When encamped in the tribal circle, the sacred pipe and its _The Ghost-dance religion and the Sioux outbreak of 1890

occupied a large tipi, reserved especially for this purpose, which

was set up within the circle and near its western line, directly

opposite the doorway on the east. In the center of the circle, between

the doorway and the sacred tipi, was erected the sweat-house of the

_Chi′nachichinĕ′na_ or old men of the highest degree of the warrior

order. The taking down of the sacred tipi by the attendants of the pipe

keeper was the signal for moving camp, and no other tipi was allowed to

be taken down before it. When on the march, the pipe keeper proceeded

on foot—never on horse—carrying the sacred bundle upon his back and

attended by a retinue of guards. As a matter of course, the sacred

pipe was not carried by war parties or on other expeditions requiring

celerity of movement. Of late years the rules have so far relaxed that

its present guardian sometimes rides on horseback while carrying the

pipe, but even then he carries the bundle upon his own back instead of

upon the saddle. He never rides in a wagon with it. Since the tribe is

permanently divided under the modern reservation system, individuals or

small parties of the southern Arapaho frequently make the long journey

by railroad and stage to the reservation in Wyoming in order to see and

pray over the sĕicha, as it is impossible, on account of the ceremonial

regulations, for the keeper to bring it down to them in the south.

So far as known, only one white man, Mr J. Roberts, formerly

superintendent of the Arapaho school in Wyoming, has ever seen the

sacred pipe, which was shown to him on one occasion by Weasel Bear as

a special mark of gratitude in return for some kindness. After having

spent several months among the southern Arapaho, from whom I learned

the songs of the pipe with much as to its sacred history, I visited the

messiah in Nevada and then went to the northern Arapaho in Wyoming,

with great hope of seeing the sĕicha and hearing the tradition in full.

On the strength of my intimate acquaintance with their relatives in the

south and with their great messiah in the west, the chiefs and head-men

were favorable to my purpose and encouraged me to hope, but on going

out to the camp in the mountains, where nearly the whole tribe was

then assembled cutting wood, my hopes were dashed to the ground the

first night by hearing the old priest, Weasel Bear, making the public

announcement in a loud voice throughout the camp that a white man was

among them to learn about their sacred things, but that these belonged

to the religion of the Indian and a white man had no business to ask

about them. The chief and those who had been delegates to the messiah

came in soon after to the tipi where I was stopping, to express their

deep regret, but they were unable to change the resolution of Weasel

Bear, and none of themselves would venture to repeat the tradition.

3. +Ate′bĕ tiăwu′nănu′+

Ate′bĕ tiăwu′nănu′, nä′nisa′nă,

Ni′athu′ă′, Ni′athu′ă′,

Ni′binu′ ga′awa′ti′na,

Ni′binu′ ga′awa′ti′na.

_Translation_

My children, when at first I liked the whites,

I gave them fruits,

I gave them fruits.

This song referring to the whites was composed by Nawat or Left Hand,

chief of the southern Arapaho, and can hardly be considered dangerous

or treasonable in character. According to his statement, in his trance

vision of the other world the father showed him extensive orchards,

telling him that in the beginning all these things had been given to

the whites, but that hereafter they would be given to his children, the

Indians. _Nia′tha_, plural _Nia′thuă_, the Arapaho name for the whites,

signifies literally, expert, skillful, or wise.

4. +A′bä′ni′hi′+

A′bä′ni′hi′,

Ätichä′bi′näsänă,

Chi′chita′nĕ,

Chi′chita′nĕ.

_Translation_

My partner, my partner,

Let us go out gambling,

At _chi′chita′nĕ_, at _chi′chita′nĕ_.

_Chi′chita′nĕ_ is a favorite game of contest with the boys, in which

the player, while holding in his hands a bow and an arrow ready to

shoot, keeps in the hand which grasps the string a small wisp of grass

bound with sinew. He lets this drop and tries to shoot it with the

arrow before it touches the ground. The wisp is about the size of a

man’s finger.

The song came from the north, and was suggested by a trance vision in

which the dreamer saw his former boy friends playing this game in the

spirit world.

