{"collection":"scripture-revelation","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_70615/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_70615","id":"gutenberg_70615","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/70615","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Thesis (Ph. D.)","Winnebago Indians -- Rites and ceremonies"],"text":"THE RITUAL AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WINNEBAGO\n                            MEDICINE DANCE\n\n\n                             BY PAUL RADIN\n\n          DISSERTATION SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE\n          REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY\n                     IN THE FACULTY OF PHILOSOPHY,\n                         COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY.\n\n\nReprinted from THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE, Vol. XXIV, No. XCII,\n                           April\u2013June, 1911\n\n\n\n\n                           TO THE MEMORY OF\n                           EVELYN R. BRESLER\n\n\n\n\n  [Reprinted from THE JOURNAL OF AMERICAN FOLK-LORE, Vol. XXIV., No.\n                       XCII., April\u2013June, 1911.]\n\n\n\n\n      THE RITUAL AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE WINNEBAGO MEDICINE DANCE\n\n                             BY PAUL RADIN\n\n\n\n\n                               CONTENTS\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\n\n  A. DESCRIPTION OF THE RITUAL OF THE WINNEBAGO MEDICINE DANCE       149\n\n    I. Organization of the Bands                                     150\n\n   II. Prescribed Duties of the Bands                                151\n\n  III. Division of the Ceremony                                      153\n\n   IV. Types of Component Elements of the Ceremony                   154\n\n        1. Types of Speeches                                         154\n        2. Types of Songs                                            156\n        3. Types of Action                                           156\n        4. Types of Ritual                                           156\n\n    V. Ceremony as a Whole                                           161\n\n  B. DESCRIPTION OF THE OJIBWA MIDE\u2032WIWIN                            165\n\n  C. DESCRIPTION OF THE MENOMINEE MIDE\u2032WIWIN                         167\n\n  D. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RITUAL                                  168\n\n    I. The Common Elements                                           168\n\n   II. The Interpretation of the Common Elements\u2014Schurtz\u2019s Theory    169\n\n  III. The Shooting Ritual                                           175\n\n   IV. The Initiation Ritual                                         179\n\n    V. The General Ceremony                                          186\n\n   VI. The Complete Ceremonial Complexes                             188\n\n  VII. R\u00e9sum\u00e9 and Conclusion                                         198\n\n\n\n\n        A. DESCRIPTION OF THE RITUAL OF THE WINNEBAGO MEDICINE\n                               DANCE[1]\n\n\nThe Medicine Dance is a society, admission into which is gained by\npurchase. The Winnebago suppose it to be a repetition of a ceremony\noriginally instituted by the Rabbit, when he initiated the first man\ninto its secrets. The society consists of five bands, which, during the\nceremony, are known respectively as the Ancestor-Host\u2019s, the East,\nNorth, West, and South Bands. These five bands are also known by the\nnames of their leaders. Any band may act as host, and the position of\nthe others in the lodge is dependent on the order in which they are\ninvited by the band acting as host. It thus follows that each band must\nknow the entire ceremony of the society.\n\nI. ORGANIZATION OF THE BANDS.\u2014For purposes of description it will\nbe best to divide each band into three parts,\u2014the leader, his two\nassistants, and the rest of the band. Leadership depends upon\na thorough knowledge of the ceremony and its complete esoteric\nsignificance, which is in the possession of only one individual in each\nband. This knowledge can be obtained solely by purchase and religious\nqualifications. These religious qualifications, to which might be added\nmoral as well, play little part at the present day, but there can be no\ndoubt that they were essential in the past. The leader likewise often\npossessed other characteristics, such as those of warrior and shaman,\nbut they were not essential for his position.\n\nThe two assistants were generally men who had purchased sufficient\ninformation and privileges to entitle them to help the leader in\ncertain details of the ceremony. The drummers, rattle-holders, dancers,\netc., were always recruited from their ranks. Eventually they became\nthe leaders. Those who were neither leaders nor assistants possessed\na knowledge varying from that of elementary information, required for\nadmission, to such as would entitle them to the position of assistant.\n\nThere is a priority of position in the lodge depending on priority of\ninvitation. The band invited first, occupies the east position; that\ninvited second, the north; that invited third, the west; and that\ninvited fourth, the south. The east is the position of highest honor;\nthe south, that of the lowest. Between the bands, there exists an order\nof invitation based on tradition, the exact nature of which is unknown.\nAccording to one informant, if one band invited another, the latter in\nturn would be obliged to give it the position of honor; but as there\nare five bands, this can apply only to special cases. Whatever may be\nthe order, it is certain that each band has ample occasion to occupy\nall five positions.\n\nThere are two ways in which a man can join the Medicine Dance. He\nmay simply apply for admission to any of the five leaders, or he may\ntake the place of a deceased relative. In the former case, if his\npayment is satisfactory, and he has the other qualifications, he is\naccepted. In the other case, he or his relatives decide to have him\ntake the place of a deceased relative. This latter form of candidacy\nis by far the commoner. At the present day, initiation requires the\npayment of about three hundred or four hundred dollars, in the form of\ngoods and tobacco. Of this, a portion is given to the leader of the\nAncestor-Host\u2019s Band during the Four Nights\u2019 Preparation, and the rest\nto the leaders of the other four bands during the ceremony proper.\n\nExactly how much information an individual obtains on entering, cannot\nbe determined. This would depend on the amount of the payment. The\nminimum of knowledge would be an acquaintance with the bare externals\nof the ceremony, its general significance, and such knowledge of the\nlegendary origin of the Lodge as a single recital could give. The new\nmember is not initiated into the symbolism of the ritualistic myths,\nand consequently a large portion of the same must be unintelligible\nto him. What he obtains is practically only the right to hold the\notter-skin bag and to use it in a certain way. He cannot take part in\nany of the forms of dancing or singing, nor can he even shoot at will.\nHe very rarely remains in this condition long, but takes the first\nopportunity to purchase additional knowledge and privileges.\n\nThere are three kinds of members,\u2014mature men, women, and children. The\nprivileges of women differ from those of the men, in that the women do\nnot have to partake of the sweat-bath, may never become assistants, and\nare privileged to dance in a certain way. In other respects they have\nequal privileges with men. In practice, there are certain privileges\nthat women never have, but this is due to the fact that either they do\nnot care or they are not in a position to buy them. Children belong to\na quite different category. Although they possess an otter-skin, they\nhave not even the power of making it effective, and, in order to do so,\nmust have it guided by some older member. There does not seem to be any\nevidence indicating that women were ever excluded from membership.\n\nII. PRESCRIBED DUTIES OF THE BANDS.\u2014The duties of the\nhost, who is known as x\u2019okera,[2] and whose band is called\nMina\u00f1k\u2018ara-k\u2018o\u00f1a\u00f1gire\u2032ra,[3] are as follows:\n\n1. To rehearse the songs and rituals with his band four nights\nprevious to the ceremony proper. At this rehearsal the candidate\n(ha\u207fbirok\u2018aragu\u2032-inera, literally \u201cthe one for whom they seek life\u201d) is\nalways present, and instructed in the ceremony.\n\n2. To send out invitation-sticks and tobacco to the leaders of the\nother four bands. The messengers are always his sisters\u2019 sons.\n\n3. To begin the Four Nights\u2019 Ceremony preceding the ceremony proper.\n\n4. To receive the leaders and assistants of the other four bands before\nthe sweat-lodge ritual, and to begin the same.\n\n5. To begin the ceremony proper.\n\n6. To take part in the following portion of the ceremony proper.\n\n(_a_) To welcome the four bands.\n\n(_b_) To lead the candidate to the secret brush and instruct him in\ncertain precepts.\n\n(_c_) To act as preceptor of the candidate before he is shot with the\nsacred shell.\n\n(_d_) To turn the candidate over to the charge of the leaders of the\nEast and North Bands.\n\n(_e_) To relate certain of the myths.\n\n(_f_) To deliver certain speeches and to perform certain actions that\nconstitute the basic ritual of the ceremony proper. This will be\ndiscussed later.\n\nThe East Band is known as Tconi mina\u2032\u00f1gera (Those-who-sit-first),\nHan\u207fp\u2018ogu homina\u2032\u00f1gere (Where-the-day-comes-from), Wiayephuregi\n(Where-the-sun-rises). All these terms are used frequently. The duties\nof the leader are\u2014\n\n1. To assist the ancestor-host in passing upon the eligibility of a\ncandidate.\n\n2. To take part in the following portions of the ceremony proper.\n\n(_a_) Accompanied by his two assistants, to take part in the brush\nritual.\n\n(_b_) To take charge of the candidate after he has been handed over to\nhim by the ancestor-host.\n\n(_c_) To shoot the sacred shell into the candidate\u2019s body.\n\n(_d_) To relate certain of the myths.\n\n(_e_) To perform the basic ritual.\n\nThe North Band is known as Siniwagu mina\u2032\u00f1gera\n(Where-the-cold-comes-from). The leader has the same duties as those of\nthe East leader. The myths recited are of course different.\n\nThe West Band is known as Wioi\u2032r\u00ea mina\u2032\u00f1gera (Where-the-sun-goes-down).\nThe leader has the duty of reciting certain myths and performing the\nbasic ritual.\n\nThe South Band is known as Na\u00f1g\u016dojedja\u207f mina\u00f1gera\n(He-who-sits-at-the-end-of-the-road) or Horotc\u00fb\u2032\u00f1djeregi\n(Where-the-sun-straightens). The duties of the leader are the same as\nthose of the leader of the West Band, except that the myths he recites\nare different.\n\nThe distribution of the gifts to the different bands is the following:\n\nThe leader of the East Band receives one-half of the number of\nblankets, the upper half of the new suit worn by the candidate, and\none-quarter of the food.\n\nThe leader of the North Band receives one-half of the blankets, the\nlower half of the suit, the moccasins, and one-quarter of the food.\n\nThe leaders of the West and South Bands receive each three yards and a\nhalf of calico and a fourth of the food.\n\nThe ancestor-host receives various gifts of food and tobacco from the\nleaders of the other bands. He receives his payment from the candidate\nbefore the ceremony proper.\n\nThe candidate is present at the Four Nights\u2019 Ceremony of the\nancestor-host\u2019s band preliminary to the ceremony proper. At the latter\nceremony he sits to the right of the ancestor-host\u2019s band. He is not\ndressed in his new suit until after the secret ceremonies in the brush.\n\nThere are facial decorations distinctive of the different bands. The\nhost\u2019s band and the candidate paint a blue circle on each cheek, but\nits significance is unknown to me.\n\nThe regalia used are simple and few. They consist of eagle, hawk,\nsquirrel, weasel, beaver, and otter skin bags, a drum, gourd rattles,\nand invitation-sticks. The otter-skin bags are always beaded and\ncontain the sacred shell and various medicines. A few red feathers are\nalways inserted in the mouth of the otter-skin bag. The gourds contain\nbuck-shot at the present day. They are painted with blue finger-marks.\n\nIII. DIVISION OF THE CEREMONY.\u2014The Medicine Dance is divided into five\nwell-marked parts. The first part (I) consists of the Two Nights\u2019\nPreparation preceding the sending-out of the invitation-sticks. This\ntakes place at the home of the ancestor-host (x\u2019okera), in the presence\nof the members of his band and the candidate. The second part (II)\nconsists of the Four Nights\u2019 Preparation preceding the sweat-lodge\nritual. Each band has its own Four Nights\u2019 Preparation, although that\nof the ancestor-host begins before the others. The third part (III)\nconsists of the rites held in a sweat-lodge specially constructed\nfor this purpose near the medicine-lodge, on the morning after the\nFour Nights\u2019 Preparation. The participants are the ancestor-host; the\nleader of the East, North, West, and South Bands, each with his two\nassistants; and the candidate. The fourth part (IV) consists of the\nceremony proper, which in turn must be divided into the night ceremony\n(_a_) and the day ceremony (_b_). The fifth part (V) consists of the\nrites held in the brush, at which the secrets of the society are\nimparted to the candidate. Special guards are placed on all sides of\nthe brush to prevent the intrusion of outsiders. The participants are,\nbeside the candidate, the ancestor-host, the leaders of the East and\nNorth Bands, each with his two assistants, and all other individuals\nwho have bought the privilege of attending. These ceremonies take place\nat the dawn preceding the day ceremony.\n\nTwo feasts and one intermission interrupt the main ceremony. The\nfeasts always take place at the end of the ritual of the East Band;\ni. e., generally at noon and at midnight. The intermission generally\nlasts from the dawn preceding the day ceremony until 7 or 8 A. M. The\nintermission begins as soon as the drum and gourds have been returned\nto the ancestor-host, and ends as soon as the people return from the\nbrush ritual.\n\nThe first and second parts are concerned entirely with a recital\nof certain ritualistic myths, and a rehearsal of the songs and the\nspecific ritual of each band, used during the remaining parts.\n\nIV. TYPES OF COMPONENT ELEMENTS OF THE CEREMONY.\u2014For purposes of\ngreater clarity, the speeches, songs, and types of action, will\nbe carefully differentiated, and referred to by some designation\ncharacterizing their essential traits. These speeches, songs, and types\nof action, together form complexes which can be regarded as units, and\nI will therefore also refer to these by some designation characteristic\nof their function.\n\n1. _TYPES OF SPEECHES._ (1) _Salutations._\u2014No formal salutation is\nused during Parts I and II, the individuals being addressed by their\nrelationship terms. In Parts III, IV, and V the salutations are\ninvariably the same. The ancestor-host and his band are addressed as\nfollows: \u201cThe-one-occupying-the-seat-of-a-relative (deceased) (some\nrelationship terms) -and-you-who-sit-with-him, I salute you!\u201d The East\nis addressed, \u201cYou-who-represent-the-place-where-the-sun-rises;\u201d the\nNorth, \u201cYou-who-represent-the-place-where-the-cold-comes-from;\u201d the\nWest, \u201cYou-who-represent-the-place-where-the-sun-sets;\u201d and the South,\n\u201cYou-who-represent-the-place-where-the-sun-straightens\u201d or (preferably)\n\u201cYou-who-represent-the-end-of-the-road.\u201d\n\nThe appellations of the bands, as before stated, refer to the creation\nmyth and the four guardian spirits whom the Rabbit visited for the\npurpose of inquiring into the necessity and meaning of death. He was\ncompelled to travel around the earth, which is conceived of as an\nisland, and received no answer until he came to the spirit at the end\nof the road. In the dramatic performance of the medicine dance the\nlodge typifies the earth, and the four bands and their leaders typify\nthe four spirits. The ancestor-host\u2019s band typifies the ancestor of\nthe Winnebago, their leader being known as x\u2019okera (literally \u201croot,\u201d\nmetaphorically \u201cancestor\u201d).\n\n(2) _Speeches._\u2014Under this head will be treated (_a_) speeches of\nwelcome; (_b_) speeches of acceptation; (_c_) speeches of presentation;\n(_d_) speeches explanatory of the significance of the ritual; and (_e_)\nspeeches of admonition, addressed exclusively to the candidate. This\ndoes not exhaust all the speeches. There are many others, generally\nshort, that can hardly be classified. It must be understood that\nin their content, as well as in the order of their succession, the\nspeeches must follow a traditionally determined sequence. In practice\nthis is certainly not always true, but to the mind of the Winnebago\nthese speeches appear as old as the ceremony. It is their firm belief\nthat any departure from the accepted norm will interfere with the\nefficacy of the ceremony.\n\n(_a_) Speeches of Welcome.\u2014When the leader of the East Band enters\nafter the ancestor-host has begun the main ceremony (IV, _b_), he\naddresses him as follows: \u201cIt was good of you that you condescended to\ninvite me to this dance. I am a poor pitiable man, and you believed me\nto be a medicine-man. But I know that you will show me the true manner\nof living, which I thought I possessed, but which I did not.\u201d In this\nstrain he continues, weaving into his speech references to the ritual\nconnected with his band, and giving words of thanks for the beautiful\nweather (should it be a clear day). In concluding, he thanks all again,\nand informs them that he will sing a song. With slight alterations, the\nleaders of the other bands address the ancestor-host similarly. The\nancestor-host\u2019s answer of welcome is as follows: \u201cWhatever I desired,\nyou have done for me. All night have you stayed with me, and by your\npresence helped me in the proper performance of this ceremony. I am\nready with a dancing-song; and when I have finished it, and sit down, I\nshall pass unto you tobacco and the other means of blessing (the gourds\nand the drum). You all, who are present, do I greet.\u201d\n\n(_b_) Speeches of Acceptation.\u2014After the ancestor-host has been\npresented with food, he thanks the donors as follows: \u201cYou have had\npity on me. You have been good to me, and have given me to the full\nwhatever I might have desired. You have made my heart full of the\nblessing of thankfulness. In return I give you a blessing. Here is\nsome food for you. It is not anything special, nor is it as much as it\nought to be, and I know you will remain hungry. It was prepared for the\nspirits of the four quarters (whom you represent), but it is lacking in\nall those qualities which would have made it acceptable to them. Such\nas it is, however, may its presentation be a means of blessing to you!\u201d\n\n(_c_) Speech of Presentation.\u2014East presents the food to the\nancestor-host with the following words: \u201cI have not very much to tell\nyou, because I am too poor, but our ancestors told us to give food to\nyou. This little that I give you is all that I can do, being a person\nof so little importance.\u201d\n\n(_d_) Explanatory Speeches.\u2014These are of so specific a nature that no\nsingle one can be considered typical.\n\n(_e_) Speeches of Admonition.\u2014\u201cNephew, now I shall tell you the path\nyou must walk, the life you must lead. This is the life the Rabbit\nobtained for us. This is the only kind of life, this that our ancestors\nfollowed. Listen to me. If you will always help yourself, then you will\nattain to the right life. Never do anything wrong. Never steal, never\ntell an untruth, and never fight. If you meet a woman on the left side\nof the road, turn to the right. Never accost her, nor speak familiarly\nwith a person whom you are not permitted thus to address. If you do all\nthese things, then you will be acting correctly. This is what I desire\nof you.\u201d\n\n2. _TYPES OF SONGS._\u2014The songs may be divided into two groups: (1)\nthose that are sung in connection with myths and after the speeches\nof a more general nature, and (2) those that are sung to accompany\ndefinite and specific actions. These latter can therefore be most\nconveniently divided into (_a_) minor dance songs, (_b_) major dance\nsongs, (_c_) initial songs, (_d_) terminal songs, (_e_) loading\nsongs, and (_f_) shooting songs. The medicine-men distinguish only\nbetween four kinds of songs,\u2014major and minor dance songs, terminal and\nshooting songs. Each has a different rhythm and music. For purposes of\ndescription, however, the above division is more convenient.\n\n3. _TYPES OF ACTION._ (1) _Blessing._\u2014Either hand is held outstretched,\npalm downward, and moved horizontally through the air. It is always\nused when entering and leaving the lodge, and on any occasion where an\nindividual has to pass from one part of the lodge to another. It is\nalways rendered as \u201cblessing\u201d by the Indians; and they particularly\ninsisted upon the fact that the \u201cblessing\u201d was not conveyed by any\nwords used in connection with the action, but by the action itself.\nEach person who is thus passed answered with a long-drawn-out \u201cho-o-o,\u201d\nand with an obeisance of the head.