. At\nthat time they could not swallow solid food, so they were obliged to\nsubsist on mush mixed with much water, till by degrees they became able\nto eat what they pleased. Many thought that this fasting enabled them\nto have superhuman communications with Wakanda.\n\nFasting was practiced at other times, but always in order to obtain\nsuperhuman assistance or to acquire a transfer of superhuman power. A\nPonka war captain exhorted each of his followers thus: \u201cAha\u00fa! Wacka\u207f\u00b4\nega\u00f1\u00b4-g\u0103! Qu\u00b4beki\u023ca\u00b4-bi \u023ci\u207fhe\u00b4!\u201d i.e., \u201cOho! Do exert yourself! Be sure\nto make yourself the possessor of superhuman power by the aid of the\nanimal that you have seen in your vision after fasting!\u201d[39] Members\nof a small war party had to fast four days, counting from the time\nthat they started on the warpath.[40] Before the large war party was\nformed to avenge the wrongs of Wabaskaha, the four prospective captains\nfasted.[41] When the Kansa captain fasted, he could not visit his\nfamily, but a small fasting lodge was erected for him at some distance\nfrom his own house.[42]\n\n\n MYSTIC TREES AND PLANTS.\n\n\u00a7 42. The Omaha have two sacred trees, the ash and the cedar. The\nash is connected with the beneficent natural powers. Part of the sacred\npole of the Omaha and Ponka is made of ash, the other part being of\ncottonwood. The stems of the niniba weawa\u207f, or \u201csacred pipes of\nfriendship,\u201d are made of ash. But the cedar is linked with the\ndestructive agencies, thunder, lightning, wars.[43]\n\nWhen the seven old men took the pipes around the Omaha tribal circle,\nthe bad Ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1ka-gaxe people wore plumes in their hair and wrapped\nbranches of cedar around their heads, being awful to behold. So the old\nman passed them by and gave the pipe to the other Ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1ka-gaxe, who\nwere good. In the Osage traditions, cedar symbolizes the tree of life.\nWhen a woman is initiated into the secret society of the Osage, the\nofficiating man of her gens gives her four sips of water, symbolizing,\nso they say, the river flowing by the tree of life, and then he rubs\nher from head to foot with cedar needles three times in front, three\ntimes at her back, and three times on each side, twelve times in all,\npronouncing a sacred name of Wakan\u0287a as he makes each pass. Part of\nthe Pa\u207f\u0265ka gens of the Osage tribe[44] are Red Cedar people. The Pa\u00f1ka\ngens of the Kansa tribe is called \u201cQ\u016dndjala\u207f,\u201d i.e., \u201cwearers of cedar\n(branches) on the head.\u201d Cedar is used by the Santee Dakota in their\nceremony of the four winds. (See \u00a7 128.) The Teton Dakota believe in\nthe efficacy of the smell of cedar wood or of the smoke from cedar in\nscaring away ghosts. (See \u00a7 272.) In the Athapascan creation myth of\nOregon, obtained by the author in 1884, the smoke of cedar took the\nplace of food for the two gods who made the world, and the red cedar is\nheld sacred as well as the ash, because these two trees were the first\nto be discovered by the gods.[45]\n\nThat the Hidatsa have a similar notion about the red cedar is shown by\ntheir name for it, \u201cmidahopa,\u201d mysterious or sacred tree. Compare what\nMatthews tells about the Hidatsa reverence for the cottonwood with what\nis recorded above about the Omaha sacred pole.[46] (\u00a7 344.)\n\nThe cottonwood tree also seems to have been regarded as a mystic tree\nby the Omaha and Ponka, just as it is by the Hidatsa. The sacred pole\nof the two tribes was made from a tall cottonwood.[47] When the lower\npart of the sacred pole became worn away, about 8 feet remained, and\nto this was fastened a piece of ash wood about 18 inches long. In\npreparing for the dance called the Hede watci, the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 people\nsought a cottonwood tree, which they rushed on, felled, and bore to\nthe center of the tribal circle, where they planted it in the \u201cuje\u0287i.\u201d\nMystic names taken from the cottonwood are found in the \u023bixida and\nNika[p]a\u0254na, the two war gentes of the Ponka tribe, and in the \u023batada\nand [K]a\u207fze gentes of the Omaha.[48]\n\nThat there were other mystic trees and plants, appears from an\nexamination of the personal names of the Omaha, Ponka, and cognate\ntribes. For instance, \u2534ackahig\u023ca\u207f, a nikie name of the \u2534a[p]a, or Deer\ngens of the Omaha, conveys some reference to a white oak tree, \u0287ackahi;\nand in the Nuqe, a Buffalo gens of the Ponka tribe, we find the name\n\u2534abehi, from a plant, bush, or tree found in Nebraska, the leaves of\nwhich, resembling those of red cherry trees, are used by the Omaha for\nmaking a tea. Further study may show that the Winnebago, who have the\nname Wazi\u029ea, Pine Person, reverence a pine tree. (Query: May not this\nname be Cedar Person, rather than Pine Person?)\n\nAmong the Iowa, Oto, and Missouri, we find several cedar, corn, and\npumpkin names. Several corn and pumpkin names occur in the name list\nof the Kansa tribe. Corn, elm, and black hawthorn names are found in\nthe Osage name list, as well as cedar names; and their traditions\ntell of the cedar, red oak, and sycamore, as well as of the corn and\npumpkin.[49] (See \u00a7 49.)\n\n\n I\u023bA\u2018E\u023b\u0114.\n\n\u00a7 43. This term has been defined in Chapter II (\u00a7 8). It is very\nprobable that fasting for several days tended to produce the condition\nof mind and body requisite for the supposed superhuman communications.\nAccording to \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d and other Omaha, some persons thought that\nthey saw or heard ghosts or various animals. Sometimes men were roused\nfrom sleep, imagining that they heard mysterious voices. They claimed\nto have interviews with U-ga-ha-na-[p]a-ze, or the Ancient of Darkness;\nMa-qpi, or the Ancient of Clouds; \u2534ande, or the Ground Being; I\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f,\nor the Thunder-being; the Sun, the Moon, the Morning Star, the Ancient\nof Rattlesnakes, the Ancient of Grizzly Bears, the Ancient of Black\nBears, the Ancient of Buffaloes, the Ancient of Big Wolves, and the\nAncient of Prairie Wolves. Each being or animal thus seen in a dream\nor vision seems to have been regarded as the special guardian spirit\nof the person claiming to have had interviews with him. The I\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f\ni\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma, or Those who had interviews with the Thunder-being, never\ndanced at the meetings of their society. They invited one another to\nfeast, and they sang as they remained seated. The songs referred to the\nThunder-being. When they finished eating and singing the ceremonies\nended. This order of Thunder shamans claimed the power to make rain\n(see \u00a7 36).\n\nAccording to \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d and Little Village Maker, these shamans\ncould also make circles of seven colors around the sun and moon, and\nthe two men just named said that they had seen this done. Joseph La\nFl\u00e8che and Two Crows gave the following explanation: \u201cWhen there are\nclouds that obscure the moon, a circle is seen around the moon, and it\nsometimes resembles a rainbow.\u201d Though Two Crows belongs to the Buffalo\nsociety (\u2534e i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma, or Order of Buffalo shamans--see \u00a7 89), he said\nthat he had never had an interview with a mysterious buffalo, but that\nhis work in the order was confined to the practice of surgery, he being\nthe keeper of the \u201cmaka\u207f ski\u023c\u0115,\u201d or sweet medicine. Notwithstanding\nthis, there are certain buffalo songs, the property of the order, and\nwhich they claim to be powerful charms capable of working cures, when\nused by the surgeons of their order. Said Two Crows to the author,\n\u201cIf they had sent for the doctors of our order we could have cured\nPresident Garfield.\u201d The author obtained two of these Buffalo songs\nfrom an Omaha, but they are recorded only in singing notation.[50]\n\nAmong the Omaha societies are the Ca\u00f1ge i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma, the Horse\nshamans,[51] the Ca\u207f\u0287a\u00f1ga i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma, the Big Wolf shamans,[52] and the\nMa\u207ftcu i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma, the Grizzly Bear shamans.[53]\n\nAccording to Francis La Fl\u00e8che,[54]\n\n \u201cThere are three degrees of powers which come to men through\n visions: First, when the vision takes the form of an animal which\n addresses the man, he will then have acquired a power which will\n stead him in danger, and give him success in life. Second, if the\n vision assumes the appearance of a cloud, or a human shape having\n wings like an eagle, and a voice addresses the man, he will have\n the additional power of being able to foretell events. Third,\n when the vision comes without any semblance and only a voice is\n heard, the man is given not only the power to achieve success and\n foretell events, but he can foresee the coming of death. Should\n a man endowed with the third degree so elect, he can in due form\n join the Ghost Society; or, if he prefers, he can practice his\n powers individually.\u201d\n\nHis father, the late Joseph La Fl\u00e8che, told the author in 1882 that\nthe Ghost Dance formerly belonged to the Ponka tribe, from whom the\nOmaha took it; though it has not been used by the Omaha since about A.\nD. 1850.[55] The only inference which the author can draw from this\nstatement of the father is that if the Omaha obtained the Ghost Dance\nfrom the Ponka, the Ghost Society or order of Ghost shamans is not an\noriginal Omaha society. That the two are closely connected is proved\nby the names, Wanaxe i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma, the (order of) Ghost shamans (or, The\nGhost Society), and Wanaxe i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115 watcigaxe, The dance of those who\nhave visions of ghosts, or, The Ghost Dance.\n\nThe Kansa have the Tce wactce, or Buffalo shaman, and an order of\nsuch shamans. When a Kansa had a vision or dream (i-ya-k\u2019e-ye) of an\nanimal, etc., he painted the mystery object on his shield. An old woman\nused to \u201ciyak\u2019eye\u201d of a flying serpent, the [M]yets\u2018a t\u00e1ji l\u00edcka. The\nremains of such enormous serpents are found in the Black Hills, \u201cand\nif one finds such a reptile, he must die.\u201d For an account of the Kansa\n\u201cwakandagi\u201d see \u00a7 66.\n\nThe Kwapa or Ukaqpa Indians speak a dialect more closely allied to\nthat of the Omaha and Ponka than to those of the Kansa and Osage. With\nthem, to have superhuman communications is called d\u023ca-q\u2018\u00e9-d\u023c\u0115; shamans\nand doctors are n\u00edka q\u00faw\u0115, mysterious men, and among their societies\nof such men are the following: Te d\u023c\u00e1q\u2018ed\u023c\u0115, Those having superhuman\ncommunications with the Buffalo; the Ma\u207ft\u00fa d\u023caq\u2018\u00e9d\u023c\u0115, Those having\ninterviews with the Grizzly Bear; the I\u207fta\u207f\u00b4d\u023ca\u207f ta\u00f1\u00b4\u029ea d\u023caq\u2018\u00e9d\u023c\u0115,\nThose having interviews with the Panther; and the Jaw\u00e9 d\u023caq\u2018\u00e9d\u023c\u0115,\nThose having interviews with the Beaver. There were doubtless other\norders, but they are unknown to the author\u2019s Kwapa informant, Alphonsus\nValliere, of the Waji\u00f1\u029ea or Bird gens.[56]\n\n\n PERSONAL MYSTERY DECORATIONS.\n\n\u00a7 44. The Omaha and Ponka have certain personal mystery decorations,\nsome of which are worn on garments, and others appear on the tents\nof their owners. The makers and wearers of such decorations must be\nmembers of one of the orders of shamans. George Miller\u2019s father, Little\nSoldier, used to wear a buffalo robe decorated in the style shown in\nFigs. 156 and 157. It was his personal mystery decoration, which no\none else could use. Even members of his gens (the Ictasanda, a Thunder\nand Reptile gens) feared to imitate it. The father promised to paint\nthis decoration on four white blankets for his son George, but he died\nbefore he could paint the fourth one.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 156.--George Miller\u2019s personal mystery decoration.]\n\nGeorge received the first one when he was about seventeen years of\nage. Before he married he had worn out three. He still has the right\nto decorate and wear the fourth blanket, according to his father\u2019s\nintention. He could decorate other white blankets in this style, and\nwear them, if he wished, but he could not transmit to any one of his\nchildren (the grandchildren of Little Soldier) the right to make and\nwear such a decoration, unless George himself should hereafter see the\nobjects in a dream or vision.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 157.--A variant of Fig. 156.]\n\nThe right to use such designs on a buffalo robe, blanket, tent, etc.,\nmust originate with one who has had a vision or dream in which the\nmystery objects are manifested. Those who could use the class of\ndesigns represented in the accompanying illustrations (Figs. 156-161)\nwere members of the order of Thunder shamans (I\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma).\n\n\n ORDER OF THUNDER SHAMANS.\n\n\u00a7 45. This order is composed of those who have had dreams or visions,\nin which they have seen the Thunder-being, the Sun, the Moon, or some\nher superterrestrial objects or phenomena.\n\nWhen a person saw the Thunder-being or some other mystery object, he\nkept the matter a secret for some time. He took care to join the first\nwar party that went from his camp or village. When the party reached\nthe land of the enemy or got into some trouble the man told of his\ndream or vision. Should the dreamer or seer kill or grasp a foe while\na member of the expedition he made a Thunder song. He who brought back\none of the enemy\u2019s horses also had the right to make a Thunder song.\nSome time having elapsed after the return of the warriors, the seer\npainted the mystery objects on a robe or blanket, and prepared a feast,\nto which he invited all the members of the order of Thunder shamans.\nWhen the guests had assembled the robe was hung up and shown to them.\nThen all who were present rejoiced. From that time onward the host was\na member of the order, and he could wear the robe with safety.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 158.--Robe of Wanukige.]\n\nHe could give his son the right to wear such a robe, but unless that\nson had a similar vision he could not transmit the right to one of\nthe next generation. Little Soldier painted a buffalo robe with his\npersonal mystery decoration, and gave it to Two Crows, whose father\nhad been one of the leaders of the order of Thunder shamans. So Two\nCrows wore the robe, and he can make another like it; but he can not\ntransmit the right to his son, Ga\u2018i\u207f-baj\u012d. Two Crows would have\nbeen afraid to wear the robe or to copy the decoration on it had he not\nbeen a member of the order by direct inheritance from his father. A\nfather can clothe his son in such a robe when that son is large enough\nto go courting. The man can not give such a robe to his daughter, but\nhe can give one to his son\u2019s son, or to his daughter\u2019s son, should that\ngrandson be a large youth, who has neared or reached the age of puberty.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 159.--Tent of Wanukige.]\n\nIf a man who became eligible by his vision to membership in the order\nof Thunder shamans ventured to wear the decorated robe without inviting\nthe members of the order to a feast, he incurred the anger of the\nmembers and misfortune was sure to follow. Should a man wear such a\ndecorated robe without having had a vision of the mystery object, he\nwas in danger (if the object was connected with the Thunder-being,\netc.) of being killed by lightning. Every Omaha feared to decorate\nhis robe, tent, or blanket with an object seen by another person in a\ndream or vision. For instance, George Miller would not dare to have\nbears\u2019 claws, horses\u2019 hoofs, etc., on his robe, because neither he nor\nhis father ever saw a bear or horse mysteriously. There are penalties\nattached to violations of the prohibitions of the other orders, but\nGeorge Miller did not know about them.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 160.--Robe of \u023baqube.]\n\nBesides the personal mystery decoration of the robe or blanket, is that\nof the tent. Pl. XLIV, E is a sketch of a tent, furnished to the author\nby Dried Buffalo Skull, an old man of the \u023batada gens of the Omaha.\nThe decoration of this tent was the personal mystery or \u201cqube\u201d of\nHupe\u023ca, Sr., father of Hupe\u023ca, Jr. (now known as \u2534enuga\u0287a\u00f1ga), of the\nWasabe-hit\u2018aj\u012d or Black Bear sub-gens of the \u023batada. After the death\nof Hupe\u023ca, Sr., the decoration became the property of his kinsman,\nAgaha-wacuce, of the same sub-gens, and father of \u0500a\u023ci\u207fna\u207fpaj\u012d. The\ncircle at the top, representing a bear\u2019s cave, is sometimes painted\nblue, though Agaha-wacuce had it reddened. Below the four zigzag lines\n(representing the lightnings of different colors) are the prints of\nbears\u2019 paws. The lower part of the tent was blackened with ashes or\ncharcoal. Among the four zigzag lines, red, according to Mr. Francis La\nFl\u00e8che, symbolizes the east.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 161.--Robe of \u0500ahe-\u0287ap\u2018\u0115.]\n\nWanukige, a chief of the Ictasanda gens, had a vision of the aurora\nborealis, so he depicted this on his robes and tent, as shown in Figs.\n158 and 159. On the tent were seven stripes, three on each side of the\nentrance and one in the rear. Each robe that he wore had seven stripes.\n\nFig. 160 represents the personal mystery decoration of \u023baqube of the\n[K]a\u207fze gens. George Miller\u2019s father could wear this decoration, but\nthe right to it could not be transmitted by him to any one else.\n\u0500ahe-\u0287ap\u2018\u0115, of the [K]e-\u2018i\u207f subgens of the \u023batada gens, once had a\nvision of two stars and the new moon. Consequently he decorated his\nbuffalo robe, as shown in Fig. 161, and joined the order of Thunder\nshamans. He died when the author was at the Omaha agency (between 1878\nand 1880).\n\n\n GENERIC FORMS OF DECORATION.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 162.--Generic decoration referring to night, etc.]\n\n\u00a7 46. There are examples of generic forms of decoration, as well\nas those of specific forms. For instance, when a person had a\nvision of the night, or of the Thunder-being, or one of some other\nsuperterrestrial object, he blackened the upper part of his tent and a\nsmall portion on each side of the entrance, as shown in Fig. 162.\n\nIt was given thus by George Miller:\n\n N\u00edaci\u207fga am\u00e1 \u00e1gudi ct\u0115 ha\u207f\u00b4 da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 \u00ed\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u00e9 am\u00e1 \u0287\u00ed\n People the where ever night for example they have the tent\n pl. visions\n sub. of it\n\n ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i \u029e\u012d, wi\u207fd\u00e9ta\u207f s\u00e1be\u023ca\u00ed, k\u012d ci \u00e1gud\u00ed ct\u0115\n they if one-half the they blacken and again where ever\n dwell length\n in\n\n n\u00edkaci\u207fga am\u00e1 i\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f\u00b4 \u00ed\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u00e9 am\u00e1 c\u012d \u00e9ga\u207f\n people the pl. thunder they have the pl. again so\n sub. being visions sub.\n of it.\n\n ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4-biam\u00e1.\n they dwell in,\n they say.\n\n\n SPECIFIC FORMS OF DECORATION.\n\nA specific form related to the generic one just described is shown in\nFig. 163. The blackened part of the tent represents the night, and the\nstar denotes the morning star. There was a star on the left hand at the\nback of the tent, and another star on the right side. Black and blue\nare occasionally interchangeable in Omaha symbolism; hence we find that\nthe night is represented by a blue band on a coyote skin worn by the\nelder A\u207fpa\u207f-sk\u0103, and subsequently by his son and namesake, when\nthe latter was a small boy. The blue band was worn next the shoulders\nof the owner (Fig. 164).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 163.--Tent of A\u207fpa\u207f-sk\u0103, Sr.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 164.--Robe of A\u207fpa\u207f-sk\u0103, Sr.]\n\nThe decoration refers to his \u201cqube\u201d or \u201csacred vision.\u201d Little Cedar,\nof the Ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1ka-gaxe (Omaha) gens, belonged, we are told, to the Mi\u207f\ni\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma, or order of Sun and Moon shamans, probably identical with\nthe order of Thunder shamans. Fig. 165 represents a vision which Little\nCedar once had, described thus by George Miller:\n\n Ga\u207f\u00b4 n\u00edaci\u207fga ak\u00e1 \u00ed\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u00e1-bi ega\u207f\u00b4 \u023cet\u00e9ga\u207f \u0287i ug\u00e1 t\u0115\n And man the having had a vision, like this tent painted the\n sub. they say std. ob.\n\n ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4-biam\u00e1. M\u00e1zi-ji\u00f1\u00b4ga ij\u00e1je a\u023ci\u207f\u00b4-biam\u00e1. S\u00e1be t\u0115 ha\u207f\u00b4\n he dwelt in, Cedar Little his name had, they Black the night\n they say, say\n\n k\u0115 \u00e9 g\u00e1xai; nia\u207f\u00b4ba \u023ca\u207f \u00e9\u023ca\u207fbe t\u0115 g\u00e1xai. Nia\u207f\u00b4ba\n the that made moon the cv. emerging the made. Moon\n lg. ob. ob.\n\n u\u023can\u00b4da \u023can\u00b4di n\u00edkaci\u207fga ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 g\u00e1xai, ga\u00f1\u00b4\u029e\u012d \u00ed\u023ca\u2018e\u023ca\u00ed \u023ci\u00f1k\u00e9\n in the in the person sitting made and one seen in the one\n midst of part in a vision who\n\n \u00e9 t\u0115. Nia\u207f\u00b4ba \u00e9\u023ca\u207fbe at\u00ed-nandi n\u00e1q\u023ci\u207f\n that the Moon emerging comes regularly, blazes\n when (sends up\n light)\n\n \u00e9ga\u207f-na\u207f\u00b4i. The black band refers to the night; the circle, to\n somewhat usually.\n\nthe moon; the circumscribed figure is a ghost that he saw in the moon;\nand the dots above the moon refer to the \u201cwhite which stands above the\nrising sun or moon.\u201d Pl. XLIV B shows another tent decoration of the\nsame man. The red circle represents the sun, in which stands a man\nholding the \u0287a-c\u00e1-ge, or deer rattles, made of the hard or callous\nknobs found near the hoofs of the deer. These knobs are split, hollowed\nout, and strung on sticks. The tent being very large, the figure of the\nman was almost life size, and a real feather was tied to his head. The\nblue band at the bottom may represent night, but there is no certainty\nabout it.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 165.--Tent of Mazi-ji\u00f1ga--ghost vision.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 166.--A tent of Niku\u023cib\u023ca\u207f.]\n\n\u00a7 47. Fig. 166 is the decoration of one of the tents of Ni-ku-\u023ci-b\u023ca\u207f,\nfather of the present Wacka\u207f-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f (Hard Walker), an ex-chief of the\nOmaha. Niku\u023cib\u023ca\u207f was one of the two leaders of the order of Thunder\nshamans, and was regarded as being very \u201cqube\u201d or mysterious. The black\nband at the bottom refers to the night, and above it are seen the moon\nand a star. The old man named one of his grandchildren Ha\u207fakipa (Meets\nthe Night), after the vision to which the tent decoration refers.\n\nGeorge Miller furnished the description of Niku\u023cib\u023ca\u207f\u2019s tent, obtained\nfrom an old woman, who is his widow:\n\n \u201cGa\u207f w\u00edqti \u0287a\u207f\u00b4ba-m\u00e1j\u012d \u023ca\u207f\u00b4ja, u\u023ca\u00ed \u00e9ga\u207f ana\u00b4\u2018a\u207f h\u0103. Ga\u207f\u00b4\n And I I did not though they have as I have And\n myself see him told about heard it.\n him\n\n i\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f\u00b4\u207f \u00ed\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u00e1-biam\u00e1, \u00e1da\u207f \u0287u\u0254ni\u00f1\u00b4ge g\u00e1xai t\u0115\n Thunder he had a vision of therefore rainbow made it the\n Being him, they say (past\n act)\n\n g\u00e1t\u0115. \u2534\u00edhu\u029ea\u207f \u023ca\u207f\u0287\u00e1 bag\u023c\u00e9jai t\u0115, \u00e9 u\u023ca\u00ed h\u0103\n that ob. Smoke-hole at the painted in the that told it .\n part spots (past\n act)\n\n wa\u2018\u00faji\u00f1ga ig\u00e1q\u023ca\u207f ak\u00e1. Ma\u207f\u00b4cia\u0287\u00e1 a\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 ak\u00edi, \u00e1-biam\u00e1.\n old woman his wife the sub. On high having had he said,\n him reached they say.\n there again\n\n E\u0287\u00e1 ct\u012d maja\u207f\u00b4 \u023c\u00e9 \u00e9ga\u207f, \u00e1-biam\u00e1. Qub\u0115\u00b4qti g\u00e1xai\n There too land this like he said, they Very mysterious they\n say. made him\n\n n\u00edaci\u207fga, \u00e1da\u207f \u0287\u00ed ug\u00e1 t\u0115 \u00e1wat\u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xe ga\u207f\u00b4\u023cai\n man therefore tent painted the how to make he wished\n it\n\n \u029e\u012d, ga\u207f\u00b4 \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xai. Bag\u023c\u00e9jai t\u0115 m\u00e1si \u00e9 waka\u00ed\n when at any so he made it. Made spotted he hail that it meant\n rate by painting\n\n t\u0115.\u201d\n the (past\n act).\n\nThat is, \u201cI myself did not see him, but I have heard what was told.\nThey say that he had a vision of the Thunder-being, so he made that\nrainbow which appears in the figure (Fig. 167). The old woman,\nhis widow, has told that he painted the top of the tent, near the\nsmoke-hole, in spots. They say that he said that the Thunder-being\nhad carried him up on high, and that the place there resembled this\nworld. The man was regarded as very mysterious; therefore he decorated\nhis tent according to the pattern that he wished to make. The painted\nspots represent hail.\u201d Many years ago, Niku\u023cib\u023ca\u207f said that he had\nbeen carried up into the world above this one, and that he found it\nresembled the world in which we live. The rainbow and hail depicted on\nthe tent formed part of the vision, but their exact significance has\nnot been explained.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 167.--Another tent of Niku\u023cib\u023ca\u207f.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 168.--Blanket of Cu\u029ea-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f.]\n\nCu-\u029ea ma\u207f-\u023ci\u207f, an Omaha, had a vision which gave him the right to use\nthe decoration given in Fig. 168. The meanings of the different marks\nhave not been learned. Cu\u029ea ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f bequeathed the blanket to his son,\n[K]axe-gia\u207f (Flying Crow), now known as Gilbert Morris.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 169.--Tent of \u2534e-sa\u207f; vision of a cedar.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 170.--Tent of \u2534e-sa\u207f; sun and rainbow vision.]\n\n\u00a7 48. The old chief \u2534e-sa\u207f (Ta sone of Maj. Long), Distant-white\nBuffalo, father of the chiefs Standing Hawk and Fire Chief, had a\nvision of a cedar tree, which he painted on each side of his tent, as\nseen in Fig. 169. The next sketch (Fig. 170) shows the back part of\nanother tent of \u2534e-sa\u207f. The blue band near the top is called \u201csabe\u201d\n(black); below this is the sun and a blue rainbow; near the bottom are\ntwo horsetails. The only decorations on the front of the tent are two\nhorsetails, one on each side of the entrance. This tent was used by\nStanding Hawk after the death of his father. This decoration may have\nbeen made after a vision of horses, as Standing Hawk was a member of\nthe order of Horse Shamans (Ca\u00f1ge i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma). George Miller speaks\nthus about it:\n\n Ga\u207f\u00b4 n\u00edaci\u207fga ak\u00e1 n\u00edkagah\u00ed \u00e1tai ega\u207f\u00b4 \u00ed\u023ca\u2018\u00e9\u023c\u0115 da\u207f\u00b4et\u0115a\u207f\u00b4i\n And man the sub. chief he was as he had a perhaps\n beyond vision\n\n t\u0115, mi\u207f\u00b4 \u023ca\u207f uga\u00ed, \u00ed\u0287i. C\u012d ca\u00f1\u00b4g\u0115 s\u012dn\u00b4de\n the (past sun the he painted he painted the Again horse tail\n act) cv. ob. tent with it.\n\n ct\u012d g\u00e1xai, hid\u00e9 k\u0115\u00b4di. \u2534\u00edhu\u029ea\u207f [p]as\u00ed \u023ca\u207f\n too he made bottom at the Smoke hole tip end the part\n\n s\u00e1b\u0115\u023cai. That is, \u201cAs the man was a head chief, he may have had a\n he blackened.\n\nvision, for he occupied a tent on which he painted the sun, and he also\ndecorated it with horse-tails at the lower part. He painted the border\nof the smoke-hole a dark blue (\u0287u sab\u0115, which is some-times called,\nsab\u0115).\u201d\n\n \u201cI\u023c\u00e1di am\u00e1 da\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115 \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xai t\u0115\u00b4di, iji\u00f1\u00b4ge am\u00e1\n His father the pl. sub. perhaps so did when his son the pl.\n sub.\n\n \u00ed\u023ca\u2018\u00e9\u023ca-b\u00e1j\u012d ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4 \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xe-na\u207f\u00b4-biam\u00e1, \u00e1da\u207f \u00e9ga\u207f\n they did not have even so usually did, they therefore so\n visions of it say\n\n g\u00e1xai.\u201d That is, \u201cWhen the fathers decorate their tents in consequence\n he did\n\nof their respective visions, their sons (who succeed them) usually\nimitate them (or dwell in the decorated tents), even when they\nthemselves have not had visions of the objects. Therefore he (i.e.,\nStanding Hawk) did so.\u201d\n\nGeorge Miller told the following about \u0500ede-gahi or Fire Chief, another\nson of \u2534e-sa\u207f:\n\n C\u012d \u00e9ga\u207f \u0500\u00e9de-g\u00e1hi ak\u00e1 ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i wa\u0287a\u207f\u00b4be. Wata\u207f\u00b4zihi \u00ed\u0287i\n Again so Fire Chief the he sat in I saw Corn-stalk painted\n sub it on the\n tent\n\n wa\u0287a\u207f\u00b4be \u023ca\u207f\u00b4ja, \u00e1wat\u00e9ga\u207f i\u023c\u00e1paha\u207f-m\u00e1j\u012d \u023ca\u207f\u00b4ja, n\u00edkag\u00e1hi \u00e9ga\u207f\n I saw though of what sort I knew not though chief like\n\n \u00e9ga\u207f ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i t\u0115. Wata\u207fzi \u023ci\u207f\u00b4 ct\u012d waqu\u00b4be g\u00e1xai. K\u012d\n so he sat in the Corn the col. too mysterious he made and\n (past ob. it\n act)\n\n c\u012d\u00b4 \u0500\u00e9de-g\u00e1hi ak\u00e1 ta\u207f\u00b4wa\u207fg\u023ca\u207f e\u0287\u00e1 am\u00e1 Waji\u00f1\u00b4ga-\u023cat\u00e1j\u012d am\u00e1\n again Fire Chief the gens his the pl. Bird eat not the pl.\n sub. sub. sub.\n\n wah\u00e1ba paha\u00f1\u00b4ga ju\u00b4t\u2018a\u207f t\u0115\u00b4di \u023cat\u00e1-baj\u012d wah\u00e1ba\n ear of corn first matures when they do not ear of corn\n eat\n\n \u023ci\u207f\u00b4, n\u00edkaci\u207fga am\u00e1 na\u207f\u00b4wape \u023cat\u00e9 tai t\u0115\u00b4. \u023bata\u00ed \u029e\u012d,\n the col. people the pl. fear them they will the They if\n ob. sub. eat (act) eat\n\n wah\u00e1ba \u023ci\u207f\u00b4, waji\u00f1\u00b4ga \u023casni\u207f\u00b4 we\u029euba\u00ed. I\u00f1k\u00e9-sab\u0115\n ear of corn the col. bird devour they fear Shoulder black\n ob. them\n\n \u00e1kad\u00ed ct\u012d \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xe-na\u207f-biam\u00e1 \u0287\u00ed ug\u00e1. Ha\u00f1\u00b4ga\n among too so make usually they say tent painting. Foremost\n the the\n\n \u00e1kad\u00ed ct\u012d \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xe-na\u207f\u00b4-biam\u00e1 \u0287\u00ed ug\u00e1.\n among too so make usually they say tent painting.\n\nThis refers to Fig. 171, and may be thus rendered: \u201cAnd I have likewise\nseen the tent of Fire Chief. It was decorated with cornstalks, but I\ndo not know the reason for it. He dwelt in such a tent because he was\na chief. Corn was regarded as \u201cwaqube,\u201d mysterious. In the sub-gens\nof Fire Chief, the Waji\u00f1ga-\u023cataj\u012d, or, those who eat no small birds,\nthe people feared to eat the first ears of corn that matured, lest the\nsmall birds (particularly blackbirds) should come and devour the rest\nof the crop. There was a similar tent decoration in the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 and\nHa\u00f1ga gentes.\u201d In the former, it was used by Waqaga (see \u00a7 53). The\ncornstalks and ears were green, the tips of the ears were black. There\nwere two similar cornstalks on the back of the tent.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 171.--Cornstalk decoration of the tents of Fire\nChief and Waqaga.]\n\n\n CORN AND THE BUFFALO.\n\n\u00a7 49. Corn is regarded as a \u201cmother\u201d and the buffalo as a \u201cgrandfather\u201d\namong the Omaha and other tribes.[57] In the Osage tradition, corn was\nbestowed upon the people by four buffalo bulls or \u201cgrandfathers.\u201d[58]\nDr. Washington Matthews tells of a similar Arikara belief about an ear\nof corn.[59] (See \u00a7 42.)\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 172.--Robe of Ni-\u023cactage.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 173.--Duba-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u2019s father\u2019s tent.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 174.--Ma\u207ftcu-na\u207fba\u2019s tent.]\n\n\n OTHER OMAHA MYSTERY DECORATIONS.\n\n\u00a7 50. Among the members of the order of Buffalo (\u2534e i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma) was\nNi\u023cactage, whose robe is shown in Fig. 172. The red band is at the\ntop. The black spots represent the places where the buffaloes play\n\u201cbuffalo wallows.\u201d Buffalo hoofs are in blue.\n\nDuba-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u2019s father had a vision of horses, hence he wished to depict\nhorse-tails and tracks on his tent, as found in Fig. 173; but he died\nbefore he finished it.\n\nThe father of Ma\u207ftcu-na\u207fba had a vision of horses, and bequeathed to\nhis son Ma\u207ftcu-na\u207fba the right to decorate his tent in the style shown\nin Fig. 174. The yellow was connected with the vision. When the owner\ndwelt in an earth-lodge, the horse-tail was tied to a long pole, which\nwas thrust through the opening at the top of the lodge. So when he used\nhis skin tent, the horse-tail hung from the top of a long pole above\nthe smoke-hole.\n\nWhen the Omaha dwelt near the present town of Homer, Nebr., and\nWacka\u207fhi was a young child, he went out to play, and fell asleep. He\nsaid that he was aroused by the sounds made by many chickens crowing\nand cackling. In those days (_fide_ George Miller) there were no\nwhite people in that neighborhood; but now in that very place where\nWacka\u207fhi had the vision, there is a wealthy family living, and besides\nlarge herds they have a great many chickens. In remembrance of that\noccurrence, Wacka\u207fhi painted his tent with his personal decoration as\ngiven in Fig. 175.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 175.--Wacka\u207fhi\u2019s tent.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 176.--Tent of unknown Omaha.]\n\nAn unknown Omaha had a vision of deer, so he decorated his tent\naccordingly. (See Fig. 176.) George Miller could not furnish the man\u2019s\nname.\n\n\u00a7 51. Among the members of the order of Grizzly Bear shamans was an\nOmaha named \u2534ebi\u2018a (Frog). The top of his tent was painted yellow,\nas shown in Fig. 177. There was no other decoration; but this yellow\nevidently was connected with a grizzly bear vision, as it appears\nin the decoration adopted by the father of Two Crows, who was not\nonly one of the two leaders of the order of Thunder shamans (I\u00f1g\u023ca\u207f\ni\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma) but also a member of the orders of Buffalo and Grizzly\nBear shamans (\u2534e i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma and Ma\u207ftcu i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma). (See Pl. XLIV, D,\nin which a grizzly bear is depicted as emerging from his den. The blue\npart represents the ground.)\n\nThis decoration (of the tent of Two Crows\u2019 father) is thus described by\nGeorge Miller: Ma\u207ftc\u00fa i\u023ca\u2018e\u023ca\u00ed ega\u207f\u00b4 \u0287\u00ed t\u0115 \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xai.\n Grizzly bear they have as tent the so they\n visions of it std. ob. make it\n\n Ma\u207ftc\u00fa wada\u207f\u00b4bai t\u0115\u00b4di \u0287an\u00b4de k\u0115 ma\u207f\u00b4ta\u0287a \u00e9\u023ca\u207fbe t\u00ed\n Grizzly bear they see them when ground the within emerging come\n lg. ob.\n\n wada\u207f\u00b4bai, ga\u207f\u00b4 \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xai \u0287\u00ed t\u0115. \u2534an\u00b4de k\u0115 \u0287\u00fa\u023c\u0115-na\u207f\u00b4i,\n they see them and so they tent the Ground the they usually\n make it std. lg. ob. paint blue\n ob.\n\n \u0287\u00ed h\u00e9be k\u0115 z\u00ed\u023c\u0115-na\u207f\u00b4i.\u201d That is, \u201cWhen they have had visions\n tent part the they usually\n lg ob. paint yellow.\n\nof grizzly bears, they decorate their tents accordingly. When they see\ngrizzly bears, they behold them coming out of the ground, and so they\npaint the tents. They always (or usually) paint the ground blue,\nand part of the tent they paint in a yellow band.\u201d This shows the\nconventional use of colors. See Pl. XLIV, E, for the sketch of another\ntent representing the vision of a grizzly bear.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 177.--Tent of \u2534ebi\u2018a.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 178.--Tent of a Kansa who had an eagle vision.]\n\n\n KANSA MYSTERY DECORATIONS.\n\n\u00a7 52. Three Kansa decorations follow. They are taken from an original\nsketch made by a Kansa man, known to the white people as Stephen\nStubbs. The first tent (Fig. 178) is that of a man who had fasted\nand held mysterious communication with an eagle which gave him some\nfeathers. He had danced the pipe dance once for some one. At the base\nof this tent are seen two peace pipes on each side of the entrance. At\nthe back are a black bear and a large turtle. The second tent (Fig.\n179) is that of a man who had danced the pipe dance three times.\nBuffalo tails are fastened to the tops of the triangular pieces\nforming the shelter of the smoke-hole, feathers hang from the two\nshields, and the stars are above and on the base of the tent skins.\nFeathers, shields, and stars are also on the back of this tent.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 179.--Kansa decorated tent.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 180.--Kansa decorated tent.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 181.--Ma\u207fze-guhe\u2019s robe.]\n\nFig. 180 is the tent of a man who has danced the pipe dance four times.\nIt is very probable, judging from the stars on the tents, that the\nowners of the second and third Kansa tents had had visions. The Kansa\nsay that when a man has danced the pipe dance twice, his tent can be\ndecorated with two cornstalks at the front (one on each side of the\nentrance), and two more at the back. The pipes used in the calumet or\npipe dance are regarded as \u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f\u201d by the Omaha and Ponka, and\nthe inference is that the Kansa and Osage had a similar belief about\nthese pipes and the accompanying dance. Perhaps there was a time when\nno man could undertake the pipe dance unless he had a vision of some\nkind.\n\n\n OMAHA NIKIE DECORATIONS.\n\n\u00a7 53. As the gentes of the Omaha and Ponka are regarded as being\n\u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f,\u201d the \u201cnikie\u201d and \u201cnikie names\u201d have a religious\nsignificance. George Miller has furnished the author with a few nikie\ndecorations, which are now given.\n\nMa\u207fze-guhe, an Omaha, belonged to the Wa\u023cigije sub-gens of the\nI\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 gens. The decoration of his robe (Fig. 181) marks the nikie\nof the sub-gens, as it consisted of spiral forms known as \u201cwa\u023cigije.\u201d\nThat of the tent (Fig. 182) refers to the nikie of the entire gens. In\nthe latter case, the buffalo head was painted on the back of the tent.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 182.--Ma\u207fze-guhe\u2019s tent.]\n\nDuba-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f, who has a nikie name referring to the buffalo, belongs to\nthe Wa\u023cigije sub-gens. His father wore a black blanket embroidered with\nbeadwork in two rows of spirals, between which was a star. All these\nfigures were made of white beads. (See Fig. 183.)\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 183.--Duba-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u2019s father\u2019s blanket.]\n\nIn the Pipe sub-gens of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 there were several tent\ndecorations. Of the first, George Miller speaks thus:\n\n N\u00edkaci\u207f\u00b4ga-ma ta\u207f\u00b4wa\u207fg\u023ca\u207f\u00b4-ma nin\u00edba t\u2018a\u207f\u00b4 am\u00e1 I\u00f1k\u00e9-sab\u0115\n The people those in the gentes pipe have the pl. Black shoulder\n sub.\n\n ak\u00e1di \u0287\u00ed uga\u00ed, nin\u00edba \u00ed\u0287i. K\u012d w\u00e9daj\u012d-ma\n among tent they pipe painted the And those elsewhere\n the paint tent with\n\n w\u00e9daha\u207f-m\u00e1j\u012d, a\u00f1\u00b4ka-b\u00e1j\u012d eb\u023c\u00e9ga\u207f. I\u00f1k\u00e9-sab\u0115 ak\u00e1di\n I do not know them they are not so I think. Black shoulder among\n the\n\n n\u00edkag\u00e1hi ak\u00e1 \u00e9ga\u207f g\u00e1xai eb\u023c\u00e9ga\u207f, a\u207f\u00b4ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4 g\u00e1xa-b\u00e1j\u012d\n chief the sub. so made I think of any pattern he did not make\n\n eb\u023c\u00e9ga\u207f. Nin\u00edba waq\u00fabe g\u00e1xai \u029e\u012d, nin\u00edba ja\u207f\u00b4 k\u0115 b\u023c\u00e1ska g\u00e1xai,\n I think. Pipe mysterious made when pipe wood the flat made\n thing lg. ob.\n\n u\u023c\u00edskai, waji\u00f1\u00b4gad\u00e1 \u00e1jii t\u0115, \u0287\u00e1hi\u207f j\u00edde\n put porcupine bird heads put many the \u201cdeer fur\u201d red\n work around it on it past act\n\n \u00edka\u207fta\u207f\u00b4i.\u201d\n tied to it.\n\nThat is, \u201cThose persons who belong to the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 sub-gens known\nas Keepers of the Pipes, paint their tent(s) with the pipe decoration.\nI do not know of any other persons, members of other gentes, using this\ndecoration; I think that no others use it. I think that the I\u00f1kesab\u0115\nchief decorates his tent in this manner, and that he did not decorate\nit in any way he pleased. When the sacred pipes were made (on the tent)\nthe pipestem was made flat, porcupine work was put around it, several\nheads of birds were fastened on it, and tufts of reddened horses\u2019 hair\nwere tied to it at intervals.\u201d (See Fig. 184 and Pl. XLIV, C.) This\nI\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tent had only two pipes on it--one on each side of the\nentrance.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 184.--I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tent decoration.]\n\nThe second I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tent decoration is thus described by the same\nauthority:\n\n A\u207fji\u00f1\u00b4ga t\u0115\u00b4di \u0287i\u00b4-ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 wa\u0287a\u207f\u00b4be \u029e\u012d, \u023cek\u00e9ga\u207f\n The small when tent dwelt in I saw them when like this\n lg. ob.\n\n ug\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i. Nin\u00edba m\u00e1ca\u207f ug\u023c\u00e9 \u00ed\u0287i wa\u0287a\u207f\u00b4be Nin\u00edba t\u2018a\u207f\u00b4\n they dwelt Pipe quill attached painted I saw Pipe had\n in feather to at the tent\n right with\n angles\n\n ak\u00e1di, Waq\u00e1ga \u00e9ga\u207f \u00ed\u0287i wa\u0287a\u207f\u00b4be. Nin\u00edba waq\u00fabe k\u0115\n among Burrs so painted I saw them Pipe sacred the lg.\n the the tent ob.\n with\n\n \u00e9kiga\u207f\u00b4qti \u023ca\u207f\u00b4ja, e m\u00e1ca\u207f ug\u023c\u00e9 g\u00e1xai, nin\u00edba\n just like it though that quill attached to made pipe\n feather at right angles\n\n w\u00e9awa\u207f ak\u00e9\u0115 h\u0103. \u023ba\u207f\u00b4ja nin\u00edba k\u0115 \u00e9 \u00ednikag\u00e1hi\n calumet that is it . Though pipe the lg. that chief by\n ob. aforesaid means of it\n\n \u029ei\u029e\u00e1xai, n\u00edaci\u207f\u00b4ga am\u00e1 \u00e1taqti g\u00e1xai nin\u00edba waq\u00fabe.\n they make people the pl. exceedingly make it pipe sacred\n themselves sub.\n\n N\u00edaci\u207f\u00b4ga am\u00e1 p\u00ed\u00e4j\u012d\u00b4qti ct\u00e9ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4, uk\u00edt\u2018\u0115 \u00e1kiki\u023c\u00e1qti\n People the pl. very bad notwithstanding foreign contending\n sub. nation fiercely together\n\n ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i ct\u00e9ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4, kik\u00edd\u0115qti ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f\u00b4i ct\u00e9ct\u0115wa\u207f\u00b4,\n they walk notwithstanding shooting often they walk notwithstanding\n and fiercely\n\n nin\u00edba k\u0115 \u00e9\u023ca\u207fbe a\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 ah\u00edi \u029e\u012d, u\u023c\u00faci k\u0115 uh\u00e1\n pipe the lg. coming they take it when in the the following\n ob. forth thither middle lg. its course\n line\n\n a\u023ci\u207f\u00b4 a\u023cai\u00b4 \u029e\u012d, m\u00fakicta\u207f tai\u00b4. T\u00e9qi g\u00e1xai n\u00edaci\u207f\u00b4ga\n they when they stop will Precious they people\n take it shooting at make it\n one another\n\n am\u00e1.\n the pl. sub.\n\nThat is, \u201cWhen, in my childhood, I saw the tents in which the people\ndwelt, they were of this sort. (See Fig. 185.) I saw the tent decorated\nwith the pipes having feathers attached to each pipe at right angles.\nI saw a tent of this sort when it was occupied by Waqaga of the Pipe\nsub-gens. (See another tent decoration of this man, \u00a7 48.) Though these\npipes closely resemble the peace pipes (niniba waqube), they are made\nwith the feathers attached to the stems at right angles. These are\nthe pipes used in the pipe dance. By means of the pipes the people\nmade for themselves that which was equivalent to (or, lead to) the\nchieftainship. So they regarded the sacred pipes as of the greatest\nimportance. Even when the people were very bad, even when different\ntribes continued to struggle with one another; even when they shot\noften at one another, when some persons came forth with the peace\npipes, and bore them to a place between the opposing forces, carrying\nthem all along the lines, they stopped shooting at one another. The\nIndians regarded the pipes as precious.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 185.--I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tent decoration.]\n\nA \u2534a[p]a nikie tent decoration is shown in the tent of Heqaga. (Pl.\nXLIV, C.) This tent had two pipes on each side of the tent, double the\nnumber on the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tent (Fig. 184).\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 186.--Waqaga\u2019s robe.]\n\nFig. 186 is given as the nikie decoration of a robe belonging to\nWaqaga. The bird on the robe is an eagle. Members of the Pipe sub-gens\nof the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 have eagle birth names. And we know that Waqaga\nbelonged to that sub-gens.\n\nThe author understood Joseph La Fl\u00e8che and Two Crows to say, in\n1882, that while nikie names possessed a sacredness, it was only the\nsacredness of antiquity, and that they were not \u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f.\u201d\n\nBut the author now thinks that such a statement needs modification;\nfor, besides what appears at the beginning of this section, we know\nthat among the Osage and Kansa the nikie names are associated with the\ntraditions preserved in the secret society of seven degrees, and that\nthis applies not only to names of gentes and sub-gentes, but also to\npersonal nikie names. The author frightened an Osage in January, 1883,\nby mentioning in public some of this class of names.\n\n\n OMAHA NIKIE CUSTOMS.\n\n\u00a7 54. Among the nikie of the Omaha, the following may be mentioned:\nThe Waji\u00f1ga-\u023cataj\u012d, or \u201cBlackbird people,\u201d had a curious custom during\nthe harvest season. At that time the birds used to devour the corn, so\nthe men of this sub-gens undertook to prevent them, by chewing some\ngrains of corn which they spit around over the field.[60] During a\nfog, the [K]e-\u2018i\u207f men would draw the figure of a turtle on the ground,\nwith its head to the south. On the head, tail, middle of the back, and\neach leg, were placed small pieces of a (red) breechcloth with some\ntobacco. They imagined that this would make the fog disappear very\nsoon.[61] The [K]a\u207fze gens, being Wind people, flap their blankets to\nstart a breeze when mosquitoes abound.[62] The \u2534a-[p]a gens have a\nform for the naming of a child on the fifth morning after its birth,\naccording to Lion, one of the chiefs of that gens.[63] In the feast on\nthe hearts and tongues,[64] the Ha\u00f1ga men who belong to the sub-gens\nkeeping the sacred pole, eat the buffalo tongues, though the buffalo\nis their \u201cgrandfather\u201d and the eponym of their gens; but they can not\neat the \u201c\u0287a\u201d or buffalo sides. However, the other Ha\u00f1ga men, who can\nnot eat the tongues, are allowed to eat the consecrated buffalo sides,\nafter the ceremonies connected with the thanksgiving and anointing of\nthe sacred pole.[65] No Omaha child had its hair cut until it had been\ntaken to an old man of the Ictasanda gens, to have the first locks cut,\nthe first moccasins put on the child\u2019s feet, and prayers to be said\nover it. Sometimes the old man said \u201c\u2534ucp\u00e1ha, Wakan\u00b4da\n O grandchild, Wakanda\n\n \u023ca\u2018\u00e9\u023ci\u023c\u00e9-de \u029e\u00e1ci ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1\u00b4ka s\u00ed \u00e1\u023cag\u023c\u00e9 tate,\u201d i.e., \"O\n pity you when a long time soil foot you set it shall,\n erect on\n\ngrandchild, may Wakanda pity you, and may your feet rest a long time\non the ground!\u201d Another form was sometimes used--\u201cWakanda \u023ca\u2018e\u023ci\u023ce\ntate. Ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1ka si a\u023cag\u023ce tate. Gudihega\u207f ne tate,\u201d i.e., \u201cMay Wakanda\npity you! May your feet tread the ground! May you go ahead (or, live\nhereafter)!\u201d[66]\n\n\u00a7 55. When there is a \u201cblizzard,\u201d the other Kansa beg the members of\nthe Tcihaci\u207f or Ka\u207fze gens to interpose, as they are Wind people.\n\n \u201c[M]i\u00b4tcigu-e\u00b4, ha\u207f\u00b4ba ya\u00b4li k\u016d\u207f\u00b4bla eyau\u00b4. Ci\u00f1\u00b4gaji\u00f1\u00b4ga yi\u00b4ta\n O grandfather, day good I desire indeed. Child your\n be decorated (_or_\n painted)\n\n kik\u2019\u016d\u207f\u00b4yakiye\u00b4 tce au\u00b4[64], a\u00b4be au\u00b4.\u201d i.e., \u201cThey say, \u2018O\n you cause him to will . they .\n be decorated (_or_ say\n painted)\n\ngrandfather (said to one of the Ka\u207fze gens), I wish good weather.\nPlease cause one of your children to be decorated!\u2019\u201d Then the\nyoungest son of one of the Ka\u207fze men, say one over 4 feet high, is\nchosen for the purpose, and painted with red paint (I\u00b4gama\u207f j\u00fc\u00b4dje\ni\u00b4kik\u2019\u016d\u207f\u00b4kiya\u00b4be au). The youth rolls over and over in the snow and\nreddens it for some distance all around him. This is supposed to stop\nthe storm.\n\n\n GOVERNMENTAL INSTRUMENTALITIES.\n\n\u00a7 56. Among the Omaha governmental instrumentalities which are\n\u201cWakanda\u0287a\u023cica\u207f\u201d are the chiefs, the keepers of the three sacred\ntents, the keepers of the sacred pipes, the gentes, sub-gentes, and\ntaboos, none of which can be regarded as fetiches, and the following\nwhich appear to be fetiches: The sacred pipes (including the war pipes\nof the Elk gens, the two peace pipes kept by the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 gens, the\nmysterious objects kept by the \u201ckeepers of the pipes\u201d in the \u023batada,\n[K]a\u207fze, Ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1ka-gaxe, \u2534e-s\u012dnde, \u2534a-[p]a, and Ictasanda gentes, and\nthe weawa\u207f or pipes used in the calumet dance), the sacred pole, the\nsacred hide of a white buffalo, the sacred arrows of divination, and\nthe sacred clam shell of the Elk gens.[67]\n\n\n \u00a7 57. OMAHA AND PONKA TABOOS.\n\nBuffalo skull not touched by--\n 1. \u2534e-[p]a it\u2018aj\u012d sub-gens of \u023batada (Omaha).\n 2. Wa\u023cigije sub-gens of I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 (Om.).\n 3. \u2534e-s\u012dnde gens (Om.).\n 4. Part of the Wacabe gens (Ponka).\n 5. Part of Necta gens (P.).\n\nBuffalo tongue not eaten by--\n 1. Wa\u023cigije sub-gens of I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 (Om.).\n 2. Ha\u00f1gaqti or Wacabe sub-gens of Ha\u00f1ga (Om.).\n 3. Part of Nika[p]a\u0254na gens (P.).\n 4. Part of Wacabe gens (P.).\n 5. Part of Necta gens (P.).\n\nBuffalo (black) horns not touched by part of I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 gens (Om.).\n\nBuffalo sides (when consecrated), not eaten by \u2534a waqube \u023cataj\u012d\nsub-gens of Ha\u00f1ga gens (Om.).\n\nBuffalo rib (lowest one, \u0287e\u023ci\u0287-ucag\u023ce), not eaten by \u2534e-s\u012dnde gens\n(Om.).\n\nBuffalo and domestic calf not eaten when the hair is red, but can be\neaten when the hair turns black, by \u2534e-s\u012dnde gens (Om.).\n\nBuffalo calf can not be touched, when its hair is \u201czi\u201d (yellow or red), by\na sub-gens of the Necta gens (P.).\n\nBuffalo calf can not be eaten at any time by--\n 1. I\u00f1g\u023ce-jide gens (Om.).\n 2. Part of Wacabe gens (P.).\n 3. Part of Necta gens (P.).\n\nDeer not eaten by-- 1. Part of Hisada gens (P.). 2. Part of\nNika[p]a\u0254na gens (P.).\n\nMale deer not eaten by Elk gens (Om.); but Deer gens can eat venison.\n\nSkin of any animal of the deer family can not be touched by \u2534ada gens\n(Om.).\n\nFlesh of male elk not eaten by Elk gens (Om.).\n\nBladder and sinew of male elk not touched by Elk gens (Om.).\n\nElk not eaten by part of Nika[p]a\u0254na gens (P.).\n\nTurtles not eaten by Turtle sub-gens (Om.).\n\nBlack bear skin not touched by--\n 1. Black bear sub-gens (Om.).\n 2. Black bear sub-gens (P.).\n\nWild-cat skin, not touched by pipe sub-gens of Deer gens (Om.).\n\nCranes and swans not eaten by part of Ha\u00f1ga gens (Om.).\n\nSwans not touched (formerly?) by Mi\u207fxasa\u207f wet\u2018aj\u012d sub-gens of\nMa\u207f-\u023ci\u00f1ka-gaxe gens (Om.).\n\nSmall birds not eaten by Waji\u00f1ga-\u023cataj\u012d (Blackbird or Small bird)\nsub-gens of the \u023batada gens (Om.). They can eat wild turkeys, ducks,\ngeese, swans, cranes. When members of this sub-gens are sick they can\neat grouse.\n\n(Small birds) blackbirds, (_black_ ones), swallows, and grouse not\neaten by part of Hisada gens (P.).\n\nReptiles neither touched nor eaten by--\n 1. Ictasanda gens (Om.).\n 2. Wajaje gens (P.).\n\nBlood not touched by part of the \u023bixida gens (P.), hence their name,\nWami it\u2018aj\u012d.\n\nRed corn not eaten by a sub-gens of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 gens (Om.).\n\nCharcoal not touched by--\n 1. A sub-gens of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 gens (Om.).\n 2. The Pipe sub-gens of the Deer gens (Om.).\n 3. A sub-gens of the \u023bixida gens (P.).\n 4. The Pipe sub-gens of the Wajaje gens (P.).\n\nVerdigris not touched by--\n 1. [K]a\u207fze gens (Om.).\n 2. Pipe sub-gens of Deer gens (Om.).\n 3. Part of the \u023bixida gens (P.).\n 4. Pipe sub-gens of the Wajaje gens (P.).\n\n\n FETICHISM.\n\n\u00a7 58. According to Dr. Tylor, \u201cFetichism is the doctrine of spirits\nembodied in, or attached to, or conveying influence through, certain\nmaterial objects.\u201d[68]\n\nFetiches may be regarded as of two kinds--those pertaining to the\ntribe or gens, and those belonging to individual members of the social\norganization. Some fetiches are amulets, others are charms.\n\n FETICHES OF THE TRIBE AND GENS.\n\n\u00a7 59. _Omaha tribal fetiches._--The sacred pole and white buffalo hide,\nin the keeping of the Ha\u00f1ga gens until a few years ago, but now in the\nPeabody Museum of Arch\u00e6ology and Ethnology at Cambridge, Mass., were\nregarded by the Omaha as \u201cwakanda ega\u207f,\u201d i.e., \u201clike Wakandas,\u201d or\n\u201cpartaking of the nature of deities.\u201d During the public thanksgiving\nafter the buffalo hunt, prayer was made towards the sacred pole.[69]\n\nThe sacred tent in which the sacred pole of the two tribes was kept was\nnever painted. When the people remained in their permanent villages of\nearth lodges, the entrance of the sacred tent faced the sunrise; but\nwhen the tribe migrated, the entrance of the tent faced the direction\nin which they traveled. The pole was never exposed to dew, rain, or\nsnow, but was kept within the lodge, during any kind of bad weather.\nIt was never laid down, but was tied to a tent pole. In good weather\nit was exposed to view. Sometimes it was tied to one of the tent poles\nnear the entrance, as shown in Fig. 187. When not tied thus, it rested\non a forked post set in the ground, either in the rear of the tent or\nin front of it. The top of the pole, to which the scalp was fastened,\nprojected beyond the forked post. When this post was in the rear of the\ntent, the top of the pole pointed towards the tent; but when the post\nwas set up in front, the pole pointed in the direction to be traveled.\nThe place for the pole in good weather was determined by its keeper.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 187.--Sacred tent in which the pole was kept.]\n\nThe people feared the pole, and they would not dare to tread on the\ntent or its tent-poles. Should a horse tread on a tent-pole of this\ntent, its legs were sure to be broken subsequently. George Miller knew\nof two horses that did this, and their legs were broken when the people\nwere surrounding a herd of buffalo.\n\nFrank La Fl\u00e8che has told the author about some sacred stone arrows\nwhich were used for purposes of divination. Hence, the nikie name, Ma\u207f\np\u0115j\u012d, Bad Arrow, i.e. _Good_ Arrow, a personal name of the Ha\u00f1ga gens.\nOther objects, which may have been fetiches, have been named in \u00a7 56.\nIn addition to all which have been mentioned must be named the wa\u023cixabe\nor mysterious bags. While these are not governmental instrumentalities,\nthey are \u201cwaqube\u201d mysterious things, and on certain occasions they\nare addressed as \u201cgrandfathers.\u201d There used to be five of these bags\namong the Omaha, but only three are now in existence. Those which could\nbe carried in time of war were made of the skins and feathers of the\ng\u023ceda\u207f or pigeon hawk, the i\u207fbe-ja\u00f1ka or fork-tailed hawk, and the\nnickucku or swallow.[70]\n\n\u2534ade u\u023ce\u023c\u0115, according to Big Elk (but denied by Joseph La Fl\u00e8che and\nTwo Crows) is the mystic rite performed by the principal captain when\nnear the camp of the enemy. It is thus described by Big Elk (See \u00a7 62):\n\n \u201cFour times he untied the bag which he had made sacred. He caused\n the wind to waft the odor of the medicine toward the lodges. When\n the medicine arrived there, it made the Pawnees forget their\n warlike temper; it made them forget their weapons.\u201d[71]\n\nThat there was some foundation for this statement, compare what is said\nin Omaha Sociology, p. 321:\n\n \u201cWhen the principal captains wish to open their sacred bags, they\n assemble their followers in a circle, making them sit down. Any of\n the followers or servants may be ordered to make an \u201cuje\u0287i\u201d in the\n center of the circle by pulling up the grass, then making a hole\n in the ground (the \u201cU-ma-ne\u201d of Miss Fletcher[72]). Then the\n sacred bags are laid at the feet of the principal captains, each\n one of whom opens his own bag (i.e. the one borrowed by him from\n its keeper), holding the mouth of the bird toward the foe, even\n when some of the warriors are going to steal horses.\u201d\n\nDuring the ordeal of the \u201cwastegistu,\u201d as the Omaha call it, the\nsuccessful warriors were called up, one by one, and as each man stood\nover one of the sacred bags, he addressed the bag itself thus:\n\n \u201cHau\u00b4, i\u207fc\u2018a\u00b4ge-ha, eda\u00b4da\u207f uwi\u00b4b\u023ca t\u00e1 mi\u00f1ke \u023ca\u207f\u00b4ja,\n Ho! old man ! what I will tell you though\n\n i\u023c\u00e1usi\u00b4cta\u207f-ma\u00b4j\u012d uwi\u00b4b\u023ca ta\u00b4 mi\u00f1ke,\u201d i.e., \u201cHo, venerable man!