This song was composed by a girl who went up to the spirit world and saw there all her friends, who cried when she started to leave them again.
8. Na′wi i′na
This song was composed by a woman named Niaha‛no′, who used to have frequent trances in which she would talk with departed Caddo and bring back messages from them to their friends. “Our mother below” is the earth. (See page 1096.)
9. Ni′ ika′ na′a
By “grandmother” is meant the storm spirit or thunder. (See Caddo song 4.)
10. Hi′na ha′natobi′na
This refers to the eagle feather worn on the heads of the dancers. (See song number 12.) This song is in the Hai-nai dialect.
11. Na′ ăă′ o′wi′ta′
This song, like the last, was composed by one of the Hai-nai tribe, and refers to the silent majority of the band in the spirit world.
12. Na′ iwi′ o′wi′ta′
This refers to what the Caddo call the “return of the eagle feathers” in the Ghost dance. With the Caddo, as with other tribes, the eagle is a sacred bird, and in the old times only the few medicine-men who knew the sacred formula would dare to kill one for the feathers. Should anyone else kill an eagle, his family would die or some other great misfortune would come upon him. The formula consisted of certain secret prayers and ritual performances. Among the Cherokee the eagle killer’s prayer was a petition to the eagle not to be revenged upon the tribe, because it was not an Indian, but a Spaniard, who had killed him—an indication of the vivid remembrance in which the cruelty of the early Spaniards was held among the southern tribes. To further guard against the anger of the eagles, the Cherokee eagle killer, on his return to the village, announced that he had killed, not an eagle, but a snowbird, the latter being too small and insignificant to be dreaded. The eagle-killing ceremony among the northern prairie tribes has been already described under Arapaho song 47. The Caddo eagle killer always took with him a robe or some other valuable offering, and after shooting the eagle, making the prayer, and pulling out the tail and wing feathers he covered the body with the robe and left it there as a peace offering to the spirit of the eagle. The dead eagle was never brought home, as among the Cherokee. The last man of the Caddo who knew the eagle-killing ritual died some years ago, and since then they have had to go without eagle feathers or buy them from the Kiowa and other tribes. Since Sitting Bull came down and “gave the feather” to the leaders of the dance the prohibition is removed, and men and women alike are now at liberty to get and wear eagle feathers as they will.
13. A′nana′ hana′nito′
This refers to the return of the eagle feathers, as noted in the preceding song. The question “Is he doing it?” is equivalent to asking, “Is this the work of the father?”—an affirmative answer being understood.
14. Na′ iwi′ ha′naa′
This song also refers to the use of eagle feathers in the dance.
15. Wi′tŭ′ Ha′sini′
The sentiment and swinging tune of this spirited song make it one of the favorites. It encourages the dancers in the hope of a speedy reunion of the whole Caddo nation, living and dead, in the “great village” of their father above, and needs no further explanation.
CADDO GLOSSARY
Ăă—father.
Ăă Kakĭ′mbawiût—“the prayer of all to the Father;” from aa, the Father, i. e., God, and tsĭmba′dikû, I pray; the Ghost dance, also called Nä′nisa′na Gao′shăn, Nä′nisa′na dance.
A′nana—for Nănă′.
A′nanasa′na—for Nana′sana.
Ba′hakosĭn—“striped arrows,” from bah, arrow; the Caddo name for the Cheyenne. They sometimes call them Siä′näbo, from their Comanche name.
Cha′‛kanĭ′na—“the place of crying;” the traditional first settlement of the Caddo tribes, where they came up out of the ground, at the mouth of Red river, on the south bank, in Louisiana.
Detse-ka′yăă—“dog eaters;” the Caddo name for the Arapaho.
Di′wabon—we see him; tsibo′nă, I see him.
Di′wïti′ă—we are all going up, we shall all ascend; tsidiû′, I ascend.
Do′hya—now, at once.
E′yahe′ya!—an unmeaning exclamation used in the songs.
E′yehe′!—ibid.
Ganio′sĭt—he (she) is painted; atsĭno′sĭt, I paint myself.
Gao′shăn—a dance; ga′tsioshăn, I dance.
Gû′kwûts—my (plural); gûkwû′nda, my (singular); ha′nĭn gû′kwûts, my children.
Hă′-iă—he (she) dwells there below. Compare Ko′iă.
