I AM GIVEN AN INDIAN NAME AND MADE A MEMBER OF THE BLACKFOOT TRIBE
On the day of full moon, when the leaves were falling, time appointed
by Mad Wolf for the second ceremony and opening of his Beaver Bundle, I
rode across the prairie towards his summer camp. It was fine autumn
weather, without a cloud in the sky. Eastward over the plains, through
a bluish haze, rose the Sweet Grass Hills, like distant islands in an
ocean. West stood the main range of the Rocky Mountains, extending into
the north and disappearing into the far south, the majestic snow-capped
peaks of Rising Wolf and Going-to-the-Sun looming sharp and clear
against the deep blue sky.
From the summit of a grassy ridge, I at last looked down upon the camp
of Mad Wolf. Smoke was rising from the lodges and bore the fragrant
odor of burning cottonwood. Many horses dotted the hills, Indian boys
riding to and fro and racing their mounts across the broad meadows.
Among the rows of white tepees were groups of Indians in bright-colored
clothes. They were seated about their outside fires, playing games and
engaged in various occupations of camp life.
I rode to the large decorated tepee of Mad Wolf, and was greeted by my
Indian sister, Strikes-on-Both-Sides. She wore a dress of fine deerskin
with beaded stripes. Her leggings and moccasins were decorated with
colored porcupine quills. She had white shell ear-rings, and necklaces
of elk teeth and deer bones. She shouted, “The Light-Haired-One has
come back”; then saying to me, “I am glad that you are still smiling,”
she took my hand and led me inside the lodge to Mad-Wolf and her
mother, Gives-to-the-Sun.
On the day appointed for the Beaver Ceremony, the chief’s family rose
before sunrise to cook food for the feast and prepare for many
visitors. They made ready a kettle of service-berry soup and tongues;
also dried meat mixed with wild cherries, and dried bear-berry leaves
for smoking. I helped in the feast with a supply of raisins and fresh
meat, dried berries, and a roll of strong Hudson Bay tobacco, which
they liked to smoke mixed with bear-berry leaves. I also gave a blanket
with colored stripes. It was looked upon as my offering to the Beaver
Bundle; so during the ceremony it lay under the Bundle.
When the sun was high over the eastern horizon, the guests began to
arrive. The head men of the tribe came with their families: White Calf,
the head-chief; White Grass, a judge and medicine man; Heavy Breast,
Middle Calf, Medicine Wolf, Elk Chief, Bear Child; Ear-Rings, a doctor
and medicine man; and Double Runner. The tepee was filled to the door
with eleven men, seventeen women and ten children. Mad Wolf as director
of the ceremony, sat at the back and in the center. The men were on his
left, the women and children on his right. The beaver men had seats in
the front row. Beside Mad Wolf was White Calf, the head-chief, then
White Grass, the medicine man, who helped him in conducting the
ceremony. I was next to Maka, an Indian of unusual appearance. He was
short and stout with a large head which was crowned with a heavy mass
of hair.
While they were waiting for the ceremony to begin, Mad Wolf said to
White Calf, so that all in the lodge could hear:
“Because you are my friend, I ask you to make the choice of a name for
my white son.” After that, the venerable chief sat in silence for a
while, his head bowed and eyes closed, trying to think of a suitable
name.
In the meantime, Middle Calf mixed the tobacco and filled the pipes; he
had charge of the smoking outfit, while Bear Child looked after the
incense of sweet grass.
The ceremony began by Bear Child taking a forked stick and selecting a
live coal from the fire. He laid it on the ground in front of Mad Wolf,
who placed upon it dried sweet grass. And the rising smoke soon filled
the tepee with incense. Mad Wolf held up his right hand to command
attention; then swaying his body to and fro, he chanted:
“I am the Morning Star, child of Sun and Moon,
My power is very strong.”
He held both hands in the smoke, and, placing them upon the sacred
bundle, sang a chant to the Sun. Then he raised his hands from the
bundle and laid them upon his breast—the sign that Sun Power was thus
communicated.
The Beaver Bundle lay at the back of the tepee, between Mad Wolf and
his wife. It had a wrapper of elkskin painted red; and the tie strings
were also of elkskin. To the outside were attached sacred implements—a
long pipe, digging stick, and a set of smudge sticks.