\n I tell a I not I will tell you\n lie\n\nthough I will tell you something, I will not lie when I tell it to\nyou.\u201d As he spoke he let a small stick drop on the bag. It was supposed\nthat if the stick rested on the bag instead of rolling off, the man had\ntold the truth (Om. Soc., p. 328).\n\n\u00a7 60. _Osage tribal fetiches._--The corresponding Osage custom has\nbeen described by the author:[73] The old men assembled at the war\ntent. The sacred bags were brought into the tent to test the warriors,\nwho were watched very closely by the old men. All the old men who had\nbeen distinguished in war were painted with the decorations of their\nrespective gentes. * * * Each warrior had four sticks about 6 inches\nlong, and he was required to lay them in succession on the sacred bag.\nThe warriors were taken in the following order: First, the captain,\nnext the lieutenants, then the heralds, after whom came the man who\nhad struck the first blow, then he who gave the second blow, and so\non. As each captain laid his first stick on the bag he said, \u201cHo, O\ngrandfather! I lay this down on you because I am the one who has\nkilled a man.\u201d On laying down the second stick, he said, \u201cHo, O\ngrandfather! I wish to be fortunate in stealing horses! I wish our\nchildren, too, to be as fortunate as we have been!\u201d When he put\ndown the third, he said, \u201cHo, O grandfather! I wish to raise a\ndomestic animal. I wish to succeed in bringing it to maturity.\u201d By\nthis he meant _a son_. The prayer made when the last stick was laid\ndown was as follows: \u201cHo, O grandfather! May we continue a people\nwithout sustaining any injuries!\u201d Similar petitions were made by the\nlieutenants and heralds. He who gave the first blow said, as he laid\ndown the first stick, \u201cHo, O grandfather! I lay this down on you as\none who has caused another to stun a foe!\u201d The rest of his petitions\nwere those made by the captains. He who struck the second blow said as\nfollows, on laying down the first stick: \u201cHo, O grandfather! I place\nthis on you because I was the next one to strike and stun a man!\u201d The\nother petitions follow, as given above. The first petition of each of\nthe remaining warriors is as follows: \u201cHo, O grandfather! I lay this on\nyou as a token that I have aided in overcoming the enemy.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 61. _Kansa tribal fetiches._--Among the Kansa, the following\nfetiches belong to the two Ha\u00f1ga gentes: The war pipe and the war clam\nshell. The war pipe was kept in 1882 by Paha\u207fle-wak\u2019\u00fc, the son of\nAli\u207fkawahu, for the two Ha\u00f1ga gentes. This pipe has an eye on each\nside, so that it may see the enemy! There is no pipestem, but there is\none hole to which the mouth is applied, and in the bowl is another hole\nin which the tobacco is placed. The pipe, which is all in one piece,\nis of catlinite, about as thick as two hands. It is never taken from\nthe wrappings, except when all the men of the two Ha\u00f1ga gentes assemble\nat the lodge of the chief Ali\u207fkawahu. The sacred clam shell was kept\nin 1882 by Paha\u207fle-gaqli, the chief of the other Ha\u00f1ga gens. It is\nwrapped in five coverings, similar to those around the war pipe. They\nare as follows: (1) The innermost covering, the bladder of a buffalo\nbull; (2) next covering, made of the spotted fur of a fawn; (3) made\nof braided rushes or \u201csa;\u201d (4) a very broad piece of deerskin; (5) the\noutermost covering, made of braided hair from the head of a buffalo\nbull.\n\n PERSONAL FETICHES.\n\n\u00a7 62. \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-na\u207fpaj\u012d said that there were some Omaha who considered\nas \u201cwaqube\u201d the skins of animals and the skins and feathers of birds\nused in making their \u201cwa\u023cixabe\u201d or mystery bags. Among these birds\nand animals he named the eagle, sparrow hawk, yellow-backed hawk,\ngreen-necked duck, great owl, swallow, otter, flying squirrel, mink,\nmi\u029ea sk\u0103 (\u201cwhite raccoon\u201d sic), and maza\u207fhe. The last is an animal\nresembling an otter. It is covered with thick black and reddish-yellow\nhair, and its tail is bushy. Samuel Fremont said (in 1889) that this\nanimal was not found in that part of Nebraska where the Omaha dwelt,\nbut that he had heard of its being found among the Dakota. Two Crows\nand Joseph La Fl\u00e8che never heard of the mi\u029ea sk\u0103 and maza\u207fhe among\ntheir own people; but they said that when the Omaha traveled, some used\nto take with them their respective \u201cmaka\u207f\u201d or medicines, evidently\ntheir personal fetiches, for they used to say, \u201cOur medicines are wise;\nthey can talk like men, and they tell us how many horses we are to\nreceive from the people to whom we are going.\u201d\n\nWhen the Omaha went against the Pawnee during the boyhood of the\npresent Big Elk, one of the captains, named Gi\u2018a\u207fhabi, had a war club\nof the kind called \u201cweaq\u023cade.\u201d He made this club \u201cwaqube,\u201d in order to\nuse it mysteriously. When near the camp of the enemy he brandished the\nclub four times toward the Pawnees. This was followed by the use of the\nsacred bag, as related in \u00a7 59.\n\nIt is probable that the medicines of the Watci Wa\u023cupi, Wase-jide\na\u023ci\u207f-ma, and the \u0500a\u023ci\u207f-wasab\u0115 watcigaxe ikageki\u023c\u0115, of the Omaha,[74]\nthe Red Medicine of the Kansa, and the Red Medicine of the Osage Maka\u207f\n\u0254\u00fc\u0287[s]e watsi\u207f or Red Medicine Dance, were used as fetiches, as they\nconferred wonderful powers on those who used them. When the author was\nat the Omaha Agency, in 1878, he obtained the following: Rocky Mountain\nbeans, which are scarlet, and are called \u201cMaka\u207f jide\u201d or Red Medicine,\nconfer good luck on their owners. If the beans like their owners, they\nwill never be lost; even if dropped accidentally, they will return to\nthe possession of their owners. Ni-k\u2019\u00fa-mi, an aged Oto woman, told one\nof her granddaughters (then Susette La Fl\u00e8che, known as Bright Eyes\nafter 1879, and now the wife of T. H. Tibbles) of her own experience\nwith one of these beans. She had dropped it in the grass, but she found\nit on retracing her steps. It is impossible to say whether this scarlet\nbean was identical with the Red Medicine of the Iowa (\u00a7 87), Kansa, and\nOsage; but it certainly differed from that of the Wase-jide a\u023ci\u207fma of\nthe Omaha.\n\nThere are sacred or mystery rites practiced by the dancing societies,\nincluding those to which the waze\u023c\u0115 or doctors belong. Two Crows said\nthat he did not know those of his society, the \u2534e i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma. As\ninitiation into one of these societies is very expensive, it is\nunreasonable to suppose that Two Crows would communicate the secrets of\nhis order for a small sum, such as $1 a day.\n\n\n SORCERY.\n\n\u00a7 63. There have been sorcerers, i.e., such as prepared love potions\nfor those who bought them, and who were thought to cause the death of\nthose persons who had incurred their displeasure. The author has been\ntold that the sorcerers give a high price for a small quantity of the\ncatamenial discharge of a virgin. It is mixed with a love potion, and\nwhen the compound is administered to a man he can not help courting the\nwoman, even when he knows that he does not love her.\n\n\n JUGGLERY.\n\n\u00a7 64. Ickade or sleight of hand exists not only in the secret societies\nbut also along with the practice of medicine, government, and religion.\nSome of the Omaha and Ponka doctors of the first class (the waze\u023c\u0115,\nnot the maka\u207f a\u023ci\u207f-ma or root doctors) pretend to draw sticks from the\nbodies of their patients, or worms from aching teeth, saying that those\nthings are the causes of the diseases. Every disease is a \u201cnie\u201d or\n\u201cpain,\u201d and there must be a cause for that pain.\n\n\u00a7 65. In 1872 Big Grizzly Bear, a subordinate Ponka chief, told the\nfollowing to the author: \u201cOne day Whip, a head chief, said, \u2018I am\ngoing to make the sun blue.\u2019 And he did so. Then he said, \u2018I am going\nto pull out some of the hair of the man in the moon.\u2019 He held up his\nhands to show that they had no hair in them. Then he began to sing.\nSuddenly he had some bloody hair in each hand. Ga-\u0287i-de ma\u207f-\u023ci\u207f and a\ngreat many others were witnesses. Once, when the Ponka were destitute\nof food, Buffalo Bull, the father of Grizzly Bear\u2019s Ear, said, \u2018I will\nuse magic.\u2019 His wife replied, \u2018Please do so.\u2019 So he made a pile of earth\nabout 2 feet high and shot four arrows into it. A large deer was slain,\nfurnishing them with plenty to eat.\u201d\n\nIn 1871 the author saw an exhibition of the skill of Cramped Hand and\nBent Horn, two Ponka shamans. One afternoon, near sunset, about two\nhundred persons, mostly Indians, stood in a large circle around a tent\nin which sat the shamans and their assistants. Presently the shamans\nand the aged chief, Antoine Primeau, came out of the tent and stood\nwithin the circle. One of the shamans, Cramped Hand, danced along the\ninner side of the circle, exhibiting a revolver (Allen\u2019s patent), one\nchamber of which he seemed to load as the people looked on. After he\nhad put on the cap, he handed the weapon to the chief, who fired at\nthe shaman. Cramped Hand fell immediately, as if badly wounded. Bent\nHorn rushed to his relief and began to manipulate him. It was not long\nbefore Cramped Hand was able to crawl around on his hands and knees,\nthough the bullet had apparently hit him in the mouth. He groaned and\ncoughed incessantly, and after a tin basin was put down before him he\ncoughed up a bullet which fell in the basin, and was shown in triumph\nto the crowd. This is told merely to show how the Indian juggler has\nadopted some of the tricks of his white brother. In a few moments Bent\nHorn danced around, showing to each of us an object which appeared to\nbe a stone as large as a man\u2019s fist, and too large to be forced into\nthe mouth of the average man. Cramped Hand stood about 10 or 15 feet\naway and threw this stone toward Bent Horn, hitting the latter in the\nmouth and disappearing. Bent Horn fell and appeared in great pain,\ngroaning and foaming at the mouth. When the basin was put down before\nhim, there fell into it, not one large stone, but at least four small\nones. We were told that the chief, Antoine, had to give a horse for the\nprivilege of shooting at the shaman.\n\nIt is probable that some of the Omaha shamans performed similar tricks,\nthough the author has been unable to obtain any accounts of them.\n\n\u00a7 66. He was fortunate, however, in making the acquaintance of the\nchief \u201cwakandagi,\u201d or shaman of the Kansa, when at Kaw Agency, in the\nwinter of 1882. This man, Nix\u00fcdje-yi\u00f1ge, was very communicative. He\nsaid that there used to be ten shamans in the tribe, and all had round\npebbles which they blew from their mouths against the persons whom they\n\u201c\u029eil\u016d\u207fxe\u201d or \u201cshot in a mysterious manner.\u201d The arrow of the\nshamans was called \u201cMi-pa-ha,\u201d which is a name of the Buffalo gens.\nThis missile was made of part of the red-breasted turtle.\n\nA woman named Sa\u207f-si-le had two \u201cmaka\u207f\u201d (medicines, fetiches?)\nwhich she used for \u201cickade\u201d or \u201cwakandagi wagaxe\u201d (magic, shamanistic\nlegerdemain). She could swallow a knife; and when she swallowed a\ncertain kind of grass she drew a green snake from her mouth. John\nKickapoo\u2019s father had a red medicine, which was used for women who\ndesired to become enciente, for horses, and for causing good dreams.\nNix\u00fcdje-yi\u00f1ge\u2019s mother, who was a shaman, has a small pebble and a clam\nshell, which she used in her mystery acts.\n\nPagani had a \u201csika-hyuka\u201d or \u201cneedle\u201d (so represented by Nix\u00fcdje-yi\u00f1ge,\nbut it may not have been a steel needle), which he swallowed and\nvoided through the urethra. Gahige-wadayi\u00f1ga used to stab himself with\na \u201cmahi\u207fs\u00fc\u201d or arrow-point, about 6 inches long, causing the blood\nto spurt from his left shoulder as he danced. The other shamans used\nto spurt water on his back from their mouths, while he held his arms\nhorizontally from his body, with the forearms pointing upward. When\nthey finished no wound could be found. One shaman had a fish called \u201chu\nblaska\u201d or flat fish, to which he talked. He made a necklace of the\nskin, and he used it for \u201c\u029eil\u016d\u207fxe.\u201d\n\nWakanda-zi had the skin of a small black bear as his sacred bag. As he\ndanced he held it by the tail and shook the skin. After shooting the\nround pebble from his mouth at a person he thrust the bear skin at the\nwounded man, drawing it back very quickly. The round pebble was drawn\ninto the mouth of the bear and dropped on the ground when the skin bag\nwas held with the tail up.\n\nHe who wished to be shot at handed a gun to some one, who shot him in\nthe side, much blood escaping. He seemed to be dead; but the shamans\nassembled and manipulated him. One put the mouth of the otter (of the\notterskin sacred bag) to the mouth of the patient in order to perform\nthe act called \u201cl\u00fcpayi\u207f\u201d (to raise up or resuscitate his own). Then,\n\u201cZ\u00fc\u00b4be ak\u00e1 eya\u00fa tuhna\u00f1\u00b4ge ak\u00e1,\u201d i.e., when the bag was drawn away\nrapidly, the otter made the sound \u201cz\u00fcbe,\u201d as when one draws in the\nbreath, and the bullet was in its mouth. On the patient\u2019s recovery he\ngave a horse to the man who shot at him.\n\nMa\u00f1ge-zi had a clam shell and a snake that he used in his\nsleight-of-hand acts. He also swallowed \u201cmahi\u207f-tu,\u201d a kind of green\ngrass about a foot long and as thick as a pencil. Before swallowing\nthis, he warmed it at a fire. He rubbed himself on his chest after\nswallowing it, saying, \u201cLet all look at me!\u201d Then he called to him a\nman to act as his assistant. He coughed and in the assistant\u2019s hand\nthere was a snake, which he took around the circle of spectators,\nshowing it to every one, though no one handled it. On his returning\nthe snake to Ma\u00f1ge-zi, the latter swallowed it and coughed up the long\ngrass.\n\nNix\u00fcdje-yi\u00f1ge said that there were eight objects used by the shamans\nfor \u201cshooting,\u201d the needle; flint (?) arrow head; beaver teeth; the\nhalf of a knife blade, i.e., that part next to the point; the fish-fan,\nmade of \u201chuqtci\u201d or \u201creal fish;\u201d the red medicine; the hiy\u00e1dad\u00e1xe or\nmedicine bag that was caused to fly; and the tuhna\u00f1ge, or otter skin\nbag. (See \u00a7\u00a7 292-295, 307.)\n\n\n OMAHA AND PONKA BELIEF AS TO A FUTURE LIFE.\n\n\u00a7 67. They have a very crude belief. Each person is taught to have a\nwanaxe or spirit, which does not perish at death. According to Joseph\nLa Fl\u00e8che and Two Crows, the old men used to say to the people, \u201c\u023biuda\u207f\n\u029e\u012d, wanaxe uda\u207f-ma\u0287a ci tate. \u023bipi\u00e4j\u012d \u029e\u012d, wanaxe pi\u00e4j\u012d-ma\u0287a ci tate,\u201d\ni.e., \u201cIf you are good, you will go to the good ghosts. If you are bad,\nyou will go to the bad ghosts.\u201d Nothing was ever said of going to dwell\nwith Wakanda, or with demons.[75]\n\nRev. William Hamilton found a belief that retribution is in this life,\nand he says, \u201cTheir notions are exceedingly crude.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 68. Frank La Fl\u00e8che told the author before 1882 that he had heard\nsome old men relate a tradition that years ago a man came back to\nlife and told about the spirit land. He said that for four nights\nafter death the ghost had to travel a very dark road, but that after\nhe reached the Milky Way there was plenty of light. For this reason,\nsaid he, the people ought to aid their deceased friends by lighting\nfires at the graves, and by keeping them burning for four nights in\neach case. After going along the Milky Way, the ghost came at last to\na place where the road forked; and there sat an aged man, clothed in a\nbuffalo robe with the hair outside. (See \u00a7 359\u00bd.) He said nothing,\nbut pointed to each inquirer the road for which he asked. One road was\na very short one, and he who followed it soon came to the place where\nthe good ghosts dwelt. The other road was an endless one, along which\nthe ghosts went crying. The spirits of suicides could not travel either\nroad; but they hovered over their graves. But Joseph La Fl\u00e8che and Two\nCrows (in 1882) said that the road of the ghosts was not the Milky Way,\nand they regarded the account of the endless road as a modern addition,\nwhich is very probable. The latest statements of Frank La Fl\u00e8che are\ngiven in the Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. II, No. 4, pp. 10, 11:\n\n There are a variety of beliefs concerning the immediate action\n of the spirit upon its withdrawal from the body. Some think that\n the soul at once starts upon its journey to the spirit land;\n others, that it hovers about the grave as if reluctant to depart.\n Because of this latter belief, food and water are placed at the\n head of the grave for several days after the burial. The spirit\n is supposed to partake of this food. No Indian would touch any\n article of food thus exposed; if he did, the ghost would snatch\n away the food and paralyze the mouth of the thief, and twist his\n face out of shape for the rest of his life; or else he would be\n pursued by the ghost, and food would lose its taste, and hunger\n ever after haunt the offender. There is a belief in the tribe that\n before the spirits finally depart from men who died of wounds or\n their results, they float toward a cliff overhanging the Missouri,\n not far from the present Santee Agency, in Nebraska, and cut upon\n the rocks a picture showing forth their manner of death. A line\n in the picture indicates the spot where the disease or wound was\n located which caused the death. After this record is complete,\n the spirit flies off to the land of the hereafter. It is said\n that these pictures are easily recognized by the relatives and\n friends of the deceased. This place is known as I\u00f1-g\u023ca\u207f\u00b4-xe\n \u029ei-\u029e\u00e1-xai \u023ca\u207f,[76] or, Where the spirits make pictures of\n themselves. A suicide ceases to exist; for him there is no\n hereafter. A man struck by lightning is buried where he fell, and\n in the position in which he died. His grave is filled with earth,\n and no mound is raised over one who is thus taken from life.\n\nIn 1873 some of the Ponka said they had the following beliefs\nconcerning a murderer: (1) The ghosts surround him and keep up a\nconstant whistling; (2) he can never satisfy his hunger, though he eat\nmuch food; (3) he must not be allowed to roam at large lest high winds\narise.\n\nIt is important to compare this whole section with the Dakota beliefs\nfound in \u00a7\u00a7 266-278.\n\nThe author was told by the Omaha that when a man was killed by\nlightning, he ought to be buried face downwards, and the soles of his\nfeet had to be slit. When this was done, the spirit went at once to\nthe spirit land, without giving further trouble to the living. In one\ncase (that of a Weji\u207fcte man, Jadegi, according to George Miller\nand Frank Le Fl\u00e8che)[77] this was not done, so it was said that the\nghost _walked_, and he did not rest in peace till another person (his\nbrother) was slain by lightning and laid beside him.\n\nWhen Joseph La Fl\u00e8che and Two Crows heard what Frank had told about\nthe Milky Way, etc., they remarked, \u201cWe have never been to the spirit\nland, so we can not tell what is done there. No one has ever come back\nand told us.\u201d All that they had ever heard was the old story about the\nforked road.\n\n\u00a7 69. Gahige, the late chief of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 (a buffalo gens), told\nthe author about the address made to a member of his gens, when dying.\nAccording to him, the person was addressed thus: \u201cYou are going to the\nanimals (the buffalos). You are going to your ancestors. \u00c1nita d\u00fabaha\nhn\u00e9 (which may be rendered, You are going to the four living ones, if\nnot, the four winds). Wacka\u00f1\u00b4-g\u0103 (Be strong).\u201d Gahige was understood to\nspeak of four spirits or souls to each person, but Joseph La Fl\u00e8che and\nTwo Crows said that the Omaha did not believe that a person had more\nthan one spirit. Two Crows gave the following as the address to a dying\nmember of his gens, the Ha\u00f1ga, another buffalo gens: \u201cWan\u00ed\u0287a et\u00e1\u0287a\u207f\n Quadruped from\n\n \u023cat\u00ed. Ga\u207f \u0115\u0287a \u023cag\u023c\u00e9 tat\u00e9 h\u0103. Ga\u207f d\u00fadu\u023cagaq\u023caj\u012d te h\u0103.\n you And thither you go shall . And you do not face will .\n have this way (please)\n come\n\n Hn\u00e9 t\u0115\u0287a ca\u207f\u00b4ca\u207f ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1\u00b4-g\u0103 h\u00e1,\u201d i.e., \u201cYou came hither from the\n you go to the always walk thou !\n\nanimals. And you are going back thither. Do not face this way again.\nWhen you go, continue walking.\u201d The last sentence is a petition to the\ndeparting spirit not to return to this earth to worry or injure the\nsurvivors. That the dead are referred to as still existing, and as\nhaving some knowledge of what is happening here, may be seen from the\naddress to a Ponka chief at his installation: \u201c\u023bi\u00e1di g\u00e1hi, \u023ciji\u207f\u00b4\u023c\u0115\ng\u00e1hi, \u023ci\u0287\u00edga\u207f g\u00e1hi, \u00e1must\u00e1qti \u023cida\u207f\u00b4be ma\u207f\u00b4\u023ci\u207f tai;\u201d i.e., \u201cYour father\nwas a chief, your elder brother (i.e., his potential elder brother,\nUbisk\u0103, a former head chief of the Ponka) was a chief, and your\ngrandfather was a chief; may they continue to look directly down on\nyou!\u201d[78]\n\n\u00a7 70. Those who boil sacred food, as for the warpath, pour some of the\nsoup outside the lodge, as an offering to the ghosts. (Omaha custom.)\n\nThere has been no belief in the resurrection of the body, but simply\none in the continued existence of the ghost or spirit. While some of\nthe Iowas expressed to Mr. Hamilton a belief in the transmigration of\nspirits, that doctrine has not been found among the Omaha and Ponka,\nnor has the author heard of it among other Siouan tribes.\n\nNot all ghosts are visible to the living. They may be heard without\nbeing seen. One Omaha woman, the mother of Two Crows, told how she had\nbeen in a lodge with many persons, who were invisible from the knees\nupward.[79]\n\n\n KANSA BELIEFS RESPECTING DEATH AND A FUTURE LIFE.\n\n\u00a7 71. When the author was at Kaw Agency, Indian Territory, in\nthe winter of 1882-\u201983, a man named Ho-sa-sa-ge died. After the\nrepresentatives of all the gentes had assembled at the house, Wakanda\n(named after the Thunder-being), the father-in-law of the deceased,\nremoved the lock of hair called the \u201cghost,\u201d and took it to his own\nhouse, weeping as he departed.\n\nWhen Mr. Say was among the Kansa[80] he obtained the following\ninformation about their beliefs concerning death and the future life:\n\n When a man is killed in battle the thunder is supposed to take him\n up, they do not know whither. In going to battle each warrior\n traces an imaginary figure of the thunder on the soil; he who\n represents it incorrectly is killed by the thunder. A person saw\n this thunder one day on the ground, with a beautiful moccasin on\n each side of it. Having need of a pair, he took them and went his\n way; but on his return to the same spot the thunder took him off,\n and he has not since been heard of.\n\n They seem to have vague notions about the future state. They think\n that a brave man or a good hunter will walk in a good path; but\n a bad man and a coward will find a bad path. Thinking that the\n deceased has far to travel, they bury with his body moccasins,\n some articles of food, etc., to support him on the journey. Many\n persons, they believe, who have revived have been, during their\n apparent death, to strange villages, where they were not treated\n well by the people, so they returned to life.\n\nThe author, when among the Kansa, in the winter of 1882-\u201983, learned\nthe following, which differs from anything he has ever obtained\nelsewhere: \u201cThe Kansa believe that when there is a death the ghost\nreturns to the spirit village nearest the present habitat of the\nliving. That is to say, all Indians do not go to one spirit village or\n\u2018happy hunting ground,\u2019 but to different ones, as there is a series of\nspirit villages for the Kansa, beginning with the one at Council Grove,\nwhere the tribe dwelt before they removed to their present reservation\nin Indian Territory, and extending along both sides of the Kansas\nRiver to its mouth, thence up the Missouri River, as far as the tribe\nwandered before meeting the Cheyennes (near the State line), thence\ndown the river to the mouth of Osage River, and so on, down to the\nmouths of the Missouri and Ohio rivers,\u201d etc.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 7: See James, Account Exped. to Rocky Mountains, vol. I, p.\n126.]\n\n[Footnote 8: See Jour. Amer. Folk-lore, vol. I, No. 1, p. 73.]\n\n[Footnote 9: See \u00a7\u00a7 132-136, and Tu\u014bka\u014b\u015bila, in Riggs\u2019s\nDakota-English Dictionary, Contr. N.A. Ethnology, vol. VII.]\n\n[Footnote 10: See Contr. N.A. Ethn., vol. VI, pp. 372, 373, 376, and\nOmaha Sociology, in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethnology, pp. 324, 325.]\n\n[Footnote 11: Contr. N.A. Ethn., Vol. VI, p. 394, lines 10-19; p. 395,\nlines 14-16.]\n\n[Footnote 12: Wakanda aka ui\u029ea\u207fi ega\u207f.]\n\n[Footnote 13: Wakanda aka ibaha\u207fi.]\n\n[Footnote 14: Wakanda aka igi\u023cig\u023ca\u207fi.]\n\n[Footnote 15: Lewis and Clarke, Expedition, ed. Allen, Dublin, vol. I,\n1817, pp. 457, 458; also M\u2019Vickar\u2019s abridgment of the same, Harpers, N.\nY. vol. I, 1842, p. 303.]\n\n[Footnote 16: James\u2019s Account of Long\u2019s Exped., Phila., vol, I, 1823,\np. 208.]\n\n[Footnote 17: Ha, witsi\u029eue. 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 385, line\n50; p. 389, line 50; p. 391, line 4, etc.]\n\n[Footnote 18: Am. Naturalist, Feb. 1884, p. 126; _Ibid._, July, 1885,\np. 670.]\n\n[Footnote 19: Ibid., Feb. 1884, pp. 115, 116, 117, 120, 123, 125.]\n\n[Footnote 20: A similar rule about fasting obtained among the Kansa\nwhen mourning for the dead. See Amer. Naturalist, July, 1885, pp. 670,\n672, 679.]\n\n[Footnote 21: See 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 385, 389.]\n\n[Footnote 22: James\u2019 Account Long\u2019s Exped., Phil., vol. I, 1823, p.\n129.]\n\n[Footnote 23: Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 281, note.]\n\n[Footnote 24: See \u201cOsage Traditions,\u201d pp. 384-395, in 6th Ann. Rept.\nBur. Ethn.]\n\n[Footnote 25: For an account of the offering of meat to the four winds,\nsee Om. Soc., 3d Ann. Rept., Bur. Ethn., p. 284.]\n\n[Footnote 26: See Miss A. C. Fletcher on the \u201cWawan or Pipe Dance of\nthe Omahas,\u201d Rept. Peabody Museum. Vol. III, p. 311, note 11, and the\nauthor\u2019s paper, Om. Soc., pp. 278, 279.]\n\n[Footnote 27: Paha\u207fle-gaqli and Waqube-k\u2019i\u207f gave this information\nin the winter of 1882-\u201983. Compare the self-inflicted tortures of the\nDakota and Ponka in the sun dance (\u00a7\u00a7 29, 181-3, 185, 187).]\n\n[Footnote 28: Account of the war customs of the Osages: in Amer.\nNaturalist, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, February, 1884, p. 133.]\n\n[Footnote 29: See Omaha Sociology, \u00a7 24, 3d. Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p.\n227.]\n\n[Footnote 30: Omaha Sociology, in 3d. Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 316.]\n\n[Footnote 31: This song and the invocation of the Thunder-being are\nused by the Ponka as well as by the Kansa. According to Miss Fletcher,\nthe \u201csign of giving thanks\u201d among the Hunkpapa Dakota is made by moving\nthe hands in the opposite direction, i. e., \u201cfrom the shoulder to the\nwrist.\u201d See \u201cThe White Buffalo Festival of the Uncpapas,\u201d in Peabody\nMuseum Rept., vol. III, p. 268.]\n\n[Footnote 32: Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, pp. 108-131.]\n\n[Footnote 33: Compare the hair of the Thunder-men, in Contr. N. A.\nEthn., vol. VI, pp. 187, 188.]\n\n[Footnote 34: Contr. N. A. Ethn, vol. VI, p. 390. See also \u00a7 19.]\n\n[Footnote 35: Ibid., p. 207.]\n\n[Footnote 36: Ibid., pp. 40, 134, etc.]\n\n[Footnote 37: Am. Naturalist, July, 1885, vol. 19, Pl. XX, p. 676.]\n\n[Footnote 38: Geikie\u2019s paraphrase, in \u201cHours with the Bible,\u201d vol. V,\np. 357.]\n\n[Footnote 39: Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, pp. 370, 371.]\n\n[Footnote 40: Om. Sociology, in 3d. Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 317.]\n\n[Footnote 41: Ibid, p. 319.]\n\n[Footnote 42: \u201cKansas Mourning and War Customs,\u201d in Am. Naturalist,\nJuly 1886, p. 672.]\n\n[Footnote 43: Miss Fletcher, in Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc., vol.\nXXXIII, pt. 2, 1885, pp. 616, 617. Francis La Fl\u00e8che, ibid., p. 614.]\n\n[Footnote 44: Osage Traditions, in 6th Ann. Rept. of the Director Bur.\nEthn., 1888, p. 377.]\n\n[Footnote 45: Am. Anthropologist, vol. II., No. 1, 1888, p. 59.\n(\u201cJanuary, 1889.\u201d)]\n\n[Footnote 46: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey, Hayden; Miscel. Publ., No.\n7, 1877; Matthews\u2019 Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa, 1877, p.\n48.]\n\n[Footnote 47: Om. Soc., p. 234. Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, 468, line\n3.]\n\n[Footnote 48: Om. Soc., p. 297. Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, 471, lines\n3-5.]\n\n[Footnote 49: Osage Traditions, in 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 377,\n379, 390.]\n\n[Footnote 50: See Jour. Am. Folk-lore, vol. I, No. 3, p. 209; and Om.\nSociology, in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 347-8.]\n\n[Footnote 51: Om. Sociology, p. 348.]\n\n[Footnote 52: Ibid, pp. 348, 349.]\n\n[Footnote 53: Ibid, p. 349.]\n\n[Footnote 54: \u201cDeath and Funeral Customs among the Omahas,\u201d in Jour.\nAmer. Folk-lore, vol. II, No. 4, p. 3.]\n\n[Footnote 55: Om. Soc., p. 353.]\n\n[Footnote 56: This Kwapa information was obtained in January, 1891,\nsome time after the preparation of the greater part of this paper. In\nsuch a combination as d\u023c the \u023c is scarcely heard.]\n\n[Footnote 57: See Om. Soc., in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn. \u00a7\u00a7 123, 163,\nand several myths in Contr. to N. A. Ethnology, vol. VI.]\n\n[Footnote 58: See Osage Traditions, in 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p.\n379.]\n\n[Footnote 59: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ., No.\n7, 1877; Ethnography and Philology of Hidatsa Indians, p. 12.]\n\n[Footnote 60: Om. Soc., in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 238.]\n\n[Footnote 61: Ibid., p. 240.]\n\n[Footnote 62: Ibid., p. 241.]\n\n[Footnote 63: Ibid., pp. 245, 246.]\n\n[Footnote 64: Ibid., pp. 290, 291.]\n\n[Footnote 65: Ibid., p. 295.]\n\n[Footnote 66: For detailed accounts, see \u201cGlimpses of Child-life among\nthe Omaha Indians,\u201d by Miss A. C. Fletcher, in Jour. Am. Folk-lore,\nvol. I, No. 2, pp. 115-118; and Omaha Sociology, in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur.\nEthn., pp. 249, 250.]\n\n[Footnote 67: See pp. 221-251 and Chap. XI of Omaha Sociology, in 3d\nAnn. Rept. Bur. Ethn.]\n\n[Footnote 68: Prim. Culture, vol. II. p. 132.]\n\n[Footnote 69: See Om. Soc., in 3d. An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 295.]\n\n[Footnote 70: See Om. Soc., p. 320.]\n\n[Footnote 71: Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol. VI, p. 404.]\n\n[Footnote 72: Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 263, note 8.]\n\n[Footnote 73: In the Am. Naturalist, Feb., 1884, pp. 128, 129.]\n\n[Footnote 74: See Om. Soc., pp. 349-351.]\n\n[Footnote 75: Compare the Oregon story: No Indians go after death to\nthe upper world to dwell with Qawaneca. Am. Anthropologist, Jan., 1889,\np. 60.]\n\n[Footnote 76: This name is given in the notation of the Bureau of\nEthnology, not as published by Mr. La Fl\u00e8che.]\n\n[Footnote 77: See Jour. Am. Folklore, Vol. II, No. 6, p. 190.]\n\n[Footnote 78: Om. Soc., p. 360.]\n\n[Footnote 79: See \u201cDeath and Funeral Customs of the Omahas,\u201d by Francis\nLa Flesche, in Jour. Am. Folk-lore, Vol. II, No. 4, pp. 4, 5.]\n\n[Footnote 80: See James\u2019s Account Exped. to Rocky Mountains, Vol. I.,\np. 125.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER IV.\n\n \u2534[C]IWERE AND WINNEBAGO CULTS.\n\n\n\u00a7 72. The Rev. William Hamilton, who was a missionary to the Iowa and\nSac Indians of Nebraska, from 1837 to 1853, is the authority for most\nof the Iowa material in this chapter. About the year 1848, he published\na series of letters about the Iowa Indians in a Presbyterian weekly\nnewspaper, and with his permission the present writer transcribed these\nletters in 1879, for his own future use.\n\nOther information about the three \u2534\u0254iwere tribes (Iowa, Oto and\nMissouri) was obtained by the author from Ke-\u029ere[\u00e7]e, an Oto;\nCka\u0287\u0254inye, a Missouri; and the delegation of Iowa chiefs that visited\nWashington in 1882.\n\nThe principal Winnebago authority was James Alexander, a full-blood and\na member of the Wolf gens.\n\n\n TERM \u201cGREAT SPIRIT\u201d NEVER HEARD AMONG THE IOWA.\n\nMr. Hamilton wrote thus in one of his letters:\n\n It is often said that the Indians are not idolaters, and that\n they believe in one Supreme Being, whom they call the Great\n Spirit. I do not now recollect that I ever heard the Iowas use\n the term Great Spirit since I have been among them. They speak\n of God (Wakanta), and sometimes of the Great God or Bad God. But\n of the true character of God they are entirely ignorant. Many of\n them speak of God as the creator of all things, and use a term\n that signifies \u201cCreator of the earth.\u201d Sometimes they call him\n \u201cGrandfather\u201d (hi\u207ftuka). But they imagine him to be possessed of\n like passions with themselves, and pleased with their war parties,\n scalp dances, thefts, and such like sin. * * * They sometimes\n speak of the sun as a god, because it gives light and heat. The\n moon they sometimes speak of as a god, because it seems to be to\n the night what the sun is to the day. I asked an Indian the other\n day how many gods the Iowas had, and he promptly replied, \u2018Seven.\u2019\n\n\n THE SUN A WAKANTA.\n\n\u00a7 73. An Iowa told Mr. Hamilton that he had once killed a bear, which\nhe offered to the sun, allowing the animal to lie where he had killed\nit.\n\n\n THE WINDS AS WAKANTAS.\n\n\u00a7 74. An Iowa told Mr. Hamilton that Tatce, or Wind, was one of the\nseven great gods of his tribe. Another told him that he had made\nofferings to the South Wind, who was considered a beneficent Wakanta.\nBut the North-east Wind was a maleficent one.\n\nJudging from some of the Winnebago personal names, it is probable that\nthe winds were regarded as powers by that people.\n\n\n THE THUNDER-BEING A WAKANTA.\n\n\u00a7 75. Among the Iowa and Oto, the Tcexita is the eagle and thunderbird\ngens, and Mr. Hamilton was told by the Iowa that the Thunder-being was\ncalled Tcexita, and Wakanta, the latter being its peculiar title. \u201cThey\nsupposed the Thunder-being to be a large bird. When they first hear the\nthunder in the spring of the year, they have a sacred feast in honor of\nthis god.\u201d\n\nThe Winnebago called the Thunder-being \u201cWaka\u207ftca-ra,\u201d and one\ndivision of the Bird gens is the Waka\u207ftca ikikaratca-da, or\nThunder-being sub-gens. The Thunder-beings are the enemies of the\nWaktceqi or Submarine Wakantas. One person in the Thunder-being\nsub-gens is named Five-horned Male, probably referring to a\nThunder-being with five horns! Other personal names are as follows:\nGreen Thunder-being, Black Thunder-being, White Thunder-being, and\nYellow Thunder-being; but James Alexander, a full-blood Winnebago of\nthe Wolf gens, says that these colors have no connection with the four\nwinds or quarters of the earth (See \u00a7 381).\n\nThe Iowa told Mr. Hamilton of a Winnebago who saw a Thunder-being\nfighting a subaquatic power. Sometimes the former bore the latter\nup into the air, and at other times the subaquatic power took his\nadversary beneath the water. The Winnebago watched them all day, and\neach Power asked his assistance in overcoming the other, promising him\na great reward. The man did not know which one to help; but at last he\nshot an arrow at the subaquatic power, who was carried up into the air\nby the Thunder-being, but the wounded one said to the man, \u201cYou may\nbecome a great man yourself, but your relations must die.\u201d And so they\nsay it happened. He became very great, but his relatives died.\n\nWhen the warriors returned home from an expedition against their\nenemies, they plaited grass and tied the pieces around their arms,\nnecks, and ankles. Sometimes to each ankle there was a trailing piece\nof plaited grass a yard long. This was probably associated, as were all\nwar customs, with the worship of the Thunder-being (See Chap. III, \u00a7\n35).\n\n\n SUBTERRANEAN POWERS.\n\n\u00a7 76. An Indian became deranged from the use of whisky, and ran wild\nfor several days. The Iowa supposed that his madness was caused by a\nsubterranean power, whom he had seen, and whose picture he had drawn on\nthe ground, representing it with large horns.\n\n\n SUBAQUATIC POWERS.\n\n\u00a7 77. Some Iowa claim to have seen them. No Heart (Natce-ni\u00f1e) told\nMr. Hamilton that he had seen a \u201cwater god in the Missouri river, when\na man was drowned. When a person is drowned they sometimes say that\nthe god who lives in the water has taken him for a servant. Not a year\nsince, some Iowa went over the river for meat. A young girl sat down in\nthe canoe with her load on her back. When near the shore the canoe was\nupset accidentally, and the girl was drowned. The men thought that they\nheard a god halloo in the water, and that he had taken her. One told me\nthat the gods of the air (i. e. the Thunder-beings) fought the gods of\nthe water, and when the latter came out of the water, the former stole\nupon them and killed them.\u201d\n\nThe subterranean and subaquatic powers are called \u201cwaktceqi\u201d by the\nWinnebago, and this tribe has a gens called Waktceqi ikikaratcada.\nThe Winnebago say that the waktceqi dwell under the ground and the\nhigh bluffs, and in subterranean water, that they are caused to\nuphold the earth, trees, rivers, etc., and that they are the enemies\nof the Thunder-beings (\u00a7 386). In the Winnebago Waktceqi gens are\nthe following personal names: Black Waktceqi, White Waktceqi, Green\nWaktceqi, \u201cWaktceqi that is sa\u207f\u201d (which may be gray or brown), Four\nHorned Male, Two Horned Male, and Lives in the Hill.\n\n\n ANIMALS AS WAKANTAS.\n\n\u00a7 78. Mr. Hamilton wrote that the Iowa often spoke about the buffaloes,\nwhom they regarded as gods, addressing them as \u201cGrandfathers.\u201d He also\ntold of a doctor whom he met one day; the doctor seized a joint-snake\nthat was handed him by another doctor, calling it his \u201cgod,\u201d spoke of\nit as being good medicine, and after putting its head into his mouth,\nhe bit it twice.\n\n\n APOTHEOSES.\n\n\u00a7 79. \u201cThey also seem to think that human beings may become gods, and\nin this respect they are like the Mormons.\u201d\n\n\n DWELLINGS OF GODS.\n\n\u00a7 80. \u201cHigh rocks are supposed by the Iowa to be the dwellings of\ngods.\u201d \u201cThere is a Winnebago tradition that a woman carrying her child\nwas running from her enemies, so she jumped down a steep place and\nwas turned into a rock. And now when they pass that place they make\nofferings to her.\u201d\n\n\n WORSHIP.\n\n\u00a7 81. \u201cOne of their most common acts of worship, and apparently one\nof daily occurrence, is observed when a person is about to smoke his\npipe. He looks to the sky and says, \u2018Wakanta, here is tobacco!\u2019 (See\n\u00a7\u00a7 29, 40, \u2018Nini bahai t\u0115.\u2019) Then he puffs a mouthful of smoke up\ntowards the sky, after which he smokes as he pleases.\u201d \u201cThey also make\nofferings of tobacco by throwing a small quantity into the fire.\u201d\n\u201cThey frequently offer a small portion of food at their feasts, before\nthey begin eating.\u201d\n\nMr. Hamilton saw dogs hung by their necks to trees or to sticks planted\nin the ground, and he was told that these dogs were offerings. \u201cNo\nHeart told me that when the smallpox raged among them about fifty years\nago\u201d (i. e. about 1798), \u201cand swept off so many, that they made a\ngreat many offerings.\u201d Said he, \u201cWe threw away a great many garments,\nblankets, etc., and offered many dogs to God. My father threw away a\nflag which the British had given him. When we had thrown away these\nthings, the smallpox left us.\u201d These offerings to God (literally, to\nWakanta) were the means of checking it. \u201cTo throw away,\u201d in Iowa, is\nthe same as \u201cto offer in sacrifice.\u201d\n\n\n TABOOS.\n\n\u00a7 82. Mr. Hamilton was told by the Iowa that no member of any gens\ncould eat the flesh of the eponymic animal.\n\nThe author gained the following taboos from a Missouri, Cka\u0287\u0254e-yi\u00f1e or\nCka\u0287\u0254inye, who visited the Omaha in 1879: The members of the Tuna\u207fp\u2019i\u207f,\na Black Bear gens in the Oto and Nyut\u2019atci (or Missouri) tribes can not\ntouch a clam shell. The Momi people, now a subgens of the Missouri Bird\ngens, abstain from small birds which have been killed by large birds,\nand they can not touch the feathers of such small birds.\n\n\n PUBLIC OR TRIBAL FETICHES.[81]\n\n\u00a7 83. Among these are the sacred pipes, the sacred bags, or waruxawe,\nand the sacred stone or iron. The sacred pipes are used only on solemn\noccasions, and they are kept enveloped in the skin wrappers. The\nsacred bags, or waruxawe, are made from the skins of animals. They are\nesteemed as mysterious, and they are reverenced as much as Wakanta.\nAmong the Winnebago (and presumably among the \u2534\u0254iwere tribes) no\nwoman is allowed to touch the waruxawe. There used to be seven waruxawe\namong the Iowa, \u201crelated to one another as brothers and sisters,\u201d and\nused by war parties. On the return from war the seven bags were opened\nand used in the scalp dance. They contained the skins of animals and\nbirds with medicine in them, also wild tobacco and other war medicine,\nalso the war club. There used to be seven war clubs, one for each\nwaruxawe, but during the last expedition of the Iowa, prior to the date\nof Mr. Hamilton\u2019s letters, the war club and pipes or whistles were\nlost from the principal bag. The next kind of sacred bags, the Waci\nwaruxawe, numbered seven. They were the bad-medicine bags, by means of\nwhich they professed to deprive their enemies of power, when they had\ndiscouraged them by blowing the whistles. Owing to this enchantment,\nthey said, their enemies could neither shoot nor run, and were soon\nkilled. The next kind were the Tce waruxawe, or buffalo medicine bags.\nThey were not used in war, but in healing the wounded. These bags\ncontain medicine and the sticks with the deer hoofs attached which\nthey shake while treating the sick; also a piece of buffalo tail, and\nperhaps a piece from the skin covering the throat of an elk.\n\nThe Ta waruxawe, or deer medicine bags, contain the sacred otter skins\nused in the Otter dance. (See \u00a7 86.)\n\nIn some of the sacred bags are round stones, which the warriors rub\nover themselves before going to war, to prevent their being killed or\nwounded.\n\nThe waruxawe is always carried with the same end foremost, the heads of\nthe animals or birds being placed in the same direction, and care is\ntaken to keep them so. (See \u00a7 28.) On one occasion a leader broke up a\nwar party by turning the bag around.\n\nThe Iowa claim to have a mysterious object by which they try men, or\nmake them swear to speak the truth. This mysterious iron or stone had\nnot been gazed upon within the recollection of any of the Iowa living\nin 1848. It was wrapped in seven skins. No woman was allowed to see\neven the outer covering, and Mr. Hamilton was told that he would die if\nhe looked at it.\n\nCka\u0287\u0254inye, the Missouri, told the author that there were four\nTu-na\u207fp\u2019i\u207f men who kept sacred pipes (raqnowe waqonyita\u207f), their names\nbeing Weqa-nayi\u207f, C\u016d\u207f-\u029eiqowe, Na\u207f[\u00e7]ra[\u00e7]ra\u0287\u0254e, and Na\u207f\u0287\u0254e-yi\u00f1e. It is\nprobable that two of these men belong to the Tuna\u207fp\u2019i\u207f gens of the Oto\ntribe and two to the Tuna\u207fp\u2019i\u207f gens of the Nyut\u2019atci tribe, as these\ntwo tribes have been consolidated for years. In the Aruqwa or Buffalo\ngens of the Oto, \u2534\u0254e-\u0287o-nayi\u207f and \u2534\u0254e-wa\u00f1e\u029eihi are the keepers of the\nsacred pipes of that gens.\n\n\n SYMBOLIC EARTH FORMATIONS OF THE WINNEBAGO.[82]\n\n \u00a7 84. The Winnebago tent used for sacred dances is long and\n narrow; not more than 20 feet wide and varying from 50 to 100 feet\n long.\n\n In the Buffalo dance, which is given four times in the month of\n May and early June, the dancers are four men and a large number of\n women. As the dancers enter each woman brings in a handful of fine\n earth and in this way two mounds are raised in the center at the\n east--that is, between the eastern entrance and the fire, which is\n about 15 feet from the eastern entrance. The mounds thus formed\n are truncated cones. An old man said to me, \u201cThat is the way all\n mounds were built; that is why we build so for the buffalo.\u201d\n\n The mounds were about 4 inches high and not far from 18 inches in\n diameter. On top of the mounds were placed the head-gear worn by\n the men, the claws, tails, and other articles used by the four\n leaders or male dancers.\n\n The men imitate the buffalo in his wild tramping and roaring, and\n dance with great vigor. They are followed by a long line of gaily\n decked women in single file. Each woman as she dances keeps her\n feet nearly straight and heels close together, and the body is\n propelled forward by a series of jerks which jars the whole frame,\n but the general effect on the long, closely packed line is that\n of the undulating appearance of a vast herd moving. The women\n dance with their eyes turned toward the ground and with their\n hands hanging closely in front, palms next to the person. The\n track left by their feet is very pretty, being like a close-leaved\n vine. It is astonishing to notice how each woman can leap into\n her predecessor\u2019s track. Water is partaken of and the entire\n dance is clearly indicative of the prayer for increase and plenty\n of buffalo. The two mounds remind one of larger structures and\n suggest many speculations, particularly when taken in connection\n with the manner of their building.\n\n In the great mystery lodge, whence so many of the sacred societies\n among other tribes professedly take their rise and inspiration,\n the fire is at the east, and is made by placing four sticks\n meeting in the center and the other ends pointing to the four\n points of the compass.[83] Just at that part of the initiation of\n the candidate when he is to fall dead to the old life, be covered\n as with a pall, and then be raised to the new life, the remains\n of the four sticks are taken away and the ashes raised in a sharp\n conical mound, again suggesting hints of a peculiar past.\n\n Upon the bluffs of the Missouri, on a promontory * * * is a\n little depression cut in the ground, circular in form, with an\n elongated end at the east. The depression is 1 foot in diameter\n and about 6 inches deep. Placing my compass in the center, the\n long end or entrance was found to be exactly to the east. To the\n south of this sacred spot, for it is cleared and cleaned * * *\n every year, stood a large cedar tree, now partly blown down. This\n was the sacred tree on which miraculous impersonation of visions\n lit; and here the spirits tarried as they passed from one resting\n place to another going over the country. About every 50 miles\n there is one of these strange, supernatural resting places.\n\n\n PERSONAL FETICHES.\n\n\u00a7 85. All medicines were regarded as mysterious or sacred. The heart\nof a slain enemy was sometimes dried and put in the medicine bag to be\npulverized and mixed with the other medicines. \u201cOne or two days before\na war party started from the village of the Iowa, the man who was to\ncarry the sacred bag hid it while the others busied themselves with\npreparing sacred articles\u201d (probably their personal fetiches). \u201cThe\nhunters often brought in deer, after eating which, the warriors painted\nthemselves as they would do if they expected to see an enemy. Next, one\nof their number measured a certain number of steps in front, when each\nman took his place, and knelt down. As soon as the word was given, each\none pulled away the grass and sticks, moving backwards till he came\nto the poles, when he arose. Then each placed his own sacred objects\n(personal fetiches?) before him, and began his own song. While singing,\nthey opened their sacred objects, asking for good luck. They sang one\nsong on opening them (as among the Kansa, see \u00a7 36), and another while\nputting them back into their places, a song being supposed necessary\nfor every ceremony in which they engaged. In the conversations which\nensued, they were at liberty to jest, provided they avoided common or\nvulgar terms.\u201d\n\n\n DANCING SOCIETIES.\n\nThere is very probably some connection between these societies and the\ncults of the tribes now under consideration. (See \u00a7\u00a7 43, 62, 111, 113,\n120, et passim.)\n\n THE OTTER DANCING SOCIETY.\n\n\u00a7 86. The members of this order shot at one another with their\notterskin bags, as has been the custom in the Wacicka dancing society\nof the Omaha (Om. Soc., pp. 345, 346). Some have said that they waved\ntheir otter-skin bags around in order to infuse the spirit of the otter\ninto a bead in its mouth, and that it was by the spirit of the otter\nthat they knocked one another down. Each one who practiced this dance\nprofessed to keep some small round object in his breast to cough it\nup before or during the dance, and to use it for shooting one of his\ncompanions in the neck. He who was thus shot did in turn cough up the\nmysterious object, and at the end of the dance each member swallowed\nhis own shell or pebble.\n\n THE RED MEDICINE DANCING SOCIETY.\n\n\u00a7 87. The Indians used to obtain in the prairies, towards the Rocky\nMountains, an object about the size of a bean or small hazelnut and of\na red color. Mr. Hamilton was told that it grew on bushes, and that\nit was considered to be alive, and they looked on it as a mysterious\nanimal. In the red medicine dance the person who makes the medicine\nkills the animals by crushing the beans and boiling them in a large\nkettle filled with water. This drink is designed for or appropriated\nby a few members, and they drink the liquid when it is quite hot. The\nmore that they drink the more they desire, and they seem able to drink\nalmost any quantity. It produces a kind of intoxication, making them\nfull of life, as they say, and enabling them to dance a long time. (See\n\u00a7 62.)\n\n GREEN CORN DANCE.\n\n\u00a7 88. This dance did not originate with the Iowa. It is said that the\nSac tribe obtained it from the Shawnee. It is held after night. Men\nand women dance together, and if any women or men wish to leave their\nconsorts they do it at this dance and mate anew, nothing being urged\nagainst it.\n\n BUFFALO DANCING SOCIETY.\n\n\u00a7 89. The Iowa have the buffalo dance, and by a comparison of Mr.\nHamilton\u2019s description of it, and his account of the buffalo doctors,\nand of the medicine or mystery bag of buffalo hide, with what has been\nlearned about the Omaha order of buffalo shamans (see \u00a7 43), it seems\nprobable that among the Iowa this dance was not participated in by any\nbut those who had had visions of the buffalo, and that there was also\nsome connection between all three--the dancing society, the buffalo\ndoctors, and the mysterious bag of buffalo hide. As among the Omaha,\nthe buffalo doctors of the Iowa are the only surgeons.\n\n\n \u2534[C]IWERE TRADITIONS.\n\n\u00a7 90. The \u2534\u0254iwere tribes have traditions of their origin similar to\nthose found among the Osage, Kansa, and Ponka, and these traditions are\nconsidered as \u201cwaqonyita\u207f,\u201d or mysterious things, not to be spoken of\nlightly or told on ordinary occasions.\n\nAs among the Osage and Kansa, the traditions tell of a period when the\nancestors of the present gentes dwelt, some in the upper world, and\nothers in the ground (or in the world beneath this one).\n\nMr. Hamilton\u2019s informant said, \u201cThese are sacred things, and I do not\nlike to speak about them, as it is not our custom to do so except when\nwe make a feast and collect the people and use the sacred pipe.\u201d These\ntraditions were preserved in the secret societies of the tribes. They\nexplain the origin of the gentes and subgentes, of fire, corn, the\npipes, bows and arrows, etc.\n\nIt is probable that similar secret societies exist among the Winnebago.\nJames Alexander, a Winnebago of the Wolf gens, told a part of the\nsecret tradition of his gens, in which appear some resemblances to the\n\u2534\u0254iwere traditions, such as the creation of four kinds of wolves, and\ntheir dwelling underground, or in the world beneath this one. (See \u00a7\u00a7\n381, 383.)\n\n\n BELIEF IN FUTURE LIFE.\n\nThat the \u2534\u0254iwere believed in the existence of the ghost or spirit after\ndeath is evident from what Mr. Hamilton observed:\n\n They often put provisions, a pitcher of water, and some cooking\n utensils on the grave for the use of the spirit for some time\n after burial. * * * At the time of burial, they often put\n new clothing and ornaments on the corpse, if they are able, and\n place by its side such things as they think necessary. I once\n saw a little child with some of its playthings which its mother\n had placed by it, in her ignorance, thinking that they would be\n pleasing to it. * * * They are generally careful for a year\n or so, to keep down all the weeds and grass about the grave,\n perhaps for 10 feet around.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 81: See \u00a7 58.]\n\n[Footnote 82: Miss Fletcher in Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc. Minneapolis\nmeeting, 1883. Salem, 1884. pp. 396, 397.]\n\n[Footnote 83: See \u00a7\u00a7 33 and 40.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER V.\n\n DAKOTA AND ASSINIBOIN CULTS.\n\n\n ALLEGED DAKOTA BELIEF IN A GREAT SPIRIT.\n\n\u00a7 92. That the Dakota tribes, before the advent of the white race,\nbelieved in one Great Spirit, has been asserted by several writers;\nbut it can not be proved. On the contrary, even those writers who are\nquoted in this study as stating the Dakota belief in a Great Spirit,\nalso tell us of beliefs in many spirits of evil. Among the earlier\nwriters of this class is Say, who observes:\n\n Their Wahconda seems to be a protean god; he is supposed to appear\n to different persons under different forms. All who are favored\n with his presence become medicine men and magicians in consequence\n of their having seen and conversed with Wahconda, and of having\n received from him some particular medicine of wondrous efficacy.\n\nThe same writer records that \u201cWahconda\u201d appeared sometimes as a grizzly\nbear, sometimes as a bison, at others as a beaver, or an owl, or some\nother bird or animal.[84] It is plain that Say mistook the generic\nterm, \u201cWahconda,\u201d for a specific one. (See \u00a7\u00a7 6, 21-24.)\n\nShea says:\n\n Although polytheism did not exist, although they all recognized\n one Supreme Being, the creator of all, * * * they nowhere\n adored the God whom they knew. * * * The demons with which\n they peopled nature, these alone, in their fear they sought to\n appease. * * * Pure unmixed devil-worship prevailed\n throughout the length and breadth of the land.[85]\n\n\u00a7 93. Lynd made some very pertinent remarks:\n\n A stranger coming among the Dakotas for the first time, and\n observing the endless variety of objects upon which they bestow\n their devotion, and the manifold forms which that worship assumes,\n at once pronounces them pantheists. A further acquaintance with\n them convinces him that they are pantheists of no ordinary\n kind--that their pantheism is negative as well as positive, and\n that the engraftments of religion are even more numerous than\n the true branches. Upon a superficial glance he sees naught\n but an inextricable maze of gods, demons, spirits, beliefs and\n counter-beliefs, earnest devotion and reckless skepticism,\n prayers, sacrifices, and sneers, winding and intermingling with\n one another, until a labyrinth of pantheism and skepticism\n results, and the Dakota, with all his infinity of deities appears\n a creature of irreligion. One speaks of the medicine dance with\n respect, while another smiles at the name--one makes a religion\n of the raw fish feast, while another stands by and laughs at his\n performance--and others, listening to the supposed revelations of\n the circle dance, with reverent attention, are sneered at by a\n class who deny in toto the wakan nature of that ceremony.[86]\n\n In common with all nations of the earth the Dakotas believe in a\n Wakantanka or Great Spirit. But this Being is not alone in the\n universe. Numbers of minor deities are scattered throughout space,\n some of whom are placed high in the scale of power. Their ideas of\n the Great Spirit appear to be that He is the creator of the world\n and has existed from all time; but after creating the world and\n all that is in it He sank into silence and since then has failed\n to take any interest in the affairs of this planet. They never\n pray to Him, for they deem Him too far away to hear them, or as\n not being concerned in their affairs. No sacrifices are made to\n Him, nor dances in His honor. Of all the spirits He is the Great\n Spirit; but His power is only latent or negative. They swear by\n Him at all times, but more commonly by other divinities.[87]\n\nYet Lynd is not always consistent, for he says on another page (71) of\nthe same work: \u201cNo one deity is held by them all as a superior object\nof worship.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 94. Pond writes:\n\n Evidence is also wanting to show that the Dakotas embraced in\n their religious tenents the idea of one supreme existence, whose\n existence is expressed by the term Great Spirit. If some clans\n at the present time entertain this idea it seems highly probable\n that it has been imparted to them by individuals of European\n extraction. No reference to such a being is found in their feasts,\n fasts, or sacrifices. Or if there is such a reference at the\n present time it is clear that it is of recent origin and does not\n belong to their system. It is indeed true that the Dakotas do\n sometimes appeal to the Great Spirit when in council with white\n men, but it is because they themselves have embraced the Christian\n doctrines. Still, it is generally the interpreter who makes\n the appeal to the Great Spirit, when the Indian speaker really\n appealed to the Taku Wakan, and not to the Wakantanka. It is true\n that * * * all the Dakota gods * * * are mortal. They are\n not thought of as being eternal, except it may be by\n succession.[88]\n\nThe author agrees with Pond in what he says about the average Indian\ninterpreter of early days, who seldom gave a correct rendering of what\nwas spoken in council. But at the present time great improvement has\ndoubtless been observed.\n\nIt should be remembered that Messrs. Riggs and Pond were missionaries\nto the Dakotas, while Messrs. Say, Shea, and Lynd must be classed among\nthe laity. Yet the missionaries, not the laymen, are the ones who make\nthe positive statements about the absence of a belief in one Great\nSpirit.\n\n\n RIGGS ON THE TAKU WAKAN.