Cu-ʞa maⁿ-ȼiⁿ, an Omaha, had a vision which gave him the right to use the decoration given in Fig. 168. The meanings of the different marks have not been learned. Cuʞa maⁿȼiⁿ bequeathed the blanket to his son, [K]axe-giaⁿ (Flying Crow), now known as Gilbert Morris.

§ 48. The old chief ┴e-saⁿ (Ta sone of Maj. Long), Distant-white Buffalo, father of the chiefs Standing Hawk and Fire Chief, had a vision of a cedar tree, which he painted on each side of his tent, as seen in Fig. 169. The next sketch (Fig. 170) shows the back part of another tent of ┴e-saⁿ. The blue band near the top is called “sabe” (black); below this is the sun and a blue rainbow; near the bottom are two horsetails. The only decorations on the front of the tent are two horsetails, one on each side of the entrance. This tent was used by Standing Hawk after the death of his father. This decoration may have been made after a vision of horses, as Standing Hawk was a member of the order of Horse Shamans (Cañge iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma). George Miller speaks thus about it:

That is, “As the man was a head chief, he may have had a vision, for he occupied a tent on which he painted the sun, and he also decorated it with horse-tails at the lower part. He painted the border of the smoke-hole a dark blue (ʇu sabĕ, which is some-times called, sabĕ).

That is, “When the fathers decorate their tents in consequence of their respective visions, their sons (who succeed them) usually imitate them (or dwell in the decorated tents), even when they themselves have not had visions of the objects. Therefore he (i.e., Standing Hawk) did so.”

George Miller told the following about Ԁede-gahi or Fire Chief, another son of ┴e-saⁿ:

This refers to Fig. 171, and may be thus rendered: “And I have likewise seen the tent of Fire Chief. It was decorated with cornstalks, but I do not know the reason for it. He dwelt in such a tent because he was a chief. Corn was regarded as “waqube,” mysterious. In the sub-gens of Fire Chief, the Wajiñga-ȼatajĭ, or, those who eat no small birds, the people feared to eat the first ears of corn that matured, lest the small birds (particularly blackbirds) should come and devour the rest of the crop. There was a similar tent decoration in the Iñke-sabĕ and Hañga gentes.” In the former, it was used by Waqaga (see § 53). The cornstalks and ears were green, the tips of the ears were black. There were two similar cornstalks on the back of the tent.

CORN AND THE BUFFALO.

§ 49. Corn is regarded as a “mother” and the buffalo as a “grandfather” among the Omaha and other tribes.[57] In the Osage tradition, corn was bestowed upon the people by four buffalo bulls or “grandfathers.”[58] Dr. Washington Matthews tells of a similar Arikara belief about an ear of corn.[59] (See § 42.)

OTHER OMAHA MYSTERY DECORATIONS.

§ 50. Among the members of the order of Buffalo (┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma) was Niȼactage, whose robe is shown in Fig. 172. The red band is at the top. The black spots represent the places where the buffaloes play “buffalo wallows.” Buffalo hoofs are in blue.

Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ’s father had a vision of horses, hence he wished to depict horse-tails and tracks on his tent, as found in Fig. 173; but he died before he finished it.

The father of Maⁿtcu-naⁿba had a vision of horses, and bequeathed to his son Maⁿtcu-naⁿba the right to decorate his tent in the style shown in Fig. 174. The yellow was connected with the vision. When the owner dwelt in an earth-lodge, the horse-tail was tied to a long pole, which was thrust through the opening at the top of the lodge. So when he used his skin tent, the horse-tail hung from the top of a long pole above the smoke-hole.

When the Omaha dwelt near the present town of Homer, Nebr., and Wackaⁿhi was a young child, he went out to play, and fell asleep. He said that he was aroused by the sounds made by many chickens crowing and cackling. In those days (fide George Miller) there were no white people in that neighborhood; but now in that very place where Wackaⁿhi had the vision, there is a wealthy family living, and besides large herds they have a great many chickens. In remembrance of that occurrence, Wackaⁿhi painted his tent with his personal decoration as given in Fig. 175.

An unknown Omaha had a vision of deer, so he decorated his tent accordingly. (See Fig. 176.) George Miller could not furnish the man’s name.

§ 51. Among the members of the order of Grizzly Bear shamans was an Omaha named ┴ebi‘a (Frog). The top of his tent was painted yellow, as shown in Fig. 177. There was no other decoration; but this yellow evidently was connected with a grizzly bear vision, as it appears in the decoration adopted by the father of Two Crows, who was not only one of the two leaders of the order of Thunder shamans (Iñgȼaⁿ iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma) but also a member of the orders of Buffalo and Grizzly Bear shamans (┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma and Maⁿtcu iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma). (See Pl. XLIV, D, in which a grizzly bear is depicted as emerging from his den. The blue part represents the ground.)

This decoration (of the tent of Two Crows’ father) is thus described by George Miller:

That is, “When they have had visions of grizzly bears, they decorate their tents accordingly. When they see grizzly bears, they behold them coming out of the ground, and so they paint the tents. They always (or usually) paint the ground blue, and part of the tent they paint in a yellow band.” This shows the conventional use of colors. See Pl. XLIV, E, for the sketch of another tent representing the vision of a grizzly bear.

