SERIES PUBLICATIONS OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION

Emphasis upon publication as a means of “diffusing knowledge” was expressed by the first Secretary of the Smithsonian. In his formal plan for the Institution, Joseph Henry outlined a program that included the following statement: “It is proposed to publish a series of reports, giving an account of the new discoveries in science, and of the changes made from year to year in all branches of knowledge.” This theme of basic research has been adhered to through the years by thousands of titles issued in series publications under the Smithsonian imprint, commencing with Smithsonian Contributions to Knowledge in 1848 and continuing with the following active series:

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Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology

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In these series, the Institution publishes small papers and full-scale monographs that report the research and collections of its various museums and bureaux or of professional colleagues in the world cf science and scholarship. The publications are distributed by mailing lists to libraries, universities, and similar institutions throughout the world.

Papers or monographs submitted for series publication are received by the Smithsonian Institution Press, subject to its own review for format and style, only through departments of the various Smithsonian museums or bureaux, where the manuscripts are given substantive review. Press requirements for manuscript and art preparation are outlined on the inside back cover.

S. Dillon Ripley

Secretary

Smithsonian Institution

James R. Murie (Saku·ru Taˀ ‘Coming Sun’). (DeLancey Gill photograph, 1900, BAE neg. 1266-B; Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives, Bureau of American Ethnology Collection.)

SMITHSONIAN CONTRIBUTIONS TO ANTHROPOLOGY • NUMBER 27

Ceremonies of the Pawnee

PART I: THE SKIRI

James R. Murie

Edited by Douglas R. Parks

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION PRESS

City of Washington

1981

ABSTRACT

Murie, James R. Ceremonies of the Pawnee, Part I: The Skiri; Part II: The South Bands. Douglas R. Parks, editor. Smithsonian Contributions to Anthropology, number 27, 497 pages, frontispiece, 41 figures, 2 tables, 1981.—In 1910 James R. Murie, an educated Pawnee who had previously worked with various anthropologists (most notably Alice C. Fletcher and George A. Dorsey), was given a grant by the Bureau of American Ethnology to prepare a full account of surviving Pawnee religious ceremonies. Shortly afterward he began work under the direction of Clark Wissler, with whom he planned a comprehensive description of the ritualism of the Skiri band. This monograph, written by Murie in collaboration with Clark Wissler, is the combined result of the two projects, which extended over a decade. It is a detailed presentation of the essential features of Pawnee ceremonialism. The first part presents the annual cycle of Skiri ceremonial life, minutely describing most of the rituals as well as the role and functions of sacred bundles in the culture. The second part includes accounts of three surviving South Band ceremonies that Murie witnessed: the White Beaver Ceremony (or Doctor Dance) of the Chawi band, and the Bear and Buffalo dances of the Pitahawirata band. In each of the accounts the songs of the ceremony are given in both Pawnee and English. Together they constitute one of the most extensive song collections for any North American tribe. For the three South Band ceremonies, the vision stories underlying the songs are also presented. The manuscript, scheduled for publication on several occasions in the 1920s and 1930s, has been in the archives of the Bureau of American Ethnology since 1921. It is here presented in edited form, together with revised linguistic transcriptions and translations, notes, an expanded bibliography, a biography of Murie, and two indexes.

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION DATE is handstamped in a limited number of initial copies and is recorded in the Institution’s annual report, Smithsonian Year. SERIES COVER DESIGN: Sioux Indian hide painting depicting mounted warriors.

Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Murie, James R.

   Ceremonies of the Pawnee.

(Smithsonian contributions to anthropology; no. 27)
Supt. of Docs. no.: SI 1.27:27
Bibliography: v. 2, p.
Includes indexes.

CONTENTS: pt. 1. The Skiri.—pt. 2. The South Bands.

1. Pawnee Indians—Rites and ceremonies. 2. Indians of North America—Great Plains—Rites and ceremonies. 3. Pawnee Indians—Music. 4. Indians of North America—Great Plains— Music. I. Parks, Douglas R. II. Title. III. Series.

GN1.S54 no. 27, etc. [E99.P3] 301.2´08s [390´.0978] 79–607022

Contents

Editor’s Introduction

Background of the Manuscript

An Overview of Pawnee Society

Social Organization

Pawnee Ceremonialism

Sacred Bundle Ceremonies

Doctors’ Ceremonies

Comments on Murie’s Observations

Acknowledgments

Manuscript Conventions

Key to the Transcriptions

Song Conventions

Biography of James R Murie

Notes to the Introduction

PART I: THE SKIRI

Introduction

The Skiri Bundle Scheme

Functions and Characteristics of Skiri Bundles

Relationships among the Bundles

Relationships of Priests and Keepers of Bundles

Care of Bundles

The Mother Corn Concept

The Powers in the Heavens

Doctors’ and Warriors’ Powers

Ceremonial Cycle of the Skiri Federation

Spring Ceremonies

The Thunder or Renewal Ceremony

The Songs

Creation of the World Songs

Smoke Offering Song

Song to Wonderful Being

Song for the People

The Evening Star Bundle

Order of the Thunder Ritual

Songs by the Priests

Offerings to the Gods

The Ritual Incensing

Corn and Meat Offerings

Renewal Rituals for Other Bundles

Young Eagle Society Bundle

Rituals for War Bundles

Wonderful Leggings of Pahukatawa

Meteorite Bundles

Renewing Society Regalia

The Kawaharu Ritual

Shelling the Sacred Ear of Corn

Transfer of the Bundle Leadership

Distribution of the Seed

The Corn Planting Ceremony

Work in the Fields

Young Corn Plant Ritual

Summer Ceremonies

The Chiefs’ Council

All Bundles Opened to View the Country

Great Washing Ceremony

The Summer Hunt

Consecration of First Animals Killed

Other Ceremonial Observances

Return to the Villages

The Harvest

Autumn and Winter Ceremonies

Changing Mother Corn

The Four Pole Ceremony

Society and Village Ceremonies

Renewing the Wrappings for the Evening Star Bundle

Merging of Bundle Powers

Return to the Villages

Special Bundle Ceremonies of the Skiri

Human Sacrifice to the Morning Star

The Vision and the Capture

Captivity and Sacrifice

Songs of the Sacrifice

The New Fire Ceremony

Procedures and Rituals of the Warpath

The Ceremony

The New Fire

Name Changing Chant

March around the Village

Concluding Procedures

The Calumet Ritual

Thanksgiving Ritual for All Bundles

Other Bundle Ceremonies

The Wolf Bundle

The Squash Vine Village Bundle

The Black Star Bundle

Individual Bundles

Sweathouse Ceremonies

The Sweatlodge Ritual

The First Sweatlodge

Doctors’ Ceremonies

Renewal of Doctors’ Powers

The Summer Ceremony

The Thirty Day Ceremony

Arrangement of the Lodge

Visiting the Sick

Miscellaneous Data

Notes to Part I

Requirements for Smithsonian Series Publication

Ceremonies of the Pawnee

James R. Murie

Edited by Douglas R. Parks

____________

James R. Murie (deceased). Douglas R. Parks, Indian Languages Program, Mary College, Bismarck, North Dakota 58501.

Editor’s Introduction

Background of the Manuscript

Written over half a century ago, the manuscript “Ceremonies of the Pawnee” is unusually significant in two respects: its contribution to Pawnee and Plains ethnology and its being authored by an Indian under unique circumstances. Of all the American Indian tribes of the Plains, the Pawnee and the closely related Arikara developed their religious philosophy and ceremonialism to its fullest; in fact, they may have developed them more than any other group north of Mexico. Yet in spite of this rich and complex religious life, no comprehensive and systematic description of it has been published. There are several excellent collections of mythology (e.g., Dorsey, 1904a, 1906a, 1906c) and descriptions in varying detail of particular ceremonies (e.g., Fletcher, 1899, 1900a, 1904; Lesser, 1933a; and Linton, 1922a, b, 1923a, b). Moreover, Weltfish (1965) has given a lengthy presentation of the round of Pawnee ceremonial and cultural life in the context of a panoply of personalities. In none of these, however, do we get the full detail and systematic presentation that James R. Murie has assembled here. Since traditional Pawnee religion of the 19th century is no longer viable, the practice of most of the ceremonies having ceased at their latest during the first quarter of this century and many of them much earlier, and since informants for nearly all of the ceremonies are long deceased, Murie’s description is the only one of its sort that we shall ever possess; and so it has been and will continue to be the primary source on the subject.

Murie was a native Pawnee of mixed blood (half Pawnee, half white), who lived most of his life among his people. This fact makes the manuscript particularly significant because major ethnographic descriptions written by Indians themselves, especially from an early period, are indeed rare. Murie received his education at Hampton Institute in the East, and several years after returning home he became associated with a succession of anthropologists interested in his tribe. His early work with Alice Fletcher launched an anthropological career in which he devoted himself to a study of Pawnee culture, especially religion and ceremonialism. That career, largely unrecognized by anthropologists, produced most of the ethnographic material we now have for the Pawnee and culminated in the present monograph, which was in large part written in collaboration with and under the direction of Clark Wissler. Murie collected and wrote up the material; Wissler assembled and organized it. Together they were able to complement the qualities of each other: Murie spoke Pawnee, knew tribal religious leaders, and was able to deal with informants on a more intimate and protracted basis than anthropologists are generally able to; Wissler had the academic training and was able to provide the necessary support.

This monograph combines two sets of material written over the span of a decade under separate auspices. The first part is a presentation of the annual ritualistic cycle of the Skiri band: It gives detailed accounts of the major ceremonies and describes the role of bundles in Pawnee religion. It is a direct result of Murie’s work with Wissler under the auspices of the American Museum of Natural History. The second part consists of lengthy descriptions of three major ceremonies—the White Beaver Ceremony, the Bear Dance, and the Buffalo Dance—of Pawnee groups now usually referred to collectively as the South Bands. These descriptions result from work undertaken by Murie for the former Bureau of American Ethnology previous to and for several years concurrent with his collaboration with Wissler. At the conclusion of their work on the Skiri (Part I), Murie and Wissler combined it with Murie’s earlier material on the South Bands’ ceremonies done for the Bureau (Part II), in order to produce a more balanced description of Pawnee ceremonialism.

When the work was completed in 1921, just before Murie’s death, he and Wissler met in Washington to complete the manuscript and ready it for publication. John R. Swanton, who was working at the Bureau, reviewed the linguistic transcriptions with Murie, and Helen Roberts was brought in to work with the music. As a result of that meeting, Wissler and Roberts proposed that two separate monographs should be published: “Ceremonies of the Pawnee” by Murie and Wissler, and an accompanying monograph on the music by Roberts. J. Walter Fewkes, then head of the Bureau, agreed to their proposal. The former monograph was to be published that same year; but for unclear reasons, presumably financial, it was not and was laid aside for a decade. In 1922 Roberts completed her monograph on the music, a 600-page manuscript which was also not published and ever since has been in the archives of the Bureau (now the National Anthropological Archives, ms 1788).

In 1929 Swanton arranged for Gene Weltfish, who was a Columbia University graduate student just beginning linguistic fieldwork with the Pawnee, to check Murie’s linguistic transcriptions with informants to see how extensive corrections would be. She found that Murie had consistently neglected several important phonetic distinctions in his writing of Pawnee (viz., preconsonantal h, final glottal stop, vowel length, and stress) and that some translations were inaccurate. Matthew Stirling, who was then head of the Bureau, engaged Weltfish to revise the linguistic material—to retranscribe it phonetically and retranslate it—with the aid of informants. This she did during fieldwork in 1930 and 1931.¹

In 1931 the manuscript was back in the hands of the Bureau’s printer and was to be published the following year, but once more it failed to appear. Clearly the reason was the condition of the manuscript, which was in rough draft form and would have been a nightmare for printer and reader alike. Among other considerations, the entire manuscript, particularly the second part, needed to be thoroughly edited, and the format and presentation of the linguistic material throughout needed to be simplified. Nevertheless in 1936 Stirling wrote Wissler that the manuscript was again ready for the printer, although due to a lack of printing funds he could not say when the publication would appear. To this day it has remained in the archives.²

After I began linguistic field work with Pawnee in 1965, I became aware of Murie’s manuscript and found the linguistic data in it to be invaluable in my own work. The textual material consists of several hundred songs as well as a number of ceremonial chants and actual speeches. As a body these are rich in old and specialized vocabulary, and provide an invaluable corpus of grammatical and stylistic usages in Pawnee song and speech. Traditional Pawnee narrative style has already been amply documented in several collections of texts (Weltfish, 1936, 1937; Parks, 1975, 1976), but the song and speech texts contained here are virtually unique for the language and thus, given their linguistic accuracy, provide a new dimension to the study of Pawnee.

Another unusual contribution, equalled nowhere in the Plains ethnographic literature, is the collection of vision stories that underlie the songs of each of the doctors in the three ceremonies described. Taken as a body, these stories provide a new perspective on the vision and its cultural patterning, as well as allow for a deeper understanding of the cultural and psychological bases of Pawnee religion.

Since I first began my field work, I have felt that the manuscript should at last be published because of its intrinsic anthropological and linguistic importance. However, only during my fellowship year at the Smithsonian Institution (1973–1974) did I have the opportunity to work systematically with it. In preparing the manuscript for publication, I have done extensive editing and restructuring of the text, the two parts of which contrasted strikingly in both style and format. Wissler was clearly responsible for much of the writing and some editing of the first part, dealing with the Skiri ceremonial cycle. The second part was just as obviously written by Murie, who had apparently had no editorial assistance at all. Today, after these editorial changes, the prose still is stylistically uneven, and all too frequently remains awkward and redundant. However, since the work is an historical document, I have assiduously avoided any changes that would alter what the author intended or that would reflect personal interpretations.

Wissler contributed generalizations and interpretations of Pawnee culture history as they were understood at the time. Whether these interpretations are right, wrong, or debatable, they have been allowed to stand, sometimes without editorial comment. Many would require lengthy discussion; and footnotes, unless they are brief, are not the place for presenting new interpretations. This manuscript is not an interpretive summary of Pawnee religious life, but is rather a resource for such material; as such, it, together with the rich literature that already exists (both published and unpublished), should serve as the basis for a broad new exegesis. Nevertheless, where glaring inaccuracies occur, I have tried to correct these in the notes, as well as add new and/or explanatory information where it has seemed desirable and possible. In addition to Wissler’s (CW), my own (DRP) and the author’s notes, Alexander Lesser (AL) and Gene Weltfish (GW)—both well-known students of Pawnee culture —provided footnoted material that resulted from their use of the manuscript during their field work in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

In addition to the general editorial work with the manuscript, I have also provided several additions to it. One, an overview of Pawnee social organization and religion, is intended to provide the reader with background material that will assist him in reading the detailed description that follows. A subject index and a personal name index have also been compiled in order to make the book more useful to the researcher. The original bibliography, which contained only citations of references in the text, has been expanded into a comprehensive list of sources on Pawnee religion and social life. Finally, I have presented a biography of Murie. Although he worked with many anthropologists and other writers throughout his life and was responsible in one way or another for most of the rich ethnographic data that now exist on his tribe, no obituary for him ever appeared in any anthropological journal. Hence it seems only appropriate that a biography, necessarily sketchy though it be, accompany his major achievement. At the same time it should provide the reader with a wider perspective on the context out of which this book grew.

The most demanding editorial task was revising the linguistic transcriptions and translations throughout the entire manuscript. Murie’s original transcriptions and translations were reviewed by John R. Swanton together with Wissler and Murie himself. It is unclear what the changes or revisions, if any, were. The general form of presentation in the final manuscript was to write Pawnee words in syllables, each syllable comprised of a consonant and vowel or simply a vowel. Murie’s alphabet was one acquired during his previous work with anthropologists. It was not phonetic, even though he may have had the impression that it was. Instead, it approximated a phonemic orthography, but unfortunately missed many important phonemic distinctions (p. 24). Moreover, each of the syllables into which his words were broken was assigned a meaning. This practice, which failed to match actual morphemic boundaries and forced meanings onto meaningless elements, was of course inaccurate.

Gene Weltfish, when she revised all of the linguistic material in the field, phonetically retranscribed the Pawnee. Consequently, whereas Murie ignored important phonological distinctions, Weltfish made more phonetic discriminations than were necessary, since she had a Boasian concern for detail that ignored phonemic generalizations. Nevertheless, her transcriptions, revised with informants when it was yet possible, provided linguistically accurate data that otherwise would have been extremely difficult to utilize. Further, she provided a literal translation for each word, an invaluable supplement to the free translations given by Murie.

My own liguistic revisions, based upon more than a decade of study of the language, have been primarily two. The first was the retranscription of Weltfish’s phonetic forms into phonemic ones. This change was basically one of eliminating phonetic detail. However, in many instances it was necessary to add vowel length and make other specific corrections when such changes were clearly necessary and justified. The other major revision involved the translations of the songs and other linguistic material. Since two translations, a free and a literal, for each song unnecessarily lengthened the size of the manuscript, I condensed them into a single, word-for-word, literal translation, but one that is also comprehensible to the reader. In the process, I frequently had to change Weltfish’s or Murie’s wording and, in at least some cases, I was also confidently able to improve upon their translations.

It is worth mentioning that in several cases Weltfish noted a difference of interpretations by her in-format (Mark Evarts) from those of Murie (e.g., page 153 and note 73). I chose to retain Murie’s interpretations since they seemed the more plausible etymologically. How many other such differences existed is difficult to ascertain, because most of Murie’s original transcriptions in the manuscript were discarded and Weltfish’s handwritten revisions substituted for them.

Personal names, bundle names, and other terminology—frequently translated literally by Weltfish, with the English equivalents cited in the same sequence as the Pawnee morphemes in words—were likewise given more appropriate English glosses. Some of Murie’s translations, unaltered by Weltfish, were also changed by me to reflect their etymology and meaning more closely. For example, the name Re·tahkac Ru·ˀuhka.wari was given in English as Roaming Flying Eagle, but more literally refers to an eagle flying randomly under the vault of the heavens; hence my preferrence for a different translation, viz., Eagle Flying Under The Heavens. Some nagging etymological and, hence, translation problems remain unresolved. Neither Weltfish nor I was able to improve upon Murie’s attempts at glossing them. These problematic terms have been indicated in the notes.

I have also tried to systematize the translations of names whenever possible. Murie not infrequently gave slightly varying English versions for names, an inconsistency that was at times confusing. For example, Eagle Flying Under The Heavens was translated first as Roaming Flying Eagle and later as Roaming Warrior Eagle. Variant English renderings of Pawnee personal names is a chronically pervasive and vexatious problem, not only in this manuscript but also throughout the literature on the Pawnee. There are many reasons for the confusion: Generally a man would change his name several times during his life; many men bore similar or identical names; and some names were rendered into English equally well in several or more ways. The descriptive stem wa·ruksti·. as an example of the latter case, has been variously translated in names as “holy,” “mysterious,” “wonderful,” and “medicine.” Thus Sakuhwa · rukstiˀ has been rendered as Holy Sun, Mysterious Sun, Wonderful Sun, and Medicine Sun. Furthermore, when English versions consisted of more than one word, they were often shortened to a single key word. For example, Holy Buffalo Bull was sometimes given simply as Buffalo and sometimes as Bull. This latter practice added to the confusion, since it gave many individuals the same name even though the full versions were quite different. Hence, where any doubt existed in the manuscript about possible identity of persons, I let the suspected variants remain as they were originally given. In several cases, less obvious variants undoubtedly escaped my attention altogether.

An Overview of Pawnee Society

Historically, the groups known as the Pawnee were among the largest and most powerful on the Plains and figured prominently in early accounts of the region by explorers, traders, and other European entrants. From the late 18th century to the present, four bands have been recognized. The northernmost one was the Skiri, frequently designated the Loup or Wolf Pawnees by early writers. Living south of them were the Chawi (or Grand), the Kitkahahki (or Republican), and the Pitahawirata (or Tappage). These latter three—today called the South Band Pawnee—spoke a dialect of Pawnee slightly different from that spoken by the Skiri, although the two dialects apparently have always been mutually intelligible. Because of the geographical position of the Skiri, they had more contact with the Arikara to the north who lived in South Dakota and later North Dakota. The Arikara were a large group closely related to the Pawnee, and today speak a more divergent dialect of the same language.³ The Skiri have frequently claimed a closer historical affinity with them than with the three south bands.

Before outside forces effected far-reaching changes in their life-style, the Skiri lived in numerous small villages—clusters of houses scattered along the river terraces or on ridges and bluffs overlooking a stream course. A village generally numbered from 300 to 500 people in 10 to 15 households. These hamlets were not necessarily geographically discrete but might adjoin one another, depending on the contour of the land. Historical sources give varying numbers of these Skiri villages, ranging from 13 to 18. In the present manuscript, Murie notes 15 villages, but his list (pp. 32–33) implies 18.⁴

Beginning in the 17th and continuing into the 18th century the small, scattered villages of the Skiri gave way to larger, compact towns, which afforded the people more protection (Figure 1). This change in settlement pattern was a result of heightened warfare and other disruptive effects ultimately stemming from increasing European influence in the east. However, even though the small villages joined into large, combined villages, they apparently maintained their separate identities through religious functions well into historical times. By the mid-19th century, however, the importance of village identity began to fade as the Skiri population rapidly diminished and the culture underwent a process of disintegration. Thus, at the end of the century the existence of most of these former villages was only remembered. Others were undoubtedly forgotten.

Although the Arikara were also a confederacy of numerous villages, which later combined into several large towns, there is no documentary evidence that indicates that the three southern Pawnee bands —the Chawi, Kitkahahki, and Pitahawirata—were ever composed of many small settlements. Using traditional evidence, Murie states (p. 199) that the Pitahawirata once consisted of two separate villages, the Pitahawirata proper and the kawara·kis, which later combined (see also Lesser and Weltfish, 1932:7). The other bands may also have consisted of smaller groupings at an earlier period, but evidence of such groups, if they did in fact exist, did not survive into the 19th century or was never recorded.⁵

In the 18th century the Skiri villages clustered along the north bank of the Loup River in central Nebraska. The other Pawnee bands lived farther south, below the Platte River and into Kansas, but later concentrated along the Platte. As late as 1818, when the first government treaties were concluded with the Pawnee, each of the four bands was politically independent of, and lived apart from, the others. As the 19th century progressed, the Pawnee bands were forced together onto a reservation on the north side of the Platte and were treated as a single tribal entity by the United States government. Missionaries and the government worked steadily at “making white men” of the Pawnee. Their efforts, together with other vicissitudes that afflicted the tribe—population loss from disease, constant harassment by the warlike Sioux, the disappearance of the buffalo herds, and the unending encroachment of white settlers—completely demoralized the tribe. Their traditional world was gone, and in 1875 they were persuaded to give up their reservation in Nebraska and move to a new one in the Indian Territory. By 1876 the entire tribe had removed there, where efforts to acculturate them continued. Of the four bands, the Skiri were the most progressive. By 1890 most of them lived on individual farms, dressed like contemporary whites, and spoke English. Of the other bands, the Pitahawirata were the most conservative and resistant to change. Yet by that decade most traditional Pawnee life had ended and a new era had begun.

Before these profound influences had radically changed their culture in the second half of the 19th century, the Pawnee had been semisedentary horticulturists. Like the Wichita, Kitsai, and Caddo, their linguistic kindred to the south, they had cultivated maize, squash, and beans for centuries. Although hunting was also an integral part of the subsistance pattern, horticulture—particularly corn—occupied a preeminent position in Pawnee life. It not only provided their sustenance but also figured most prominently in their religious life. In fact, the greater share of Pawnee ceremonialism focused on horticulture, thus suggesting that its importance may have been even greater in their subsistence economy in the period preceding the acquisition of the horse. No matter what its relative importance may have been previously, however, maize ceremonialism had reached its highest development on the Plains among the Pawnee and the Arikara in the 17th century.

During historical times the Pawnee depended nearly equally on the produce from their gardens and the kill from extended bison hunts. The year’s activities alternated between gardening and hunting. In the spring the gardens were planted and the young crops tended. In the summer, while the crops matured, the people left their villages and traveled west on an extended communal buffalo hunt. They returned to their villages in the late summer, and harvested and stored their crops during the fall. Then again, during the winter months, they went on another long buffalo hunt.

FIGURE 1.—Loup Fork village scenes In Nebraska: a, the village (BAE neg. 1245–B); b, an earthlodge (BAE neg. 1248). (William H. Jackson photographs, 1871; Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives, Bureau of American Ethnology Collection.)

While they were on the winter hunt, the Pawnee lived in temporary camps of typical Plains conical tipis (akahca·pe). On the summer hunt they used the “side dwelling” (aka·ririwis), a shelter described by early observers as a half-bowl-shaped framework of bent saplings, open in the front and otherwise covered with skins. The villages where they gardened were their permanent homes. There they lived in earth lodges (kara·rata·ˀuˀ), large, dome-shaped structures of wood covered with packed sod and earth and having a long, narrow, covered entry-way. For religious reasons some entries faced east; others faced east to south, away from the winter winds. The sizes of these lodges varied in diameter from 8 to 15 meters. Although some lodges housed only a single nuclear family, they generally contained several families who might number as many as 30 or 40 people. The lodges of chiefs, priests, and doctors were exceptionally large, since they were used for ceremonial gatherings as well as domiciles.

The interior of the average lodge was spacious. Its roof height reached 4.5 to 6 meters at the smokehole in the center and at least 2 meters along the walls. Sunk in the floor in the middle of the lodge was the fireplace, where cooking was done. The occupants ate and visited on mats spread in the central area surrounding it. Near the west end of the lodge there was a rectangular altar of raised earth. Above it, suspended from one of the rafters, was the sacred bundle, should the family have one. Beds, numbering from several to 18 or more, were built on raised wood platforms arranged along the north and south walls. Woven mat curtains or skins separated beds and were hung in front, thereby providing private compartments. On either side of the doorway were cornmills, a sweathouse, piles of firewood, and underground cache pits for food storage.

Social Organization

The fundamental unit in the social organization of the Skiri was the village. Although each had a name, the village was not always a distinct physical entity. Its earth lodges were randomly dispersed and it might, in fact, adjoin another village. The distinction was defined by two interrelated parameters, one religious and the other social.

Each village had its own myth, which told of its founder having been created by a star or group of stars. Subsequently the star gave the founder a sacred bundle, which represented its power and would serve as the source of power to which the people could later turn for good fortune and assistance in their quest for food and in their social needs. The contents of the bundle consisted of the paraphernalia to form an altar around which the bundle’s own ritual was performed. When the founder died, his bundle and his chieftaincy were passed on to his son. The paternal inheritance continued, and thus the village chief was considered to be a direct descendant of the founder and was the owner of the sacred bundle. The bundle, in turn, represented the sacred charter of the village, both sanctioning its political organization and serving as the focus of its ceremonial life. Since all of the people of a village were regarded as descendants of the founder and his wife, the village being conceived of as a large extended family, all of its members thus had a common origin, a common creator, and in their sacred bundle a common source of supernatural power to which they could turn.

The social function of the village was to regulate marriage and thereby guard its bundle, insuring that it always be kept within the village. For that reason the village was endogamous. With a prohibition on marriage outside the village, the bundle could never leave and the strength of the village was thereby maintained.

In addition to possessing one major ceremony in common and being endogamous, each village owned its fields for cultivation. The fields were allotted to each family by the chief. Should a family or one of its members die, the chief might redistribute the land. Each village also had a burial ground where only its own members could be interred.

Although the exact number of Skiri villages is not certain, there were at least 13 joined in a confederacy sharing a common political organization and ceremonial complex. The federation’s date of origin is impossible to determine, but tradition says that it occurred before the Skiri had horses. This would, no doubt, place the federation’s origin back to the 17th century (Dorsey 1904a:3–14). According to the tradition, there were, in addition, two other villages that were not members of the original confederacy and consequently remained outside its structure.

Skiri political organization and religion were closely intertwined. Symbolizing the interrelationship were the sacred bundles, which represented the unity and continuity of the group as a whole and were the basis of the political organization. At the band level there were two types of bundles, those of the individual villages and those that belonged to the federation as a whole. Foremost among the former were the Evening Star bundle of Center Village and the four bundles of Old Village known as the four “leading” bundles. Two others, the Skull and the North Star bundles, belonged to the confederacy as a whole and were especially important in the organization of the chiefs’ council.

For matters that concerned the tribe there was a joint council composed of the hereditary chiefs of the villages, as well as a number of elected chiefs whose offices, gained through meritorious deeds, were not inherited. Each village had one hereditary chief. Old Village, however, was the exception: It had four chiefs corresponding to its four bundles. Although in principle all of the hereditary chiefs were equal in rank, the four of Old Village alternated the position of leaders (who presided over the council) every six months over a two-year cycle. Their bundles represented the semicardinal directions, and the two chiefs of the north bundles served during the winter while the two chiefs of the south bundles served during the summer (Figure 13).

Whenever the council met, the four chiefs of Old Village sat at the west end of the lodge at the altar. Each of the other village chiefs had the position or “seat” to which his village was entitled: These locations, which radiated from the altar, were distributed along the north and south walls and, according to tradition, were a reflection of the locations of the villages relative to that of the village in which the federation was established (Dorsey 1904a:10–13; Figure 14). The majority were on the north side. During ceremonial gatherings, the same seating arrangement obtained.

The chiefs had certain rituals of their own, such as the admittance of a new chief into their ranks. But the primary function of the council was the regulation of the semi-annual tribal buffalo hunt— to plan its schedule and arrange its coordination. In this, as in other political matters, a chief was a regulator, not an absolute ruler or tyrant. Although chiefs had considerable authority, their decisions were generally based on a consensus of opinion rather than arbitrary whim. The chief, like his celestial forebear, was supposed to be a guardian of the people, always mindful of their wishes and needs. And even though the office was hereditary in certain families, the man chosen to fill it had to demonstrate humility, generosity, and sagacity, because a jealous or aggressive temperament was considered unbefitting a chief.

Just as the chief was the symbol of Skiri political authority and was an intermediary among men, the priest was the symbol of ceremonial leadership and was an intermediary between man and the supernatural forces of life. The function of the priest (kurahus, literally ‘old man’) was to conduct the ceremonies to promote group welfare—to insure abundant crops and successful hunts, as well as to assure tribal unity and success in war. Thus he was responsible for knowing the extensive rituals for the sacred bundles.

The organization of the priests was parallel to, but separate from, that of the chiefs, since both were patterned on the sacred bundle scheme. The principal priest of the Skiri was the Evening Star bundle priest, who was followed in rank by the four leading bundle priests. These five were responsible for conducting the bundle ceremonies and were always expected to be in attendance. With the partial exception of the Morning Star bundle ceremony, the Evening Star priest was required to know the entire ritual for each major bundle and, when the need arose, to conduct it. The four leading priests were expected to know almost as much, for after the Evening Star priest officially opened a ceremony, one of them would generally assume the role of officiator. Which one of the four then took up the ceremony was determined by the same schedule for the alternation of leadership that obtained among the four leading chiefs.

The priests of the other bundles stood in the same relationship to the Evening Star and four leading priests as did the chiefs of their villages to the four leading chiefs. In fact, the priests were little more than subordinate priests, who knew the ritual of their bundles but had no important role in most major ceremonies. Likewise, the seating arrangement in the lodge reflected this hierarchy: The five high priests sat behind the altar at the west end of the lodge, and the other bundle priests took their assigned positions along the north and south walls. At the altar the two south leading priests sat on the south side of the east-west midline bisecting the lodge, while the two north priests sat on the north side. When the Evening Star priest officiated as the tribal representative, he sat on the midline between each pair of leading priests. But when he was attending as a representative of his village, he sat to the left of the two north-side priests (Figure 14).

Entirely distinct from the politico-religious organization of the chiefs and priests was the shamanistic complex. It was composed of secret medicine societies, or cults, the members of which were doctors (kura·ˀuˀ). In contrast with the priest, who was concerned with group welfare, the doctor was a curer of the sick and in that sense he ministered to the welfare of the individual. Also, whereas the priest was associated with the celestial powers, the doctor obtained his powers from terrestrial beings, primarily animals.

The medicine society was a loose association made up of members who shared certain curative powers. Usually it included several noted doctors, a few novices, and a large number of attached members who took part in the dancing of the society but who did not know its secrets. There were a number of these societies, and they regularly held two ceremonies a year, one early in the spring and the other in the autumn. The underlying conception of these ritualistic ceremonies was the purification and the renewing of the powers resident in the sacred objects of the society. When a society met in the lodge for a ceremony, it also had a distinctive seating arrangement. The leaders of the ceremony sat at the west. There were two pairs of alternate leaders, or stations, making four in all, who sat on both the north and south sides at the semicardinal points. As the ceremony proceeded the drums were passed around clockwise from the leading station in the west to each of the other four stations.

Distinct from the medicine societies was an organization functioning on the band or tribal level and known as the Medicine (or Doctors’) Lodge. It was a more or less permanent organization consisting of the most prominent doctors, ·who had applied for seats in the lodge and had performed successfully. Its leaders were doctors who had mastered the secrets of all the medicine societies. Together they held two day-long ceremonies, one in the spring and another in the summer, and then a spectacular 20 or 30 day ceremony in the early fall. The latter was primarily an occasion for the members to demonstrate publicly their powers through displays of hypnotism and sleight-of-hand, both of which were thought to be important in the control of disease.

Unlike the office of chief or priest, the doctor’s position was not inherited. Very frequently the son of a doctor succeeded his father or uncle, but he did so only after having apprenticed for years to the doctor. The protégé however, need not have been a relative but might be any young man who showed a strong interest in learning the doctor’s art and who willingly went through the long, arduous and expensive learning process, to succeed his teacher at his death. Thus, doctors were primarily trained, and did not always achieve their status through visions as in many other Plains tribes.

In addition to the medicine societies, all of the Pawnee bands had several types of men’s societies, similar to those of other Plains tribes. These were secular organizations having either public or private functions. What Murie (1914:558–560) called the “bundle societies” made up one group. They were the more powerful and prominent—established societies that were somehow connected with or sanctioned by the leading bundles. These societies had varying functions: Some were for war, either leading in the line of battle or supporting the camp police when called upon by the chief; others were for the hunt, taking charge of it when the chief who was directing it chose that group. Still other societies had both functions, war and hunt. All of them, however, were seen as clubs or fraternal organizations for individual pleasure and group social elevation. Each had its distinctive lances as its insignia as well as its special dress for public dances and functions.

Membership in the bundle societies was generally, although not exclusively, gained through kinship ties, with a member being succeeded at death by a relative. Among the Skiri, members came from the entire band, and whenever a society met the seating arrangement in the lodge was fixed. Members were assigned to either the north or south side according to their bundle and village affiliation. There was, as well, an alternation in leadership between the north (winter) and south (summer) sides—a similarity to the chiefs’ council, although here it was only a simple annual cycle.

There were a number of private organizations which rivalled or imitated the recognized societies. They were formed by ambitious young men who had visions and were called upon to form a new society. These organizations did not have any public functions or official recognition, although in time of need their members frequently volunteered their services and the society thereby gained social prestige. Most, however, were shortlived, since they were held together only by the personality and enthusiasm of their leaders.

Pawnee society, no matter the band, was socially stratified. The preceding discussion of offices and organizations encompasses most of the recognized positions of status, although there were several others. First, however, it is important to understand a basic distinction made by the Pawnee themselves: People belonged to one of two groups, the upper classes or the commoners. The dichotomy was in part determined by hereditary rights, for the members of the leading families (the chiefs and their assistants, the priests, and often the doctors) inherited their positions. Other people had no such advantage: They could raise their position through their own efforts, by achieving success in war, by joining the men’s societies, or possibly by becoming a doctor; but otherwise they remained among the insignificant. Thus class distinction was one of privilege—access to positions of leadership, special knowledge, and titles.

The hereditary chief held the highest rank in Pawnee society. Succession was always patrilineal, usually passing to the eldest son. However, the direct heir might decline the responsibility or he might be unfit for the office. In either case another male relative who was better suited for the position could fill it. Enjoying slightly less prestige were the subchiefs. They did not inherit their positions but were elected to them. Most came from prominent families, although many were commoners who had distinguished themselves in war and on the hunt and who exhibited the chiefly traits of generosity and self-restraint. Once elected, a chief was given a permanent seat in the chiefs’ council and occupied it until his death.

Each hereditary chief selected one side or warrior assistant (ra·hikucuˀ) whose primary responsibility was to insure that the chief’s decisions were carried out. He was also expected to preserve order in the village and assist in the preparation of ceremonies. To assist him he in turn appointed three men who acted as camp or village police (ra · ripakusuˀ) under his supervision. Unlike the chief, who was a peacemaker and guardian of the village, but not a warrior, the ra·hikucuˀ was a strong and aggressive man, who was respected because of his physical abilities as well as his position. This office tended to run in upper class families, but it too could be achieved by a man who excelled in war or who in other ways might ingratiate himself with the chief.

Yet another secular position accorded high status was that of the warrior (ra·wira·kis, rara·wira·ris). It was an achieved rank that afforded social prominence to a commoner who was successful in war and hunting and who made the required sacrifices to the leading bundles. The warrior then had a right, when he went on the warpath, to wear the special warrior’s accoutrement from the sacred bundle, and he was henceforth eligible for election to the chiefs’ council and entitled to sit near the priest during ceremonies.

The position of the priest was outranked only by that of the hereditary chief, although there were times when even the chief bowed to the will of a priest (Murie, 1914:554–555). Because he alone knew all of the ritual and complex lore surrounding the sacred bundles and consequently had mastered a prodigious amount of knowledge, he commanded a great deal of respect from the people. This knowledge was accumulated only after a long, arduous, and expensive process. The priests, like the doctors, guarded their knowledge: Knowledge was power and a life-sustaining essence, and to divulge everything one knew shortened one’s life. Hence the novice, be he a fledgling priest or doctor, really learned all of his teacher’s secrets only shortly before the old man was ready to die. Furthermore, every step in the learning process required payment to the teacher, for knowledge was valuable. The payment, it was thought, not only betokened respect for the knowledge, but also conveyed the right of the learner to possess and utilize it.

In many ways, the doctor’s position was similar in status to the priest’s, ranking just below it. Unlike priests who used their knowledge for the public good, however, doctors did not always use their power benevolently. True, they cured, but they were also not infrequently accused of witching other people, causing them misfortune and even death. For they had two types of “medicine,” good and bad, and so the public attitude towards the doctor was frequently ambivalent: He inspired both respect and fear.

Although there were two routes to becoming a doctor—directly through a vision (whereby an animal guardian bestowed power on an individual) or indirectly through apprenticeship to an established doctor—the latter route was the more common among the Pawnee. Apprenticeship and, with it, membership in a secret medicine society was open to anyone if he were thought at birth to have come under the influence of the animal guardian of the lodge. Acceptance was also dependent upon a demonstration of sincere interest and a willingness to pay for what he learned. While he was receiving instruction, the novice and his wife lived in the lodge of the doctor. (In this way many women acquired knowledge of doctoring, though many were also taught by their fathers who were doctors.) The status of a member of a doctors’ society was respected but limited, no doubt similar to that of a member of a men’s society. However, some doctors took a more ambitious and expensive route. After mastering the secrets of one society, they went on to each of the other societies until they had learned all their secrets. Then they were in a position to apply for a seat in the leading Doctors’ Lodge. If the individual were successful in his performance there, he was given a permanent seat and became a leading doctor, whose status was nearly equal to that of the chief and priest.

Two other positions that carried modest but respected status in Pawnee society were those of the crier (pattikus) and the errand man (taru·cuhus). Both were associated with ritual activities. The crier was an older, respected man whose duty was to announce ceremonies to the village; sometimes, too, he recited rituals of instruction publicly. For every ceremony, secular or religious, there were two errand men. They always sat near the entrance inside the lodge, one on the north side and the other on the south. Their duties were to tend the fires, cook and serve food for offerings and feasts, and in other ways assist the leaders of a ceremony. Because they were always present, the errand men learned most ceremonies, including the songs and even many secrets. Although they could never use this knowledge officially, they were accorded respect and a comfortable position for a commoner with limited aspirations; for that reason the position tended to be handed down from father to son.

The commoners in Pawnee society were the people without position, wealth, or influence. About half of the population fell into this category, which included those people who had no social ambitions or were unsuccessful. Their lodges were small and poorly furnished, and they had few or no horses or dogs. Hence they were objects of upper class charity. Below them in status were the lowliest, the persons who had violated tribal custom and were relegated to living on the outskirts of the village in a semi-outcast status.

Pawnee Ceremonialism

Whatever his social status, religion and a concern for the supernatural (wa·rukstiˀ ‘mysterious, holy’) permeated most of the life of a Pawnee. But the ceremonial life of the larger society focused primarily on four groups: the priests and sacred bundles, the doctors and medicine, the chiefs’ society, and the warriors’ societies. Of these, the rituals of the warriors’ (or lance) societies are of only peripheral interest, since they have already been described in detail elsewhere (Murie, 1914:558–559). In general, their rituals and dances sought to promote group solidarity among their members and encourage public enterprises, the most important of which was inducing courage in its members who had to defend the village and go out to war. The ritualism of the chiefs’ council is of limited interest, too, since it was based on the sacred bundles and was largely patterned after bundle ritualism.

The rituals of the priests and the doctors dominated Pawnee ceremonial life and contrasted with each other in several basic aspects. Although both shared a general concern with the supernatural and attempted to control natural phenomena, they differed markedly in their objectives, the deities invoked, and the means by which they sought to achieve their ends. These differences closely approximate the distinction between religion and magic. Likewise, the roles of these two ritual specialists are comparable to the classical distinction between priest and shaman.

The deities of the priest were heavenly beings—stars and other celestial phenomena. They were arranged hierarchically, and at the top stood Tirawahat, an amorphous being who created the universe. Subordinate to him were the Evening Star and Morning Star, followed by Sun and Moon and a host of other stellar deities who were involved with various aspects of the creation of the world as the Skiri knew it. All of these powers constituted a pantheon who controlled the universe at large and continued to look after the world. They were thus responsible for the weather, plant growth, fertility, and other generalized human concerns. For the Skiri these concerns translated primarily as horticulture, the buffalo, and war.

Earthly powers, particularly animals, were the deities of the doctors. Here, though, there was no fixed pantheon, only an amorphous group of different animals, each possessing similar powers that could be used by man. Some, like the bear, were thought to be especially powerful; but all animals, and even insects, figured in the mythology of the doctors. Each could potentially bless a man and endow him with power, which was always basically the same: the personal power to cure disease or illness and to perform magical feats. Some doctors were more successful than others, and so their medicine and animal benefactor were considered more powerful than others. These successes, however, were always being challenged, if only indirectly. New doctors’ cults were constantly developing, and consequently no well-defined, enduring hierarchy became established.

The position of the priest was one that was divinely ordained at the time of creation. His functions, like those of the chief, were prescribed. His role was that of a mediator between the deities of the heavens and the people, an intermediary who sought to achieve good fortune and an orderly world through ritual and sacrificial offerings. The priest himself had no supernatural power; he knew only the complex ritual and sacred knowledge that were necessary to the performance of his office. Although the priest’s position was generally inherited patrilineally, the office required certain personal qualities—notably intelligence, a dedication to learning, and a religious attitude—as well as a long novitiate.

The doctor’s position was not prescribed. Although he could achieve it directly from a vision experience, he, too, generally attained it after a long novitiate. At birth every Pawnee child came under the influence of a certain animal who was later to be his guardian. The identity of this animal became known either directly through a vision or, more frequently, by enabling a doctor who had power from that same animal to cure the person when he was ill. Once the person knew the identity of his guardian, he could apply to that animal lodge to learn its secrets and become a doctor himself. By means of further “signs” he could go on to learn the secrets of other medicine societies and, if successful, he progressed upward in status and power.

There were certain similarities in the rituals of both the priests and the doctors. In every ceremony the participants painted themselves. They also made offerings of tobacco and food (always corn and meat), and incensed both ritual objects and themselves. But beyond these superficial similarities, which broadly define a ritual event, there were very fundamental and striking differences.

The priests’ rituals were distributed over a long ceremonial season that began in the spring and continued through the fall. With few exceptions, each ceremony in this sequence was a measured liturgy that lacked any drama. In these liturgies there were several solemn ritual acts (sacrifices or offerings) interspersed with long cycles of songs that recounted events in mythological times. The songs were fixed in form, and were long and repetitive, with an emphasis on detail. In intent, the whole was to gain the attention of the deities, to seek favor by supplication and sacrifice and by acknowledgment of their deeds.

Apart from several short rituals, the doctors concentrated their activity into one massive performance, the Thirty Day Ceremony or Medicine Lodge, near the end of the ritual season. Its purpose was to demonstrate the doctor’s powers, to convince the people of their mysterious abilities and inspire awe. Unlike the bundle ceremonies, it was a staged affair where drama predominated: The doctors impersonated their animal guardians and practiced legerdemain. Early accounts tell of men being shot dead and brought back to life, body parts amputated and then restored, corn plants grown from seed before the eyes of the spectators, and many similar feats. These acts were indeed impressive, not only to the Pawnee themselves but to other tribes and whites alike, for the Pawnee doctor was widely known on the central Plains as a skilled magician (Grinnell, 1889:375–388). Besides the sleight-of-hand performances, each doctor had his own songs that commemorated the original vision experience upon which his power was based. These songs were fixed in their general form, but each had its individual peculiarities. Each doctor and his apprentices, dressed like and imitating their animal mentor, accompanied the doctor’s song with dancing. These dances, then, were a reenactment of the personal encounter between the doctor and his supernatural source of power, the animal; and to validate that encounter, the doctor sought by legerdemain to perform miracles in a staged setting.

SACRED BUNDLE CEREMONIES

Bundles were an integral part of Pawnee religion. They symbolized the history of a group of people and its covenant, as it were, with the deities; and as such they served as shrines. There were several types of these bundles, but, regardless of the type, they all had in common an origin that traced back to an earlier supernatural experience or encounter. During that experience the deity instructed the visionary to make up a bundle of various objects, some to recall what had happened in the vision and some to be used by him in subsequent rituals. Bundles, then, were aggregates of the two kinds of physical objects, the symbolic and the ritual, wrapped up in buffalo hides, which served as casings. Contents common to all bundles were a pipe, tobacco wrapped in the pericardium of a buffalo, a braid of sweetgrass, paint, one or more ears of corn (referred to as “Mother Corn”), the skins of various birds and animals, and sometimes a scalp. Each bundle had additional contents that varied with the symbolism of its history and the particular needs of its rituals.

Among the Skiri, and probably the other bands as well, there were two general types of bundles. One was termed cuharipi·ruˀ (South Band cuˀ-uhre·re·pi·ruˀ, literally ‘rains wrapped up’); these were village and band bundles, and were naturally the more important. The other type was referred to as karu·suˀ (literally ‘sack’) and was any lesser bundle—that of a warrior, a doctor, or any other individual.

As mentioned previously, each village of the Skiri had its own sacred bundle that gave the village its identity and unified its members. Enshrined in it were the history of the village and the special ritual for handling the bundle. Thus each village, through its sacred bundle, had its individual ceremony. At least two bundles, though, belonged to the Skiri federation as a whole and were concerned with the affairs of the larger group. One, the Skull bundle, was part of the Four Pole Ceremony commemorating the federation itself; the other, the North Star bundle, was primarily associated with the Chief’s Ceremony. Although both had other functions, their primary purpose seems to have been the maintenance of political unification. The Evening Star and the four leading bundles (Yellow Star, Red Star, White Star, and Big Black Meteoric Star) were apparently de facto tribal bundles, which also retained their original village functions. The Evening Star bundle and its priest were superior to all others. Indeed the Evening Star bundle provided the songs and rituals to most bundles, including the four leading ones. It was the foremost bundle in horticultural activities. Subordinate to it and yet paramount over the others were the four leading bundles. Their priests and owners, it will be recalled, alternated both ceremonial and political leadership: Their priests conducted most of the major ceremonies, while the leading chiefs were the administrative heads of the federation. Still another major bundle, that of the Morning Star, had an intermediate status between village and band functions. It had the unique distinction of demanding a human sacrifice, but in more general terms it provided for fertility and, perhaps more important, success in war.

In both content and function, the warrior’s bundle was similar to the village and band bundles, but its primary purpose was to give success to a war party. It seems that every village originally had at least one such bundle (Dorsey and Murie, 1907:183), which was opened ceremonially before a war party set out. Then the leader carried it on the expedition and on appropriate occasions ritually opened it and sang its war songs.

INITIATING CEREMONIES.—Most ceremonies occurred at fixed times during the year when certain natural phenomena signaled the appropriate time. The Thunder (or Creation) Ritual for the Evening Star bundle, for example, was held about the time of the spring equinox. As the time approached, the priests watched through the smokehole of the lodge for the appearance of two stars known as the Swimming Ducks. When they became visible, and after certain other stars were in their proper positions, the priests waited for the first low, rumbling thunder to start in the west and progress across the heavens. This thunder marked the time for the Creation Ritual. Similarly, all of the ceremonies connected with horticulture, the hunt, and political activities—the ones forming the ritual calendar—were initiated when a particular event occurred or the suitable time arrived.

There were three ceremonies, however, that occurred at variable times. The New Fire Ceremony took place whenever the appropriate trophies (generally scalps) were brought back to the village by a war party. Two other ceremonies, the human sacrifice to the Morning Star and the North Star Offering, were held only after a man had dreamed that he should sponsor one. Thus the latter two were not necessarily annual events. Several or more years frequently elapsed between occurrences of the Morning Star Ceremony, but it is not known how often the offering to the North Star was held.

Two other ceremonies also depended on a visionary for their occurrence. One, the Young Corn Plant Ritual, actually commenced when the priests noted that the newly planted corn had grown to a height of 5 to 8 centimeters. However, during the preceding year a man dreamed that he was the one to insure that the ceremony was held. While the people were on the winter buffalo hunt, he killed a buffalo and pronounced it holy; then the meat was dried and stored for the ceremony. The Corn Planting Ceremony of the Skull bundle, too, depended on a visionary. In this instance it was a woman who dreamed during the preceding winter buffalo hunt that she must see that the ritual be performed. She then called upon one of her brothers to kill a buffalo, the meat of which she prepared for its later use. This is the only ceremony in which women played a major role and the visionary was traditionally a female.

THE LODGE.—Among the Pawnee there was apparently no lodge used exclusively for ceremonial purposes. Since the dwellings of chiefs, priests, and leading doctors were larger than most others and could accommodate sizable groups, they were used for such occasions. Generally the rituals for the sacred bundles were conducted in the lodge of the owner or keeper, who of course was usually a chief. Occasionally they were conducted in the priest’s lodge. In the Morning Star Ceremony, however, the visionary warrior’s lodge was used.

Dwellings utilized for ceremonies were always oriented with the entry facing east. Inside the lodge at the west end the sacred bundle was suspended from an overhead rafter. In the area on the ground immediately under it was a raised platform on which a buffalo skull rested. During a ceremony the officiating priests sat just in front of this skull altar, facing east, and the skull itself was frequently placed on the north side of the fireplace. The priests spread out the contents of the bundle in the area before them, the wahka·ruˀ or ‘place where the wise sayings of those who have gone before us are resting’. Between this altar and the fireplace in the center of the lodge there was yet another sacred spot. It was an excavated area, square in shape and several inches deep, called kusa·ruˀ, and represented the garden of the Evening Star. During the Corn Shelling Ritual, ears of corn, each tied to a stick, were placed upright on the north and south sides of it and other ears of corn were placed in the bottom of the kusa·ruˀ.

Preceding every ceremony the lodge was cleared of most of its furnishings and swept clean. Then the fireplace in the center was prepared. If necessary, it was dug out; otherwise it was cleaned out, and the dirt and ashes from it were carefully removed from the lodge and placed in a small mound several paces east of the doorway. (This mound, representing Tirawahat, was one spot where offerings were placed in some ceremonies; in others, the buffalo skull from the western altar was placed on it.) After the ashes or earth was removed from the fireplace, an earthen embankment several centimeters high and 15 centimeters in breadth was formed around the pit. If the embankment was already there, it was repaired. Offerings were made at various points on this ring during every ceremony.

In contrast to all others, one ceremony was not conducted in an earth lodge. The Four Pole Ceremony, which was a renewal of the original federation of the Skiri villages, took place within a specially constructed circular structure which simulated a lodge. It was a low embankment with an opening to the east, and inside all around the embankment saplings were placed upright to form a protective shade. In all other respects, however, the arrangement of objects and participants within the structure was the same as inside the earth lodge.

OFFERINGS.—An integral part of all Pawnee ceremonies was the three standard offerings made to the deities: the smoke offering of tobacco and the two food offerings of corn and meat. In addition to these, many rituals required other specific offerings. At all public ceremonies gifts were also normally given to the deities.

The smoke offering was performed at least once, and sometimes twice, in every ceremony. Although the order and complexity varied with the ceremony, the procedure in outline form for several Skiri ceremonies was as follows: When the time for the offering arrived, the leading priest designated one of the participants to come forward and receive the filled pipe from the priest. Always moving counter-clockwise, the pipe man carried it to the south side of the fireplace, where an errand man lit it. Circling the lodge again, he went to the entrance, where he offered two whiffs of smoke, one each at the north and south outer entry posts. Then he offered whiffs at the following points: the four semicardinal points on the rim of the fireplace; upward, to Tirawahat; east, to the Morning Star; west, to the Evening Star; east again, to the Big Black Meteoric Star; north three times, to Breath, Wind, and Pahukatawa; southeast and southwest, for Sun and Moon, respectively. (These offering points are illustrated in Figure 10.) As a rule, the offering was continued, with whiffs given to each of the objects exposed on the altar.

After he had acknowledged all of the supernatural beings, it was customary for the pipe-bearer to give the pipe to the leading priest, who took a puff and then gave it to each of the other priests at the altar. The pipe was then passed down the north side, from west to east, finally reaching the north errand man. He took it to the south side, where it began with the man nearest the priests. After everyone had smoked, the pipe man took the pipe and at various points around the fireplace moved his hands over the pipe and handed it to the priest, who returned it to the altar.

In some ceremonies other offerings included bits of tobacco, pieces of the heart and tongue of a consecrated buffalo, little pieces of a scalp, and blue beads. When these offerings were used, they were placed at the same points as in the smoke offering, although the points were generally outside the lodge rather than inside (Figure 10).

The corn offering immediately preceded the meat offering. Corn was generally contributed by any woman who felt religiously inclined or who wanted the priest to recite a particular ritual, such as a name change for her child. If there was a visionary who had sponsored the ceremony, his female relatives would provide the offering. When the time came, an errand man placed the kettle of cooked corn between the fireplace and the entrance, and put eight bowls around it. After placing two spoons in each bowl, he filled the bowls from the kettle until all but a small amount of the corn was distributed. Then he filled his large spoon with the remaining corn and proceeded to make the offerings.

The offertory stations for corn differed from those in the smoke and meat offerings. Several kernels of corn were deposited at each of the following points: the two outer doorposts, the northeast and northwest posts or points on the rim of the fireplace, west of the fireplace, in front of the buffalo skull on the north side, and the southwest and southeast posts or points on the rim of the fireplace. The officiator then retraced his path and made certain movements with his hands at each place. The offerings completed, the errand man distributed the eight bowls to selected pairs of men on either side; they then ate some of the corn and passed it on until everyone had eaten.

