Chapter V: Dakota and Assiniboin Cults (4)

§ 254. Bogs are very mysterious. There are various strange objects covered with thick hair which remain at the bottom of a bog. These objects have no eyes, but they are able to devour anything, and from their bodies water is ever flowing. 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. But water flowed all around him, which drowned almost all of the people. Then the survivors offered him food, which he held as he sat motionless, gazing at them. The food disappeared before the spectators were aware of it, though they did not see the being eat it.

TREES.

§ 255. The Dakota prayed to trees, because it was reported that in former days a tree had sung at intervals. A man claimed to have witnessed this, and from that time they have been regarded as mysterious.

CUSTOMS RELATING TO CHILDHOOD.

§ 256. The Teton sing on account of the unborn child, and set up a pole inside the lodge, at the part opposite the entrance, fastening eagles’ down to the top of the pole, just as they do when a boy has advanced toward manhood.

§ 257. Soon after birth they paint the face of the infant, whether it be a boy or a girl, with vermilion, in the “Huŋka” style.[189] Should they neglect to do this, it is said that the infant would become blear-eyed or it would suffer from some kind of sickness.

§ 258. When the navel string is cut, a small bag is made of deerskin, cut in the shape of a small tortoise, known as patkaśala. In this bag is placed a piece of the navel string and sweet-smelling leaves, with which the bag is filled. The infant has to carry this bag on its back. Part of the navel string is buried, and when the child is large enough to get into mischief they say, “He is hunting for his navel string.”

§ 259. Prior to the naming of the infant is the ceremony of the transfer of character. Should the infant be a boy, a brave and good-tempered man, chosen beforehand, takes the infant in his arms and breathes into his mouth, thereby communicating his own disposition to the infant, who will grow up to be a brave and good-natured man. It is thought that such an infant will not cry as much as infants that have not been thus favored. Should the infant be a girl, it is put into the arms of a good woman, who breathes into its mouth.

§ 260. Twins are a mystery to the Teton, who believe that they are of superhuman origin, and must come from Twin-land. As they are not human beings, they must be treated very politely and tenderly, lest they should become offended and die in order to return to Twin-land.

In his MS. Teton vocabulary, sent to the Bureau of Ethnology in July, 1890, Dr. J. M. Woodburn, Jr., recently physician at Rosebud Agency, S. Dak., makes the following statement which seems worthy of notice: “Twins are lucky as regards themselves only; the mother is looked upon as unfortunate. The twins may die, but they are sure to be born again into separate families. No ordinary human being can recognize them as twins after the new births; but twins themselves are able each to recognize the other as his fellow-twin in a previous state of existence. Medicine men often claim that their supernatural powers are due to a previous existence as twins.” (See §§ 267, 287.)

§ 261. When a child is able to walk, they say that “He kicks out the teeth of his elder brother” (or “sister,” as the case may be). The teeth of the elder child which have been shed, probably the first set, are buried under the entrance to the lodge so that other teeth may come in their place. Whoever steps over the spot where the teeth have been buried will soon have other teeth in his mouth.

PUBERTY.

§ 262. Among the Oglala Dakota, according to Miss Fletcher,[190] the rites incident to the puberty of girls take place on the fourth day of the sun-dance festival. In a note on page 260 of the Peabody Museum Report, vol. III, the same authority says:

Through the kindness of Rev. A. L. Riggs I learn that among the
bands of Eastern Sioux living near Fort Sully, Dak., a feast,
called the reappearance of the White Buffalo Skin, is held for the
consecration of a girl on her arriving at puberty. The feast is
sacred and costly, and not everyone can afford it. Those who have
once made the feast become the privileged guests at every such
feast, occupy the feast tent, and are served first. A prominent
feature in the feast is the feeding of these privileged persons,
and the girl in whose honor the feast is given, with choke
cherries, as the choicest rarity to be had in the winter. The
feast can be held at any time. Bull berries, or, as the Dakotas
call them, “rabbits’ noses,” may be substituted, or finely pounded
meat mixed with fat, in case no berries are to be had. In the
ceremony, a few of the cherries are taken in a spoon and held over
the sacred smoke, then fed to the girl. The spoon is filled anew,
incensed as each person is fed. As each one is given the cherries,
he is addressed thus: “Wi-ća-śa-ya-ta-pi wo-yu-te de ya-tiŋ kte,”

[Transcriber’s note: the last hyphen in “wo-yu-te” was at the end of a line; the word may have been “wo-yute” or “wo-yu-te”.]

i.e., “You will eat this chief’s food.” The eaters are not chiefs;
they only partake of chiefs’ food.

§ 263. Initiation to manhood took place in one of two ways: (1) By the wohduze ceremony, or, (2) by the bear dance, as witnessed by Long.