5. +A′-nisûna′a′hu Ächĭshinĭ′qahi′na+

A′-nisûna′a′hu′,

Ä′chĭshinĭ′qahi′na,

E′hihä′sina′kăwu′hu′nĭt,

E′hihä′sina′kăwu′hu′nĭt.

_Translation_

My father, my father,

While he was taking me around,

He turned into a moose,

He turned into a moose.

This song relates the trance experience of Waqui′si or “Ugly Face

Woman.” In his vision of the spirit world he went into a large Arapaho

camp, where he met his dead father, who took him around to the various

tipis to meet others of his departed friends. While they were thus

going about, a change came o’er the spirit of his dream, as so often

happens in this fevered mental condition, and instead of his father

he found a moose standing by his side. Such transformations are

frequently noted in the Ghost-dance songs.

[Illustration: +Pl. CXX+

ARAPAHO BED]

6. +E′yehe′! Wû′nayu′uhu′+

E′yehe′! Wû′nayu′uhu′—

A′ga′nă′,

A′ga′nă′.

_Translation_

_E′yehe′!_ they are new—

The bed coverings,

The bed coverings.

The composer of this song is a woman who, in her trance, was taken to a

large camp where all the tipis were of clean new buffalo skins, and the

beds and interior furniture were all in the same condition.

[Illustration: +Fig. 89+—Bed of the prairie tribes.]

[Illustration: +Fig. 90+—Shinny stick and ball.]

[Illustration: +Fig. 91+—Wakuna or head-feathers.]

The bed of the prairie tribes is composed of slender willow rods,

peeled, straightened with the teeth, laid side by side and fastened

together into a sort of mat by means of buckskin or rawhide strings

passed through holes at the ends of the rods. The bed is stretched upon

a platform raised about a foot above the ground, and one end of the

mat is raised up in hammock fashion by means of a tripod and buckskin

hanger. The rods laid across the platform, forming the bed proper, are

usually about 3½ or 4 feet long (the width of the bed), while those

forming the upright part suspended from the tripod are shorter as they

approach the top, where they are only about half that length. The bed

is bordered with buckskin binding fringed and beaded, and the exposed

rods are painted in bright colors. The hanging portion is distinct

from the part resting upon the platform, and in some cases there is a

hanger at each end of the bed. Over the platform portion are spread

the buckskins and blankets, which form a couch by day and a bed by

night. A pillow of buckskin, stuffed with buffalo hair and elaborately

ornamented with beads or porcupine quills, is sometimes added. The

bed is placed close up under the tipi. In the largest tipis there are

usually three beds, one being opposite the doorway and the others on

each side, the fire being built in a hole scooped out in the ground in

the center of the lodge. They are used as seats during waking hours,

while the ground, with a rawhide spread upon it, constitutes the only

table at meal time (plate +CXXI+; figure 89). In going to bed there

is no undressing, each person as he becomes sleepy simply stretching

out and drawing a blanket over himself, head and all, while the other

occupants of the tipi continue their talking, singing, or other

business until they too lie down to pleasant dreams.

7. +Hi′sähi′hi+

Hi′sähi′hi, Hi′sähi′hi,

Ha′nä ta′wŭnä ga′awă′ha,

Ha′nä ta′wŭnä ga′awă′ha.

A′tanä′tähinä′na,

A′tanä′tähinä′na.

_Translation_

My partner! My partner!

Strike the ball hard—

Strike the ball hard.

I want to win,

I want to win.

This song refers to the woman’s game of _gû‛gă′hawa′t_ or “shinny,”

played with curved sticks and a ball like a baseball, called

_gaawă′ha_, made of (buffalo) hair and covered with buckskin (figure

90). Two stakes are set up as goals at either end of the ground, and

the object of each party is to drive the ball through the goals of the

other. Each inning is a game. The song was composed by a woman, who met

her former girl comrade in the spirit world and played this game with

her against an opposing party.