After the corn offering was finished, preparations were made for the meat offering. The supply for it was dried buffalo meat that had been specially prepared from a consecrated buffalo by either a visionary or some other man who had sacrificed an animal for the occasion. Both errand men, or two other men chosen by the leading priest, placed the cut-up meat, topped with a large piece of fat, into a kettle of boiling water. When the meat was cooked, it and the fat were removed and placed on a buffalo hide. One of the errand men took a large piece of meat and some fat to the leading priest, who cut the meat into small pieces and rolled the fat into a ball. The priest then designated someone to make the offerings. This man proceeded to lay the pieces down on the ground at each of the fixed stations where smoke had been offered, and finally deposited pieces between the fireplace and the altar, and on the edge of the altar. Subsequently, with the ball of fat, he greased the pipestems on the altar. After these offerings and the greasing of the pipestems, two men cut up the meat and fat lying on the buffalo hide and distributed the pieces to the participants, who then ate.

Every ceremony required gifts—contributions to supply the necessary ingredients for its performance and gifts to the priests themselves for performing it. Among the former types of contributions were tobacco, corn, and meat, as well as any items necessary for other specific offerings. These and other ritual needs—such as red paint for covering the body, or the dried pericardium of a buffalo—were provided by the visionary or sponsor and his relatives, or indeed by anyone else wanting the blessings that accrued from such gifts. The same people, as well as spectators, also placed gifts at the altar at most ceremonies. After the ceremony these donations were distributed among the priests and other participants. These offerings formerly included what was valuable—buffalo robes and other tanned skins, food, paint, and tobacco. Later, when the Pawnee economy and subsistence pattern had changed under the acculturative influences of the late 19th century, the list of offerings changed to their new counterparts: blankets, quilts, yard goods, and money, as well as meat and corn as of old.

SONGS.—The essential part of every ceremony or rite was its songs. They generally recounted what the heavenly powers had done, although the meanings of most songs were not at all clear. Only the priest knew those meanings, as, indeed, only he knew the songs and sang them.

A ritual usually consisted of one or more songs, each with two identical stanzas that are repeated over and over with simple word substitutions, called “steps.” The first consists of the woman’s steps (26 total); and the second, the man’s steps (30 total). After the stanza is sung for one step, it is repeated, substituting the next step, and so on until all 26 woman’s steps are sung. Then the song continues with the second stanza, which is the same as the first except that the man’s steps replace the woman’s. Subsequent songs that use the woman’s and man’s steps are generally shortened. In these instances, only the first four woman’s steps and the first six man’s steps are sung.

Other songs may consist of any number of stanzas, which are distinguished by the substitution of particular words or phrases within a standard number of lines; or the stanzas may be completely different from one another.

INCENSING.—In nearly every ceremony the ritual objects from the altar and the participants were incensed with the smoke from burning sweetgrass mixed with fat from the heart of a holy buffalo. The purpose of this act was to attract the attention of the heavenly deities, especially Tirawahat, for they liked the sweet-smelling smoke.

The ritual act began with an errand man taking coals from the central fireplace and putting them on the ground near the southwest post. The head priest directed someone to put the sweetgrass on the coals. This man stood just west of the coals, facing east, lifted his hand over his head and then, while slowly lowering it, paused four times as it descended. After the smoke began to rise, the priest, or whoever performed the rite, stood north of the coals, facing the southwest. In this position he passed each object from the altar over the smoke, waving it towards the southwest four times. Now with the object in his left hand, he placed his right hand over the smoke and then passed it over the object. Next he switched the object to his right hand, and passed his left hand over the smoke and then over the object.

After each object had been incensed and returned to the altar, the incensor allowed the smoke to waft over his body. Then each of the participants in turn smudged himself.

In addition to offering sweet smelling smoke to the deities, the incensing act also put the smoke between the objects and participants in the ceremony and the deity of disease who stood in the southwest. This god did not like the odor of sweetgrass: it was sweet and he liked the odor of only unclean things. Hence by performing the rite in the southwest of the lodge and by waving the objects in that direction, it was believed that the deity of disease was pushed farther from the village and that the village itself was thereby freed from disease (Dorsey and Murie, 1907:210–211).

DOCTORS’ CEREMONIES

The medicine societies and the Medicine Lodge were two distinct types of organization with different ceremonies. The medicine society, as already noted, was composed of doctors whose power came from the same animal; also included in its membership were any novices that the doctors had admitted. The Medicine Lodge (or Doctors’ Lodge) was a corporation of sorts that met several times a year. Each of the Pawnee bands apparently had its own Medicine Lodge. Its members were leading doctors from the medicine societies, men of outstanding ability who had applied for a seat (or booth) in the Medicine Lodge, had performed successfully, and consequently had been given permanent status in the organization.

The individual medicine societies and the Medicine Lodge generally met at least twice a year, once in the spring and again in late summer or autumn. The spring meetings included a renewal ritual, in which the members, like the keepers of the sacred bundles, opened their ritual bundles, purified them in a smudge of sweetgrass, and performed a prescribed ritual. On the following day the ceremony proper began, most of it consisting of singing and dancing.

In late summer the Medicine Lodge met for an extended period. For the Skiri it was the Thirty Day Ceremony, which lasted a month. The fall ceremonies of the medicine societies, however, were similar to the spring meetings and lasted no more than several days.

THE LODGE.—According to Murie (1914:601), the fall ceremonies of the medicine societies were held in a circular shelter of green boughs, somewhat similar to the Sun Dance enclosure of other Plains tribes (Walker, 1921:102–103). Otherwise all society meetings, as well as the Thirty Day Ceremony and the other Medicine Lodges, were held in an earthlodge, generally that of the leading doctor of the particular organization.

The arrangement of participants in the lodge varied, depending on the ceremony and the organization. For the Thirty Day Ceremony the lodge was completely cleared, and along the north and south walls each doctor and his assistants built a booth of green willows referred to as an animal lodge, which they occupied for the duration of the ceremony. In the middle of the lodge a large image of the mythical water monster was constructed so that it encircled the fireplace. In the fireplace itself a large turtle was modeled, and a new fireplace was made on its back. While these and several other mythical images were peculiar to the Skiri, the doctors of all the Pawnee bands placed a tree, generally cedar, in the area between the fireplace and the altar. This tree was cut and brought into the lodge in a ritual manner very similar to that found in the Sun Dance throughout the Plains (Walker, 1921:105–108).

For individual medicine society meetings, the seating arrangement differed from that in the Medicine Lodge. The Buffalo Doctors’ Society, common to all of the bands, offers one scheme as an example. Here, as in all medicine ceremonies, the head leaders sat at the west end of the lodge and formed one station. There were, in addition, four other stations at each of which sat four men. These stations were located in pairs on the north and south sides, each pair separated by other doctors or participants eligible to sit there. The four stations served as alternate leaders, and after every two songs during the ceremony, the drum was passed clockwise to the next station. The drum was supposed to make four circuits around the lodge to complete the ceremony (Murie, 1914:604–605).

In the doctors’ ceremonies, as in the bundle ceremonies, there was an altar at the west end of the lodge. The leading doctor and his assistants sat behind it. In the Medicine Lodge of the Skiri, the skins of two loons were set upright on sticks in front of the altar. Beaver skins were used by the other bands. Among the medicine societies the Buffalo Doctors placed a buffalo skull on their altar, while the Blood Doctors had two otter skins, the otter being their animal guardian.

OFFERINGS.—Offerings played a conspicuous role in the public portion of any doctors’ dance. Generally during the period of singing and dancing, but also at other appropriate times, people placed offerings on the altar or gave presents to individual doctors. In either case, the offering was made by someone who wished for good fortune or a particular blessing.

Integral parts of every doctors’ ceremony, too, were the tobacco and food offerings, the latter always consisting of corn and meat. The form of each of these rituals was basically the same as in the bundle ceremonies (p. 15), although there was some variation in the offertory points and other details.

SONGS.—The songs of the doctors have a standard form which is entirely different from that of the songs in bundle ceremonies. Each one consists of a certain number of stanzas, generally six, but ranging from four to eight. Each stanza in turn has two lines which tell about the original vision. After the first line is a one-line refrain, and after the second line the chorus, which remains the same throughout the song. The refrain is the same as the first line of the chorus; hence it, too, remains the same.

The two lines in the first stanza of each doctor’s song tell that the singer is standing where his father or grandfather stood and is reciting the vision as it was related to him. Subsequent lines throughout the song and the chorus allude to incidents in the vision. Taken alone, the song does not relate a complete story, but rather merely fragments of it. However, each doctor knew the underlying story, which constituted part of his knowledge and which was usually known to other people as well, since the stories were told publicly.

In the South Band ceremonies described by Murie, two songs were sung for each doctor; and the singing moved in a clockwise direction.

Comments on Murie’s Observations

In the 1890s when James Murie began his anthropological work, the Pawnee had been living in Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) for some 20 years. Even before leaving Nebraska, however, their culture had been profoundly affected. The move to Indian Territory proved to be even more disorienting, necessitating as it did further adaptation to a new natural and social environment. Within the span of a century, a people who had sustained themselves by digging-stick horticulture and buffalo hunting and who had dwelt in compact villages of earthlodges and tipis had become a scattered population of families living in frame houses on individual farms and maintaining themselves, in part, by their own farming and, in part, from government payments. A century earlier their combined population had been about 10, 000; by the turn of the 20th century it had reached a staggering low of 629.

The changes that occurred were so basic that they had effectively destroyed the fabric of traditional Pawnee society. In no area of Pawnee life was this more poignantly true than in religion. As Alexander Lesser (1933a:50) perceptively states:

The beliefs and philosophies of men to be alive must be inherent in and consonant with the way by which men live. When the men no longer hunted the buffalo, when they no longer needed power and invulnerability on the warpath, when the women no longer had to contribute fertility to the fields they planted, the ancient cosmology of the Pawnee was without a reference. The ritual lore of the great sacred bundles of the tribe was handed on less and less; it died with the priests who, increasingly subject to death as the mortality of the tribe increased year by year, had neither time nor inspiration to hand it on. The ceremonies, becoming functionless, became extinct.

In some areas of traditional life, including ceremonialism, there were yet continuities, albeit in attenuated form. For example, many of the traditional qualities expected of a chief were maintained, as was a form of the Chiefs’ Society Ritual. However, the functions of the hereditary chiefs’ society were gone. The doctors’ dances continued, and would continue for another decade or so; but the doctors’ demonstrations of their power had ceased by 1878 (Lesser 1933a:51) and the function of the medicine societies was certainly gone, since the efforts of the doctors to control the white man’s diseases were futile.

Thus, when Murie began his work, he was observing a culture that was no longer viable and was only superficially approximating that of the surrounding white population. As time passed even more was irretrievably lost. By the first decade of the 20th century, when Murie’s most systematic work was begun, the ceremonial knowledge of the remaining Skiri priests was largely fragmentary. The descriptions that he compiled are based on the memories of the old surviving priests, and are, as a consequence, uneven in quality. Other factors, such as the reluctance of some individuals to divulge their knowledge, undoubtedly contribute to this unevenness. In spite of the problems, however, Murie obtained an overview of the Skiri ceremonial calendar and filled out many parts of this scheme with an admirable amount of detail.

Whereas Murie’s descriptions of the Skiri rituals were largely compiled from the memories of contemporary priests and others, his descriptions of the doctors’ ceremonies or dances of the South Band groups were based on actual observation. Consequently the latter are richer in detail. At least one of them that he witnessed, the Bear Dance of the Bear Society, was a 20th century revival and not a continuation of the older performances. The 20th century dances contrast with the earlier performances of the 19th century in at least two respects: No legerdemain was performed, and members from all of the Pawnee bands participated together as a group. During this period the population of each of the bands was too small for the performance of its rituals without the inclusion of doctors from the other bands. It had become necessary for the Pawnee to pool the ceremonial knowledge of the few persons who still possessed it. Furthermore, intermarriage across band lines had progressed to the point that band identity was becoming difficult to maintain. Hence the later ceremonies retained most of the basic structure and much of the detail of former times, but they were also syncretic.

Finally, one cannot fail to note that the Skiri, here portrayed as having the most elaborate ceremonial system, have also been the Pawnee band to receive the most attention from writers. Murie, the most prolific writer on the tribe, was himself a Skiri. In his manuscript and other writings there is no attempt to give an equally full portrayal of the South Band liturgical calendar. Although Murie stated that there were many important differences, he failed to substantiate them beyond occasional vague references or generalizations. We can only speculate as to the reasons behind this unbalanced coverage. Probably the most likely explanation was that Murie was unable to acquire parallel data on the South Band ceremonies; however, it is also likely that his interest in these bands was not as keen as his interest in the Skiri. Whatever the case, new data for the South Bands is now impossible to obtain, and Murie’s picture must stand as it is, only to be supplemented by archival materials that have perhaps never been fully utilized.

Acknowledgments

The opportunity to prepare this manuscript for publication was made possible in part by a postdoctoral fellowship awarded me by the Office of Academic Studies, Smithsonian Institution, for the year 1973–1974. I wish to express my deep appreciation for that fellowship. The Department of Anthropology and its former chairman, Dr. Clifford Evans, provided a stimulating environment and innumerable services, which made my year in residence both productive and enjoyable. While there I derived great benefit from discussions with and encouragement from Dr. John C. Ewers, Dr. and Mrs. Waldo Wedel, and Dr. William C. Sturtevant, all of whom have helped in many ways to make this publication possible. To all of them I am deeply indebted. In addition, it is a pleasure to acknowledge the warm friendship and lively discussions with Dr. Alexander Lesser that have resulted from my initial work with the manuscript. Because of his early study of Pawnee ethnology, Lesser has a long-standing familiarity with the contents and history of the work, and has been a constant source of support in its preparation for publication.

In my efforts to piece together a sketch of the life of James R. Murie, Mrs. Constance Murie of Pawnee, Oklahoma, a daughter-in-law of the author, graciously provided me with biographical information on and reminiscenses of her husband’s father, giving above all a personal perspective on the man. One of the primary sources of information both for Murie’s biography and for the reconstruction of the history of the manuscript is his correspondence. The following institutions generously provided me with copies of the letters in their files: the National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution; the American Museum of Natural History, New York City; and the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. These same institutions are the sources for the photographic illustrations accompanying the text. Mr. Fritz Malval, Archivist of Hampton Institute, Hampton, Virginia, supplied me with copies of that school’s file on Murie, which includes articles written by Murie for the school paper when he was a student, letters that he wrote to his former teachers, and newspaper clippings reporting on his activities after leaving school.

I also wish to express my indebtedness and sincere thanks to several individuals who assisted me in various aspects of the tedium of preparing a seemingly endless manuscript. Mr. Alfred Beltran carefully and methodically compiled the index. The figure drawings, based on sketches by Murie, were done by Mrs. Marcia Bakry and Mr. George R. Lewis. Lastly, Mmes. Marcia Torgerson, Hazel Fermino, and Jackie Burke tirelessly typed the prose sections of the text.

Finally, it is a tremendous pleasure to acknowledge the contributions of Ms. Joan Horn, editor at the Smithsonian Institution Press. With admirable dedication, she has spent many long, tedious hours working over the manuscript, making innumerable improvements and suggestions for additions and changes, all of which have added immeasurably to its arrangement and clarity. The final publication certainly would lack much of its merit were it not for her careful, insightful editing. Working with her has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

Manuscript Conventions

Key to the Transcriptions

The transcriptions of Pawnee words and songs throughout the book are given in the phonemic system described in Parks (1976:12–17). The inventory of sounds, together with a phonetic description and a pronunciation key to aid the reader, is given here. Stress is not indicated.

Song Conventions

Several conventions have been used in presenting the songs. Pawnee words followed by an asterisk are sung forms, which are not employed in the spoken language. With the first occurrence in each song of an asterisked form, the spoken version of the word is given below it and the two enclosed in a half bracket. Subsequent occurrences of the same sung form in that song are not given with the parallel spoken form, although the asterisk is given in every instance.

In the Pawnee song text, syllables which have no meaning and are not parts of words are enclosed in brackets, while syllables which are necessary parts of spoken words but which are elided in the sung version are cited within parentheses. Translations also in parentheses are not part of the Pawnee word, but their meanings are implied. Hence, they are given to aid the reader in understanding the total meaning.

Pawnee words with a word final glottal stop (ˀ) are sometimes cited with or without it. The final glottal stop occurs when a word is followed by a pause (e.g., at the end of a sentence or in isolation). If another word immediately follows a word with a final glottal stop, the glottal is elided. Hence, it is written only when it is not immediately followed by another word.

The terminology of the songs has been standardized to reflect their structure, employing the terms “song,” “stanza,” “verse,” and “line.” Those songs involving the man’s and woman’s steps (p. 43) are divided into two stanzas, the first consisting of the woman’s steps (26 in all) and the second consisting of the man’s steps (30 in all). A single stanza may consist of two verses of four lines each. In both the first and second stanzas, all lines remain the same except for the line in which the man’s or woman’s word (or step) is substituted. In other songs throughout the text, there may be a limitless number of stanzas, since a series of particular words or phrases may be substituted within a standard number of lines or the stanzas may be completely different from one another.

Each ceremony or ritual has its standard repertoire of songs, but occasionally a song is used in more than one ritual. In the first instance of a song’s occurrence in the text the song is noted in its entirety. Subsequent occurrences of the song in different rituals are referenced to their first occurrence.

Biography of James R. Murie

James Rolfe Murie was born in Grand Island, Nebraska, in 1862. At that time the Pawnee were still living in their traditional territory and much of their old culture was still intact. Only recently, by the treaty of 1857, had they ceded most of their lands to the government and confined themselves to a small reservation. In exchange, they were to receive an annuity and the acculturative means by which to change to an agrarian society much like that of their white contemporaries. Their removal to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma) was still over a decade away when Murie was born. During that period the Pawnee were, with few exceptions, still living in villages of earthlodges and tipis, following the old subsistence pattern of three-month long winter and summer buffalo hunts, practicing native agriculture (the work was done by women), and maintaining their native religion—in spite of government and missionary attempts since the 1830s to change the tribe’s lifeways. This was also a period when the Pawnee were constantly being harassed by marauding Sioux war parties that took a heavy toll on their already greatly reduced population.⁶

Information on Murie’s parents and his early childhood is meager. His mother, whose English name was Anna Murie, was a full-blooded Pawnee, a member of the Skiri band. His father, James Murie, was white, a Scot who was a captain under Major Frank North and commanded a battalion of Pawnee scouts. The elder Murie abandoned his family shortly after his son’s birth and went west to California. After he left, young James (whose childhood Indian name was Ri·tahkacihari’ ‘Young Eagle’) and his mother went to live with her brother who “lived like a white man” (Southern Workman, March 1880). Beyond that, little is known about Murie’s childhood except for several personal recollections which he later shared in a newspaper letter written during his student days at Hampton Institute. In that letter he related:

In 1869 I went on a hunting with the Pawnees and Puncas we went on about three days they found some bufflos so all men got their best horses and fixed them up and than took their bows and arrows and guns they went all around them and than they just run after them and see who’ll get there first one man would kill two or three sometimes four and eight, and they skin them, and take them home, skin and all. the skins are used for moccasins and men legends once I went swimming while the men went after bufflos. while I was in the water, I seen a bufflo coming towards where I was, frighten me, to. I had to climbed upon a tree, it was mad some men were after him and had some arrows in him. they killed him and than I got down, from the tree, and I seen them skin it. we had lots bufflo meat we camp same place, the Indians were drying their meat so it will less long, after while we went on again, we want on till sun was at. next morning they seen some more bufflos. they killed many more they had to stay there till their meat was dry. we stayed there and the Indian women got their things and worked on. with their skin. they finished them, and had lots of meat and skins, and return home again. I just use to eat dry meat all the time no towns around nor near, to buy some bread and sugar. I use to get hungry, for bread. I use to cry. for some bread my stepfather had to take me where their was some Pawnees that did not go hunting we got there. I had all the bread I want I was glad then the next day we went on and got to a town and went in the car[t]s and went on we got to another town we got out and went home. [Southern Workman, March 1880.]

Before leaving Nebraska for Indian Territory in 1874, Murie attended for four months a day school at the agency in Genoa. “My mother was willing for me to come to school and be among the white people,” he later reminisced (Southern Workman, March 1880). After moving to the new Pawnee reservation in the Territory, he attended day school for a year and then spent a year in the boarding school at the agency. Here he had a room of his own next to the agent’s office and boarded at the school. Being around the agency and consequently mingling with whites, he soon learned sufficient English to be an interpreter for the agent. One day in 1879 he was asked if he wanted to go to school in the East. He responded affirmatively and subsequently was sent to Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia.

Murie was 16 years old when he entered Hampton in October 1879. School records there credit him with one year of previous schooling and speaking some English. He enrolled in the primary school and during the first year worked on the school’s farm, the routine at that time being farm work in the morning and classes in the afternoon. The next year he began to work in the printing office. Of this period he wrote:

I thought that I would try and learn the printers’ trade, as I saw that one of the Pawnee boys at Carlisle was learning the trade. I though[t] that I would learn it so that both of us could have the same trade, so we may be able to start the same trade out in the Territory. I work two days every week. And now I can set types for the Southern Workman. I like this trade very well, but then I will not say that I will start this trade out in the Territory; I don’t know whether circumstances will permit nor not, for my tribe need education, and I expect to be a teacher among them. I like this trade very well and wish to learn as much as I can while here. [Southern Workman, March 1881.]

The basic educational goals for Indian students at Hampton seem to have been threefold: developing the use of English, teaching a trade, and providing Christian training. All were goals aimed at making them productive citizens, not unlike contemporary whites. In Murie’s case the program met with success. He quickly showed academic aptitude and seems to have done quite well as a student, even though, as he once complained, he was troubled by geography. While working in the printing office, he edited and did most of the writing and typesetting for the column “From the Indians” on the students’ page of Hampton’s Southern Workman. In this endeavor he took a great deal of pride, according to Booker T. Washington, who was one of his teachers (Harlan, 1973 (2):98). In his religious instruction, too, there was success: He was confirmed in the Episcopal church while in school, and later, after leaving Hampton, he wrote, “I want them [the Pawnee] to put their superstitious ideas aside, and believe in the white man’s Great Spirit. I am working for the Indian people and for ‘the Father above the skies’” (Hampton Institute, 1893:198).

In 1883, Murie received a diploma from the Normal Department and returned home, the first of his tribe to return from an Eastern school and destined to be, perhaps, Hampton’s most distinguished Indian graduate (Harlan, 1973(2):100). His reaction to his homecoming is in part contained in a letter to Capt. S. G. Armstrong, principal of Hampton:

When I went away the Pawnees were not on their farms but in villages.

On my way home from Arkansas city, I saw farms on the sides of the road owned and worked by Pawnees. They had log houses as well as the mud lodges to live in, and very comfortably fixed. I was pleased to see what they had done in such a short time. Many had some wheat and were harvesting when I arrived. Many made money from it, which encouraged many and many have already sown some four or five acres apiece. Pretty near all the Pawnees are farmers, with the exceptions of those that are employed by the government and those that own cattle. [Southern Workman, December 1883.]

His interest now was to become a teacher and thereby put to good use the education that he had received. First, though, he took a job as a clerk in the store of Mattock and Bishop, which was near the agency. He did the bookkeeping as well as clerking and was apparently well thought of. However, when the new Pawnee Agency boarding school opened in the fall of 1883, he quit the job and took a position as assistant teacher at the school. Here, in addition to teaching, he had charge of the boys and their dormitory. His students were six- and seven-year-olds, who knew no English; his task was to teach them the language. The next fall he resigned from his job at the agency school and

took twenty-one of the largest children to Haskell Institute, and on arriving there found we were the first lot to arrive. I took my largest boys and fixed up the rooms in good order for others who were coming. I acted [as] Disciplinarian and Drill-Master for three months, but no salary. By the first of January I was appointed Assistant Disciplinarian and Drill-Master at $15.00 per month. [Hampton Institute, 1893:347.]

After two years at Haskell he resigned and went East, hoping to study for the ministry. In Washington he visited the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, who told him that he had received sufficient education and promised him an appointment as a teacher at the Pawnee school. Satisfied with this commitment, he returned home; but the agent at Pawnee claimed that he had never received any instructions for such an appointment and refused Murie the job. After a period of living in the Skiri camp he settled down on a tract of land and began to farm. Of this period he wrote, “Had I been weak in heart I should this day have been wearing Indian clothes” (Hampton Institute, 1893:348). Writing back to Hampton in 1890, he related:

I have a farm on the Arkansas River bottom, with 12 acres in cultivation. I have bought some wire and will soon have a fence around it. I also have my logs laid up for a house, and as soon as the portable saw-mill goes to running I will have boards for sheathing and rafters sawed. I bought fourteen bundles in Arkansas City. As soon as my house is complete I shall move over there to stay. I am not in the government service and, therefore, do not get any salary.

I am married, and we have one little boy who is now six months old. We call him Fred Wallace Murie, and not Le-coots or Tah-Kah. I want my little boy to grow up in white man’s ideas and become educated so he can help his people; and also be a good citizen of this country.

Every day we are showing our people what “Lands in Severalty” would bring us, and what good it would do us. They see that it’s coming on to them, and they are scattering out on claims, improving their places so they can be as near ready for it when it comes. I am doing all I can to help them start farms, especially the young men. These young men should be encouraged.

I am helping my people in any way I can, whether in Government service or not; I am always ready to help an Indian man with his machinery or an Indian woman with her sewing machine; or telling my people the story of Christ. I care not where I may be just so I am working for the Indian people, and for “Our Father.” [Hampton Institute, 1893:348.]

Thus we see Murie, educated now but with his plans to be a teacher thwarted, falling back on farming, the occupation and lifestyle most favored by the government for advancing the Pawnee. His stint on the farm was not long, however, for within a year or two he was back at the Pawnee agency living in a log cabin that was built on agency land, located on the spot now occupied by the Tribal Community House. Here he became variously involved in tribal and agency matters, serving as an interpreter, recording names on the censuses, and working with the land allotment of 1893 when all Pawnees became citizens and each family received a farm. In 1896 he began as a clerk in the bank in the new town of Pawnee, a job he retained off and on over the next twenty years.

One of Murie’s earliest contacts with an ethnographer was in the 1880s when George Bird Grinnel visited the Pawnee. Grinnel interviewed many persons, among them Murie, who provided him with several stories and miscellaneous ethnographic data. However, it was not until the mid-1890s that Murie’s anthropological career began. Alice Fletcher, who had been studying the Omaha, came to Pawnee to begin a study of Pawnee ceremonialism and particularly the Calumet Ritual. Fletcher, who had known Murie from his student days at Hampton, enlisted his aid as a collaborator in her work. Agreeable to the idea, Murie, on this and two subsequent fieldtrips that Fletcher made to Pawnee, accompanied her to ceremonies and to the homes of informants. He transcribed and translated songs and textual material, and assisted her in various other ways. When Fletcher was back in Washington, she and Murie corresponded extensively over a five-year period from 1898 to 1902. Murie answered questions that came up in her work and provided her with additional material. On several occasions during this period he also visited her in Washington. Twice, in 1898 and in 1900, he brought a Chawi informant who provided the data for “The Hako: A Pawnee Ceremony” (Fletcher, 1904) so that the three of them could work on the description of it. In 1902 Murie again visited her for a final review of the Hako manuscript. In addition, he made several trips to Washington on tribal business with older Pawnees, and on such occasions he and his party visited Fletcher to provide her with information.

In 1902, Murie ended his work with Fletcher when he began as a full-time assistant to George A. Dorsey. Even though his subsequent work under Dorsey’s guidance was to improve and develop, credit must be given to Fletcher for awakening his interest in Pawnee culture and religious life and the preservation of it by himself and other anthropologists. Before he met Fletcher, Murie had shown no significant interest in the traditions of his people, preferring instead “to be like a white man,” as he so often said, and consequently sharing many white attitudes.

Dorsey, who was then Curator of Anthropology at the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago, began his Pawnee work in 1899. This work was part of a larger project funded by the Carnegie Institute to do a systematic and extended study of the mythology and ceremonies of the Caddoan-speaking tribes: Arikara, Pawnee, Wichita, and Caddo. As it turned out, his work with the Pawnee was by far the most extensive, primarily due to Murie’s indispensable collaboration. Before 1902 Dorsey made several brief trips to Pawnee, in the course of which he set the groundwork for his later work: In 1901, for example, he purchased a sacred bundle for the Museum; in 1902 he purchased several more bundles, collected data on traditions, and, most importantly, hired Murie on a full-time basis as an assistant. Until this time Murie had worked with him while he was in Pawnee, taking him to informants and generally assisting him; but now Murie was given full responsibility for collecting what was to be the bulk of the traditions that formed the two volumes of Pawnee mythology published by Dorsey (1904a; 1906a). During the summer of 1903, Murie (who had learned Arikara while he was at Hampton) also worked among the Arikara of North Dakota and secured all of the data on traditions for the volume of that tribe, which Dorsey again published under his own name (1904b).

Murie’s work with Dorsey extended through 1909. For several years during that period he and his family lived in Chicago, where he worked at the Field Museum; but for most of the period he lived in Pawnee, where he served as a field assistant. In 1905, however, he again spent the entire summer in North Dakota collecting Arikara ceremonial material. Murie collected and wrote the ethnographic data, which Dorsey edited and had typed. In this manner Dorsey not only derived his Pawnee and Arikara mythological data, but also built up a large body of notes and manuscripts on Skiri ceremonial and social life and on Arikara ceremonialism as well (Murie, 1902a, b). Some of this material was incorporated into the numerous articles on the Pawnee that were written by Dorsey; some went into the posthumously published monograph on Skiri society that was authored by Dorsey and Murie (1940) and prepared for publication by Alexander Spoehr; some of it was published, in part verbatim from Murie’s notes, by Ralph Linton in his four leaflets on Pawnee religion (1922a, 1922b, 1923a, 1923b,) as well as in his article on the Morning Star sacrifice (1926); and some of it has to this day remained unpublished.⁷ Perhaps more important than any of these materials, though, is an unpublished manuscript entitled “The Pawnee: Society and Religion of the Skidi Pawnee,” jointly authored by Dorsey and Murie (1907). Slightly over 400 pages in length, it appears to have been an attempt to pull together a summary of their work. In actual fact, it is an earlier, less ambitious effort to do what Murie and Wissler later did. The manuscript includes not only a description of Skiri religion, including numerous songs, but describes social structure as well, with a brief account of men’s societies. According to the title sheet, it was to have been published by the Carnegie Institution in 1907, but for some unknown reason it was never printed.

All of the preceding notes and manuscripts are currently in the archives of the Department of Anthropology of the Field Museum. In the course of his field work, Murie also recorded on cylinders Pawnee texts and songs, as well as some Arikara songs. Originally in the collections of the Field Museum, they are now in the custody of the Archives of Traditional Music at Indiana University.⁸ In addition, Murie also collected specimens from the field for Dorsey and was instrumental in the Field Museum’s acquisition of several important Skiri sacred bundles (viz., the Pahukatawa and the Big Black Meteoric Star bundles), as well as a large collection of material culture items. Thanks then to Dorsey’s interest and Murie’s efforts, the museum has today one of the two significant Pawnee collections in the country (the other major collection being that of the American Museum of Natural History).

An interesting but unfortunately obscure aspect of Murie’s work with Dorsey was an apparent venture into linguistics. In the Chilocco Indian School Journal in 1909 (9(9):34) there is a brief note stating that Murie and his family had visited the school and that Murie was currently engaged in compiling a dictionary and grammar of the Pawnee language. No partial or complete manuscript of a grammar or a dictionary exists (or perhaps survives), but among the Murie papers in the Field Museum there is notebook entitled “Skidi Pawnee Texts,” which in part corroborates the newspaper note. The bulk of the notebook consists of two long texts written out in the Skiri dialect but with no accompanying English translation; and in the back are some 30 pages filled with verb paradigms and the principal parts of many irregular verbs, as well as a partial paradigmatic chart for the kinship terms. The orthography in the material is surprisingly good—in fact, the best of Murie’s extensive transcriptional work, for he wrote vowels and consonants consistently and correctly throughout and in many instances, although not consistently, he marked vowel length. In addition, he indicated final voiceless vowels (by writing them raised) and stress. Indeed, on the basis of these valuable but limited notes, it is lamentable that more such material, if it in fact ever existed, has not survived.

After 1906 Murie’s work with Dorsey seems to have been sporadic. When he was not assisting him, he worked at the bank in Pawnee as cashier and interpreter. Nevertheless, Dorsey apparently would have liked to continue his partnership with Murie, for he proposed that Murie accompany him on an expedition to Borneo as his assistant. Murie demurred, however, stating that he had no desire to lose his head to the headhunters there (Constance Murie, pers. comm.).

In 1910 Murie became a part-time field researcher for the Bureau of American Ethnology, no doubt because of his previous experience with Dorsey and Fletcher; and in the 32nd Annual Report of the Bureau (1910–1911:10), he is listed’ as being involved in ethnological research on the Pawnee. The Bureau, then headed by F. W. Hodge, engaged him over a five-year period to write up descriptions of surviving Pawnee ceremonies, particularly medicine rites. This time he was working independently. The Bureau furnished him with various items of equipment (a Graphophone for recording songs, a typewriter, a camera, and several tents), as well as providing for field expenses and a small salary. Murie’s procedure was to camp with the Indians when the ceremonies were being performed and so observe all of the proceedings. Then at their conclusion he returned home to write out in full what he had observed and taken notes on. He also recorded the songs during the actual performance of the ceremonies and then later would write them out too. When he completed parts of a manuscript, he mailed them to the Bureau. The cylinder recordings were also mailed there.⁹

In all, Murie completed extensive, minutely detailed descriptions of three ceremonies for the South Band Pawnee: the White Beaver Ceremony (or what is better known as the Doctor Dance) of the Chawi; and the Bear and Buffalo dances of the Pitahawirata. The Bear Dance that he witnessed and described was presumably the last one ever to be performed.

Beginning in 1912 Clark Wissler, Curator of Anthropology at the American Museum of Natural History, began editing a series of descriptive papers on the religious and secular societies of each of the Plains tribes, hoping to work out a detailed distribution of the various types. He had information for all of the tribes but the Pawnee. To fill that lacuna, Wissler wrote to Hodge early that year, asking him for permission to get information from Murie. Actually Wissler hoped that Murie would contribute a short monograph on the subject. Hodge replied that he should feel free to work with Murie so long as the work would not duplicate that which he was doing for the Bureau. That summer Robert Lowie, who was also with the American Museum at that time and who had just finished work among the Arikara on their societies, visited Murie in Oklahoma to compare notes, since Murie too had previously worked among the Arikara (Murie, 1902b). At the same time he wanted to propose that Murie work with Wissler. Murie agreed to the outlined propsal, and subsequently Wissler arranged for him to write up separate descriptions of each of the men’s societies that the Pawnee formerly had, including accounts of the origin and ceremony or dance of each society. Wissler also submitted a list of questions to him that he should follow. Murie then sought out the old men who were knowledgeable about each society and interviewed them, generally at his own home at night. He and the old men would sit on the floor, and the latter told what they knew while he listened and took notes. Afterwards, during the day, he would work at this roll-top desk writing out from his notes and from memory what they had told him. Later he would bring back various ones individually to his home to answer specific questions and flesh out what he had previously put together. Once he had a description finished, he would once more bring the old men together at his home, feed them, and then again at night record on the Bureau’s Graphophone the songs of that society. As soon as he completed a section, he sent it to Wissler, who would edit it and send it back to him for revision; this procedure continued for a year. In the summer of 1913 Wissler visited Murie in Pawnee for several weeks to work up the developing manuscript. Over the next year the same modus operandi obtained, until in 1914 the manuscript was ready for publication. When it appeared in print, Murie was listed as author, while in the introduction Wissler explained that Murie had prepared the paper under his direction and modestly added that he, the editor, was “in the main responsible for its form and limitations” (Murie, 1914:545). Thus he, in effect, gave Murie full credit for the monograph.

During 1913, while Murie was working on the societies’ paper for Wissler, Murie also collected related specimens for the American Museum and simultaneously worked on the Buffalo Dance manuscript for the Bureau. The next year when he was completing the paper for Wissler, Murie suggested to his collaborator that Murie write out in full the rituals for the important sacred bundles of the Skiri, a project that he had always wanted to do. Wissler agreed, and after “Pawnee Indian Societies” (Murie, 1914) was finished, he told him to go ahead on the work following the same procedure as before. At the same time Wissler arranged with the Bureau of American Ethnology for a jointly sponsored project whereby the American Museum would direct Murie’s work and would receive the sacred bundles and other cultural specimens, while the Bureau would get the resulting manuscript and publish it.

Work on the ambitious new project began in 1914 and continued through 1921, when it culminated in the manuscript “Ceremonies of the Pawnee.” Murie, as before, collected material from the old priests and doctors, wrote it up, and sent it to Wissler. Periodic meetings were generally in the summer, either at Wissler’s family farm in Hagerstown, Indiana, or in New York or Washington. Wissler would work out organization and form for the subject and go over in detail with Murie what he had collected. All the while, of course, Murie was also engaged in collecting bundles and other specimens for the American Museum. In May 1921 Murie met with Wissler, who was with the National Research Council, in Washington. Before leaving Pawnee, Murie wrote to his collaborator: “Now, Doc, I want you and me to do good work on [the] Pawnee stuff so we can get [a] fine work out—better than any that’s been out on Indians” (AMNH correspondence files, 22 Dec. 1920). In June, after Murie returned home, Wissler replied, “… you can enjoy the satisfaction of having done a good piece of work, the like of which has not been done before” (AMNH correspondence files, 22 June 1921). The project was finished. Murie had completed his magnum opus. On 18 November 1921, while Wissler was trying to arrange to bring him to the American Museum in New York to lecture and show films on the Pawnee, Murie died of apoplexy while chopping wood in his front yard. He was buried in the Indian cemetery north of the town of Pawnee.

It has no doubt become clear that Murie was only a marginal participant in Pawnee culture. After moving to Oklahoma, he lived all his life in Pawnee, except for his school years and the brief period in Chicago while working for Dorsey. He was married into the tribe and identified himself as a Pawnee; and because Pawnee was a small town it would have been impossible for him to divorce himself from Indian society. Yet his childhood and his educational experience put him to a large extent outside the pale of traditional Indian society and fitted him more properly for white society. As were so many young Indians in similar circumstances in that period, he was caught between two cultures and emerged as a member of a progressive, nontraditional element of the tribe, straddling both cultures. He attended Indian ceremonies and dances as an observer, or at most a participant observer, but not as a full participant (although this changed somewhat later in life); and wherever he went he always wore a suit, never Indian clothing. In fact, he never owned a set of Indian clothing. He and his wife did, however, have several trunks in which they kept blankets, shawls, and other goods for giveaways when other tribes came to Pawnee for a kuskeha·ruˀ (i.e., friendship visit). His views and attitude towards Pawnee religion— in fact, life in general—were basically those of a white. Thus, in his anthropological work we must realize that his accounts are derived primarily from observation (from what he witnessed and from what native practitioners told him) and not from the introspection of a believing participant. He could not have failed, however, to have a cultural empathy, if not an underlying predisposition, for native Pawnee religion that an alien would not have. In his early years, when he worked with Fletcher and Dorsey, and even in his early work for the Bureau and with Wissler, he expressed surprise in his letters at many ceremonies with which he was unfamiliar. Later in life, though, he tried to embrace his Pawnee identity more fully. After the old priests died, he led a number of ceremonies in which he had been instructed in the course of his work and seemingly would have been a priest himself; in fact, he reputedly attempted to have a vision but failed (Weltfish, 1965:480).

Throughout his adult life in Oklahoma, Murie was active in both tribal and community affairs. He accompanied Pawnee delegations to Washington on tribal business, and he was, as we have indicated above, usually involved in various tribal matters. In 1915 he was elected president of the Indian Farmers’ Institute in Pawnee. In addition to being a member of the Episcopal Church, he was also a faithful member of the local Masonic Lodge and was a Noble of the Mystic Shrine in Tulsa.

Little is known about Murie the man, and what he was like personally. Most of those who knew him intimately are deceased now. However, in the course of my own field work in Oklahoma during the past decade, I have discussed Murie with older Pawnees, several of them related to him. In these reminiscences he was clearly perceived by them as an educated man who had served his people, one who had compiled a record of Pawnee life and religion as experienced over a century ago and now long forgotten. One elderly lady also fondly remembered him as “a big tease.” He liked to joke and laugh. His daughter-in-law, who had lived in the Murie household for several years, has added that he had a distinctively attractive personality— that, in fact, “he could charm a snake off a hot rock.”

In 1887 he married his first wife, Mary Esau. They had eight children, but only four survived to be adults, the others dying in infancy or childhood. In 1919, after more than 30 years with Mary, he divorced her to marry Josephine Walking Sun, daughter of Old Lady Washington, keeper of one of the Morning Star bundles. He moved into the Washington home and lived there until his death. He had two children by Josephine, one of them a girl whom he named Viola Wissler Murie after the wife of Clark Wissler. Unfortunately, the child died before she was two years old.

It is difficult to accurately evaluate Murie’s work. None of the people with whom he worked are living, and so we cannot get a first-hand appraisal of the man and his efforts. Instead we must rely on his own work, the material he has bequeathed us and the acknowledgments that others have made on behalf of the data and services he was able to provide them. In these terms we can say that Murie’s work, given his time and circumstances, was truly remarkable. He worked long and diligently in the tedious detail of recording the culture of the Pawnee, particularly his own band, the Skiri. Whatever his shortcomings in terms of professional training, the overriding conclusion remains that were it not for James R. Murie, the unusual wealth of ethnography that we now possess for the Pawnee would in all likelihood not exist. He lived at a particularly strategic time, when Pawnee ceremonialism and most of the old culture had nearly ceased. Because the old ways were virtually gone, the priests, doctors, and others who had participated in that way of life were at least willing and, perhaps, happy that those customs be recorded. Had it not been for these circumstances, those same Pawnee would undoubtedly have strongly resisted the revelation of what they held sacred. Likewise, a decade after Murie finished his work, much of the material was fragmentary and, in fact, irretrievable. Murie’s being a member of Pawnee society also cannot be overlooked as an important, if not essential, ingredient of his success, for as a member of that society he naturally had kin ties, a common linguistic base, and a knowledge of Pawnee ways that together gave him a direct entree to religious leaders; and living in Pawnee all of his life afforded him both time and opportunity for protracted work. Most important, though, was his sustained interest in the work. He made it his life’s goal to record and preserve the religious and ceremonial ritual of the Pawnee, and he spent nearly a quarter of a century involved in that endeavor. We shall forever be in his debt for his perseverance and dedication.

SOURCES

The primary sources for Murie’s early life are newspaper articles by and about him. These appear in various issues of the Southern Workman (Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute, Hampton, Virginia), beginning in 1880 and extending through 1903. Two short biographical sketches appear in Twenty-two Years Work of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (Hampton, 1893). Another sketch appears in volume 2 of The Booker T. Washington Papers, Louis R. Harlan, editor (Urbana, 1973). Short clippings of varying value about activities of Murie during his school years and later in life appear in the following publications: American Missionary, Indian Leader, Red Man and His Helper, The Indian Friend, Native American, Arrow, Indian School Journal (Chilocco) and Carrier Pigeon.

For the period of his work with anthropologists, information has come primarily from correspondence. The Field Museum of Natural History has a small set of letters in its Department of Anthropology correspondence files between Murie and George A. Dorsey. The American Museum of Natural History also has an extensive file of Murie-Wissler correspondence, as well as letters between Wissler and the Bureau of American Ethnology dealing with Murie’s work and the manuscript. The National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution, has important sets of correspondence between Alice C. Fletcher and Murie, and Murie and the Bureau. In addition, it has copies of letters between the Bureau and Gene Weltfish, while the latter had the manuscript (Cat. No. 2520) in the field and was re-transcribing the linguistic material in it.

The following Annual Reports of the Bureau of American Ethnology contain brief mention of Murie’s activities while he worked under the Bureau’s auspices: 32nd (1910–1911:10); 34th (1912–1913:24); 36th 1914–1915:27); 37th (1915–1916:26); and 41st (1919–1924:31, 40).

An obituary for Murie appeared on the front page of the Pawnee Democrat (Pawnee, Oklahoma), 24 November 1921. Additional information on his life came from his daughter-in-law, Mrs. Constance Murie, Pawnee, Oklahoma, during an interview with D. R. Parks in October 1973.

Finally, Wissler has given a romanticized vignette of his first meeting with Murie and of later visits between the two. The sketch is a chapter entitled “Coming Sun” in his Indian Calvalcade, or Life on the Old Time Indian Reservations (Sheridan House, 1938).

A slightly different version of this biography, presented at the 1976 annual meeting in Atlanta of the American Ethnological Society, appears in American Indian Intellectuals, Margot Liberty, editor (West Publishing Co., St. Paul, 1978:75–90). It discusses Murie’s Arikara work in more detail.

PART I: THE SKIRI

Introduction

In an earlier paper discussing the societies of the Pawnee (Murie, 1914), the main points of their tribal and ceremonial organizations were noted. For the sake of clarity we outlined their bundle scheme and its relation to their political organization. The striking point is the complexity and domination of the Skiri confederacy. The data at hand indicate this to have been of relatively recent origin since two villages were independent because they refused to enter into the original compact. This explanation is merely traditional, but the observed differences in the bundle schemes—i.e., their types, functions, and hierarchical arrangement—for the confederated villages and those of the two independent villages are consistent with this tradition.

The four historic divisions of the Pawnee (the Skiri, Chawi, Kitkahahki, and Pitahawirata) have definite linguistic differences, from which it follows that their differentiation is of respectable age. (Figure 2).¹ As we shall indicate, their mythological and ceremonial culture has quite distinct characteristics. The Arikara seem to have close linguistic relations to the Skiri,² and their ceremonial cultures are most alike. The Arikara call themselves sáhniš, “people,” “humans.” They also have among them the Awahu band, who by tradition were the last to receive their bundle from the gods (Dorsey, 1904a: 16, 32-35).

FIGURE 2.—Caddoan linguistic groups.

The Skiri claim that the Arikara split off from them. The facts at our command, however, rather favor the opposite contention of the Arikara. The term “Awahu” means “(they who were) left behind” ³ and refers to the mythical origin of the people from grains of corn, this band having sprung from the grains left behind in the ground (Dorsey, 1904b: 32–35). A certain similarity between the rights and privileges of the Awahu and the Skiri Morning Star band suggests a common origin; in each the men can go to the sacred offerings of burnt meat and with certain bear-like actions and recounting of coups appropriate the meat. Also each formerly made human sacrifices.⁴

The Arikara have very definite origin tales for their bundles, while those of the Skiri are rather vague. The former also have an interesting migration tale.⁵ In substance it is that they were at the outset the only people, but their failure to include the cyclone god in the sacrifice caused him to blow the people in all directions and confuse their tongues. The Arikara are the surviving remnant who were saved by a rock and a cedar tree.

The Arikara’s favorite account of their separation from the Skiri is a version of the gambling story in which a player forfeits his scalp. It was a Skiri who lost, and in compassion Mother Corn decreed that to that tribe should belong the Scalp Offering Ceremony. This grieved the Arikara to such an extent that they went to the North.

As to the historic relations of the Arikara and Skiri, we have very good traditional data that the former moved down into Nebraska and lived with the Skiri at a time when the latter had a few horses, while the Arikara used only dogs. After a few years the Arikara again moved northward. If we take this at its face value, the most probable date was between 1650 and 1758.⁶

On the other hand, the Wichita and Caddo have no such bundles as we find among the Pawnee tribes and the Arikara. According to the traditions of these, the Wichita were fitted out by the gods to live in wooded countries. These southern people were recognized by the others as masters of the older peyote and mescal, or deer, societies. The Kitsai are said to be quite different from the Wichita and Caddo.

Hence, if further data bear out the above assumptions, the separation of the Pawnee-Arikara, Kitsai, Wichita-Caddo groups was relatively ancient. The development of the four distinct Pawnee tribes came next, and finally, the Arikara and Skiri initial separation must have occurred before the discovery of America.⁷

The logical procedure, therefore, is to investigate the scheme of the Skiri and follow with the characteristics of the other divisions.

The Skiri Bundle Scheme

In my paper on the societies of the Pawnee I gave particular attention to ceremonial procedures not directly dependent upon bundles (Murie, 1914). Excepting certain society rituals, there are no important ceremonies among the Skiri not associated with bundles. There are two groups of bundles, those deriving their powers from the star gods and those having powers from animals. Since the Skiri have both kinds of bundles, they are considered the originators of the former, while the latter developed among the other Pawnee bands. The chief point of interest, however, is that the star god powers control only the food supply and war, while the animal powers control health and disease. In discussing the Skiri, the first consideration is the star god series of bundles.

Though living in the Plains and depending to a large degree upon the buffalo, the Skiri looked upon corn as the primary mythical concept. This is somewhat in contrast with the Dakota and other Northern Plains tribes, among whom the buffalo is the leading concept.

The yearly cycle of the Skiri may be said to have its origin in the conception of Mother Corn. It opens in the spring at the first thunder with preparations for planting the corn, which proceeds step by step with its attendant ceremonies until the seed is in the ground and the plants are well developed. Then the people set out upon the buffalo hunt, to return after a time to tend and harvest the crop, after which they again set out upon the hunt and continue until forced into their houses by the winter storms, where they wait the thunder signal for the next cycle to begin. This entire cycle is correlated with a series of ceremonies so that every important step in it is guided by a ritual. We shall see that practically the whole of this complex is an elaboration and systemization of the Mother Corn concept and that the several bundle ceremonies are but parts of one complex ritual attending the life history of corn.

The yearly cycle of the Skiri is given in the following list of ceremonies, which we shall take as the logical order of presentation.

SPRING

Thunder or Creation Ceremony (for each bundle)
Kawaharu Ceremony (demonstration of the Evening Star

    Bundle Ritual)

Shelling the Sacred Ear of Corn
Transfer of the Leading Bundle
Distribution of Seed

Corn Planting Ceremony of the Skull Bundle
Work in the Fields
Young Corn Plant Ritual

SUMMER

The Chief’s Council with Skull Bundle
All Bundles Opened to View the Country
Great Washing Ceremony
Summer Hunt

Consecration of the First Animals Killed

Compensatory Offerings by Delinquent Bundle Priests

The Kawaharu Ceremony

North Star Offering

Heart and Tongue Offering of the Evening Star Bundle
Return to the Villages
Green Corn Offering to the Evening Star
Green Corn Offering of All Bundles
The Harvest

AUTUMN AND WINTER

Changing Mother Corn

Change of Leading Bundle

Changing Mother Corn in All Bundles

The Four Pole Ceremony

Doctors’ Ceremony

Society and Village Ceremonies

Chiefs’ Council To Organize the Winter Hunt

Winter Hunt

Renewing the Wrappings of the Evening Star Bundle

Merging of Bundle Powers
Return to the Villages

There are other bundle ceremonies having no fixed place in this cycle. These bundles and their ceremonies are as follows (see also Table 1):

Bundle
Ceremonies

Evening Star bundle
Thunder or Creation
   Ceremony
Kawaharu, or Good
   Fortune, Ceremony

Leading bundles (Yellow Star,
   Red Star, White Star, Big
   Black Meteoric Star)
Transferring Mother Corn
   to Evening Star Bundle
Gathering Corn Plants
Scalp Offering
Shelling the Corn
Great Washing Ceremony
   (Big Black Meteoric Star only)

Skull bundle
Four Pole Ceremony
Corn Planting Ceremony
Chiefs’ Society Ritual (1)

North Star bundle
Burnt Offering
Chiefs’ Society Ritual (2)

Morning Star bundles
Human sacrifice

Federated Villages bundles
Special village ceremonies

Wolves Standing In Water
   Village bundle
Warriors’ Ceremony
New Fire Ceremony,
   or Scalp Offering

Squash Vine Village bundle
Doctor’s Ceremony
Squash Vine Village
   Bundle Ritual

A close reading of this cycle shows how the ritualistic life of the Skiri begins with the first signs of spring and proceeds in almost unbroken sequence until they are driven into their permanent village by the rigors of winter. Then ritualistic life ceases until the reawakening of the world in the spring. What we are then to discuss in these pages is this orderly ritual complex.

Yet there are a number of ritualistic procedures not component parts of the annual cycle. These are demonstrated according to visions or when the occasions they are to meet arise. The most important of these are: the human sacrifice to the Morning Star; the New Fire, or Scalp Offering, Ceremony; the Calumet Ritual; and the North Star bundle ceremonies.

The Skiri were at one time grouped into fifteen villages. All but two of these were federated. According to tradition, the ritualistic scheme just outlined was the basis of federation into which all entered except these two, which remain independent to this day. An extract from Murie (1914:552–554) illustrates this tradition:

Evening Star (Venus) is the keeper of the firesticks which she received when she married Morning Star (Mars). He was a ruling spirit to the east of the Milky Way. Evening Star was a beautiful woman and very powerful. She was opposed to the creation of the earth and man and had overcome all the stars seeking her in marriage. Supporting her were four great powers, or stars, the Bear, Panther, Wildcat, and Wolf. There was also a great serpent group of stars. Morning Star overcame all of these in turn. Thus, he secured Evening Star. Then follows the familiar vanquishing of vaginal teeth. In course of time, a daughter was born. The earth was then created for the home of this child. Sun and Moon became parents of a boy, and he also was placed upon the earth.

After many years when the people were numerous, Morning Star demanded a human sacrifice as a return for his trials. Evening Star gave one man and woman directions for making the Yellow Calf bundle. Then Evening Star told him that there were many people scattered over the earth and that he should call them together. So Errand Man was sent out. From each village came the people with their sacred bundle [sic]. Errand Man told the chief that upon Elkhorn River he found a village of earthlodges covered with squash vines in which a bundle ceremony was going on in consequence of which they refused to come. Also on Looking Glass Creek he came to a village where the people had just performed a ceremony to call the buffalo and as the buffalo were at hand, they could not accept the invitation. Most of the buffalo were killed upon the ice which during the day was covered with water. The wolves stood around the carcasses and many were caught by the feet as the ice formed at night. So these two villages did not take part in the general bundle ceremony and were known as the Squash Vine and Wolves Standing In Water.

Those who had assembled now performed the Four Pole Ceremony. The keeper of the bundle and his priest occupied their regular seats at the back of the lodge and as the bundles of other villages arrived those from the north took seats on that side and those from the south upon the other. The village of the host was then called Center Village.

We see that before the federation was formed, or the ritualistic scheme cited above initiated, each village possessed a ritual and an associated bundle. The sanction for the control of the village was derived from the bundle in each case, so that the federation was brought about by organizing these heterogeneous village rituals and placing all under the supreme sanction of a controlling ritual. Since, however, certain of the village bundles had special functions not of common interest, these were independently exercised and were thus not a part of the cycle. Their functions placed them in a class with individually owned bundles, as noted above. Further, a bundle may have more than one ritual associated with it and so appear in more than one part of the cycle, as well as in independent ceremonies.