KANSA MYSTERY DECORATIONS.

§ 52. Three Kansa decorations follow. They are taken from an original sketch made by a Kansa man, known to the white people as Stephen Stubbs. The first tent (Fig. 178) is that of a man who had fasted and held mysterious communication with an eagle which gave him some feathers. He had danced the pipe dance once for some one. At the base of this tent are seen two peace pipes on each side of the entrance. At the back are a black bear and a large turtle. The second tent (Fig. 179) is that of a man who had danced the pipe dance three times. Buffalo tails are fastened to the tops of the triangular pieces forming the shelter of the smoke-hole, feathers hang from the two shields, and the stars are above and on the base of the tent skins. Feathers, shields, and stars are also on the back of this tent.

Fig. 180 is the tent of a man who has danced the pipe dance four times. It is very probable, judging from the stars on the tents, that the owners of the second and third Kansa tents had had visions. The Kansa say that when a man has danced the pipe dance twice, his tent can be decorated with two cornstalks at the front (one on each side of the entrance), and two more at the back. The pipes used in the calumet or pipe dance are regarded as “Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ” by the Omaha and Ponka, and the inference is that the Kansa and Osage had a similar belief about these pipes and the accompanying dance. Perhaps there was a time when no man could undertake the pipe dance unless he had a vision of some kind.

OMAHA NIKIE DECORATIONS.

§ 53. As the gentes of the Omaha and Ponka are regarded as being “Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ,” the “nikie” and “nikie names” have a religious significance. George Miller has furnished the author with a few nikie decorations, which are now given.

Maⁿze-guhe, an Omaha, belonged to the Waȼigije sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ gens. The decoration of his robe (Fig. 181) marks the nikie of the sub-gens, as it consisted of spiral forms known as “waȼigije.” That of the tent (Fig. 182) refers to the nikie of the entire gens. In the latter case, the buffalo head was painted on the back of the tent.

Duba-maⁿȼiⁿ, who has a nikie name referring to the buffalo, belongs to the Waȼigije sub-gens. His father wore a black blanket embroidered with beadwork in two rows of spirals, between which was a star. All these figures were made of white beads. (See Fig. 183.)

In the Pipe sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ there were several tent decorations. Of the first, George Miller speaks thus:

That is, “Those persons who belong to the Iñke-sabĕ sub-gens known as Keepers of the Pipes, paint their tent(s) with the pipe decoration. I do not know of any other persons, members of other gentes, using this decoration; I think that no others use it. I think that the Iñkesabĕ chief decorates his tent in this manner, and that he did not decorate it in any way he pleased. When the sacred pipes were made (on the tent) the pipestem was made flat, porcupine work was put around it, several heads of birds were fastened on it, and tufts of reddened horses’ hair were tied to it at intervals.” (See Fig. 184 and Pl. XLIV, C.) This Iñke-sabĕ tent had only two pipes on it—one on each side of the entrance.

The second Iñke-sabĕ tent decoration is thus described by the same authority:

That is, “When, in my childhood, I saw the tents in which the people dwelt, they were of this sort. (See Fig. 185.) I saw the tent decorated with the pipes having feathers attached to each pipe at right angles. I saw a tent of this sort when it was occupied by Waqaga of the Pipe sub-gens. (See another tent decoration of this man, § 48.) Though these pipes closely resemble the peace pipes (niniba waqube), they are made with the feathers attached to the stems at right angles. These are the pipes used in the pipe dance. By means of the pipes the people made for themselves that which was equivalent to (or, lead to) the chieftainship. So they regarded the sacred pipes as of the greatest importance. Even when the people were very bad, even when different tribes continued to struggle with one another; even when they shot often at one another, when some persons came forth with the peace pipes, and bore them to a place between the opposing forces, carrying them all along the lines, they stopped shooting at one another. The Indians regarded the pipes as precious.”

A ┴a[p]a nikie tent decoration is shown in the tent of Heqaga. (Pl. XLIV, C.) This tent had two pipes on each side of the tent, double the number on the Iñke-sabĕ tent (Fig. 184).

Fig. 186 is given as the nikie decoration of a robe belonging to Waqaga. The bird on the robe is an eagle. Members of the Pipe sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ have eagle birth names. And we know that Waqaga belonged to that sub-gens.

The author understood Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows to say, in 1882, that while nikie names possessed a sacredness, it was only the sacredness of antiquity, and that they were not “Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ.”

But the author now thinks that such a statement needs modification; for, besides what appears at the beginning of this section, we know that among the Osage and Kansa the nikie names are associated with the traditions preserved in the secret society of seven degrees, and that this applies not only to names of gentes and sub-gentes, but also to personal nikie names. The author frightened an Osage in January, 1883, by mentioning in public some of this class of names.

OMAHA NIKIE CUSTOMS.

