Arapaho, and in the midst of the camp circle, as in the old days, were
sitting the seven priests of the _Chĭ′nachichi′bät_, each wearing on
his head the Thunderbird headdress, already described and figured under
song number 14. This vision of the old life of the tribe brought up
sorrowful memories and caused him to weep. In the similar song next
given the singer laments for the _Chĭ′nachichi′bät_ and the _bä′qati_
gaming wheel. The priests here referred to were seven in number, and
constituted the highest order of the military and social organization
which existed among the Blackfeet, Sioux, Cheyenne, Kiowa, and probably
all the prairie tribes excepting the Comanche in the south, among whom
it seems to have been unknown. The society, so far as it has come
under the notice of white men, has commonly been designated by them
as the “Dog Soldier” society—a misapprehension of a name belonging
probably to only one of the six or eight orders of the organization.
The corresponding Blackfoot organization, the _Ikunuhkatsi_ or “All
Comrades,” is described by Grinnell in his “Blackfoot Lodge Tales.” The
Kiowa organization will be noted later.
Among the Arapaho the organization was called _Bĕni′nĕna_, “Warriors,”
and consisted of eight degrees or orders, including nearly all the
men of the tribe above the age of about seventeen. Those who were
not enrolled in some one of the eight orders were held in but little
respect, and were not allowed to take part in public ceremonies or to
accompany war expeditions. Each of the first six orders had its own
peculiar dance, and the members of the principal warrior orders had
also their peculiar staff or badge of rank.
First and lowest in rank were the _Nuhinĕ′na_ or Fox men, consisting of
young men up to the age of about 25 years. They had no special duties
or privileges, but had a dance called the _Nuha′wŭ_ or fox dance.
Next came the _Hă′thahu′ha_ or Star men, consisting of young warriors
about 30 years of age. Their dance was called the _Ha′thahŭ_.
[Illustration: +Fig. 94+—Dog-soldier insignia—rattle and quirt.]
The third order was that of the _Hichăä′quthi_ or Club men. Their dance
was called _Hichăä′qawŭ_. They were an important part of the warrior
organization, and were all men in the prime of life. The four leaders
carried wooden clubs, bearing a general resemblance in shape to a gun,
notched along the edges and variously ornamented. In an attack on the
enemy it was the duty of these leaders to dash on ahead and strike the
enemy with these clubs, then to ride back again and take their places
in the front of the charge. It hardly need be said that the position
of leader of the _Hichăä′quthi_ was a dangerous honor, but the honor
was in proportion to the very danger, and there were always candidates
for a vacancy. It was one of those offices where the holder sometimes
died but never resigned. The other members of the order carried sticks
carved at one end in the rude semblance of a horse head and pointed at
the other. In desperate encounters they were expected to plant these
sticks in the ground in line in front of the body of warriors and to
fight beside them to the death unless a retreat should be ordered by
the chief in command.
The fourth order was called _Bitahi′nĕna_ or Spear men, and their dance
was called _Bitaha′wŭ_. This order came originally from the Cheyenne.
Their duties and peculiar insignia of office were about the same among
all the tribes. They performed police duty in camp, when traveling,
and on the hunt, and were expected to see that the orders of the chief
were obeyed by the tribe. For instance, if any person violated the
tribal code or failed to attend a general dance or council, a party
of _Bitahi′nĕna_ was sent to kill his dogs, destroy his tipi, or in
extreme cases to shoot his ponies. On hunting expeditions it was their
business to keep the party together and see that no one killed a
buffalo until the proper ceremonies had been performed and the order
was given by the chief. They were regarded as the representatives of
the law and were never resisted in performing their duty or inflicting
punishments. In war they were desperate warriors, equaling or
surpassing even the _Hichăä′quthi_. Of the leaders of the order, two
carried a sort of shepherd’s crook called _nu′sa-icha′tha_, having a
lance point at its lower end; two others carried lances wrapped around
with otter skin; four carried lances painted black; one carried a
club shaped like a baseball bat, and one carried a rattle made of the
scrotum of a buffalo and ornamented with its hair. In battle, if the
enemy took shelter behind defenses, it was this man’s duty to lead the
charge, throw his rattle among the enemy, and then follow it himself.