Again, all of the bundles directly connected with the annual cycle participated in a few common rituals or ceremonies. These were the Thunder or Creation Ceremony, the Great Washing Ceremony, and the New Fire Ceremony or Scalp Offering.

Nevertheless these specific rituals were each regarded as the property of particular bundles, as shown in Table 1 and the list above (p. 31). [There are 11 confederated villages listed in Table 1. The four leading bundles belong to Old Village. The reason that all 13 villages and their bundles are not in this table is that when Murie collected the data it was too late to get complete information. Much about the sociopolitical structure was forgotten, and he gathered what fragments and details he could. One should realize that a close reading of the text and table will reveal inconsistencies and much lack of detail.—DRP.]

The bundle scheme just described is peculiar to the Skiri. We have noted the fact that two villages were not a part of the bundle federation, and that it is stated in the myth that when the messenger, calling the several villages to the first meeting under the Skiri confederation, reached the Squash Vine village, they were holding the ceremony of their own bundle and so could not come. This was the Doctors’ Ceremony (Murie, 1914:601–605). It is one of the rituals of that village and was literally not a part of the Skiri scheme. Yet in later times whenever the Squash Vine village held this ceremony, it invited all the shamans of the other Skiri villages to take part. As we interpret the data at hand, we have here a kind of contrast to the political federation under the bundles of Old Village.

The thirteen confederated villages are as follows:⁸ turi·kaku ‘Center Village’ (Evening Star bundle); kitkahahpakuhtuˀ ‘Old Village’ (four leading bundles); tuhicpi ·ˀ at ‘Village In Bottomlands’; tuhkickita ‘Village On A River Branch’; tuhwa·hukasa ‘Village Across A Hill’; arikarahkucuˀ ‘Big Elk’; arikara·riki ‘Little Elk Standing’; tuhu·caku ‘Village In Ravine’; tuhwara·kaku ‘Village In Thick Timber’ akahpaksawa ‘Skulls Painted On Tipi’; cti· sarikusuˀ ‘Fish Hawk’; ctikska·tit ‘Black (Ear of) Corn’; tu · rawiˀuˀ ‘Part Of A Village’.

Old Village thus appears to be the “capital city,” since the four governing (or leading) bundles are kept there, but the real center of authority resides in Center Village.⁹ The Skull bundle and the North Star bundle are not attached to any specific village.¹⁰ We further conclude that originally the Evening Star bundle of Center Village established and perpetuated the yearly food cycle of the Skiri insofar as it pertained to maize culture. Later, there came under its sway the four leading bundles of Old Village, which are really parts of our whole. The ritual of these has for its chief idea the federation of all the Skiri villages for buffalo hunting.

It was thus Old Village that initiated the federation, but the ritual for this federation belongs to the Skull bundle which by tradition was originated by the priests of Center Village. This ritual gives us the Four Pole Ceremony in which the federation is renewed each year in conformity with the revivifying conception. It is definitely fixed in tradition that the federation was brought about by the simple expedient of inviting all villages to participate by placing their bundles in the lodge when the ritual was performed. Therefore, I think it a reasonable assumption that the three important traits of Skiri culture—the federation of villages, the systematic control of maize culture, and the organization of shamans—were each initiated by the originators of particular bundle rituals. Finally, we may assume that since the ritual of the Evening Star bundle plays an important role in all, it is historically the oldest. Next came the four leading bundles, and finally the Skull bundle. But older than any of these, except the Evening Star, were the several village bundles, for it was out of two of these that the historic organization of the Skiri developed.

There are a few additional examples of this specialization of village bundles. Most conspicuous of these is the human sacrifice ritual of Morning Star Village [Village Across A Hill].¹¹ All the other village bundles had some minor specialties, but upon this point we have no specific data.

For the sake of completeness one may add that the Skiri chiefs formed a kind of society and their ritual was associated with the Skull bundle and the North Star bundle. Yet the latter had for its special ritual that of the Burnt Offering.

The Wolves Standing In Water Village had a bundle with its own special ceremonies, but I have so far failed to get any data. It seems likely that its ritual has been lost.

Likewise our knowledge of the other Pawnee divisions is meager. In later years they were so merged with the Skiri that their identity was all but lost. Each division had its bundles, but so far as we can learn, these had little in common with those of the Skiri. I suspect that their bundles were like the original village bundles just discussed, from which developed special rituals; but it is clear that nothing like the complex scheme of the Skiri existed. The mythological conceptions of the other divisions were far simpler than those of the Skiri. The elaborate star conceptions did not exist and the chief gods were the four powers in the west. We may yet secure more definite information on these points, but I fear the time has passed. Even the two independent Skiri villages did not recognize the gods and star beings of the federated villages. All this makes it fairly clear that the complex system of star philosophy found among the Skiri arose with the originator of the Evening Star Ritual.

Functions and Characteristics of Skiri Bundles

The names, function, and status of the various Skiri bundles, insofar as we have been able to determine these matters, are given in Table 1. The bundles are listed under their English names according to their importance in the bundle scheme. Frequently the English is not a literal translation of the Pawnee designation. When the Pawnee name differs, it is listed under the English name, and if there are two alternate Pawnee names they are both given.¹² The village to which the bundle belongs is specified, as is also its tribal and/or village function, when known. In many cases it has been possible to specify the symbolic sex (male or female) of the bundle and to give the colors and names of the two ears of corn in it. The location of the bundle [ca. 1920] is also given.

Relationships among the Bundles

A list of the important bundles is given on page 31 and in Table 1. As may be inferred from them, the Evening Star, or Calf, bundle was the first in rank. Upon its ritual was based the entire political organization of the Skiri and the authority of the four leading bundles. At the spring Thunder Ceremonies, the Evening Star bundle was opened first to this ritual; and at the close of the ceremony, the priests recited the same ritual for each of the four leading bundles; then for all the other bundles. In each case, they recited the same ritual to vitalize each bundle.

It should not be inferred that bundle rituals are secret in the sense that many White fraternal orders are secret. When a ceremony is under way, any boy or man may enter and watch the proceedings (Figure 3). He may listen to the songs and thus learn them; but to acquire a knowledge of their significance he must receive direct instruction from one of the priests. Adults may receive instruction, but they are expected to pay the priest handsomely. On the other hand, if a poor boy shows interest and manifests ability, he will be encouraged by the priests and carefully taught. On the other hand, women were not permitted to enter the lodge during the ceremony, because of the restriction regarding menstruation. Should women come in, there would be danger that some of them would be “unclean” and so offensive to the gods.

A priest got his position by virtue of his ability and knowledge. It is of course true that a Skiri priest would have preferred that one of his relatives succeed him, but this depended entirely upon the competence of the heir. Among the other divisions, however, a man either had to inherit the priestly office or get it by extravagant fees to the older priests.

Relationships of Priests and Keepers of Bundles

The keeper of a bundle is a chief, or ruler; thus, the political head of a village is the keeper of the village bundle. The keeper of the Evening Star bundle is the chief of the Skiri, but the active direction of tribal affairs is in the hands of the keepers of the four main bundles, each of whom serves in rotation (Murie, 1914:554). Yet each bundle has its priest who is charged with the responsibility for the ritual and the knowledge it represents. He does not care for the bundle in any way, but he is the one to conduct the ritual. While the chief is his political superior, the heavenly sanction of the bundle makes the priest, in the last analysis, supreme.

TABLE 1.—Names, function, and status of Skiri bundles

FIGURE 3.—Skiri sacred bundle ceremony: a, smoke offering; b, altar with loon skins; c, unidentified participants. (Photographs ca. 1900, near Pawnee, Oklahoma; courtesy Field Museum of Natural History.)

The priest of the Evening Star bundle is the grand high priest of the Skiri. He is supposed to be master of all sacred knowledge and to know the rituals of all bundles. His relationship to the priests of the four leading bundles is about the same as that among chiefs of the four main bundles, cited above. So it follows that when the priest and chief in charge for the season fail to get desired results in hunting, agriculture, or war by the sanction and power of the bundle, they call upon the high priest and chief, who, by a ceremony, transfer or merge the power of all the bundles into the bundle in charge (p. 112).

The keepership of a bundle being equivalent to a chieftainship, the idea of transfer by purchase does not pertain, the office of keeper being hereditary. Also, as may be expected, there is no ceremony of installation as keeper. At the proper time the priest of the bundle simply announces that a particular person is now the keeper by right of inheritance.

Care of Bundles

The wife of the keeper, or some female relative, cares for the bundle when it is not in use. All bundles, except the Skull bundle, are hung at the west side of the lodge.¹³ The latter seems to have been taken out and hung in front of the lodge door every day. When camp was moved it was pointed in the direction of travel (i.e., “it pointed the way”), as in the case of Blackfoot bundles (Wissler, 1912a: 154).

A bundle has a head and a tail to it. In the winter, when the north side is the leader in all the ceremonies, the head of the bundle is pointed toward the north. As they finish a given ceremony, all the people in the lodge give their pipes to the priest, with the stems pointing north. He says, “Now the pipes will turn with all their powers to the south.” So when the bundle is tied up, the pipe and stem will be pointed south because the south side people will be leaders in all ceremonies during the summer. When the bundle is tied up every animal or bird in it is pointed south. After being tied up, the bundle must be hung up with the heads and pipestem toward the south; even on a journey the direction must not be changed. The idea is that now the gods of the south side of the heavens are in power.

Next to the west wall of the lodge, below the bundle, was a cleared space, or altar, upon which a buffalo skull rested. Daily offerings of cooked corn were made to the skull, and certain movements of the hands were made over the skull in the direction of the bundles. The altar place is rectangular and in this respect differs from other Skiri altars.

Having a bundle in the lodge laid many injunctions upon the inhabitants. These were about the same for all bundles, except in the case of the Morning Star bundle, which had in addition a few special rules. Some of the most important of these rules were as follows: (1) no bones, feathers, or buffalo horns are to be put in the fire; (2) knives are not to be used in or about the fire, stuck into the ground, or into a boiling kettle; (3) when women are menstruating they must leave the lodge and sleep outside; (4) persons must not lie in the lodge with face upward and must not shout, whistle, spit, or sprinkle water upon the dirt floor; (5) persons from the outside wishing fire must get permission from the bundle keeper; and (6) no one should approach the place where the bundle is hanging.

One of the special duties of the woman is to remember the few peculiarities of her bundle. Each of the two ears of corn has a name differing from bundle to bundle. One ear is symbolic of the summer gods, the other of the winter ones. These individual names must be remembered by the women who care for the various bundles.

The Mother Corn Concept

Like most other Indian tribes, the Pawnee have several definite varieties of corn that are preserved by the careful selection of seed by the priests according to the exacting requirements of their rituals. In all, there are six varieties of corn.¹⁴ First and foremost is the variety known as Mother Corn [rikispa·rukstiˀ].¹⁵ This is white in color and has thick, short ears of uniform size and even grains. Its most distinguishing characteristic is the peculiar top. This variety is raised almost exclusively for ceremonial use, the details of which we shall discuss later. Next we have a black or very blue ear [u·raˀahka·tit]. This varies more in length than the preceding. It also has important ceremonial uses, but in contrast to the preceding it is raised in quantity for food. Full red ears [rikispahat] are known, but they are not definitely propagated. The Arikara, on the other hand, make a specialty of red corn. The chief food corn is yellow and of two kinds. What is considered as the older variety [rikistahkata] is rather hard and flinty. The more modern one [parusarut] is a deeper yellow and is said to have come from some tribe to the east. It is rather soft, but much used for food. Distinct from Mother Corn is the ordinary white food ear [rikista · ka]. It is rather long and slender. Again, there are two kinds, one very white, the other darker and harder. The sixth and last variety is the speckled ear [rikistipi. kuˀ]. Of this there are two native varieties, blue and white, and red and white. The former is quite soft and much used as green corn; the latter is rather hard and generally kept for parching. In addition, there is another variety recently introduced under the name of Osage corn [rikispasa·si]. The ears are rather short with mixed colored grains. The stalk is decidedly unlike the Pawnee varieties, growing tall and bearing the ears high up on the stalk.

The Mother Corn concept is found in many published versions of Caddoan myths, the most complete collection so far being from the Arikara (Dorsey, 1904b). Here we read that Neshanu saved the good people of the world by transforming them into grains of corn and putting them in a safe place while he destroyed the wicked and undesirables. At the same time, Neshanu planted some corn in the heavens and at harvest time went into the field and plucked an ear, which he transformed into a woman, or Mother Corn. Neshanu sent her to restore the people to the earth. She found the concealed grains, restored them to life, led the people to their historic home, and taught them all the arts and ceremonies that constitute the essentials of Caddoan culture. In particular, she taught the art of agriculture and established important parts of the bundle rituals. According to some versions, she ultimately became a cedar tree, and we find in Pawnee ritualism a symbolic cedar tree with its appropriate ceremonies; but again, we find her set adrift on the Missouri River while her body remained as an ear of corn wrapped in a buffalo robe, which was placed in the bundle where we still find it. Of some comparative interest is an unusual Arikara version in which Mother Corn in human form was killed while visiting her people and from her grave sprang many kinds of plants (Dorsey, 1904b:36–37).

In the Wichita collection of myths (Dorsey, 1904c) Mother Corn is found, but far less detailed than here. Likewise, the Pawnee version is not full enough for our purpose (Dorsey, 1906a). In an excellent narrative, Dorsey (1904a: 3–14) outlines the Skiri order of creation, but even this is fragmentary. Indeed, the correctness of the usual method of gathering narratives indiscriminately from such individuals of a tribe as may be willing to tell something may be questioned. What is obtained in this manner is a number of disconnected, ofter confused, and usually very incomplete renderings of the philosophical system from Which they come. For the student to render an interpretation of these by welding them into a consistent whole is also a doubtful procedure, because so much has been omitted and there are no means at hand for arriving at the double, hidden, or symbolic meanings usually given to such narrations. In this paper a somewhat different treatment is presented. Murie has mastered the ritualistic knowledge of the tribe, has received the instructions of those who were the sources of authority, and is himself now the demonstrator and teacher of the Skiri. I have set as my ideal the clear presentation of the systematized philosophy of these people as formulated in the bundle rituals. It is the fixed form of these rituals that has served as their preserver, and instruction in the same consists in handing on the interpretations and annotations of our predecessors. Thus the outline of creation presented here is merely the rendering of the Creation Ritual and its teachings. In many respects this will differ from the narratives in former publications, but, when examined, most of these differences will appear as largely due to abbreviation, disconnection, and loose construction on the part of the narrator. The narratives presenting incidents formalized in these rituals are not fixed in form and so far as my observation goes can rarely be repeated verbatim. As published, they are individualized free renderings of knowledge associated with these rituals.

The formalized or fixed part is the songs, but they are brief and unintelligible unless one understands the conceptions upon which they rest. Our method, therefore, is to present the songs in texts with translations as the basis of further discussion. Explanations and annotations necessary for a fairly complete understanding of the whole are included.

The Powers in the Heavens

The several divisions of the Pawnee differed greatly in their philosophical systems. That of the federated Skiri was the most complex and must be sketched in outline before we can begin our study of rituals.

Tirawahat was the one who first made the heavens and then placed minor gods there.¹⁶ He himself was so holy that the gods were created as go-betweens. The first one he placed in the heavens was Morning Star. (We can by no means be sure of the identity of Morning Star, for our informants seem to confuse Mars, Jupiter, and Venus. Mars is said to have red lights and to be the real one; but Jupiter is often selected as the one. The bed of flint is the one great source of fire whence the sun gets his light.) This being was to stand on a hot bed of flint. He was to be dressed like a warrior and painted all over with red dust. His head was to be decked with soft down and he was to carry a war club. He was not a chief, but a warrior. He was to follow up all other stars and was to have greater powers than any other god in the heavens. Through him people were to be created and he would demand of the people an offering of a human being. He was to preside over one council of the gods and was to replenish fire for his brother, Sun. He was also to be the great power on the east side of the Milky Way. This is Mars, u·pirikucuˀ (literally, ‘big star’), or the god of war (Dorsey, 1904:3).

The second god Tirawahat placed in the heavens was Evening Star, known to the white people as Venus. The Skiri term is cu·piritta·ka (literally, ‘female white star’), but the name Evening Star is used because her place is in the west and not because she is conceived of as Evening Star (Dorsey, 1904a:3). Tirawahat gave her great powers. She was opposed to the creation of people, and as a safeguard against this she had vaginal teeth. She was a beautiful woman. By speaking and waving her hands she could perform wonders. Through this star and Morning Star all things were created. She is the mother of the Skiri. Through her it is possible for people to increase and crops to mature.

As third in power, Tirawahat placed the Big Black Meteoric Star (u·pirit raruhu·ru katitkucuˀ; literally, ‘big black star scattered about’),¹⁷ who was to preside over the second council and through whom human beings were to receive knowledge of all things. This god was to control all animal beings, especially the buffalo. He is represented as wearing black streaks upon his face and a soft down feather on his head. He was also to control the coming of night. We have not succeeded in identifying this star, but his position is said to be northwest from Morning Star.

The fourth star placed in the southeastern heavens was the Red Star and controlled the coming of day and also the animals. This one we cannot identify.

The fifth were the four powers placed in the west—Thunder, Lightning, Wind, and Cloud—who sat there as old men, always ready to obey Evening Star. They were to teach the people certain rituals. They are supposed to sit there always to watch over people. They have a parfleche filled with dried buffalo meat. There they have a garden, in which there are hills of corn that are kept green all the time. When the corn in this field dies, it is time for the world to come to an end.

The sixth power placed in the heavens was the circle of stars (Corona Borealis) representing chiefs in the heavens to watch over the people.

Placed seventh in the heavens were two beings in the north. They represent beings who are ready to give when people are in need and are known as men with great breaths or winds. First is Wind Ready To Give (or Send Forth) and second is Hiccough. By their breaths they send snowstorms upon the land and drive buffalo to the people. The identity of these stars has been lost.

Tirawahat placed Wolf Star eighth in the heavens because he himself was a god for the wolf family and through the wolves would help the people (for details, Dorsey, 1904a: 14–20).

North Star was the ninth placed in the heavens. He is the chief of the heavens and must not move around, but must stand still and watch the people. His father is South Star that rises now and then to see if his son is still in place. This is also the god of death, who is not venerated or prayed to.

Then Tirawahat placed Black Star in the heavens, who was also to control animals and through whom the people would learn the secrets of animal power. This being is daubed with blue mud and covered with soft down feathers.

Finally, he placed Sun and Moon.

These are the heavenly gods of the Skiri. Sun and Moon are of minor importance, but Sun is father of the people, Moon the mother. Sun is a younger brother of Morning Star and receives its heat and light through him. Moon is the mother and watches over the women and their cornfields.

Doctors’ and Warriors’ Powers

The chief gods of the doctors¹⁸ were Water Monster, Mother Cedar Tree, Moon, Sun, Loon, Buffalo Skull, and Bear.

First, Water Monster through its own influence enticed to the Missouri River a man who was given to prayer. There the man saw the serpent. The head seemed to have hair on it and a soft down feather. Its feelers had many colors. Through this serpent the man was taken into an animals’ lodge under the Missouri River, where he saw different kinds of animals and learned their secrets.

Second is Mother Cedar Tree, who saved the people from destruction. The people were told that they should have the tree in the medicine lodge.

Third is Moon, for she gave power to the people through dreams.

Then there is Sun, who through visions gave great power to men who became the great warriors and great doctors.

Fifth are loons. Loons fly close to the heavens. Through them men learned the secrets of doctors. Loons are used as altars in the doctors’ ceremony.

Sixth is Buffalo Skull. This skull was secured from a buffalo who lived in a lake and taught the man its secrets. When the buffalo died, the man took the skull and kept it in his lodge, for the buffalo requested that it should always be present with him.

Finally, there are bears. Through the bear family a. man learned their secrets. The man was given the right to kill one of their number to keep with him and use in Bear Dance ceremonies and also in battle.

The Skiri also have in their keeping meteorites or stones that have fallen from the skies. They are considered the children of Tirawahat and are supposed to have great powers. These precious stones are wrapped up thickly with various kinds of handkerchiefs and are only taken out when someone has had dreams about them.

Among the Skiri there are also warriors’ bundles of which Mother Corn and Swift Hawk are the gods. Sometimes a human image of wood is found in these bundles. In their meetings they pray to this image, for it represents a being in the heavens.

Ceremonial Cycle of the Skiri Federation

Many years after the world began, an extraordinary man named Pahukatawa became one of the heavenly gods. He was killed by the Sioux and was brought to life again by all the powers in the heavens, the birds, and animals. He was everything. When he left this earth he told his people to call upon him when they needed help and that he would thence forward be in the heavens, in the north near the horizon and a little west of the Milky Way. This Pahukatawa was the greatest prophet the Pawnee ever had. When they were hungry, he brought buffalo to them; when the enemy was coming to attack them, he notified the people. When disease was approaching their village, Pahukatawa told the people what to do to keep it away.

Another deity was an iron (stone) man that was found by the Skiri somewhere in the south. This iron man had been kept in the mountains by other tribes and there were many presents spread upon the ground. When the Skiri found it and gave native tobacco to it, they were successful in their raids among the enemy. So they added this to their list of gods. Later the image disappeared, and then the ceremonies were discontinued.

In general, it appears that in the Skiri system the heavens and the stars are the objective aspects of the supernatural world. All the stars are either gods or transformed human beings. Men who in life have attained the highest virtue by the performance of certain rites will after death take their places in the sky as stars. In other words, they are rewarded by being given seats among the gods. The star gods, at least, are of two sexes; as a rule, those east of the Milky Way are male, those west are female. The sun is male, the moon female. The Pole and South stars are male. Thus, we have the following grouping of the important star gods:

Female
Male

West Star (Evening Star:
   Venus)
East Star (Morning Star:
    Mars)

Northwest Star (Yellow)
Northeast Star (Big Black
   Meteoric Star)

Southwest Star (White)
Southeast Star (Red)

Moon
North Star (Chief)
South Star (Spirit Star:
   Canopusˀ)

Sun

The designation of the stars is not quite consistent. This may be due to a breaking down of the ritual system; on the other hand, there may never have been a fully consistent formulation of the terminology. The names of the more important stars as we have collected them, with their probable identifications, are given in Table 2.

The Skiri also conceive of the firesticks as male and female. The idea is that the kindling of fire symbolized the vitalizing of the world as recounted in the creation. Specifically, the hearth represents the Evening Star and the drill the Morning Star in the act of creation.

The minor place of the sun and moon has already been commented upon (p. 39). We see from them alone that Evening Star (Venus) and Morning Star (Mars) are the leading characters. Further we are told that Morning Star presided over the first council of the gods, which created the people and corn.

The time for ceremonies in the annual cycle presented at the outset was determined by stellar observations. In this, as in all other astronomical culture, the Skiri were the specialists, the other divisions of the Pawnee giving chief attention to the powers of animals on the earth and in the water. The approach of spring when the thunder was expected was heralded by the appearance of two small twinkling stars, named the Swimming Ducks. It is believed that at their appearance the animals in the water revive, or come out and break holes in the ice. This is spoken of as the taking of new breath of life. When the first thunders come, it is said that they are calling the water animals. Again, though the human sacrifice for the Morning Star bundle was initiated by a dream or vision, the ceremony was not held until Mars was in a certain position.

TABLE 2.—Celestial objects and their Pawnee names

We have no full data as to the precise methods of observation, that being part of the professional knowledge of the priests; but it is said that the usual method was to note the positions of certain stars at their first appearance after sunset and again the time of year when they could be first seen upon the horizon at dawn. Observations were also taken through the smoke hole of a lodge, by taking a seat west of the fire at sunset and noting what stars could be seen.

The stars marking the two halves of the year are the South Star and the two Swimming Ducks. The former may be Canopus, but the later has not been identified. The South Star appears about 1 September and marks the beginning of the winter period. This continues until the appearance of the two Swimming Ducks, when the summer period begins.

The South Star appears and is visible for but a brief period. He is spoken of as the father of the North Star, and his rising is said to be due to his desire to see if his son is still at his post. The South Star also rules over the land of the dead, the pathway to which is the Milky Way. At the north end of the Milky Way is a star that guards the pathway or receives the dead, to pass them on to the South Star. There are two paths in the Milky Way. One of these is for warriors killed in battle, the other for those who die of disease or in bed. There is, however, a modern idea that the Milky Way is the dust raised by a horse and buffalo racing through the sky.¹⁹ The object of the contest was to decide which should be the more numerous; the buffalo won.

The Black Star is quite distinct from the Big Black Meteoric Star. There was a bundle for the Black Star in the Squash Vine village in which a black or blue ear of corn was kept, but this bundle has been lost. That this was somewhat at variance with the others is suggested by the belief that the animal powers are governed by the Black Star and that it alone gives the animals temporary powers of speech when they communicate with man. It was he who presided at the great initial council of animal powers.

It is said that Mars appears to be far away from the earth—much farther than the Big Black Meteoric Star. The latter is sometimes spoken of as a buffalo bull who holds up the heavens on his back.

According to the teachings of the ritual priests, a council was called in the eastern heavens by Morning Star, who presided. Here they discussed the making of the earth and agreed upon a course of procedure. After the earth was made and Morning Star had overcome Evening Star in marriage (Murie, 1914:552), a second council was called to consider the creation of people. This was presided over by Big Black Meteoric Star. Then followed in due order a third council to provide for the people. In this, as well as the former, Evening Star was given the power and directions for the active work of creation, particularly so far as this applied to the child she was to bear. All the acts of these councils were subject to the approval of Tirawahat.

The four gods in the west (Thunder, Lightning, Wind, and Cloud) were also to play an important part. As has been noted, from among them was to come the life of the world, but they were also to sing the songs and exercise the power necessary to the creation.

The conception is that when these four gods took their seats in the west (the four priests at the opening of the Evening Star bundle sit at the west of the lodge) and began to sing, the earth began to take shape. It is not conceived that the earth was made in a day of our reckoning, but that these gods continued to sing for many years as the land gradually took shape.

After the earth had evolved, Wonderful Being (Lightning) was sent out to inspect and explore (Dorsey, 1904a: 14). He was fitted out in the shape and dress of the future people and carried on his back a bag (Whirlwind) in which were the people. It is interesting to find the belief that Wonderful Being’s hair was not roached, but long and pendant and pulled back over the forehead, the conventional hair dress of a Skiri priest. The experiences of this god are fully narrated in the myth (Dorsey, 1904a: 14).

The reader should always bear in mind that we are catching up the frayed-out ends of a vanishing fabric and that many times there come to us but glimpses of what has passed into hopeless oblivion. Thus there seems to have been some connection between the bundles and the birds of the air. In particular, the red-headed woodpecker is believed to have transmitted the essential rituals. Once, it is said, a man had gone out to meditate when he observed a red-headed woodpecker clinging to the side of a tree, and as it tapped along he heard the words of a ritual. So every bundle priest dresses to resemble this bird. He folds over the hairy side of his robe so that as it hangs on his back, the dark sides hang over and down the shoulders,²⁰ while the whiter parts show below as they appear in the plumage of the bird. A red feather is placed on the top of the head to symbolize the scalp of the bird. Further, when certain rituals are recited in a lodge, the priest is expected to go outside and climb up the lodge as he speaks. If the people are in camp, he must walk about.

The woodpecker is regarded as enjoying special protection from the heavens (Tirawahat) and the Thunders, because he cries out fearlessly in the midst of the storm and builds his nest high up in decayed trees. There are other vague statements as to the relation between birds and bundles, but they are not definite enough for our purpose.

Spring Ceremonies

The Thunder or Renewal Ceremony

The Skiri bundles deriving their powers from the gods above are associated with the Thunder Ceremony, which relates the creation or the philosophy of the world as conceived by the priests. The Thunder Ritual must be demonstrated for each of the bundles in turn, following the initial ritual for the Evening Star bundle. The priest of this bundle is the highest personage among the Skiri and is the supreme authority over all, for the good reason that he is the one to demonstrate the Thunder Ritual for all bundles. We must, therefore, give our attention to rituals rather than to bundles, for these are but assemblages of paraphernalia associated with the rituals. As will be noted, practically all Skiri bundle rituals are based upon the Thunder Ritual; hence an understanding of it will clear the way for the comprehension of the whole Skiri scheme.

The yearly cycle of Skiri ceremonies is begun by the demonstration of this ritual for all the bundles in succession, beginning with the Evening Star bundle. The Thunder Ritual may be comprehended under six headings: (1) the creation of the world, (2) the smoke offering to Tirawahat, (3) Wonderful Being vitalizes the earth, (4) the people go out over the earth, (5) the pipe smoked, and (6) the feast.

Since the songs are the essential parts of the Thunder Ceremony, it seems best to present them in their logical order (pp. 44–52), independent of the ceremonial program, followed by the order of procedure (pp. 53–62).

The first song of this ritual is designed to recount in order of their occurrence certain important steps in the development of the world. It is in two parts or stanzas, that for women and that for men, as given in the lists below. The belief is that woman was created first and that through her all human things came into the world.

In this ritual, as in others, a song consists of two stanzas. Each stanza is identical except for one word which changes; the substituted word is referred to as a step. In most rituals each song consists of ten steps. However, the first song in the Thunder Ritual and others has 56 steps—26 for women and 30 for men.

The mythological origin of these steps is as follows (Dorsey and Murie, 1907:206–207):

When Paruxti made his preliminary journey upon this earth, at which time he brought his giant Lightning sack of star people, he took first twenty-six steps toward the east, then he rested. Then he continued his journey and rested at the thirtieth step. Thereafter he continued his journey, resting at the end of every ten steps. The first twenty-six steps are for the women and the first thirty for men. Concerning the inequality of the number of steps for the sexes, it is supposed that while woman is leader in many things, her experience is not as wide as that of men. Women are more closely confined to the village, while men roam over the country.

The steps begin in the west with the Evening Star and end in the east with the Morning Star, and are of a progressive nature, always leading to something or even to the creation of life. In the list of steps. it will be understood that after the first song is sung, in which all the steps are given, [subsequently] only the first six steps of the men’s and the first four of the women’s are given.

STEPS FOR WOMAN

 1.  hura·ruˀ ‘earth’

 2.  tuha·ruˀ ‘timber’ or ‘trees and shrubbery’

 3.  caha·ruˀ ‘waters’

 4.  kaki·ˀuˀ ‘seeds’

 5.  pihuˀu ‘fog’

 6.  kipa·ruˀ ‘dew’

 7.  kicpi·ruˀ ‘rain’

 8.  cuhu·ruˀ ‘rainstorm’

 9.  hutu·ruˀ ‘wind’

10.  ratki·ˀuˀ ‘night’

11.  aka·ruˀ ‘lodge’

12.  kusa·ruˀ ‘bedding’

13.  ki·ha·ruˀ ‘enclosed sleeping room of lodge’

14.  wiha·ruˀ ‘altar’

15.  hatu·ruˀ ‘symbolic pathway on ground’

16.  wahka·ruˀ ‘resting place for wise sayings of old people’

17.  kati·ˀuˀ ‘rim of fireplace’

18.  u·kiˀuˀ ‘bowl of fireplace’

19.  ki·kaˀuˀ ‘spark’

20.  kuri·tuˀ ‘flame’

21.  hiwatu·ruˀ ‘entrance’

22.  rawaku·ruˀ ‘shout’

23.  cahki·ˀuˀ ‘viewing the village of lodges’

24.  cakusuˀ ‘pipe bowl’

25.  pa·tisuˀ ‘string on pipe’

26.  ratta·rvˀ ‘pipestem’

STEPS FOR MAN

 1.  asu·ruˀ ‘moccasins’

 2.  kstaripi · ruˀ ‘moccasin string’

 3.  rawitat ‘robe’

 4.  wa·rukstiˀ ‘wonderful, holy’; ‘power(s)’

 5.  atiraˀ ‘Mother (Corn)’

 6.  kiriki ‘bluebird’

 7.  kutawikucuˀ ‘hawk’

 8.  karu·suˀ ‘sack’

 9.  kuhkawiˀuˀ ‘eagle feather for scalp lock’

10.  kaˀuktuˀ ‘down feather’

11.  ra·tara·wi·suˀ ‘colors’

12.  caˀuktuˀ ‘black paint’ (literally, ‘ashes’)

13.  paha·tuˀ ‘red paint’

14.  rarahkata·ru ‘yellow paint’

15.  ta·ka·ru ‘white paint’

16.  rari·tuˀ ‘bear’

17.  pa·pici ‘mountain lion’

18.  rikuksuˀ ‘otter’

19.  aspa·ksuˀ ‘wildcat’

20.  tahkuki ‘wolf

21.  tira·kuˀ ‘bow’

22.  ra·riksuˀ ‘arrowshaft’

23.  kiru·suˀ ‘notch for arrowhead’

24.  ka·wiuˀ ‘arrowhead’

25.  taripi·ruˀ ‘tie (for wrapping)’

26.  cakusuˀ ‘pipe bowl’

27.  pa·tisuˀ ‘string on pipe’

28.  hu·ruksuˀ ‘presents hanging on pipestem’

29.  takusuˀ ‘hanging on pipe’

30.  ratta·ruˀ ‘pipestem’

The Songs

CREATION OF THE WORLD SONGS

First Song

The above four lines are repeated, making two verses or eight lines in all. Then the second step, tuha·ruˀ is sung, this word being substituted for the first step, hura·ruˀ and the two verses sung as before. So it continues for each of the steps, in all 208 lines for the woman’s part and 240 for the man’s

Like all Pawnee songs, these are mere abbreviated statements, but stand for definite conceptions. Thus lines A refer to the council of the gods in which they decided to create the earth. Then follows the formation of the earth and reference to vitalizing the earth by the power of Thunder, in line B. In line C we have the term wa·rukstiˀ, which has about the same significance as the Dakota wakan, since it implies the qualities of heavenly power.

The second step is conceived to be the creation of plant life, symbolized in the ritual by tuha·ruˀ ‘trees’. After this came the rivers and the lakes [step 3]) caha·ruˀ. With the placing of the seeds [step 4], kaki·ˀuˀ, of all the useful plants, particularly maize, we have what are conceived of as the four main or initial steps in the creation of the world. All this and what follows had been ordered by the gods in council; and when the four gods (Thunder, Lightning, Wind, and Cloud) sitting in the west began to sing these songs, the creation began. The belief is that the Evening Star passed on this information and ritual to the first man upon the earth. The ritual is recited in the spring because it is conceived that just as the singing of the four gods in the west originally helped in the creation of the earth, so the singing of the four priests in the ceremony at springtime will aid the powers to revivify the earth, plants, water, and seeds and also replenish the powers in the bundle.

Then follow steps 5–10: fog, dew, rain, rainstorm, wind, and night, conceived in a cycle. Thus we logically proceed from fog to the more definite forms of precipitation, all of which are considered necessary to the preceding four. In order that the cultivated seeds may reveal the life that is hidden in them, the fog, dew, and rain must do their work, and the wind and night must cool off the ground.

The ten steps just discussed are conceived of as forming a kind of cycle of the fields, but the following sixteen constitute a lodge, or home life, cycle. The room referred to [step. 13] is the small enclosure for the bed found in earthlodges. The altar is the place where the bundle rests. The terms hatu·ruˀ and wahka·ruˀ require some explanation (Figure 4). From the altar toward the fireplace is marked out on the ground a pathway which terminates in a circle. The latter is supposed to represent the wise sayings of the ancestors. It is said that this circle (wahka·ruˀ) also symbolized the heart or inner life of man, and the hatu·ruˀ, the throat or the mouthpiece for knowledge.

The ritual then proceeds to the fireplace.

The series of steps beginning with [step 21] hiwatu·ruˀ may be taken as parts of the final conception of the lodge cycle, the offering of smoke to Tirawahat (p. 60). Here is recounted the procedure in taking out the pipe to make the offering. First one passes through the entrance of the lodge, and when outside his eye falls upon passing friends to whom he shouts his greetings. Next his eye falls upon the rows of lodges forming the village. Then he returns to the lodge, sees the bowl of his pipe, and recalls the purpose of the offering.

FIGURE 4.—Arrangements of men and objects for Thunder, or Creation, Ceremony.

At another time the ceremonial significance of smoking will be discussed, but the offering is not made as these steps are sung. The conception of this ritual is that it is the words of an Indian seer reciting creation events as they happened or as the gods planned that they should happen.

Now we come to the second stanza (man’s steps) of the first song, which recounts the steps in the life of the first man. Again the subject is introduced by a logical series of four steps. We proceed with the essential parts of a man’s costume to the term [step 4] wa·rukstiˀ, which here refers to the sacred quality of the Evening Star bundle, in particular the coverings and Mother Corn. Reference to the discussion of the mythical basis for the ceremony will recall the narrative of fitting out the first man with the bundle (Dorsey, 1904a:9; Murie, 1914:553). Then follow in steps 5 to 10 the parts of a warrior’s bundle. In this bundle there is also an ear of corn which, though not the real Mother Corn, is nevertheless carried as her symbol or deputy and given her name, Atiraˀ (Mother). The skin of the hawk is the insignia of the highest possible rank attained by warriors, and in the bundle is a miniature war club to symbolize the hawk’s wing, for he sometimes strikes down his prey by a stroke of his wing. The karu·suˀ [step 7] is the covering of the warrior’s bundle, but stands for the entire package. Kuhkawiˀuˀ and kaˀuktuˀ are the feathers for a warrior’s head, where they stand for definite deeds.

The bluebird kiriki is conceived of as the carrier of prayers to the sky. The bird is placed in a buckskin cover and tied to the mouthpiece of the pipe that belongs to the bundle, but on the warpath the warrior wears it on his head that it may constantly carry his prayers aloft.

The 11th step, ra·tara·wi·suˀ, refers to all paints, or paints in general; it is then followed by the four important colors [steps 12–15, black, red, yellow, and white], which stand for the four world quarters, seasons, etc. When a warrior is approaching his village on the return from a successful raid, he fires the grass as a smoke signal and then rubs some of the soot (caˀuktuˀ) over his face. He may also paint streaks of red and yellow for the lightning and paint his robe white. The relation of these four colors to the bundle and ceremonies is discussed in the Four Pole Ceremony (p. 109).

It is conceived that there are four great powers in the heavens [steps 16–17, 19–20]: the bear, mountain lion, wildcat, and wolf. The first two are represented by constellations, but the cat skin, because of its spots, was, in its extended form, taken as representing all the stars. The wolf is a definite star (Sirius). In order to succeed a warrior must have the great qualities of these four animals: the great strength and ferocity of the bear, the magnetic or drawing power of the mountain lion, the cunning of the cat, and the crafty, thieving traits of the wolf. The specific reason for having these animals in the ritual is that the warrior may derive powers from them.

The weapons of the warrior are next in order, and the arrow is symbolically followed through its logical construction [steps 21–24]. It may be noted that no feathers are found on the arrow; the story is that the feathers on the pipestem were originally put there to make the prayers go straight to the heavens and that later they were placed upon arrows for the same purpose. In any case, there is a belief that arrows were used a long time before they were feathered.

As in the case of the woman, the pipe steps end the series, but the man’s pipe steps include two additional important particulars, hu·ruksuˀ (step 28) and takusuˀ (step 29). The first refers to regular decorations placed upon the stem, among which are the arrow feathers just mentioned; the second refers to offerings hung upon the pipestem at certain times, e.g., scalps.

The final step (30) of this series refers not only to pipes but to all ceremonial sticks and woods. In certain bundle rituals there is a stick for each song, all of which are sometimes offered to the gods. Again, an altar is constructed, around which are set up many red-painted sticks bearing small bags of tobacco, which stand for the stars or the gods in the heavens. All such sacred sticks of whatever kind are referred to by the term ratta·ruˀ.

This seems the appropriate place to discuss the general interpretation of these song steps. The priests believe that germination is the fundamental principle of creation. The idea that woman existed first, or was created first, is consistent with this concept. The real hidden meaning of the four initial steps for men is said to be conception and birth. Thus the term asu·ruˀ means a pocket-like covering into which something is thrust, the womb; kstaripi·ruˀ is here the umbilical cord, while rawitat is the enveloping membrane of a fetus, the chorion. Wa·rukstiˀ implies that all this is of the holiest character possible or that here is the coming of the first man, Wonderful Being.

The same interpretation is put upon the bundles containing the ear of corn, for the seeds are the germs of life, all carefully wrapped up in a kind of womb ready for the processes of life to begin.

Turning again to the song steps, the concept of atiraˀ (Mother) is clear, but kutawikucuˀ (hawk) symbolizing the Morning Star who was the father of the first man, is less obvious. Then follow all the things he was to receive as equipment for his journey over the earth. The karu·suˀ was the wonderful bag he carried, from which came the people.

These interpretations of this ritual were not public, but the private teachings of the priests. For this reason their fundamental part in the development of this philosophy is given a strong probability.

Second Song

In lines A the conception is that storm clouds rush out of the entrance to the lodge of the gods, where the heavenly priests sit singing, as in the Evening Star Ritual. This symbolizes the coming of rain clouds that have a rounded appearance, not unlike the skyline of an earthlodge village. The incident recorded is the emergence of the Wonderful Being from the home of the gods to put life into the earth, thus again symbolizing the creation.

The preceding nine lines are sung for each of the first four steps in the woman’s list: hura·ruˀ, tuha·ˀ, caha·ruˀ, and kaki·ˀuˀ, making 36 lines or 4 stanzas in all. If no more are to be sung, the priest announces the abbreviation by, “We will now shorten our pathways. We shall sing but ten steps, four for women and six for men.”

For the man’s steps we have again the same nine lines for each stanza and sung for six steps [1–6]— asu·ruˀ, kstaripi·ruˀ, rawitat, wa·rukstiˀ, atiraˀ, and kiriki—making 54 lines or 6 stanzas in all. Following this is a period of rest, during which the priests smoke the bundle pipe.

Third Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The first stanza is sung for the first four steps in the woman’s list and the second stanza for the first six of the man’s list, just as in the preceding songs.

In the first stanza, lines C and D are addressed to the people in general, but in the second stanza they are addressed to the man himself. Lines D and E of the second stanza are perhaps better rendered by, “The wonderful power wrapped up in the bundle that you now have is the place where good fortune resides.”

Fourth Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

As before, the first stanza is sung for the first four woman’s steps and the second stanza for the first six man’s steps. In this case, moccasins signify a covering, as the covering for the bundle (see p. 46). When the thunders sound, the power of the lightning enters the bundle anew.

Fifth Song

First Stanza

The first stanza is sung for the first four woman’s steps and the second stanza for the first six man’s steps. The second stanza is precisely the same, except that asu·ruˀ is used for hura·ruˀ. The idea here is that the entering of the renewing power of life into the earth and the objects upon it is now complete and that everything stands here filled with the wonderful power. The songs are sung in a gradually falling pitch which is said to be an imitation of the thunder.

These preceding five songs constitute the main elements of the Thunder Ritual. If the full ritual is given, each of the songs must be sung for the whole list of steps, but it is usual to sing only the minimum number (4 and 6) as we have indicated. In its complete form the ritual would contain 2800 lines, whereas the abbreviated form we have used contains but 738. It may be noted that the number of lines to a song varies, as 8, 9, 8, 7, 4, but this may have been accidental, since we have no information as to their significance.

The general theme of these five songs, as taught by the priests, is the logical steps of creation: (1) in the heavens the gods spoke, saying that the earth and all things were to receive the wonderful power of life; (2) this power is sent to the earth and to all things; (3) then the gods spoke again, that the earth and all things should be made ready for the people and that to them should be given all the things recounted in the ritual; (4) all these things are placed on earth ready for the people; (5) the wonderful power of life then passes into the earth and all things.

The opening of the bundle and the reciting of this ritual are thus clearly symbolic of the creation, and the repetition of it each spring is symbolic of the renewal of the earth, which is in turn considered symbolic of the creation and is redemonstrated by the gods for the benefit of mankind. This conception was taught by the priests and is entirely consistent with the literal meaning of the ritual. It must, therefore, have been conceived by the composer and not subsequently read into it. In our discussion of societies we have shown how fundamental was the idea of the spring renewal.

SMOKE OFFERING SONG

First Stanza

Second Stanza

In the third stanza, wakucuˀ is substituted for ackat of the second stanza. Wakucuˀ is not easy to translate, but here stands for the thunders. In the fourth stanza takucuˀ ‘lightning’ is substituted; in the fifth stanza, rukucuˀ ‘clouds’; in the sixth stanza, cikucuˀ ‘winds’.

The last four terms in this song are also said to refer to the four great animal powers (p. 45) because the people felt that as these gods are so holy they should be thought of as the most powerful beings. Again they are conceived of as Tirawahat, Morning Star, Big Black Meteoric Star, and Wolf Star, for the same reason.

Each stanza is sung four times. In these stanzas the singing is supposed to imitate the thunder, especially where the pitch descends to the lowest possible point.

The conception now is that the people are thankful for all that has been done for them and make an offering to Tirawahat.

The smoke offering is made outside, where on a specially kindled fire, buffalo heart, tongue, and native tobacco were placed. At the same time a scalp is offered along with the heart and tongue. As this fire begins to burn, the smoke hangs heavy or wavers, hence the first stanza. Presently it rises in a slender column toward the sky or to Tirawahat, hence the second stanza (literally, some eating, i.e., smoking). Then, as the fire burns down, the other songs are sung in order. Offerings of parts of the scalp and meat are placed upon sticks and set up in the ground.

In the ordinary smoke offering no meat or scalp is burned and no sticks bearing offerings are set up.²¹ At such times only the first two stanzas are sung.

SONG TO WONDERFUL BEING

The next ritual of the Thunder or Creation Ceremony is a song consisting of many stanzas, which recount the visit of Wonderful Being to the earth. (It should be noted that Wonderful Being is, after all, but a manifestation of Tirawahat himself.)

It is narrated as a myth (Dorsey, 1904a: 14), but its full meaning is not clearly stated in that connection. The coming and passing of a thunderstorm is taken as the type and into it is read the story of the gods. A diagram is sometimes made as in Figure 5. Here we see the lodge in the western sky where the four gods live (A). From the entrance issues Wonderful Being; he pauses at B and shouts (thunder); then he opens his eyes to look about (lightning) and then throws back his robe (the rolling clouds). He sends the lightning out in all directions, the full circuit of the heavens. Then he passes to the earth, going over it from west to east through the village (C). As he comes to the village, he enters the lodge of the Evening Star bundle and at the altar receives the pipe offering. He then passes out and on to the east to the furthermost limit of the world, whence he returns to the sky. In the same way as Wonderful Being made the initial journey to the world, the power of life is sent forth anew by the thunders every spring. It is through the clouds that the thunder speaks to, and the lightning vitalizes, the earth.

FIGURE 5.—Conception of wonderful Being’s visit to the village (A = the gods seated in their lodge; B = the mountain where their power rests; C = the village).

A free rendering in outline of this song would be somewhat as follows: Tirawahat enters into all things, or is ever present in the storm. But after the material universe was made, he sat in his lodge in the heavens thinking, and his thoughts turned outward to the lifeless world below. There came to him the idea of giving it life, or the real creation. Then he arose, lifted a foot, and walked about the lodge, thus giving it a spiritual existence. Then he passed out at the door and stood, and as he stretched out his arms extending his robe, he appeared wrapped in the dark heavy cloud of the western sky. Then he looked about from side to side, whence the lightning was seen. Next he took a deep breath and the thunder rolled and rumbled along over the earth. The vitalizing power of the god thus permeated all things and gave them life. The idea is that there are three stages in the progress of the thunder: first it reaches the earth, then spreads about over the earth, and finally completes the circuit. In all the stanzas these acts are successively sung too. The same idea applies thence to each topic in this song to the Wonderful Being. Throughout the following song, the priests reenact the sequence of events of creation by Wonderful Being and the powers in the heavens; i.e., “the powers in the heavens are sung down to the lodge and back again to their seats above.”

First Stanza

In the first stanza the god sits in the heavens wrapped in the powers as if with clouds, and his sitting there so clothed is an indication that he is planning the creation.

Each stanza is the same as the first, except for the substitution in lines A of a new phrase, which describes each stage of Tirawahat’s journey to the earth. The number of stanzas to be sung is determined by the priest, who may omit any stanza except the last. Throughout the singing, the priest holds a filled pipe for Wonderful Being when he enters. The pipe is not lighted, but is kept for the next ritual.

Following is a sample list of the substituted A lines. Lines A in stanzas 2 through 17 are given in both Pawnee and English. Lines A of stanzas 18 through 119 are given only in English.

 18.   The thunder has passed along (through the clouds).

 19.   The thunder came (from the clouds).

 20.   The lightning goes through the clouds.

 21.   The lightning came from the clouds.

 22.   The thunder came from the clouds.

 23.   The voices came down.

 24.   The thunders came down.

 25.   The lightning came down.

 26.   The voices drop to the earth.

 27.   The lightnings drop to earth.

 28.   The thunders drop to earth.

 29.   The voices now enter a tableland (plateau).

 30.   The lightning enters tableland.

 31.   The storm is climbing the hills.

 32.   Storms spread out on the hills.

 33.   Storms have got to the top of the hills.

 34.   The noises and voices of the storms have climbed the hills.

 35.   The voices and noises have spread out upon the hills.

 36.   The voices have reached the top of the hills.

 37.   The thunders spread out and climb the hills.

 38.   The thunders have reached the top of the hills.

 39.   The lightning climbs the hills.

 40.   Lightning spreads out on the hills.

 41.   Lightning has reached the top of the hills.

 42.   The storms have started down the hills.

 43.   The storms have spread out on the sides of the hills coming down.

 44.   The storms have reached the bottomland.

 45.   The noises of the storm have started down the hill.

 46.   The noises of the storm have spread out over the hills.

 47.   The storm has reached the bottomland.

 48.   The lightnings have started down the hill.

 49.   The lightning has spread over the hills.

 50.   The lightnings have reached the bottom.

 51.   The thunders have started down the hill.

 52.   The thunders have spread out over the hill.

 53.   The thunders have reached the bottom.

 54.   Now the storm and thunders have entered upon the bottomland.

 55.   The noises and the storm have entered on the bottomland.

 56.   The lightning has entered on the bottomland.

 57.   The thunders have entered on the bottomland.

 58.   They have gone beyond the bottomland.

 59.   The storm has reached the stream of water.

 60.   The noises of the storm have reached the stream of water.

 61.   The lightning has reached the stream of water.

 62.   The thunders have reached the stream of water.

 63.   The storm is standing on the bank of the stream of water.

 64.   The noises are standing on the banks of the river.

 65.   The lightning stands on the banks of the river.

 66.   The thunder stands on the bank of the river.

 67.   The storm enters the river.

 68.   The noises enter the river.

 69.   The lightning enters the river.

 70.   The thunders enter the river.

 71.   The storm wades through the water.

 72.   The noises wade through the water.

 73.   The lightning wades through the water.

 74.   The thunders wade through the stream of water.

 75.   The storms have crossed the river.

 76.   The noises have crossed the river.

 77.   The lightnings have crossed the river.

 78.   The thunders have crossed the river.

 79.   The storm again starts upon dry land.

 80.   The noises start again on dry land.

 81.   The lightning starts again to dry land.

 82.   The thunders start again to dry land.

 83.   The storm has reached the village.

 84.   The noises have reached the village.

 85.   The lightning has reached the village.

 86.   The thunders have reached the village.

 87.   The storm has entered the village.

 88.   The noises have entered the village.

 89.   The lightning has entered the village.

 90.   The thunders have entered the village.

 91.   The storm stands west of the lodge where this bundle is kept.

 92.   The noises stand west of the lodge.

 93.   The lightning stands west of the lodge.

 94.   The thunders stand west of the lodge.

 95.   The storm passes around the lodge on the south side.

 96.   The noises pass around the south side.

 97.   The lightning passes around the south side.

 98.   The thunders pass around the south side.

 99.   The storm enters the lodge.

100.   The noises enter the lodge.

101.   The lightning enters the lodge.

102.   The thunders enter the lodge.

103.   The storm goes to the west of the lodge by way of the north to the altar.

104.   The noises go to the west of the lodge.

105.   The lightning goes to the west of the lodge.

106.   The thunder goes to the west of the lodge.

107.   The storm moves toward the entrance by way of the south side.

108.   The noises go toward the entrance.

109.   The lightning goes toward the entrance.

110.   The thunders go toward the entrance.

111.   The storm leaves the lodge.

112.   The noises leave the lodge.

113.   The lightning leaves the lodge.

114.   The thunders leave the lodge.

115.   The storm, noises, lightning, and the thunders stand outside of the lodge.

116.   The storm, noises, lightning, and the thunders start east on the plains.

117.   The storm, noises, lightning, and thunders climb the hills on the east.

118.   The storm, noises, lightning, and thunders climb the hills on the north.

119.   The storm, noises, lightning, and the thunder are taken up into the clouds.

SONG FOR THE PEOPLE

The following ritual deals with human beings upon the earth, but it also duplicates the form of the song to the Wonderful Being. The song for the people recounts the going out of men to scout for buffalo and how they go out over the hills and streams, just as did Wonderful Being when he went out to look over the earth for the first time. This song recounts these events; i.e., “follows them out and back into the lodge.” Then the crier goes through the village and all the people rejoice. At the point where the scouts are to return to the lodge, the leading priest pauses in the singing and narrates the imagined experience of the scouts. The whole is an imaginary scene, not acted out but outlined in word and song.

At the beginning of this song the priest says, “Now we shall sing again, and this time we shall sing about ourselves, or the people.” The idea is that owing to the fact that Wonderful Being first went over the earth and looked at all things, the power to do that thing was thereby infused into the earth and all things, for which reason people themselves are now able to go out and look for buffalo.

The text of this song is the same as the song to the Wonderful Being (p. 49), with the following substitutions for lines A in the subsequent 35 stanzas:

It should be noted that even the reference to smoking in the latter stanzas is imaginary, because though a filled pipe is present, it is still unlighted. When the priest has sung all the stanzas he wishes, however, he passes the pipe to the tally-stick man, who lights it, smokes, and passes it about as the priest directs. When really burned out, the ashes are dumped out at the fireplace, the ritual is closed (Murie, 1914:564), and a feast is held (for description, see Murie, 1914: 565).

The Evening Star Bundle

In much the same way as the Thunder Ritual enables us to comprehend the other rituals of the Skiri, an account of the significance of the Evening Star, or Calf, bundle will help us to understand the significance of all bundles. According to the mythical account (Murie, 1914:552–554), this bundle came directly from the Evening Star goddess. The name for it is ari·pahat (literally, tawny buffalo calf), though it may on occasion be spoken of as raha·katira·ha (literally, stick placed against) in view of its supreme rank.

The important object in the bundle is the sacred ear, or Mother Corn, to which the covering is little more than a wrapping without further meaning. It is almost universally true that in any Skiri ritual there will be one or more of these sacred ears, one of which was carried by every war party. Even most of the doctors have such examples of Mother Corn in their bundles.

This ear of corn symbolizes the first woman born of the Evening Star, or the germ of life that became this woman (wrapped up and bound with a cord), or the developing fetus.