§ 54. Among the nikie of the Omaha, the following may be mentioned: The Wajiñga-ȼatajĭ, or “Blackbird people,” had a curious custom during the harvest season. At that time the birds used to devour the corn, so the men of this sub-gens undertook to prevent them, by chewing some grains of corn which they spit around over the field.[60] During a fog, the [K]e-‘iⁿ men would draw the figure of a turtle on the ground, with its head to the south. On the head, tail, middle of the back, and each leg, were placed small pieces of a (red) breechcloth with some tobacco. They imagined that this would make the fog disappear very soon.[61] The [K]aⁿze gens, being Wind people, flap their blankets to start a breeze when mosquitoes abound.[62] The ┴a-[p]a gens have a form for the naming of a child on the fifth morning after its birth, according to Lion, one of the chiefs of that gens.[63] In the feast on the hearts and tongues,[64] the Hañga men who belong to the sub-gens keeping the sacred pole, eat the buffalo tongues, though the buffalo is their “grandfather” and the eponym of their gens; but they can not eat the “ʇa” or buffalo sides. However, the other Hañga men, who can not eat the tongues, are allowed to eat the consecrated buffalo sides, after the ceremonies connected with the thanksgiving and anointing of the sacred pole.[65] No Omaha child had its hair cut until it had been taken to an old man of the Ictasanda gens, to have the first locks cut, the first moccasins put on the child’s feet, and prayers to be said over it. Sometimes the old man said

i.e., “O grandchild, may Wakanda pity you, and may your feet rest a long time on the ground!” Another form was sometimes used—“Wakanda ȼa‘eȼiȼe tate. Maⁿȼiñka si aȼagȼe tate. Gudihegaⁿ ne tate,” i.e., “May Wakanda pity you! May your feet tread the ground! May you go ahead (or, live hereafter)!”[66]

§ 55. When there is a “blizzard,” the other Kansa beg the members of the Tcihaciⁿ or Kaⁿze gens to interpose, as they are Wind people.

‘O grandfather (said to one of the Kaⁿze gens), I wish good weather. Please cause one of your children to be decorated!’” Then the youngest son of one of the Kaⁿze men, say one over 4 feet high, is chosen for the purpose, and painted with red paint (I´gamaⁿ jü´dje i´kik’ŭⁿ´kiya´be au). The youth rolls over and over in the snow and reddens it for some distance all around him. This is supposed to stop the storm.

GOVERNMENTAL INSTRUMENTALITIES.

§ 56. Among the Omaha governmental instrumentalities which are “Wakandaʇaȼicaⁿ” are the chiefs, the keepers of the three sacred tents, the keepers of the sacred pipes, the gentes, sub-gentes, and taboos, none of which can be regarded as fetiches, and the following which appear to be fetiches: The sacred pipes (including the war pipes of the Elk gens, the two peace pipes kept by the Iñke-sabĕ gens, the mysterious objects kept by the “keepers of the pipes” in the Ȼatada, [K]aⁿze, Maⁿȼiñka-gaxe, ┴e-sĭnde, ┴a-[p]a, and Ictasanda gentes, and the weawaⁿ or pipes used in the calumet dance), the sacred pole, the sacred hide of a white buffalo, the sacred arrows of divination, and the sacred clam shell of the Elk gens.[67]

§ 57. OMAHA AND PONKA TABOOS.

Buffalo skull not touched by—

• 1. ┴e-[p]a it‘ajĭ sub-gens of Ȼatada (Omaha).
• 2. Waȼigije sub-gens of Iñke-sabĕ (Om.).
• 3. ┴e-sĭnde gens (Om.).
• 4. Part of the Wacabe gens (Ponka).
• 5. Part of Necta gens (P.).

Buffalo tongue not eaten by—

• 1. Waȼigije sub-gens of Iñke-sabĕ (Om.).
• 2. Hañgaqti or Wacabe sub-gens of Hañga (Om.).
• 3. Part of Nika[p]aɔna gens (P.).
• 4. Part of Wacabe gens (P.).
• 5. Part of Necta gens (P.).

Buffalo (black) horns not touched by part of Iñke-sabĕ gens (Om.).

Buffalo sides (when consecrated), not eaten by ┴a waqube ȼatajĭ sub-gens of Hañga gens (Om.).

Buffalo rib (lowest one, ʇeȼiʇ-ucagȼe), not eaten by ┴e-sĭnde gens (Om.).

Buffalo and domestic calf not eaten when the hair is red, but can be eaten when the hair turns black, by ┴e-sĭnde gens (Om.).

Buffalo calf can not be touched, when its hair is “zi” (yellow or red), by a sub-gens of the Necta gens (P.).

Buffalo calf can not be eaten at any time by—

• 1. Iñgȼe-jide gens (Om.).
• 2. Part of Wacabe gens (P.).
• 3. Part of Necta gens (P.).

Deer not eaten by—

• 1. Part of Hisada gens (P.).
• 2. Part of Nika[p]aɔna gens (P.).

Male deer not eaten by Elk gens (Om.); but Deer gens can eat venison.

Skin of any animal of the deer family can not be touched by ┴ada gens (Om.).

Flesh of male elk not eaten by Elk gens (Om.).

Bladder and sinew of male elk not touched by Elk gens (Om.).

Elk not eaten by part of Nika[p]aɔna gens (P.).

Turtles not eaten by Turtle sub-gens (Om.).

Black bear skin not touched by—

• 1. Black bear sub-gens (Om.).
• 2. Black bear sub-gens (P.).