Ha′-imi—large.
Hai′-nai—a tribe of the Caddo confederacy.
Hă′naă or Hă′nă—there he is! that is he!
Ha′nani′to—this feather, the feather; ni′toh, feather; ha′taha, feather (generic).
Ha′natobi′na—a feather headdress; feathers prepared to wear on the head.
Ha′nĭn—children.
Ha′nitu—for Ni′toh.
Hasi′ni or Hasi′nai—the Caddo; the generic name used by themselves.
Ha′taha—feather (generic); nitoh, feather (specific).
Ha′wano—paint.
Ha′yano—people.
Ha′yo—above, on high. Compare Naha′yo.
He′eye′!—an unmeaning exclamation used in the songs.
He′yahe′eye′!—ibid.
He′yawe′ya!—ibid.
He′yoi′ya!—ibid.
Hi′na—eagle feathers.
Ika—grandmother; a term sometimes applied to the thunder or storm spirit.
Ină′—mother; na ină′, mother above.
I′tsiya—I have come; hatsi′ûs, I come.
I′wi—eagle; also the name of a Caddo gens.
Ka′găhănĭn—thunder; a Caddo gens.
Ka′g‛aih—crow; a Caddo gens.
Kaka′na—they cried; ha‛tsikaka′s, I cry.
Ka′ntsi—“cheats;” the Caddo name for the Kiowa Apache, Lipan, and Mescalero.
Kĭ′shi—panther; a Caddo gens.
Kiwa′t—village, town, settlement.
Koho′—alligator; another name for the Ta′năhă or Buffalo gens of the Caddo.
Ko′iă—where he dwells above; tă′-iă, he dwells above; datsii′ă, I dwell above.
Na—see! look! now!—also coming down from above, as iwi-na, the eagle coming down from above.
Năă′—father above, i. e., God; from ăă′, father, and na, above, on high.
Na′daka—with the people.
Nahă′—that’s all! now you see! there now!
Naha′yo—up, above, the plural of Ha′yo. Hasi′ni diwĭti′a na′hayo, all the Caddo are going up, everybody of the Caddo is going up.
Na-iye′—sister above; from na, above, in composition, and iye′, sister.
Nănă′ or Nă′nănă′—that one (demonstrative).
Nana′sana—is he making it?
Na‛ni′asa—they are using it; ha′tsĭna′sa, I use it.
Na′nia′sana—for Na`ni′asa.
Nä′nisa′na—an Arapaho word, adopted by the Caddo in the Ghost-dance songs and meaning “my children.”
Nä′nisa′na gao′shăn—“Nänisana dance,” one of the Caddo names for the Ghost dance, from gao′shăn, a dance, and nänisa′na (q. v.), an Arapaho word which forms the burden of so many Arapaho Ghost-dance songs. It is also called Ăă Kakĭ′mbawiût, “the prayer of all to the Father.”
Na′tsiwa′ya—I am coming.
Na′wi—below; ha′yo, above.
Nawotsi—bear; a Caddo gens.
Ni—a syllable prefixed merely to fill in the meter.
Niahu′na—for Nĭ′tahŭ′nt.
Nĭ′tahŭ′nt—it has returned. It has come back; tsĭtsihŭ′nă, I return; Ni′‛tsiho, when I returned.
Ni′toh—feather (specific); ha′taha, feather (generic).
Ni′‛tsiho—when I returned. Compare Nĭ′tahŭ′nt.
Nû′na—because.
O′ăt—raccoon; a Caddo gens.
O′wita—he comes; a′tsiûs, I come.
Sha′‛chidĭ′ni—“Timber hill,” a former Caddo settlement on Caddo lake, Louisiana.
Si′bocha′ha—I want to see them; hatsi′bos, I see.
Sûko—sun; a Caddo gens.
Tă′-iă—he dwells above. Compare Ko′iă.
Ta′năhă—buffalo; a Caddo gens.
Ta′o—beaver; a Caddo gens.
Tasha—wolf; a Caddo gens.
Tsaba′kosh—cut-throats; the Caddo name for the Sioux.
Wa′hiya′ne!—an unmeaning exclamation used in the songs.
Wi′ahe′eye′!—ibid.
Wi′tŭ!—come on! get ready.
Wû′nti—all of them.