to go home yet. Four more days there was feasting and dancing; then
they spoke of going home, but the people were too happy to let them
go. And when on the twelfth day the Crow chief said he and his family
had stayed long enough, they did not go with empty hands nor alone.
Twelve pack horses carried the gifts they had received; and not thirty
warriors, but sixty, rode with them, not to the Powder, but all the way
back.
“And since that time these peoples have not fought.”
XV
_The Sun Dance_
“I think Wakon Tonka knows we are going to remember my first sun dance
today,” said Eagle Voice with the crinkled look of amusement about his
eyes. “You see the sun is shining again this morning; the wind is still
and the edge of the air is like a dull knife. There will be a little
melting on the day sides of the hills before night.”
It was truly a beautiful winter morning, and I had noted a light breath
from the southwest. The tepee was cozy, the pipe had been passed, and
I waited. After a long silence, the old man began speaking again in a
low voice, looking towards me with a long-focused gaze as though I were
transparent or not there at all. “She was a pretty girl,” he said with
seeming irrelevance. “Tashina Wanblee. Her name is like singing when I
remember now, far-away singing. When I was riding around the village
with the Crow scalp on my coup-stick after we got back with all those
horses, I saw her. She was pushing through the tight ring of people to
get closer, and she was right under me looking up. I know now that she
was very pretty, for she was still both girl and woman. Her face was
all shining and she was singing to me. I cannot say what look was in
her eyes. I think I did not see the look clearly until I was older and
my eyes were getting tired of all I had seen instead. I saw that she
was very proud of me because I had become a great warrior, and that
made my heart leap. We had played together, and then I was only her
horse; but now I was a man at last, high above her, and all the people
were praising me. So I made my horse rear and plunge. I did not see her
again until I was dancing the sun dance.
“It is the sun dance we are going to remember now.
“When cherry seeds begin to harden, the sun is like a strong man
just past his youth and not yet growing old. It is then that the
sun is highest in the sky and his power is the greatest. There he
stands a little while before he starts back towards the winter again.
That is the time for all the people to come together and dance his
sacred dance, that his power may be theirs and their hearts may be
strengthened for the road of difficulties ahead. Maybe the people have
been wandering in small bands, living in little hoops by themselves.
Maybe some of them have almost forgotten the power of the great hoop to
shield and make them strong. And maybe even in the little hoops some
people are so proud they begin to forget that by themselves they are
nothing. It is good for them to feel the sacred power of the great hoop
again, for it is the power of Wakon Tonka. And at the center of that
hoop the Sacred Tree shall grow and spread above them all and fill with
leaves and bloom and singing birds. It is a time of happiness for all
the people; for it is then that relatives, from far places maybe, see
each other again and tell all that has happened. And there is feasting;
and the old men and women remember, and the little boys and the youths
look and listen, thinking of the great deeds they are going to do. And
under many a lover’s blanket the girls hear whispered words that make
their hearts like birds singing in their breasts.
“It is a happy time; but also it is a time to suffer and endure, for
pain is wise to teach and without courage there is nothing good.
“It was the time of hardening cherry seeds when we got back with all
those Crow horses and the scalp. Already a wide flat place by a creek
was chosen for the sun dance, and the sacred societies were building a
big round enclosure for the ceremony. They cut poles and placed them
in the ground; and over these, other poles were placed, and on these
poles leafy branches were laid to make a circular shade where the
people would sit and watch. And around the outside of this big circle
of shade, tepee skins would be hung to make an enclosure for the holy
place. Inside this circle was the bare flat dancing ground, open to the
strong sun; and in the center of this, the sacred tree would stand.
They stopped working a little while when we came back, but when the
victory dance was over, they went on with the work of getting ready.
“While they were doing this, four old men came to our tepee early in
the morning, and one of them was Chagla, Kicking Bear’s father-in-law
and also a relative to me, but not a very close one. He was _owankara_
that year, the one who prepares the dance for the people. It is a great
honor, like a victory, to do that. Chagla had a pipe with him, and when
he entered our tepee with the three other old men behind him, he held
the pipe in front of him with both hands, the mouthpiece forward. I
knew what they had come for, and all at once I was afraid and wanted
to run away. When we were driving all those horses away from the Crow
village in the night, my heart sang and I was not afraid. Now I wanted
to run away; but I was ashamed of being afraid, so I waited.
