[K]aⁿze gens. George Miller’s father could wear this decoration, but
the right to it could not be transmitted by him to any one else.
Ԁahe-ʇap‘ĕ, of the [K]e-‘iⁿ subgens of the Ȼatada gens, once had a
vision of two stars and the new moon. Consequently he decorated his
buffalo robe, as shown in Fig. 161, and joined the order of Thunder
shamans. He died when the author was at the Omaha agency (between 1878
and 1880).
GENERIC FORMS OF DECORATION.
[Illustration: FIG. 162.--Generic decoration referring to night, etc.]
§ 46. There are examples of generic forms of decoration, as well
as those of specific forms. For instance, when a person had a
vision of the night, or of the Thunder-being, or one of some other
superterrestrial object, he blackened the upper part of his tent and a
small portion on each side of the entrance, as shown in Fig. 162.
It was given thus by George Miller:
Níaciⁿga amá águdi ctĕ haⁿ´ daⁿ´ctĕ íȼa‘eȼé amá ʇí
People the where ever night for example they have the tent
pl. visions
sub. of it
ugȼiⁿ´i ʞĭ, wiⁿdétaⁿ sábeȼaí, kĭ ci águdí ctĕ
they if one-half the they blacken and again where ever
dwell length
in
níkaciⁿga amá iñgȼaⁿ´ íȼa‘eȼé amá cĭ égaⁿ
people the pl. thunder they have the pl. again so
sub. being visions sub.
of it.
ugȼiⁿ´-biamá.
they dwell in,
they say.
SPECIFIC FORMS OF DECORATION.
A specific form related to the generic one just described is shown in
Fig. 163. The blackened part of the tent represents the night, and the
star denotes the morning star. There was a star on the left hand at the
back of the tent, and another star on the right side. Black and blue
are occasionally interchangeable in Omaha symbolism; hence we find that
the night is represented by a blue band on a coyote skin worn by the
elder Aⁿpaⁿ-skă, and subsequently by his son and namesake, when
the latter was a small boy. The blue band was worn next the shoulders
of the owner (Fig. 164).
[Illustration: FIG. 163.--Tent of Aⁿpaⁿ-skă, Sr.]
[Illustration: FIG. 164.--Robe of Aⁿpaⁿ-skă, Sr.]
The decoration refers to his “qube” or “sacred vision.” Little Cedar,
of the Maⁿȼiñka-gaxe (Omaha) gens, belonged, we are told, to the Miⁿ
iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma, or order of Sun and Moon shamans, probably identical with
the order of Thunder shamans. Fig. 165 represents a vision which Little
Cedar once had, described thus by George Miller:
Gaⁿ´ níaciⁿga aká íȼa‘eȼá-bi egaⁿ´ ȼetégaⁿ ʇi ugá tĕ
And man the having had a vision, like this tent painted the
sub. they say std. ob.
ugȼiⁿ´-biamá. Mázi-jiñ´ga ijáje aȼiⁿ´-biamá. Sábe tĕ haⁿ´
he dwelt in, Cedar Little his name had, they Black the night
they say, say
kĕ é gáxai; niaⁿ´ba ȼaⁿ éȼaⁿbe tĕ gáxai. Niaⁿ´ba
the that made moon the cv. emerging the made. Moon
lg. ob. ob.
uȼan´da ȼan´di níkaciⁿga ugȼiⁿ´ gáxai, gañ´ʞĭ íȼa‘eȼaí ȼiñké
in the in the person sitting made and one seen in the one
midst of part in a vision who
é tĕ. Niaⁿ´ba éȼaⁿbe atí-nandi náqȼiⁿ
that the Moon emerging comes regularly, blazes
when (sends up
light)
égaⁿ-naⁿ´i. The black band refers to the night; the circle, to
somewhat usually.
the moon; the circumscribed figure is a ghost that he saw in the moon;
and the dots above the moon refer to the “white which stands above the
rising sun or moon.” Pl. XLIV B shows another tent decoration of the
same man. The red circle represents the sun, in which stands a man
holding the ʇa-cá-ge, or deer rattles, made of the hard or callous
knobs found near the hoofs of the deer. These knobs are split, hollowed
out, and strung on sticks. The tent being very large, the figure of the
man was almost life size, and a real feather was tied to his head. The
blue band at the bottom may represent night, but there is no certainty
about it.
[Illustration: FIG. 165.--Tent of Mazi-jiñga--ghost vision.]
[Illustration: FIG. 166.--A tent of Nikuȼibȼaⁿ.]
§ 47. Fig. 166 is the decoration of one of the tents of Ni-ku-ȼi-bȼaⁿ,
father of the present Wackaⁿ-maⁿȼiⁿ (Hard Walker), an ex-chief of the
Omaha. Nikuȼibȼaⁿ was one of the two leaders of the order of Thunder
shamans, and was regarded as being very “qube” or mysterious. The black
band at the bottom refers to the night, and above it are seen the moon
and a star. The old man named one of his grandchildren Haⁿakipa (Meets
the Night), after the vision to which the tent decoration refers.
George Miller furnished the description of Nikuȼibȼaⁿ’s tent, obtained
from an old woman, who is his widow:
“Gaⁿ wíqti ʇaⁿ´ba-májĭ ȼaⁿ´ja, uȼaí égaⁿ ana´‘aⁿ hă. Gaⁿ´
And I I did not though they have as I have And
myself see him told about heard it.
him
iñgȼaⁿ´ⁿ íȼa‘eȼá-biamá, ádaⁿ ʇuɔniñ´ge gáxai tĕ
Thunder he had a vision of therefore rainbow made it the
Being him, they say (past
act)
gátĕ. ┴íhuʞaⁿ ȼaⁿʇá bagȼéjai tĕ, é uȼaí hă
that ob. Smoke-hole at the painted in the that told it .
part spots (past
act)
wa‘újiñga igáqȼaⁿ aká. Maⁿ´ciaʇá aȼiⁿ´ akíi, á-biamá.
old woman his wife the sub. On high having had he said,
him reached they say.
there again
Eʇá ctĭ majaⁿ´ ȼé égaⁿ, á-biamá. Qubĕ´qti gáxai
There too land this like he said, they Very mysterious they
say. made him
níaciⁿga, ádaⁿ ʇí ugá tĕ áwatégaⁿ gáxe gaⁿ´ȼai
man therefore tent painted the how to make he wished
it
ʞĭ, gaⁿ´ égaⁿ gáxai. Bagȼéjai tĕ mási é wakaí
when at any so he made it. Made spotted he hail that it meant
rate by painting
tĕ.”
the (past
act).
That is, “I myself did not see him, but I have heard what was told.
They say that he had a vision of the Thunder-being, so he made that
rainbow which appears in the figure (Fig. 167). The old woman,
his widow, has told that he painted the top of the tent, near the
smoke-hole, in spots. They say that he said that the Thunder-being
had carried him up on high, and that the place there resembled this
world. The man was regarded as very mysterious; therefore he decorated
his tent according to the pattern that he wished to make. The painted
spots represent hail.” Many years ago, Nikuȼibȼaⁿ said that he had
been carried up into the world above this one, and that he found it
resembled the world in which we live. The rainbow and hail depicted on
the tent formed part of the vision, but their exact significance has
not been explained.
[Illustration: FIG. 167.--Another tent of Nikuȼibȼaⁿ.]
[Illustration: FIG. 168.--Blanket of Cuʞa-maⁿȼiⁿ.]
Cu-ʞa maⁿ-ȼiⁿ, an Omaha, had a vision which gave him the right to use
the decoration given in Fig. 168. The meanings of the different marks
have not been learned. Cuʞa maⁿȼiⁿ bequeathed the blanket to his son,
[K]axe-giaⁿ (Flying Crow), now known as Gilbert Morris.
[Illustration: FIG. 169.--Tent of ┴e-saⁿ; vision of a cedar.]
[Illustration: FIG. 170.--Tent of ┴e-saⁿ; sun and rainbow vision.]