The fifth order was called _Aha′känĕ′na_ or Crazy men. They were men
more than 50 years of age, and were not expected to go to war, but must
have graduated from all the lower orders. Their duties were religious
and ceremonial, and their insignia consisted of a bow and a bundle of
blunt arrows. Their dance was the _Ahaka′wŭ_ or crazy dance, which well
deserved the name. It will be described in another place.
The sixth was the order of the _Hĕthĕ′hinĕ′na_ or Dog men. Their
dance was called _Hĕthĕwa′wû′_. They had four principal leaders and
two lesser leaders. The four principal leaders were the generals and
directors of the battle. Each carried a rattle and wore about his neck
a buckskin strap (two being yellow, the other two black) which hung
down to his feet. On approaching the enemy, they were obliged to go
forward, shaking their rattles and chanting the war song, until some
other warriors of the party took the rattles out of their hands. When
forming for the attack, they dismounted, and, driving their lances
into the ground, tied themselves to them by means of the straps,
thus anchoring themselves in front of the battle. Here they remained
until, if the battle seemed lost, they themselves gave the order
to retreat. Even then they waited until some of their own society
released them by pulling the lances out of the ground and whipping
them away from the place with a peculiar quirt carried only by the
private members of this division. No one was allowed to retreat without
their permission, on penalty of disgrace, nor were they themselves
allowed to retire until thus released. Should their followers forget
to release them in the confusion of retreat, they were expected to die
at their posts. They could not be released excepting by one of their
own division, and anyone else attempting to pull up the lances from
the ground was resisted as an enemy. When pursued on the retreat, they
must give up their horses to the women, if necessary, and either find
other horses or turn and face the enemy alone on foot. They seldom
accompanied any but large war parties, and, although they did but
little actual fighting, their very presence inspired the warriors with
desperate courage, and the driving of their lances into the ground was
always understood as the signal for an encounter to the death.
[Illustration: PL. CXXII
DOG-SOLDIER INSIGNIA—LANCE AND SASH]
The seventh order was that of the _Nûnaha′wŭ_, a word of which the
meaning is now unknown. This was a secret order. They had no dance and
their ceremonies were witnessed only by themselves. They did not fight,
but accompanied the war parties, and every night in secret performed
ceremonies and prayers for their success.
The eighth and highest order was that of the _Chĭ′nachinĕ′na_ or
Water-pouring men, the “seven venerable priests” to whom the song
refers. They were the high priests and instructors of all the other
orders, and were seven in number, from among the oldest warriors of the
tribe. Their name refers to their pouring the water over the heated
stones in the sweat-house to produce steam. They had no dance, and
were not expected to go to war, although one of the seven was allowed
to accompany the war party, should he so elect. Their ceremonies were
performed in a large sweat-lodge, called _chĭnachichi′bät_, which,
when the whole tribe was camped together, occupied the center of the
circle, between the entrance and the lodge in which was kept the sacred
medicine pipe. Unlike the ordinary sweat-lodge, this one had no mound
and buffalo skull in front of the entrance.
