DANCES, SONGS, AND SACRIFICES.
The dances of the Indians vary according to the purposes for which
they are intended. We have seen, in the second chapter of this work,
that when the Dutch first landed on New York island, the inhabitants
who believed them to be celestial beings, began a solemn dance, in
order to propitiate them. It is not uncommon for men who are deprived
of the light of revealed religion, to believe that the divinity will
be pleased with the same things from which they themselves receive
pleasure.
It is a pleasing spectacle to see the Indian dances, when intended
merely for social diversion and innocent amusement. I acknowledge I
would prefer being present at them for a full hour, than a few minutes
only at such dances as I have witnessed in our country taverns among
the white people. Their songs are by no means unharmonious. They sing
in chorus; first the men and then the women. At times the women join
in the general song, or repeat the strain which the men have just
finished. It seems like two parties singing in questions and answers,
and is upon the whole very agreeable and enlivening. After thus
singing for about a quarter of an hour, they conclude each song with
a loud yell, which I must confess is not in concord with the rest of
the music; it is not unlike the cat-bird which closes its pretty song
with mewing like a cat. I do not admire this _finale_. The singing
always begins by one person only, but others soon fall in successively
until the general chorus begins, the drum beating all the while to
mark the time. The voices of the women are clear and full, and their
intonations generally correct.
Their war dances have nothing engaging; their object, on the contrary,
is to strike terror in the beholders. They are dressed and painted, or
rather bedaubed with paint, in a manner suitable to the occasion. They
hold the murderous weapon in their hand, and imitate in their dance
all the warlike attitudes, motions and actions which are usual in an
engagement with the enemy, and strive to excel each other by their
terrific looks and gestures. They generally perform round a painted
post set up for that purpose, in a large room or place enclosed or
surrounded with posts, and roofed with the bark of trees; sometimes
also this dance is executed in the open air. There every man presents
himself in warrior’s array, contemptuously looking upon the painted
post, as if it was the enemy whom he was about to engage; as he passes
by it he strikes, stabs, grasps, pretends to scalp, to cut, to run
through; in short, endeavours to shew what he would do to a real enemy,
if he had him in his power.
It was an ancient custom among the Indians to perform this dance round
a prisoner, and as they danced, to make him undergo every kind of
torture, previous to putting him to death. The prisoner appeared to
partake in the merriment, contemptuously scoffing at his executioner,
as being unskilled in the art of inflicting torments: strange as this
conduct may appear, it was not without a sufficient motive. The object
of the unfortunate sufferer was to rouse his relentless tormentors to
such a pitch of fury, that some of them might, at an unguarded moment,
give him the finishing stroke and put him out of his pain.
Previous to going out on a warlike campaign, the war-dance is always
performed round the painted post. It is the Indian mode of recruiting.
Whoever joins in the dance is considered as having enlisted for the
campaign, and is obliged to go out with the party.
After returning from a successful expedition, a dance of _thanksgiving_
is always performed, which partakes of the character of a religious
ceremony. It is accompanied with singing and choruses, in which the
women join. But they take no part in the rest of the performance. At
the end of every song, the _scalp-yell_ is shouted as many times as
there have been scalps taken from the enemy.
The Indians also meet occasionally for the purpose of recounting
their warlike exploits, which is done in a kind of half-singing or
_recitative_. The oldest warrior recites first, then they go on in
rotation and in order of seniority, the drum beating all the time, as
it were to give to the relation the greater appearance of reality.
After each has made a short recital in his turn, they begin again
in the same order, and so continue going the rounds, in a kind of
alternate chanting, until every one has concluded. On these occasions,
great care must be taken not to give offence by affecting superiority
over the others, for every warrior feels his own consequence, and is
ready, if insulted, to shew by his actions, what he has performed in
war and is still able to do. I well remember an instance of the kind,
when an insulted warrior stepped out of the circle in which he was
dancing, and struck dead the impudent boaster who had offended him.
Their songs are in general of the warlike or of the tender and pathetic
kind. They are sung in short sentences, not without some kind of
measure, harmonious to an Indian ear. The music is well adapted to the
words, and to me is not unpleasing. I would not attempt to give an idea
of it by means of our musical notes, as has been done by other writers,
lest I should be as unsuccessful as those who have tried in the same
manner to describe the melodies of the ancient Greeks. It would be well
if I could describe at one and the same time the whole combination of
effects which acted upon my ear, but it is vain to endeavour to do it
partially. It is, indeed, much the same with their poetry; yet I cannot
resist the temptation of translating as well as I can, the words of
the Lenape’s song, when they go out to war. They sing it, as I give
it here, in short lines or sentences, not always the whole at one
time, but most generally in detached parts, as time permits and as the
occasion or their feelings prompt them. Their accent is very pathetic,
and the whole, in their language, produces considerable effect.
THE SONG OF THE LENAPE WARRIORS GOING AGAINST THE ENEMY.
“O poor me!
Whom am going out to fight the enemy,
And know not whether I shall return again,
To enjoy the embraces of my children
And my wife.
O poor creature!
Whose life is not in his own hands,
Who has no power over his own body,
But tries to do his duty
For the welfare of his nation.
O! thou Great Spirit above!