§ 48. The old chief ┴e-saⁿ (Ta sone of Maj. Long), Distant-white
Buffalo, father of the chiefs Standing Hawk and Fire Chief, had a
vision of a cedar tree, which he painted on each side of his tent, as
seen in Fig. 169. The next sketch (Fig. 170) shows the back part of
another tent of ┴e-saⁿ. The blue band near the top is called “sabe”
(black); below this is the sun and a blue rainbow; near the bottom are
two horsetails. The only decorations on the front of the tent are two
horsetails, one on each side of the entrance. This tent was used by
Standing Hawk after the death of his father. This decoration may have
been made after a vision of horses, as Standing Hawk was a member of
the order of Horse Shamans (Cañge iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma). George Miller speaks
thus about it:
Gaⁿ´ níaciⁿga aká níkagahí átai egaⁿ´ íȼa‘éȼĕ daⁿ´etĕaⁿ´i
And man the sub. chief he was as he had a perhaps
beyond vision
tĕ, miⁿ´ ȼaⁿ ugaí, íʇi. Cĭ cañ´gĕ sĭn´de
the (past sun the he painted he painted the Again horse tail
act) cv. ob. tent with it.
ctĭ gáxai, hidé kĕ´di. ┴íhuʞaⁿ [p]así ȼaⁿ
too he made bottom at the Smoke hole tip end the part
sábĕȼai. That is, “As the man was a head chief, he may have had a
he blackened.
vision, for he occupied a tent on which he painted the sun, and he also
decorated it with horse-tails at the lower part. He painted the border
of the smoke-hole a dark blue (ʇu sabĕ, which is some-times called,
sabĕ).”
“Iȼádi amá daⁿ´ctĕ égaⁿ gáxai tĕ´di, ijiñ´ge amá
His father the pl. sub. perhaps so did when his son the pl.
sub.
íȼa‘éȼa-bájĭ ctĕwaⁿ´ égaⁿ gáxe-naⁿ´-biamá, ádaⁿ égaⁿ
they did not have even so usually did, they therefore so
visions of it say
gáxai.” That is, “When the fathers decorate their tents in consequence
he did
of their respective visions, their sons (who succeed them) usually
imitate them (or dwell in the decorated tents), even when they
themselves have not had visions of the objects. Therefore he (i.e.,
Standing Hawk) did so.”
George Miller told the following about Ԁede-gahi or Fire Chief, another
son of ┴e-saⁿ:
Cĭ égaⁿ Ԁéde-gáhi aká ugȼiⁿ´i waʇaⁿ´be. Wataⁿ´zihi íʇi
Again so Fire Chief the he sat in I saw Corn-stalk painted
sub it on the
tent
waʇaⁿ´be ȼaⁿ´ja, áwatégaⁿ iȼápahaⁿ-májĭ ȼaⁿ´ja, níkagáhi égaⁿ
I saw though of what sort I knew not though chief like
égaⁿ ugȼiⁿ´i tĕ. Wataⁿzi ȼiⁿ´ ctĭ waqu´be gáxai. Kĭ
so he sat in the Corn the col. too mysterious he made and
(past ob. it
act)
cĭ´ Ԁéde-gáhi aká taⁿ´waⁿgȼaⁿ eʇá amá Wajiñ´ga-ȼatájĭ amá
again Fire Chief the gens his the pl. Bird eat not the pl.
sub. sub. sub.
wahába pahañ´ga ju´t‘aⁿ tĕ´di ȼatá-bajĭ wahába
ear of corn first matures when they do not ear of corn
eat
ȼiⁿ´, níkaciⁿga amá naⁿ´wape ȼaté tai tĕ´. Ȼataí ʞĭ,
the col. people the pl. fear them they will the They if
ob. sub. eat (act) eat
wahába ȼiⁿ´, wajiñ´ga ȼasniⁿ´ weʞubaí. Iñké-sabĕ
ear of corn the col. bird devour they fear Shoulder black
ob. them
ákadí ctĭ égaⁿ gáxe-naⁿ-biamá ʇí ugá. Hañ´ga
among too so make usually they say tent painting. Foremost
the the
ákadí ctĭ égaⁿ gáxe-naⁿ´-biamá ʇí ugá.
among too so make usually they say tent painting.
This refers to Fig. 171, and may be thus rendered: “And I have likewise
seen the tent of Fire Chief. It was decorated with cornstalks, but I
do not know the reason for it. He dwelt in such a tent because he was
a chief. Corn was regarded as “waqube,” mysterious. In the sub-gens
of Fire Chief, the Wajiñga-ȼatajĭ, or, those who eat no small birds,
the people feared to eat the first ears of corn that matured, lest the
small birds (particularly blackbirds) should come and devour the rest
of the crop. There was a similar tent decoration in the Iñke-sabĕ and
Hañga gentes.” In the former, it was used by Waqaga (see § 53). The
cornstalks and ears were green, the tips of the ears were black. There
were two similar cornstalks on the back of the tent.
[Illustration: FIG. 171.--Cornstalk decoration of the tents of Fire
Chief and Waqaga.]
CORN AND THE BUFFALO.
§ 49. Corn is regarded as a “mother” and the buffalo as a “grandfather”
among the Omaha and other tribes.[57] In the Osage tradition, corn was
bestowed upon the people by four buffalo bulls or “grandfathers.”[58]
Dr. Washington Matthews tells of a similar Arikara belief about an ear
of corn.[59] (See § 42.)
[Illustration: FIG. 172.--Robe of Ni-ȼactage.]
[Illustration: FIG. 173.--Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ’s father’s tent.]
[Illustration: FIG. 174.--Maⁿtcu-naⁿba’s tent.]
OTHER OMAHA MYSTERY DECORATIONS.
§ 50. Among the members of the order of Buffalo (┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma) was
Niȼactage, whose robe is shown in Fig. 172. The red band is at the
top. The black spots represent the places where the buffaloes play
“buffalo wallows.” Buffalo hoofs are in blue.
Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ’s father had a vision of horses, hence he wished to depict
horse-tails and tracks on his tent, as found in Fig. 173; but he died
before he finished it.
The father of Maⁿtcu-naⁿba had a vision of horses, and bequeathed to
his son Maⁿtcu-naⁿba the right to decorate his tent in the style shown
in Fig. 174. The yellow was connected with the vision. When the owner
dwelt in an earth-lodge, the horse-tail was tied to a long pole, which
was thrust through the opening at the top of the lodge. So when he used
his skin tent, the horse-tail hung from the top of a long pole above
the smoke-hole.
When the Omaha dwelt near the present town of Homer, Nebr., and
Wackaⁿhi was a young child, he went out to play, and fell asleep. He
said that he was aroused by the sounds made by many chickens crowing
and cackling. In those days (_fide_ George Miller) there were no
white people in that neighborhood; but now in that very place where
Wackaⁿhi had the vision, there is a wealthy family living, and besides
large herds they have a great many chickens. In remembrance of that
occurrence, Wackaⁿhi painted his tent with his personal decoration as
given in Fig. 175.
[Illustration: FIG. 175.--Wackaⁿhi’s tent.]
[Illustration: FIG. 176.--Tent of unknown Omaha.]
An unknown Omaha had a vision of deer, so he decorated his tent
accordingly. (See Fig. 176.) George Miller could not furnish the man’s
name.
§ 51. Among the members of the order of Grizzly Bear shamans was an
Omaha named ┴ebi‘a (Frog). The top of his tent was painted yellow,
as shown in Fig. 177. There was no other decoration; but this yellow
evidently was connected with a grizzly bear vision, as it appears
in the decoration adopted by the father of Two Crows, who was not
only one of the two leaders of the order of Thunder shamans (Iñgȼaⁿ
iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma) but also a member of the orders of Buffalo and Grizzly
Bear shamans (┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma and Maⁿtcu iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma). (See Pl. XLIV, D,
in which a grizzly bear is depicted as emerging from his den. The blue
part represents the ground.)
This decoration (of the tent of Two Crows’ father) is thus described by
George Miller: Maⁿtcú iȼa‘eȼaí egaⁿ´ ʇí tĕ égaⁿ gáxai.
Grizzly bear they have as tent the so they
visions of it std. ob. make it
Maⁿtcú wadaⁿ´bai tĕ´di ʇan´de kĕ maⁿ´taʇa éȼaⁿbe tí
Grizzly bear they see them when ground the within emerging come
lg. ob.
wadaⁿ´bai, gaⁿ´ égaⁿ gáxai ʇí tĕ. ┴an´de kĕ ʇúȼĕ-naⁿ´i,
they see them and so they tent the Ground the they usually
make it std. lg. ob. paint blue
ob.
ʇí hébe kĕ zíȼĕ-naⁿ´i.” That is, “When they have had visions
tent part the they usually
lg ob. paint yellow.
of grizzly bears, they decorate their tents accordingly. When they see
grizzly bears, they behold them coming out of the ground, and so they
paint the tents. They always (or usually) paint the ground blue,
and part of the tent they paint in a yellow band.” This shows the
conventional use of colors. See Pl. XLIV, E, for the sketch of another
tent representing the vision of a grizzly bear.