The warrior organization of the Kiowa is called _Yä′pähe_, “Soldiers,”
and consisted of six orders, each with its own dance, songs, and
ceremonial dress. 1. _Poläñyup_ or _Tsäñ′yui_, “Rabbits.” These
were boys and young men from 8 to 15 years of age. Their dance, in
which they were drilled by certain old men, has a peculiar step, in
imitation of the jumping movement of a rabbit; 2. _Ädalto′yui_, or
_Te′ñbiyu′i_, “Young Mountain Sheep,” literally “Herders or Corralers;”
3. _Tseñtä′nmo_, “Horse Head-dress (?) people;” 4. _Toñkoñ′ko_,
(?) “Black-leg people;” 5. _T‘äñpe′ko_, “Skunkberry (?) people;”
6. _Kâ′itseñ′ko_, “Principal Dogs or Real Dogs.” These last were
the highest warrior order, and also the camp police, combining the
functions of the _Bitahi′nĕna_ and the _Hĕthĕ′binĕ′na_ of the Arapaho
organization. Their two leaders carried an arrow-shape lance, with
which they anchored themselves in the front of the battle by means of
buckskin straps brought over the shoulders. The _Toñkoñ′ko_ captains
carried in a similar way a crook-shape lance, called _pabo′n_, similar
to that of the _Bitahi′nĕna_ of the Arapaho.
44. +Nänisa′tăqi Chĭ′năchi′chibä′iha′+
[Music]
Nä′nisa′tăqi Chĭ′năchi′chibä′iha′—
Nä′nisa′tăqi Chĭ′năchi′chibä′iha′—
Bä′hibi′wă′hĭnă′,
Bä′hibi′wă′hĭnă′.
Bä′qăti hä′nibi′wă′hĭnă′,
Bä′qăti hä′nibi′wă′hĭnă′.
_Translation_
The seven venerable _Chĭnachichi′bät_ priests—
The seven venerable _Chĭnachichi′bät_ priests—
For them I am weeping,
For them I am weeping.
For the gaming wheel I am weeping,
For the gaming wheel I am weeping.
The first reference in this song is explained under number 43. The
_bä′qati_ or gaming wheel will be described later.
45. +Nû′nanû′naatani′na hu′hu′—II+
[Music]
Nû′nanû′naatani′na hu′hu′,
Nû′nanû′naatani′na hu′hu′.
Da`chi′bini′na häthi′na,
Da`chi′bini′na häthi′na.
_Translation_
The crow is circling above me,
The crow is circling above me.
He says he will give me a hawk feather,
He says he will give me a hawk feather.
This song is very similar to number 39, and requires no further
explanation. It is sung to the same quick time.
46. +Na′tănu′ya chĕ′bi′nh+
Na′tănu′ya chĕ′bi′nh—
Na′tănu′ya chĕ′bi′nh,
Na′chicha′ba′n,
Na′chicha′ba′n.
_Translation_
The pemmican that I am using—
The pemmican that I am using,
They are still making it,
They are still making it.
This song refers to the pemmican or preparation of dried and pounded
meat, which formerly formed a favorite food of the prairie tribes, and
which the author of the song evidently tasted as it was being prepared
by the women in the spirit world. (See Sioux song 7.) One must be an
Indian to know the thrill of joy that would come to the heart of the
dancers when told that some dreamer had seen their former friends in
the spirit world still making and feasting on pemmican. During the
first year or two of the excitement, it several times occurred at Ghost
dances in the north and south, among Sioux as well as among Arapaho and
others, that meat was exhibited and tasted as genuine buffalo beef or
pemmican brought back from the spirit world by one of the dancers. It
is not necessary to explain how this deception was accomplished or made
successful. It is sufficient to know that it was done, and that the
dancers were then in a condition to believe anything.
47. +Häĭ′nawa′ hä′ni′ta′quna′ni+
Häĭ′nawa′ hä′ni′ta′quna′ni—
Häĭ′nawa′ hä′ni′ta′quna′ni—
Ninĕ′n nănä′ hänita′quna′ni,
Ninĕ′n nănä′ hänita′quna′ni.
_Translation_
I know, in the pitfall—
I know, in the pitfall—
It is tallow they use in the pitfall,
It is tallow they use in the pitfall.