The former has been referred to in §§ 122-125 of this article; the latter has been described by Long[191] as

a ceremony which they are in the habit of performing when any
young man wishes to bring himself into particular notice, and it
is considered a kind of initiation into the state of manhood.
There is a kind of flag made of fawn skin dressed with the hair
on, suspended upon a pole. Upon the flesh side of it are drawn
certain figures indicative of the dream which it is necessary the
young man should have dreamed before he can be considered a proper
candidate for this kind of initiation. With this flag a pipe is
suspended by way of sacrifice. Two arrows are stuck up at the foot
of the pole, and fragments of painted feathers, etc., are strewed
upon the ground near it. These pertain to the religious rites
attending the ceremony, bewailing and self-mortification. The
young man who has had the dream acts the bear in this dance, and
is hunted by the other young men; but the same man can not act the
bear more than once in consequence of his dreams.

§ 264. Miss Fletcher says:[192]

The maturity of the sexes is a period of serious and religious
experiences which are preparatory by their character for the
entrance of the youth or maiden into the religious and secular
responsibilities of life, both individual and tribal. Among
the tribes which hold especial public ceremonies announcing
the maturity of a girl, these rights are held not far from the
actual time of puberty, and indicate the close of childhood and
entrance of the person into the social status of womanhood. The
public festival has, however, been preceded by private religious
rites. With young men the religious training precedes and follows
puberty, and the entrance is publicly announced by the youth
joining in the dangers and duties of tribal life. According to the
old customs, a young man did not take a wife until he had proved
his prowess, and thus became enrolled among the manly element,
or braves, as they are sometimes spoken of. The initial fasts of
warriors have been mistaken sometimes for ceremonials of puberty.

GHOST LORE AND THE FUTURE LIFE.

MEANING OF WANAĠI.

§ 265. The word “wa-na-ġi” means more than “apparition.” The living man is supposed to have one, two, or more “wanaġi,” one of which after death remains at the grave and another goes to the place of the departed. The writer has been told that for many years no Yankton Dakota would consent to have his picture taken lest one of his “wanaġi” should remain in the picture, instead of going after death to the spirit land. The Teton Dakota apply the name of “ghost” or “shadow” to the lock of hair cut from the forehead of the deceased and kept for some time by the parents; and till that lock is buried the deceased is supposed to retain his usual place in the household circle.

§ 266. Lynd[193] says that to the human body the Dakota give four spirits:

The first is supposed to be a spirit of the body, which dies with
the body. The second is a spirit which always remains with or near
the body. Another is the soul which accounts for the deeds of the
body, and is supposed by some to go to the south, by others to
the west, after the death of the body. The fourth always lingers
with the small bundle of the hair of the deceased, kept by the
relatives until they have a chance to throw it into the enemy’s
country, when it becomes a roving spirit, bringing death and
disease to the enemy in whose country it remains. From this belief
arose the practice of wearing four scalp feathers for each enemy
slain in battle, one for each spirit.

§ 267. “Some Sioux claim a fifth scalp feather, averring that there is a fifth spirit, which enters the body of some animal or child after death. As far as I am aware, this belief is not general, though they differ in their accounts of the spirits of man, even in number.

Some of these metempsychosists go so far as to aver that they have distinct recollections of a former state of existence and of the passage into this. The belief, as before stated, does not appear to be general.” (See §§ 260, 287.)

§ 268. With regard to the place of abode of the four spirits of each man--though they believe that the true soul which goes south or west is immortal--they have no idea, nor do they appear to have any particular care as to what may become of them after death. It may be remarked, that the happy hunting grounds, supposed to belong to every Indian’s future, are no part of the Dakota creed--though individual Dakota may have learned something like it from the white men among them.

ASSINNIBOIN BELIEFS ABOUT THE DEAD.

§ 269. The Assinniboin “believe that the dead migrate toward the south,[194] where the climate is mild, the game abundant, and the rivers well stocked with fish. Their hell is the reverse of this picture; its unfortunate inmates dwell in perpetual snow and ice and in the complete deprivation of all things. There are, however, many among them who think that death is the cessation of life and action and that there is naught beyond it.[195]

“The Assinniboine believe that their dead go to a country in the south, where the good and brave find women and buffaloes, while the wicked or cowardly are confined on an island, where they are destitute of all the pleasures of life. The corpses of brave men are not deposited in trees, but on the ground, as they will help themselves, and they are covered with wood and stones to protect them from the wolves.”[196]

GHOSTS NOT ALWAYS VISIBLE.

§ 270. The ghosts of the departed are not always visible to the living. Sometimes they are heard but not seen, though in the lodge with a mortal. Occasionally they become materialized, taking living husbands or wives, eating, drinking, and smoking, just as if they were ordinary human beings.

DEATH AND BURIAL LORE.