There are in fact two ears of corn in the bundle; one is to lead in summer and the other in winter.²² the first is named Ckura ·ˀi · kawa (Female Seer Comes Through (Summer)); the second, Ckura · ˀi ·kaˀat (Female Seer Goes Through (Winter)). When a substitute ear is carried to war, the above names are used for it according to the season. The priest keeps in mind the distinction between the two, and during the ceremony the one in season must lie on the right side of the pipe.

There is a myth that the first born placed upon the earth was an ear of corn wrapped up with a calfskin. The ear of corn that was in the calfskin emerged as a girl and the skin ran away as a buffalo. The woman came from the corn and the buffalo from the covering.

The external appearance of the bundle is shown in Figure 6. The skin cover is arranged to partially simulate a calf. The binding is a braided rope of buffalo hair, the symbol of a priest. Tucked under this wrapping, on the top, or what corresponds to the back of the calf, are fifteen wooden objects. This number seems to have no significance. Most of them are firesticks, hearths, and drills; the others are pipe stokers and the stem for the bundle pipe. Some of the references in the ritual are to arrows, and at such times a part of the firedrills seems to be so regarded.

Within the bundle, enclosed in a second wrapping, are the sacred objects used in the ritual, among which are included two owl and two hawk skins, four braids of sweetgrass, bags of red and white paint and of tobacco, two ears of corn, sinew, scalp fragments, and several unidentified items (Figure 7). Many of these are now in fragmentary condition. Formerly, it was the custom to renew all such objects at intervals, but since the extinction of the buffalo and the removal of the Pawnee to their present home, such renewals became impractical. The regular demonstration of the rituals ceased about 1879, though they had been fitfully revived until as late as the 1920s.

ORDER OF THE THUNDER RITUAL

The time for the ceremonies of the Evening Star bundle was primarily determined by the recurrence of the thunder in the spring; but it should be understood that it was not at the very first sound of the thunder that the ceremony was held, for it might have thundered at any time. The approximate time was fixed by the appearance of two small twinkling stars (the Swimming Ducks) in the northeastern horizon near the Milky Way. When these could be seen it was time to listen for the thunder. When low, deep, rumbling thunder was heard, starting in the west and rolling around the entire circuit of the heavens, then it was time for the Thunder Ritual to be recited.

Another sign to alert the priests for this thunder was the appearance of sheet lightning. Also, the Pleiades began to take a certain known position at this time. When these signs were noted the priests began to prepare for the opening of the Evening Star bundle, and when the proper thunder was heard, they were ready to proceed with the ritual.

One of the stated reasons for this dependence upon the thunder is that Mother Corn received her powers through the four gods in the west: Thunder, Lightning, Wind, and Cloud. This is an abbreviated statement of a complex concept. The idea is that the transition from winter to summer, through spring, reproduces in miniature the creation of the world. It is fairly clear that the Pawnee philosophers who worked out this conception took the observed renewal of life in the spring as typical of the original creation. It is conceived that in winter all things are dead or asleep; the life principle is not in them. Their forms are there, empty and lifeless, as it were. At the appearance of the thunder, life enters into these forms by the power of the lightning. Then as the things of the earth awake and develop, they are cared for and clothed by the winds and the clouds. The conception of the creation as formulated in the Thunder Ritual is strictly parallel to the life principle of infusing life into lifeless forms.

On the last winter buffalo hunt, the meat, in particular the heart and tongue, is prepared for the ceremony of the next spring. Then as the stars indicate the approach of spring, the lodge is made ready for the ceremony at the thunder signal. If an earth lodge is not available, a tipi is used. The preliminaries are not elaborate, consisting of little more than sweeping up the floor, clearing out the unnecessary furniture and cleaning the fireplace; the ashes are dumped just east of the door and the fireplace rim is put in good repair.

FIGURE 6.—Evening Star bundle: a, front view; b, back view.

FIGURE 7.—Contents of the Evening Star bundle: a, includes braids of sweetgrass and birdskins; b, sacred corn, fragments of scalps; c, black stone pipe; d, arrow straightener.

As noted before, there is a kind of altar against the west wall beneath the hanging bundle. A buffalo skull is laid upon the ground, just north of the fireplace. Upon its forehead is painted a design to represent the garden of the gods in which corn and other seeds are planted (Figure 8). When certain parts of the ritual are recited, this skull is placed on the north side of the fireplace and then returned to its original position at the west end of the lodge, particularly when the meat is offered.

In front of this skull during the ceremony are spread some mats and upon these a buffalo robe. The priests sit with their backs to the skull and the open bundle before them. The arrangement of these is shown in Figure 4. There are five priests—the priest of the Evening Star and those of the four main bundles. Next to them, according to their sides, sit the chiefs and the soldiers. On each side of the door sit the two errand men. The only persons necessary to the ceremony are the five priests, the chiefs who are the keepers, and the errand men. The others are merely spectators from the village. The groups from other villages, if present, take their places according to the usual scheme (Figure 14 and Murie, 1914:552, fig. 1).

It is the business of the five priests to keep a lookout for the thunder. No matter what the hour, they hasten at once to the Evening Star bundle keeper’s lodge. The woman spreads the mats and robes and takes down the bundle. Then she and all the other women go out, to remain there until the close of the ceremony.

As there are no rattles for the Evening Star bundle, the priest sends his errand men to the doctors for five gourd rattles (Figure 9). No drums are used. In the meantime the priest has untied and arranged the bundle. As soon as the priests are in their places and the rattles are ready, they proceed with the first song (p. 44). As a rule only the five priests sing.

Contrary to the proceedings in most Plains ceremonies, no incense is burned for purifying the hands and ceremonial objects, but at the close all objects are so treated before being returned to the bundle.

As indicated in the song ritual, there are definite places to rest, and at this time the ordinary pipe in the bundle is passed among the priests.

FIGURE 8.—Buffalo skull with markings in red paint symbolizing garden of the gods and the sun’s rays.

SONGS BY THE PRIESTS

At the first proper sounds of the thunder, the Evening Star bundle priest tells the women in the lodge to leave. He sends for the four priests of the leading bundles. He sits down at the altar, unties the Evening Star bundle, takes the sacred objects out of the bundle, and places them on the wrappings (Figures 6, 7). The pipe is always laid down first, the stem in line with the pathway (p. 44), and the ears of corn on either side. The hawk and owl skins are then arranged symmetrically on the right and left of the ears of corn. The most significant objects are the pipe and the ears of corn. The leading priest sits directly behind the pipe, which points directly to the entrance (Figure 4).

When the other priests come and are seated, he asks them if they heard the thunders. They say “Yes.” He says, “I have opened the bundle; now we are ready to sing the Creation Ritual.” He then takes up the rattles, hands them to the other priests, and begins to sing the first song of the Creation Ritual. He does not wait for anything. Soon it becomes generally known throughout the camp that the Thunder Ceremony is being held, because some have heard the thunder.

FIGURE 9.—Gourd rattles. (Courtesy Field Museum of Natural History.)

The leading bundle keepers may carry on the ceremony in their own lodges at the same time, but generally they attend this one. The priests sing the 26 woman’s steps for the first stanza and for the second stanza the 30 man’s steps (p. 43). These two stanzas have the same tune. After singing the last of the man’s steps they place the rattles behind the altar.

The pipe man seated northeast of the entrance fills his little pipe from his own tobacco pouch, rises, and takes the pipe to the leading priest. When he is seated, the south errand man rises, takes up a coal from the fire, carries it to the head priest, and places it upon the bowl of the pipe, which the priest lights. The south errand man replaces the coal in the fireplace and returns to his seat. The five priests smoke the pipe. No other man may smoke it. When all five have smoked, the head priest empties the ashes in front of the altar. The north pipe man rises, goes forward, and receives the pipe without ceremony.

Again the priests take up the rattles. As they do this the chief priest says, “We will now shorten the pathways. We will sing only ten steps, four of the woman’s steps and six of the man’s.” They then sing the second part of the ritual. After the last song they again lay their rattles at the altar. The north pipe man fills his pipe and hands it to the head priest, who passes it to the priest at his right. The south errand man lights it. All five smoke this pipe; then he [probably the priest] empties the ashes in front of the altar.

The priests again take up the rattles and sing the third song, four of the woman’s steps and six of the man’s. When they sing the last step the north pipe man again fills the pipe. As soon as they lay down their rattles he rises and gives the pipe to the head priest, who raises the pipe toward the heavens and then hands it over to the priest on his left. The south errand man lights the priest’s pipe. Again all the priests smoke. When the north errand man empties the ashes the pipe man rises, receives his pipe, and returns to his seat.

Again, they take up their rattles and sing the fourth song of the ritual, singing ten steps as before. They lay down the rattles and the pipe man rises and gives the head priest the pipe. Again he raises the pipe toward the skies and hands it to the second priest on his right. The south errand man lights the pipe for the second priest and returns to his seat. They all smoke again, after which the ashes are emptied in front of the altar. The north pipe man rises and passes around the fireplace by the south, receives the pipe from the priest, and continues around the fireplace to his seat.

The priests take up their gourd rattles and sing the fifth song of the ritual. When they have sung the last step, they lay down their rattles; the pipe man rises and gives the pipe to the head priest, who raises it toward the skies and hands it to the second priest on his left. The pipe is lit, and all the priests smoke. Finally, the pipe is emptied and they rest.

OFFERINGS TO THE GODS

The next step is to prepare the offering sticks. To these are attached native tobacco, a little piece of scalp, and two pendant blue-beaded strings. The ceremonial sticks are set up around the lodge as shown in Figure 10. The detailed account is as follows:

After the bundle is opened the head priest makes two balls of red ointment. All the people in the lodge smear this ointment over their faces, heads, and bodies, so that they are painted red all over. The man making the offerings ties his robe with a buffalo-hair rope.²³

While the participants are resting the head priest sends the two errand men to the timber to cut about twenty willow sprouts each. When they return, the north errand man places his in a pile on the north side of the bundle and the south errand man places his on the south side. The head priest selects two men from the north side and two from the south side and tells them to sit on the south side of the lodge. The errand man is told to spread a mat there for them and to place the willows before them. The priest gives the dried pericardium of a buffalo heart, sinew, buckskin, scalps, and beads to the north errand man and tells him to place these things also in front of the four men. The south errand man is then sent for red dust and some buffalo fat, and is told to place these in front of the four men who are now to prepare the sticks. Each man takes up a stick, peels it, removes the bark, and sharpens it at the larger end. He measures the stick from the tip of his middle finger to his shoulder blade. He cuts it, cutting a notch around the top. Each man makes five sticks. They really need but four each, but make an extra one in case one should not suit the priest.

FIGURE 10.—Offering stations to the gods outside the lodge (numbers represent positions and order in which each deity is offered his stick; solid circle = post; open circle = wahka·ruˀ).

Each man then takes some of the red dust in his hand, pours it in his left hand, takes a little buffalo fat, and rolls it into a ball. Each takes up his sticks and covers them with this red ointment.

The first man on the west side takes the covering of the heart, cuts a piece off, and then hands it to the man next to him. The two men already have buckskin strings. The next man takes some native tobacco, places it in this heart covering and ties it with a buckskin string. The next man takes a piece of scalp about the size of a man’s thumbnail and ties this also with the tobacco; then he ties the whole thing to the stick so that the scalp hangs down. The scalp used must be one from the bundle—one that has previously been consecrated by the proper ritual (p. 136). He takes two strands of dark blue Hudson Bay Company beads nearly the length of the stick and ties them on.

After the stick is complete, it is put to one side. Each man prepares four sticks, so that they have 16 in all. Four sticks are not decorated, only painted. These men are now through, tell the priest so, and return to their seats. The south errand man rises, takes up the sticks, and places them in front of the altar. Then the head priest says, “It is now time to offer gifts to the gods in the heavens.” He calls the man who has been filling the pipe. He must be the one who provided the buffalo meat for the ceremony. He comes around the north side of the head priest and takes two of the sticks, kneels at the altar, and the priest whispers the directions in his ear.

This ceremony occurs during the winter half of the ritual year, though the time for the change to the summer half is near. The priest tells him to step outside and at the north side of the door to plant a stick; he puts another on the south side of the door (Figure 10, Nos. 1, 2). These represent day and night. He returns to the lodge and this time receives five sticks. (These five sticks represent the five chief bundles: the Morning Star (No. 9) and the four leading bundles. Note that the procedure here is the same as for the smoke (p. 85) and other food offerings.) The head priest then whispers to him, and he goes out and puts one at the northeast side (No. 3) and one at the northwest (No. 4). These and Nos. 5 and 6 are to the powers in the heavens, i.e., to the four world-quarter gods. Then he goes directly west of the lodge and puts one there to Mother Earth herself (No. 7). He enters the lodge, goes to the altar, and this time he receives one stick. The priest tells him to go out of the lodge, to raise that stick to the heaven, and pray to Tirawahat. In this prayer he can say anything he wishes, but must pray aloud. It must not be done secretly. He goes out and stands west of the mound of ashes, facing east, raises this stick toward the heavens, and when he has prayed, gradually lowers it and sticks it into the mound (No. 8).

He returns to the lodge and receives another stick. The priest whispers to him, because he does not want other people to know; it is a secret thing. The man who knows this thing knows the ritual. The priest is careful not to let other people know this secret. Knowledge of this is obtainable only by right of purchase or through being an errand man, for the errand man’s pay is the privilege to learn the secrets of the ritual. This time the stick bearer is told to go out and offer the stick slantwise to the sky in the east and gradually lower it. This offering is to the Morning Star (No. 9). He receives another, is told to go around on the north side, come to the west of the lodge, and there plant it some distance from the lodge as an offering to the Evening Star (No. 10). He is told to offer prayers as he places these.

He goes back to the lodge and receives another stick (No. 11). The priest whispers to him, “This is to the Big Black Meteoric Star who presides over the second place where the council was held to create all things. Speak your mind, and place the stick on this side of the mound.” He goes out, and facing east, lifts up the stick a little toward the northeast, gradually lowers it, and plants it there. He returns to the lodge. This time he is given three sticks. He is told to go out and plant one stick at a time: one to Breath (No. 12), one to Wind Ready To Give (No. 13), and one to the mysterious being Pahukatawa (No. 14). Then he enters the lodge again and receives two more sticks. The priest tells him to plant one southeast of the entrance far from the lodge, to hold the stick up to the sun, and to ask for anything he may wish, and to plant it, pointing to the sun (No. 15). Then he lifts up the other stick, slantwise to the southwest heavens, gradually lowers it, and plants it there to Mother Moon (No. 16). He enters the lodge and is seated.

The priests sing all night. It is now day. One of them takes the heart and tongue from the parfleche and brings them to the altar. There is a large pile of dry willow near the entrance. One of the errand men is called up again. The priest cuts up little pieces of meat, takes a bunch of willows and coals of fire from the fireplace, and puts the pieces of heart and tongue on them. The errand man then goes out to make burnt offerings. He offers the fire as well as the meat, placing some near each of these sticks.

Next they take a whole heart and tongue. The pipe man holds the meat crosswise in his arms. The south errand man takes a bunch of small dry willows and dips it into the fireplace. As soon as it touches the fire it burns. Another man follows him, carrying the pipe. They go out and come to stick No. 8. The south errand man puts the fire down. The priest raises the heart and tongue up toward the skies, gradually lowers them, and places them on the fire. When the grease drips down, the fire blazes up. The man standing behind him gives him the pipe and the priest pours the native tobacco on the fire. This offering is made to Tirawahat. They stand a while. In the meantime in the lodge they sing the songs about the waving of the smoke (p. 48). Then the priest and errand man return to the lodge, pause there, and receive pieces of meat in succession for offering at each of the other sticks.

When they are through, the head priest fills the Evening Star bundle pipe with the native tobacco. He tells the other priests to pay close attention to the singing, not to get tired, but to do the best they can, and to take up their gourd rattles. While the head priest holds the pipe in his left hand, they sing about Wonderful Being and all the Thunder Rituals, Lightning, and all the other gods coming out from the lodge in the heavens above (p. 49). Then they sing them back into the skies and into the lodge, and pause. The priest says, “We are going to sing about ourselves” (“Songs for the People,” p. 51). They sing about the scouts going out for buffalo, their return with the news that they have seen buffalo, how they came to see them, and then of the pipe to smoke, and of the old man who goes through the village telling the people what the scouts have seen, of the rejoicing in the camp, and of the men getting their ponies ready to surround the buffalo.

The bundle pipe is then given to the man on the north side who planted the offering sticks, and he is told to blow a whiff toward each god’s station. He goes to the entrance of the lodge and blows smoke to the sticks from the door, then returns and goes through the regular smoke offering, after which he stands west of the fireplace and blows smoke for all the stick offerings; e.g., to Tirawahat, he blows toward the sky; to Morning Star, slantwise toward the sky, etc. When he has smoked, he empties the ashes on the north side of the fireplace in front of the buffalo skull. He walks up, touches the sacred objects spread out on the bundle, steps to one side of the bundle on the north side, passes his hands over the pipe, over his body down to his feet, which he presses down to signify that his feet are placed firmly upon the land, and asks that he may have many days to live. Then he hands the pipe to the priest, who says “Rawa,” and all the men say “Rawa.”

THE RITUAL INCENSING

The priest then lays the pipe upon the bundle. All of the participants except the priests rise and go out for a rest. When they return to the lodge, an errand man places coals a little southwest of the fireplace, and a man is selected from the north side to pass the sacred objects through the smoke. A ball of fat mixed with sweetgrass is placed on the fire to make the smoke sweet-smelling. The priest selects a chief from the north side to put the objects through the smoke. This man stands near the burning sweetgrass, facing east. The errand man carries the prepared sweetgrass and fat to the chief, passing behind him. The priest takes up the pipe and Mother Corn. The incense is placed in the fire with four movements; the errand man carries the pipe and Mother Corn around the fireplace again, handing them to the chief, who now moves over, facing south. By the bowl he takes the pipe between his hands, passing it through the smoke four times, and then passes his smoked hands over the pipestem four times. The pipe and corn are then taken by the errand man and handed to a chief. In succession, each important object in the bundle is passed through the smoke in the same way, ending with the bundle wrappings and firesticks. After this the errand man returns all the objects to the priest in charge, who again makes up the bundle. Then the chief from the north side rises to let the smoke pass over him, and when he is seated, the chief on the south, and so on in order. The last to have the smoke pass over them are the priests.

Before the singing of the ritual begins, kettles of corn are brought in. If any woman bringing a kettle requests some special ritual to be recited for her child, the priests must do so. The corn must be specially prepared by crushing upon a stone reserved for this special purpose, the idea being that the real life of the grains is thus reached. The errand man now is informed of the children to be blessed and at the proper time he informs the Evening Star priest, who purifies himself in the smoke. He first stamps the earth four times and then goes out into the village, wearing a bison robe, hair side in,²⁴ and a red down feather in his hair. At various points in the village he recites the ritual requested. At the close of the lines he calls off the names of the children for whom the offering was made.

When the priest gets back (though he may delegate a student priest to do the preceding), it is in order for anyone to come forward for a new name. These requests are sent into the lodge. The priest then comes out and mounts the side of the lodge and proceeds with the regulation formula for the giving of a new name (p. 152).

While this is going on, the errand man completes the observances in the lodge. He rises, lets the smoke pass over his body, then takes up the coals in a bowl, puts them into the fire, removes all signs of the place with his moccasined feet, and returns to his place.

When the head priest returns he says, “We have completed the whole ceremony. I turn everything over to these two men on the south [the two priests on his right]. The pipestems will now be turned to the south.” He then takes the Evening Star bundle pipe and, holding the stem aloft, makes it describe a circle, bringing it down with the mouthpiece pointing toward the south. The other pipes are then manipulated in the same way.

CORN AND MEAT OFFERINGS

The leading south side priest says, “It is time that we eat.” They place the first kettle between the entrance and the fire with the eight wooden bowls around it (Figure 24). Then follows an elaborate corn-offering ritual in which small particles of the boiled corn are offered to the two outer doorposts, the north one of which is called “chief,” and the south “soldier.” Some is also offered to each of the four inner posts, to the fireplace, etc. Then the corn is dipped out into the eight bowls in the prescribed manner (Murie, 1914: 565).

The south priest again rises, goes to the kettle, takes a buffalo horn spoon, and dips up a spoonful of corn. He offers the corn in the same order to the outside lodge posts, only instead of going to the outside posts, he goes to the post west of the fireplace, proceeding first to the northeast, northwest, directly west of the fireplace, then to the southwest post, then to the southeast. Then he comes back and stands west of the fireplace. Instead of going outside he makes motions toward the different posts and toward the various positions of the gods and drops the corn at the fireplace.

He goes around the fireplace, on the north side, to place corn on the rim of the fireplace in front of the buffalo skull. Then he puts his hands on the corn, rubs them together, and passes them four times over the skull from the nose up over the horns. Then he moves up, comes to the place between the fireplace and the altar where the pathway is and touches it; he walks up and touches the altar and the sacred objects on it, except for Mother Corn, whom he must not touch because it is Mother Corn herself. He wheels around, goes to the fireplace, and stands there facing east. He goes to the fireplace and touches the pile of corn on its rim, then raises his hands and swings his arms four times, then lowers his arms and motions toward the entrance, saying, “Rawa.”

He passes the bowl of corn to the people, and they eat. Then the next kettle is brought in and handled in the same way, and so on, until the contents of all are eaten. After they have eaten the corn, it is time to cut up the meat, put it in the kettle, and boil it. When all the meat is put into the kettle, a piece of it and a piece of fat are put in a wooden bowl and given to the head priest, who cuts it into 16 pieces, one for each stick. He then tells the offering man to make the same offering as with the corn. He does so, but does not give any to the buffalo skull; nor does he touch it, but touches the bills of the birds in the bundle, Mother Corn, and the gourds. He makes the same motions as before, swinging his arms out toward the entrance. After that, all say, “Rawa.”

A big white canvas is spread, the number of people present counted, and the meat placed in piles. If there are only a few participants, each one gets a big pile of meat, which is taken home at the end of the ceremony. The fat is especially prized for putting on the hair.

The head priest of the Evening Star bundle now places the contents in the wrappings somewhat hastily and hangs the bundle up in its new position. Afterwards the woman keeper takes it down and carefully arranges all its contents as they previously were.

Before dismissal of the congregation the head priest makes a speech somewhat as follows:

You chiefs who sit among us, watching over the old men carrying on the ceremonies that were entrusted to you by the gods in the heavens; you two old men who sit near the entrance and speak to us with the wisdom given to you by the gods in the heavens; all you old men in this lodge who sit here with me; old men who have tried to carry on the ceremony as given to us by our forefathers; our friend, Strikes The Enemy, had it in mind to have this ceremony which we have now gone through.²⁵ He has pleased Tirawahat and the minor gods in the heavens by sending the smoke to their different stations. Some of the gods are so pleased that they will send good gifts to our brother here, and we will also be remembered by them.

Chiefs, old men, and others in this lodge, you came into the lodge of Ckura·ˀi-kawa (Female Seer Comes Through (Summer)) and of Ckura·ˀi·kaˀat (Female Seer Goes Through (Winter)). You sat down in perfect order around the circle so that you were like a wall on each side of the lodge, but the time is near when we must arise. Tirawahat and all the other gods have received our smoke offering, our offering of corn and meat, and also the burnt offering. Draw your robes about your shoulders, sit erect, then rise and walk toward the entrance to Ckura·ˀi·kaˀat and Ckura·ˀi·kawa. So now we rise and walk to Ckura·i-ka·at’s entrance [this being the season when she is in charge]. Old men, we have now smoked; we have now eaten. You are dismissed.

They rise and walk toward the entrance of dear Mother Corn, who is really the bundle that is hanging up. They must speak of the lodge entrance as her entrance. That ends the ceremony. They go out.

This concludes the ceremonies in the Evening Star lodge; but before taking up the next step in the ceremonial cycle, the Thunder or Creation Ritual must be given for each of the leading bundles in turn and then for the village bundles—in fact, for every important bundle. The idea seems to be that by this they are awakened and made active for the season. It seems, however, that the priests, at their discretion, may dispense with the song ritual when they come to the ordinary village bundles and merely make the offerings.

Renewal Rituals for Other Bundles

Young Eagle Society Bundle

There was a kind of organization among the chiefs for which there was a bundle. The number of members was small, but for each there was a large hawk (young eagle) in the bundle. We have fragmentary data for the ritual, and the bundle itself is in the Field Museum of Natural History. The ritual refers particularly to the moon, the north star, and in a general way to the fixed stars, but not to the planets. There are also songs for the “shooting stars.” One peculiarity is that all the songs for this bundle resemble those used in doctors’ ceremonies, which as a class differ from those used with the bundles.

After the other bundles have held their initial Thunder Ritual as just described, this organization makes preparations for a night ceremony, waiting, however, until the moon reappears.

Rituals for War Bundles

When it is understood that the priests have completed the Thunder Ceremonies, the keepers of warrior bundles open theirs and renew the white paint upon the objects in them. These bundles are considered as coming out of, or as being a part of, a regular bundle. More than that, the relation is specific, for the name of the parent bundle is carried over. In the first place there are regulation war bundle regalia, consisting of a pipe, an otter collar, an ear of corn, and a hawk. These are found in all of the major, or village, bundles save those of the Evening Star (Calf) and the North Star, and may be taken out to carry to war; but a new warrior bundle can be made up by a priest on the authority of his bundle, in which case it takes the name of the parent bundle. Our first task will be to describe the creation of such a bundle.

In the Creation Ritual the office of a warrior seems to have been planned out. A man in the tribe could not have a warrior’s bundle unless he had consecrated buffalo to the four leading bundles; that is to say, he had to consecrate one buffalo each season, four buffalo altogether, taking two years.

The way is open now for this man to have a bundle made for him by the four leading bundle priests. He has been on the warpath carrying the clothing of a warrior that is kept in the four leading bundles; that is, the clothing he wears is from one of these leading bundles. He has brought many ponies to the village and each time has given a pony to the Mother Corn who is leader of that season. (That was one of the ways of the Skiris: Whenever they brought ponies into the village, they gave one to the Mother Corn belonging to the sacred bundle of that season. The pony was a gift to the keeper.) He has done much now and can ask for a separate bundle.

He kills a buffalo during the summer buffalo hunt and dries the meat himself at his own place. The women of his family take care of it for him. At the proper time he invites the leading priest of that season to his lodge and tells him that he has killed a buffalo and dried the meat, and tells what he wishes.

The first step is to provide a sacred ear of corn. At the next changing of the corn the priest gives the discarded ear to the warrior. He may, however, have one in his bundle and take that, but it must be an ear that has served its term as Mother Corn. This ear is now wrapped in buffalo wool and tied with a lariat. Members of the warrior’s family have provided pieces of calico and the priest takes one of these for the bundle wrapping. After the ceremony he makes up the bundle, leaving the other ear of corn outside. The man goes to the altar, takes his ear of corn, carries it home, and ties it on the west wall of the lodge.

The priest now tells the warrior what other things he must provide: a hawk, a bluebird, a deer, an otter, a wildcat, eagles, and paints (black, red, yellow and white).²⁶ The red paint is the most important, but he must have all four colors. When he has gathered all these things, he also gets a pipe bowl, but not a stem. That winter he also kills a buffalo and consecrates it, i.e., pronounces it holy because the meat is to be offered to the gods in the heavens.

The remainder of the account is given as a close rendering of the [unknown] informant’s narrative:

After he has gathered all these things he is ready, except for one thing. He has been killing buffalo in the winter only, but the skins are not the proper kind for a bundle wrapping. What he needs is a buffalo skin that is shedding and whose hair is easy to scrape. The wrappers for the bundle must be without hair, for hair would make it clumsy to pack. So he gets the buffalo skins for the covering in the summer time. He has his wife or sister tan the hides, which are not cut up, but used whole.

In the ceremony of making the bundle, the warrior calls the priest to his own lodge. He has had it cleared out; the women remain outside. He has placed a mat and the objects necessary for the bundle at the altar west of the lodge, west of the fireplace. There he places four cushions. He sends for the priest who gave him the ear of corn. The priest enters and sits at the altar. The parfleche of meat is set on the south side. The warrior tells who shall be the errand man. He tells him to send for other men whom he wishes to take part in the ceremony. Not every man could join in this ceremony; only those who belonged to that clan [i.e., society] or particular bundle, one of the leading bundles, or the village bundles. They are notified. The paints are placed with the other things; some clamshells are placed there.

First they cut out pieces of the skins that are to be the coverings of the objects in the bundle. He has the hawk and all the other things, as well as the outer and inner covering. Then he cuts the strings to tie them. He cuts the wildcat skin in two. The upper part he lays to one side, but he has the women sew up the legs and the body. He has gathered native tobacco, which the priest puts in the wildcat skin bag. This is done so that when he goes on the warpath he can carry the catskin all the time. If anything should happen to them, he can easily take that off and offer the tobacco to the gods in the heavens for protection. All tobacco was intended to offer as incense to the gods in the heavens. (At first, before people generally took to smoking, they only smoked to the gods in the heavens.) Having all things prepared, he now places them in a pile in their order on the covering.

He sends an errand man to the main leading bundle, which has six or seven pipestems on the outside, always ready, and tells him to take one of the pipestems. (At the time the stick ceremony is performed, the participants bring ash wood and peel it, making pipestems, while they are singing the songs for the stick for the corn plant. The pipestems are brown with age and have round marks on them. The bundle owner takes one off and directs the errand man to take one stick from the bundle to stir the ashes in the pipe. This stick was really an enemy’s arrow placed on the bundle. So he takes one out.

These two things are brought back and placed on the new bundle. Then the deerskins are placed in the bundle. These skins require another ritual in making the leggings. The priest tells him how to make them: One legging must be black, the other red; the fringes are to be scalps he himself has taken.

They take up everything. The priest begins to put the objects into the bundle. Finally he comes to the hawk, takes it up, takes some of the red ointment on his hands, and puts it all over the hawk skin. Then they make a covering of buffalo hide for it. The hide is sewn and at one end there is a little loop. The bird is put into this bag so the bill will stick out. Then they tie the strings at the ends. The strings run through the breast. The priest takes the Mother Corn and sings (the same songs as for the making of Mother Corn, pp. 105–106).

The man takes up the otter skin and cuts open the back near the shoulders so that he can put his head through. On each side he makes rings of sweet grass and ties them on. Right above each of these rings he ties two flint arrowheads. He fixes a place to tie the hawk on the otter’s right shoulder, the ear of corn on the left shoulder. When he has done this, the collar is complete. Then the man puts the collar on and stands there a warrior.

All these things are now done. The priest rises, takes the man around the fireplace four times and stands him a little toward the northeast, but in the northwest side of the lodge. He puts some blue mud on his head, then takes some soft down feathers and spreads those on his head. A piece of eagle feather is tied through his scalplock. (All these things are in the bundle.) Then the priest tells him to put his moccasins on, to put his buffalo robe on with the hair inside, and to take the buffalo lariat he has prepared and tie it around his waist. At his right side the man hangs the wildcat skin with the native tobacco in it. At his left side hangs a bag with the different paints. The priest says, “Now I am to make you a warrior from the bundle. Here you stand now clothed as the powers in the west. But there is one thing I must do that the gods may notice you.”

He takes the red ointment and with his fingers makes two straight marks down the right side of his face and two on the left side of his face. The fourth finger is run down over his face. Then he makes a picture of the bird’s foot upon his forehead. That bird’s foot is not intended for a real bird’s foot; it is the bird’s claw picture in the Milky Way in the heavens. The priest says, “Now you stand here a warrior. You have made sacrifices of scalps to the heavens. You have made burnt offerings and you have given ponies to different bundles in the village. You have consecrated different animals. You have completed everything that is expected of a warrior. Now I pronounce you a warrior. I will now fill this pipe for you.”

He fills the pipe with tobacco and tells him how to go through the smoke ritual, finally reaching the ear of corn and the hawk, which are now the main objects. The others also smoke to these two. The priest empties the ashes and tells him the rituals he must recite on his journey to the enemy’s country. He tells him when he makes the altar to place the Mother Corn and the hawk alongside. The man must get an old buffalo skull on the plains, which he must always put on the north side of his fireplace. All his smoke offerings and corn offerings must be placed in front of this buffalo skull. He must never dip into the corn, but must pour it out away from himself. The same way with the pipe: that is, he must pass his hands over the skull four times. The man goes through the smoke ceremony. When he has offered the smoke to the gods in the heavens, he lets the four men at the altar smoke. The man dumps the ashes in front of the skull and passes his hands over the pipestems and over his body, and returns the pipe to the priest, who receives it; and then the man himself passes his hands over the pipestem and lays it on the bundle. They prepare the things to eat and, after they finish eating, the owner ties up the bundle, leaving out the incomplete leggings. Then the bundle is made up and is ready.

There were times when the priest made an image of a human being on wood; that is, he made markings on it, and he would place this in the bundle to represent Tirawahat. Sometimes there would be other images made out of skins or wood made through a dream or vision of the warrior, who alone knew the vision and knew what it meant.

Now the bundle is ready. When its owner goes on the warpath, he takes his bundle down, opens it, and makes an altar out of it. He invites his own immediate friends to join him. If people hear that he is going, they come in without any invitation. If he is successful on his first journey into the enemy’s country, they know at once that his bundle is a good one. The priest gives this man rituals that he must recite on the journey to the enemy’s country, as well as rules to go by.

The expedition was regulated by four men who were considered warriors of rank. They had the right to get up early in the morning to scout; then they would return and tell the leader how the land lay, how many buffalo they had seen, etc. In telling about it, they had to go through a ritual too, having a prescribed way of informing the leader. In the night, if any of them went out, before he could reenter he had to give the wolf cry as a countersign. Finally he would come in and tell just how he went and how the meteors flew toward the south where the enemy was. They looked upon these signs as a message to go that way.

Wonderful Leggings of Pahukatawa

Shortly after the Thunder Ceremonies is also the time for renewing the power of the Wonderful Leggings bundle, a war bundle. Pahukatawa is one of the hero gods of the Pawnee (Murie, 1914:616; Dorsey, 1906a:61–62). There are no songs for this bundle, but the smoke offering is made, in which Pahukatawa is included. A small pipe is filled and taken outside to the north side of the lodge, where four whiffs of smoke are offered to Pahukatawa; then prayers are made and the ashes emptied there.

A small wooden bowl is filled with water and enough white clay to make a thick paste. Into the paste are mixed four stalks of wild sage. The bodies of the assembled warriors are painted with this mixture.

In the bundle are seven reeds, or tubes, containing feathers. It is chiefly in these tubes that the power is supposed to reside. These reeds are also given a coat of the white paint.

When the offering has been made and the objects painted, the powers of the bundle are put to a test. One of the reeds is taken up, a feather pulled out, and planted in the ground. This continues until thunder is heard; but if the storm does not come, the leggings are taken out and tied upon a pole for a day and night. The coming of a storm is regarded as proof that the power of the bundle has been renewed. Then the smoke offering is made, and the objects smudged and placed again in the bundle, which is now ready when war parties set out.

The following account of a particular ceremony is given, as observed by the author:

During one of the bundle ceremonies, Lone Chief, the keeper of the sacred leggings of Pahukatawa, whispered. to me, “The opening of the bundle containing my sacred leggings is set for the day after tomorrow. As you are one of the descendants of the priests of the leggings, you should be present.”

The following afternoon I visited Lone Chief’s lodge and talked with him about the leggings. He told me that in olden times when the leggings were taken from the bundle they were hung on a. long pole. Then followed a great storm, durfell. Lone Chief said, “I thought I would hang up the ing which the winds blew from all directions and the rain leggings, but when I remembered the storms that always follow, I decided not to hang them up.” Then Lone Chief said, “Come very early tomorrow, for we will wait for no one.”

Early the next morning, which was fine and clear, I went to Lone Chief’s tipi. Scout, Skiri, Good Eagle, and Lone Chief sat at the west. I was told to sit near Lone Chief. Later, Good Chief came in and was given a place in the southwest. Then Big Chief was directed to a seat at the northwest. An errand man sat at the northeast of the entrance and one at the southeast of the entrance. Then other people who had the right to attend the ceremony came in.

The bundle was untied. Covering after covering was removed, and finally the leggings were exposed. One was white, the other black. Both were decorated with paint, scalps, eagle down, and beads. As the two leggings were separated, a reed in which was the wonderful feather dropped from them. Now Lone Chief took a wooden bowl and a ball of white clay from the bundle. These he passed to Big Chief, who was told to scrape some of the white clay from the ball and place it in the bowl. Then Lone Chief placed the bowl near the leggings. From the bundle he took some weeds, which he also placed in the bowl, and stirred the mixture. He removed all his clothes but his breechcloth and covered his body with the white clay. All the others in the tipi were instructed to do likewise. He said that when the mysterious being had given the leggings and other wonderful things in the bundle, he had instructed them to cover everyone present with white clay when the leggings were uncovered, for they would sit in the presence of the leggings as warriors.

When everyone had been covered with the white clay, the priest, Scout, said, “It is now time for the gods to receive tobacco.” Now Good Eagle opened the bag containing the tobacco. He said, “My friends, in olden times when these leggings were opened, only a very few, the closest relations, were allowed to be present. Our nearest relation is present in this ceremony. If Lone Chief were not present he would claim these leggings which were given him through his grandfather. Therefore, it shall be he who shall offer the tobacco to the gods.” Then Coming Sun rose and knelt before the priest, who, as he passed him the native tobacco, said, “Go out of the tipi and stand in the east. This tobacco is an offering to the Morning Star. Place it on the ground and returns as quickly as possible.” When the ceremony was begun, the clouds gathered in the southeast. As Coming Sun made the tobacco offering, the rain fell in torrents. Coming Sun returned to the priest, who handed him the tobacco to be offered to the Evening Star.

It will be noted that the ritual here follows the formula on page 59 (Figure 10), but begins with station no. 9. It then proceeds just as with the offering sticks, except that here tobacco is offered. Finally, when the offering had been placed on the 16th station (to Moon), the priest gave Coming Sun some tobacco with instructions to scatter tobacco over the leggings and wave his hand over them four times. This completed this portion of the ceremony.

Then the sacred pipe was filled with tobacco. Big Chief was told to rise and take the pipe. He took it and sat at the northeast of the fireplace and went through the formal smoke offering (p. 85).

Corn was brought in and the usual corn offering was made. When the wooden bowls were removed, the leggings were wrapped up again. During the winter the dark blue (black) legging had rested on top, but now that spring was coming, the white legging was placed on top when the leggings were put in the bundle. Then two men were selected to cut the meat and boil it. In the meantime the old people in the lodge told of the mysteries of the leggings. Skiri told:

The right leg of these leggings is elk and the left is the buckskin of a female. The right leg is light and the left leg is dark. The leggings are decorated with beads, downy eagle feathers, and human hair. The black legging represents the north and the white the south. The other feathers wrapped up with the leggings are either eagle or buzzard; this I do not know. There are also several pieces of flint which are kept with the leggings. The flints are supposed to have been kept by Pahukatawa. Whenever he visited the village he announced his presence by sparks of fire caused by striking the flint.

One time when Pahukatawa became displeased with the Pawnee, he went away from them and went among another tribe of Indians. While among these Indians, Pahukatawa gave them a wonderful buffalo robe. These people attacked the Pawnee—the enemy had the robe, the Pawnee had the leggings. The leggings beat the robe. Both the leggings and the robe were strung on a pole. The opposing sides fought with the same power of Pahukatawa. Another time these leggings were carried in battle by Big Eagle. Through the power of these leggings the Skiri captured the wonderful Cheyenne arrows. These arrows are not kept with the leggings, but with the Morning Star bundle.

[Then Scout spoke:] My relations, we are sitting as did our forefathers when they opened the bundle containing the leggings. They gathered as warriors and planned how to go on the warpath. We no longer go on the warpath, but we may call ourselves warriors, and cover our bodies with white clay. The gods in the heavens will notice us and will hasten to send us good presents. The mysterious being, Pahukatawa, gave our people these wonderful leggings. We keep them now in order to remember Pahukatawa. All said, “Rawa.”

[Scout continued:] In the old days we carried these leggings over the plains trying to capture the ponies of our enemy. At times we were successful; at others, we were not. Now there are no more war parties, nor do the enemy attack our villages. There is one thing we can do; we can go into the fields and touch the ground with our hands. The gods will remember that we are the people who received the seeds from the heavens. They will cause our fields to produce an abundance of food for our people. The gods can give us good presents, for the pathways of the warrior are wiped out by the white people; our battlefields are covered with white people. We can do one thing; continue to cultivate our corn, and the gods will give us plenty to eat and our people will multiply.

The offering of buffalo meat was made and the meat divided among the people in the tipi. Then Scout said:

Warriors, chiefs, and young men, we came here to open the leggings and we have done so. It is now time to leave this tipi. The gods have received the smoke; they have received the tobacco and were made happy thereby. They will take note of what we have done and will hasten to reward us. Pull your blankets over you and make ready, for we are about to move toward the entrance of Pahukatawa. Now we will rise, go to the opening of the lodge, and go out. We have smoked, we have eaten, we have drunk. Now we go out.

Everyone but the priests stood up. The latter remained with the bundle and took it back to the main lodge.

Meteorite Bundles

A meteor was regarded as a child of Tirawahat. If anyone were fortunate enough to note the spot where a meteor seemed to strike the earth, a search was made for the meteorite. Naturally any curious object found by digging at the spot would be considered a meteorite and very sacred, because it belonged to the supreme god. With appropriate ceremonies the tribal priest would prepare a bundle for the supposed meteorite and place it in the keeping of the finder.

Two of these bundles are in the American Museum of Natural History (Figures 11, 12). The one shown in Figure 11 was owned by Good Chief (Ri·sa·ru Tura·hi), chief of the Skiri. After his death, a Skiri brave (Tararikaksaˀ) related to Good Chief, took the bundle. When he died it went to Skiri Good Chief, who gave it to Wallace Murie, his nearest relative, the grandson of Skiri Good Chief’s sister.

The first Good Chief found the supposed meteorite while leading a war party. He carried it and was successful in his exploits. He brought it home and engaged a priest to carry on a ceremony for it. The priest selected a star to which the meteorite bundle was then dedicated. The bundle was carried on the warpath and used as an altar. The meteorite itself was never exposed when the bundle was opened. Prayers were offered to it, but it was always handled in its covering.

This bundle proved to be elaborate. There is first of all an outer wrapping of bedticking. Within this is another bundle tied with a buffalo hair rope as shown in Figure 12. On it was bound a small woven bag, inside of which were two large chipped points, to one of which was tied a string. On one end of the bundle was a small bag of native tobacco wrapped in a red handkerchief. On the other end was a stone enclosed in a similar handkerchief. The bundle itself was wrapped in four handkerchiefs. Next to the inner one was a braid of sweet grass. (The two chipped points are said to belong to the Yellow Dwelling bundle, but were carried on the warpath for use in ceremonies to produce rain and fog.)

The contents of the inner bundle are as follows: one ceremonial rope of buffalo hair; one braid of sweet grass, two hawks’ heads; one small cloth bag, probably containing paint; one small feather ornament, much decayed; one beaded bag containing soft down feathers in which, wrapped in cloth, is a small metallic-looking stone, over one face of which is fastened a section of netting or a piece of veil; one small bundle containing a number of feathers (one is tipped with duck-head feathers); one is provided with a tying string; another has a wooden point; the remainder are plain.

To the outer bundle was tied a small packet of tobacco, which was given to one of the owners by some Cheyenne visitors. It was tied here for safe keeping, but has no proper association with the bundle. There is, however, a small pipe that goes with the bundle and is never used except to make smoke offerings to the meteorite.

The supposed meteorite is no more than an oddly shaped pebble. It was carefully wrapped in down and concealed in the bag shown in Figure 12. This bag of buckskin is fashioned like a bird and decorated with feathers. The following narrative gives some additional information.

FIGURE 11.—Meteorite bundle: a, outside with modern wrapping; b, contents.

FIGURE 12.—Second meteorite bundle; a, outer wrapping; b, inner wrapping showing bag of native weave; c, contents of bundle.

CREATION OF A METEORITE BUNDLE.—There were six or seven meteorite bundles among the Skiri. It was told by the old people that they contained skins of weasels, gophers, moles, and other little animals. None of these were water animals. Inside of the bundle was the meteorite. The old people say that these meteors were seen flying through the sky and finally landed upon the earth. If men saw this, they stuck their arrows around in the ground where it fell. The next day they would go to the place, which always seemed to have been fired. There would be no grass. When they dug around it, they found the stone had gone into the ground. The old people say when these things were dug up they were in the shape of a turtle, but very brilliant. The stone seemed to have a head and legs. The head had two marked places for the eyes. The thing was heavy. If several found this thing, it was decided by the warriors who should be the keeper of this meteorite.

The man who was selected would then fill his pipe and offer smoke to the giver, for the Indians at that time seem to have believed that these objects were children of Tirawahat, the almighty power in the heavens, and that these things flew down to the ground for the purpose of receiving smoke from the people. If they were not found by the people, these objects returned to the heavens. If they were found, then they were taken to the village and placed at the altar.

One of the old men is sent for to act as priest for the meteorite. He then tells the finder of the meteorite to have a buckskin sack made, beaded, and lined with a lot of soft down feathers. Into this the meteorite is placed. When they want to offer smoke to it, they must let only the head protrude from the bag. There are no songs and no ears of corn. The man who becomes keeper himself learns the power of this little meteorite through dreams and finally provides things to put in the bundle with it. He has a little pipe about 6 inches [15 cm] long with a bowl about an inch [2.5 cm] long which belongs to the meteorite itself and is used only for rituals associated with the meteorite. In addition to the other objects there is always dried meat in the bundle. When the meteorite bundle is opened, everyone in its presence must be covered with white clay. Aside from receiving the smoke from the people, no other ceremonies are connected with the bundle. It was a bundle for the warriors. A man owning such a bundle carried it instead of the warrior’s bundle taken from a sacred bundle. When the owner of this bundle wished to open it, he invited six or seven immediate friends and no others. The feeling was that any luck that might come from this meteor comes from the heavens, is a child of the heavens, and must have power; for this reason the bundle owner prefers that his own relative receive the power. When they are through smoking to the meteorite, they must not place it in such a position that the light will strike and ignite it. It is kept in the bag to keep it in the dark. After it has gone through the smoke, it is covered with numerous wrappings. Because it is thought to attract the lightning, it is hung on a pole outside all the time. As soon as the thunders come, it is hidden until they have passed. After smoking to the meteorite and tying it up, it is hung up, war stories are told, a feast is held, and the ceremony is over.

HISTORY OF A BUNDLE.—The second meteorite bundle (Figure 12c) is in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago. It was owned by Shield Chief, a Pitahawirata, who had killed Touching Cloud, a Cheyenne. Through it, he became a great man. The stone was dedicated to the Evening Star and, for that reason, an otter skin was used as a covering. When Shield Chief died, High Eagle became the owner. The otter skin cover of the bundle had been lately renewed [ca. 1910-1920]. When High Eagle became very ill, he gave the bundle to Murie as a remembrance, saying; “It is a meteorite bundle. I want you to keep it. I know I am going to die. I want you to keep this thing because it was handed down from my grandfathers to my fathers.” High Eagle then opened the bundle, pressed his hands upon the meteorite, and said, “Now father, I am about to let you go at last. I have given you plenty of smoke and always put you in a prominent place in my lodge. Through you I have received ponies, blankets, and other things. May all these gifts continue to come to me. May this lucky spell continue. Father, keep me from harm for letting you go. I now give you to this man.”

When examined later, the bundle contained no meteorite, but rather a glass pendant of modern origin inside a bird-shaped bag wrapped in a roll of soft down feathers, simulating a face. It was beaded with blue Hudson Bay Company beads. The eyes were of beads and the mouth was a shell. Apparently, someone had taken out the real meteorite and put in these objects. Every spring, this bundle had been taken out on a high hill or into the woods where others would not intrude.

Renewing Society Regalia

In an earlier paper, the author discussed the renewal concept of the lance societies and other organizations (Murie, 1914:559, 561–567). This is but an extension of the fundamental idea in the Creation Ritual as exemplified in the Thunder Ceremonies. After the Thunder Ceremonies for the bundles and when the grass began to grow, all societies held the ceremonies of renewing lances. In these, new lances are made and the old ones are discarded. In general, four men are appointed to get the materials and make up the lances. When completed, a smoke-offering ceremony is performed to dedicate the lances, which are spoken of as “fathers.” This ceremony is followed by a feast. The next day the society members assemble for the dance, put on their regalia, take up the lances, select the bearers for them, and choose a chief to carry the pipe. The dancing begins in the lodge and finally the chief with the pipe, followed by the lance bearers and members, goes out, and all form a circle in front of the lodge to dance. Then they go about the village or camp, dancing before the lodges of prominent persons to receive presents. After their return to the lodge the lances are placed on a pole set up outside the door. In the ceremony the people are admonished that these lances are to guard over all, and so everyone must feel it his duty to protect the lances, though it is expected that the members of the societies give special care to them. They are also told that these lances are to bring the buffalo and to protect the people. After four days the feathers are taken from the lance shafts and wrapped up.

These ceremonies are not at any stated time, but the preparations for them are begun immediately after the Thunder Ceremonies.

The Kawaharu Ritual

Some bundles have special rituals not shared with other bundles. The Evening Star bundle has one known as the Kawaharu (kawaha·ruˀ ‘fortune’). This differs from those described under the head of special ceremonies (p. 114) in that it is a part of the yearly cycle and should follow the initial Thunder Ceremony. The term “Kawaharu” has been translated as “ready-to-give,” or as “bringing luck, god of luck,” etc. This, however, does not convey an adequate notion of it. In the discussion of the Creation Ritual we have explained the idea of vitalization, i.e., how the real power of life was thrust into all things. In the minds of the priests there was also the idea that a power to give luck was resident in things and could be again given out. Thus it was said that one could receive power from animals, plants, or in fact any object whatever. This was possible only because the gods had placed such power therein and subsequently renewed it. Now the idea in the term “Kawaharu” is that from this resident power one may receive aid and so be fortunate in all things; but at the same time the ultimate source of this power is projected in a god named Kawaha (kawaha·ˀ).

The altar is prepared for the demonstration of the Evening Star bundle so that power may enter into it, the power of the god Kawaha, from whom aid is derived for all human undertakings. His power also enters the bundle, which is its chief seat.

In the Creation Ritual the gods spoke to the effect that men should get power by appealing to this god. Hence, the purpose and occasion of this ceremony are to recount or celebrate the placing of this power in all things. The Pawnee idea of fortune is the waking of a specific power or force in nature to the end desired. A glance at the songs will show that they are merely going over once again the steps in the creation of the world. In the formal ritual the bodies of all things were first created in a definite order, then life was put in them, and now we have the placing in them of the power to aid man by controlling events, or what we consider chance phenomena. The data do not make it clear whether or not a regular annual renewing ceremony was performed with this ritual, but that is the implication. It was also performed at the initiation of important buffalo hunts in order that their power be renewed and the desired result achieved.

One peculiarity of this ceremony is the feast. Only freshly killed meat may be used. This is cut into long slender strips and boiled slightly. It must not be touched by the eater’s hands, but he must catch the meat with his teeth as it is switched about in the air. Having once caught hold of a piece, he continues to chew upon it until it is swallowed. If he should drop it or use his hands, fortune would not smile upon him. No other bundle or ceremony has such rules.

I am able to give here but one of the songs. There were many more, but the last priest to know them died some years ago [before 1900].

First Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The first stanza is sung to all 26 of the woman’s steps. After a pause, the kurahus sing the second stanza to all 30 of the man’s steps.

I am inclined to consider this last ritual as the original Skiri bundle ritual and the source upon which drew the master mind who first outlined the great scheme we are presenting. The conception of resident power here expressed is very near to that vague generalized notion of supernatural power prevading nature expressed by various Indian tribes as wakan, manitou, huaca, etc., which comes very near to being a fundamental part of American religion. That the Kawaharu is fundamental in Skiri thought is clear, for this god is called upon constantly in trials of skill or ordinary endeavor. He is, in particular, related to the buffalo hunt and as such appears as one of the basic ideas in a bundle.

Shelling the Sacred Ear of Corn

The next important unit of the yearly cycle is the Corn Shelling. This is conducted by the priest of the leading bundle in charge for the winter season, the Big Black Meteoric Star or the Yellow Star bundle, as the case may be (Figure 13).

After all the bundles have had the Thunder Rituals, the priest of the Big Black Meteoric Star bundle (or Yellow Star bundle priest, whichever of the two happens to be in charge) sends his wife out to notify the errand man or fire-maker that he is wanted. When he arrives, the errand man is told to go through the village and notify the three priests of the other leading bundles and also the Evening Star bundle priest that they are wanted at the lodge of the Big Black Meteoric Star bundle.

FIGURE 13.—Relationships of leading bundles to the world quarter gods and succession in leadership.

As the errand man leaves the lodge, the priest tells his wife to clean the place, take out their beds, and spread mats around. He then goes out, climbs the earth lodge, and sits on the top. The woman then takes the bundle and its supporting staff outside of the lodge, about 15 feet [4.6 m] from the entrance. She sets up the staff by driving it into the earth and hangs the bundle on it. She returns to the lodge and begins to take out the beds. When the place is clear the woman sweeps the floor clean and places mats around the inside.

Then the priests enter the lodge and take their places at the altar. The errand men enter and sit, one on the south side near the entrance, the other on the north side. The priest says, “Errand men, you will go to my brother’s lodge and bring the meat that was prepared for this occasion.” These two errand men go to his brother’s lodge and bring the parfleche filled with dried meat. This they set at the southeast, inside of the lodge, the parfleche resting lengthwise north and south, for it must point north and south. They then untie the bundle. If some of the old men present whisper to the leading priests that their grandchildren, nieces, or nephews also have some meat at their lodges, the errand men are instructed to gather this meat and bring it into the lodge. When brought, it is placed in a pile on the east side of the parfleche.

Then the two errand men are called to the altar. They come, the north errand man kneeling at the north corner of the altar, the south errand man at the south corner. They are given new butcher knives and told to dig a rectangular hole about 3 or 4 inches [8 or 10 cm] deep. After the hole is dug, the priest tells the errand men to pass around the fireplace on the north side and then on down the south side of the parfleche, to lay their knives down near the parfleche and take their seats at the entrance. The rectangular hole they dug is called “the garden of the Evening Star.”

The priest now rises, takes up his buffalo robe, and with a handful of native tobacco in his left hand walks around the fireplace by way of the north, comes back by way of the south, and then starts directly west to the garden. He kneels, covers the garden with his robe, and scatters the tobacco on the ground. When through, he rises, goes around the fireplace, and back to his seat. He takes up some fat and cuts it into five pieces. (In each sacred bundle there are a roll of meat and fat for the purpose of making offerings.) He takes up the five pieces of fat, goes back, covers the garden again, and places one at each corner and one in the center. Then he goes back to the altar, gets a dried covering of a buffalo heart filled with soft down feathers, goes around the fireplace again to the garden, kneels, and places these soft feathers there. He rises, goes around the fireplace as before, and returns to his seat.

Then the priest tells the errand men to go into the village and notify all bundle keepers to bring their bundles, and also to invite such of their people as they choose. The priest then takes from the bundle a sack of red dust and some fat, pours some red dust into his hand, mixes it with fat, and rolls it into a ball. He gives this ball to the priests, who anoint themselves with it, head, face, and body. After they are through they pass the ball to the two errand men, who in turn smear their bodies.