This song refers to the vision of a northern Arapaho, who found one
of his friends in the spirit world preparing a pitfall trap to catch
eagles. Wherever found, the eagle was regarded as sacred among the
Indian tribes both east and west, and its feathers were highly prized
for ornamental and “medicine” purposes, and an elaborately detailed
ritual of prayer and ceremony was the necessary accompaniment to its
capture. Among all the tribes the chief purpose of this ritual was
to obtain the help of the gods in inducing the eagle to approach
the hunter, and to turn aside the anger of the eagle spirits at the
necessary sacrilege. The feathers most valued were those of the tail
and wings. These were used to ornament lances and shields, to wear upon
the head, and to decorate the magnificent war bonnets, the finest of
which have a pendant or trail of eagle-tail feathers reaching from the
warrior’s head to the ground when he stands erect. The whistle used
in the sun dance and other great ceremonies is made of a bone from
the leg or wing of the eagle, and the fans carried by the warriors on
parade and used also to sprinkle the holy water in the mescal ceremony
of the southern prairie tribes is commonly made of the entire tail or
wing of that bird. Hawk feathers are sometimes used for these various
purposes, but are always considered far inferior to those of the eagle.
The smaller feathers are used upon arrows. Eagle feathers and ponies
were formerly the standard of value and the medium of exchange among
the prairie tribes, as wampum was with those of the Atlantic coast.
The standard varied according to place and season, but in a general
way from two to four eagles were rated as equal to a horse. In these
days the eagle-feather war bonnets and eagle-tail fans are the most
valuable parts of an Indian’s outfit and the most difficult to purchase
from him. Among the pueblo tribes eagles are sometimes taken from the
nest when young and kept in cages and regularly stripped of their best
feathers. Among the Caddo, Cherokee, and other tribes of the timbered
country in the east they were shot with bow and arrow or with the gun,
but always according to certain ritual ceremonies. Among the prairie
tribes along the whole extent of the plains they were never shot, but
must be captured alive in pitfalls and then strangled or crushed to
death, if possible without the shedding of blood. A description of
the Arapaho method will answer with slight modifications for all the
prairie tribes.
The hunter withdrew with his family away from the main camp to some
rough hilly country where the eagles were abundant. After some
preliminary prayers he went alone to the top of the highest hill and
there dug a pit large enough to sit or lie down in, being careful to
carry the earth taken out of the hole so far away from the place that
it would not attract the notice of the eagle. The pit was roofed over
with a covering of light willow twigs, above which were placed earth
and grass to give it a natural appearance. The bait was a piece of
fresh meat, or, as appears from this song, a piece of tallow stripped
from the ribs of the buffalo. This was tied to a rawhide string and
laid upon the top of the pit, while the rope was passed down through
the roof into the cavity below. A coyote skin, stuffed and set up erect
as in life, was sometimes placed near the bait to add to the realistic
effect. Having sat up all night, singing the eagle songs and purifying
himself for the ceremony, the hunter started before daylight, without
eating any breakfast or drinking water, and went up the hill to the
pit, which he entered, and, having again closed the opening, he seated
himself inside holding the end of the string in his hands, to prevent a
coyote or other animal from taking the bait, and waiting for the eagles
to come.
Should other birds come, he drove them away or paid no attention to
them. When at last the eagle came the other birds at once flew away.
The eagle swooped down, alighting always at one side and then walking
over upon the roof of the trap to get at the bait, when the hunter,
putting up his hand through the framework, seized the eagle by the
legs, pulled it down and quickly strangled it or broke its neck. He
then rearranged the bait and the roof and sat down to wait for another
eagle. He might be so lucky as to capture several during the day, or
so unfortunate as to take none at all. At night, but not before, he
repaired to his own tipi to eat, drink, and sleep, and was at the pit
again before daylight. While in the pit he did not eat, drink, or
sleep. The eagle hunt, if it may be so called, lasted four days, and
must end then, whatever might have been the good or bad fortune of the
hunter.