Wild-cat skin, not touched by pipe sub-gens of Deer gens (Om.).

Cranes and swans not eaten by part of Hañga gens (Om.).

Swans not touched (formerly?) by Miⁿxasaⁿ wet‘ajĭ sub-gens of Maⁿ-ȼiñka-gaxe gens (Om.).

Small birds not eaten by Wajiñga-ȼatajĭ (Blackbird or Small bird) sub-gens of the Ȼatada gens (Om.). They can eat wild turkeys, ducks, geese, swans, cranes. When members of this sub-gens are sick they can eat grouse.

(Small birds) blackbirds, (black ones), swallows, and grouse not eaten by part of Hisada gens (P.).

Reptiles neither touched nor eaten by—

• 1. Ictasanda gens (Om.).
• 2. Wajaje gens (P.).

Blood not touched by part of the Ȼixida gens (P.), hence their name, Wami it‘ajĭ.

Red corn not eaten by a sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ gens (Om.).

Charcoal not touched by—

• 1. A sub-gens of the Iñke-sabĕ gens (Om.).
• 2. The Pipe sub-gens of the Deer gens (Om.).
• 3. A sub-gens of the Ȼixida gens (P.).
• 4. The Pipe sub-gens of the Wajaje gens (P.).

Verdigris not touched by—

• 1. [K]aⁿze gens (Om.).
• 2. Pipe sub-gens of Deer gens (Om.).
• 3. Part of the Ȼixida gens (P.).
• 4. Pipe sub-gens of the Wajaje gens (P.).

FETICHISM.

§ 58. According to Dr. Tylor, “Fetichism is the doctrine of spirits embodied in, or attached to, or conveying influence through, certain material objects.”[68]

Fetiches may be regarded as of two kinds—those pertaining to the tribe or gens, and those belonging to individual members of the social organization. Some fetiches are amulets, others are charms.

FETICHES OF THE TRIBE AND GENS.

§ 59. Omaha tribal fetiches.—The sacred pole and white buffalo hide, in the keeping of the Hañga gens until a few years ago, but now in the Peabody Museum of Archæology and Ethnology at Cambridge, Mass., were regarded by the Omaha as “wakanda egaⁿ,” i.e., “like Wakandas,” or “partaking of the nature of deities.” During the public thanksgiving after the buffalo hunt, prayer was made towards the sacred pole.[69]

The sacred tent in which the sacred pole of the two tribes was kept was never painted. When the people remained in their permanent villages of earth lodges, the entrance of the sacred tent faced the sunrise; but when the tribe migrated, the entrance of the tent faced the direction in which they traveled. The pole was never exposed to dew, rain, or snow, but was kept within the lodge, during any kind of bad weather. It was never laid down, but was tied to a tent pole. In good weather it was exposed to view. Sometimes it was tied to one of the tent poles near the entrance, as shown in Fig. 187. When not tied thus, it rested on a forked post set in the ground, either in the rear of the tent or in front of it. The top of the pole, to which the scalp was fastened, projected beyond the forked post. When this post was in the rear of the tent, the top of the pole pointed towards the tent; but when the post was set up in front, the pole pointed in the direction to be traveled. The place for the pole in good weather was determined by its keeper.

The people feared the pole, and they would not dare to tread on the tent or its tent-poles. Should a horse tread on a tent-pole of this tent, its legs were sure to be broken subsequently. George Miller knew of two horses that did this, and their legs were broken when the people were surrounding a herd of buffalo.

Frank La Flèche has told the author about some sacred stone arrows which were used for purposes of divination. Hence, the nikie name, Maⁿ pĕjĭ, Bad Arrow, i.e. Good Arrow, a personal name of the Hañga gens. Other objects, which may have been fetiches, have been named in § 56. In addition to all which have been mentioned must be named the waȼixabe or mysterious bags. While these are not governmental instrumentalities, they are “waqube” mysterious things, and on certain occasions they are addressed as “grandfathers.” There used to be five of these bags among the Omaha, but only three are now in existence. Those which could be carried in time of war were made of the skins and feathers of the gȼedaⁿ or pigeon hawk, the iⁿbe-jañka or fork-tailed hawk, and the nickucku or swallow.[70]

┴ade uȼeȼĕ, according to Big Elk (but denied by Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows) is the mystic rite performed by the principal captain when near the camp of the enemy. It is thus described by Big Elk (See § 62):

“Four times he untied the bag which he had made sacred. He caused the wind to waft the odor of the medicine toward the lodges. When the medicine arrived there, it made the Pawnees forget their warlike temper; it made them forget their weapons.”[71]

That there was some foundation for this statement, compare what is said in Omaha Sociology, p. 321:

“When the principal captains wish to open their sacred bags, they assemble their followers in a circle, making them sit down. Any of the followers or servants may be ordered to make an “ujeʇi” in the center of the circle by pulling up the grass, then making a hole in the ground (the “U-ma-ne” of Miss Fletcher[72]). Then the sacred bags are laid at the feet of the principal captains, each one of whom opens his own bag (i.e. the one borrowed by him from its keeper), holding the mouth of the bird toward the foe, even when some of the warriors are going to steal horses.”