The people begin to come in with their bundles. They sit in the order shown in Figure 14. They untie their bundles and each man takes out Mother Corn from his bundle. Then he takes out the stick for supporting Mother Corn and ties her upon it. The people on the north side rise, go around the fireplace, approach the garden, and plant these sticks. They place them so that the ears of corn are in the regular order of their seats.

FIGURE 14.—Position of bundles (open circles) and seating arrangements (x) during band ceremonies.

The spectators are assigned to places according to their villages; but the old men sit near the door. The priests pass the ointment down the line, one ball on the north side and one on the south. After all are anointed, the head priest says, “Priests, chiefs, warriors, young man, it is now time that we let the gods in the heavens know that it is time to shell an ear of corn for planting. I place my spirit upon Warrior Chief (or whoever is chosen) to go through the ceremony of shelling the corn.” (Warrior Chief happens to belong on the north side; the keeper of the leading bundle is a north side man and is carrying on this ceremony not only for his side but for the south side also.) He must select a man on the north side. He says, “I place my spirit upon Warrior Chief so that he will now rise and take his seat near the altar.” He rises, goes around the fireplace on the north side, and sits on the north side of the garden. The priest calls the north errand man to the altar. He comes around the fireplace by way of the south to the north side of the altar. Then the priest hands him the ear of corn, which he takes around the south side of the fireplace and gives to the corn sheller.

The sheller is now seated and the ears of corn handed him by the north errand man. The priest asks all bundle keepers to watch, for the sheller is now a holy man and he will shell the corn while all the bundle keepers watch. So all the keepers drop their robes and move forward in a squatting position, as if ready to spring. The sheller, holding the sacred ear close to his breast, begins to shell, giving a few grains to each of the keepers in turn. Each comes forward and, holding the grains to his breast, returns to his station. If a grain should be dropped, all the watching bundle keepers spring forward and strive for it. The one securing it speaks aloud the name of his bundle, saying, “This is for Morning Star; I count coup for it and carry away some of the power.” When he pronounces the name of his own bundle, it is known to the gods in the heavens, who will guard him during the year.

When all have received their grains, the sheller announces the fact to the priest, who then calls on the bundle keepers for a report. Each in turn rises and states the number of grains he received, using a fixed verbal formula. When all have so reported, the sheller takes the ear to the priest, who rises, places the grains of shelled corn in the center of the garden, fills his own pipe, goes around the fireplace to the sheller and his assistant, and gives the sheller the pipe. The sheller goes to the fireplace for fire, lights the pipe, and smokes. When he is through he puts the ashes where the Mother Corn previously was. The priest watches. When the man has passed his hand over the pipe in the customary manner, the priest knows he is through. He receives the pipe and blesses himself by passing his hands over the pipestem and over his own body. Then he goes back to his place, as do the others. He asks the priests, nos. IV and V (Figure 14), to rise and return the Mother Corn on the altar to the bundle keepers. They begin with the bundles nearest the entrance. When one takes up the ear of corn, he passes his hands over it as he does for the pipe. Then he returns it. The bundle owner receives his ear of corn, blesses himself with it, unties it and puts it and the stick back into his bundle. When everyone has received his corn again, the priest rises, puts his buffalo robe on, takes up his buffalo-hair rope, and ties it around his waist. He tucks his robe around his waist so that it will not be in his way, takes the shelled corn up from the garden, goes around the fireplace by way of the north and then by the south and, beginning at the north side, gives four grains to each priest in order. These are the grains from the altar. If there are any grains left he gives four each to the errand men. Then he comes back and gives four grains to some of the old men and warriors who are not bundle keepers. What is left then becomes his. If there are other people in the lodge who the priest thinks ought to have some of this corn, he gives it to them. This is all at the discretion of the priest. However, if the seeds run out, he must be the one to do without.

In dismissing the sheller the priest tells him that he is to be a holy man for that season, must keep aloof from games and merriment, and constantly to pray; he must never use a knife, nor cut his nails or hair but must have others wait upon him, and carry a stick and corncob with which to scratch himself. Also a special bowl and spoon must be provided for him. He is, therefore, the holy man for the season and upon his rectitude will depend the well-being of the tribe for the year.

The priest in charge then makes the regular smoke offering and the offering of corn and meat. This done, he resigns his authority by transferring the emblem of his office to the next in order for the summer season. This is the next important step in the cycle, though it occurs at this stage of the Corn Shelling Ritual.

Transfer of the Bundle Leadership

There are four bundles whose owners are consecutively installed as chief executives of the tribe, each serving approximately six months (Figure 13). The times for these changes are determined by the first appearance of certain stars. These are the two Swimming Ducks and the South Star. The former is said to appear in Nebraska about 1 February, the latter about 1 September. We have not positively identified either of these, but the latter is probably Canopus.

The change from winter to summer leadership of the head priests occurs at the time first stated and is a simple procedure. As will be seen in the ceremonies attending the corn harvest (p. 104), the bundle keeper to lead during the winter was invested with the cornstalks from the sacred hill and keeps these as emblems of his authority. Immediately after the Corn Shelling Ritual, he turns to the next keeper and hands the stalks to him with a verbal announcement, thus making him the leader for the next six months.

Murie (1914:551, 642) commented upon the north and south sides in the distribution of seats and bundles. The four leading bundles are divided equally between the two sides, but the order of leadership is from right to left as they sit in the ceremony. The significance of this will appear when we recall that each bundle is assigned to one of the four world-quarter gods (Figure 13). The seating of the priests and the fixed positions of all priests and bundles are shown in Figure 14.

For the sake of convenience we have assumed in this paper that the Yellow Star bundle priest (I) is in charge and is now transferring leadership to White Star bundle priest (II). As soon as its priest is invested with the cornstalks, he immediately takes charge and directs the ceremonial eating of the corn and meat that have been provided. This is conducted in the regular manner (pp. 61–62). The keeper of the White Star bundle, who is one of the four leading chiefs, automatically comes into office for the next six months. Beginning with the Red Star priest (IV) and passing to the left (as shown in Figure 14), a complete circuit of the world-quarters will be made in a sunrise direction. A comparison of Figures 13 and 14 will explain this curious order of seating. The suggestion is that this procedure has an astronomical basis, though it is curious that two years are taken to make the circuit instead of one.

Distribution of the Seed

The distribution of the seed corn is not a bundle ceremony and was of late introduction. So far as I can learn, it was initiated by the Ghost Dance prophetess, White Star Woman (or Old Lady Washington of the Morning Star band). This individual played a very prominent part in the first Ghost Dance and was still a person of great influence during the early 1900s. She had broken down some of the prohibitions against women taking part in bundle ceremonies and had sought to introduce them to Ghost Dance ideas.

The new ceremony of the general distribution of the seed is made a few days after the corn shelling. When the leading chief, or keeper of the leading bundle for the summer season, thinks it is time to distribute the corn seed, he has the women clear out his lodge. Then he sends for the five priests to take their places at the altar. The chiefs take their places next to the priests on each side, then the warriors, and other men in order. The chief then instructs one of the old men to go out and climb to the roof of the lodge and cry out to the people that corn seed is to be distributed.

As the women who are keepers of bundles enter the lodge, they are given seats according to the places of the bundles (Figure 14). The four leading bundles (I-IV) are now represented by women, two sitting on the north side and two on the south side. Everyone has assembled; the women have their places. Though the position of the men is not as important as that of the women in this case, yet the chiefs carry on the ceremony.

The errand men are then instructed to go to the lodge of the chief’s sister, where they have been shelling corn, and ask them to bring the seeds to the lodge. They go to the lodge of the chief’s sister, where the corn is all ready. There are five wooden bowls of corn: one bowl with white corn, one with yellow, one with red, one with black, and one with speckled. Each man takes two bowls of corn and a woman carries the fifth bowl. This corn is placed in front and to the west of the priests.

The leading priest then fills up the chief’s pipe and his own and gives his to one man on the north side to offer smoke. The man does this and returns the pipe to the priest. Then another priest fills up another pipe and gives it to a man on the south side, who goes through the smoke ritual. This priest says:

The gods in the heavens have heard your prayers. They have seen you offer the smoke. Now I have selected you two men to give these seeds to the people. You are chiefs. You represent the chief in the heavens himself and you have his name upon you. You represent his name upon the earth. For that reason, I select you to distribute this corn, that the people may have good luck in planting their seeds; that they may have good luck in watching their corn; that they may have good luck in gathering the crops; and that their women and children may be well fed that season.

The two men designated arise. The north man takes up the bowl of white corn, and the south man the bowl of yellow corn. He does not begin with the priests at the altar, but with the women who sit in front of them representing the bundles. The north side man leads and the other follows, both going around together. The first man gives a handful to each woman. After all the women who are bundle keepers receive corn, the first man with the white corn goes on the north side and the other man goes on the south side, distributing the corn to everyone. When they are through, they exchange places, the man with white corn going to the south side and the one with yellow corn to the north side; and so on until the corn is all gone. Then they take up the bowls with the black and red corn and go through the same procedure. Finally the north side man takes the speckled corn and puts half in another bowl for the south side man; and this, too, is apportioned first to all women bundle keepers and then to everyone else present. When the corn is distributed, the chiefs make speeches, the import of which is that they may be lucky that year, that their corn may mature, and that they may have plenty to eat. Then they have a feast of corn and meat. Everyone now has seeds.

It is said that in 1893 the husband of the Skull bundle keeper, a rather young man, took a notion he would shell the corn for the people and distribute it in a new way. He gathered some men, shelled the ear of corn from the bundle, and distributed it himself. The people remonstrated, but he told them he had had a vision and was going to do just as he was told. In June he and his wife started to the Wichita Mountains. When he got about 35 miles [55 km] south of Pawnee (it was very hot and dry; the dust was about 5 inches [13 cm] thick) his wagon broke down and he had to stay there for several days; but at last he got his wheels repaired and he started again. Traveling was very hard. The old woman who was keeper of the Skull bundle struck him on the back and said, “You will shell corn, will you. See what you have done!” That year it was so hot that the crops burned up. On the other hand, some of the people said that had they gone through a certain ceremony it would not have been so, for early in the year a young man had committed suicide; and every time a man commits suicide or kills somebody, if that ceremony is not performed the season will be hot and dry.²⁷

The bowls of corn are prepared by the women of the chief’s sister’s household. That is not the only seed that is planted, for they may take any other corn and plant it. This distribution opens the way for the seed to be selected. The distribution by the chief is mainly for the benefit of the poorer people, who have not had much to eat and perhaps have eaten all their seed. Hence anyone can plant such seed as he has, but he is under obligation to plant all he received in the distribution ceremony.

The Corn Planting Ceremony

The Corn Planting Ceremony of the Skull bundle was held when the willow leaves were out, but the preliminary sign was taken from the stars.²⁸ The priests noted the position of the seven stars (Pleiades). At a certain hour of the night or dawn —the exact procedure is not known—a priest sat by the fireplace and looked up through the smoke hole. If he could see the seven stars directly above, it was time for the Planting Ceremony. The Planting Ceremony is connected with a very important bundle, known as the Skull bundle (Figure 16). The Pawnee name is cahikspa·rukstiˀ ‘wonderful, or holy, person’. This name refers to the skull, here conceived as a symbol of First Man. The bundle is kept in Center Village, also the home of the Evening Star bundle.²⁹

Its primary function seems to lie in presiding over the Skiri federation of villages as exemplified in the Four Pole Ceremony (see p. 107 for description of the bundle).

During the winter buffalo hunt a woman may have a vision or dream that she is to be the one to give the Corn Planting Ritual before going into the fields. She tells her brothers about it and one of them is delegated to kill a buffalo for her so that she can prepare the meat for the ceremony. On killing a buffalo, he takes the meat to his sister’s tipi, where she places the meat upon the ground. After unloading the meat, she returns to her brother. Though the woman is married, the meat must be gotten from her side of the family and not from her husband’s family.³⁰

She takes some of the buffalo meat, cuts it up, puts it into a kettle, and cooks it. She then sends for four men who are keepers and owners of the planting ritual [i.e., the Skull bundle]. When these men are seated in the lodge, she tells them that her brother has killed a buffalo for her so she can sponsor the dance for planting corn. These men thank her. She, of course, tells her dream and then feeds meat to the men.

These four men are not the village priests of Center Village; they are the owners of the Skull bundle’s planting ritual. The leading priests of the village have nothing to do with this ceremony, but the Evening Star bundle priest must be present. The ritual is in some parts secret and known only to these men.³¹

All winter and spring these men know that this woman has pledged to sponsor the ceremony. After the ceremonial shelling of the corn, they begin their preparations. They go along the creeks and look at the willows; when the leaves appear they know it is time to plant the seeds. They also watch the moon, for the planting should be done during a new moon.

When the signs indicate that the time has arrived, a woman is instructed to clear the lodge. The woman keeper of the Skull bundle takes the bundle from the wall, carries it outside, sets up the tripod, and hangs it up. The lodge is then cleared of all bedding and furniture and swept out with bundles of hyssops. In the meantime the four men have gone to their homes. Each sends out several boys for willow sprouts. These are taken to the lodge of the Skull bundle and placed upon the ground in the entrance, some on the north side and some on the south side. The women then take the willows and place them around inside the lodge on the ground, the leaves toward the fireplace. Mats are spread on top of the layer of willows and in front of the altar. Then all the women leave the lodge and the four men return.

The men send for the Evening Star bundle priest, who is to sit with them at the altar. They also send for the woman who had the vision to prepare the parfleche of meat. She takes her seat at the north side of the altar. They ask her if everything is arranged. She says, “Yes.” Then the old men send for four other women, daughters either of chiefs, warriors, or doctors.

These women are given seats on the south side. The priest of the Skull bundle then announces that he is about to conduct a ceremony, that the women may be allowed to go into the fields to plant their corn, that they are wanted as leaders of the dance. If they accept, each will furnish a parfleche of meat and a pot of corn. Then these women are excused. The priest now instructs the woman who had the vision in the secrets of the ceremony. He anoints her with red paint and explains its significance.

In the evening the Skull bundle is brought inside and placed upon the altar. They untie it, taking out the sacred objects, and place the skull on the ground in front of the altar; which they have swept; the bow and arrows from the bundle are placed on the ground also. At the same time, the two fawnskins are placed on the south side of the bundle and the two swan necks on the north side. One of the errand men is sent out to the doctors to get five rattles, which he places on the north side of the bundle.³²

Now the descendants of the Skull bundle owners are sent for and seated on the north side. Other men are given seats about the lodge. Then the four women are called; two are assigned places on the north side and two on the south side. Other women now come in and sit behind them. The priests take up the rattles and begin to sing; but this night ceremony is only a rehearsal for the following day. As they sing, the women rise and practice dancing. At the end of the singing, all but the bundle keepers and their descendants go to their homes. The Evening Star bundle priest may leave or stay, but the woman who gives the ceremony remains. They have meat and corn, brought in by outside people, and sit up all night telling stories about their customs in olden times, how they came to keep the Skull bundle, and who are still direct descendants of the first bundle keepers. A little after midnight, the woman’s brother comes for her and takes her home. Then the men lie down around the altar. The leading priest, however, does not go to sleep, but watches for the dawn.

At the approach of dawn, the priest wakes the other priests and the two errand men. He sends the two errand men out to notify the absent members of the Skull bundle family to come into the lodge. The priest then tells them it is time to begin the ceremony. He selects four men to go to the creek to get willow sprouts. They place them in front of the altar in two piles, one on the north side and one on the south. The priest sends the two errand men to the lodge of the woman who had the vision to bring the parfleche of meat she has prepared. They place the parfleche on the south side of the fireplace. The two errand men untie the bundle and press the parfleche down so that the meat may be exposed. Then they are sent for four ropes of buffalo hair. The priest tells two men at the altar to go to the parfleche to get a strip of meat and fat from under the buffalo’s shoulder. The head priest then rises, takes a bunch of willow sprouts (which have leaves on them), the strip of meat and the fat,³³ and ties the willows and the meat together with a buffalo-hair rope. He tells the others to rise. They march around the fireplace to the northeast post. Here they pile up parfleches of meat for him to stand on. The others steady him and watch. He ties the bunch of willows to the northeast post. In a similar manner he ties a bunch to the northwest, to the southwest, and to the southeast posts. The posts are then painted with black, yellow, white, and red bands below the meat. This ceremony is something like the Four Pole Ceremony, but only the members of the Skull bundle people are allowed to be present.

All this time the skull is in front of the altar. When they finish decorating the posts, the errand man takes some coals and places them near the southwest post. The Evening Star priest places on the fire a roll of fat mixed with sweetgrass, then stands west of the fire. The errand man takes up the skull, raises it to the sky, gradually lowers it in the smoke, passing it through four times, takes the skull in his left hand, holds his right hand in the smoke, and then passes it over the skull. Next he takes the skull in his right hand, passing his hand through the smoke as before, and then gives the skull to the errand man, who returns it to the altar. All the sacred objects in the bundle are now passed through the smoke so that they may be purified. Then the priests go through the smoke. The south errand man is the last to go through it, after which he takes up the coals, returns them to the fireplace, and stamps upon the place where the coals were, removing all traces of the fire.

The Evening Star priest then tells the people to go to their homes to dress up and to get their breakfasts. The priests remain and have the errand man serve them with meat and corn. When they are through, they send for the woman providing the meat. She comes with her brother and is given a seat west of the altar. Her brother, who must be well dressed, is given a seat at the west of the lodge. They give him red paint for his face, hands, and head, and tell him to go through the village to visit all lodges where his and his sister’s relatives live. He tells them that Wonderful Being (Paruksti) needs some wood and his sister needs assistance; also that they must cook something. He really means for them to bring gifts to the lodge.

The errand men are sent to the four lodges of the leading bundles to tell the people that Wonderful Being needs hoes. At their request, the woman keeper of each bundle rises and unties a buffalo shoulder blade hoe. The errand men get these hoes, take them to the lodge, and place them at the altar, two on the south side and two on the north side. (With each of the four leading bundles is a hoe made of a buffalo scapula.)

The woman who pledged the ceremony now paints herself. The people have brought in meat and kettles of corn, which are placed on the south side of the lodge. The priest directs the brother of the woman and a young man to go through the village and call the people to the lodge. They tell the people to prepare, to dress up, and to paint. The brother of the woman who had the vision takes the lead, and they march through the village from lodge to lodge, inviting the people. In the meantime some have brought, as presents to the skull, buffalo robes and other things, which are taken in and placed between the altar and the fireplace.

The leading priest now takes up the skull and paints it red. He takes some blue paint and makes a blue streak around the forehead and down the nose. Next he takes a black silk handkerchief and ties it around the head, the knot on the forehead. Then he takes a roll of soft down feathers mixed with red paint and puts it inside the black handkerchief. Finally he sticks in a soft feather as a plume. The style of decoration is similar to the symbol of Tirawahat noted by Fletcher (1904, fig. 197).

So decorated, the skull is the likeness of Tirawahat himself. Other than a priest, only the select may decorate the skull. The priest may choose a young man who has never been on the warpath, who is kind, good, and pure, has winning ways and no enemies. He alone can approach the skull to make these marks upon it. A man who has killed an enemy or has taken a scalp must not come near it, because his hands have touched human blood. A man who is a warrior may be selected to cut up the meat to put in the kettle, but the skull is too sacred for a man with bloody hands.³⁴

The skull is set on the ground in front of the altar where everything is arranged. The people are still outside. The officiating priest fills a pipe with native tobacco and gives it to the women’s brother, who offers the smoke to the gods in the heavens and to the skull. Then the people come in.

While all this has been going on, the people in every lodge were painting, dressing, and preparing for the ceremony. Every man taking part in the ceremony must bring a present of some kind; even the women and children must bring presents. The woman who had the vision is already there. The four women assistants come in. One is seated close to her, one at the northeast, one at the northwest near the keeper of the ceremony, one at the southeast, and one at the southwest. All the women come in and are seated around the circle of the lodge. On the northwest side a few men of the Skull bundle are seated among the people.

Everybody is ready now. The woman’s brother acts for the people of the north side and another man is selected for the south side. The north man rises and gives hoes to the two women on the north side; the other man rises and gives hoes to the two on the south. The south man takes the two fawnskins and gives them to the two women on the south side. The man on the north side takes up the fawnskins and gives them to two women on the north side. Then the people come in and give to the skull presents, which they pile up between it and the fireplace.

Now they are all ready. The Skull priest rises, takes a basket which either his wife or sisters made under his direction (and which has no decorations on it and is like a dice basket), goes around the fireplace, and gives it to the woman giving the ceremony.³⁵ As the priest takes his seat, he hands gourd rattles to the other priests, reserving one for himself. Then he begins to sing. At the first song, the women stand ready to scrape the earth with their hoes, their right feet forward and hands outstretched. They sing the first four woman’s steps (p. 43) and pause. Then they sing and dance, making motions with the hoes. The woman giving the ceremony dances with the basket. Even those who have no hoes dance with the same motions. When the women with the hoes are tired, they turn the hoes over to other women, all making the same motions. The spectators crowd around the entrance. They sing six of the man’s steps (p. 43) and at the last step the two women on the south side dance forward and up to the woman with the basket, and they lay the fawnskin in it. Then the two on the north side dance up with the fawnskins. The giver of the ceremony sits down and places the basket near the altar. The singing continues until they sing about the planting. When finished, they go through another pipe ritual.

After the first two songs are sung they pause, and the girls and young women who have borrowed pipes and pouches from their grandfathers return the pipes to their grandfathers. When a man receives the pipe, he has to give something either to the girl or the people at the altar, place something at the altar or present some food. Then he will tell some of his brave deeds: how many times he has counted coup, taken scalps, etc. He narrates all of his successes and jests at the girl about her being “successful” in life. These jests are the important features, affording great merriment. They are decidedly obscene, the idea back of them being that she may quickly become a mother. Then he returns the pipe. Some men do not like to receive the pipe and the obligations it incurs, since they cannot afford to give the presents. When the songs about placing the seeds into the ground have been sung, they are through, and the women gather up the things and go out.

In the dancing, a few men use bows and arrows. When the women step out with their right feet and right hands extended, the men step out with bows and arrows, aiming at something as if to shoot. During the dance these men move back and forth among the dancers; and wherever they see a woman nearly exhausted, they go up to her and rub up against her as would a buffalo bull.

When the dance is over, the officiating priest asks if everything is all right. They look at the ground where they have been dancing and see rolls of shedded buffalo hair scattered over the ground, and they know everything is all right; they are not only going to be successful in buffalo hunts, but there is going to be plenty of corn. This success is assured because there are rolls of buffalo hair scattered over the lodge. They are thankful. Now they are excused. Everyone who has no right in the ceremony—all the visitors and all the women, except the one giving the ceremony—leaves the lodge. When they are through, the shoulder blade hoes are laid upon the altar again. Then the priests divide up the presents, including the meat and the corn.

Everybody except the four priests goes home at night. Early in the morning the priests take down the willows on the posts and ask the brother of the woman to come into the lodge. These willows are taken west of the lodge to the creek and set in a nice place where the water is smooth and not swift. They are placed in the same position as in the lodge, under the water out of sight. Nobody else knows anything about this. Then they go back to the lodge, take the handkerchief and down feather from the skull, and place them in the bundle with the swan- and fawnskins. They place the skull on top of the bundle, but leave the markings on it for time to erase.

When they return the hoes to the different leading bundles, they send some of the meat along with them as payment for their use.

The woman who had the vision goes home. They tell her not to wash off the paint but to let it wear off. It is night when the ceremony is over, but before daylight of the next day, the women are out at work, beginning to clear the fields.

For each of the following eleven songs, the first stanza is sung four times to the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ ‘earth’, tuha·ruˀ ‘trees and shrubbery’, caha·ruˀ ‘waters’, and kaki·ˀuˀ ‘seeds’. The second stanza is sung six times to the following man’s steps: asu·ruˀ ‘moccasins’, kstaripi·ruˀ ‘moccasin string’, rawitat ‘robe’, wa·rukstiˀ ‘wonderful’, atiraˀ ‘Mother (Corn)’, and kiriki ‘bluebird’.

First Song

First Stanza

Second Song

As the Evening Star appears, sparkling and wavering, it is the power that animates the earth, where it generates in darkness. Thus, the dancers try to flit about like the sparkling of the stars.

First Stanza

Third Song

The women are now conceived of as hoeing the mounds in the fields, and move their hoes as described (p. 79). The dirt that is moved by these implements is thought of as rolling along.

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Fourth Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Fifth Song

First Stanza

Sixth Song

First Stanza

Seventh Song

First Stanza

Eighth Song

First Stanza

Ninth Song

First Stanza

Tenth Song

First Stanza

Eleventh Song

First Stanza

In dancing, the leading woman carries the basket and moves about in a waving or twinkling manner (p. 79); the idea seems to be that she is causing the basket to reach out to the people.

Work in the Fields

For a time, beginning with 1872, the Government had a large tract of land plowed up for the use of the Pawnee. The chiefs divided the fields among the people according to their social standing and the size of the family. Where there were only one or two in a family, only a small piece of ground was assigned. The chiefs received their allotments first, then the priests, the doctors, warriors, soldiers, and lastly, the common people. The latter were given the most distant fields, where they were in more danger from hostile tribes. Before the whites came, there were no large fields all in one place; each family went to a separate ravine or creek bottom. There men and women together cleared a field, dug up the roots, and planted their crops. The whites called these “squaw patches,” because after the place was cleared, the women looked after the crops. The men had nothing more to do with it, except to protect the women at work from hostile Indians. When the soil wore out, a new field was made.

After the Skull Bundle Ritual, early in the morning the men and women went into the field where they gathered and burned the weeds. However, before they set fire to the weeds, each family took a little piece of buffalo heart and tongue, of their own killing, made a little fire, and placed this dried meat and fat on the fire, so that if one were to stand alongside the hill looking down where they were working, one would see many small columns of smoke rising, one for each field or family plot. Then the women took up their shoulder blade hoes and began to scrape and dig the ground, to remove the roots and other sprouts. They had no way of plowing, but dug up the earth to the depth of about two inches. The loose earth was scraped up and freed of roots and then thrown back upon the ground. After the field was cleared, they planted.

The seed corn was soaked in wooden bowls. Some medicine was placed in the water to make the corn sprout quickly. Placing the seed in a mound was a very important matter. The planting was early in the morning before daylight; four grains were placed in each mound. First a circular hole was made, quite like a miniature fireplace in the ceremonial lodge. All the loose dirt was carefully scraped out, then a layer of fine earth sifted over the bottom; after this the grains were deposited carefully in the form of a square, according to the four directions. The earth was then heaped over all, forming the mound. These were not in regular rows, but just here and there, each mound about the distance of a man’s step. They just made a mound wherever there seemed to be a good place for planting. These old fields were a pleasing sight, scrupulously free from weeds and decked with even, rounded mounds, topped with stalks of waving corn. Beans were planted in the mounds with the corn, but squashes were planted between the mounds.

The fields were fenced with willows tied together by sinew ropes. During the fall and winter hunts, when many buffalo were killed, the women collected a lot of sinew, which during the winter they twisted into ropes about half an inch [1.25 cm] in diameter. At about planting time, they set up willow poles around the field to serve as the fence posts. To these they tied horizontal poles, sometimes two and sometimes three. The sinew rope was continuous, stretching from post to post, between or alongside the cross pieces, making a very strong fence. When the fields were close together, there was only one fence around the outside. After the crop was harvested, these sinew ropes, which were now dry and hard, were taken down and used in tanning buffalo robes. Such a fence was, however, small protection, since birds and small animals were likely to destroy the entire crop if the fields were not continuously watched. Hence, one of the duties of the women was to keep close watch over the growing crop.

Immediately after the ceremonial gathering of the plant (p. 76), cultivation of the corn began. The women went to the field, pulled up all the weeds and threw them over the fence. Then they scraped up the dirt with their hoes, throwing it onto the mounds around the growing plants. The fields were gone over in this manner two or three times before the summer hunt, which however, was after the crop was “laid by,” as our farmers say.³⁷ So much dirt was heaped up around the cornstalks that they seemed to be growing out of small earthlodges. The corn mound was regarded, however, as symbolic of a woman’s breast, and the planters were always particularly careful not to have an odd number of them in the field.

Young Corn Plant Ritual

The seed from the sacred ears of corn kept in the bundles was planted in particular mounds. The growth of this corn was carefully watched; and when the stalks reached a height of about two inches [5 cm] and there were two well-developed blades, the priests considered it time to hold a special ceremony. In some respects, this is the most important unit of the annual ceremonial cycle.

When the time has arrived, the priest of the leading bundle then in charge calls in the other four priests. The bundle is taken down and the lodge prepared for a ceremony. The errand men are sent out to notify the people, who are given seats in the lodge according to their stations. Then the priest mixes some buffalo fat with red paint and rolls it into two balls, one of which he passes down the north side and the other down the south side of the assembly. The men paint themselves with the balls as they pass, and when they reach the errand men they are returned to the priest. Some time during the year, a man who has led a good life and performed many worthy deeds may make a pledge that he will furnish the meat for this ceremony. During the winter hunt he so notifies the proper priest. The special function of this man is to conduct the priests safely to the mounds of sacred corn.

The priest now sends for this man; and when he arrives, the priest hands him a buffalo-hair rope, which the man ties around his waist. The priest then paints him red and hands him the sacred pipe filled with native tobacco. The four assisting priests also tie buffalo-hair ropes around their waists. The head priest then directs the man with the pipe to kneel before him and as he does so, secretly puts something into his hand, whispering directions to him about what to do when he reaches the field. The pipe bearer and the four priests are then directed to stand on the north side of the fireplace in their proper order. The south errand man is directed to take a firebrand from the fire. The head priest, who is still seated at the altar, takes up his rattle and begins to sing the first song, which concerns going for the plant. As he sings, the procession moves out of the lodge toward the field. The four priests, marching, take up the song as they fall in behind the man with the pipe, and the errand man with the firebrand brings up the rear. On the journey they sing all 26 of the woman’s steps and then all 30 of the man’s steps, as if it were a long journey. When they get to the field planted by the keeper of the leading bundle, they pause; if there are still some of the steps to be sung, they must complete them.

First Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Second Song

As they stand in the field; the pipe bearer makes a circuit of the area and goes to the sacred hill to see if the corn plant is sufficiently grown. If he finds it unsatisfactory he proceeds to other mounds until he finds one of the sacred plants that is adequately developed. When he has found one, he returns and leads the procession to the mound. They stand facing east with the mound in front of them. The pipe bearer takes his place at the head of the line and they sing, “Mother stands here; Mother on the earth stands here.” They sing this song to the usual ten steps (4 woman’s, 6 man’s; see pp. 43, 46); then they sit down upon the ground.

First Stanza

The pipe man arises to make the regular smoke offering and passes around the south side of the hill, stopping at the east (Figure 10). Then the errand man rises with his firebrand and goes around in the same way. When he reaches the pipe bearer, he lights the pipe for him. The pipe man rises, faces east, gives one whiff of smoke to the northeast (No. 1), then faces southeast (No. 2) and gives a whiff of smoke there. He comes to the hill and gives one whiff of smoke from the southeast toward the northeast (No. 3), one from the northeast toward the northwest (No. 4), walks around to the northwest and gives another whiff toward the southwest (No. 5), proceeds to a point directly west of the hill where another whiff is given to the southeast (No. 6); then goes around and gives one whiff at the southeast for Mother Earth (No. 7). Again he goes around the hill by way of the north side and stands on the west side, facing east. Here he gives one whiff to Tirawahat (No. 8) in the heavens and one towards the east to the Morning Star (No. 9); he turns to the west and gives one to the Evening Star (No. 10), then faces east again and gives one to the Big Black Meteoric Star (No. 11). He gives three puffs of smoke to the north to Breath (No. 12), to Wind of Fortune (No. 13), and to Pahukatawa (No. 14). Finally he gives one whiff toward the southeast for the sun (No. 15) and one toward the southwest for the moon (No. 16).³⁸ He then empties the ashes at the base of the corn-hill, takes the pipe in his left hand, passes his hands back and forth along the stem, and clasping it to his breast, prays. Then he turns around and hands the pipe to the ranking priest.

The pipe bearer now proceeds to do as he was instructed by the head priest before he left the lodge (p. 84). Four pieces of buffalo fat, taken from the heart and tongue of a consecrated buffalo, two pieces from each organ, were given him by the head priest. Each piece of buffalo fat had native tobacco inside of it. As stated before, this procedure was known only to the priest and himself. The pipe bearer goes to his former station northeast of the hill, sits down there, and with his fingers digs a small hole in the side of the hill. In it he places a piece of the tongue fat. Before placing it, he scrapes the tobacco from the inside and spreads the fat over it. When properly arranged, he covers it with earth. Now he moves to the northwest of the hill where he deposits a piece of the heart fat, then a piece of tongue fat to the southwest of the hill, and lastly a piece of heart fat to the southeast of the hill. Then he directs the four priests to sit facing the points where he buried the fat, while he himself stands west of the hill. He points out to them the plant he has selected, which they are to dig out with their fingers. In this they must exercise great care so as not to disturb the other stalks in the sacred hill, nor to mutilate in any way the one they are to take. The roots must not be broken, but removed entire. Thus, gradually and carefully, they work it out. The plant is the covering or wrapping spoken of in the songs (rawitat), the roots are the strings (kstaripi·ruˀ), and the seed hanging there is the moccasin (asu·ruˀ), or covering, for the power.

The leader takes the plant in his hand and stands facing east; the man carrying the pipe tucks it vertically under his buffalo robe, as a woman packs a child on her back. They have some buffalo wool in which the plant is wrapped. They form a line as before and return to the lodge, singing the following song to the usual ten steps.

Third Song

First Stanza

If they have not reached the lodge by the time that all 10 stanzas (4 woman’s steps, 6 man’s steps) have been sung, they sing the fourth song (“Mother now journeys upon the earth”) for as many stanzas as may be necessary.

Fourth Song

First Stanza

All this time the priest in the lodge has been conducting the singing. The villagers keep a sharp lookout for the priests with the corn plant, and as the procession approaches word is carried to the lodge. The priest in the lodge holds out his left hand and sings the following:

Fifth Song

First Stanza

The procession enters, circles the fire four times, or until the steps are all sung,³⁹ and the plant is placed in the priest’s hand. He removes the wrapping of buffalo wool, takes out the plant, and places it in front of the altar on the sacred circular place upon the bare earth. Then he fills his own pipe and smokes to the plant.

While the men were out after the corn plant, the leading priest sent the other errand men to the woods to get three or four straight dogwood sticks. These were now lying upon the altar. The leading priest announces, “We are to put new life into Mother Corn. We must first proceed to make the stick on which Mother shall be tied.” The leading priest directs the two priests on his right to select one of the sticks for this purpose. They then select one and lay it upon the altar.

The errand man is directed to place a mat and cushion on the south side of the lodge. Then the priest announces that a man must be selected to make Mother and that he picks out such and such a man because he is a great warrior, a man of good character, and above all a good arrow-maker. As he makes this announcement, he fills his own small pipe and directs the errand man to present it to the arrow-maker. The errand man passes down and pauses before his seat, holding out the pipe. The arrow-maker sits for a time as if rapt in thought and then reaches for the pipe. At this the whole assemblage cries out, “Rawa.”

One of the assistant priests then takes up a coal of fire and lights the pipe, and all sit in perfect silence as he smokes. When the pipe has been emptied the assistant priest returns it to the leading priest and goes to the arrow-maker, takes him by the left arm and, circling the fire once, seats him upon the mat. Then the priest calls upon the errand man, who places before him the dogwood stick, a new knife, and an elkhorn arrow-straightener, a stone smoother, some sinew, and different paints. Then they sing the song about the different colored straighteners. They speak as if there were four of these—one black, one red, one yellow, and one white—but there is only one implement present.

At the end of these songs the errand man picks up the objects before him and takes them to the arrow-maker. The priest addresses the arrow-maker, directing him to take up the stick, put it in the hole of the straightener, and pass it completely through four times, and then lay it down. After that the arrow-maker is directed to take up the stick and straighten it as they sing to the usual ten (4 woman’s, 6 man’s) steps of the two stanzas.

Sixth Song

First Stanza

Next he is told to take up the knife and cut away the rough knots as they sing:

Seventh Song

First Stanza

When this task is completed, the arrow-maker takes up the straightener again and, holding the piece of horn at a sharp angle, he rasps the stick against the edges of the hole, scraping the surface smooth. This makes a squeaking noise. To this they sing:

Eighth Song

First Stanza

Next the arrow-maker takes up the smoothing stones and rubs the shaft as they sing additional songs. At the conclusion the arrow-maker says, “Priest, I have finished.” Then the priest directs him to hold the stick up before him as they sing:

Ninth Song

First Stanza

Then the arrow-maker blesses himself with the stick, as is done with the pipe in the smoke offering. The errand man approaches, taking the stick and repeating the procedure. It then passes to the priest, who fondles it as if it were an infant, while they sing:

Tenth Song

First Stanza

At the close of these procedures, the arrow-maker is directed to mark the stick. So he cuts a small notch about one inch [2.5 cm] from the top. With the tool used to make arrow grooves, he makes a straight line down through the middle of the stick. Then the stick is laid upon the altar. The transverse notch stands for the circular place in the floor of the lodge (p. 44) and the long groove is the throat, or road. Yet, the form is spoken of as the face or mouth, the reason for which will appear from the songs.⁴¹

A mat is placed on the south side of the lodge and upon it a cushion. The priest announces, “We have come to a part of the ritual which is very difficult, for we now have to call upon a woman to help us out.”⁴² The pipe bearer who brought the plant is instructed to go through the village and call upon all the young women who are nursing children. The priest says, “I know that most of our women are afraid to do what is required, but we are here doing something which the gods in the heavens command us to do, and we will trust in them to protect the woman who assists us and to watch over her children.” He instructs the pipe bearer to invite every woman he meets and to persist until someone consents.

It seems that in olden times one woman who performed this service lost the child she had at the time and subsequently every child she had, died. For that reason the women were afraid; but there were times when women who consented raised their children, and after that had other children who grew up to be successful men and women.

So the man goes through the village wearing his buffalo robe with the hair inside and the buffalo-hair rope around his waist. As he goes along, he sees women outside playing games. They know what he wants. According to the custom, when the women were outside the lodge they could not be asked. So he goes from one lodge to another until he finds a young woman who has a young child. If she says, “No, I cannot do that,” he continues until one consents.

The woman enters the ceremonial lodge and gives her child to someone else. She is seated on the cushion, facing west. The priests and old men are thankful to have her come. They talk to her and pray that she and her child will live long. They place before her a wooden bowl of corn. Four times she dips and eats a little corn with a buffalo horn spoon, then returns the spoon to the bowl. The head priest then says, “We want you to give us some of your milk. You are now to expose your breasts to the gods in the heavens.” They tell her to take off her clothing to her waist. The priests take up their rattles and sing the first stanza of the eleventh song. The woman is told to lean back so that she will expose her breast to the sky. They begin to sing the song about her taking hold of the breast (2nd stanza). When they get to the part of the song that refers to pressing milk from it, a man with a shell sits before her and presses into the shell two drops of milk from the right breast and two from the left. He repeats this with another shell (3rd to 5th stanzas). He places the milk at the altar and she puts on her clothes. Then they pass her the wooden bowl with the corn; she may eat as much as she likes, taking the remainder home. As she rises with the bowl, the errand man is instructed to follow her with an armful of dried meat. When they reach the woman’s home, he hands the meat to her mother or grandmother and returns with the empty bowl.

Eleventh Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Fifth Stanza

As the woman leaves the lodge, the shells containing mother’s milk are set before the arrow-maker while the priests sing songs about the buried paints and take up the rattles.

Twelfth Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The first stanza is sung six times, substituting the following words for hura·ruˀ ‘earth’: ra·wisuˀ ‘paint,’ caˀuktuˀ ‘soot’, paha·tuˀ ‘red’, rahkata ‘yellow’, and ta·ka·ruˀ ‘white’. The second stanza is sung five times, substituting the following words for ra·wisuˀ ‘paint’: caˀuktuˀ ‘soot’, paha·tuˀ ‘red’, rahkata ‘yellow’, and ta·ka·ruˀ ‘white’.

Near the altar are a small wooden bowl and a clam shell. In this shell some white clay is mixed with water; with it they paint the stick, making it perfectly white. Then they wash out the shell and mix some red paint in it, and with a little marking stick, paint the notch, and by other lines, outline a human face. Then the groove down the stick is painted red. Next the arrow-maker takes up the milk and with a wisp of buffalo wool rubs it over the plant and the entire surface of the stick, being careful not to get any of it into the grooves just painted red. As this proceeds they sing the usual ten steps (p.46).

Thirteenth Song

Then the arrow-maker ties the plant to the stick with sinew, placing it carefully just below the notch or face, and they sing to the usual ten steps (p.46).

Fourteenth Song

The stick is then passed around to all. They speak of it as a voice, the idea being that there is now life in it. When it again reaches the priest, he holds it up and blows his breath upon it, that the spirit of the people may pass into it. As in the steps of the Creation Ritual, the idea is that a human being is being created and that it is wa·rukstiˀ. Then the stick is passed about once again for all to blow their breath upon it.

When the stick is returned to the priest, he places it on the bundle. One of the assisting priests is sent out through the village to announce that the leading bundle priest lacks a covering for Mother. The people know that what is required is a new, spotless, unused young cowskin in the hair (i.e., not scraped). As the crying priest goes about, some man may remember that he has such a robe—may in fact have made a pledge to furnish it and provided himself with it. So he takes it by the head piece and, trailing it behind him, walks through the village. This is so that all may see that he is on the way and that no one else can have the right to provide the skin. As he nears the lodge, he throws the robe over his shoulder and enters, placing the robe upon the altar. He is then given a seat.

Again the crying priest goes out into the village, this time calling for the “moccasins and strings” for Mother. He also publicly announces who has just given the robe and adds various laudatory remarks. By “moccasins” is meant the covering for the bundle, for as has been previously stated (p. 46), the term has a symbolic meaning, i.e., something into which a germ of life can be thrust. For this bundle wrapping, a new tanned or scraped cowhide is needed. By “strings” is meant a buffalo-hair rope such as is found on bundles. Each time the ceremony is performed, it is expected that someone will provide these new wrappings. If no one does, the old ones would be returned, but when replaced they are given to an old man. The giver of the moccasins and string also drags the tanned hide along the ground and carries the rope to the altar.

When all is in place, the pledger of the ceremony is directed to make a smoke offering, after which sweetgrass is burned and all the objects purified. Then the bundle contents are wrapped in the tanned skin cover and laced with the rope. The stick bearing the corn plant is laid upon the top, but this time the sacred ear of corn is put on the head piece of the robe, and the latter rolled about it, allowing the tip of the corn to show. This is also tied and placed on top of the bundle.

The idea here is that Mother Corn may watch over the people during the growing season and that she may be readily approached to make offerings. If desired, she in her robe may be placed outside by the keeper during the day on a staff, that she may see better.

When the bundles have been made up, the leading priest says, “Now we are done; Mother is clothed and covered.” Then the other priests take charge, make the meat offering, and serve the food.

The stick bearing the corn plant remains on the bundle until the autumn ceremony of Changing Mother Corn (p. 104), when the part bearing the plant is cut off and placed under water, but the remaining portion is made into a pipe stoker for the bundle pipe.

The man giving the robe is addressed by the priest and reminded of his obligation. It will be recalled that the man giving the robe in the Corn Shelling Ceremony thereby became a holy man for the season (p. 74). He must do continual penance in order that the crops may be good. Now in just the same way, the giver of this robe becomes the guardian of the hunt for the season. From this time on, until Mother Corn is changed, he must remain in a state of nature, not washing, trimming his nails, etc. Neither must he scratch his head with his hand. He must do no work, but spend his time in eating and smoking. During the whole time, he is under the care of one of the priests, who sits with him, talks with him, and takes him out-of-doors when necessary. At no time must this holy man sing. He is responsible for the good fortune and well-being of the people; if they have a good season, he will thereafter be considered a holy man. If the buffalo fail, it is because he is unworthy or has violated some of the regulations.

Summer Ceremonies

The Chiefs’ Council

The formal meeting of the chiefs takes place about this time of the year in the lodge of a member. No priests attend—only chiefs or bundle keepers. The Skull bundle is brought in and placed on the south side of the door. There is no altar or ceremonial object and no secret ceremony; yet only chiefs may enter.

Each chief brings his pipe and tobacco pouch. As he enters, he goes to the Skull bundle and has his face painted precisely like the skull; however, he may choose different colors, if he wishes. This design is the mark of a chief. A soft down feather is taken from the bundle and placed in his scalplock. In later years a black cloth was twined about the head like a turban.

The man furnishing the meat for the ceremony has a seat on the north side of the door. After being decorated, each chief takes his seat. (The seating arrangement is the same as that of the bundles in the Four Pole Ceremony, Figure 14.) The chief then fills his pipe and takes it to the one giving the meat; the latter takes it and smokes. The meat giver must empty each pipe in turn. This smoking is not like that in the usual offering; rather each whiff is blown to the ground, never upward. There is no meat offering, but if one wishes to eat he takes a portion of the meat without ceremony.

If a chief died during the year, his heir is now acknowledged and formally installed. At the proper time, a messenger is sent to fetch him. The candidate pauses outside until he is invited to enter. Then he is taken to the bundle where he is decorated in the regular manner. Next he is conducted around the fireplace four times and led to his seat. It is then explained to him that this is to be his seat. The leading chief now delivers a lecture or charge, laying upon the newly installed the injunctions and obligations of the office and also presenting the ideals of the society.⁴³

In addition to the seats of chiefs, there are two other hereditary offices, viz., those of the errand men. They are filled by the chiefs in the same way. Should there at any time be no direct heir for any of the seats, the chiefs elect the successor. Since the errand men serve at every bundle ritual of the tribe, the office is one of great importance.

In all these procedures of the chiefs there are no songs or ritualistic performances, such being the duties of the priests. The feature of their proceedings deserving special note is the manner of passing the pipe: With them, it always moves from right to left, while other people pass it from left to right.

In conclusion, mention should be made of the occasional recitation of the special creation ritual of the Four Pole Ceremony (pp. 107–111), known only to the chiefs (Dorsey and Murie, 1907:247). If when the chiefs are in session an outsider should send in an otterskin, it is understood that the ceremony must be performed immediately. Accordingly, the errand men send out word to the warrior assistants or police (ra·hikucuˀ), who order everyone into his lodge, order that all the horses be driven in, that everyone take up all the game sticks and see that quiet and decorum reign. In the meantime, the chief of the Skull bundle secures a long pole and, first tying a shell disk to the otter’s nose, fastens the whole to the top of the pole. Then he goes outside and, holding the pole aloft, walks directly east until clear of the village, then turns and circles it sunwise as he recites the ritual aloud. This ritual is not known to us.

Though in this meeting the chiefs may work out the schedule for the year and agree upon the dates for the hunt to begin, that is usually done later, at an informal gathering in the lodge of the leading bundle chief in charge at the time. They make this lodge their headquarters and call in the leaders of the society chosen to act as soldiers, who also make the lodge their office.

All Bundles Opened to View the Country

Soon after the chiefs have performed their rites, the priest of the leading bundle for the summer season calls the chiefs, braves, and bundle keepers together. It is now time for the ceremony with the stones from the Fish Hawk (cti·sarikusuˀ) village bundle. (This bundle has been lost and with it the stones.) All the bundles are brought in and placed around in the regulation order (Figure 14). Each person brings a small quantity of dry meat to the leading bundle to assure a favorable season. The priest explains that all are called so each may request the good will of the gods, which is the main rationale of the ceremony. He also reminds them that the spring ceremonies have drawn to a close and that the time for the great buffalo hunt is near, so it behooves them to give strict attention and to follow the steps of the ritual faithfully. With this he hands the gourd rattles to the priests and announces the 78 songs that follow.

This is in the evening and the plan is to sing until dawn with, of course, frequent rest intervals. The songs are projected like those in the Creation Ritual, where Wonderful Being goes out to view the newly created earth. In general outline, the song story is that a crier goes among the lodges, to call for young men to get their bows and arrows and to assemble at the chiefs’ lodge, for they are about to go out scouting over the country. The young men offering their services bring presents and place them by the altar. As each places his gift, he is directed to a seat behind his village bundle and his chief (Figure 14). Next they sing of the selection and instruction of the four scouts to be sent out. With great detail the song describes the scouts’ journey to the tops of the distant hills; how they look over and see buffalo everywhere; how they make the signals to the camp and return. At last they make their report and are dismissed.

As dawn approaches the singing ceases and the priest selects four men to act as the real scouts. He sends to the keeper of the Fish Hawk (cti·sarikusuˀ) village bundle for the four divining pebbles. (These were lost long ago, but are described as smooth hard water-worn stones.) They are placed upon the altar. Each is wrapped about with a withe by which they are held. The scouts are called to the altar before which they sit in a row, and two distinguished warriors are then called to deliver the stones to the scouts. Before each takes up a stone, he must recount an occasion on which he acted as scout for the buffalo and on which he found them in great numbers.

Having received their stones, the scouts rise, go outside to the little mound east of the lodge, where the dirt from the fireplace is heaped, and sit down at the four stations. The first then places his stone upon the mound. After a pause he rises, holds it aloft, and going upward, moves it about in a circle, then lowers it again to the mound. He then asks all of them to look intently at the stone and to formulate their hopes and wishes. When he has finished, each in turn repeats the same ceremony. Then all rise, return to the lodge, and place the stones again upon the altar, where the priest says, “Tell us your experiences.”

The first scout begins a long narrative similar to the substance of the following 78 songs, recounting what he hopes to see as a successful buffalo scout. Then he speaks of going by cornfields loaded with crops, etc. In fact, he follows the whole year through the predictions of the greatest good fortune, all of which he professes to have seen by looking into the future through the power of the stones. Each of the other three scouts takes his turn, one seeking to speak more extravagantly than the other.

At each positive statement, the men in the lodge shout their pleasure, as if in anticipation of the joys to come. However, all seem to be aware of the fictitious character of the prophecies and are not deceived; nevertheless, they join in acting out the affair as if it were real. The idea is that the gods may be moved to take notice and to feel kindly toward the people.

This closes the ceremony, except for the usual routine, in which the stones are sent back to their bundle, the smoke offering is made, all the sacred objects are smudged with sweetgrass, the meat offering made, and the food served. The bundles, however, are not wrapped, for another ceremony is to follow.

First Song

Second Song

Third Song

Fourth Song

Fifth Song

All of the subsequent songs (6-78) have the same structural form as the preceding five, i.e., four lines of the form A, A, B, B. In all of these songs only the A lines change; the B lines are always the same as in the fourth song, i.e., “Hark, the mysterious sound of the earth.” Hence in the following songs only the A line is given.

6.    wirihkutirattariwica
When they arrive with bows and arrows.

7.   wirihkurahu·ka
When they enter.

8.   wirihkurahka·wa [a]
When they go about inside.

9.   wirihkurahka. wicpa [a]
When they have arrived inside (i.e., completed their round).

10.   wirahkura·riru ·wara
When they sit down (in their places).

11.   wirahku·racikstaˀi.tuˀ
When they are glad in spirit.

12.   wirahkuraru·cawa [a]
When they arise.

13.   wirahkurahka·wara
When they go about inside.

14.   wirahkura·rawacitika
When they go outside.

15.   wirahkuˀ u. kahkawa·ˀ u·ri·rika
When they stand outside.

16.   wirahkura·raspa·tasik [a ri]
When they start (to walk) off.

17.   wirahku·cahkawu
When they go through the village.

18.   wirahkura·ricahkawa·wara
When they go about the village.

19.   wirahku·cahkawicpara
When they complete their journey through the village.

20.   wirahkucpatpu
When they pass through the village.

21.   wirahkuku·hahkawu
When they go into the bottomlands.

22.   wirahkuku·hahkawa·wara
When they walk about in the bottomlands.

23.   wirahkuku·hahkawicpara
When they complete their journey in the bottomlands.

24.   wirahkuwituhkakuku
When they come to the ridge.

25.   wirahkuwituhkawara
When they walk about on the ridge.

26.   wirahkuwituhkawicpara
When they complete their journey on the ridge.

27.   wirahku[h]u·ka·tu·kuku
When they get to the river bank.

28.   wirahku[h]u·ka·tawa. riki
When they stand upon the bank.

29.   wirahku[h]u·ka·tawicpara
When they complete their journey on the bank.

30.   wirahku[h]u·kuku
When they go into the water.

31.   wirahkura·rawara
When they walk through the water.

32.   wirahkura·rawicpara
When they complete their wading in the water.

33.   wirahkura·ru·kata·ta
When they cross the water.

34.   wirahkura·ru·katawara
When they are across the water.

35.   wirahkura·ru·katawicpara
When they complete their crossing of the water.

36.   wirahkuwituhkawa
When they walk on the ridge.

37.   wirahkuwituhkawara
When they walk about on the ridge.

38.   wirahkuwituhkawicpara
When they complete their walking about on the ridge.

39.   wirahkatawuˀ
When they climb up.

40.   wirarahkatawara
When they climb about.

41.   wirarahkatawicpara
When they finish their climbing.

42.   wirahkitawa·rit
When they stand on top (of the hill).

43.   wirahkitawa·wa·rit
When they stand here and there on top (of the hill).

44.   wirahkitawicpa
When they complete their standing on top.

45.   witirari·watpa
Now they look about.

46.   witi·ha·ˀi·rit
Now they see something.

47.   wisitiru·karu·waˀ
Now they toss the blanket up.⁴⁴

48.   witiracikstaˀ i·ˀit
Now they are glad in spirit.

49.   witatawira·wa·huˀ
Now they are coming down.

50.   witaˀuttatakaˀi·sa·huˀ
Now he is coming to the bottom.

51.   witaˀuttataka·waˀ
Now they are getting to the bottom.

52.   witaˀuttatakawicpaˀ
Now they arrive at the bottom.

53.   wita·wituhka·huˀ
Now he is coming on the ridge.

54.   witaku·hahka·huˀ
Now he is coming over the tableland.

55.   witahu·ka·taˀi·sa·huˀ
Now he is coming to the bank.

56.    witahu·ka·tawica·huˀ
Now he is completing his coming to the bank.

57.   witaku·hahkaˀi·sa. huˀ
Now he comes onto the bottomland.

58.   witacihtaˀi·sa·huˀ
Now he comes to the outskirts of the village.

59.   wita·cahkaˀa·huˀ
Now he comes through the village.

60.   witati·rahpirakaˀi·sa·hu ˀ
Now he circles the lodge.

61.   witaˀu·kahkaˀi·sa·huˀ
Now he arrives outside the lodge.

62.   witahu·ka·huˀ
Now he comes in.

63.   witarahka. wa ˀ
Now they go about inside.

64.   witarahkawicpa
Now they complete their going about.

65.   witira·riru· wa
Now they take their seats.

66.   witirahkawarit
Now he fills the pipe.

67.   witahattu·ca ˀ
Now he raises the pipe.

68.   witiha·ku
Now he gives the pipe to him (the scout).