[Illustration: FIG. 177.--Tent of ┴ebi‘a.]
[Illustration: FIG. 178.--Tent of a Kansa who had an eagle vision.]
KANSA MYSTERY DECORATIONS.
§ 52. Three Kansa decorations follow. They are taken from an original
sketch made by a Kansa man, known to the white people as Stephen
Stubbs. The first tent (Fig. 178) is that of a man who had fasted
and held mysterious communication with an eagle which gave him some
feathers. He had danced the pipe dance once for some one. At the base
of this tent are seen two peace pipes on each side of the entrance. At
the back are a black bear and a large turtle. The second tent (Fig.
179) is that of a man who had danced the pipe dance three times.
Buffalo tails are fastened to the tops of the triangular pieces
forming the shelter of the smoke-hole, feathers hang from the two
shields, and the stars are above and on the base of the tent skins.
Feathers, shields, and stars are also on the back of this tent.
[Illustration: FIG. 179.--Kansa decorated tent.]
[Illustration: FIG. 180.--Kansa decorated tent.]
[Illustration: FIG. 181.--Maⁿze-guhe’s robe.]
Fig. 180 is the tent of a man who has danced the pipe dance four times.
It is very probable, judging from the stars on the tents, that the
owners of the second and third Kansa tents had had visions. The Kansa
say that when a man has danced the pipe dance twice, his tent can be
decorated with two cornstalks at the front (one on each side of the
entrance), and two more at the back. The pipes used in the calumet or
pipe dance are regarded as “Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ” by the Omaha and Ponka, and
the inference is that the Kansa and Osage had a similar belief about
these pipes and the accompanying dance. Perhaps there was a time when
no man could undertake the pipe dance unless he had a vision of some
kind.
OMAHA NIKIE DECORATIONS.
§ 53. As the gentes of the Omaha and Ponka are regarded as being
“Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ,” the “nikie” and “nikie names” have a religious
significance. George Miller has furnished the author with a few nikie
decorations, which are now given.
Maⁿze-guhe, an Omaha, belonged to the Waȼigije sub-gens of the
Iñke-sabĕ gens. The decoration of his robe (Fig. 181) marks the nikie
of the sub-gens, as it consisted of spiral forms known as “waȼigije.”
That of the tent (Fig. 182) refers to the nikie of the entire gens. In
the latter case, the buffalo head was painted on the back of the tent.
[Illustration: FIG. 182.--Maⁿze-guhe’s tent.]
Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ, who has a nikie name referring to the buffalo, belongs to
the Waȼigije sub-gens. His father wore a black blanket embroidered with
beadwork in two rows of spirals, between which was a star. All these
figures were made of white beads. (See Fig. 183.)
[Illustration: FIG. 183.--Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ’s father’s blanket.]
In the Pipe sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ there were several tent
decorations. Of the first, George Miller speaks thus:
Níkaciⁿ´ga-ma taⁿ´waⁿgȼaⁿ´-ma niníba t‘aⁿ´ amá Iñké-sabĕ
The people those in the gentes pipe have the pl. Black shoulder
sub.
akádi ʇí ugaí, niníba íʇi. Kĭ wédajĭ-ma
among tent they pipe painted the And those elsewhere
the paint tent with
wédahaⁿ-májĭ, añ´ka-bájĭ ebȼégaⁿ. Iñké-sabĕ akádi
I do not know them they are not so I think. Black shoulder among
the
níkagáhi aká égaⁿ gáxai ebȼégaⁿ, aⁿ´ctĕwaⁿ´ gáxa-bájĭ
chief the sub. so made I think of any pattern he did not make
ebȼégaⁿ. Niníba waqúbe gáxai ʞĭ, niníba jaⁿ´ kĕ bȼáska gáxai,
I think. Pipe mysterious made when pipe wood the flat made
thing lg. ob.
uȼískai, wajiñ´gadá ájii tĕ, ʇáhiⁿ jíde
put porcupine bird heads put many the “deer fur” red
work around it on it past act
íkaⁿtaⁿ´i.”
tied to it.
That is, “Those persons who belong to the Iñke-sabĕ sub-gens known
as Keepers of the Pipes, paint their tent(s) with the pipe decoration.
I do not know of any other persons, members of other gentes, using this
decoration; I think that no others use it. I think that the Iñkesabĕ
chief decorates his tent in this manner, and that he did not decorate
it in any way he pleased. When the sacred pipes were made (on the tent)
the pipestem was made flat, porcupine work was put around it, several
heads of birds were fastened on it, and tufts of reddened horses’ hair
were tied to it at intervals.” (See Fig. 184 and Pl. XLIV, C.) This
Iñke-sabĕ tent had only two pipes on it--one on each side of the
entrance.
[Illustration: FIG. 184.--Iñke-sabĕ tent decoration.]
The second Iñke-sabĕ tent decoration is thus described by the same
authority:
Aⁿjiñ´ga tĕ´di ʇi´-ugȼiⁿ´ waʇaⁿ´be ʞĭ, ȼekégaⁿ
The small when tent dwelt in I saw them when like this
lg. ob.
ugȼiⁿ´i. Niníba mácaⁿ ugȼé íʇi waʇaⁿ´be Niníba t‘aⁿ´
they dwelt Pipe quill attached painted I saw Pipe had
in feather to at the tent
right with
angles
akádi, Waqága égaⁿ íʇi waʇaⁿ´be. Niníba waqúbe kĕ
among Burrs so painted I saw them Pipe sacred the lg.
the the tent ob.
with
ékigaⁿ´qti ȼaⁿ´ja, e mácaⁿ ugȼé gáxai, niníba
just like it though that quill attached to made pipe
feather at right angles
wéawaⁿ akéĕ hă. Ȼaⁿ´ja niníba kĕ é ínikagáhi
calumet that is it . Though pipe the lg. that chief by
ob. aforesaid means of it
ʞiʞáxai, níaciⁿ´ga amá átaqti gáxai niníba waqúbe.
they make people the pl. exceedingly make it pipe sacred
themselves sub.
Níaciⁿ´ga amá píäjĭ´qti ctéctĕwaⁿ´, ukít‘ĕ ákikiȼáqti
People the pl. very bad notwithstanding foreign contending
sub. nation fiercely together
maⁿȼiⁿ´i ctéctĕwaⁿ´, kikídĕqti maⁿȼiⁿ´i ctéctĕwaⁿ´,
they walk notwithstanding shooting often they walk notwithstanding
and fiercely
niníba kĕ éȼaⁿbe aȼiⁿ´ ahíi ʞĭ, uȼúci kĕ uhá
pipe the lg. coming they take it when in the the following
ob. forth thither middle lg. its course
line
aȼiⁿ´ aȼai´ ʞĭ, múkictaⁿ tai´. Téqi gáxai níaciⁿ´ga
they when they stop will Precious they people
take it shooting at make it
one another
amá.
the pl. sub.
That is, “When, in my childhood, I saw the tents in which the people
dwelt, they were of this sort. (See Fig. 185.) I saw the tent decorated
with the pipes having feathers attached to each pipe at right angles.
I saw a tent of this sort when it was occupied by Waqaga of the Pipe
sub-gens. (See another tent decoration of this man, § 48.) Though these
pipes closely resemble the peace pipes (niniba waqube), they are made
with the feathers attached to the stems at right angles. These are
the pipes used in the pipe dance. By means of the pipes the people
made for themselves that which was equivalent to (or, lead to) the
chieftainship. So they regarded the sacred pipes as of the greatest
importance. Even when the people were very bad, even when different
tribes continued to struggle with one another; even when they shot
often at one another, when some persons came forth with the peace
pipes, and bore them to a place between the opposing forces, carrying
them all along the lines, they stopped shooting at one another. The
Indians regarded the pipes as precious.”
[Illustration: FIG. 185.--Iñke-sabĕ tent decoration.]
A ┴a[p]a nikie tent decoration is shown in the tent of Heqaga. (Pl.
XLIV, C.) This tent had two pipes on each side of the tent, double the
number on the Iñke-sabĕ tent (Fig. 184).
[Illustration: FIG. 186.--Waqaga’s robe.]
Fig. 186 is given as the nikie decoration of a robe belonging to
Waqaga. The bird on the robe is an eagle. Members of the Pipe sub-gens
of the Iñke-sabĕ have eagle birth names. And we know that Waqaga
belonged to that sub-gens.
