James Owen Dorsey

“ The ceremony of burying the dead is terminated with tears, wailings, howlings, and macerations of all present. They tear the hair, gash the legs, and at last they light the calumet, for that is the Alpha and Omega of every rite. They offer it to the shades of the departed and entreat them not to injure the living. During their ceremonious repasts, in their excursions, and even at a great distance from their graves, they send to the dead puffs of tobacco smoke and burn little pieces of meat as a sacrifice to their memory. ”

“ Here all the women are old and ugly, having claws like a panther, with which they fly upon the men that slight their passion. For it seems these haggard old furies are intolerably fond, and expect a vast amount of cherishing. They talk much, and exceedingly shrill, giving exquisite pain to the drum of the ear, which in that place of torment is so tender, that every sharp note wounds it to the quick. ”

“ The men imitate the buffalo in his wild tramping and roaring, and dance with great vigor. They are followed by a long line of gaily decked women in single file. Each woman as she dances keeps her feet nearly straight and heels close together, and the body is propelled forward by a series of jerks which jars the whole frame, but the general effect on the long, closely packed line is that of the undulating appearance of a vast herd moving. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When the Missouri, in its spring-time freshets, cuts down its bank and sweeps some tall tree into its current, it is said that the spirit of the tree cries while the roots yet cling to the land and until the tree falls into the water. Formerly it was considered wrong to cut down one of these great trees, and, when large logs were needed, only such as were found fallen were used; and to-day some of the more credulous old men declare that many of the misfortunes of the people are the result of their modern disregard for the rights of the living cottonwood. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 [Pg 433] 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. ”

“ The women dance with their eyes turned toward the ground and with their hands hanging closely in front, palms next to the person. The track left by their feet is very pretty, being like a close-leaved vine. It is astonishing to notice how each woman can leap into her predecessor’s track. Water is partaken of and the entire dance is clearly indicative of the prayer for increase and plenty of buffalo. The two mounds remind one of larger structures and suggest many speculations, particularly when taken in connection with the manner of their building. ”

“ If some one is heard weeping outside of a lodge, it is a sign that a person dwelling in that lodge is doomed to die. If a sister dies, she has a strong desire to return and carry off a beloved brother. So in the event of a death in the family a gun is fired or medicine is thrown on a fire to raise a smoke. If one who is alone encounters a ghost, the latter will be apt to pull his mouth and eyes until they are crooked. This danger is encountered only by one who has dreamed of a ghost. He who has been harmed by a ghost always faints, and it is long before he revives. ”

“ 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 ”

“ Here they select a tall, forked cottonwood, which they fell, trim, and bark; to this they tie lariats, and, by the aid of horses, drag it to the village. In the procession, the man who has most distinguished himself in battle, mounted on the horse on whose back he has done his bravest deeds, takes the lead; others follow in the order of the military distinction; as they drag the log along, they fire guns at it, strike it with sticks, and shout and sing songs of victory. The log, they say, is symbolical of a conquered enemy, whose body they are bringing into the camp in triumph. ”

“ 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. ”

“ When one of these beings wishes, he abandons his abode and reclines under ground at another place; then there is no water issuing from the place where he used to lie, but a spring gushes forth from the new resting place. The water of this spring is warm in winter, but as cold as ice in summer, and before one dares to drink of it he prays to the water, as he does not wish to bring illness on himself by his irreverence. In the olden days one of these strange beings was pulled up out of a bog and carried to the camp, where a special tent was erected for him. ”

“ The Hidatsa, therefore, look on all these birds as “medicine” for their corn patches, and attend to their songs. When these birds sing the Hidatsa, remembering the direction of the Grandmother, fill the two kettles with water, dance and bathe, in order to commemorate the great flood. When their fields are threatened with a great drought they celebrate a “medicine” feast with the two kettles, as they beg for rain. The shamans are still paid, on such occasions, to sing for four days together in the huts, while the kettles remain full of water. ”

“ Before they became acquainted with firearms, a Mandan dreamed of a weapon with which they could kill their enemies at a great distance, and soon after the white men brought them the first gun. In like manner they dreamed of horses before they obtained any. In many cases the guardian spirit is revealed to the fasting youth in a dream. If the Lord of Life makes him dream of a piece of cherry wood or of an animal, it is a good omen. The young men who follow such a dreamer to the battle have great confidence in his guardian spirit or “medicine.” ”

“ At the end of this path sits a dreadful old woman on a monstrous toadstool, whose head is cover’d with rattlesnakes instead of tresses, with glaring white eyes, that strike a terror unspeakable into all that behold her. ”

“ It was dangerous to make a false report to the keeper of the sacred tent of war or to the directors of the buffalo hunt, in the estimation of the Omaha, for the offender was sure to be struck by lightning or bitten by a snake or killed by a foe or thrown by a horse or have some other disaster befall him. [280] It was dangerous to break the taboo of any gens or subgens, or to violate any other ancient custom. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ The sun is thought to be the residence of the Lord of Life. In the moon dwells, as they say, the Old Woman who Never Dies. They do not know much about her, but they sacrifice to her as well as to the other spirits. She has six children, three sons and three daughters, who inhabit certain stars. The eldest son is the Day, the second is the Sun, the third is the Night. ”

“ There are always young people enough to submit their bodies to torture, in order to display their courage. They fast four days and nights, which leaves them faint. Many of them begin the tortures on the third day; but the fourth day is that properly set apart for them. To the forked pole of the medicine lodge is fastened a long piece of buffalo hide, with the head hanging down, and to this a strap is fastened. An old man is then chosen, who is to see to the torturing of the candidates, which is executed precisely in the same manner as among the Mandans. The sufferers often faint. ”

“ One of the Dakota words for “aged” is kan (kaŋ in Riggs’s alphabet) ; but though this refers to persons we can not tell whether it is related to wakan (or wakaŋ) .
In the Ȼegiha, the language spoken by the Ponka and Omaha, Wakanda means “the mysterious” or “powerful one,” and it is applied in several senses. It is now used to denote the God of monotheism. Some of the old people say that their ancestors always believed in a supreme Wakanda or Mysterious Power. It sometimes refers to the Thunder-being. On one occasion, a Ponka shaman, Cramped Hand, said to the author: “I am a Wakanda.” ”

“ In the next world, human shades hunt and live on the shades of the buffalo and other animals that have here died. There too there are four seasons, but they come in an inverse order to the terrestrial seasons. During the four nights that the ghost is supposed to linger near his former dwelling, those who disliked or feared the deceased, and do not wish a visit from the shade, scorch with red coals a pair of moccasins, which they leave at the door of the lodge. The smell of the burning leather, they claim, keeps the ghost out; but the true friends of the dead man take no such precautions. ”

“ Upon the fire is placed a huge kettle full of meat, and they remain seated around the fire smoking until the water in the kettle begins to boil, which is the signal for the dance to begin. They dance and sing around it excitedly, plunging their hands into the boiling water, and seizing large pieces of hot meat, which they devour at once. The scalding water is thrown over their backs and legs, at which they never wince, complaining that it is cold. ”

“ And when they do not offer the tobacco, they stand with the arms elevated and the hands stretched out, palms down, as they cry towards the clouds. And they say that the Thunder-beings know about them, their worshippers. ”

“ 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 ”