69.   witihu·kitawu
Now he puts it upon it.⁴⁵

70.   witirari·ruˀ
Now he lights it.

71.   witaha·kawa·taˀ
Now he raises it to his mouth.

72.   witara·wiskaˀ
Now the smoke comes out.

73.   witira·wisa
Now he smokes.

74.   witikawatattit
Now he empties it (of ashes).

75.   witura·ˀit
Now he tells (the news).

76.   witi·racikstaˀ i·ˀit
Now they are glad in spirit.

77.   witiwattit    kurahus
Now he announces it the old man.

78.   witihkawu·tit    taraha    rakukari ˀ u
Now they kill them buffalo many.

Great Washing Ceremony

We now come to a very peculiar ceremony, the ritual for which belongs to the Big Black Meteoric Star bundle. Consequently, the leading bundle in charge now must give way to this bundle. Though the Big Black Meteoric Star bundle is one of the four leading ones, it can never lead in summer (p. 72), so a change in sequence is always necessary. This bundle is brought to the altar and its priest takes charge.

The Big Black Meteoric Star bundle has in it two ears of corn, four owl skins, an otter collar, a hawk, some reeds, paints, shells, native tobacco, one or two scalps, some buffalo meat and fat, and a few other things. There should be a meteorite also, but instead there is a disk made of pounded brass in which are two holes for the buckskin string. During the spring Thunder Ceremony, they tie the disk to the top of a little cedar pole about 4 feet [1.2 m] high and place it outside of the lodge entrance, which faces east.

A woman who formerly cared for the bundle told that one of its keepers, many years before they knew of white people, went west one time. Finally he came to a mountainous country. He climbed up a high peak and at the top he found a pipe and near it was this metal object. After he found these things he returned home to tell the people about them. That night he had a dream telling him to put these things in the bundle and how to use them in the ceremony.

On the outside of the bundle hangs the scalp of a buffalo, with the nose and eyes intact, but without horns. It was cut around the neck, the top taken off, and was split under the chin. This was then made into a bag. In this bag was kept a chart of the heavens⁴⁶ (Figure 15). Formerly with the chart were two stones, the significance of which is not known; somebody must have taken them out for they are not in the bundle now. (The bundle is in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago.)

The native name for this ceremony is kirihciskucuˀ. ‘Washing off great’ seems to be the literal rendering of the phrase, but kiri refers to the thunders, the belief here being that the sound of many feet running to the water reminds one of thunder. Curiously enough, the word for sweathouse is kirihcisuˀ (washing off).⁴⁷

FIGURE 15.—Star chart kept with the Big black Meteoric Star bundle: a, star chart of buckskin; b, schematic of a (identifications provided by the author: 1 = Big Black Meteoric Star bundle; 2 = Big Stretcher (Big Dipper); 3 = Black Star bundle; 4 = Bow; 5 = Chiefs (or Camp Circle); 6 = Dawn; 7 = Deer stars; 8 = Duck stars; 9 = Evening Star bundle; 10 = Golden sunset; 11 = Little Stretcher (Little Dipper); 12 = Milky Way; 13 = Moon; 14 = Morning Star bundles; 15 = Morning Star’s Brother; 16 = North Star bundle; 17 = Real Star bundle; 18 = Seven Stars (Pleiades); 19 = Seven Stars (Pleiades, during winter); 20 = Snake; 21 = White Star bundle; 22 = Wolf Got Fooled bundle).

The principal feature of the ceremony is a footrace from the lodge to the bank of the stream. As participants in this, young and able-bodied men, practically nude, repair to the lodge and take seats behind their chiefs and bundles. When all are assembled, the priest selects a chief distinguished for his good qualities to act as bearer of the bundle pipe. Next he selects a brave known to be a good runner to act as bearer of the buffalo scalp containing the star chart. He takes the bag in his hand and sits by the door.

The priest then designates a chief’s aid, or soldier, to act as door keeper, who assures that no one starts before the signal to begin the race. Each bundle priest gives to each of the runners in his group an object from his bundle, excepting only the outer coverings, and the runners crouch, ready for the start. When the priests begin to sing the man at the door bearing the star chart bounds away with all at his heels. Outside are lined up all the village; all sexes and ages then join in the mad chase. If a runner overtakes the star chart bearer, he snatches it, and so on; thus the chart always leads.

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

The priests and the pipe-bearing chief remain in the lodge. The latter rises and with deliberation marches toward the water. He wears a fine new robe and holds the pipe in his left hand. He goes down the same pathway the others have followed and catches up with the stragglers, little boys three or four years old who are running along. He helps them along. They get to the creek with the other people. Then the crowd makes an opening for the chief. He puts his right-hand fingers in the water and makes a motion toward the pipe to the north four times. Then he takes the pipe in his right hand and repeats the motions with his left hand, with which he does not touch the pipe at all. He dips his right fingers into the water and passes them up and down the pipe and down his body; he then repeats the same with his left hand. As soon as he is through, he says, “Now you may wash.” They all go through the same motions with the objects they carry. The men and women who know their children are there go to them and make the same motions on the children. After that they may go into the water and swim all they want to. All the sacred objects are put through the same movements. The man with the chart makes the motions over it, and replaces it on his back. When he finishes, all the people who have sacred bundle objects follow him. The chief goes first. He leaves the men and women who want to swim, i.e., those who have no sacred objects; the others he leads back into the lodge. As the people enter the lodge they go to the bundles and return the objects; the bundle keeper is there to receive them. When they are all in place, the people sit down. They have a smoke ceremony in which a whiff of smoke is blown over each bundle. The leading priest makes a closing speech, stating that now all ceremonies are closed until the harvest, that everything has been washed and made pure so that the buffalo will not take flight as the hunters journey over the plains.

The contents of the bundles are then smudged and wrapped up. The attending priests make the meat offering and serve the food, as usual.

The Summer Hunt

With the completion of the preceding ceremony, the bundle in charge for the season is ready to lead in the buffalo hunt.⁴⁸ However, before they set out, the fields are fully weeded and the corn is “laid by.” Shortly after the Great Washing Ceremony, the chiefs meet to decide upon a camping place and the date for starting out. Accordingly, a crier goes through the village to instruct the people.

At the appointed time, all are ready to move. The chiefs lead out, followed by the other important dignitaries, then the main body, and the stragglers. Last of all come the young men and youths, idling by the way and playing the stick game. When the chiefs reach the intended camping place, they pitch their tipis, as do the others as they come up. Everyone camps where he likes.

The journeys are seldom long, five to six miles (8 to 9.5 km) a day, so that those without horses may not fall behind. We suspect that this is a survival of the days when all were afoot and when several miles were about all that could be made in a day.

During the night the chiefs meet in the tipi of the leading bundle to decide upon the next move. They will drift along until signs of buffalo are observed and a definite procedure is begun. The priest of the leading bundle is directed to see that a tipi is set up near the center of the camp. To this the bundle is taken and it becomes the special meeting place of the chiefs. At their first meeting they select one of the societies to act as soldiers of the hunt. As soon as notified, the leader of the organization plants his lance before the chief’s tipi, as a sign that the soldiers are on duty. At the same time, a crier goes through the camp warning the people that no unnecessary noise is to be made and that no one is to leave camp or straggle away from the main body on the march. From this time on the soldiers keep watch and patrol the outer border of the camp day and night.

The order of camping also takes on a definite form. At home the Skiri live in compact villages, which so far as we know are not laid out in any definite way; yet when the general buffalo hunt is in progress, their tipis are pitched so that the Morning Star bundle band faces the east, while the Evening Star bundle band and that of the leading bundles form the western border of the camp; and between them are placed the tipis of the other bands without any fixed order. The soldiers’ tent is usually placed near the middle. When one or more of the South Band divisions hunt with the Skiri, they camp to the east.⁴⁹ There is no camp circle. If the camp should be attacked at any time, the women caring for the Morning Star bundle and the Skull bundle are expected to enter and close the tipi, and sit under their respective bundles until the battle is over.

From now on the chiefs each night select four scouts, who set out just before dawn to look for buffalo. They proceed after the manner described in the songs (p. 51) and are spoken of as those who go out to view the country. At daylight, other men are sent out to climb the nearby hills and watch for signals from the scouts. If any of the scouts should see buffalo in sufficient numbers, they go to a hill top and signal by throwing up a robe. If they should see hostile Indians, one of them rides back and forth and then dismounts. Immediately the news is carried to the chief’s tipi and the soldiers. If an enemy is sighted, the alarm is given at once; but if it is buffalo, the chiefs are called and they assemble at their tipi and await the return of the scouts, who when they arrive, enter and take their seats in silence. The priest of the bundle then fills the bundle pipe and carries it to the leader of the scouts. After they have smoked and emptied the ashes, the scout rises and narrates his observations. The chiefs then decide upon a course of action and send a crier through the camp to relate the scout’s report and ask that all the hunters assemble at a given place for the surround. There is great rejoicing and a great bustle of preparation in the camp. The soldiers take their positions between the camp and the road to the buffalo, and behind them the hunters form.

Previously, we have described two holy men, one who shelled the sacred corn (p. 74) and one who furnished the robe for the Mother Corn (p. 91). The former remains in the chief’s tipi where he is cared for as the ritual requires, but the other goes out with the hunters. Before they move on, the latter holy man takes a seat upon the ground and makes a smoke offering; then sitting erect, he recounts the fact that he gave the robe for Mother Corn and that she is now watching over the people to make this hunt very successful.

If, as frequently happened, the other divisions of the Pawnee join in the hunt, all must wait for them to have their particular ceremonies, after which the leading chief gives the signal and they move forward, the soldiers on all sides to hold back the eager ones.

The method of the surround has been sufficiently well described elsewhere, e.g., by Grinnell (1889: 249-250, 270-302), who was an eyewitness to a Pawnee hunt. After the first kill has been made, camp must not be broken for at least four days. All this time the women are busy with their meat, but the men are also fully occupied with ceremonial affairs, as we shall see presently.

On the fifth day after the killing, the chiefs meet to select a new campsite. If the buffalo again appear, however, the camp remains and a new surround is organized. This is unusual and ordinarily it is necessary to move on. When they do move the procedure is precisely as just outlined. When the chiefs decide that enough meat has been taken, they send out the criers to announce the return march.

Consecration of First Animals Killed

An important duty of the hunters is to offer the carcass of a buffalo to a bundle and to lay up meat pledged to specific rituals. In fact, none of the ceremonies we have described could be properly performed unless someone had prepared the necessary meat and so informed the priest in charge. This giving is voluntary except in the case of two men. The one who gives the robe for Mother Corn must kill a buffalo for the leading bundle, and likewise the one who gives the “moccasins and strings” must also give a carcass.

When a Skiri plans to give or consecrate a buffalo, he paints himself red. Among the three tribes of the South Band the hunter thrusts behind him an otterskin arrow pouch in the back of his belt. Both of these symbols indicate that the hunter is on a sacred mission and should be given corresponding respect. But such preparation is unnecessary, for a man may at any time decide to offer a buffalo. If he sees a very fine animal, he may draw his arrow and speak aloud, “I pronounce this buffalo holy.” From that moment, it is consecrated. Should it be wounded, another hunter hearing the words would turn away, leaving it to the giver to kill.

A holy buffalo must either be entirely butchered or the meat left whole, only the larger bones being removed. The hoofs and horns and a little of the skin next to them are discarded. Then when the carcass is placed upon a horse, the two front legs are stuck straight up. By this all know that the meat is holy. After the hunter has pronounced his kill sacred, he decides to whom it shall be given— to some bundle priest or society. The presentation must be in person and a pipe smoked, after which the priest makes a formal talk.

If it is taken to the Morning Star bundle tipi, the priest must call in the old men, who sing the ritual songs until dawn, while the meat is cooked and eaten by all. Meat delivered to the Squash Vine Village bundle also required an all-night ceremony, but this ritual has been lost. If meat is taken to a chief’s tipi, the members may be called to feast upon it without performing a ritual. Meat for the other bundles is cut up and dried, usually at the home of the hunter, and kept in a parfleche until it is required in a ceremony. Meat is also given to the societies, but this is not sacred in the same sense; the carcass is not so placed upon the pony, but simply delivered, the act signifying that a dance is to be held; and the organization proceeds with the ceremony as soon as practicable. When a man has given a carcass to the leading bundles at four different times, he and his family are entitled to wear black painted moccasins.

So far we have been giving attention only to the bundle ceremonies, but at the same time men are getting meat for the doctors’ ceremonies. Thus, it is said that when hunting buffalo, if the hunters saw a buffalo that darted rapidly back and forth around through the herd, they singled it out and killed it. It would be found to be either a hermaphrodite or merely a barren cow; it is not clear that a distinction was made. Usually, a hard membranous growth, highly prized by the doctors, was found in the paunch of such an animal. The conception was that the abnormal sexual condition in the animal prevented the vitalizing force from passing out and that, in consequence, it must still reside in it. The paunch was considered as the seat of this element, or the seat of life.

As a consequence of this notion the buffalo chip was supposed to have still resident in it, or at least to be symbolic of, the life power. This was always given as the proper interpretation of the extensive use of buffalo chips in ceremonies. By the same logic, it was assumed that similar power remained in the bladder and kidneys. Upon killing such a buffalo, the bladder was removed, the urine poured upon certain earth, and the mud placed in a prepared bladder. This was later used in making paint. Thus a war paint was made from blue mud by mixing some of the latter mixture and water. When placed upon the face of a warrior, it was supposed to make him fearless like the buffalo. Also a small portion of a chip would be burned and the smoke inhaled.

There are two paintings of doctors’ robes in the Mills Catlin collection of the American Museum of Natural History in which these points are conspicuous. It is also notable that the buffalo drawings of the Blackfoot, Ojibway, and some Southwestern Indians have the stomach, gullet, and kidneys designated.

In general, then, the hunting camp was one grand round of ceremonial observances. Many special ceremonies were performed, the four most important of which are summarized below.

Other Ceremonial Observances

COMPENSATORY OFFERINGS BY DELINQUENT BUNDLE PRIESTS.—If any of the bundle priests failed to properly perform the Thunder Ceremony (p. 43), for lack of meat or other causes, they are expected to make a compensatory offering during the hunt. When a buffalo has been pledged and delivered to meet this obligation, there is a brief ceremony. No songs are sung, but a burnt offering of heart and tongue is made in the usual manner, after which the smoke offering is made, the bundle objects put through a smudge, and the regulation feast held.

If it should happen that no meat was available for the Gathering of the Corn Ceremony, the plant was taken and placed upon the stick without following the ritual. This was then tied to the bundle and carried along so that as soon as meat was offered, the ritual could be given. It was the leading bundle in charge that gathered the plant and gave the ritual (p. 84), but it was also expected that the other three bundles would each take a plant and place it upon a stick. In theory, they were to have the full ceremony, but they seldom did. Now when they were in camp and meat was provided, these bundles were opened and offerings made according to the compensatory formula.

THE KAWAHARU CEREMONY.—At any time a man could pledge a buffalo to the Evening Star bundle for the Kawaharu Ceremony (p. 71), which was then given in full. One need not repeat the previous account.

OFFERING TO THE NORTH STAR.—We now come to the ceremonies of the North Star bundle. The contents of this bundle are not fully known to me, but the most important object seems to have been a kind of staff highly decorated with birdskins. This is the only bundle in the Skiri series having a ritual for the offering of an entire buffalo. If a chief has a vision or dream in which he is directed to make the burnt offering, he informs the North Star priest. The latter then proceeds with the preparations for the ceremony; the dreamer has no more responsibility.

A crier notifies the camp that buffalo are to be killed for the North Star offering. Great preparations are made in the camp and the hunters decorate and paint their horses and themselves. Then they make a kill. The idea is to see who can get his meat offering to the North Star tipi first. The meat must be prepared in a definite way by the hunter himself. The buffalo is skinned, and the meat removed from its back and legs entire, so that the hide is about the shape of a buffalo robe. As soon as it is ready, the hunter throws it upon his horse and gallops to the tipi. The first one delivered is accepted for the offering. In the meantime, the bundle is opened in the tipi and preparations for the ceremony made. Errand men are sent out for four gourd rattles. The stick bearing the birdskins is taken out of the bundle.

The priest chooses a small hill about two miles [3 km] out on the north side of the camp as the place for the offering. The people gather wood and many presents. When all is ready a large fire is kindled on the hill. Four men are chosen to carry the carcass. Its head is turned toward the north and grips made at the four corners with buffalo hair rope. These four men take up the carcass and, led by the hunter giving the buffalo and bearing the bundle pipe, carry it to the hill. The priests take their stand at the edge of the camp while all the people assemble behind them. A runner has been selected to carry the birdskin staff from the bundle and takes his position in advance. As the men move forward with the carcass, the priests sing ritual songs (not recorded here), resting at intervals.

When the bearers of the offering reach the hill, they march around the fire four times and then cast the carcass upon it. The pipe bearer then empties the tobacco from the pipe upon the burning meat. When it is burning well, the pipe bearer throws up his robe as a signal that all is ready. Then the pole bearer runs toward the fire with the crowd at his heels. If anyone passes him he seizes the pole, etc. The winner runs four times around the fire and holds the pole in the smoke. In the crowd are people bearing all the sacred bundles and other objects, which are held in the smoke. This ends the ceremony.

It may be noted that in all other ceremonies, in the ordinary consecration of buffalo, it is only heart and tongue that are burned. No one can touch a burnt offering except the Morning Star keeper and priests; they can seize it and eat it if they choose.

The bearers of the meat march back as the race begins, while the priests, singing, walk along behind the runners. Eventually they reach the fire and then march back to the tipi. When all are again in the tipi, the regular smoke offering is made, the sacred objects put through the smudge, and then wrapped up.

HEART AND TONGUE OFFERING BY THE EVENING STAR BUNDLE.—This ceremony must not be confused with a more elaborate one during the winter hunt (p. 112). At the first killing of buffalo in summer, a sacrifice of heart and tongue must be made to the Evening Star. The man killing the first buffalo prepares the meat as described previously (pp. 100–101) and hastens with it to the lodge of the Evening Star priest. This priest takes the heart and tongue, and with some dry willows makes a fire just east of the door where the ashes should be dumped. He stands on the west side of the fire, while the hunter faces him, holding the offering up to the sky and then slowly placing it on the fire.

Another feature of this ceremony is the garden offering of the Evening Star. From the thick part of a tongue is cut a rectangular piece, which is then cut into four parts. Outside, and west of the tipi, a rectangular hole is dug. At the proper time, the donor of the buffalo is given the four pieces of tongue and some fat, which he raises to the heavens and then places at each corner of the hole. He returns and receives tobacco, which he also places in the hole in the same manner. With this he carefully replaces the earth.

Upon the hunter’s return to the tipi, the smoke offering is made and they proceed as usual with a feast.

Return to the Villages

When it is decided to set out for home, all the horses and dogs are loaded down with meat, while the poorer people carry their meat upon their backs. By short daily marches they proceed until about halfway to the village. Then the chiefs meet in their tipi and select four young men to go ahead to view the cornfields. They set out on foot at night. The priest gives them some of the consecrated buffalo heart and tongue. When in the course of a few days they reach the village, they go first to the burying ground and make a burnt offering at the graves of their relatives. Then they proceed directly to the cornfields of the leading bundle and make another burnt offering there; a similar offering is made at the field of each of the three other leading bundles. In the center of the fields they make a fire of willows and facing east, raising the offering toward the sky, slowly lower it to the fire. As each does so, he slightly opens the husk of an ear of corn, puts his hands on top of the ear, and addressing it as the Great Bow, prays for himself. They go to the village and rest for a day, then go to the leading bundle fields where each takes four ears, the significance of which is that they are the source of life. They go back to meet the hunting party, and at their arrival there is great rejoicing in the camp. They go to the chief’s tipi where the bundle priests are waiting to receive them. After the usual smoke offering, they give four ears to each of the leading bundle priests. The priests search among the ears for one with a tasseled top (a peculiar projection of the cob that is taken as the sign of Mother Corn). When they find one, they open it and pray for the children. Then they strip away the husk and pass it about so that everyone may lay his hands upon it and bless himself with it.

The corn is then cut from the cob and cooked in a kettle. When done, a spoonful of it is taken as an offering to the sacred bundles. The priest then places his hands upon the offering, rubs his hands together, and holds them up toward the heavens; afterwards he instructs the attendants to divide the corn among the people. As soon as it is announced that there is plenty of corn in the fields, other families may send messengers in a similar manner. In the meantime, the whole body travels on toward the village.

At their arrival, a ritual is performed in the bundle lodges. In each, a buffalo skull is kept on a raised place near where the bundle hangs. This is taken outside and placed upon the roof. The bundle keeper’s wife then enters with a small offering of heart and tongue, which she burns, allowing the smoke to circulate about the lodge. Then the floor is swept, the place put in order, and the skull and then the bundle brought in.

Again, when the first corn is cooked in the lodge, an ear is placed under the jaws of the skull and motions made with the hands over the skull and toward the bundle. The purpose of this is to place the power of Mother Corn in all these objects. Care must be exercised not to offer meat to the skull, for that would be offering it some of its own flesh.

As soon as the people are settled in the village, the priest of the Evening Star bundle holds the Green Corn Offering. This is not truly ritualistic, though the order of procedure is fixed. A quantity of green corn is cooked, but no other food. Old men and warriors of renown are then invited and when all is ready the bundle is opened, the smoke offering made, and the contents of the bundle put through the smudge of sweetgrass. An offering of corn is made to the gods and the feast begun. Following the lead of the bundle all the other bundles have a similar Green Corn Offering. No songs are sung.

The Harvest

When the people are finally at home in the village and have completed the burnt offering ceremony in their fields, the women, guarded by the men, go out to gather dry willows. These they take to the field, where they are piled up. When they find that the silk of the corn is dry, they begin their harvest. The ears are plucked and placed in a heap. They select those that are still immature, placing them to one side. Then three logs of wood are laid side by side about one foot [30 cm] apart and the spaces between them filled with dry willows. The green ears of corn are set up in rows along the sides of the logs and the willows fired. As the fire burns the ears are turned over and over. When the husks are properly burned, they know that the corn is cooked. This process is continued until all of the green ears have been so treated.

The ears are then picked over and those that are still milky are separated from the rest, while those that are dry are placed in storage. This corn burning generally takes a whole day, so they cover up the several piles of ears and go home for the night. At dawn the next day they return to the fields with their tipi covers and a number of freshwater clam shells. The tipi covers are spread upon the ground and around them sit the women, tearing the husks off the milky ears, which are cast upon the covers. When the husking is complete, they sit down upon the covers and scrape the grains from the cobs with the clam shells.⁵⁰

The corn cobs are thrown to one side, and the grains that have been scraped off are spread out over a tipi cover to dry. Some of the women stay to watch the corn, and as it dries it is taken up and carried home. This process may continue for several days, the corn being taken in each night and spread out again the next day. In this, as in all other cases, great care is taken not to mix the different kinds of corn—the white, black, red, yellow, and speckled. When it is finally dry, it is cleaned or winnowed by pouring from a wooden bowl. Then the dried corn is packed into a large sack of tanned buffalo skin. When full, a piece of skin is laid over the top, and the sack closed by its drawstring. It is now ready to put in the cache pit. Care is exercised to have the bag perfectly tight so that insects cannot get into the corn. Each kind of corn has a sack of its own, and usually each family has five—one each for red, white, black, yellow, and speckled.

When they have taken most of the corn out of the field, the men go down into the fields in the evenings and take the blades off the cornstalks, except such as still bear ears, and give them to their ponies. Then they cut the stalks and bring them home for the children to chew.⁵¹

Stalks bearing ears are allowed to mature, and some of the finest hills are left for seed. When fully ripe, the ears from these are pulled and taken home. Here they are carefully sorted out according to kind and color. A select lot of each has the husks pulled back and braided together in long clusters, which are hung up in the lodge. The remainder is shelled and placed in sacks to be cached. When such mature corn is eaten, it is first parched and then pulverized in a mortar. However, for the bundle feasts the raw grains are cracked with stones to release the “heat” and are then put into the mortar.

The women then gather their other crops. If the bean stalks are dry, they pull them up and take them to the lodge. If not sufficiently dry, they are laid upon tipi covers in the sun and at the proper time they are beaten or tramped to open the pods. The beans are then placed in bags and stored. The squashes are gathered up and carried to the lodges. They are peeled (either with a knife or by rolling in hot ashes), the ends cut off, and the seeds scraped out. Later they are spliced into rings, which are strung upon long poles and hung up to dry. Some squashes have very hard skins, making it difficult to cut them into rings. The usual method with these is to chop or burn off the thick covering, after which they are cut into small pieces and spread out to dry. When the squash rings are tough enough, they are taken down and braided or netted together, forming sheets like door mats. These are kept for winter use. When dry, the finely cut squash is pounded in a wooden mortar, using the large end of the pounder, and, when thoroughly pulverized, they are put into sacks. The netted squash rings are usually hung up near the fireplace, but are sometimes stored in parfleches.

The unroasted corn is parched and pounded in mortars. It is often mixed with pounded squash from which cakes or balls are made for the children. Sometimes a little buffalo fat is mixed with these, making a sort of pemmican. The variety of corn known as popcorn was not originally known to the Pawnee.

All these prepared foods are placed in cache holes. Each lodge has two holes, one on each side of the door, dug to a depth of one to two feet [30–60 cm] and bottle-shaped. The bottom and sides are lined with grass and, when filled, the top is covered with earth, carefully beaten down. Just over the cache hole a little charcoal is placed to assist in finding it later.

Various wild vegetable foods are used. A kind of wild potato (ic)⁵² was found along the Loup River (called ickari, “water of many potatoes”). This plant has a top something like alfalfa, with many small potatoes strung on the roots. The women dig many sackfuls of these. They are first boiled, then peeled, strung, and hung up to dry. Chokecherries are gathered and treated in the usual manner (Gilmore, 1919:88–89).

It is important to note that the corn growing in the sacred plots has not been disturbed. The harvesting of this is now in order.

Autumn and Winter Ceremonies

Changing Mother Corn

The fundamental concept of the renewal ritual (p. 43) requires the annual replacing of Mother Corn in all bundles. The methods of planting and tending have been described, but it may be repeated that at the proper time the seeds of this variety of corn are planted in isolated plots. Four grains are placed in a central mound, which becomes the seat of the new Mother Corn. The women of the respective households tend the plots carefully and the priests keep watch over the progress of the crop. As previously noted (p. 84), a young shoot from this central mound is used in the spring ceremony for the four leading bundles, but when harvest time arrives preparations are made for placing new ears in the bundles. It is important to note that here the Evening Star bundle plays a minor part and has no ceremonies connected with the cornstalks or the harvest. It renews its corn, however. The following ceremony, therefore, pertains to the leading bundles.

The responsibility for this ceremony rests with the priest of the leading bundle in charge for that season. He keeps special watch over the sacred mound in the field of the bundle keeper’s wife.

This renewing ceremony is a kind of harvest offering. It is held just after the fruits of the fields have been gathered in. All the ears of corn from the sacred plot are brought to the lodge except those in the sacred mound. The people bring some of all other kinds of corn and place each in a heap of its own. Likewise, squashes and beans are brought. The leading bundle in charge is then opened and prepared for the ceremony. A man is sent to the field for Mother Corn. He selects two from the sacred mound. Then at the proper time in the ritual, the stalks from this mound, with whatever ears remain, are pulled up bodily and carried to the lodge. They are tied up against the northwest post. This procedure is symbolic of the garden of the gods (p. 73).⁵³

The greater part of the corn crop is prepared in the milk, or dried, as described, but a minor portion is allowed to ripen, particularly in the sacred corn plots.

In the bundle are two sacred ears. One is tightly sewed up in a case of dressed buffalo skin, the other in the heart covering (pericardium). The former has charge in winter, the latter in summer. This sealing up of the ears serves as a precautionary measure, for, befall what may, there would be at least that much for seed for the next growing season.⁵⁴

In getting these sacred ears the first section of the stem must be retained; it symbolizes the seat of life for Mother Corn. When the old ears are discarded in this ceremony, the priest cuts away these stems. From the corn piled in the lodge the priest may select such ears as have the peculiarities of Mother Corn and also place these in the bundles as seed. Naturally Mother Corn is typical of all corn. Everyone must take great care not to drop any of the grains, for that would be like losing one’s children. Also no ears should be left in the field; for if they are, crying will be heard as if a woman were there and a search must be made.⁵⁵ Likewise the greatest of care must be given the fields. The women are up at dawn and out until night. The strong willow fences tied up by sinew ropes were protection against grazing horses, but if a horse got into a field, the owner had to pay many times over. The crime was on a par with murder.

The general program of the ceremony is as follows: While the women are in the fields gathering their corn to cure for winter use, the priest of the leading bundle for the season prepares for the ceremony of Changing Mother Corn. He directs the keeper of the bundle to sweep out the lodge, remove the furniture, etc. Then he takes down the bundle and places it at the altar. He sends for the other four priests, and when they are seated the bundle is untied and the sacred objects taken out. The leading priest sends for the man who shelled the corn in the spring. He also invites the keepers of all other bundles to bring their bundles in. Then he sends for the woman who gave her milk at the last spring ceremony; no other women are allowed to be present. One of the four priests then goes through the village, crying out that Mother Corn is now about to be changed and that people shall bring their harvest offerings. The corn has now been gathered into piles, and the women hasten to carry some of it to the ceremonial lodge where they pile it up according to color on the north side of the entrance. For these offerings the very best of the crop is selected.

This same morning before dawn the leading priest sends four men to the cornfield to pull the stalks from the sacred mound where the meat offering was buried. These stalks are brought into the lodge, and they look through the corn for an ear with the peculiar tasseled end indicating Mother Corn. When the proper ears are found they are handed to the priest. He then places to one side the stick bearing the green corn plant and the sacred ear, together with their wrappings. He takes up the old Mother Corn and announces, “Now we are going to end her life.” He sings, and at the proper time cuts off the stem with a knife. He lays the ear to one side, takes up the new one, and sings a song in which reference is made to embracing Mother Corn. They sing of raising the voice of Mother Corn to the heavens, after which the ear of corn is passed around the lodge for the people to blow their breath over. When it reaches the priest, he places it upon the bundle.

At this point one of the most striking features of the ritual occurs. The priest takes up a rope (about a yard in length) kept in the bundle. I have not yet had a chance to examine one of these, but they are said to be of “hair from beneath the waters.” Taking one of the new ears in each hand, the priest kneels in front of the altar, holding the ends of the rope against the ears. By movements of the hands he causes the rope to circle a loop. This is said to represent the horizon as it circled out from the gods in the west. The priest then makes movements as if he were throwing the rope over objects and drawing them to his breast. This is spoken of as “trapping the powers of the heavens,” and the idea is that all the power of the universe is gathered in and enters into Mother Corn, not exclusively, but in common with all sacred objects.

First Song

Second Song

Third Song

Fourth Song

Fifth Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The first stanza is sung four times to the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ ‘earth’, tuha·ruˀ ‘trees and shrubbery’, caha·ruˀ ‘waters’, and kaki.ˀuˀ ‘seeds’. The second stanza is sung six times to the following man’s steps: asu·ruˀ ‘moccasins’, kstaripi·ruˀ ‘moccasin string’, rawitat ‘robe’, wa·rukstiˀ ‘wonderful’, atiraˀ ‘Mother (Corn)’, and kiriki ‘bluebird’. The idea here is plain: The old life in everything is cut off or lies dormant.

As the sixth song is sung, the priest takes up the ear, embraces it, and passes it to the priest on his right, then to the one on his left, and so on, alternating to the other priests. Then it passes to all on the south side, then to the north.

Sixth Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The first stanza is sung four times to the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ ‘earth’, tuha·ruˀ ‘trees and shrubbery’, caha·ruˀ ‘waters’, and kaki·ˀuˀ ‘seeds’. The second stanza is sung six times to the following man’s steps: asu·ruˀ ‘moccasins’, kstaripi·ruˀ ‘moccasin string’, rawitat ‘robe’, wa·rukstiˀ ‘wonderful’, atiraˀ ‘Mother (Corn),’ and kiriki ‘bluebird’.

After the ear of corn is returned to the head priest, the seventh song is sung.

Seventh Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The first stanza is sung four times to the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ ‘earth’, tuha·ruˀ ‘trees and shrubbery’, caha·ruˀ ‘waters’, and kaki·ˀuˀ ‘seeds’. The second stanza is sung six times to the following man’s steps: asu·ruˀ ‘moccasins’, kstaripi·ruˀ ‘moccasin string’, rawitat ‘robe’, wa·rukstiˀ ‘wonderful’, atiraˀ ‘Mother (Corn)’, and kiriki ‘bluebird’.

At the close of the song ritual, the pipe is filled and smoke offered to Mother Corn. The ear of corn is again passed as before and each person blows his breath upon it four times. This symbolizes the new life in the world.

The old ear of corn is presented to some distinguished warrior or to someone who has given meat for the ceremony. The one who receives it may carry it with him on the warpath or may perform the Calumet Ritual (p. 154), but it must never again be used in a bundle ritual. It may, however, be kept in the bundle for next season’s planting. After the smoke offering is made, the change of bundles occurs.

This part of the ceremony is simple but impressive. The cornstalks that were brought in and tied to the northwest pole are symbolic of the authority to lead. They are kept upon the post of the lodge wherever the leading bundle is cared for and signify the home of the chief in charge. The office is transferred by the priest announcing that the time for the change is at hand, proceeding to the pole, taking down the stalks and handing them to the keeper of the next bundle to serve. He then addresses the chief briefly upon the import of the procedure and formally charges him with the responsibility. The new chief places the stalks back upon the post, signifying that he is in charge, and the priest of his bundle now completes the ceremonies by the customary corn and meat offerings, followed by the feast. Then he divides up the harvest offerings among those priests and chiefs present at the ceremony.

After these initial ceremonies all bundles change their corn without songs and with very simple ceremonies, which consist of the usual smoke and meat offerings, followed by a feast.

The Four Pole Ceremony

This ritual of the Skull bundle symbolizes the forming of the Skiri federation and the organization of the bundle scheme, which is its objective expression. Unfortunately the ritual is lost beyond recovery, but portions have been related by the few who knew about it. The central idea, as taught by the priests, is that First Man was placed in Center Village. The Evening Star bundle had been given to him and the people of this village. Later, out of the west came four villages associated as one, Old Village. There were four sacred bundles in Old Village, each representing one of the semicardinal directions. The leader of the bundles was the Big Black Meteoric Star bundle, and the head of its village insisted on being spokesman for the people of both Center and Old Village. Faced with this dilemma, First Man divided the functions of priest and chief, as directed by Evening Star in a vision. He gave the position of priest to the leader of Old Village and took the office of chief for himself. Then, as symbolized in the man’s step (p. 43), First Man received the bow, arrow, and other contents that formed the nucleus of the Skull bundle, which stood as a gift from Tirawahat to First Man and symbolized his chieftainship. The ritual associated with the Skull bundle is believed to have derived from the Evening Star bundle, a belief which historical analysis seems to justify. Among other functions, it presided over the meeting of the chiefs in late spring and became associated with the Four Pole Ceremony, symbolizing the renewal of the original federation of the villages. At the same time the four leading bundles were given their ceremonies and ritual functions.

The bundle (Figure 16) is now in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. The outer wrappings are now of black cloth, but were formerly of hide. Around the whole is the inevitable hair rope, the symbol of a priest. Tucked under the bindings are a wooden bow and three arrows. (It is said that there should be four.) These, as just noted, symbolize the handing down of these implements to First Man. They are very sacred because of this association and in some aspects are of the same significance ascribed by the Cheyenne to their famous arrows once captured by the Skiri (Grinnell, 1910:542–562). When the Morning Star Village made the human sacrifice (p. 122), this bow was used to shoot the victim. The reasons for this association are not known.

With the bow are two pipestems, one pipe stoker, and three sticks of unknown use. The skull is bound to a stick by which it is held securely to the bundle (Figure 16c). Finally, there is a small bundle of buffalo skin containing a sacred pipe with a decorated stem. This pipe and the manner of wrapping are reminiscent of Blackfoot bundles (Wissler, 1912: 136–139, 169–171).

FIGURE 16. — Skull bundle: a, front view; b, back view; c, accessories.

Inside of a wrapping of black silk is a buffalo skin and within this some white cloth. The contents of the bundle are the following: Mother Corn wrapped in buffalo skin; two ears of corn wrapped in cotton cloths; skin of a hawk with wrapper of deer and buffalo skin; a large mussel shell with painting outfit; an arrow-straightener of elkhorn; a pipe bowl wrapped in buffalo wool; an otter collar, regalia for a warrior, now in fragments; packages of red and white paints; native tobacco; a package of plum seeds; five braids of sweetgrass; and two swan heads.

The Four Pole Ceremony was held in a circular enclosure. For this an embankment was thrown up with an opening to the east. In front of this entrance was a small mound of earth taken from the centrally constructed fire pit. Within the enclosure at the west side was a raised altar. Around the inside of the ring of earth was a screen of green branches set up in the ground. Arranged around the fireplace were four poles bearing tufts of branches at their tops: a white pole of cottonwood, a red of box elder, a black of elm, and a yellow of willow (Figure 17). All of the bundles are brought to the ceremony by their keepers, who sit as shown in Figure 14, according to their rank and the geographical relations of the respective villages. As will be noted in the figure, most of the bundles are upon the north side of the enclosure; these lived on the north side of the Loup River, the others upon the south side. The positions of the priests of the bundles are also shown in the figure.

The leading bundles are associated with the four poles, according to the colors, as stated in the color name of the bundle. These bundles, poles, colors, etc., represent the powers in the four quarters of the world and also stand for spring, summer, autumn, and winter, but in no fixed order, the season a bundle represents being determined by the order of the ceremony. Figure 18 illustrates the association of symbols for the four semicardinal directions, their colors, natural forces, trees, and animals—that occur in this and the Morning Star Ceremony.

FIGURE 17.—Diagram of the earthwork enclosure for the Four Pole Ceremony.

One of the most important objects for the occasion was a wooden bowl, filled with water in which was placed a clean shell, and upon it the jaw of a gar pike, the head of a thunderbird, and the image of a turtle.⁵⁶ The skull, which is now of great importance, was not at first on the Skull bundle, for it was originally the skull of First Man. First Man, according to the vision in which these rituals came to him, was directed to have his skull placed on the bundle after his death.⁵⁷

When everything is ready for the ceremony to begin, the Skull bundle is opened and the skull placed in front of the bundle. Red paint is then mixed with fat and rubbed over the whole skull. With blue paint a circle is drawn around the face and a line down over the nose, the painting of Tirawahat. In later years, a black silk neckerchief is wound around the skull cap like a turban. A ball of down is placed upon the occiput.⁵⁸

FIGURE 18.—Symbolic associations for the four semicardinal directions: bundles, colors, trees, animals, and natural forces.

The first important procedure is the bringing in of the four poles, one for each of the leading bundles. Selected are four warriors who take positions corresponding to the four directions. Each wears full war regalia: the otter fur collar, the sacred ear of corn on the left shoulder, and the hawk on the right. Each warrior places on his head a ball of down feathers, and transversely in the scalplock, an eagle feather. Their faces are painted red, streaked down the sides, and on the forehead is a bird’s foot mark like the constellation in the Milky Way (Table 2). Each carries a warclub and the pipe from one of the leading bundles.

Once outside, the four warriors dance while the people gather about them, forming four groups. Then each group follows its leader, who leads off in a known direction. Scouts have been sent out to locate the trees. Each scout now reports to his own party that he has found an enemy standing among the timber. The party then approaches as if stealing upon an enemy. All the warriors are dressed as if for battle. When the tree is sighted they rush it, and the first to strike it counts coup.

Each bundle requires a different kind of tree: willow for the Big Black Meteoric Star, elm for the Yellow Star, cottonwood for the White Star, and box elder for the Red Star bundle.

A virgin has been selected to chop the tree; but before she can approach, the leading warrior, who bears the bundle pipe, must make the regular smoke offering. For this he stands east of the tree; upon completing the offering, he deposits the ashes on the tree’s west side. Then a second man comes forward and makes the regular meat offering.

The girl now takes the ax and, approaching from each of the four directions, strikes off a chip, each time with four feints. After this her uncles and brothers cut down the tree while the people shout. As the tree falls, they make all the noise they can, symbolizing victory over the enemies. The warriors then bear the tree toward the village, the people following. Four times they pause to rest; the old women circle about the men and tree, making obscene jests and proposals, or rather, using words that can be so interpreted. Also sexual acts are sometimes heralded in the same manner as deeds of war. The idea of a confession is, however, not entertained.

As each party reaches the enclosure for the ceremony, the bearers of the tree make feints at the entrance and so continue until someone comes forward to count a coup, stating that the tree is entering the door of the enemy. As soon as this procedure is over, they enter.

During this pole gathering, the priests and a few old men remain in the ceremonial lodge. According to the proper formula, the four holes are dug to receive the poles. Then a secret ceremony is performed: Fat is taken from the bundle, made into cakes the size of each hole, and one placed in the bottom of each; then over it is sprinkled some pulverized native tobacco. The secret knowledge is that the fat symbolizes the earth; the tobacco, the people. Before the holes are dug the fireplace is excavated. First a stake is driven at the center of the enclosure and with a rope from the bundle the circumference of the fireplace is marked off. The stake is withdrawn and an offering of fat and tobacco placed in the bottom. The fat offering is then taken from all the holes and carried to the dumping place east of the door, and the earth from the diggings ultimately heaped over it.

As each party brings in its pole, the priest in charge fills the pipe and makes the smoke offering. The appropriate song rituals are sung; the warriors dance four times and then plant the pole. As the poles stand, they are trimmed to the very top where a few of the branches are left. The painting songs are then sung (p. 90), as the priest paints each pole its proper color.

When the poles are all in place and painted, the vital part of the ceremony begins. The keeper, or chief, with the skull in his hands, stands facing the bowl, fixes his eyes upon the shell in the water, and recites a ritual recounting the creative acts of Tirawahat. Unfortunately, this ritual is lost and with it, the meaning of the whole procedure. This ends the ceremony proper.

During the following night certain doctors appear in skins of bears, loons, wildcats, and wolves, charging about through the camp fighting the people.⁵⁹

The final act of the priests is a ritual to “open the roads to the enemy’s country and to the buffalo.” As the priests sing the proper songs, the keeper of the Skull bundle dances with it and makes certain movements to each of the four directions. Then with loud shouting the people join in the dance. After this ceremony war parties can set out and the chief’s council can plan the buffalo hunt.

A word should be added as to the position of each bundle in the ceremonial circle. Formerly, it is said, the leading bundles were placed opposite their poles, but later the form in Figure 14 came into use.

It is not certain at what time of the year the ceremony was held. The moving of the Pawnee to Oklahoma disarranged their whole cycle. The buffalo were gone and without them many of the rituals could not be given. The relations of the stars to the seasons, the direction from which the storms came, etc., were all different. Consequently, it is not strange that no one now knows the precise place of the Four Pole Ceremony in the yearly cycle. However, it has been put where those competent to have an opinion think it should be, i.e., before the autumn and winter hunt.

In passing, the reader’s attention may be called to the rather striking parallel between this ceremony and the Sun Dance of other Plains tribes (Spier, 1921:451–527). Even the corn planting ritual of the Skull bundle (p. 76) presents such parallels. It is fair to assume that some kind of historical connection exists between the rituals of this bundle and the Sun Dance of other Plains tribes. The torture feature is absent and so is the sun-gazing dance, nor is there any evidence that they ever were a part of the procedure. Both were known to the Pawnee as practices of other tribes and there are traditions of attempts to introduce them, but only as parts of men’s society rituals (Murie, 1914:641). These seem to have been futile, however, the practice being discontinued after a few attempts.

Society and Village Ceremonies

There follows now a period of inactivity on the part of the priests. As we shall see later, the doctors have an independent cycle of their own, though their ceremonies are little in evidence until early autumn, when it is time for the doctors’ great Thirty Day Ceremony (p. 167); but while this is in progress, the various men’s societies give their dances in the camp or village, as the case may be. This is also the time for the minor and more personal ceremonies of the village groups.

If not already at their villages, the people now return to their earth lodges. Perhaps no procedure shows the one idea in Skiri ritualism so well as the cessation in the autumn at the approach of winter. When the Thirty Day Ceremony is over, all temporary objects are taken to the water and sunk, the drums are dismantled, and all bundles wrapped up to remain so until the return of the thunder. Likewise, all the societies hold special ceremonies in which their lances are stripped and the decorations wrapped up. The only exception is the society chosen by the chiefs to act as soldiers on the coming hunt. The only act during the winter approaching a true ritual ceremony is a form of the hand game (Lesser, 1933a). Thus, all powers residing in sacred objects are now sleeping, to be called into new life in the spring.

At such times as they may elect, the chiefs meet to develop plans for the autumn and winter hunt. This is without special ceremonies and needs no further comment, since it is precisely like all other business meetings we have described (pp. 91–92).

After all the ceremonial objects have been put away, the cache holes are filled and carefully concealed. The tipi covers are brought out and put in repair. Then about the beginning of November, the whole tribe sets out on the hunt. This is the time to get skins for clothing, since winter is approaching. The leading bundle that now has charge furnishes the authority for a new camp organization as before (p. 98). How long the camp remains afield depends upon their success. In the original home of the Skiri in Nebraska, winter has already set in. During this season the buffalo may drift far away so that the camp must follow for many weary days. At last when they have enough meat and robes, the tribe turns toward home and reoccupies its earthlodges. According to tradition, it was not uncommon for the people to be out the entire winter.

I have commented upon the general cessation of bundle ceremonies. There are, however, two possible winter ceremonies: “Renewing the Wrappings for the Evening Star Bundle” occurs whenever a winter, or yellow, calf is killed; the other, “Merging of Bundle Powers,’’ is a special ceremony when buffalo cannot be reached and the camp faces starvation.

Of course, there are some individual doctors’ ceremonies and shamanistic performances to make the buffalo come, but the latter are not performed by doctors, for they are associated with the bundles and therefore fall within the province of the priests.

Renewing the Wrappings for the Evening Star Bundle

As we have stated, the leading bundle should have a new covering at the spring ceremony. All of the bundles except those of Evening Star and the North Star were covered with scraped hide, as the term ‘moccasins’ implies. All the bundles so covered had their hides renewed after the leading bundle. If at any time a war party plundered a camp and found such a whole skin, it could be pledged to a bundle and placed upon it at once.

The covering for the Evening Star bundle, however, must be the skin of a winter calf. These were very rare, it is said, and had a peculiar yellowish color. So, on the winter hunt the scouts kept a sharp watch for such a calf. When one was sighted, both the Evening Star and North Star people made great preparations. In the surround the hunter from each village strove to have the first shot, since by custom that determined to which bundle it was pledged.

It seems that while the North Star hunters had the privilege of snatching this calf, as it were, from the Evening Star bundle, they could select a somewhat similar calf at any time of the year for the bundle ceremony; but the Evening Star people must get one in the winter or not at all.

When the latter gets such a prize, a ceremony is called at once. The flesh is cooked, the bundle opened, and smoke offerings, offerings of heart and tongue, etc., made. The shoulder blades are taken out, cleaned, and placed in the bundle to be used in the Merging Ceremony of Bundle Powers (below). No songs are sung, but after this feast the keeper’s wife proceeds to dress the skin. The same routine is carried out for the North Star bundle except that the shoulder blades are not saved.

When the keeper’s wife has dressed the skin and the time is convenient, the ritual of dressing the bundle is given. The bundle is opened and the usual offerings made. The priest takes up the objects of the bundle one by one and passes them to those present to hold, and all pass their hands over them with the usual formula. The new cover is then smudged and spread out upon the altar. Then each one comes forward and returns the sacred objects. The old covering may be given to the small son of the keeper’s household or family to wear as a robe.

Merging of Bundle Powers

At various times we have referred to the peculiar relation between the Evening Star bundle and the four main bundles. We must now give some attention to the details of the ceremony by which their powers are merged. This is only done in cases of emergency when starvation faces the people. It sometimes happened that in midwinter the buffalo could not be found. All the ceremonies of the priest in charge would be of no avail and, though the scouts went far, no traces of buffalo were seen. At last a priest of one of the main bundles not then in charge would say, “Your powers have been of no avail. You have done all that can be done now. Our children cry for food. There is but one way left to us, to transfer Mother Corn from the leading bundle to the Evening Star bundle.”

The keeper of the bundle in charge, or the chief, is called in to aid; if the proposal is agreed to, preparations for the ceremony are begun. A soldier is sent by the keeper of the bundle to notify the priest of the Evening Star bundle to prepare to receive the transfer of Mother Corn. The Evening Star priest sends at once for the chief of Center Village and some other influential men, such as warriors and men of prestige.

In the meantime, the bundle from which Mother Corn is to be transferred is opened. The pipe is filled with native tobacco, ready for lighting. The priest requests the chief to carry the pipe to the Evening Star priest. By the time the chief of the leading bundle reaches the lodge of the Evening Star priest, everything is ready to receive the request of the leading bundle priest. The Evening Star priest sits beneath the Evening Star bundle and nearby are the chief of Center Village and the assembled soldiers. With the pipe in his hands, the messenger chief stands before the Evening Star priest and formally states the request and the conditions leading to it. The import of it is that he offers to transfer the power of his bundle to the Evening Star bundle, that its priest may try his power to find the buffalo.

Though the request will certainly be complied with, the Evening Star priest makes a show of long deliberation while the chief stands holding out the pipe. When the priest takes the pipe, the chief passes his hands over his arms and head and blesses him. Then he lights the pipe for the priest. When the pipe is burned out, the chief empties the ashes at the fireplace and returns to his priest with the report.

In the Evening Star lodge the bundle is taken down and everything arranged for the ceremony. The priest and chiefs paint themselves; likewise in the lodge of the transferring bundle.

To the latter the people bring many presents of all kinds. Men are sent out for long slender willow sticks. Many of the presents are tied to the ends of these sticks. Mother Corn is taken out of the leading bundle in charge and tied up in a buffalo robe and bound with a buffalo-hair rope. The chief then takes up Mother Corn, while the crowd seizes the present-bearing sticks and marches in the rear, forming an imposing procession.

As they approach the lodge of the Evening Star, its priest seats himself just inside the doorway. As the procession nears the door the errand man raises the flap, the chief places Mother Corn in the hands of the Evening Star priest, who then rises, clasps it to his breast, and passes around the fire four times, placing the sacred ear upon the altar beside the corn in his own bundle. The whole crowd follows, circling the fire in the same way and placing their presents by the altar. Then all leave the lodge except the priests and chiefs.

It is considered that by this act the authority of the leading bundle is merged into the Evening Star, whose priest now becomes supreme and whose chief takes charge.

When all are seated according to their stations, the chief of the leading bundle is called to the altar to make a special tobacco offering. He offers a pinch to each of the known powers of the heavens and the earth, not missing one. The priest gives these to him one at a time, whispering directions for each. These offerings are made outside of the lodge (Figure 10). With each pinch of tobacco, the priest hands the chief one of the present-bearing sticks to be offered to the stations outside.

When the tobacco offering has been performed, a pipe is filled and smoke offered in the same detailed manner. Then all the bundle objects are put through the customary smudge. Whatever portions of the ceremonial meat and corn remain in the lodge of the leading bundle are brought to this lodge and cooked for the feast.

At night they begin the songs, singing first two songs [not recorded herein], the import of which is that power to give good fortune resides in everything. They continue singing for four days and nights at regular intervals, but the songs are not known now. The idea seems to have been “to sing the buffalo up” step by step, as in the case of some other rituals we have discussed.

At the beginning of the ceremony, four calf shoulder blades from the Evening Star bundle are hung up in the lodge in the directions of the four world quarters. As the night of the second day approaches, the one to the southwest is taken down and thrown into the fire. Again, at dawn, the southeast blade is taken, and so on to the northeast and northwest.

The belief is that a snowstorm will come down by the third day, driving the buffalo before it. On this day scouts are sent out; they find a few stragglers, usually bulls. As the singing goes on the following day, they expect to see the cows led by a yellow calf. This brings us to one of the fundamental ideas in the Evening Star bundle. From its Pawnee name, “calf,” one would suspect that it was originally conceived to be the chief source of power to bring the buffalo and that the Evening Star (p. 52) and Mother Corn (p. 37) concepts were grafted onto it later; but too much weight should not be given this idea. It is conceived that when a yellow calf is found in winter, it leads the herd of cows; hence, if its power can be put into the bundle the people will surely have meat, for where the bundle is, the buffalo will come.

The priest of the ceremony orders that no buffalo be killed at present and that strict silence reign in the camp. At the end of the fourth day the chiefs call the hunters together and organize a surround. Certain special rules are now in order; when a buffalo is butchered the entrails and all parts not carried away must be placed in a little heap on the ground and all the rib sections must be brought to the ceremonial lodge. No one must disturb or injure the yellow calf, and four successive surrounds must be made. After this, the organization ceases and anyone may kill at will, even the yellow calf, whose skin will then go to the bundle.

At the end of the fourth killing, the chief of the leading bundle formally thanks the Evening Star priest; and an old man is sent out to announce that the bundle needs a new covering and that anyone seeing the yellow calf shall kill it. If this calf is killed, the whole heart and tongue are given as a burnt offering. The ceremony is similar to that previously described (p. 101). The fresh hide of the calf is spread out in the lodge and the meat piled upon it. The usual smoke and meat offerings are made, after which the bundle is wrapped up and the feast begun. Immediately after the heart and tongue are burnt, the Evening Star priest hands the sacred ear of corn back to the priest of the leading bundle, announcing that now he is again the leader. Thus the power and authority are returned to the leading bundle.

On the next day, the Evening Star bundle keeper’s wife takes the skin out for dressing, and at the proper time the ritual for changing the covering takes place.

Return to the Villages

On the summer hunt nearly the entire tribe goes out, though the old people and a few guards are left at some halfway camp, or rendezvous. But in the winter these old people stay in the village to care for the lodges, and in consequence there is less ceremony upon the return of the hunting camp.

When they turn toward home, messengers who report to those waiting at the village are sent ahead. If the hunt has been successful, there is rejoicing and a delegation goes out to welcome the returning people.

For the rest of the winter all live quietly in their lodges, waiting for the signs of spring to call them once again to the grand ceremonial cycle we have just described.

Special Bundle Ceremonies of the Skiri

There are several bundle rituals that have no fixed place in the yearly cycle; hence, we shall treat them under this head. The most important of these are the Human Sacrifice to the Morning Star, the New Fire Ceremony, and the Calumet Ritual, as well as the meteoric bundles. These have no regular place in the calendar but occur whenever the circumstances demand.