§ 271. As ghosts visit the sick at night it is customary to drive them away by making a smoke from cedar wood, or else cedar is laid outside the lodge. Sometimes a piece of cedar is fastened up at the smoke-hole. (See § 42.) One Teton story shows how a female ghost disliked a bad odor and fled from it. When they hear a ghost whistling, some one leaves the lodge and fires a gun. Before death the lodge is surrounded by ghosts of deceased kindred that are visible to the dying person.

All the dead man’s possessions are buried with him; his body is dressed in good clothing. The favorite horse is decorated and saddled, and to this day various articles belonging to the deceased are fastened to him. The horse is shot and part of his tail is cut off and laid near the head of the burial scaffold, as it is thought that in such a case the ghost can ride the ghost of the horse and use all the articles carried by that animal.

§ 272. _Why the Teton stopped burying in the ground._--Long ago the people buried some men on a hill and then removed camp to another place. Many winters afterwards a man visited this burial place, but all traces of the graves had disappeared. So many men came and dug far down into the hill. By and by one said, “A road lies here.” So they dug in that direction and made a fire underground. And there they found a tunnel large enough for men to walk in by stooping, with many similar intersecting ones. They followed the main one and finally came to a place whither a strange animal, the Waḣaŋksića, had dragged the corpses. For this reason the Lakota became unwilling to lay their dead in the ground, so they began to bury on scaffolds which could not be reached by beasts of prey. At the present day the Teton gives three reasons for not burying in the ground: (1) Animals or persons might walk over the graves; (2) the dead might lie in mud and water after rain or snow; (3) wolves might dig up the bodies and devour them.

§ 273. _Importance of tattooing._--In order that the ghost may travel the ghost road in safety it is necessary for each Lakota during his life to be tattooed either in the middle of the forehead or on the wrists. In that event his spirit will go directly to the “Many Lodges.” The other spirit road is said to be short, and the foolish one who travels it never reaches the “Many Lodges.” An old woman sits in the road and she examines each ghost that passes. If she can not find the tattoo marks on the forehead, wrists, or chin, the unhappy ghost is pushed from a cloud or cliff and falls to this world. Such is the lot of the ghosts that wander o’er the earth. They can never travel the spirit road again; so they go about whistling, with no fixed abode.

§ 274. If a quiet and well-behaved person dies his ghost is apt to be restless and cause trouble, but the ghost of a bad person who dies a natural death is never feared. The ghost of a murdered person is always dangerous.

§ 275. If a ghost calls to a loved one and the latter answers, he or she is sure to die soon after. 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. Mothers scare bad children by saying, “Well, wait a bit and I will tell a ghost to come and carry you off.” Some one who has dreamed of ghosts will draw one on a skin, etc., to frighten the children. Such a person is said to draw his own ghost just as he will appear in future. No one else dares to draw a ghost. (See § 299.)

CEREMONIES AT THE GHOST LODGE.[197]

§ 276. When a son dies the parents with a knife cut off some hair from the top of the head, just above the forehead, placing the hair in a deerskin cover. Then they set up three poles, fastened together at the top and forming a sort of tripod. A cord hung over the top of these holds up the white deerskin pack containing the hair of the deceased. This hair is called the ghost or shade (or wa-na-ġi) of the dead person. The deerskin pack hangs horizontally from the poles and the skin is worked with porcupine quills in many lines, and here and there are various kinds of red and blue circular figures sewed on it. All the sod had been cut away from the ground beneath the pack, and on this bare or virgin earth they put a bowl and a drinking vessel, each ornamented with porcupine work. Three times a day do they remember the ghost, for whom they put the choicest food in the bowl and water in the drinking vessel. Every article is handled carefully, being exposed to the smoke of sweet-smelling herbs. The pack said to contain the ghost is put in the ghost lodge with the knife which he used during life.