“The four old men sat down, and when my mother had given them something
to eat and they had eaten, Chagla began to talk about the sun dance.
It was a great thing to be young and brave and to go forth into enemy
country to do great deeds or to die. But the heart may be strong to do
that because it is proud and hungry for praise.
“In the sacred dance the proud heart dies with pain and thirst, hunger
and weariness, that the power of Wakon Tonka may come in and live there
for the good of all the people. Many brave men had taken the pipe and
would dance.
“When Chagla was through talking, the other old men said, ‘_hetchetu_,’
meaning it was so; and then Chagla held the stem of the pipe towards me.
“As I told you before, we boys had made a vow to dance and we had
dedicated a pipe to Wakon Tonka. We were back home safe now with many
horses and much honor. But I was afraid. This thing I had to do was
_wakon_ and a fearful thing. I wished I had not made the vow, so that I
could refuse the pipe. The four old men and my step-father and mother
were all looking hard at me, but for a while I could not reach out and
take the pipe. Then when Chagla began to draw it back towards him, all
at once my heart leaped within me and I grasped the pipe and held it to
my mouth; and the four old men said, ‘_hi-yay_.’ Then they went away.
“Now I had to dance, for I had made a vow and I had taken the pipe. I
was not afraid any more. When the enemies are many and you are few,
and it seems there is nothing to do but to die right there, you raise
a death-song, and then you are not afraid of anything, because you are
dead already, and what can hurt you? It was something like that with me.
“My step-father and mother were very proud of me when I came back with
those Crow horses, and now they were still prouder because I was going
to dance. So they made a feast and asked many to come. Many came to eat
and they told my mother and step-father what a brave young man their
son was, and maybe I would grow up to be a great chief.
“The dancing place was prepared, and the next thing was to find the
_chun wakon_ [the sacred tree] which would stand in the center of the
circle. It must be a tall slender cottonwood and everything had to be
done just right. When I was young I heard the old men say why this was
so. A long while ago--beyond so many snows and grasses that the oldest
man’s grandfather and his grandfather before him, and his and his could
not remember--there was a beautiful girl who was big with child. The
child was a boy and would grow up to be a great _wichasha wakon_. And
while he was still inside his mother, at the time when cherry seeds
harden and the sun is strongest, he had a great vision about the sun
dance, and everything was shown to him just as it should be. So when
he became a young man he remembered his vision and taught the people.
He was the first _owankara_, the first to prepare a sun dance. This is
what the old men told when I was young.
“Four were chosen to go forth and find the _chun wakon_--two men and
two women. Both men were great warriors and _wichasha yatapika_, and
no bad thing could be said of them. They belonged to the Chante Tinza
society [Strong Hearts]. The two women were mothers, neither young nor
old, and they were always helping the sick and the needy, and no one
among all the people could say anything but good of them. So these four
went forth with axes to find the sacred cottonwood, and after them went
young warriors wearing their war bonnets and painted as for war. Maybe
the tree was a long way off; maybe it was near. But when it was found,
standing tall and straight with a fork near the top, the young warriors
charged upon it, crying, ‘_hoka-hey_,’ as in a battle, and couping the
tree with their coup-sticks. When this was done, the two chosen men
took their axes and struck the tree; and between strokes they told of
brave deeds they had done. Then when the tree was cut more than halfway
through, the two chosen women approached with their axes and chopped
carefully, so that the tree did not fall all at once, but slowly; and
as it fell it cried out as with great pain. When it was lying on the
ground, four poles were placed under it and eight men lifted it so,
placing the butt towards the quarter whence comes the sun, bringing
light and wisdom and the peace that wisdom gives. Then the two women
began chopping off all the branches, and only the two forks were left
at the top. The young warriors now were riding fast back and forth
between the sacred tree and the happy people, who were feasting; and
to these they brought the news of the tree, telling all that the four
chosen ones were doing. ‘They have found the _chun wakon_--they are
chopping it--the tree has fallen--the women are cutting the limbs
away,’ Every little thing the young warriors told the people, riding
fast back and forth; and the people heard, crying, ‘_hi-yay_,’ and
singing as for a victory.