\n\nA modification of the above is the na\u207fsura ni\u00f1kuruhintce (or \u201cblessing\nof the head\u201d), which consists of a simple laying of the hand upon the\nhead; both the giver and recipient keeping their eyes fixed on the\nground, and the recipient slightly bending his head. A few mumbled\nwords accompany this action.\n\n(2) _Direction of Walking in the Lodge._\u2014One must always pass contrary\nto the hands of the clock. A person in the East Band must make the\nentire circuit of the lodge in order to pass out. In only exceptional\ncases can this rule of passing be broken; and that is when an old and\nspecially privileged member crosses from his seat to that directly\nopposite him, during the shooting ceremony. I was given to understand\nthat this was an extremely expensive privilege.\n\n4. _TYPES OF RITUAL._\u2014Parts III, IV, and V can be so analyzed that they\nfall into a fairly well-defined number of complexes, consisting of\nspeeches, songs, and movements. These are nine in number. Artificial\ndistinctions have been avoided in this division, as far as possible.\nThe complexes are (1) entrance ritual; (2) exit ritual; (3) fire\nritual; (4) presentation-of-food ritual; (5) shooting ritual; (6)\ninitiation ritual; (7) sweat-lodge ritual; (8) smoking ritual; (9)\nbasic ritual.\n\nOf these, (3), (5), (7), (8), and (9) are found in Part III; all,\nexcept (7) and (6), in Part IV (_a_); and all except (7) in Part IV\n(_b_); (5) does not actually occur in Part III, but is described in\ndetail in the myth related there. The order in which we will discuss\nthese ceremonial complexes is not the order in which they follow one\nanother in the ritual. Some of them are likewise interwoven with\none another. Both these factors will, however, be considered in the\ndescription of the entire ritual, following the description of each\nceremonial complex.\n\n(1) _Entrance Ritual._\u2014The band enters the tent, makes one complete\ncircuit, and stops. The leader now delivers a short speech, followed\nby a song. They then continue to the west end, where another speech is\ndelivered and another song sung. After this, they continue again, and\nstop at the east end, where the leader talks and sings. Now all sit\ndown. After a short pause, the leader again rises, and, walking over to\nthe ancestor-host, talks to him, and gives him some tobacco. He then\nreturns to his seat. Each band entering repeats the same ritual. This\napplies, however, only to Part IV (_a_) and (_b_).\n\n(2) _Exit Ritual_ (Part IV, _a_ and _b_).\u2014The East leader rises and\nspeaks, followed by North, West, and South. They then speak again, and,\nsinging, walk towards the entrance in such a way that the South, North,\nand West Bands make complete circuits of the lodge, thus enabling the\nEast Band to precede them. Near the entrance all stop singing, and\nsay \u201cwahi-hi-hi\u201d four times, and pass out. This exit ceremony differs\nslightly in the two divisions of IV.\n\n(3) _Fire Ritual_ (Part III).\u2014The ancestor-host rises and goes to the\nleaders of the four other bands individually; and after he has blessed\nthem, they respond; and all rise, make four circuits of the lodge, and\nthen sit down again. Now the leader of the East Band rises, holding in\nhis hands the invitation-sticks and some tobacco, delivers a speech,\nand, going to the fireplace, kindles a new fire.\n\n(8) _Smoking Ritual._\u2014The leader of the East Band pours tobacco into\nthe fire, first at the east, and then at the north, west, and south\ncorners. Then he lights his pipe, puffs first towards the east, then\ntowards the north, west, and south. That over, he passes his pipe to\nthe leader of the North Band, who takes a few whiffs, and in turn\npasses it around to the next member of the lodge. When the pipe has\nmade the complete circuit, it is placed in front of the fireplace. In\nthe mean time the ancestor-host has returned to his seat, and after\na short pause, rises, speaks, and sings again. This smoking ceremony\noccurs after each entrance ceremony of IV (_a_) and (_b_), and before\nboth feasts of IV (_a_) and (_b_).\n\n(4) _Presentation-of-Food Ritual_ (Part IV, _a_ and _b_).\u2014The leader of\nthe East Band rises, and brings meat, berries, wild potatoes, etc., to\nthe ancestor-host, delivering a minor speech at the same time. Each of\nthe other leaders repeats the same ceremony. When all have finished,\nthe ancestor-host rises and thanks them.\n\n(5) _General Shooting Ritual_ (Part IV, _a_ and _b_).\u2014The leaders of\nthe East, North, West, and South Bands, holding their otter-skins in\ntheir hands, rise, and, taking three men with them, make a complete\ncircuit of the lodge. They first speak in undertones to these three\nmen, giving them directions. At each end the leader of the East\nBand speaks, and then, singing, walks toward the west end, saying\n\u201cyoho-o-oya-a\u201d three times, and ending with a long-drawn-out \u201cyo-ho.\u201d\nAt the west end both he and the leader of the South Band speak. Then\nchanting \u201cyo-ho\u201d again, they all walk towards the east end. Here the\nleader of the East Band speaks twice. Now all place their otter-skins\non the ground in front of them. East then speaks again. At the\nconclusion of his speech, all kneel in front of the otter-skins and\ncough, at which the sacred shell drops from their mouths upon the\notter-skins. They thereupon pick it up, and holding the shell in one\nhand, and the otter-skin in the other, make a circuit of the lodge\nfour times, increasing their speed with each circuit, and singing.\nAll this time the shell is held in full view of the spectators, on\nthe outstretched palm of their right hand. As they near the east end\nof the lodge, toward the end of the fourth circuit, standing in front\nof the Ancestor-Host\u2019s Band, they supposedly swallow the shell, and\nfall down instantaneously, head foremost, as if dead. Finally they\ncome to, and, coughing the shell up, they put it into their otter-skin\nbag, and, making the circuit of the tent, shoot four members of the\nAncestor-Host\u2019s Band, four of the East, four of the North, two of the\nWest, and two of the South Band. Each person, as he is shot, falls\nprostrate on the ground, but, recovering after a few moments, joins\nthose making the circuit of the tent. Each leader now takes his drum\nand gourds to the fireplace. Then the general shooting commences. Every\nperson possessing the right, shoots one individual, until all the\nmembers have been shot. As each person is shot, he falls to the ground,\nfeigns unconsciousness, and then slowly recovers. The slowness or speed\nof his recovery depends exclusively upon the privileges he possesses,\nand the number of years he has belonged to the society. As soon as the\nperson shot recovers, he falls in line immediately after the last one\nshot. While all are thus walking around, the half-dozen people at the\nfireplace sing shooting-songs to the accompaniment of drum and gourds.\nThe amount of noise at this point is quite considerable.\n\n(6) _Initiation Ritual_ (Part IV, _b_).\u2014All the members of the\nAncestor-Host\u2019s Band, and the candidate, make one circuit of the lodge,\ntaking their otter-skins along with them. As they pass around, they\ngently touch the heads of the members with the mouth of the otter-skin,\nsaying, \u201cyoho\u2032-o-o,\u201d to which the members respond with \u201cho-o-o.\u201d After\nthe circuit, all return to their seats with the exception of the\ncandidate, who remains at the east end, in front of the fireplace.\nAfter a pause, the ancestor-host joins him again, and delivers a speech\nof the admonition type. The candidate first faces the south, and then\nthe north. During his speech, the ancestor-host touches him on his head\nand on his chest, and makes him face first south, and then north. When\nthe speech is over, the ancestor-host sings, and takes the candidate to\nthe west end of the tent.\n\nThe tent is now prepared for the initiation proper. Two long strips of\ncalico are stretched from the west to the east end of the lodge. They\nare about a foot and a half wide, and are separated from each other\nby the fireplace. At the west end a much shorter strip of the same\nmaterial is stretched along the width of the lodge, across the two long\nstrips. Upon this the candidate is placed. When these preparations are\ncompleted, the ancestor-host rises, and, going to each of the four\nleaders, speaks to them in an undertone. He then returns to his seat.\nThe leaders of the East and North Bands now rise and make the complete\ncircuit of the lodge. The former now speaks, then the latter. He, in\nturn, is followed by the former, who speaks twice. Then the leader of\nthe North Band delivers another speech, and, together with his partner,\nwalks to the west end of the lodge, where the candidate is kneeling.\nThe two leaders here speak again. Both now take their sacred shells,\nswallow them, and walk to the east end. Here they speak again. Now\nthey hold their otter-skins in readiness for the shooting, but first\njerk them forward twice towards the four cardinal points, saying\n\u201cdje-ha-hi, dje-ha-hi,\u201d and concluding with \u201ce-hohoho.\u201d Standing upon\nthe two long calico strips in a slightly bent position, and holding\ntheir otter-skins tightly in their hands, both run rapidly toward the\nreclining form of the candidate, making loud, threatening sounds in\na quavering voice, and strike his body twice with the mouth of the\notter-skin, ejaculating, as they do this, two short sounds, as of an\nanimal who has succeeded in capturing his prey. The candidate falls\nprostrate to the ground instantaneously. He is immediately covered with\na blanket, upon which are placed the otter-skins of the two leaders.\nA number of people specially privileged now gather around the covered\nfigure, dance, sing, and shout to the accompaniment of the shouts of\nthe other members of the society, all of whom seem to be in a frenzy of\nexcitement. When the noise has somewhat abated, the blanket is removed,\nand the figure of the candidate is shown, still apparently unconscious.\nHe comes to slowly, but finally succeeds in raising himself and sitting\nup. He then coughs violently, and the shell, which has apparently been\nshot into his body, falls out of his mouth. After this, his recovery\nis rapid. He is then undressed; and all the finery, as well as the new\nbuckskin suit, moccasins, etc., are distributed to those to whom it is\ncustomary to give them. He now returns to his seat to the right of the\nAncestor-Host\u2019s Band, where some female relative, generally his mother,\ndresses him in an ordinary suit.\n\n(7) _Sweat-Lodge Ritual_ (Part III).\u2014The East leader rises, and with\nhis two assistants makes the circuit of the sweat-lodge, during which\ntime the North, West, and South leaders, each with his two assistants,\njoin him. At the east end the leader makes four steps with his right\nfoot, each time saying \u201cwahi-hi-hi.\u201d He then makes the circuit of the\nlodge four times. After the third circuit, he goes directly to the\nheating-stone, \u201cin defiance of the rule,\u201d as he himself says, but with\nthe hope that through this defiance he will gain additional strength.\nAfter he has made the fourth circuit, he seizes the two entrance-lodge\npoles, and, shaking them gently, shouts \u201ce-ho-ho-ho.\u201d All now sit down.\nNow the ancestor-host takes four sticks and smears them with a special\nkind of greenish clay, and hands them to the leader of the East Band.\nThe latter seizes them and holds them tightly with both hands. By this\naction he is supposed to obtain strength. The sticks are then passed\nin rotation to the leaders of the North, West, and South Bands, all of\nwhom repeat the same ceremony.\n\n(9) _Basic Ritual_ (Part IV, _a_ and _b_).\u2014This ritual is that upon\nwhich the ritual of the ceremony proper (Part IV, _a_ and _b_) is\nbuilt. In a certain sense it may be justifiable to consider all the\nabove ritualistic complexes, with the exception of the entrance and\nexit rituals, as parts of this basic ritual. The important religious\nfunction of the Medicine Dance is the \u201cpassing of the blessing,\u201d\nconsisting of speeches, songs, and the blessings which each individual\npasses from one band to the other for the greater benefit of both the\nhost and his guests. These blessings are symbolized by the drum, the\ngourds, the songs, the speeches, and the specific actions in which each\nband participates. The ceremony begins when the ancestor-host delivers\nhis first speech, and ends when drum and gourds are returned to him.\nAll that takes place between the ancestor-host\u2019s first speech, up to\nthe time that the drum and gourds are placed before the members of the\nEast Band, constitutes the unit that I have called the \u201cbasic ritual.\u201d\nInto it are thrust, as intrusive elements, other rituals; so that it is\nat times extremely difficult to discern the basic ritual itself. But\nit is there, and remains intact; for as soon as an intrusive ritual is\nfinished, the thread of the basic ritual is taken up, and continued to\nthe end. Such a ritual as the general shooting or initiation, or such\nmyths as the origin myth, require hours; and yet as soon as they are\nover, the basic ceremony is continued from the point where it had been\ninterrupted.\n\nThe East leader rises and speaks, then sits down, and together with\nthe other members of his band, sings a song (initial song). When this\nsong is finished, he rises and speaks again, and then sits down and\ncommences a song known as the \u201cminor dancing-song.\u201d While he and a\nfew others are singing, drumming, and using the gourd rattles, other\nmembers of his band, as well as members of the other bands, who care\nto, and who have bought the privilege, come to his seat and join in\nthe dancing. When this is over, he and a few others either from his\nown or from some other band, who have bought the privilege, go to the\nfireplace, where the leader delivers a speech and begins the major\ndancing-songs, in which the privileged members participate. When this\nis over, the drum is tied to one of the members thus privileged,\ngenerally the one who has been drumming, and the circuit of the lodge\nis twice made, the leader and his two assistants at the head, followed\nby the other members of his band. Two stops are made at the west, and\ntwo at the east, end of the lodge, where songs known as \u201ccompletion\nsongs\u201d are sung. Then the lodge circuit is made four times, all\nchanting \u201cwahi-hi-hi,\u201d slowly at first, but then faster, the speed of\nthe walking corresponding to that of the chanting. Then, with a final\nstrong \u201ce-ho-ho,\u201d drum and gourds are deposited in front of the next\nband. All now return to their seats, where, before sitting down, the\nleader delivers a short speech.\n\nThis basic ritual is repeated by each band in the manner described. As\nit is so often broken up by the intrusion of other rituals, it will be\nbest to divide it into four parts. These parts are never broken up.\nWhenever intrusive elements occur, they either precede or follow.\n\nThe first part consists of all that takes place between the first\nspeech of the leader and the completion of the initial song. The speech\nreferred to is the one that follows the smoking ritual, which may, on\nthe whole, be reckoned as belonging to the introductory ritual, such as\nthe entrance ritual. The second part consists of all that transpires\nbetween the second speech and the completion of the minor dancing-song.\nThe third part consists of all that transpires between the speech at\nthe fireplace and the completion of the major dancing-songs. The fourth\npart consists of all that transpires between the completion of the\nmajor dancing-songs, and the last speech the leader makes after he has\npassed the drum and gourds to the next band.\n\nThe most bewildering intrusion is that which follows the second part.\nBefore the leader and his assistants go to the fireplace, the elaborate\ngeneral shooting ritual takes place. After the specially designated men\nof each band have been shot, those specially privileged proceed to the\nfireplace. Here they sing the shooting-songs until the shooting ritual\nis over. The first set of drummers and gourd-rattle holders are often\nrelieved by a second set. It is only when the shooting-songs have been\ncompleted, that the leader and his assistants proceed to the fireplace\nto begin the third part of the basic ritual.\n\nV. CEREMONY AS A WHOLE.\u2014As stated before, there are certain speeches\nand types of action that cannot be fitted into the above description.\nThis is especially true of myths; and these, with the exception of the\ncontent of the myth, will now be considered in connection with the\ndescription of the entire ritual as related to me by Blowsnake, and\nbased on the above divisions. The ceremony begins with an account of\nthe manner in which Blowsnake was induced to join the society. Upon\nhis acceptance, and payment of the required amount of material, the\nceremony began.\n\nThe first two nights consisted of an informal salutation, two\nexplanatory speeches and four myths, the latter in no way connected\nwith any part of the Medicine Dance. The last three myths deal with the\nlegendary account of the origin of the Winnebago Medicine Dance, and\nits dissemination among the tribe.\n\nAt sunset the leader of the band to which the candidate has applied for\nadmission, gathers together the members of his band, and all retire\nto a little lodge near his home, in order to begin the Four Nights\u2019\nPreparation. It is only after the leader has finished the first song\nthat the other four bands who are holding corresponding preparations\nare allowed to begin. What actually takes place during these four\nnights is not positively known, but there is little doubt that they are\nused as a general rehearsal of songs, speeches, and other elements of\nthe ceremony.[4] In all probability, the candidate who is present in\nthe lodge of his future ancestor-host is likewise instructed in as many\nthings as an uninitiated member is allowed to know. This instruction\nconsists in the teaching of certain myths and types of action.\n\nOn the morning after the last of the four nights, the candidate is\ngiven some sacrificial tobacco, and told to go in search of a stone\nfor the sweat-bath. He selects a stone that he can carry on his back\neasily. Before picking it up, he pours tobacco on it. As soon as the\nstone is brought to the lodge of the host, it is heated. The candidate\nis now despatched for some oak-branches, four pieces of oak-wood about\ntwo feet and a half in length, and some grass. The grass is used for\nimprovised seats. The oak-wood is used for the four construction poles\nof the sweat-lodge. They are placed in the east, north, west, and\nsouth points respectively. It is not permitted to trim the tops of the\noak-wood. When all the bands have gathered near the medicine-lodge, and\nretired to their improvised lodges, the ancestor-host and the candidate\ngo to the lodge of the East leader (that is, to the lodge of the band\nfirst invited), and greet him by touching his head with their hand.\n\nHe answers with \u201cho-o-o.\u201d The leader of the first band rises, and,\naccompanied by his two assistants, goes to the sweat-lodge. The\nancestor-host goes to the lodges of the other bands and greets the\nleaders in a similar manner. After the leader and assistants of the\nband last invited have entered the sweat-lodge, the ancestor-host, the\ncandidate, and his assistants enter, and the ceremonies begin.\n\nAfter the ceremonial salutation and an introductory speech, the\nancestor-host, as the leader of the band giving the Medicine Dance\nmay now be called, rises, and, taking his invitation-stick and some\ntobacco, approaches the leader of each band, and, blessing him, thanks\nhim for coming, and assures him at the same time to how great a degree\nhis presence will contribute toward the success of the performance of\nthe ritual. He then returns to his seat. The leaders thank him in turn.\nNow follow the fire and smoking rituals, which in turn are followed\nby twelve speeches of a general and of an explanatory character. Then\ncomes the \u201cstrengthening\u201d ritual; and immediately after come two\nexceedingly long myths describing the initiation of the first man\ninto the secrets of the lodge, as well as the symbolic meaning of\nthe shooting ritual. All now undress and take a sweat-bath. Female\ncandidates are excluded. A number of short speeches follow, and the\nwhole concludes with the exit ritual.\n\nThe drum and gourds are used to accompany the song. The basic ritual\nis perhaps present, to a certain extent. However, it was impossible to\nwitness the ritual, and for this reason the procedure seems somewhat\nhazy to the writer.\n\nWhen the ritual in the sweat-bath is over, there is a slight pause. The\ncandidate, the ancestor-host and his band, enter the medicine-lodge,\nand, after taking their seats, sing a few songs. When the last song is\nconcluded, the other bands enter in the order of their invitation. Now\ncomes the entrance ritual followed by the smoking ritual. Thereupon\nthe ancestor-host rises and delivers the opening speech of the basic\nritual. The ancestor-host does not go through the entire basic ritual\nat this time, because he is not permitted to begin the shooting ritual.