During the ceremony of opening the bundle, the outside articles were
removed first. And for this the four principals, Mad Wolf, White Calf
and their wives, Gives-to-the-Sun and Catches-Two-Horses, chanted in
unison, while the two women untied the strings and loosened the smudge
sticks. The four together placed their hands upon the sacred sticks and
held them in the sweet smoke. Then, each held a stick in imitation of
beavers carrying branches of trees. They extended their arms together,
with hands raised and parallel—the Indian sign for beaver den—and
prayed in unison to the spirit of the beaver:
“Pity us! Give us your wisdom and cunning.
May we live to be old.
May we always have plenty of food.”
Buffalo hides were next unrolled and spread upon the ground in front of
the beaver men during the chant:
“The buffalo bull stays in the mountains.
He comes down to the plains.
The mountains are his medicine.”
In this chant the four principals held their hands with two index
fingers curved towards each other, the other fingers being closed, in
imitation of buffalo horns—the Indian sign for buffalo.
The two women raised the Beaver Bundle, while the men sang the chant:
“The buffalo bull came down from the mountains.
He lies upon the ground.”
They moved the sacred bundle slowly and reverently and placed it on a
buffalo robe, beside the burning sweet grass. Mad Wolf took some
rattles from a woven Nez Percé bag and distributed them among the
beaver men. He handed two of them to me and said: “You are now my son
and should join with me in this ceremony.”
These rattles, which were made of buffalo hide and contained small
pebbles, were used by the beaver men to beat time on the buffalo hides
during the chants and dances, in imitation of beavers striking the
water with their flat tails.
Then, with the beaver men, I joined in the Raven Song:
“We fly high in the air.
Our power is very strong.
The wind is our medicine.”
We cawed four times in imitation of ravens, and held our rattles
vertically on the hides. After another raven song, we beat with our
rattles, shook them in the air, and ended with four caws. I watched
closely Mad Wolf’s movements, and imitated his motions with the
rattles, giving forward sweeps to the beats, as he did. This did not
escape his keen eyes, for he said to me so that all could hear: “I like
the way you swing your rattles. I am proud of my white son.”
For the Antelope Song, the beaver men chanted in unison, holding their
hands closed, one above the other, changing their positions by quick,
sharp movements, in imitation of the quick and dainty rise and fall of
the antelope’s feet in walking.
We joined with Mad Wolf in the Elk Song and beat time with our rattles.
The two women, leaning towards the Beaver Bundle, simulated dancing on
their knees, and at the same time imitated elk rubbing the velvet from
their horns. Mad Wolf untied the strings of elkskin, releasing the pipe
from the bundle, and sang:
“Our Father, the Sun!
It is time you were rising.
I want to dance with you.”
Then he arose and danced with the pipe; while the beaver men beat with
their rattles and all the people joined in the song. Mad Wolf blew on
his medicine whistle and circled the fire in the direction the sun
moves through the heavens. He gave the cry of the beaver and imitated
the actions of a swimming beaver.
White Grass, the medicine man, danced after Mad Wolf; and passed the
pipe in turn to the head-chief, who danced and returned it to Mad Wolf.
My Indian father held the pipe in the sweet-grass smoke, and, bowing
his head, prayed to the Sun in behalf of those who were ill.
Thus the Beaver Bundle, with its ritual of songs, dances, and prayers,
was a medium through which Sun Power was transmitted to man, especially
in the healing of the sick. It contained not only the skins of the
beaver, but also many sacred relics, principally of birds and wild
animals, all of which contributed their Sun Power to the bundle.
The time had now come for opening the bundle and taking out its
contents. Gives-to-the-Sun and Catches-Two-Horses were distinguished
from the other women by clothes decorated with red paint. They had both
been sacred women in the Sun Dance, and were held in high honor by the
tribe. The beaver men beat with their rattles and sang to the buffalo
bull with the words:
“The head-chief of the buffalo is looking for something to hook.”
The two women knelt beside the bundle and imitated the Bull hooking
with his horns. Mad Wolf chanted the “Hurry” Song; and the women
removed the elkskin cover. The inner bundle was wrapped in a rare and
beautiful buffalo skin with the color of a beaver. Then Mad Wolf began
a solemn chant, while the women opened this sacred buffalo robe, and
revealed the skins and relics of many birds and animals of prairies and
mountains. He took a beaver skin from the bundle and sang:
“I go from my lodge.
I see an enemy.