“No one could touch the tree with hands, for it was _wakon_. When it
was all ready to be brought home, eight men lifted it on the four
poles, four men on each side. And four would change with another
four, so that many brought it home. These walked slowly in a sacred
manner; and as they walked, the young warriors rode fast back and forth
between the holy tree and the happy people yonder, telling where it
was now, and where now, and now. And the people heard, cheering and
singing as for a great victory. When at last the _chun wakon_ had come
in sight of home, one of the carriers, who was a great warrior and had
counted many coups, raised a long howl the way a dog does when the moon
is big, and the other carriers joined with him. Then all the people
swarmed forth to meet the tree, singing together as they crowded about
it, but not too close. You remember how the warriors at the wagon boxes
were like a blooming mountain valley walking; but those were singing
the death-song. Now the happy people were singing to the Ever-Living
One, and they were all blooming--the girls and women with flowers
braided into their hair, and the men with their war bonnets.
“So the _chun wakon_ came home. The carriers placed the tree in the
center of the dancing ring with its butt pointing to where the sun
comes up; and there a hole had been dug for the planting. But before
it was planted, Blue Spotted Horse, the old holy man--the same who
prepared me for my vision quest--came to paint the tree. First he
prayed to the Six Powers, as he had taught me, and then he took red
paint that he had made by mixing red clay with bison tallow, and
painted from the top down to the butt, so that the whole tree was
bright with the sacred color. And as he painted the _chun wakon_, all
the people sat round about in a great circle and watched, and there was
no sound; and the sun watched too.
“Next Chagla came with a bundle of chokecherry branches which must be
tied in the crotch of the tree. No chokecherries were growing in the
country where we were, so a band of young warriors had been sent all
the way to Mini Shoshay [the Missouri] to fetch the branches. Below
these the bundle of offerings must be tied. It was a pouch made of
buffalo skin, and inside were all kinds of little things the people had
brought--locks of hair, little pieces of their own flesh, sinew for
sewing and bone needles, rings, beads, and many other little things
that the people might think of giving so that the sacred power might
not forget them; and last of all a flint, an arrow, and a gun were
placed in the bundle. Before he tied these bundles in their places
with thongs of bison hide, Chagla prayed; holding his pipe towards the
sun, stem forward. And when he had prayed, he told the people about a
vision that had come to him. It was the vision that had commanded him
to prepare the dance for the good of the people, that they might be a
nation and live to see their children flourish, and their children’s
children. Last of all, before the tree was planted, Chagla took a piece
of buffalo tallow and dropped it in the hole. It was the gift to Maka
[earth], the mother of all living things, the only mother, she who has
shown mercy to her children.
“Next, long thongs of buffalo hide were tied to the top of the tree,
and when the carriers had raised the tree on forked poles and set the
butt upon the hole, young warriors pulled upon the thongs and the tree
arose until it dropped into the hole. Then all the people cried out
together with one voice, rejoicing.
“So the sacred tree was planted. And the sun went down.
“All the while these things were being done, we who were going to dance
had to wait in a big lodge that had been made for us, and when the tree
had come home, our attendants told us everything that was being done
out there, and we could hear Blue Spotted Horse and Chagla praying.
When the people cried out with one voice, we knew the tree was planted.
We had all gone through the sweat bath, as I did before my vision
quest; and afterwards we were rubbed with the sacred sage and painted
red all over with the sacred paint. We could hear the happy people
outside and what the young warriors cried to them about the preparing
and coming of the tree. High Horse, Kicking Bear, and Charging Cat were
in there too, because the four of us had dedicated the pipe and made
the vow together the way I told you. But we could not go outside and be
seen until it was time to dance. What I have told you is what I have
seen many times when I did not dance.
“It was night now. Before we slept they gave us some food and water,
and that was the last that we could have until our vows were fulfilled.
