CHAPTER V.

DAKOTA AND ASSINIBOIN CULTS.

ALLEGED DAKOTA BELIEF IN A GREAT SPIRIT.

§ 92. That the Dakota tribes, before the advent of the white race,

believed in one Great Spirit, has been asserted by several writers;

but it can not be proved. On the contrary, even those writers who are

quoted in this study as stating the Dakota belief in a Great Spirit,

also tell us of beliefs in many spirits of evil. Among the earlier

writers of this class is Say, who observes:

Their Wahconda seems to be a protean god; he is supposed to appear

to different persons under different forms. All who are favored

with his presence become medicine men and magicians in consequence

of their having seen and conversed with Wahconda, and of having

received from him some particular medicine of wondrous efficacy.

The same writer records that “Wahconda” appeared sometimes as a grizzly

bear, sometimes as a bison, at others as a beaver, or an owl, or some

other bird or animal.[84] It is plain that Say mistook the generic

term, “Wahconda,” for a specific one. (See §§ 6, 21-24.)

Shea says:

Although polytheism did not exist, although they all recognized

one Supreme Being, the creator of all, * * * they nowhere

adored the God whom they knew. * * * The demons with which

they peopled nature, these alone, in their fear they sought to

appease. * * * Pure unmixed devil-worship prevailed

throughout the length and breadth of the land.[85]

§ 93. Lynd made some very pertinent remarks:

A stranger coming among the Dakotas for the first time, and

observing the endless variety of objects upon which they bestow

their devotion, and the manifold forms which that worship assumes,

at once pronounces them pantheists. A further acquaintance with

them convinces him that they are pantheists of no ordinary

kind--that their pantheism is negative as well as positive, and

that the engraftments of religion are even more numerous than

the true branches. Upon a superficial glance he sees naught

but an inextricable maze of gods, demons, spirits, beliefs and

counter-beliefs, earnest devotion and reckless skepticism,

prayers, sacrifices, and sneers, winding and intermingling with

one another, until a labyrinth of pantheism and skepticism

results, and the Dakota, with all his infinity of deities appears

a creature of irreligion. One speaks of the medicine dance with

respect, while another smiles at the name--one makes a religion

of the raw fish feast, while another stands by and laughs at his

performance--and others, listening to the supposed revelations of

the circle dance, with reverent attention, are sneered at by a

class who deny in toto the wakan nature of that ceremony.[86]

In common with all nations of the earth the Dakotas believe in a

Wakantanka or Great Spirit. But this Being is not alone in the

universe. Numbers of minor deities are scattered throughout space,

some of whom are placed high in the scale of power. Their ideas of

the Great Spirit appear to be that He is the creator of the world

and has existed from all time; but after creating the world and

all that is in it He sank into silence and since then has failed

to take any interest in the affairs of this planet. They never

pray to Him, for they deem Him too far away to hear them, or as

not being concerned in their affairs. No sacrifices are made to

Him, nor dances in His honor. Of all the spirits He is the Great

Spirit; but His power is only latent or negative. They swear by

Him at all times, but more commonly by other divinities.[87]

Yet Lynd is not always consistent, for he says on another page (71) of

the same work: “No one deity is held by them all as a superior object

of worship.”

§ 94. Pond writes:

Evidence is also wanting to show that the Dakotas embraced in

their religious tenents the idea of one supreme existence, whose

existence is expressed by the term Great Spirit. If some clans

at the present time entertain this idea it seems highly probable

that it has been imparted to them by individuals of European

extraction. No reference to such a being is found in their feasts,

fasts, or sacrifices. Or if there is such a reference at the

present time it is clear that it is of recent origin and does not

belong to their system. It is indeed true that the Dakotas do

sometimes appeal to the Great Spirit when in council with white

men, but it is because they themselves have embraced the Christian

doctrines. Still, it is generally the interpreter who makes

the appeal to the Great Spirit, when the Indian speaker really

appealed to the Taku Wakan, and not to the Wakantanka. It is true

that * * * all the Dakota gods * * * are mortal. They are

not thought of as being eternal, except it may be by

succession.[88]

The author agrees with Pond in what he says about the average Indian

interpreter of early days, who seldom gave a correct rendering of what

was spoken in council. But at the present time great improvement has

doubtless been observed.

It should be remembered that Messrs. Riggs and Pond were missionaries

to the Dakotas, while Messrs. Say, Shea, and Lynd must be classed among

the laity. Yet the missionaries, not the laymen, are the ones who make

the positive statements about the absence of a belief in one Great

Spirit.

RIGGS ON THE TAKU WAKAN.

§ 95. Riggs remarks:

The religious faith of the Dakota is not in his gods as such. It

is an intangible, mysterious something of which they are only the

embodiment, and that in such a measure and degree as may accord

with the individual fancy of the worshiper. Each one will worship

some of these divinities and neglect and despise others; but the

great object of all their worship, whatever its chosen medium, is

the TA-KOO WAH-KON, which is the supernatural and mysterious. No

one term can express the full meaning of the Dakota’s Wakan. It

comprehends all mystery, secret power, and divinity. * * *

All life is Wakan. So also is everything which exhibits power,

whether in action, as the winds and drifting clouds, or in

passive endurance, as the bowlder by the wayside.[89]

MEANING OF “WAKAN.”

In the mind of a Dakota * * * this word Wah-kon (we write,

wa-kan) covers the whole field of their fear and worship. Many

things also that are neither feared nor worshiped, but are simply

wonderful, come under this designation. It is related of Hennepin

that when he and his two companions were taken captive by a Sioux

war party, as they ascended the upper Mississippi one of the men

took up his gun and shot a deer on the bank. The Indians said,

“Wah-kon chi?”--Is not this mysterious? And from that day

* * * the gun has been called Mah-za wah-kon, mysterious

iron. This is shortened into Mah-za-kon. The same thing we may

believe is true when, probably less than two centuries ago, they

first saw a horse. They said “Shoon-ka wah-kon,” wonderful dog.

And from that day the horse has been called by the Sioux

wonderful dog, except when it has been called big dog, Shoon-ka

tonka. These historical facts have satisfied us that the idea of

the Great Spirit ascribed to the Indians of North America does

not belong to the original theogony of the Sioux, but has come

from without, like that (sic) of the horse and gun, and probably

dates back only to their first hearing of the white man’s

God.[90]

_Taku Wakan._--This is a general term, including all that is wonderful,

incomprehensible, supernatural--what is wakan; but especially covering

the objects of their worship. Until used in reference to our God, it is

believed that the phrase was not applied to any individual object of

worship, but was equivalent to “the gods.”[91] As tuwe, _who_, refers

to persons, and taku, _what_, to things, the correctness of Riggs’s

conclusion can hardly be questioned, provided we add that the Dakota

term, Taku Wakan, could not have conveyed to the Dakota mind the idea

of a _personal_ God, using the term _person_ as it is commonly employed

by civilized peoples.

DAIMONISM.

§ 96. Lynd says:

The divinities of evil among the Dakotas may be called legion.

Their special delight is to make man miserable or to destroy him.

Demons wander through the earth, causing sickness and death.

Spirits of evil are ever ready to pounce upon and destroy the

unwary. Spirits of earth, air, fire, and water (see § 36) surround

him upon every side, and with but one great governing object in

view--the misery and destruction of the human race.[92]

ANIMISM.

§ 97. Their religious system gives to everything a soul or spirit. Even

the commonest sticks and clays have a spiritual essence attached to

them which must needs be reverenced; for these spirits, too, vent their

wrath upon mankind. Indeed, there is no object, however trivial, but

has its spirit.[93]

In his article on the Mythology of the Dakotas,[94] Riggs says of the

Dakota:

They pray to the sun, earth, moon, lakes, rivers, trees, plants,

snakes, and all kinds of animals and vegetables--many of them say,

to everything, for they pray to their guns and arrows--to any

object, artificial as well as natural, for they suppose that every

object, artificial as well as natural, has a spirit which may hurt

or help, and so is a proper object of worship.

Lynd says:

The essentially physical cast of the Indian mind (if I may be

allowed the expression) requires some outward and tangible

representation of things spiritual before he can comprehend

them. The god must be present, by image or in person, ere he

can offer up his devotions. * * * Similar to this “belief in a

spiritual essence” is the general Dakota belief that each class of

animals or objects of a like kind possesses a peculiar guardian

divinity, which is the mother archetype. * * * Sexuality is a

prominent feature in the religion of the Dakotas. Of every species

of divinity, with the exception of the Wakantanka, there is a

plurality, part male and part female. Even the spirits, which

are supposed to dwell in the earth, twigs, and other inanimate

substances, are invested with distinctions of sex.[95]

§ 98. Pond asserts that “evidence is wanting to show that these people

divide their Taku-wakan into classes of good and evil. They are all

simply wakan.”[96]

PRINCIPAL DAKOTA GODS.

The gods of the Dakotas are of course innumerable; but of the superior

gods these are the chief: The Unkteḣi, or god of the water; the

Wakinyan, or thunder god; the Takuśkanśkan, or moving god; the Tunkan,

Inyan, or stone god; the Heyoka god; the Sun; the Moon; the Armor god;

the Spirit of the Medicine Sack; and the Wakantanka, who is probably an

intrusive deity.[97]

MISS FLETCHER ON INDIAN RELIGION.

§ 99. The following remarks are those of a later writer, Miss Fletcher:

The Indian’s religion is generally spoken of as a nature and

animal worship. The term seems too broadcast and indiscriminate.

Careful inquiry and observation fail to show that the Indian

actually worships the objects which are set up or mentioned by

him in his ceremonies. The earth, four winds, the sun, moon,

and stars, the stones, the water, the various animals, are all

exponents of a mysterious life and power encompassing the Indian

and filling him with vague apprehension and desire to propitiate

and induce friendly relations. The latter is attempted not so much

through the ideas of sacrifice as through more or less ceremonial

appeals. More faith is put in ritual and a careful observance of

forms than in any act of self-denial in its moral sense, as we

understand it. The claim of relationship is used to strengthen

the appeal, since the tie of kindred among the Indians is one

which can not be ignored or disregarded, the terms grandfather and

grandmother being most general and implying dependence, respect,

and the recognition of authority. (See §§ 9, 100.)

One of the simplest and most picturesque explanations of the use

of the varied forms of life in the Indian worship was given to me

by a thoughtful Indian chief. He said: “Everything as it moves,

now and then, here and there, makes stops. The bird as it flies

stops in one place to make its nest, and in another to rest in its

flight. A man when he goes forth stops when he wills. So the god

has stopped. The sun, which is so bright and beautiful, is one

place where he has stopped. The moon, the stars, the winds, he has

been with. The trees, the animals, are all where he has stopped,

and the Indian thinks of these places and sends his prayers there

to reach the place where the god has stopped and win help and a

blessing.”

The vague feeling after unity is here discernible, but it is like

the cry of a child rather than the articulate speech of a man. To

the Indian mind the life of the universe has not been analyzed,

classified, and a great synthesis formed of the parts. To him

the varied forms are equally important and noble. A devout old

Indian said: “The tree is like a human being, for it has life and

grows; so we pray to it and put our offerings on it that the god

may help us.” In the same spirit the apology is offered over a

slaughtered animal, for the life of the one is taken to supplement

the life of the other, “that it may cause us to live,” one formula

expresses it. These manifestations of life, stopping places of the

god, can not therefore be accurately called objects of worship

or symbols; they appear to be more like media of communication

with the permeating occult force which is vaguely and fearfully

apprehended. As a consequence, the Indian stands abreast of

nature. He does not face it, and hence can not master or coerce

it, or view it scientifically and apart from his own mental and

emotional life. He appeals to it, but does not worship it.[98]

PRAYER.

§ 100. Every power is prayed to by some of the Dakota and Assiniboin.