\nSoon after the beginning of the basic ritual by the ancestor-host,\ngenerally after the second speech, gourds and drum are passed to the\nleader of the East Band. This one rises and begins the basic ritual,\nwhich he interrupts at the end of the second part, in order to begin\nthe general shooting ritual. When that is finished, he continues with\nthe third and fourth parts of the basic ritual. Then drum and gourds\nare passed to the North Band. Its leader now in turn begins his basic\nritual, but stops after the second part, where the presentation-of-food\nritual and the smoking ritual intervene. It is now about midnight, and\na feast is partaken of. As soon as the feast is finished, and the lodge\nhas been cleared of food and eating-utensils, the leader of the North\nBand continues with the third and fourth parts of the basic ritual. The\nleaders of the West and South Bands perform the basic ritual without\nany interruptions, except, of course, that of the general shooting\nritual between the second and third parts. The drum and gourds have now\nreached the ancestor-host, who goes through the third and fourth parts\nof the basic ritual. There is, however, some doubt as to whether this\nis always done. Then follows the exit ritual, and all pass out to rest\nfor a few hours.\n\nA short time preceding dawn, the candidate, the leaders of the East and\nNorth Bands, and the ancestor-host, each with two assistants, and all\nother members who are privileged to do so, leave the lodge and walk to\nthe brush, where the candidate is to be initiated into the mysteries\nof the sacred shell and the shooting. Each band must have one or more\nof its members present at this ritual.[5] When they are near the place\nset aside for the secret ritual, the order of marching, which up to\nthis time had been of no consequence, changes into that of single file,\nthe leader of the East Band leading. When they have arrived at the\nplace, all stop. The East leader now informs those present that he is\ngoing to make a road for the candidate, symbolical of the path of life,\nwhich forms the basis of the sweat-bath and Medicine Dance. Singing,\nhe circles the spot four times. At the end of the fourth circuit he\nstops, and all turn around and face east. The leader of the North Band\nhas also the right to go through this ritual, but he does not always do\nit. Repeating the ceremony is in all probability connected with extra\nexpense. All now sit down, and the specific rites of the brush ritual\nbegin.\n\nThe ancestor-host rises, and, taking the candidate with him, goes\nto the leader of the East Band and speaks to him. Then he and the\ncandidate return to their seats. The East leader now relates to the\ncandidate a portion of the story of the creation of the earth and of\nthe first man. The North leader then tells the story of the journey to\nthe land of the spirits, to the lodge of the earth-maker. When this is\nfinished, the two leaders teach the candidate how to go through the\nactions incidental to the shooting, the swallowing of the shell, and\nthe recovery from its effects. When they think that he is sufficiently\nadept in all these actions, they dress him in his new suit, put on a\nnew pair of moccasins, decorate him with finery, and return to the\nmedicine-lodge.\n\nThese rites generally last until about eight in the morning; so that\nwhen those who have participated in the brush ritual are returning,\nthe other members of the Medicine Dance are also about ready to begin\nthe day ceremony, the principal one of the entire Medicine Dance. The\nancestor-host again precedes the other leaders in entering the lodge.\nThen follows the entrance ritual. During this ritual the drum is struck\nfour times at stated intervals. The smoking ritual now follows. When\nit is concluded, the ancestor-host rises to begin the basic ritual,\nwhich is interrupted at the end of the second part. Gourds and drum\nare passed to the East Band, whose basic ritual is also interrupted\nat the end of the second part. Now follows, first the initiation of\nthe candidate into the Medicine Dance, and then the general shooting\nritual. When the East leader has concluded, drum and gourds are passed\nto the North Band, whose basic ritual is not interrupted, as upon the\npreceding day. At the conclusion of the basic ritual of the North Band,\nthe food-presentation ritual follows, then that of the smoking ritual,\nand finally the feast. After the feast, the leader of the West Band\nnarrates the origin myth of the Medicine Dance, which is continued by\nthe leader of the South Band. The presents are then distributed. After\nthis, the basic ritual is continued by the leader of the West Band,\nfollowed by that of the South Band, and finally drum and gourds are\npassed to the ancestor-host. He either finishes the third and fourth\nparts of the basic ritual, or takes drum and gourds to the fireplace.\nThe exit ritual now begins, and at about sunset the entire ceremony of\nthe Medicine Dance is over. On the whole, it must be said, that the\nmain difference between (_a_) and (_b_) of Part IV setting aside the\ninitiation, lies simply in the number of myths told and the greater\nlength of the speeches.\n\n\n                B. DESCRIPTION OF THE OJIBWA MIDEWIWIN\n\nAs I shall have occasion to refer frequently to the Midewiwin of the\nOjibwa and Menominee, a short summary of these two ceremonies will be\ninserted here.\n\nThe Ojibwa Midewiwin is a society of shamans of both sexes. It is\ngraded into four degrees, special initiation being required for each\ndegree. The ritual of all the degrees seems to be the property of five\nshamans,\u2014the four so-called \u201cmide-priests\u201d and the preceptor. In the\nlodge the preceptor occupies a position to the side of the candidate\nand the mide-priests sitting near the western entrance.[6]\n\nThere are two methods of admission. A man may apply because in his\nfasting some manito connected with the Midewiwin has appeared to him,\nor he may take the place of an individual who has died while preparing\nfor initiation. As soon as the candidate\u2019s application has been\naccepted, a preceptor is selected, whose duty it is to instruct the new\npupil in the mide teachings, and explain to him the meaning and origin\nof the regalia, the songs, and the origin of the Midewiwin itself, by\nmeans of birch-bark records. The time required for this instruction\nvaries, depending upon the preceptor and the amount of payment. The\nknowledge required for each degree is definitely determined, and is\nimparted almost entirely during this preparatory instruction. When the\ncandidate has acquired the specified information, and the required\npayments have been made, a four-nights\u2019 preparation takes place, during\nwhich he takes four sweat-baths. At dawn of the day of initiation he\nrepairs to the sweat-lodge, clad in his best clothes, to await the\narrival of his preceptor and the four officiating priests.\n\nThe initiation ceremonies which follow are the same for the second,\nthird, and fourth degrees in almost all details, except that those for\nthe fourth are more elaborate. The first degree is like the others in\nits possession of a shooting ceremony and general speeches, but differs\nin elaboration and symbolism of the ritual.\n\nThe shooting is performed by the four officiating mide; but it is\nonly the leader of these four who succeeds in rendering the candidate\nunconscious. A candidate for the first degree is shot in the breast;\none for the second, in the joints; and one for the third and fourth,\nin the joints and forehead. After he has been initiated, the candidate\ntries his power on all the members present. Indiscriminate shooting, as\ndescribed among the Winnebago, only occurs at the initiation into the\nfourth degree.\n\nTo the Ojibwa the Midewiwin is the dramatization of the struggle of\nthe bear-spirit with the evil spirit, bear, serpent, panther, etc. The\ncandidate impersonates the good bear-spirit, and some mide sometimes\ntake upon themselves the impersonation of the evil spirits.[7] In the\nritual of the fourth degree, representing the complete initiation, the\ndramatization and its symbolistic interpretation are best shown. He who\nsucceeds becomes correspondingly powerful in his profession. Hunters,\nwarriors, and lovers have occasion to call upon him, and charms to\ncounteract the evil effects of an enemy\u2019s work are sometimes sought.[8]\n\nThe Ojibwa interpretation of the Midewiwin is seen in all its details\nin the birch-bark records.[9] A mide of the second degree can look into\nfuturity; can hear what is transpiring at a distance; can touch, for\ngood or for evil, friends and enemies at a distance, however remote;\nand has the ability to traverse all space in the accomplishment of\nhis desires or duties.[10] A bad mide of this degree has the power of\nassuming the form of any animal. In this guise he may destroy the life\nof his victim immediately, and then resume his human form and appear\ninnocent of the crime. A \u201cfourth-degree mide\u201d is presumed to be in\na position to accomplish the greatest feats in necromancy and magic.\nHe is not only endowed with the power of reading the thoughts and\nintentions of others, but also of calling forth the shadow (soul) and\nof retaining it within his grasp at pleasure.\n\nFrom the above it will be seen that the Midewiwin covered practically\nall the religious and the shamanistic ideas of the Ojibwa.\n\n\n               C. DESCRIPTION OF THE MENOMINEE MIDEWIWIN\n\nAmong the Menominee, initiation generally takes place as a substitution\nof one individual for one who has died, although any person who gives\nproof of eligibility is accepted. The former is by far the more common\nmethod. Generally a person makes the promise of procuring a substitute\nfor some deceased member, and a favorite relative or dear friend of the\ndeceased may be elected. There are four mide-priests who determine upon\nthe candidacy and appoint an instructor. The instruction the candidate\nreceives is confined to the knowledge of the remedies known to the\ninstructor.[11] Each remedy must be paid for separately. The four\nmide-priests select two sets of assistants and two ushers, who all play\na prominent part in the ceremonies proper.[12]\n\nWhen a candidate is taking the place of a deceased member, the\nceremonies begin at the grave of the latter,[13] and, after a service\nwhich lasts from dusk of one day to dawn of the next, all proceed to\nthe Midewiwin lodge. But only the four highest officiating medicine-men\nenter. After a ritual which consists of chants and speeches of welcome,\nand the passing of the drum from the first to the other three mide,\nthe other members who are to take an active part enter. A short ritual\nthen takes place, after which the second set of mide enter and another\nritual follows. Then the ordinary and visiting mide enter, the former\ntaking seats according to the phratries to which they belong; and the\ncandidate, his nearest relations, and he who had promised to give the\nfeast, enter with them and take seats near the mide of the first group.\nFinally the third set of mide enter. The seating in the lodge is,\ncandidate, friends, etc., near the eastern end; first four mide, next\nto them; second set, on northern side near western entrance; and third\nset of mide, at the middle of the southern side.\n\nThe ceremonies begin by calling the candidate forward to stand before\nthe mide of the first group. His family and friends stand around him\nin a semicircle, dancing in time to the chanting and drumming. One\nof the mide begins a chant, at the end of which a pause occurs, and\nthe candidate and friends resume their seats. The drum is passed in\nrotation to the second, third, and fourth mide. As they chant, the\ncandidate, etc., stands before them. The last of the four then chants\nthe origin myth of the Midewiwin. The drum is now passed to the mide\nwho had chanted first. He continues the narration of the ritualistic\nmyths. Drum and gourds are then passed from one mide to the other, and\nfrom the first set of mide to the third, until the circuit has been\nmade.\n\nThese ceremonies are continued through the night, although only the\nthree sets of mide remain in the lodge all that time. Shortly after\nsunrise, almost all leave the lodge. When they return, preparations\nare made for the initiation. The shooting of the candidate is\nperformed by the second set of mide. The candidate, after recovering,\nmakes the circuit of the lodge, shooting whomsoever he desires. The\ncharacteristics of this shooting ceremony are practically identical\nwith those of the Winnebago.\n\n\n                   D. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE RITUAL\n\nI. THE COMMON ELEMENTS.\u2014The common elements in the foregoing\nritualistic complexes are both general and specific in nature. We have,\nas general, an initiation ritual; and as specific, a shooting ritual.\nThere are in addition, in the Central Algonkin and Winnebago group,\nother resemblances, such as similarities in the ethical teaching, in\nthe details of the shooting ritual itself, and in the presence of the\nsecret brush ritual. To the above must be added the fact that the songs\nof the Winnebago ceremonies are to a large extent in some Central\nAlgonkin dialect.\n\nThe meaning of these general similarities will be touched upon later.\nWhat I wish to insist upon here is, that if the ritualistic complexes\nare at all to be regarded as identical, this is so by reason of the\npresence in each of a shooting ritual. This identity is strengthened\nin each case by the association of this specific shooting ritual with\nthe more general feature of initiation. The most dramatic phase in the\nmain ceremony is this initiation and shooting complex; and it seems,\ntherefore, quite intelligible why the number of similar details thus\nassociated together should have been interpreted as the historically\nprimary and basic elements.\n\nTo postulate an historical identity, however, on the basis of a number\nof common elements, in the face of numerous and important differences,\nimplies a specific attitude toward the nature and significance of the\ncommon elements in these ceremonies. We know, indeed, that almost\nall theoreticians place greater insistence upon the similarities\nthan upon the differences in cultural phenomena. There is perhaps a\nnatural tendency to do so. But quite apart from this tendency, there\nmust likewise be certain definite reasons for such an interpretation.\nIt is essential, consequently, to understand at the very outset the\ntheoretical justification of this position.\n\nII. THE INTERPRETATION OF THE COMMON ELEMENTS\u2014SCHURTZ\u2019S THEORY.\u2014This\nquestion has been taken up _in extenso_ by Schurtz,[14] in his work\non \u201cAge Classes and Men\u2019s Societies.\u201d Here, as well as in previous\ntheoretical discussions, the presence of a number of similarities has\nbeen considered sufficient for establishing the identity of a group\nof ceremonies that admittedly possess a large number of specific\npeculiarities. But Schurtz gives us a detailed psychological exposition\n(and in this lies perhaps his superiority over others who have\ndiscussed the same subject) of the reasons which have prompted him to\ntake a certain attitude toward these \u201csimilarities.\u201d If Schurtz\u2019s work\nis therefore selected in preference to that of others, it is because of\nthe fact that, in addition to practically taking the same position as\nmost of the other theoreticians, he has most clearly defined some of\nthe assumptions underlying their position.\n\nSchurtz\u2019s line of argument seems to have been the following. An\ninvestigation of civilized as well as of primitive organizations has\ndisclosed a number of similarities. Their historical development is\nunknown; but the enormous distance separating them geographically,\nprecludes the possibility that these similarities have been due either\nto borrowing or to dissemination from some one original centre. They\nmust consequently be explained by assuming that they have developed\nindependently, as external manifestations of the unity of the human\nmind. We are thus led to the assumption accepted by most ethnologists\nto-day, that the human mind tends to express itself in similar\nmodes of thought and action the world over. The variation in these\nmodes is to be ascribed either to the differences in the nature of\nthe geographical and social surroundings or to the emotional and\nintellectual individuality of different groups of people, or to both.\nWe are, however, concerned here not so much with the variations as\nwith the common modes of thought and action. It is consequently of\nprime importance to determine first the nature of these modes, their\nsequence, and the extent to which this sequence has been conditioned by\nthe modes themselves.\n\nWe start at the very outset with an implied assumption; for by\n\u201csequence,\u201d Schurtz distinctly understood an ordered sequence. His\nwork is primarily an attempt to determine what this ordered sequence\nhas been, and how it has been determined. The norm of organization in\nwhich the human race expressed itself primarily, is, according to him,\nthe age-group. Owing to the historical development of various cultural\nareas, it is no longer possible to detect this \u201cprimary element;\u201d and\nhe consequently finds it necessary to demonstrate its existence from\nanother point of view, which is essentially psychological.\n\nThe development of the age-group has followed a very definite\nsequence\u2014definite, because it has been determined by certain inherent\ntendencies of the human mind. These tendencies are \u201cthe instinct for\nassociation\u201d[15] (_Geselligkeitstrieb_) and \u201cthe sexual instinct\u201d\n(_Geschlechtstrieb_). Granting the existence of these two tendencies,\nwe have then to inquire how they have conditioned the essential\nsimilarities in the evolution of our social life, and the forms in\nwhich that social life has expressed itself.\n\nThere are two possible assumptions. We may assume that at a certain\nstage of cultural development groups of people possessed no social\nindividuality sufficiently strong to determine their own development,\nand that the _Geselligkeitstrieb_ and _Geschlechtstrieb_ alone, or\nreinforced by other factors, were sufficiently strong to condition\ndevelopment along certain lines; or we may, on the other hand, assume\nthat the primary modes in which people have expressed themselves are\nnecessarily of so simple and generalized a type, that they always were\nthe same. Schurtz has practically assumed a stage in human development\nwhen the individuality of the component units of a social group was at\na minimum; when there was, so to say, a \u201cgroup mind,\u201d whose initial\ndevelopment is most easily explained by the influence of inherent\ntendencies. It must be said, in fairness to Schurtz, that the other\nalternative mentioned above was probably also in his mind. However,\nhe seems to have elaborated his theory with the first alternative\nconstantly before his eyes.\n\nThis unexpressed assumption is of the greatest possible moment in\nSchurtz\u2019s interpretation, because it immediately establishes a certain\nfixity for his primary norm; and excluding as it does the possibility\nof variation, because the two tendencies, as constants, are acting upon\nsocial groups whose component members have a minimum of individuality,\nbrings it about that the same primary norm must be simple and\ngeneralized in its nature.\n\nSchurtz has thus given us a psychological _milieu_, and we must now\nproceed to investigate what are the specific norms of development, the\nmethod by which these norms have been determined, the nature of their\nsequence, and how this sequence has been absolutely conditioned. The\nfirst two of these points become clearer if we attack the question of\nsequence first.\n\nIt is apparent from Schurtz\u2019s work that to him the necessity for an\nordered sequence was self-evident. This acceptance of an ordered\nsequence as axiomatic was conditioned primarily by the fact that he\nimplied at the very outset that the ordered sequence present in the\nevolution of biological phenomena was to be found in an essentially\ncomparable manner in the development of civilization. In the same way\nSchurtz\u2019s use of the terms \u201chighest\u201d and \u201clowest\u201d and of \u201cintermediate\nstages\u201d is only inadequately explained when regarded as derived from\nthe study of history. Neither can we assume that these terms were\nmerely a reflection of the conclusion he had drawn from a comparison of\nthe palpable differences between Europeans and \u201cprimitive\u201d people. His\nwhole treatment of \u201cintermediate stages,\u201d and of the factors he calls\nto his aid in explaining them,\u2014such as divergences due to variations\nfrom a type, vestiges, functional changes,\u2014these are all strictly\nbiological not merely in their terminology, but likewise in their\ngeneral connotation.\n\nThe justification for equating the processes which have played a large\npart in historical and biological evolution seemed, indeed, apparent.\nIn the cultural history of any people, we find elements splitting up\nand giving rise to innumerable variations. In this divergence we meet\nagain and again with two phenomena,\u2014first, that of the general decay of\ncultural elements, of their total disappearance in some cases and of\ntheir persistence as vestigial remains in others; and, secondly, that\nof the incessant change, of the re-adjustment and re-interpretation\nof cultural phenomena, so that elements often take upon themselves\nfunctions which they originally did not possess, while these original\nfunctions are either partially or totally obscured. Numerous other\npoints, more specific in nature, could be adduced to demonstrate more\nfully the essential similarity of cultural and biological phenomena.\n\nThe comparability of the data of civilization and biology brought in\nits train, however, the natural corollary that the general course\nof their development was the same. Such an assumption fitted in\nadmirably with the psychological presuppositions of Schurtz, and with\nthe inferences he felt justified in drawing from the historical data.