Take pity on my children
And on my wife!
Prevent their mourning on my account!
Grant that I may be successful in this attempt--
That I may slay my enemy,
And bring home the trophies of war
To my dear family and friends,
That we may rejoice together.
O! take pity on me!
Give me strength and courage to meet my enemy,
Suffer me to return again to my children,
To my wife
And to my relations!
Take pity on me and preserve my life
And I will make to thee a sacrifice.”
The song of the Wyandot warriors, as translated to me by an Indian
trader, would read thus: “Now I am going on an errand of pleasure--O!
God, take pity on me, and throw good fortune in my way--grant that I
may be successful.”
Thus their Almighty Creator is always before their eyes on all
important occasions. They feel and acknowledge his supreme power. They
also endeavour to propitiate him by outward worship, or _sacrifices_.
These are religious solemnities, intended to make themselves acceptable
to the Great Spirit, to find favor in his sight, and obtain his
forgiveness for past errors or offences. It is not, as some white
persons would lead us to believe, that knowing the Great Spirit to be
good, they are under no apprehensions from his wrath, and that they
make sacrifices to the evil spirit, believing him alone to be capable
of doing them hurt. This cannot be true of a people, who, as I have
already said in another part, hold it as a fixed principle “that good
and evil cannot and must not be united,” who declare and acknowledge
the great and good Spirit to be “all powerful,” and the evil one to
be “weak and limited in power;” who rely alone on the goodness of the
author of their existence, and who, before every thing, seek by all the
means in their power to obtain his favour and protection. For, they
are convinced, that the evil spirit has no power over them, as long as
they are in favour with the good one, and to him alone, acknowledging
his continued goodness to them and their forefathers, they look for
protection against the _Devil_, and his inferior spirits.
It is a part of their religious belief, that there are inferior
_Mannittos_, to whom the great and good Being has given the rule
and command over the elements; that being so great, he, like their
chiefs, must have his attendants to execute his supreme behests; these
subordinate spirits (something in their nature between God and man) see
and report to him what is doing upon earth; they look down particularly
upon the Indians, to see whether they are in need of assistance, and
are ready at their call to assist and protect them against danger.
Thus I have frequently witnessed Indians, on the approach of a storm
or thunder-gust, address the Mannitto of the air, to avert all danger
from them; I have also seen the Chippeways, on the Lakes of Canada,
pray to the Mannitto of the waters, that he might prevent the swells
from rising too high, while they were passing over them. In both
these instances, they expressed their acknowledgment, or shewed their
willingness to be grateful, by throwing tobacco in the air, or strewing
it on the waters.
There are even some animals, which though they are not considered
as invested with power over them, yet are believed to be placed as
guardians over their lives; and of course entitled to some notice and
to some tokens of gratitude. Thus, when in the night, an owl is heard
sounding its note, or calling to its mate, some person in the camp will
rise, and taking some _Glicanican_, or Indian tobacco, will strew it on
the fire, thinking that the ascending smoke will reach the bird, and
that he will see that they are not unmindful of his services, and of
his kindness to them and their ancestors. This custom originated from
the following incident, which tradition has handed down to them.
It happened at one time, when they were engaged in a war with a distant
and powerful nation, that a body of their warriors was in the camp,
fast asleep, no kind of danger at that moment being apprehended.
Suddenly, the great “Sentinel” over mankind, the _owl_, sounded the
alarm; all the birds of the species were alert at their posts, all at
once calling out, as if saying: “Up! up! Danger! Danger!” Obedient to
their call, every man jumped up in an instant; when, to their surprise,
they found that their enemy was in the very act of surrounding them,
and they would all have been killed in their sleep, if the owl had not
given them this timely warning.
But, amidst all these superstitious notions, the supreme Mannitto, the
creator and preserver of heaven and earth, is the great object of their
adoration. On him they rest their hopes, to him they address their
prayers and make their solemn sacrifices. These religious ceremonies
are not always performed in the same manner. I had intended to have
given some details upon this subject, but I find that it has been
almost exhausted by other writers,[189] although I will not pretend
to say that they are correct on every point. But I do not wish to
repeat things which have already been told to the world over and over.
Therefore, if on some subjects, relating to the manners and customs of
the Indians, I should be thought to have passed over too quickly, and
not to have sufficiently entered into particulars, let it be understood
that I have done so to avoid the repetition of what others have said,
although I am afraid I have been inadvertently guilty of it in more
than one instance. I would not presume to communicate my little stock
of knowledge, if I did not think that it will add something to what is
already known.
I do not recollect that it has already been mentioned, that previous
to entering upon the solemnity of their sacrifices, the Indians
prepare themselves by vomiting, fasting, and drinking decoctions from
certain prescribed plants. This they do to expel the evil which is
within them, and that they may with a pure conscience attend to the
_sacred performance_, for such they consider it. Nor is the object
of those sacrifices always the same; there are sacrifices of prayer
and sacrifices of thanksgiving, some for all the favours received by
them and their ancestors from the great Being, others for special or
particular benefits. After a successful war, they never fail to offer
up a sacrifice to the great Being, to return him thanks for having
given them courage and strength to destroy or conquer their enemies.