During the ordeal of the “wastegistu,” as the Omaha call it, the successful warriors were called up, one by one, and as each man stood over one of the sacred bags, he addressed the bag itself thus:

“Ho, venerable man! though I will tell you something, I will not lie when I tell it to you.” As he spoke he let a small stick drop on the bag. It was supposed that if the stick rested on the bag instead of rolling off, the man had told the truth (Om. Soc., p. 328).

§ 60. Osage tribal fetiches.—The corresponding Osage custom has been described by the author:[73] The old men assembled at the war tent. The sacred bags were brought into the tent to test the warriors, who were watched very closely by the old men. All the old men who had been distinguished in war were painted with the decorations of their respective gentes.  *  *  *  Each warrior had four sticks about 6 inches long, and he was required to lay them in succession on the sacred bag. The warriors were taken in the following order: First, the captain, next the lieutenants, then the heralds, after whom came the man who had struck the first blow, then he who gave the second blow, and so on. As each captain laid his first stick on the bag he said, “Ho, O grandfather! I lay this down on you because I am the one who has killed a man.” On laying down the second stick, he said, “Ho, O grandfather! I wish to be fortunate in stealing horses! I wish our children, too, to be as fortunate as we have been!” When he put down the third, he said, “Ho, O grandfather! I wish to raise a domestic animal. I wish to succeed in bringing it to maturity.” By this he meant a son. The prayer made when the last stick was laid down was as follows: “Ho, O grandfather! May we continue a people without sustaining any injuries!” Similar petitions were made by the lieutenants and heralds. He who gave the first blow said, as he laid down the first stick, “Ho, O grandfather! I lay this down on you as one who has caused another to stun a foe!” The rest of his petitions were those made by the captains. He who struck the second blow said as follows, on laying down the first stick: “Ho, O grandfather! I place this on you because I was the next one to strike and stun a man!” The other petitions follow, as given above. The first petition of each of the remaining warriors is as follows: “Ho, O grandfather! I lay this on you as a token that I have aided in overcoming the enemy.”

§ 61. Kansa tribal fetiches.—Among the Kansa, the following fetiches belong to the two Hañga gentes: The war pipe and the war clam shell. The war pipe was kept in 1882 by Pahaⁿle-wak’ü, the son of Aliⁿkawahu, for the two Hañga gentes. This pipe has an eye on each side, so that it may see the enemy! There is no pipestem, but there is one hole to which the mouth is applied, and in the bowl is another hole in which the tobacco is placed. The pipe, which is all in one piece, is of catlinite, about as thick as two hands. It is never taken from the wrappings, except when all the men of the two Hañga gentes assemble at the lodge of the chief Aliⁿkawahu. The sacred clam shell was kept in 1882 by Pahaⁿle-gaqli, the chief of the other Hañga gens. It is wrapped in five coverings, similar to those around the war pipe. They are as follows: (1) The innermost covering, the bladder of a buffalo bull; (2) next covering, made of the spotted fur of a fawn; (3) made of braided rushes or “sa;” (4) a very broad piece of deerskin; (5) the outermost covering, made of braided hair from the head of a buffalo bull.

PERSONAL FETICHES.

§ 62. Ԁaȼiⁿ-naⁿpajĭ said that there were some Omaha who considered as “waqube” the skins of animals and the skins and feathers of birds used in making their “waȼixabe” or mystery bags. Among these birds and animals he named the eagle, sparrow hawk, yellow-backed hawk, green-necked duck, great owl, swallow, otter, flying squirrel, mink, miʞa skă (“white raccoon” sic), and mazaⁿhe. The last is an animal resembling an otter. It is covered with thick black and reddish-yellow hair, and its tail is bushy. Samuel Fremont said (in 1889) that this animal was not found in that part of Nebraska where the Omaha dwelt, but that he had heard of its being found among the Dakota. Two Crows and Joseph La Flèche never heard of the miʞa skă and mazaⁿhe among their own people; but they said that when the Omaha traveled, some used to take with them their respective “makaⁿ” or medicines, evidently their personal fetiches, for they used to say, “Our medicines are wise; they can talk like men, and they tell us how many horses we are to receive from the people to whom we are going.”

When the Omaha went against the Pawnee during the boyhood of the present Big Elk, one of the captains, named Gi‘aⁿhabi, had a war club of the kind called “weaqȼade.” He made this club “waqube,” in order to use it mysteriously. When near the camp of the enemy he brandished the club four times toward the Pawnees. This was followed by the use of the sacred bag, as related in § 59.

It is probable that the medicines of the Watci Waȼupi, Wase-jide aȼiⁿ-ma, and the Ԁaȼiⁿ-wasabĕ watcigaxe ikagekiȼĕ, of the Omaha,[74] the Red Medicine of the Kansa, and the Red Medicine of the Osage Makaⁿ ɔüʇ[s]e watsiⁿ or Red Medicine Dance, were used as fetiches, as they conferred wonderful powers on those who used them. When the author was at the Omaha Agency, in 1878, he obtained the following: Rocky Mountain beans, which are scarlet, and are called “Makaⁿ jide” or Red Medicine, confer good luck on their owners. If the beans like their owners, they will never be lost; even if dropped accidentally, they will return to the possession of their owners. Ni-k’ú-mi, an aged Oto woman, told one of her granddaughters (then Susette La Flèche, known as Bright Eyes after 1879, and now the wife of T. H. Tibbles) of her own experience with one of these beans. She had dropped it in the grass, but she found it on retracing her steps. It is impossible to say whether this scarlet bean was identical with the Red Medicine of the Iowa (§ 87), Kansa, and Osage; but it certainly differed from that of the Wase-jide aȼiⁿma of the Omaha.