\nNeither Schurtz, nor, for that matter, any theoretician of his time,\never made any attempt to prove that the method of biological evolution\nwas the same as that of the historical. It was commonly assumed to\nhave been the same; but, quite apart from this acceptance of a fact\nthat seemed to need no proof, the similarity in the evolution of\nbiological and historical phenomena was by implication conditioned by\nhis psychological assumptions. The number of norms are necessarily\nreduced to a minimum when inherent tendencies are acting on a \u201cgroup\nmind,\u201d for it would be tacitly admitting a large range for personal\nindividuality, to assume the existence of many norms; but if there\nare only a few norms, or, as Schurtz concludes, one norm,\u2014that of the\nage-group,\u2014variations can only have arisen as differentiations of this\nnorm, due to influences either from within or from without.\n\nWe are consequently reduced to a condition exactly parallel to that\nwhich we find, according to the theory of evolution, in biology.\nVariations are the result of a differentiation of some unit. It is the\nobject, in the classification of biological data, to demonstrate, by\nmeans of a series of ascending forms, the evolution of the most highly\ndifferentiated from the least differentiated. In thus arranging the\ndata, it followed that the least-differentiated forms contained the\nsimple general manifestations of life, and that at the same time the\nmost highly-differentiated forms likewise contained all these simple\ngeneral manifestations, although they were here, as a rule, so changed\nas to be entirely obscured, if not unrecognizable.\n\nIn a manner almost exactly parallel to the above, Schurtz sought\nto classify the phenomena of social organization. The highest must\ncontain within itself the simple and general phenomena of the lowest\nform. Having thus demonstrated to his satisfaction the existence\nand the necessity of an ordered sequence, he turned his attention\nto demonstrating that this sequence was psychologically as well as\nhistorically conditioned. His line of argument here can best be shown\nby analyzing the first few chapters of his book.\n\nAt the basis of all social organizations lie two elementary forces,\u2014the\n\u201cinstinct for association\u201d and the \u201csexual instinct.\u201d The sexual\ninstinct is primary, because it is obviously an essential condition\nof life. The instinct for association is secondary in so far as its\nexpression in outward form is concerned. It is as old as the sexual\ninstinct; but, since at the initial stage of human development the\nsexual instinct is so strong a force, the instinct of association had\nno observable influence on the actions of men.\n\nThe forms of social organization which the sexual instinct conditions\nare those based upon certain kinds of blood relationship. These forms\nare primary. To establish the priority of the forms thus imposed by\nblood relationship, we have but to remember that, as the relationship\nof individuals to one another preceded everything else, so the social\nforms based upon blood relationship must have preceded all other social\nforms. We are therefore to regard as the earliest stage of social\norganization that of groups bound together by blood relationship. But\nwhat has been the force differentiating these groups? Obviously not the\nsame sexual instinct that has caused the formation of these primary\ngroups. To explain the factors that have caused this differentiation we\nmust call to our aid two phenomena,\u2014first, that of sexual solidarity;\nand, secondly, that of the instinct for association.\n\nSexual solidarity has its roots in the nature of man and woman, and is\npossessed by them in equal intensity. The instinct for association is,\nhowever, a specifically masculine trait. It is found among women only\nin a minimal degree. An important corollary follows from this fact: If\nwomen societies are found anywhere, they are to be considered merely\nas imitations of men\u2019s societies. If women are found as members in a\nsociety, this is to be regarded as secondary and purely adventitious.\nThese, and some more specific points to be enumerated later, must be\nborne in mind continually, as Schurtz makes a far-reaching use of them.\n\nThe instinct for association, he goes on to say, expresses itself,\nhowever, between those of like interests; that is, between those who\nwould most likely be of the same age. It is not likely, for instance,\nto occur between married and unmarried men. We have here two apparently\norganically determined classes. In the earliest stages of social\ndevelopment, however, when the norms of social expression conditioned\nby the sexual instinct were still of paramount importance, insistence\nwas most naturally placed upon the most important stage of man\u2019s\nphysiological development,\u2014the age of puberty. The strong line of\ndemarcation between the period preceding and following sexual maturity\nwas so ever-present a fact to the mind of primitive man, that it found\nexpression in the multitude of initiatory rites. In these initiatory\nrites we have another of the specific \u201csymptoms\u201d with which we shall\nhave to deal afterward.\n\nWhen the instinct for association developed more strongly, the\ndifferences due to age, plus the physiological factor, conditioned the\nnatural formation of two classes,\u2014one of men before puberty, and one of\nmen after puberty. This natural twofold division was also strengthened\nby another factor; for until the age of puberty, boys were under the\ninfluence of women, and were therefore to be reckoned as one with them.\n\nThe three groups\u2014men before puberty, unmarried men after puberty,\nand married men\u2014are thus built upon the basis of age distinction and\ncommon interest. They are the norms of primitive social organization,\nand, as we have seen, their origin is due to inherited instincts.\nBy implication Schurtz has here also assumed the existence of a\ndefinite sequence; for the division into pre- and post-puberty\ngroups is a consequence of the sexual instinct, and is therefore\nprimary. Differentiation into the groups of married and unmarried\nmen thereupon followed; but the initiation, which is synchronous\nwith the age of sexual maturity, has introduced another factor, that\nof promiscuous sexual intercourse; and the regulation that this has\ndemanded is found outwardly expressed in the \u201cmen\u2019s house.\u201d The\ncommon interests that drew men together into groups have thus far\nbeen those conditioned largely by age. In the development of society,\nhowever, interests became more and more diversified, and resulted,\nfirst, in the disappearance of the age factor as the essential element\nfor associations, and, secondly, in the necessity for more closely\norganized units with specific characteristics. To obtain this close\norganization, one of the essential elements was secrecy, and thus\ndeveloped out of the \u201cmen\u2019s house\u201d those innumerable clubs and secret\nsocieties which we find so common to-day.\n\nIn such manner we have constructed an ascending evolutionary series.\nIt must not be forgotten that in such a series the highest stage is\nbut a differentiated lower stage. It must likewise be remembered that\nthere is a tendency for intermediate stages to leave vestigial remains\nwherever they developed into higher stages. We may consequently expect\nto find traces of \u201cage groups\u201d and \u201cmen\u2019s houses\u201d all over the world.\nIn addition, we must remember that a number of \u201csymptoms\u201d\u2014such as \u201cthe\nexclusion of women\u201d from a society, the presence of \u201can initiation,\u201d of\n\u201cdegrees,\u201d and of \u201csecrecy\u201d\u2014have always been associated with certain\nstages of growth. They may serve us for criteria of this growth and of\nthe stages thereof, and they constitute proofs of historical identity.\nThey will often appear unassociated with the definite stage assigned\nto them; but that is immaterial, for their almost universal presence\nis a sufficient guaranty of their significance. It is not necessary to\ninquire into their individual significance among definite societies,\nbecause a negative answer would prove nothing, as differences from the\ngeneral scheme outlined can be interpreted most easily in terms of some\nfunctional change.\n\nIt must of course be remembered that the various points of view from\nwhich Schurtz approached his problem were so inextricably interwoven,\nthat it is unwarranted to assume that every position he took was as\ndistinctly analyzed as I have attempted to show.\n\nFrom two points of view, a psychological and a biological one, Schurtz\nobtained similar conclusions. It is now only necessary, after we have\nseen how he established his psychological _milieu_ and his sequence\nof norms, to investigate the manner in which he approached the\nethnological data themselves.\n\nSchurtz claims to have reached his interpretation from an inductive\nstudy of the available data. We have seen that there is good reason to\nsuppose that he approached the data with certain preconceptions, the\nmost important of which was the necessity of \u201cascending stages\u201d in the\nevolution of society. He had to determine, before everything else, the\ninitial stage of social evolution, and to look for it or for as close\nan approximation to it as might still be found to-day. However, as soon\nas we accept what Schurtz thought were the necessary consequences of\nthe two tendencies,\u2014of the instinct for association and of the sexual\ninstinct,\u2014obviously, then, that organization which conforms closest to\nthe conditions there imposed would be the most primitive.\n\nHe thereupon found himself confronted with the relatively easy task of\nfinding such an organization. He found it in Australia, and selected\nit as the starting-point of his series. In justice to Schurtz and\nother theoreticians, it should, however, be said that the Australian\ncultures impressed many then, and continue to impress many now, as\ncultures that either had been stunted in their growth, or had developed\nonly as far as the most primitive stages. From that point on, the\nconstruction of a series was a simple task.\n\nSuch, in brief, is the position of Schurtz.\n\nHe wished to convey the impression that his theory was based entirely\nupon an inductive study of the data; but we have seen that, by means of\ntwo powerful tendencies, he in reality based his interpretation upon a\ndeductive study. He does, it is true, claim that the existence of these\ntendencies was established inductively; but even if we were to grant\nthis, it is apparent that he subsequently disassociated the tendencies\nfrom the data, and used them as new entities from which to re-interpret\nthe facts.\n\nIt has been pointed out before that Schurtz did not believe that the\nabsence of any or all of the \u201csymptoms\u201d constituted an argument against\nhis theory. In the same way, any evidences of convergent evolution, of\nthe appearance of \u201csymptoms\u201d of higher stages associated with those of\na lower stage, would not militate against his position. Such phenomena\nwere to be regarded as purely adventitious. Dissemination of cultures,\nhe held, was possible; but, although similarities due to such an agency\nmight obscure the normal development, this normal development could\nhardly be fundamentally disarranged thereby.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nThe theory of Schurtz might be examined from two points of view. One\nmight critically examine the validity of the assumptions _per se_, and\nthe justifiability of his inferences; or one might temporarily lay\naside the theory entirely, and examine the data individually. It is the\nlatter method of approach that I shall here adopt.\n\nWith this purpose in view, I have selected for examination and\ninterpretation the data furnished by the Ojibwa-Menominee Midewiwin,\nthe Winnebago Medicine Dance, and the Omaha Shell and Pebble Societies.\nThe investigation of specific data will, however, not have any general\nvalidity, unless it can be shown that their specific content is the\nresult of certain very general psychological tendencies.\n\nThe common elements in the ceremonial complexes have led to the\npredication of their identity, and it will be best therefore to begin\nour study with an analysis of them.\n\nIII. THE SHOOTING RITUAL.\u2014It might perhaps be expedient, before\ndiscussing the phenomena of \u201cshooting\u201d in general, to analyze what is\nsupposed to be its precise nature among the various tribes possessing\nit in one form or another. Generally speaking, the essential idea\nlies in the simulation of being shot by a missile, and re-acting by\nsimulating muscular contractions until the individual falls prone\nupon the ground. The general theory of the Ojibwa-Menominee and of\nthe Winnebago is, that death must thereupon normally result, but that\ncertain conditions may change this fatal effect into one of temporary\nunconsciousness. Among the Omaha, the simulated death is interpreted\nas the dramatic representation of the death of certain persons known\nin the ceremony of the Shell Society as \u201cchildren.\u201d Among the Santee\nDakota, it seems to have had no very definite meaning.[16]\n\nThe Ojibwa,[17] Menominee,[18] Winnebago, and Dakota are at one in\ninterpreting the effects of the shooting as the result of the magical\npowers inherent in the missile used. Efficiency in shooting, however,\ndepends not merely upon the missile, but also upon the shaman using it.\nAccording to the esoteric interpretation of the Winnebago, the specific\nresults could only be obtained by being a member of the Medicine Dance.\nThere are indications that this specific efficacy was associated with\nthe general magical power of shamans,\u2014a power that had been obtained\nthrough personal visions, not in any way connected with this society.\nFor the Ojibwa-Menominee, this latter seems to have been by far the\nmore important source for efficacy. For example, the otter-skin bag\ncould be used with the same effect quite apart from the performances of\nthe Midewiwin. In the Omaha ceremonies it is not quite clear exactly\nwhat renders the shooting efficacious, and whether the result is\ninherent in the magical power of the missile.\n\nIn all the ritualistic complexes there are variations both as to the\nmanner in which the shooting is done, and as to the portion of the body\naimed at. Excluding the Omaha societies, these variations in all cases\ndepend upon the status of membership. The Ojibwa-Menominee shooting is\nin nature and in interpretation quite similar to that of the Winnebago;\nwhile the Omaha presents a number of variations from the type.\n\nIn the Ojibwa-Menominee ceremonies the shooting ritual is always\nassociated with the admission of a new member. This includes, of\ncourse, also the initiation of individuals into higher degrees,\nwherever such exist. The shooting is done principally by the newly\ninitiated individual, because he is supposed to be trying his powers.\nThere occurs, besides this, a general shooting, in which all members\nindulge, and which is supposed to increase their shooting powers. The\nstrengthening of their power is supposed to resist the effects of\nthe shot. Among the Omaha this general shooting is unassociated with\ninitiation, while among the Winnebago it is found associated both with\ninitiation and with the basic ceremony. It is therefore of considerable\nimportance to understand what relation this general shooting ritual\nbears to the specific shooting associated with initiation. Shooting is\neither an element primarily associated with initiation, and afterwards\nseparated, or it is some general element that has become associated\nwith any of a large number of other cultural elements. In order to\ndetermine this, we have next to examine with what elements shooting\nbecomes associated.\n\nAmong the Kwakiutl[19] there is a dance in which an individual\n(m\u0101\u2032maq\u2019a) throws disease into the people. This disease is represented\nby some object, either a stick or a harpoon-head. The shooting has\nprecisely the same effect as in the Medicine Dance. No association of\nshooting of any kind occurs with initiation into a society.\n\nThe Kwakiutl example brings up the real question involved in the\nshooting. To what extent is the shooting ritual of the Medicine\nDance of the Winnebago merely one of the forms of disease-throwing\nwhich is so common a practice of sympathetic magic? The Central\nAlgonkin Midewiwin are really loose associations of men and women,\nwhose powers are obtained more from individual revelations obtained\noutside of the Midewiwin than from the benefits of membership in that\nsociety. Shamanistic practices appear to form an integral part of\nthis society. But apart from this, the shooting of disease, or of any\nmalignant power, at an enemy, is an extremely common feature among\nthe Central Algonkin as it is among all other American shamans. The\nquestion that presents itself is, whether the shooting, as found in the\nOjibwa-Menominee and Winnebago Medicine Societies, is not one aspect of\nthis same general shamanistic practice.\n\nTo judge from the speeches and the songs of these societies, the main\nreligious function is to obtain the power to resist the influence\nof the shot. The muscular contortions and the various movements the\nindividual shot at goes through, are intended to be symbolical of this\nresistance. What the members expect to obtain are powers sufficiently\nstrong to resist any malignant influences that they might meet in the\ngeneral course of a lifetime; that is, we are dealing with a very\ngeneral manifestation of shamanism, and we ought therefore not to\nbe surprised to find it wherever shamanism occurs, either entirely\nunassociated, or associated with a large number of different elements.\nWe find it unassociated in a large number of places scattered over\nNorth America. Among the Kwakiutl it is associated with a certain\ndance; among the Central Algonkin and Winnebago, with initiation. If it\ncan now be shown that among the Omaha, and among the Winnebago also,\nwe find it again in a different association, then the association of\nshooting with an initiation ritual will have to be regarded as one\nof a number of complexes into which shooting has entered. Whether,\nin a specific case, shooting, or the initiation-shooting complex, is\nhistorically related to a similar ritual among other tribes, is a\nquestion that only direct historical evidence or a strong historical\nprobability can determine. The presence of shooting in a number of\ndifferent ceremonies, however, will not in itself demonstrate any\nrelationship between these ceremonies.\n\nWe will now examine the nature of the complex with which shooting\nis associated in the night division of the general ceremony of the\nWinnebago Medicine Dance and in the Omaha Pebble and Shell Society.\n\nA large number of the societies among the Winnebago and Omaha are based\non the common possession of revelations from the same animal. We may\nhave a society \u201cof those who have had communication with the Thunders,\u201d\nor with the Nights, or with the Grizzly Bear, or what not. The bond\nof such a society is generally expressed outwardly, by the possession\nof some \u201cgift\u201d which is intimately connected with the animal, be it\na head-dress, a tail, facial decorations, or the right to the use of\na certain drum, etc. The only society among the Winnebago where no\nrevelation is required for admission is the Medicine Dance. There are,\nhowever, a number of elements which connect the Medicine Dance with\nthe other type of society so common among the Winnebago. For instance,\nthere is an outward mark of membership; namely, the otter-skin and the\n\u201cmigis.\u201d[20] On the warpath the Winnebago wraps the otter-skin around\nhis shoulder to signify that, as a member of the Medicine Dance, he\nis protected from the attacks of his enemies. In the shooting ritual\nof the night division of the general ceremony of the Medicine Dance,\nand in the Medicine Feast, there are a number of features similar to\nthose of the Winnebago Buffalo, Grizzly Bear, Night, etc., Societies.\nFrom the point of view of organization, the only difference would\nseem to be, that, instead of a common bond lying in a supernatural\ncommunication, it lies here in the mutual shooting. If we wished to\ndescribe the Medicine Dance in terms of Winnebago society norms, we\nmight call it a \u201csociety of those who shoot one another.\u201d The shooting\nforms an integral part of the ritualistic complex, much in the same\nway as do the set songs and the set speeches. In the basic ritual of\nthe day ceremony, the shooting occurs in two combinations,\u2014on the one\nhand, as an initiation-shooting-complex, set off more or less from\nthe general ceremony; and, on the other hand, in a complex that is a\nrepetition of one which occurs at night, and which forms unquestionably\nthe basic portion of the entire Medicine Dance. We will return to a\ndiscussion of this subsequently.\n\nShooting in the Omaha Pebble and Shell Societies is associated\nprecisely in the same manner as in the basic ritual of the Medicine\nDance. In the Pebble Society we have, as a matter of fact, exactly the\ncondition which we assumed might perhaps be the correct interpretation\nof the Medicine Dance. The society is named \u201cThose who shoot the\nPebble.\u201d In the Shell Society the bond of union is similarly the\nshooting, the society being called \u201cThose who shoot with a Shell.