\n\n\u00a7 95. Riggs remarks:\n\n The religious faith of the Dakota is not in his gods as such. It\n is an intangible, mysterious something of which they are only the\n embodiment, and that in such a measure and degree as may accord\n with the individual fancy of the worshiper. Each one will worship\n some of these divinities and neglect and despise others; but the\n great object of all their worship, whatever its chosen medium, is\n the TA-KOO WAH-KON, which is the supernatural and mysterious. No\n one term can express the full meaning of the Dakota\u2019s Wakan. It\n comprehends all mystery, secret power, and divinity. * * *\n All life is Wakan. So also is everything which exhibits power,\n whether in action, as the winds and drifting clouds, or in\n passive endurance, as the bowlder by the wayside.[89]\n\n\n MEANING OF \u201cWAKAN.\u201d\n\n In the mind of a Dakota * * * this word Wah-kon (we write,\n wa-kan) covers the whole field of their fear and worship. Many\n things also that are neither feared nor worshiped, but are simply\n wonderful, come under this designation. It is related of Hennepin\n that when he and his two companions were taken captive by a Sioux\n war party, as they ascended the upper Mississippi one of the men\n took up his gun and shot a deer on the bank. The Indians said,\n \u201cWah-kon chi?\u201d--Is not this mysterious? And from that day\n * * * the gun has been called Mah-za wah-kon, mysterious\n iron. This is shortened into Mah-za-kon. The same thing we may\n believe is true when, probably less than two centuries ago, they\n first saw a horse. They said \u201cShoon-ka wah-kon,\u201d wonderful dog.\n And from that day the horse has been called by the Sioux\n wonderful dog, except when it has been called big dog, Shoon-ka\n tonka. These historical facts have satisfied us that the idea of\n the Great Spirit ascribed to the Indians of North America does\n not belong to the original theogony of the Sioux, but has come\n from without, like that (sic) of the horse and gun, and probably\n dates back only to their first hearing of the white man\u2019s\n God.[90]\n\n_Taku Wakan._--This is a general term, including all that is wonderful,\nincomprehensible, supernatural--what is wakan; but especially covering\nthe objects of their worship. Until used in reference to our God, it is\nbelieved that the phrase was not applied to any individual object of\nworship, but was equivalent to \u201cthe gods.\u201d[91] As tuwe, _who_, refers\nto persons, and taku, _what_, to things, the correctness of Riggs\u2019s\nconclusion can hardly be questioned, provided we add that the Dakota\nterm, Taku Wakan, could not have conveyed to the Dakota mind the idea\nof a _personal_ God, using the term _person_ as it is commonly employed\nby civilized peoples.\n\n\n DAIMONISM.\n\n\u00a7 96. Lynd says:\n\n The divinities of evil among the Dakotas may be called legion.\n Their special delight is to make man miserable or to destroy him.\n Demons wander through the earth, causing sickness and death.\n Spirits of evil are ever ready to pounce upon and destroy the\n unwary. Spirits of earth, air, fire, and water (see \u00a7 36) surround\n him upon every side, and with but one great governing object in\n view--the misery and destruction of the human race.[92]\n\n\n ANIMISM.\n\n\u00a7 97. Their religious system gives to everything a soul or spirit. Even\nthe commonest sticks and clays have a spiritual essence attached to\nthem which must needs be reverenced; for these spirits, too, vent their\nwrath upon mankind. Indeed, there is no object, however trivial, but\nhas its spirit.[93]\n\nIn his article on the Mythology of the Dakotas,[94] Riggs says of the\nDakota:\n\n They pray to the sun, earth, moon, lakes, rivers, trees, plants,\n snakes, and all kinds of animals and vegetables--many of them say,\n to everything, for they pray to their guns and arrows--to any\n object, artificial as well as natural, for they suppose that every\n object, artificial as well as natural, has a spirit which may hurt\n or help, and so is a proper object of worship.\n\nLynd says:\n\n The essentially physical cast of the Indian mind (if I may be\n allowed the expression) requires some outward and tangible\n representation of things spiritual before he can comprehend\n them. The god must be present, by image or in person, ere he\n can offer up his devotions. * * * Similar to this \u201cbelief in a\n spiritual essence\u201d is the general Dakota belief that each class of\n animals or objects of a like kind possesses a peculiar guardian\n divinity, which is the mother archetype. * * * Sexuality is a\n prominent feature in the religion of the Dakotas. Of every species\n of divinity, with the exception of the Wakantanka, there is a\n plurality, part male and part female. Even the spirits, which\n are supposed to dwell in the earth, twigs, and other inanimate\n substances, are invested with distinctions of sex.[95]\n\n\u00a7 98. Pond asserts that \u201cevidence is wanting to show that these people\ndivide their Taku-wakan into classes of good and evil. They are all\nsimply wakan.\u201d[96]\n\n\n PRINCIPAL DAKOTA GODS.\n\nThe gods of the Dakotas are of course innumerable; but of the superior\ngods these are the chief: The Unkte\u1e23i, or god of the water; the\nWakinyan, or thunder god; the Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan, or moving god; the Tunkan,\nInyan, or stone god; the Heyoka god; the Sun; the Moon; the Armor god;\nthe Spirit of the Medicine Sack; and the Wakantanka, who is probably an\nintrusive deity.[97]\n\n\n MISS FLETCHER ON INDIAN RELIGION.\n\n\u00a7 99. The following remarks are those of a later writer, Miss Fletcher:\n\n The Indian\u2019s religion is generally spoken of as a nature and\n animal worship. The term seems too broadcast and indiscriminate.\n Careful inquiry and observation fail to show that the Indian\n actually worships the objects which are set up or mentioned by\n him in his ceremonies. The earth, four winds, the sun, moon,\n and stars, the stones, the water, the various animals, are all\n exponents of a mysterious life and power encompassing the Indian\n and filling him with vague apprehension and desire to propitiate\n and induce friendly relations. The latter is attempted not so much\n through the ideas of sacrifice as through more or less ceremonial\n appeals. More faith is put in ritual and a careful observance of\n forms than in any act of self-denial in its moral sense, as we\n understand it. The claim of relationship is used to strengthen\n the appeal, since the tie of kindred among the Indians is one\n which can not be ignored or disregarded, the terms grandfather and\n grandmother being most general and implying dependence, respect,\n and the recognition of authority. (See \u00a7\u00a7 9, 100.)\n\n One of the simplest and most picturesque explanations of the use\n of the varied forms of life in the Indian worship was given to me\n by a thoughtful Indian chief. He said: \u201cEverything as it moves,\n now and then, here and there, makes stops. The bird as it flies\n stops in one place to make its nest, and in another to rest in its\n flight. A man when he goes forth stops when he wills. So the god\n has stopped. The sun, which is so bright and beautiful, is one\n place where he has stopped. The moon, the stars, the winds, he has\n been with. The trees, the animals, are all where he has stopped,\n and the Indian thinks of these places and sends his prayers there\n to reach the place where the god has stopped and win help and a\n blessing.\u201d\n\n The vague feeling after unity is here discernible, but it is like\n the cry of a child rather than the articulate speech of a man. To\n the Indian mind the life of the universe has not been analyzed,\n classified, and a great synthesis formed of the parts. To him\n the varied forms are equally important and noble. A devout old\n Indian said: \u201cThe tree is like a human being, for it has life and\n grows; so we pray to it and put our offerings on it that the god\n may help us.\u201d In the same spirit the apology is offered over a\n slaughtered animal, for the life of the one is taken to supplement\n the life of the other, \u201cthat it may cause us to live,\u201d one formula\n expresses it. These manifestations of life, stopping places of the\n god, can not therefore be accurately called objects of worship\n or symbols; they appear to be more like media of communication\n with the permeating occult force which is vaguely and fearfully\n apprehended. As a consequence, the Indian stands abreast of\n nature. He does not face it, and hence can not master or coerce\n it, or view it scientifically and apart from his own mental and\n emotional life. He appeals to it, but does not worship it.[98]\n\n\n PRAYER.\n\n\u00a7 100. Every power is prayed to by some of the Dakota and Assiniboin.\nAmong the accessories of prayer the Dakota reckons the following:\n(_a_) Ceremonial wailing or crying (\u0107\u00e9ya, to weep, wail; whence,\n\u0107\u00e9kiya, to cry, to pray, and wo\u0107\u00e9kiye, prayer), sometimes accompanied\nby articulate speech (\u00a7\u00a7 177, 208); (_b_) the action called yuwi\u207ftapi\n(yuwi\u014b\u00b4tapi) described in \u00a7 24; (_c_) holding the pipe with the\nmouthpiece toward the power invoked, as the Heyoka devotees sometimes\ndo (\u00a7\u00a7 223, 224); (_d_) the use of smoke from the pipe or the odor\nof burning cedar needles (\u00a7\u00a7 159, 168); (_e_) the application of the\nkinship terms, \u201cgrandfather\u201d (or its alternative, \u201cvenerable man\u201d) to a\nmale power, and \u201cgrandmother\u201d to a female one (\u00a7\u00a7 99, 107, 239); (_f_)\nsacrifice, or offering of goods, animals, or pieces of one\u2019s own flesh,\netc. (see \u00a7 185).\n\n\n SACRIFICE.\n\n\u00a7 101. The radical forms of worship among the Dakota, according to\nLynd, are few and simple. One of the most primitive is that of Wocnapi\n(Wo\u015bnapi) or Sacrifice. To every divinity that they worship they\nmake sacrifices. Even upon the most trivial occasions the gods are\neither thanked or supplicated by sacrifice. The religious idea it\ncarries with it is at the foundation of the every-day life of the\nDakota. The wohduze or taboo has its origin there; the wiwa\u014byag\nwa\u0107ipi or sundance (\u00a7\u00a7 141-211) carries with it the same idea;\nthe waka\u014b woha\u014bpi or sacred feast (feast of the first-fruits)\nis a practical embodiment of it; and ha\u014bmdepi or god-seeking of\nthe extreme western tribes is but a form of self-sacrifice. No Dakota\nin his worship neglects this ceremony. It enters into his religious\nthoughts at all times, even at the hour of death. The sacrifices\nmade upon recovery from sickness are never composed of anything very\nvaluable, for the poverty of the Indian will not permit this. Usually\na small strip of muslin, or a piece of red cloth, a few skins of\nsome animals, or other things of no great use or value are employed.\nSometimes a pan or kettle is laid up for a sacrifice. But after a short\ntime, the end for which the sacrifice was made is attained, and it is\nremoved. Those in need of such things as they see offered in sacrifice\nmay take them for their own use, being careful to substitute some other\narticles. Perhaps the most common forms of sacrifice are those which\nare made in the hunt. Particular portions of each animal killed are\nheld sacred to the god of the chase or some other deities. If a deer\nis killed, the head, heart, or some other part of it is sacrificed by\nthe person who has slain it. The part sacrificed differs with different\nindividuals. In ducks and fowls the most common sacrifice is of the\nwing, though many sacrifice the heart, and a few the head. This custom\nis called wohduze, and is always constant with individuals, i. e., the\nsame part is always sacrificed. The other wohduze or taboo is connected\nwith the wotawe or armor,[99] and will be described hereafter (\u00a7 125).\n\n\u00a7 102. _Ha\u014bmdepi or god-seeking._--Ha\u014bmdepi or god-seeking\nis a form of religion among the Dakotas that points back to a remote\nantiquity. The meaning of the word, in its common acceptation, appears\nto be greatly misunderstood by some. Literally, it means only to dream,\nand is but another form of ha\u014bma; but in its use it is applied\nalmost wholly to the custom of seeking for a dream or revelation,\npracticed by the Sisitonwan, Ihanktonwanna, and Titonwan (Sioux), and\nby the Crow, Minnetaree, Assiniboin, and other western Dakota. In this\nrespect it has no reference whatever to the common dreams of sleep, but\nmeans simply the form of religion practiced.\n\nIf a Dakota wishes to be particularly successful in any (to him)\nimportant undertaking, he first purifies himself by the Inipi or steam\nbath, and by fasting for a term of three days. During the whole of\nthis time he avoids women and society, is secluded in his habits, and\nendeavors in every way to be pure enough to receive a revelation from\nthe deity whom he invokes. When the period of fasting is passed he is\nready for the sacrifice, which is made in various ways. Some, passing\na knife through the breast and arms, attach thongs thereto, which\nare fastened at the other end to the top of a tall pole raised for\nthat purpose; and thus they hang, suspended only by these thongs, for\ntwo, three, or even four days, gazing upon vacancy, their minds being\nintently fixed upon the object in which they desire to be assisted by the\ndeity, and waiting for a vision from above. Once a day an assistant is\nsent to look upon the person thus sacrificing himself. If the deities\nhave vouchsafed him a vision or revelation, he signifies the same by\nmotions, and is released at once; if he be silent, his silence is\nunderstood, and he is left alone to his reverie.\n\nOthers attach a buffalo hair rope to the head of a buffalo just as it\nis severed from the animal, and to the other end affix a hook, which\nis then passed through the large muscles in the small of the back,\nand thus fastened they drag the head all over the camp, their minds\nmeanwhile being fixed intently, as in the first instance, upon the\nobject in which they are beseeching the deity to assist them.\n\nA third class pass knives through the flesh in various parts of the\nbody, and wait in silence, though with fixed mind, for a dream or\nrevelation. A few, either not blessed with the powers of endurance or\nelse lacking the courage of the class first named, will plant a pole\nupon the steep bank of a stream, and attaching ropes to the muscles of\nthe arm and breast, as in the first instance, will stand, but not hang,\ngazing into space, without food or drink, for days.\n\nStill another class practice the ha\u014bmdepi without such horrid\nself-sacrifice. For weeks, nay, for months, they will fix their minds\nintently upon any desired object, to the exclusion of all others,\nfrequently crying about the camp, occasionally taking a little food,\nbut fasting for the most part, and earnestly seeking a revelation from\ntheir god.[100]\n\n\u00a7 103. Similar testimony has been given respecting the Mandan, Hidatsa,\nand Arikara, though this last tribe belongs to the Caddoan stock. Smet\nwrote thus about them:\n\n They cut off their fingers and make deep incisions in the fleshy\n parts of the body before starting for war, in order to obtain the\n favors of their false gods. On my last visit to these Ricaries,\n Minataries, and Mandans I could not discern a single man at all\n advanced in years whose body had not been mutilated, or who\n possessed his full number of fingers.[101]\n\nIn treating of the religious opinion of the Assiniboin, Smet says:\n\n Some burn tobacco, and present to the Great Spirit the most\n exquisite pieces of buffalo meat by casting them into the fire;\n while others make deep incisions in the fleshy parts of their\n bodies, and even cut off the first joints of their fingers to\n offer them in sacrifice.[102]\n\nLynd says:\n\n \u00a7 104. Frequently the devout Dakota will make images of bark or\n stone, and, after painting them in various ways and putting sacred\n down upon them, will fall down in worship before them, praying\n that all danger may be averted from him and his. It must not be\n understood, however, that the Dakota is an idolater. It is not the\n image that he worships, * * * but the spiritual essence which\n is represented by that image, and which is supposed to be ever\n near it.[103]\n\nThis plausible distinction has been made by persons of different\nnations at various periods in the world\u2019s history, but it seems to be\nof doubtful value.\n\n\n USE OF PAINT IN WORSHIP.\n\n\u00a7 105. In the worship of their deities paint forms an important\nfeature. Scarlet or red is the religious color for sacrifices, while\nblue is used by the women in many of the ceremonies in which they\nparticipate (\u00a7\u00a7 374, 375). This, however, is not a constant distinction\nof sex, for the women frequently use red or scarlet. The use of paints\nthe Dakotas aver was taught them by the gods.[104]\n\nFor accounts of the Sun-dance and a sacrifice to the Dawn, see \u00a7\u00a7 141,\n211, 215.\n\n\n THE UNKTE\u1e22I, OR SUBAQUATIC AND SUBTERRANEAN POWERS.\n\n\u00a7 106. The gods of this name, for there are many, are the most powerful\nof all. In their external form they are said to resemble the ox, only\nthey are of immense proportions. They can extend their horns and\ntails so as to reach the skies. These are the organs of their power.\nAccording to one account the Unkte\u1e23i inhabit all deep waters, and\nespecially all great waterfalls. Two hundred and eleven years ago, when\nHennepin and Du Luth saw the Falls of St. Anthony together, there were\nsome buffalo robes hanging there as sacrifices to the Unkte\u1e23i of the\nplace.[105]\n\n\u00a7 107. Another account written by the same author informs us that the\nmale Unkte\u1e23i dwell in the water, and the spirits of the females animate\nthe earth. Hence, when the Dakota seems to be offering sacrifices to\nthe water or the earth, it is to this family of gods that the worship\nis rendered. They address the males as \u201cgrandfathers,\u201d and the females\nas \u201cgrandmothers.\u201d It is believed that one of these gods dwells under\nthe Falls of St. Anthony, in a den of great dimensions, which is\nconstructed of iron.[106]\n\n\u00a7 108. \u201cThe word Unkte\u1e23i defies analysis, only the latter part giving\nus the idea of _difficult_ [sic], and so nothing can be gathered from\nthe name itself of the functions of these gods. But Indian legend\ngenerally describes the genesis of the earth as from the water. Some\nanimal, as the beaver [compare the Iowa and Oto Beaver gentes, Pa\u00e7a\nand Paq\u00e7a.--J. O. D.] living in the waters, brought up, from a great\ndepth, mud to build dry land.\u201d[107] According to the Dakota cosmogony,\nthis was done by the Unkte\u1e23i, called in the Teton dialect \u016c\u00f1ktcexila\nor U\u014bk\u0107e\u0121ila. (Compare the Winnebago, Waktceqi ikikaratcada or\nwater-monster gens, and the Wakandagi of the Omaha and Ponka, see \u00a7\u00a7 7,\n77).\n\n\u00a7 109. The Iowa and Oto tribes have among their nikie names,\nNiwa\u207fcike, Water Person, and Niwa\u207fcikemi, Water Person Female. If\nthese do not refer to the beaver, they may have some connection with\nthe water monsters or deities. An Omaha told the author a Yankton\nlegend about these gods of the waters. The wife of the special Unkte\u1e23i\ncoveted an Indian child and drew it beneath the surface of the river.\nThe father of the child had to offer a white dog to the deity in order\nto recover his son; but the latter died on emerging from the water, as\nhe had eaten some of the food of the Unkte\u1e23i during his stay with the\ndeity. After awhile the parents lost a daughter in like manner, but as\nshe did not eat any of the food of the Unkte\u1e23i, she was recovered after\nan offering of four white dogs.[108]\n\nSmet tells of offerings made by the Assiniboin to \u201cthe water\u201d and \u201cthe\nland,\u201d but it is probable that they were made to the Unkte\u1e23i.[109]\n\n\u00a7 110. The Dakota pray to lakes and rivers, according to Riggs,[110]\nbut he does not say whether the visible objects were worshiped or\nwhether the worship was intended for the Unkte\u1e23i supposed to dwell in\nthose lakes and rivers.\n\n POWER OF THE UNKTE\u1e22I.\n\n\u00a7 111. These gods have power to send from their bodies a wakan\ninfluence which is irresistible even by the superior gods. This\ninfluence is termed \u201ctonwan.\u201d This power is common to all the Taku\nWakan. And it is claimed that this tonwan is infused into each mystery\nsack which is used in the mystery dance. A little to the left of the\nroad leading from Fort Snelling to Minnehaha, in sight of the fort, is\na hill which is used at present as a burial place. This hill is known\nto the Dakota as \u201cTaku Wakan tipi,\u201d the dwelling place of the gods. It\nis believed that one of the Unkte\u1e23i dwells there.\n\n\u00a7 112. The Unkte\u1e23i are thought to feed on the spirits of human beings,\nand references to this occur in the mystic songs. The mystery feast and\nthe mystery dance have been received from these gods. The sacrifices\nrequired by them are the soft down of the swan reddened with vermilion,\ndeer skins, dog, mystery feast and mystery dances.\n\nIn Miss Fletcher\u2019s article on \u201cThe Shadow or Ghost Lodge: A ceremony\nof the Ogallala Sioux,\u201d we read that 2 yards of red cloth are \u201ccarried\nout beyond the camp, to an elevation if possible, and buried in a hole\nabout 3 feet deep. This is an offering to the earth, and the chanted\nprayer asks that the life, or power in earth, will help the father\u201d of\nthe dead child \u201cin keeping successfully all the requirements of the\nghost lodge.\u201d[111] (See \u00a7 146.)\n\n SUBORDINATES OF THE UNKTE\u1e22I.\n\nThe subordinates of the Unkte\u1e23i are serpents, lizards, frogs, ghosts,\nowls, and eagles. The Unkte\u1e23i made the earth and men, and gave the\nDakota the mystery sack, and also prescribed the manner in which some\nof those pigments must be applied which are rubbed over the bodies of\ntheir votaries in the mystery dance, and on the warrior as he goes into\naction.\n\nTHE MYSTERY DANCE.\n\n\u00a7 113. Immediately after the production of the earth and men, the\nUnkte\u1e23i gave the Indians the mystery sack and instituted the Wakan\nwa\u0107ipi or mystery dance. They ordained that the sack should consist of\nthe skin of the otter, raccoon, weasel, squirrel, loon, one variety\nof fish, and of serpents. It was also ordained that the sack should\ncontain four species of medicines of wakan qualities, which should\nrepresent fowls, medicinal herbs, medicinal trees, and quadrupeds.\nThe down of the female swan represents the first, and may be seen at\nthe time of the dance inserted in the nose of the sack. Grass roots\nrepresent the second, bark from the roots of the trees the third, and\nhair from the back or head of a buffalo the fourth. These are carefully\npreserved in the sack. From this combination proceeds a wakan influence\nso powerful that no human being, unassisted, can resist it.\n\nThose who violated their obligations as members of the Mystery dance,\nwere sure of punishment. If they went into forests, the black owl was\nthere, as a servant of the Unkte\u1e23i; if they descended into the earth,\nthey encountered the serpent; if they ascended into the air, the eagle\nwould pursue and overtake them; and if they ventured into the water,\nthere were the Unkte\u1e23i themselves.[112] An account of the mystery or\nmedicine dance is given by Pond, op. cit., pp. 37-41.\n\n\u201cThose Dakotas,\u201d said Lynd, \u201cwho belong to the medicine dance esteem\nthe Unkte\u1e23i as the greatest divinity. Among the eastern Dakotas the\nmedicine dance appears to have taken the place of these more barbarous\nceremonies (i. e., the self-tortures of the hanmdepi, piercing of the\nflesh, etc.)--among the Winnebagoes entirely.\u201d\n\nThe Omaha do not have the sun dance, but the wacicka a\u023ci\u207f, answering to\nthe Dakota mystery dance, is said to be of ancient use among them.\n\n\u201cIndeed, the medicine dance, though an intrusive religious form, may be\nconsidered as an elevating and enlightening religion in comparison with\nthe hanmdepi.\u201d[113]\n\n THE MINIWATU.\n\n\u00a7 114. The Teton Dakota tell of the Miniwatu, Wamnitu,[114] and Mini\nwa\u015bi\u0107u, all of which are probably names for the same class of\nmonsters, the last meaning \u201cWater God or Guardian Spirit.\u201d These powers\nare said to be horned water monsters with four legs each. \u201cThey make\nwaves by pushing the water toward the lowlands; therefore, the\nIndians prefer to encamp on or near the bluffs. They fear to swim the\nMissouri River on account of the water monsters, who can draw people\ninto their mouths.\u201d Can these be the Unkte\u1e23i, whom the Teton call\nU\u014bk\u0107e\u0121ila?\n\n\u00a7 115. \u201cLong ago,\u201d according to Bushotter, \u201cthe people saw a strange\nthing in the Missouri River. At night there was some red object,\nshining like fire, making the water roar as it passed upstream. Should\nany one see the monster by daylight he became crazy soon after,\nwrithing as with pain, and dying. One man who said that he saw the\nmonster described it thus: \u2018It has red hair all over, and one eye. A\nhorn is in the middle of its forehead, and its body resembles that of\na buffalo.\u2019[115] Its backbone is like a cross-cut saw, being flat and\nnotched like a saw or cog wheel. When one sees it he gets bewildered,\nand his eyes close at once. He is crazy for a day, and then he dies.\nThe Teton think that this matter is still in the river, and they call\nit the Miniwatu or water monster. They think that it causes the ice on\nthe river to break up in the spring of the year.\u201d[116]\n\nThe Teton say that the bones of the U\u014bk\u0107e\u0121ila are now found in the\nbluffs of Nebraska and Dakota.\n\n\n THE WAKI\u1d3aYA\u1d3a (WAKI\u014aYA\u014a), OR THUNDER-BEINGS.\n\n\u00a7 116. The name signifies the flying ones, from kinyan, to fly. The\nthunder is the sound of their voices. The lightning is the missile or\ntonwan of the winged monsters, who live and fly through the heavens\nshielded from mortal vision by thick clouds. By some of the wakan\nmen it is said that there are four varieties of the form of their\nexternal manifestation. In essence, however they are but one. One of\nthe varieties is black, with a long beak, and has four joints in his\nwing. Another is yellow, without any beak at all; with wings like\nthe first, except that he has six quills in each wing. The third is\nscarlet, and remarkable chiefly for having eight joints in each of its\nenormous pinions. The fourth is blue and globular in form, and it is\ndestitute of both eyes and ears. Immediately over the places where the\neyes should be there is a semicircular line of lightning resembling an\ninverted half moon from beneath which project downward two chains of\nlightning diverging from each other in zigzag lines as they descend.\nTwo plumes like soft down, coming out near the roots of the descending\nchains of lightning, serve for wings.[117]\n\nThese thunderers, of course, are of terrific proportions. They created\nthe wild rice and a variety of prairie grass, the seed of which bears\nsome resemblance to that of the rice. At the western extremity of the\nearth, which is supposed to be a circular plain surrounded by water,\nis a high mountain, on the summit of which is a beautiful mound. On\nthis mound is the dwelling of the Wakinyan gods. The dwelling opens\ntoward each of the four quarters of the earth, and at each doorway is\nstationed a sentinel. A butterfly stands at the east entrance, a bear\nat the west, a reindeer [sic, probably intended for a deer.--J. O. D.]\nat the north, and a beaver at the south [the beaver seems out of place\nhere as a servant of the Wakinyan gods, for, judging from analogy, he\nought to be the servant of the Unkte\u1e23i (see \u00a7 108)--J. O. D.].\n\nExcept the head, each of these wakan sentinels is enveloped in scarlet\ndown of the most extraordinary beauty.[118]\n\n\u00a7 117. The Teton texts of Bushotter state the belief that \u201csome of\nthese ancient people still dwell in the clouds. They have large curved\nbeaks resembling bison humps, their voices are loud, they do not open\ntheir eyes except when they make lightning, hence the archaic Teton\nname for the lightning, Wakinyan tunwanpi, \u201cThe thunder-beings open\ntheir eyes.\u201d They are armed with arrows and \u201cmaza wakan\u201d or \u201cmysterious\nirons\u201d (not \u201cguns\u201d), the latter being of different kinds. Ka\u014b\u0121itame,\nstones resembling coal, are found in the Bad Lands, and they are said\nto be the missiles of the Thunderers. When these gods so desire they\nkill various mysterious beings and objects, as well as human beings\nthat are mysterious. Their ancient foes were the giant rattlesnakes and\nthe prehistoric water monsters (U\u014bk\u0107e\u0121ila: see \u00a7\u00a7 108, 114, 115).\n\n\u00a7 118. Long ago the Teton encamped by a deep lake whose shore was\ninclosed by very high cliffs. They noticed that at night, even when\nthere was no breeze, the water in the middle of the lake was constantly\nroaring. When one gazed in that direction, he saw a huge eye as\nbright as the sun, which caused him to vomit something resembling\nblack earth moistened with water, and death soon followed. That very\nnight the Thunderers came, and the crashing sounds were so terrible\nthat many people fainted. The next morning the shore was covered with\nthe bodies of all kinds of fish, some of which were larger than men,\nand there were also some huge serpents. The water monster which the\nThunderers had fought resembled a rattlesnake, but he had short legs\nand rusty-yellow fur.\n\n\u00a7 119. The Thunderers are represented as cruel and destructive in\ndisposition. They are ever on the war path. A mortal hatred exists\nbetween them and the family of the Unkte\u1e23i. Neither has power to resist\nthe tonwan of the other if it strikes him. Their attacks are never\nopen, and neither is safe except he eludes the vigilance of the other.\nThe Wakinyan, in turn, are often surprised and killed by the Unkte\u1e23i.\nMany stories are told of the combats of these gods. Mr. Pond once\nlistened to the relation, by an eyewitness (as he called himself), of\na story in substance as follows: A Wakinyan measuring 25 to 30 yards\nbetween the tips of his wings was killed and fell on the bank of the\nBlue Earth river (Minnesota).\n\nFrom the Wakinyan the Dakota have received their war implements, the\nspear and tomahawk, and many of the pigments, which, if properly\napplied, will shield them from the weapons of their enemies.[119]\n\n\u00a7 120. When a person dreams of the Thunderers, it is a sign that he and\nthey must fight. The Wakinyan are not the only gods of war; there are\nalso the Takucka\u207fcka\u207f (Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan) and the Armor gods. (See\n\u00a7\u00a7 122-3, 127-9.)\n\nOf the circle dance, Riggs says (in Amer. Antiq., II, 267): \u201cThey cut\nan image of the great bird from bark and suspend it at the top of the\ncentral pole, which is shot to pieces at the close of the dance.\u201d (He\nprobably means that the image of the great bird, a Thunder bird, is\nshot to pieces, not the pole.) Sacrifices are made to the Wakinyan and\nsongs are sung both to the Wakinyan and the Unkte\u1e23i.\n\n\u00a7 121. There seems to be some connection between the Heyoka gods and\nthe Wakinyan; but it is not plain. The Heyoka god uses a small Wakinyan\ngod as his drumstick. (See \u00a7 218.) The Wakinyan songs are sung by\nmembers of the Heyoka dancing order.\n\nSmet was told that the Dakota--\n\n Pretend that the thunder is an enormous bird, and that the muffled\n sound of the distant thunder is caused by a countless number of\n young (thunder) birds. The great bird, they say, gives the first\n sound, and the young ones repeat it; this is the cause of the\n reverberations. The Sioux declare that the young thunderers do all\n the mischief, like giddy youth who will not listen to good advice;\n but the old thunderer or big bird is wise and excellent; he never\n kills or injures any one.[120]\n\nNext to the Sun, according to Smet, Thunder is the great deity of the\nAssiniboin. Every spring, at the first peal of thunder, they offer\nsacrifices to the Wakinyan.[121]\n\nThe Assiniboin, according to Maximilian, ascribed the thunder to an\nenormous bird.[122]\n\n\n THE ARMOR GODS.\n\n\u00a7 122. As each young man comes to maturity a tutelar divinity,\nsometimes called \u201cWa\u015bi\u0107u\u014b\u201d (see \u00a7 236), is assigned to him.\nIt is supposed to reside in the consecrated armor then given to him,\nconsisting of a spear, an arrow, and a small bundle of paint. It is the\nspirit of some bird or animal, as the wolf, beaver, loon, or eagle. He\nmust not kill this animal, but hold it ever sacred, or at least until\nhe has proved his manhood by killing an enemy. Frequently the young man\nforms an image of this sacred animal and carries it about with him,\nregarding it as having a direct influence upon his everyday life and\nultimate destiny. Parkman says (in his \u201cJesuits in North America,\u201d p.\nLXXI, note) that the knowledge of this guardian spirit comes through\ndreams at the initiatory fast. If this is ever true among the Dakota,\nit is not the rule. This knowledge is communicated by the \u201cwar\nprophet.\u201d[123] (See \u00a7\u00a7 120, 127, 129, 305, etc.)\n\nAshley tells us that among the Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota the\nwarrior, as such, was forbidden by custom of law to eat the tongue,\nhead, or heart of many beasts. There were other animals of which the\nheads might be eaten, but not the tongues. A warrior about to go on the\nwar path could not have intercourse with women, but must go through\nthe purification of the inipi or sweat bath, which lasts four days.\nA married warrior could not touch his own weapons until he had thus\npurified himself.[124]\n\n\u00a7 123. The Armor god and the Spirit of the mystery sack are sometimes\nspoken of as if they were individual and separate divinities; but they\nseem rather to be the god-power which is put into the armor and sack\nby consecration. They should be regarded as the indwelling of the\nUnkte\u1e23i or of the Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan. A young man\u2019s war weapons are wakan\nand must not be touched by a woman. A man prays to his armor in the\nday of battle. In the consecration of these weapons of war and the\nhunt a young man comes under certain taboo restrictions. Certain parts\nof an animal are sacred and must not be eaten until he has killed an\nenemy.[125]\n\n\n THE WAR PROPHET.\n\n\u00a7 124. The war prophet has been referred to. In this capacity the wakan\nman is a necessity. Every male Dakota 16 years old and upward is a\nsoldier, and is formally and mysteriously enlisted into the service of\nthe war prophet. From him he receives the implements of war, carefully\nconstructed after models furnished from the armory of the gods, painted\nafter a divine prescription, and charged with a missive virtue--the\ntonwan--of the divinities. From him he also receives those paints\nwhich serve as an armature for the body. To obtain these necessary\narticles the proud applicant is required for a time to abuse himself\nand serve him, while he goes through a series of painful and exhausting\nperformances which are necessary on his part to enlist the favorable\nnotice of the gods. These performances consist chiefly of vapor baths,\nfastings, chants, prayers, and nightly vigils. The spear and the\ntomahawk being prepared and consecrated, the person who is to receive\nthem approaches the wakan man and presents a pipe to him. He asks a\nfavor, in substance as follows: \u201cPity thou me, poor and helpless,\na woman, and confer on me the ability to perform manly deeds.\u201d The\nprophet gives him the weapons and tells him not to forget his vows to\nthe gods when he returns in triumph, a man. The weapons are carefully\npreserved by the warrior. They are wrapped in cloth, together with the\nsacred pigments. In fair weather they are laid outside of the lodge\nevery day. They must never be touched by an adult female.[126]\n\n\u00a7 125. Lynd\u2019s account is slightly different, though in substantial\naccord with the preceding one:\n\n When a youth arrives at the age proper for going on the warpath he\n first purifies himself by fasting and the inipi or steam bath for\n three days, and then goes, with tears in his eyes, to some wakan\n man whose influence is undoubted, and prays that he will present\n him with the wotawe or consecrated armor. This wakan man is\n usually some old and experienced zuya wakan or sacred war leader.\n After a time the armor is presented to the young man, but until\n it is so presented he must fast and continue his purifications\n incessantly. It is a singular fact that nothing but the spear of\n this armor is ever used in battle, though it is always carried\n when the owner accompanies a war party. At the same time that the\n old man presents the armor he tells the youth to what animal it is\n dedicated, and enjoins upon him to hold that animal wakan. He must\n never harm or kill it, even though starvation threaten him. At all\n times and under all circumstances the taboo or wohduze is upon it,\n until by slaying numerous enemies it is gradually removed. By some\n the animal is held sacred during life, the taboo being voluntarily\n retained.[127] (See \u00a7\u00a7 101, 127.)\n\n\n THE SPIRITS OF THE MYSTERY SACKS.\n\n\u00a7 126. These are similar to the armor gods, in that they are divinities\nwho act as guardian spirits. Each of these powers is appropriated by\na single individual, protecting and aiding him, and receiving his\nworship. These spirits are conferred at the time of initiation into the\norder of the Mystery Dance, and of course are confined to the members\nof that order.[128] Each spirit of the mystery sack is not a separate\ngod, but a wakan power derived from the Unkte\u1e23i, according to a\nlater statement of Riggs.[129]\n\n\n TAKU\u015aKA\u014a\u015aKA\u014a, THE MOVING DEITY.\n\n\u00a7 127. This is a form of the wakan which jugglers, so-called mystery\nmen, and war prophets invoke. In their estimation he is the most\npowerful of their gods; the one most to be feared and propitiated,\nsince, more than all others, he influences human weal and woe. He is\nsupposed to live in the four winds, and the four black spirits of night\ndo his bidding. The consecrated spear and tomahawk (see \u00a7 124) are\nits weapons. The buzzard, raven, fox, wolf, and other animals are its\nlieutenants, to produce disease and death.[130] (Compare this with some\nof the pictographs on the war chart of the Kansa tribe: Fig. 4, Wind\nsongs; the connection between the winds and war is shown in \u00a7 33. Fig.\n8, Deer songs. Fig. 9, an Elk song. Fig. 10, seven songs of the Wakanda\nwho makes night songs. Fig. 11, five songs of the Big Rock. This is a\nrough red rock near Topeka, Kans. \u201cThis rock has a hard body, like that\nof a wakanda. May you walk like it.\u201d Fig. 12, Wolf songs. The wolf\nhowls at night. Fig. 13, Moon songs. Fig. 14, Crow songs. The crow\nflies around a dead body which it wishes to devour. Fig. 18, Shade\nsongs. There is a Wakanda who makes shade. Fig. 20, song of the Small\nRock. Fig. 22, songs of the young Moon. Fig. 23, songs of the Buffalo\nBull. Fig. 27, Owl songs. The owl hoots at night.[131])\n\n\u00a7 128. Miss Fletcher has given us a very interesting account of \u201cThe\nReligious Ceremony of the Four Winds or Quarters, as observed by the\nSantee Sioux.\u201d \u201cAmong the Santee (Sioux) Indians the Four Winds are\nsymbolized by the raven and a small black stone, less than a hen\u2019s egg\nin size.\u201d \u201cAn intelligent Santee said to me: \u2018The worship of the Four\nWinds is the most difficult to explain for it is the most complicated.\u2019\nThe Four Winds are sent by the \u2018Something that Moves.\u2019\u201d[132] There is\na \u201cSomething that Moves\u201d at each of the four directions or quarters.\nThe winds are, therefore, the messengers or exponents of the powers\nwhich remain at the four quarters. These four quarters are spoken of as\nupholding the earth,[133] and are connected with thunder and lightning\nas well as the wind.[134] * * *\n\n\u201cMy informant went on to tell me that the spirits of the four winds\nwere not one, but twelve, and they are spoken of as twelve.\u201d[135] (See\n\u00a7 42.)\n\n\u00a7 129. In Tah-koo Wah-kon, pp. 64, 65, Riggs says:\n\n This god is too subtle in essence to be perceived by the senses,\n and is as subtle in disposition. He is present everywhere. He\n exerts a controlling influence over instinct, intellect, and\n passion. He can rob a man of the use of his rational faculties,\n and inspire a beast with intelligence, so that the hunter will\n wander idiot-like, while the game on which he hoped to feast his\n family at night escapes with perfect ease. Or, if he please, the\n god can reverse his influence. He is much gratified to see men\n in trouble, and is particularly glad when they die in battle or\n otherwise. Passionate and capricious in the highest degree, it\n is very difficult to retain his favor. His symbol and supposed\n residence is the bowlder (see Big Rock and Small Rock, \u00a7 127), as\n it is also of another god, the Tunkan.\n\nPond assigns to him the armor feast and inipi or vapor bath (called\nsteam or sweat bath). He says:[136]\n\n The armor feast is of ordinary occurrence when the provisions\n are of sufficient abundance to support it, in which the warriors\n assemble and exhibit the sacred implements of war, to which they\n burn incense around the smoking sacrifice.\n\n\u00a7 130. In October, 1881, the late S. D. Hinman read a paper before the\nAnthropological Society of Washington, entitled \u201cThe Stone God or\nOracle of the Pute-temni band of Hunkpati Dakotas.\u201d He said that\nthis oracle had been seen by him while on an expedition with some\nDakotas across the James River valley in Dakota Territory. A Hunkpati\nman of the party gave the history of the stone and an account of its\nmiraculous movement from the Sacred Hill to the old dirt lodge village.\nThis oracle was called the Taku\u015bka\u014b\u015bka\u014b.\n\n\u00a7 131. But the Taku\u015bka\u014b\u015bka\u014b assumed other shapes. Said\nBushotter, in one of his Teton texts:\n\nThe Lakotas regard certain small stones or pebbles as mysterious, and\nit is said that in former days a man had one as his helper or servant.\nThere are two kinds of these mysterious stones (i.e., pebbles, not\nrocks). One is white, resembling ice or glass (i.e., is probably\ntranslucent; compare the translucent pebbles of the I\u207f-\u029eug\u023ci order of\nthe Omaha, see Om. Soc., p. 346); the other resembles ordinary stones.\nIt is said that one of them once entered a lodge and struck a man, and\npeople spoke of the stones sending in rattles through the smoke hole of\na lodge. When anything was missed in the village the people appealed\nto the stones for aid, and the owner of one of the stones boiled food\nfor a mystery feast, to which the people came. Then they told the stone\nof their loss and the stone helped them. It is said that the stones\nbrought back different messages. If anyone stole horses the stones\nalways revealed his name. Once the Omahas came to steal horses, but the\nstones knew about them and disappointed their secret plans; so that\nthe Lakotas learned to prize the stones, and they decorated them with\npaint, wrapped them up, and hung a bunch of medicine with each one.\n\nIt is very probable that the Assiniboin also worshipped the\nTaku\u015bka\u014b\u015bka\u014b; for they reverenced the four winds, as Smet tells us.[137]\n\n\n TUNKAN OE INYAN, THE STONE GOD OR LINGAM.\n\n\u00a7 132. It has been said by Lynd[138] that the western tribes (probably\nthe Teton, Yanktonai, Yankton, etc.), neglect the Unkte\u1e23i, and pay\ntheir main devotion to Tunkan or Invan, answering to the Hindoo Lingam.\n\n Tunkan, the Dakotas say, is the god that dwells in stones and\n rocks, and is the oldest god. If asked why he is considered the\n oldest, they will tell you because he is the hardest--an Indian\u2019s\n reason. The usual form of the stone employed in worship is round,\n and it is about the size of the human head. The devout Dakota\n paints this Tunkan red, putting colored swan\u2019s down upon it, and\n then he falls down and worships the god that is supposed to dwell\n in it or hover near it.[139] The Tunkan is painted red (see \u00a7 136)\n as a sign of active worship.[140] In cases of extremity I\n have ever noticed that they appeal to their Tunkan or stone god,\n first and last, and they do this even after the ceremonies of the\n medicine dance have been gone through with. All Sioux agree in\n saying that the Tunkan is the main recipient of their prayers; and\n among the Tetons, Mandans, Yanktons, and Western Dakotas they pray\n to that and the spirit of the buffalo almost entirely.[141]\n\n\u00a7 133. Riggs says:[142]\n\n \u201cThe Inyan or Toon-kan is the symbol of the greatest force or\n power in the dry land. And these came to be the most common\n objects of worship. Large bowlders were selected and adorned with\n red and green (sic) paint, whither the devout Dakota might go\n to pray and offer his sacrifice. And smaller stones were often\n found, set up on end and properly painted, around which lay\n eagles\u2019 feathers, tobacco, and red cloth. Once I saw a small dog\n that had been recently sacrificed. In all their incantations and\n dances, notably in the circle dance, the painted stone is the god\n supplicated and worshipped with fear and trembling.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 134. Long tells of a gigantic stone figure resembling a human\nbeing, which he found on the bank of Kickapoo Creek. The Indians made\nofferings to it of tobacco and other objects.[143]\n\n\n I\u014aYA\u014a \u015aA.\n\n\u00a7 135. Rev. Horace C. Hovey says:[144]\n\n \u201cIt was the custom of the Dakotas to worship bowlders when in\n perplexity and distress. Clearing a spot from grass and brush\n they would roll a bowlder on it, streak it with paint, deck it\n with feathers and flowers, and then pray to it for needed help\n or deliverance. Usually when such a stone had served its purpose\n its sacredness was gone. But the peculiarity of the stone now\n described is that from generation to generation it was a shrine to\n which pilgrimages and offerings were made. Its Indian name, \u2018Eyah\n Shah,\u2019 simply means the \u2018Red Rock,\u2019 and is the same term by which\n they designate catlinite, or the red pipe clay. The rock itself\n is not naturally red, being merely a hard specimen of granite,\n symmetrical in shape, and about 5 feet long by 3 feet thick. The\n Indians also called it \u2018waukon\u2019 (mystery) and speculated as to its\n origin. * * * The particular clan that claimed this rude altar\n was known as the Mendewakantons. Although being but 2 miles below\n the village of the Kaposias, it was to some extent resorted to by\n them likewise.[145] The hunting ground of the clan was up the St.\n Croix, and invariably before starting they would lay an offering\n on Eyah Shah. Twice a year the clan would meet more formally, when\n they would paint the stone with vermilion, or, as some say, with\n blood, then trim it with flowers and feathers, and dance around\n it before sunrise with chants and prayers. Their last visit was\n in 1862, prior to the massacre that occurred in August of that\n year. Since that date, the stripes were renewed three years ago. I\n counted the stripes and found them twelve in number, each about 2\n inches wide, with intervening spaces from 2 to 6 inches wide. By\n the compass, Eyah Shah lies exactly north and south. It is twelve\n paces from the main bank of the Mississippi, at a point 6 miles\n below St. Paul. The north end is adorned by a rude representation\n of the sun with fifteen rays.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 136. Bushotter writes thus:\n\n \u201cSometimes a stone, painted red all over, is laid within the lodge\n and hair is offered to it. In cases of sickness they pray to the\n stone, offering to it tobacco or various kinds of good things, and\n they think that the stone hears them when they sacrifice to it.\n As the steam arose when they made a fire on a stone, the Dakotas\n concluded that stones had life, the steam being their breath, and\n that it was impossible to kill them.\u201d\n\n\n MATO TIPI.\n\n\u00a7 137. Eight miles from Fort Meade, S. Dakota, is Mato tipi, Grizzly\nbear Lodge, known to the white people as Bear Butte. It can be seen\nfrom a distance of a hundred miles. Of this landmark Bushotter writes\nthus:\n\n \u201cThe Teton used to camp at a flat-topped mountain, and pray to\n it. This mountain had many large rocks on it, and a pine forest\n at the summit. The children prayed to the rocks as if to their\n guardian spirits, and then placed some of the smaller ones between\n the branches of the pine trees. I was caused to put a stone up\n a tree. Some trees had as many as seven stones apiece. No child\n repeated the ceremony of putting a stone up in the tree; but on\n subsequent visits to the Butte he or she wailed for the dead, of\n whom the stones were tokens.\u201d (See \u00a7 304.)\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 188.--Bear Butte, South Dakota. (Copyright by\nGrabill, 1890.)]\n\n\n THE SUN AND MOON.\n\n\u00a7 138. The sun as well as the moon is called \u201cwi\u201d by the Dakota and\nAssiniboin tribes. In order to distinguish between the two bodies, the\nformer is called a\u014bpetu wi, day moon, and the latter, ha\u014bhepi wi or\nha\u014byetu wi, night moon. The corresponding term in \u023begiha is mi\u207f, which\nis applied to both sun and moon, though the latter is sometimes called\nnia\u207fba. \u201cThe moon is worshiped rather as the representative of the sun,\nthan separately. Thus, in the sun dance, which is held in the full of\nthe moon, the dancers at night fix their eyes on her.\u201d[146]\n\n\u00a7 139. According to Smet[147]--\n\n The sun is worshiped by the greater number of the Indian tribes as\n the author of light and heat. The Assiniboins consider it likewise\n to be the favorite residence of the Master of Life. They evidence\n a great respect and veneration for the sun, but rarely address it.\n On great occasions, they offer it their prayers, but only in a\n low tone. Whenever they light the calumet, they offer the sun the\n first whiffs of its smoke.\n\nThis last must refer to what Smet describes on p. 136 as the great\n\u201cfestival lasting several days,\u201d during which the \u201chigh priest\u201d offers\nthe calumet to \"the Great Spirit, to the sun, to each of the four\ncardinal points, to the water, and to the land, with words analogous to\nthe benefits which they obtain from each.\n\n\u00a7 140. Bushotter, in his Teton text, says:\n\n They prayed to the sun, and they thought that with his yellow eye\n he saw all things, and that when he desired he went under the\n ground.\n\nRiggs states in Tah-koo Wah-kon (p. 69):\n\n Although as a divinity, the sun is not represented as a malignant\n being, yet the worship given him is the most dreadful which the\n Dakotas offer. Aside from the sun dance, there is another proof of\n the divine character ascribed to the sun in the oath taken by some\n of the Dakotas: \u201cAs the sun hears me, this is so.\u201d\n\n THE SUN DANCE.\n\n\u00a7 141. Pond[148] gave an account of the sun dance obtained from Riggs,\nin which occurs the following: \u201cThe ceremonies of the sun dance\ncommence in the evening. I have been under the impression that the time\nof the full moon was selected, but I am now (1867) informed that it is\nnot essential.\u201d Neither Capt. Bourke (\u00a7\u00a7 197-210) nor Bushotter speaks\nof the time of the full moon. In Miss Fletcher\u2019s account of the Oglala\nsun dance of 1882,[149] she says: \u201cThe festival generally occurs in the\nlatter part of June or early in July and lasts about six days. The time\nis fixed by the budding of the _Artemisia ludoviciana_.\u201d (See \u00a7\u00a7 138,\n150.)\n\n\u00a7 142. Lynd writes:[150]\n\n The wiwanyag wacipi, or worship of the sun as a divinity, is\n evidently one of the most radical bases of Dakota religion. It\n has a subordinate origin in the wihanmnapi, or dreaming, and\n is intimately connected with the hanmdepi, or vision hunting.\n This most ancient of all worships, though it is of very frequent\n occurrence among the Dakotas, does not take place at stated\n intervals, as among the old nations of the East, nor does the\n whole tribe participate in the ceremonies. It is performed by one\n person alone, such of his relatives and friends assisting in the\n ceremonies as may deem fit or as he may designate. Preparatory\n to this, as to all the other sacred ceremonies of the Dakotas,\n are fasting and purification. The dance commences with the rising\n of the sun and continues for three days, or until such time as\n the dreaming worshiper shall receive a vision from the spirit or\n divinity of the sun. He faces the sun constantly, turning as it\n turns, and keeping up a constant blowing with a wooden whistle. A\n rude drum is beaten at intervals, to which he keeps time with his\n feet, raising one after the other, and bending his body towards\n the sun. Short intervals of rest are given during the dance. The\n mind of the worshiper is fixed intently upon some great desire\n that he has, and is, as it were, isolated from the body. In this\n state the dancer is said to receive revelations from the sun,\n and to hold direct intercourse with that deity. If the worshiper\n of this luminary, however, should fail to receive the desired\n revelation before the close of the ceremonies, then self-sacrifice\n is resorted to, and the ceremonies of the hanmdepi become a part\n of the worship of the sun.\n\n A DAKOTA\u2019S ACCOUNT OF THE SUN DANCE.\n\n\u00a7 143. Several accounts of the sun dance have been published within the\npast twenty years, but they have, without exception, been written by\nwhite persons. The following differs in one respect from all which have\npreceded it; it was written in the Teton dialect of the Dakota, by\nGeorge Bushotter, a Teton. As he did not furnish his description of\nthe dance in a single text, but in several, which were written on\ndifferent occasions, it devolved on the present writer to undertake\nan arrangement of the material after translating it. The accompanying\nillustrations were made by Mr. Bushotter.\n\n\u00a7 144. _Object of the sun dance._--The Dakota name for the sun dance is\n\u201cWi wa\u207f-ya\u00f1g wa-tci-pi (Wi wa\u014bya\u014bg wa\u0107ipi),\u201d literally, \u201cSun looking-at\nthey-dance.\u201d The following are assigned as the reasons for celebrating\nthis dance: During any winter when the people suffer from famine or an\nepidemic, or when they wish to kill any enemy, or they desire horses\nor an abundance of fruits and vegetables during the coming summer,\ndifferent Indians pray mentally to the sun, and each one says, \u201cWell, I\nwill pray to Wakantanka early in the summer.\u201d Throughout the winter all\nthose men who have made such vows take frequent baths in sweat lodges.\nEach of these devotees or candidates invites persons to a feast, on\nwhich occasion he joins his guests in drinking great quantities of\nvarious kinds of herb teas. Then the host notifies the guests of his\nvow, and from that time forward the people treat him with great respect.\n\n\u00a7 145. _Rules observed by households._--The members of the households\nof the devotees always abstain from loud talking and from bad acts of\nvarious kinds. The following rules must be observed in the lodge of\neach devotee: A piece of the soil is cut off between the back of the\nlodge and the fireplace, and when virgin earth is reached vermilion is\nscattered over the exposed place. When the men smoke their pipes and\nhave burned out all of the tobacco in their pipe bowls, they must not\nthrow away the ashes as they would common refuse; they must be careful\nto empty the ashes on the exposed earth at the back of the lodge. No\none ventures to step on that virgin earth, and not even a hand is ever\nstretched toward it. Only the man who expects to participate in the\nsun-dance can empty the ashes there, and after so doing he returns each\npipe to its owner.\n\n \u00a7 146. _The \u201cU-ma-ne.\u201d_--\u201cThe mellowed earth space, U-ma-ne in\n Dakota, and called by some peculiar names in other tribes, has\n never been absent from any religious exercise I have yet seen or\n learned of from the Indians. It represents the unappropriated\n life or power of the earth, hence man may obtain it. The square\n or oblong, with the four lines standing out, is invariably\n interpreted to mean the earth or land with the four winds standing\n toward it. The cross, whether diagonal or upright, always\n symbolizes the four winds or four quarters.\u201d[151]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 189.--The \u201cU-ma-ne\u201d symbol.]\n\nMiss Fletcher uses this term, \u201cU-ma-ne,\u201d to denote two things: the\nmellowed earth space (probably answering to the u-j\u00e9-\u0287i of the Omaha\nand Ponka) and the symbol of the earth and the four winds made within\nthat mellowed earth space. A sketch of the latter symbol is shown\nin Fig. 189. (See \u00a7\u00a7 112, 155, etc.; also Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol.\nVI,--471-475.)\n\n\u00a7 147. _Rules observed by the devotee._--During the time of preparation\nthe devotee goes hunting, and if he kills a deer or buffalo he cuts\nup the body in a \u201cwakan\u201d manner. He skins it, but leaves the horns\nattached to the skull. He reddens the skin all over, and in the\nrear of the lodge, in the open air, he prepares a bed of wild sage\n(_Artemisia_), on which he lays the skull. He erects a post, on\nwhich he hangs a tobacco pouch and a robe that is to be offered as a\nsacrifice. When the devotee takes a meal everything which he touches\nmust be perfectly clean. He uses a new knife, which no one else dares\nto handle. Whatever he eats must be prepared in the best possible\nmanner by the other members of the household. They make for him a new\npipe ornamented with porcupine work, a new tobacco pouch, and a stick\nfor pushing the tobacco down into the bowl, both ornamented in like\nmanner.\n\n\u00a7 148. The devotee must not go swimming, but he can enter the\nsweat-lodge. There he rubs his body all over with wild sage; he cannot\nuse calico or cotton for that purpose. No unclean person of either\nsex must go near him. The devotee is prohibited from fighting, even\nshould the camp be attacked. He must not act hastily, but at all times\nmust he proceed leisurely. He has his regular periods for crying and\npraying.[152]\n\n\u00a7 149. All his female kindred make many pairs of moccasins and collect\nmoney and an abundance of all kinds of goods, in order to give presents\nto poor people at the time of the sun dance. Then they can make gifts\nto whomsoever they please, and on that account they will win the\nright to have a child\u2019s ears pierced. The goods or horses, on account\nof which the child\u2019s ears are to be pierced, are reserved for that\noccasion at some other place. The man whose office it will be to pierce\nthe children\u2019s ears has to be notified in advance that his services\nwill be required. (See \u00a7 205.)\n\n TRIBES INVITED TO THE SUN-DANCE.\n\n\u00a7 150. When the devotees have performed all the preliminary duties\nrequired of them, messages are sent to all the neighboring tribes,\n_i. e._, the Omaha, Pawnee Loup, Cheyenne, Ree, Hidatsa, Blackfeet,\nNez Perc\u00e9, Winnebago, Yankton, and Santee. The latter part of June is\nfixed upon as the time for the dance. (See \u00a7\u00a7 138, 141.) The visitors\nfrom the different nations begin to come together in the spring, each\nvisiting tribe forming its separate camp. Though some of the visitors\nare hereditary enemies, it matters not during the sun-dance; they\nvisit one another; they shake hands and form alliances. In this manner\nseveral weeks are spent very pleasantly.\n\n DISCIPLINE MAINTAINED.\n\n\u00a7 151. Policemen are appointed, and a crier proclaims to each lodge\nthat at a specified place there is a broad and pleasant prairie where\nall are expected to pitch their tents. The overseers or masters\nof ceremonies have guns, and their orders are obeyed; for if one\ndisobeys his horses and dogs are killed by the policemen. This\npunishment is called aki\u0107ita wi\u0107aktepi, or, in common parlance,\n\u201csoldier-killing.\u201d\n\nAll who join the camp must erect the upright (or conical) tents, as no\nlow rush or mat tents, such as are found among the Osage and Winnebago,\nare allowed in the camp circle.\n\n CAMPING CIRCLE FORMED.\n\n\u00a7 152. At length orders are given for all the people to pitch\ntheir tents in the form of a tribal circle, with an opening to the\nnorth.[153] (See Pl. XLV.) It takes several days to accomplish this,\nand then all the men and youths are required to take spades and go\ncarefully over the whole area within the circle and fill up all the\nholes and uneven places which might cause the horses to stumble and\nfall.\n\n MEN SELECTED TO SEEK THE MYSTERY TREE.