Among the accessories of prayer the Dakota reckons the following:

(_a_) Ceremonial wailing or crying (ćéya, to weep, wail; whence,

ćékiya, to cry, to pray, and woćékiye, prayer), sometimes accompanied

by articulate speech (§§ 177, 208); (_b_) the action called yuwiⁿtapi

(yuwiŋ´tapi) described in § 24; (_c_) holding the pipe with the

mouthpiece toward the power invoked, as the Heyoka devotees sometimes

do (§§ 223, 224); (_d_) the use of smoke from the pipe or the odor

of burning cedar needles (§§ 159, 168); (_e_) the application of the

kinship terms, “grandfather” (or its alternative, “venerable man”) to a

male power, and “grandmother” to a female one (§§ 99, 107, 239); (_f_)

sacrifice, or offering of goods, animals, or pieces of one’s own flesh,

etc. (see § 185).

SACRIFICE.

§ 101. The radical forms of worship among the Dakota, according to

Lynd, are few and simple. One of the most primitive is that of Wocnapi

(Wośnapi) or Sacrifice. To every divinity that they worship they

make sacrifices. Even upon the most trivial occasions the gods are

either thanked or supplicated by sacrifice. The religious idea it

carries with it is at the foundation of the every-day life of the

Dakota. The wohduze or taboo has its origin there; the wiwaŋyag

waćipi or sundance (§§ 141-211) carries with it the same idea;

the wakaŋ wohaŋpi or sacred feast (feast of the first-fruits)

is a practical embodiment of it; and haŋmdepi or god-seeking of

the extreme western tribes is but a form of self-sacrifice. No Dakota

in his worship neglects this ceremony. It enters into his religious

thoughts at all times, even at the hour of death. The sacrifices

made upon recovery from sickness are never composed of anything very

valuable, for the poverty of the Indian will not permit this. Usually

a small strip of muslin, or a piece of red cloth, a few skins of

some animals, or other things of no great use or value are employed.

Sometimes a pan or kettle is laid up for a sacrifice. But after a short

time, the end for which the sacrifice was made is attained, and it is

removed. Those in need of such things as they see offered in sacrifice

may take them for their own use, being careful to substitute some other

articles. Perhaps the most common forms of sacrifice are those which

are made in the hunt. Particular portions of each animal killed are

held sacred to the god of the chase or some other deities. If a deer

is killed, the head, heart, or some other part of it is sacrificed by

the person who has slain it. The part sacrificed differs with different

individuals. In ducks and fowls the most common sacrifice is of the

wing, though many sacrifice the heart, and a few the head. This custom

is called wohduze, and is always constant with individuals, i. e., the

same part is always sacrificed. The other wohduze or taboo is connected

with the wotawe or armor,[99] and will be described hereafter (§ 125).

§ 102. _Haŋmdepi or god-seeking._--Haŋmdepi or god-seeking

is a form of religion among the Dakotas that points back to a remote

antiquity. The meaning of the word, in its common acceptation, appears

to be greatly misunderstood by some. Literally, it means only to dream,

and is but another form of haŋma; but in its use it is applied

almost wholly to the custom of seeking for a dream or revelation,

practiced by the Sisitonwan, Ihanktonwanna, and Titonwan (Sioux), and

by the Crow, Minnetaree, Assiniboin, and other western Dakota. In this

respect it has no reference whatever to the common dreams of sleep, but

means simply the form of religion practiced.

If a Dakota wishes to be particularly successful in any (to him)

important undertaking, he first purifies himself by the Inipi or steam

bath, and by fasting for a term of three days. During the whole of

this time he avoids women and society, is secluded in his habits, and

endeavors in every way to be pure enough to receive a revelation from

the deity whom he invokes. When the period of fasting is passed he is

ready for the sacrifice, which is made in various ways. Some, passing

a knife through the breast and arms, attach thongs thereto, which

are fastened at the other end to the top of a tall pole raised for

that purpose; and thus they hang, suspended only by these thongs, for

two, three, or even four days, gazing upon vacancy, their minds being

intently fixed upon the object in which they desire to be assisted by the

deity, and waiting for a vision from above. Once a day an assistant is

sent to look upon the person thus sacrificing himself. If the deities

have vouchsafed him a vision or revelation, he signifies the same by

motions, and is released at once; if he be silent, his silence is

understood, and he is left alone to his reverie.

Others attach a buffalo hair rope to the head of a buffalo just as it

is severed from the animal, and to the other end affix a hook, which

is then passed through the large muscles in the small of the back,

and thus fastened they drag the head all over the camp, their minds

meanwhile being fixed intently, as in the first instance, upon the

object in which they are beseeching the deity to assist them.

A third class pass knives through the flesh in various parts of the

body, and wait in silence, though with fixed mind, for a dream or

revelation. A few, either not blessed with the powers of endurance or

else lacking the courage of the class first named, will plant a pole

upon the steep bank of a stream, and attaching ropes to the muscles of

the arm and breast, as in the first instance, will stand, but not hang,

gazing into space, without food or drink, for days.

Still another class practice the haŋmdepi without such horrid

self-sacrifice. For weeks, nay, for months, they will fix their minds

intently upon any desired object, to the exclusion of all others,

frequently crying about the camp, occasionally taking a little food,

but fasting for the most part, and earnestly seeking a revelation from

their god.[100]

§ 103. Similar testimony has been given respecting the Mandan, Hidatsa,

and Arikara, though this last tribe belongs to the Caddoan stock. Smet

wrote thus about them:

They cut off their fingers and make deep incisions in the fleshy

parts of the body before starting for war, in order to obtain the

favors of their false gods. On my last visit to these Ricaries,

Minataries, and Mandans I could not discern a single man at all

advanced in years whose body had not been mutilated, or who

possessed his full number of fingers.[101]

In treating of the religious opinion of the Assiniboin, Smet says:

Some burn tobacco, and present to the Great Spirit the most

exquisite pieces of buffalo meat by casting them into the fire;

while others make deep incisions in the fleshy parts of their

bodies, and even cut off the first joints of their fingers to

offer them in sacrifice.[102]

Lynd says:

§ 104. Frequently the devout Dakota will make images of bark or

stone, and, after painting them in various ways and putting sacred

down upon them, will fall down in worship before them, praying

that all danger may be averted from him and his. It must not be

understood, however, that the Dakota is an idolater. It is not the

image that he worships, * * * but the spiritual essence which

is represented by that image, and which is supposed to be ever

near it.[103]

This plausible distinction has been made by persons of different

nations at various periods in the world’s history, but it seems to be

of doubtful value.

USE OF PAINT IN WORSHIP.

§ 105. In the worship of their deities paint forms an important

feature. Scarlet or red is the religious color for sacrifices, while

blue is used by the women in many of the ceremonies in which they

participate (§§ 374, 375). This, however, is not a constant distinction

of sex, for the women frequently use red or scarlet. The use of paints

the Dakotas aver was taught them by the gods.[104]

For accounts of the Sun-dance and a sacrifice to the Dawn, see §§ 141,

211, 215.

THE UNKTEḢI, OR SUBAQUATIC AND SUBTERRANEAN POWERS.

§ 106. The gods of this name, for there are many, are the most powerful

of all. In their external form they are said to resemble the ox, only

they are of immense proportions. They can extend their horns and

tails so as to reach the skies. These are the organs of their power.

According to one account the Unkteḣi inhabit all deep waters, and

especially all great waterfalls. Two hundred and eleven years ago, when

Hennepin and Du Luth saw the Falls of St. Anthony together, there were

some buffalo robes hanging there as sacrifices to the Unkteḣi of the

place.[105]

§ 107. Another account written by the same author informs us that the

male Unkteḣi dwell in the water, and the spirits of the females animate

the earth. Hence, when the Dakota seems to be offering sacrifices to

the water or the earth, it is to this family of gods that the worship

is rendered. They address the males as “grandfathers,” and the females

as “grandmothers.” It is believed that one of these gods dwells under

the Falls of St. Anthony, in a den of great dimensions, which is

constructed of iron.[106]

§ 108. “The word Unkteḣi defies analysis, only the latter part giving

us the idea of _difficult_ [sic], and so nothing can be gathered from

the name itself of the functions of these gods. But Indian legend

generally describes the genesis of the earth as from the water. Some

animal, as the beaver [compare the Iowa and Oto Beaver gentes, Paça

and Paqça.--J. O. D.] living in the waters, brought up, from a great

depth, mud to build dry land.”[107] According to the Dakota cosmogony,

this was done by the Unkteḣi, called in the Teton dialect Ŭñktcexila

or Uŋkćeġila. (Compare the Winnebago, Waktceqi ikikaratcada or

water-monster gens, and the Wakandagi of the Omaha and Ponka, see §§ 7,

77).

§ 109. The Iowa and Oto tribes have among their nikie names,

Niwaⁿcike, Water Person, and Niwaⁿcikemi, Water Person Female. If

these do not refer to the beaver, they may have some connection with

the water monsters or deities. An Omaha told the author a Yankton

legend about these gods of the waters. The wife of the special Unkteḣi

coveted an Indian child and drew it beneath the surface of the river.

The father of the child had to offer a white dog to the deity in order

to recover his son; but the latter died on emerging from the water, as

he had eaten some of the food of the Unkteḣi during his stay with the

deity. After awhile the parents lost a daughter in like manner, but as

she did not eat any of the food of the Unkteḣi, she was recovered after

an offering of four white dogs.[108]

Smet tells of offerings made by the Assiniboin to “the water” and “the

land,” but it is probable that they were made to the Unkteḣi.[109]

§ 110. The Dakota pray to lakes and rivers, according to Riggs,[110]

but he does not say whether the visible objects were worshiped or

whether the worship was intended for the Unkteḣi supposed to dwell in

those lakes and rivers.

POWER OF THE UNKTEḢI.

§ 111. These gods have power to send from their bodies a wakan

influence which is irresistible even by the superior gods. This

influence is termed “tonwan.” This power is common to all the Taku

Wakan. And it is claimed that this tonwan is infused into each mystery

sack which is used in the mystery dance. A little to the left of the

road leading from Fort Snelling to Minnehaha, in sight of the fort, is

a hill which is used at present as a burial place. This hill is known

to the Dakota as “Taku Wakan tipi,” the dwelling place of the gods. It

is believed that one of the Unkteḣi dwells there.

§ 112. The Unkteḣi are thought to feed on the spirits of human beings,

and references to this occur in the mystic songs. The mystery feast and

the mystery dance have been received from these gods. The sacrifices

required by them are the soft down of the swan reddened with vermilion,

deer skins, dog, mystery feast and mystery dances.

In Miss Fletcher’s article on “The Shadow or Ghost Lodge: A ceremony

of the Ogallala Sioux,” we read that 2 yards of red cloth are “carried

out beyond the camp, to an elevation if possible, and buried in a hole

about 3 feet deep. This is an offering to the earth, and the chanted

prayer asks that the life, or power in earth, will help the father” of

the dead child “in keeping successfully all the requirements of the

ghost lodge.”[111] (See § 146.)

SUBORDINATES OF THE UNKTEḢI.

The subordinates of the Unkteḣi are serpents, lizards, frogs, ghosts,

owls, and eagles. The Unkteḣi made the earth and men, and gave the

Dakota the mystery sack, and also prescribed the manner in which some

of those pigments must be applied which are rubbed over the bodies of

their votaries in the mystery dance, and on the warrior as he goes into

action.

THE MYSTERY DANCE.

§ 113. Immediately after the production of the earth and men, the

Unkteḣi gave the Indians the mystery sack and instituted the Wakan

waćipi or mystery dance. They ordained that the sack should consist of

the skin of the otter, raccoon, weasel, squirrel, loon, one variety

of fish, and of serpents. It was also ordained that the sack should

contain four species of medicines of wakan qualities, which should

represent fowls, medicinal herbs, medicinal trees, and quadrupeds.

The down of the female swan represents the first, and may be seen at

the time of the dance inserted in the nose of the sack. Grass roots

represent the second, bark from the roots of the trees the third, and

hair from the back or head of a buffalo the fourth. These are carefully

preserved in the sack. From this combination proceeds a wakan influence

so powerful that no human being, unassisted, can resist it.