There are sacred or mystery rites practiced by the dancing societies, including those to which the wazeȼĕ or doctors belong. Two Crows said that he did not know those of his society, the ┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma. As initiation into one of these societies is very expensive, it is unreasonable to suppose that Two Crows would communicate the secrets of his order for a small sum, such as $1 a day.

SORCERY.

§ 63. There have been sorcerers, i.e., such as prepared love potions for those who bought them, and who were thought to cause the death of those persons who had incurred their displeasure. The author has been told that the sorcerers give a high price for a small quantity of the catamenial discharge of a virgin. It is mixed with a love potion, and when the compound is administered to a man he can not help courting the woman, even when he knows that he does not love her.

JUGGLERY.

§ 64. Ickade or sleight of hand exists not only in the secret societies but also along with the practice of medicine, government, and religion. Some of the Omaha and Ponka doctors of the first class (the wazeȼĕ, not the makaⁿ aȼiⁿ-ma or root doctors) pretend to draw sticks from the bodies of their patients, or worms from aching teeth, saying that those things are the causes of the diseases. Every disease is a “nie” or “pain,” and there must be a cause for that pain.

§ 65. In 1872 Big Grizzly Bear, a subordinate Ponka chief, told the following to the author: “One day Whip, a head chief, said, ‘I am going to make the sun blue.’ And he did so. Then he said, ‘I am going to pull out some of the hair of the man in the moon.’ He held up his hands to show that they had no hair in them. Then he began to sing. Suddenly he had some bloody hair in each hand. Ga-ʇi-de maⁿ-ȼiⁿ and a great many others were witnesses. Once, when the Ponka were destitute of food, Buffalo Bull, the father of Grizzly Bear’s Ear, said, ‘I will use magic.’ His wife replied, ‘Please do so.’ So he made a pile of earth about 2 feet high and shot four arrows into it. A large deer was slain, furnishing them with plenty to eat.”

In 1871 the author saw an exhibition of the skill of Cramped Hand and Bent Horn, two Ponka shamans. One afternoon, near sunset, about two hundred persons, mostly Indians, stood in a large circle around a tent in which sat the shamans and their assistants. Presently the shamans and the aged chief, Antoine Primeau, came out of the tent and stood within the circle. One of the shamans, Cramped Hand, danced along the inner side of the circle, exhibiting a revolver (Allen’s patent), one chamber of which he seemed to load as the people looked on. After he had put on the cap, he handed the weapon to the chief, who fired at the shaman. Cramped Hand fell immediately, as if badly wounded. Bent Horn rushed to his relief and began to manipulate him. It was not long before Cramped Hand was able to crawl around on his hands and knees, though the bullet had apparently hit him in the mouth. He groaned and coughed incessantly, and after a tin basin was put down before him he coughed up a bullet which fell in the basin, and was shown in triumph to the crowd. This is told merely to show how the Indian juggler has adopted some of the tricks of his white brother. In a few moments Bent Horn danced around, showing to each of us an object which appeared to be a stone as large as a man’s fist, and too large to be forced into the mouth of the average man. Cramped Hand stood about 10 or 15 feet away and threw this stone toward Bent Horn, hitting the latter in the mouth and disappearing. Bent Horn fell and appeared in great pain, groaning and foaming at the mouth. When the basin was put down before him, there fell into it, not one large stone, but at least four small ones. We were told that the chief, Antoine, had to give a horse for the privilege of shooting at the shaman.

It is probable that some of the Omaha shamans performed similar tricks, though the author has been unable to obtain any accounts of them.

§ 66. He was fortunate, however, in making the acquaintance of the chief “wakandagi,” or shaman of the Kansa, when at Kaw Agency, in the winter of 1882. This man, Nixüdje-yiñge, was very communicative. He said that there used to be ten shamans in the tribe, and all had round pebbles which they blew from their mouths against the persons whom they “ʞilŭⁿxe” or “shot in a mysterious manner.” The arrow of the shamans was called “Mi-pa-ha,” which is a name of the Buffalo gens. This missile was made of part of the red-breasted turtle.

A woman named Saⁿ-si-le had two “makaⁿ” (medicines, fetiches?) which she used for “ickade” or “wakandagi wagaxe” (magic, shamanistic legerdemain). She could swallow a knife; and when she swallowed a certain kind of grass she drew a green snake from her mouth. John Kickapoo’s father had a red medicine, which was used for women who desired to become enciente, for horses, and for causing good dreams. Nixüdje-yiñge’s mother, who was a shaman, has a small pebble and a clam shell, which she used in her mystery acts.