8. +Ä′-nani′ni′bi′nä′si waku′na+

Nä′nisa′na, Nä′nisa′na,

Ä′-nani′ni′bi′nä′si waku′na,

Ä′-nani′ni′bi′nä′si waku′na.

Nä′nisa′na, Nä′nisa′na.

_Translation_

My children, my children,

The wind makes the head-feathers sing—

The wind makes the head-feathers sing.

My children, my children.

By the _wakuna_ or head-feathers (figure 91) is meant the two crow

feathers mounted on a short stick and worn on the head by the leaders

of the dance, as already described.

9. +He′! Näne′th bi′shiqa′wă+

[Music]

He′! näne′th bi′shiqa′wă,

Nä′nisa′na, Nä′nisa′na,

Nä′ina′ha′tdä′bä′naq,

Nä′ina′ha′tdä′bä′naq.

_Translation_

_He!_ When I met him approaching—

My children, my children—

I then saw the multitude plainly,

I then saw the multitude plainly.

This song was brought from the north to the southern Arapaho by Sitting

Bull. It refers to the trance vision of a dancer, who saw the messiah

advancing at the head of all the spirit army. It is an old favorite,

and is sung with vigor and animation.

10. +Häna′na′wunănu ni′tawu′na′na′+

Nä′nisa′na, nä′nisa′na,

Häna′na′wunănu ni′tawu′na′na′,

Di′chin niănita′wa′thi,

Di′chin niănita′wa′thi.

Nithi′na hesûna′nĭn,

Nithi′na hesûna′nĭn.

_Translation_

My children, my children,

I take pity on those who have been taught,

Because they push on hard,

Because they push on hard.

Says our father,

Says our father.

This is a message from the messiah to persevere in the dance. In the

expressive idiom of the prairie tribes, as also in the sign language,

the term for persevering signifies to “push hard.”

11. +A-ni′qu wa′wanä′nibä′tia′+

A-ni′qu wa′wanä′nibä′tia′—Hi′ni′ni′!

Hi′niqa′agayetu′sa,

Hi′ni ni′nitu′sa nibä′tia—Hi′ni′ni′!

_Translation_

Father, now I am singing it—_Hi′ni′ni!_

That loudest song of all,

That loudest song of all—

That resounding song—_Hi′ni′ni!_

This is another of the old favorites. The rolling effect of the vocalic

Arapaho syllables renders it particularly sonorous when sung by a

full chorus. _Ni′qa_ or _a-ni′qu_, “father,” is a term of reverential

affection, about equivalent to “our father” in the Lord’s prayer. The

ordinary word is _hesûna′nin_, from _nisû′na_, “my father.”

12. +Ha′yana′-usi′ya′+

Ha′yana′-usi′ya′!

Bi′ga ta′cha′wagu′na,

Bi′ga ta′cha′wagu′na.

_Translation_

How bright is the moonlight!

Tonight as I ride with my load of buffalo beef,

Tonight as I ride with my load of buffalo beef.

The author of this song, on meeting his friends in the spirit world,

found them preparing to go on a great buffalo hunt, the prairies of the

new earth being covered with the countless thousands of buffalo that

have been swept from the plains since the advent of the white man. They

returned to camp at night, under the full moonlight, with their ponies

loaded down with fresh beef. There is something peculiarly touching in

this dream of the old life—this Indian heaven where—

“In meadows wet with moistening dews,

In garments for the chase arrayed,

The hunter still the deer pursues—

The hunter and the deer a shade.”

13. +Ha′ti ni′bät—E′he′eye′+

Ha′ti ni′bät—E′he′eye′!

Nä′nibä′tawa′,

He′yäya′ahe′ye!

_Translation_

The cottonwood song—_E′he′eye′!_

I am singing it,

_He′yäya′ahe′ye!