Those who violated their obligations as members of the Mystery dance,

were sure of punishment. If they went into forests, the black owl was

there, as a servant of the Unkteḣi; if they descended into the earth,

they encountered the serpent; if they ascended into the air, the eagle

would pursue and overtake them; and if they ventured into the water,

there were the Unkteḣi themselves.[112] An account of the mystery or

medicine dance is given by Pond, op. cit., pp. 37-41.

“Those Dakotas,” said Lynd, “who belong to the medicine dance esteem

the Unkteḣi as the greatest divinity. Among the eastern Dakotas the

medicine dance appears to have taken the place of these more barbarous

ceremonies (i. e., the self-tortures of the hanmdepi, piercing of the

flesh, etc.)--among the Winnebagoes entirely.”

The Omaha do not have the sun dance, but the wacicka aȼiⁿ, answering to

the Dakota mystery dance, is said to be of ancient use among them.

“Indeed, the medicine dance, though an intrusive religious form, may be

considered as an elevating and enlightening religion in comparison with

the hanmdepi.”[113]

THE MINIWATU.

§ 114. The Teton Dakota tell of the Miniwatu, Wamnitu,[114] and Mini

waśiću, all of which are probably names for the same class of

monsters, the last meaning “Water God or Guardian Spirit.” These powers

are said to be horned water monsters with four legs each. “They make

waves by pushing the water toward the lowlands; therefore, the

Indians prefer to encamp on or near the bluffs. They fear to swim the

Missouri River on account of the water monsters, who can draw people

into their mouths.” Can these be the Unkteḣi, whom the Teton call

Uŋkćeġila?

§ 115. “Long ago,” according to Bushotter, “the people saw a strange

thing in the Missouri River. At night there was some red object,

shining like fire, making the water roar as it passed upstream. Should

any one see the monster by daylight he became crazy soon after,

writhing as with pain, and dying. One man who said that he saw the

monster described it thus: ‘It has red hair all over, and one eye. A

horn is in the middle of its forehead, and its body resembles that of

a buffalo.’[115] Its backbone is like a cross-cut saw, being flat and

notched like a saw or cog wheel. When one sees it he gets bewildered,

and his eyes close at once. He is crazy for a day, and then he dies.

The Teton think that this matter is still in the river, and they call

it the Miniwatu or water monster. They think that it causes the ice on

the river to break up in the spring of the year.”[116]

The Teton say that the bones of the Uŋkćeġila are now found in the

bluffs of Nebraska and Dakota.

THE WAKIᴺYAᴺ (WAKIŊYAŊ), OR THUNDER-BEINGS.

§ 116. The name signifies the flying ones, from kinyan, to fly. The

thunder is the sound of their voices. The lightning is the missile or

tonwan of the winged monsters, who live and fly through the heavens

shielded from mortal vision by thick clouds. By some of the wakan

men it is said that there are four varieties of the form of their

external manifestation. In essence, however they are but one. One of

the varieties is black, with a long beak, and has four joints in his

wing. Another is yellow, without any beak at all; with wings like

the first, except that he has six quills in each wing. The third is

scarlet, and remarkable chiefly for having eight joints in each of its

enormous pinions. The fourth is blue and globular in form, and it is

destitute of both eyes and ears. Immediately over the places where the

eyes should be there is a semicircular line of lightning resembling an

inverted half moon from beneath which project downward two chains of

lightning diverging from each other in zigzag lines as they descend.

Two plumes like soft down, coming out near the roots of the descending

chains of lightning, serve for wings.[117]

These thunderers, of course, are of terrific proportions. They created

the wild rice and a variety of prairie grass, the seed of which bears

some resemblance to that of the rice. At the western extremity of the

earth, which is supposed to be a circular plain surrounded by water,

is a high mountain, on the summit of which is a beautiful mound. On

this mound is the dwelling of the Wakinyan gods. The dwelling opens

toward each of the four quarters of the earth, and at each doorway is

stationed a sentinel. A butterfly stands at the east entrance, a bear

at the west, a reindeer [sic, probably intended for a deer.--J. O. D.]

at the north, and a beaver at the south [the beaver seems out of place

here as a servant of the Wakinyan gods, for, judging from analogy, he

ought to be the servant of the Unkteḣi (see § 108)--J. O. D.].

Except the head, each of these wakan sentinels is enveloped in scarlet

down of the most extraordinary beauty.[118]

§ 117. The Teton texts of Bushotter state the belief that “some of

these ancient people still dwell in the clouds. They have large curved

beaks resembling bison humps, their voices are loud, they do not open

their eyes except when they make lightning, hence the archaic Teton

name for the lightning, Wakinyan tunwanpi, “The thunder-beings open

their eyes.” They are armed with arrows and “maza wakan” or “mysterious

irons” (not “guns”), the latter being of different kinds. Kaŋġitame,

stones resembling coal, are found in the Bad Lands, and they are said

to be the missiles of the Thunderers. When these gods so desire they

kill various mysterious beings and objects, as well as human beings

that are mysterious. Their ancient foes were the giant rattlesnakes and

the prehistoric water monsters (Uŋkćeġila: see §§ 108, 114, 115).

§ 118. Long ago the Teton encamped by a deep lake whose shore was

inclosed by very high cliffs. They noticed that at night, even when

there was no breeze, the water in the middle of the lake was constantly

roaring. When one gazed in that direction, he saw a huge eye as

bright as the sun, which caused him to vomit something resembling

black earth moistened with water, and death soon followed. That very

night the Thunderers came, and the crashing sounds were so terrible

that many people fainted. The next morning the shore was covered with

the bodies of all kinds of fish, some of which were larger than men,

and there were also some huge serpents. The water monster which the

Thunderers had fought resembled a rattlesnake, but he had short legs

and rusty-yellow fur.

§ 119. The Thunderers are represented as cruel and destructive in

disposition. They are ever on the war path. A mortal hatred exists

between them and the family of the Unkteḣi. Neither has power to resist

the tonwan of the other if it strikes him. Their attacks are never

open, and neither is safe except he eludes the vigilance of the other.

The Wakinyan, in turn, are often surprised and killed by the Unkteḣi.

Many stories are told of the combats of these gods. Mr. Pond once

listened to the relation, by an eyewitness (as he called himself), of

a story in substance as follows: A Wakinyan measuring 25 to 30 yards

between the tips of his wings was killed and fell on the bank of the

Blue Earth river (Minnesota).

From the Wakinyan the Dakota have received their war implements, the

spear and tomahawk, and many of the pigments, which, if properly

applied, will shield them from the weapons of their enemies.[119]

§ 120. When a person dreams of the Thunderers, it is a sign that he and

they must fight. The Wakinyan are not the only gods of war; there are

also the Takuckaⁿckaⁿ (Takuśkanśkan) and the Armor gods. (See

§§ 122-3, 127-9.)

Of the circle dance, Riggs says (in Amer. Antiq., II, 267): “They cut

an image of the great bird from bark and suspend it at the top of the

central pole, which is shot to pieces at the close of the dance.” (He

probably means that the image of the great bird, a Thunder bird, is

shot to pieces, not the pole.) Sacrifices are made to the Wakinyan and

songs are sung both to the Wakinyan and the Unkteḣi.

§ 121. There seems to be some connection between the Heyoka gods and

the Wakinyan; but it is not plain. The Heyoka god uses a small Wakinyan

god as his drumstick. (See § 218.) The Wakinyan songs are sung by

members of the Heyoka dancing order.

Smet was told that the Dakota--

Pretend that the thunder is an enormous bird, and that the muffled

sound of the distant thunder is caused by a countless number of

young (thunder) birds. The great bird, they say, gives the first

sound, and the young ones repeat it; this is the cause of the

reverberations. The Sioux declare that the young thunderers do all

the mischief, like giddy youth who will not listen to good advice;

but the old thunderer or big bird is wise and excellent; he never

kills or injures any one.[120]

Next to the Sun, according to Smet, Thunder is the great deity of the

Assiniboin. Every spring, at the first peal of thunder, they offer

sacrifices to the Wakinyan.[121]

The Assiniboin, according to Maximilian, ascribed the thunder to an

enormous bird.[122]

THE ARMOR GODS.

§ 122. As each young man comes to maturity a tutelar divinity,

sometimes called “Waśićuŋ” (see § 236), is assigned to him.

It is supposed to reside in the consecrated armor then given to him,

consisting of a spear, an arrow, and a small bundle of paint. It is the

spirit of some bird or animal, as the wolf, beaver, loon, or eagle. He

must not kill this animal, but hold it ever sacred, or at least until

he has proved his manhood by killing an enemy. Frequently the young man

forms an image of this sacred animal and carries it about with him,

regarding it as having a direct influence upon his everyday life and

ultimate destiny. Parkman says (in his “Jesuits in North America,” p.

LXXI, note) that the knowledge of this guardian spirit comes through

dreams at the initiatory fast. If this is ever true among the Dakota,

it is not the rule. This knowledge is communicated by the “war

prophet.”[123] (See §§ 120, 127, 129, 305, etc.)

Ashley tells us that among the Sisseton and Wahpeton Dakota the

warrior, as such, was forbidden by custom of law to eat the tongue,

head, or heart of many beasts. There were other animals of which the

heads might be eaten, but not the tongues. A warrior about to go on the

war path could not have intercourse with women, but must go through

the purification of the inipi or sweat bath, which lasts four days.

A married warrior could not touch his own weapons until he had thus

purified himself.[124]

§ 123. The Armor god and the Spirit of the mystery sack are sometimes

spoken of as if they were individual and separate divinities; but they

seem rather to be the god-power which is put into the armor and sack

by consecration. They should be regarded as the indwelling of the

Unkteḣi or of the Takuśkanśkan. A young man’s war weapons are wakan

and must not be touched by a woman. A man prays to his armor in the

day of battle. In the consecration of these weapons of war and the

hunt a young man comes under certain taboo restrictions. Certain parts

of an animal are sacred and must not be eaten until he has killed an

enemy.[125]

THE WAR PROPHET.

§ 124. The war prophet has been referred to. In this capacity the wakan

man is a necessity. Every male Dakota 16 years old and upward is a

soldier, and is formally and mysteriously enlisted into the service of

the war prophet. From him he receives the implements of war, carefully

constructed after models furnished from the armory of the gods, painted

after a divine prescription, and charged with a missive virtue--the

tonwan--of the divinities. From him he also receives those paints

which serve as an armature for the body. To obtain these necessary

articles the proud applicant is required for a time to abuse himself

and serve him, while he goes through a series of painful and exhausting

performances which are necessary on his part to enlist the favorable

notice of the gods. These performances consist chiefly of vapor baths,

fastings, chants, prayers, and nightly vigils. The spear and the

tomahawk being prepared and consecrated, the person who is to receive

them approaches the wakan man and presents a pipe to him. He asks a

favor, in substance as follows: “Pity thou me, poor and helpless,

a woman, and confer on me the ability to perform manly deeds.” The

prophet gives him the weapons and tells him not to forget his vows to

the gods when he returns in triumph, a man. The weapons are carefully

preserved by the warrior. They are wrapped in cloth, together with the

sacred pigments. In fair weather they are laid outside of the lodge

every day. They must never be touched by an adult female.[126]

§ 125. Lynd’s account is slightly different, though in substantial

accord with the preceding one:

When a youth arrives at the age proper for going on the warpath he

first purifies himself by fasting and the inipi or steam bath for

three days, and then goes, with tears in his eyes, to some wakan

man whose influence is undoubted, and prays that he will present

him with the wotawe or consecrated armor. This wakan man is

usually some old and experienced zuya wakan or sacred war leader.

After a time the armor is presented to the young man, but until

it is so presented he must fast and continue his purifications

incessantly. It is a singular fact that nothing but the spear of

this armor is ever used in battle, though it is always carried

when the owner accompanies a war party. At the same time that the

old man presents the armor he tells the youth to what animal it is

dedicated, and enjoins upon him to hold that animal wakan. He must

never harm or kill it, even though starvation threaten him. At all

times and under all circumstances the taboo or wohduze is upon it,

until by slaying numerous enemies it is gradually removed. By some

the animal is held sacred during life, the taboo being voluntarily

retained.[127] (See §§ 101, 127.)