Pagani had a “sika-hyuka” or “needle” (so represented by Nixüdje-yiñge, but it may not have been a steel needle), which he swallowed and voided through the urethra. Gahige-wadayiñga used to stab himself with a “mahiⁿsü” or arrow-point, about 6 inches long, causing the blood to spurt from his left shoulder as he danced. The other shamans used to spurt water on his back from their mouths, while he held his arms horizontally from his body, with the forearms pointing upward. When they finished no wound could be found. One shaman had a fish called “hu blaska” or flat fish, to which he talked. He made a necklace of the skin, and he used it for “ʞilŭⁿxe.”

Wakanda-zi had the skin of a small black bear as his sacred bag. As he danced he held it by the tail and shook the skin. After shooting the round pebble from his mouth at a person he thrust the bear skin at the wounded man, drawing it back very quickly. The round pebble was drawn into the mouth of the bear and dropped on the ground when the skin bag was held with the tail up.

He who wished to be shot at handed a gun to some one, who shot him in the side, much blood escaping. He seemed to be dead; but the shamans assembled and manipulated him. One put the mouth of the otter (of the otterskin sacred bag) to the mouth of the patient in order to perform the act called “lüpayiⁿ” (to raise up or resuscitate his own). Then, “Zü´be aká eyaú tuhnañ´ge aká,” i.e., when the bag was drawn away rapidly, the otter made the sound “zübe,” as when one draws in the breath, and the bullet was in its mouth. On the patient’s recovery he gave a horse to the man who shot at him.

Mañge-zi had a clam shell and a snake that he used in his sleight-of-hand acts. He also swallowed “mahiⁿ-tu,” a kind of green grass about a foot long and as thick as a pencil. Before swallowing this, he warmed it at a fire. He rubbed himself on his chest after swallowing it, saying, “Let all look at me!” Then he called to him a man to act as his assistant. He coughed and in the assistant’s hand there was a snake, which he took around the circle of spectators, showing it to every one, though no one handled it. On his returning the snake to Mañge-zi, the latter swallowed it and coughed up the long grass.

Nixüdje-yiñge said that there were eight objects used by the shamans for “shooting,” the needle; flint (?) arrow head; beaver teeth; the half of a knife blade, i.e., that part next to the point; the fish-fan, made of “huqtci” or “real fish;” the red medicine; the hiyádadáxe or medicine bag that was caused to fly; and the tuhnañge, or otter skin bag. (See §§ 292-295, 307.)

OMAHA AND PONKA BELIEF AS TO A FUTURE LIFE.

§ 67. They have a very crude belief. Each person is taught to have a wanaxe or spirit, which does not perish at death. According to Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows, the old men used to say to the people, “Ȼiudaⁿ ʞĭ, wanaxe udaⁿ-maʇa ci tate. Ȼipiäjĭ ʞĭ, wanaxe piäjĭ-maʇa ci tate,” i.e., “If you are good, you will go to the good ghosts. If you are bad, you will go to the bad ghosts.” Nothing was ever said of going to dwell with Wakanda, or with demons.[75]

Rev. William Hamilton found a belief that retribution is in this life, and he says, “Their notions are exceedingly crude.”

§ 68. Frank La Flèche told the author before 1882 that he had heard some old men relate a tradition that years ago a man came back to life and told about the spirit land. He said that for four nights after death the ghost had to travel a very dark road, but that after he reached the Milky Way there was plenty of light. For this reason, said he, the people ought to aid their deceased friends by lighting fires at the graves, and by keeping them burning for four nights in each case. After going along the Milky Way, the ghost came at last to a place where the road forked; and there sat an aged man, clothed in a buffalo robe with the hair outside. (See § 359½.) He said nothing, but pointed to each inquirer the road for which he asked. One road was a very short one, and he who followed it soon came to the place where the good ghosts dwelt. The other road was an endless one, along which the ghosts went crying. The spirits of suicides could not travel either road; but they hovered over their graves. But Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows (in 1882) said that the road of the ghosts was not the Milky Way, and they regarded the account of the endless road as a modern addition, which is very probable. The latest statements of Frank La Flèche are given in the Jour. Amer. Folk-Lore, vol. II, No. 4, pp. 10, 11:

There are a variety of beliefs concerning the immediate action of the spirit upon its withdrawal from the body. Some think that the soul at once starts upon its journey to the spirit land; others, that it hovers about the grave as if reluctant to depart. Because of this latter belief, food and water are placed at the head of the grave for several days after the burial. The spirit is supposed to partake of this food. No Indian would touch any article of food thus exposed; if he did, the ghost would snatch away the food and paralyze the mouth of the thief, and twist his face out of shape for the rest of his life; or else he would be pursued by the ghost, and food would lose its taste, and hunger ever after haunt the offender. There is a belief in the tribe that before the spirits finally depart from men who died of wounds or their results, they float toward a cliff overhanging the Missouri, not far from the present Santee Agency, in Nebraska, and cut upon the rocks a picture showing forth their manner of death. A line in the picture indicates the spot where the disease or wound was located which caused the death. After this record is complete, the spirit flies off to the land of the hereafter. It is said that these pictures are easily recognized by the relatives and friends of the deceased. This place is known as Iñ-gȼaⁿ´-xe ʞi-ʞá-xai ȼaⁿ,[76] or, Where the spirits make pictures of themselves. A suicide ceases to exist; for him there is no hereafter. A man struck by lightning is buried where he fell, and in the position in which he died. His grave is filled with earth, and no mound is raised over one who is thus taken from life.