The Indians always have observed the custom of smoking pipes and eating while sitting in the ghost lodge. At the back of the lodge they prepare a seat and in the middle they set up two poles similar to those erected outside the entrance to the tents. Before they eat in the lodge, they sacrifice part of the food. Whenever they move the camp or single tent from one place to another all these sacred objects are packed and carried on a horse kept for this special purpose. This horse is called “Wanaġi taśuŋkewakaŋ,” i.e., “The ghost’s horse.” This horse has his tail and mane cut off short; the hair on the body is shaved very close; his body is rubbed all over with yellow clay. Some one then rubs paint on the fingers, touching the rump gently several times, as well as the forehead and around the neck and breast. A feather is tied to the end of the tail. On his back they place a saddlecloth and a saddle, each ornamented with porcupine quills. The horse must mourn--i.e., keep his hair short--as long as the ghost remains unburied; but as soon as the hair is removed from the pack and buried the horse’s hair is allowed to grow long again. As soon as the people stop to encamp the ghost lodge is set up before any of the others. The articles which are kept there remain for a specified time, perhaps for several years, during which period certain ceremonies are performed. At the end of the allotted time comes the ghost feast, the Waéćŭŋpi or Wakíćaġápi, when the ghost pack is opened and the ghost taken out and buried. Then all the people assemble, setting up their tents near the ghost lodge. The kindred of the deceased weep and bring food to the place. All this food has been boiled. They set up in the ground some forked sticks, such as are used for digging wild turnips, and straight poles are laid along the forked sticks. On the poles are hung moccasins, and in the space between the forked sticks are piled blankets, buffalo robes, calico, untanned skin bags, tanned bags, porcupine quills, wild turnips, and fruits.[198] These are distributed by women, and the people spend the time pleasantly. They also give presents to the young women. If the deceased was a male and a member of an order of young men, all who belong to it are invited to a feast (there was a similar custom among the Ponka, in 1872), where they sing songs. When they stop singing they sit with bodies erect, but with bent head and stooping shoulders. Then the parents of the dead youth enter the lodge, weeping as they pass around the circle, and each one places both hands on the head of each guest, because the son, who regarded the men as his friends, is no longer present. If the deceased is a female, only the women assemble, except some men who lead the singing. If horses take part in the ceremonies, their manes and tails are shaved short, and they, too, receive gifts. Here and there one of the kindred of the deceased gives away all his property, and then the bag is opened and the hair or ghost is taken out and buried. From this time the parting with his parents is absolute. They think that, until the hair is buried, the deceased is really present with the household, and that when this burial takes place he dies a second time. After this burial the kindred put on their usual clothing, and while they weep for the dead at intervals they are at liberty to anoint and decorate themselves according to fancy.

Another account of Bushotter states that when they prepare for the ghost feast they redden the sack containing the hair and hang the war bonnet of feathers on the three poles at right angles with the ghost sack. They wish to remember his deeds in war, so they also stick one end of his war spear in the ground, with its top leaning against the tops of the three poles. His shield is suspended from one of the poles. The three pipes on the shield in a colored sketch prepared by Bushotter denote that on so many expeditions the deceased warrior carried a war pipe. The red stripes declare how many of the enemy were wounded by him, and the human heads show the number of foes that he killed. The half-moon means that he shouted at his foes on a certain night. Once he threw aside his arms and engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with a foe; this is shown by the human hand. The horse-tracks indicate that he ran off with so many horses. If his name was Black Hawk, for instance, a black hawk was painted in the middle of his shield.

All these things are arranged before they open the bag containing the hair. Then they enter the lodge, and there they open all the things that they have brought. The kindred of the deceased are the only ones to enter the lodge, and when they see the hair taken from the sack they scream suddenly for a minute or two. It is at this time that they distribute the gifts. Food has been boiled in many kettles, and is now divided among the people not the kindred of the deceased, who are scattered around the ghost lodge, and some food is usually given to the young men of the order to which the deceased belonged.

A woman who attends to collecting the food, calico, bags, clothing, etc., turns to the four posts of the scaffold in succession, and utters one of the following sayings or prayers at each post: “If the ghosts eat this, may I live long!” or “May the ghosts eat this, and I obtain many horses!” or “If my nephew (or niece) eats this, may someone give me many presents!” This woman is careful to put the best part of the food on the bowl or dish, under the scaffold near the head of the corpse.[199] Should any one eat before the food has been put aside for the ghost, all the ghosts become angry with him, and they are sure to punish him; they will make him drop his food just before it reaches his mouth, or they will spill the water when he tries to drink, and sometimes they cause a man to gash himself with a knife.

GOOD AND BAD GHOSTS.

§ 277. Some ghosts are beneficent, but most of them are maleficent. They know all things, even the thoughts of living people. They are glad when the wind blows. Bushotter’s younger brother was crazy at one time, and a doctor or peźuta wićaśa said that the sickness had been caused by a ghost.

INTERCOURSE WITH GHOSTS.

§ 278. Lynd says: The belief in the powers of some Dakotas to call
up and converse with the spirits of the dead is strong in some,
though not general. They frequently make feasts to those spirits
and elicit information from them of distant friends and relatives.
Assembling at night in a lodge, they smoke, put out the fire, and
then, drawing their blankets over their heads, remain singing
in unison in a low key until the spirit gives them a picture.
This they pretend the spirit does; and many a hair-erecting
tale is told of the spirit’s power to reveal, and the after
confirmation.[200]

GHOST STORIES.

A few ghost stories of the Teton collection will now be given.

§ 279. _The ghost husband._--A young Lakota died just before marrying a young girl whom he loved. The girl mourned his death, so she cut her hair here and there with a dull knife, and gashed her limbs, just as if she had been an old woman. The ghost returned and took her for his wife. Whenever the tribe camped for the night the ghost’s wife pitched her tent at some distance from the others, and when the people removed their camp the woman and her husband kept some distance behind the main body. The ghost always told the woman what to do; and he brought game to her regularly, which the wife gave to the people in exchange for other articles. The people could neither see nor hear the ghost, but they heard his wife address him. He always sent word to the tribe when there was to be a high wind or heavy rain. He could read the thoughts of his wife, so that she need not speak a word to him, and when she felt a desire for anything he soon obtained it for her.