\u201d\n\nIt therefore seems quite probable, taking into account the fact that\nthree Siouan (one Winnebago and two Omaha) societies present a shooting\nfeature in their basic rituals, that this ritualistic complex is a\ngeneral characteristic of this area. To sum up, a shooting ritual\nhas entered into a complex quite different from that existing among\nthe Kwakiutl, Central Algonkin Midewiwin, and in one part of the day\nceremony of the Winnebago Medicine Dance. We must therefore conclude\nthat the association of shooting with initiation is merely one of many\npossible associations, and that the shooting found in the basic complex\nmust be regarded as historically different from the shooting found in\nthe initiation complex.\n\nReturning to the question of shooting as associated with an initiation\nritual, it must be granted that it is somewhat improbable that\nthis particular association should have arisen independently among\ntwo tribes living in closely contiguous geographical areas. We may\ntherefore assume that the Winnebago either borrowed from the Central\nAlgonkin, or _vice versa_. All indications point to the former as\nhaving been the case.\n\nThe shooting, then, as found in the societies discussed, is merely one\nphase of sympathetic magic. A cultural element common to a very large\narea has become associated with a special significance and with special\nceremonies. For the cultural areas discussed, this association seems\nto have developed into two types of complexes,\u2014the shooting-initiation\ncomplex of the Central Algonkin, and the basic complex of the Omaha and\nWinnebago.\n\nIV. THE INITIATION RITUAL.\u2014The elements common to the Central Algonkin\nMidewiwin and to the Winnebago Medicine Dance consist of two parts,\u2014an\ninitiation and a shooting. Of these, the shooting was shown to have\nbeen a more or less free element, capable among other tribes of\nentering into an indefinite number of associations; that, indeed, in\nthe Medicine Dance itself, it had become associated with two different\nritualistic complexes. We have already examined the shooting ritual;\nand we will therefore proceed to examine the initiation ritual, in\norder to understand its precise significance and its position in the\ngeneral ceremony and in the complete ceremonial complex of the Medicine\nDance.\n\n1. _Ojibwa-Menominee._\u2014The simplicity of the organization of the\nOjibwa-Menominee Midewiwin impresses one at a glance. Only a small\nnumber of individuals take active part. It is similarly impossible\nto discern any elaborate ritual. A few ritualistic myths are told,\nsome songs sung, speeches delivered, and then preparations are made\nfor the shooting of the novice. The ceremony practically ends as\nsoon as the shooting terminates. In this semi-public performance\nthere is practically only one ritualistic complex, that of the\nshooting-initiation. The only purpose of this complex seems likewise to\nbe the initiation of an individual into the Midewiwin.\n\nThis initiation ritual, we know, is only the terminal element in a long\ncourse of instruction which the novice must go through. It is during\nthis instruction that the specific teachings and practices of the\nMidewiwin are elucidated, and it is then that the symbolism used in the\nbark records is explained.\n\nThese teachings and practices, apart from some ethical teachings of\nthe most general nature, vary with each mide. In each case the novice\nis taught the mide\u2019s individual songs, his particular tricks and\npractices, his specific herbs, and the uses to which he puts them. The\nbond connecting the teaching of the mides is of the loosest nature.\n\nWhen the instruction is over (and it is over as soon as the novice has\nexhausted the wealth he expects to spend in each particular case),\nthe novice is ready for initiation. But into what is he really being\ninitiated? It would seem purely into the powers purchased from a\ncertain mide. If this particular mide did not chance to be a member of\nthe Midewiwin, the same or an extremely similar method of transference\nof personal powers would be gone through. In other words, the novice\nis being initiated into the status of a mide. If one may speak of any\nformal initiation here, it consists in giving to the new mide some\nobject which is generally regarded as a symbol of the preceptor\u2019s\npower. It may be a medicine-pouch, or herbs, or anything, in fact.\nBut is this not precisely what takes place at the initiation into the\nMidewiwin? There, a person is presented with the \u201cmigis\u201d and otter-skin\nbag, which is symbolical of the powers of a certain type of shaman, the\nmide.\n\nThe Midewiwin, from this point of view, is hardly a society at all. It\ndoes, nevertheless, possess some of the essential characteristics of a\nsociety: a number of individuals form a rather definite unit, owing to\ntheir possessing in common a number of ritualistic myths, a symbol and\ncommon status, in the eyes of outsiders.\n\nAs a society, the Midewiwin presents no such unit as does the definite\norganization of the Winnebago Medicine Dance or the Omaha Shell and\nPebble Societies. The bond of unity in the Midewiwin lies in the fact\nthat all members are mide. An individual is a mide, however, not by\nreason of membership in the Midewiwin. The powers that make him a mide\nhave nothing to do with the Midewiwin at all. They are purely personal.\nThe Midewiwin is primarily, then, an association of mide; not of\nindividuals who have become mide because they belong to that society.\nIt is because of this fact that the individuality of the members is\nso potent a factor, and it is because of this fact that no strong\nceremonial unit exists. It is for the same reason that initiation into\nthe society presents, in all its essentials, the picture of a normal\ntransference of individual mide power.\n\nHistorically I do not doubt that it really is such a transference.\nAs the idea of the Midewiwin as a ceremonial unit developed more\ndefinitely, the individual transference of the individual mide power\nmay have become associated with initiation into the Midewiwin itself.\nIt is perfectly natural, when all the mide became members of the\nMidewiwin, that the transference of power should not have been thought\nof apart from the society to which the mide belonged. It thus followed\nthat obtaining knowledge from a mide would be synonymous with joining\nthe Midewiwin.\n\nAs the Midewiwin grew in popularity, and as all the mide and a\nmajority of the other members of the tribe joined it, there came\nto be associated with it certain specific benefits, that had in\nthemselves nothing at all to do with the mide, but which were\ngenerally characteristic of Central Algonkin culture. The association\nof these specific benefits played necessarily an important part in\nthe history of the society, because it meant that an individual, in\njoining the society, obtained much more than certain mide powers. He\nobtained, in fact, all the mide powers, plus those specific benefits\nwhich membership in the Midewiwin now brought with it. Through the\ntransference of the objects symbolical of the mide\u2019s power,\u2014\u201cthe migis\u201d\nand the otter-skin bag,\u2014shooting now initiated him not only into the\nstatus of a mide, but also into that of a member of a society with an\nesoteric ritual. The shooting itself no longer bore the impress of\na general shamanistic practice, but stood as a symbol of initiation\ninto a society. At the transference of individual shamanistic power,\nshooting did not occur. It must consequently have become associated\nwith initiation when the loose union of the mide developed into a more\nor less definite society.\n\nSumming up briefly, we may be justified in saying that the initiation\nritual of the Ojibwa-Menominee Midewiwin is a transference of\nindividual power as found among the individual mide, modified by the\naddition of another element, the shooting-incident. The initiation\ncan in no way be regarded as necessarily associated with shooting, but\nthis association will have to be regarded as simply a characteristic\nof the Central Algonkin Midewiwin. In other words, just as \u201cshooting\u201d\nmay enter into an indefinite number of associations, conditioned by the\ncultural individuality of an area, so initiation may similarly enter\ninto an indefinite number of combinations.\n\n2. _Shell Society._\u2014In the Shell Society of the Omaha there is no\nspecific initiation ceremony. According to the origin legend, an\nanimal appears to a family consisting of father, mother, and four\nchildren, and helps them to obtain food. They, in order to show their\ngratitude, offer him their children. The children are subsequently\nshot and killed. As they lie on the shore of a lake, four tremendous\nwaves sweep them away. They afterwards emerge from the midst of the\nlake, and assure their parents that, although they are dead, they are\nquite content, and they would advise them to put off their mourning,\nreturn to their own tribe, and form a society. They could obtain new\nmembers by selling to other people the powers they had obtained. The\nshooting that occurs in the ceremony proper, and which is interpreted\nby the Omaha as a dramatic representation of the shooting of the\nfour children, has nothing to do with initiation into the society.\nInitiation consists entirely in the transference of certain knowledge\nand symbols by one of the owners of the society to any individual who\nis considered eligible, and who has paid the requisite price.\n\nAs a matter of fact, only members are shot. The shooting, whatever\nmay have been its original significance, is here but one element in\nan intricate ritualistic complex similar to the basic ritual of the\nWinnebago Medicine Dance. Its purpose seems to be exclusively that of\n\u201cstrengthening\u201d the powers of the members.\n\nAnything approaching the dramatic initiation into the Midewiwin does\nnot exist. Admission into the society is in no way connected with the\nshooting ritual, although the shooting ritual is actually found in the\nsociety.\n\n3. _Pebble Society._\u2014The nature of initiation into the Pebble Society\nis not definitely known. As membership, however, depends upon\nsupernatural communications from the same animal, it probably is the\nsame as that found among other Omaha societies of the same kind.\nInitiation would thus consist in the obtaining of the supernatural\ncommunication itself. Every person who has had a supernatural\ncommunication with a spirit\u2014in this particular case, the water\nspirit\u2014is eligible for membership into the society. Shooting is found,\nbut it is in no way connected with admission or initiation into the\nsociety. It has, it would seem, practically the same significance as in\nthe Shell Society.\n\n4. _Medicine Dance._\u2014In the Winnebago Medicine Dance, membership\ndoes not depend upon supernatural communication of any kind, but\nmust be purchased from the leader of one of the five bands. A long\npreparation is necessary, lasting in olden times as long as four\nyears. The individual is then initiated into certain of the teachings\nof the society. It makes no difference into which of the five bands\nhe is initiated. The knowledge he obtains will, to all intents and\npurposes, be the same, excluding certain songs. This does not mean,\nof course, that there may not be information belonging to the member\nas an individual, which is taught to the novice; but it is understood\nthat any powers belonging specifically to an individual, and which\nthe novice wishes to purchase, have primarily no connection with the\nsociety. As every leader is likely to be a prominent shaman as well\nas a member of the Medicine Dance, it would be quite impossible to\ndraw a hard and fast line between what belongs specifically to him as\na shaman, and what belongs to him as a member of the Medicine Dance.\nHowever, it is generally understood that a leader is initiating an\nindividual into those powers that are the special property of the\nsociety.\n\nAs among the Ojibwa-Menominee, initiation is accompanied by a formal\ntransfer of a \u201cshell\u201d and of an otter-skin bag. Externally the general\nceremony of the Medicine Dance might consequently be regarded as\nsimilar to the semi-public ceremony of the Midewiwin. There are two\nfeatures, however, which stand out prominently in the general ceremony\nof the former, which must be explained before we can accept this\nexternal similarity as real. They are, first, the peculiar position\nof the initiation ritual of the general ceremony; and, secondly, the\npresence of another ritual, the basic ritual, and the importance it\nassumes.\n\nPrecisely the same ritual that we found among the Ojibwa-Menominee\u2014the\ninitiation-shooting complex; that is, initiation associated with\nshooting, the transference of the otter-skin bag and of a shell, plus\na number of incidental elements\u2014occurs in the general ceremony. This\ncomplex intervenes between the performance of the basic ritual by\nthe North and West Bands. There is absolutely nothing in the basic\nritual preceding or following the initiation that could possibly be\ninterpreted as a preparation for the latter. As it is found there,\nthe initiation seems quite out of place, and conveys forcibly the\nimpression of being intrusive. The general ceremony is by no means\nterminated when initiation is over; but the West Band continues with\nits performance of the basic ritual as though there had been no\ninterruption, even though the interval between North\u2019s and West\u2019s\nperformance of the basic ritual generally lasts a number of hours. The\ninitiation ritual is, on the whole, treated as an incidental feature.\nIt can certainly not be the main or most important ritual of the\ngeneral ceremony. As a matter of fact, it occurs only in the day ritual\nof that ceremony. In the night ritual it is absent. A ritual of which\nshooting is one of the essential features occurs in the latter, but, as\nwe shall see later, this has nothing to do with the initiation.\n\nThat the shell and the shooting are unquestionably considered necessary\nand essential for initiation, is borne out conclusively by the numerous\nreferences in the speeches. We must therefore not permit the position\nof the initiation ritual in the general ceremony to interfere with its\ninterpretation as a real initiation into the society. However, this\nposition may have been due to secondary causes. It is quite impossible\nto determine them definitely now; but it is possible, by studying the\nsignificance and nature of the basic ritual, to explain to a very large\nextent the reason for the position of the initiation ritual.\n\nThe basic ritual is a definite ceremonial complex, which constitutes\nthe most conspicuous unit of the Medicine Dance. Both in the night\nand the day ritual of the general ceremony, each individual band\nrepeats it, and in both cases the ceremony terminates as soon as the\nlast band has finished it. A number of other rituals separate the\nvarious performances of the basic ritual, and even intervene between\nthe separate constituent elements of the ritual itself. In each case,\nnevertheless, the basic ritual is continued as soon as the disturbing\nritual has been removed. It is for these reasons that it seems to me\nunquestionable that we are dealing here with the essential ritualistic\nunit of the general ceremony. What strengthens this impression is\nthe fact that a ritualistic complex similar in its general nature,\nalthough not in the component elements of which it is made up, is\nfound in almost all the other societies of the Winnebago. In the\nBuffalo, Grizzly Bear, Ghost, and Night Societies, there is a basic\nritual of essentially the same functions and significance. In all\nthese societies, likewise, objects of specific value to the members\nare passed from one individual to another; and this \u201cpassing\u201d is\naccompanied by songs, speeches, and ritualistic details. Although the\ncomplex differs for each society, it nevertheless presents a definite\nritualistic unit, which must be repeated by each person, or each band\nbelonging to the society, as the case may be.\n\nTo judge from the general tenor of the speeches, the purpose of the\nritual in every one of these societies is the \u201cstrengthening\u201d of\npowers obtained in a vision. Now, the tenor of the speeches in the\nbasic ritual of the Medicine Dance is precisely of the same nature;\nand as we have there, in addition, the characteristic passing of the\n\u201cblessing,\u201d\u2014that is, the passing of the drum, the gourds, and the\nassociate actions, speeches, songs, and dances; in other words, the\nmeans of assuring the continuance and the strengthening of the specific\npowers,\u2014there can be little doubt that the basic ritual is essentially\nthe same for all these societies.\n\nOf course, the demonstration that the basic ritual is at present the\nmain and most important ritual in the Medicine Dance, does not prove\nthat it is historically primary. There are, however, a number of facts\nthat speak in favor of this assumption. In the first place, it is\nundoubtedly the characteristic ceremonial complex of all Winnebago\nsocieties, and likewise of a large number of societies among other\nSiouan tribes; and, secondly, it is associated with an organization\nthat is typical of other Winnebago societies. It differs from these\nprimarily in the fact that membership is purchased, and not obtained\nthrough supernatural communication from some animal. Even the absence\nof the customary manner of admission might perhaps be hypothetically\naccounted for, for we have an interesting instance of the disappearance\nof the \u201cvision\u201d qualification in the Night Dance. The Night Dance, now\nknown as the Sore-Eye Dance, previously required for admission a vision\nfrom the night spirits. This qualification has now disappeared, and its\nplace has been taken by purchase, pure and simple, as in the case of\nthe Medicine Dance. Now, it is possible that the same development may\nhave taken place for the Medicine Dance. In the absence of any such\npositive evidence, however, as has been adduced for the Night Dance,\nthis assumption can only be regarded as a possible explanation.\n\nIf the basic ritual is to be regarded as the principal and\ncharacteristic feature of the Medicine Dance and as historically\nprimary, then the intrusive character of the initiation ritual may be\nexplained by regarding it as secondarily associated. We are of course\nin no position to say in what way this association occurred, and we\nare therefore not in a position to tell whether the initiation ritual\nwas associated from the very beginning in such a way as to perform the\nfunctions of a normal initiation into a society, or whether it was at\nfirst a purely adventitious addition with no special significance.\n\nIf it was regarded from the very beginning as an initiation, there\nseems no reason why it should have been given the position in the\ngeneral ceremony that it now possesses. It consequently seems better to\nregard its position as older than the references made in the speeches\nto its functions as an initiation into this specific Winnebago society.\n\nThere can be little doubt that the initiation-complex of the Medicine\nDance was borrowed from the Central Algonkin Midewiwin. We may\nconsequently conclude that, notwithstanding the present interpretation\nof the initiation as an initiation into the Medicine Dance, it is\nhistorically really an initiation ritual of one ceremony that has\nbecome secondarily associated with another. In support of this, it can\nbe pointed out that no initiation bearing the slightest resemblance\nto this one, occurs in any other of the numerous Winnebago societies,\nand that the Medicine Dance really possesses two initiations,\u2014the one\nbeing the purchase of membership; and the other, that mentioned above.\nIt might also be added that non-members never speak of the shooting as\nan initiation. To them the shooting always appears as a shamanistic\npractice associated with the \u201cstrengthening\u201d of power. The esoteric\ninterpretation, however, regards this \u201csecondary\u201d initiation as primary.\n\nSumming up briefly the results of the analysis of the three initiations\ndiscussed, we must emphasize again the fact that we are dealing with\ninitiations essentially different in nature. In the Ojibwa-Menominee\nit is evidently a formal transfer of shamanistic powers from one\nindividual to another, which has subsequently become synonymous with\nadmission into the social status of a mide and then with admission into\na society. In the Shell Society the transfer of powers is analogous to\nthe purchase of specific powers by one individual from another; and as\nthese have become associated with a society, the individual buying them\npurchased at the same time admission into the society. In the Pebble\nSociety, initiation is synonymous with the acquisition of power through\nsupernatural communication from some animal. There is no transfer at\nall, except in so far as the spirit animal transfers something to the\nperson fasting. Initiation is connected simply with the individual. No\ninitiation into the society exists. In the Winnebago Medicine Dance,\nwhatever may have been the primary method of initiation, we have to-day\na definite initiation like that found in the Midewiwin. This, however,\nhas been borrowed from another ceremony, and secondarily associated.\nEven now it is not in its proper organic position in the general\nceremony, despite the fact that an esoteric re-interpretation has\ntransformed it into a specific initiation into the Medicine Dance.