In 1873 some of the Ponka said they had the following beliefs concerning a murderer: (1) The ghosts surround him and keep up a constant whistling; (2) he can never satisfy his hunger, though he eat much food; (3) he must not be allowed to roam at large lest high winds arise.

It is important to compare this whole section with the Dakota beliefs found in §§ 266-278.

The author was told by the Omaha that when a man was killed by lightning, he ought to be buried face downwards, and the soles of his feet had to be slit. When this was done, the spirit went at once to the spirit land, without giving further trouble to the living. In one case (that of a Wejiⁿcte man, Jadegi, according to George Miller and Frank Le Flèche)[77] this was not done, so it was said that the ghost walked, and he did not rest in peace till another person (his brother) was slain by lightning and laid beside him.

When Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows heard what Frank had told about the Milky Way, etc., they remarked, “We have never been to the spirit land, so we can not tell what is done there. No one has ever come back and told us.” All that they had ever heard was the old story about the forked road.

§ 69. Gahige, the late chief of the Iñke-sabĕ (a buffalo gens), told the author about the address made to a member of his gens, when dying. According to him, the person was addressed thus: “You are going to the animals (the buffalos). You are going to your ancestors. Ánita dúbaha hné (which may be rendered, You are going to the four living ones, if not, the four winds). Wackañ´-gă (Be strong).” Gahige was understood to speak of four spirits or souls to each person, but Joseph La Flèche and Two Crows said that the Omaha did not believe that a person had more than one spirit. Two Crows gave the following as the address to a dying member of his gens, the Hañga, another buffalo gens:

face this way again. When you go, continue walking.” The last sentence is a petition to the departing spirit not to return to this earth to worry or injure the survivors. That the dead are referred to as still existing, and as having some knowledge of what is happening here, may be seen from the address to a Ponka chief at his installation: “Ȼiádi gáhi, ȼijiⁿ´ȼĕ gáhi, ȼiʇígaⁿ gáhi, ámustáqti ȼidaⁿ´be maⁿ´ȼiⁿ tai;” i.e., “Your father was a chief, your elder brother (i.e., his potential elder brother, Ubiskă, a former head chief of the Ponka) was a chief, and your grandfather was a chief; may they continue to look directly down on you!”[78]

§ 70. Those who boil sacred food, as for the warpath, pour some of the soup outside the lodge, as an offering to the ghosts. (Omaha custom.)

There has been no belief in the resurrection of the body, but simply one in the continued existence of the ghost or spirit. While some of the Iowas expressed to Mr. Hamilton a belief in the transmigration of spirits, that doctrine has not been found among the Omaha and Ponka, nor has the author heard of it among other Siouan tribes.

Not all ghosts are visible to the living. They may be heard without being seen. One Omaha woman, the mother of Two Crows, told how she had been in a lodge with many persons, who were invisible from the knees upward.[79]

KANSA BELIEFS RESPECTING DEATH AND A FUTURE LIFE.

§ 71. When the author was at Kaw Agency, Indian Territory, in the winter of 1882-’83, a man named Ho-sa-sa-ge died. After the representatives of all the gentes had assembled at the house, Wakanda (named after the Thunder-being), the father-in-law of the deceased, removed the lock of hair called the “ghost,” and took it to his own house, weeping as he departed.

When Mr. Say was among the Kansa[80] he obtained the following information about their beliefs concerning death and the future life:

When a man is killed in battle the thunder is supposed to take him up, they do not know whither. In going to battle each warrior traces an imaginary figure of the thunder on the soil; he who represents it incorrectly is killed by the thunder. A person saw this thunder one day on the ground, with a beautiful moccasin on each side of it. Having need of a pair, he took them and went his way; but on his return to the same spot the thunder took him off, and he has not since been heard of.

They seem to have vague notions about the future state. They think that a brave man or a good hunter will walk in a good path; but a bad man and a coward will find a bad path. Thinking that the deceased has far to travel, they bury with his body moccasins, some articles of food, etc., to support him on the journey. Many persons, they believe, who have revived have been, during their apparent death, to strange villages, where they were not treated well by the people, so they returned to life.

The author, when among the Kansa, in the winter of 1882-’83, learned the following, which differs from anything he has ever obtained elsewhere: “The Kansa believe that when there is a death the ghost returns to the spirit village nearest the present habitat of the living. That is to say, all Indians do not go to one spirit village or ‘happy hunting ground,’ but to different ones, as there is a series of spirit villages for the Kansa, beginning with the one at Council Grove, where the tribe dwelt before they removed to their present reservation in Indian Territory, and extending along both sides of the Kansas River to its mouth, thence up the Missouri River, as far as the tribe wandered before meeting the Cheyennes (near the State line), thence down the river to the mouth of Osage River, and so on, down to the mouths of the Missouri and Ohio rivers,” etc.