\n\n\u00a7 153. Though Bushotter has written that this work requires several\ndays, it is probable, judging from what follows in his manuscript, that\nonly two days are required for such work. For he continues thus:\n\n On the third day some men are selected to go in search of the\n \u0106an-wakan or Mystery Tree, out of which they are to form the\n sun pole.[154] These men must be selected from those who are\n known to be brave, men acquainted with the war path, men who have\n overcome difficulties, men who have been wounded in battle, men of\n considerable experience.\n\n\u00a7 154. The men selected to fell the mystery tree ride very swift\nhorses, and they decorate their horses and attire themselves just as if\nthey were going to battle. They put on their feather war bonnets. They\nrace their horses to a hill and then back again. In former days it was\ncustomary on such occasions for any women who had lost children during\nsome previous attack on the camp, to wail often as they ran towards the\nmounted men, and to sing at intervals as they went. But that is not the\ncustom at the present day. Three times do the mounted men tell of their\nbrave deeds in imitation of the warriors of the olden times, and then\nthey undertake to represent their own deeds in pantomime.\n\n\u00a7 155. On the fourth day, the selected men go to search for the mystery\ntree. They return to camp together, and if they have found a suitable\ntree, they cut out pieces of the soil within the camping circle, going\ndown to virgin earth. (See \u00a7 146.) This exposed earth extends over a\nconsiderable area. On it they place a species of sweet-smelling\ngrass (a trailing variety) and wild sage, on which they lay the\nbuffalo skull.\n\n TENT OF PREPARATION.\n\n\u00a7 156. After this there is set up within the camping circle a good tent\nknown as the tent of preparation.[155] When the managers wish to set up\nthe tent of preparation, they borrow tent skins here and there. Part of\nthese tent skins they use for covering the smoke hole, and part were\nused as curtains, for when they decorate the candidates they use the\ncurtains for shutting them in from the gaze of the people and when they\nfinish painting them they throw down the curtains.\n\nIn the back part of this tent of preparation are placed the buffalo\nskulls, one for each candidate. A new knife which has never been used\nis exposed to smoke. A new ax, too, is reddened and smoked.\n\n\u00a7 157. Wild sage (_Artemisia_) is used in various ways prior to and\nduring the sun dance. Some of it they spread on the ground to serve\nas couches, and with some they wipe the tears from their faces. They\nfumigate with the plant known as \u201c\u0107a\u014b \u015bil\u015bilya,\u201d or else they use\n\u201cwalipe wa\u015btema,\u201d sweet-smelling leaves. Day after day they fumigate\nthemselves with \u201cwa\u0107a\u014b\u0121a,\u201d a sweet-smelling grass. They hold every\nobject which they use over the smoke of one of these grasses. They\nwear a kind of medicine on their necks, and that keeps them from being\nhungry or thirsty, for occasionally they chew a small quantity of it.\nOr if they tie some of this medicine to their feet they do not get\nweary so soon.[156]\n\n\u00a7 158. When the tent of preparation is erected, there are provided for\nit new tent pins, new sticks for fastening the tent skins together\nabove the entrance, and new poles for pushing out the flaps beside the\nsmoke hole. These objects and all others, which had to be used, are\nbrought into the tent of preparation and fumigated over a fire into\nwhich the medicine has been dropped. By this time another day has been\nspent. Now all the candidates assemble in the tent of preparation,\neach one wearing a buffalo robe with the hair outside. One who acts as\nleader sits in the place of honor at the back part of the tent, and the\nothers sit on either side of him around the fireplace. They smoke their\npipes. When night comes they select one of the songs of the sun dance,\nin order to rehearse it. Certain men have been chosen as singers of\nthe dancing songs, and, when one set of them rest, there are others to\ntake their places. The drummers beat the drum rapidly, but softly (as\nthe Teton call it, kpa\u014bkpa\u014byela, the act of several drummers hitting in\nquick succession).\n\n[Illustration:\nBureau of Ethnology. Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLV\n[image]\n GAST LITH. CO.\n CAMPING CIRCLE AT THE TIME OF THE SUN-DANCE.]\n\nThree times do they beat the drums in that manner, and then they beat\nit rapidly, as at the beginning of the sun dance. At this juncture,\nas many as have flutes--made of the bones of eagles\u2019 wings,\nornamented with porcupine quills, and hung around their necks, with\ncords similarly ornamented, with some eagle down at the tip ends of the\nflutes--blow them often and forcibly as they dance. While the drum is\nbeaten three times in succession (kpa\u014bkpa\u014byela, as has been described),\nall the candidates cry aloud (\u0107eya), but when it is beaten the fourth\ntime, they cry or wail no longer, but dance and blow their flutes or\nwhistles.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 190.--Eaglewing flute. (From original, loaned by\nCapt. J. G. Bourke, U. S. A.)]\n\n\u00a7 159. When the candidates take their seats in the tent of preparation,\nthey select a man to fill the pipe with tobacco. When they wish to\nsmoke, this man passes along the line of candidates. He holds the pipe\nwith the mouthpiece toward each man, who smokes without grasping the\npipe stem.[157]\n\nWhen the candidates are allowed to eat, the attendant feeds them. No\none can be loquacious within the tent of preparation. If a dog or\nperson approaches the tent, the offender is chased away before he\ncan reach it. No spectators are allowed to enter the tent. And this\nregulation is enforced by blows, whenever anyone attempts to violate it.\n\n EXPEDITION TO THE MYSTERY TREE.\n\n\u00a7 160. The next morning, which is that of the fifth day, they prepare\nto go after the tree that is to serve as the sun pole.[158] The married\nand single men, the boys, and even the women, are all ordered to go\nhorseback. Whoever is able to move rapidly accompanies the party. When\nthe chosen persons go to fell the mystery tree they rush on it as they\nwould upon a real enemy, just as tradition relates that the Omaha and\nPonka rushed on their sacred tree. (See \u00a7 42.)[159] Then they turn\nquickly and run from it until they arrive at the other side of the\nhill (nearest to the mystery tree), after which they return to the\ntree.[160] They tie leaves together very tightly, making a mark of the\nbundle, assaulting it in turn as a foe.\n\n\u00a7 161. The tree is reached by noon. The persons chosen to fell it\nwhisper to one another as they assemble around it. They approach some\none who has a child, and take hold of him. Then they bring robes and\nother goods which they spread on the ground, and on the pile they seat\nthe child, who is sometimes a small girl, or even a large one.\n\n FELLING THE TREE.\n\n\u00a7 162. Each of the chosen men takes his turn in striking the tree.\nEvery one must first tell his exploits, then he brandishes the ax three\ntimes without striking a blow, after which he strikes the tree once,\nand only once, making a gash. He leaves the ax sticking in the tree,\nwhence it is removed by the next man. He who leaves the ax in the\ntree is by this act considered to make a present of a horse to some\none. As soon as he gives the blow, his father (or some near kinsman)\napproaches and hands him a stick, whereupon the young man returns it,\nasking him to give it to such a one, calling him by name. For instance,\nlet us suppose that a young man, Mato \u0107uwi maza, Grizzly bear with an\nIron Side, requests that his stick be given to Psi\u0107a wa\u014bkantuya, or\nLeaping High. The old man who is employed as the crier goes to the\ncamp and sings thus: \u201cMato \u0107uwi maza \u00ed-ya-ha-he+! Mato \u0107uwi maza\n\u00ed-ya-ha-he+!\u201d. The last word is a sign of a brave deed on the part of\nthe donor, and it is so understood by every one. On reaching the tent\nof the other man, the crier says, \u201cPsi\u0107a wa\u014bkantuya \u015bu\u014bkawaka\u014b wa\u014b hiyo\nu ye+! Mato \u0107uwi maza \u0107a\u014b-waka\u014b kaksa \u023ca ta\u015bu\u014bke wa\u014b hiyo u ye+!\u201d\ni. e., \u201cO Leaping High, a horse is brought to you! A horse is brought\nto you because Mato \u0107uwi maza has given a blow to the mystery tree!\u201d\nOn hearing this, Psi\u0107a wa\u014bkantuya says, \u201cH\u00e1-ye,\u201d or \u201cThanks!\u201d as he\nextends his hands with the palms towards the crier; and he brings them\ndown toward the ground and takes the stick representing the horse. Then\nthe crier passes along around the circle, singing the praises of the\ndonor, and naming the man who has received the present.\n\n\u00a7 163. After all the chosen men have told of their deeds, and have\nperformed their parts, the women select a man to speak of what generous\nthings they have done, and when he has spoken, the larger women who are\nable to fell trees rise to their feet, and take their turns in giving\none blow apiece to the tree. By the time that all the women have struck\nthe tree it falls, and all present shout and sing. Many presents are\nmade, and some of the people wail, making the entire forest echo their\nvoices. Then those men who are selected for that purpose cut off all\nthe limbs of the tree except the highest one, and they do not disturb\nthe tree top. Wherever a branch is cut off they rub red paint on the\nwound.\n\n\u00a7 164. They make a bundle of some wood in imitation of that for which\nthey have prayed, and hang it crosswise from the fork of the tree.\nAbove the bundle they suspend a scarlet blanket, a buffalo robe or\na weasel skin, and under the bundle they fasten two pieces of dried\nbuffalo hide, one being cut in the shape of a buffalo, and the other in\nthat of a man.\n\nThough Bushotter did not state the circumstance, it is remarkable\nthat both the figures have the membrum virile rigid. The author\nlearned about this from two trustworthy persons, who obtained all the\nparaphernalia of the sun dance, and one of them, Capt. John G. Bourke,\nU. S. Army, showed him the figures of the man and buffalo used at the\nsun dance at Red Cloud Agency, in 1882. In the former figure, the\nlingam is of abnormal size. The connection between the phallic cult and\nthe sun is obvious to the student. (See \u00a7\u00a7 19, 132, 146, 155, 169, 170,\n176).\n\n THE TREE TAKEN TO CAMP.\n\n\u00a7 165. No one of the company dare to touch the sun pole as they take it\nto the camp. Before wagons were available, they made a horse carry most\nof the weight of the pole, part of it being on one side of him and part\non the other, while the waka\u014b men chosen for the purpose walked on\nboth sides of the horse in order to support the ends of the pole. (See\n\u00a7 317.) At the present day, a wagon is used for transporting the sun\npole to the camp.[161] While they are on the way no person dares to go\nin advance of the pole, for whoever violates the law is in danger of\nbeing thrown from his horse and having his neck broken.\n\nThe married men and youths carry leaf shields on their backs, and some\nof the riders make their horses race as far as they are able. Any\nmember of the party can appropriate the small branches which have been\ncut from the mystery tree.\n\nWhen they reach the camp circle, all of the party who carry branches\nand leaves drop them in the places where they intend erecting their\nrespective tents.\n\n\u00a7 166. Judging from Mr. Bushotter\u2019s first text, the tents are not\npitched when the people return with the sun pole. But as soon as they\nlay the pole in the place where it is to be erected, the tents are\npitched again. Then all the objects that are to be attached to the sun\npole are tied to it, and some of the men take leather straps, such as\nthe women use when they carry wood and other burdens, and fasten them\nto the sun pole in order to raise it into position.\n\n RAISING THE SUN POLE.\n\n\u00a7 167. This raising of the sun pole seems to be symbolic of the four\nwinds, the tat\u00faye t\u00f3pa, or \u201cthe four quarters of the heavens,\u201d as Dr.\nRiggs translates the Dakota term. Those who assist in raising the sun\npole must be men who have distinguished themselves. They raise the\npole a short distance from the ground, and then they shout, making\nan indistinct sound; they rest awhile and pull it a little higher,\nshouting again; resting a second time, they renew their efforts,\npulling it higher still. They shout the third time, rest again, and\nat the fourth pull the pole is perpendicular. Then the men around the\ncamping circle fire guns, making the horses flee. Those who raised the\npole have a new spade, and they use it one after another in throwing a\nsufficient quantity of earth around the base of the pole, pressing the\nearth down firmly in order to steady the pole.\n\n BUILDING OF DANCING LODGE.\n\n\u00a7 168. Next follows the building of the dancing lodge. (See Pl. XLVI.\nand \u00a7 317.) Forked posts are set in the ground in two concentric\ncircles. Those posts forming the circle nearer the sun pole are a\nfew feet higher than the posts in the outer circle, thus making a\nslant sufficient for a roof. From the inner circle of posts to the\nsun pole there is no roof, as the dancers who stand near the pole\nmust see the sun and moon. From each forked post to the next one in\nthe same circle is laid a tent pole; and on the two series of these\nhorizontal tent-poles are placed the saplings or poles forming the\nroof. In constructing the wall of the dancing lodge they use the leaf\nshields, and probably some poles or branches of trees, the shields and\nleaves stuck in the wall here and there, in no regular order, leaving\ninterstices through which the spectators can peep at the dancers. A\nvery wide entrance is made, through which can be taken a horse, as well\nas the numerous offerings brought to be given away to the poor. Then\nthey smoke the pipe, as in that manner they think that they can induce\ntheir Great Mysterious One to smoke.\n\n\u00a7 169. All having been made ready, the aged men and the chief men of\nthe camp kick off their leggins and moccasins, and as many as have\npistols take them to the dancing lodge, around the interior of which\nthey perform a dance. As they pass around the sun pole, all shoot at\nonce at the objects suspended from the pole (\u00a7 164), knocking them\naside suddenly. Leaving the dancing lodge, they dance around the\ninterior of the camping circle till they reach their respective tents.\n\n THE UU\u023bITA.\n\n\u00a7 170. This is followed by the \u201cuu\u023cita.\u201d Each man ties up the tail of\nhis horse and dresses himself in his best attire. When they are ready,\nthey proceed two abreast around the interior of the camping circle,\nshooting into the ground as they pass along, and filling the entire\narea with smoke. There are so many of them that they extend almost\naround the entire circle. If any of the riders are thrown from their\nhorses as they dash along, the others pay no attention to them, but\nstep over them, regarding nothing but the center of the camping circle.\n(See Pl. XLV.)\n\n\u00a7 171. By this time it is nearly sunset. The young men and young women\nmount horses and proceed in pairs, a young man beside a young woman,\nsinging as they pass slowly around the circle. The young men sing\nfirst, and the young women respond, acting as a chorus. That night the\ntent of preparation is again erected. The candidates dance there. The\npeople gaze towards that tent, for it is rumored that the candidates\nwill march forth from it.\n\n[Illustration:\nBUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. PLATE XLVI.\n[image]\n GAST LITH. CO.\n THE DANCING LODGE.]\n\n DECORATION OF CANDIDATES OR DEVOTEES.\n\n\u00a7 172. The candidates spend the night in decorating themselves. Each\none wears a fine scarlet blanket arranged as a skirt and with a good\nbelt fastened around his waist. From the waist up he is nude, and on\nhis chest he paints some design. Sometimes the design is a sunflower. A\nman can paint the designs referring to the brave deeds of his father,\nhis mother\u2019s brother, or of some other kinsman, if he himself has done\nnothing worthy of commemoration. If a man has killed an animal, he can\npaint the sign of the animal on his chest, and some hold between their\nlips the tails of animals, signifying that they have scalped their\nenemies. Others show by their designs that they have stolen horses from\nenemies.\n\n\u00a7 173. Each one allows his hair to hang loosely down his back. Some\nwear head-dresses consisting of the skins of buffalo heads with the\nhorns attached. Others wear eagle war-bonnets. Each candidate wears a\nbuffalo robe with the thick hair outside. He fills his pipe, which is a\nnew one ornamented with porcupine work, and he holds it with the stem\npointing in front of him. Thus do all the candidates appear as they\ncome out of the tent of preparation. As they march to the dancing lodge\nthe leader goes first, the others march abreast after him. He who acts\nas leader carries a buffalo skull painted red. All cry as they march,\nand on the way they are joined by a woman who takes the place of her\n\u201chakata,\u201d or cousin; and sometimes they are joined by a horse that is\nhighly prized by his owner.\n\n OFFERINGS OF CANDIDATES.\n\n\u00a7 174. The first time that they emerge from the tent where they sleep\nthey march around it four times, and they make offerings of four\nblankets, which they suspend from as many posts set up in the form\nof a square within which the tent is erected. When they proceed from\nthe tent of preparation to the dancing lodge, one of their servants\nsets up sticks at intervals, forming a straight line from the tent of\npreparation to the dancing lodge, and on these sticks he places their\nofferings of blankets and tobacco pouches. After the gifts are thus\nsuspended, none of the spectators can cross the line of sticks.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 191.--The tent of preparation and the dancing\nlodge.]\n\n\u00a7 175. Capt. J. G. Bourke has a wand that was used by one of the\nheralds, or criers, during the sun dance. It was about 5 feet long, and\nwas decorated with beadwork and a tuft of horse hair at the superior\nextremity. Whenever the crier raised this wand the people fell back,\nleaving an open space of the required area.\n\n CEREMONIES AT THE DANCING LODGE.\n\n\u00a7 176. On reaching the dancing lodge, the candidates pass slowly around\nthe exterior, starting at the left side of the lodge and turning\ntowards the right. They do this four times and then enter the lodge.\nThey stretch their hands towards the four quarters of the heavens as\nthey walk around the interior of the lodge. They sit down at the back\npart of the lodge, and then they sing.\n\nBetween them and the pole they cut out the soil in the shape of a\nhalf-moon, going down to virgin earth, and on this bare spot they\nplace all the buffalo skulls. After this they paint themselves anew\nwith red paint, on completing which they are lifted to their feet by\ntheir attendants. Again they walk around the interior of the lodge,\nstretching out their hands towards the four quarters of the heavens.\n\n\u00a7 177. A song of the sun dance is started by one of the candidates,\nand the others join him, one after another, until all are singing.\nMeanwhile the men who have been selected for the purpose redden their\nentire hands, and it devolves on them to dance without touching\nanything, such as the withes connected with the sun pole or the buffalo\nskulls; all that they are required to do is to extend their hands\ntowards the sun, with the palms turned from them.\n\nAt this time all the candidates are raised again to their feet, and\nbrought to the back part of the lodge, where they are placed in a row.\nThey soon begin to cry, and they are joined by the woman who has taken\nthe place of her elder brother.\n\n\u00a7 178. It is customary, when a man is too poor to take part himself\nin the sun dance, for a female relation to take his place, if such a\nwoman pities him. She suffers as the male candidates do, except in one\nrespect--her flesh is not scarified. This woman wears a buckskin skirt,\nand she lets her hair fall loosely down her back. She carries the pipe\nof her brother or kinsman in whose place she is dancing.\n\n\u00a7 179. As the drums beat, the candidates dance and blow their flutes.\nThe woman stands, dancing slowly, with her head bent downward, but with\nshoulders erect, and she is shaking her head and body by bending her\nknees often without raising her feet from the ground. She abstains from\nfood and drink, just as her brother or kinsman would have done had he\nparticipated in the dance. In fact, all the candidates have to fast\nfrom the time that the sun pole is cut, and from that time they cry and\ndance at intervals.\n\n\u00a7 180. If the owner of a horse decides that his steed must take part\nin the dance, he ties the horse to one of the thongs fastened to the\nsun pole, and stands near the animal. Whenever he wishes he approaches\nthe horse, takes him by the lower jaw as he stands and cries, and then\nhe, too, joins in the dance. This horse is decorated in the finest\nmanner; he is painted red, his tail is rolled up into a bundle and tied\ntogether, and he wears feathers in the tail and forelock.\n\n\u00a7 181. _Candidates scarified._ When the time comes for scarifying\nthe candidates,[162] if one wishes to dance in the manner about to\nbe described, he is made to stand between four posts arranged in the\nform of a square, and his flesh on his back being scarified in two\nplaces, thongs are run through them and fastened to them and to the\nposts behind him. His chest is also scarified in two places, thongs\nare inserted and tied, and then fastened to the two posts in front of\nhim (see Pl. XLVII, 1, Oka\u015bka na\u017ain, or \u201cHe stands fastened to\u201d or\n\u201cwithin\u201d). Bushotter says nothing about the skewers used in torturing\nthe dancers; but Capt. Bourke obtained three ornamental ones which had\nbeen run through the wounds of some of the devotees, in order to be\nstained with blood and kept thereafter as souvenirs of the bravery of\nthe dancers. Besides these were the regular skewers which were thrust\nhorizontally through the flesh; and to the ends of these skewers were\nfastened the thongs that were secured by the opposite ends to the sun\npole. The last dance allowed by the Government was in 1883, and it\nwould be difficult now to find any of these skewers. (See \u00a7 204.)\n\n[Illustration:\nBureau of Ethnology Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLVII.\n[image]\n GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.\n 1. PTEPA KIN WACI.--2. OKASKA NAZIN.]\n\nAnother man has his back scarified and a thong inserted, from which\na buffalo skull is suspended, as shown in Pl. XLVII, 2, Pte-pa \u1e33in\nwa\u0107i, or \u201cHe dances carrying a buffalo skull on his back.\u201d He dances\nthus, thinking that the weight of the skull will soon cause the thong\nto break through the flesh. The blood runs in stripes down his back.\n\n\u00a7 182. Another man decides to be fastened to the sun pole. For the use\nof such dancers there are eight leather thongs hanging down from the\npole, being fastened to the pole at a point about midway from the top.\nFor each man tied to the pole it is the rule to take two of the thongs\nand run them through his flesh after the holes are made with the knife\n(see Pl. XLVIII). After the thongs are fastened to him, the dancer is\nrequired to look upward. When the candidate is a short man, his back is\nscarified and his attendants push him up high enough from the ground\nfor the thongs to be inserted and tied. In this case the weight of the\nman stretches the skin where the thongs are tied, and for a long time\nhe remains there without falling (see Pl. XLIX).\n\n\u00a7 183. A very long time ago it happened that the friends of such a\nshort man pitied him, so they gave a horse to another man, whom they\ndirected to release their friend by pulling at the thongs until they\nbroke out. So the other man approached the dancer, telling of his\nown deeds. He grasped the short man around the body, threw himself\nviolently to the ground, breaking off the thong, which flew upward, and\nbringing the short man to the ground. Then the kindred of the short\nman brought presents of calico or moccasins and another horse, with\nother property, and they made the old women of the camp scramble for\nthe possession of the gifts. The horse was given away by the act called\n\u201cKa\u1e23ol yeyapi,\u201d or \u201cThey threw it off suddenly.\u201d The father of the\ndancer stood at the entrance of his tent, holding a stick in his hand.\nHe threw the stick into the air, and the bystanders struggled for its\npossession. Whoever grasped the stick, and succeeded in holding it, won\nthe horse. If a forked stick is thrown up and caught it entitles the\nholder to a mare and her colt.\n\n\u00a7 184. When a young man has his flesh pierced for him, if he is beloved\nby his female relations, they furnish him with many objects decorated\nwith porcupine quills, and these objects are suspended from the pierced\nplaces of his flesh, this being considered as a mark of respect shown\nby the women to their kinsman. Very often the women by such acts\ndeprive themselves of all their property.\n\n\u00a7 185. _Pieces of flesh offered._--When the candidates have their flesh\npierced for the insertion of the thongs, a number of men who do not\nintend to dance approach the sun pole and take seats near it. With a\nnew knife small pieces of flesh are cut out in a row from the shoulders\nof each of these men, who hold up the pieces of their own flesh,\nshowing them to the pole. They also cover the base of the pole with\nearth. If some of the women desire to offer pieces of their flesh, they\ncome and do so.\n\n\u00a7 186. Very soon after this the people who are outside of the dancing\nlodge sing a song in praise of the devotees of all kinds, and the old\nwomen are walking about with their clothing and hair in disorder, the\ngarments flapping up and down as they dance. The attendants hold the\npipes for the candidates to smoke, and they decorate them anew. After\nthey decorate them, the dancing is resumed. By this time it is past\nnoon, so the girls and boys whose ears are to be pierced are collected\nin one place, and presents are given to all the poor people.[163]\nAfter the children\u2019s ears have been pierced, the attendants make the\ncandidates rise again and continue the dance.\n\n\u00a7 187. _Torture of owner of horse._--The man whose horse has taken part\nin the dance is tied to the tail of his horse, and his chest is pierced\nin two places and fastened by thongs to the sun pole. Some of the\nattendants whip the horse several times, making him dart away from the\npole, thereby releasing the man, as the thongs are broken by the sudden\nstrain (see \u00a7 29).\n\n\u00a7 188. The devotees dance through the night, and when it is nearly\nmidnight they rest. Beginning at the left side of the dancing lodge,\nevery devotee stops and cries at each post until he makes the circuit\nof the lodge. By this time it is midnight, so the attendants make them\nface about and stand looking towards the east, just as in the afternoon\nthey had made them face the west.\n\n[Illustration:\nBureau of Ethnology Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLVIII.\n[image]\n GAST LITH. CO.\n THE SUN-DANCE.]\n\n END OF THE DANCE.\n\n\u00a7 189. At sunrise they stop dancing and they leave the dancing lodge.\nAs they come forth, they pass out by the right side, and march four\ntimes around the exterior of the lodge. After which they proceed\ndirectly to the lodge of preparation, around which they march four\ntimes prior to entering it.\n\n\u00a7 190. When the devotees emerge from the dancing lodge, one of their\nattendants places more gifts on the line of sticks between the two\nlodges, and after the procession has moved on there is considerable\ndisputing among the small boys of the camp for the possession of the\ngifts.\n\n\u00a7 191. After leaving the lodge of preparation, the exhausted devotees\nare taken back to their own tents, where each one is given four sips\nof water and a small piece of food, and by the time that he gets\naccustomed to food after his long fast, he eats what he pleases, enters\nthe sweat lodge, rubs himself with the wild sage, and thenceforward he\nis regarded as having performed his vow.\n\n\u00a7 192. The spectators scramble for the possession of the blankets and\nlong pieces of calico left as sacrifices at the dancing lodge, and\nsome of them climb to the top of the sun pole and remove the objects\nfastened there. The sun pole is allowed to remain in its place. The\nauthor saw a sun pole at Ponka Agency, then in Dakota, in 1871. It had\nbeen there for some time, and it remained till it was blown down by a\nhigh wind.\n\nAt the conclusion of the dance the camp breaks up and the visitors\nreturn to their respective homes.\n\n\u00a7 193. All who participate in the dance must act according to rule for\nif one slights part of the rites they think that he is in great danger.\nThe men selected as overseers or managers are the persons who act as\nthe attendants of the candidates.\n\nThe candidates think that all their devotions are pleasing to the sun.\nAs they dance, they pray mentally, \u201cPlease pity me! Bring to pass all\nthe things which I desire!\u201d\n\n INTRUSIVE DANCES.\n\n\u00a7 194. During the sun dance, other dances--intrusive dances, as Lynd\nterms them--are going on in the camp. Among these are the following:\nThe Mandan dance, performed by the \u0106a\u014bte \u1e6di\u014bza okolaki\u0107iye, or the\nSociety of the Stout-hearted Ones; the Waka\u014b wa\u0107ipi or mystery dance,\nthe Pe\u017ai mignaka wa\u0107ipi or the dance of those wearing grass in their\nbelts, the ghost dance, the buffalo dance, and the Omaha kiyotag a-i,\npopularly called the grass dance.\n\n\u00a7 195. When a man joins the Mandan dance as a leader, he wears a\nfeather headdress of owl feathers, a scarf, called \u201cWa\u014b\u017ai-i\u0107a\u015bke,\u201d is\nworn around his neck and hangs down his back, and he carries a pipe, a\nbow, and arrows. In the Pe\u017ai mignaka wa\u0107ipi, both young men and young\nwomen take part. All these dances are held outside the lodge of the\nsun dance, within which lodge only the one dance can be performed. The\ngrass dance is named after the Omaha tribe. As many men as are able\nto participate in that dance march abreast until they reach the camp\nof some gens, where they sit down facing the people whom they visit,\nhence the name, meaning, \u201cthe Omaha reach there and sit down.\u201d Then\nthe visitors sing while a noise is made by hitting the ground with\nsticks, etc. The singers and dancers sit looking at the tents of the\ngens that they have visited, and remain so until property and food are\nbrought out and given to them. Then they arise and probably dance. They\nthink that if they ask Wakantanka for anything after the conclusion of\nthe sun dance they will receive it. So they call on him in different\nsongs, thus: \u201cO Wakantanka, please pity me! Let me have many horses!\u201d\nOr, \u201cO Wakantanka, please pity me! Let there be plenty of fruits and\nvegetables!\u201d Or, \u201cO Wakantanka, please pity me! Let me live a long\ntime!\u201d\n\n\u00a7 196. During the sun dance they sing about some old woman, calling her\nby name. They can sing about any old woman on such an occasion.\n\nOne of these songs has been given by Mr. Bushotter, but the writer must\ncontent himself in giving the words without the music.\n\n \u201cWin\u016d\u014b\u00b4\u1e23\u0107a \u1e33u\u014b t\u00f3kiya l\u00e1 hu\u014bwo\u00b4? He\u00b4-ye-ye+!\n Yat\u00edla \u1e33u\u014b\u00b4 \u015bu\u014b\u00b4ka w\u00edkini\u0107\u00e1pe. H\u00e9-ye-ye+!\n E\u00b4-ya-ya-ha\u00b4 ya\u00b4-ha ya\u00b4-ha yo\u00b4-ho he\u00b4-ye-ye+!\n E\u00b4-ya-ya-ha\u00b4 ya\u00b4-ha ya\u00b4-ha yo\u00b4-ho he\u00b4-ye-y\u00e2!\u201d\n\nThat is: \u201cOld woman, you who have been mentioned, whither are you\ngoing? When they scrambled for the stick representing a horse, of\ncourse you were on hand! How brave you are!\u201d\n\nThey sing this in a high key, and when they cease suddenly, they call\nout, \u201cHo\u00b4wo! Ho\u00b4wo! E\u00b4-ya-ha-he+! E\u00b4-ya-ha-he+!\u201d \u201c_Come on! Come on!\nHow brave you are! How brave you are!_\u201d When they have said this\nrepeatedly an old woman enters the circle, making them laugh by her\nsinging and dancing.\n\nThus ends the Bushotter account of the sun dance, which was read at a\nmeeting of the Anthropological Society of Washington, May 6, 1890.\n\n CAPT. BOURKE ON THE SUN-DANCE.\n\n\u00a7 197. After the reading of the paper, Capt. John G. Bourke, U.S. Army,\nremarked that he had seen the sun dance of the Dakota several times,\nand once had enjoyed excellent opportunities of taking notes of all\nthat occurred under the superintendence of Red Cloud and other medicine\nmen of prominence. Capt. Bourke kindly furnished the author with the\nfollowing abstract of his remarks on this subject:\n\n In June, 1881, at the Red Cloud Agency, Dakota, there were some\n twenty-eight who went through the ordeal, one of the number being\n Pretty Enemy, a young woman who had escaped with her husband from\n the band of Sitting Bull in British North America, and who was\n going through the dance as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to\n the spirits.\n\n The description of the dance given in the account of Bushotter\n tallies closely with that which took place at the Red Cloud\n ceremony, with a few very immaterial exceptions due no doubt to\n local causes.\n\n[Illustration:\nBureau of Ethnology Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLIX.\n[image]\n GAST LITH. CO.\n A SUSPENDED DEVOTEE.]\n\n \u00a7 198. At Red Cloud, for example, there was not a separate\n buffalo head for each Indian; there were not more than two, and\n with them, being placed erect and leaning against a frame-work\n made for the purpose, several elaborately decorated pipes,\n beautiful in all that porcupine quills, beads, and horsehair\n could supply. Buffaloes had at that time disappeared from the face\n of the country within reach of that agency, and there was also an\n increasing difficulty in the matter of procuring the pipestone\n from the old quarries over on the Missouri River [sic].[164]\n\n \u00a7 199. First, in regard to securing the sacred tree, after the\n same had been designated by the advance party sent out to look for\n it. The medicine men proclaimed to the young warriors that all\n they were now to do was just the same as if they were going out\n to war. When the signal was given, the whole party dashed off at\n full speed on their ponies, and as soon as we arrived at the tree,\n there was no small amount of singing, as well as of presents given\n to the poor.\n\n Next, a band of young men stepped to the front, and each in\n succession told the story of his prowess, each reference to the\n killing or wounding of an enemy, or to striking _coup_, being\n corroborated by thumping on the skin which served the medicine men\n as a drum.\n\n \u00a7 200. The first young man approached the sacred tree, swung\n his brand-new ax, and cut one gash on the east side; the second\n followed precisely the same program on the south side; the third,\n on the west side, and the fourth, on the north side, each cutting\n one gash and no more.\n\n \u00a7 201. They were succeeded by a young maiden, against whose\n personal character, it was asserted, not a breath of insinuation\n could be brought, and she was decked in all the finery of a long\n robe of white antelope skin almost completely covered with elks\u2019\n teeth, as well as with beads. She seized the ax, and, with a few\n well-directed blows, brought the tree to the ground.\n\n \u00a7 202. In carrying the tree to the camp it was placed upon skids,\n no one being allowed to place a hand upon the tree itself. Upon\n reaching the summit of the knoll nearest the camp the tree was\n left in charge of its immediate attendants while the rest of the\n assemblage charged at full speed upon the camp itself.\n\n \u00a7 203. When the tree had been erected in place, it was noticed\n that each of those who were to endure the torture had been\n provided with an esquire, while there was also a force of men,\n armed with guns to preserve order, criers to make proclamations,\n and heralds and water-carriers armed with long staves tipped with\n bead-work and horse-hair. These water-carriers did not carry\n water for the men attached to the tree, they were not allowed to\n drink, but if they happened to faint away the medicine men would\n take a mouthful of water apiece and spray it upon the body of the\n patient, producing coldness by the evaporation of the water.\n\n \u00a7 204. All the Indians on that occasion were attached to the tree\n itself by long ropes of hair or by thongs, fastened to skewers run\n horizontally under the flesh. (See \u00a7 181.)\n\n \u00a7 205. The young woman, Pretty Enemy, was not tied up to the tree,\n but she danced with the others, and had her arms scarified from\n the shoulders to the elbows. All this scarification was done by a\n medicine man, who also slit the ear of the babies born since the\n last sun dance.\n\n \u00a7 206. The young men were scarified in the following manner: Their\n attendants, whom I have called esquires, seized and laid them on\n a bed of some sagebrush at the foot of the sacred tree. A short\n address was made by one of the medicine men; then another, taking\n up as much of the skin of the breast under the nipple of each\n dancer as could be held between his thumb and forefinger, cut a\n slit the length of the thumb, and inserted a skewer to which a\n rope was fastened, the other end of the rope being tied to the\n tree.\n\n \u00a7 207. The young men placed eagle pipes, as they were called, in\n their mouths. These pipes were flutes which were made each from\n one of the bones in an eaglet\u2019s wing. They had to be sounded all\n the time the young man was dancing. This dancing was done in the\n manner of a buck jump, the body and legs being stiff and all\n movement being upon the tips of the toes. The dancers kept looking\n at the sun, and either dropped the hands to the sides in the\n military position of \u201cattention,\u201d with the palms to the front, or\n else held them upward and outward at an angle of 45 degrees, with\n the fingers spread apart, and inclined towards the sun.\n\n \u00a7 208. When laid on the couch of sagebrush before spoken of,\n each young man covered his face with his hands and wailed. I was\n careful to examine each one, and saw that this wailing was a\n strictly ceremonial affair unaccompanied by tears.\n\n \u00a7 209. Before approaching the tree the victims were naked, with\n the exception of blue cloth petticoats and buffalo robes worn with\n the fur outside, giving them the appearance of monks of the olden\n time. The buffalo robes were, of course, thrown off when the young\n men were laid on the sagebrush, preparatory to the scarification.\n One young man was unable to tear himself loose, and he remained\n tied up to the tree for an hour and seven minutes by my watch.\n He fainted four times. The medicine man put into his mouth some\n of the small red, bitter, salty seeds of the _Dulcamara_, while\n the women threw costly robes, blankets, articles of beadwork and\n quillwork, and others of the skin of the elk and antelope upon the\n rope attaching him to the tree, in the hope of breaking him loose.\n The articles thus attached to the rope were taken away by the poor\n for whom they were given. There was any amount of this giving of\n presents at all stages of the dance, but especially at this time,\n and the criers were calling without ceasing, \u201cSo and so has done\n well. He is not afraid to look the poor women and children in the\n face! Come up some more of you people! Do not be ashamed to give!\n Let all the people see how generous you are!\u201d or words to that\n effect. (I had to rely upon my interpreter, who was reputed to be\n the best and most trustworthy at the agency).\n\n \u00a7 210. One of the prime movers in the organization of this\n particular dance, Rocky Bear, at the last moment, for some\n particular reason, decided not to go through the terrible ordeal.\n He explained his reasons to the tribe, and was excused. He gave\n presents with a lavish hand, and it was understood that on some\n subsequent occasion he would finish the dance. There was no sign\n of dissatisfaction with his course, and everyone seemed to be on\n the best of terms with him. All through the ceremony there was\n much singing by the women and drumming by the medicine men, and a\n feast of stewed dog, which tastes very much like young mutton, was\n served with boiled wild turnips.\n\n\u00a7 211. By a comparison of the accounts of Miss Fletcher, Capt. Bourke,\nand Bushotter it will be noticed that while there are several points of\ndisagreement which, as Capt. Bourke remarks, are \u201cdue no doubt to local\ncauses,\u201d the accounts are in substantial agreement. Miss Fletcher says\nthat the opening of the camp circle was toward the east; but Bushotter\ngives it as toward the north. She states that the tent of preparation\nwas erected on the first day after sunset; but Bushotter says it was\nset up on the fourth day. She represents the selection of the men who\ngo to seek the tree, the departure to fetch the tree, the felling of\nthe tree, the bringing it and setting it up within the camp circle as\nall taking place on the fourth day. Bushotter states that the men were\nselected on the third day; they went to seek the tree on the fourth\nday; they went to fell the tree on the fifth day, and on the same day\nthey brought it to the camp and set it in place. Capt. Bourke saw four\nmen and one girl employed in felling the tree. Miss Fletcher mentions\nthat five men and three girls did this in 1882; but Bushotter recorded\nthat several men and women took part in this performance. The ears of\nthe children were pierced on the fourth day after the raising of the\nsun pole, according to Miss Fletcher; but Bushotter says that this\ndid not occur till after the devotees had been scarified and fastened\nto the pole and posts, on the sixth day. Bushotter agrees with Miss\nFletcher in saying that on the sixth day the earth was \u201cmellowed,\u201d the\ndevotees scarified, and they danced with the thongs fastened to the\npole, etc., and attached to the skewers running under their flesh.\n\n\n BERDACHES.\n\n\u00a7 212. These unfortunate beings, who have been referred to as mi\u207fquga\nand mi\u207fquge in Chapter III (\u00a7 30), are called wi\u014bkta by the Santee and\nYankton Dakota, and wi\u014bkte by the Teton. They dress as women and act\nin all respects as women do, though they are really men. The terms for\nsodomy, wi\u014bktapi and wi\u014bktepi, are significant, and go to prove that\nthe berdaches should not be called hermaphrodites. It is probable that\nthe Dakota regard the moon as influencing these people. (See \u00a7 353.)\n\n\n ASTRONOMICAL LORE.\n\n\u00a7 213. Ho-ke-wi\u014b-la is a man who stands in the moon with outstretched\narms. His name is said to mean Turtle Man. When the Teton see a short\nman with a large body and legs they generally call him \u201cHo-ke-la,\u201d\nafter the man in the moon.\n\nThe Teton do not like to gaze at the moon, because at some past time a\nwoman, who was carrying a child on her back, gazed a long time at the\nmoon, till she became very weak and fell senseless.\n\nNo Teton dare look at the stars and count even \u201cone\u201d mentally. For\none is sure to die if he begin to count the stars and desist before\nfinishing. They are also afraid to point at a rainbow with the index\nfinger, though they can point at it with the lips or elbow. Should one\nforget, and point with the index finger, the bystanders laugh at him,\nsaying, \u201cBy and by, O friend, when your finger becomes large and round,\nlet us have it for a ball bat.\u201d\n\n\n DAY AND NIGHT.\n\n\u00a7 214. One of Bushotter\u2019s Teton texts reads thus:\n\nIndians are often singing \u201cThe day and night are mysterious\u201d or\n\u201cwaka\u014b.\u201d They do so for the following reasons: While the day lasts\na man is able to do many wonderful things at different times, and\nhe kills so many animals, including men, and sometimes he receives\npresents, and besides he is able to see all things. But he does not\nfully understand what the day is, nor does he know what makes the\nlight. Though the man can do various things during the day, he does not\nknow who makes or causes the light. Therefore he believes that it was\nnot made by hand, i.e., that no human being makes the day give light.\nTherefore the Indians say that the day is \u201cwaka\u014b.\u201d They do not know who\ncauses all these things, yet they know that there is some one thing\nhaving power, and that this thing does it. In their opinion, that is\nthe sun. So they pray to the sun; and they respect both the day and the\nsun, making them \u201cwaka\u014b.\u201d On that account they usually sing some songs\nabout them. Then they say that the night is \u201cwaka\u014b.\u201d When it is night,\nthere are ghosts and many fearful objects, so they regard the night as\n\u201cwaka\u014b,\u201d and pray to it.\n\n\n THE DAWN.\n\n\u00a7 215. When Bushotter\u2019s younger brother was sick on one occasion\nhe was made to pray to Anpao, The Dawn. The tent skins were thrown\nback from the entrance and the sick boy was held up with the palms\nof his hands extended towards the light, while he repeated this\nprayer: \u201cWaka\u014b\u00b4ta\u014bka, u\u014b\u00b4\u015bim\u00e1la y\u00e9! T\u00e9ha\u014b wau\u014b\u00b4 kte,\u201d i. e., \u201cO Great\nMysterious One, please pity me! Let me live a long time!\u201d Then the\npatient was laid back on his couch. While the sick boy prayed a blanket\nwas held up, and the next morning it was hung from the top of the tent.\nWhen the invalid recovered the blanket and a tobacco pouch were taken\nto a hill and left there as sacrifices. The boy got well, and the\npeople believed that some mysterious power had cured him.\n\n\n WEATHER SPIRIT.\n\n\u00a7 216. The Teton say that a giant, called Waziya, knows when there is\nto be a change of weather. When he travels his footprints are large\nenough for several Indians to stand while they are abreast; and his\nstrides are far apart, for at one step he can go over a hill. When\nit is cold the people say, \u201cWaziya has returned.\u201d They used to pray\nto him, but when they found that he did not heed them they desisted.\nWhen warm weather is to follow Waziya wraps himself in a thick robe,\nand when it is to be cold he goes nude. The members of the Heyoka or\nAnti-natural Society love the acts of Waziya; so they imitate him in\nalways saying or doing the opposite of what might be expected under\nthe circumstances. Riggs says,[165] \u201cWaziya, the god of the north, and\nItokaga, the god of the south, are ever in conflict and each in turn is\nvictorious.\u201d\n\n\n HEYOKA.\n\n\u00a7 217. Waziya and Heyoka are not fully differentiated. Heyoka,\naccording to Riggs,[166] is \u201cthe antinatural god.\u201d He is said to exist\nin four varieties, all of which have the forms of small men, but all\ntheir desires and experiences are contrary to nature. In the winter\nthey stand on the open prairie without clothing; in the summer they sit\non knolls wrapped in buffalo robes, and yet they are freezing. Each of\nthem has in his hands and on his shoulders a bow and arrows, rattles,\nand a drum. All these are surcharged with lightning, and his drumstick\nis a little Wakinyan. The high mounds of the prairies are the places of\nhis abode. He presides over the land of dreams, and that is why dreams\nare so fantastic.\n\n\u00a7 218. In speaking of the Heyoka gods, Pond says:[167]\n\n Like the Wakinyan, there are four varieties of them, all of which\n assume in substance the human form, but it would be unnecessarily\n tedious to note the differences of form, especially as the\n differences are unimportant. They are said to be armed with the\n bow and arrows, and with deer-hoof rattles, which things are\n charged with electricity. One of the varieties carries a drum,\n which is also charged with the same fluid. For a drumstick he\n holds a small Wakinyan god by the tail, striking on the drum with\n the beak of the god. This would seem to us to be an unfortunate\n position for a god, but it must be remembered that it is \u201cwakan,\u201d\n and the more absurd a thing is, the more \u201cwakan.\u201d\n\n \u00a7 219. One of these gods in some respects answers to the whirlwind\n zephyr of Greek mythology. It is the gentle whirlwind which is\n sometimes visible in the delicate waving of the tall grass of the\n prairie.[168]\n\n By virtue of their medicine and tonwan powers the Heyoka render\n aid to such men as revere them, in the chase, or by inflicting\n and healing diseases, especially those resulting from the\n gratification of their libidinous passions.\n\n HEYOKA FEAST.\n\n\u00a7 220. Lynd gives an account of the Heyoka feast. He says:[169]\n\n They assemble in a lodge, wearing tall, conical hats, being nearly\n naked, and painted in a strange style. Upon the fire is placed a\n huge kettle full of meat, and they remain seated around the fire\n smoking until the water in the kettle begins to boil, which is\n the signal for the dance to begin. They dance and sing around\n it excitedly, plunging their hands into the boiling water, and\n seizing large pieces of hot meat, which they devour at once. The\n scalding water is thrown over their backs and legs, at which they\n never wince, complaining that it is cold. Their skin is first\n deadened, as I am creditably informed, by rubbing with a certain\n grass; and they do not in reality experience any uneasiness from\n the boiling water--a fact which gives their performances great\n mystery in the eyes of the uninitiated.\n\n\u00a7 221. Dr. Brinton has confounded the Heyoka with the Wakinyan. The two\nare distinct classes of powers, though there is some connection between\nthem, as may be inferred from the following stories in the Bushotter\ncollection.\n\n\u00a7 222. No Indian belonging to the Heyoka Society ever tells of his own\npersonal mystery. Such things are \u201cwaka\u014b,\u201d and not even one man can be\ninduced to sing the Heyoka songs upon an ordinary occasion; because if\nthey sing one of those songs except at the proper time they say that\nthe Thunder-beings would kill the entire households of the offenders.\nTherefore they object to singing the Heyoka songs and they do not like\nto speak about them.\n\n STORY OF A HEYOKA MAN.\n\n\u00a7 223. It is said that the people of the olden times knew when they\nwere about to die, and they used to dream about their deaths and how\nthey would be when the time drew near. One of those men said, \u201cWhen the\nfirst thunder is heard next spring, I and my horse shall die.\u201d\n\nFor that reason his kindred were weeping from time to time, this\nman who had dreamed of his death decorated the legs of his horse by\nmoistening light gray clay and drawing zigzag lines down the legs. In\nlike manner he decorated the neck and back of the horse, and he made\nsimilar lines on his own arms. Then he would walk about the prairie\nnear the camp, singing and holding a pipe with the stem pointing toward\nthe sky.\n\nWhen the leaves opened out in the following spring, the first\nthundercloud was seen. Then the man said, \u201cHo, this is the day on\nwhich I am to die!\u201d So he tied up his horse\u2019s tail in a rounded form,\nput a piece of scarlet blanket around the animal\u2019s neck, and spread a\nfine blanket over his back, as a saddlecloth, with the ends trailing\nalong the ground. He painted himself and his horse just as he had been\ndoing formerly, and, taking the pipe, he walked round and round at\nsome distance from the camp, pointing the pipestem towards the clouds\nas he sang the Heyoka songs. The following is given as a song of the\nhuman Heyoka man, but it is said to have been sung originally by the\nmysterious and superhuman Heyoka in the thundercloud:\n\n Ko-la, o-ya-te kin, ko-la, wan-ni-ya\u014bg u-pe e-ye he+!\n Ko-la, o-ya-te, kin, ko-la, wan-ni-ya\u014bg u-pe e-ye he+!\n Ko-la, lo-wa\u014b hi-bu we!\n Ko-la, \u0107e-ya hi-bu we!\n O-ya-te wa\u014b-ma-ya-ka-pi ye.\n He-he-he!\n Ta-mu\u014b-ka \u015bni \u1e33u\u014b e-ye-ye he+!\n\nIn this song, \u201coyate\u201d means the Thunder-beings; \u201ckola,\u201d the Heyoka\nmen here on earth, whom the Thunder-beings threatened to kill; \u201coyate\nwa\u014bmayakapi,\u201d ordinary Indians who are not wakan; \u201cHe-he-he! tamu\u014bka\n\u015bni \u1e33u\u014b,\u201d i. e., \u201cAlas! I hate to leave them (living Indians),\u201d means\nthat the singer expects to be killed by the Thunder-beings.\n\nThe whole song may be rendered freely thus:\n\n My friends, the people are coming to see you!\n My friends, the people are coming to see you!\n My friends, he sings as he comes hither!\n My friends, he cries as he comes hither!\n You people on earth behold me while you may!\n Alas! alas! alas!\n I hate to leave my own people!\n\nOn the day referred to the Heyoka man had not been absent very long\nfrom the camp when a high wind arose, and the rain was so plentiful\nthat a person could not see very far. Then the Thunder-beings looked\n(i. e., there was lightning) and they roared; but still the man and\nhis horse continued walking about over there in sight of the camp.\nBy and by there was a very sudden sound as if the trees had been\nstruck, and all the people were much frightened, and they thought that\nthe Thunder-beings had killed them. Some of the women and children\nfainted from fear, and the men sat holding them up. Some of the people\nthought that they saw many stars, and there seemed to be the sound,\n\u201cTu\u014b+!\u201d in the ears of each person.\n\nWhen the storm had lasted a long time, the Thunder-beings were\ndeparting slowly, amid considerable loud roaring. When it was all over\nthe people ventured forth from their lodges. Behold, the man and his\nhorse had been killed by the Thunder-beings, so his relations were\ncrying ere they reached the scene of the disaster.\n\nThe horse had been burnt in the very places where the man had decorated\nhim, and his sinews had been shriveled by the heat, so he lay with each\nlimb stretched out stiff. The man, too, had been burnt in the very\nplaces where he had painted himself. The grass all around appeared as\nif the Thunder-beings had dragged each body along, for it was pushed\npartly down on all sides. So the people reached there and beheld the\nbodies.\n\nAs the men in former days used to know events beforehand, as has just\nbeen told, it has long been the rule for no one to reveal his personal\nmystery, which he regards as \u201cwakan.\u201d\n\n HEYOKA WOMEN.\n\n\u00a7 224. Bushotter gave the following account of a female Heyoka who was\nkilled by lightning:\n\n A certain woman whom I saw after she had been killed by lightning\n belonged to the Heyoka Society. When she walked, she carried a\n pipe with the mouthpiece pointing upward, as she thought that the\n Thunder-beings would put the mouthpiece into their mouths, though\n the act would immediately cause her death.\n\n \u00a7 225. \u201cWomen used to dream about the Thunder-beings, just as the\n men did, and in those dreams the Heyoka man or woman made promises\n to the Thunder-beings. If the dreamers kept their promises, it was\n thought that the Thunder-beings helped them to obtain whatever\n things they desired; but if they broke their promises, they were\n sure to be killed by the Thunder-beings during some storm. For\n this reason the Heyoka members worshiped the Thunder-beings, whom\n they honored, speaking of them as wakan.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 226. Some of the women sing, and some do not; but all let their hair\nhang loosely down their backs, and their dresses consist of a kind of\ncloth or a robe sewed down the middle of the back. Sometimes the cloth\nis all blue, at other times half is red and half is blue. Some times\nthere is beadwork on the dress. Even the Heyoka women wear the long red\ncloth trailing on the ground before and behind them, in imitation of\nthe young dandies of the tribe.\n\n\n IYA, THE GOD OF GLUTTONY.\n\n\u00a7 227. Lynd speaks of the \u201cvindictive Iya\u201d as driving the hunters \u201cback\nfrom the hunt to the desolation of their lodges\u201d.[170]\n\nAnd Riggs has written:[171]\n\n A people who feast themselves so abundantly as the Dakotas do,\n when food is plenty, would necessarily imagine a god of gluttony.\n He is represented as extremely ugly, and is called E-ya. He has\n the power to twist and distort the human face, and the women still\n their crying children by telling them that the E-ya will catch\n them.\n\n\n IKTO, IKTOMI, OR UNKTOMI.\n\n\u00a7 228. Ikto or Iktomi (in the Teton dialect) or Unktomi (in the Santee)\nare the names now given to the spider by the Dakota; but the names\nonce belonged to a mythical character, who resembles in many respects\nthe Ictinike of the Omaha and Ponka, and the Ictci\u00f1ke of the Iowa, Oto,\nand Missouri tribes. \u201cIkto,\u201d say the Teton, \u201cwas the first being who\nattained maturity in this world. He is more cunning than human beings.\nHe it was who named all people and animals, and he was the first to use\nhuman speech. Some call him the Waun\u0107a or Mocker, a name now applied\nto the monkey.[172] If we see any peculiar animals at any place, we\nknew that Iktomi made them so. All the animals are his kindred, and\nthey are obliged to act just as he commanded them at the beginning.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 229. In enumerating the powers that delight in working ill to the\nIndians, Lynd mentions Unktomi thus:\n\n \u201cThe ubiquitous Unktomi tortures the Indians in their hunger by\n bringing herds of buffaloes near the camp, which they no sooner\n start to pursue than he drives away by means of a black wolf and a\n white crow.\u201d[173]\n\n\u00a7 230. Though Ikto was very cunning, he was sometimes deceived by\nother beings. One day he caught the rabbit, and the latter was about\nto fare hard, when a thought occurred to him. He persuaded his captor\nto release him on condition that he taught Ikto one of his magic arts.\nSaid the rabbit, \u201cElder brother, if you wish snow to fall at any time,\ntake some hair such as this (pulling out some rabbit fur) and blow\nit in all directions, and there will be a blizzard.\u201d The rabbit then\nmade a deep snow in this manner, though the leaves were still green.\nThis surprised Ikto, who thought that he had learned a wonderful\naccomplishment. But the foolish fellow did not know that _rabbit_ fur\nwas necessary, and when he tried to make snow by blowing his own hair,\nhe was disappointed.\n\n\u00a7 231. On another occasion, Ikto reached a stream which he could not\nford. So he stood on the bank and sang thus:\n\n [Illustration [musical notation]]\n T\u00f3-kin ko-w\u00e1-ka-tan ma-k\u00e1-ni, e-chin\u00b4chin na-w\u00e1-zhin!\n I stand, thinking often, Oh that I might reach the other side!]\n\nPresently a long object passed, swimming against the current. When it\nreached him it said, \u201cI will take you across, but you must not lift\nyour head above the water. Should you notice even a small cloud warn\nme at once, as I must go under the water.\u201d Ikto was then told to give\nthe warning thus: \u201cYounger brother, your grandfather is coming.\u201d Before\nthe other bank was reached Ikto gave the warning, and so sudden was\nthe commotion that Ikto became unconscious. On recovering, he found\nthat the thunder was roaring, and the water was dashing high, but the\nmonster had disappeared.\n\nIt is shown in the section on Spider lore (\u00a7 249) how the name Iktomi\nhas been transferred from the mythical character to the insect, who, in\nturn, is invoked as \u201cgrandfather.\u201d\n\n\n \u0106A\u014aOTIDA\u014a AND HO\u1e22NO\u0120I\u0106A.\n\n\u00a7 232. These powers have been scarcely differentiated; and some writers\nspeak of them as identical. They seem to have been of the nature of\nbogies or boggarts. Says Lynd:[174]\n\n \u0106a\u014botida\u014b draws the hungry hunters to the depths of\n the wood by imitating the voices of animals, or by the nefarious\n \u201c_Cico! cico!_\u201d (_i. e._, I invite you to a feast! I invite you\n to a feast!) when he scares them out of their senses by showing\n himself to them.\n\nOn the same page he distinguishes between the \u0106a\u014botida\u014b and\nthe O\u1e23no\u0121i\u0107a thus:\n\n \u201cThe stray lodge becomes the delight of the wild Ohnogica,\u201d\n implying that such lodges were haunted by this spirit for the\n purpose of frightening any unwary traveler who ventured there\n without a companion.