The author understood Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows to say, in
1882, that while nikie names possessed a sacredness, it was only the
sacredness of antiquity, and that they were not “Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ.”
But the author now thinks that such a statement needs modification;
for, besides what appears at the beginning of this section, we know
that among the Osage and Kansa the nikie names are associated with the
traditions preserved in the secret society of seven degrees, and that
this applies not only to names of gentes and sub-gentes, but also to
personal nikie names. The author frightened an Osage in January, 1883,
by mentioning in public some of this class of names.
OMAHA NIKIE CUSTOMS.
§ 54. Among the nikie of the Omaha, the following may be mentioned:
The Wajiñga-ȼatajĭ, or “Blackbird people,” had a curious custom during
the harvest season. At that time the birds used to devour the corn, so
the men of this sub-gens undertook to prevent them, by chewing some
grains of corn which they spit around over the field.[60] During a
fog, the [K]e-‘iⁿ men would draw the figure of a turtle on the ground,
with its head to the south. On the head, tail, middle of the back, and
each leg, were placed small pieces of a (red) breechcloth with some
tobacco. They imagined that this would make the fog disappear very
soon.[61] The [K]aⁿze gens, being Wind people, flap their blankets to
start a breeze when mosquitoes abound.[62] The ┴a-[p]a gens have a
form for the naming of a child on the fifth morning after its birth,
according to Lion, one of the chiefs of that gens.[63] In the feast on
the hearts and tongues,[64] the Hañga men who belong to the sub-gens
keeping the sacred pole, eat the buffalo tongues, though the buffalo
is their “grandfather” and the eponym of their gens; but they can not
eat the “ʇa” or buffalo sides. However, the other Hañga men, who can
not eat the tongues, are allowed to eat the consecrated buffalo sides,
after the ceremonies connected with the thanksgiving and anointing of
the sacred pole.[65] No Omaha child had its hair cut until it had been
taken to an old man of the Ictasanda gens, to have the first locks cut,
the first moccasins put on the child’s feet, and prayers to be said
over it. Sometimes the old man said “┴ucpáha, Wakan´da
O grandchild, Wakanda
ȼa‘éȼiȼé-de ʞáci maⁿȼiñ´ka sí áȼagȼé tate,” i.e., "O
pity you when a long time soil foot you set it shall,
erect on
grandchild, may Wakanda pity you, and may your feet rest a long time
on the ground!” Another form was sometimes used--“Wakanda ȼa‘eȼiȼe
tate. Maⁿȼiñka si aȼagȼe tate. Gudihegaⁿ ne tate,” i.e., “May Wakanda
pity you! May your feet tread the ground! May you go ahead (or, live
hereafter)!”[66]
§ 55. When there is a “blizzard,” the other Kansa beg the members of
the Tcihaciⁿ or Kaⁿze gens to interpose, as they are Wind people.
“[M]i´tcigu-e´, haⁿ´ba ya´li kŭⁿ´bla eyau´. Ciñ´gajiñ´ga yi´ta
O grandfather, day good I desire indeed. Child your
be decorated (_or_
painted)
kik’ŭⁿ´yakiye´ tce au´[64], a´be au´.” i.e., “They say, ‘O
you cause him to will . they .
be decorated (_or_ say
painted)
grandfather (said to one of the Kaⁿze gens), I wish good weather.
Please cause one of your children to be decorated!’” Then the
youngest son of one of the Kaⁿze men, say one over 4 feet high, is
chosen for the purpose, and painted with red paint (I´gamaⁿ jü´dje
i´kik’ŭⁿ´kiya´be au). The youth rolls over and over in the snow and
reddens it for some distance all around him. This is supposed to stop
the storm.
GOVERNMENTAL INSTRUMENTALITIES.
§ 56. Among the Omaha governmental instrumentalities which are
“Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ” are the chiefs, the keepers of the three sacred
tents, the keepers of the sacred pipes, the gentes, sub-gentes, and
taboos, none of which can be regarded as fetiches, and the following
which appear to be fetiches: The sacred pipes (including the war pipes
of the Elk gens, the two peace pipes kept by the Iñke-sabĕ gens, the
mysterious objects kept by the “keepers of the pipes” in the Ȼatada,
[K]aⁿze, Maⁿȼiñka-gaxe, ┴e-sĭnde, ┴a-[p]a, and Ictasanda gentes, and
the weawaⁿ or pipes used in the calumet dance), the sacred pole, the
sacred hide of a white buffalo, the sacred arrows of divination, and
the sacred clam shell of the Elk gens.[67]
§ 57. OMAHA AND PONKA TABOOS.
Buffalo skull not touched by--
1. ┴e-[p]a it‘ajĭ sub-gens of Ȼatada (Omaha).
2. Waȼigije sub-gens of Iñke-sabĕ (Om.).
3. ┴e-sĭnde gens (Om.).
4. Part of the Wacabe gens (Ponka).
5. Part of Necta gens (P.).
Buffalo tongue not eaten by--
1. Waȼigije sub-gens of Iñke-sabĕ (Om.).
2. Hañgaqti or Wacabe sub-gens of Hañga (Om.).
3. Part of Nika[p]aɔna gens (P.).
4. Part of Wacabe gens (P.).
5. Part of Necta gens (P.).
Buffalo (black) horns not touched by part of Iñke-sabĕ gens (Om.).
Buffalo sides (when consecrated), not eaten by ┴a waqube ȼatajĭ
sub-gens of Hañga gens (Om.).
Buffalo rib (lowest one, ʇeȼiʇ-ucagȼe), not eaten by ┴e-sĭnde gens
(Om.).
Buffalo and domestic calf not eaten when the hair is red, but can be
eaten when the hair turns black, by ┴e-sĭnde gens (Om.).
Buffalo calf can not be touched, when its hair is “zi” (yellow or red), by
a sub-gens of the Necta gens (P.).
Buffalo calf can not be eaten at any time by--
1. Iñgȼe-jide gens (Om.).
2. Part of Wacabe gens (P.).
3. Part of Necta gens (P.).
Deer not eaten by-- 1. Part of Hisada gens (P.). 2. Part of
Nika[p]aɔna gens (P.).
Male deer not eaten by Elk gens (Om.); but Deer gens can eat venison.
Skin of any animal of the deer family can not be touched by ┴ada gens
(Om.).
Flesh of male elk not eaten by Elk gens (Om.).
Bladder and sinew of male elk not touched by Elk gens (Om.).
Elk not eaten by part of Nika[p]aɔna gens (P.).
Turtles not eaten by Turtle sub-gens (Om.).
Black bear skin not touched by--
1. Black bear sub-gens (Om.).
2. Black bear sub-gens (P.).
Wild-cat skin, not touched by pipe sub-gens of Deer gens (Om.).
Cranes and swans not eaten by part of Hañga gens (Om.).
Swans not touched (formerly?) by Miⁿxasaⁿ wet‘ajĭ sub-gens of
Maⁿ-ȼiñka-gaxe gens (Om.).
Small birds not eaten by Wajiñga-ȼatajĭ (Blackbird or Small bird)
sub-gens of the Ȼatada gens (Om.). They can eat wild turkeys, ducks,
geese, swans, cranes. When members of this sub-gens are sick they can
eat grouse.
(Small birds) blackbirds, (_black_ ones), swallows, and grouse not
eaten by part of Hisada gens (P.).
Reptiles neither touched nor eaten by--
1. Ictasanda gens (Om.).
2. Wajaje gens (P.).
Blood not touched by part of the Ȼixida gens (P.), hence their name,
Wami it‘ajĭ.
Red corn not eaten by a sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ gens (Om.).
Charcoal not touched by--
1. A sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ gens (Om.).
2. The Pipe sub-gens of the Deer gens (Om.).
3. A sub-gens of the Ȼixida gens (P.).
4. The Pipe sub-gens of the Wajaje gens (P.).
Verdigris not touched by--
1. [K]aⁿze gens (Om.).
2. Pipe sub-gens of Deer gens (Om.).
3. Part of the Ȼixida gens (P.).
4. Pipe sub-gens of the Wajaje gens (P.).
FETICHISM.
§ 58. According to Dr. Tylor, “Fetichism is the doctrine of spirits
embodied in, or attached to, or conveying influence through, certain
material objects.”[68]
Fetiches may be regarded as of two kinds--those pertaining to the
tribe or gens, and those belonging to individual members of the social
organization. Some fetiches are amulets, others are charms.