\n\nInitiation is thus seen to be both a concept and a ritualistic complex,\nvarying considerably in different tribes. As a ritualistic complex, it\nhas entered freely into innumerable associations, which can only be\ndetermined by a study of each specific ceremony. The same holds true\nwith regard to the concept of initiation. It is also apparent that\nthe concept has a marked influence in determining the nature of the\nritualistic complex connected with it, and _vice versa_. In both cases,\nthen, we have to examine not merely the nature of these two phenomena\nin a given area, but likewise whether they represent historically\nprimary concepts and complexes, before we can make any attempt to\ninvestigate what are the concepts that underlie all initiations.\n\n\nV. THE GENERAL CEREMONY.\u2014In the foregoing remarks we have dealt with\nthe nature and significance of those specific rituals that go to make\nthe larger complex we have called the \u201cgeneral ceremony.\u201d We will now\nproceed to examine the nature and significance of this general ceremony\nitself.\n\n1. _Ojibwa-Menominee._\u2014The general ceremony of the Ojibwa-Menominee\nMidewiwin is to all intents and purposes the initiation ritual\nitself. There is really no other ritualistic complex with which it\nis associated; nor is there any feature which interrupts in any way\nthe dramatic progress of events from the beginning, to the actual\ninitiation of the new member. In reality this general ceremony must be\nlooked upon solely as the completion of a long course of preparatory\ninstruction. Nothing, indeed, accentuates the minor part which the\nactual \u201csociety\u201d aspect of the Midewiwin plays than this slight\ndevelopment of the general ceremony. The long course of preparatory\ninstruction, in which the shaman, as an individual, plays the major\npart, seems practically to be the main feature.\n\n2. _Shell Society._\u2014In the Shell Society the general ceremony consists\nof a large number of ritualistic complexes. The basic ritual runs\nlike a red line through the whole, and with this are associated the\nfollowing rituals: the passing of the invitation-sticks, the opening\nof the pack by the keepers, the circling of the fire \u201cby the four\nchildren,\u201d the filling of the wooden bowl with water, and finally the\nshooting. Both the secret and the public ceremonies consist almost\nexclusively of the shooting, and of the \u201cpassing\u201d of the drum and the\nritualistic details associated with it. The meeting terminates as soon\nas the last of the five ceremonial bands has finished this basic ritual.\n\n3. _Pebble Society._\u2014In the Pebble Society the characteristic passing\nof the drum likewise occurs, and with it occur the details connected\nwith it, as well as the preparation for shooting and the actual\nshooting. The number of ritualistic complexes is much smaller than in\nthe Shell Society. However, this may be due to the meagreness of our\ninformation. As contrasted with the marked unity of action displayed\nin the Shell Society, we find here a marked tendency for individual\ndevelopment, that is perhaps to be expected, considering that the bond\nof union (namely, the powers obtained through common visions) is a\nrather vague one from the point of view of organization.\n\n4. _Medicine Dance._\u2014In the Medicine Dance the general ceremony\nincludes, in addition to the basic and initiation rituals, a secret\nceremony that takes place outside of the lodge itself. As in the Shell\nand Pebble Societies, there are here also two sessions, but both seem\nto be secret.\n\nThe significance of the general ceremony mentioned is the performance\nof a ritual for a variety of purposes, the principal of which are,\nfirst, purely the perpetuation of the ritual; and, secondly, the\n\u201cstrengthening\u201d and renewal of certain special powers. These two\nseem to be pre-eminently the functions of those Omaha and Winnebago\nsocieties that are based upon common visions. In the former the element\nof initiation plays no part at all. The meetings of the society take\nplace at almost any convenient time of the year. For the Winnebago the\nelement of initiation is more pronounced. The meetings are called for\ntwo reasons,\u2014either for the purpose of initiating a member, or for the\npurpose of acquiring additional powers.\n\nIn each case the general complexes are different, and in each case they\ndepend upon associations that are both historically and psychologically\ndetermined by the specific cultural characteristics of the area in\nquestion.\n\nVI. THE COMPLETE CEREMONIAL COMPLEXES.\u2014The general ceremony is only one\nelement in an extremely elaborate complex. Its position in this complex\nhas been touched upon before. We have now, however, to examine this\ncomplex itself, and to see what are the ritualistic elements that form\nit. And in this final complex we have again to see whether there is a\ntendency for certain elements to be associated in a definite manner;\nand, if this proves to be the case, how this definite association is to\nbe interpreted.\n\n1. _Ojibwa._\u2014The Ojibwa Midewiwin consists of a long course of\npreparation, and a formal public initiation into a society containing\nfour degrees. We have seen that the preparation is entirely shamanistic\nin character, and that the general public ceremony is to all intents\nand purposes as much an initiation into the status of a mide as it\nis into a society. This interpretation is again strengthened by the\nmarked association of the general ceremony with shamanistic tricks.\nAmong the Cree it appears that this function of the Midewiwin is of\nprime importance.[21] In the \u201cdegrees\u201d we have another confirmation\nof its shamanistic character. The four degrees are merely the four\ninstalments in which an old shaman sells his knowledge and power. The\nnumber 4 has no especial significance, except in so far as it is the\nsacred number of the tribe. Miss Densmore[22] found eight degrees\namong another division of the Ojibwa; and the number will doubtless\nbe found to vary from division to division. The requirements for\nadmission into the second, third, and fourth degrees, are greater\npayments, and greater evidences of religious fitness. The possessors\nof the various degrees do not form distinct classes. Those of the\nfirst degree alone, possess one degree only. There is no passing from\none to another degree, but simply an addition of degrees, so that an\nindividual with the fourth degree possesses all the other degrees; in\nother words, degrees are merely marks of increased power. It is for\nthis reason that an initiation practically the same as that for the\nfirst degree is necessary for the other degrees. The fact that a new\ninitiation into the society is necessary for each degree, and that the\ndistinctions represented by the degrees are merely transferences of\nincreased shamanistic powers, differing accordingly as they have been\nobtained from one or another shaman, emphasizes strongly the specific\nshamanistic nature of the Midewiwin.\n\nAs we have said before, the Midewiwin is a society, not so much because\nit is an association of mide, but because there have come to be\nassociated with it certain functions of a religious and social nature,\nsetting it off as a unit. The fact that the members are mide will, of\ncourse, have an enormous influence on some of the functions that the\nsociety is supposed to possess.\n\nThe powers of the individual mide are those connected with the healing\nof wounds, the curing of disease, the ability to transform one\u2019s\nself into any animal or object at will, the performance of seemingly\nimpossible tricks, and lastly the practice of evil magic. In the\nteachings of the individual mide in his r\u00f4le as a member of the\nMidewiwin, all these elements are present; but there are, in addition,\ntwo other powers which are specifically Midewiwin functions,\u2014namely,\nthe power to prolong life, and the power to assure a successful passage\nto the future world. The power of prolonging life is not supposed to\nbe an effect of the shooting. The belief is, that membership in the\nsociety, and the proper observance of the ritual and precepts, will\nenable an individual to surmount successfully the crises of life and\nthe evil designs of his enemies. Just as the proper observance of\nritual and precepts prolongs life, so it will likewise insure the safe\npassage of a soul from this to a future world. According to William\nJones, \u201cit was believed that the soul followed a path to go to the\nspirit world, and that the path was beset with dangers to oppose\nthe passage of the soul; but that it was possible to overcome the\nobstacles by the use of the formulas which could be learned only in the\nMidewiwin.\u201d[23]\n\nTo assert dogmatically that these two powers do not come within the\nscope of the individual mide, may perhaps be unwarranted; but at\npresent the evidence among the Ojibwa is certainly negative. However,\nthe Midewiwin is considered to be intimately associated with these\nspecific functions. They are not associated with the specific powers of\nthe mide. In reality, they are the general religio-magical possessions\nof the tribe, that have been secondarily associated with the Midewiwin.\n\n2. _Menominee._\u2014Practically all that has been said of the Ojibwa\napplies in equal degree to the Menominee Midewiwin. But two important\ndifferences are noticeable,\u2014first, a member is always succeeded by\na near relative; and, secondly, not only is the Midewiwin connected\nwith the function of insuring the safe passage to the future world,\nbut the ceremony itself begins at the grave of the deceased member as\nsoon as the mortuary rites are over. They may even be regarded as a\ncontinuation of the same.\n\n3. _Shell Society._\u2014In the Shell Society the organization, in\ncontradistinction to the Ojibwa-Menominee Midewiwin, is not based on\nindividuals as such, but on definite ceremonial group units. There are\nfive to-day, but there seem to have been more formerly.\n\nWe find a fourfold designation for the lodges. They are known to-day as\nthose of the eldest son or sun, second son or stars, daughter or moon,\nand youngest son or earth. Sometimes, however, these same are known in\norder as Black-Bear, Elk, Buffalo, and Deer Lodge. The first \u201cold man\u2019s\nlodge\u201d (_uju_) is also known as that of the Eagle.\n\nThe general ceremony has been described before, and we will therefore\nproceed to discuss what appears to be the purpose of the society, what\npowers its members possessed, and with what functions it was associated.\n\nThe definite purpose of the society seems to be the performance of\na certain ritual. That in addition there is likewise the desire to\nincrease or at least strengthen the powers received at purchase, is\nextremely probable, but this cannot be definitely stated. What can be\ndefinitely stated, however, is the fact that an absolutely essential\ncondition for efficacy of the powers obtained is the performance of\nthe ritual; and in this it is radically distinct from the Midewiwin,\nfor there the powers obtained from the shaman have no relation to the\nritual. The efficacy then, of the powers, remains always what it was\nwhen taught to the new member.\n\nIn discussing what the powers of the members are, it is again essential\nto distinguish what they possess by virtue of membership, and what they\npossess as individuals. We should most naturally expect that certain\nconceptions, certain cultural possessions, belong to a large body of\nOmaha. If, then, we find them in a certain society, it is most natural\nto assume that they have not been obtained by reason of membership\ntherein, but that this society will reflect general Omaha ideas. This\nor that society may emphasize certain ideas, and may develop them\nalong certain lines, but it certainly does not originate them. They\nhave no relation of cause and effect to any particular society. This\nhas sometimes been assumed to be the case, and such a view comes out\nclearly in Miss Fletcher\u2019s[24] statement that all secret societies\namong the Omaha dealt more or less with magic as well as with healing\nby means of herbs and roots. It is palpably not because they are\nsecret societies that their members have developed any such tendencies,\nbut because, as secret societies, they reflected Omaha customs and\nmodes of thought. For the same reason Miss Fletcher\u2019s conclusion, that\nbecause in both the Shell and Pebble Societies shamanistic tricks are\nperformed, they may possibly be historically connected, is unwarranted.\nThe observance of shamanistic tricks is so general a phenomenon, that\nall that can be said, when two societies are found emphasizing them, is\nthat two societies emphasized or developed one or many Omaha customs.\nThere is no need of assuming any historical connection unless this has\nbeen shown to be the case.\n\nLet us now return to what is distinctive in the powers of a member of\nthe Shell Society.\n\nThe name of the society is \u201cThose-who-have-the-Shell.\u201d It is the\npossession of the shell that separates them from other societies. In\nthe ideas clustering around the powers of this object we are most\nlikely to find one of the important specific advantages of membership.\nAs far as can be gathered from Miss Fletcher\u2019s account, the shell is\nconnected with certain magical qualities. It is difficult to say what\nspecific magical qualities are meant. However, to judge from the nature\nof the general ceremony and the songs, we are really dealing with magic\nin its most general sense, but connected in this case with a specific\nobject, a shell; that is, we might imagine hypothetically that the\nsociety originated in connection with the vision of an individual, in\nwhich the magical power was associated with a shell. The same power\nmight, in the case of another individual, be associated with a drum,\na flute, a gourd, a stone, or what not. Apart from difference in\nritualistic detail, and in the nature of some of the elements that go\nto make up the general ritualistic complex, it is this association\nof magical powers with one object in one case, and with another in\nanother case, that constitutes the difference between the various Omaha\nsocieties.\n\nTo illustrate how general is the magical power of the shell in the\nShell Society, and how essential is the specific object possessing\nthe magic, we will give the following instances. In the origin myth,\nshooting is supposed to kill the \u201cchildren;\u201d in the general ceremony it\nprobably serves to strengthen powers already acquired; in the ceremony\nfor punishing offenders, of which we shall speak later, it is merely an\nexample of sympathetic magic.\n\nTogether with the magic specifically associated with the shell, the\nmembers exercised individual magic; as, for example, killing a horse\nbecause its owner had offended him, or killing another member by\nmagically having a snake hidden near the place where the other was\naccustomed to work. These instances of the exercise of magic must not,\nhowever, be considered as specific of the society.\n\nIn addition to the association of the Shell Society with magic in its\nmore general aspect, and also in its application to some specific\nobject, we find it associated with general shamanistic practices, with\nconceptions relating to life after death, and with a magical ceremony\nfor punishing offenders. The shamanistic practices have been dwelt\non before. All that can be said about the connection of the society\nwith ceremonies performed upon the death of a member is, that the\ndeceased is carried to a tent in which the regular ceremonial is gone\nthrough.[25] Whether this ceremony has any definite connection with\nideas relating to the journey of the soul to the future world, is not\nknown.\n\nBy far the most interesting ceremony associated with the Shell Society\nis that for punishing offenders.[26] The main purpose seems to be the\npunishment of an individual \u201cin order to keep the people in order\nand check crime, such as molesting wives or daughters and destroying\nproperty and so causing mischief in the tribe.\u201d This was effected\nthrough a sacred figure supposed to represent the society.... \u201cThe\narms contained poisons for punishment, and the leg the magic shells\nwhich made it possible to administer this punishment.... When a man\ncommitted an offence that seemed to demand punishment, the society\nmet at night, and if it had determined to punish the man, then this\nfigure was brought out.\u201d[27] Now, it must be borne in mind that\nthere is here no suggestion of any legal procedure, but merely, as\nwe shall see, an application of the magical powers of the society to\na very specific social purpose. Punishment consisted in causing the\noffender to become sick through the application of poison to a figure\nsupposed to symbolize him, which is drawn on the earth. This figure was\nsubsequently shot at. When the ceremony was over, the leaders waited\nuntil they had been informed that the offender had become sick, when\nthey assembled in a tent and sang until the man died.\n\nIn this ceremony we have again a shamanistic practice which was\nprobably exercised by many members of the tribe, associated in one\nof the societies with a definite and specific function. But this\nspecific function, plus the other traits that have been enumerated as\ncharacteristic of the society, go to make up a complex that is looked\nupon as a definite unit.\n\n4. _Pebble Society._\u2014The remarks made on the purpose of the Shell\nSociety are, generally speaking, applicable to the Pebble Society.\nInstead of being attached to a shell, the magical powers are here\nattached to a translucent pebble. The possibility for a greater\nvariability in the nature of the powers obtained was given by the fact\nthat all those who had had a vision of water, or its representative,\nthe pebble or the water-spirit, could become members. The water-spirit\nwas always associated with the granting of knowledge relating to\nmedicinal herbs and the power of healing sickness generally; and we\nfind in the society, consequently, a large preponderance of individuals\nwith such powers. The association between these powers and some\ndefinite object, in this case the pebble, is not as intimate as that\nfound to exist between corresponding powers and a similar object in the\nShell Society; in other words, the shaman, as an individual, is more\nprominent.\n\nThe most important association of the society is that connected with\nthe curing of disease. It would be erroneous to consider this function\nas a secondary association, as it is conditioned by the fact that the\nvisions from the water-spirit would necessarily be connected with \u201cthe\npowers\u201d relating to medicinal herbs and their healing virtues.\n\n5. _Medicine Dance._\u2014The Medicine Dance, looked upon in its entirety,\nis composed of a long course of preparation (now discontinued), the\nFour Nights\u2019 Preparation, the sweat-bath ceremony, the night and the\nday divisions of the general ceremony, and the secret brush ceremony.\nThese ceremonies have all become amalgamated into a more or less firm\nunit, whose individual characteristics we have touched upon before.\n\nThe society is known in Winnebago as _Ma\u00f1ka\u207f\u2032ni_, the word _ma\u00f1ka\u207f\u2032_,\nmeaning \u201cmedicine\u201d in its medicinal aspect, as opposed to _was\u00ea\u2032_,\nmeaning \u201cmedicine\u201d in its magical aspect. As far as can be seen from\na detailed study of the rituals, no prominence seems, however, to be\ngiven to the therapeutic or herbalist aspect. There are, it is true,\nmedicines for general therapeutic practice and for hunting, fishing,\nlove, and especially for \u201cbad\u201d purposes. But in the ceremony as given\nto-day, and as described by those well versed in the ritual of the\nsociety, these medicines find no place.\n\nThere is, however, a very persistent exoteric interpretation of\nthe Medicine Dance, according to which the members are regarded\nprimarily as powerful shamans concerned preferably with the practice\nof \u201cbad\u201d magic. In this practice they are greatly aided by the fact\nthat their membership in the society increases their magical powers,\nespecially that connected with the ability to transform themselves\ninto all kinds of animate and inanimate objects for the furtherance\nof their evil designs. The most feared shamans\u2014those who are\ndistinguished from all others by the possession of the iron moccasins\n(_ma\u207fzua\u2032gudj\u00ea_)\u2014belonged to this society. This exoteric interpretation\ndoes not, however, seem to tally with the designation _manka\u207f\u2032ni_.\nPersonally I think this term is a popular one, and has no real\nsignificance as a characterization of the functions of the society,\nat least to-day. This exoteric interpretation is in all probability\ntrue to a certain extent. It would, however, be essential to determine\nwhether these shamanistic powers are characteristic of members as\nindividuals, and only secondarily connected with them as members of the\nsociety, before we can properly understand their significance. That\nmembership was connected in any way with an increase of shamanistic\npowers, is certainly improbable. These powers are unquestionably\nidentical with the general shamanistic and magical practices mentioned\npreviously in the Shell and Pebble Societies.\n\nIn other words, the general shamanistic and magical beliefs of the\ntribe are found present in this society, as they are found in other\nsocieties.\n\nWhat would tend to minimize our considering these features as in any\nway significant of the Medicine Dance, is the fact that there has been\nno tendency to develop or emphasize any specific aspect of magic, and\nthat shamanistic practices are absent and appear entirely disassociated\nfrom the society.