\n\nIn Tah-koo Wah-kon (p. 75, note), Riggs speaks of the \u201cChan-o-te-dan or\nHoh-no-ge-cha. The former is a fabulous creature, dwelling usually in\nthe woods as the name indicates. The latter name would seem to give it\na place by the door of the tent.\u201d With this we may compare the Omaha\ninvocation, \u201cO thou who standest at the right side of the entrance!\nHere is tobacco!\u201d (\u00a7 40). The name also reminds us of \u201cThe Dweller upon\nthe Threshold\u201d in Bulwer\u2019s \u201cZanoni.\u201d\n\nRiggs, in his \u201cTheogony of the Sioux,\u201d p. 270, writes thus of the\n\u201cChan-o-te-na\u201d:\n\n This means, Dweller in the woods. Sometimes he is called\n Oh-no-ge-cha, which would seem to assign him to a place in the\n tent. Whether these are one and the same, or two, is a question in\n dispute. But they are harmless household gods. The Chan-o-te-na is\n represented as a little child, only it has a tail. Many Indian men\n affirm that they have seen it, not only in night dreams, but in\n day visions.\n\nThe name Ho\u1e23no\u0121i\u0107a or O\u1e23no\u0121i\u0107a is called by the Teton, U\u014bgna\u0121i\u0107ala,\nwhich is the name of the screech-owl. As the Ponka Inda\u023ci\u00f1ga dwells in\nthe forest, and is said to resemble an owl, he must be identical with\nthe Dakota \u0106a\u014botida\u014b or U\u014bgna\u0121i\u0107ala. (See \u00a7 38.)\n\n\n AN\u016c\u014aG-ITE.\n\n\u00a7 233. Wonderful stories of beings with two faces are found among the\nDakota as well as among the Omaha. Lynd[175] states the belief of the\nDakota (_i. e._, those speaking the Santee dialect) that \u201cwomen with\nchild are but torturing sports for the vengeful Anog-ite.\u201d\n\nIn the Omaha legend of Two Faces and the Twins[176] the pregnant mother\nof the Twins died as soon as she had gazed at Two Faces. In the Teton\nlegend of He-who-Has-a-Sword and Ha-ke-la, the latter is said to have\nmet a giant, Anu\u014bg-ite, or Two Faces, who pretended to be an Indian\nwoman nursing an infant. The infant had been stolen from its parents\nby the Anu\u014bg-ite, who drew a rose brush across its face to make it\ncry. As soon as this was done the Two Faces said, in a woman\u2019s voice,\n\u201cA-wo! A-wo! A-wo!\u201d that being the expression used by Teton women when\nthey wish to soothe crying infants.\n\n\u00a7 234. The Indians used to hear an Anu\u014bg-ite or Two Faces pass\nalong kicking the ground. When he kicked the ground with one foot bells\nused to ring and an owl hooted, and when he kicked with the other it\nseemed as if a buffalo bull was there, snorting as he does when about\nto charge. At the next step a chickadee was heard, and when he moved\nthe other foot he made all kinds of animals cry out. The Indians had\nheard this Anu\u014bg-ite and were afraid of him. Now and then when a\nman who thought himself strong was alone when he met the Anu\u014bg-ite\nthe latter surprised him by catching him and throwing him into one of\nhis ears. These ears were so large that each could hold three men. No\nperson knew where the Anu\u014bg-ite made his abode, and no one cared to\nfollow him; no one dared to go out of doors at night. Now, there was\nan old man and his wife who had a lodge to themselves, and their only\nchild was a willful boy. One night he was particularly ill-behaved, and\nwhen his mother told him to do something he disobeyed her. So she said:\n\u201cI will put you out of the lodge and the Anu\u014bg-ite will toss you\ninto his ear.\u201d She did not believe this, and merely said it to frighten\nher son into obedience. Finding him heedless, she seized his arm and,\nthough he began to cry, pushed him out of the lodge and fastened the\nentrance securely. The poor boy ran crying around the lodge, but soon\nthere was silence. The mother in turn began to cry, and went to seek\nhim, but she did not find him outside the lodge. The next morning she\nand her husband, weeping, went to seek him among the people in the\nneighboring camp, asking every one about him, but no one had seen him.\nSo they returned to their lodge, and they wept many days for their son.\nOne night the mother was weeping. Suddenly she heard some one say,\n\u201cHi\u207f! hi\u207f! You said to me: Ghost, take that one. Hi\u207f! h\u207f!\u201d\nThis was said often, and she noticed a rattling of small bells as the\nbeing walked along. Just then she said: \u201cHusband, I think now that a\nghost has taken my son.\u201d The husband said: \u201cYes; you gave the boy to\nthe ghost, and, of course, the ghost took him. Why should you complain?\nIt serves you right.\u201d Then the mother cried aloud, so that her voice\nmight have been heard at a distance. Then said she: \u201cHusband, to-morrow\nnight I will lie hid by the wood-pile, and if the ghost comes I will\nhave a knife in my hand, and after I catch it by the leg I will call\nto you. Be ready to come at once. You must aid me, and I will recover\nmy son, because I know that he threw him into his ear.\u201d So the next\nnight she lay in wait for the monster. By and by something was coming,\ncrying out \u201cHi\u207f!\u201d and making all kinds of birds and animals cry out\nas it walked. She saw a very large being come and stand by the lodge.\nHe was very tall, his head being above the smoke-hole, down which he\npeeped into the lodge. Suddenly the mother called to her husband, and\nseized one leg of the monster with both hands. Then she and her husband\ngashed the legs in many places, and, after tying a thong to one leg,\nthey pulled down the monster and bound him securely. They guarded him\ntill it was day. Then they beheld a hideous monster covered with thick\nhair, except on his faces. They split his ears with a knife, and within\none they found their long-lost son, who was very lean and unable to\nspeak. He had a thick coat of long hair on him from his legs up to his\nhead, but his head and face were smooth. And he would have become an\nAnu\u014bg-ite had he not been rescued. He did not survive very long.\nAfter the parents had taken their son from the ear of the monster they\nput many sticks of wood on a fire, and on this they laid the monster.\nHe soon was in flames, and they stood looking on. Many things were\nsent flying out of the fire in all directions, just like sparks. These\nwere porcupine quills, bags, all kinds of feathers, arrows, pipes,\nbirds, axes, war-clubs, flints, stones for sharpening knives, stone\nballs resembling billiard balls, necklaces of _tuki_ shells, flints for\nstriking tinder, flint hide-scrapers, whips, tobacco-pouches, all kinds\nof beads, etc.[177]\n\n\n PENATES.\n\n\u00a7 235. It has been supposed that the Dakotas had no penates or\nhousehold gods; but according to Riggs,[178] \u201csuch have come into the\npossession of the missionaries. One of these images is that of a little\nman, and is inclosed in a cylindrical wooden case, and enveloped in\nsacred swan\u2019s down.\u201d\n\n\n GUARDIAN SPIRITS.\n\n\u00a7 236. Each Teton may have his special guardian spirit. If such spirits\nare remembered they confer great power on their favorites. The latter\nmay be surrounded by foes and yet escape, either by receiving great\nstrength, enabling them to scatter their enemies, or by being made\ninvisible, disappearing like a ghost or the wind. Sometimes it is said\nthat one is rescued by being turned into a small bird that flies off\nin safety. (See \u00a7\u00a7 122, 325.) This refers to those who \u201ciha\u014bbla\u201d (have\nintercourse with spirits) or who have guardian spirits (tawa\u015bi\u0107u\u014bpi) as\nservants. Bushotter\u2019s stepfather has a guardian spirit who enabled him\nto tell about lost animals, etc., and bad deeds, even when the latter\nwere committed in secret. So Bushotter and the other children of the\nhousehold were afraid to do wrong after they had been detected several\ntimes by the aid of the guardian spirit.\n\n\n BELIEFS ABOUT THE BUFFALO.\n\n\u00a7 237. In several of the Siouan tribes the buffalo is considered a\n\u201cgrandfather.\u201d He figures in the traditions of the Osage.[179] Gentes\nand sub gentes are named after him. His image plays an important part\nin the sun dance (\u00a7 164).\n\n\u00a7 238. Miss Fletcher[180] mentions a prayer used during the White\nBuffalo Festival of the Hunkpapa Dakota, in which are remembered the\n\u201cpowers of the earth, wind, sun, water, and the buffalo.\u201d And in her\narticle on \u201cThe Shadow or Ghost Lodge; a Ceremony of the Ogallala\nSioux,\u201d she states that 2 yards of red cloth are (were) \u201clifted and\noffered to the buffalo, with a prayer that good may (might) be granted\nto the father\u201d (i. e., of the dead child) \u201cduring the period of the\nlodge-keeping.\u201d[181]\n\n\u00a7 239. In her article on the \u201cElk Mystery of the Ogallala Sioux\u201d[182]\nis given an important note:\n\n Among the Santees in past times, a man who should dream of buffalo\n must announce it in the following manner: He takes the head of a\n buffalo he has killed, carefully removes the skin, preserving it\n as nearly whole as possible, and throws away the skull and the\n flesh. He then restores the skin to its natural shape and lets it\n cure. When this has taken place, a few feet square of earth is set\n apart at the back of the lodge, the sods cut off, and the exposed\n earth made fine. This is the \u201cU-ma-ne.\u201d Upon this earth a new\n blanket, formerly a robe, is spread. The blanket or robe must not\n belong to a woman. The buffalo head is placed in the center of the\n blanket, and one side of the head (is) painted blue, and the other\n (side) red. Upon the blue side, tufts of white swan\u2019s down are\n tied to the hair of the head. Sometimes small eagle feathers are\n substituted, and, very rarely, large feathers. Upon the red side,\n tufts of down-colored red are similarly tied. These decorations\n look like \u201ca woman\u2019s sunbonnet,\u201d as they cover the head and\n fall to the shoulders. The pipe is only filled and presented to\n the head. The feast kettle is hung over the fire. When all is\n in readiness, the man who prepared the head thus addresses it:\n \u201cGrandfather! Venerable man! Your children have made this feast\n for you. May the food thus taken cause them to live, and bring\n them good fortune.\u201d An Indian of remarkable intelligence, whose\n father before him had been a priest of the higher class, explained\n that in some religious festivals the buffalo and the earth were\n spoken of as one, and (were) so regarded. \u201cTherefore if any one\n should revile or ridicule the buffalo, ever so softly, the earth\n would hear and tell the buffalo, and he would kill the man.\u201d\n\nBushotter furnished two articles on the buffalo, translations of which\nare appended.\n\n ORIGIN OF THE BUFFALO.\n\n \u00a7 240. The buffalo originated under the earth. It is said that\n in the olden times, a man who was journeying came to a hill\n where there were many holes in the ground. He explored them, and\n when he had gone within one of them, he found plenty of buffalo\n chips, and buffalo tracks were on all sides; and here and there\n he found buffalo hair which had come out when the animals rubbed\n against the walls. These animals were the real buffalo, who dwelt\n underground, and some of them came up to this earth and increased\n here to many herds. These buffalo had many earth lodges, and\n there they raised their children. They did many strange things.\n Therefore when a man can hardly be wounded by a foe, the people\n believe that the former has seen the buffalo in dreams or visions,\n and on that account has received mysterious help from those\n animals. All such men who dream of the buffalo, act like them and\n dance the buffalo (bull) dance. And the man who acts the buffalo\n is said to have a real buffalo inside him, and a chrysalis lies\n within the flat part of the body near the shoulder-blade; on\n account of which the man is hard to kill; no matter how often they\n wound him, he does not die. As the people know that the buffalo\n live in earth lodges, they never dance the buffalo dance in vain.\n\n THE TATA\u014aGNA\u015aKI\u014aYA\u014a OR MYTHIC BUFFALO.\n\n \u00a7 241. It is said that a mythic buffalo once attacked a party of\n Indians, killing one of them. The others fled and climbed a tree,\n at which the buffalo rushed many times, knocking off piece after\n piece of the tree with his horns till very little of it was left.\n Then one of the Indians lighted some tinder and threw it far off\n into the tall grass, scorching the buffalo\u2019s eyes, and seriously\n injuring his horns, causing the hard part of the latter to slip\n off, so that the animal could no longer gore any one. But as he\n was still dangerous, one of the men determined to fight him at\n the risk of his own life, and so he slipped down from the tree,\n armed with a bow and some arrows. He finally gave the buffalo a\n mortal wound. Then all the men came down the tree and cut up the\n buffalo after flaying him. They were about to carry off the body\n of their dead comrade in a robe, when they were obliged to climb\n a tree again because another mythic buffalo had appeared. He did\n not attack them, but went four times around the body of the slain\n man. Then he stopped and said, \u201cArise to your feet.\u201d All at once,\n the dead man came to life. The buffalo addressed him, saying,\n \u201cHereafter you shall be mysterious, and the sun, moon, four winds,\n day and night shall be your servants.\u201d It was so. He could assume\n the shape of a fine plume, which was blown often against a tree,\n to which it stuck, as it waved repeatedly.\n\n\n THE BEAR.\n\n \u00a7 242. The Assiniboin address prayers to the bear.[183] They offer\n it sacrifices of tobacco, belts, and other esteemed objects. They\n celebrate feasts in its honor, to obtain its favors and to live\n without accidents. The bear\u2019s head is often preserved in the\n camp during several days, mounted in some suitable position and\n adorned with scraps of scarlet cloth, and trimmed with a variety\n of necklace collars, and colored feathers. Then they offer it the\n calumet, and ask it that they may be able to kill all the bears\n they meet, without accident to themselves, in order to anoint\n themselves with his fine grease and make a banquet of his tender\n flesh.\n\n\n THE WOLF.\n\n\u00a7 243. Smet says, \u201cThe wolf is more or less honored among the Indians\u201d\n(_i. e._ the Assiniboin) \u201cMost of the women refuse to dress its skin\nfor any purpose. The only reason that I could discover for this freak\nis, that the wolves sometimes go mad, bite those they meet and give\nthem the hydrophobia. It is doubtless to escape this terrible disease\nand to avoid the destruction of their game, that the Indians make it\u201d\n(the wolf) \u201cpresents, and offer it supplications. In other cases, he is\nlittle feared.\u201d The \u201clittle medicine wolf\u201d is in great veneration among\nthe Assiniboin. As soon as an Indian hears his barks, he counts the\nnumber; he remarks whether his voice is feeble or strong, and from\nwhat point of the compass it proceeds. All these things are regarded as\ngood or bad omens. If the undertakings of the Indians result, as they\noccasionally do, in success, after hearing the barking of the little\nwolf, this animal is honored by a grand feast after the return of the\nparty.[184]\n\n\u00a7 244. That some of the Dakota reverenced the wolf is evident from the\nfact that there is a society, called the Wolf Society, but known among\nthe white people as the Dog Society. That society has many beautiful\nsongs, according to Bushotter, and its membership is confined to young\nmen. All the wolf stories belong to this society. Three of these\nstories follow this section.\n\n\u00a7 245. The man who met the ghost woman after fleeing from the two ghost\nmen[185] encountered a wolf, who pitied him and showed him the way to a\ncamp, where he was received and adopted into the tribe. This man always\nremembered the wolf as a kind animal, and when he killed any game, he\nthrew a portion outside of the camp, as an offering to the wolf.\n\n\u00a7 246. There was once a handsome young Teton, whose wife\u2019s father\ndisliked him and plotted against him. He dug a pit within his lodge,\ncovering it with skins. Then he invited his son-in-law to a feast.\nThe son-in-law met a wolf, whom he saluted, asking him the way to the\nvillage. The young man was persuaded to recline on the skins, which\ngave way, precipitating him into the pit. The father-in-law and his\ntwo single daughters covered the skins with earth, and removed their\ntent elsewhere on the morrow, when all the people started on a journey.\nAfter some days, the wolf who had met the man went to the deserted\ncamping place in search of food. On reaching the place where the\naccident (?) had happened, he heard a human cry. So he dug away the\nearth, removed the skins, and found the man, whom he recognized. The\nwolf pitied him, and said, \u201cAs you did not kill me when we met, you\nshall now be saved.\u201d So he howled, and very soon many wolves appeared.\nThey found a lariat, which they lowered into the pit, and by grasping\nthe other end with their teeth, they pulled the man up. He was very\ngrateful, promising never to harm a wolf. Just then a weeping woman\nappeared, gazing in surprise at the man, as he was very thin, looking\nlike a ghost. She was his wife, and her heart was soon made glad when\nhe told her of his rescue.\n\n\u00a7 247. Once upon time a man found a wolf den, into which he dug to\nget the cubs. The mother came, barking, and she finally said to him,\n\u201cPity my children;\u201d but he paid no attention to her. So she ran for her\nhusband, who soon appeared. Still the man persevered. Then the wolf\nsang a beautiful song, \u201cO man, pity my children, and I will instruct\nyou in one of my arts.\u201d He ended with a howl, causing a fog. When the\nwolf howled again the fog disappeared. Then the man thought, \u201cThese\nanimals have mysterious gifts,\u201d and he tore up his red blanket into\nsmall pieces, which he put as necklaces on the cubs, whom he painted\nwith Indian red, restoring them to their place in the den. Then the\ngrateful father exclaimed, \u201cWhen you go to war hereafter, I will\naccompany you, and bring to pass whatever you wish.\u201d So they parted as\nfriends. In the course of time the man went on the war path. As he came\nin sight of a village of the enemy, a large wolf met him, saying, \u201cBy\nand by I will sing and you shall steal their horses when they least\nsuspect danger.\u201d So they stopped on a hill close to the village, and\nthe wolf sang. After this he howled, making a high wind arise. The\nhorses fled to the forest, many stopping on the hillside. When the wolf\nhad howled again, the wind died away, and a mist arose; so the man took\nas many horses as he pleased.\n\n\n HORSES.\n\n\u00a7 248. These are well named \u201cC\u016d\u00f1ka waka\u207f (\u015au\u014bka waka\u014b)\u201d for they are\nindeed waka\u014b. Consequently the Dakota have the C\u016d\u00f1g olowa\u207f (\u015au\u014bg\nolowa\u014b) or Horse Songs, and they pray to the horses (\u0107ewi\u0107akiyapi). If\nany one paints a horse in a waka\u014b manner, when he has no right to do\nso, he is sure to pay the penalty: he will encounter misfortune of some\nsort, or he will fall ill, or he will be slain by a foe, or he will\nhave his neck broken by being thrown from a horse.\n\n\n SPIDERS.\n\n\u00a7 249. The Teton pray to gray spiders, and to those with yellow legs.\nWhen a person goes on a journey and a spider passes, one does not\nkill it in silence. For should one let it escape, or kill it without\nprayer, bad consequences must ensue. In the latter case, another spider\nwould avenge the death of his relation. To avoid any such misfortune,\nwhen the spider is encountered, the person must say to it, \u201cIkt\u00f3mi\nTu\u014bka\u014b\u015bila, Wa\u029ei\u014bya\u014b niktepe lo,\u201d i. e., \u201cO Grandfather Spider, the\nThunder-beings kill you!\u201d The spider is crushed at once, and his spirit\nbelieves what has been told him. His spirit probably tells this to the\nother spiders, but they can not harm the Thunder-beings. If one thus\naddresses a spider as he kills it, he will never be bitten by other\nspiders.\n\n\u00a7 231. One of the Dakota myths tells how Unktomi killed himself,\ncausing his limbs to shrivel up till they assumed the appearance of\nspiders\u2019 limbs.\n\n\n SNAKE LORE.\n\n\u00a7 250. Some Dakota will not kill snakes by hitting them. He who\nviolates the law in this respect will dream horrible dreams about\nvarious kinds of snakes; and occasionally it happens that such a man\nhas a horse bitten by a snake. The Si\u014bte\u1e23la ta\u014bka, or the Ancient of\nRattlesnakes, was one of the enemies of the Thunder-beings.\n\n\u201cThere are some things about which it is most unlucky to dream. Snakes\nare said to be terrible; they seek to enter a man\u2019s ears, nose, or\nmouth\u201d (i.e., in the dream); \u201cand should one succeed, it is a sure sign\nof death. \u2018No good comes from snakes.\u2019\u201d[186]\n\n\n THE DOUBLE WOMAN.\n\n\u00a7 251. In the olden times there was what they called \u201cWi\u014bya\u014b\nnu\u014b-papi-ka,\u201d or the The Double Woman, consisting of two very tall\nfemales who were probably connected by a membrane. They wore horned\nheaddresses decorated with feathers, and bunches of feathers hung from\nthe right shoulder of one and from the left shoulder of the other.\nInstead of heel tags, each female had a turtle trailing from the heel\nor quarter of one moccasin, and a feather from that of the other. In\nthe sketch as given by Bushotter there is a pale blue stripe around\nthe bottom of each skirt, and half of each trailing feather is of\nthat color. Each body, above the top of the blanket, is painted with\nblue dots on a yellow ground. There is a blue stripe across the right\nshoulder of the woman on the right, and one across the left shoulder\nof the other woman, each stripe curving downward towards the opposite\nside. (See Pl. L.)\n\nThey dwelt in a lodge on a very high black cliff. They were always\nlaughing immoderately, as if they were strangers to sorrow. On pleasant\nevenings they stood on a hill, where they amused themselves by\nswinging. Should any Indian see them, when he reached home he vomited\nsomething resembling black earth, and died suddenly. These women were\nskillful dancers, and they used to reflect rays of light by means of\ntheir mirror, just as the young Indian men do in sport. They jumped\nmany times and sang this song:\n [Illustration [musical notation]]\n \u0106e\u00b4-pa\u014b-\u015bi ku-wa\u00b4-ni-to\u00b4 Tu\u00b4-wa le\u00b4-\u0107i \u015bi\u00b4-na mi\u00b4-\u0107o-ze\u00b4.\n ]\n\n\u201cCousin, please come over here! Some one waves a robe over in this\ndirection at me. Ha! ha! ha!\u201d Then they walked about. No one knew from\nwhat quarter the Double Woman was coming, and how the two lived was a\nmystery. There are many tall women found now among different Indian\ntribes who imitate the behavior of the Double Woman.\n\nJohn Bruyier and other Teton at Hampton, Va., regard this story of the\nDouble Woman as manufactured by Bushotter. But this character figures\nin two Santee myths in Rev. S. R. Riggs\u2019s collection, about to be\npublished by the Bureau of Ethnology.[187] (See \u00a7 394.)\n\n[Illustration:\nBUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. PLATE L.\n[image]\n THE DOUBLE WOMAN.]\n\n\n DEER WOMEN.\n\n\u00a7 252. Deer women of the Teton resemble the Wolf women of the Pawnee.\nBoth tempt unwary youths whom they encounter away from the camp in\nsolitary places. Should a youth yield to the woman\u2019s solicitations the\nresult will be a sad one. As soon as he leaves her she will resume her\nnatural shape. The youth will appear as if drunk or insane, and he will\nreach home with difficulty. His health will become impaired, and he\nwill soon die. So now the hunters avoid any female that they see on the\nway. They hate the Deer women. The Deer women never speak, but in all\nother respects they resemble Indian women.\n\n\n DWARFS OR ELVES.\n\n\u00a7 253. Dwarfs or elves are probably referred to in the following;\n\n This [_i. e._ the object sought by Lewis and Clarke\u2019s party] was\n a large mound in the midst of the plain, about N. 20\u00b0 W. from the\n mouth of Whitestone River, from which it is 9 miles distant. The\n base of the mound is a regular parallelogram, the longest side\n being about 300 yards, the shorter 60 or 70; from the longest\n side it rises with a steep ascent from the north and south to the\n height of 65 or 70 feet, leaving on the top a level plain of 12\n feet in breadth and 90 in length. The north and south extremities\n are connected by two oval borders, which serve as new bases, and\n divide the whole side into three steep but regular gradations\n from the plain. The only thing characteristic in this hill is\n its extreme symmetry, and this, together with its being wholly\n detached from the other hills, which are at the distance of 8 or\n 9 miles, would induce a belief that it was artificial; but as the\n earth and loose pebbles which compose it are arranged exactly\n like the steep grounds on the borders of the creek, we concluded\n from this similarity of texture that it might be natural. But the\n Indians have made it a great article of their superstition; it\n is called the Mountain of the Little People, or Little Spirits,\n and they believe that it is the abode of little devils in the\n human form, of about 18 inches high, and with remarkably large\n heads; they are armed with sharp arrows, with which they are very\n skillful, and are always on the watch to kill those who should\n have the hardihood to approach their residence. The tradition\n is that many have suffered from these little evil spirits, and,\n among others, three Maha Indians fell a sacrifice to them a few\n years since. This has inspired all the neighboring nations, Sioux,\n Mahas, and Ottoes, with such terror that no consideration could\n tempt them to visit the hill.[188]\n\n\n BOGS.\n\n\u00a7 254. Bogs are very mysterious. There are various strange objects\ncovered with thick hair which remain at the bottom of a bog. These\nobjects have no eyes, but they are able to devour anything, and from\ntheir bodies water is ever flowing. When one of these beings wishes,\nhe abandons his abode and reclines under ground at another place; then\nthere is no water issuing from the place where he used to lie, but\na spring gushes forth from the new resting place. The water of this\nspring is warm in winter, but as cold as ice in summer, and before\none dares to drink of it he prays to the water, as he does not wish\nto bring illness on himself by his irreverence. In the olden days one\nof these strange beings was pulled up out of a bog and carried to the\ncamp, where a special tent was erected for him. But water flowed all\naround him, which drowned almost all of the people. Then the survivors\noffered him food, which he held as he sat motionless, gazing at them.\nThe food disappeared before the spectators were aware of it, though\nthey did not see the being eat it.\n\n\n TREES.\n\n\u00a7 255. The Dakota prayed to trees, because it was reported that in\nformer days a tree had sung at intervals. A man claimed to have\nwitnessed this, and from that time they have been regarded as\nmysterious.\n\n\n CUSTOMS RELATING TO CHILDHOOD.\n\n\u00a7 256. The Teton sing on account of the unborn child, and set up a pole\ninside the lodge, at the part opposite the entrance, fastening eagles\u2019\ndown to the top of the pole, just as they do when a boy has advanced\ntoward manhood.\n\n\u00a7 257. Soon after birth they paint the face of the infant, whether it\nbe a boy or a girl, with vermilion, in the \u201cHu\u014bka\u201d style.[189]\nShould they neglect to do this, it is said that the infant would become\nblear-eyed or it would suffer from some kind of sickness.\n\n\u00a7 258. When the navel string is cut, a small bag is made of deerskin,\ncut in the shape of a small tortoise, known as patka\u015bala. In this\nbag is placed a piece of the navel string and sweet-smelling leaves,\nwith which the bag is filled. The infant has to carry this bag on its\nback. Part of the navel string is buried, and when the child is large\nenough to get into mischief they say, \u201cHe is hunting for his navel\nstring.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 259. Prior to the naming of the infant is the ceremony of the\ntransfer of character. Should the infant be a boy, a brave and\ngood-tempered man, chosen beforehand, takes the infant in his arms and\nbreathes into his mouth, thereby communicating his own disposition to\nthe infant, who will grow up to be a brave and good-natured man. It is\nthought that such an infant will not cry as much as infants that have\nnot been thus favored. Should the infant be a girl, it is put into the\narms of a good woman, who breathes into its mouth.\n\n\u00a7 260. Twins are a mystery to the Teton, who believe that they are of\nsuperhuman origin, and must come from Twin-land. As they are not human\nbeings, they must be treated very politely and tenderly, lest they\nshould become offended and die in order to return to Twin-land.\n\nIn his MS. Teton vocabulary, sent to the Bureau of Ethnology in July,\n1890, Dr. J. M. Woodburn, Jr., recently physician at Rosebud Agency,\nS. Dak., makes the following statement which seems worthy of notice:\n\u201cTwins are lucky as regards themselves only; the mother is looked upon\nas unfortunate. The twins may die, but they are sure to be born again\ninto separate families. No ordinary human being can recognize them as\ntwins after the new births; but twins themselves are able each\nto recognize the other as his fellow-twin in a previous state of\nexistence. Medicine men often claim that their supernatural powers are\ndue to a previous existence as twins.\u201d (See \u00a7\u00a7 267, 287.)\n\n\u00a7 261. When a child is able to walk, they say that \u201cHe kicks out the\nteeth of his elder brother\u201d (or \u201csister,\u201d as the case may be). The\nteeth of the elder child which have been shed, probably the first set,\nare buried under the entrance to the lodge so that other teeth may come\nin their place. Whoever steps over the spot where the teeth have been\nburied will soon have other teeth in his mouth.\n\n\n PUBERTY.\n\n\u00a7 262. Among the Oglala Dakota, according to Miss Fletcher,[190] the\nrites incident to the puberty of girls take place on the fourth day of\nthe sun-dance festival. In a note on page 260 of the Peabody Museum\nReport, vol. III, the same authority says:\n\n Through the kindness of Rev. A. L. Riggs I learn that among the\n bands of Eastern Sioux living near Fort Sully, Dak., a feast,\n called the reappearance of the White Buffalo Skin, is held for the\n consecration of a girl on her arriving at puberty. The feast is\n sacred and costly, and not everyone can afford it. Those who have\n once made the feast become the privileged guests at every such\n feast, occupy the feast tent, and are served first. A prominent\n feature in the feast is the feeding of these privileged persons,\n and the girl in whose honor the feast is given, with choke\n cherries, as the choicest rarity to be had in the winter. The\n feast can be held at any time. Bull berries, or, as the Dakotas\n call them, \u201crabbits\u2019 noses,\u201d may be substituted, or finely pounded\n meat mixed with fat, in case no berries are to be had. In the\n ceremony, a few of the cherries are taken in a spoon and held over\n the sacred smoke, then fed to the girl. The spoon is filled anew,\n incensed as each person is fed. As each one is given the cherries,\n he is addressed thus: \u201cWi-\u0107a-\u015ba-ya-ta-pi wo-yu-te de ya-ti\u014b kte,\u201d\n\n[Transcriber\u2019s note: the last hyphen in \u201cwo-yu-te\u201d was at the end of a\nline; the word may have been \u201cwo-yute\u201d or \u201cwo-yu-te\u201d.]\n\n i.e., \u201cYou will eat this chief\u2019s food.\u201d The eaters are not chiefs;\n they only partake of chiefs\u2019 food.\n\n\u00a7 263. Initiation to manhood took place in one of two ways: (1) By the\nwohduze ceremony, or, (2) by the bear dance, as witnessed by Long.\n\nThe former has been referred to in \u00a7\u00a7 122-125 of this article; the\nlatter has been described by Long[191] as\n\n a ceremony which they are in the habit of performing when any\n young man wishes to bring himself into particular notice, and it\n is considered a kind of initiation into the state of manhood.\n There is a kind of flag made of fawn skin dressed with the hair\n on, suspended upon a pole. Upon the flesh side of it are drawn\n certain figures indicative of the dream which it is necessary the\n young man should have dreamed before he can be considered a proper\n candidate for this kind of initiation. With this flag a pipe is\n suspended by way of sacrifice. Two arrows are stuck up at the foot\n of the pole, and fragments of painted feathers, etc., are strewed\n upon the ground near it. These pertain to the religious rites\n attending the ceremony, bewailing and self-mortification. The\n young man who has had the dream acts the bear in this dance, and\n is hunted by the other young men; but the same man can not act the\n bear more than once in consequence of his dreams.\n\n\u00a7 264. Miss Fletcher says:[192]\n\n The maturity of the sexes is a period of serious and religious\n experiences which are preparatory by their character for the\n entrance of the youth or maiden into the religious and secular\n responsibilities of life, both individual and tribal. Among\n the tribes which hold especial public ceremonies announcing\n the maturity of a girl, these rights are held not far from the\n actual time of puberty, and indicate the close of childhood and\n entrance of the person into the social status of womanhood. The\n public festival has, however, been preceded by private religious\n rites. With young men the religious training precedes and follows\n puberty, and the entrance is publicly announced by the youth\n joining in the dangers and duties of tribal life. According to the\n old customs, a young man did not take a wife until he had proved\n his prowess, and thus became enrolled among the manly element,\n or braves, as they are sometimes spoken of. The initial fasts of\n warriors have been mistaken sometimes for ceremonials of puberty.\n\n\n GHOST LORE AND THE FUTURE LIFE.\n\n MEANING OF WANA\u0120I.\n\n\u00a7 265. The word \u201cwa-na-\u0121i\u201d means more than \u201capparition.\u201d The living\nman is supposed to have one, two, or more \u201cwana\u0121i,\u201d one of which\nafter death remains at the grave and another goes to the place of the\ndeparted. The writer has been told that for many years no Yankton\nDakota would consent to have his picture taken lest one of his \u201cwana\u0121i\u201d\nshould remain in the picture, instead of going after death to the\nspirit land. The Teton Dakota apply the name of \u201cghost\u201d or \u201cshadow\u201d to\nthe lock of hair cut from the forehead of the deceased and kept for\nsome time by the parents; and till that lock is buried the deceased is\nsupposed to retain his usual place in the household circle.\n\n\u00a7 266. Lynd[193] says that to the human body the Dakota give four\nspirits:\n\n The first is supposed to be a spirit of the body, which dies with\n the body. The second is a spirit which always remains with or near\n the body. Another is the soul which accounts for the deeds of the\n body, and is supposed by some to go to the south, by others to\n the west, after the death of the body. The fourth always lingers\n with the small bundle of the hair of the deceased, kept by the\n relatives until they have a chance to throw it into the enemy\u2019s\n country, when it becomes a roving spirit, bringing death and\n disease to the enemy in whose country it remains. From this belief\n arose the practice of wearing four scalp feathers for each enemy\n slain in battle, one for each spirit.\n\n\u00a7 267. \u201cSome Sioux claim a fifth scalp feather, averring that there is\na fifth spirit, which enters the body of some animal or child after\ndeath. As far as I am aware, this belief is not general, though they\ndiffer in their accounts of the spirits of man, even in number.\n\nSome of these metempsychosists go so far as to aver that they have\ndistinct recollections of a former state of existence and of the\npassage into this. The belief, as before stated, does not appear to be\ngeneral.\u201d (See \u00a7\u00a7 260, 287.)\n\n\u00a7 268. With regard to the place of abode of the four spirits of each\nman--though they believe that the true soul which goes south or west\nis immortal--they have no idea, nor do they appear to have any\nparticular care as to what may become of them after death. It may be\nremarked, that the happy hunting grounds, supposed to belong to every\nIndian\u2019s future, are no part of the Dakota creed--though individual\nDakota may have learned something like it from the white men among them.\n\n ASSINNIBOIN BELIEFS ABOUT THE DEAD.\n\n\u00a7 269. The Assinniboin \u201cbelieve that the dead migrate toward the\nsouth,[194] where the climate is mild, the game abundant, and the\nrivers well stocked with fish. Their hell is the reverse of this\npicture; its unfortunate inmates dwell in perpetual snow and ice and in\nthe complete deprivation of all things. There are, however, many among\nthem who think that death is the cessation of life and action and that\nthere is naught beyond it.[195]\n\n\u201cThe Assinniboine believe that their dead go to a country in the south,\nwhere the good and brave find women and buffaloes, while the wicked or\ncowardly are confined on an island, where they are destitute of all the\npleasures of life. The corpses of brave men are not deposited in trees,\nbut on the ground, as they will help themselves, and they are covered\nwith wood and stones to protect them from the wolves.\u201d[196]\n\n GHOSTS NOT ALWAYS VISIBLE.\n\n\u00a7 270. The ghosts of the departed are not always visible to the living.\nSometimes they are heard but not seen, though in the lodge with a\nmortal. Occasionally they become materialized, taking living husbands\nor wives, eating, drinking, and smoking, just as if they were ordinary\nhuman beings.\n\n DEATH AND BURIAL LORE.\n\n\u00a7 271. As ghosts visit the sick at night it is customary to drive them\naway by making a smoke from cedar wood, or else cedar is laid outside\nthe lodge. Sometimes a piece of cedar is fastened up at the smoke-hole.\n(See \u00a7 42.) One Teton story shows how a female ghost disliked a bad\nodor and fled from it. When they hear a ghost whistling, some one\nleaves the lodge and fires a gun. Before death the lodge is surrounded\nby ghosts of deceased kindred that are visible to the dying person.\n\nAll the dead man\u2019s possessions are buried with him; his body is dressed\nin good clothing. The favorite horse is decorated and saddled, and to\nthis day various articles belonging to the deceased are fastened to\nhim. The horse is shot and part of his tail is cut off and laid near\nthe head of the burial scaffold, as it is thought that in such a case\nthe ghost can ride the ghost of the horse and use all the articles\ncarried by that animal.\n\n\u00a7 272. _Why the Teton stopped burying in the ground._--Long ago the\npeople buried some men on a hill and then removed camp to another\nplace. Many winters afterwards a man visited this burial place, but\nall traces of the graves had disappeared. So many men came and dug\nfar down into the hill. By and by one said, \u201cA road lies here.\u201d So\nthey dug in that direction and made a fire underground. And there they\nfound a tunnel large enough for men to walk in by stooping, with many\nsimilar intersecting ones. They followed the main one and finally came\nto a place whither a strange animal, the Wa\u1e23a\u014bksi\u0107a, had dragged the\ncorpses. For this reason the Lakota became unwilling to lay their dead\nin the ground, so they began to bury on scaffolds which could not be\nreached by beasts of prey. At the present day the Teton gives three\nreasons for not burying in the ground: (1) Animals or persons might\nwalk over the graves; (2) the dead might lie in mud and water after\nrain or snow; (3) wolves might dig up the bodies and devour them.\n\n\u00a7 273. _Importance of tattooing._--In order that the ghost may travel\nthe ghost road in safety it is necessary for each Lakota during his\nlife to be tattooed either in the middle of the forehead or on the\nwrists. In that event his spirit will go directly to the \u201cMany Lodges.\u201d\nThe other spirit road is said to be short, and the foolish one who\ntravels it never reaches the \u201cMany Lodges.\u201d An old woman sits in the\nroad and she examines each ghost that passes. If she can not find the\ntattoo marks on the forehead, wrists, or chin, the unhappy ghost is\npushed from a cloud or cliff and falls to this world. Such is the lot\nof the ghosts that wander o\u2019er the earth. They can never travel the\nspirit road again; so they go about whistling, with no fixed abode.\n\n\u00a7 274. If a quiet and well-behaved person dies his ghost is apt to be\nrestless and cause trouble, but the ghost of a bad person who dies a\nnatural death is never feared. The ghost of a murdered person is always\ndangerous.\n\n\u00a7 275. If a ghost calls to a loved one and the latter answers, he or\nshe is sure to die soon after. If some one is heard weeping outside of\na lodge, it is a sign that a person dwelling in that lodge is doomed\nto die. If a sister dies, she has a strong desire to return and carry\noff a beloved brother. So in the event of a death in the family a gun\nis fired or medicine is thrown on a fire to raise a smoke. If one who\nis alone encounters a ghost, the latter will be apt to pull his mouth\nand eyes until they are crooked. This danger is encountered only by one\nwho has dreamed of a ghost. He who has been harmed by a ghost always\nfaints, and it is long before he revives. Mothers scare bad children by\nsaying, \u201cWell, wait a bit and I will tell a ghost to come and carry you\noff.\u201d Some one who has dreamed of ghosts will draw one on a skin, etc.,\nto frighten the children. Such a person is said to draw his own ghost\njust as he will appear in future. No one else dares to draw a ghost.\n(See \u00a7 299.)\n\n CEREMONIES AT THE GHOST LODGE.[197]\n\n\u00a7 276. When a son dies the parents with a knife cut off some hair\nfrom the top of the head, just above the forehead, placing the hair\nin a deerskin cover. Then they set up three poles, fastened together\nat the top and forming a sort of tripod. A cord hung over the top of\nthese holds up the white deerskin pack containing the hair of the\ndeceased. This hair is called the ghost or shade (or wa-na-\u0121i) of the\ndead person. The deerskin pack hangs horizontally from the poles and\nthe skin is worked with porcupine quills in many lines, and here and\nthere are various kinds of red and blue circular figures sewed on it.\nAll the sod had been cut away from the ground beneath the pack, and on\nthis bare or virgin earth they put a bowl and a drinking vessel, each\nornamented with porcupine work. Three times a day do they remember the\nghost, for whom they put the choicest food in the bowl and water in the\ndrinking vessel. Every article is handled carefully, being exposed to\nthe smoke of sweet-smelling herbs. The pack said to contain the ghost\nis put in the ghost lodge with the knife which he used during life.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 192.--The ghost lodge.]\n\nThe Indians always have observed the custom of smoking pipes and eating\nwhile sitting in the ghost lodge. At the back of the lodge they prepare\na seat and in the middle they set up two poles similar to those erected\noutside the entrance to the tents. Before they eat in the lodge, they\nsacrifice part of the food. Whenever they move the camp or single tent\nfrom one place to another all these sacred objects are packed and\ncarried on a horse kept for this special purpose. This horse is called\n\u201cWana\u0121i ta\u015bu\u014bkewaka\u014b,\u201d i.e., \u201cThe ghost\u2019s horse.\u201d This horse has his\ntail and mane cut off short; the hair on the body is shaved very close;\nhis body is rubbed all over with yellow clay. Some one then rubs paint\non the fingers, touching the rump gently several times, as well as the\nforehead and around the neck and breast. A feather is tied to the end\nof the tail. On his back they place a saddlecloth and a saddle, each\nornamented with porcupine quills. The horse must mourn--i.e., keep his\nhair short--as long as the ghost remains unburied; but as soon as the\nhair is removed from the pack and buried the horse\u2019s hair is allowed to\ngrow long again. As soon as the people stop to encamp the ghost lodge\nis set up before any of the others. The articles which are kept there\nremain for a specified time, perhaps for several years, during which\nperiod certain ceremonies are performed. At the end of the allotted\ntime comes the ghost feast, the Wa\u00e9\u0107\u016d\u014bpi or Wak\u00ed\u0107a\u0121\u00e1pi, when the ghost\npack is opened and the ghost taken out and buried. Then all the people\nassemble, setting up their tents near the ghost lodge. The kindred\nof the deceased weep and bring food to the place. All this food has\nbeen boiled. They set up in the ground some forked sticks, such as\nare used for digging wild turnips, and straight poles are laid along\nthe forked sticks. On the poles are hung moccasins, and in the space\nbetween the forked sticks are piled blankets, buffalo robes, calico,\nuntanned skin bags, tanned bags, porcupine quills, wild turnips, and\nfruits.[198] These are distributed by women, and the people spend the\ntime pleasantly. They also give presents to the young women. If the\ndeceased was a male and a member of an order of young men, all who\nbelong to it are invited to a feast (there was a similar custom among\nthe Ponka, in 1872), where they sing songs. When they stop singing\nthey sit with bodies erect, but with bent head and stooping shoulders.\nThen the parents of the dead youth enter the lodge, weeping as they\npass around the circle, and each one places both hands on the head\nof each guest, because the son, who regarded the men as his friends,\nis no longer present. If the deceased is a female, only the women\nassemble, except some men who lead the singing. If horses take part in\nthe ceremonies, their manes and tails are shaved short, and they, too,\nreceive gifts. Here and there one of the kindred of the deceased gives\naway all his property, and then the bag is opened and the hair or ghost\nis taken out and buried. From this time the parting with his parents\nis absolute. They think that, until the hair is buried, the deceased\nis really present with the household, and that when this burial takes\nplace he dies a second time. After this burial the kindred put on their\nusual clothing, and while they weep for the dead at intervals they are\nat liberty to anoint and decorate themselves according to fancy.\n\nAnother account of Bushotter states that when they prepare for the\nghost feast they redden the sack containing the hair and hang the war\nbonnet of feathers on the three poles at right angles with the ghost\nsack. They wish to remember his deeds in war, so they also stick one\nend of his war spear in the ground, with its top leaning against the\ntops of the three poles. His shield is suspended from one of the poles.\nThe three pipes on the shield in a colored sketch prepared by Bushotter\ndenote that on so many expeditions the deceased warrior carried a war\npipe. The red stripes declare how many of the enemy were wounded by\nhim, and the human heads show the number of foes that he killed. The\nhalf-moon means that he shouted at his foes on a certain night. Once\nhe threw aside his arms and engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with a\nfoe; this is shown by the human hand. The horse-tracks indicate that he\nran off with so many horses. If his name was Black Hawk, for instance,\na black hawk was painted in the middle of his shield.\n\nAll these things are arranged before they open the bag containing the\nhair. Then they enter the lodge, and there they open all the things\nthat they have brought. The kindred of the deceased are the only ones\nto enter the lodge, and when they see the hair taken from the sack\nthey scream suddenly for a minute or two. It is at this time that they\ndistribute the gifts. Food has been boiled in many kettles, and is\nnow divided among the people not the kindred of the deceased, who are\nscattered around the ghost lodge, and some food is usually given to the\nyoung men of the order to which the deceased belonged.\n\nA woman who attends to collecting the food, calico, bags, clothing,\netc., turns to the four posts of the scaffold in succession, and utters\none of the following sayings or prayers at each post: \u201cIf the ghosts\neat this, may I live long!\u201d or \u201cMay the ghosts eat this, and I obtain\nmany horses!\u201d or \u201cIf my nephew (or niece) eats this, may someone give\nme many presents!\u201d This woman is careful to put the best part of the\nfood on the bowl or dish, under the scaffold near the head of the\ncorpse.[199] Should any one eat before the food has been put aside for\nthe ghost, all the ghosts become angry with him, and they are sure to\npunish him; they will make him drop his food just before it reaches\nhis mouth, or they will spill the water when he tries to drink, and\nsometimes they cause a man to gash himself with a knife.\n\n GOOD AND BAD GHOSTS.\n\n\u00a7 277. Some ghosts are beneficent, but most of them are maleficent.\nThey know all things, even the thoughts of living people. They are glad\nwhen the wind blows. Bushotter\u2019s younger brother was crazy at one time,\nand a doctor or pe\u017auta wi\u0107a\u015ba said that the sickness had been caused by\na ghost.\n\n INTERCOURSE WITH GHOSTS.\n\n \u00a7 278. Lynd says: The belief in the powers of some Dakotas to call\n up and converse with the spirits of the dead is strong in some,\n though not general. They frequently make feasts to those spirits\n and elicit information from them of distant friends and relatives.\n Assembling at night in a lodge, they smoke, put out the fire, and\n then, drawing their blankets over their heads, remain singing\n in unison in a low key until the spirit gives them a picture.\n This they pretend the spirit does; and many a hair-erecting\n tale is told of the spirit\u2019s power to reveal, and the after\n confirmation.[200]\n\n GHOST STORIES.\n\nA few ghost stories of the Teton collection will now be given.\n\n\u00a7 279. _The ghost husband._--A young Lakota died just before marrying\na young girl whom he loved. The girl mourned his death, so she cut her\nhair here and there with a dull knife, and gashed her limbs, just as\nif she had been an old woman. The ghost returned and took her for his\nwife. Whenever the tribe camped for the night the ghost\u2019s wife pitched\nher tent at some distance from the others, and when the people removed\ntheir camp the woman and her husband kept some distance behind the main\nbody. The ghost always told the woman what to do; and he brought game\nto her regularly, which the wife gave to the people in exchange for\nother articles. The people could neither see nor hear the ghost, but\nthey heard his wife address him. He always sent word to the tribe when\nthere was to be a high wind or heavy rain. He could read the thoughts\nof his wife, so that she need not speak a word to him, and when she\nfelt a desire for anything he soon obtained it for her.\n\n\u00a7 280. _The solitary traveler._--Once a solitary traveler was overtaken\nby a tremendous thunderstorm near a forest. So he remained there\nfor the night. After dark he noticed a light in the woods, and when\nhe reached the spot, behold, there was a sweat lodge, in which were\ntwo persons talking. One said, \u201cFriend, some one has come and stands\nwithout. Let us invite him to share our food.\u201d The listener fled\nsuddenly, as they were ghosts, and they pursued him. Though he looked\nbehind now and then, he could not see them; so he ran with all his\nmight towards a hill, and escaped from them. As he was ascending a\ndivide of the Bad Lands, all at once he heard the cry of a woman.\nHe was very glad to have company for the rest of the journey; but\nno sooner had he thought about the woman than she appeared by his\nside, saying, \u201cI have come because you have just wished to have my\ncompany.\u201d This frightened the man, but the ghost woman said, \u201cDo not\nfear me, else you will never see me again.\u201d So they went on silently\ntill daybreak. Then the man looked at her, but her legs could not be\nseen, though she was walking without any apparent effort. Then the\nman thought, \u201cWhat if she should choke me?\u201d Immediately the woman\ndisappeared like the wind. (See \u00a7 245).\n\n\u00a7 281. _The ghost on the hill._--One day, when the people were hunting\nthe buffalo, a strange man appeared on a hill. He wore a winter robe,\nwith the hair outside. When he was descending the hill the people\nbecame alarmed, but he continued to advance. The young men rushed to\nmeet him, taking bows and arrows. They could not see his face. They\ntried to shoot him, but each arrow passed by him on one side or the\nother. So they finally fled, as he was a ghost.\n\n\u00a7 282. _The Indian who wrestled with a ghost._--A young man went alone\non the warpath. At length he reached a wilderness, encountering many\ndifficulties, which did not deter him from his undertaking. One day,\nas he was going along, he heard a voice, and he thought, \u201cI shall have\ncompany.\u201d As he was approaching a forest he heard some one halloo.\nBehold, it was an owl. By and by he drew near another forest, and as\nnight was coming on he had to rest there. At the edge of the forest he\nlay down in the open air. At midnight he was aroused by the voice of a\nwoman, who was wailing, \u201cMy son! my son!\u201d Still he remained where he\nwas, and continued putting wood on the fire. He lay with his back to\nthe fire, placing his flint-lock gun in readiness before him. He tore a\nhole in his blanket large enough to peep through.\n\nSoon he heard the twigs break under the feet of one approaching, so he\npeeped without rising. Behold, a woman of the olden days was coming.\nShe wore a skin dress with long fringe. A buffalo robe was fastened\naround her at the waist. Her necklace was composed of very large\nbeads, and her leggins were covered with beads or porcupine work. Her\nrobe was drawn over her head, and she was snuffling as she came. The\nman lay with his legs stretched out, and she stood by him. She took\nhim by one foot, which she raised very slowly. When she let it go it\nfell with a thud, as if he was dead. She raised it a second and third\ntime. Still the man did not move himself. Then the woman pulled a very\nrusty knife from the front of her belt, seized his foot suddenly, and\nwas apparently about to lift it and gash it, when up sprang the man,\nsaying, \u201cWhat are you doing?\u201d Without waiting for a reply he shot at\nher suddenly, and away she went, screaming \u201cYu\u014b! yu\u014b! yu\u014b!\nyu\u014b! yu\u014b! yu\u014b!\u201d Then she plunged into the forest and was\nseen no more.\n\nOnce again the man covered his head with his blanket, but he did not\nsleep. When day came he raised his eyes, and, behold, he saw a human\nburial scaffold, with the blankets, etc., ragged and dangling. He\nthought, \u201cIs this the ghost that came to me?\u201d On another occasion he\ncame to a forest where he had to remain for the night. He started a\nfire, by which he sat. Suddenly he heard some one making the woods\nring as he sang. The man shouted to the singer, but the latter paid\nno attention to him. The man had a small quantity of wasna (grease\nmixed with pounded dried buffalo meat and wild cherries) and plenty\nof tobacco. So when the singer, who was a male ghost, came to him and\nasked him for food, the man replied, \u201cI have nothing whatever;\u201d but the\nghost said, \u201cNot so; I know that you have some wasna.\u201d Then the man\ngave some of it to the ghost and filled the pipe for him. After the\nmeal, when the ghost took the pipe and held it by the stem, the man saw\nthat his hand had no flesh, being nothing but bones. As the ghost\u2019s\nrobe had dropped from his shoulders to his waist all his ribs were\nvisible, there being no flesh on them. Though the ghost did not open\nhis lips as he smoked, the smoke was pouring out through his ribs. When\nhe finished smoking the ghost said to the man, \u201cHo! we must wrestle\ntogether. If you can throw me, you shall kill a foe without hindrance,\nand steal some horses.\u201d The young man agreed to the proposition; but\nbefore beginning he gathered plenty of brush around the fire, on which\nhe put an armful. Then the ghost rushed at the man, seizing him with\nhis bony hands, which pained the man, but this mattered not. He tried\nto push off the ghost, whose legs were very powerful. When the ghost\nwas brought near the fire, he became weak, but when he managed to pull\nthe man towards the darkness, he became very strong. As the fire got\nlow the strength of the ghost increased. Just as the man began to grow\nweary the day broke. Then the struggle was renewed. As they drew near\nthe fire the man made a desperate effort, and with his foot he pushed\na firebrand suddenly into the fire. As the fire blazed again, the\nghost fell just as if he was coming to pieces. So the man won, and the\nghost\u2019s prophecy was fulfilled; he subsequently killed a foe, and stole\nsome horses. For that reason people have believed whatever the ghosts\nhave said.\n\n\u00a7 283. _The man who shot a ghost._--In the olden time a man was\ntraveling alone, and in a forest he killed several rabbits. After\nsunset he was in the midst of the forest, so he made a fire, as he\nhad to spend the night there. He thought thus: \u201cShould I encounter\nany danger by and by, I have this gun, and I am a man who ought not\nto regard anything.\u201d He cooked a rabbit and satisfied his hunger.\nJust then he heard many voices, and they were talking about their own\naffairs, but the man could see nobody. So he thought, \u201cIt seems that\nnow at length I have encountered ghosts.\u201d Then he went and lay under\na fallen tree, which was at a great distance from the fire. He loaded\nhis gun with powder only, as he knew by this time that they were really\nghosts. They came round about him and whistled, \u201cHyu, hyu, hyu!\u201d \u201cHe\nhas gone yonder,\u201d said one of the ghosts. They came and stood around\nthe man, just as people do when they hunt rabbits. The man lay flat\nbeneath the fallen tree, and one ghost came and climbed on the trunk of\nthat tree. Suddenly the ghost gave the cry uttered on hitting an enemy,\n\u201cA\u207f-he!\u201d and he kicked the man on the back. But before the ghost\ncould get away, the man shot at him and wounded him in the legs; so\nthe ghost gave the male cry of pain, \u201cAu! au! au!\u201d And finally he went\noff crying as females do, \u201cYu\u014b! yu\u014b! yu\u014b!\u201d And the other\nghosts said to him; \u201cWhere did he shoot?\u201d And the wounded one said: \u201cHe\nshot me through the head and I have come apart.\u201d Then the other ghosts\nwere wailing on the hillside. The man decided to go to the place where\nthey were wailing. So, as the day had come, he went thither, and found\nsome graves, one of which a wolf had dug into so that the bones were\nvisible, and there was a wound in the skull.\n\n ASSINNIBOIN BELIEFS ABOUT GHOSTS.\n\n\u00a7 284. Smet says:[202]\n\n The belief in ghosts is very profound, and common to all these\n tribes. Indians have often told me that they have met, seen, and\n conversed with them, and that they may be heard almost every night\n in the places where the dead are interred. They say that they\n speak in a kind of whistling tone. Sometimes they contract the\n face [of a human being whom they meet] like that of a person in an\n epileptic fit.[201] The Assinniboines never pronounce the name\n of Tchatka [i.e., \u0106atka, or, Left Hand, a former chief] but\n with respect. They believe that his shade guards the sacred tree;\n that he has power to procure them abundance of buffalo and other\n animals, or to drive the animals from the country. Hence, whenever\n they pass they offer sacrifices; they present the calumet to the\n tutelary spirits and manes of Tchatka. He is, according to their\n calendar, the Wah-kon-tangka par excellence, the greatest man or\n genius that ever visited their nation.[202]\n\n PRAYERS TO THE DEAD, INCLUDING ANCESTORS.