At the expiration of four days he returned to his home with the dead
bodies of the eagles thus caught. A small lodge was set up outside his
tipi and in this the eagles were hung up by the neck upon a pole laid
across two forked sticks driven into the ground. After some further
prayers and purifications the feathers were stripped from the bodies as
they hung.
The Blackfoot method, as described by Grinnell, in his Blackfoot Lodge
Tales, was the same in all essentials as that of the Arapaho. He adds
several details, which were probably common to both tribes and to
others, but which my Arapaho informants failed to mention. While the
hunter was away in the pit his wife or daughters at home must not use
an awl for sewing or for other purposes, as, should they do so, the
eagle might scratch the hunter. He took a human skull with him into the
pit, in order that he might be as invisible to the eagle as the spirit
of the former owner of the skull. He must not eat the berries of the
wild rose during this period, or the eagle would not attack the bait,
and he must put a morsel of pemmican into the mouth of the dead eagle
in order to gain the good will of its fellows and induce them to come
in and be caught.
The eagle-catching ceremony of the Caddo, Cherokee, and other eastern
tribes will be noticed in treating of the Caddo songs.
48. +Bä′hinä′nina′tä ni′tabä′na+
Bä′hinä′nina′tä ni′tabä′na,
Bä′hinä′nina′tä ni′tabä′na.
Nänä′nina hu′hu,
Nänä′nina hu′hu.
_Translation_
I hear everything,
I hear everything.
I am the crow,
I am the crow.
This is another song expressive of the omniscience of the crow, which,
as their messenger from the spirit world, hears and knows everything,
both on this earth and in the shadow land. The tune is one of the
prettiest of all the ghost songs.
49. +A-bä′qati′ hä′nichä′bi′hinä′na+
A-bä′qati′ hä′nichä′bi′hinä′na,
A-bä′qati′ hä′nichä′bi′hinä′na.
A-wa′täna′ni ani′ä′tähĭ′näna,
A-wa′täna′ni ani′ä′tähĭ′näna.
_Translation_
With the _bä′qati_ wheel I am gambling,
With the _bä′qati_ wheel I am gambling.
With the black mark I win the game,
With the black mark I win the game.
This song is from the northern Arapaho. The author of it, in his visit
to the spirit world, found his former friends playing the old game of
the _bä′qati_ wheel, which was practically obsolete among the prairie
tribes, but which is being revived since the advent of the Ghost dance.
As it was a favorite game with the men in the olden times, a great many
of the songs founded on these trance visions refer to it, and the wheel
and sticks are made by the dreamer and carried in the dance as they
sing.
The game is played with a wheel (_bä′qati_, “large wheel”) and two
pairs of throwing sticks (_qa′qa-u′nûtha_). The Cheyenne call the wheel
_ä′ko′yo_ or _äkwi′u_, and the sticks _hoo′isi′yonots_. It is a man’s
game, and there are three players, one rolling the wheel, while the
other two, each armed with a pair of throwing sticks, run after it and
throw the sticks so as to cross the wheel in a certain position. The
two throwers are the contestants, the one who rolls the wheel being
merely an assistant. Like most Indian games, it is a means of gambling,
and high stakes are sometimes wagered on the result. It is common to
the Arapaho, Cheyenne, Sioux, and probably to all the northern prairie
tribes, but is not found among the Kiowa or Comanche in the south.
The wheel is about 18 inches in diameter, and consists of a flexible
young tree branch, stripped of its bark and painted, with the two ends
fastened together with sinew or buckskin string. At equal distances
around the circumference of the wheel are cut four figures, the two
opposite each other constituting a pair, but being distinguished by
different colors, usually blue or black and red, and by lines or
notches on the face. These figures are designated simply by their
colors. Figures of birds, crescents, etc., are sometimes also cut or
painted upon the wheel, but have nothing to do with the game. (See
plate +CXI+.)
The sticks are light rods, about 30 inches long, tied in pairs by a
peculiar arrangement of buckskin strings, and distinguished from one
another by pieces of cloth of different colors fastened to the strings.