THE SPIRITS OF THE MYSTERY SACKS.

§ 126. These are similar to the armor gods, in that they are divinities

who act as guardian spirits. Each of these powers is appropriated by

a single individual, protecting and aiding him, and receiving his

worship. These spirits are conferred at the time of initiation into the

order of the Mystery Dance, and of course are confined to the members

of that order.[128] Each spirit of the mystery sack is not a separate

god, but a wakan power derived from the Unkteḣi, according to a

later statement of Riggs.[129]

TAKUŚKAŊŚKAŊ, THE MOVING DEITY.

§ 127. This is a form of the wakan which jugglers, so-called mystery

men, and war prophets invoke. In their estimation he is the most

powerful of their gods; the one most to be feared and propitiated,

since, more than all others, he influences human weal and woe. He is

supposed to live in the four winds, and the four black spirits of night

do his bidding. The consecrated spear and tomahawk (see § 124) are

its weapons. The buzzard, raven, fox, wolf, and other animals are its

lieutenants, to produce disease and death.[130] (Compare this with some

of the pictographs on the war chart of the Kansa tribe: Fig. 4, Wind

songs; the connection between the winds and war is shown in § 33. Fig.

8, Deer songs. Fig. 9, an Elk song. Fig. 10, seven songs of the Wakanda

who makes night songs. Fig. 11, five songs of the Big Rock. This is a

rough red rock near Topeka, Kans. “This rock has a hard body, like that

of a wakanda. May you walk like it.” Fig. 12, Wolf songs. The wolf

howls at night. Fig. 13, Moon songs. Fig. 14, Crow songs. The crow

flies around a dead body which it wishes to devour. Fig. 18, Shade

songs. There is a Wakanda who makes shade. Fig. 20, song of the Small

Rock. Fig. 22, songs of the young Moon. Fig. 23, songs of the Buffalo

Bull. Fig. 27, Owl songs. The owl hoots at night.[131])

§ 128. Miss Fletcher has given us a very interesting account of “The

Religious Ceremony of the Four Winds or Quarters, as observed by the

Santee Sioux.” “Among the Santee (Sioux) Indians the Four Winds are

symbolized by the raven and a small black stone, less than a hen’s egg

in size.” “An intelligent Santee said to me: ‘The worship of the Four

Winds is the most difficult to explain for it is the most complicated.’

The Four Winds are sent by the ‘Something that Moves.’”[132] There is

a “Something that Moves” at each of the four directions or quarters.

The winds are, therefore, the messengers or exponents of the powers

which remain at the four quarters. These four quarters are spoken of as

upholding the earth,[133] and are connected with thunder and lightning

as well as the wind.[134] * * *

“My informant went on to tell me that the spirits of the four winds

were not one, but twelve, and they are spoken of as twelve.”[135] (See

§ 42.)

§ 129. In Tah-koo Wah-kon, pp. 64, 65, Riggs says:

This god is too subtle in essence to be perceived by the senses,

and is as subtle in disposition. He is present everywhere. He

exerts a controlling influence over instinct, intellect, and

passion. He can rob a man of the use of his rational faculties,

and inspire a beast with intelligence, so that the hunter will

wander idiot-like, while the game on which he hoped to feast his

family at night escapes with perfect ease. Or, if he please, the

god can reverse his influence. He is much gratified to see men

in trouble, and is particularly glad when they die in battle or

otherwise. Passionate and capricious in the highest degree, it

is very difficult to retain his favor. His symbol and supposed

residence is the bowlder (see Big Rock and Small Rock, § 127), as

it is also of another god, the Tunkan.

Pond assigns to him the armor feast and inipi or vapor bath (called

steam or sweat bath). He says:[136]

The armor feast is of ordinary occurrence when the provisions

are of sufficient abundance to support it, in which the warriors

assemble and exhibit the sacred implements of war, to which they

burn incense around the smoking sacrifice.

§ 130. In October, 1881, the late S. D. Hinman read a paper before the

Anthropological Society of Washington, entitled “The Stone God or

Oracle of the Pute-temni band of Hunkpati Dakotas.” He said that

this oracle had been seen by him while on an expedition with some

Dakotas across the James River valley in Dakota Territory. A Hunkpati

man of the party gave the history of the stone and an account of its

miraculous movement from the Sacred Hill to the old dirt lodge village.

This oracle was called the Takuśkaŋśkaŋ.

§ 131. But the Takuśkaŋśkaŋ assumed other shapes. Said

Bushotter, in one of his Teton texts:

The Lakotas regard certain small stones or pebbles as mysterious, and

it is said that in former days a man had one as his helper or servant.

There are two kinds of these mysterious stones (i.e., pebbles, not

rocks). One is white, resembling ice or glass (i.e., is probably

translucent; compare the translucent pebbles of the Iⁿ-ʞugȼi order of

the Omaha, see Om. Soc., p. 346); the other resembles ordinary stones.

It is said that one of them once entered a lodge and struck a man, and

people spoke of the stones sending in rattles through the smoke hole of

a lodge. When anything was missed in the village the people appealed

to the stones for aid, and the owner of one of the stones boiled food

for a mystery feast, to which the people came. Then they told the stone

of their loss and the stone helped them. It is said that the stones

brought back different messages. If anyone stole horses the stones

always revealed his name. Once the Omahas came to steal horses, but the

stones knew about them and disappointed their secret plans; so that

the Lakotas learned to prize the stones, and they decorated them with

paint, wrapped them up, and hung a bunch of medicine with each one.

It is very probable that the Assiniboin also worshipped the

Takuśkaŋśkaŋ; for they reverenced the four winds, as Smet tells us.[137]

TUNKAN OE INYAN, THE STONE GOD OR LINGAM.

§ 132. It has been said by Lynd[138] that the western tribes (probably

the Teton, Yanktonai, Yankton, etc.), neglect the Unkteḣi, and pay

their main devotion to Tunkan or Invan, answering to the Hindoo Lingam.

Tunkan, the Dakotas say, is the god that dwells in stones and

rocks, and is the oldest god. If asked why he is considered the

oldest, they will tell you because he is the hardest--an Indian’s

reason. The usual form of the stone employed in worship is round,

and it is about the size of the human head. The devout Dakota

paints this Tunkan red, putting colored swan’s down upon it, and

then he falls down and worships the god that is supposed to dwell

in it or hover near it.[139] The Tunkan is painted red (see § 136)

as a sign of active worship.[140] In cases of extremity I

have ever noticed that they appeal to their Tunkan or stone god,

first and last, and they do this even after the ceremonies of the

medicine dance have been gone through with. All Sioux agree in

saying that the Tunkan is the main recipient of their prayers; and

among the Tetons, Mandans, Yanktons, and Western Dakotas they pray

to that and the spirit of the buffalo almost entirely.[141]

§ 133. Riggs says:[142]

“The Inyan or Toon-kan is the symbol of the greatest force or

power in the dry land. And these came to be the most common

objects of worship. Large bowlders were selected and adorned with

red and green (sic) paint, whither the devout Dakota might go

to pray and offer his sacrifice. And smaller stones were often

found, set up on end and properly painted, around which lay

eagles’ feathers, tobacco, and red cloth. Once I saw a small dog

that had been recently sacrificed. In all their incantations and

dances, notably in the circle dance, the painted stone is the god

supplicated and worshipped with fear and trembling.”

§ 134. Long tells of a gigantic stone figure resembling a human

being, which he found on the bank of Kickapoo Creek. The Indians made

offerings to it of tobacco and other objects.[143]

IŊYAŊ ŚA.

§ 135. Rev. Horace C. Hovey says:[144]

“It was the custom of the Dakotas to worship bowlders when in

perplexity and distress. Clearing a spot from grass and brush

they would roll a bowlder on it, streak it with paint, deck it

with feathers and flowers, and then pray to it for needed help

or deliverance. Usually when such a stone had served its purpose

its sacredness was gone. But the peculiarity of the stone now

described is that from generation to generation it was a shrine to

which pilgrimages and offerings were made. Its Indian name, ‘Eyah

Shah,’ simply means the ‘Red Rock,’ and is the same term by which

they designate catlinite, or the red pipe clay. The rock itself

is not naturally red, being merely a hard specimen of granite,

symmetrical in shape, and about 5 feet long by 3 feet thick. The

Indians also called it ‘waukon’ (mystery) and speculated as to its

origin. * * * The particular clan that claimed this rude altar

was known as the Mendewakantons. Although being but 2 miles below

the village of the Kaposias, it was to some extent resorted to by

them likewise.[145] The hunting ground of the clan was up the St.

Croix, and invariably before starting they would lay an offering

on Eyah Shah. Twice a year the clan would meet more formally, when

they would paint the stone with vermilion, or, as some say, with

blood, then trim it with flowers and feathers, and dance around

it before sunrise with chants and prayers. Their last visit was

in 1862, prior to the massacre that occurred in August of that

year. Since that date, the stripes were renewed three years ago. I

counted the stripes and found them twelve in number, each about 2

inches wide, with intervening spaces from 2 to 6 inches wide. By

the compass, Eyah Shah lies exactly north and south. It is twelve

paces from the main bank of the Mississippi, at a point 6 miles

below St. Paul. The north end is adorned by a rude representation

of the sun with fifteen rays.”

§ 136. Bushotter writes thus:

“Sometimes a stone, painted red all over, is laid within the lodge

and hair is offered to it. In cases of sickness they pray to the

stone, offering to it tobacco or various kinds of good things, and

they think that the stone hears them when they sacrifice to it.

As the steam arose when they made a fire on a stone, the Dakotas

concluded that stones had life, the steam being their breath, and

that it was impossible to kill them.”

MATO TIPI.

§ 137. Eight miles from Fort Meade, S. Dakota, is Mato tipi, Grizzly

bear Lodge, known to the white people as Bear Butte. It can be seen

from a distance of a hundred miles. Of this landmark Bushotter writes

thus:

“The Teton used to camp at a flat-topped mountain, and pray to

it. This mountain had many large rocks on it, and a pine forest

at the summit. The children prayed to the rocks as if to their

guardian spirits, and then placed some of the smaller ones between

the branches of the pine trees. I was caused to put a stone up

a tree. Some trees had as many as seven stones apiece. No child

repeated the ceremony of putting a stone up in the tree; but on

subsequent visits to the Butte he or she wailed for the dead, of

whom the stones were tokens.” (See § 304.)

[Illustration: FIG. 188.--Bear Butte, South Dakota. (Copyright by

Grabill, 1890.)]

THE SUN AND MOON.

§ 138. The sun as well as the moon is called “wi” by the Dakota and

Assiniboin tribes. In order to distinguish between the two bodies, the

former is called aŋpetu wi, day moon, and the latter, haŋhepi wi or

haŋyetu wi, night moon. The corresponding term in Ȼegiha is miⁿ, which

is applied to both sun and moon, though the latter is sometimes called

niaⁿba. “The moon is worshiped rather as the representative of the sun,

than separately. Thus, in the sun dance, which is held in the full of

the moon, the dancers at night fix their eyes on her.”[146]

§ 139. According to Smet[147]--

The sun is worshiped by the greater number of the Indian tribes as

the author of light and heat. The Assiniboins consider it likewise

to be the favorite residence of the Master of Life. They evidence

a great respect and veneration for the sun, but rarely address it.

On great occasions, they offer it their prayers, but only in a

low tone. Whenever they light the calumet, they offer the sun the

first whiffs of its smoke.

This last must refer to what Smet describes on p. 136 as the great

“festival lasting several days,” during which the “high priest” offers

the calumet to "the Great Spirit, to the sun, to each of the four

cardinal points, to the water, and to the land, with words analogous to

the benefits which they obtain from each.

§ 140. Bushotter, in his Teton text, says:

They prayed to the sun, and they thought that with his yellow eye

he saw all things, and that when he desired he went under the

ground.

Riggs states in Tah-koo Wah-kon (p. 69):

Although as a divinity, the sun is not represented as a malignant

being, yet the worship given him is the most dreadful which the

Dakotas offer. Aside from the sun dance, there is another proof of

the divine character ascribed to the sun in the oath taken by some

of the Dakotas: “As the sun hears me, this is so.”