§ 280. _The solitary traveler._--Once a solitary traveler was overtaken by a tremendous thunderstorm near a forest. So he remained there for the night. After dark he noticed a light in the woods, and when he reached the spot, behold, there was a sweat lodge, in which were two persons talking. One said, “Friend, some one has come and stands without. Let us invite him to share our food.” The listener fled suddenly, as they were ghosts, and they pursued him. Though he looked behind now and then, he could not see them; so he ran with all his might towards a hill, and escaped from them. As he was ascending a divide of the Bad Lands, all at once he heard the cry of a woman. He was very glad to have company for the rest of the journey; but no sooner had he thought about the woman than she appeared by his side, saying, “I have come because you have just wished to have my company.” This frightened the man, but the ghost woman said, “Do not fear me, else you will never see me again.” So they went on silently till daybreak. Then the man looked at her, but her legs could not be seen, though she was walking without any apparent effort. Then the man thought, “What if she should choke me?” Immediately the woman disappeared like the wind. (See § 245).

§ 281. _The ghost on the hill._--One day, when the people were hunting the buffalo, a strange man appeared on a hill. He wore a winter robe, with the hair outside. When he was descending the hill the people became alarmed, but he continued to advance. The young men rushed to meet him, taking bows and arrows. They could not see his face. They tried to shoot him, but each arrow passed by him on one side or the other. So they finally fled, as he was a ghost.

§ 282. _The Indian who wrestled with a ghost._--A young man went alone on the warpath. At length he reached a wilderness, encountering many difficulties, which did not deter him from his undertaking. One day, as he was going along, he heard a voice, and he thought, “I shall have company.” As he was approaching a forest he heard some one halloo. Behold, it was an owl. By and by he drew near another forest, and as night was coming on he had to rest there. At the edge of the forest he lay down in the open air. At midnight he was aroused by the voice of a woman, who was wailing, “My son! my son!” Still he remained where he was, and continued putting wood on the fire. He lay with his back to the fire, placing his flint-lock gun in readiness before him. He tore a hole in his blanket large enough to peep through.

Soon he heard the twigs break under the feet of one approaching, so he peeped without rising. Behold, a woman of the olden days was coming. She wore a skin dress with long fringe. A buffalo robe was fastened around her at the waist. Her necklace was composed of very large beads, and her leggins were covered with beads or porcupine work. Her robe was drawn over her head, and she was snuffling as she came. The man lay with his legs stretched out, and she stood by him. She took him by one foot, which she raised very slowly. When she let it go it fell with a thud, as if he was dead. She raised it a second and third time. Still the man did not move himself. Then the woman pulled a very rusty knife from the front of her belt, seized his foot suddenly, and was apparently about to lift it and gash it, when up sprang the man, saying, “What are you doing?” Without waiting for a reply he shot at her suddenly, and away she went, screaming “Yuŋ! yuŋ! yuŋ! yuŋ! yuŋ! yuŋ!” Then she plunged into the forest and was seen no more.

Once again the man covered his head with his blanket, but he did not sleep. When day came he raised his eyes, and, behold, he saw a human burial scaffold, with the blankets, etc., ragged and dangling. He thought, “Is this the ghost that came to me?” On another occasion he came to a forest where he had to remain for the night. He started a fire, by which he sat. Suddenly he heard some one making the woods ring as he sang. The man shouted to the singer, but the latter paid no attention to him. The man had a small quantity of wasna (grease mixed with pounded dried buffalo meat and wild cherries) and plenty of tobacco. So when the singer, who was a male ghost, came to him and asked him for food, the man replied, “I have nothing whatever;” but the ghost said, “Not so; I know that you have some wasna.” Then the man gave some of it to the ghost and filled the pipe for him. After the meal, when the ghost took the pipe and held it by the stem, the man saw that his hand had no flesh, being nothing but bones. As the ghost’s robe had dropped from his shoulders to his waist all his ribs were visible, there being no flesh on them. Though the ghost did not open his lips as he smoked, the smoke was pouring out through his ribs. When he finished smoking the ghost said to the man, “Ho! we must wrestle together. If you can throw me, you shall kill a foe without hindrance, and steal some horses.” The young man agreed to the proposition; but before beginning he gathered plenty of brush around the fire, on which he put an armful. Then the ghost rushed at the man, seizing him with his bony hands, which pained the man, but this mattered not. He tried to push off the ghost, whose legs were very powerful. When the ghost was brought near the fire, he became weak, but when he managed to pull the man towards the darkness, he became very strong. As the fire got low the strength of the ghost increased. Just as the man began to grow weary the day broke. Then the struggle was renewed. As they drew near the fire the man made a desperate effort, and with his foot he pushed a firebrand suddenly into the fire. As the fire blazed again, the ghost fell just as if he was coming to pieces. So the man won, and the ghost’s prophecy was fulfilled; he subsequently killed a foe, and stole some horses. For that reason people have believed whatever the ghosts have said.