\n\nThe purpose of the Medicine Dance is in part the desire to attain a\nlong life, a safe journey to the next world, and the possibility of\na return to this life again, preferably in human shape. All these\nbenefits may be obtained by taking an active part in the ceremony,\nand by performing to the best of one\u2019s ability all the duties of a\nmember. Although it is essential to participate in the entire ritual in\norder to obtain these benefits to the fullest extent, nevertheless the\nphenomena of shooting and being shot at play an especially important\nr\u00f4le in this connection.\n\nLong life means essentially the life consisting of a normal length of\nyears, with all the possessions of wealth, social and intellectual\ndistinction, that would naturally be included. Among the Winnebago,\nthis concept of years is very definite, because they believe that to\neach individual has been assigned a life containing a certain number of\nyears, a certain amount of wealth, a certain number of enemies killed\non the warpath, etc. If a man, therefore, dies before he has reached\nthe end of his \u201cpredestined\u201d life, the residue, it is hoped, will be\ndistributed among his relatives.\n\nWhen in the Medicine Dance they pray for long life, what they mean is\nthe ability to surmount the crises of life. Whatever may be the nature\nof these crises,\u2014whether they relate to family disasters, sickness, old\nage, etc.,\u2014it is expected that they will be overcome by membership and\nactive participation in the society. There seems to be no suggestion\nthat this is attained through the influence of magic. It is mere\nmembership and obedience to the society\u2019s teachings, ambition to raise\none\u2019s status by purchasing more and more privileges, that accomplish\nthe desired end in view. The safe journey to the future world and the\nbelief in transmigration may be obtained in a similar way. If one\nperforms his duties and rises to the highest distinction, he will have\nno difficulty in attaining his object and in successfully overcoming\nall the obstacles to his passage.\n\nThe prayer for long life is specifically addressed to the Rabbit,\nthe mythical founder of the society, and indirectly addressed to\nEarth-Maker (_ma\u207f\u2032\u2019una_), the spirit who sent him to clear the earth of\nthe obstacles to man\u2019s progress. It is the only prayer ever addressed\nto him. No supernatural communication is possible. As a matter of\nfact, it is only in this and in the Winter Feast that Earth-Maker is\nassociated with this specific power of granting long life.\n\nIt would be quite erroneous to imagine that the prayer for long life,\npassage to the next world, and transmigration, are ideas specifically\nconnected with the Medicine Dance. As a matter of fact, they constitute\nthe characteristic cultural traits of the Winnebago, and crop out\neverywhere in the folk-lore and in the general rituals. The question of\nthe safe passage to the next world is perhaps even more specifically\nassociated with the Four Nights\u2019 Wake. The purpose of the wake is to\nenable the deceased to successfully overcome the four great obstacles\non the road to the spirit home of his clan. This is accomplished,\nfirst, by the performance of a definite ritual; and, secondly, by some\nwarrior relating one of his exploits on the warpath and putting at\nthe disposal of the deceased the spirit of the man he had killed, to\nact as a servant to him. The close relation between the ethical worth\nof the deceased and of the one who relates the exploit, on the one\nhand, and the safe journey to the spirit world, on the other, comes\nout as strongly here as it does in the Medicine Dance; but it seems\nunnecessary, for that reason, to predicate any historical connection\nbetween the two. They both reflect the cultural background around them.\n\nSimilarly the various elements that make up the life which the\nmembers of the Medicine Dance pray for,\u2014the food-supply, the power of\nhealing, success on the warpath, a normal quota of years,\u2014these are\nall definitely associated with spirits and ceremonials. Success in war\nis associated, not with one society, but with a number of societies.\nIt would, however, be manifestly erroneous and unnecessary to claim\nthat it belongs essentially more to the one than to the other society,\nunless direct historical proof for such a statement were forthcoming.\n\n6. _Summary._\u2014We are now in a better position to see in what the nature\nof the complete ceremonial complex consists. The unit it consists of\nis loose in the Ojibwa-Menominee, and strong in the Shell and Pebble\nSocieties and in the Medicine Dance. The specific component elements\nare to a large extent different in each. It is utterly impossible now\nto discover the origin of the differences in the individual component\nelements; but it is quite clear that the forces tending to develop the\nlarger ceremonial complexes have been, not those of a dissociation, but\ndistinctly those of an association, of elements.\n\nThese associations may be of the most diverse kind. Certain features\nmay always have been associated with certain other elements, such as\nmedicinal herbs and medicines with the water-spirit, as in the case of\nthe Omaha and Winnebago. This, then, is for all practical purposes an\nultimate unit. If, consequently, we find an intimate connection between\na vision from the water-spirit and the practice of medicinal herbs, we\nmust not consider this as a secondary association that has come about\nthrough the influence of a ceremony.\n\nIn the same way, the connection of the buffalo with the magical renewal\nof the food-supply will probably have to be looked upon as such an\nultimate unit.\n\nOur first object, therefore, when we find certain elements associated,\nis to determine whether there is any reason for believing that we are\ndealing with some such ultimate complex or unit.\n\nOn the other hand, when we find a magical ceremony for punishing\noffenders (viewed from its social aspect) associated with the Shell\nSociety, or mortuary ceremonies associated with the Menominee\nMidewiwin, these associations cannot be considered as being ultimately\nconnected with any particular aspect of the society\u2019s function, as\nthe complexes which they form exhibit an extreme variability. Their\npresence in various societies must be interpreted as secondary\nassociations of some kind. As secondary associations, however, they\nmay have been conditioned either by their specific nature or by the\nspecific development of the society. As such we might, for instance,\nview either certain aspects of the shamanistic practices of the Ojibwa\nMidewiwin, or the mortuary ceremonies connected with the Menominee\nMidewiwin, or the punishment of offenders in the Shell Society.\n\nWhen, however, we find cultural phenomena, which are generally\npossessed by a tribe, associated in varying degrees with this or\nthat ceremonial, this association must be looked upon as due to the\ninfluence of the cultural environment. This influence may be conceived\nas setting in at any time during the historical development of the\nceremony, while the ceremony itself remains passive; as, for instance,\nif the journey to the spirit land is connected with the Medicine Dance,\nor with the wake, with the telling of truth, or with membership in\na clan. Here it is obviously the cultural environment that has been\nactive. If, however, the mide, united in an organization, develop\ncertain phases of this general cultural environment, such as magic and\nshamanistic practices, in a specific way, we have a right to credit\nthis development as due to the activity of the society, and we have\nconsequently a real secondary association of definite practices with\nan historically older organization. Of course, a good deal in this\nparticular case would be caused by the fact that the members are mide;\nbut after this historically preliminary stage, the Midewiwin became an\nactive unit as a society; and in this sense, if it then specifically\nutilizes certain beliefs in a special manner, it can be said to be\nsecondarily associating them.\n\nIt is thus seen that the mechanism of the association is both\npsychologically and historically highly complex. One thing, however,\nseems to be quite demonstrable; namely, that there is always one\nconstant element,\u2014the specific cultural background or type of each\ntribe.\n\nBearing this in mind, the similarities in the association of the\nMidewiwin of the Ojibwa-Menominee, the Medicine Dance of the Winnebago,\nand the Shell and Pebble Societies of the Omaha, do not necessarily\nindicate an historical relationship, but would most likely tend\nto show that a number of ideas and customs were common to a large\ncultural area. This does not of course interfere in the least with the\npossibility of an historical connection, but this historical connection\nmust in each case be demonstrated. However, even if it were proved,\nan historical connection alone cannot possibly explain the entire\nphenomenon; for the cultural environment, if it is the same, will\ncondition general similarities and resemblances in ceremonies that\nhistorically are quite unrelated, so that the convergent evolution thus\nresulting will completely obscure at times the individual history of a\nceremony. It is, for instance, possible that historically the journey\nto the spirit land was connected with the wake among the Winnebago. The\ngeneral prevalence of the same idea among so many social and ceremonial\ngroups to-day, however, makes it unjustifiable to assume such a\nconnection in the absence of any direct historical data; so that,\nalthough there is to my mind little doubt that these associations are\nall historically different, owing to the influence of certain general\ncultural ideas, they present to-day the same picture.\n\nIt is quite safe to assume that, just as we have shown that the\nshooting ceremony in the Medicine Dance is the borrowed initiation\nritual of the Midewiwin, so it would be possible to demonstrate, were\nwe in the possession of fuller historical data, that other elements\nhave been borrowed. However, when we have demonstrated the borrowing of\na certain element, we have only partially, and often only inadequately,\nexplained it. Its further explanation is possible only in terms of the\nspecific type of ceremony, and of the general cultural environment with\nwhich it has been associated. Both of these may change. It does not\nfollow that because, among the Winnebago to-day, all the societies are\npractically associations of individuals who have obtained supernatural\ncommunication from this or that spirit, this was therefore always the\nbasis of the societies. To-day the Medicine Dance and the Night Spirit\nor Sore-Eye Dance have a different type of organization. Originally the\nlatter had the former type, and the Medicine Dance may have had it. It\nis, for instance, barely possible that we may in this case be dealing\nwith the beginning of a change of type of organization, and that,\nsimilarly, types of organization preceded that, whose essence to-day\nlies in the possession of common visions.\n\n                   *       *       *       *       *\n\nWe have now finished the examination of a number of definite\nceremonies. Our object in analyzing them was to determine in what the\nsignificance of the common elements lay, and what general historical\nand psychological tendencies were operative in their growth. We may now\nexamine the results of our study in the light of Schurtz\u2019s theory, and\nexamine the data upon which Schurtz based his theory in the light of\nthe leading points of view emphasized above.\n\nVII. R\u00c9SUM\u00c9 AND CONCLUSION.\u2014The main thesis Schurtz sought to establish\nwas the demonstration of the parallel historical development of society\nas determined by certain psychological tendencies of the race. It is\nof prime importance to remember that he claimed to have found certain\nsurvivals by means of which he was able to reconstruct the stages in\nthe history of society. Initiation degrees, the exclusion of women,\netc., he considered \u201csymptomatic\u201d of these stages. His main object was\nto prove the existence of these symptoms. Wherever he found them, he\nwas satisfied that he was dealing with vestiges of the stages through\nwhich society had passed. All these symptoms, according to Schurtz, had\ndefinite and specific connotations, and were associated with definite\nand specific stages in the development of society.\n\nWe have seen, in the analysis of the ceremonies of a limited area, that\nthe common elements which were supposed to be symptomatic of historical\nrelationship had no such value, and that they entered into a number\nof cultural complexes historically distinct one from another. In the\nsame way we will now examine the more fundamental symptoms\u2014initiation,\ndegrees, and the exclusion of women\u2014to see whether any specific\nsignificance attaches to them, and whether they, too, have not become\nassociated with a number of cultural complexes historically distinct.\nIf they have thus become associated, then their value as criteria for\ndefinite stages of social evolution is _nil_.\n\n1. _Initiation._\u2014It was our main purpose, in analyzing the above\nceremonies, to examine them quite apart from any theoretical\npresuppositions. In so proceeding, we obtained as a resultant the fact\nthat initiation connoted psychologically and historically a number of\ndifferent things, and that this difference seemed dependent upon the\nhistorical and psychological individuality of each tribe. To Schurtz,\nhowever, initiation meant primarily an initiation into puberty, and\ninto that social status with which puberty has been so long and closely\nassociated,\u2014an association that seemed, historically speaking, almost\nan ultimate complex; namely, initiation into the tribe. He assumes that\nif it is found to mean anything else, then this new meaning is either\na secondary association, or, preferably, an historical development\nfrom the first conception. Carried out logically, we should therefore\nhave to consider initiation into a masonic order or into a college\nfraternity as a transformation of an original tribal initiation. To\nthis, I think, Schurtz would have taken serious exception, on the\nground that we are here dealing with a purely rational and artificial\nsocial group. But are we not to a certain extent dealing with the same\nphenomenon in the primitive societies discussed?\n\nIn examining a phenomenon such as initiation, we must not forget\nthat it is, in a general way, absolutely conditioned by the specific\nindividuality of one man as opposed to that of another. The desire of\none man for participation in the possessions of another, or in those of\nsome differentiated group, is an ultimate fact for which we need give\nno explanation. What is essential for our discussion is the realization\nthat the methods of this participation are infinite, depending entirely\nupon the influence of cultural factors in the development of specific\nareas, and of institutions within them. Thus initiation into the\nMidewiwin is the transfer of certain mide powers; into the Pebble and\nother Omaha Societies, a common vision; into the Medicine Dance, the\ntransfer of certain knowledge. This transfer or initiation is in no\nway different from that which takes place between two individuals,\nexcept that in the former case we are dealing with phenomena between an\nindividual on the one hand, and a group of individuals on the other.\nThis conception of initiation has become associated everywhere with\nsocial and ceremonial groups. One may, for instance, be initiated into\na clan, into a name, into a family, etc.\n\nTo Schurtz, however, the concept of initiation is primarily associated\nwith puberty. His argument is that puberty is a physiological stage\nthrough which every one must pass. The change to sexual maturity is so\nimportant a fact, that it cannot possibly have escaped any tribe. It\nfollows that this physiological change must have been correlated with\na change in the position of the individual in the tribe. He will, for\ninstance, among other things, be less subjected to the influence of his\nmother, and more to that of his father, etc.\n\nAll these general propositions are true; and it is also unquestionably\ntrue that there has been a marked tendency for ceremonies to cluster\naround that period of physiological change which we call puberty.\nSimilarly, in some cultural areas there has been a secondary, or,\nif you wish, a constant association of puberty rites with a formal\nadoption into the tribe. In Australia, for instance, the individual\ndoes not become of active social importance until he has passed through\ncertain rites at the age of puberty.\n\nThe essential point, however, is whether he does not always become of\nactive social importance at about that age. He unquestionably does. We\ncannot, therefore, assume offhand that it is the fact of puberty that\nis being emphasized by the initiatory rites. This would be the case\nonly if we could prove that puberty is invariably associated with some\nform of initiation. If it is not, then we must regard the clustering\nof the concept of initiation around the age of puberty, among the\nAustralians and other tribes, as a cultural peculiarity of these\npeoples.[28]\n\nIn other words, the beginning of the social importance of an individual\nmay be associated with puberty initiation rites. Initiation may,\nhowever, be associated with any period of development. For instance,\namong the Christians and Semites, it is found associated with birth in\nthe forms of baptism and circumcision; and just as with any age, so it\nmay become associated with any social or ceremonial unit. It can thus\nbecome associated with entrance into a society; and we may consequently\nsay that a society is only one of the numerous cultural elements with\nwhich initiation has become associated.\n\nIt is, however, a truism to state that initiation is essential for\ngroup differentiation; excluding, of course, the case where membership\nin a group is not synonymous with birth. When Schurtz, therefore,\nreconstructs the evolution of initiation, and connects the initiation\ninto a society with that at puberty, he must have been guided by some\nmore fundamental facts than that of the presence of initiation. The\npostulation of a genetic relationship between the two initiations lay\nreally in the fact that he detected in the form of initiation into\nthe society certain \u201csymptoms\u201d which he regarded as being primarily\nassociated with puberty initiation. These symptoms were the presence of\n\u201ctests\u201d as essential for admission into a society; and group-initiation\nor the initiation of a number of youths at the same time. That he was\nthinking of tests in the most general way, can be seen by the following\nstatement. \u201cDas Austeilen von Schl\u00e4gen ... im Duk-Duk h\u00e4ngt wohl mit\nden Mutproben der Knabenweihe zusammen.\u201d[29] It is hardly necessary to\ninsist that the test concept used in this generalized manner is found\nassociated with the ordinary forms of eligibility; so that, wherever\nthe idea of eligibility is associated with a social or ceremonial\ngroup, there it will be natural to find tests. There is no need of\ngiving any examples: they must occur to every one. The test feature\nmust consequently be considered so general a cultural possession that\nits association with diverse cultural phenomena is quite natural, and\nits significance will in each case depend upon specific conditions.\nWe cannot, therefore, predicate any general significance for the\nassociation of the test feature in specific cultural complexes.\n\nSchurtz\u2019s second symptom comes out strongly in his discussion of\nthe Ruk-Ruk Society of Northern Bougainville.[30] We have here, he\nsays, a remarkable connecting link between simple men\u2019s associations\n(_M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde_), firmly established by puberty rites and secret\nsocieties. He arrives at this conclusion, because he finds it customary\nthere to have a group of youths initiated into the society at the same\ntime. Here both the youth of the novices and the group initiation are\nemphasized as being symptomatic of a development from former men\u2019s\nassociations (_M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde_).\n\nIt must, however, be remembered, as we have said before, that a man\nbecomes socially active at about the age of puberty, and that his\nsocial activity will naturally take those channels customary in a\ngiven tribe. The fact that a youth enters a society like the Ruk-Ruk,\nto which most members of the tribe belong, should not excite wonder.\nAs a matter of fact, we should find it necessary to explain why he\ndid not join. His failure to become a member would most certainly be\nassociated, in such a case, with a low social status. What is to be\nemphasized here is not the youth of the novices, but the intellectual\ndevelopment occurring at that age. This comes out clearly in the case\nof the Duk-Duk, where the parents generally purchase membership for\ntheir children immediately after birth. Young children behave like\nregularly initiated members, but they only become active members at the\nage of sixteen. Similarly in the Winnebago Medicine Dance individuals\nmay be initiated in early childhood, but it is at a much later period\nthat they possess the powers of adult members. As a matter of fact,\nadmission depends upon so large a number of factors in different\nsocieties, that it would be possible to draw up a table that would\ninclude all ages from birth to old age.