It was not long before there was snoring all around me, but it was hard
for me to go to sleep. Maybe I was a little afraid. Sometimes I would
hold my breath because something might happen all at once. When the
snoring stopped, now and then, the big night outside held its breath
too, waiting for something. Maybe a voice would roar all at once, as
when I stole my grandfather’s pipe and the thunder beings scolded.
Kicking Bear was lying on one side of me and High Horse on the other.
Next to High Horse was Charging Cat. I could hear Kicking Bear and
Charging Cat breathing deep, as though nothing was going to happen, and
I wondered if maybe I was a coward after all. Then I remembered how my
heart sang when we were driving the Crow herd away from the village
that night. I was not a coward then. Afterwhile I knew that High Horse
was not sleeping either. He would turn over and then turn back; and
when he was still for a while I could feel he was awake yet. That made
me feel better, because I knew he was brave. After we had lain there
awake for a long while, he put his mouth close to my ear and whispered:
‘Brother, are you awake?’ And I answered, whispering: ‘Yes, brother, I
cannot go to sleep.’ He was still for a while, and then he whispered:
‘She _was_ funny, wasn’t she--the fat old woman--the way she bounced?’
Then we put our arms around each other and lay close together,
snickering like little boys.
“Suddenly someone was shaking me by the shoulder, saying: ‘Get up! It
is time!’ Then I knew that the attendants were waking the dancers, and
I had been sleeping deep.
“It was still dark. They told us to put on our skirts of bison fur, and
that is all we wore--not even moccasins. Then they led us outside into
the still, starry night. Some people were moving like shadows among the
tepees and some were coming towards the dancing ring.”
The old man ceased speaking and fell into a reverie, blowing softly the
while on his eagle-bone whistle, highly polished by years of thumbing.
“I had this in my hand,” he said at length. “Chagla gave it to me. I
also carried a pipe. The stem was wrapped with colored porcupine quills
up to the mouthpiece, and that was covered with the green skin of a
mallard. They led us through the opening of the dancing ring, and I
was first because I had taken the scalp. Next came High Horse, Kicking
Bear, and Charging Cat, because of all those Crow horses and the
victory. There were about thirty other dancers.
“As I entered, they gave me a buffalo skull to carry because I was the
principal dancer. We went around the ring from left to right, which
is walking in a sacred manner, and stopped facing the place where the
sun comes up. I put the skull down in front of me with the nose to the
coming day. Low down at the rim of earth yonder was a faint streak of
light. The morning star was big and bright and still. As I gazed at
it, I wanted to cry, but I could feel something like wings lifting me
too. It was the same way the star looked down at me that time after
I dreamed beneath my father’s scaffold and heard him tell me always
to be kind to old people and never to be afraid of anything. Then the
drummers began singing to the coming sun, and their drumsticks, with
bison tails fastened on the ends, made a slapping sound.”
The old man ceased. Getting to his feet with some difficulty, he danced
feebly, keeping time with drums long silent and blowing on his whistle
pointed towards no earthly dawn. “So!” he said at length with a little
cackling laugh and panting like a runner. “_Washtay!_ It was good. But
I cannot dance very well any more. There is no strength in what I eat
these days.”
Seated again, he waited until normal breathing was restored, and then:
“We danced to the drums and the singing, and I stared at the place
where the sky was getting white. Sometimes I could not feel the ground
at all, for something seemed to lift me and it was like floating on
drumbeats and singing. Then suddenly the great round sun leaped yellow
and glaring over the edge of the world, and all the people cried out
together with one voice.
“The singing and drumming stopped now, and they led us dancers back
to the sacred tree, placing us in a circle around it. I had the bison
skull in front of me. Chagla told me I must put it in a certain place
that was prepared near the tree. There was a heap of white clay, and
into this I thrust the skull three times. The fourth time I pushed
it deep and left it there. So Maka’s sacred gift of the bison to the
people was given back to the giver with thanks. Also at that place
there were two forked sticks in the ground with another stick lying
across. Against this I must set my pipe with the stem pointed up. This
was a gift to Wakon Tonka and the life-giving sun.