I dive under the water and am safe.”
He moved the skin in imitation of a beaver swimming; suddenly it dove
under the water to escape an enemy. At the same time the two women
knelt beside the bundle and pantomimed with their hands the movements
of beavers swimming and working on their dams. They danced on their
knees, gracefully swaying their bodies to the rhythm of the drumming,
while the rest of us sang a Beaver Song and beat time on the buffalo
hides.
Then each of the women took the beaver-skin in turn and with bowed head
held it reverently to her breast and prayed to the spirit of the
Beaver:
“I take you, my child, that my relatives and children may be free from
sickness.”
Two more women knelt in front of the bundle. Then these four women
together imitated beavers, moving their bodies in time with the
chanting and drumming. They covered their heads to represent beavers
hidden in their den under the water. Then the imaginary beavers rose to
the surface of the water and swam around while working on their dams.
Mad Wolf brought forth a bag of beaver-gnawed-sticks and handed them to
the women. They held these sticks in their mouths, like beavers holding
branches. They made swimming motions with their hands, and imitated
beavers diving under the water, then coming to the surface and swimming
in the stream. They went out upon an imaginary bank; and sat upright as
if to cut down trees, brushing their faces with their hands as beavers
do with their paws; looking carefully around, always alert for danger.
The four women danced together round the tepee, with hands crossed on
their breasts. They kept turning and swaying their bodies in time with
the chanting and drumming of the beaver men. Mad Wolf handed a
beaver-skin to his wife who was at the head of the line. The singing
and drumming of the beaver men now became louder, while the women
circled the fire and gave the call of the beaver. Gives-to-the-Sun in
the lead held the beaver-skin under her robe and moved it as though it
were swimming round her waist and then round her neck. After she had
danced once round the tepee, she handed the skin to the woman next in
line, with the prayer:
“I do not give you away, my child (beaver), because I am tired of you,
but because the child of this woman is ill. May it be restored to
health!”
Catches-Two-Horses who received the skin prayed: “I take you, my child
(beaver), that my husband and children may be from sickness; may they
live to be old!”
She danced once round the tepee, with the skin across her shoulders.
Each of the other women took the skin in turn, and then it was returned
to the bundle.
The women held up two winter-skins of weasels. The weasel, that great
hunter, was included in the bundle, because of its power as a provider
of food to its family. Mad Wolf began the Weasel Song; the beaver men
beat with their rattles and joined in the song. White Calf, the
venerable head-chief, rose and took one of the skins. He held it to his
breast with a prayer, and then danced round the tepee. He blew on his
medicine whistle to represent the cry of the weasel, and imitated its
actions hunting for food. Finally he stopped in front of me and held up
the snow-white skin, so that all could see. There was silence as he
looked straight at me, and said earnestly:
“This is the white weasel, one of the sacred animals of our Beaver
Bundle. We name you ‘Á-pe-ech-e-ken’ (White-Weasel-Moccasin), because
your color is light and your eyes are blue. We pray this name may bring
you long life and good luck.”
Mad Wolf approved of this name, and moved to one side, so that White
Grass, the medicine man, might take the leader’s seat. The face of
White Grass was painted red. In the center of his forehead was a black
mark to represent the thunder bolt, from which extended yellow zigzag
lines for lightning. He prayed:
“Father, the Sun, bless us all, men, women, and children.
Sacred Beaver Bundle, help us to lead straight lives.
Sacred Pipe, bless us, the rivers, mountains, prairies, birds,
and animals.
—Mother Earth, give us food until we die.”
Then White Grass sang the Paint Song, after which he took some red
earth from the bundle and prepared it with his hands, swaying his body
to and fro in time with the chant. First he painted the faces of Mad
Wolf and White Calf; and in like manner the beaver men, Heavy Breast,
Middle Calf, and Ear-Rings. I was seated next to Ear-Rings; and when my
turn came to be painted, Mad Wolf exclaimed: “Here comes my white son.”
White Grass signed that he was ready. I went forward and knelt before
him, while he placed the red earth on my forehead, chin, and hands,
because these are the places the beaver rubs himself with his paws. Mad
Wolf started the Beaver Song, and all joined in, accompanied by the
beating of rattles on the ground.
After the song, White Grass said to me very earnestly: “This tepee is
sacred. And this Beaver Ceremony, in which we have painted you and made
you a member of our tribe, is also sacred. We pray that you may never
be ill.”