He′yäya′ahe′ye!_

The cottonwood (_Populus monilifera_) is the most characteristic tree

of the plains and of the arid region between the Rockies and the

Sierras. It is a species of poplar and takes its name from the white

downy blossom fronds, resembling cotton, which come out upon it in the

spring. The cottonwood and a species of stunted oak, with the mesquite

in the south, are almost the only trees to be found upon the great

plains extending from the Saskatchewan southward into Texas. As it

never grows out upon the open, but always close along the borders of

the few streams, it is an unfailing indication of water either on or

near the surface, in a region well-nigh waterless. Between the bark

and the wood there is a sweet milky juice of which the Indians are

very fond—as one who had been educated in the east said, “It is their

ice cream”—and they frequently strip off the bark and scrape the trunk

in order to procure it. Horses also are fond of this sweet juice, and

in seasons when the grass has been burned off or is otherwise scarce,

the Indian ponies sometimes resort to the small twigs and bark of

the cottonwood to sustain life. In extreme cases their owners have

sometimes been driven to the same shift. In winter the camps of the

prairie tribes are removed from the open prairie to the shelter of the

cottonwood timber along the streams. The tree is held almost sacred,

and the sun-dance lodge is usually or always constructed of cottonwood

saplings.

14. +Eyehe′! A′nie′sa′na+

Eyehe′! A′nie′sa′na′,

He′ee′ä′ehe′yuhe′yu!

A′-baha′ ni′esa′na′,

A′-baha′ ni′esa′na′.

_Translation_

_Eyehe′!_ The young birds,

_He′ee′ä′ehe′yuhe′yu!

He′ee′ä′ehe′yuhe′yu!_

The young Thunderbirds,

The young Thunderbirds.

Among the Algonquian tribes of the east, the Sioux, Cheyenne, Arapaho,

Kiowa, Comanche, and prairie tribes generally, as well as among those

of the northwest coast and some parts of Mexico, thunder and lightning

are produced by a great bird, whose shadow is the thunder cloud, whose

flapping wings make the sound of thunder, and whose flashing eyes

rapidly opening or closing send forth the lightning. Among some tribes

of the northwest this being is not a bird, but a giant who puts on a

dress of bird skin with head, wings, and all complete, by means of

which he flies through the air when in search of his prey. The myth is

not found among the Iroquois or the Cherokee, or, perhaps, among the

Muskhogean tribes.

The Thunderbird usually has his dwelling on some high mountain or

rocky elevation of difficult access. Within the territory of the myth

several places are thus designated as the Thunder’s Nest. Thunder bay

of Lake Huron, in lower Michigan, derives its name in this way. Such a

place, known to the Sioux as _Waqkiñ′a-oye′_, “The Thunder’s Nest,” is

within the old territory of the Sisseton Sioux in eastern South Dakota

in the neighborhood of Big Stone lake. At another place, near the

summit of the Coteau des Prairies, in eastern South Dakota, a number of

large round bowlders are pointed out as the eggs of the Thunderbird.

According to the Comanche there is a place on upper Red river where

the Thunderbird once alighted on the ground, the spot being still

identified by the fact that the grass remains burned off over a space

having the outline of a large bird with outstretched wings. The same

people tell how a hunter once shot and wounded a large bird which fell

to the ground. Being afraid to attack it alone on account of its size,

he returned to camp for help, but on again approaching the spot the

hunters heard the thunder rolling and saw flashes of lightning shooting

out from the ravine where the bird lay wounded. On coming nearer, the

lightning blinded them so that they could not see the bird, and one

flash struck and killed a hunter. His frightened companions then fled

back to camp, for they knew it was the Thunderbird.

[Illustration: +Fig. 92+—The Thunderbird.]

With both Cheyenne and Arapaho the thunder (_ba′a′_) is a large bird,

with a brood of smaller ones, and carries in its talons a number of

arrows with which it strikes the victim of lightning. For this reason

they call the eagle on our coins _baa_. When it thunders, they say

_ba′a′ nänitŭ′hut_, “the thunder calls.” In Indian pictography the

Thunderbird is figured with zigzag lines running out from its heart to

represent the lightning. A small figure of it (represented in figure

92), cut from rawhide and ornamented with beads, is frequently worn on

the heads of the dancers.

15. +A′he′sûna′nini năya′qûti′hi+

A′he′sûna′nini năya′qûti′hi,

Hä′ni′nihiga′hŭna′,

He′sûna′nin hä′ni na′ha′waŭ′.