\n\nIn the same way the initiation of a group of individuals at one time\ndepends upon too large a number of factors to permit any single\ninterpretation. The burden of proof rests with Schurtz to show that the\npresence of a specific test connects the Ruk-Ruk Society with puberty\nrites, and that the presence of a group initiation in the Duk-Duk\nconnects that society with the men\u2019s associations.\n\nPerhaps a few examples might bring out more clearly the different kinds\nof initiation.\n\nIn the Ruk-Ruk Society the novices retire to the woods, work for their\nsponsors, lay out their plantations, etc. They are also supposed\nto converse with spirits.[31] Similar conditions are found in the\nMatambala Society of the Island of Florida.[32] This retirement to\nthe woods and to a holy precinct, and consequent re-appearance, are\ncharacteristic of a large number of initiations. The work the novice\nperforms for his sponsor must also be regarded as a characteristic of\nthis area. The tests of the novice have been spoken of before. They\nare, as might be expected, of the most diverse kind. In Fiji, for\ninstance, a ceremonial attack upon the novices occurs, which is said to\nsymbolize their death.[33]\n\nIn Africa we find many of the characteristics noted above. In the\nPurrah the novices retire to a holy precinct, and are said to\nendure extreme hardship. Only warriors thirty years of age can be\ninitiated.[34] In the Mumbo-Djumbo only youths older than sixteen are\nadmitted.[35] The other conditions are similar to those of the Purrah.\nIn the Simo organization novices were circumcized and lived seven years\nin the woods.[36] In the Mwetyi Society, in addition to probations, the\nyouths adopt a taboo of certain foods or drinks, to which they remain\nfaithful ever after.[37] In the Ndembo Society novices are shot by a\nrattle, and fall down as if dead. They are then carried away to some\nholy precinct, where often as many as from twenty to fifty individuals\nremain at the same time. At this place they stay sometimes as long as\nthree years. Their bodies are supposed to disintegrate during this\ntime. When they are supposed to return, the shaman gathers their bones\nand restores them to life. On the return to their villages, they behave\nlike unknown children, fail to recognize their relatives, to understand\ntheir own language, etc.[38] In the Nkimba similar conditions are\nfound.[39]\n\nThe variability of the method and concept of initiation is thus\nseen to be enormous. It might be interesting in this connection to\npoint out how certain ideas will cluster around initiation in one\nlarge geographical area, and how the same ideas will cluster around\na different cultural complex in another large geographical area.\nFor instance, in the South Seas and in Africa, initiation is found\ngenerally associated with tests or probations; whereas in North America\ntests are not associated with initiation into the society, but with the\nobtaining of visions at the age of puberty.\n\n2. _Degrees._\u2014To Schurtz, degrees are symptomatic of age classes.\nWherever he finds them in societies, and wherever they seem to be\ncorrelated with certain ages, he concludes that they are vestiges of\nformer age groups. However, he seems to have overlooked one fact,\u2014that\nthe same social and individual forces that would tend toward the\nformation of societies would necessarily tend toward the development\nof distinctions within them. It will depend entirely upon the nature\nof the people and the individual history of the organization, in\nwhat manner these distinctions will be emphasized. One of the\npossible methods of emphasizing them is marking off those with common\npossessions in some definite manner. Here, again, much will depend upon\nthe kind of group into which the individual is initiated. If, when\nhe enters the society, he is initiated into all that pertains to it,\ngradations will not be likely to arise. Generally, however, there is\ncertainly a marked tendency for some sort of gradation, be it due to\nlength of membership, insistence upon separate payments, unwillingness\nof the older members to impart all to a new member who may withal be\nquite young, a desire to impart piecemeal in order to enhance the value\nof the teachings, etc. Whether these possible lines of cleavage will\nassociate themselves with definite markings or rites, is a question\nof individual cultural development. They may or they may not. In\nMelanesia, for instance, they did not.\n\nIn the Ruku-Ruku[40] of the Fiji Islanders we find three\ngradations,\u2014those of uninitiated youths, grown-up men, and old men.\nIn the Purrah[41] there were two gradations, consisting respectively\nof those over thirty and of those over fifty years. In the Egbo[42]\nSociety there are eleven degrees, into which membership may be\npurchased one after the other in an ascending scale. In Old Calabar[43]\nthere are five classes.\n\nIn the Purrah we are dealing with an exceedingly intricate complex,\nin which military and judicial functions are quite prominent. The age\nfactor seems secondary and artificial. In the Egbo there is no age\nfactor at all. In the Ruku-Ruku an age factor exists. Owing to the\nsocial value of the Ruku-Ruku, all individuals seem to be potential\nmembers at birth. At the same time, the oldest members always have\nspecific functions to perform. In this way two groups are formed.\nThose who do not belong to these two groups belong to the third group.\nAll that can be said here is, that a society has utilized a rough\nage factor for specific purposes. That in reality the entire tribe\nis divided into three divisions, is due to the fact that all the\nmembers of the tribe are members of the society. This is therefore\nnot a phenomenon that has any general significance in the evolution\nof society, but is purely and simply a phenomenon of certain secret\nsocieties. The threefold division is not due to a persistence of a\nformer threefold division of the tribe, but grew out of the needs of\na specific society. The same remarks hold for the twofold division\nof members in the Purrah. Similarly the four and eight degrees found\namong the Ojibwa Midewiwin are due to a development within the\nsociety. To-day practically all the members of the tribe belong to the\nMidewiwin, and the tribe may be said to be divided into four divisions.\n(However, in this case the main element, that of the association of a\ncertain age with a certain degree, does not exist, because there is no\nfixed age at which a man buys admission into the higher degrees.)\n\nIt will consequently be necessary to determine the significance of\ndegrees in each particular case before any general significance can be\nattached to them.\n\n3. _Exclusion of Women._\u2014The admission of women into a society is,\naccording to Schurtz, a secondary feature. This followed directly from\nhis negative position with regard to women\u2019s _Geselligkeitstrieb_,\nand from his assumption that societies were merely transformed\nmen\u2019s associations, which in turn were transformed age groups. The\nquestion of the _Geselligkeitstrieb_ of women hardly lends itself\nto any accurate discussion, as, generally speaking, women have not\nbeen surrounded by those conditions which played an important part in\ndeveloping that trait among men. In our own civilization, where men and\nwomen are to a certain extent subjected to the same conditions, a large\nnumber of women societies has developed, and large numbers of women\nhave been admitted into men\u2019s societies. Among us, this admission of\nwomen is due to the fact that they are now in the same industries that\nmen are. However, there are manifold factors which can and do bring\nabout the admission of women into men\u2019s societies or their exclusion\ntherefrom. The nature of some societies may exclude men, just as it may\nexclude women. A soldiers\u2019 society will exclude women, because women\nare not soldiers. Similarly a sewing society will probably exclude\nmen. The exclusion of women will therefore depend upon the specific\nfunctions of a society; but the right of women to participate in\ncertain activities will again depend upon the manner in which each\nspecific culture area separated the spheres of action of men and women.\n\nThe possibility of infinite variation must force upon us the conclusion\nthat we can only begin to investigate the reasons for the exclusion or\nadmittance of women when we have a clear understanding of the ideas\neach tribe possesses with regard to the specific functions of the men\nand women. This determination is in a large number of cases utterly\nimpossible, because we are in no position to know whether the reasons\nnow given are historically the true ones. If, for instance, in a men\u2019s\ncollege fraternity women are debarred on the ground that the fraternity\nis interested in fencing, card-playing, etc., which are occupations of\nmen, historically this is not the true reason. Originally fraternities\nwere merely social gatherings of individuals who attended a college.\nThere were no women students to admit. To-day, when women attend the\ncolleges, wherever new fraternities arise, women are admitted. It is\nthus apparent, that, in the absence of historical evidence, we must be\nextremely careful in interpreting the reason for this exclusion.\n\nIn Melanesia, for example, women are entirely excluded from the\nsocieties. However, in Melanesia, societies are associated with a\nmultitude of religious and social functions in which women are not\npermitted to participate. In other words, the Melanesians draw the line\nof demarcation between the activities of men and women along these\nlines. If, for instance, in the New Hebrides, women have nothing to do\nwith the funeral and mortuary rites, and a secret society is intimately\nconnected with such rites, then we ought not to be surprised that women\nare not admitted into the society. It seems to me, therefore, that we\nshould make much better progress in our study of this phenomenon in\nMelanesia and in Polynesia, if we were first to examine whether either\nthe conceptions of the tribe, or the nature of the specific society, or\nthe cultural elements with which it was associated, debarred women from\nmembership.\n\nA few examples from Africa will emphasize this point even more\nforcibly, and at the same time indicate along what lines the respective\nspheres of men\u2019s and women\u2019s actions are drawn there. In the Purrah\nSociety, women are excluded. The society has general war and judicial\nfunctions which do not come within the domain of women, according to\nthe ideas of the tribe. In the Attonga Society[44] of Senegambia, only\nwomen are admitted, and the society is associated with mortuary rites.\nIn the Dschengu we have another women society connected here with the\ncult of some water deity.[45] In the region around the mouth of the\nOgowe there are a number of powerful women societies associated with\nvarious elements.[46]\n\nIf we now proceed to Schurtz\u2019s contention, that women societies are\nmerely imitations of men\u2019s societies, we shall see that, as a general\nstatement, this is as unjustified as is his interpretation that the\nadmission of women into societies is a secondary feature. That it\nis true in a number of cases, is unquestioned. However, when, as in\nAfrica, we see a very strong tendency for the formation of societies,\nand see at the same time a very large number of women societies, it\nseems far more justifiable to assume that the women societies are\nformed in response to the same tendencies as those of men. To judge\nfrom parallels in other parts of the world, it is extremely likely that\nwomen will form societies wherever men show a strong tendency to do so.\nA number of factors may, however, interfere with a development of such\nsocieties. For instance, it is quite plausible that where, as among the\nMelanesians, a strong society-forming tendency existed, and women did\nnot participate in it, some strong reason existed which might perhaps\nbe ascribed to the fact that women do not there participate in those\nrites that are almost universally associated with societies.\n\nIn North America there are numerous examples of women belonging to\nmen\u2019s societies. A cursory examination will bring out what were the\npossible factors at work there. In the Objibwa-Menominee Midewiwin,\nwomen are admitted. Now, in the Ojibwa-Menominee culture, women may\nbecome shamans as well as men, and the society based on shamans will\nnaturally include both sexes. If there are fewer women than men, this\nis because fewer women become shamans. In the Winnebago Medicine Dance,\nwealth and certain requirements possessed by both men and women are the\nonly essentials for admission; and both sexes can accordingly become\nmembers. In the present Sore-Eye Dance, women are admitted. Formerly\nthe same society, known as the Night Dance, excluded women. The\nreason is very simple. Formerly, supernatural communication with the\nnight spirits was essential for membership, and owing to the specific\nassociations attached to these night spirits, women never obtained\nvisions from them. When subsequently it was no more essential to have\nhad a vision, and membership could be purchased by any one, women were\nadmitted. Among the Blackfoot, women are part members of the religious\nsociety, because, according to Blackfoot ideas of property, the former\nhave a part in the medicine-bundle of the man. The possession of the\nmedicine-bundle is necessary for admission into the society.[47] It is\nthus apparent that the explanation for the exclusion of women from a\nsociety must lie in a large number of factors, not the least important\nof which is the nature of the specific ideas of property and the\nrespective spheres of activity of men and women.\n\n4. _Functions of the Society._\u2014Our analysis of the five ceremonies\nhas clearly established the differences in the functions of the\nsocieties. To Schurtz these differences were due to developments from\none historically primary function. His line of argument is a direct\nconsequence of his assumption that secret societies have developed from\nthe men\u2019s associations.\n\nIf we glance at the West African, the Melanesian, the Polynesian,\nNorth American, and our own societies, we see that their functions are\nlegion. Now, it can be demonstrated that where the whole or a large\npart of the tribe is included in a society, that society will possess\nmany of the functions of the tribe, because individuals are primarily\ncarriers of their culture, and secondarily members of a society; or,\nit might be better said that these two functions of an individual are\nso inextricably connected that they cannot be thought of apart. It\ncan also be demonstrated that specific societies have associated with\nthem a variety of functions. In each case we are dealing with the\nsame phenomenon. The number of possible combinations is practically\ninfinite. It is, however, a suggestive fact that certain functions of a\nsociety are distributed over large areas. In Melanesia, for instance,\nthe most constant functions of societies seem to be those connected\nwith mortuary rites and ancestor worship. In Africa, again, they are\nprimarily judicial and administrative. In the case of our five North\nAmerican ceremonies, they are religious and magical. For the latter our\nexplanation lay in assuming that we were dealing there with a common\ncultural background. The same explanation holds true for Melanesia and\nAfrica. In other words, societies, like all other social units in which\nan individual takes part, must necessarily associate themselves with\nthe cultural background in which they are set.\n\n5. _Conclusion._\u2014The study we have undertaken can only indirectly be\nconsidered an examination of Schurtz\u2019s theories. What we have attempted\nis the analysis of a number of ceremonies, in order to discover what\ntendencies were operative in their growth. These examples, combined\nwith others taken from the South Seas and Africa, have demonstrated\nclearly that there exist in the world certain general ideas that\nmay associate themselves with any type of social and ceremonial\norganization. Ceremonies in origin historically distinct may thus come\nto possess general and often specific resemblances. It is consequently\nof extreme importance, in any scheme of social reconstruction, to\ndetermine first whether the common elements in the ethnological data\ncompared are not due to such a convergent evolution.\n\n\n                              FOOTNOTES:\n\n[1] The description of the ritual is based on material collected by me,\nand now in the possession of the Bureau of American Ethnology. The full\ndescription will appear as a memoir of the Bureau.\n\n[2] X\u2019ok\u00ea\u2032 means literally \u201croot\u201d or \u201cancestor.\u201d \u201cAncestor-host\u201d will\nbe used as its equivalent.\n\n[3] This word means literally \u201che who puts himself in the place to\nbenefit his relatives.\u201d The reference is to the Rabbit, who, at the\nfirst performance of the ceremony, acted as host and initiated his\nrelatives; i. e., the human beings.\n\n[4] The speeches are not actually rehearsals of speeches to be\ndelivered during the ceremony proper, but they refer to the purpose of\nthe Medicine Dance much in the same way as do some of the speeches in\nthe ceremony proper. A large number of miscellaneous myths are likewise\nrelated.\n\n[5] This has been contradicted by some of my informants, who claim\nthat only the East and North Bands have representatives at the brush\nceremony.\n\n[6] _Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_, vol. vii, p.\n188, diagram.\n\n[7] _Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_, vol. vii, pp.\n245, 255\u2013274.\n\n[8] _Ibid._, p. 257.\n\n[9] _Ibid._, pp. 167\u2013181.\n\n[10] _Ibid._, p. 168.\n\n[11] _Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_, vol. xiv, p.\n69.\n\n[12] Compare diagram, _ibid._, p. 75.\n\n[13] _Ibid._, p. 75.\n\n[14] Heinrich Schurtz, _Altersklassen und M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde_, 1902; cf.\nespecially pp. 1\u201382.\n\n[15] Wherever the phrase \u201cinstinct for association\u201d is used, it is an\nattempt to render the German _Geselligkeitstrieb_.\n\n[16] S. R. Riggs, Dakota Grammar and Texts.\n\n[17] Hoffman, in _Annual Report of Bureau of American Ethnology_, vol.\nvii.\n\n[18] _Ibid._, vol. xiv.\n\n[19] Boas, The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the\nKwakiutl Indians (_Annual Report of the U. S. National Museum for\n1895_, p. 485).\n\n[20] Migis is the Ojibwa term for the shell used in the Midewiwin. It\nis employed here as a convenient term to designate the objects used by\nthe Winnebago and Omaha in shooting.\n\n[21] Alanson Skinner (MS.).\n\n[22] Frances Densmore, \u201cChippewa Music\u201d (_Bureau of American\nEthnology_, Bulletin 45). Washington, Government, 1910.\n\n[23] _Annual Archaeological Report, 1905_ (Report of Minister of\nEducation, Ontario), p. 146.\n\n[24] _Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_ (1905\u201306),\nvol. xxvii.\n\n[25] _Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology_ (1905\u201306),\nvol. xxvii.\n\n[26] In the Cheyenne Medicine Arrow Society a similar association\noccurs.\n\n[27] Miss Fletcher, in _Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology_, vol.\nxxvii.\n\n[28] Van Gennep, in a very interesting chapter on \u201cInitiatory Rites\u201d\n(Chapter VI of his _Les Rites de Passage_), has divided puberty into\ntwo divisions,\u2014_pubert\u00e9 physique_ and _pubert\u00e9 sociale_,\u2014and has shown\nthat the age variations of both are considerable. He insists that many\nwriters have considerably obscured the points at issue by confusing\nthe two. Van Gennep believes that the _pubert\u00e9 physique_ and _pubert\u00e9\nsociale_ rarely fall together. It seems to me that this is not entirely\nborne out by the facts of the case; for it must be remembered that,\naccompanying the physiological changes at puberty, there are mental\nchanges which in many cases permit an individual to become of active\nsocial importance; and while I think that it is this social activity\nthat is emphasized by the initiatory rites, nevertheless the fact must\nnot be overlooked that this social activity often coincides with the\nphysiological puberty. We must, of course, not identify physiological\npuberty with any too definite a time, but allow for considerable\nfluctuations.\n\n[29] Schurtz, Altersklassen und M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde, p. 376.\n\n[30] _Ibid._, p. 379.\n\n[31] Schurtz, Altersklassen und M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde, pp. 378 ff.\n\n[32] _Ibid._, p. 379.\n\n[33] _Ibid._, pp. 386 ff.\n\n[34] _Ibid._, pp. 410\u2013413.\n\n[35] _Ibid._, pp. 413\u2013415.\n\n[36] _Ibid._, p. 415.\n\n[37] _Ibid._, pp. 430 ff.\n\n[38] _Ibid._, pp. 433\u2013435.\n\n[39] _Ibid._, pp. 435\u2013437.\n\n[40] Schurtz, Altersklassen und M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde, p. 386.\n\n[41] _Ibid._, p. 410.\n\n[42] _Ibid._, p. 420.\n\n[43] _Ibid._, p. 422.\n\n[44] Schurtz, Altersklassen und M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde, p. 416.\n\n[45] _Ibid._, p. 426.\n\n[46] Schurtz, Altersklassen und M\u00e4nnerb\u00fcnde, p. 429.\n\n[47] Oral communication of Dr. Wissler.\n\n\n                         Transcriber\u2019s Notes:\n\n  - Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).\n  - Blank  pages have been removed.\n  - In the section on types of ritual, (8) appears out of order, as in\n    the original.","title":"The ritual and significance of the Winnebago medicine dance","tradition":"scripture-revelation","translated_text":null,"word_count":27779}