\n\n\u00a7 285. Riggs says[203] that the Dakota pray to the spirits of their\ndeceased relatives. [See \u00a7\u00a7 67-71.] And in his account of the\nAssinniboin, Smet says:\n\n The Assinniboines esteem greatly a religious custom of assembling\n once or twice a year around the graves of their immediate\n relatives. These graves are on scaffolds about 7 or 8 feet above\n the surface of the ground. The Indians call their dead by name and\n offer to them meats carefully dressed, which they place beside\n them. The ceremony of burying the dead is terminated with tears,\n wailings, howlings, and macerations of all present. They tear the\n hair, gash the legs, and at last they light the calumet, for that\n is the Alpha and Omega of every rite. They offer it to the shades\n of the departed and entreat them not to injure the living. During\n their ceremonious repasts, in their excursions, and even at a\n great distance from their graves, they send to the dead puffs of\n tobacco smoke and burn little pieces of meat as a sacrifice to\n their memory.\n\n \u00a7 286. Before consulting the tutelary spirits [see \u00a7 34] or\n addressing the dead, they begin by kindling the sacred fire.\n This fire must be struck from a flint, or it must reach them\n mysteriously by lightning, or in some other way. To light the\n sacred fire with a common fire would be considered among them as a\n grave and dangerous transgression.[204]\n\n METAMORPHOSES AND THE TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS.\n\n \u00a7 287. They believe in transformations, such as are described in\n Ovid, and they think that many of the stars are men and women\n translated to the heavens. They believe in the transmigration\n of souls. Some of the medicine men profess to tell of what\n occurred to them in bodies previously inhabited for at least six\n generations back. [See \u00a7\u00a7 260, 267.]\n\n\n EXHORTATIONS TO ABSENT WARRIORS.\n\n\u00a7 288. Among the Teton it has been customary for those remaining at\nhome to make songs about the absent warriors, calling them by name, as\nif they could hear the speakers. This Dakota custom agrees with what\nhas been recorded of the Omaha.[205]\n\nBushotter has told of another Teton custom. The kindred of a slain\nwarrior make songs in his honor, and sing them as they mourn for his\ndeath.\n\n\n MYSTERIOUS MEN AND WOMEN.\n\n\u00a7 289. Lynd says:\n\n Certain men profess to have an unusual amount of the wakan\n or divine principle in them. By it they assume the working\n of miracles, laying on of hands, curing of the sick, and\n many wonderful operations. Some of these persons pretend to a\n recollection of former states of existence, even naming the\n particular body in which they formerly lived. Others assert their\n power over nature, and their faculty of seeing into futurity, and\n of conversing with the deities. A third class will talk of the\n particular animals whose bodies they intend to enter when loosed\n from their present existence [\u00a7\u00a7 260, 267, 287]. In endeavoring\n to sustain these pretensions they occasionally go through\n performances which are likely to deceive the ignorant throng.[206]\n\nPond wrote thus of the Dakota waka\u014b men:[207]\n\n They do not spring into existence under ordinary operations of\n natural laws, but, according to their faith, these men and women\n (for females, too, are wakan) first arouse to conscious existence\n in the form of winged seeds, such as the thistle, and are wafted\n by the * * * influence of the four winds till they are\n conducted to the abode of some Taku Wakan, by whom they are\n received into intimate communion. They remain there till they\n become acquainted with the character and abilities of the class of\n gods whose guests they happen to be, and until they have imbibed\n their spirits, and are acquainted with all the chants, feasts,\n dances, and rites which the gods deem necessary to impose on men.\n Thus do some of them pass through a series of inspirations with\n different classes of divinities, till they are fully wakanized\n and prepared for human incarnation. They are invested with the\n invisible wakan powers of the gods, their knowledge and cunning,\n and their omnipresent influence over mind, instinct, and passions.\n They are taught to inflict diseases and heal them, discover\n concealed causes, manufacture implements of war, and impart to\n them the ton-wan power of the gods; and also the art of making\n such an application of paints that they will protect from the\n powers of the enemies. This process of inspiration is called\n \u201cdreaming of the gods.\u201d Thus prepared and retaining his primitive\n form, the demi-god rides forth on the wings of the wind over\n * * * the earth, till he has carefully observed the characters\n and usages of the different tribes of men; then, selecting his\n location, he enters one about to become a mother, and, in due\n time, makes his appearance among men. * * * When one of these\n wakan men dies he returns to the abode of his god, from whom he\n receives a new inspiration, after which he passes through another\n incarnation as before, and serves another generation. In this\n manner they pass through four incarnations, * * * and then\n return to their original nothingness.\n\n\u00a7 290. There are different persons who regard themselves as waka\u014b,\nsays Bushotter. Among these are those who practice medicine, those who\nact as Heyoka, those who boil for the grizzly bear feasts, those who\ntake part in the mystery dance, those who foretell the future, those\nwho detect wrong-doers and find what has been lost or stolen, and those\nwho do various things in a cunning manner. It happens thus to them:\nA man hears a human voice during the day and he does what the voice\ndirects to be done, or on a certain night a tree converses with him,\nand the two talk about their own affairs, and what the tree tells him\nto do, that he does, so he says, or, it orders him to keep some law or\ncustom as long as he lives. Among these superstitious notions are the\nfollowing: Some men direct the pipe to be handed around the lodge from\nthe left side to the right, and others vice versa. Some men dare not\ngash a firebrand with a knife; and should a visitor do so heedlessly,\nthey say that he \u201ccuts his finger.\u201d Others will not kill a swallow,\nlest thunder and hail ensue. Some do not allow a knife to be passed\nabove a kettle.\n\n\u00a7 291. The wakan men claim that they are invulnerable. To prove this\nthey assemble at stated intervals, having painted themselves in various\nstyles. Each one has a flute suspended over the chest by a necklace.\nThey wear long breechcloths, and march in single file. Two men armed\nwith bows and arrows rush suddenly towards the waken men and shoot\nat them; but instead of wounding them they merely bend the arrows!\nSometimes the men fire guns at them, but the bullets fall to the\nground, and when they are examined they are flattened! No visible mark\nof a wound can be found on the bodies of these wakan men, though when\nthey were hit by the bullet or arrow blood pours from their mouths.\nAfter they wash off the paint from their bodies their flesh becomes\ntender and is vulnerable. This is the excuse urged when an ordinary\nperson succeeds in wounding a wakan man. It is supposed that the wakan\nmen rub themselves with some kind of medicine known only to themselves,\nmaking them invulnerable, and that perhaps the bullets or arrows are\nrubbed with the medicine prior to the shooting. It is also supposed\nthat the playing of the flute aids in rendering them invulnerable. (See\n\u00a7 306, etc.)\n\n\u00a7 292. Bushotter names two kinds of Dakota doctors--the Mato wapiya,\nor Grizzly Bear doctor, who is very wakan, and the Pe\u017auta wapiya,\nor Pe\u017auta wi\u0107a\u015ba, the doctor who prescribes roots. The person\nwho practices medicine claims to have had interviews with the spirits,\nbut he never reveals what the spirits have told him, though he says\nthat immediately after the revelation made him by the spirit he begins\nto act according to its directions. And in some cases of sickness\nthis doctor takes the flesh of the patient into his mouth and makes a\nsucking sound while inhaling, and from the patient\u2019s side he pretends\nto remove something. When he has made the sucking sound after taking\nthe flesh into his mouth, or when he has taken blood or something else\nfrom the side of the patient, he spits it from his mouth. Then he sees\nthe patient\u2019s mother, whom he tells what is the cause of the disease,\nand whether the patient will recover or die. Such doctors pretend to\nhave within themselves one of the following: A small red hawk, a common\nwoodpecker, a real buffalo, a rattlesnake, or a grizzly bear. And when\none of these doctors kicks on the ground there is heard something\nwithin him, singing in a beautiful voice; and so the people believe\nwhat the doctors say about diseases.\n\n\u00a7 293. When the doctor has sucked the patient\u2019s flesh a long time\nwithout removing anything, he asks a favor of the mysterious being\ndwelling within himself, and then that being cries out often, and the\ndoctor succeeds in his efforts. It is by the aid of these mysterious\nbeings that the doctors are enabled to practice medicine. In the\nolden time one of the doctors was very mysterious. Once, when he was\npracticing, a bowl of water was set down before him. He vomited into\nthe bowl and a water-snake appeared in it. But when the doctor opened\nhis mouth again the snake glided gently into it and disappeared down\nhis throat. Such exhibitions by the doctors have been observed by\nthe Indians, who are constrained to believe what the doctors claim\nfor themselves. And because they believe that the doctors are very\nmysterious, the latter are able to gather together many possessions\nas pay for their services. Therefore the men and women doctors try to\nexcel one another in their skill, as it pays them so well.\n\n\u00a7 294. A \u201cpe\u017auta wica\u015ba\u201d told Bushotter to say to his step-father\nthat his son, Bushotter\u2019s younger brother, had been made crazy by a\nghost. The doctor came and fumigated the patient, and after he felt a\nlittle better he sucked at the boy\u2019s chest and drew out some blood.\nHe resumed the operation, and then declared that there was in the\nboy\u2019s side a flat object resembling a serpent, the removal of which\nwould insure the boy\u2019s recovery. The doctor was promised a horse if he\nwould attend the patient until he cured him. Acting by his directions,\nBushotter\u2019s elder brother caught a large catfish, of the species called\n\u201chowasapa,\u201d and handed it to his step-father, who offered a prayer and\nmarked the fish with a knife on the top of the head. After this the\nfish was cooked, and the sick boy ate it and recovered his health. It\nwas after this that the same boy was cured by invoking the Dawn and\noffering sacrifice, as related in \u00a7 215.\n\n\n GOPHER LORE.\n\n\u00a7 295. Scrofulous sores on the neck under the jaw are said to be caused\nby gophers. These animals can shoot at persons in a magical way with\nthe tip of a species of grass, wounding them very mysteriously, the\ninjured person being unconscious of the harm done till some time has\nelapsed. The place swells, splits open, and becomes very bad, affecting\neven the face of the sufferer. Few doctors can cure it. He who can\nrelieve the patient pretends to extract pieces of grass from the neck,\nand then the person begins to recover. The people are so afraid of\ngophers that they go around the camp with their hands over their jaws.\nNo one dares to go near a gopher hill except he or she be a mysterious\nperson. Such a one can go near it and even touch it with impunity, as\nhe has different remedies at his command.\n\n\n CAUSES OF BOILS AND SORES.\n\n\u00a7 296. Whoever gets into the habit of eating the large intestine of\ncattle, known as the ta\u015biyaka, is sure to \u201cbe hit by a \u015biyaka,\u201d _i.\ne._, he will have a boil.[208] \u015aiyaka is the name of the grebe or\ndabchick, but what connection there is between the bird and the boil\nhas not been learned. The boil will be on some covered part of the\nbody, not on the hands or face. The Teton fear to go outside of their\nlodges at night lest the cause of boils be blown to them. If a man eats\nthe liver of a female dog, or if a woman eats that of a male dog, the\nface of the offender will break out in sores.\n\n\n RESULTS OF LYING, STEALING, ETC.\n\n\u00a7 297. Warts betray a bad person, one given to stealing. If the skin of\nthe hard palate peels off, it is said that the person is untruthful.\nWhen the Teton doubt a man\u2019s word, they ask him to open his mouth and\nlet them see his hard palate. He who makes a practice of eating the\ncalves of the legs of any species of animal will have a cramp in the\nmuscles of his own legs. When one wishes to extract the marrow from a\nbone, he takes care not to split the bone in two, lest his own legs\nshould be in frequent pain, or he should become lame.\n\n\n SECRET SOCIETIES.\n\n\u00a7 298. The Dakota use \u201ciha\u014bbla\u201d or \u201ciha\u014bmda\u201d as the Omaha and Ponka do\n\u201ci\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115,\u201d to describe the mysterious communications received from the\nanimals and spirits (\u00a7\u00a7 8, 43-52).\n\n Among the Siouan family of Indians there are societies, religious\n in character, which are distinguished by the name of some animal.\n Each society has a ritual composed of chants and songs to be sung\n during different parts of the ceremonies, having words describing\n in simple and direct terms the act which accompanies the music.\n These musical rituals, it is often claimed, have been received in\n a mysterious or supernatural manner, and are therefore regarded\n as possessing a religious power * * * Some societies admit\n women to membership, through their own visions, or occasionally\n by those of their husbands\u2019, but more generally by means of the\n visions of male relatives. * * * Membership in these\n societies is not confined to any particular gens, or grouping of\n gentes, but depends upon supernatural indications over which the\n individual has no control. The animal which appears to a man in a\n vision during his religious fasting determines to which society\n he must belong.[209]\n\n\u00a7 299. Those having visions or revelations from ghosts are called\nWana\u0121i iha\u014bblapi ki\u014b. It is such persons who can draw\npictures of ghosts with impunity. It is also said that the only persons\nwho have their faces drawn awry by the ghosts are the members of this\norder. (See \u00a7 275.)\n\n\u00a7 300. Bushotter\u2019s step-father belongs to the Tata\u014bg iha\u014bblapi ki\u014b, or\nthe Society of those who have Revelations from the Buffalo, answering\nto the Omaha \u2534e i\u023ca\u2018e\u023c\u0115-ma (\u00a7\u00a7 43, 50). In one of his visions he saw a\nbuffalo with cocklebur down in his hair, so the man subsequently put\nsuch down in his own hair in imitation of the buffalo. One night he saw\n(probably in a vision) a bison going toward the south with a hoop on\nhis head. So the man painted a small hoop red all over and wore it on\nhis head, giving his nephew the name \u0106a\u014bgle\u015bka wa\u014bya\u014bg mani, He Walks\nIn-sight-of a Hoop.\n\n\u00a7 301. Some Dakota belong to the He\u0107i\u014b\u015bkayapi iha\u014bblapi ki\u014b, or the\nSociety of those who have Revelations from Goats. Goats are very\nmysterious, as they walk on cliffs and other high places; and those who\ndream of goats or have revelations from them imitate their actions.\nSuch men can find their way up and down cliffs, the rocks get soft\nunder their feet, enabling them to maintain a foothold, but they close\nup behind them, leaving no trail. Members of the Waka\u014b wa\u0107ipi, or the\nOrder of the Mystery Dance, commonly called the medicine dance, are\nalso reckoned among the mysterious or \u201cwaka\u014b\u201d people (see \u00a7 113). One\nof Bushotter\u2019s texts relates to this order. Another of his articles\ntells of the Miwatani okolaki\u0107iye ki\u014b or The Mandan Society, which used\nto be called \u0106a\u014bte \u1e6di\u014bza okolaki\u0107iye, or Society of the Stout Hearted\nOnes. It is now known as Ka\u014b\u0121i yuha, Keeps the Raven. For a notice of\nthis order, see \u00a7\u00a7 194, 195.\n\n\u00a7 302. The report of the Peabody Museum of American Archaeology and\nEthnology for 1884 contains an article on the Elk Mystery or Festival\nof the Oglala, a division of the Teton Dakota (pp. 276-288). Those who\nhave visions of the elk are the He\u1e23aka iha\u014bblapi ki\u014b. Bushotter has\nrecorded articles on different societies as follows: Big Belly Society,\nI\u1e23oka and Tokala (animal) Societies, Dog Society, Ka\u1e6dela or Tani\u0121a i\u0107u\nSociety, Grizzly Bear Dance, and Night Dance; but we have no means of\nlearning whether any or all of them are composed of persons who had\nvisions of animals.\n\n\n FETICHISM.\n\n PUBLIC OR TRIBAL FETICHES.\n\n\u00a7 303. Among these may be included the Bear Butte, referred to in \u00a7\n137; and any white buffalo hide, such as has been described in \u201cThe\nWhite Buffalo Festival of the Uncpapas.\u201d[210]\n\nSmet gives a description of a gathering of all the Assiniboin, and a\nreligious festival lasting several days:\n\n Offerings are placed on perches that are fastened to the tops\n of posts supporting certain buffalo skin lodges. A tall pole is\n erected in the middle of the circle (it is between 30 and 40 feet\n high), and to it they fasten the medicine bags, containing the\n idols, their arrows, quivers, trophies won from their enemies,\n especially scalps. Men, women, and children join in raising and\n planting the pole, amid the acclamations of the tribe.[211]\n\n PRIVATE OR PERSONAL FETICHES.\n\n\u00a7 304. Smet also tells us that \u201cA Sioux chief has his war waka\u014b, the\ncolored picture of the Russian general, Diebitsch.\u201d[212] In speaking of\nthe Assinniboin, the same author states:\n\n Each savage who considers himself a chief or warrior possesses\n what he calls his wah-kon, in which he appears to place all his\n confidence. This consists of a stuffed bird, a weasel\u2019s skin,\n or some little bone or the tooth of an animal; sometimes it is\n a little stone or a fantastical figure, represented by little\n beads or by a coarsely painted picture. These charms or talismans\n accompany them on all their expeditions for war or hunting--they\n never lay them aside. In every difficulty or peril they invoke\n the protection and assistance of their wah-kon, as though these\n idols could really preserve them from all misfortunes. If any\n accident befalls an idol or charm, if it is broken or lost, it is\n enough to arrest the most intrepid chief or warrior in his\n expedition, and make him abandon the most important enterprise in\n which he may be engaged.[213]\n\nWe may also reckon among the personal fetiches the wohduze of each\nwarrior (see the Armor god, \u00a7\u00a7 122-5), and perhaps the use of the\ninitipi or sweat lodge, and the wild sage or Artemisia, by each of\nwhich personal purification is supposed to be effected.\n\n\n ORDEALS OR MODES OF SWEARING.\n\n\u00a7 305. While there are no oaths or curses as we have them, the Teton\ncan invoke higher powers. Thus one may say: \u201cThe Thunderers hear me\u201d\n(Wa\u029ei\u014b\u00b4ya\u014b nam\u00e1\u1e23u\u014bwe l\u00f3, The Flying one really hears me!), and if he is\nlying the Thunderers or one of their number will be sure to kill him.\nSometimes the man will put a knife in his mouth, and then if he lies he\nwill be stuck by a knife thereafter, and death must follow. Or, he will\nsay, \u201cThe horse heard me\u201d (\u015au\u014b\u00b4kawaka\u014b\u00b4 nam\u00e1\u1e23u\u014b we l\u00f3), knowing that\nthe penalty for falsehood will be certain death from a horse that will\nthrow him and break his neck. When one says, \u201cThe Earth hears me\u201d (Mak\u00e1\nki\u014b l\u00e9 nam\u00e1\u1e23u\u014b we l\u00f3), and he lies, he is sure to die miserably in a\nshort time, and his family will also be afflicted.\n\nSmet says:[214]\n\n The objects by which an Assinniboine swears are his gun, the skin\n of a rattlesnake, a bear\u2019s claw, and the wah-kon that the Indian\n interrogates. These various articles are placed before him, and\n he says, \u201cIn case my declaration prove false, may my gun fire\n and kill me, may the serpent bite me, may the bears tear and\n devour my flesh, and may my wah-kon overwhelm me with misery.\u201d\n In extraordinary and very important affairs, which demand formal\n promises, they call upon the Thunder to witness their resolution\n of accomplishing the articles proposed and accepted.\n\n\n SORCERY AND JUGGLERY.\n\n\u00a7 306. As among the Omaha and other Siouan tribes, so among the Dakota\ndo we find traces of the practice of sorcery, and there is a special\nword in the Dakota dictionary: \u201c\u1e23mu\u014b\u0121a, to cause sickness or death,\nas the Dakotas pretend to be able to do, in a supernatural way--to\nbewitch--kill by enchantment.\u201d The syllable \u201c\u1e23mu\u014b\u201d seems to convey the\nidea of humming, buzzing, or muttering.\n\nJugglery or sleight-of-hand performances are resorted to by the\nmysterious men and women. (See \u00a7\u00a7 64-66, 291-4.) Some of these\npractitioners claim to possess the art of making love-charms, such\npotions being sold to women who desire to attract particular men of\ntheir acquaintance. When a woman obtains such a medicine, she uses it\nin one of two ways. Sometimes she touches the man on his blanket with\nthe medicine, at others she persuades the man to give her a piece of\nchewing gum, which she touches with the medicine. Then she seizes him,\nand he can not escape from her, even should he wish to leave her. So he\nis obliged to marry her.\n\n\n OMENS.\n\n BODILY OMENS.\n\n\u00a7 307. Ringing in one ear signifies one of two things. Some one will\ncome without his family, and he must be entertained, or you will hear\nnews. The direction whence the person or news will come is shown by the\near that is affected.\n\nIf the eye twitches involuntarily some one will weep. If any other part\nof the body twitches involuntarily some one will hit the person there\nor he will be stabbed or shot there. If the palm of the hand twitches\noften he will soon strike some one, or else he will become angry. When\na woman has a son sick somewhere, or if he has been killed on the way\nhome, her breasts are often very painful.\n\nIf one sneezes once his special friend or fellow, his son or his wife\nhas named him; so the sneezer calls out, \u201cMy son.\u201d If he sneezes twice\nhe exclaims, \u201cMy son and his mother!\u201d\n\n ANIMAL OMENS.\n\n\u00a7 308. When whip-poor wills sing together at night, saying, \u201cHohi\u014b,\nhohi\u014b,\u201d one says in reply, \u201cNo.\u201d Should the birds stop at once it\nis a sign that the answering person must die soon. But if the birds\ncontinue singing the man will live a long time.[215]\n\nThe u\u014bgna\u0121\u00ed\u0107ala (gray screech owl) fortells cold weather. When the\nnight is to be very cold this owl cries out, so the Teton say, just as\nif a person\u2019s teeth chattered. When its cry is heard, all the people\nwrap themselves in their thickest robes and put plenty of wood on the\nfires.\n\nThe Ski-bi-bi-la is a small gray bird, with a black head, and spotted\nhere and there on the breast. It dwells in the forest, and is said to\nanswer the person who calls to it. When this bird says, \u201cGl\u00ed hu\u014b w\u00f3,\u201d\ni.e., \u201cHas it returned?\u201d the people rejoice, knowing that the spring\nis near. When a boy hears this bird ask the question, he runs to his\nmother and learns from her that he must reply, \u201cNo; it has not yet\nreturned.\u201d The reason for giving this reply has not been obtained.\n\nWhen the people first hear the cry of the night hawk in the spring,\nthey begin to talk of going to hunt the buffalo, because when the night\nhawks return the buffalo have become fat again, and the birds bring the\nnews, for they never cry in vain.\n\n OMENS FROM DREAMS.\n\n \u00a7 309. There are some animals which are esteemed as bringing\n better fortunes than others. Hawks are lucky. Bears are not so\n good, as the bear is slow and clumsy, and apt to be wounded; and\n although savage when cornered, is not as likely as some animals to\n escape harm. Among some tribes in this family of Indians to dream\n of the moon is regarded as a grave calamity.[216] See \u00a7 30.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 84: Say, in James\u2019s Account of Long\u2019s Exped. Rocky Mts., Vol.\nI, 268.]\n\n[Footnote 85: Shea, Amer. Cath. missions, p. 25.]\n\n[Footnote 86: Lynd, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 2, p. 63.\nCompare these seeming contradictions with those observed among the\nOmaha and Ponka, especially \u00a7\u00a7 21-24.]\n\n[Footnote 87: Ibid, pp. 64-65.]\n\n[Footnote 88: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 3, p. 34.]\n\n[Footnote 89: Riggs, Tah-koo Wah-kon, pp. 56, 57.]\n\n[Footnote 90: Riggs in Am. Antiq., Vol. II, No. 4, p. 265; and in Am.\nPhilolog. Assoc. Proc., 1872, pp. 5, 6.]\n\n[Footnote 91: Riggs, in Am. Antiq., vol. II, No. 4, p. 266. Pond, Minn.\nHist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 3, p. 33. Smet, op. cit., 120, note.]\n\n[Footnote 92: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2.]\n\n[Footnote 93: Lynd, Ibid., p. 67.]\n\n[Footnote 94: Am. Antiq., vol. V, 149.]\n\n[Footnote 95: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. I, pt. 2, pp. 67, 68.]\n\n[Footnote 96: Ibid., pt. 3, p. 33.]\n\n[Footnote 97: Riggs, Tah-koo Wah-kon, p. 61, et passim.]\n\n[Footnote 98: Rept. Peabody Museum, vol. III, p. 276, note.]\n\n[Footnote 99: Lynd, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 2, p. 72.]\n\n[Footnote 100: Lynd, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 2, pp. 72,\n76, 77.]\n\n[Footnote 101: Smet, Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 92.]\n\n[Footnote 102: Ibid., p. 134.]\n\n[Footnote 103: Lynd, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 2, p. 67.]\n\n[Footnote 104: Lynd, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, p. 80.]\n\n[Footnote 105: Riggs, in Am. Antiq., vol. II, p. 266.]\n\n[Footnote 106: Riggs, Tah-koo Wah-kon, p. 62. See Maza or Iron names of\nIndians in the author\u2019s forthcoming monograph on Indian Personal Names.]\n\n[Footnote 107: Riggs, in Am. Antiq., vol. II, p. 267.]\n\n[Footnote 108: Contr. N. A. Ethn. vol. VI, pp. 357-358.]\n\n[Footnote 109: Missions and Missionaries, p. 136.]\n\n[Footnote 110: Am. Antiq., vol. V, p. 149.]\n\n[Footnote 111: Rept. Peabody Museum, vol. III, p. 297.]\n\n[Footnote 112: Pond, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll, vol. II, pp. 35-38.]\n\n[Footnote 113: Lynd, Ibid., pt. 2, pp. 71-77. Riggs, in Amer. Philolog.\nAssoc. Proc, 1872., p. 6.]\n\n[Footnote 114: A picture of \u201cWah-Menitu, the spirit or god in the\nwater,\u201d is given on p. 161 of Lloyd\u2019s translation of Maximilian,\nLondon, 1843.]\n\n[Footnote 115: According to Omaha tradition, two buffalo gentes are of\nsubaquatic origin. See Om. Soc., pp. 231-233.]\n\n[Footnote 116: From an unpublished text of Bushotter.]\n\n[Footnote 117: The Thunderers in the Omaha myth have hair of different\ncolors. One has white hair, the second has yellow, the third, bright\nred, and the fourth, green hair. See Contr. N. A. Eth., vol. VI, p.\n187.]\n\n[Footnote 118: Pond, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 2, 41-42.]\n\n[Footnote 119: Pond, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 3, p. 43.\nRiggs, Tah-koo Wah-kon, pp. 62-64.]\n\n[Footnote 120: Missions and Missionaries, p. 143.]\n\n[Footnote 121: Smet. op. cit., p. 134.]\n\n[Footnote 122: Maximilian, Travels in North America, p. 197.]\n\n[Footnote 123: Riggs, Tah-koo Wah-kon, pp. 69, 70.]\n\n[Footnote 124: Rev. E. Ashley, MS. letter to Dorsey, March 24, 1884.]\n\n[Footnote 125: Riggs, in Am. Antiq., vol. II, No. 4, p. 270.]\n\n[Footnote 126: Pond, Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt 3, p. 53.]\n\n[Footnote 127: Ibid., pt. 2, p. 73.]\n\n[Footnote 128: Riggs, Tah-koo Wah-kon, pp. 70, 71.]\n\n[Footnote 129: Am. Antiq., Vol. II, No. 4, p. 270.]\n\n[Footnote 130: Riggs in Am. Antiq., Vol. II, p. 268.]\n\n[Footnote 131: Mourning and War Customs of the Kansas, in Am.\nNaturalist, July, 1885, pp. 676, 677.]\n\n[Footnote 132: That is, the Taku\u015bka\u014b\u015bka\u014b.]\n\n[Footnote 133: Geikie, in his Hours with the Bible (New York: James\nPott. 1881), Vol. I, p. 55, has the following quotation from Das Buch\nHenoch, edited by Dillmann, Kap. 17, 18: \u201cAnd I saw the cornerstone of\nthe earth and the four winds which bear up the earth, and the firmament\nof heaven.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 134: Note that both the Taku\u015bka\u014b\u015bka\u014b, the \u201cSomething that\nMoves,\u201d and the Waki\u014bya\u014b or the Thunder-beings, are associated with\nwar.--J. O. D.]\n\n[Footnote 135: Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 289, and note 1. The\nuse of the number twelve in connection with the ceremony of the Four\nWinds finds a counterpart in the Osage initiation of a female into the\nsecret society of the tribe; the Osage female is rubbed from head to\nfoot, thrice in front, thrice on each side, and thrice behind, with\ncedar needles.--J. O. D.]\n\n[Footnote 136: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 3, p. 44.]\n\n[Footnote 137: Op. cit., p. 136.]\n\n[Footnote 138: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 3, p. 71.]\n\n[Footnote 139: Ibid., p. 79.]\n\n[Footnote 140: Ibid., p. 81.]\n\n[Footnote 141: Ibid., p. 84.]\n\n[Footnote 142: Am. Antiq., vol. II, p. 268.]\n\n[Footnote 143: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 1, pp. 55.]\n\n[Footnote 144: Hovey on \u201cEyah Shah\u201d in Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc.,\nvol. XXXIV, Buffalo Meeting, 1886. Salem, 1887, p. 332. Also in Am.\nAntiq., Jan., 1887, pp. 35, 36.]\n\n[Footnote 145: Mr. Hovey appears ignorant of the fact that the Kapo\u017aa\n(\u201cKaposias\u201d) are a division of the Mdewakantonwan. The latter had six\nother divisions or gentes.]\n\n[Footnote 146: Riggs, Tah-koo Wah-kon, p. 69.]\n\n[Footnote 147: Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 138.]\n\n[Footnote 148: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 3.]\n\n[Footnote 149: Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Montreal meeting, Vol. XXXI,\np. 580.]\n\n[Footnote 150: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., Vol. II, pt. 2.]\n\n[Footnote 151: Miss Fletcher, in Rept. Peabody Museum, vol. III, p.\n284, note.]\n\n[Footnote 152: Compare Miss Fletcher, in Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci.,\n1882, p. 581.]\n\n[Footnote 153: Miss Fletcher says, in Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1882,\np. 580, \u201cThe people camp in a circle, with a large opening at the east.\nIn 1882 over 9,000 Indians were so camped, the diameter of the circle\nbeing over three-quarters of a mile wide.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 154: Miss Fletcher\u2019s account (Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci.,\np. 582) names the fourth day as that on which they sought for the sun\npole.]\n\n[Footnote 155: Miss Fletcher (Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1882, p. 580)\nstates that \u201cthe tent set apart for the consecrating ceremonies, which\ntake place after sunset of the first day, was pitched within the line\nof tents, on the site formerly assigned to one of the sacred tents.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 156: The author heard about this medicine in 1873, from a\nPonka chief, one of the leaders of a dancing society. It is a bulbous\nroot, which grows near the place where the sun pole is planted.]\n\n[Footnote 157: With this compare the Omaha act, ui\u023ca\u207f, in the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115\ndance after the sham fight, Om. Soc., in 3d. Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p.\n299.]\n\n[Footnote 158: See Miss Fletcher, Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., 1882, p.\n582.]\n\n[Footnote 159: See \u00a7 28, the Kansa ceremony of the waqpele gaxe, and\nOm. Soc., in 3d An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 234, 297.]\n\n[Footnote 160: Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, 470, 12-15; and Om. Soc.,\np. 296.]\n\n[Footnote 161: Miss Fletcher states that the sun pole is carried to the\ncamp on a litter of sticks, and must not be handled or stepped over.\nOp. cit., p. 582.]\n\n[Footnote 162: See Miss Fletcher\u2019s account, Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci.,\n1882, p. 584.]\n\n[Footnote 163: Miss Fletcher, _op. cit._, p. 583.]\n\n[Footnote 164: The famous pipestone quarry was near the Big Sioux river\nin Minnesota.]\n\n[Footnote 165: Concerning Dakota Beliefs, in Proc. Amer. Philol.\nAssoc., 3d An. Session, 1872, p. 5.]\n\n[Footnote 166: Theogony of the Sioux, p. 269.]\n\n[Footnote 167: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, p. 44.]\n\n[Footnote 168: Compare the Ma\u207fna\u207fhi\u207fdje sub-gens of the Kansa tribe,\nand part of the wind gens, as the [K]a\u207fze gens of the Omaha, Kansa and\nOsage may be associated with the Taku\u1e61ka\u014b\u015bka\u014b of the Dakota.]\n\n[Footnote 169: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, pp. 70, 71.]\n\n[Footnote 170: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, p. 67.]\n\n[Footnote 171: Theogony of the Sioux, p. 270.]\n\n[Footnote 172: With this compare the belief of some African tribes that\nthe monkey has the gift of speech, but fears to use it lest he should\nbe made a slave.]\n\n[Footnote 173: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, p. 66.]\n\n[Footnote 174: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, p. 66.]\n\n[Footnote 175: Ibid., p. 66.]\n\n[Footnote 176: Cont. N.A. Ethnol., vol. VI, pp. 207-219.]\n\n[Footnote 177: Translated from the original MS. in the Bushotter\ncollection. Tuki is the Teton name for a univalve shellfish said to\ncome from the Great Lakes.]\n\n[Footnote 178: Tah-koo Wah-kon, p. 71.]\n\n[Footnote 179: Osage Traditions, in 6th An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 379,\n380. Am. Naturalist, February, 1884, pp. 113, 114, 133. Ibid, July,\n1885, p. 671, Om. Soc., in 3d An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 228, 233, 244,\n247.]\n\n[Footnote 180: Rept. Peabody Museum, vol. III, p. 264. Note how in\nthe sun dance the sun, the four winds, and the buffalo are referred\nto (\u00a7\u00a7 147, 164, 167, 173, and 181, and Pl. XLVIII), and ceremonies\nare performed connected with the earth, such as mellowing the earth\n(\u00a7\u00a7 146, 155, and 176) and the \u201cUu\u023cita,\u201d in which they shoot into the\nground (\u00a7 170).]\n\n[Footnote 181: Op. cit., p. 297.]\n\n[Footnote 182: Op. cit., p. 282, note.]\n\n[Footnote 183: Smet, Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 139.]\n\n[Footnote 184: Smet, Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 140.]\n\n[Footnote 185: See Ghost Lore, \u00a7 280.]\n\n[Footnote 186: Miss Fletcher, Elk Mystery of the Ogalalla Sioux, in\nRept. Peabody Museum, vol. III, p. 281, note.]\n\n[Footnote 187: Contr. to N. A. Ethn., vol. IX, Dakota Grammar, Texts,\nand Ethnography. Washington: Government Printing Office. 1893. pp. 131,\n141, 144, 148.]\n\n[Footnote 188: Lewis and Clarke, Expedition, ed. Allen, Dublin, 1817,\nvol. I, pp. 65, 66.]\n\n[Footnote 189: See \u201cCalumet Dance,\u201d in Om. Sociology, 3d Am. Rept. Bur.\nEthn., p .280.]\n\n[Footnote 190: Proc. Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Montreal meeting, 1882, p.\n583.]\n\n[Footnote 191: Skiff Voy. to Falls of St. Anthony, in Minn. Hist.\nColl., II, pt. 1, pp. 18-19.]\n\n[Footnote 192: Rept. Peabody Museum, vol. III, pp. 277, 278.]\n\n[Footnote 193: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, pp. 68, 80.]\n\n[Footnote 194: A similar belief has been held by the Athapascans now on\nthe Siletz reservation, Oregon. This has been published by the author\nin The American Anthropologist for January, 1889, p. 60.]\n\n[Footnote 195: Smet, Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 142.]\n\n[Footnote 196: Maximilian, Travels in North America, p. 197.]\n\n[Footnote 197: Read in this connection the article by Miss Fletcher on\n\u201cThe Shadow; or, Ghost Lodge: a Ceremony of the Ogallala Sioux,\u201d Rept.\nof Peabody Museum, vol. II, pp. 296, 307.]\n\n[Footnote 198: These things are probably given by the kindred of the\ndeceased, but Bushotter has not so informed us.]\n\n[Footnote 199: In one of his papers Bushotter says that it is the\nmother of the deceased person who deposits the food under the scaffold\nand utters the prayers. John Bruyier, a half-blood Teton from Cheyenne\nRiver Agency, South Dakota, never heard the petition about the horses,\nfor if parents obtained horses after the death of their son, they gave\nthem away.]\n\n[Footnote 200: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, p. 69.]\n\n[Footnote 201: Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 140.]\n\n[Footnote 202: Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 204.]\n\n[Footnote 203: Am. Antiq., vol. V, 1883, p. 149.]\n\n[Footnote 204: Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 243.]\n\n[Footnote 205: Om. Sociology, Third Ann. Rept. Bur. Eth., p. 325.]\n\n[Footnote 206: Minn. Hist. Soc. Coll., vol. II, pt. 2, p. 70.]\n\n[Footnote 207: Pond, in Schoolcraft, Ind. Tribes, vol. VI, pp. 652.\n1857.]\n\n[Footnote 208: See Contr. to N. A. Ethn. vol. IX, pp. 146, 149.]\n\n[Footnote 209: Miss Fletcher: Elk Mystery of the Ogallala Sioux; in\nAnn. Rept. Peabody Museum, 1884, pp. 276, 277.]\n\n[Footnote 210: Miss Fletcher in Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. II, pp.\n260-275.]\n\n[Footnote 211: Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 136.]\n\n[Footnote 212: Ibid., p. 46.]\n\n[Footnote 213: Western Missions and Missionaries, p. 141.]\n\n[Footnote 214: Ibid., p. 143.]\n\n[Footnote 215: This is also an Omaha belief.]\n\n[Footnote 216: Miss Fletcher, \u201cElk Mystery of the Ogalalla Sioux,\u201d in\nRept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 281 note.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VI.\n\n CULTS OF THE MANDAN, HIDATSA, AND SAPONA.\n\n\n AUTHORITIES.\n\n\u00a7 310. This chapter contains no original material, but is a compilation\nmade from the following works for the convenience of the reader:\n\n Byrd (Wm.), History of the Dividing line (1729), vol. I. Reprint:\n Richmond, Va., 1866.\n\n U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Miscell. Publ., No. 7, 1877: Ethnog.\n and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians. By Washington Matthews.\n\n James\u2019s Account of Long\u2019s Exped., to Rocky Mountains, Phil., 1823,\n vol. I.\n\n Lewis and Clarke\u2019s Exped., ed. Allen, Dublin, 1817, vol. I.\n\n The George Catlin Indian Gallery * * * Thomas Donaldson:\n Smithson. Rept., 1885, pt. 2, appendix.\n\n Travels in * * * North America, by Maximilian, Prince of Wied.\n Trans. by H. Evans Lloyd, London, 1843.\n\n\n ALLEGED BELIEF IN A GREAT SPIRIT.\n\n\u00a7 311. As among the Dakota, so among the Mandan and Hidatsa, we find\nthat some of the earlier writers assert that the religion of the\nIndians under consideration \u201cconsists in the belief in one Great\nSpirit.\u201d[217]\n\nBut such assertions are closely followed by admissions which explain\nthe mistake of the writer: \u201cGreat Spirit\u201d is synonymous with \u201cGreat\nMedicine,\u201d a name applied to everything which they do not comprehend.\nAmong the Mandan, \u201ceach individual selects for himself the particular\nobject of his devotion, which is termed his medicine, and is either\nsome visible being, or more commonly some animal.\u201d\n\n\n THE GREAT MYSTERY A MODERN DEITY.\n\nMatthews states of the Hidatsa:\n\n Many claim that the Great Spirit, or, more properly, the Great\n Mystery, is a deity of the modern Indian only. I have certainly\n heard some old and very conservative Minnetarees speak of Mahopa\n as if they meant thereby an influence or power above all other\n things, but not attaching to it any ideas of personality. It\n would now be perhaps impossible to make a just analysis of their\n original conceptions in this matter.[218]\n\n\n POLYTHEISM.\n\nInstead of believing in one Great Spirit, the Mandan and Hidatsa\n\u201cbelieve in a multitude of different beings in the heavenly bodies;\noffer sacrifices to them; invoke their assistance on every occasion;\nhowl, lament, fast, inflict on themselves acts of penance to propitiate\nthese spirits; and, above all, lay very great stress upon dreams.\u201d[219]\n\n\u00a7 312. The most sacred objects in the eyes of the Crow or Absaroka,\na nation closely related to the Hidatsa, are \u201cthe sun, the moon, and\ntobacco,\u201d that is, the leaves of the genuine tobacco (_Nicotiana_); and\nall their children wear a small portion of this herb, well wrapped up,\nround their neck, by way of an amulet.[220]\n\n\n WORSHIP.\n\n\u00a7 313. Full information respecting worship has not been obtained; but\nwe know that among its accessories are the following: prayer, fasting,\nand sacrifice. The different writers tell us of petitions offered to\nthe gods for help.\n\n FASTING.\n\n\u00a7 314. When a young Mandan wishes to establish his reputation as a\nbrave man, he fasts for four or seven days, as long as he is able, goes\nto the bluffs, cries to the Omahank-Numakshi, calls incessantly on the\nhigher powers for aid, and goes home at night to sleep and dream. They\nfast before taking part in the Okipa, before organizing a war party,\netc.[221]\n\n SACRIFICE.\n\n\u00a7 315. Said a Mandan to Lewis and Clarke, \u201cI was lately owner of\nseventeen horses, but I have offered them all up to my medicine, and\nam now poor.\u201d He had taken all his horses to the plain, where he\nturned them loose, committing them to the care of his \u201cmedicine,\u201d thus\nabandoning them forever.[222]\n\n\u201cAround the burial scaffolds of the Mandans were several high poles,\nwith skins and other things hanging on them, as offerings to the lord\nof life, Omahank-Numakshi, or to the first man, Numank-Machana.\u201d[223]\n\n\u00a7 316. _The Okipa._--That form of self-sacrifice called Okipa by the\nMandan has been described in detail by Catlin and Maximilian. It\ndiffers in some respects from the sun dance of the Dakota and Ponka, as\nwell as from the Da\u1e23pike or Na\u1e23pike of the Hidatsa.[224]\n\n\u00a7 317. _The Da\u1e23pike._--According to Matthews, the most important\nceremony of the Hidatsa is that of--\n\nThe Da\u1e23pike or Na\u1e23pike, which formerly took place regularly once a\nyear, but is now celebrated every second or third year only. On the day\nwhen it is determined to begin this ceremony, some of the men, dressed\nand mounted as for a war-party, proceed to the woods. Here they select\na tall, forked cottonwood, which they fell, trim, and bark; to this\nthey tie lariats, and, by the aid of horses, drag it to the village. In\nthe procession, the man who has most distinguished himself in battle,\nmounted on the horse on whose back he has done his bravest deeds, takes\nthe lead; others follow in the order of the military distinction; as\nthey drag the log along, they fire guns at it, strike it with sticks,\nand shout and sing songs of victory. The log, they say, is symbolical\nof a conquered enemy, whose body they are bringing into the camp in\ntriumph. [See \u00a7\u00a7 28, 42, 160.] When the log is set up, they again go to\nthe woods to procure a quantity of willows. A temporary lodge of green\nwillows is then built around the log, as the medicine lodge, wherein\nthe ceremony is performed [see \u00a7 168.] The participants fast four\ndays with food in sight, and, on the fourth day, submit to tortures\nwhich vary according to the whim of the sufferer or the advice of the\nshamans. Some have long strips of skin separated from different parts\nof their bodies, but not completely detached. Others have large pieces\nof the integument entirely removed, leaving the muscles exposed. Others\nhave incisions made in their flesh, in which raw-hide strings are\ninserted; they then attach buffalo-skulls to the strings and run round\nwith these until the strings becomes disengaged by tearing their way\nout of the flesh. Other have skewers inserted in their breasts, which\nskewers are secured by raw-hide cords to the central pole, as in the\nDakota sun dance; the sufferer then throws himself back until he is\nreleased by the skewers tearing out of the flesh. Many other ingenious\ntortures are devised.[225]\n\n\u00a7 318. In the narrative of Long\u2019s expedition to the Rocky Mountains,\nwe find an account of the latter part of this ceremony, prepared, as\nMatthews thinks, from the statements of Mr. Dougherty or Mr. Lisa, as\nthe expedition did not go near the Minnetaree country. All the torments\nthere described, and more, are inflicted to this day. That account is\nas follows:[226]\n\n Annually in the month of July the Minnetarees celebrate their\n great medicine dance. * * * On this occasion a considerable\n quantity of food is prepared. * * * The devotees then dance\n and sing to their music at intervals for three or four days\n together in full view of the victuals without attempting to\n taste them. But they do not, even at this time, forego their\n accustomed hospitality. And if a stranger enters, he is invited\n to eat, though no one partakes with him. On the third or fourth\n day, the severer * * * tortures commence. * * * An\n individual presents himself before one of the * * * magi,\n crying and lamenting, and requests him to cut a fillet of skin\n from his arm, which he extends for that purpose. The operator\n thrusts a sharp instrument through the skin near the wrists, then\n introduces the knife and cuts out a piece of the required length,\n sometimes extending the cut entirely to the shoulder. Another\n will request bands of skin to be cut from his arm. A third will\n have his breast flayed so as to represent a full-moon or crescent.\n A fourth submits to the removal of concentric arcs of skin from\n his breast. A fifth prays the operator to remove small pieces of\n skin from various indicated parts of his body. * * * An\n individual requests the operator to pierce a hole through the skin\n on each of his shoulders, and after passing a long cord through\n each hole, he repairs to a burial ground at some distance from the\n village, and selects one of the bison skulls collected there. To\n the chosen skull he affixes the ends of his cords, and drags it to\n the lodge, around which he must go with his burden before he can\n be released from it. No one is permitted to assist him, neither\n dare he to put his hands to the cords to alleviate his sufferings.\n If it should so happen that the horns of the skull get hooked\n under a root or other obstacle, he must extricate it in the best\n manner he can by pulling different ways, but he must not touch the\n cords or the skull with his hands, or in any respect attempt to\n relieve the strain upon his wound until his complete task is\n performed.\n\n Some of the penitents have arrows thrust through various muscular\n parts of their bodies, as through the skin and superficial muscles\n of the arms, leg, breast, and back.\n\n A devotee caused two arrows to be passed through the muscles of\n his breast, one on each side near the mammae. To these arrows\n cords were attached, the opposite ends of which were affixed to\n the upper part of a post which had been planted in the earth\n for the purpose. He then threw himself backward into an oblique\n position, his back within about 2 feet of the ground, so as to\n depend with the greater part of his weight by the cords. In this\n situation of agony he chanted and kept time to the music of the\n gong (sic), until he fainted from long abstinence and suffering.\n The bystanders then cried out, \u201cCourage! courage!\u201d After a short\n interval of insensibility, he revived and proceeded with his\n self-tortures as before, until nature being completely exhausted\n he again relapsed into insensibility, upon which he was loosed\n from the cords and carried off amidst the acclamations of the\n whole assembly.\n\n Another Minnetaree in compliance with a vow he had made, caused\n a hole to be perforated through the muscles of each shoulder.\n Through these holes cords were passed, the opposite ends of\n which were attached as a bridle to a horse which had been penned\n up three or four days without food or water. In this manner he\n led the horse to the margin of the river. The horse, of course,\n endeavored to drink, but it was the province of the Indian to\n prevent him, and that only by straining at the cords with the\n muscles of the shoulder, without resorting to the assistance of\n his hands. And, notwithstanding all the exertions of the horse to\n drink, his master succeeded in preventing him, and returned with\n him to his lodge, having accomplished his painful task.\n\n\u00a7 319. In describing the Hidatsa, Prince Maximilian says:[227]\n\n They likewise celebrate the Okippe (which they call Akupehri), but\n with several deviations. Thus, instead of a so-called ark, a kind\n of high pole with a fork on it, is planted in the center of the\n open circle. When the partisans (i. e. war captains) intend to go\n on some enterprise in May or June, the preparations are combined\n with the Okippe (i. e., Okipa) of several young men, who wish to\n obtain the rank of brave. A large medicine lodge is erected open\n above, with a division in the middle, in which the candidates\n take their places. Two pits are usually dug in the middle for the\n partisans, who lie in them four days and four nights, with only\n a piece of leather around the waist. The first partisan usually\n chooses the second, who undergoes the ceremony with him. There are\n always young people enough to submit their bodies to torture, in\n order to display their courage. They fast four days and nights,\n which leaves them faint. Many of them begin the tortures on the\n third day; but the fourth day is that properly set apart for\n them. To the forked pole of the medicine lodge is fastened a long\n piece of buffalo hide, with the head hanging down, and to this a\n strap is fastened. An old man is then chosen, who is to see to\n the torturing of the candidates, which is executed precisely in\n the same manner as among the Mandans. The sufferers often faint.\n They are then taken by the hands, lifted up, and encouraged,\n and they begin afresh. When they have dragged about the buffalo\n skull long enough, * * * a large circle is formed, as among\n the Mandans, in which they are made to run round till they drop\n down exhausted, when they are taken to the medicine lodge. The\n medicine man receives from one of the spectators the knife with\n which the operation is to be performed. The partisan is bound to\n build the medicine lodge.\n\n During the ceremony the spectators eat and smoke; the candidates\n take nothing, and, like the partisans, are covered all over with\n white clay. The latter, when they dance during the ceremony,\n remain near their pits, and then move on the same spot, holding\n in their hands their medicines, a buffalo tail, a feather, or\n the like. None but the candidates dance, and the only music is\n striking a dried buffalo hide with willow rods. There have been\n instances of fathers subjecting their children, only 6 or 7 years\n of age, to these tortures. We ourselves saw one suspended by the\n muscles of the back, after having been compelled to fast four\n days. No application whatever is subsequently made for the cure\n of the wounds, which leave large swollen weals, and are much more\n conspicuous among the Hidatsa than among the Mandan. Most of the\n Hidatsa have three or four of these weals in parallel semicircular\n lines almost an inch thick, which cover the entire breast. There\n are similar transverse and longitudinal lines on the arms.\n\nReferring to Maximilian\u2019s description just given, Matthews observes:\n\nAt this time, the Hidatsa call the Mandan ceremony akupi (of which word\nprobably akupehi is an old form); but they apply no such term to their\nown festival. Maximilian did not spend a summer among those Indians,\nand, therefore, knew of both ceremonies only from description.[228] If\nthe Minnetaree festival to which he referred was, as is most likely,\nthe Na\u1e23pike, he is, to some extent, in error. The rites resemble one\nanother only in their appalling fasts and tortures. In allegory, they\nseem to be radically different.\n\n CULT OF THE YONI.\n\n\u00a7 320. An account of the great buffalo medicine feast of the Hidatsa\n(\u201cinstituted by the women\u201d) has been recorded by Maximilian. Prayers\nare made for success in hunting and in battle. When the feast had\ncontinued two hours, the women began to act the part, which bore a\nslight resemblance to what Herodotus tells of the women in the temple\nof Mylitta.[229]\n\nWhen the dance of the half-shorn head was sold by its Mandan\npossessors, they received in part payment the temporary use of the\nwives of the purchasers, each woman having the right to choose her\nconsort.[230]\n\nLewis and Clarke have given accounts of two of the Mandan dances, the\nbuffalo dance and the medicine dance, at the conclusion of which were\nrites that astonished the travelers, but they were told that in the\nmedicine dance only virgins or young unmarried females took part.[231]\n\n ABSAROKA FEAR OF A WHITE BUFFALO COW.\n\n\u00a7 321. The Absaroka or Crow Nation have a superstitious fear of a\nwhite buffalo cow. When a Crow meets one, he addresses the sun in the\nfollowing words: \u201cI will give her (i. e., the cow) to you.\u201d He then\nendeavors to kill the animal, but leaves it untouched, and then says to\nthe sun, \u201cTake her, she is yours.\u201d They never use the skin of such a\ncow, as the Mandan do.[232]\n\n\n MANDAN CULTS.\n\n MANDAN DIVINITIES.\n\n\u00a7 322. According to one of Maximilian\u2019s informants, the Mandan believe\nin several superior beings. (1) The first is Ohmahank-Numakshi, the\nLord of Life. He is the most powerful. He created the earth, man, and\nevery existing object. They believe that he has a tail, and appears\nsometimes in the form of an aged man and, at others, in that of a young\nman. (2) Numank-Machana, the First Man, holds the second rank; he was\ncreated by the Lord of Life, but is likewise of a divine nature. He\nresembles Nanabush or Manabozho of the Ojibwa and cognate tribes. (3)\nOhmahank-Ohika, the Lord of Evil, is a malignant spirit, who has much\ninfluence over men; but he is not as powerful as Ohmahank-Numakshi and\nNumank-Machana. (4) Rohanka-Tauibanka, who dwells in the planet Venus,\nprotects mankind on earth. The name of the fifth power has not been\ngained, but he is ever moving, walking over the earth in human form.\nThey call him, \u201cThe Lying Prairie Wolf.\u201d (6) Ochkih-Hadda[233] is a\nspirit that it is difficult to class. They believe that one who dreams\nof him is sure to die very soon thereafter. This spirit is said to have\ncome once into their villages and taught them many things, but since\nthen he has not appeared. They fear him, offer him sacrifice, and in\ntheir villages they have a hideous image representing him.\n\n\u00a7 323. The sun is thought to be the residence of the Lord of Life. In\nthe moon dwells, as they say, the Old Woman who Never Dies. They do\nnot know much about her, but they sacrifice to her as well as to the\nother spirits. She has six children, three sons and three daughters,\nwho inhabit certain stars. The eldest son is the Day, the second is the\nSun, the third is the Night. The eldest daughter is the star that rises\nin the east, the Morning Star, called, \u201cThe Woman Who Wears a Plume.\u201d\nThe second daughter, called \u201cThe Striped Gourd,\u201d is a star which\nrevolves the polar star. The third daughter is the Evening Star, which\nis near the setting sun.[234]\n\n\u00a7 324. _The Old Woman who Never Dies._--The cult of this spirit\nis observed in what Say calls \u201cthe corn dance of the Manitaries.\u201d\nMaximilian declares that Say is quite correct in his account of it, and\nthat the Mandan practice it as well as the Hidatsa.\n\n It is the consecration of the grain to be sown, and is called the\n corn dance feast of the woman. The Old Woman who Never Dies sends,\n in the spring, the waterfowl, swans, geese, and ducks, as symbols\n of the kinds of grain cultivated by the Indians. The wild goose\n signifies corn; the geese, the gourd, and the duck, beans. It is\n the old woman who causes these plants to grow, and, therefore,\n she sends these birds as her representatives. It is seldom that\n eleven wild geese are found together in the spring; but, if it\n happens, this is a sign that the crop of corn will be remarkably\n fine. The Indians keep a large quantity of dried meat in readiness\n for the time in the spring when the birds arrive, that they may\n immediately celebrate the corn feast of the women. They hang the\n meat before the village on long scaffolds made of poles, three or\n four rows, one above another, and this, with other articles of\n value, is considered as an offering to the Old Woman who Never\n Dies. The elderly women of the village, as representatives of\n that old woman, assemble about the scaffolds on a certain day,\n each carrying a stick, to one end of which an ear of corn is\n fastened. Sitting in a circle, they plant their sticks in the\n ground before them, and then dance around the scaffolds. Some old\n men beat the drum and shake the gourd rattles. The corn is not\n wetted or sprinkled, as many believe, but on the contrary, it is\n supposed that such a practice would be injurious. While the old\n women are performing their part, the younger ones come and put\n some dry pulverized meat into their mouths, for which each young\n woman receives in return a grain of the consecrated corn, which\n she eats. Three or four grains of the consecrated corn are put\n into their dish, and are afterwards carefully mixed with the seed\n corn, in order to make it yield an abundant crop. The dried meat\n on the scaffolds is the perquisite of the aged females, as the\n representatives of the Old Woman who Never Dies. But members of\n the Dog Society have the privilege of taking some of this meat\n from the scaffolds without opposition from anybody.\n\n A similar corn feast is held in the autumn, but at that season it\n is held for the purpose of attracting the herds of buffaloes and\n of obtaining a large supply of meat. Each woman then carries an\n entire cornstalk with the ears attached, pulling up the stalk by\n the roots. They designate the corn as well as the birds by the\n name of the Old Woman who Never Dies, and call on them saying,\n \u201cMother, pity us; do not send the severe cold too soon, lest we do\n not gain enough meat. Prevent the game from departing, so that we\n may have something for the winter!\u201d\n\n In autumn, when the birds migrate to the south, or, as the Indians\n say, return to the Old Woman, they believe that they take with\n them the dried meat hung on the scaffolds, and they imagine that\n the Old Woman partakes of it.\n\n The Old Woman who Never Dies has very large patches of corn, kept\n for her by the great stag and the white-tailed stag. She has,\n too, many blackbirds which help to guard her property. When she\n intends to feed these keepers, she summons them, and they fall on\n the corn, which they devour with greediness. As these corn patches\n are large, the Old Woman requires many laborers, hence she has the\n mice, moles, and stags to perform such work for her. The birds\n which fly from the seashore in the spring represent the Old Woman,\n who then travels to the north to visit the Old Man who Never Dies,\n who always resides there. She generally returns to the south\n in three or four days. In former times the Old Woman\u2019s hut was\n near the Little Missouri River, where the Indians often visited\n her. One day twelve Hidatsa went to her, and she set before them\n a kettle of corn, which was so small that it did not appear\n sufficient to satisfy the hunger of one of the party. But she told\n them to eat, and, as soon as the kettle was emptied it was filled\n again, and all the men had enough.[235]\n\n GUARDIAN SPIRITS.\n\n\u00a7 325. The Mandan undertake nothing without first invoking their\nguardian spirits, which appear to them in dreams (see \u00a7 236). When a\nman wishes to choose his guardian spirit, he fasts for three or four\ndays, and sometimes longer, retires to a solitary place, does penance,\nand sometimes sacrifices joints of his fingers. He howls and cries to\nthe Lord of Life, or to the First Man, beseeching him to point out\nthe guardian spirit. He continues in this excited condition until he\ndreams, and the first animal or other object which appears in the dream\nis the guardian spirit. Each man has such a spirit. There is on the\nprairie a large hill, where they remain motionless many days, lamenting\nand fasting. Not far from this hill is a cave, into which they creep\nat night. The choice and adoration of guardian spirits is said to have\nbeen taught the people many years ago by the Ochkih-Hadda. It was he\nwho taught them the art of tattooing, and who instituted medicine\nfeasts.[236]\n\n MANDAN BELIEF ABOUT SERPENTS AND GIANTS.