Human Sacrifice to the Morning Star

The Morning Star bundle (u·pirikucuˀ), which belongs to Village Across A Hill (tuhwa·hukasa), is one of the most famous because of its human sacrifice ritual.⁶⁰ Though originally one bundle (there are now two, or two parts), tradition relates that an irregular marriage divided the bundle.⁶¹ The fact that Morning Star (Mars) is believed to have a little brother, probably Mercury (though from descriptions it may be Jupiter), is sometimes cited as the sanction for this division of the bundle. The contents of the main bundle [not illustrated herein] are the usual two ears of sacred corn, a pipe, two owls, a bluebird, an osprey, an otter belt bearing 65 scalps, a bundle of counting sticks, a pair of thongs to tie the wrists of the captive, a coyote skin quiver containing the Cheyenne sacred arrow, a warrior’s collar and pipe, paints and a shell for mixing them, sweetgrass braids, dried buffalo meat, elkhorn arrow-straighteners, stone arrow polisher, wildcat foot skins and eagle legs for tobacco, three scalps and a number of unknown objects that have not been unwrapped for many years. The bundle wrapping is of two scraped buffalo skins, and five gourd rattles are attached, as in the case of Figure 30a.

The second bundle is wrapped like the preceding, but has three rattles. It contains two ears of corn, a pipe, a flint knife for the sacrifice, a warclub, the victim’s dress, black moccasins, a buffalo hair rope, three scalps, dried buffalo meat, sweetgrass, the arrow tools, and a number of unknown objects.

The Vision and the Capture

The human sacrifice was not carried on every year. Only when a man had a vision of the Morning Star commanding him to do so was it made. It was known by the older people that no man should attempt to make this human sacrifice unless he had a dream of the Morning Star and upon awakening found that the Morning Star was coming up over the eastern horizon.⁶²

When a man has such a dream it is soon known throughout the village, for on going out of the lodge and seeing the Morning Star come up in the east, he at once begins to cry out in a loud voice. He then walks around the village several times, crying all the time, and finally goes into the lodge of the Morning Star priest. (There is but one priest of the Morning Star; he alone knows the ritual and the human sacrifice ceremony. He has assistants, but these men do not know the ritual. He can invite the four leading bundle priests if he chooses, and he can also invite the keeper of the Skull bundle, because the bow to kill the sacrifice is in the Skull bundle.) When the man enters the lodge of the Morning Star priest, he sits down close to the fireplace but not at the altar. He has his tobacco pouch and pipe there. The dreamer goes up to the priest, who knows why he is there, and puts his arms around him, still crying. Both begin to cry because they know what they have to do: one is to capture the sacrifice, the other to perform the ritual killing. They feel that it is wrong, they know it is wrong, but they are commanded by the Morning Star and must do it. After they stop crying, the priest tells the man to sit down. He takes up a little pipe that is already filled and they smoke together. After they are through, the priest says, “Tell me what has befallen you.” He wants the story of the dream.

The dreamer states that he dreamed he saw a man anointed with red ointment, with a buffalo robe wrapped around him, and leggings with scalps and eagle feathers. His head was decorated with soft down feathers and an eagle feather stuck through his scalplock. He had a warclub. He said, “I am coming to this man in a dream,” meaning that he is rising. “I want you to see how I look. I am the one that has power in the east. I am the big bright star. You people have forgotten about me. It is now time to offer a human sacrifice to me. I am watching over your people. You must rise, go to the man who knows the ceremony, and let him know. He will tell you what to do.”

The dreamer says “I rose and went out. The Morning Star was up. I know that his commands must be obeyed; I know the hardships that I shall have to go through and have thought the whole thing over. I feel sad that it should fall upon me. I could not help but cry. Now I come to you.”

The priest fills the little pipe again and after lighting it goes outside of the lodge and offers the smoke to the Morning Star to make this man successful. He scatters the ashes outside, comes in, and sits down. They talk a little while.

The priest says, “Now I must take you out. You must take the pipe with you.” He fills the pipe again, gives it to the pledger, and tells him to go to the fireplace and light it. They go out of the lodge. The priest tells the dreamer to offer smoke to the Morning Star. He blows a whiff of smoke to it, asking the star to watch over him, that he may make no mistakes, and to take pity on him. When he is through smoking and talking, he empties the pipe, throws the ashes on the ground, and turns the pipe over to the priest, who then addresses the Morning Star. “Here is the man you have selected. I want you to notice him and know him.”

They return to the lodge and the priest says, “Now you must go to your own lodge; from this time on, you must not remain idle, but go out through the country. Stand on hills or sit on the lodge and always have in mind going out. It is left up to you when to start. When you are ready, come to me.”

The man returns to his lodge. It is rumored through the camp that he had a dream in which the Morning Star commanded him to capture a sacrifice. The men in the village watch wherever he goes. Finally he goes to the priest and tells him that he has made up his mind to arrange for the time when he shall set out for the enemy’s country. They sit and smoke. They decide that in four days he will tell his female family members to make several pairs of moccasins and to prepare anything else he may need for his journey. Most of the time he sits in the lodge with the priest.

Again, the people in the village hear that this man is to set out. So each man prepares himself, primarily by having several pairs of moccasins made. The women pound corn, roll it into balls, and put these into the new moccasins. Each is provided with a packet of parched corn. Then they call upon someone to pound pemmican for them. They can carry food in their extra moccasins only.

The dreamer goes into the lodge of the priest; while there, someone comes in and says, “Go out. I want to pack your moccasins and other things for you.” The dreamer thanks him, for he will have no time to get these things. Most of the middle-aged men in the village want to go on his war expedition to capture a sacrificial victim. The young men take no notice of what is going on because they are afraid.

On the fourth day the priest and the dreamer sit down. The priest takes down the Morning Star bundle and opens it. He takes out the otter collar, laying it to one side, the Mother Corn, and a hawk. There are two pipes in the bundle; he places the warrior’s pipe with the rest of the things. The priest and the pledger are alone; they have given orders that no one come into the lodge. The priest himself fills the pipe, lights it, and offers smoke to the pile of objects taken from the bundle. First he offers smoke to the main bundle and then to the warrior’s bundle.

The priest adds to the pile the soft down feathers that the dreamer is to wear, part of the skin of a wildcat, leggings filled with native tobacco, and paints. Four days are spent thus, during which time the priest tells him what to do on the journey. When they are through smoking, the priest puts to one side the objects he has taken from the Morning Star bundle, which he ties up and returns to its place on the wall. The warrior’s bundle now becomes the altar. With it are the ear of corn and the sacred pipe from the Morning Star bundle.

The man who is to carry the dreamer’s moccasins is now sent through the village to announce that a man is going on the warpath. He invites only certain men to come into the lodge. Great warriors who have previously been on the warpath are seated near the pledger. He selects a young man to act as his assistant. There are to be two leaders: The pledger is the main leader and sits at the south side; the assistant leader sits on the north side. When all are assembled, he informs them that he is about to go into the enemy’s country and asks if any of them wish to go. Everyone assembled volunteers. They go to their lodges and return with their equipment. They sit and smoke while the priest talks to the dreamer, telling him what to do on the journey.

After midnight the priest rises and goes out alone. When it is nearly time for the Morning Star to come up, the priest tells the dreamer it is time for them to set out. He asks the dreamer to rise. He gives him the buffalo-hair rope to tie around his waist and puts the otter collar on him; the hawk he fastens to his right shoulder, the ear of corn on the left, to the otter collar. He takes the red ointment and makes two streaks on either side of his face and marks a bird’s foot on his forehead. The priest hands him the pipe and tells him to carry it in his left hand when on a journey. If he should become tired, he may arrange his robe in such a way that he can carry the pipe on his back with the stem pointing upward. Now the priest goes out. Just as the Morning Star comes up, he takes the dreamer out of the lodge and faces him toward the star, saying, “Here is this man. He is now wearing your clothing. He is ready to start. Protect him and make him successful.” Then he leads the dreamer around in the lodge, around the fireplace, faces him toward the entrance, and directs his assistant to step alongside. The four warriors who are to act as leading scouts simply fall in behind. Those who are to act as fire makers and cooks come last in the procession. The priest tells them to start. They travel 15 or 20 miles [24–32 km] or until full daylight. When they come to a thickly wooded spot, they lie down and sleep. In the afternoon they resume their march. They camp at a timbered stream.

Camp must be made according to a fixed formula. As soon as they reach a desirable camping spot, they clear it. They make a little fireplace in the center. The dreamer takes off his regalia and otter collar and puts them west of the fireplace as an altar. The other men may talk and say anything they wish, but the leader (dreamer) sits at the altar all the time. Here they all sit down in the order of their rank and cosmic affiliation; the men who are to act as firemakers sit near the entrance. After they have cooked and eaten, the leader tells them to lie down and sleep, which they do in their places. He sits up and once in a while fills his pipe and smokes. He is the last man to lie down. Before the Morning Star rises, the four men who are to act as scouts go out into the country. Shortly before the Morning Star actually rises, the leader wakes the party by reciting a ritual. This ritual is given in full under the New Fire Ceremony (p. 140).

They go out and stop to rest about noon. At that time the four scouts come to tell them what they have seen. This routine is followed from day to day. When they see signs of an enemy, they go slowly. The scouts are always in the lead. Finally when the scouts find a village, they go around it and see how many tipis there are, etc. Then they run back and notify the leader.

The party now goes into the timber, where they clear a place, pull up all the grass and weeds, and make a circle just like a lodge. The first place cleared is where the leader’s regalia are to be placed as an altar. Then they make a fireplace, as in a lodge. They dig the dirt out from the fireplace and place it outside the circle on a mound.

The leader asks them to hunt for a buffalo skull. When they find one, they place it on the north side of the fireplace. Then he says, “Men, you have some presents that you may wish to offer to the gods. You may bring them to the altar.” They pile the gifts at the altar. He tells the two errand men to get 16 good-sized willows. To these they tie calico, beadwork, otterskin, or anything they have to offer. The leader says, “It is now time to offer tobacco to the gods in the heavens.” Selecting a man to make the tobacco offering, as in the stick ceremony (p. 59), the leader takes the tobacco from the wildcat bag and whispers to him where to place it. This done, he says, “Now we must offer the smoke.” He goes through the usual smoke offering procedure, except that the man stands west of the fireplace and blows whiffs of smoke to the different directions instead of going out to the different stations (Figure 10). When they are through, he tells them to prepare their meal. The errand man is sent out to take up the offering sticks and conceal them in the grass. When they have eaten, he directs the fire makers to make fire in the fireplace.

Now they are seated and they converse. During the night scouts are sent out. When they return and report to the leader that a suitable village has been located, the leader prepares for a ceremony. He first addresses the men, repeating in a formal and ritualistic style the substance of the reports; then he says, “Now we will sing.” He asks his assistant and two warriors to help him sing, and all the others to dance. He tells the fire keepers to make a big fire because he knows that if there are any enemies about they cannot see it. The leader sings, “The power of the earth goes through the enemy’s country; the power of the timbers goes through the enemy’s country.” They sing another song to which they dance: “This is the way I do when I am imitating, when I become angry or I am imitating.” He refers to imitating Morning Star. They sing this to all the steps (p. 43). As they dance, they seem to attack the fire as if it were an enemy. Those who go close to the fire thus let it be known that they will try to be brave before the enemy when they are close to the lines.

They keep watch as they dance; and when the Morning Star is visible, the leader dances. He puts on his regalia and goes around the fireplace. His pipe and other regalia are ready. They start out, the scouts leading. As they journey along, they report to the leader. They go to the west side of the enemy village and offer some native tobacco to the Morning Star. The leader prays, “Here is the enemy. Make my men brave. May I lose none of them. You must watch over us.” Then he gives orders for his assistant to lead some of the men around to the south side. He says, “I will give the wolf cry; then all prepare to make the attack. When I give the second wolf cry, give a war whoop and attack the village. Do not kill. As soon as you find a girl thirteen years old, lay your hand on her and pronounce her holy for the big star.⁶³ The others must assist him to bring her directly to me. Then leave the village. Do not harm any of the other people.”

Next he directs the four scouts to seek the ponies and drive them where he is standing, so that when they take captives, the ponies may be ready. Now he makes the wolf cry, and then another. The men give the war whoop and attack the village. The scouts drive the ponies to the leader. They have a fine pony ready for him. The others attack the village, but do not kill unless it is necessary. They capture a girl. Their work is done; they run back to the leader, and each man catches a pony. The man who captured the girl brings her up and says, “Leader, I pronounce her holy. She is to be the big star’s sacrifice.” The leader tells him to catch a pony and take her up behind.

Captivity and Sacrifice

They journey all day and rest at night for about three hours, then go on again. Finally, they approach their village; as they do so they set the prairie afire. The warriors take the soot from the burned grass and paint their faces black. Then they ride back and forth on a high hill, the leader behind them. They shout and yell. At this the village turns out to meet them, and as they come they shout to the people. “We have been successful. We have the captive.”

The priest comes up and the captive is turned over to him. The priest gets the pony she is riding. They go into the village, and the warriors tell how many times they counted coup (i.e., struck the enemy), how many were killed, etc. The women have scalp and victory dances. The leader does not go at once to his own lodge, but to the lodge of the priest and turns over to him his regalia, which are placed in the Morning Star bundle. Then they sit down, and while sitting there, they send for a man descended from the Wolf bundle keeper.⁶⁴ A hereditary office, it is his duty to guard the captive. Before he can take charge of the captive, however, the women are asked to leave the lodge. Then they make smoke from buffalo fat mixed with sweetgrass. They take the captive to this smoke and let the smoke pass over her. The priest holds his hands in the smoke and passes his hands over her. He takes her to the altar and tells the Wolf man, who is to be the keeper of the captive, to pass himself through the smoke too. He must be as cunning as a wolf in order to take care of her. The priest anoints the girl’s whole body with the red ointment and then takes from the bundle the dress, a buffalo calfskin that comes a little below her knees, that she is to wear. The waist is folded up and a buffalo-hair rope wound tightly around her waist to hold her skirt in. He places a little soft down feather on top of her head, black moccasins on her feet, and gives her a new robe. Now they tell the Wolf man to take her to his lodge and to take care of her. But before he takes her out, the priest goes to the bundle in which are a little bowl and a little buffalo horn spoon prepared for the captive. When eating she must use these. Before they go, the priest tells the Wolf man that every day he must take the girl to the leader so that the latter can give her something to eat at his lodge. She must always carry her wooden bowl and spoon. The priest asks the leader, “Have you any buffalo meatˀ” He replies that he has none. “Go through the village to your friends and relatives and find out if they have any. In case they have none, you must go on a buffalo hunt, to consecrate buffalo cows.” When they obtain the buffalo meat, they are ready for the ceremony. If, however, the Morning Star is not showing, they must wait until the star that has a big bright red light appears; then they may proceed.

The daily routine of the people proceeds in the usual way. If the captive was taken in the fall, then during the winter buffalo hunt the pledger seeks a certain buffalo. When the scouts return and tell of a herd of buffalo at a certain place, the pledger goes to the priest and asks how he should be dressed to kill a buffalo for the ceremony. The priest tells him to anoint himself with red ointment; that is all. He decorates the mane and tail of his horse with eagle feathers. He goes out with the other hunters, but when they make a dash at the buffalo, they keep away from him, for he is the one to perform the ceremony of sacrificing the captive girl and so should have the first chance.

He finds a fat cow; as he takes the arrow to shoot at it, he says, “It is consecrated to the big star.” Whether he kills it with one shot or not, the other people keep away from it. Later when they see the arrow there, they also keep away. When he kills the buffalo, he skins it, spreads the hide on the back of the pony, puts the meat on it, and puts the fore legs with the feet upward in front, at the shoulders of the pony. He places the hindquarters with the feet upward too. Then he leads the pony into the camp. The people know that that meat is to be prepared for the human sacrifice ceremony.

His wife now takes the heart and tongue and dries them—they always have a frame for drying meat—and the rest of the meat she jerks and puts on the frame to dry in the sun. She takes good care of the meat, and when it is dried she puts it in a parfleche, ties it up, and whenever they camp she hangs it out to dry in the sun.

When the people return to the village, the priest watches. When the big star is the Morning Star, he tells the pledger it is time for the ceremony. The priest tells the warrior leader to dismiss all the people from his lodge and have them take their belongings with them. He must have the beds removed and the lodge swept out. The rim of the fireplace is rebuilt. They bring many cedar limbs and throw them into the fire. The Morning Star bundle is then brought in by the keeper. The pledger is to furnish everything. His lodge must be used because it is eventually to be burned.

The bundle is hung up on the west wall of the lodge. The warrior leader is told to invite the four leading priests and the four assistants of the pledger. These men come in. The priest takes his seat at the altar with the other four: two on his right and two on his left. One of these on the left is the priest of all the bundles, the Evening Star priest.

The bundle is taken down and the warrior’s clothing taken from it and placed on one side of the altar. The priest then tells the pledger to come to the altar, bring some coals, place the ointment mixed with sweetgrass upon them, and let the smoke envelop him, and return to his place. The priest then recalls the pledger to the altar, gives him the red ointment, and tells him to cover his face, his head, and his body with it. While the priest is giving these instructions for his dress, the other men go through the smoke.

Now the priest gives to the pledger the scalp belt, which is an otter hide about 8 inches [20 cm] wide and full length, from head to tail, but trimmed on each side. One side of the belt is folded with scalps hung from it. The priest ties the belt round the pledger’s waist, gives him the warclub, and directs him to run through the village telling his relatives that he needs mats, wood, food, etc. So the pledger runs out of the lodge. He has the feather stuck through his scalplock. He goes through the village; at the lodges of his own relatives, he enters on the run, telling them what he needs for the people. They know at once that the ceremony is to begin, and the women take new unused mats into the lodge. They lay two at the altar, one where the old men are to sit and one where the Morning Star bundle is to rest. They lay all the other mats round the circle of the lodge. When they have enough, those mats that are left are divided among the priests.

Now the women come in carrying on their backs wood, which they pile on each side of the entrance until it reaches the side wall. They also cook corn and buffalo meat. When they were hunting buffalo, not only the pledger, but also his brothers and uncles killed other buffalo and dried the flesh. Parfleches of this meat are now brought into the lodge and are piled up west of the priest. They take one of these parfleches and set it at its usual place at the south side near the entrance.

The chief of the Morning Star village comes in and sits on the northwest side near the Morning Star priest, who asks the warrior leader if he has anything prepared to place where the Wolf man and girl are to sit. The errand man is sent out to his people and they bring in half a buffalo bull robe, which they spread on the south side at the place of the Wolf Star man (Figure 14). Then two cushions which have been prepared are placed on it. These are made of buckskin stuffed with deer hair.

It is now time for the Wolf man and girl to come in. They enter the lodge and are given seats where the cushions are. The Wolf man sits on the east side of the cushions and the girl on the west side. She has her bowl and horn spoon. The Wolf man rises, takes the girl, and puts her through the smoke; then he himself passes through the smoke. Other men come in now and are given seats, according to their rank and according to the place for their bundles (Figure 14).

Now four rings are marked on the floor of the lodge—one at the northwest, northeast, southwest, and southeast. Each ring is made a little larger than the fireplace; it is marked with the toe of a moccasin, the marker standing in the center of the ring and reaching out as far as he can. Then they take some of the down feathers out of the bundle and spread them around in the grooves marked out.

The girl and the Wolf man sit on the south side of the lodge, so they can be under the Wolf Star, which watches over the girl. Several old men sit there and when there is a pause in the ceremony or a rest period, it is their function to talk to the couple.

A fire is made in the lodge and four long poles—one each for the southeast, southwest, northwest, and northeast, and pointing towards the rings—are laid in it. On the northeast is an elm pole; on the southwest, a box elder; on the northwest, a cottonwood; and at the southeast, a willow.⁶⁵ As the ends of these poles burn away, they are pushed into the fire.

The warrior leader is seated on the south side. Kettles of corn are put on the east side. The chief priest is the last man to go through the smoke offering. The bundle contents are taken and passed through the smoke after that. Finally the priests put red ointment all over their bodies.

The ceremony begins. The Evening Star priest presides and begins with two songs from the ritual of the Evening Star bundle. After these songs there is a pause, during which the Evening Star priest returns to his seat. The Morning Star priest now takes charge, and they begin to sing the songs to lead the way for the Morning Star Ceremony. There are 21 songs which have been recorded for the ceremony. Songs 1–4 are introductory ones about Mother Corn; they tell of her presence during the proceedings. Songs 5–17 comprise the Morning Star ceremony proper, while the last four songs (18–21) come from other ceremonies. Two of the latter (viz., 18 and 19) are sung during the meat offering, and one other (20) is used when the sacrificial victim is painted.

The Morning Star priest begins with the first (p. 125) and second (p. 126) Morning Star songs. In the evening they rest and partake of food. At night they sing the third song (p. 126), after which the Wolf man conducts the girl to the altar. The warrior leader gives the red ointment to the priest, who covers the girl with it again, and they return to their seats. (My informant does not know what they do after that, but they sit there all night.) The next day the procedure is the same as for the first day.

The following day men crowd about the lodge. There are many of them, and they tear the dirt off the lodge to make holes so that the people can look in. And in the process they practically destroy the lodge. Once in a while, when they sing during the ceremony, the priest tells the warrior leader to rise and dance. Sometimes others dance. He takes up one of the four poles, which are kept burning during the ceremony. Taking the northeast pole with the fire at one end, he dances up to the girl and points it at her right side, but does not touch her. He dances toward her again and points the pole at her left side. Next with the southwest pole he points under her arm, but does not touch her. Then he takes up the other poles in succession.

Now during the third day the priest sends four men into the timber to cut poles. They must get the poles and select a place for the sacrifice scaffold. The two upright posts for the scaffold are to be cottonwood; four others are to be willow, cottonwood, box elder, and elm. The cross bars are to be willow. When they have the proper poles, these people select a place a mile or two [1.6–3 km] east of the village, where they place the poles and return to the village to notify the priest. He gives them strings cut from bear, mountain lion, wildcat, and wolf hides and sends one of the priests to instruct them in the building of the scaffold. They build this while the ceremony proceeds.

Under the scaffold is dug a rectangular hole about 5 inches [13 cm] deep. The bottom is covered with soft down feathers, upon which the blood of the sacrifice is to drip. As we shall see, the important point in the procedure is the dropping of the victim’s blood upon the meat to be offered. If the captive fails to bleed freely, it is a bad omen.

On the fourth day they still sing in the lodge. The girl is fed whenever the others eat and is taken out once in a while to walk around with the Wolf man, who sits by her. The leading priest wears his regalia; he is anointed and wears leggings decorated with scalps. He rises, dances around the lodge on the north side, around the south, and then back to the altar. Again he circles the lodge, dancing. When he reaches a point opposite the entrance, he whirls round, dances to the northeast ring and around it, destroying it and scattering the feathers through the lodge. He dances up to the southwest ring and destroys that too. Then he dances to the northwest and destroys that ring; then to the southeast ring, destroying it as well. They sing all afternoon, until it is night, at which time they sing the fifth song (p. 127). It tells of the powers in the heavens looking down upon the ceremony. The song is sung four times, each time with a different relationship term being substituted. Thus, “the grandfather is looking down,” is followed by stanzas with “father,” “uncle,” and “brother” occurring in place of “grandfather.” The sixth song (p. 127), referring to ceremonies on the warpath and the power of the earth that has gone through the enemy’s country, is sung. It is then followed by the seventh song (p. 127), which tells about the feelings of a warrior when he is about to attack a sighted enemy: He becomes angry or ferocious. In the seventh song they sing the first four of the woman’s steps and six of the man’s (p. 43), after which the man rises to wipe out the rings. Each time the leading priest wipes out a ring, there is a grunting sound through the lodge as if they were attacking an enemy. It means that the dancer, like a warrior, goes around the earth and through the timber.

They are seated. They take the girl up to the altar once more and paint her, covering her right side with red ointment, and painting her left side black, so that she is half red and half black. During this time they sing the first stanza of the eighth song (p. 128) four times to the first four woman’s steps (p. 43): earth, timbers, waters, and seeds. They pause and sing the second stanza of the eighth song (p. 128) six times to the following man’s steps: moccasins, moccasin string, robe, wonderful, Mother Corn, and bluebird [i.e., everything that is under the heavens].

Following this song they take a tanned hide that has been dyed and place it on the girl’s shoulders while singing the ninth song (p. 128). She is now wearing a skirt of the same kind. They say, “You now wear the robe belonging to Grandfather Meteorite. You have the covering belonging to Father Meteorite. You have the covering belonging to Uncle Meteorite. You have the covering belonging to Brother Meteorite.” They also place a row of erect feathers on the median line of her head so as to stand out fan-like, as do those on the calumet stick (Fletcher, 1904:37–42). Again they take her to her place and she sits down on her cushion. The Wolf man is very kind to her. The priests sing the tenth song (p. 129) ten times, to the usual four woman’s steps and the six man’s steps (p. 43): “It was the flying power who gave you the earth. It was the flying power who gave you the timbers. It was the flying power who gave you the waters. It was the flying power who gave you the seeds. It was the flying power who gave you the moccasins. It was the flying power who gave you strings to tie, etc.” Flying power signifies Evening Star.

After these songs they take up their gourd rattles again and sing the eleventh song (p. 129), substituting the usual woman’s and man’s steps: “The earth flowing with milk they are making; The earth covering with soft down feathers.” (When they sing of the earth flowing with milk, they speak figuratively of placing the soft down feathers on the earth.) “The timbers with soft feathers they are making you.” The second stanza is about the moccasins with soft down feathers. They still imitate the thunders in the singing.

The fundamental concept in all of these rituals is that the powers in the heavens cause everything by their wish or will. So it was in the creation of the first child to be placed upon the earth. The bundle itself is symbolic of the creation. The cover is the flora, or the covering, of the earth. The seeds are the elements of life wrapped in this covering. So in the wrappings of the bundle are the seeds covered. The most important contents of these coverings, from the Indian’s point of view, are the corn and the buffalo. Again, the first child created was wrapped in a robe and placed upon the earth for the storms and water to uncover. It is also said that the sacrifice in this ceremony symbolizes this first child. It is further conceived that with the creation the world was charged with power or potentiality for good and is ready to give forth benefits to all men.

After the twelfth song (p. 129) is sung, the priest lays down the rattles and takes up the sacred pipe from the bundle. (Among the decorations to this pipe is a woven belt of Navajo or other southwestern origin.) The bowl of this pipe is of red stone. If it is daytime, tobacco is taken from the bag made of eagle skins; if night, from that of wildcat. A special pipestick is provided with a large paddle-shaped head. This is also used with the small warrior’s pipe in the bundle and so carried to war. The present stick has a number of notches cut into it, recording horses captured when it was carried to war.

After the regular smoke ceremony is performed, the pipe is taken apart and returned to the bundle, whence follows the procedure of putting the important parts of the bundle through the smoke.

An assistant is given sweetgrass, which he chops up fine with a knife and mixes with buffalo fat, rolling it into a ball. The errand man is then sent out for a shovel and a stick, with which he takes a few coals of fire from the fireplace, and deposits them at a point on the south side of the lodge. In the meantime, the kettles of food for the feast are brought in. The important point is that until the objects in the bundle have been put through the smoke, no one may pass between the food and the fire.

The ball of fat and sweetgrass is now put upon the coals, and as the smoke rises the attendant brings the sacred objects one by one. Standing on the north side of the fire, he puts them through the smoke four times. He first takes the bow, the quiver, the Cheyenne medicine arrow, and the bag to the pipe. These are then handed to the man sitting on the south side who is to shoot the sacrifice. Then come in succession the pipe and the ear of corn, the owlskins, the other birds, the otter collar, the scalp belt, and the counting sticks, handed alternately to the men on the right and left of the holder of the bow. Now the leading priest takes up the buffalo skin cover to the bundle that it may be put through the smoke. It should be noted that during the winter the head of the skin is turned toward the north and in summer to the south. If it is now time for the change, the priest so manipulates the cover as it is returned. Finally the rattles are put through the smoke, and the officiating assistant adds a climax to the procedure by putting himself through the smoke.

Now the objects are returned to the bundle, care being exercised that they all point in the right direction.

Following this all the men seated in the lodge, in order, put themselves through the smoke, thus bringing themselves good fortune. Last of all come the priests.

Now, as usual in ceremonies, women who gave food may request the recital of the accompanying ritual (p. 152) and names may be changed.

When all is over the errand man goes to the smoke, puts himself through, then puts the coals and ashes back into the fireplace and stamps out all traces with his foot. At this point two songs are sung preparatory to the feast. The time should now be midnight, or after, and a recess is taken, after which is sung the thirteenth song (p. 130) concerning the dressing of the warrior and the captive for the sacrifice. It was learned through visions or dreams that Morning Star was clothed like the warrior described in the thirteenth song. He stands upon the earth, upon the power of Grandfather Meteor (line c). In singing this they go as far down the scale their voices will carry. When they get to the last stanza the warrior (dreamer) stands clothed with Grandfather Meteor’s clothing and so has his power—i.e., stands there representing Morning Star, the god of war.

The getting of moccasins, strings, and robe for the captive recalls the corresponding steps. When the captive is dressed in the black moccasins, etc., she is wa· rukstiˀ ‘holy’ through the power of Mother Corn and Hawk.

When this song is sung, the singers and people all cry. (Our informant shed tears when he sang this.) They seem to be pathetic songs that move those who hear them and know the meaning. When the thirteenth song is completed, the men strike downward four times with the gourds and lay them down. Once in a while, the warrior leader rises and takes up each of the poles at the fireplace in its order, commencing with the northeast clockwise. He points at the girl, but never touches her. They take up the gourds again. The priest takes up braided elkhide thongs and tells the warrior leader to come to him. He hands the thongs to the warrior to tie the girl’s wrists, and again they sing (fourteenth song, p. 131) a series of stanzas dealing with tying the sacrifice.

Now she is tied sitting down.
Now she arises as she is tied.
The tie is complete.

On the fourth day, one of the priests goes out, climbs the lodge, and announces that all men, young men, young boys, and male babies must now make their bows and arrows. Even a male baby must have a little bow and arrow. The men, of course, have theirs; the young boys make their own with blunt points, as the babies’ arrows are also made. The girl stands with the thongs on her hands. It is almost daylight. The four priests, taking the four leading bundles, have gone out and returned. They are now dressed in their ceremonial regalia too.

The Yellow Star bundle priest has taken two owl skins from the bundle and is wearing them on his back. He then borrows the bow that is in the Skull bundle and provides one arrow (red). The Red Star bundle priest also wears owls, but he has one of the poles with coals at the end. The White Star bundle priest has the warclub; he also has on his back owls that belong to this bundle. The fourth leading bundle priest, Big Black Meteoric Star, now has the Morning Star’s flint knife and also has owls on his back.

The four men who are assistant priests attend these men. One now rises. The Morning Star priest instructs the Wolf man to assure that the girl makes the required movements as they are sung in the songs. Then the warrior leader is dressed with the scalp belt, otter collar, and the pipe in his hand.

The leading priests stand there and rattle their gourds and sing (Figure 19). Then the whole procession leaves the lodge and proceeds toward the scaffold. The Wolf man and the girl are in the lead, the warrior leader behind them, the four priests, then the chiefs, then the warriors, and finally the common people. As the procession marches out of the lodge, the four leading bundle priests must hide their weapons.

The fifteenth song (consisting of 17 stanzas) is concerned with the march to the scaffold. The first stanza tells that her spirit is alive for a short time only; the second states that she is looking around with her eyes for a short time only. Subsequent ones enumerate her activities as she proceeds from the lodge to the scaffold.

Dawn is coming. The scaffold is ready. The two uprights are cottonwood, the overhead pole is willow; the pole the girl is to stand on is also willow; the next pole is cottonwood, then box elder, and the next elm. She must stand between the two willows, for they are water trees. At the top are tied otter-skins, because the otter is a water animal. At the lower willows on which she is to stand are wolf skins, then mountain lion, bear, and wildcat in that order. She is to climb the scaffold like a ladder.

FIGURE 19.—Leader, a Skiri priest and owner of the Morning Star Ceremony. (Courtesy Field Museum of Natural History.)

It is now sunrise. The whole village is present. When they reach the scaffold, they pause. The maiden sees the scaffold and is afraid, but the Wolf man pleads with her and coaxes her to ascend. (The idea seems to be that the captive must proceed in all things of her own free will. Hence, the Wolf man is credited with great skill in inducing her to do all the necessary things, in particular, to climb the frame.) He finally persuades her to start and they sing about her climbing the scaffold (sixteenth song, p. 133). She climbs up and they sing the first stanza four times, again for the four different heavenly powers. She reaches the top; he ties her wrists to the last pole. She is facing east. As she stands on the crosspiece, they sing. The mounting of the scaffold is now complete. The four leading priests and the warrior stand ready in the four directions, hiding in ravines or depressions. A man carrying one of the burning poles from the fire runs up from the ravine and feigns to touch her on each side under the arms and on the loins, then runs back to the ravine. Another man comes up with the bow and arrow and shoots her through the side, striking the heart.

Now the Morning Star is coming up. The man with the flint knife approaches, gives a war whoop, and climbs the scaffold. He cuts a small opening over the heart, puts his hands into the cut, and with four movements puts the marks of blood on his own face. Then he runs down into the ravine. In the meantime, a man appears carrying meat consecrated for this ceremony. He has the meat from a whole buffalo, the heart and tongue on top. With the dried meat in his arms, he goes to the scaffold and there holds it under the scaffold to catch some of the drops of blood. If the blood does not drip on the meat, bad luck for all will follow, for it is a bad omen. Further, none of the blood must be allowed to drip upon the soft down feathers below the scaffold. (A very small cut is made, as but a few drops of blood are desired. The heart is not exposed or removed.)

Finally comes the man with the warclub. He makes four feints at each of the four points of the body and then touches her upon the heart. As he does so he gives a war whoop and runs away. The idea is that by this blow the spirit of the sacrifice leaves her to go up into the heavens to become one of the stars, where she will watch over the people for whom she died.

In the meantime the priests of the other bundles have kindled a fire nearby, to the southeast. This is a new fire, made by the priest of the Evening Star bundle, using the firesticks in the bundle. When the blood has ceased to drip upon the meat offering, its bearer wheels around and goes to the fire, circles the fireplace four times, and standing west of it, raises the meat toward the heavens, lowers it gradually, and drops it into the fire where it burns, the idea being that the smoke will go up to the heavens.

Now the men and boys come up and begin to shoot the sacrifice in the back. As they shoot her, they sing war songs, etc., and some run to the village to tell what they have done. Even the children are told to shoot. At last there are so many arrows in her back that there is room for no more. Even the mothers of little children shoot small arrows for them. The people move around; some of them run to the fireplace and go round and round; withal there is much shouting.

A procession of all the people is then formed and, led by the priest, circles the scaffold and the fire where the meat offering is burning. The priests then sing (not recorded here), “Let the sacrifice alone,” and send the people home.

It is daylight. Morning Star has seen the whole performance. The four men chosen as assistants to the priests now come forward, untie the body, take it down, and carry it about a quarter of a mile from the scaffold onto the prairie, where they lay it face downward with head to the east. The men sing the final (17th) song (p. 134). “The earth you shall become a part of,” i.e., she will turn into or become a part of the earth through this great ceremony. The idea is that all the animals in the song shall now become a part of her because some of them will come out from her and others shall eat of her.

Then these men return to the lodge. There is general rejoicing and jollification through the village. The women get out their husband’s war-bonnets, spears, etc., and go in mimic war parties around the village. Men and women dance.

The participants go back into the ceremonial lodge, where the parfleche of meat and other things are taken out, and they eat. There are some additional songs for the return to the lodge after the sacrifice, which I did not secure. Now when seated they first sing about the knife (18th song) for cutting the meat and then make the usual offering (19th song). After the feast the leading priest makes an address. The ceremony is over and the people are dismissed.

We have now given as full an account of the sacrifice as the data available permit. The greater part of the songs have been preserved so that I can give their texts here. The carrying out of the ritual required four days. The following rambling statement of an informant gives a general outline of the basic beliefs from which the ritual was formulated:

Each star after it was placed in the heavens by Tirawahat himself was given power to watch over the people. The common stars themselves had once been people. Morning Star had to overcome Evening Star in order to create the earth. After the people were placed upon the earth, each star gave a bundle to various bands of people. They did not know anything about it, but the Pumpkin Vine Village knew their ritual as also did Wolves Standing In Water. This first man, in planning out the Evening Star bundle, brought all the bundles together. He said, “You in your sacrifice must sacrifice scalps, because the minor gods in the heavens demand that; but Morning Star wants a human sacrifice as his due. He has given you a girl from whom the people came. Now you must return her to him. Evening Star wants only an enemy’s hair and the buffalo heart and tongue.”

The girl from the heavens was placed on the earth by the rainstorms. She ran to and fro, her ear bones trembling (i.e., kept moving her head round to see if she could hear something). From this girl came a great people. They had to leave their first grass lodge. The poles were left in the ground for the buffalo to rub on. They were required to consecrate buffalo and to bring into the village a captured maiden to be sacrificed.

At the time of the flood there were four animals who touched the heavens. As the waters rose, they stood on solid ground beneath. But from the north came a big turtle, who said, “I will destroy them.” So he got under the water nearby, and the animals stepped on the turtle’s back thinking it was earth and then slipped off to drown. As each one fell over, it said, “The people shall say, ‘West, east, north, south.’“

There is always a man in the ceremony to handle the counting sticks from the bundle. He keeps tally of the songs as they are sung. They speak of this as gambling with the Morning Star. Thus one will say, “Now we are about to win, for there are but a few sticks left.”

When all the sticks have been sung over to the people’s side, they say, “Now we have won and can go on with the sacrifice.”

These sticks are said to be symbolic of one’s life struggle as one wrests his life from the gods in the heavens. He also wrests his achievements from the unlucky powers. Hence, in the ceremony the idea is that they are winning from the gods by singing over the counting sticks to the people’s side.

The set of sticks is kept in the Morning Star bundle for this purpose. No other bundle has them, but in the Thunder Ceremony the songs are counted with ordinary sticks in much the same way.

Songs of the Sacrifice

Most of the songs comprising the ritual of the Morning Star bundle and used in the ceremony just described are included herein. As stated, the sacrificial ceremonies are opened by the Evening Star priest with two songs from the Evening Star bundle’s ritual. The Evening Star priest must be present and lead when these are sung, for through his singing the whole Morning Star ritual will be animated with power. To the first two songs all 56 steps are sung, or the entire list for men and women (p. 43). With the singing of the first song, the bundle has been opened and Mother Corn is there, symbolic of Evening Star. For that reason they say, “Mother is now sitting in the lodge and you can rattle the gourds.”

In the third song the idea expressed is that through the power of the earth it is possible for Mother Corn to be sitting inside the lodge. She created all things herein and is now present. If the ceremony is given in the spring after the first thunders an additional song (No. 4, p. 126) must be sung at this point. The idea in the Thunder Ceremony (p. 48) is that at this moment the real Mother Corn, of which the ear in the bundle is but a symbol, is sitting up in the heavens at the altar of the Evening Star and from thence sending her thunders down to the earth that life may be reawakened. At other times of year, the songs are so worded as to refer to this event as having taken place. Songs 5 through 17, comprising the Morning Star ritual, follow.

First Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The second stanza is sung to the same music as the first. In the second stanza the central idea is that, through the presence of Mother Corn in the lodge, the powers of the moccasins are also present. These are the powers of the moccasins that are to be worn by the captive. The idea comes from the covering of the sacred bundle itself. The moccasins are on the outside, like the coverings or wrappings of clouds, while the powers are inside. The strings with which they tie the moccasins and also the hands of the captive represent rain. By covering the captive with the robe, she becomes a wonderful being through the Mother Corn that has been carried on the warpath to get the captive. By carrying the pipestem with the little bluebird on it representing the skies, the bird will carry the prayers from the pipe to the gods above.

Second Song

[There is no second song recorded in the original manuscript. Whether it is missing or this simply reflects an error in numbering is not clear.—DRP]

Third Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The third song is sung with only ten steps, the first four for the women in the first stanza and the first six for the men in the second stanza (p. 46). The idea expressed in this song is that through the power of the earth it is possible for Mother Corn to be sitting inside the lodge. She created all things herein and is now present. The music is the same as in the first song.

When Morning Star went to conquer this mysterious woman in the west, his younger brother had the sacred bundle; and when the sacred bundle is wrapped up, it is like a moccasin. When they came to an obstacle that Evening Star placed in front of Morning Star, he took out a sack the shape of the moccasin in which he carried his power. This was a ball of fire which he would roll towards the obstacle to overcome it. Then he would return the ball of fire to the bundle. Hence the full idea in the first four of the man’s steps is an envelope in which power is placed.

Fourth Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The idea in this song is to show whence power is received. It comes from the heavens: thus, “It was you who spoke; you who stand above; the earth shall have it.” In the Thunder Ceremony it runs, “Wonderful power he shall now have.”

Fifth Song

This song is sung four times to the following steps: tipa· ti ‘my grandfather’; tiˀ asi ‘my father’; ciriksi ‘my uncle’; and ira·riˀ ‘my brother’.

The idea seems to be that when the bundle is opened for the warriors to go in search of a captive, the powers above are looking down upon them. Also it is the belief that when the captive is offered, the meteors of the heavens are all looking down.

Sixth Song

This is sung once again, using asu·ruˀ , instead of hura·ruˀ. This song also refers to ceremonies on the warpath. The power of the earth has gone through the cleared places, or altars. It also means that the power of the earth has gone through the enemy’s country, this power being none other than the ear of corn that is enveloped with the powers of the west, i.e., the power of Evening Star. In this ritual it means that a man clothed with the power of Morning Star is now going through the lodge to erase the four rings.

Seventh Song

This song is sung by a war party in their ceremonies when they first see the enemy on the warpath. They clear a place on the ground where they make an altar for the war clothing, as they sing, “This is the way I do.” As they are about to attack the enemy, they seek to become filled with the spirit of the war god. When so filled, they become ferocious or angry. In this ritual the captive is present; but they sing this song because they are going to sacrifice her and must go through the ceremony in an angry, or warlike, mood. They must at least pretend to be angry. Morning Star is the war god and they are to act as if filled with his spirit. When a man on the warpath puts on the war clothing from the bundle, he is also so animated by virtue of his being wrapped in them.

This song is repeated for each of the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ, tuha·ruˀ, caha·ruˀ and kaki·ˀ uˀ; and then the first six man’s steps: asu·ruˀ, kstaripi· ruˀ, rawitat, wa·rukstiˀ, atiraˀ , and kiriki.

Eighth Song

First Stanza

In the first stanza the reference is to the gods above, who are making the captive become a part of the earth. The captive is brought to the altar and is painted while this song is sung. The idea is that she is to return to the earth when she is sacrificed.

Second Stanza

The form of the second stanza, like the first, consists of four repetitions of the first couplet (lines A and B), making a total of ten lines in all, with the same variation (line C) in the final couplet.

This song is sung once to the following man’s steps, asuruˀ, kstaripi·ruˀ, rawitat, wa·rukstiˀ, atirabˀ , and kiriki.

In this song “I” means the people, not the gods in the heavens. “I make your moccasins fruitful” means that the powers are in the holy sack like a moccasin (p. 46). By fruitful i s meant potential power for good. The people themselves wear moccasins to go over the plains to get what they want; and moccasins, like all things, come from the powers in the heavens. When in the fourth step of line B they sing hi wa·rukstiˀ ˙holy’, the idea is that through these fruitful powers one is made happy. The notion is that the powers are able to produce and develop much. When the powers put the moccasins on the people, tie them, and put the covering (robes) upon them, give them the sacred bundle, the Mother Corn, the bluebird, and the pipes, all the powers have been conferred upon them; and it is just the same as things coming to life in the initial creation. Thus, a warrior clothed with these wonderful things goes out, brings back a scalp, and makes it holy by offering smoke to the gods in the heavens, signifying that all things hard to get are to be had through these powers.

“I make you” may also mean making something that the people can have, e.g., moccasins to wear. They are to sacrifice the captive, and through this they believe it will be easy for people to go on the hunt, get their mocassins, material, strings, etc.

Ninth Song

The ninth song is sung once for each of the following: tipa·ti ‘grandfather’ (Wolf Star), tiˀasi ‘father’ (Morning Star), ciriksi ‘uncle’ (Big Black Meteoric Star), and ira·riˀ ‘brother’ (North Star).

Now when they have dressed the captive, they say: “You have the clothing (i.e., the powers) of the gods in Grandfather Meteor,” not only grandfather, but father, uncle, and brother—all the gods who held councils in the heavens to create things.

Tenth Song

The Evening Star twinkles when it is bright in the heavens at sundown. Venus is Evening Star at this time of the year (August). Mars is pursuing Venus, as narrated in the origin myth (p. 31). It is Evening Star that gives the women all these things, beginning with the earth, etc.

The captive represents the first woman. The idea in the song is that Venus gave the people all these things, provided they sacrifice to her, for through her they received all these things and through the sacrifice all will be fruitful, or multiply and increase. Evening Star gave to women the things sung in their 26 steps and to men those 30 enumerated in theirs.

This song is repeated for each of the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ, tuha·ruˀ, caha·ruˀ , and kaki·ˀuˀ; and then for the first six man’s steps: asu·ruˀ, kstaripi·ruˀ, rawitat, wa·rukstiˀ, atiraˀ, and kiriki.

Eleventh Song

This song is repeated for each of the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ, tuha·ruˀ, caha·ruˀ , and kaki·ˀuˀ ; and then for the first six man’s steps: asu·ruˀ, kstaripi·ruˀ, rawitat, wa·rukstiˀ, atiraˀ , and kiriki.

Twelfth Song

This song is repeated for each of the first four woman’s steps: hura·ruˀ, tuha·ruˀ, caha· ruˀ, and kakiˀuˀ; and then for the first six man’s steps: asu·ruˀ, kstaripi· ruˀ, rawitat, wa· rukstiˀ, atiraˀ, and kiriki.

Thirteenth Song

CLOTHING FOR A WARRIOR AND THE SACRIFICE

This song consists of 16 stanzas, each composed of three lines repeated three times as shown in the first stanza. In the following 15 stanzas, lines A–C are given but once. Each of the stanzas of this song has the same music. The song is regarded as one of the most important of the entire ceremony, because the warrior who will initially shoot the sacrifice is regarded as Morning Star. The steps of the song run as follows: (1) standing; (2) moccasins; (3) string; (4) leggings; (5) top legging straps; (6) belt; (7) bags of paint; (8) robe; (9) collar, i.e., sack; (10) bow and arrows; (11) pipe; (12) the five points on the body; (13) paint on the body; (14) soft down feathers; (15) feathers for the head; (16) the complete costume.

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Fifth Stanza

Sixth Stanza

Seventh Stanza

Eighth Stanza

Ninth Stanza

Tenth Stanza

Eleventh Stanza

Twelfth Stanza

Thirteenth Stanza

Fourteenth Stanza

Fifteenth Stanza

Sixteenth Stanza

At this point in the song series, song one from the New Fire Ritual (p. 141) is sung, representing the gathering of timber for the scaffold. It should be noted that in the context of the New Fire Ritual the wood is to be used for mounting scalps.

In the fourteenth song following, the concepts represent the tying up of the captive in preparation for her sacrifice.

Fourteenth Song

TYING THE SACRIFICE

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Each stanza is sung four times, each time to the following four steps: wakucuˀ ‘clouds’ or wolf power; takucuˀ ‘winds’ or wildcat power; rukucuˀ ‘lightning’ or mountain lion power, and cikucuˀ ‘thunder’ or bear power. Only the first syllable of each word (wa, ta, ru, and ci)is sung. Their significance is supposed to be known only to the priests. When they sing of the lightning (ru), they all groan to represent thunder. All stanzas are sung to the same music. The four syllables are symbolic of the four leading bundles, which, though dedicated to the four world quarters, also represent the wolf, wildcat, mountain lion, and bear. Because they are in the heavens, these animals must be sung to whenever sacrifices of flesh are made.

Fifteenth Song

MARCHING TO THE SCAFFOLD

First Stanza

Each of the following 16 stanzas consists of two repetitions of lines A and B, making a total of six lines, as in the first stanza. Then each full stanza is sung, for each of the four powers, viz., wa, ta, ru, and ci. They are all sung to the same tune. Line B of each stanza is the same as line B in the first stanza; hence only line A, which is the one that changes, is given for the next 16 stanzas.

Sixteenth Song

CLIMBING THE SCAFFOLD

First Stanza

Each of the following six stanzas consists of two repetitions of lines A and B, making a total of six lines, as in the first stanza. Then each full stanza is sung for each of the four powers, viz., wa, ta, ru, and ci. They are all sung to the same tune. The syllables hu hu hu, usually representing the sound of thunder, here represent the cries of the priests lamenting the fate of the captive maiden. In the following six stanzas, line B of each stanza is the same as line B in the first stanza; hence only line A, which is the only one that changes, is given for the next six stanzas.

After the sixth stanza they are through. They have made the burnt offering of buffalo meat and the captive’s blood (p. 123). The seventh stanza about the waving hair is also given in the New Fire Ceremony (p. 142). The reference here is to the loose hair of the sacrifice blown about by the wind.

Seventeenth Song

First Stanza

Lines A and B of the subsequent 11 stanzas are as follows. Each pair of lines is sung five times, as in the first stanza.

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Fifth Stanza

Sixth Stanza

Seventh Stanza

Eighth Stanza

Ninth Stanza

Tenth Stanza

Eleventh Stanza

Twelfth Stanza

Eighteenth Song

SONG FOR THE STONE KNIFE

When the man with the knife comes up to draw the few drops of blood from the sacrifice (p. 123), the following song is sung. It is used again when the meat is about to be cut for the feast at the close of the ceremony (p. 124).

The above lines are sung four times for each of the following steps: ka·tit ‘black’, pahat ‘red’, rahkata ‘yellow’, ta·ka ‘white’. As these songs are sung, the flint knife is laid upon the meat to be offered; in recent times, a metal knife was placed beside it.

Nineteenth Song

SONG ABOUT THE MEAT

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The first stanza is sung four times to the first four woman’s steps: hura.ruˀ ‘earth’, tuha.ruˀ ‘trees and shrubbery,’ caha.ruˀ “waters’, and kaki-”ˀuˀ ‘seeds’. The second stanza is sung six times to the following man’s steps: asu.ruˀ ‘moccasins’, kstaripi.-ru’’ ‘moccasin string’, rawitat ‘robe’, wa.rukstiˀ ‘wonderful’, atiraˀ ‘Mother (Corn)’, and kiriki ‘bluebird’.

Twentieth Song

SONG ABOUT THE PAINTS

First Stanza

Second Stanza

The idea here is that the paint materials lie embedded in the earth. The basic concept is that paints were promised to the people by the powers in the heavens. (See also song on page 90.) This song is sung when the girl who is to be sacrificed is painted (p. 120). However, this song properly belongs to the ritual for gathering the corn plant (pp. 84, 90).

The New Fire Ceremony

The main ritual in this procedure was derived from the Evening Star bundle, which is the keeper of the firesticks, but was otherwise repeated by all the important bundles. The ritual is, however, a part of the scalp offering and may occur at any time if the necessary trophies are brought in. When a man is killed or has had coup counted on him on the battlefield, or even when he has been shot at, his scalp may be pronounced holy and so consecrated to a particular bundle. As some bundles require different portions of the head skin, the scalp must be removed in accordance with the assignment.

When a successful war party begins the return journey after an enemy encounter, a brief scalp ceremony is required. All sit in a circle; and with certain observances, the song that is also from the Morning Star ritual and refers to the bringing in of the poles for the scaffold (pp. 131, 141) is sung. In this case the reference is to the stick from which the stretching hoop for the scalp is to be made and to the carrying pole. Also, songs are sung referring to the scraping away of the flesh (p. 141), and finally the waving of the hair in the wind as the scalp hangs upon its pole (p. 142).

After this little ceremony the scalp is scraped and painted red upon the fleshed side, then stretched in the hoop and fastened to a pole, which is planted in the ground when the party halts.

As the war party nears the village of its people these poles are waved. The people rush out to meet them and all triumphantly march in. The poles bearing scalps are then delivered to the keepers of the bundles to which they were pledged and are planted in front of the respective lodges until needed in the subsequent ceremonies.

The women may now have the victory dance as described in Murie’s first paper (1914:598), but must return the scalps to the bundles. At such time after this as the priest in charge may direct, the final ceremony is held. To this final ritual the name “New Fire” is given. We have included the full account of the ceremonial sequence, beginning with the war party rituals and the taking of a scalp, as narrated by an informant.

Procedures and Rituals of the Warpath

The minor gods in the heavens, the stars, were placed there by Tirawahat after the creation of all other things. In the east Morning Star was the supreme male power; in the west Evening Star was the ruling female power. In order to prevent the increase of people, to which she objected, Evening Star killed many male gods who came from the east. Morning Star undertook the task of conquering Evening Star, carrying with him his sacred bundle in which was a ball of fire. After he had overcome the woman, he left his sacred bundle with her, giving her power to care for it. Later this bundle was known as the Evening Star (or Yellow Calf) bundle.

After people were placed on the earth, the gods whose work it had been demanded sacrifices of them through their priests. Morning Star asked for a virgin maiden; the others were satisfied with scalps. Through the visions and dreams of the first priest each god provided for the ceremony.

In the old days, when a warrior leader was about to set out on the warpath, he borrowed the clothing of a leading warrior from the high priest. The warrior clothing was to be found in all the bundles, except the Evening Star bundle. A warrior’s regalia consisted of a whole otter collar, a sacred pipe, an eagle feather, soft down feathers, a buffalo-hair rope, paint, and native tobacco. The otterskin was split through the middle so the warrior could put his head through. The head of the otter usually hung at the back. On his right shoulder the warrior wore a swift hawk and on the left hung Mother Corn. On his breast were two flint arrowheads, each encircled in a ring of sweetgrass.

On his return to his lodge with the regalia, the warrior placed them on an altar west of the fireplace. By this time he had selected the men who were to go with him. In the evening he sat west of the fireplace with the regalia in front of him. He had his tobacco pouch and small pipe, which he smoked occasionally. (The sacred pipe could only be smoked at stated times.) Now men entered the lodge and were assigned to places according to their rank. Many spectators and aspirants for membership in the war party entered; some were accepted and some rejected.

Then the leader said, “Brothers, we are about to go on the warpath. Are you prepared?” They all answered in the affirmative. They went after their quivers and three or four pairs of moccasins filled with pemmican and parched corn. They sat up part of the night and told war stories, in the process testing the endurance of the men: any who fell asleep were compelled to remain behind.

At dawn they prepared to set out. The leader put on the regalia, as before described, and carrying the sacred pipe in his left hand, marched out of the lodge followed by the rank and file. By sunrise they had left their home camp far behind and kept on their way until afternoon, when reaching thick timber, they rested. They sat in a circle, the leader at the west with the warrior clothing in front of him as an altar.

When they reached the enemy’s country, the leader advised the leading scout to reconnoiter before daylight. One day the scouts informed the leader that they had discovered a camp of ten tipis. That afternoon they reached a timbered bottom near the enemy’s camp, where they rested. The leader ordered a place cleared and a fireplace dug in the center. West of the fireplace he made an altar, placing the hawk, corn, and pipe on the otterskin. Then he directed one of the men to hunt for a buffalo skull on the prairie. When brought in, it was placed on the north side of the fireplace (Figure 20).

THE SMOKE OFFERING.—When all the arrangements were completed, the leader addressed the party as follows: “Warriors and young men, it is now time to offer smoke to the gods in the heavens that they may grant us success in our undertaking. I have decided that we attack the enemy, kill some, scalp some, and capture ponies. I will fill my pipe with tobacco and appoint Spotted Horse to offer the smoke, for he is an anointed man; he has consecrated many buffalo.”