_Translation_

Our father, the Whirlwind,

Our father, the Whirlwind—

By its aid I am running swiftly,

By which means I saw our father,

By which means I saw our father.

The idea expressed in this song is that the dreamer “rides the

whirlwind” in order sooner to meet the messiah and the spirit hosts.

Father or grandfather are terms of reverence and affection, applied to

anything held sacred or awful.

16. +A′he′sûna′nini năya′qûti′+

A′he′sûna′nini năya′qûti′,

Wa′wă chä′niĭ′nagu′nĭti hu′na,

Wa′wă chä′niĭ′nagu′nĭti hu′na.

_Translation_

Our father, the Whirlwind,

Now wears the headdress of crow feathers,

Now wears the headdress of crow feathers.

In this song the Whirlwind, personified, wears on his head the two crow

feathers, by which the dancers are to be borne upward to the new spirit

world.

17. +Ninaä′niahu′na+

Ninaä′niahu′na,

Ninaä′niahu′na

Bi′taa′wu hä′näi′säĭ,

Hi′năä′thi nä′niwu′hună,

Hi′năä′thi nä′niwu′hună.

_Translation_

I circle around—

I circle around

The boundaries of the earth,

The boundaries of the earth—

Wearing the long wing feathers as I fly,

Wearing the long wing feathers as I fly.

This song probably refers to the Thunderbird. There is an energetic

swing to the tune that makes it a favorite. In Indian belief the earth

is a circular disk, usually surrounded on all sides by water, and

the sky is a solid concave hemisphere coming down at the horizon to

the level of the earth. In Cherokee and other Indian myth the sky is

continually lifting up and coming down again to the earth, like the

upper blade of the scissors. The sun, which lives upon the outside

of this hemisphere, comes through from the east in the morning while

there is a momentary opening between the earth and the edge of the sky,

climbs along upon the underside of the sky from east to west, and goes

out at the western horizon in the evening, to return during the night

to its starting point in the east.

18. +Ha′nahawu′nĕn bĕni′ni′na+

Ha′nahawu′nĕn bĕni′ni′na,

Hina′wûn ga′na′ni′na,

Hina′wûn ga′na′ni′na.

_Translation_

The _Hanahawunĕn_ gave to me,

His paint—He made me clean,

His paint—He made me clean.

The author of this song met in the spirit world a man of the now

extinct Arapaho band of the _Hanahawunĕna_, who washed the face of the

visitor and then painted him afresh with some of the old-time mineral

paint of the Indians. In accord with the Indian belief, all the extinct

and forgotten tribes have now their home in the world of shades.

19. +Ate′be′tana′-ise′ti he′sûna′nini′+

Ate′be′tana′-ise′ti he′sûna′nini′—Ahe′eye′!

Na′waa′tănû′, Na′waa′tănû,

Danatinĕnawaŭ,

Nita-isa, nita-isa,

He′yahe′eỹe′!

_Translation_

When first our father came—_Ahe′eye′!_

I prayed to him, I prayed to him—

My relative, my relative—

_He′yahe′eỹe′!_

This song was composed by Paul Boynton (Bääku′ni, “Red Feather”), a

Carlisle student, after having been in a trance. His brother had died

some time before, and being told by the Indians that he might be able

to see and talk with him by joining the dance, Paul went to Sitting

Bull, the leader of the dance, at the next gathering, and asked him to

help him to see his dead brother. The result was that he was hypnotized

by Sitting Bull, fell to the ground in a trance, and saw his brother.

While talking with him, however, he suddenly awoke, much to his regret,

probably from some one of the dancers having touched against him as he

lay upon the ground. According to his statement, the words were spoken

by him in his sleep after coming from the dance and were overheard by

some companions who questioned him about it in the morning, when he

told his experience and put the words into a song. The “father” here

referred to is Sitting Bull, the great apostle of the Arapaho Ghost

dance. It was from Paul’s statement, intelligently told in good English

before I had yet seen the dance, that I was first led to suspect that

hypnotism was the secret of the trances.