§ 283. _The man who shot a ghost._--In the olden time a man was traveling alone, and in a forest he killed several rabbits. After sunset he was in the midst of the forest, so he made a fire, as he had to spend the night there. He thought thus: “Should I encounter any danger by and by, I have this gun, and I am a man who ought not to regard anything.” He cooked a rabbit and satisfied his hunger. Just then he heard many voices, and they were talking about their own affairs, but the man could see nobody. So he thought, “It seems that now at length I have encountered ghosts.” Then he went and lay under a fallen tree, which was at a great distance from the fire. He loaded his gun with powder only, as he knew by this time that they were really ghosts. They came round about him and whistled, “Hyu, hyu, hyu!” “He has gone yonder,” said one of the ghosts. They came and stood around the man, just as people do when they hunt rabbits. The man lay flat beneath the fallen tree, and one ghost came and climbed on the trunk of that tree. Suddenly the ghost gave the cry uttered on hitting an enemy, “Aⁿ-he!” and he kicked the man on the back. But before the ghost could get away, the man shot at him and wounded him in the legs; so the ghost gave the male cry of pain, “Au! au! au!” And finally he went off crying as females do, “Yuŋ! yuŋ! yuŋ!” And the other ghosts said to him; “Where did he shoot?” And the wounded one said: “He shot me through the head and I have come apart.” Then the other ghosts were wailing on the hillside. The man decided to go to the place where they were wailing. So, as the day had come, he went thither, and found some graves, one of which a wolf had dug into so that the bones were visible, and there was a wound in the skull.

ASSINNIBOIN BELIEFS ABOUT GHOSTS.

§ 284. Smet says:[202]

The belief in ghosts is very profound, and common to all these
tribes. Indians have often told me that they have met, seen, and
conversed with them, and that they may be heard almost every night
in the places where the dead are interred. They say that they
speak in a kind of whistling tone. Sometimes they contract the
face [of a human being whom they meet] like that of a person in an
epileptic fit.[201] The Assinniboines never pronounce the name
of Tchatka [i.e., Ćatka, or, Left Hand, a former chief] but
with respect. They believe that his shade guards the sacred tree;
that he has power to procure them abundance of buffalo and other
animals, or to drive the animals from the country. Hence, whenever
they pass they offer sacrifices; they present the calumet to the
tutelary spirits and manes of Tchatka. He is, according to their
calendar, the Wah-kon-tangka par excellence, the greatest man or
genius that ever visited their nation.[202]

PRAYERS TO THE DEAD, INCLUDING ANCESTORS.

§ 285. Riggs says[203] that the Dakota pray to the spirits of their deceased relatives. [See §§ 67-71.] And in his account of the Assinniboin, Smet says:

The Assinniboines esteem greatly a religious custom of assembling
once or twice a year around the graves of their immediate
relatives. These graves are on scaffolds about 7 or 8 feet above
the surface of the ground. The Indians call their dead by name and
offer to them meats carefully dressed, which they place beside
them. 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.

§ 286. Before consulting the tutelary spirits [see § 34] or
addressing the dead, they begin by kindling the sacred fire.
This fire must be struck from a flint, or it must reach them
mysteriously by lightning, or in some other way. To light the
sacred fire with a common fire would be considered among them as a
grave and dangerous transgression.[204]

METAMORPHOSES AND THE TRANSMIGRATION OF SOULS.

§ 287. They believe in transformations, such as are described in
Ovid, and they think that many of the stars are men and women
translated to the heavens. They believe in the transmigration
of souls. Some of the medicine men profess to tell of what
occurred to them in bodies previously inhabited for at least six
generations back. [See §§ 260, 267.]

EXHORTATIONS TO ABSENT WARRIORS.

§ 288. Among the Teton it has been customary for those remaining at home to make songs about the absent warriors, calling them by name, as if they could hear the speakers. This Dakota custom agrees with what has been recorded of the Omaha.[205]

Bushotter has told of another Teton custom. The kindred of a slain warrior make songs in his honor, and sing them as they mourn for his death.

MYSTERIOUS MEN AND WOMEN.