THE SUN DANCE.

§ 141. Pond[148] gave an account of the sun dance obtained from Riggs,

in which occurs the following: “The ceremonies of the sun dance

commence in the evening. I have been under the impression that the time

of the full moon was selected, but I am now (1867) informed that it is

not essential.” Neither Capt. Bourke (§§ 197-210) nor Bushotter speaks

of the time of the full moon. In Miss Fletcher’s account of the Oglala

sun dance of 1882,[149] she says: “The festival generally occurs in the

latter part of June or early in July and lasts about six days. The time

is fixed by the budding of the _Artemisia ludoviciana_.” (See §§ 138,

150.)

§ 142. Lynd writes:[150]

The wiwanyag wacipi, or worship of the sun as a divinity, is

evidently one of the most radical bases of Dakota religion. It

has a subordinate origin in the wihanmnapi, or dreaming, and

is intimately connected with the hanmdepi, or vision hunting.

This most ancient of all worships, though it is of very frequent

occurrence among the Dakotas, does not take place at stated

intervals, as among the old nations of the East, nor does the

whole tribe participate in the ceremonies. It is performed by one

person alone, such of his relatives and friends assisting in the

ceremonies as may deem fit or as he may designate. Preparatory

to this, as to all the other sacred ceremonies of the Dakotas,

are fasting and purification. The dance commences with the rising

of the sun and continues for three days, or until such time as

the dreaming worshiper shall receive a vision from the spirit or

divinity of the sun. He faces the sun constantly, turning as it

turns, and keeping up a constant blowing with a wooden whistle. A

rude drum is beaten at intervals, to which he keeps time with his

feet, raising one after the other, and bending his body towards

the sun. Short intervals of rest are given during the dance. The

mind of the worshiper is fixed intently upon some great desire

that he has, and is, as it were, isolated from the body. In this

state the dancer is said to receive revelations from the sun,

and to hold direct intercourse with that deity. If the worshiper

of this luminary, however, should fail to receive the desired

revelation before the close of the ceremonies, then self-sacrifice

is resorted to, and the ceremonies of the hanmdepi become a part

of the worship of the sun.

A DAKOTA’S ACCOUNT OF THE SUN DANCE.

§ 143. Several accounts of the sun dance have been published within the

past twenty years, but they have, without exception, been written by

white persons. The following differs in one respect from all which have

preceded it; it was written in the Teton dialect of the Dakota, by

George Bushotter, a Teton. As he did not furnish his description of

the dance in a single text, but in several, which were written on

different occasions, it devolved on the present writer to undertake

an arrangement of the material after translating it. The accompanying

illustrations were made by Mr. Bushotter.

§ 144. _Object of the sun dance._--The Dakota name for the sun dance is

“Wi waⁿ-yañg wa-tci-pi (Wi waŋyaŋg waćipi),” literally, “Sun looking-at

they-dance.” The following are assigned as the reasons for celebrating

this dance: During any winter when the people suffer from famine or an

epidemic, or when they wish to kill any enemy, or they desire horses

or an abundance of fruits and vegetables during the coming summer,

different Indians pray mentally to the sun, and each one says, “Well, I

will pray to Wakantanka early in the summer.” Throughout the winter all

those men who have made such vows take frequent baths in sweat lodges.

Each of these devotees or candidates invites persons to a feast, on

which occasion he joins his guests in drinking great quantities of

various kinds of herb teas. Then the host notifies the guests of his

vow, and from that time forward the people treat him with great respect.

§ 145. _Rules observed by households._--The members of the households

of the devotees always abstain from loud talking and from bad acts of

various kinds. The following rules must be observed in the lodge of

each devotee: A piece of the soil is cut off between the back of the

lodge and the fireplace, and when virgin earth is reached vermilion is

scattered over the exposed place. When the men smoke their pipes and

have burned out all of the tobacco in their pipe bowls, they must not

throw away the ashes as they would common refuse; they must be careful

to empty the ashes on the exposed earth at the back of the lodge. No

one ventures to step on that virgin earth, and not even a hand is ever

stretched toward it. Only the man who expects to participate in the

sun-dance can empty the ashes there, and after so doing he returns each

pipe to its owner.

§ 146. _The “U-ma-ne.”_--“The mellowed earth space, U-ma-ne in

Dakota, and called by some peculiar names in other tribes, has

never been absent from any religious exercise I have yet seen or

learned of from the Indians. It represents the unappropriated

life or power of the earth, hence man may obtain it. The square

or oblong, with the four lines standing out, is invariably

interpreted to mean the earth or land with the four winds standing

toward it. The cross, whether diagonal or upright, always

symbolizes the four winds or four quarters.”[151]

[Illustration: FIG. 189.--The “U-ma-ne” symbol.]

Miss Fletcher uses this term, “U-ma-ne,” to denote two things: the

mellowed earth space (probably answering to the u-jé-ʇi of the Omaha

and Ponka) and the symbol of the earth and the four winds made within

that mellowed earth space. A sketch of the latter symbol is shown

in Fig. 189. (See §§ 112, 155, etc.; also Contr. N. A. Ethn., Vol.

VI,--471-475.)

§ 147. _Rules observed by the devotee._--During the time of preparation

the devotee goes hunting, and if he kills a deer or buffalo he cuts

up the body in a “wakan” manner. He skins it, but leaves the horns

attached to the skull. He reddens the skin all over, and in the

rear of the lodge, in the open air, he prepares a bed of wild sage

(_Artemisia_), on which he lays the skull. He erects a post, on

which he hangs a tobacco pouch and a robe that is to be offered as a

sacrifice. When the devotee takes a meal everything which he touches

must be perfectly clean. He uses a new knife, which no one else dares

to handle. Whatever he eats must be prepared in the best possible

manner by the other members of the household. They make for him a new

pipe ornamented with porcupine work, a new tobacco pouch, and a stick

for pushing the tobacco down into the bowl, both ornamented in like

manner.

§ 148. The devotee must not go swimming, but he can enter the

sweat-lodge. There he rubs his body all over with wild sage; he cannot

use calico or cotton for that purpose. No unclean person of either

sex must go near him. The devotee is prohibited from fighting, even

should the camp be attacked. He must not act hastily, but at all times

must he proceed leisurely. He has his regular periods for crying and

praying.[152]

§ 149. All his female kindred make many pairs of moccasins and collect

money and an abundance of all kinds of goods, in order to give presents

to poor people at the time of the sun dance. Then they can make gifts

to whomsoever they please, and on that account they will win the

right to have a child’s ears pierced. The goods or horses, on account

of which the child’s ears are to be pierced, are reserved for that

occasion at some other place. The man whose office it will be to pierce

the children’s ears has to be notified in advance that his services

will be required. (See § 205.)

TRIBES INVITED TO THE SUN-DANCE.

§ 150. When the devotees have performed all the preliminary duties

required of them, messages are sent to all the neighboring tribes,

_i. e._, the Omaha, Pawnee Loup, Cheyenne, Ree, Hidatsa, Blackfeet,

Nez Percé, Winnebago, Yankton, and Santee. The latter part of June is

fixed upon as the time for the dance. (See §§ 138, 141.) The visitors

from the different nations begin to come together in the spring, each

visiting tribe forming its separate camp. Though some of the visitors

are hereditary enemies, it matters not during the sun-dance; they

visit one another; they shake hands and form alliances. In this manner

several weeks are spent very pleasantly.

DISCIPLINE MAINTAINED.

§ 151. Policemen are appointed, and a crier proclaims to each lodge

that at a specified place there is a broad and pleasant prairie where

all are expected to pitch their tents. The overseers or masters

of ceremonies have guns, and their orders are obeyed; for if one

disobeys his horses and dogs are killed by the policemen. This

punishment is called akićita wićaktepi, or, in common parlance,

“soldier-killing.”

All who join the camp must erect the upright (or conical) tents, as no

low rush or mat tents, such as are found among the Osage and Winnebago,

are allowed in the camp circle.

CAMPING CIRCLE FORMED.

§ 152. At length orders are given for all the people to pitch

their tents in the form of a tribal circle, with an opening to the

north.[153] (See Pl. XLV.) It takes several days to accomplish this,

and then all the men and youths are required to take spades and go

carefully over the whole area within the circle and fill up all the

holes and uneven places which might cause the horses to stumble and

fall.

MEN SELECTED TO SEEK THE MYSTERY TREE.

§ 153. Though Bushotter has written that this work requires several

days, it is probable, judging from what follows in his manuscript, that

only two days are required for such work. For he continues thus:

On the third day some men are selected to go in search of the

Ćan-wakan or Mystery Tree, out of which they are to form the

sun pole.[154] These men must be selected from those who are

known to be brave, men acquainted with the war path, men who have

overcome difficulties, men who have been wounded in battle, men of

considerable experience.

§ 154. The men selected to fell the mystery tree ride very swift

horses, and they decorate their horses and attire themselves just as if

they were going to battle. They put on their feather war bonnets. They

race their horses to a hill and then back again. In former days it was

customary on such occasions for any women who had lost children during

some previous attack on the camp, to wail often as they ran towards the

mounted men, and to sing at intervals as they went. But that is not the

custom at the present day. Three times do the mounted men tell of their

brave deeds in imitation of the warriors of the olden times, and then

they undertake to represent their own deeds in pantomime.

§ 155. On the fourth day, the selected men go to search for the mystery

tree. They return to camp together, and if they have found a suitable

tree, they cut out pieces of the soil within the camping circle, going

down to virgin earth. (See § 146.) This exposed earth extends over a

considerable area. On it they place a species of sweet-smelling

grass (a trailing variety) and wild sage, on which they lay the

buffalo skull.

TENT OF PREPARATION.

§ 156. After this there is set up within the camping circle a good tent

known as the tent of preparation.[155] When the managers wish to set up

the tent of preparation, they borrow tent skins here and there. Part of

these tent skins they use for covering the smoke hole, and part were

used as curtains, for when they decorate the candidates they use the

curtains for shutting them in from the gaze of the people and when they

finish painting them they throw down the curtains.

In the back part of this tent of preparation are placed the buffalo

skulls, one for each candidate. A new knife which has never been used

is exposed to smoke. A new ax, too, is reddened and smoked.

§ 157. Wild sage (_Artemisia_) is used in various ways prior to and

during the sun dance. Some of it they spread on the ground to serve

as couches, and with some they wipe the tears from their faces. They

fumigate with the plant known as “ćaŋ śilśilya,” or else they use

“walipe waśtema,” sweet-smelling leaves. Day after day they fumigate

themselves with “waćaŋġa,” a sweet-smelling grass. They hold every

object which they use over the smoke of one of these grasses. They

wear a kind of medicine on their necks, and that keeps them from being

hungry or thirsty, for occasionally they chew a small quantity of it.

Or if they tie some of this medicine to their feet they do not get

weary so soon.[156]

§ 158. When the tent of preparation is erected, there are provided for

it new tent pins, new sticks for fastening the tent skins together

above the entrance, and new poles for pushing out the flaps beside the

smoke hole. These objects and all others, which had to be used, are

brought into the tent of preparation and fumigated over a fire into

which the medicine has been dropped. By this time another day has been

spent. Now all the candidates assemble in the tent of preparation,

each one wearing a buffalo robe with the hair outside. One who acts as

leader sits in the place of honor at the back part of the tent, and the

others sit on either side of him around the fireplace. They smoke their

pipes. When night comes they select one of the songs of the sun dance,

in order to rehearse it. Certain men have been chosen as singers of

the dancing songs, and, when one set of them rest, there are others to

take their places. The drummers beat the drum rapidly, but softly (as

the Teton call it, kpaŋkpaŋyela, the act of several drummers hitting in

quick succession).

[Illustration:

Bureau of Ethnology. Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLV

[image]

GAST LITH. CO.

CAMPING CIRCLE AT THE TIME OF THE SUN-DANCE.]