“The drums and the singing began again, and we danced with our faces to
the blazing sun, holding our whistles in our mouths and blowing upon
them in time with the dancing. Somebody was talking close to my ear,
and it was Chagla. ‘Do not look directly at the sun,’ he said; ‘look
just a little below.’ I tried to do that, but it did not help much at
first, it was like white-hot knives in my eyes. After a while I did not
feel anything, and it was dark. The drumbeats and the singing seemed
far away in empty night, and they lifted me, floating alone. I was lost
in the blindness of my eyes, and I kept praying in my mind in time with
the whistle and the far-off drums, ‘Let me see, let me see!’
“I did not see anything. Then all at once, I could see everything, and
far away was near. There was a wide green land; wide, wide, green,
green, with hills and valleys and streams glittering bright. And the
sky over it was deeper and wider and bluer than I can say. It was the
same land I saw when I dreamed under the scaffold and my father came
to me on his spirit horse. The drumbeats and singing were dim and far
away--more like remembering than hearing. I was looking hard at a
hilltop for a horseback to come out of the sky. Then someone shook me
by the shoulder, and I knew it was Chagla.
“The drums and singing were still. This world came back slowly out of
the dark. I was looking down at my shadow. It was right under me like a
puddle. Then I was very thirsty, but I made myself remember the green
land and the glittering streams, and when I could do that, I forgot I
was thirsty.
“All the people were around us in a crowd, watching us while they
feasted; but when I thought about eating, it was water that I wanted.
Also while the people were watching and eating, the relatives of the
dancers were giving away many things--horses and fine clothing, beaded
work, and maybe tepees; for giving is a sacred deed and is pleasing to
the Mysterious One who gives everything.
“Chagla took my pipe from where I had placed it, and told me I should
give it to one of the singers and drummers. So I went to a man, and
when he held out his hands I spread his fingers and pretended to give
him the pipe. Three times he tried to grasp it, but I pulled it away.
The fourth time, I let him seize it. Others were doing the same with
other drummers and singers.
“The high sun was burning hot. The attendants came now and rubbed us
all over with sacred sage until the red paint was gone and our skins
were dry. Then they painted us again. They made my body yellow for the
power to grow. Then they took some blue paint made from clay we used to
get at Rawhide Buttes. With this my arms were painted from the elbows
down, and my legs below the knees. The blue was for the power of the
quarter where the sun goes down, the power to make live and to destroy,
the power of the Thunder Beings and the rain. With these powers to help
me, I would grow to be a great warrior; also a helper of the people,
for the hoop of the people and the shielding tree belong to the yellow
quarter. When they had done this, they painted something on my back,
and it was a half-moon. They did not paint a new moon, because that
would have meant going down to the spiritland beyond where the days of
man end; and I was to grow in this world and be a great warrior.
“While they were painting us the drummers sang about it like this.” The
old man lifted a cracked, quavering voice, drumming on one hand with
the other:
“‘Father, paint the earth on me.
A nation I will make over.
A two-legged nation I will make holy.
Father, paint the earth on me.’
“Last of all, they fastened strips of bison-hide around my wrists and
ankles, that the strength of the bison might be mine.
“I was then told to get my pipe back and place it again where I had
placed it in the morning. The man held it in front of him with both
hands, and when I reached for it he pulled it away. Three times he did
this. Then I placed both of my hands on the top of his head and brought
them slowly down along his neck and shoulders and arms. That was the
fourth time I reached for the pipe, and he let me take it, saying,
‘_palamo yelo_ [thanks].’ Then I placed it against the cross-stick
again, with the stem pointing upward. While I was doing this, other
dancers were doing the same thing, and so the singers shared in the
gift to the Ever-Living One. The power fell on them too, and drew us
all closer together.
“Blue Spotted Horse came and pierced the flesh on the breasts of two
of the dancers, and through the cut on each he tied the end of one of
the rawhide thongs that were fastened to the top of the sacred tree.
When he did this, the two dancers only stared at the sun. They did not
move; they did not make a sound. I had vowed secretly to do this on the
fourth day, and I wondered if I could be as brave as they were.