FETICHES OF THE TRIBE AND GENS.
§ 59. _Omaha tribal fetiches._--The sacred pole and white buffalo hide,
in the keeping of the Hañga gens until a few years ago, but now in the
Peabody Museum of Archæology and Ethnology at Cambridge, Mass., were
regarded by the Omaha as “wakanda egaⁿ,” i.e., “like Wakandas,” or
“partaking of the nature of deities.” During the public thanksgiving
after the buffalo hunt, prayer was made towards the sacred pole.[69]
The sacred tent in which the sacred pole of the two tribes was kept was
never painted. When the people remained in their permanent villages of
earth lodges, the entrance of the sacred tent faced the sunrise; but
when the tribe migrated, the entrance of the tent faced the direction
in which they traveled. The pole was never exposed to dew, rain, or
snow, but was kept within the lodge, during any kind of bad weather.
It was never laid down, but was tied to a tent pole. In good weather
it was exposed to view. Sometimes it was tied to one of the tent poles
near the entrance, as shown in Fig. 187. When not tied thus, it rested
on a forked post set in the ground, either in the rear of the tent or
in front of it. The top of the pole, to which the scalp was fastened,
projected beyond the forked post. When this post was in the rear of the
tent, the top of the pole pointed towards the tent; but when the post
was set up in front, the pole pointed in the direction to be traveled.
The place for the pole in good weather was determined by its keeper.
[Illustration: FIG. 187.--Sacred tent in which the pole was kept.]
The people feared the pole, and they would not dare to tread on the
tent or its tent-poles. Should a horse tread on a tent-pole of this
tent, its legs were sure to be broken subsequently. George Miller knew
of two horses that did this, and their legs were broken when the people
were surrounding a herd of buffalo.
Frank La Flèche has told the author about some sacred stone arrows
which were used for purposes of divination. Hence, the nikie name, Maⁿ
pĕjĭ, Bad Arrow, i.e. _Good_ Arrow, a personal name of the Hañga gens.
Other objects, which may have been fetiches, have been named in § 56.
In addition to all which have been mentioned must be named the waȼixabe
or mysterious bags. While these are not governmental instrumentalities,
they are “waqube” mysterious things, and on certain occasions they
are addressed as “grandfathers.” There used to be five of these bags
among the Omaha, but only three are now in existence. Those which could
be carried in time of war were made of the skins and feathers of the
gȼedaⁿ or pigeon hawk, the iⁿbe-jañka or fork-tailed hawk, and the
nickucku or swallow.[70]
┴ade uȼeȼĕ, according to Big Elk (but denied by Joseph La Flèche and
Two Crows) is the mystic rite performed by the principal captain when
near the camp of the enemy. It is thus described by Big Elk (See § 62):
“Four times he untied the bag which he had made sacred. He caused
the wind to waft the odor of the medicine toward the lodges. When
the medicine arrived there, it made the Pawnees forget their
warlike temper; it made them forget their weapons.”[71]
That there was some foundation for this statement, compare what is said
in Omaha Sociology, p. 321:
“When the principal captains wish to open their sacred bags, they
assemble their followers in a circle, making them sit down. Any of
the followers or servants may be ordered to make an “ujeʇi” in the
center of the circle by pulling up the grass, then making a hole
in the ground (the “U-ma-ne” of Miss Fletcher[72]). Then the
sacred bags are laid at the feet of the principal captains, each
one of whom opens his own bag (i.e. the one borrowed by him from
its keeper), holding the mouth of the bird toward the foe, even
when some of the warriors are going to steal horses.”
During the ordeal of the “wastegistu,” as the Omaha call it, the
successful warriors were called up, one by one, and as each man stood
over one of the sacred bags, he addressed the bag itself thus:
“Hau´, iⁿc‘a´ge-ha, eda´daⁿ uwi´bȼa tá miñke ȼaⁿ´ja,
Ho! old man ! what I will tell you though
iȼáusi´ctaⁿ-ma´jĭ uwi´bȼa ta´ miñke,” i.e., “Ho, venerable man!
I tell a I not I will tell you
lie
though I will tell you something, I will not lie when I tell it to
you.” As he spoke he let a small stick drop on the bag. It was supposed
that if the stick rested on the bag instead of rolling off, the man had
told the truth (Om. Soc., p. 328).
§ 60. _Osage tribal fetiches._--The corresponding Osage custom has
been described by the author:[73] The old men assembled at the war
tent. The sacred bags were brought into the tent to test the warriors,
who were watched very closely by the old men. All the old men who had
been distinguished in war were painted with the decorations of their
respective gentes. * * * Each warrior had four sticks about 6 inches
long, and he was required to lay them in succession on the sacred bag.
The warriors were taken in the following order: First, the captain,
next the lieutenants, then the heralds, after whom came the man who
had struck the first blow, then he who gave the second blow, and so
on. As each captain laid his first stick on the bag he said, “Ho, O
grandfather! I lay this down on you because I am the one who has
killed a man.” On laying down the second stick, he said, “Ho, O
grandfather! I wish to be fortunate in stealing horses! I wish our
children, too, to be as fortunate as we have been!” When he put
down the third, he said, “Ho, O grandfather! I wish to raise a
domestic animal. I wish to succeed in bringing it to maturity.” By
this he meant _a son_. The prayer made when the last stick was laid
down was as follows: “Ho, O grandfather! May we continue a people
without sustaining any injuries!” Similar petitions were made by the
lieutenants and heralds. He who gave the first blow said, as he laid
down the first stick, “Ho, O grandfather! I lay this down on you as
one who has caused another to stun a foe!” The rest of his petitions
were those made by the captains. He who struck the second blow said as
follows, on laying down the first stick: “Ho, O grandfather! I place
this on you because I was the next one to strike and stun a man!” The
other petitions follow, as given above. The first petition of each of
the remaining warriors is as follows: “Ho, O grandfather! I lay this on
you as a token that I have aided in overcoming the enemy.”
§ 61. _Kansa tribal fetiches._--Among the Kansa, the following
fetiches belong to the two Hañga gentes: The war pipe and the war clam
shell. The war pipe was kept in 1882 by Pahaⁿle-wak’ü, the son of
Aliⁿkawahu, for the two Hañga gentes. This pipe has an eye on each
side, so that it may see the enemy! There is no pipestem, but there is
one hole to which the mouth is applied, and in the bowl is another hole
in which the tobacco is placed. The pipe, which is all in one piece,
is of catlinite, about as thick as two hands. It is never taken from
the wrappings, except when all the men of the two Hañga gentes assemble
at the lodge of the chief Aliⁿkawahu. The sacred clam shell was kept
in 1882 by Pahaⁿle-gaqli, the chief of the other Hañga gens. It is
wrapped in five coverings, similar to those around the war pipe. They
are as follows: (1) The innermost covering, the bladder of a buffalo
bull; (2) next covering, made of the spotted fur of a fawn; (3) made
of braided rushes or “sa;” (4) a very broad piece of deerskin; (5) the
outermost covering, made of braided hair from the head of a buffalo
bull.
PERSONAL FETICHES.
§ 62. Ԁaȼiⁿ-naⁿpajĭ said that there were some Omaha who considered
as “waqube” the skins of animals and the skins and feathers of birds
used in making their “waȼixabe” or mystery bags. Among these birds
and animals he named the eagle, sparrow hawk, yellow-backed hawk,
green-necked duck, great owl, swallow, otter, flying squirrel, mink,
miʞa skă (“white raccoon” sic), and mazaⁿhe. The last is an animal
resembling an otter. It is covered with thick black and reddish-yellow
hair, and its tail is bushy. Samuel Fremont said (in 1889) that this
animal was not found in that part of Nebraska where the Omaha dwelt,
but that he had heard of its being found among the Dakota. Two Crows
and Joseph La Flèche never heard of the miʞa skă and mazaⁿhe among
their own people; but they said that when the Omaha traveled, some used
to take with them their respective “makaⁿ” or medicines, evidently
their personal fetiches, for they used to say, “Our medicines are wise;
they can talk like men, and they tell us how many horses we are to
receive from the people to whom we are going.”
When the Omaha went against the Pawnee during the boyhood of the
present Big Elk, one of the captains, named Gi‘aⁿhabi, had a war club
of the kind called “weaqȼade.” He made this club “waqube,” in order to
use it mysteriously. When near the camp of the enemy he brandished the
club four times toward the Pawnees. This was followed by the use of the
sacred bag, as related in § 59.