There is also a pile of tally sticks, usually a hundred in number,
about the size of lead pencils and painted green, for keeping count
of the game. The sticks are held near the center in a peculiar manner
between the fingers of the closed hand. When the wheel is rolled, each
player runs from the same side, and endeavors to throw the sticks so
as to strike the wheel in such a way that when it falls both sticks of
his pair shall be either over or under a certain figure. It requires
dexterity to do this, as the string has a tendency to strike the wheel
in such a way as to make one stick fall under and the other over, in
which case the throw counts for nothing. The players assign their own
value to each figure, the usual value being five points for one and ten
for the other figure, with double that number for a throw which crosses
the two corresponding figures, and one hundred tallies to the game.
The wheel-and-stick game, in some form or another, was almost universal
among our Indian tribes. Another game among the prairie tribes is
played with a netted wheel and a single stick or arrow, the effort
being to send the arrow through the netting as nearly as possible
to the center or bull’s-eye. This game is called _ana′wati′n-hati_,
“playing wheel,” by the Arapaho.
50. +Ani′äsa′kua′na dă′chäbi′hati′tani+
Ani′äsa′kua′na dă′chäbi′hati′tani bä′qati′bä,
Ani′äsa′kua′na dă′chäbi′hati′tani bä′qati′bä.
Ni′ati′biku′thahu′ bä′qatihi,
Ni′ati′biku′thahu′ bä′qatihi.
Di′chäbi′häti′ta′ni′,
Di′chäbi′häti′ta′ni′.
_Translation_
I am watching where they are gambling with the _bä′qati_ wheel,
I am watching where they are gambling with the _bä′qati_ wheel.
They are rolling the _bä′qati_,
They are rolling the _bä′qati_.
While they gamble with it,
While they gamble with it.
In this song the dancer tells how he watched a group of his friends
in the spirit world playing the game of the _bä′qati_, as has been
explained in the song last treated.
51. +Ni′chi′a i′theti′hi+
Ni′chi′ă i′theti′hi,
Ni′chi′ă i′theti′hi,
Chana′ha′ti i′nĭt—
Chana′ha′ti i′nĭt—
Gu′n baa′-ni′bină thi′aku′-u,
Gu′n baa′-ni′bină thi′aku′-u.
_Translation_
(There) is a good river,
(There) is a good river,
Where there is no timber—
Where there is no timber—
But thunder-berries are there,
But thunder-berries are there.
This song refers to a trance vision in which the dreamer found his
people camped by a good, i. e., perennial, river, fringed with abundant
bushes or small trees of the _baa-ni′bin_ or “thunder-berry,” which
appears to be the black haw, being described as a sort of wild cherry,
in size between the chokecherry and the wild plum. It was eaten raw,
or dried and boiled, the seeds having first been taken out. It is very
scarce, if found at all, in the southern plains.
52. +Ni′nini′tubi′na hu′hu′+ (former closing song)
[Music]
Ni′nini′tubi′na hu′hu′,
Ni′nini′tubi′na hu′hu′.
Bäta′hina′ni hu′hu′,
Bäta′hina′ni hu′hu′,
Nă′hinä′ni häthi′na,
Nă′hinä′ni häthi′na.
_Translation_
The crow has given me the signal,
The crow has given me the signal.
When the crow makes me dance,
When the crow makes me dance,
He tells me (when) to stop,
He tells me (when) to stop.
This was formerly the closing song of the dance, but is now superseded
as such by number 73, beginning _Ahu′yu häthi′na_. It was also the
last song sung when a small party gathered in the tipi at night for a
private rehearsal, and was therefore always held in reserve until the
singers were about ready to separate. The tune is one of the best.
The special office of the crow as the messenger from the spirit world
and representative of the messiah has been already explained. He is
supposed to direct the dance and to give the signal for its close.
53. +Anihä′ya atani′tă′nu′nawa′+