TATTOOED GHOSTS

_Dakota_

If a ghost wishes to walk the Ghost Road safely, then during living

the person must tattoo himself either in the forehead or on the

wrists. An old woman sits in the Ghost Road and she examines each

ghost who passes. If she finds the tattoo marks, then the ghost

travels on at once to Many Lodges. If the tattoo marks are not there,

the old woman pushes the ghost from a cloud and he falls to this world

again. Then he wanders all over the world. He is never quiet. He goes

about whistling, with no lodge, and people are afraid of him.

When these ghosts visit the sick, they are driven away by smoke from

the sacred cedar, or else cedar is laid outside the lodge. When a

person hears a ghost whistling he goes outside the lodge and makes a

loud noise. If a ghost calls to a loved one and he answers, then he is

sure to die soon.

If a ghost meets a man who is alone, he will catch hold of him and

pull his mouth and eyes until they are crooked. Indeed, a ghost did

this to a person who only dreamed about one.

Myths and Legends of the Great Plains · 第 73 / 133 题