It is probable that the medicines of the Watci Waȼupi, Wase-jide
aȼiⁿ-ma, and the Ԁaȼiⁿ-wasabĕ watcigaxe ikagekiȼĕ, of the Omaha,[74]
the Red Medicine of the Kansa, and the Red Medicine of the Osage Makaⁿ
ɔüʇ[s]e watsiⁿ or Red Medicine Dance, were used as fetiches, as they
conferred wonderful powers on those who used them. When the author was
at the Omaha Agency, in 1878, he obtained the following: Rocky Mountain
beans, which are scarlet, and are called “Makaⁿ jide” or Red Medicine,
confer good luck on their owners. If the beans like their owners, they
will never be lost; even if dropped accidentally, they will return to
the possession of their owners. Ni-k’ú-mi, an aged Oto woman, told one
of her granddaughters (then Susette La Flèche, known as Bright Eyes
after 1879, and now the wife of T. H. Tibbles) of her own experience
with one of these beans. She had dropped it in the grass, but she found
it on retracing her steps. It is impossible to say whether this scarlet
bean was identical with the Red Medicine of the Iowa (§ 87), Kansa, and
Osage; but it certainly differed from that of the Wase-jide aȼiⁿma of
the Omaha.
There are sacred or mystery rites practiced by the dancing societies,
including those to which the wazeȼĕ or doctors belong. Two Crows said
that he did not know those of his society, the ┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma. As
initiation into one of these societies is very expensive, it is
unreasonable to suppose that Two Crows would communicate the secrets of
his order for a small sum, such as $1 a day.
SORCERY.
§ 63. There have been sorcerers, i.e., such as prepared love potions
for those who bought them, and who were thought to cause the death of
those persons who had incurred their displeasure. The author has been
told that the sorcerers give a high price for a small quantity of the
catamenial discharge of a virgin. It is mixed with a love potion, and
when the compound is administered to a man he can not help courting the
woman, even when he knows that he does not love her.
JUGGLERY.
§ 64. Ickade or sleight of hand exists not only in the secret societies
but also along with the practice of medicine, government, and religion.
Some of the Omaha and Ponka doctors of the first class (the wazeȼĕ,
not the makaⁿ aȼiⁿ-ma or root doctors) pretend to draw sticks from the
bodies of their patients, or worms from aching teeth, saying that those
things are the causes of the diseases. Every disease is a “nie” or
“pain,” and there must be a cause for that pain.
§ 65. In 1872 Big Grizzly Bear, a subordinate Ponka chief, told the
following to the author: “One day Whip, a head chief, said, ‘I am
going to make the sun blue.’ And he did so. Then he said, ‘I am going
to pull out some of the hair of the man in the moon.’ He held up his
hands to show that they had no hair in them. Then he began to sing.
Suddenly he had some bloody hair in each hand. Ga-ʇi-de maⁿ-ȼiⁿ and a
great many others were witnesses. Once, when the Ponka were destitute
of food, Buffalo Bull, the father of Grizzly Bear’s Ear, said, ‘I will
use magic.’ His wife replied, ‘Please do so.’ So he made a pile of earth
about 2 feet high and shot four arrows into it. A large deer was slain,
furnishing them with plenty to eat.”
In 1871 the author saw an exhibition of the skill of Cramped Hand and
Bent Horn, two Ponka shamans. One afternoon, near sunset, about two
hundred persons, mostly Indians, stood in a large circle around a tent
in which sat the shamans and their assistants. Presently the shamans
and the aged chief, Antoine Primeau, came out of the tent and stood
within the circle. One of the shamans, Cramped Hand, danced along the
inner side of the circle, exhibiting a revolver (Allen’s patent), one
chamber of which he seemed to load as the people looked on. After he
had put on the cap, he handed the weapon to the chief, who fired at
the shaman. Cramped Hand fell immediately, as if badly wounded. Bent
Horn rushed to his relief and began to manipulate him. It was not long
before Cramped Hand was able to crawl around on his hands and knees,
though the bullet had apparently hit him in the mouth. He groaned and
coughed incessantly, and after a tin basin was put down before him he
coughed up a bullet which fell in the basin, and was shown in triumph
to the crowd. This is told merely to show how the Indian juggler has
adopted some of the tricks of his white brother. In a few moments Bent
Horn danced around, showing to each of us an object which appeared to
be a stone as large as a man’s fist, and too large to be forced into
the mouth of the average man. Cramped Hand stood about 10 or 15 feet
away and threw this stone toward Bent Horn, hitting the latter in the
mouth and disappearing. Bent Horn fell and appeared in great pain,
groaning and foaming at the mouth. When the basin was put down before
him, there fell into it, not one large stone, but at least four small
ones. We were told that the chief, Antoine, had to give a horse for the
privilege of shooting at the shaman.
It is probable that some of the Omaha shamans performed similar tricks,
though the author has been unable to obtain any accounts of them.
§ 66. He was fortunate, however, in making the acquaintance of the
chief “wakandagi,” or shaman of the Kansa, when at Kaw Agency, in the
winter of 1882. This man, Nixüdje-yiñge, was very communicative. He
said that there used to be ten shamans in the tribe, and all had round
pebbles which they blew from their mouths against the persons whom they
“ʞilŭⁿxe” or “shot in a mysterious manner.” The arrow of the
shamans was called “Mi-pa-ha,” which is a name of the Buffalo gens.
This missile was made of part of the red-breasted turtle.
A woman named Saⁿ-si-le had two “makaⁿ” (medicines, fetiches?)
which she used for “ickade” or “wakandagi wagaxe” (magic, shamanistic
legerdemain). She could swallow a knife; and when she swallowed a
certain kind of grass she drew a green snake from her mouth. John
Kickapoo’s father had a red medicine, which was used for women who
desired to become enciente, for horses, and for causing good dreams.
Nixüdje-yiñge’s mother, who was a shaman, has a small pebble and a clam
shell, which she used in her mystery acts.
Pagani had a “sika-hyuka” or “needle” (so represented by Nixüdje-yiñge,
but it may not have been a steel needle), which he swallowed and
voided through the urethra. Gahige-wadayiñga used to stab himself with
a “mahiⁿsü” or arrow-point, about 6 inches long, causing the blood
to spurt from his left shoulder as he danced. The other shamans used
to spurt water on his back from their mouths, while he held his arms
horizontally from his body, with the forearms pointing upward. When
they finished no wound could be found. One shaman had a fish called “hu
blaska” or flat fish, to which he talked. He made a necklace of the
skin, and he used it for “ʞilŭⁿxe.”
Wakanda-zi had the skin of a small black bear as his sacred bag. As he
danced he held it by the tail and shook the skin. After shooting the
round pebble from his mouth at a person he thrust the bear skin at the
wounded man, drawing it back very quickly. The round pebble was drawn
into the mouth of the bear and dropped on the ground when the skin bag
was held with the tail up.
He who wished to be shot at handed a gun to some one, who shot him in
the side, much blood escaping. He seemed to be dead; but the shamans
assembled and manipulated him. One put the mouth of the otter (of the
otterskin sacred bag) to the mouth of the patient in order to perform
the act called “lüpayiⁿ” (to raise up or resuscitate his own). Then,
“Zü´be aká eyaú tuhnañ´ge aká,” i.e., when the bag was drawn away
rapidly, the otter made the sound “zübe,” as when one draws in the
breath, and the bullet was in its mouth. On the patient’s recovery he
gave a horse to the man who shot at him.
Mañge-zi had a clam shell and a snake that he used in his
sleight-of-hand acts. He also swallowed “mahiⁿ-tu,” a kind of green
grass about a foot long and as thick as a pencil. Before swallowing
this, he warmed it at a fire. He rubbed himself on his chest after
swallowing it, saying, “Let all look at me!” Then he called to him a
man to act as his assistant. He coughed and in the assistant’s hand
there was a snake, which he took around the circle of spectators,
showing it to every one, though no one handled it. On his returning
the snake to Mañge-zi, the latter swallowed it and coughed up the long
grass.
Nixüdje-yiñge said that there were eight objects used by the shamans
for “shooting,” the needle; flint (?) arrow head; beaver teeth; the
half of a knife blade, i.e., that part next to the point; the fish-fan,
made of “huqtci” or “real fish;” the red medicine; the hiyádadáxe or
medicine bag that was caused to fly; and the tuhnañge, or otter skin
bag. (See §§ 292-295, 307.)
OMAHA AND PONKA BELIEF AS TO A FUTURE LIFE.