Three times do they beat the drums in that manner, and then they beat

it rapidly, as at the beginning of the sun dance. At this juncture,

as many as have flutes--made of the bones of eagles’ wings,

ornamented with porcupine quills, and hung around their necks, with

cords similarly ornamented, with some eagle down at the tip ends of the

flutes--blow them often and forcibly as they dance. While the drum is

beaten three times in succession (kpaŋkpaŋyela, as has been described),

all the candidates cry aloud (ćeya), but when it is beaten the fourth

time, they cry or wail no longer, but dance and blow their flutes or

whistles.

[Illustration: FIG. 190.--Eaglewing flute. (From original, loaned by

Capt. J. G. Bourke, U. S. A.)]

§ 159. When the candidates take their seats in the tent of preparation,

they select a man to fill the pipe with tobacco. When they wish to

smoke, this man passes along the line of candidates. He holds the pipe

with the mouthpiece toward each man, who smokes without grasping the

pipe stem.[157]

When the candidates are allowed to eat, the attendant feeds them. No

one can be loquacious within the tent of preparation. If a dog or

person approaches the tent, the offender is chased away before he

can reach it. No spectators are allowed to enter the tent. And this

regulation is enforced by blows, whenever anyone attempts to violate it.

EXPEDITION TO THE MYSTERY TREE.

§ 160. The next morning, which is that of the fifth day, they prepare

to go after the tree that is to serve as the sun pole.[158] The married

and single men, the boys, and even the women, are all ordered to go

horseback. Whoever is able to move rapidly accompanies the party. When

the chosen persons go to fell the mystery tree they rush on it as they

would upon a real enemy, just as tradition relates that the Omaha and

Ponka rushed on their sacred tree. (See § 42.)[159] Then they turn

quickly and run from it until they arrive at the other side of the

hill (nearest to the mystery tree), after which they return to the

tree.[160] They tie leaves together very tightly, making a mark of the

bundle, assaulting it in turn as a foe.

§ 161. The tree is reached by noon. The persons chosen to fell it

whisper to one another as they assemble around it. They approach some

one who has a child, and take hold of him. Then they bring robes and

other goods which they spread on the ground, and on the pile they seat

the child, who is sometimes a small girl, or even a large one.

FELLING THE TREE.

§ 162. Each of the chosen men takes his turn in striking the tree.

Every one must first tell his exploits, then he brandishes the ax three

times without striking a blow, after which he strikes the tree once,

and only once, making a gash. He leaves the ax sticking in the tree,

whence it is removed by the next man. He who leaves the ax in the

tree is by this act considered to make a present of a horse to some

one. As soon as he gives the blow, his father (or some near kinsman)

approaches and hands him a stick, whereupon the young man returns it,

asking him to give it to such a one, calling him by name. For instance,

let us suppose that a young man, Mato ćuwi maza, Grizzly bear with an

Iron Side, requests that his stick be given to Psića waŋkantuya, or

Leaping High. The old man who is employed as the crier goes to the

camp and sings thus: “Mato ćuwi maza í-ya-ha-he+! Mato ćuwi maza

í-ya-ha-he+!”. The last word is a sign of a brave deed on the part of

the donor, and it is so understood by every one. On reaching the tent

of the other man, the crier says, “Psića waŋkantuya śuŋkawakaŋ waŋ hiyo

u ye+! Mato ćuwi maza ćaŋ-wakaŋ kaksa ȼa taśuŋke waŋ hiyo u ye+!”

i. e., “O Leaping High, a horse is brought to you! A horse is brought

to you because Mato ćuwi maza has given a blow to the mystery tree!”

On hearing this, Psića waŋkantuya says, “Há-ye,” or “Thanks!” as he

extends his hands with the palms towards the crier; and he brings them

down toward the ground and takes the stick representing the horse. Then

the crier passes along around the circle, singing the praises of the

donor, and naming the man who has received the present.

§ 163. After all the chosen men have told of their deeds, and have

performed their parts, the women select a man to speak of what generous

things they have done, and when he has spoken, the larger women who are

able to fell trees rise to their feet, and take their turns in giving

one blow apiece to the tree. By the time that all the women have struck

the tree it falls, and all present shout and sing. Many presents are

made, and some of the people wail, making the entire forest echo their

voices. Then those men who are selected for that purpose cut off all

the limbs of the tree except the highest one, and they do not disturb

the tree top. Wherever a branch is cut off they rub red paint on the

wound.

§ 164. They make a bundle of some wood in imitation of that for which

they have prayed, and hang it crosswise from the fork of the tree.

Above the bundle they suspend a scarlet blanket, a buffalo robe or

a weasel skin, and under the bundle they fasten two pieces of dried

buffalo hide, one being cut in the shape of a buffalo, and the other in

that of a man.

Though Bushotter did not state the circumstance, it is remarkable

that both the figures have the membrum virile rigid. The author

learned about this from two trustworthy persons, who obtained all the

paraphernalia of the sun dance, and one of them, Capt. John G. Bourke,

U. S. Army, showed him the figures of the man and buffalo used at the

sun dance at Red Cloud Agency, in 1882. In the former figure, the

lingam is of abnormal size. The connection between the phallic cult and

the sun is obvious to the student. (See §§ 19, 132, 146, 155, 169, 170,

176).

THE TREE TAKEN TO CAMP.

§ 165. No one of the company dare to touch the sun pole as they take it

to the camp. Before wagons were available, they made a horse carry most

of the weight of the pole, part of it being on one side of him and part

on the other, while the wakaŋ men chosen for the purpose walked on

both sides of the horse in order to support the ends of the pole. (See

§ 317.) At the present day, a wagon is used for transporting the sun

pole to the camp.[161] While they are on the way no person dares to go

in advance of the pole, for whoever violates the law is in danger of

being thrown from his horse and having his neck broken.

The married men and youths carry leaf shields on their backs, and some

of the riders make their horses race as far as they are able. Any

member of the party can appropriate the small branches which have been

cut from the mystery tree.

When they reach the camp circle, all of the party who carry branches

and leaves drop them in the places where they intend erecting their

respective tents.

§ 166. Judging from Mr. Bushotter’s first text, the tents are not

pitched when the people return with the sun pole. But as soon as they

lay the pole in the place where it is to be erected, the tents are

pitched again. Then all the objects that are to be attached to the sun

pole are tied to it, and some of the men take leather straps, such as

the women use when they carry wood and other burdens, and fasten them

to the sun pole in order to raise it into position.

RAISING THE SUN POLE.

§ 167. This raising of the sun pole seems to be symbolic of the four

winds, the tatúye tópa, or “the four quarters of the heavens,” as Dr.

Riggs translates the Dakota term. Those who assist in raising the sun

pole must be men who have distinguished themselves. They raise the

pole a short distance from the ground, and then they shout, making

an indistinct sound; they rest awhile and pull it a little higher,

shouting again; resting a second time, they renew their efforts,

pulling it higher still. They shout the third time, rest again, and

at the fourth pull the pole is perpendicular. Then the men around the

camping circle fire guns, making the horses flee. Those who raised the

pole have a new spade, and they use it one after another in throwing a

sufficient quantity of earth around the base of the pole, pressing the

earth down firmly in order to steady the pole.

BUILDING OF DANCING LODGE.

§ 168. Next follows the building of the dancing lodge. (See Pl. XLVI.

and § 317.) Forked posts are set in the ground in two concentric

circles. Those posts forming the circle nearer the sun pole are a

few feet higher than the posts in the outer circle, thus making a

slant sufficient for a roof. From the inner circle of posts to the

sun pole there is no roof, as the dancers who stand near the pole

must see the sun and moon. From each forked post to the next one in

the same circle is laid a tent pole; and on the two series of these

horizontal tent-poles are placed the saplings or poles forming the

roof. In constructing the wall of the dancing lodge they use the leaf

shields, and probably some poles or branches of trees, the shields and

leaves stuck in the wall here and there, in no regular order, leaving

interstices through which the spectators can peep at the dancers. A

very wide entrance is made, through which can be taken a horse, as well

as the numerous offerings brought to be given away to the poor. Then

they smoke the pipe, as in that manner they think that they can induce

their Great Mysterious One to smoke.

§ 169. All having been made ready, the aged men and the chief men of

the camp kick off their leggins and moccasins, and as many as have

pistols take them to the dancing lodge, around the interior of which

they perform a dance. As they pass around the sun pole, all shoot at

once at the objects suspended from the pole (§ 164), knocking them

aside suddenly. Leaving the dancing lodge, they dance around the

interior of the camping circle till they reach their respective tents.

THE UUȻITA.

§ 170. This is followed by the “uuȼita.” Each man ties up the tail of

his horse and dresses himself in his best attire. When they are ready,

they proceed two abreast around the interior of the camping circle,

shooting into the ground as they pass along, and filling the entire

area with smoke. There are so many of them that they extend almost

around the entire circle. If any of the riders are thrown from their

horses as they dash along, the others pay no attention to them, but

step over them, regarding nothing but the center of the camping circle.

(See Pl. XLV.)

§ 171. By this time it is nearly sunset. The young men and young women

mount horses and proceed in pairs, a young man beside a young woman,

singing as they pass slowly around the circle. The young men sing

first, and the young women respond, acting as a chorus. That night the

tent of preparation is again erected. The candidates dance there. The

people gaze towards that tent, for it is rumored that the candidates

will march forth from it.

[Illustration:

BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY. ELEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT. PLATE XLVI.

[image]

GAST LITH. CO.

THE DANCING LODGE.]

DECORATION OF CANDIDATES OR DEVOTEES.

§ 172. The candidates spend the night in decorating themselves. Each

one wears a fine scarlet blanket arranged as a skirt and with a good

belt fastened around his waist. From the waist up he is nude, and on

his chest he paints some design. Sometimes the design is a sunflower. A

man can paint the designs referring to the brave deeds of his father,

his mother’s brother, or of some other kinsman, if he himself has done

nothing worthy of commemoration. If a man has killed an animal, he can

paint the sign of the animal on his chest, and some hold between their

lips the tails of animals, signifying that they have scalped their

enemies. Others show by their designs that they have stolen horses from

enemies.

§ 173. Each one allows his hair to hang loosely down his back. Some

wear head-dresses consisting of the skins of buffalo heads with the

horns attached. Others wear eagle war-bonnets. Each candidate wears a

buffalo robe with the thick hair outside. He fills his pipe, which is a

new one ornamented with porcupine work, and he holds it with the stem

pointing in front of him. Thus do all the candidates appear as they

come out of the tent of preparation. As they march to the dancing lodge

the leader goes first, the others march abreast after him. He who acts

as leader carries a buffalo skull painted red. All cry as they march,

and on the way they are joined by a woman who takes the place of her

“hakata,” or cousin; and sometimes they are joined by a horse that is

highly prized by his owner.

OFFERINGS OF CANDIDATES.

§ 174. The first time that they emerge from the tent where they sleep

they march around it four times, and they make offerings of four

blankets, which they suspend from as many posts set up in the form

of a square within which the tent is erected. When they proceed from

the tent of preparation to the dancing lodge, one of their servants

sets up sticks at intervals, forming a straight line from the tent of

preparation to the dancing lodge, and on these sticks he places their

offerings of blankets and tobacco pouches. After the gifts are thus

suspended, none of the spectators can cross the line of sticks.

[Illustration: FIG. 191.--The tent of preparation and the dancing

lodge.]

§ 175. Capt. J. G. Bourke has a wand that was used by one of the

heralds, or criers, during the sun dance. It was about 5 feet long, and

was decorated with beadwork and a tuft of horse hair at the superior

extremity. Whenever the crier raised this wand the people fell back,

leaving an open space of the required area.

CEREMONIES AT THE DANCING LODGE.

§ 176. On reaching the dancing lodge, the candidates pass slowly around

the exterior, starting at the left side of the lodge and turning

towards the right. They do this four times and then enter the lodge.

They stretch their hands towards the four quarters of the heavens as

they walk around the interior of the lodge. They sit down at the back

part of the lodge, and then they sing.

Between them and the pole they cut out the soil in the shape of a

half-moon, going down to virgin earth, and on this bare spot they

place all the buffalo skulls. After this they paint themselves anew

with red paint, on completing which they are lifted to their feet by

their attendants. Again they walk around the interior of the lodge,

stretching out their hands towards the four quarters of the heavens.