Then Bear Child took a hot coal from the fire and laid it in front of
White Calf. The head-chief placed sweet grass upon it; and holding his
hands in the rising smoke, prayed:
“Father, the Sun, who gives us light,
Be good to this young man.
We have taken him into our tribe.
Keep him day and night from harm.
May he live long.
To return many summers to his Indian brothers and sisters.”
Then Mad Wolf again took the leader’s seat beside the bundle to
continue the ceremony. It required a fine memory to conduct the Beaver
Ceremony, with its great number of songs, prayers, and dances. Nobody
knew how many there were; it was bad luck to count them; but there must
have been between three and four hundred songs.
Every detail of the ceremony had to be performed accurately. It was
believed misfortune would result if mistakes were made. Yet a mistake
happened that very day in the dance of the lynx.
Mad Wolf took from the bundle the tail of a lynx, while the beaver men
chanted and beat with rattles. Gives-to-the-Sun held up a stick painted
red to represent a tree. Catches-Two-Horses took the tail and imitated
the actions of a lynx hunting squirrels.
First, it walked round and then sat down and looked into the tree.
Several times it ran towards the tree after a squirrel, but each time
came back and sat down. Finally it made a quick dash for the tree.
Catches-Two-Horses then made the mistake of making the lynx go quickly
up one side and down the other. Mad Wolf stopped the ceremony. Every
one waited in silence. The beaver men began again their rhythmic
drumming, while Mad Wolf took the tail. He represented the lynx running
to the tree, just as the woman had done. But Mad Wolf made it climb
more slowly; and held it for a short time on top, where it danced in
time with the drumming. He then brought it slowly down the other side,
clambering little by little like a cat, stopping frequently to look
around, until it finally reached the ground.
Mad Wolf brought forth a pair of badger skins. He took them out
backwards, the way badgers come from their dens. He imitated the timid
actions of badgers, moving the skins this way and that, like badgers
trying to escape. He turned them as though they were going to attack,
but became frightened and fled back into their den.
During the song of the white swan, Mad Wolf made a mistake and stopped
the ceremony. With bowed head and closed eyes, he strove to recall the
song, while the entire company waited silently. Suddenly Mad Wolf
raised his head. He looked straight at me and said: “There is White
Weasel, my son. He had better continue the ceremony in my place.” The
Indians laughed and enjoyed the joke. The tension was thus relieved and
Mad Wolf continued the song.
Then Mad Wolf took from the Beaver Bundle the head of a mallard duck.
Elk Chief stood up and, drawing his blanket round him, circled the
fire, imitating the movements of a duck. Across the tepee Soft Woman
rose. Both danced gracefully towards each other until they met and
together they circled the fire, representing in their dance a pair of
ducks. Soft Woman held up her right hand and swayed her body from side
to side, while Elk Chief spread out both arms, with hands extended, in
imitation of a flying duck.
A woman entered the tepee. One of her children was dead, and she was in
mourning. Her disheveled hair hid her face, and she had her blanket
drawn closely about her. She was pale and emaciated from fasting, and
her arms were bleeding from self-inflicted wounds—a sad and
forlorn-looking creature. She stood silently before the assembled
people, until Mad Wolf took pity on her. With some sage he performed
the rite of purification and prayed that she might have a new and happy
life. Then she withdrew as silently as she came.
Mad Wolf brought forth a prairie chicken and some of its tail feathers.
He handed them to the two women who knelt facing each other. Then they
arose and danced, praying to the prairie chicken. Gives-to-the-Sun held
the skin and Catches-Two-Horses the feathers. This was a woman’s dance.
Gives-to-the-Sun knelt before another woman and Catches-Two-Horses did
likewise. They knelt thus in pairs with heads close to the ground, and
imitated the habits of prairie chickens. They made a clucking sound.
They stretched out their blankets with their arms and shook them in
imitation of wings. Their song was lively and the crowd enjoyed it. The
beaver men drummed with enthusiasm and energy, singing and shaking
their rattles in the air to imitate the sound of prairie chickens
flying.