§ 67. They have a very crude belief. Each person is taught to have a
wanaxe or spirit, which does not perish at death. According to Joseph
La Flèche and Two Crows, the old men used to say to the people, “Ȼiudaⁿ
ʞĭ, wanaxe udaⁿ-maʇa ci tate. Ȼipiäjĭ ʞĭ, wanaxe piäjĭ-maʇa ci tate,”
i.e., “If you are good, you will go to the good ghosts. If you are bad,
you will go to the bad ghosts.” Nothing was ever said of going to dwell
with Wakanda, or with demons.[75]
Rev. William Hamilton found a belief that retribution is in this life,
and he says, “Their notions are exceedingly crude.”
§ 68. Frank La Flèche told the author before 1882 that he had heard
some old men relate a tradition that years ago a man came back to
life and told about the spirit land. He said that for four nights
after death the ghost had to travel a very dark road, but that after
he reached the Milky Way there was plenty of light. For this reason,
said he, the people ought to aid their deceased friends by lighting
fires at the graves, and by keeping them burning for four nights in
each case. After going along the Milky Way, the ghost came at last to
a place where the road forked; and there sat an aged man, clothed in a
buffalo robe with the hair outside. (See § 359½.) He said nothing,
but pointed to each inquirer the road for which he asked. One road was
a very short one, and he who followed it soon came to the place where
the good ghosts dwelt. The other road was an endless one, along which
the ghosts went crying. The spirits of suicides could not travel either
road; but they hovered over their graves. But Joseph La Flèche and Two
Crows (in 1882) said that the road of the ghosts was not the Milky Way,
and they regarded the account of the endless road as a modern addition,
which is very probable. The latest statements of Frank La Flèche are
given in the Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. II, No. 4, pp. 10, 11:
There are a variety of beliefs concerning the immediate action
of the spirit upon its withdrawal from the body. Some think that
the soul at once starts upon its journey to the spirit land;
others, that it hovers about the grave as if reluctant to depart.
Because of this latter belief, food and water are placed at the
head of the grave for several days after the burial. The spirit
is supposed to partake of this food. No Indian would touch any
article of food thus exposed; if he did, the ghost would snatch
away the food and paralyze the mouth of the thief, and twist his
face out of shape for the rest of his life; or else he would be
pursued by the ghost, and food would lose its taste, and hunger
ever after haunt the offender. There is a belief in the tribe that
before the spirits finally depart from men who died of wounds or
their results, they float toward a cliff overhanging the Missouri,
not far from the present Santee Agency, in Nebraska, and cut upon
the rocks a picture showing forth their manner of death. A line
in the picture indicates the spot where the disease or wound was
located which caused the death. After this record is complete,
the spirit flies off to the land of the hereafter. It is said
that these pictures are easily recognized by the relatives and
friends of the deceased. This place is known as Iñ-gȼaⁿ´-xe
ʞi-ʞá-xai ȼaⁿ,[76] or, Where the spirits make pictures of
themselves. A suicide ceases to exist; for him there is no
hereafter. A man struck by lightning is buried where he fell, and
in the position in which he died. His grave is filled with earth,
and no mound is raised over one who is thus taken from life.
In 1873 some of the Ponka said they had the following beliefs
concerning a murderer: (1) The ghosts surround him and keep up a
constant whistling; (2) he can never satisfy his hunger, though he eat
much food; (3) he must not be allowed to roam at large lest high winds
arise.
It is important to compare this whole section with the Dakota beliefs
found in §§ 266-278.
The author was told by the Omaha that when a man was killed by
lightning, he ought to be buried face downwards, and the soles of his
feet had to be slit. When this was done, the spirit went at once to
the spirit land, without giving further trouble to the living. In one
case (that of a Wejiⁿcte man, Jadegi, according to George Miller
and Frank Le Flèche)[77] this was not done, so it was said that the
ghost _walked_, and he did not rest in peace till another person (his
brother) was slain by lightning and laid beside him.
When Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows heard what Frank had told about
the Milky Way, etc., they remarked, “We have never been to the spirit
land, so we can not tell what is done there. No one has ever come back
and told us.” All that they had ever heard was the old story about the
forked road.
§ 69. Gahige, the late chief of the Iñke-sabĕ (a buffalo gens), told
the author about the address made to a member of his gens, when dying.
According to him, the person was addressed thus: “You are going to the
animals (the buffalos). You are going to your ancestors. Ánita dúbaha
hné (which may be rendered, You are going to the four living ones, if
not, the four winds). Wackañ´-gă (Be strong).” Gahige was understood to
speak of four spirits or souls to each person, but Joseph La Flèche and
Two Crows said that the Omaha did not believe that a person had more
than one spirit. Two Crows gave the following as the address to a dying
member of his gens, the Hañga, another buffalo gens: “Waníʇa etáʇaⁿ
Quadruped from
ȼatí. Gaⁿ ĕʇa ȼagȼé taté hă. Gaⁿ dúduȼagaqȼajĭ te hă.
you And thither you go shall . And you do not face will .
have this way (please)
come
Hné tĕʇa caⁿ´caⁿ maⁿȼiñ´-gă há,” i.e., “You came hither from the
you go to the always walk thou !
animals. And you are going back thither. Do not face this way again.
When you go, continue walking.” The last sentence is a petition to the
departing spirit not to return to this earth to worry or injure the
survivors. That the dead are referred to as still existing, and as
having some knowledge of what is happening here, may be seen from the
address to a Ponka chief at his installation: “Ȼiádi gáhi, ȼijiⁿ´ȼĕ
gáhi, ȼiʇígaⁿ gáhi, ámustáqti ȼidaⁿ´be maⁿ´ȼiⁿ tai;” i.e., “Your father
was a chief, your elder brother (i.e., his potential elder brother,
Ubiskă, a former head chief of the Ponka) was a chief, and your
grandfather was a chief; may they continue to look directly down on
you!”[78]
§ 70. Those who boil sacred food, as for the warpath, pour some of the
soup outside the lodge, as an offering to the ghosts. (Omaha custom.)
There has been no belief in the resurrection of the body, but simply
one in the continued existence of the ghost or spirit. While some of
the Iowas expressed to Mr. Hamilton a belief in the transmigration of
spirits, that doctrine has not been found among the Omaha and Ponka,
nor has the author heard of it among other Siouan tribes.
Not all ghosts are visible to the living. They may be heard without
being seen. One Omaha woman, the mother of Two Crows, told how she had
been in a lodge with many persons, who were invisible from the knees
upward.[79]
KANSA BELIEFS RESPECTING DEATH AND A FUTURE LIFE.
§ 71. When the author was at Kaw Agency, Indian Territory, in
the winter of 1882-’83, a man named Ho-sa-sa-ge died. After the
representatives of all the gentes had assembled at the house, Wakanda
(named after the Thunder-being), the father-in-law of the deceased,
removed the lock of hair called the “ghost,” and took it to his own
house, weeping as he departed.
When Mr. Say was among the Kansa[80] he obtained the following
information about their beliefs concerning death and the future life:
When a man is killed in battle the thunder is supposed to take him
up, they do not know whither. In going to battle each warrior
traces an imaginary figure of the thunder on the soil; he who
represents it incorrectly is killed by the thunder. A person saw
this thunder one day on the ground, with a beautiful moccasin on
each side of it. Having need of a pair, he took them and went his
way; but on his return to the same spot the thunder took him off,
and he has not since been heard of.
They seem to have vague notions about the future state. They think
that a brave man or a good hunter will walk in a good path; but
a bad man and a coward will find a bad path. Thinking that the
deceased has far to travel, they bury with his body moccasins,
some articles of food, etc., to support him on the journey. Many
persons, they believe, who have revived have been, during their
apparent death, to strange villages, where they were not treated
well by the people, so they returned to life.
The author, when among the Kansa, in the winter of 1882-’83, learned
the following, which differs from anything he has ever obtained
elsewhere: “The Kansa believe that when there is a death the ghost
returns to the spirit village nearest the present habitat of the
living. That is to say, all Indians do not go to one spirit village or
‘happy hunting ground,’ but to different ones, as there is a series of
spirit villages for the Kansa, beginning with the one at Council Grove,
where the tribe dwelt before they removed to their present reservation
in Indian Territory, and extending along both sides of the Kansas
River to its mouth, thence up the Missouri River, as far as the tribe
wandered before meeting the Cheyennes (near the State line), thence
down the river to the mouth of Osage River, and so on, down to the
mouths of the Missouri and Ohio rivers,” etc.