§ 177. A song of the sun dance is started by one of the candidates,

and the others join him, one after another, until all are singing.

Meanwhile the men who have been selected for the purpose redden their

entire hands, and it devolves on them to dance without touching

anything, such as the withes connected with the sun pole or the buffalo

skulls; all that they are required to do is to extend their hands

towards the sun, with the palms turned from them.

At this time all the candidates are raised again to their feet, and

brought to the back part of the lodge, where they are placed in a row.

They soon begin to cry, and they are joined by the woman who has taken

the place of her elder brother.

§ 178. It is customary, when a man is too poor to take part himself

in the sun dance, for a female relation to take his place, if such a

woman pities him. She suffers as the male candidates do, except in one

respect--her flesh is not scarified. This woman wears a buckskin skirt,

and she lets her hair fall loosely down her back. She carries the pipe

of her brother or kinsman in whose place she is dancing.

§ 179. As the drums beat, the candidates dance and blow their flutes.

The woman stands, dancing slowly, with her head bent downward, but with

shoulders erect, and she is shaking her head and body by bending her

knees often without raising her feet from the ground. She abstains from

food and drink, just as her brother or kinsman would have done had he

participated in the dance. In fact, all the candidates have to fast

from the time that the sun pole is cut, and from that time they cry and

dance at intervals.

§ 180. If the owner of a horse decides that his steed must take part

in the dance, he ties the horse to one of the thongs fastened to the

sun pole, and stands near the animal. Whenever he wishes he approaches

the horse, takes him by the lower jaw as he stands and cries, and then

he, too, joins in the dance. This horse is decorated in the finest

manner; he is painted red, his tail is rolled up into a bundle and tied

together, and he wears feathers in the tail and forelock.

§ 181. _Candidates scarified._ When the time comes for scarifying

the candidates,[162] if one wishes to dance in the manner about to

be described, he is made to stand between four posts arranged in the

form of a square, and his flesh on his back being scarified in two

places, thongs are run through them and fastened to them and to the

posts behind him. His chest is also scarified in two places, thongs

are inserted and tied, and then fastened to the two posts in front of

him (see Pl. XLVII, 1, Okaśka naźin, or “He stands fastened to” or

“within”). Bushotter says nothing about the skewers used in torturing

the dancers; but Capt. Bourke obtained three ornamental ones which had

been run through the wounds of some of the devotees, in order to be

stained with blood and kept thereafter as souvenirs of the bravery of

the dancers. Besides these were the regular skewers which were thrust

horizontally through the flesh; and to the ends of these skewers were

fastened the thongs that were secured by the opposite ends to the sun

pole. The last dance allowed by the Government was in 1883, and it

would be difficult now to find any of these skewers. (See § 204.)

[Illustration:

Bureau of Ethnology Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLVII.

[image]

GAST LITH. CO. N.Y.

1. PTEPA KIN WACI.--2. OKASKA NAZIN.]

Another man has his back scarified and a thong inserted, from which

a buffalo skull is suspended, as shown in Pl. XLVII, 2, Pte-pa ḳin

waći, or “He dances carrying a buffalo skull on his back.” He dances

thus, thinking that the weight of the skull will soon cause the thong

to break through the flesh. The blood runs in stripes down his back.

§ 182. Another man decides to be fastened to the sun pole. For the use

of such dancers there are eight leather thongs hanging down from the

pole, being fastened to the pole at a point about midway from the top.

For each man tied to the pole it is the rule to take two of the thongs

and run them through his flesh after the holes are made with the knife

(see Pl. XLVIII). After the thongs are fastened to him, the dancer is

required to look upward. When the candidate is a short man, his back is

scarified and his attendants push him up high enough from the ground

for the thongs to be inserted and tied. In this case the weight of the

man stretches the skin where the thongs are tied, and for a long time

he remains there without falling (see Pl. XLIX).

§ 183. A very long time ago it happened that the friends of such a

short man pitied him, so they gave a horse to another man, whom they

directed to release their friend by pulling at the thongs until they

broke out. So the other man approached the dancer, telling of his

own deeds. He grasped the short man around the body, threw himself

violently to the ground, breaking off the thong, which flew upward, and

bringing the short man to the ground. Then the kindred of the short

man brought presents of calico or moccasins and another horse, with

other property, and they made the old women of the camp scramble for

the possession of the gifts. The horse was given away by the act called

“Kaḣol yeyapi,” or “They threw it off suddenly.” The father of the

dancer stood at the entrance of his tent, holding a stick in his hand.

He threw the stick into the air, and the bystanders struggled for its

possession. Whoever grasped the stick, and succeeded in holding it, won

the horse. If a forked stick is thrown up and caught it entitles the

holder to a mare and her colt.

§ 184. When a young man has his flesh pierced for him, if he is beloved

by his female relations, they furnish him with many objects decorated

with porcupine quills, and these objects are suspended from the pierced

places of his flesh, this being considered as a mark of respect shown

by the women to their kinsman. Very often the women by such acts

deprive themselves of all their property.

§ 185. _Pieces of flesh offered._--When the candidates have their flesh

pierced for the insertion of the thongs, a number of men who do not

intend to dance approach the sun pole and take seats near it. With a

new knife small pieces of flesh are cut out in a row from the shoulders

of each of these men, who hold up the pieces of their own flesh,

showing them to the pole. They also cover the base of the pole with

earth. If some of the women desire to offer pieces of their flesh, they

come and do so.

§ 186. Very soon after this the people who are outside of the dancing

lodge sing a song in praise of the devotees of all kinds, and the old

women are walking about with their clothing and hair in disorder, the

garments flapping up and down as they dance. The attendants hold the

pipes for the candidates to smoke, and they decorate them anew. After

they decorate them, the dancing is resumed. By this time it is past

noon, so the girls and boys whose ears are to be pierced are collected

in one place, and presents are given to all the poor people.[163]

After the children’s ears have been pierced, the attendants make the

candidates rise again and continue the dance.

§ 187. _Torture of owner of horse._--The man whose horse has taken part

in the dance is tied to the tail of his horse, and his chest is pierced

in two places and fastened by thongs to the sun pole. Some of the

attendants whip the horse several times, making him dart away from the

pole, thereby releasing the man, as the thongs are broken by the sudden

strain (see § 29).

§ 188. The devotees dance through the night, and when it is nearly

midnight they rest. Beginning at the left side of the dancing lodge,

every devotee stops and cries at each post until he makes the circuit

of the lodge. By this time it is midnight, so the attendants make them

face about and stand looking towards the east, just as in the afternoon

they had made them face the west.

[Illustration:

Bureau of Ethnology Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLVIII.

[image]

GAST LITH. CO.

THE SUN-DANCE.]

END OF THE DANCE.

§ 189. At sunrise they stop dancing and they leave the dancing lodge.

As they come forth, they pass out by the right side, and march four

times around the exterior of the lodge. After which they proceed

directly to the lodge of preparation, around which they march four

times prior to entering it.

§ 190. When the devotees emerge from the dancing lodge, one of their

attendants places more gifts on the line of sticks between the two

lodges, and after the procession has moved on there is considerable

disputing among the small boys of the camp for the possession of the

gifts.

§ 191. After leaving the lodge of preparation, the exhausted devotees

are taken back to their own tents, where each one is given four sips

of water and a small piece of food, and by the time that he gets

accustomed to food after his long fast, he eats what he pleases, enters

the sweat lodge, rubs himself with the wild sage, and thenceforward he

is regarded as having performed his vow.

§ 192. The spectators scramble for the possession of the blankets and

long pieces of calico left as sacrifices at the dancing lodge, and

some of them climb to the top of the sun pole and remove the objects

fastened there. The sun pole is allowed to remain in its place. The

author saw a sun pole at Ponka Agency, then in Dakota, in 1871. It had

been there for some time, and it remained till it was blown down by a

high wind.

At the conclusion of the dance the camp breaks up and the visitors

return to their respective homes.

§ 193. All who participate in the dance must act according to rule for

if one slights part of the rites they think that he is in great danger.

The men selected as overseers or managers are the persons who act as

the attendants of the candidates.

The candidates think that all their devotions are pleasing to the sun.

As they dance, they pray mentally, “Please pity me! Bring to pass all

the things which I desire!”

INTRUSIVE DANCES.

§ 194. During the sun dance, other dances--intrusive dances, as Lynd

terms them--are going on in the camp. Among these are the following:

The Mandan dance, performed by the Ćaŋte ṭiŋza okolakićiye, or the

Society of the Stout-hearted Ones; the Wakaŋ waćipi or mystery dance,

the Peźi mignaka waćipi or the dance of those wearing grass in their

belts, the ghost dance, the buffalo dance, and the Omaha kiyotag a-i,

popularly called the grass dance.

§ 195. When a man joins the Mandan dance as a leader, he wears a

feather headdress of owl feathers, a scarf, called “Waŋźi-ićaśke,” is

worn around his neck and hangs down his back, and he carries a pipe, a

bow, and arrows. In the Peźi mignaka waćipi, both young men and young

women take part. All these dances are held outside the lodge of the

sun dance, within which lodge only the one dance can be performed. The

grass dance is named after the Omaha tribe. As many men as are able

to participate in that dance march abreast until they reach the camp

of some gens, where they sit down facing the people whom they visit,

hence the name, meaning, “the Omaha reach there and sit down.” Then

the visitors sing while a noise is made by hitting the ground with

sticks, etc. The singers and dancers sit looking at the tents of the

gens that they have visited, and remain so until property and food are

brought out and given to them. Then they arise and probably dance. They

think that if they ask Wakantanka for anything after the conclusion of

the sun dance they will receive it. So they call on him in different

songs, thus: “O Wakantanka, please pity me! Let me have many horses!”

Or, “O Wakantanka, please pity me! Let there be plenty of fruits and

vegetables!” Or, “O Wakantanka, please pity me! Let me live a long

time!”

§ 196. During the sun dance they sing about some old woman, calling her

by name. They can sing about any old woman on such an occasion.

One of these songs has been given by Mr. Bushotter, but the writer must

content himself in giving the words without the music.

“Winŭŋ´ḣća ḳuŋ tókiya lá huŋwo´? He´-ye-ye+!

Yatíla ḳuŋ´ śuŋ´ka wíkinićápe. Hé-ye-ye+!

E´-ya-ya-ha´ ya´-ha ya´-ha yo´-ho he´-ye-ye+!

E´-ya-ya-ha´ ya´-ha ya´-ha yo´-ho he´-ye-yâ!”

That is: “Old woman, you who have been mentioned, whither are you

going? When they scrambled for the stick representing a horse, of

course you were on hand! How brave you are!”

They sing this in a high key, and when they cease suddenly, they call

out, “Ho´wo! Ho´wo! E´-ya-ha-he+! E´-ya-ha-he+!” “_Come on! Come on!

How brave you are! How brave you are!_” When they have said this

repeatedly an old woman enters the circle, making them laugh by her

singing and dancing.

Thus ends the Bushotter account of the sun dance, which was read at a

meeting of the Anthropological Society of Washington, May 6, 1890.

CAPT. BOURKE ON THE SUN-DANCE.

§ 197. After the reading of the paper, Capt. John G. Bourke, U.S. Army,

remarked that he had seen the sun dance of the Dakota several times,

and once had enjoyed excellent opportunities of taking notes of all

that occurred under the superintendence of Red Cloud and other medicine

men of prominence. Capt. Bourke kindly furnished the author with the

following abstract of his remarks on this subject:

In June, 1881, at the Red Cloud Agency, Dakota, there were some

twenty-eight who went through the ordeal, one of the number being

Pretty Enemy, a young woman who had escaped with her husband from

the band of Sitting Bull in British North America, and who was

going through the dance as a sign of grateful acknowledgment to

the spirits.

The description of the dance given in the account of Bushotter

tallies closely with that which took place at the Red Cloud

ceremony, with a few very immaterial exceptions due no doubt to

local causes.