20. +A-ni′änĕ′thăhi′nani′na nisa′na+

A-ni′änĕ′thăhi′nani′na nisa′na,

A-ni′änĕ′thăhi′nani′na nisa′na.

He′chä′ na′hăbi′na,

Hewa-u′sa häthi′na,

Hewa-u′sa häthi′na.

_Translation_

My father did not recognize me (at first),

My father did not recognize me (at first).

When again he saw me,

He said, “You are the offspring of a crow,”

He said, “You are the offspring of a crow.”

This song was composed by Sitting Bull, the Arapaho apostle of the

dance, and relates his own experience in the trance, in which he met

his father, who had died years before. The expression, “You are the

child of a crow,” may refer to his own sacred character as an apostle,

the crow being regarded as the messenger from the spirit world.

21. +Ni′-athu′-a-u′ a′hakä′nith′iĭ+

I′yehe′! anä′nisa′nă′—Uhi′yeye′heye′!

I′yehe′! ha′dawn′hana′—Eye′ăe′yuhe′yu!

Ni′athu′-a-u′ a′hakä′nith′iĭ—Ahe′yuhe′yu!

_Translation_

_I′yehe′!_ my children—_Uhi′yeye′heye′!_

_I′yehe′!_ we have rendered them desolate—_Eye′ăe′yuhe′yu!_

The whites are crazy—_Ahe′yuhe′yu!_

In this song the father tells his children of the desolation, in

consequence of their folly and injustice, that would come upon the

whites when they will be left alone upon the old world, while the

Indians will be taken up to the new earth to live in happiness forever.

22. +Na′ha′ta bitaa′wu+

Nä′nisa′nă, nä′nisa′nă,

Na′ha′ta bi′taa′wu hätnaa′waa′-u′hu′,

Na′ha′ta bi′taa′wu hätnaa′waa′-u′hu′.

Häthi′na hi′nisû′na-hu′,

Häthi′na hi′nisû′na-hu′.

_Translation_

My children, my children,

Look! the earth is about to move,

Look! the earth is about to move.

My father tells me so,

My father tells me so.

In this song the dreamer tells his friends, on the authority of the

messiah, that the predicted spiritual new earth is about to start to

come over and cover up this old world. It was also taught, as appears

from the messiah’s letter, that at the moment of contact this world

would tremble as in an earthquake.

23. +Ahe′sûna′nini Ächiqa′hă′wa-ü′+

Ahe′sûna′nini, ahe′sûna′nini,

Ächiqa′hă′wa-ŭ′, Ächiqa′hă′wa-ŭ′,

E′hihä′sĭni′ĕhi′nĭt,

E′hihä′sĭni′ĕhi′nĭt.

_Translation_

My father, my father—

I am looking at him,

I am looking at him.

He is beginning to turn into a bird,

He is beginning to turn into a bird.

In this, as in the fifth Arapaho song, we have a transformation.

According to the story of the author, his father is transformed into

a bird even while he looks at him. The song is sung in quick time to

hasten the trance.

24. +Ha′ănake′i+

Ha′ănake′i, ha′ănake′i,

Dä′nasa′ku′tăwa′,

He′sûna′nin hä′ni na′ha′waŭ′,

He′sûna′nin hä′ni na′ha′waŭ′.

_Translation_

The rock, the rock,

I am standing upon it,

I am standing upon it.

By its means I saw our father,

By its means I saw our father.

This is one of the old songs now obsolete, and its meaning is not

clear. It may mean simply that the author of it climbed a rock in order

to be able to see farther, but it is more likely that it contains some

mythic reference.

25. +Wa′wa′na′danä′diă′+

Nä′nisa′naăŭ′, nä′nisa′naăŭ′,

Wa′wa′na′danä′diă′.

Wa′wa′na′danä′diă′,

Nänisa′na, nänisa′na.

_Translation_

My children, my children,

I am about to hum,

I am about to hum.

My children, my children.

[Illustration: +Fig. 93+—Hummer and bull-roarer.]

When encamped in the tribal circle, the sacred pipe and its keeper