FOOTNOTES:
[Footnote 7: See James, Account Exped. to Rocky Mountains, vol. I, p.
126.]
[Footnote 8: See Jour. Amer. Folk-lore, vol. I, No. 1, p. 73.]
[Footnote 9: See §§ 132-136, and Tuŋkaŋśila, in Riggs’s
Dakota-English Dictionary, Contr. N.A. Ethnology, vol. VII.]
[Footnote 10: See Contr. N.A. Ethn., vol. VI, pp. 372, 373, 376, and
Omaha Sociology, in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethnology, pp. 324, 325.]
[Footnote 11: Contr. N.A. Ethn., Vol. VI, p. 394, lines 10-19; p. 395,
lines 14-16.]
[Footnote 12: Wakanda aka uiʞaⁿi egaⁿ.]
[Footnote 13: Wakanda aka ibahaⁿi.]
[Footnote 14: Wakanda aka igiȼigȼaⁿi.]
[Footnote 15: Lewis and Clarke, Expedition, ed. Allen, Dublin, vol. I,
1817, pp. 457, 458; also M’Vickar’s abridgment of the same, Harpers, N.
Y. vol. I, 1842, p. 303.]
[Footnote 16: James’s Account of Long’s Exped., Phila., vol, I, 1823,
p. 208.]
[Footnote 17: Ha, witsiʞue. 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 385, line
50; p. 389, line 50; p. 391, line 4, etc.]
[Footnote 18: Am. Naturalist, Feb. 1884, p. 126; _Ibid._, July, 1885,
p. 670.]
[Footnote 19: Ibid., Feb. 1884, pp. 115, 116, 117, 120, 123, 125.]
[Footnote 20: A similar rule about fasting obtained among the Kansa
when mourning for the dead. See Amer. Naturalist, July, 1885, pp. 670,
672, 679.]
[Footnote 21: See 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 385, 389.]
[Footnote 22: James’ Account Long’s Exped., Phil., vol. I, 1823, p.
129.]
[Footnote 23: Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 281, note.]
[Footnote 24: See “Osage Traditions,” pp. 384-395, in 6th Ann. Rept.
Bur. Ethn.]
[Footnote 25: For an account of the offering of meat to the four winds,
see Om. Soc., 3d Ann. Rept., Bur. Ethn., p. 284.]
[Footnote 26: See Miss A. C. Fletcher on the “Wawan or Pipe Dance of
the Omahas,” Rept. Peabody Museum. Vol. III, p. 311, note 11, and the
author’s paper, Om. Soc., pp. 278, 279.]
[Footnote 27: Pahaⁿle-gaqli and Waqube-k’iⁿ gave this information
in the winter of 1882-’83. Compare the self-inflicted tortures of the
Dakota and Ponka in the sun dance (§§ 29, 181-3, 185, 187).]
[Footnote 28: Account of the war customs of the Osages: in Amer.
Naturalist, Vol. XVIII, No. 2, February, 1884, p. 133.]
[Footnote 29: See Omaha Sociology, § 24, 3d. Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p.
227.]
[Footnote 30: Omaha Sociology, in 3d. Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 316.]
[Footnote 31: This song and the invocation of the Thunder-being are
used by the Ponka as well as by the Kansa. According to Miss Fletcher,
the “sign of giving thanks” among the Hunkpapa Dakota is made by moving
the hands in the opposite direction, i. e., “from the shoulder to the
wrist.” See “The White Buffalo Festival of the Uncpapas,” in Peabody
Museum Rept., vol. III, p. 268.]
[Footnote 32: Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, pp. 108-131.]
[Footnote 33: Compare the hair of the Thunder-men, in Contr. N. A.
Ethn., vol. VI, pp. 187, 188.]
[Footnote 34: Contr. N. A. Ethn, vol. VI, p. 390. See also § 19.]
[Footnote 35: Ibid., p. 207.]
[Footnote 36: Ibid., pp. 40, 134, etc.]
[Footnote 37: Am. Naturalist, July, 1885, vol. 19, Pl. XX, p. 676.]
[Footnote 38: Geikie’s paraphrase, in “Hours with the Bible,” vol. V,
p. 357.]
[Footnote 39: Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, pp. 370, 371.]
[Footnote 40: Om. Sociology, in 3d. Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 317.]
[Footnote 41: Ibid, p. 319.]
[Footnote 42: “Kansas Mourning and War Customs,” in Am. Naturalist,
July 1886, p. 672.]
[Footnote 43: Miss Fletcher, in Am. Assoc. Adv. Sci., Proc., vol.
XXXIII, pt. 2, 1885, pp. 616, 617. Francis La Flèche, ibid., p. 614.]
[Footnote 44: Osage Traditions, in 6th Ann. Rept. of the Director Bur.
Ethn., 1888, p. 377.]
[Footnote 45: Am. Anthropologist, vol. II., No. 1, 1888, p. 59.
(“January, 1889.”)]
[Footnote 46: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Survey, Hayden; Miscel. Publ., No.
7, 1877; Matthews’ Ethnography and Philology of the Hidatsa, 1877, p.
48.]
[Footnote 47: Om. Soc., p. 234. Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, 468, line
3.]
[Footnote 48: Om. Soc., p. 297. Contr. N. A. Ethn., vol. VI, 471, lines
3-5.]
[Footnote 49: Osage Traditions, in 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 377,
379, 390.]
[Footnote 50: See Jour. Am. Folk-lore, vol. I, No. 3, p. 209; and Om.
Sociology, in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., pp. 347-8.]
[Footnote 51: Om. Sociology, p. 348.]
[Footnote 52: Ibid, pp. 348, 349.]
[Footnote 53: Ibid, p. 349.]
[Footnote 54: “Death and Funeral Customs among the Omahas,” in Jour.
Amer. Folk-lore, vol. II, No. 4, p. 3.]
[Footnote 55: Om. Soc., p. 353.]
[Footnote 56: This Kwapa information was obtained in January, 1891,
some time after the preparation of the greater part of this paper. In
such a combination as dȼ the ȼ is scarcely heard.]
[Footnote 57: See Om. Soc., in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn. §§ 123, 163,
and several myths in Contr. to N. A. Ethnology, vol. VI.]
[Footnote 58: See Osage Traditions, in 6th Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p.
379.]
[Footnote 59: U. S. Geol. and Geogr. Surv., Hayden, Miscell. Publ., No.
7, 1877; Ethnography and Philology of Hidatsa Indians, p. 12.]
[Footnote 60: Om. Soc., in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 238.]
[Footnote 61: Ibid., p. 240.]
[Footnote 62: Ibid., p. 241.]
[Footnote 63: Ibid., pp. 245, 246.]
[Footnote 64: Ibid., pp. 290, 291.]
[Footnote 65: Ibid., p. 295.]
[Footnote 66: For detailed accounts, see “Glimpses of Child-life among
the Omaha Indians,” by Miss A. C. Fletcher, in Jour. Am. Folk-lore,
vol. I, No. 2, pp. 115-118; and Omaha Sociology, in 3d Ann. Rept. Bur.
Ethn., pp. 249, 250.]
[Footnote 67: See pp. 221-251 and Chap. XI of Omaha Sociology, in 3d
Ann. Rept. Bur. Ethn.]
[Footnote 68: Prim. Culture, vol. II. p. 132.]
[Footnote 69: See Om. Soc., in 3d. An. Rept. Bur. Ethn., p. 295.]
[Footnote 70: See Om. Soc., p. 320.]
[Footnote 71: Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol. VI, p. 404.]
[Footnote 72: Rept. Peabody Museum, Vol. III, p. 263, note 8.]
[Footnote 73: In the Am. Naturalist, Feb., 1884, pp. 128, 129.]
[Footnote 74: See Om. Soc., pp. 349-351.]
[Footnote 75: Compare the Oregon story: No Indians go after death to
the upper world to dwell with Qawaneca. Am. Anthropologist, Jan., 1889,
p. 60.]
[Footnote 76: This name is given in the notation of the Bureau of
Ethnology, not as published by Mr. La Flèche.]
[Footnote 77: See Jour. Am. Folklore, Vol. II, No. 6, p. 190.]
[Footnote 78: Om. Soc., p. 360.]
[Footnote 79: See “Death and Funeral Customs of the Omahas,” by Francis
La Flesche, in Jour. Am. Folk-lore, Vol. II, No. 4, pp. 4, 5.]
[Footnote 80: See James’s Account Exped. to Rocky Mountains, Vol. I.,
p. 125.]