[Illustration:

Bureau of Ethnology Eleventh Annual Report. Plate XLIX.

[image]

GAST LITH. CO.

A SUSPENDED DEVOTEE.]

§ 198. At Red Cloud, for example, there was not a separate

buffalo head for each Indian; there were not more than two, and

with them, being placed erect and leaning against a frame-work

made for the purpose, several elaborately decorated pipes,

beautiful in all that porcupine quills, beads, and horsehair

could supply. Buffaloes had at that time disappeared from the face

of the country within reach of that agency, and there was also an

increasing difficulty in the matter of procuring the pipestone

from the old quarries over on the Missouri River [sic].[164]

§ 199. First, in regard to securing the sacred tree, after the

same had been designated by the advance party sent out to look for

it. The medicine men proclaimed to the young warriors that all

they were now to do was just the same as if they were going out

to war. When the signal was given, the whole party dashed off at

full speed on their ponies, and as soon as we arrived at the tree,

there was no small amount of singing, as well as of presents given

to the poor.

Next, a band of young men stepped to the front, and each in

succession told the story of his prowess, each reference to the

killing or wounding of an enemy, or to striking _coup_, being

corroborated by thumping on the skin which served the medicine men

as a drum.

§ 200. The first young man approached the sacred tree, swung

his brand-new ax, and cut one gash on the east side; the second

followed precisely the same program on the south side; the third,

on the west side, and the fourth, on the north side, each cutting

one gash and no more.

§ 201. They were succeeded by a young maiden, against whose

personal character, it was asserted, not a breath of insinuation

could be brought, and she was decked in all the finery of a long

robe of white antelope skin almost completely covered with elks’

teeth, as well as with beads. She seized the ax, and, with a few

well-directed blows, brought the tree to the ground.

§ 202. In carrying the tree to the camp it was placed upon skids,

no one being allowed to place a hand upon the tree itself. Upon

reaching the summit of the knoll nearest the camp the tree was

left in charge of its immediate attendants while the rest of the

assemblage charged at full speed upon the camp itself.

§ 203. When the tree had been erected in place, it was noticed

that each of those who were to endure the torture had been

provided with an esquire, while there was also a force of men,

armed with guns to preserve order, criers to make proclamations,

and heralds and water-carriers armed with long staves tipped with

bead-work and horse-hair. These water-carriers did not carry

water for the men attached to the tree, they were not allowed to

drink, but if they happened to faint away the medicine men would

take a mouthful of water apiece and spray it upon the body of the

patient, producing coldness by the evaporation of the water.

§ 204. All the Indians on that occasion were attached to the tree

itself by long ropes of hair or by thongs, fastened to skewers run

horizontally under the flesh. (See § 181.)

§ 205. The young woman, Pretty Enemy, was not tied up to the tree,

but she danced with the others, and had her arms scarified from

the shoulders to the elbows. All this scarification was done by a

medicine man, who also slit the ear of the babies born since the

last sun dance.

§ 206. The young men were scarified in the following manner: Their

attendants, whom I have called esquires, seized and laid them on

a bed of some sagebrush at the foot of the sacred tree. A short

address was made by one of the medicine men; then another, taking

up as much of the skin of the breast under the nipple of each

dancer as could be held between his thumb and forefinger, cut a

slit the length of the thumb, and inserted a skewer to which a

rope was fastened, the other end of the rope being tied to the

tree.

§ 207. The young men placed eagle pipes, as they were called, in

their mouths. These pipes were flutes which were made each from

one of the bones in an eaglet’s wing. They had to be sounded all

the time the young man was dancing. This dancing was done in the

manner of a buck jump, the body and legs being stiff and all

movement being upon the tips of the toes. The dancers kept looking

at the sun, and either dropped the hands to the sides in the

military position of “attention,” with the palms to the front, or

else held them upward and outward at an angle of 45 degrees, with

the fingers spread apart, and inclined towards the sun.

§ 208. When laid on the couch of sagebrush before spoken of,

each young man covered his face with his hands and wailed. I was

careful to examine each one, and saw that this wailing was a

strictly ceremonial affair unaccompanied by tears.

§ 209. Before approaching the tree the victims were naked, with

the exception of blue cloth petticoats and buffalo robes worn with

the fur outside, giving them the appearance of monks of the olden

time. The buffalo robes were, of course, thrown off when the young

men were laid on the sagebrush, preparatory to the scarification.

One young man was unable to tear himself loose, and he remained

tied up to the tree for an hour and seven minutes by my watch.

He fainted four times. The medicine man put into his mouth some

of the small red, bitter, salty seeds of the _Dulcamara_, while

the women threw costly robes, blankets, articles of beadwork and

quillwork, and others of the skin of the elk and antelope upon the

rope attaching him to the tree, in the hope of breaking him loose.

The articles thus attached to the rope were taken away by the poor

for whom they were given. There was any amount of this giving of

presents at all stages of the dance, but especially at this time,

and the criers were calling without ceasing, “So and so has done

well. He is not afraid to look the poor women and children in the

face! Come up some more of you people! Do not be ashamed to give!

Let all the people see how generous you are!” or words to that

effect. (I had to rely upon my interpreter, who was reputed to be

the best and most trustworthy at the agency).

§ 210. One of the prime movers in the organization of this

particular dance, Rocky Bear, at the last moment, for some

particular reason, decided not to go through the terrible ordeal.

He explained his reasons to the tribe, and was excused. He gave

presents with a lavish hand, and it was understood that on some

subsequent occasion he would finish the dance. There was no sign

of dissatisfaction with his course, and everyone seemed to be on

the best of terms with him. All through the ceremony there was

much singing by the women and drumming by the medicine men, and a

feast of stewed dog, which tastes very much like young mutton, was

served with boiled wild turnips.

§ 211. By a comparison of the accounts of Miss Fletcher, Capt. Bourke,

and Bushotter it will be noticed that while there are several points of

disagreement which, as Capt. Bourke remarks, are “due no doubt to local

causes,” the accounts are in substantial agreement. Miss Fletcher says

that the opening of the camp circle was toward the east; but Bushotter

gives it as toward the north. She states that the tent of preparation

was erected on the first day after sunset; but Bushotter says it was

set up on the fourth day. She represents the selection of the men who

go to seek the tree, the departure to fetch the tree, the felling of

the tree, the bringing it and setting it up within the camp circle as

all taking place on the fourth day. Bushotter states that the men were

selected on the third day; they went to seek the tree on the fourth

day; they went to fell the tree on the fifth day, and on the same day

they brought it to the camp and set it in place. Capt. Bourke saw four

men and one girl employed in felling the tree. Miss Fletcher mentions

that five men and three girls did this in 1882; but Bushotter recorded

that several men and women took part in this performance. The ears of

the children were pierced on the fourth day after the raising of the

sun pole, according to Miss Fletcher; but Bushotter says that this

did not occur till after the devotees had been scarified and fastened

to the pole and posts, on the sixth day. Bushotter agrees with Miss

Fletcher in saying that on the sixth day the earth was “mellowed,” the

devotees scarified, and they danced with the thongs fastened to the

pole, etc., and attached to the skewers running under their flesh.

BERDACHES.

§ 212. These unfortunate beings, who have been referred to as miⁿquga

and miⁿquge in Chapter III (§ 30), are called wiŋkta by the Santee and

Yankton Dakota, and wiŋkte by the Teton. They dress as women and act

in all respects as women do, though they are really men. The terms for

sodomy, wiŋktapi and wiŋktepi, are significant, and go to prove that

the berdaches should not be called hermaphrodites. It is probable that

the Dakota regard the moon as influencing these people. (See § 353.)

ASTRONOMICAL LORE.

§ 213. Ho-ke-wiŋ-la is a man who stands in the moon with outstretched

arms. His name is said to mean Turtle Man. When the Teton see a short

man with a large body and legs they generally call him “Ho-ke-la,”

after the man in the moon.

The Teton do not like to gaze at the moon, because at some past time a

woman, who was carrying a child on her back, gazed a long time at the

moon, till she became very weak and fell senseless.

No Teton dare look at the stars and count even “one” mentally. For

one is sure to die if he begin to count the stars and desist before

finishing. They are also afraid to point at a rainbow with the index

finger, though they can point at it with the lips or elbow. Should one

forget, and point with the index finger, the bystanders laugh at him,

saying, “By and by, O friend, when your finger becomes large and round,

let us have it for a ball bat.”

DAY AND NIGHT.

§ 214. One of Bushotter’s Teton texts reads thus:

Indians are often singing “The day and night are mysterious” or

“wakaŋ.” They do so for the following reasons: While the day lasts

a man is able to do many wonderful things at different times, and

he kills so many animals, including men, and sometimes he receives

presents, and besides he is able to see all things. But he does not

fully understand what the day is, nor does he know what makes the

light. Though the man can do various things during the day, he does not

know who makes or causes the light. Therefore he believes that it was

not made by hand, i.e., that no human being makes the day give light.

Therefore the Indians say that the day is “wakaŋ.” They do not know who

causes all these things, yet they know that there is some one thing

having power, and that this thing does it. In their opinion, that is

the sun. So they pray to the sun; and they respect both the day and the

sun, making them “wakaŋ.” On that account they usually sing some songs

about them. Then they say that the night is “wakaŋ.” When it is night,

there are ghosts and many fearful objects, so they regard the night as

“wakaŋ,” and pray to it.

THE DAWN.

§ 215. When Bushotter’s younger brother was sick on one occasion

he was made to pray to Anpao, The Dawn. The tent skins were thrown

back from the entrance and the sick boy was held up with the palms

of his hands extended towards the light, while he repeated this

prayer: “Wakaŋ´taŋka, uŋ´śimála yé! Téhaŋ wauŋ´ kte,” i. e., “O Great

Mysterious One, please pity me! Let me live a long time!” Then the

patient was laid back on his couch. While the sick boy prayed a blanket

was held up, and the next morning it was hung from the top of the tent.

When the invalid recovered the blanket and a tobacco pouch were taken

to a hill and left there as sacrifices. The boy got well, and the

people believed that some mysterious power had cured him.

WEATHER SPIRIT.

§ 216. The Teton say that a giant, called Waziya, knows when there is

to be a change of weather. When he travels his footprints are large

enough for several Indians to stand while they are abreast; and his

strides are far apart, for at one step he can go over a hill. When

it is cold the people say, “Waziya has returned.” They used to pray

to him, but when they found that he did not heed them they desisted.

When warm weather is to follow Waziya wraps himself in a thick robe,

and when it is to be cold he goes nude. The members of the Heyoka or

Anti-natural Society love the acts of Waziya; so they imitate him in

always saying or doing the opposite of what might be expected under

the circumstances. Riggs says,[165] “Waziya, the god of the north, and

Itokaga, the god of the south, are ever in conflict and each in turn is

victorious.”

HEYOKA.

§ 217. Waziya and Heyoka are not fully differentiated. Heyoka,

according to Riggs,[166] is “the antinatural god.” He is said to exist

in four varieties, all of which have the forms of small men, but all

their desires and experiences are contrary to nature. In the winter

they stand on the open prairie without clothing; in the summer they sit

on knolls wrapped in buffalo robes, and yet they are freezing. Each of

them has in his hands and on his shoulders a bow and arrows, rattles,

and a drum. All these are surcharged with lightning, and his drumstick

is a little Wakinyan. The high mounds of the prairies are the places of

his abode. He presides over the land of dreams, and that is why dreams

are so fantastic.

§ 218. In speaking of the Heyoka gods, Pond says:[167]

Like the Wakinyan, there are four varieties of them, all of which

assume in substance the human form, but it would be unnecessarily

tedious to note the differences of form, especially as the

differences are unimportant. They are said to be armed with the

bow and arrows, and with deer-hoof rattles, which things are

charged with electricity. One of the varieties carries a drum,

which is also charged with the same fluid. For a drumstick he

holds a small Wakinyan god by the tail, striking on the drum with

the beak of the god. This would seem to us to be an unfortunate

position for a god, but it must be remembered that it is “wakan,”

and the more absurd a thing is, the more “wakan.”