§ 289. Lynd says:

Certain men profess to have an unusual amount of the wakan
or divine principle in them. By it they assume the working
of miracles, laying on of hands, curing of the sick, and
many wonderful operations. Some of these persons pretend to a
recollection of former states of existence, even naming the
particular body in which they formerly lived. Others assert their
power over nature, and their faculty of seeing into futurity, and
of conversing with the deities. A third class will talk of the
particular animals whose bodies they intend to enter when loosed
from their present existence [§§ 260, 267, 287]. In endeavoring
to sustain these pretensions they occasionally go through
performances which are likely to deceive the ignorant throng.[206]

Pond wrote thus of the Dakota wakaŋ men:[207]

They do not spring into existence under ordinary operations of
natural laws, but, according to their faith, these men and women
(for females, too, are wakan) first arouse to conscious existence
in the form of winged seeds, such as the thistle, and are wafted
by the * * * influence of the four winds till they are
conducted to the abode of some Taku Wakan, by whom they are
received into intimate communion. They remain there till they
become acquainted with the character and abilities of the class of
gods whose guests they happen to be, and until they have imbibed
their spirits, and are acquainted with all the chants, feasts,
dances, and rites which the gods deem necessary to impose on men.
Thus do some of them pass through a series of inspirations with
different classes of divinities, till they are fully wakanized
and prepared for human incarnation. They are invested with the
invisible wakan powers of the gods, their knowledge and cunning,
and their omnipresent influence over mind, instinct, and passions.
They are taught to inflict diseases and heal them, discover
concealed causes, manufacture implements of war, and impart to
them the ton-wan power of the gods; and also the art of making
such an application of paints that they will protect from the
powers of the enemies. This process of inspiration is called
“dreaming of the gods.” Thus prepared and retaining his primitive
form, the demi-god rides forth on the wings of the wind over
* * * the earth, till he has carefully observed the characters
and usages of the different tribes of men; then, selecting his
location, he enters one about to become a mother, and, in due
time, makes his appearance among men. * * * When one of these
wakan men dies he returns to the abode of his god, from whom he
receives a new inspiration, after which he passes through another
incarnation as before, and serves another generation. In this
manner they pass through four incarnations, * * * and then
return to their original nothingness.

§ 290. There are different persons who regard themselves as wakaŋ, says Bushotter. Among these are those who practice medicine, those who act as Heyoka, those who boil for the grizzly bear feasts, those who take part in the mystery dance, those who foretell the future, those who detect wrong-doers and find what has been lost or stolen, and those who do various things in a cunning manner. It happens thus to them: A man hears a human voice during the day and he does what the voice directs to be done, or on a certain night a tree converses with him, and the two talk about their own affairs, and what the tree tells him to do, that he does, so he says, or, it orders him to keep some law or custom as long as he lives. Among these superstitious notions are the following: Some men direct the pipe to be handed around the lodge from the left side to the right, and others vice versa. Some men dare not gash a firebrand with a knife; and should a visitor do so heedlessly, they say that he “cuts his finger.” Others will not kill a swallow, lest thunder and hail ensue. Some do not allow a knife to be passed above a kettle.

§ 291. The wakan men claim that they are invulnerable. To prove this they assemble at stated intervals, having painted themselves in various styles. Each one has a flute suspended over the chest by a necklace. They wear long breechcloths, and march in single file. Two men armed with bows and arrows rush suddenly towards the waken men and shoot at them; but instead of wounding them they merely bend the arrows! Sometimes the men fire guns at them, but the bullets fall to the ground, and when they are examined they are flattened! No visible mark of a wound can be found on the bodies of these wakan men, though when they were hit by the bullet or arrow blood pours from their mouths. After they wash off the paint from their bodies their flesh becomes tender and is vulnerable. This is the excuse urged when an ordinary person succeeds in wounding a wakan man. It is supposed that the wakan men rub themselves with some kind of medicine known only to themselves, making them invulnerable, and that perhaps the bullets or arrows are rubbed with the medicine prior to the shooting. It is also supposed that the playing of the flute aids in rendering them invulnerable. (See § 306, etc.)

§ 292. Bushotter names two kinds of Dakota doctors--the Mato wapiya, or Grizzly Bear doctor, who is very wakan, and the Peźuta wapiya, or Peźuta wićaśa, the doctor who prescribes roots. The person who practices medicine claims to have had interviews with the spirits, but he never reveals what the spirits have told him, though he says that immediately after the revelation made him by the spirit he begins to act according to its directions. And in some cases of sickness this doctor takes the flesh of the patient into his mouth and makes a sucking sound while inhaling, and from the patient’s side he pretends to remove something. When he has made the sucking sound after taking the flesh into his mouth, or when he has taken blood or something else from the side of the patient, he spits it from his mouth. Then he sees the patient’s mother, whom he tells what is the cause of the disease, and whether the patient will recover or die. Such doctors pretend to have within themselves one of the following: A small red hawk, a common woodpecker, a real buffalo, a rattlesnake, or a grizzly bear. And when one of these doctors kicks on the ground there is heard something within him, singing in a beautiful voice; and so the people believe what the doctors say about diseases.