\n\n\u00a7 326. The Mandan believe that there is a huge serpent which inhabits a\nlake three or four days\u2019 journey from their village, and to which they\nmake offerings. The tradition relates how two Mandan youths encountered\na giant, who carried them to a village of giants. The latter part,\nwhich tells how one of the youths was changed into a huge serpent after\nkilling and eating a serpent, resembles a Winnebago tradition.[237]\n\n THUNDER LORE OF THE MANDAN.\n\n\u00a7 327. The Mandan believe that thunder is produced by the wings of a\ngigantic bird. When the bird flies softly, as is usually the case, he\nis not heard; but when he flaps his wings violently, he occasions a\nroaring noise. This bird is said to have two toes on each foot, one\nbehind and one before. It dwells on the mountains, and builds nests\nthere as large as one of the forts. It preys upon deer and other large\nanimals, the horns of which are heaped up around the nest. The glance\nof its eyes produces lightning. It breaks through the clouds and makes\nway for the rain. The isolated and peculiarly loud claps of thunder are\nproduced by a large tortoise which dwells in the clouds.\n\n ASTRONOMICAL LORE.\n\n\u00a7 328. The stars are deceased men. When a child is born a star descends\nand appears on earth in human form; after death it reascends and\nappears again as a star in the heavens.\n\nThe rainbow is a spirit which accompanies the sun. Many affirm that\nthe northern lights are occasioned by a large assembly of medicine men\nand distinguished warriors of several northern nations, who boil their\nprisoners and slain enemies in huge cauldrons.[238]\n\n\n MYSTERY OBJECTS AND PLACES OF THE MANDAN AND HIDATSA.\n\n\u00a7 329. The mystery rock of the Mandan and Hidatsa is thus described by\nLewis and Clarke:[239]\n\n This medicine stone is the great oracle of the Mandans, and\n whatever it announces is believed with implicit confidence. Every\n spring and, on some occasions during the summer, a deputation\n visits the sacred spot, where there is a thick, porous stone 20\n feet in circumference, with a smooth surface. Having reached the\n place, the ceremony of smoking to it is performed by the deputies,\n who alternately take a whiff themselves, and then present the pipe\n to the stone; after which they retire to an adjoining wood for the\n night, during which it may be safely presumed that all the embassy\n do not sleep. In the morning they read the destinies of the nation\n in the white marks on the stone, which those who made them are at\n no loss to decipher.\n\nThe same stone, as worshiped by the Hidatsa, is thus described by\nJames:[240]\n\n The Me-ma-ho-pa or medicine stone * * * is a large, naked, and\n insulated rock situated in the midst of a small prairie, about\n a two days\u2019 journey southwest of the village of that nation. In\n shape it resembles the steep roof of a house. The Minnetarees\n resort to it for the purpose of propitiating their Man-ho-pa or\n Great Spirit by presents, by fasting and lamentation, during the\n space of from three to five days. An individual who intends to\n perform this ceremony takes some presents with him, * * * and\n also provides a smooth skin upon which hieroglyphics may be drawn,\n and repairs to the rock accompanied by his friends and the magi.\n On his arrival he deposits the presents there, and, after smoking\n to the rock, he washes a portion of its face clean, and retires\n with his fellow devotees to a specified distance. During the\n principal part of his stay, he cries aloud to his god to have pity\n on him, to grant him success in war and hunting, to favor his\n endeavors to take prisoners, horses, and scalps from the enemy.\n When the time for his * * * prayer has elapsed he returns to\n the rock; his presents are no longer there, and he believes them\n to have been accepted and carried off by the Man-ho-pa himself.\n Upon the part of the rock which he had washed he finds certain\n hieroglyphics traced with white clay, of which he can generally\n interpret the meaning, particularly when assisted by some of the\n magi, who are no doubt privy to the whole transaction. These\n representations are supposed to relate to his future fortune, or\n to that of his family or nation; he copies them off * * * upon\n the skin which he brought with him for that purpose, and returns\n home to read from them to the people the destiny of himself or\n them. If a bear be represented with its head directed toward the\n village, the approach of a war-party or the visitation of some\n evil is apprehended. If, on the contrary, the tail of the bear be\n toward the village, nothing but good is anticipated, and they\n rejoice. They say that an Indian on his return from the rock\n exhibited * * * on his * * * chart the representation of a\n strange building, as erected near the village. They were all much\n surprised and did not perfectly comprehend its meaning; but four\n months afterward the prediction was, as it happened, verified, and\n a stockade trading house was erected there by the French trader\n Jessaume.\n\nMatthews refers thus to this \u201coracle\u201d of the Hidatsa and Mandan:[241]\n\n The famous holy stone or medicine rock (Mihopa\u015b, or Mandan,\n Mihopini\u015b) * * * was some two or three days\u2019 journey from\n their residence. The Hidatsa now seldom refer to it, and I do not\n think they ever visit it.\n\n\u00a7 330. According to Maximilian:[242]\n\n The Mandans have many other medicine establishments in the\n vicinity of their villages, all of which are dedicated to the\n superior powers. * * * Of those near Mitutahanku\u015b, one\n consists of four poles placed in the form of a square; the two\n foremost have a heap of earth and green turf thrown up round them,\n and four buffalo skulls laid in a line between them, while\n twenty-six human skulls are placed in a row from one of the rear\n poles to the other, and on some of these skulls are painted single\n red stripes. Behind the whole two knives are stuck into the\n ground, and a bundle of twigs is fastened at the top of the poles\n with a kind of comb, or rake, painted red. The Indians repair to\n such places when they desire to make offerings or petitions; they\n howl, lament, and make loud entreaties, often for many days\n together, to the Omahank-Numakshi. Another \u201cmedicine\n establishment\u201d consisted of a couple of human figures, very\n clumsily made of skins, fixed on poles, and representing, as was\n told to Maximilian, the sun and moon, but in his opinion, probably\n the Omahank-Numakshi and the Old Woman that Never Dies.\n\n\u00a7 331. If a Mandan possesses a \u201cmedicine pipe\u201d (i. e., what the Omaha\nand Ponka call a niniba weawa\u207f) he sometimes decides to adopt a\n\u201cmedicine son.\u201d The young man whom he is to choose appears to him in a\ndream; but it is necessary that he should be of a good family, or have\nperformed some exploit.[243]\n\n DREAMS.\n\n \u00a7 332. Dreams afford the motives for many of their actions, even\n for the penances which they impose on themselves. They think\n that all which appears in their dreams must be true. Before they\n became acquainted with firearms, a Mandan dreamed of a weapon with\n which they could kill their enemies at a great distance, and soon\n after the white men brought them the first gun. In like manner\n they dreamed of horses before they obtained any. In many cases\n the guardian spirit is revealed to the fasting youth in a dream.\n If the Lord of Life makes him dream of a piece of cherry wood or\n of an animal, it is a good omen. The young men who follow such a\n dreamer to the battle have great confidence in his guardian spirit\n or \u201cmedicine.\u201d[244]\n\n ORACLES.\n\n\u00a7 333. The Mandan and Hidatsa consider the large gray owl a mystery\nbird, with whom they pretend to converse and to understand its\nattitudes and voice. Such owls are often kept alive in lodges, being\nregarded as soothsayers. They have a similar opinion of eagles.[245]\n\n FETICHES.\n\n\u00a7 334. The skin of a white buffalo cow is an eminent fetich in the\nestimation of the Mandan and Hidatsa. The hide must be that of a young\ncow not over 2 years old, and be taken off complete, and tanned, with\nhorns, nose, hoofs, and tail. It is worn on rare occasions.\n\nWhen the owner wishes to sacrifice such a skin to the Omahank-Numakshi\nor to the Numank-Machana, he rolls it up, after adding some artemisia\nor an ear of corn, and then the skin remains suspended on a pole until\nit decays.[246]\n\nBesides the white buffalo skins hung on tall poles as sacrifices, there\nwere other strange objects hung on tall poles near the villages of\nthe Mandan and Hidatsa. These figures were composed of skin, grass,\nand twigs, which seemed to represent the sun, moon, and perhaps the\nOmahank-Numakshi and the Numank-Machana. The Indians resorted to them\nwhen they wished to petition for anything, and sometimes howled for\ndays and weeks together.[247]\n\nFor a reference to trees and stones, see \u00a7 348.\n\n\u201cCharata-Numakshi (the Chief of Wolves),\u201d a Mandan, had a painted\nbuffalo dress, which was his fetich. He valued it highly as a souvenir\nof his brother, who had been shot by the enemy.[248]\n\n FOLK-LORE.\n\n\u00a7 335. When a child is born the father must not bridle a horse, that\nis, he must not fasten a lariat to the horse\u2019s lower jaw, otherwise the\ninfant would die in convulsions. Should the wife be enceinte when the\nhusband bridled the horse ill luck would be sure to follow, frequently\nin the form of a failure to kill any game. If an Indian in such cases\nwounds a buffalo without being able to kill it quickly, he tries to\ntake the buffalo\u2019s heart home and makes his wife shoot an arrow through\nit; then again he feels confidence in his weapons that they will kill\nspeedily.\n\nThe Indians affirm that a pregnant woman is very lucky at a game\nresembling billiards. If a woman passes between several Mandan who are\nsmoking together it is a bad omen. Should a woman recline on the ground\nbetween men who are smoking a piece of wood is laid across her to serve\nas a means of communication between the men.\n\nThe strongest man now living among the Mandan, who has been the victor\nin several wrestling matches with the white people, always takes hold\nof his pipe by the head, for were he to touch another part of it the\nblood would suddenly rush from his nostrils. As soon as he bleeds in\nthis manner he empties his pipe, throwing the contents into the fire,\nwhere it explodes like gunpowder, and the bleeding stops immediately.\nThey say that nobody can touch this man\u2019s face without bleeding at nose\nand mouth.\n\nA certain Mandan affirms that whenever another offers him a pipe to\nsmoke, out of civility, his mouth becomes full of worms, which he\nthrows into the fire by handfuls.\n\nAmong the Hidatsa, when a certain man smoked very slowly no person\nin the lodge was allowed to speak nor to move a single limb, except\nto grasp the pipe. Neither women, children, nor dogs were allowed to\nremain in the hut while the man was smoking, and some one was always\nplaced as a guard at the entrance. If, however, there were just seven\npersons present to smoke none of these precautions were observed. When\nthe particular man cleared his pipe and shook the ashes into the fire\nit blazed up, perhaps because he had put into the pipe some gunpowder\nor similar combustible. When any person had a painful or diseased place\nthis same man put his pipe upon it and smoked. On such occasions he did\nnot swallow the smoke, as is the Indian custom, but he affirmed that he\ncould extract the disease by his smoking, and he pretended to seize it\nin his hand and to throw into the fire.[249]\n\n SORCERY.\n\n\u00a7 336. They believe that a person whom they dislike must die, if\nthey make a figure of wood or clay, substituting for the heart an awl,\na needle, or a porcupine quill, and bury the image at the foot of one\nof their \u201cmedicine poles.\u201d[250]\n\n JUGGLERY.\n\n\u00a7 337. The \u201cmedicine of one man consists in making a snow ball, which\nhe rolls a long time between his hands, so that at length it becomes\nhard and is changed into a white stone, which, when struck, emits a\nfire. Many persons, even whites, pretended they had seen this, and\nthey can not be convinced to the contrary. The same man pretends that,\nduring a dance, he plucked white feathers from a certain small bird,\nwhich he rolled between his hands, and formed of them in a short time a\nsimilar white stone. * * * A great many Mandan and Hidatsa believe\nthat they have wild animals in their bodies; one, for instance,\naffirmed that he had a buffalo calf, the kicking of which he often\nfelt; others said that they had tortoises, frogs, lizards, birds, etc.\n* * * Among the Hidatsa were seen medicine dances of the women,\nwhere one claimed to have an ear of corn in her body, which she ejected\nfrom her mouth during the dance, and then ate, after it had been mixed\nwith Artemisia. * * * Another female dancer caused blood to gush\nfrom her mouth at will.\u201d[251]\n\n GHOST LORE.\n\n\u00a7 338. The Mandan believe that each person has several spirits\ndwelling within him; one of which is black, another brown, and a third\nlight-colored, the last alone returning to the Lord of Life. They think\nthat after death they go to the south, to several villages which are\nvisited by the gods; that their existence there is dependent on their\ncourse of life while in this world; that the brave and kind-hearted\ncarry on the same occupation, eat similar food, have wives, and enjoy\nthe pleasures of war and the chase. Some of the Mandan are said not to\nbelieve all these particulars, but to suppose that after death their\nspirits will dwell in the sun or in certain stars.\n\n THE FUTURE LIFE.\n\n\u00a7 339. The Mandan belief in a future state is connected with the\ntradition of their origin: The whole nation resided in one large\nvillage under ground, near a subterraneous lake. Some of the people\nclimbed up to this earth by means of a grape-vine, which broke when a\ncorpulent woman essayed to climb it. Therefore the rest of the people\nremained in the subterranean village. When the Mandan die they expect\nto return to the original seats of their forefathers, the good reaching\nthe ancient village by means of the lake, which the burden of the sins\nof the wicked will not enable them to cross.[252] The concluding clause\nof the last sentence can hardly be of Indian origin; it is very\nprobably due to white influence.\n\n FOUR AS A MYSTIC NUMBER AMONG THE MANDAN.\n\n\u00a7 340. According to Catlin:[253]\n\n The Okipa invariably lasts four days; four men are selected by\n the first man to cleanse out and prepare the mystic lodge for the\n occasion; one of these men is called from the north part of the\n village, another from the east, a third from the south, and the\n fourth from the west (see \u00a7 373). The four sacks of water, in the\n forms of large tortoises, resting on the floor of the lodge, seem\n to typify the four cardinal points. The four buffalo skulls and as\n many human skulls on the floor of the lodge, the four couples of\n dancers in the buffalo dance and the four intervening dancers in\n the same dance, deserve our study. The buffalo dance in front of\n the mystic lodge, repeated on the four days, is danced four times\n on the first day, eight times on the second, twelve times on the\n third, and sixteen times on the fourth. There are four sacrifices\n of black and blue cloths erected over the entrance of the mystic\n lodge. The visits of the Evil Spirit were paid to four of the\n buffalo in the buffalo dance. In every instance the young man who\n submitted to torture in the Okipa had four splints or skewers run\n through the flesh on his leg, four through his arms, and four\n through his body.\n\n\n HIDATSA CULTS.\n\n HIDATSA DIVINITIES.\n\n\u00a7 341. The Hidatsa believe in the Man who Never Dies, or Lord of Life,\nEhsicka-Wahaddish,[254] literally, the first man, who dwells in the\nRocky Mountains. He made all things. Another being whom they venerate\nis called the Grandmother. She roams over the earth. She had some\nshare in creation, though an inferior one, for she created the toad\nand the sand-rat. She gave the Hidatsa two kettles, which they still\npreserve as a sacred treasure and employ as charms or fetiches on\ncertain occasions. She directed the ancestors of the present Indians\nto preserve the kettles and to remember the great waters, whence came\nall the animals dancing. The red-shouldered oriole (_Psaracolius\nphoeniceus_) came at that time out of the water, as well as the\nother birds which still sing along the banks of rivers. The Hidatsa,\ntherefore, look on all these birds as \u201cmedicine\u201d for their corn\npatches, and attend to their songs. When these birds sing the Hidatsa,\nremembering the direction of the Grandmother, fill the two kettles\nwith water, dance and bathe, in order to commemorate the great flood.\nWhen their fields are threatened with a great drought they celebrate\na \u201cmedicine\u201d feast with the two kettles, as they beg for rain. The\nshamans are still paid, on such occasions, to sing for four days\ntogether in the huts, while the kettles remain full of water.\n\n\u00a7 342. The sun, or as they term it, \u201cthe sun of the day,\u201d is a great\npower. They do not know what it really is, but when they are about to\nundertake some enterprise they sacrifice to it and also to the moon,\nwhich they call \u201cthe sun of the night.\u201d The morning star, Venus, they\nregard as the child of the moon, and they account it as a great power.\nThey affirm that it was originally a Hidatsa, being the grandson of the\nOld Woman who Never Dies.[255]\n\n\u00a7 343. Matthews[256] found that the object of the greatest reverence\namong the Hidatsa was, perhaps, the Itsika-mahidi\u015b, the First Made,\nor First in Existence. They assert that he made all things, the stars,\nsun, the earth, the first representatives of each species of animals\nand plants, but that no one made him. He also, they say, instructed the\nforefathers of the tribes in all the ceremonies and mysteries now known\nto them. They sometimes designate him as Itaka-te-ta\u015b, or Old Man\nImmortal.\n\n ANIMISM.\n\n \u00a7 344. If we use the term worship in its most extended sense it\n may be said that * * * (the Hidatsa) worship everything in\n nature. Not man alone, but the sun, the moon, the stars, all\n the lower animals, all trees and plants, rivers and lakes,\n many bowlders and other separated rocks, even some hills and\n buttes which stand alone--in short, everything not made by human\n hands, which has an independent being, or can be individualized,\n possesses a spirit, or, more properly, a shade.\n\n To these shades some respect or consideration is due, but not\n equally to all. For instance, the shade of the cottonwood, the\n greatest tree of the Upper Missouri Valley, is supposed to possess\n an intelligence which may, if properly approached, assist them in\n certain undertakings; but the shades of shrubs and grasses are of\n little importance. When the Missouri, in its spring-time freshets,\n cuts down its bank and sweeps some tall tree into its current,\n it is said that the spirit of the tree cries while the roots\n yet cling to the land and until the tree falls into the water.\n Formerly it was considered wrong to cut down one of these great\n trees, and, when large logs were needed, only such as were found\n fallen were used; and to-day some of the more credulous old men\n declare that many of the misfortunes of the people are the result\n of their modern disregard for the rights of the living cottonwood.\n The sun is held in great veneration, and many valuable sacrifices\n are made to it.[257]\n\n WORSHIP OF THE ELEMENTS, ETC.\n\n\u00a7 345. This is in substantial accord with what Maximilian was told, as\nwill be seen from the following:\n\nIn the sweat bath the shaman, after cutting off a joint of the\ndevotee\u2019s fingers, takes a willow twig, goes to the dishes containing\nfood, dips the twig in each and throws a part of the contents in the\ndirection of the four winds, as offerings to the Lord of Life, the\nfire, and the divers superhuman powers.[258]\n\n SERPENT WORSHIP.\n\n\u00a7 346. The Hidatsa make occasional offerings to the great serpent that\ndwells in the Missouri River by placing poles in the river and\nattaching to them sundry robes or colored blankets. The tradition\nof this great serpent resembles the Mandan tradition, but with some\ndifferences.[259]\n\n\u00a7 347. _Daimonism._--The Hidatsa believe neither a hell nor in a devil,\nbut believe that there are one or more evil genii, in female shape,\nwho inhabit this earth, and may harm the Indian in this life, but\npossess no power beyond the grave. Such a power or powers they call\nMahopa-mii\u015b. The Mahopa-mii\u015b dwells in the woods and delights in doing\nevil. She is supposed to strangle such children as, through parental\nignorance or carelessness, are smothered in bed.[260]\n\n FETICHES.\n\n\u00a7 348. Among the fetiches of the Hidatsa are the skins of every kind,\nof fox and wolf, especially the latter; and, therefore, when they go to\nwar, they always wear the stripe off the back of a wolf skin, with the\ntail hanging down the shoulders. They make a slit in the skin through\nwhich the warrior puts his head, so that the skin of the wolf\u2019s head\nhangs down upon his breast.\n\n_Tribal fetiches._--Buffalo heads also are fetiches. In one of their\nvillages they preserved the neck bones of the buffalo, as do the Crow\nor Absaroka, and this is done with a view to prevent the buffalo herds\nfrom removing to too great a distance from them. At times they perform\nthe following ceremony with these bones: They take a potsherd with live\ncoals, throw sweet-smelling grass upon it, and fumigate the bones with\nthe smoke.\n\nThere are certain trees and stones which are fetiches, as among the\nMandan. At such places they offer red cloth, red paint, and other\narticles to the superhuman powers.[261] (See \u00a7 334.)\n\nIn the principal Hidatsa village, when Maximilian visited it, was\na long pole set up, on which was a figure of a woman, doubtless\nrepresenting the Grandmother, who first gave them kettles. A bundle of\nbrushwood was hung on the pole, to which were attached the leathern\ndress and leggins of a woman. The head of the figure was made of\n_Artemisia_, and on it was a cap of feathers.[262]\n\n\u00a7 349. _Personal fetiches._--Matthews uses the term amulet instead of\npersonal fetich, in speaking of the Hidatsa:\n\n Every man in this tribe, as in all neighboring tribes, has his\n personal medicine, which is usually some animal. On all war\n parties, and often on hunts and other excursions, he carries\n the head, claws, stuffed skin, or other representative of his\n medicine with him, and seems to regard it in much the same light\n that Europeans in former days regarded--and in some cases still\n regard--protective charms. To insure the fleetness of some\n promising young colt, they tie to the colt\u2019s neck a small piece of\n deer or antelope horn. The rodent teeth of the beaver are regarded\n as potent charms, and are worn by little girls on their necks to\n make them industrious.[263]\n\nThe \u201cMedicine Rock\u201d of the Mandan and Hidatsa has been described in \u00a7\n329.\n\n\u00a7 350. _Oracles._--Matthews speaks of another oracle, to which the\nHidatsa now often refer, the Makadistati, or house of infants, a\ncavern near Knife River, which they supposed extended far into the\nearth, but whose entrance was only a span wide. It was resorted to by\nthe childless husband or the barren wife. There are those among them\nwho imagine that in some way or other their children come from the\nMakadistati; and marks of contusion on an infant, arising from tight\nswaddling or other causes, are gravely attributed to kicks received\nfrom his former comrades when he was ejected from his subterranean\nhome.[264]\n\n\u00a7 351. James says:\n\n At the distance of the journey of one day and a half from Knife\n Creek * * * are two conical hills, separated by about the\n distance of a mile. One of these hills was supposed to impart a\n prolific virtue to such squaws as resorted to it for the purpose\n of lamenting their barrenness. A person one day walking near the\n other hill, fancied he observed on the top of it two very small\n children. Thinking that they had strayed from the village, he ran\n towards them to induce them to return home, but they immediately\n fled from him. * * * and in a short time they eluded his\n sight. Returning to the village, the relation of his story\n excited much interest, and an Indian set out the next day, mounted\n on a fleet horse, to take the little strangers. On the approach\n of this person to the hill he also saw the children, who ran away\n as before, and though he tried to overtake them by lashing the\n horse to his utmost swiftness, the children left him far behind.\n These children are no longer to be seen, and the hill once of such\n singular efficacy in rendering the human species prolific has lost\n this remarkable property.[265]\n\nMatthews[266] says that this account seems to refer to the Makadistati,\nbut, if such is the case, he believes that the account is incorrect in\nsome respects.\n\n DREAMS.\n\n\u00a7 352. The Hidatsa have much faith in dreams, but usually regard\nas oracular only those which come after prayer, sacrifice, and\nfasting.[267]\n\n BERDACHES.\n\n\u00a7 353. The French Canadians call those men berdaches who dress in\nwomen\u2019s clothing and perform the duties usually allotted to women in an\nIndian camp. By most whites these berdaches are incorrectly supposed to\nbe hermaphrodites. They are called miati by the Hidatsa, from mia,\na woman, and the ending, ti, to feel an involuntary inclination,\ni. e., to be impelled against his will to act the woman. See the\nOmaha mi\u207fquga, the Kansa mi\u207fquge, and the Dakota wi\u014bkta and\nwi\u014bkte (\u00a7\u00a7 30, 212.)\n\n ASTRONOMICAL LORE.\n\n\u00a7 354. Ursa major is said to be an ermine, the several stars of that\nconstellation indicating, in their opinion, the burrow, the head, the\nfeet, and the tail of that animal. They call the milky way the \u201cashy\nway.\u201d\n\nThey think that thunder is caused by the flapping of the wings of the\nlarge bird, which causes rain, and that the lightning is the glance of\nhis eye when he seeks prey.\n\nThey call the rainbow, \u201cthe cap of the water,\u201d or \u201cthe cap of the\nrain.\u201d Once, say they, an Indian caught in the autumn a red bird that\nhad mocked him, releasing it after binding its feet together with a\nfish line. The bird saw a hare and pounced upon it, but the hare crept\ninto the skull of a buffalo lying on the prairie, and as the line\nhanging from the bird\u2019s claws formed a semicircle, they imagine that\nthe rainbow is still caused by that occurrence.[268]\n\n FOOD LORE.\n\n\u00a7 355. They have queer notions respecting the effects of different\narticles of diet; thus: an expectant mother believes that if she eats\na part of a mole or shrew, her child will have small eyes; that if she\neats a piece of porcupine, her child will be inclined to sleep too much\nwhen it grows up; that if she partakes of the flesh of the turtle, her\noffspring will be slow or lazy, etc.; but they do not suppose that such\narticles of food affect the immediate consumer.\n\n FOUR SOULS IN EACH HUMAN BEING.\n\n\u00a7 356. \u201cIt is believed by some of the Hidatsa that every human being\nhas four souls in one. They account for the phenomena of gradual death\nwhere the extremities are apparently dead while consciousness remains,\nby supposing the four souls to depart, one after another, at different\ntimes. When dissolution is complete, they say that all the souls are\ngone, and have joined together again outside of the body. I have heard\na Minnetaree quietly discussing this doctrine with an Assinneboine, who\nbelieved in only one soul to each body.\u201d[269]\n\n SORCERY.\n\n\u00a7 357. \u201cThey have faith in witchcraft, and think that a sorcerer may\ninjure a person, no matter how far distant, by acts upon an effigy or\nupon a lock of the victim\u2019s hair.\u201d[270]\n\n DISPOSAL OF THE DEAD.\n\n\u00a7 358. The Hidatsa always lay their dead upon scaffolds. As the Lord of\nLife is displeased when they quarrel and kill one another, those who do\nso are buried in the earth, that they may be no longer seen. In this\ncase a buffalo head is laid on the grave, that the herds of buffalo may\nnot keep away, for, if they were to smell the wicked, they might remove\nand never return. The good are laid upon scaffolds, that they may be\nseen by the Lord of Life.[271]\n\nThe Crows have no fear of death, but they have a horror of being buried\nin the ground.[272]\n\n HIDATSA BELIEF AS TO FUTURE EXISTENCE.\n\n\u00a7 359. They think that after death they will be restored to the\nmansions of their ancestors under ground, from which they are\nintercepted by a large and rapid watercourse. Over this river, which\nmay be compared to the Styx of the ancients, they are obliged to pass\non a very narrow footway. Those Indians who have been useful to the\nnation, such as brave warriors or good hunters, pass over with ease\nand arrive safely at A-pah-he, or ancient village. But the worthless\nIndians slip off from the bridge or footway into the stream which\n* * * hurries them into oblivion.[273]\n\n Their faith concerning a future life is this: When a Hidatsa dies\n his shade lingers four nights around the camp or village in which\n he died, and then goes to the lodge of his departed kindred in the\n Village of the Dead. When he has arrived there, he is rewarded for\n his valor, self-denial, and ambition on earth by receiving the\n same regard in the one place as in the other; for there, as here,\n the brave man is honored and the coward despised. Some say that\n the ghosts of those who commit suicide occupy a separate part of\n the village, but that their condition differs in no wise from that\n of the others. In the next world, human shades hunt and live on\n the shades of the buffalo and other animals that have here died.\n There too there are four seasons, but they come in an inverse\n order to the terrestrial seasons. During the four nights that the\n ghost is supposed to linger near his former dwelling, those who\n disliked or feared the deceased, and do not wish a visit from\n the shade, scorch with red coals a pair of moccasins, which they\n leave at the door of the lodge. The smell of the burning leather,\n they claim, keeps the ghost out; but the true friends of the dead\n man take no such precautions. * * * They believe in the\n existence and advisability of human and other ghosts, yet they\n seem to have no terror of graveyards and but little of mortuary\n remains. You may frighten children after nightfall by shouting\n no\u1e23ida\u1e23i (ghost), but will not scare the aged.[274]\n\n\n SAPONA CULTS.\n\n\u00a7 359\u00bd. The following account of the religion of the Sapona, a\ntribe related to the Tutelo, was given in 1729 by Col. William Byrd,\nof Westover, Va.[275] While much of it appears to be the white man\u2019s\namplification of the Indian\u2019s narrative, it is plain that the account\ncontains a few aboriginal beliefs. For this reason, and because it is\nthe only known account of the Sapona religion, it is now given in full:\n\n \u201cIn the evening we examined our friend Bearskin concerning the\n religion of his country, and he explained it to us, without any\n of that reserve to which his nation is subject. He told us he\n believed there was one supreme God, who had several subaltern\n deities under him. And that this Master-God made the world a long\n time ago. That He told the sun, the moon and stars their business\n in the beginning, which they, with good looking after, have\n faithfully perform\u2019d ever since. That the same Power that made all\n things at first has taken care to keep them in the same method and\n motion ever since. He believed God had form\u2019d many worlds before\n He form\u2019d this, but that those worlds either grew old or ruinous,\n or were destroy\u2019d for the dishonesty of the inhabitants. That\n God is very just and very good--ever well pleas\u2019d with those men\n who possess those God-like qualities. That He takes good people\n under His safe protection, makes them very rich, fills their\n bellies plentifully, preserves them from sickness and from being\n surpriz\u2019d or overcome by their enemies. But all such as tell lies\n and cheat * * * He never fails to punish with sickness,\n poverty and hunger, and after all that, suffers them to be knockt\n on the head and scalpt by those that fight against them. He\n believed that after death both good and bad people are conducted\n by a strong guard into a great road, in which departed souls\n travel together for some time till, at a certain distance this\n road forks into two paths[276], the one extremely levil, the other\n stony and mountainous. Here the good are parted from the bad by\n a flash of lightning, the first being hurry\u2019d away to the right,\n the other to the left. The right hand road leads to a charming\n warm country, where the spring is everlasting, and every month is\n May; and as the year is always in its youth, so are the people,\n and particularly the women are bright as the stars, and never\n scold. That in this happy climate there are deer, turkeys, elk,\n and buffaloes innumerable, perpetually fat and gentle, while the\n trees are loaded with delicious fruit quite throughout the four\n seasons. That the soil brings forth corn spontaneously, without\n the curse of labour, and so very wholesome, that none who have the\n happiness to eat of it are ever sick, grow old or dy. Near the\n entrance into this blessed land sits a venerable old man on a mat\n richly woven, who examins strictly all that are brought before\n him, and if they have behav\u2019d well, the guards are order\u2019d to open\n the crystal gate and let them enter the land of delights. The left\n hand path is very rugged and uneven, leading to a dark and barren\n country, where it is always winter. The ground is the whole year\n round cover\u2019d with snow, and nothing is seen upon the trees but\n icicles. All the people are hungry, yet have not a morsel to eat\n except a bitter kind of potato, that gives them the dry-gripes,\n and fills their whole body with loathsome ulcers, that stink and\n are insupportably painful. Here all the women are old and ugly,\n having claws like a panther, with which they fly upon the men that\n slight their passion. For it seems these haggard old furies are\n intolerably fond, and expect a vast amount of cherishing. They\n talk much, and exceedingly shrill, giving exquisite pain to the\n drum of the ear, which in that place of torment is so tender, that\n every sharp note wounds it to the quick. At the end of this path\n sits a dreadful old woman on a monstrous toadstool, whose head\n is cover\u2019d with rattlesnakes instead of tresses, with glaring\n white eyes, that strike a terror unspeakable into all that behold\n her. This hag pronounces sentence of woe upon all the miserable\n wretches that hold up their hands at her tribunal. After this\n they are deliver\u2019d over to huge turkey-buzzards like harpys, that\n fly away with them to the place above mentioned. Here, after they\n have been tormented a certain number of years, according to their\n several degrees of guilt, they are again driven back into this\n world, to try if they will mend their manners, and merit a place\n next time in the regions of bliss.\u201d\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 217: Lewis and Clarke\u2019s Exped., ed., Allen, vol. I, p. 174.]\n\n[Footnote 218: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ.,\nNo. 7, 1877: Ethnog. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, p. 48.]\n\n[Footnote 219: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 359.]\n\n[Footnote 220: Ibid, p. 176.]\n\n[Footnote 221: Ibid, pp. 369, 374, 386, 388, 400.]\n\n[Footnote 222: Ibid, p. 174.]\n\n[Footnote 223: Ibid, p. 173.]\n\n[Footnote 224: Ibid, pp. 373, 377. O-kee-pa: A Religious Ceremony\n* * * by George Catlin, Phil., 1867, 25 pp. Smithson. Rept., 1885,\npt. 2, pp. 353-368.]\n\n[Footnote 225: U.S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ., No.\n7, 1877: Ethnog. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, pp. 45, 46.]\n\n[Footnote 226: James\u2019s account of Long\u2019s Expedition to Rocky Mountains,\nvol. I, pp. 276-278.]\n\n[Footnote 227: Travels * * * in North America, pp. 400, 401.]\n\n[Footnote 228: Yet Maximilian says, \u201cWe ourselves saw one suspended,\netc.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 229: Travels * * * in North America, pp. 419-422.]\n\n[Footnote 230: Ibid, pp. 426-428.]\n\n[Footnote 231: Ibid, vol. I, pp. 189, 190.]\n\n[Footnote 232: Ibid, p. 175.]\n\n[Footnote 233: O-kee-hee-dee of Catlin.]\n\n[Footnote 234: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, pp. 359,\n360.]\n\n[Footnote 235: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, pp. 378-380.]\n\n[Footnote 236: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 369.]\n\n[Footnote 237: Ibid., pp. 380, 381.]\n\n[Footnote 238: Ibid., p. 361.]\n\n[Footnote 239: Lewis and Clarke, Exped., ed. Allen, Vol. I, p. 205.]\n\n[Footnote 240: James\u2019s Account of Long\u2019s Exped. to Rocky Mountains,\nVol. I, p. 273.]\n\n[Footnote 241: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Pub., No.\n7, 1877: Ethnog. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, pp. 50, 51.]\n\n[Footnote 242: Travels * * * in North America, pp. 381, 382.]\n\n[Footnote 243: Travels * * * in North America, p. 370.]\n\n[Footnote 244: Ibid, pp. 382, 386.]\n\n[Footnote 245: Ibid, pp. 383, 403.]\n\n[Footnote 246: Ibid, pp. 371, 372.]\n\n[Footnote 247: Ibid., p. 372.]\n\n[Footnote 248: Travels * * * in North America, p. 178.]\n\n[Footnote 249: Ibid., pp. 403, 404.]\n\n[Footnote 250: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 382.]\n\n[Footnote 251: Ibid, pp. 382, 383, 423, 424.]\n\n[Footnote 252: Lewis and Clarke, Expedition, ed. Allen, Vol. 1, p. 175.]\n\n[Footnote 253: Catlin, in Smithsonian Rept., 1885, pt. 2, p. 372.]\n\n[Footnote 254: So called by Maximilian, same as the Itsika-mahidi\u015b\nof Matthews.]\n\n[Footnote 255: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 398.]\n\n[Footnote 256: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ.,\nNo. 7, 1877: Ethnog. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, p. 47.]\n\n[Footnote 257: Ibid., pp. 48, 49.]\n\n[Footnote 258: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 402.]\n\n[Footnote 259: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 402.]\n\n[Footnote 260: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ. No.\n7, 1877: Ethnol. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, pp. 49, 184.]\n\n[Footnote 261: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, pp.\n399-400.]\n\n[Footnote 262: Ibid, p. 396.]\n\n[Footnote 263: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 50.]\n\n[Footnote 264: Ibid, p. 51.]\n\n[Footnote 265: James\u2019s Account of Long\u2019s Exped. to Rocky Mountains,\nvol. I, pp. 274, 275.]\n\n[Footnote 266: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ.,\nNo. 7, 1877: Ethnog. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, p. 51.]\n\n[Footnote 267: Ibid, p. 50.]\n\n[Footnote 268: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, p. 399.]\n\n[Footnote 269: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ.,\nNo. 7, 1877: Ethnog. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, p. 50.]\n\n[Footnote 270: Ibid, p. 50.]\n\n[Footnote 271: Maximilian, Travels * * * in North America, pp. 404,\n405.]\n\n[Footnote 272: Ibid, p. 176.]\n\n[Footnote 273: Lewis and Clarke\u2019s Exped., edited by Allen, vol. I, p.\n280.]\n\n[Footnote 274: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ.,\nNo. 7, 1877: Ethnog. and Philol. of Hidatsa Indians, p. 49.]\n\n[Footnote 275: Byrd, history of the dividing line (1729), vol. I,\n106-108. Reprint: 1866.]\n\n[Footnote 276: See the Omaha belief, in \u00a7 68.]\n\n\n\n\n CHAPTER VII.\n\n CONCLUDING REMARKS.\n\n\n PEET ON INDIAN RELIGIONS.\n\n\u00a7 360. In the Journal of the Victoria Institute of Great Britain for\n1888,[277] is an article containing the following statements, which\nwere not seen by the writer until he had completed the preceding\nchapters of this paper.\n\nReferring to Mr. Eells, the Nez Perc\u00e9 missionary, and to Mr. Williams,\nwho has been laboring among the Chippewas, Mr. Peet observes:[278]\n\n There are four or five points on which both missionaries seem\n to be agreed * * * These four doctrines--the existence of\n God, immortality of the soul, the sinfulness of man, and the\n necessity of sacrifice--seem to have been held in various\n modified forms by all the tribes in North America.\n\nOn the next page[279] he gives a classification of native religions, by\nwhich he means those of America. He says that these religions may be\ndivided by geographical districts into several classes:\n\n(1) Shamanism, by which he seems to mean the worship of the wakan\nmen and women. \u201cAmong the Eskimos, Aleuts, and other hyperborean\nnations, who subsist chiefly by fishing.\u201d (2) Animism, by which he\nprobably means the worship of \u201csouls\u201d or \u201cshades,\u201d including ghosts,\nas every object, whether animate or inanimate, is thought to have a\n\u201cshade.\u201d This belief, he says, is found in its highest stage among\ntribes that formerly dwelt in British North America, between Hudsons\nBay and the Great Lakes. These tribes subsist by hunting. (3) Animal\nworship, practiced by a class partly hunters, partly farmers, dwelling,\nsay, between 35\u00b0 and 48\u00b0 N. lat. (4) Sun worship, the cult of the\ntribes south of 35\u00b0 N. lat., and extending to the Gulf of Mexico.\n(5) Elemental worship, which he defines as \u201cthe worship of rain,\nlightning, the god of war and death,\u201d found in Mexico and New Mexico.\n(6) Anthropomorphism, a religion which gave human attributes to the\ndivinities, but assigned to them supernatural powers. This prevailed in\nCentral America.\n\n\n THE AUTHOR\u2019S REPLY.\n\n\u00a7 361. But what do we find prevalent among the tribes under\nconsideration in this paper?\n\nI. _Idea of God._--The Siouan tribes considered in this paper were not\nmonotheists (\u00a7\u00a7 26, 94, 95, 311). The statement recorded in \u00a7 21 about\na crude belief in a Supreme Being, which the Omaha called Wakanda,\nwas accepted by the author as the belief of his informants; but we\nmust remember that the Omaha tribe has been in a transition state for\nmany years, certainly since 1855, and possibly since the days of Maj.\nLong\u2019s visits to them. (2) That these Indians believed in a Great\nSpirit who was supreme over all other superhuman powers needs more\nevidence. The only assertion of such a belief which the author has\ngained was obtained from an Omaha (see \u00a7 22), but this assertion was\ndenied by two other members of that tribe. (3) In those cases alleged\nas proving a belief in one Great Spirit, a closer study of the language\nemployed reveals the fact that a generic term has been used instead of\na specific one, and, in almost every instance, the writer who tells\nof one Great Spirit supplements his account by relating what he has\nlearned about beliefs in many gods or spirits. (4) These tribes had\ncults of many powers; everything animate and inanimate was regarded as\nhaving a \u201cshade.\u201d\n\nII. _Belief in immortality._--The author finds no traces of a belief\nin the immortality of human beings. Even the gods of the Dakota were\nregarded as being mortal, for they could be killed by one another\n(\u00a7 94). They were male and female; they married and died, and were\nsucceeded by their children. But if for \u201cimmortality\u201d we substitute\n\u201ccontinuous existence as shades or ghosts\u201d there will be no difficulty\nin showing that the Siouan tribes referred to held such a belief\nrespecting mankind, and that they very probably entertained it in a\ncrude form prior to the advent of the white race to this continent (\u00a7\u00a7\n67-71, 91, 338).\n\nIII. _Idea of sin._--The scriptural idea of sin seems to be wanting\namong these tribes. There have been recorded by the author and others\nmany acts which were deemed violations of religious law, but few of\nthem can be compared with what the Bible declares to be sins. It was\ndangerous to make a false report to the keeper of the sacred tent of\nwar or to the directors of the buffalo hunt, in the estimation of the\nOmaha, for the offender was sure to be struck by lightning or bitten\nby a snake or killed by a foe or thrown by a horse or have some other\ndisaster befall him.[280] It was dangerous to break the taboo of any\ngens or subgens, or to violate any other ancient custom.[281] (See \u00a7\u00a7\n45, 68, 222, and 286 of this paper.)\n\nIV. _Idea of sacrifice._--The idea of sacrifice as atoning for sin has\nnot yet been found by the author among these Siouan tribes. In no\ninstance of sacrifice recorded in this paper has the author detected\nany notion of expiation for sin against a just and holy Being. But\nsacrifice, whether in the form of fasting, self-torture, or the\noffering of property, was made in order to win the favor of a god, to\nobtain a temporal advantage (\u00a7\u00a7 28, 29, 101, 144, etc.), or to avert\nthe anger of demons, as when the people were suffering from famine or\nan epidemic (\u00a7 144).\n\nV. _Shamanism._--While there have been shamans and various orders of\nshamans among these tribes, no trace of a worship of shamans as gods\nhas yet been found. On one occasion the author met a Ponka shaman,\nCramped Hand, who exclaimed, \u201cI am a wakanda.\u201d But no other Ponka ever\nsaid that he or she worshiped Cramped Hand as a wakanda.\n\nVI. The other beliefs named by Dr. Peet have been found, in some\ntribes, side by side. Animism, or a form of animism, was held by those\nwho worshiped the sun, animals, etc. \u201cEverything had a soul\u201d (\u00a7\u00a7 97,\n136, 137, 265-288, 344, etc.). Certain animals were worshiped (\u00a7\u00a7 24,\n43, 78, 92, 326, etc.). The sun was invoked, not only in the sun dance\n(\u00a7\u00a7 139-212), but on other occasions (\u00a7\u00a7 28, 43, 73, 312, 323). Stars,\ntoo, were regarded as gods (\u00a7\u00a7 31, 43). Elemental worship had a wider\nsignificance among these tribes than Dr. Peet assigns it (\u00a7\u00a7 27, 33-35,\n43, 44, 74-77, 363, etc.). And there are traces of anthropomorphism,\nfor some of the gods are in human form (\u00a7\u00a7 217, 235); others are\nsupposed to inhale the odor of tobacco smoke, which is pleasant to\nthem; they eat, breathe, use weapons against one another as well as\nagainst human beings, and on one occasion an Indian was called on to\naid one or the other of two contending gods; they hear, think, marry,\ndie, and are succeeded by their children (\u00a7\u00a7 25, 29, 35, 36, 72, 75,\n94, 109, 112, 117, 119, 136, 217, 322, etc.).[282]\n\n\u00a7 362. The cults affected the social organization of the tribes that\nhad gentes bearing mystic names (see \u00a7\u00a7 57 and 82 of this paper, and\nOm. Soc., in 3d An. Rept. Bur. Eth., Chap. iii, and pp. 356, 359-361);\norders of shamans and other secret societies were intimately associated\nwith them (\u00a7\u00a7 43-45, 86, 87, and 89; and Om. Soc., pp. 342-355);\npersonal names still refer to them (\u00a7\u00a7 31, 47, 53, 59, 74, 75, and 77;\nand Om. Soc., pp. 228, 232, 236, 238-244, 246-248, 250, and 251); and\nalmost every act of the daily life of the people was influenced by them\n(\u00a7\u00a7 23, 24, 27, 28-30, 32, 33-36, 39-41, 54, 101, etc.; and Om. Soc.,\nChap. vi, and pp. 267, 274, 286, 287, 289-291, 293-299, 316, 319-325,\n327, 328, 357, 368-370).\n\n\n CULTS OF THE ELEMENTS.\n\n\u00a7 363. Prior to writing this paper, the author had observed what Dr.\nFoster stated in his Indian Record and Historical Data respecting the\ndivision of the Winnebago tribe into four groups, named after the\nearth, air, fire, and water, respectively, i.e., Foster claimed that\nthe Winnebago had people named after land animals, others after birds\nand the winds, others after the thunder-beings, and others after the\nWaktceqi or water monsters.[283] (See \u00a7 96.)\n\nDuring the year 1890 the author obtained from the three principal\nPonka chiefs the classification of their gentes by phratries, and the\ncharacter of the mystic songs peculiar to each phratry.\n\nOn comparing this information with that which has been related about\nthe Dakota gods, there seemed to be good reasons for inferring that\nnot only the Dakota tribes, but also the Omaha, Ponka, Winne-bago, and\nothers of the same stock, divided their gods into four classes, those\nof the earth, wind-makers, fire, and water.\n\n\u00a7 364. Among the Omaha, Iowa, and cognate tribes, we find that when a\ngens assembled as a whole, for council purposes, they sat around the\nfire in the order shown in the accompanying diagram, Fig. 193:\n\n _Legend._--1, Black Bear subgens; 2, Small Bird subgens; 3, Eagle\n subgens; 4, Turtle subgens; 5, fireplace; 6, entrance.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 193.--The \u023batada gentile circle.]\n\nPlaces in the circle were assigned according to kinship; thus, the\nBlack Bear and Small Bird people are spoken of as \u201csitting on the same\nside of the fireplace,\u201d as they are full kin, while they are only\npartially related to those who sit on the other side (Nos. 3 and 4).\nThat the fireplace was sacred, there being traces of a hearth cult,\nhas been shown in \u00a7\u00a7 33 and 40. Furthermore, the \u023batada circle is\nremarkable not only for its arrangement according to kinship, but for\nits symbolic character; because the Black Bear people are associated\nwith the ground or earth, as is shown by their personal names; the\nSmall Bird people are Thunder-beings or Fire people; the Eagle subgens\nconsist of \u201cWind-maker\u201d people; and the Turtle subgens is composed of\nWater people.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 194.--The four elements, etc.]\n\n\u00a7 365. This suggests another diagram, Fig. 194, in which the author has\nput the names of four classes of Dakota gods, with what he suspects to\nbe their appropriate colors, _R_ standing for red, _B_ for black, _Y_\nfor yellow, and _Bl_ for blue.\n\nEarth people serve or assist Fire people (\u00a7 35 and perhaps \u00a7 36). Do\nWater people ever serve Wind-maker people (see address to a stream in\ntime of war, \u00a7 23)? The Fire powers are hostile to the powers of the\nWater (\u00a7\u00a7 75, 77, 117-119); we have yet to learn whether, in any gens,\na subgens named after the Thunder-being sits on the same side of the\ngentile fireplace with a subgens named after a power of the Water.\nIs there a warfare going on between the powers of the Earth and the\nWind-makers? The Fire powers and Wind-makers are concerned in all kinds\nof suffering, including war, disease, and death (\u00a7\u00a7 117, 119, 127,\n129), and there is no hostility existing between them.[284]\n\nThe Ka\u207f[s]e gens of the Osage has several names, Wind people,\nSouth-wind people, Those who light the pipes (in council), and Fire\npeople.\n\nThe powers of the Earth and Water are interested in the preservation\nof life, and so we may consider them the patrons of peace. \u201cPeace,\u201d\nin Omaha, Ponka, and \u2534\u0254iwere, means \u201cThe land is good,\u201d and \u201cto make\npeace\u201d is expressed by \u201cto make the land good.\u201d The words for \u201cwater\u201d\nand \u201clife\u201d are identical in some of the Siouan languages, and they\ndiffer but slightly in others.\n\nIt is interesting to note what has been said by Mr. Francis La\nFlesche[285] about water: \u201cWater seems to hold an important place in\nthe practice of this medicine society, even when roots are used for\nthe healing of wounds. The songs say: \u2018Water was sent into the wound,\u2019\n\u2018Water will be sent into his wound,\u2019 etc.\u201d The mystic songs of the\ndoctors of the order of buffalo shamans tell of the pool of water in a\nbuffalo wallow where the wounded one shall be treated.\n\nBut we must note some apparent inconsistencies. While the Unkte\u1e23i\ncreated the earth and the human race (\u00a7 112), they are believed to\nfeed on human spirits or ghosts; though ghosts are reckoned among the\nservants of the Unkte\u1e23i! And while the powers of the Fire and Water are\nenemies, one is surprised to observe that in the war gens of the Omaha\nas well as in the two war gentes of the Kansa, there is the sacred clam\nshell as well as the war pipe! (See \u00a7 36 and Om. Soc., p. 226.)\n\n\n THE FOUR QUARTERS.\n\n\u00a7 366. According to the tradition of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115, an Omaha buffalo\npeople, the ancestral buffaloes found the East and South winds bad\nones; but the North and West winds were good. From this the author\ninfers that the Omaha associated the East with the Fire powers or the\nsun, the South[286] with the Air powers, the North with the Earth\npowers, and the West with the Water powers.\n\nOn the other hand, an Iowa man told Mr. Hamilton that the South\nwind was a beneficent one, while the Northeast wind was maleficent\n(\u00a7 74). This variation may have been caused by a difference in the\nhabitats of the tribes referred to.\n\n\u00a7 367. Among the Kansa, Paha\u207fle-gaqli and Ali\u207fkawahu, when they invoked\nthe four winds, began at the left (as they were Yata people) with the\nEast wind (Baza\u207fta, Toward the Pines), next they turned to the South\nwind (Ak\u2019a, whence one of the names of the Ka\u207fze gens), then to the\nWest wind (Ak\u2019a ji\u00f1ga or Ak\u2019uye), and lastly to the North wind (Hnita,\nToward the Cold).[287] (See Fig. 195.)\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 195.--Kansa order of invoking the winds, etc.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 196.--Tsi\u0254u (Osage) order of placing the four\nsticks, etc.]\n\nIt should be noted that those Kansa war captains, Paha\u207fle-gaqli and\nAli\u207fkawahu, belong to gentes on the left side of the tribal circle.\nThey were facing the South before they began the invocations to the\nvarious powers including the four winds. See \u00a7 200 for the order (E, S,\nW, N) observed in felling the tree to be used as a sun pole. The same\norder was observed by the Dakota \u201cpriest\u201d in the ceremonies pertaining\nto the White Buffalo festival of the Hunkpapa, as related by Miss\nFletcher: in placing cherries on the plate, in pouring water on the\npiles of cherries, in placing tufts of swan\u2019s down on the plate[288],\nin rotating the plate, in circling the heap of black earth[289], and\nin giving the four pinches of consecrated meat to the four sons of the\nowner of the white buffalo hide.[290]\n\n\u00a7 368. The Tci\u0254u old man of the Osage tribe consecrated each mystic\nhearth by placing four sticks in the form of a cross, beginning at\nthe west, as shown in Fig. 196, then laying the sticks at the north,\neast, and south, as he named the four mystic buffaloes (\u00a7 33). This\nTsi\u0254u man belonged to the peace side of his tribe, and he began with\nthe quarters referring to the peace elements. But the Pa\u207f\u0265ka old man\nof the same tribe, when he consecrated the mystic fireplaces for his\nhalf-tribe, began on the right, with the stick at the east, as shown in\nFig. 197. He belonged to the war side of the tribe, though his gens was\na peace-making gens!\n\n\u00a7 369. The Ma\u207fyi\u00f1ka and \u1e75pa\u207f gentes of the Kansa tribe consecrated\nthe mystic fireplaces for their people; but we have not obtained the\nparticulars of the Kansa ceremony, which probably resembled that in\nwhich the T[s]i\u0254u and Pa\u207f\u0265ka old men took part.\n\nAccording to Two Crows and the late Joseph La Fl\u00e8che, there\nwere four sacred stones in the custody of the Ma\u207f\u023ci\u00f1ka-gaxe or\nEarth-lodge-makers\u2019 gens of the Omaha: red, black, yellow, and\nblue.[291]\n\n\u00a7 370. Whenever the Osage warriors came in sight of their village on\nreturning from an expedition against the enemy, they were met outside\nthe village by the principal man of the Ka\u207f[s]e (the Wind or South\nwind gens.) This Ka\u207f[s]e man walked around the warriors, performing a\nceremony as he started from the north, repeating it at each quarter,\nand ending with the east, as shown in Fig. 198.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 197.--Pa\u207f\u0265ka (Osage) order of placing the four\nsticks, etc.]\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 198.--Ka\u207f[s]e (Osage) order of circumambulation.]\n\n\u00a7 371. Assuming that we have a correct grouping of the four elements in\nFig. 194, it appears that Paha\u207fle-gaqli and Ali\u207fkawahu began with the\nquarters associated with war; that the T[s]i\u0254u old man began with those\nreferring to peace, and the Pa\u207f\u0265ka old man with those pertaining to\nwar, and the principal man of the Ka\u207f[s]e gens with those on the peace\nside.\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 199.--Showing how the Osage prepared the scalp for\nthe dance.]\n\n\u00a7 372. In cutting off the under skin from a scalp, the Osage war\ncaptain--\n\n stood facing the East * * * Holding the scalp in one hand,\n with the other he placed the knife-blade across it, with the point\n toward the South (see Fig. 199). Then he turned the knife with the\n point toward the East. Next, with the blade resting on the scalp,\n the point to the South, he moved the knife backward and forward\n four times, cutting deeper into the scalp on each occasion. Then\n he made four similar cuts, but with the point to the East. After\n this, the flat part of the blade being on the scalp, its edge\n was put against one of the four corners made by the previous\n incisions (1, 2, 3, and 4), beginning with No. 1. He cut under\n each corner four times, singing a sacred song each time that he\n changed the position of the knife. * * * The scalp was\n stretched and fastened to a bow, which was bent and formed into\n a hoop. This hoop was tied to a pole, which was carried by the\n principal kettle-bearer.[292]\n\nObserve that in this ceremony the South and East were the mystic\nquarters, answering to the \u201cbad winds\u201d of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 tradition.\n\nWhen the Dakota \u201cpriest,\u201d referred to in \u00a7 367, wished to rotate the\nplate containing the cherries and down, he grasped the plate with his\nright hand (note that the right side of the Osage circle was the war\nside) between the east and south piles of cherries and his left hand\n(compare with custom of T[s]i\u0254u gens of Osage, \u00a7 368) held the plate\nbetween the west and north piles.[293]\n\nIn the Hede-watci, the Omaha women and girls danced from the east to\nthe south, and thence to the west and north, while the men and boys\nproceeded in a different order, beginning at the west, and dancing\ntoward the north, and thence toward the east and south.[294]\n\n\n SYMBOLIC COLORS.\n\n\u00a7 373. On the tent of Hupe\u023ca (Pl. XLIV, E), a black bear man, were\nrepresented four kinds of lightning--blue, red, black, and yellow. This\nwas a mystery decoration (\u00a7 45), and if the colors were associated with\nthe four quarters, the powers were probably invoked in the order shown\nin Fig. 200. (See \u00a7\u00a7 340, 369.)\n\n[Illustration: FIG. 200.--Omaha lightnings and the four quarters.]\n\n\u00a7 374. Blue is assumed to be the earth symbol for two reasons: (1)\nIn the decorations of those who have had visions of bears, there is\na broad blue band, representing the earth, out of which the bear is\nsometimes depicted as issuing; (2) and, furthermore, the Indians seldom\ndistinguish between blue and green, hence, blue may symbolize grass and\nother vegetation, springing from the earth. In apparent contradiction\nof this use of blue, we are told by Lynd that \u201cthe Tunkan is painted\nred as a sign of active worship\u201d (see \u00a7 132), and by Riggs (\u00a7 133)\nthat large bowlders were adorned with red and green paint, though the\nuse of the two colors may have depended on a composite cult. In this\nconnection attention is called to the battle standards represented on\nthe tent of \u0500ejequta, an Omaha. These painted standards had red and\nblue stripes, denoting the stripes of Indian cloth, sometimes used\ninstead of feathers on the real standards. The latter were carried by\nthe leaders of war parties, and each standard could be used on four\nsuch expeditions. When the warriors approached the hostile camp, the\nkeeper of the standard removed the scarf of blue and red cloth from the\nshaft and wore it around his neck as he went to steal horses (see Pl.\nXLIV, A, the name Bowlder Thunder-being in \u00a7 390, also \u00a7 388).