Mad Wolf again arose. He moved around the fire in a bear dance. He held
his arms in front with hands hanging down, as a bear does its paws. He
placed his feet together and moved backwards and forwards, with short
jumps, imitating the deliberate and heavy tread of a walking bear,
moving his face this way and that, as if looking about. He puffed and
grunted and acted like a bear, digging in the ground, and turning over
stones for insects. The two women, Gives-to-the-Sun and
Catches-Two-Horses, arose and joined Mad Wolf in this dance. They held
their hands with forefingers crooked on their heads for ears, and then
in front, with hands down, as bears do their paws when standing on
their hind legs. In this manner the women followed Mad Wolf round the
tepee, and then danced up to their “potential husbands.” They seized
them roughly and forced them to dance, amid laughter and shouts of the
spectators.
The lively air and quick rhythm of the Dog Dance made it one of the
most popular of all the beaver dances. The beaver men sang their
loudest and drummed so vigorously that many people rose to dance. They
entered into it with spirit and dash, laughing merrily and joking with
each other; while the spectators urged them on by barks and howls in
imitation of dogs. Middle Calf’s wife sat with her small daughter by
her side. The little girl was excited by the singing and beating of
rattles. She too wanted to dance. She was pretty, with bright eyes, and
had jet-black hair falling over her shoulders. She wore a miniature
squaw dress of red, fringed with elk teeth and decorated with colored
beads. When the dance was at its height, her mother suddenly pushed her
into the circle. At first the little girl was frightened, but quickly
forgot herself and began to dance. She swayed her lithe body to and
fro, in imitation of the other women, and hit the ground with her small
moccasined feet in perfect time with the rhythmic beating of the
rattles. The beaver men gradually quickened their pace; the steps of
the dancers grew faster and faster until, wearied, they gave a series
of dog howls and returned to their seats.
I saw two white-haired old women outside the tepee having a dance of
their own. They were in mourning and debarred from the ceremony; but
they could not resist the spell of the Dog Dance. They were surrounded
by a group of children and young people, who urged them on with barks
and howls.
For the Buffalo Dance, Mad Wolf took a string of buffalo hoofs from the
bundle and handed them to his wife. She and Catches-Two-Horses arose to
dance, wearing headdresses with buffalo horns. The Indians took great
interest in this dance, because it represented the mating of buffalo,
by women who chose their men. The two women knelt beside the Beaver
Bundle with heads lowered. They represented buffalo cows. First they
made motions of hooking the ground and digging wallows; then they stood
up and pawed the ground and bellowed. They simulated buffalo throwing
dirt and catching it on their backs, shaking themselves and throwing
dust into the air. Then they danced with the string of hoofs, imitating
the capers of mating buffaloes. Gives-to-the-Sun went round the tepee
until she came to White Calf, and threw the string of hoofs near him.
He arose and joined her in the dance, following her round the fire,
like a bull after a cow. Amid shouts of laughter, he threw the hoofs to
Strikes-on-Both-Sides, daughter of Mad Wolf. She danced gracefully
round the tepee and threw the string of hoofs to me. She danced in
front of me with quick steps, swaying her body in time with the singing
and the beating of rattles. I heard much shouting and laughter and
cheering. Some of the Indians called my name. They said: “White Weasel,
you are a chief now; you must join her in the dance.”
So I took the hoofs and followed my Indian sister round the fire. I
danced like the others, swaying my body, holding my feet together,
twisting and turning and bending my knees. There were shrill cries from
both men and women. They shouted: “Good boy! White Weasel, you are a
chief now.” We stopped at intervals to bellow and imitate buffalo
movements, digging wallows, kicking, pawing the ground, and throwing
dust into the air. When my Indian sister stopped dancing, I completed
the circle and threw the hoofs to the wife of Bear Child.
By this time the sun had set and the Indians prepared to go home.
Horses were brought in, and the dancers changed their decorated clothes
and moccasins for those of everyday use. Before they left, all joined
in a feast of service-berry stew. The men were served first, but few of
them ate their full portion. They called out the names of women and
gave the remainder to them. I sent mine to the wife of Morning Plume,
who had many children to feed. My friend Rattler, a kind-hearted old
doctor, gave his share to his wife, before he partook of any food
himself. Then he drew her aside from the crowd, and laying both hands
upon her, he gave her his power to heal, because she was going to
doctor a sick child.
The Beaver Ceremony ended with the close of day; and the Indians
separated to their lodges. Peace and quiet settled over the camp,
broken only by the cries of distant prairie wolves, and the answering
barks of Indian dogs.