§ 293. When the doctor has sucked the patient’s flesh a long time without removing anything, he asks a favor of the mysterious being dwelling within himself, and then that being cries out often, and the doctor succeeds in his efforts. It is by the aid of these mysterious beings that the doctors are enabled to practice medicine. In the olden time one of the doctors was very mysterious. Once, when he was practicing, a bowl of water was set down before him. He vomited into the bowl and a water-snake appeared in it. But when the doctor opened his mouth again the snake glided gently into it and disappeared down his throat. Such exhibitions by the doctors have been observed by the Indians, who are constrained to believe what the doctors claim for themselves. And because they believe that the doctors are very mysterious, the latter are able to gather together many possessions as pay for their services. Therefore the men and women doctors try to excel one another in their skill, as it pays them so well.

§ 294. A “peźuta wicaśa” told Bushotter to say to his step-father that his son, Bushotter’s younger brother, had been made crazy by a ghost. The doctor came and fumigated the patient, and after he felt a little better he sucked at the boy’s chest and drew out some blood. He resumed the operation, and then declared that there was in the boy’s side a flat object resembling a serpent, the removal of which would insure the boy’s recovery. The doctor was promised a horse if he would attend the patient until he cured him. Acting by his directions, Bushotter’s elder brother caught a large catfish, of the species called “howasapa,” and handed it to his step-father, who offered a prayer and marked the fish with a knife on the top of the head. After this the fish was cooked, and the sick boy ate it and recovered his health. It was after this that the same boy was cured by invoking the Dawn and offering sacrifice, as related in § 215.

GOPHER LORE.

§ 295. Scrofulous sores on the neck under the jaw are said to be caused by gophers. These animals can shoot at persons in a magical way with the tip of a species of grass, wounding them very mysteriously, the injured person being unconscious of the harm done till some time has elapsed. The place swells, splits open, and becomes very bad, affecting even the face of the sufferer. Few doctors can cure it. He who can relieve the patient pretends to extract pieces of grass from the neck, and then the person begins to recover. The people are so afraid of gophers that they go around the camp with their hands over their jaws. No one dares to go near a gopher hill except he or she be a mysterious person. Such a one can go near it and even touch it with impunity, as he has different remedies at his command.

CAUSES OF BOILS AND SORES.

§ 296. Whoever gets into the habit of eating the large intestine of cattle, known as the taśiyaka, is sure to “be hit by a śiyaka,” _i. e._, he will have a boil.[208] Śiyaka is the name of the grebe or dabchick, but what connection there is between the bird and the boil has not been learned. The boil will be on some covered part of the body, not on the hands or face. The Teton fear to go outside of their lodges at night lest the cause of boils be blown to them. If a man eats the liver of a female dog, or if a woman eats that of a male dog, the face of the offender will break out in sores.

RESULTS OF LYING, STEALING, ETC.

§ 297. Warts betray a bad person, one given to stealing. If the skin of the hard palate peels off, it is said that the person is untruthful. When the Teton doubt a man’s word, they ask him to open his mouth and let them see his hard palate. He who makes a practice of eating the calves of the legs of any species of animal will have a cramp in the muscles of his own legs. When one wishes to extract the marrow from a bone, he takes care not to split the bone in two, lest his own legs should be in frequent pain, or he should become lame.

SECRET SOCIETIES.

§ 298. The Dakota use “ihaŋbla” or “ihaŋmda” as the Omaha and Ponka do “iȼa‘eȼĕ,” to describe the mysterious communications received from the animals and spirits (§§ 8, 43-52).

Among the Siouan family of Indians there are societies, religious
in character, which are distinguished by the name of some animal.
Each society has a ritual composed of chants and songs to be sung
during different parts of the ceremonies, having words describing
in simple and direct terms the act which accompanies the music.
These musical rituals, it is often claimed, have been received in
a mysterious or supernatural manner, and are therefore regarded
as possessing a religious power * * * Some societies admit
women to membership, through their own visions, or occasionally
by those of their husbands’, but more generally by means of the
visions of male relatives. * * * Membership in these
societies is not confined to any particular gens, or grouping of
gentes, but depends upon supernatural indications over which the
individual has no control. The animal which appears to a man in a
vision during his religious fasting determines to which society
he must belong.[209]

§ 299. Those having visions or revelations from ghosts are called Wanaġi ihaŋblapi kiŋ. It is such persons who can draw pictures of ghosts with impunity. It is also said that the only persons who have their faces drawn awry by the ghosts are the members of this order. (See § 275.)

§ 300. Bushotter’s step-father belongs to the Tataŋg ihaŋblapi kiŋ, or the Society of those who have Revelations from the Buffalo, answering to the Omaha ┴e iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma (§§ 43, 50). In one of his visions he saw a buffalo with cocklebur down in his hair, so the man subsequently put such down in his own hair in imitation of the buffalo. One night he saw (probably in a vision) a bison going toward the south with a hoop on his head. So the man painted a small hoop red all over and wore it on his head, giving his nephew the name Ćaŋgleśka waŋyaŋg mani, He Walks In-sight-of a Hoop.