\n\n\u00a7 375. Red is known to be the Omaha color for the east. Among the\nDakota the spear and tomahawk, the weapons of war, were said to have\nbeen given by the Wakinyan, the Thunder-being or Fire power; hence they\nare painted red (\u00a7 105).\n\nThe late Dr. S. R. Riggs informs us that--\n\n In the tiyotipi were placed the bundles of the black and red\n sticks of the soldiers.[295]\n\n Toward the rear of the tent, but near enough to the fire for\n convenient use, is a large pipe placed by the symbols of power.\n These are two bundles of shaved sticks about 6 inches long. The\n sticks in one bundle are painted black and in the other red. The\n black bundle represents the real men of the camp--those who have\n made their mark on the warpath. The red bundle represents the boys\n and such men as wear no eagle feathers.[296]\n\n They shave out small round sticks all of the same length, and\n paint them red, and they are given out to the men. These are to\n constitute the tiyotipi. * * * Of all the round shaved\n sticks, some of which were painted black and some painted red,\n four were especially marked. They are the four chiefs of the\n tiyotipi that were made.[297]\n\n\u00a7 376. Black is assumed to be the symbolic color for the Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan,\nthe Wind-makers, whose servants are the four winds and the four black\nspirits of night. Black as a war color is put on the face[298] of the\nwarrior. The Santee Dakota consider the raven (a black bird) and a\nsmall black stone, less than a hen\u2019s egg in size, symbols of the four\nwinds or quarters. Among the Teton Dakota, the Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan symbols,\nare small pebbles of two kinds, one white, and, according to the\ndescription, translucent; the other \u201cresembles ordinary pebbles,\u201d\nprobably in being opaque.\n\n\u00a7 377. Yellow is assumed to be the color symbolizing water, the west,\nand the setting sun. The Dakota, Omaha, Ponka, and \u2534\u0254iwere tribes have\nbeen familiar for years with the color of the water in the Missouri\nriver. In a Yankton Dakota legend[299] recorded by the author it is\nsaid that when two mystery men prepared themselves to visit a spirit\nof the water in order to recover an Indian boy, one of the men painted\nhis entire body black, and the other painted himself yellow (this seems\nto refer to the south and west, the windmakers and the spirits of the\nwaters).\n\nIn certain Omaha tent decorations we find that the tent of a Turtle\nman (Fig. 161) has a yellow ground. A similar yellow ground on the\ntent of Ma\u207ftcu-na\u207fba of the Ha\u00f1ga gens (Fig. 174) may be connected with\nthe tradition that the Ha\u00f1ga gens came originally from beneath the\nwater. Too much stress, however, must not be placed upon the colors of\nsuch mystery decorations, as they may be found hereafter to have had\nanother origin. It is conceivable, although we have no means of proving\nit, that he who had a vision, depicted on his robe and tent not only\nthe colors pertaining to the objects seen in the vision, but also the\ncolor peculiar to the eponymic ancestor or power that was the \u201cnikie\u201d\n(\u00a7 53). As some men were members of more than one order of shamans,\ntheir tent and robe decorations may refer to the one order rather than\nto the other, and sometimes there may be a reference to both orders.\nThe yellow on the top of the tent of Frog, an Ictasanda man, was said\nto refer to a grizzly bear vision (_fide_ George Miller, an Omaha--see\nFig. 177.) But when we compare it with Pl. XLIV, D, showing the tent of\na Ha\u00f1ga man, who was a Buffalo shaman as well as a Grizzly Bear shaman,\nwe find that the top of the latter tent has a yellow band (apparently\npointing to the Ha\u00f1ga tradition of an aquatic origin), as well as a\nblue band at the bottom (referring to the grizzly bear vision).\n\n\u00a7 378. From what has been said respecting the figures 194-199, we are\nled to make the following provisional co\u00f6rdinations:\n\n +------------------------------------------------------+\n | Dakota god. | Element. | Quarter. | Color. |\n +--------------------+-------------+----------+--------+\n |Tunkan | Earth | North | Blue |\n |Wakinyan | Fire | East | Red |\n |Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan | Wind-makers | South | Black |\n |Unkte\u1e23i | Water | West | Yellow |\n +--------------------+-------------+----------+--------+\n\n NOTE.--The names of the Dakota gods are given because we have\n more information about them, and the exact Omaha equivalent for\n Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan has not been obtained.\n\n\u00a7 379. Miss Fletcher gave, in 1884, a list of symbolic colors, which\ndiffers somewhat from that which the author has suggested in the\npreceding section. She said:\n\n White, blue, red, and yellow possess different meaning, yet are\n not very clearly determined by all tribes.[300] Among the Dakotas\n the following interpretation prevails: White is seldom used\n artificially; when it occurs in nature, as the white buffalo,\n deer, rabbit, etc., and on the plumage of birds, it indicates\n consecration. The sacred feathers and down are always white,[301]\n the former being taken from the underpart of the eagle\u2019s wing\n and are soft and downy. This meaning of white holds good with\n the Omahas, Poncas, etc., and seems to have a wide application\n among the Indians. Blue represents the winds, the west, the moon,\n the water, the thunder, and sometimes the lightning. * * *\n Red indicates the sun, the stone, the forms of animal and\n vegetable life, the procreative force. Yellow represents sunlight\n as distinguished from the fructifying power of the sun.[302]\n\nThe author has never observed this use of white as a symbolic color.\nIn speaking of albino animals, we infer that to the Siouan mind they\nare consecrated because they are rare. In fact, Miss Fletcher says:\n\n The white buffalo is rare and generally remains near the center of\n the herd, which makes it difficult of approach. It is therefore\n considered as the chief or sacred one of the herd; and it is\n consequently greatly prized by the Indians.[303]\n\nWhile the author is convinced of the great value of Miss Fletcher\u2019s\ninvestigations, he inquires concerning the veracity of her\ninterpreters. He would like to see more detailed evidence before\nhe accepts as the Dakota classification one which puts in the same\ncategory not only the winds and thunder, but also the water, the west,\nand the moon. He also asks why should the moon be separated from the\nsun (see \u00a7 138), and why should the west be the only quarter symbolized\nby a color? Besides, the Dakota shamans say that the Thunder-beings are\nof four colors, black, yellow, scarlet, and blue (see \u00a7 116).\n\nIn response to the wish of the author, Miss Fletcher has kindly\nfurnished him with the following letter of explanation, received after\nthe rest of the paper had been written:\n\n Consecration as applied to the color white in the article you have\n quoted needs a few words of explanation.\n\n The almost universal appropriation of white animals to religious\n ceremonies is unquestionable; whether this selection rests wholly\n upon the rarity of this color is a little doubtful. The unusual\n is generally wakan; this feeling, however, is not confined to\n a color, and although the white buffalo and the white deer are\n not often met with, other white animals, as the rabbit, are not\n uncommon, nor are white feathers. It is true these white feathers\n are often colored for ceremonial uses, but the added colors have\n their particular meanings, and these do not seem to override the\n primal signification that the feathers selected to bear these\n symbolic colors are white. The natural suggestion that a white\n ground would best serve to set off the added lines may have been\n in the distant past the simple reason why white feathers were\n chosen; and this choice adhered to for generations would at last\n become clothed with a mysterious significance. If this were ever\n true, this reason for choosing white feathers is not recognized\n to-day. I have been frequently told, the feathers must be white.\n\n While I should now hesitate to say that white symbolizes\n consecration, still, after continued study, I find the idea\n clinging about the color, which, as I said then, is seldom\n artificially used.\n\n Various symbolic colors are not infrequently placed upon one\n object, so that the combining of symbols,[304] or even their\n occasional exchange, does not seem discordant to the Indian mind;\n this fact among others renders it difficult to draw a hard and\n fast line about any one color or symbol.\n\n Further research has shown me that green and blue and black are\n related and that to a degree green and blue are interchangeable.\n Blue is regarded as a darkened green; that is, green removed\n from the light, not deepened in hue. Blue, therefore, stands\n intermediate between green which has the light on it; and blue\n shaded into black, which has no light on it. In some ceremonies\n green typifies the earth; in others blue is the symbol. The sky is\n sometimes represented by green, and again blue is used, while blue\n darkened to black stands for the destructive elements of the air.\n I have found a subtle connection between the elements of earth and\n air that answers somewhat to the blending of the symbolic colors\n just spoken of. This connection is revealed in the reciprocal or\n complementary functions of gentes belonging to these two great\n divisions represented in the tribal structure, as well as in the\n reactionary character of the elements themselves as portrayed in\n the myths and typified in some ceremonies. For instance, the eagle\n mythically belongs to the air, and is allied to the destructive\n powers of the element and to wars upon the earth, yet the Eagle\n gens, although connected with the air division of the gentes, is\n in some tribes a peace gens. An enemy escaping to the tent of\n an Eagle man is safe and cannot be molested. In symbols eagle\n feathers are not only the pride and emblem of the warrior but they\n are essential in certain ceremonies of amity and peace-making.\n\n A study of the position of gentes belonging to the divisions of\n earth and air, their tribal and ceremonial duties, together with\n their mythological significance, shows lines connecting the gentes\n of the earth with the gentes of the air which are vertical, so\n to speak, and might be represented as running north and south on\n the tribal circle, and indicating mediating offices as between\n contending or opposite forces.\n\n It would occupy too much space to fully set forth my reasons for\n thinking blue-black to be the symbol of the thunder rather than\n red and yellow. Although thunder is allied to the four quarters,\n to the four elemental divisions and partakes of their symbolism,\n still a study of thunder myths, thunder-names, and the tribal\n offices of thunder gentes seems to me, at my present understanding\n of them, to indicate the blue-black as the persistent symbol.\n\n I would not at this date make any unqualified statement giving\n green, blue, or black as the symbol of the west, the water, or\n the moon; and although in some instances these colors occur in\n connection with these objects of reverence, I am now inclined to\n class these as incidental rather than as representative of the\n color symbols.\n\n One word regarding red and yellow. Red not only represents the\n sun and the procreative forces (yet black is sometimes used in\n the latter), but the color carries with it the idea of hope, the\n continuation of life. The dawn of the day, the east, is almost\n without exception in these tribes denoted by red. This red line,\n forceful, aggressive, yet life giving and hope-inspiring, starts\n from a war division of the tribal circle and fades into yellow as\n it passes into an opposite peace division in the west. Red and\n yellow bear to each other a relation somewhat resembling that\n of blue and black, only reversed; the red loses its intensity\n in yellow, the aggressive force symbolized in the red is not\n expressed in the yellow. If the Indian\u2019s world were arched with\n his symbolic colors, we should see a brilliant band of red start\n from the east and fade to yellow in the west; while the green-blue\n line from the north would deepen to the black of the south. In the\n first the intense color would rush from war into the mild light of\n peace; the second bright hue would spring from peace to be lost\n in the darkness of war. Thus the two hold the tribe within the\n opposing yet complementary forces which constitute the mystery of\n the relation between life and death.\n\n I will not go further into this interesting subject nor revert\n to the revolution of these symbolic colors as throwing light on\n tribal migrations and history.\n\n Thanking you for this opportunity to modify some of my statements\n written nine years ago,\n\n I remain, cordially yours,\n ALICE C. FLETCHER.\n PEABODY MUSEUM,\n _Cambridge, Mass., January 3, 1891_.\n\nIn the Word Carrier of November, 1890, published by A. L. Riggs, at\nSantee Agency, Nebr., is an article on page 30, from Mary C. Collins,\nwho is evidently one of the mission workers. She says: \u201cI went into\nthe sacred tent and talked with Sitting Bull. He sat * * * opposite\nthe tent door. Hands and wrists were painted yellow and green; face\npainted red, green, and white.\u201d (Did the four colors refer to the\nelements?) \u201cAs I started toward him he said, \u2018Winona,[305] approach me\non the left side and shake my left hand with your left hand.\u2019\u201d (Does\nthe gens of Sitting Bull camp on the left side of the tribal circle,\noccasioning the use of the left in all ceremonies, as among the Tsi\u0254u\ngentes of the Osage? Or is the left the war side among the people of\nSitting Bull, as among the Kansa? See \u00a7\u00a7 33 and 368.)\n\n\u00a7 380. The following are the symbolic colors of the North Carolina\nCherokee, the Ojibwa, the Navajo, the Apache, the Zu\u00f1i, and the Aztec:\n\n -----------+-----------+-----------------+----------------------+\n | | Ojibwa. | Navajo. |\n Quarter, | Cherokee. +--------+--------+------------+---------+\n etc. | [a] | [b] | [c] | [d] | [e] |\n -----------+-----------+--------+--------+------------+---------+\n | | | | | |\n East | Red, 1. | White. | Red. | White, 1. | Yellow. |\n South | White, 4. | Green. | Green. | Blue, 2. | Red. |\n | | | | | |\n West | Black, 8. | Red. | White. | Yellow, 3. | Blue. |\n North | Blue, 2. | Black. | Black. | Black, 4. | White. |\n Upperworld | ... | ... | ... | Blue. | ... |\n | | | | | |\n Lowerworld | ... | ... | ... | White and | ... |\n | | | | black in | |\n | | | | spots. | |\n Sunlight | ... | ... | ... | Red. | ... |\n -----------+-----------+--------+--------+------------+---------+\n\n _a_ Mooney, in Jour. Am. Folklore, Vol. III, No. 8, Jan.-Mar.,\n 1890, pp. 49, 50.\n\n _b_ Hoffman, in Am. Anthropologist, July, 1889, pp. 217, 218; from\n Sicosige, a second-degree Mide of White Earth, Minn.\n\n _c_ Hoffman, in ibid., p. 218; from Ojibwa, a fourth-degree Mide,\n from another locality.\n\n _d_ Matthews, in 5th An. Rept. Bur. Eth., p. 449.\n\n _e_ Mallery, from Thos. V. Keam\u2019s catalogue of relics of the\n ancient buildings of the southwest table-lands--quoted in Trans.\n Anthrop. Soc. of Washington, Vol. III, 141, 1885.\n\n -----------+--------------------+------------+---------\n | Apache. | |\n Quarter, |---------+----------+ Zu\u00f1i. | Aztec.\n etc. | [f] | [g] | [h] | [i]\n -----------+---------+----------+------------+---------\n | | | |\n East | Black. | Yellow. | White, 4. | Yellow.\n South | White. | Green | Red, 3. | White.\n | | or Blue. | |\n West | Yellow. | Black. | Blue, 2. | Blue.\n North | Blue. | White. | Yellow, 1. | Red.\n Upperworld | ... | ... | All |\n | | | colors, 5. |\n Lowerworld | ... | ... | Black, 6. |\n Sunlight | ... | ... | ... |\n -----------+---------+----------+------------+---------\n\n _f_ Gatschet, on Chiricahua Apache sun circle, in Trans. Anthrop.\n Soc. of Washington, Vol. III, 147, 1885.\n\n _g_ Capt. J. G. Bourke, in a letter to the author, Dec. 4, 1890.\n In Nov., 1885, he obtained from a San Carlos (Pinal) Apache green\n as the color for the north.\n\n _h_ Mrs. M. C. Stevenson, in 5th An. Rept. Bur. Eth., p. 548.\n According to Dr. J. Walter Fowkes the Hopi or Moki have a similar\n order of colors, the west having green (or blue).\n\n _i_ Kingsborough, Antiquities of Mexico, Vol. VII (_fide_ Capt. J.\n G. Bourke).\n\nAccording to Gatschet the Chiricahua Apache call the sun, when in the\neast, \u201cthe black sun,\u201d and a tornado or gust of wind also is called\n\u201cblack.\u201d (See \u00a7 378.)\n\nMatthews says that in rare cases white is assigned to the north and\nblack to the east, and that black represents the male and blue the\nfemale among the Navajo. (See \u00a7 105 of this paper.)\n\n\u00a7 381. The author calls special attention to the colors of the four\nsacred stones of the Omaha Wolf gens, red, black, yellow, and blue i.\ne., E., S., W., N.; (see \u00a7 369), and to those on the tent of an Omaha\nBlack Bear man (see \u00a7 373, and PL. XLIV, E, where the colors are given\nin the order N., E., S., W.). He has not yet gained the colors for\nthe upper and lower worlds, though the Omaha offer the pipe to the\n\u201cvenerable man sitting above\u201d and to the \u201cvenerable man below lying on\nhis back.\u201d (\u00a7 27.)\n\nIn the tradition of the T[s]i\u0254u wacta\u029ee gens of the Osage there is an\naccount of the finding of four kinds of rocks, black, blue or green,\nred, and white. And from the left hind legs of four buffalo bulls\nthere dropped to the ground four ears of corn and four pumpkins.[306]\nThe corn and pumpkin from the first buffalo were red, those from the\nsecond were spotted, those from the third were ca[p]e, i.e., dark or\ndistant-black, and those from the fourth were white.\n\nGreen, black, white, and gray are the traditional colors of the\nancestral wolves, according to the Wolf people of the Winnebago, though\nfor \u201cgreen\u201d we may substitute \u201cblue,\u201d as the corresponding name for the\nfirst son in that gens is Blue Sky. Among the personal names in the\nThunder-being subgens of the Winnebago are the four color names, Green\nThunder-being, Black Thunder-being, White Thunder-being, and Yellow\nThunder-being (instead of Gray). James Alexander, a member of the Wolf\ngens, said that these four Thunder-being names did not refer to the\nfour quarters. This seems probable, unless white be the Winnebago color\nfor the east and gray or yellow that for the west.\n\nIn November, 1893, more than two years after the preceding sentence was\nwritten, a Winnebago told the author that among his people white was\nassociated with the north, red with the west, and green with the south.\nOf these he was certain. He thought that blue was the color for the\neast, but he was not positive about it.\n\n\n COLORS IN PERSONAL NAMES.\n\n\u00a7 382. The following shows the color combinations in a list of\nforty-six objects taken from the census schedules of the Dakota,\nHidatsa, and Mandan tribes (U. S. Census of 1880), the lists of Dakota\nnames given in the Fourth Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, pp.\n175, 177-180, and the list of Winnebago names collected by the author.\nBlue or green, (chiefly blue), 26; red, 25; black, 31; yellow, 30;\nscarlet, 38; white, 37; gray, 18; sa\u014b or distant-white (whitish), 4;\nrusty-yellow or brown (\u0121i), 18; spotted, 17; and striped, 8. Objects\ncombined with two colors, 7; with three colors, 7; with four colors,\n4; with five colors, 5; with six colors, 5; with seven colors, 6; with\neight colors, 6; with nine colors, 5; with ten colors, 1; with all\neleven colors, none. It should, however, be remembered that the lists\nconsulted did not contain all the personal names of the Siouan tribes\nwhich have been mentioned, and that it is probable there would be found\nmore color combinations if all the census schedules were accessible. We\ncan not say whether each of the colors (including spotted and striped)\nhas a mystic significance in the Siouan mind. Perhaps further study\nmay show that red (\u015ba) and scarlet (duta, luta) have the same symbolic\nmeaning, and rusty-yellow (\u0121i) may be an equivalent of yellow (zi).\n\n\n THE EARTH POWERS.\n\n\u00a7 383. The Tunkan or bowlder, the Dakota name for the Earth powers, is\nalso called the Lingam by Riggs (\u00a7 132), as if connected with a phallic\ncult (\u00a7\u00a7 164, etc.). The Earth powers (Tunkan) and the Wind-makers\n(Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan) are said by the Dakota to have a common symbol; but\nis not the symbol of the Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan a pebble (\u00a7 376)? In the Kansa\nwar chart (see \u00a7 127) does the large (red) rock refer to the Earth\npowers? And does the small rock refer to the Wind-makers? The Earth\npowers and the Wind-makers seem to be associated in some degree: (_a_)\nIn the use of the rock symbol (if the Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan symbol be a true\nrock), and (_b_) in the use, among the Omaha, of eagle birth names in\nthe social divisions called \u201cKeepers of the pipes.\u201d This latter rests\nupon the assumption that the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 is a buffalo gens which should\nbe regarded as having some connection with the Earth cult. When the\nOmaha chiefs assembled in council the two sacred pipes were filled by\nthe Ictasanda keeper (a member of a Fire and Water gens); but they were\ncarried around the council lodge by the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 and \u2534e-[p]a-it\u2018aj\u012d\nkeepers. The I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 keeper started around the lodge with one of the\npipes; when he had gone halfway (i.e., as far as the entrance) the\n\u2534e-[p]a-it\u2018aj\u012d keeper started from the back of the lodge with the other\npipe, taking care to keep behind the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 keeper just half the\ncircumference of the circle.[307] The \u2534e-[p]a-it\u2018aj\u012d man belonged to\nthe Eagle or Wind-makers subgens and the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 man to one that we\nterm provisionally an Earth gens. (See Fig. 194.) The I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115, it is\ntrue, have a tradition that they came originally from the water; but\nthe buffalo is specially associated with the earth. Among the Dakota\nthe buffalo and the earth are regarded as one. (\u00a7 239.)\n\n\n EARTH GENTES.\n\nThe Earth gentes, as far as we can judge, are as follows: I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 and\nHa\u00f1ga (_?_), two Buffalo gentes, and the Wasabe-hit\u2018aj\u012d, a Black bear\nsubgens, among the Omaha; the Wacabe and Maka\u207f (Buffalo gentes,) among\nthe Ponka; the Ma\u207fyi\u00f1ka (Earth) and Wasabe (Black bear), of the Kansa;\nthe Earth and Black bear of the Osage; Black bear, and perhaps Wolf,\namong the Iowa and Oto; Black bear, of the Missouri; and Black bear\nand Wolf of the Winnebago. The Black bear people of the Winnebago were\nthe only men of that tribe who enforced discipline in time of war and\nacted as policemen when there was peace. The tradition of the Winnebago\nWolf gens names four brothers that were created. The first was green\n[sic] and was named Blue Sky (referring to day). The second was black,\nand his name referred to night. The third was white and the fourth\nwas gray. The green, black, and white wolves have remained in their\nsubterranean abodes. They are never seen by mankind. The gray wolf was\nthe ancestor of all the wolves which are seen above ground. (See \u00a7 90.)\nThese four colors are evidently symbolic; but the author has not yet\nlearned whether they have any reference to the four quarters. (See \u00a7\n75.)\n\n\n THE FIRE POWERS.\n\n\u00a7 384. Among these were the Thunder-beings and the Sun. The former were\nusually considered maleficent powers, as distinguished from the Sun,\nthe beneficent Fire power; but occasionally the Thunder-beings were\naddressed as \u201cgrandfathers,\u201d who could be induced to gratify the wishes\nof the suppliants by granting them success in war (\u00a7\u00a7 35, 36). It was\nprobably with reference to the Sun that the East was considered the\nsource of light and life, the West being associated with the taking of\nlife in the chase or on the war path (see \u00a7 28). Red among the Omaha\nis the color symbol of the East, but red is also symbolic of war. The\n\u201cfire paint\u201d among the T[s]i\u0254u gentes of the Osage tribe is red. It\nis applied when the fire prayers are said. Red is a war color among\nthe Dakota, Omaha, Kansa, and Osage. The T[s]i\u0254u crier received in his\nleft hand a knife with the handle painted red. The Ha\u00f1\u029ea crier received\nin his right hand a hatchet with the handle reddened. On the death\nof a comrade the surviving Osage removed the bark from a post oak,\nsay, about 5 feet from the ground, painted the blazed tree red, broke\nfour arrows and left them and some paint by the tree.[308] Whenever\nthe author saw Paha\u207fle-gaqli, one of the war chiefs of the Kansa, he\nnoticed that the man\u2019s face was painted red all over. In the middle of\nthe war chart of Paha\u207fle-gaqli was a fire symbol; but the chief feared\nto represent it in the copy which he made for the author. It probably\nconsisted of the four firebrands placed at right angles and meeting at\na common center. The Omaha must have had such a symbol at one time (see\n\u00a7 33). The Osage had it, according to their tradition (see \u00a7\u00a7 40, 365).\nThe successful warriors among the Omaha could redden their weapons when\nthey joined in the dance.[309]\n\nThe Dakota give the following as the sentinels for the Wakinyan: The\ndeer at the north, the butterfly at the east, the beaver at the south,\nand the bear at the west (\u00a7 116). If these were arranged to conform to\nthe order of Fig. 194 the bear would be at the north, the beaver at the\nwest, the deer at the east, and the butterfly at the south. But there\nmay be a special order of grouping the servants of each class of powers\ndiffering from the order of the four powers themselves. The Dakota\nwakan men say that the Wakinyan are of four colors, black, yellow,\nscarlet, and blue (\u00a7 116). The Thunder men of the Omaha legend had hair\nof different colors, the first having white hair, the second red, the\nthird yellow, and the fourth green hair.[310]\n\n\n FIRE GENTES.\n\nThe following appear to be the Fire gentes: Thunder-being people of the\nOmaha tribe, Elk gens, Small-bird subgens, Deer, and Ictasanda (Reptile\nand Thunder-being) gentes; the Hisada and Black bear gentes of the\nPonka; the L\u1e75 or Gray hawk people (also called Thunder-being people)\nof the Kansa tribe, with whom are associated the Deer and Buffalo\ngentes in the singing of the Thunder songs (\u00a7 36); the [K]\u023c\u016d\u207f[311] or\nThunder-being gens, on the Tsi\u0254u, Buffalo, or Peace side of the Osage\ntribe (!!), perhaps the Tcexi\u0287a, a bird gens of the Iowa tribe; part of\nthe Tcexi\u0287a gens of the Oto and Missouri tribes; and the Waka\u207ftcar\u0103 or\nThunder-being subgens of the Winnebago.\n\nFour Thunder-beings were invoked by the Ictasanda gens (\u00a7 35):\n\u023big\u023cize-ma\u207f\u023ci\u207f, \u023bia\u207fba-tig\u023ce, \u023bia\u207fba-gi-na\u207f, and Gaagig\u023ceda\u207f. Was each\nof these supposed to dwell at one of the four quarters?\n\nAmong the Osage and Kansa tribes there is a gens known as the Mi\u207f k\u2019i\u207f\n(from mi\u207f, the sun, and k\u2019i\u207f, to carry a load on the back), rendered\n\u201cSun Carriers.\u201d Some of the Osage insisted that this name referred\nto the buffalo instead of the sun, as that animal carries a robe or\nplenty of hair on his back; and they maintained that the Mi\u207f k\u2019i\u207f was a\nbuffalo gens. That there is some connection in the Indian mind between\nthe sun and the buffalo is shown in the sun dance, in which the figure\nof a buffalo bull (\u00a7 164) and buffalo skulls (\u00a7\u00a7 147, 173, 176, 177,\n181, and 198, and Pl. XLVIII) play important parts.\n\n\n THE WIND-MAKERS.\n\n\u00a7 385. The Taku\u015bkan\u015bkan of the Dakotas has been described in a previous\nchapter (\u00a7\u00a7 127-131). The Omaha tribe has the order of the I\u207f-kug\u023ci or\nthe translucent stone, in which order the Wind-makers were probably\ninvoked. The T[s]i\u0254u old man addressed the four winds and as many\nmystic buffaloes when he laid down the four firebrands. And at a\nsimilar ceremony the old man of the Pa\u207f\u0265ka gens addressed the four\nwinds and as many mystic deer (\u00a7 33). The Omaha evidently had a prayer,\n\u201cHo, ye four firebrands that meet at a common point!\u201d (\u00a7 40.) With this\nthere may have been addresses to the winds. Four firebrands were used\nin a Winnebago ceremony (\u00a7 84).\n\nThe I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 (Omaha) belief as to the four winds has been related in\n\u00a7 366.[312] The winds and the sun were associated in the ceremony of\nraising the sun pole, judging from what Bushotter has written (\u00a7 167).\nThere was also some connection in the Dakota mind between the winds\nand the buffalo. Compare the figure of the winds on a buffalo skull as\ndescribed by Miss Fletcher[313] in her account of the sun dance.\n\n\n WIND GENTES.\n\nThe following social divisions are assigned to this category:\nThe [K]a\u207fze, or Wind people, and the \u2534e-[p]a-it\u2018aj\u012d,\nTouch-not-a-buffalo-skull, or Eagle people, of the Omaha tribe; the\n\u023bixida and Nika[p]a\u0254na gentes of the Ponka; the Ka\u207fze (Wind or South\nWind-people), Q\u00fcya (White eagle), Ghost, and perhaps the Large Ha\u00f1ga\n(Black eagle), among the Kansa; the Ka\u207f[s]e (also called the Wind and\nSouth Wind people), and perhaps the Ha\u00f1\u029ea uta\u023can\u0287[s]e (Black eagle)\ngens of the Osage; the Pigeon and Buffalo gentes of the Iowa and Oto\ntribes; the Hawk and Momi (Small bird) subgentes of the Missouri tribe;\nthe Eagle and Pigeon, and perhaps the Hawk subgens of the Winnebago\nBird gens.\n\n\n EACH QUARTER RECKONED AS THREE.\n\nEach wind or quarter is reckoned as three by the Dakota[314] and\npresumably by the Osage (see \u00a7 42), making the four quarters equal to\ntwelve. Can there be any reference here to a belief in three worlds,\nthe one in which we live, an upper world, and a world beneath this\none? Or were the winds divided into three classes, those close to the\nground, those in mid air, and those very high in the air? The Kansa\nseem to make some such distinction, judging from the names of the\ndivisions of the Ka\u207fze or Wind gens of that tribe.\n\n\n NAMES REFERRING TO OTHER WORLDS.\n\nReferences to a world supposed to be above that one in which we\ndwell occur in some of the personal names of the Dakota, in the U.\nS. Census list of 1880. There we find such names as, Wolf Up-above,\nHawk Up-above, Grizzly-bear Up-above, and Buffalo-bull Up-above.\nGrizzly-bear Up-above should be taken in connection with the tradition\nof the Black-bear people of the Osage tribe. These people tell how\ntheir ancestors descended from the upper world, bringing fire.[315]\nThe tradition of the Wolf people of the Winnebago tribe tells of the\ncreation of their ancestors as wolves in a subterranean world, and of\na belief that many wolves remain there still. The Winnebago have, too,\nthe name, Second Earth Person, referring to a waktceqi or watermonster,\nas the waktceqi are supposed to dwell in the world beneath this one.\nThey call this world The First World, and the subterranean one The\nSecond World.\n\n\n THE WATER POWERS.\n\n\u00a7 386. The Unkte\u1e23i of the Dakota answers to the Wakandagi of the Omaha\nand Ponka, and the Waktceqi of the Winnebago. One of the Omaha myths\nrelates to a Wakandagi with seven heads. The Waktceqi have the Loon as\na servant, and in this respect they resemble the tyrant U-twa\u00b4-\u029ee of\nthe \u2534\u0254iwere myth. The name utwa\u029ee is now given to the muskrat. The male\nWater powers inhabit streams, and the females dwell under the ground,\npresumably in subterranean streams. According to Winnebago belief, they\nsupport the weight of the hills. Some of the Omaha thought that these\npowers dwelt under the hills (\u00a7\u00a7 77, 107). The monsters supposed to\ninhabit bogs were probably a species of water spirits (\u00a7 254). Streams\nwere invoked as \u201cWakanda\u201d by the Omaha (\u00a7 23). Though the natural\nhabitat of the buffalo is the surface of the earth, and the Dakota\nbelieve the animal to be of subterranean origin, he is of subaquatic\norigin according to the traditions of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 and Ha\u00f1ga gentes of\nthe Omaha.[316] But no traces of such a belief have been found among\nthe buffalo gentes of cognate tribes. \u201cOne day, when the principal man\nof the people not known as the Wa\u023cigije subgens of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115, was\nfasting and praying to the sun-god,[317] he saw the ghost of a buffalo,\nvisible from the flank up, arising from a spring.\u201d[318]\n\n\n WATER PEOPLE.\n\nThe Water people among the Omaha are the Turtle subgens, parts (if\nnot all) of the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 and Ha\u00f1ga (Buffalo) gentes, and perhaps\na part of the Ictasanda gens. Those among the Ponka have not yet\nbeen ascertained; but they may be the Wajaje and part of the Hisada.\nAmong the Kansa they are the Turtle people. In the Osage tribe are\nthe Turtle Carriers, Ke \u029eats\u00fc (said to be a turtle, but probably a\nWater-monster), Fish, Beaver, and, perhaps, the Tsewa\u023ce or Pond Lily\npeople. Among the Iowa and Oto are the Beaver gentes. And the Winnebago\nhave the Water-monster gens.\n\n\n CAUTIONS AND QUERIES.\n\n\u00a7 387. There are many gentes and subgentes which can not be assigned to\nany of the four categories of elemental powers for want of evidence. It\nis unsafe to argue that, because two buffalo gentes of the Omaha claim\na subaquatic origin, all buffalo gentes should be regarded as Water\npeople. Certain cautions should be kept in mind.\n\n\u00a7 388. The power of each of the four classes of elemental gods extends\nbeyond its special element. For instance, the Unkte\u1e23i, who rules in\nthe water, has for his servants or allies, the black owl in the forest\n(Query: Has this any connection with the fire or thunder?), eagles in\nthe air, and serpents in the earth. And the Thunder-beings have as\ntheir servants, the bear, whose abode is in the ground, the beaver, who\nis associated with the water, the butterfly, who lives in the air; and\nthe deer.\n\n\u00a7 389. The servants of a class of elemental gods do not necessarily\nbelong to that element which those gods regulate. Thus, the Black\nbear people of the Omaha, an earth people, assist the Elk people in\nthe worship of the Thunder; and among the Kansa, the Buffalo people\nperform a similar service for the L\u1e75 or Thunder-being people (\u00a7\u00a7 35,\n36).\n\nThose who belong to the same phratry, belong to the same social\ndivision; but while they \u201csing the mystery songs together,\u201d they need\nnot be assigned to the same elemental category.\n\n\u00a7 390. As the order of Thunder shamans is composed of those who have\nhad dreams or visions of the sun, moon, stars, Thunder-beings, or some\nother superterrestial objects or phenomena, may not all superterrestial\nbeings, including those of the \u201cupper world,\u201d be regarded as\nThunder-beings by the Indians? (See \u00a7 45 and the Thunder-being names in\n\u00a7 393.)\n\nThat is to say, may not the eagles, and other birds of the \u201cupper\nworld\u201d be Eagle Thunder-beings, Crow Thunder-beings, etc., though their\nspecial element is not the fire but the \u201cwind-makers,\u201d and the grizzly\nbears who reside under ground in that upper world, have given rise to\nthe personal name, Grizzly-bear Thunder-being? If this be correct, then\nBowlder Thunder-being may refer to a bowlder in the upper world, unless\nthe supposition respecting composite names (in \u00a7 392) be true.\n\n\u00a7 391. The following appears at first sight to be the proper\nclassification of the subgentes of a Bird gens in a few of the\nSiouan tribes: Thunder-bird, Eagle, Hawk, and Pigeon. But a study of\npersonal names has led to a modification of this grouping: for we find\nsuch names as Eagle Thunder-being, Hawk Thunder-being, and Pigeon\nThunder-being, as distinguished from ordinary eagles, hawks, and\npigeons. Hence, we may find on further study that in some tribes there\nare eagle, hawk, and pigeon names for gentes and subgentes whose patron\ngods are Thunder-beings. For instance, the L\u1e75 gens of the Kansa tribe\nhas two names for itself, Leda\u207f nikaci\u207fga, Gray hawk People, and L\u1e75\nnikaci\u207fga, Thunder-being People.\n\n\n COMPOSITE NAMES.\n\n\u00a7 392. There are other composite names, most of which are found in the\ncensus lists of the Dakota tribes, whose gentes are said to have no\nanimal names, and a few have been obtained from the personal name lists\nof the Omaha, Ponka, and Kansa, and the census lists of the Mandan, and\nHidatsa, that give animal names to some or all of their gentes. In the\nWinnebago name list no such personal names have been found, though that\npeople has animal names for its gentes.\n\nEach of these composite names may refer to a vision of a composite\nbeing, who was subsequently regarded as the guardian spirit of the\nperson who had the dream or vision. Or the bearer of such a name may\nhave had a dream or vision of two distinct powers. In the pictograph of\nsuch a name, the powers (or symbols of the two powers) represented in\nthe name are joined (see \u00a7 374).\n\n\u00a7 393. The following is a list of composite names which may be found\nto symbolize the four elements. The elements are designated by their\nrespective abbreviations: E for earth, F for fire; A for air, and W for\nwater. The interrogation mark after any name denotes a provisional or\nconjectural assignment.\n\n Turtle Grizzly-bear (W + E).\n Grizzly-bear Small-bird (E + A).\n Cloud Grizzly-bear (F? + E).\n Grizzly-bear Buffalo-bull (E + ?).\n Fire Grizzly-bear (F + E).\n Sun Grizzly-bear (F + E).\n Ghost Grizzly-bear (? + E).\n Grizzly-bear Weasel, given as \u201cWeasel Bear\u201d in 4th An. Rept. Bur.\n Eth., Pl. LXIX, No. 174.\n Iron Grizzly-bear (\u201cIron\u201d is generally denoted by blue in the\n Dakota pictographs. See \u00a7 107.)\n Bald-eagle Grizzly-bear (A? + E).\n Shield Grizzly-bear. (The shield is on the bear\u2019s side, 4th Eth.,\n Pl. LXIII, No. 62.)\n Crow Grizzly-bear.\n Whirlwind Grizzly-bear. (The whirlwind precedes in the pictograph,\n 4th Eth., Pl. LVIII, No. 77.)\n Hawk Thunder-being.\n Pigeon Thunder-being. (A \u2534\u0254iwere name--not yet found in Dakota.)\n Buffalo-bull Thunder-being.\n Grizzly-bear Thunder-being (E + F).\n Fire Thunder-being (F + F).\n Elk Thunder-being.\n Pipe Thunder-being. (4th Eth., Pl. LXXI, No. 179, a winged pipe.)\n Cloud Thunder-being.\n Horse Thunder-being.\n Iron Thunder-being. (See \u00a7 107.)\n Earth Thunder-being (E + F.)\n Black-Bird Eagle.\n Eagle Hawk. (4th Eth., Pl. LVI, No. 53.)\n Eagle Small-bird. (4th Eth., Pl. LXVI, No. 116.)\n Grizzly-bear Eagle. (4th Eth., Pl. LXIX, No. 170; a bear with an\n eagle\u2019s tail.)\n Horse Eagle. (4th Eth., Pl. LXVIII, No. 153; horse body and\n eagle\u2019s tail.)\n Dog Eagle. (4th Eth., Pl. LII, No. 9; dog with eagle\u2019s tail.)\n Eagle Swallow. (4th Eth., Pl. LXXIX, No. 282; eagle with forked\n tail of a swallow).\n Cloud Eagle.\n Iron Deer.\n Cloud Dog.\n Buffalo-bull Small-bird.\n Mountain Buffalo-bull.\n Crow Buffalo-bull.\n Buffalo-bull Dog.\n Cloud Buffalo-bull.\n Buffalo-bull Man (i. e., Indian).\n Buffalo-bull Ghost.\n Stone Buffalo-bull.\n Buffalo-bull Buffalo-cow (the only name in which both sexes are\n given).\n Iron Buffalo-bull. (See \u00a7 107.)\n Buffalo-bull Wind.\n Buffalo-cow Eagle.\n Iron Buffalo. (N. B.--It is uncertain to which element the buffalo\n should be assigned. He seems to be associated with all of them.)\n Sun-dog (F? + E?).\n Eagle Thunder-Being (A? + F).\n Elk Eagle. (4th Eth., Pl. LXX, No. 178; an elk\u2019s horns and eagle\u2019s\n tail.)\n Sun Eagle (F + A).\n Star Eagle (F? + A).\n Stone Eagle (E? + A).\n Iron Eagle.\n Crow Eagle.\n Owl Eagle.\n Weasel Eagle.\n Grizzly-bear Hawk.\n Fire Hawk.\n Scarlet Hawk Whirlwind.\n Hawk Ghost.\n Iron Hawk. (4th Eth., Pl. LVI, No. 47; the hawk is blue.)\n Iron Wolf.\n Wolf Ghost.\n Fire Wind (F + A).\n Fire Lightning.\n Iron Lightning.\n Iron Star.\n Iron Boy. (4th Eth., Pl. LVIII, No. 81; a boy painted blue.)\n Iron Crow. (4th Eth., Pl. LVI, No. 47; a crow painted blue.)\n Crow Ghost.\n Iron Elk.\n Female-elk Boy. (4th Eth., Pl. LVII, No. 66; the head and\n shoulders of a boy joined to a female elk.)\n Iron Dog.\n Dog Ghost.\n Bowlder Thunder-Being (E + F).\n Iron Whirlwind.\n Iron Beaver.\n Small-bird Beaver.\n Iron Owl.\n Cloud Hail.\n Iron Cloud.\n Fire Cloud.\n Iron Wind.\n Stone Ghost.\n Cloud Black-bear.\n Hermaphrodite Ghost(!)\n Iron Kingfisher.\n Cloud Horse.\n Iron Horse.\n Lightning Horse.\n Earth (or Ground) Horse.\n Wind Horse.\n Fire Horse.\n Black-bird Horse.\n Small-bird Man (or, Indian; 4th Eth., Pl. LIV, No. 28; bird\u2019s head\n and wings on a man\u2019s body).\n Dog Rattlesnake.\n\nThere are several \u201cWa\u015bi\u0107un\u201d names: Cloud Wa\u015bi\u0107un, Fire\nWa\u015bi\u0107un, Night Wa\u015bi\u0107un, and Iron Wa\u015bi\u0107un. The last\none has for its pictograph a man with a hat, i. e., a white man, and\ncan hardly have any mystic significance. The name, Wa\u015bi\u0107un,\noriginally meant \u201cguardian spirit,\u201d but it is now applied to white\npeople (\u00a7 122). In the absence of the pictographs, we can not\ntell whether Cloud Wa\u015bi\u0107un, Fire Wa\u015bi\u0107un, and Night\nWa\u015bi\u0107un refer to guardian spirits (in which case they are mystic\nnames connected with cults) or to white men.\n\nMost of the above names are taken from the Dakota census lists. The\n\u2534\u0254iwere lists furnish only two composite names of this character: Iron\nHawk Female, and Pigeon Thunder-being. The Kansa list has Moon Hawk\nand Moon Hawk Female, the latter name, which is found in the Omaha\nand Ponka list, suggesting the Egyptian figure of a woman\u2019s body with\na hawk\u2019s head, surmounted by a crescent moon. Horse Eagle appears to\nbe a sort of Pegasus. Buffalo-bull Eagle may refer to the myth of the\nOrphan and the Buffalo-woman, in which we learn that the Buffalo people\nascended through the air to the upper world.[319]\n\n\n PERSONAL NAMES FROM HORNED BEINGS.\n\n\u00a7 394. The Dakota lists have several names of horned beings, as\nfollows: Horned Grizzly-bear, Horned Horse (4th Eth., Pl. LIV, No.\n29, and Pl. LXXI, No. 193), Horned Dog, Horned Eagle, Gray Horned\nThunder-Being, Horned Deer, Black Horned Boy, and Snake Horn. No\nattempt to explain these names has been made. Among the Winnebago, the\nfollowing names refer to water monsters, and belong to the Waktceqi\nor Water-monster gens: Horn on one side (equivalent to the Dakota,\nHe-sa\u014bni\u0107a), Horns on both sides, Two Horns, Four Horns, and\nFive Horns.\n\nThe Winnebago list has the name Four Women (in one), with which compare\nwhat has been said about the Double-Woman (\u00a7 251).\n\n\n NAMES DERIVED FROM SEVERAL HOMOGENEOUS OBJECTS OR BEINGS.\n\nAn examination of the personal name lists reveals such names as First\nor One Grizzly-bear, Two Grizzly-bears, Three Grizzly-bears, Four\nGrizzly-bears, Many Grizzly-bears; One Path, Two Paths, Four Paths\nFemale, Many Paths; One Cloud, Two Clouds, Three Clouds, Many Clouds;\nOne Crow, Two Crows, Three Crows, Four Crows, Many Crows. The author\nsuspects that these names and many others of a similar character are\nsymbolic of the four quarters and of the upper and lower worlds, and\nthat the Indian who was named after the larger number of mystic objects\nenjoyed the protection of more spirits than did he whose name referred\nto the smaller number. This accords with the Cherokee notion described\nby Mr. Mooney in his article on the Cherokee theory and practice of\nmedicine:[320] The shaman is represented as calling first on the Red\nHawk from the east, then on the Blue Hawk in the north, the two hawks\naccomplishing more by working together. Still more is effected when the\nBlack Hawk from the west joins them, and a complete victory is won when\nthe White Hawk from the south joins the others.\n\nCompare with this the Osage opinion that the man who could show seven\nsticks (representing seven brave or generous deeds) was of more\nimportance than he who could show only six sticks.\n\n\n RETURN OF THE SPIRIT TO THE EPONYM.\n\n\u00a7 395. In two of the buffalo gentes of the Omaha (the I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115\nand Ha\u00f1ga) there is a belief that the spirits of deceased members of\nthose gentes return to the buffaloes. Does the abode of the disembodied\nspirit differ in the gentes according to the nature of the eponymic\nancestor? For instance, is there a belief among the Elk people that\ntheir spirits at death return to the ancestral Elk?\n\n\n FUNCTIONS OF GENTES AND SUBGENTES.\n\n\u00a7 396. In several tribes there seems to have been a division of labor\namong the gentes and subgentes, that is, each social division of the\ntribe had its special religious duties.\n\nIn the Omaha tribe we find the following: the Elk gens regulated war;\nit kept the war tent, war pipes, and the bag containing poisons; it\ninvoked the Thunder-being, who was supposed to be the god of war, and\nit sent out the scouts. The I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 and Ha\u00f1ga gentes were the leading\npeace gentes; they regulated the buffalo hunt and the cultivation\nof the soil. The Ha\u00f1ga gens had the control of the peace pipes, and\na member of that gens lighted the pipes on all ceremonial occasions\nexcept at the time of the anointing of the sacred pole.[321] The\nI\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 gens kept the peace pipes, and a member of that gens acted as\ncrier on many occasions, the other crier being a member of the [K]a\u207fze\nor Wind gens. An Ictasanda man usually filled and emptied the pipes;\nbut a Ha\u00f1ga man filled them when the sacred pole was anointed. The\n\u2534e-[p]a-it\u2018aj\u012d keeper of a sacred pipe really kept instead the sacred\ntobacco pouch and buffalo skull. The I\u00f1ke-sab\u0115 and \u2534e-[p]a-it\u2018aj\u012d\nkeepers carried the two pipes around the circle of chiefs. The Black\nbear people aided the Elk people in the worship of the Thunder-being in\nthe spring of the year.\n\n\u00a7 397. The following division of labor existed in the Ponka tribe:\nThe Wasabe-hit\u2018aj\u012d and Hisada gentes led in the worship of the\nThunder-being. The \u023bixida and Nika[p]a\u0254na gentes led in war. The\nWacabe, Maka\u207f, and Nuqe, all buffalo gentes, regulated the buffalo\nhunt. The Wajaje (Reptile people) with whom used to be the Necta or Owl\npeople, appear to have been servants of the subaquatic powers.\n\n\u00a7 398. In the Kansa tribe we find that the Earth Lodge and Elk\ngentes consecrated the mystic fireplaces whenever a new village was\nestablished; that the Earth Lodge people consecrated the corn, and\nregulated the buffalo hunt as well as farming; that the Elk people\ndirected the attack on the buffalo herd; that the Ghost people\nannounced all deaths; that the two Ha\u00f1ga gentes led in war and in\nmourning for the dead; that the Tciju wactage was a peace-making gens;\nthat a member of the Deer gens was the crier for the tribe; that the\nmember of the L\u1e75 or Thunder-being gens could not take part in the\nwaqpele gaxe. (\u00a7 28) and must remain in the rear of the other warriors\non such an occasion; and that the Wind people, who had to pitch their\ntents in the rear of the other gentes had a ceremony which they\nperformed whenever there was a blizzard (\u00a7 55).\n\n\u00a7 399. In the author\u2019s account of Osage war customs he relates the\nfollowing incidents: On the first day of preparation for the warpath\nthe Black bear people bring willows and kindle a fire outside the war\ntent. On the same day some other Ha\u00f1\u029ea people deposit branches of dried\nwillow in some place out of sight of the war tent, and the \u023buqe men\n(part of the Buffalo-bull gens) bring in those branches. On the next\nday men of the Night gens (a sort of Black bear people) set the willow\nbranches on fire, and they and the Elder Osage people say prayers.\nAfter this there is a struggle to secure pieces of the charcoal. An\nElk man and a Ka\u207f[s]e man act as criers. On the third day an Osage man\nbrings in the sacred bag for the Ha\u00f1\u029ea or Wa\u0254a\u0254e mourner (the gens of\neach man is not specified, but both men belong to the right or war\nside of the tribe), and a Sin\u0287[s]a\u029e\u023ce man brings in a like bag for the\nmourner belonging to the T[s]i\u0254u or peace side of the tribe. On the\nfourth day a woman of a Buffalo gens on the right or Ha\u00f1\u029ea side of the\ntribe lays down two strips of buffalo hide so that the warriors may\ntake the first step on the warpath. After the warriors start, a \u023buqe\nman is taken ahead of them in order to perform some ceremony which has\nnot been recorded.\n\nOn the return of the war party the warriors are met outside of the\nvillage by an old man of the Ka\u207f[s]e or Wind gens. He performs certain\nceremonies as he walks around the party (beginning at the north and\nending at the east), and then he tells them whether they can enter the\nvillage. The clothing of the returning warriors becomes the property of\nthe old Ka\u207f[s]e man and his attendant.\n\nThe Ka\u207f[s]e gens of the Osage tribe is called the I[p]ats\u2018\u0115, because\nit devolves on a member of that gens to fill the peace pipes. The\ncorresponding gens of the Ka\u207fze tribe is called Ibatc\u2018\u0115 or Ha\u00f1ga-ji\u00f1ga.\n\n\n THE \u201cMESSIAH CRAZE.\u201d\n\n\u00a7 400. Since the present article was begun there has arisen the\nso-called \u201cMessiah craze\u201d among the Dakota and other tribes of Indians.\nThe author does not feel competent to describe this new form of Indian\nreligion, but he suspects that some features of it are either willful\nor accidental perversions of the teachings of the missionaries.\n\n * * * * *\n\n\u00a7 401. In presenting this study of Siouan cults to the scientific world\nthe author has a painful sense of its incompleteness, but he hopes\nthat the facts here fragmentarily collated may prove helpful to future\ninvestigators. The inferences, provisional assumptions, and suggestive\nqueries in this chapter are not published as final results. Even should\nany of them prove to be erroneous the author\u2019s labor will not be in\nvain, for through the correction of his mistakes additional information\nwill be collected, tending to the attainment of the truth, which should\nbe the aim of all mankind.\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n[Footnote 277: Rev. S. D. Peet, on the tradition of aborigines of North\nAmerica, in Jour. Vict. Inst., Vol. XXI, pp. 229-247.]\n\n[Footnote 278: Ibid., p. 232.]\n\n[Footnote 279: Ibid., p. 233.]\n\n[Footnote 280: Om. Soc., 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethnol., \u00a7\u00a7 136, 137.]\n\n[Footnote 281: Ibid., \u00a7\u00a7 19, 21, 31, 97, etc.]\n\n[Footnote 282: See Am. Naturalist, July, 1885, pp. 673, 674, Figs. 3\nand 4.]\n\n[Footnote 283: The reader is cautioned against supposing that \u201cair\u201d as\nused in this section is employed in the scientific sense, because the\nIndians were ignorant of the nature of the atmosphere. They distinguish\nbetween the \u201cSomething-that-moves\u201d (which we term the \u201cWind-maker,\u201d\n\u201cWind-makers\u201d in the plural) and the winds, and they also had distinct\nnames for the clouds and \u201cupper world.\u201d They also had special names for\nthe Four Quarters (Dakota, tatuye topa; \u023begiha, tade ui\u023c\u0115 dubaha).]\n\n[Footnote 284: See \u00a7 33 where there is an account of the invocation of\nthe winds at the consecration of the fireplaces.]\n\n[Footnote 285: The Omaha Buffalo Medicine-Men, in Jour. Amer.\nFolk-lore, No. X, p. 219, and note.]\n\n[Footnote 286: It is interesting to observe in this connection that the\nDirector of the Bureau of Ethnology, in an address entitled \u201cOutlines\nof the philosophy of the North American Indians.\u201d New York, 1877, (p.\n10), spoke of \u201cthe god of the south, whose breath is the winds.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 287: Am. Naturalist, July, 1885, p. 676.]\n\n[Footnote 288: An. Rept. Peabody Museum, vol. III, p. 267.]\n\n[Footnote 289: Ibid, p. 268.]\n\n[Footnote 290: Ibid, pp. 272, 273.]\n\n[Footnote 291: Om. Soc., 3d An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 242.]\n\n[Footnote 292: Osage War Customs, in Am. Naturalist, Feb., 1884, pp.\n131, 132.]\n\n[Footnote 293: The west and north are supposed to be the peace\nquarters, and the east and south the war quarters. See Fig. 194 and \u00a7\n378.]\n\n[Footnote 294: Om. Soc., p. 299.]\n\n[Footnote 295: Contr. to N. A. Ethnol., vol. IX, Dakota Grammar, Texts,\nand Ethnography, p. 193.]\n\n[Footnote 296: Ibid., p. 197.]\n\n[Footnote 297: From Renville\u2019s account of the tiyotipi, in ibid., pp.\n200, 202.]\n\n[Footnote 298: Om. Soc., p. 317. Osage War Customs, pp. 118, 119, 124,\n131.]\n\n[Footnote 299: Contr. N. A. Ethnol., vol. VI, The \u023begiha Language, p.\n375.]\n\n[Footnote 300: The author accepts this without hesitation.]\n\n[Footnote 301: Yet these feathers and down are often colored: see \u00a7\u00a7\n112, 116, 132, 239, 242, and 263.]\n\n[Footnote 302: An. Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 285, note 10.\nWritten in 1882.]\n\n[Footnote 303: An. Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 260.]\n\n[Footnote 304: As it was customary for gentes of the same phratry to\nexchange personal names, a (Kansa) Deer name, for instance, being given\nto a (Kansa) Buffalo man, and _vice versa_, the author thinks that an\nexchange of symbolic colors might be expected. Compare what Matthews\ntells about the exchange of white and black among the Navajo, in \u00a7 380.]\n\n[Footnote 305: Winona, name of the first child if a daughter, not\n\u201cfirst daughter.\u201d]\n\n[Footnote 306: Osage Traditions, in 6th An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 379.]\n\n[Footnote 307: Om. Soc., in 3d An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 223, 224.]\n\n[Footnote 308: Osage war customs, in Am. Naturalist, Feb., 1884, pp.\n118, 126, 132.]\n\n[Footnote 309: Om. Soc., in 3d An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 329, 330.]\n\n[Footnote 310: Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol. VI, p. 187.]\n\n[Footnote 311: A Kansa saying: L\u1e75, Tced\u016d\u00f1ga, Taqtci aba cki wanaxe\nkinukiye, abe au, _They say that the Thunder-being, Buffalo, and Deer\ngentes cause a ghost to \u201ckinu,\u201d_ referring to some effect on a ghost\nwhich can not be explained.]\n\n[Footnote 312: Om. Soc., in 3d An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 229.]\n\n[Footnote 313: Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci. Proc., Vol. 31, p. 583. See, too,\nAn. Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 262, lines 15-18.]\n\n[Footnote 314: Compare An. Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. 3, p. 289, note\n1.]\n\n[Footnote 315: Osage War Customs, in Amer. Naturalist, Feb. 1884, p.\n133.]\n\n[Footnote 316: Om. Soc., in 3d. An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 229, 233.]\n\n[Footnote 317: Symbolizing the fire.]\n\n[Footnote 318: This seems to point to a subaquatic origin. See Om.\nSoc., p. 231.]\n\n[Footnote 319: Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol. VI, pp. 142, 146.]\n\n[Footnote 320: Jour. Am. Folk-lore, Vol. III, No. VIII, pp. 49, 50.]\n\n[Footnote 321: Om. Soc., in 3d An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 222, 223.]\n\n\n\n * * * * *\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES\n\nIn the Indian language as presented here, as in English, there are\nhyphenated words. In the original, some hyphens occurred at the end\nof a line. E.g., in \u00a7 28., there appears the word \u2018g\u00fc\u00b4a\u207fyakiy\u00e9-\u2019 at\nthe end of a line, followed on the next line by \u2018da\u207f\u2019. In cases like\nthis, where it is not possible to determine by looking at similar words\nwhether the word contained a hyphen or was simply split over two lines,\nthe hyphen has been retained and a note has been added.\n\nInconsistencies in diacritical marks have been corrected when there is\nan overwhelming majority of examples of a given word having the same\nmarks, as in the case of \u201cUu\u00e7ita\u201d which appears three times with a dot\nunder the \u201cc\u201d and once without, and left as is otherwise.\n\nThe same is true for inconsistencies in spelling.\n\nInconsistencies in hyphenation have been retained.\n\nObvious mistakes in punctuation have been corrected.\n\nMost of the sections in the original started with a section sign (\u00a7)\nfollowed by a space followed by the section number. A few were missing\nthe space; the space has been put in all sections, for consistency.\n\nSome of the illustrations had explanatory text both above and below\nthe image; that is depicted here like this:\n\n[Illustration:\n[Text which was above the image]\n\u201c[image]\u201d\n[Text which was below the image]]\n\nIn Footnote 4 there is a reference to what must be \u201cMyth, Ritual, and\nReligion\u201d by Andrew Lang; the original has \u201cMyth. Ritual, and\nReligion\u201d.\n\nOn p. 376 there is a quotation starting \u201cOn one occasion...\u201d Because of\ninjudicious use of quotation marks, it is impossible to tell where the\nquotation ends.\n\nOn p. 375, the quotation of Samuel Fremont about the word \u201cabicude\u201d is\nnot closed; it cannot be determined whether he spoke one sentence or\ntwo.\n\nIn footnote 27 there is a mark after the \u2018k\u2019 in the third word. It may\nbe an accent mark or it may be the closing single quote used to\ndescribe an \u201cexploded k\u201d as described in \u00a7 3. It does not look much\nlike either. But as there are no other instances of an accent mark\nafter a \u2018k\u2019 in the book, it has arbitrarily been made a closing single\nquote.\n\nOn p. 384, the \u201cTranslation\u201d had a double-quote (\u201d) at the end but not\nat the beginning; as there are double-quotes within the translation,\nthe double-quote at the end has been removed.\n\nOn p. 390, in \u00a7 41, the phrase \u201cyou do not acquire personal mysterious\npower\u201d had \u201cmyterious\u201d in the original.\n\nOn p. 391, in \u00a7 42, the phrase \u201cwhat Matthews tells about the Hidatsa\nreverence\u201d had \u201ctell\u201d in the original.\n\nOn p. 402, in \u00a7 48, the phrase \u201cthey themselves have not had visions of\nthe objects\u201d had \u201cobects\u201d in the original.\n\nOn p. 410, about \u201cOMAHA NIKIE CUSTOMS\u201d, there were seven footnotes,\nnumbered 1 to 7, but the anchors appeared in the order: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5,\n6, 7, 5. They are now numbered 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, and 66, and the\nanchors appear in the order 60. 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 64. That\nis, two separate places in the text have pointers to footnote 64.\n\nOn p. 431, in \u00a7 93, the word \u201ccounter-beliefs\u201d was split over two\nlines: \u201ccounter-\u201d and \u201cbeliefs\u201d. \u201cCounter-beliefs\u201d was arbitrarily\nchosen over \u201ccounterbeliefs\u201d.\n\nOn p. 436, in \u00a7 101, the phrase \u201csome other part of it is sacrificed by\nthe person\u201d had \u201csacrified\u201d in the original.\n\nOn p. 436, in \u00a7 101, in the phrase \u201cand is always constant with\nindividuals\u201d had \u201cindividuls\u201d in the original.\n\nOn p. 449 there is a quotation from Smet starting \u201cthe Great Spirit, to\nthe sun\u201d; there is no ending quotation mark for this.\n\nOn p. 455, in \u00a7 160, the word \u201chorseback\u201d was split over two lines in\nthe original: \u201chorse-\u201d and \u201cback\u201d. \u201chorseback\u201d was arbitrarily chosen\nover \u201chorse-back\u201d.\n\nIn footnote 157 the original had \u201cBept.\u201d instead of \u201cRept.\u201d\n\nFootnote 201, \u201cWestern Missions and Missionaries, p. 140\u201d has two\nanchors.\n\nOn p. 479, there is a section numbered 231 between section 249 and\nsection 250. It starts: \u201cOne of the Dakota myths tells how Unktomi\nkilled himself\u201d.","title":"A Study of Siouan Cults: Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1889-1890, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1861, pages 351-544","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":96195}