FIGURE 20.—Diagram Of Clearing And Positions Of War Party
Members For Smoke Offering Prior To Attacking Enemy.

Spotted Horse took the pipe, walked around the fireplace, and sat down northeast of it. The south errand man took from the fireplace a stick with coals at one end and placed the coal on the pipe. When he had lighted the pipe, he replaced the stick and returned to his seat. Spotted Horse went around the fireplace to the east and gave a whiff of smoke to the god in the southeast and took one or two steps to the northeast and gave a whiff to the god in the northeast. Now he moved to the fireplace and gave a whiff of smoke to the northeast on the fireplace. Then he moved to the west and offered smoke to the southwest and the south. He gave one whiff southeast of the fireplace rim, passed around the skull, stood west of it, and blew smoke under its nostrils four times. He stood west of the fireplace and offered one whiff each in turn toward the skies to Tirawahat, to the Morning Star in the east, to the Evening Star in the west, and to the east again to Big Black Meteoric Star. Still standing in the same position he blew smoke three times to the north—first to the star that controls north winds, then to the star whose hiccoughs send winds of fortune that drive buffalo toward the people, and finally to the North Star. Now he blew smoke twice on the south to the sun and the moon.⁶⁷ He faced west and walked towards the altar, stopped between it and the fireplace to offer smoke and then again at the edge of the altar, to Hawk and to Mother Corn. Then he passed around the fireplace by way of the southeast and north, and the leader smoked; to the west, and the assistant leader in the south smoked. Again he circled by the west, and all the warriors smoked. Finally, after the ashes were scattered in front of the skull, he stood north of it and passed his right and left hands alternately over the pipestem; then moving towards the altar, he passed his hands first over the pipe and then the hawk. With his left hand he touched first the pipestem and then Mother Corn. He stepped back, standing erect, passed his right hand over the pipestem, touched his head, and moved down his right side to his left foot, which he pressed. Again he stood erect with the pipe in his right hand and went through the same motions with his left hand. After repeating this twice, alternately, he returned the pipe to the leader, who accepted it saying, “Rawa,” followed by a general, “Rawa.” Spotted Horse returned to his place in the circle.

THE STICK OFFERING.—The leader addressed the warriors: “Warriors, scouts, young men, and fire makers, it is time for us to offer presents to the gods in the heavens, on the earth, and under the earth, and to the chiefs and doctors at home. Their prayers are good and true and their sayings wonderful. The chiefs will pray to Tirawahat and the doctors to the animal gods that we may be successful in conquering our enemy. Bring your gifts. I will send two errand boys for many willows.”

When the two boys departed, the warriors untied their bundles and took their gifts to the altar. They presented calico, necklaces, beads or whatever they had. Now the leader said, “Warriors, scouts, and young men, we will offer our presents to the gods in the heavens [Figure 21]. I again select Spotted Horse to make the offerings. The first present I have is for Morning Star. Spotted Horse, place this on the other side of the mound and as you offer it make your wishes known to Morning Star and drive the stick into the ground.”

Spotted Horse carried the stick outside, stood east of the mound, addressed the Morning Star [No. 1], and drove the stick into the ground. Reentering the circle, he sat down in front of the altar. The leader announced an offering [of calico] to the Evening Star [No. 2]. Spotted Horse went around outside the circle to the west, faced west, made the offering, and drove the stick into the ground. Again the leader spoke, “Warriors, scouts, and young men, we will offer this black handkerchief tied to a willow to the Big Black Meteoric Star [No. 3] in the east.” Spotted Horse was directed to take this gift and drive the stick near the first one. This done, the leader announced, “Warriors, scouts, and young men, I have prepared a gift for Tirawahat [No. 4], superior to any other. I have placed native tobacco in the dried covering of a buffalo heart and tied it to a willow stick, to which I have also tied two strings of blue beads and a black handkerchief.” Spotted Horse was instructed to make the offering.

FIGURE 21.—Offering Stations (Numbers Represent Order In Which Each Deity Is Given His Offering: 1 = Morning Star; 2 = Evening Star; 3 = Big Blade Meteoric Star; 4 = Tirawahat (Note His Station Is Earthmound); 5 = Breath; 6 = Wind Of Fortune; 7 = Pahukatawa; 8 = Sun; 9 = Moon; A = Eastern Star Of Daybreak; B = Eastern Star Of Nightfall; C = Black Star; D = Yellow Star; E = White Star; F = Red Star; X = Priest).

He stood west of the mound, faced east and said, “I offer this tobacco to you who sit on top of the heavens. We are poor and have traveled for many days to the camp of our enemy. Take pity on us and grant us success. Make us brave when we attack the enemy. May we kill them and capture ponies. Grant us power to kill and to obtain scalps that we may offer smoke to you and the minor gods in the heavens. May our leader be brave and may the gods prevent the loss of any of our men. Pity us. Help us. Remember the gift I now place upon this mound.” He drove the stick into the mound and returned to the circle.

The leader addressed Spotted Horse: “Take this gift for the star in the north that controls the winds [No. 6] and place it on the north side.” Spotted Horse complied. Then the leader passed him another gift for the star that through its hiccoughs sends buffalo [No. 5]. He placed it on the north side and again returned to the circle. The next gift, Spotted Horse was told in a whisper, was for Pahukatawa [No. 7], who was once a great prophet but who is now a star north and a little west of the Milky Way. He planted this stick with the preceding two and returned to the circle.

Next he planted one gift stick on the south side for the sun [No. 8] and one for the moon [No. 9] west of it. Gifts to animals and birds were tossed upon the ground; but those to trees, herbs or other plants were hung on trees. For insects, the gifts were covered with grass and leaves. The gifts to the chiefs and doctors at home consisted merely of tobacco.

THE WOLF SONGS .—The leader spoke as follows: “Warriors, scouts, and young men, our offerings have been made; we may now wrap up these things [bundles].” A young man giving the war cry rushed into the circle. He went to the warriors on the north side, folded his buffalo robe in drum shape and placed upon it the six long willow sticks he held. The leader said, “It is well; tomorrow we attack the enemy. We will be successful, for the gods have accepted our gifts. I will leave the things [war regalia] before me until we are through.” The warriors gathered round the robe and sang the wolf songs, beating time with the sticks.

Wolf Song

The song is repeated several times, the warriors meanwhile imitating wolves in their dance. At the end of each song they would howl like wolves. In the meantime scouts were on the lookout for the enemy. While they danced they charged the fire, going through the motions of an attack upon the enemy. Some of the young men then prophesied success for the war party. They believed they would have luck through the power of Father Hawk and Mother Corn.

They sang ten songs before they rested; then the leader filled the pipe with tobacco and passed it to the leading singer. One young man lighted it with a coal on a stick and afterward offered smoke in succession to Tirawahat, Hawk, and Mother Corn, asking their assistance in subduing the enemy. The pipe was passed to the other singers, the ashes emptied, and it was returned to the leader. The singing was resumed. When four sets of songs had been sung and the singers had smoked, the folded robe was returned to its owner. The scouts returned. The whole party, with the exception of the leader, who spent the night in prayer for success, lay down to rest.

THE SUNRISE CEREMONY OR WARRIORS’ RITUAL.— At dawn the leader rose and put on his regalia. He tied his buffalo-hair rope around his waist, placed the otter collar with the hawk and Mother Corn around his neck, and standing at the entrance of the circle chanted the following:

After he finished he set out, the others following. Four wariors had already preceded them to locate the enemy’s tipis.

ATTACK AND RETREAT.—The leader marched on through a ravine and from time to time scouts reported all serene in the village. While they sat in a circle waiting for the stragglers, the leader filled and lighted his pipe, gave four whiffs to the skies, meanwhile saying, “Again I offer smoke to the powers in the heavens. May the men in the village be like women. May we kill some of the people and capture many ponies; may we consecrate some of the people (i.e., their scalps) to the gods in the heavens.” He emptied the ashes and seated himself.

A man ran up saying, “Only the women are moving about; the men are still asleep. The ponies are on the other side of the creek.” The leader said, “We are now in sight of the enemy. I decided to kill and attack some of them. I appoint Spotted Horse to take six men with him to capture the good ponies.” Spotted Horse and his companion departed. The leader continued, “We will all go together until we reach a point west of the village. I will remain there while half of you go to the south and half the north. Then I will give the wolf cry, which must be repeated by the last man on the north and the last man on the south. Then pull out your bows and arrows and charge the village. Kill men only.”

Again they set out. West of the village the leader divided his men, sending half to the north and half to the south. He gave the wolf cry, which was soon repeated on the north and south. Then they attacked the village. Men ran naked out of their tipis. Some were merely struck down and coups counted on them; but two men, one from the east end of the village and one from the center, were killed and scalped. As each man took the scalp, he held it up and said, “The powers in the heavens shall eat of my smoke,” signifying that the scalps were consecrated and that a new fire to burn part of the scalps must be made. The scalps were given to the leader.

The war party now retired, pursued by the men from the village, but they did not stop to fight. Each man rode a captured pony; the others were driven before them as they rode. In the afternoon they rested. The leader returned the scalps to the men who had taken them, while the young men who had driven off ponies offered them to him. In order that they might travel fast, he told each man to mount a fresh pony.

About daybreak they reached thickly timbered country. While the party rested, four men were sent to hunt buffalo and two others were appointed to guard the camp. The hunters soon returned with the buffalo meat, roasted the ribs, and then awakened the party. After roasting meat to carry with them, they traveled on for a night and a day, stopping at noon. After the distribution of food, the ponies were divided among the members of the party. After some of the young men had had their names changed, the homeward journey was continued. They rode all night; when they reached a stream of water they stopped and slept, but always with a lookout on duty to protect their camp from attack.

The next day the leader ordered some of the older men out to kill buffalo. The ground was cleared and a fireplace dug in the center. The leader took his place west of the fireplace, as before, and made an altar, placing the otter collar, hawk, Mother Corn, and pipe upon it The men were seated in the order of their rank. Then the leader said, “Warriors and young men, success has been ours, the powers in the heavens have helped us and we have secured many ponies, but the greatest of all duties is still before us. We have four scalps⁶⁸ that were consecated to the powers in the heavens by the men who took them. I have chosen this day for the scalps to be placed on poles. The flesh also must be removed from the scalps. Before we begin we must offer smoke to the gods in the heavens.” Spotted Horse performed the smoke ceremony (p. 85), after which the leader selected four men to bring in the timber for the rings for stretching the scalps. Then the leader sang:

First Song

Each stanza is sung four times, each time to the following four steps: wakucuˀ ‘clouds’ or wolf power; takucuˀ ‘winds’ or wildcat power; rukucuˀ ‘lightning’ or mountain lion power; and cikucuˀ ‘thunder’ or bear power. Only the first syllable of each word (wa, ta, ru, and ci)is sung. Their significance is supposed to be known only to the priests. When they sing of the lightning (ru), they all groan to represent thunder. All stanzas are sung to the same music. The four syllables are symbolic of the leading bundles, which, though dedicated to the four world quarters, also represent the wolf, wildcat, mountain lion, and bear. Because they are in the heavens, these animals must be sung to whenever sacrifices of flesh are made.

Four men were selected to flesh the scalps. This done, the scalps were stretched on the hoops, which were painted red with dust furnished by the leader. Only the leader’s head and face were painted. The hoops were tied on 2–foot [60–cm] long willow sticks, which were placed at the altar. The leader addressed them: “Warriors and young men, I led you to the enemy’s country, and we were successful through the powers in the heavens. You consecrated scalps, which must be prepared properly that you may offer smoke to Tirawahat. This is the most important act of our lives. You will become anointed men before Tirawahat and the people. We are on our way home and, as warriors, should daub ourselves, our robes, and the scalps with clay. I will now sing for four young men to bring the clay.” After the first verse, they must depart. He sang: “Where is the place where earth or clay is embeddedˀ”

Second Song

This song is sung six times, each time to the following six steps: hura·ruˀ ‘earth’; rawi·suˀ ‘paint’;⁶⁹ ca?uktuˀ ‘ashes’; paha·tuˀ ‘red paint’; rahkata(·ru) ‘yellow paint’; and ta·ka·ru ‘white paint’.

While waiting for the return of the boys with the clay, they rested and smoked. Presently they heard a wolf cry, which was a signal that the young men were returning with the clay. They approached in single file, imitating wolves, and at the entrance of the circle they jumped about as if in fear. Finally they entered, each placing a ball of clay at the altar and returning to his place. The leader, holding one of the clay balls in his left hand, sang, the others joining in:

Third Song

After the first stanza was sung, they paused, and then sang the next three stanzas. This song is sung six times, each time to the following six steps: hura·ruˀ ‘earth’; rawi·suˀ ‘paint’; caˀ uktuˀ ‘ashes’; paha·tuˀ ‘red paint’; rahkata(·ru) ‘yellow paint’; and ta·ka·ru “white paint’.

After the song the leader rubbed clay on all four scalps until they were all white. Since the scalps were consecrated, he did not use any liquid to moisten the clay as this might cause rainstorms. Waving a scalp stick, he sang:

Fourth Song

This entire song is sung six times, as well as to the steps ru and ci (p. 132). It is also sung in the Morning Star Ritual (16th song, 7th stanza, p. 134).

Then he directed two fire makers to set up four scalps, two on each side of the entrance to the circle (Figure 22). Now the leader said: “We are through. Pass the balls of clay so each man may whiten his face and body. Pour water upon what is left so you can plaster your robes with it.” When the robes were covered with the clay, they were spread upon the ground to dry. When they were dry and everyone was seated, the leader put on his war regalia and said, “We must change our camp. The scalp owners may now take up their scalps. The young men must bring the ponies.”

FIGURE 22.—Position of scalps outside lodge during scalp ceremony.

RETURN TO THE VILLAGE. —They started on, and by dusk they reached wooded country and rested. Before daylight the next morning they set out again and stopped to take food and rest only where there was timber. When they reached a ravine near their village, they stopped and covered their ponies with white clay. The scalp owners tied the scalps to 7–foot [2–m] poles. They burnt grass for the soot, with which they streaked their faces. The leader’s body was painted red; he had four vertical red streaks on his face, the bird’s foot mark on his forehead, and down feathers on his head. An eagle feather was thrust sideways through his scalplock and the otter collar with the hawk and Mother Corn hung down his back. The other members of the war party put on their war regalia, with their bone or reed whistles suspended from their necks. They mounted their ponies, and the leader sent four men ahead to ride back and forth on the crest of a hill near their village to announce their return.

As soon as the people in the village were aware of their presence, the war party rode up, everyone but the leader and four scalp owners singing war songs, whooping, and yelling. Meanwhile, six men from the village rode out to meet the victorious war party. When the two parties met, the leader announced their success, naming those who had killed the enemy, counted coup, captured ponies, or taken scalps and consecrated them. The messengers from the village returned and announced the successful outcome of the war party.

Now the war party moved to the outskirts of the village and here the ponies were distributed to the chief and relatives of the warriors. Each scalp owner then rode to his sacred bundle lodge, where the priest waited outside to receive the scalp. He stuck the scalp pole in the ground on the south side of the entrance. Then everyone went to his own lodge.

RETURNING THE WAR REGALIA TO THE BUNDLE.— When he had visited his own lodge, the leader led a pony to the lodge of the leading bundle owner, from whom he had borrowed the war regalia. He tied the pony outside and went in. The priest awaited him with the leading bundle open and ready.⁷⁰ The leader was given a seat south of the priest. He took off the regalia, folded them up, and passed them to the priest, saying, “Brother, I have returned. I now return these things to you. I am giving you a pony, which you will find tied outside your lodge. I was successful and did not lose a man, for I was protected by Tirawahat and all the minor gods.” As the priest received the regalia, he filled and lighted a small pipe and offered smoke to Tirawahat and all the gods in the heavens, to the objects on the bundle, and finally emptied the ashes on the rim of the fireplace. The priest then touched the nostrils of the pony, passed his hand over its head, over its mane, down its back and tail, opened its mouth and took some of the froth, and returned to the lodge. He raised his hands on high and pressed them to the bundle objects, tied it up, and bade his wife tie it on the wall. The leader then ate and smoked with the priest, told a story, and finally returned to his own lodge, which he found crowded with men.

THE VICTORY DANCE.—That night the men and women in the village gave a victory dance, the women dancing with the scalps. They danced in turn at the lodge of each warrior. After the dance the scalps were again set up outside the lodges, where they remained for some time. This performance was repeated every evening until the coming of a new moon, when it was discontinued.

PLACING THE SCALP IN THE BUNDLE.—The man who took the first scalp, the leading warrior, now went through the village and visited his relatives. As he entered each lodge he said, “My kinsfolk, the priest is about to hold a ceremony in his lodge and I have no wood or food to offer him.” Then his relatives opened their parfleches and took the dried meat from them to the lodge of the kurahus, the sacred bundle priest. At the altar others donated wood or buffalo robes, tanned buffalo hides, calico, arrows, or knives.

When all the preparations had been made, the leading sacred bundle priest (kurahus) sat at the altar and sent the south errand man to bring the priests to assist him (Figure 23). The north errand man invited the members of the war party. The leading kurahus mixed some clay with wild sage in a bowl which the south errand man placed before the warriors on the north side so they could daub their bodies with it. Meanwhile the leading warrior mixed some consecrated fat and red earthen clay. After rubbing this mixture over his own body, the leading warrior passed it to the leading kurahus, who daubed himself and then passed it to the kurahus on his left, and so on alternately until all five priests had anointed themselves with the bowl of reddened grease. Then the bowl was passed down the north side, for all sitting on that side to cover themselves. When the north side had finished, the north errand man took the bowl to the scalp taker and set it before him.⁷¹ Then the bowl was set aside.

FIGURE 23.—Diagram of bundle keeper’s lodge during ritual procedure of placing scalp in bundle.

The leading kurahus filled the sacred pipe with native tobacco and said “Chiefs, warriors, and priests, we have before us a scalp taken by our warriors. To thank the gods for the success of the war party, we will give the smoke offering.” He asked the scalp taker to offer the smoke (p. 85). When the pipe was returned to the priest after the smoke offering, he covered the surface of the scalp with red dust and placed it on the bundle without any further ceremony.

THE SACRED SMUDGE.—Then the leading kurahus cut a plait of sweetgrass into bits, until he had a handful. He mixed this with consecrated fat from a buffalo bladder, until he had a ball, and said, “We will now offer sweet-smelling smoke to Tirawahat, the sacred objects before us, and the scalp, which will be placed in the bundle in preparation for the New Fire Ceremony.” He directed the south errand man to place live coals southwest of the fireplace and selected Pipe Chief to hold the sacred objects over the smoke. With the ball of sweetgrass and fat, Pipe Chief passed around the fireplace to the place where the coals were. Standing erect west of the coals, he raised the ball toward the heavens, lowered it gradually, and placed it upon the coals. He moved to the north side.

The north errand man took the objects from the altar and handed them to Pipe Chief, who passed them through the smoke four times; then the errand man handed them to the leading kurahus. The scalp was the last to be passed through the smudge. Pipe Chief then passed his hands through the smoke and down his body and returned to his place. Each man in the lodge, those from the north alternating with those from the south, and ending with the kurahus, then allowed the smoke to pass over his body. Finally the south errand man passed through the smoke, returned the coals to the fireplace, and stamped upon the ashes with his moccasins.

THE CORN OFFERING.—The leading kurahus then addressed them as follows: “Now we are through. As it is time to eat, we will make the corn offering.” He chose a man to make the offering, which is very similar to the smoke ceremony. The south errand man placed kettle of corn no. 1 (Figure 24) between the fireplace and the entrance, with the bowls in their order of distribution around it, four on the north and four on the south side. From a long string of buffalo horn spoons he placed two horn spoons in each bowl, and standing on the north side, he stirred the corn in the kettle with a large mountain goat horn spoon. Then he filled the bowls alternately, first one on the north side and then one on the south side, until he had emptied the kettle. He replaced the large spoon in the kettle, took up a spoonful of corn from bowl no. 1 on the north side, walked around the fireplace to the entrance, and placed a kernel of corn on the south post and then one on the north post outside the entrance.

When he returned to the lodge, he placed three or four kernels of corn on the northeast rim of the fireplace, walked around the skull and placed three or four kernels on the northwest rim of the fireplace. Standing west of the fireplace he placed a few kernals of corn on the rim and then some at the fireplace. He emptied the spoon on the fireplace rim directly in front of the nostrils of the skull standing north of it. Then the north errand man took the spoon.

FIGURE 24.—The corn offering.

The man appointed to offer the corn stood north of the skull, facing south, stooped down, touched the pile of corn, and passed his hands four times over the skull. He walked to a place between the altar and the fireplace and touched the ground with his hands. He approached the altar, and touched the ground and all the sacred objects except the corn. Returning to the fireplace and standing at the west, but facing east, he swung his arms around four times, lowered them, and held them out toward the entrance. Then all said, “Rawa.”

The man offering the corn returned to the bowls. He took the no. 1 south bowl to the two kurahus (nos. 2 and 4) on the south side; the no. 1 north bowl to kurahus nos. 1 and 3; the no. 2 north bowl to the fifth kurahus and one chief; the no. 2 south bowl to the chiefs on the south side; the no. 3 north bowl to a chief and warrior on the north side; the no. 3 south bowl to two warriors on the south side; the no. 4 north bowl to the two old men at the north entrance; and the no. 4 south bowl to the two old men at the south entrance. The north errand man was invited to eat with the leading kurahus. The two kurahus on the south side ate with the south errand man. Each bowl was passed on from one man to the other, but some of the corn was left for the errand men.

When all the corn from the first kettle was consumed, the kettle was removed to the entrance and the second one put in its place, the corn in this being offered in the same way as that from the first. Before the corn was taken from each kettle, the leading priest announced who had prepared and donated it.

THE MEAT OFFERING.—After the corn offering the leading kurahus announced the meat offering. He appointed two warriors to cut up the meat for boiling. The man designated from the north side stood north of the meat, fixed his robe about his waist, shook the meat four times, at the same time grunting and growling like a bear. He faced around toward the altar and recounted his deeds of bravery:

Once I led a war party. During the attack a man was killed and I consecrated his scalp to the gods, who accepted my smoke, and all was well with our people.

I went on the warpath another time and captured many ponies, one of which I gave to the priest and one to the chief.

One time an enemy attacked our village. We fought and killed one of them; right before their line I took a scalp and consecrated it. The gods received my smoke and all was well with our people. Again they attacked our village. This time I charged right at them, between the lines of battle. I killed an enemy and captured his pony, which I gave to an old man. All these things I did without any harm to myself. May the same luck be with you all.

He took his place near the meat. Then the second man recounted his brave deeds, and he also sat near the meat. It was because they had taken scalps that these men had earned the right to cut meat.

Two knives were in readiness near the meat. In the meantime the two errand men had built a big fire, upon which they set a large brass kettle. The errand men placed the meat in the kettle and, when it was cooked, put it on a thick, dried buffalo hide. They filled the kettle a second time, putting in the fat.

During the preparation of the meat, the leading kurahus selected one of his associates to make the offering. He directed the south errand man to hand him a bowl of meat and fat. He cut the meat into 18 pieces and rolled the fat into 2 balls. He instructed the north errand man to remove the buffalo skull from the altar and place it behind the kurahus, since it could not receive a sacrifice of meat of its own kind.

The kurahus who was to offer the meat took some and one ball of fat, walked eastward on the south side of the fireplace to the south post at the entrance, and placed the meat at the base (Figure 25). Then he placed meat at the north entrance post. Walking west in the lodge, he placed meat at the northeast post and then at the northwest post, then on the west side of the fireplace, at the southwest post, and at the southeast post. On reaching each post, he passed his hand down its full length and then deposited the meat at its base. Walking to the west of the fireplace, by the north, he stood erect, raised a piece of meat toward the skies and, slowly lowering his hand, dropped the meat on the rim of the fireplace after extending his hand alternately to the east and west, three times to the north, and twice to the south. Each time he dropped the meat only after extending his hand to the particular direction in question. Finally he put some meat on the ground between the altar and the fireplace and on the edge of the altar.

FIGURE 25.—The meat offering (solid circle = post, x = priest).

After greasing the pipe with the fat, he passed it to the leading kurahus, who placed it on the altar. He touched his hands to the sacred objects and successively greased the pipes for the north and west sides before he replaced the ball of fat with the other meat. In conclusion, he swung his arms four times and extended them toward the entrance. Meanwhile all said, “Rawa.”

WRAPPING UP THE BUNDLE.—At the conclusion of the meat offering ceremony, the leading kurahus and his assistants replaced the scalp and other sacred objects in the bundle, tied it up, and hung it on the wall of the lodge.

DIVISION OF THE MEAT.—Two kurahus were selected for the division of the meat. They spread a dry hide between the fireplace and the entrance and, after having counted the participants, placed strips of fat at the top of the hide in the position in which the kurahus sat, three for the north kurahus and two for the south. Underneath these they placed three or four rows of fat, five or six strips in a row, that for the errand men being placed in the lower corners. Meat was piled on the strips of fat, the two errand men receiving the larger shares. Then the meat was distributed in the following order: first north kurahus; first south kurahus; second north kurahus; second south kurahus; third north kurahus; north errand man; south errand man; and then the rest of the assembly. When the ceremonial distribution was over, the spectators were at liberty to help themselves freely.

THE CLOSING SPEECH OF THE PRIEST.— Drawing his robe closely about him and sitting erect, the leading kurahus said: “Warriors, chiefs, and kurahus, we met to place the scalp in the bundle and the gods were pleased with our smoke offering. Now the scalp owner must prepare for the New Fire Ceremony. First he must kill a fat buffalo, pronounce it holy, jerk and dry the meat, and place it in parfleches. Then he must gather blankets, robes, and other gifts for the kurahus who will direct the ceremony. We have smoked and we have eaten what was before us. The ceremony is over.” At that everyone left the lodge.

The Ceremony

The scalp owner was now under obligation to lead a good life, refrain from gambling, etc., for he was to make the New Fire for the people. With the help of his relatives, he had to gather the presents for the kurahus. He went out among the hills and, standing on the summit of a hill, prayed to the gods to help him.

When the crops had been harvested and it was time to start on the fall hunt, he began to fatten his swiftest pony, feeding it on the best grass and blades from the cornstalks. He never rode this pony when he traveled.

In camp one night when they were on the hunt, the leading kurahus instructed the scalp owner to provide for his family first and then kill a buffalo he could consecrate. He also taught him how the meat was to be packed on the back of the pony. Meanwhile, the scalp owner continually called upon the gods for help. When the people were about to surround the buffalo for the fourth time, he tied his pony outside his lodge; he himself went inside, opened his sacred bundle and took out some eagle feathers and paint. He tied eagle feathers to its mane and one feather to its tail. He painted red its shoulders, hips, and joints. From a small buckskin bag he took a mixture of fragrant roots and seeds, some of which he placed in the pony’s nostrils. He returned to his lodge and covered his body with red ointment, which he took from his bundle, and stuck an upright eagle feather through his scalplock.

Taking with him only his bow and one arrow, he mounted his pony and set out to kill the buffalo for the New Fire Ceremony. When the buffalo were surrounded he was the first to get in among them. He chose a fat young buffalo, calling out, “That cow is mine. It is consecrated,” so the other men would not attempt to shoot it. He whipped up his pony, rode along the right side of the buffalo cow, and shot her through the heart. Blood poured out of her mouth, so he knew that his arrow had struck its mark. When she fell, he pulled out the arrow and laid it on the cow to indicate that it was consecrated. He tied the lariat rope to the cow’s legs and skinned it. He took the flesh off and cut strings from the hide so he could tie the meat on the pony’s back. First he put on the hide, then the meat, with the forelegs over the shoulders and the hind legs with the hoofs up over the pony’s hips.

He led his pony back to the village, where the people came out to meet him. At his tipi he laid the meat on a bunch of willows his wife had prepared for him, for no one but his wife was allowed to help him. He left his bow and arrow in the tipi and led the pony to the creek where he washed it, washed himself, and then tied the pony to some cottonwoods.

Since it was very late he and his wife covered the meat, but rose before daylight to dry it. They made a drying frame. Cutting six long willow poles, they set up two of these, and tied the remaining four across them horizontally. They hung the meat on the frame, watching it very carefully for a few days. Every evening they took it down, piled it up, and covered it with a hide. At the same time all the other people in the village were drying their meat, for it was customary to camp a few days after a big kill for this purpose. In the old days they usually hunted along the Platte River because they found good shelter on the islands. The hunt ordinarily lasted about two months or until everyone had five or six parfleches of meat and plenty of robes. The scalp owner also had to provide many robes to present to the kurahus at the proper time.

The people returned to their village. Winter came and nothing happened to disturb the tenor of their lives. No ceremonies were held; even drumming was not heard. Late in February, however, came the first sound of thunder and the kurahus immediately opened the sacred bundle and recited the Creation Ritual. Then the kurahus went from one bundle lodge to another, reciting the ritual of each bundle.

After the Thunder Ceremonies, the scalp owner informed the kurahus that he had consecrated a buffalo and was otherwise prepared for the ceremony, so the time could be set. First it was necessary to gather all the sacred bundles for the distribution of seed to the people; then the Skull bundle ritual had to be performed, for they dared not go into the fields without it. After this it was time for the Buffalo, Bear, and Medicine dances, and the renewal of lances for the societies, after which was the ceremonial gathering of the corn plant. After all these ceremonies had been held it would be the proper time for the New Fire Ceremony.

Before dawn on the appointed day, the scalp owner went to the kurahus’ lodge. The kurahus was already at the altar and asked the scalp owner to invite all the members of his war party. When they arrived at the lodge, they sat in the same order as during the warpath ceremonies. The two who had been fire makers sat on either side of the entrance. Then the leading kurahus instructed the scalp owner to cut an armful of young willows before anyone in the village saw him.

The scalp owner returned at dawn and placed the willows on the right side of the altar. The kurahus told him to mix some white clay and wild sage in a wooden bowl. After daubing himself with this mixture, he set the bowl in front of the leading warrior on the north side and returned to his place. When each warrior on the north side had painted himself, the north errand man carried it to the man sitting next to the scalp owner and each man on the south side painted himself, the errand man last of all. Then the north errand man placed the bowl in the entrance of the lodge. At the same time the kurahus at the altar were daubing their bodies, faces, and hair with the sacred red ointment.

The scalp owner then removed his robe and ran to his lodge. Here he found his relatives sitting around the fire and said, “My kinsfolk, I am giving a great ceremony, but I am very poor; I have no wood, no corn, no meat, no blue beads, no paint or sinew—no gifts for the kurahus.” Thus he visited the lodges of his fellow kinsmen to ask for similar gifts. They all hastened to take their offerings to the kurahus’ lodge. Two men from his own lodge carried the parfleche of meat to the south side of the ceremonial lodge. The scalp owner’s wife brought a kettle of pounded corn, which she placed east of the meat. On the altar she placed red paint, a bag of blue Hudson Bay Company’s beads, some pieces of sinew, and the dried covering of a buffalo heart. All the gifts having been brought in, the scalp owner was directed to borrow the fire sticks from the priest of the Evening Star bundle.

He handed the two fire sticks to the kurahus, who then asked him to sit on the south side of the lodge and select three warriors to assist him. The kurahus told the south errand man to place the pile of willows, red paint, blue beads, covering of the heart, fat, and native tobacco in front of the men. Each man peeled the bark off a willow, cut it to the length of an arrow, and sharpened one end. The scalp owner mixed a ball of the red ointment, which he divided into four parts, so the sticks could be painted. When the sticks were all painted, he cut the covering of the buffalo heart into many pieces, into which the men tied native tobacco. Each man tied two strands of blue beads and the tobacco bag to the grooves in the tops of the willow sticks. The kurahus cut small pieces of scalp, which he handed to the south errand man to pass to the men to tie on the sticks. The scalp owner gave the sticks to the kurahus, and the three warriors returned to their places. The errand man cleared away the shavings and leaves and put them near his seat next to the wall.

The leading kurahus now said, “It is time to present our gifts to the gods in the heavens” (Figure 23). The scalp owner knelt before the kurahus, who handed him one of the willow sticks that he held in his left hand, whispering, “This is for the star in the east who watches over all at daybreak. Place it in the southeast entrance [A].” He rose, ran out of the lodge, and at the south side of the entrance, facing east, lifted the stick toward the east, prayed, and planted it in the ground. Returning to the lodge he again knelt before the kurahus, who handed him the stick for the star in the east who guards all things at nightfall [B]. This time he stood at the north side of the entrance, facing east, raised the stick toward the east, prayed, and planted it.

When he knelt before the kurahus the third time, the latter handed him another stick and whispered, “This is for the Black Star [C] that watches over all animals and through whose power animals talk to people and teach their mysteries.” He planted this stick northeast of the lodge. The next time he was told, “This stick is for the Yellow Star [D] that controls the setting of the sun, to which a leading bundle is dedicated.” He went to the northwest of the lodge, faced northwest, prayed, and planted his stick. He returned to the lodge and knelt before the kurahus, who whispered to him, “Go to the north side of the lodge and plant this stick for the southwest star [E].” He went to the southwest of the lodge by way of the north, raised the stick to the souhwest, and planted it. He returned to the lodge by the same route, and this time the kurahus said, “Take this stick, to the southeast of the lodge and plant it for the star that stands southeast [F], watching over all. One of our sacred bundles is dedicated to this star.” He went around north of the lodge and, at the southeast, faced in that direction and planted the stick.

Now he circled the lodge, then he entered and knelt before the kurahus, who said, “Go east, past the pile of dirt, face east, and plant your stick for the Morning Star [1] that stands upon a bed of flint, for it is through him we receive our firesticks. He is a great warrior who watches over us and makes our warriors successful. It is he who drives the other stars before him.” The scalp owner went out past the mound of dirt, faced east, prayed, and planted his stick to the Morning Star.

He returned to the lodge to receive another stick and was instructed to take it west of the lodge by way of the south and plant it for Evening Star [2] who is responsible for the creation of all things. He planted the stick, returning by the same route he had gone, to kneel once more before the priest, who whispered, “This stick is for Big Black Meteoric Star [3] that stands near Morning Star, and watches over people and gives them knowledge.” He planted ths stick on one side of the mound and returned to the lodge where the kurahus gave him another stick, saying, “Plant this on the mound. It is an offering to Tirawahat [4]. Heretofore your prayers were inaudible, but this time you must pray so that all will hear you, for he alone can help you.” When he reached the mound, he raised the stick high above his head and voiced this prayer: “Now, Father Tirawahat, I offer this to you. Pity me, for I am poor. Make me a great warrior so I may lead my men to the enemy’s country, conquer them, and capture many ponies, that I may consecrate many buffalo to the heavens. May our people multiply and become numerous. May disease never enter our village. Watch our fields that our crops may be plentiful. Grant us courage to defend ourselves and drive off our enemies when they attack us. Oh, hear and fulfill my prayers.” Having planted the stick, he again returned to the lodge. This time the kurahus whispered, “Go north of the lodge, face north, and address the North Star [5] that watches over all during the night.” About 15 feet [4.5 m] north of the lodge he planted the stick to the North Star.

The next stick was for the star that stands northwest of the Milky Way, the power that controls the north winds and drives the buffalo to camp in the winter time [6]. He planted this stick about a foot [30 cm] from the last one and went back to the lodge where he received the stick for Pahukatawa [7], who was once a great prophet but is now a star in the north who is called upon for help. The scalp owner planted this stick near the two previous ones.

He planted the stick for the sun [8] south of the lodge. When he returned, the kurahus gave him the last stick, which was for Mother Moon [9], saying “Speak to her, for she has great power. Plant the stick west of the sun stick and return to your place when you are through.”

The scalp owner wore a buffalo robe, hair side out, tied at the waist with a buffalo-hair rope. Soft down feathers were spread upon his head and an eagle feather thrust through his scalplock. He had not yet earned the right to be anointed with the red ointment. so his entire body was daubed with white clay. When he returned to the lodge, after having planted the stick for Mother Moon, he untied the rope, took the eagle feather from his head, placed the regalia on the altar, and took his seat.

The kurahus directed the scalp owner and five other men to clear a spot east of the village, build within it a fireplace with a rim and a mound east of it. Led by the scalp owner, they set out for the place designated; when they reached it, they found that all the preparations had been made. The leading kurahus said, “Scalp owner, leading warrior, and warriors, before we go further we must sing the songs that give us power to continue.” These songs must be sung in all bundle ceremonies. He handed each kurahus a gourd and told the leading warrior to don his regalia. They rattled their gourds and sang the first song of the Kawaharu Ritual (p. 72).

THE NEW FIRE

At the conclusion of the songs and after the kurahus had smoked, the leading kurahus said, “The singing here is over; we must now go to the place prepared for the New Fire Ceremony.” He directed one of the errand men to have an old man go through the village and announce to the people that they may let their fires die out and clear the fireplaces of ashes; that a new fire was about to be made; and that anyone who wished could be present at the ceremony and later have his name changed.⁷² He was also to announce that as a climax there would be a procession of the victorious war party around the village and a general jollification in which anyone could join.

The leading kurahus then appointed three strong men who were to assist the scalp owner in making the New Fire and help the leading kurahus make the burnt offering (i.e., to shake the earth). The south errand man carried the dried buffalo heart and tongue on willow sticks; the north errand man, the firesticks; the scalp owner, the scalps. The warrior leader put on his regalia, carried the pipe, and walked to the north side of the lodge entrance. The procession started in the following order: the leading warrior at the head; the four kurahus; the scalp owner carrying the scalp on a pole, and his three assistants; the warriors, four abreast; and the two errand men bringing up the rear. They all wore buffalo robes tied around the waist with buffalo-hair ropes.

As they proceeded, they were joined by other men who had previously gone through this ceremony and thus had earned the right to join. The whole village was preparing to attend the ceremony; first in line came the chiefs with their families, then the soldiers, the bundle keepers with their bundles, and lastly the doctors with their bags.

A place outside the village had previously been selected and a fireplace constructed in readiness for this part of the ceremony. When the kurahus and warriors arrived at the clearing, they circled it by the north, entered at the east, and then circled the fireplace four times. The leading warrior sat at the northeast, the kurahus with their gourd rattles at the west, facing east. The scalp owner handed the scalp to the two leading kurahus while the two errand men took their usual places at the entrance of the circle.

The leading kurahus passed the firesticks to the scalp owner, whispering to him that they represented Morning Star and Evening Star, a male and female, and continued, “You are to create new life even as Morning Star and Evening Star gave life to all things.” The scalp owner and his three assistants took their places at the fireplace. The scalp owner placed the base of the drill in the fireplace and, while the northeast assistant held this in place, he fitted the upright stick into one of the holes of the drill and announced that he was ready. The kurahus began to sing about the fire sticks; the north errand man gave to the northeast assistant a handful of sand, which he put at the bottom of the hole. The south errand man held the soft dry grass and dry willows.

First Song

First Stanza

Line A in each of the five stanzas was sung a total of 16 times. While the first stanza was sung, the men at the fireplace waited for the signal to begin. (Only the first line A is given for stanzas 2–5.)

After the third stanza, the leading kurahus gave the signal to begin. The scalp owner rolled the upright stick between his hands; and when he was tired, the stick was passed from one of his assistants to the other. When the stick was taken by the southeast assistant, the fourth stanza was sung. By the time the fourth stanza was sung, bits of charcoal began to appear around the hole, and when the smoke curled up, the south errand man handed the dry grass to the men at the fireplace. They scattered it around the hole, causing heavier smoke than before. Then the kurahus sang the fifth stanza.

The scalp owner watched the sparks drop on the grass. He blew on them and, as the fire blazed up, the south errand man placed the willows on it. The scalp owner and his assistants returned to their places. While everyone in the circle stood, the two errand men built in the fireplace a big fire of cotton–wood, elm, box elder, and willow, the only woods permitted to be used (Figure 18).

The leading kurahus placed the dried buffalo heart and tongue, the pipe, and the scalp on the willows and passed his gourd to his right hand assistant. He stood a little north of the fireplace with the scalp owner and his three assistants behind him. The last assistant represented the Wolf Star and later imitated a howling wolf. By way of the south, they went to the northeast of the fireplace and stood in line. The kurahus placed his burden on the ground and stood on it with his left foot. He admonished the men to watch and try to shake the earth. He stooped over, leaned toward the fire, and sang:

Second Song

First Stanza

The idea in this song is that it was through the power of their voices, or the thunder, that the gods created the world. As he sang, the kurahus swung his arms above the fire in time to the singing. When the song was ended, he stooped over, took some fat from the meat and hair from the scalp, and tossed them on the fire. In the meantime the Wolf man uttered a long howl and the whole circle arose, stamping and crying, “Wa, wa, wa, wa.” They moved to the northwest and repeated the same performance, and the kurahus sang the second stanza, substituting takucuˀ ‘lightning’ or mountain lion, for wakucuˀ ‘thunder’ or bear. At the southwest stop the kurahus sang the third stanza, substituting rukucuˀ ‘clouds’ or wolf for wakucuˀ. Again they moved on and stopped at the southeast, where the kurahus sang the fourth stanza, substituting cikucuˀ ‘winds’ or wildcat for rukucuˀ.

The powers mentioned in the songs are stars and have the power of the wolf, wildcat, mountain lion, and bear. After the creation of the world, these gods demanded a burnt offering of a scalp, for which they would return a new fire through the powers of the Morning Star and Evening Star. The fat thrown into the fire was to make a newborn fire that would drive disease from the village.

They circled the fireplace and returned to their places. As the procession from the village approached, it proceeded around the north side and entered the circle from the east. As each individual passed around the fireplace, he allowed the smoke to pass over him or held his medicine objects in it. The women who had children stood them near the fire, passed their hands through the smoke, then touched their bodies, pressing their feet to the ground. This performance was enacted in the belief that they would be granted long life. Then the procession paraded around the fireplace and around the circle by the south. When the head of the procession reached the kurahus, it stopped and the people stood wherever they pleased.

When everyone in the village had passed through the smoke, the old women gave the victory dance in which they wore cornhusk war-bonnets, imitation shields, carried bows and arrows, and daubed their bodies with clay. When the victory dancers had passed around the fire, they were stationed south of the circle. Finally the leading warrior, the scalp owner, the warriors, the assistant kurahus, the leading kurahus, and the two errand men passed around the fire.

NAME CHANGING CHANT

At this point, the ritual for those who wished their names changed could be recited. This Skiri version differs considerably from the Chawi as given by Fletcher (1904:272–278, 366–368).

MARCH AROUND THE VILLAGE

After the recital of the name-changing ritual, the kurahus announced that all who wished could join the procession around the village (Figure 26); otherwise, they could take coals for rekindling their fires. Now the leading kurahus returned the scalp to the owner. The other four kurahus lined up with him, followed by the leading warrior, the scalp owner, the four chiefs, and the men from the village. The women did not join the procession, but remained behind to carry coals in pottery vessels to their lodges. The two errand men also remained behind to carry coals. As they started around the fire, the kurahus shook their rattles and sang:

FIGURE 26.—Procession around the village in the New Fire Ceremony (x = people).

The idea of the song is that the wishes of the gods in the heavens have been fulfilled on the earth. The procession is for the benefit of the gods, that they may look down upon the earth and send long life and many gifts.

They passed around the fireplace, singing as they moved out of the circle at the east. They marched south. The old women followed behind, singing in imitation of the others, going through a mock attack on the enemy and acting clownishly in general. The procession advanced around the village by the south, entered it at the east, and finally all passed into their lodges. By this time there was a new fire in every lodge in the village, that for the kurahus’ lodge having been built by the two errand men.

CONCLUDING PROCEDURES

The sacred bundle in the kurahus’ lodge was opened and the scalp placed near it. The kurahus gave the scalp owner some of the sacred red ointment with which to daub his body. The kurahus anointed his head with the ointment, telling him that he was now an anointed man and must live accordingly. The scalp owner now made the smoke offering and then the corn offering, as previously described. A small brass kettle was placed on the fire and the remainder of the dried heart and tongue put in it to boil.

When they had eaten of the corn, the kurahus bade the anointed man make the meat offering. He cut up some of the meat, placed it in a wooden bowl, and made the offering; the meat was served to the people. Then the bundle was tied up, the warrior clothing and scalp included, and hung on the wall of the lodge.

The kurahus then addressed them: “Warrior leader, scalp owner, warriors, and kurahus, we have given the people a new fire today. This we may do only when one of our men has taken a scalp and consecrated it to the gods in the heavens, for it was through them we first obtained fire. We have offered a human scalp to please them; we have offered them corn and holy meat. The scalp owner has done well, his friends and relatives have helped him, and the gods know him, for he has made offerings to them. If we have made no errors in giving the ceremony, the gods will watch over us and keep disease from our midst. Our enemies will run from us like women and we will slaughter them as we do buffalo. We will have abundant harvests and our people will increase. The gods are pleased and will watch over our warriors. Now, you kurahus, seat yourselves in order. Draw up your robes that we may pass out. The ceremony is ended—our offerings, our singing, our smoking, all are over. We will depart.” The warriors all said, “Rawa.”

The warriors left with their meat. The leading kurahus divided the gifts among the five kurahus. The firesticks and a fine buffalo robe were returned to their keeper. The remainder of the dried meat was divided. As each kurahus entered his lodge, his wife took the meat and divided it among the women waiting there, who blessed the children with it, greasing their hair with the fat.

The Calumet Ritual

Fletcher (1904) published a version of this ritual, which she called the Hako; hence it seems unnecessary to present another account of the ceremony here. The version that she presented is Chawi, and it has a number of Wichita songs that are not in the Skiri ritual. The name Hako is derived from a Wichita word for pipe and was given to this ceremony by Fletcher and Murie. Here we give it the familiar name of Calumet Ceremony.

The main idea in the Skiri ritual is the series of songs about the bird’s nest; the people sitting inside the enclosure are figuratively in the nest, and the song steps recount the coming of life in the eggs and the final flight of the birds into the heavens. The changing of names is the same as we have given as a part of the New Fire Ceremony (p. 152).

In the Arikara Calumet, there was a basket with a hole in the bottom through which water was run upon children, but the significance of this is not known to me. The Kitkahahki band had a different Calumet. The Skiri make special claim that the ritual was originated by them and passed on to others. In the Skiri version the vertical marks on the ear of corn represented rainstorms and the different powers—thunder, lightning, and winds. They mixed the milk of green corn with blue paint and painted the corn, the blue color representing the sky.

Thanksgiving Ritual for All Bundles

At all ceremonies a ritual may be recited for the children in whose names presents are sent in. The following is repeated several times, making it appear as a long ritual.

Other Bundle Ceremonies

The Wolf Bundle

The two independent villages of Wolves Standing In Water and Squash Vine did not join in the Skiri confederacy. Each had its own bundle, which was not a part of the regular cycle. Wolves Standing In Water owned the Wolf bundle, its most striking characteristic being a wolf skull on the top, not unlike the human skull upon the Skull bundle. So far as is known, this bundle did not join in the Thunder Ceremonies or other practices of the federated villages. That there was a fundamental difference may be inferred from the fact that the lodges in the village faced the west instead of the east. Yet the bundle is similar in appearance to those of the federated villages, containing the ear of corn, etc.; on the other hand, its rituals were different. Its warriors’ ceremony and that for the New Fire and Scalp Offering were by a different ritual from those of the other villages.

This bundle is still in existence,⁷⁴ but it has been a long time since there were any ceremonies, and I have not secured definite information about them. So far as I know this bundle belongs to the star known as Wolf Got Fooled.

The Squash Vine Village Bundle

This bundle, by its relationship to the Thirty Day Ceremony of the Skiri (p. 167), becomes of general interest. The data are, however, meager enough, for I do not know what star, if any, is the god of this bundle. Its ritual apparently recites the creation of the world in its own way and requires an all-night session somewhat like that for the Morning Star Ceremony. The peculiar feature, however, is that from this bundle is supposed to have come the use of animal-power doctoring in general. According to tradition, there was a time when there were no doctors; but at last someone in one of these villages had visions in which the necessary powers and knowledge were handed down, in the form of a ritual that is the foundation of the great shamanistic performance known among the Squash Vine people as the Twenty Day, but among the Skiri as the Thirty Day Ceremony. At first only members of Squash Vine Village took part, but gradually knowledge of it spread to other villages until it developed into a tribal affair.

According to the story, this ceremony remained the exclusive province of the doctors in Squash Vine Village until one of them gave the Calumet (Hako) Ceremony to a man in Village In Bottomlands, who then requested the right to give the ceremony. Permission was granted in this way: They were allowed thirty days instead of twenty and could not use the star symbols, the mud woman, or the head of the water monster image; all the others they could use. Thus, there were two distinct doctors’ lodges, one in the federated group and one in an independent village.

When the ceremony is held, the Squash Vine bundle is brought in and hung, but never opened, as the doctors have their own sacred objects.

As we are now approaching the rituals that express the philosophy of the doctoring cult in contrast to the priestly cult, thus far the subject of discussion, it will be necessary to review the position and technique of the Skiri doctor.

The Black Star Bundle

This is the most convenient place to note the Black Star bundle. The bundle with its ritual was lost long before the Skiri left Nebraska. As has been stated elsewhere, the Black Star is the one to preside over the animal powers and it was through this bundle that all shamanistic feats were learned. We suspect this bundle had about the same relation to the Skiri as the Squash Vine bundle (pahuksta · tuˀ ‘squash vine’) did to that village, the difference being that the latter village developed an elaborate ceremony for shamans. It is said that when a Skiri received revelations from this bundle or the power it stood for, he applied for a seat, or booth, in the Medicine Lodge in the Thirty Day Ceremony (p. 170).⁷⁵ He was then given a temporary one, and if he passed inspection, was permanently located. All I know about the bundle is that it contained a black ear of corn.

Individual Bundles

There were some independent bundles, formed as the result of the visions of a private individual and having varying fortunes. One such is now in the Field Museum of Natural History. These had no place in the series I have discussed. My informants consider that in such case a man can fix his ritual and bundle as he pleases, but that the regular series is above the will of any individual. The doctors, however, had individual bundles, but they are in a different class.

Under this head falls a small sacred pipe now in the American Museum of Natural History (50.1–9631). The story of this pipe and an accompanying buffalo-hair rope is given here by Seeing Eagle.

One time, when the Skiri still lived in Nebraska, a war party went south to the enemy’s country. They camped the first night to wait for stragglers. Soon a woman came into the camp. Though she was a poor young woman, the men respected her and gave her a seat near the leaders. She was the first woman to set out with a war party.

The war party traveled for many months before they came to a village which they attacked, killing many people and capturing all the ponies. During the attack, the woman went through the village, striking the dead with a coup stick and counting coup. In front of one tipi was a pole with a hide hanging from it. She took the skin from the pole, hid it, and returned to the men. They helped her on a pony and all started on the return journey. When the war party reached their own village, the woman’s name was changed from White Woman to Woman Who Goes As A Warrior (Cta · wi · rakuh-wariˀ).

After a time, the same party again set out accompanied by the same woman. The men were glad to have her join them for she brought them luck. When the party reached an enemy’s camp, some men were selected to go ahead and capture the ponies. The woman entered the village alone and in the center she found an old mare with several ponies about her. The woman took the mare, and all the ponies followed. By the time she reached the leader of the party, all the ponies in the village had followed the mare. The scouts who had gone ahead returned empty handed. The woman turned all the ponies over to the leader, but took the rope with which the mare had been tied. This rope was made of buffalo hair and twine. Finally they all set out towards their home in the north. When they arrived the people gave a victory dance.

One night the woman dreamed of a man with a bundle on his back. He placed the bundle on the ground and walked around it; he sat down on the east side of it and made a small fireplace. Then he sat behind the bundle, which he opened, and took a cat skin from it. The skin had hoofs of ponies and buffalo painted on it. He spread the skin in front of himself. From a dry buffalo bladder in the bundle he took a small pipe. He spread the bladder on the skin and placed the small pipe on it. Then he took out a bag of deer hide, from which he took something clear like glass, which he placed on the hide and covered with the deer hide. Next he took a rope from his bundle. As soon as the woman saw the rope, she recognized both it and the skin, but the pipe and the clear glass-like object she had not seen before. From his tobacco pouch he took a pinch of native tobacco, which he placed in the bowl of the pipe. He held the transparent object over the bowl of the pipe and smoked it. Then he placed the clear thing upon the skin and covered it. He gave four whiffs of smoke to the sun and emptied the ashes in front of the altar. Then he addressed the woman as follows: “Woman, I am the one who gave you the idea of going on the warpath with the men. I made them successful. I gave you the skin and the rope. You found the rope on a mare. You will get the glass and the pipe. You will make the pipe yourself. You must do as I have done. If the clear thing lights the pipe, it will be a sign of success; if not, it will mean ill luck. These things were given you by the sun, so it will be the only one to receive smoke. I am going.”

The woman awoke. Ever after this dream she cared for the skin and the rope. She always kept them out of sight so that the men would not see them.

When the war party started out, the woman joined them again. They attacked a village where the woman found a bundle, which she took. They attacked a camp of Mexicans (or else the people had been with Mexicans or Spaniards). After the attack they returned to their own village. When things were quiet in the village, the woman asked to be left alone in her lodge, as she wished to open the bundle. After unwrapping many coverings she found a round clear thing similar to the one she had seen in her dream. There was nothing else in the bundle. She added this to her own bundle, but there was still something lacking.

She dreamed of the man again. He told her that she was his sister and had the things he wanted her to have; that she was to make the small pipe for her bundle but that the stem of the pipe was to have no perforation. He told her to go on the warpath once more and on her return to make the pipe. After the war party, he told her she would be married, but he warned her that only one male child that she would have would live and that the others would be taken from her by the sun. He told her to give the bundle to her son when he grew up.

The woman awoke, and going outside of her lodge, began to mourn. She heard a voice say, “Woman, do not cry; return to your lodge and place some sweetgrass on the hot coals. Let the smoke pass through your body and all will be well with you. Your dream will come true. Your son will become a great man among your people.” She looked around, but could see no one. She returned to the lodge and after passing through the smoke she lay down.

A party was again preparing to go on the warpath. The woman went to the lodge of the leader, where she was welcomed and given a seat among the men. They set out and for many months traveled south. Finally, one day the scouts reported a camp. They stopped and prepared to attack by daybreak. The people were frightened and ran away from the village. The men killed the people and the woman followed counting coup and now and then gave the war cry. They took a great many ponies and returned to their own village. The woman did not take part in any of the dances that were given. After they were all over, a begging dance was given to honor the woman. She gave them nothing, but her relatives gave them many presents. Later, the people said that she was the only woman who had been so honored. Various chiefs now wanted to marry her, but she refused, for she had to make the pipe.

She went to a cliff where the women were wont to get their clay for pottery making. She took some yellow mud and also some jack (zinc ore), which she mixed. She made the bowl, but did not bake it, as the women generally did when making pottery, but dried it in the sun. She examined the bowl every day, took it up and rubbed it, and then returned it to its place on the sunny side of a hill.

When she went to the place one day a man came to her. He was a good man and unmarried. He had been a member of the war party the woman had joined. The woman sent the man away.

One day she took the bowl home and tied it with an elkhide string and then went to a pond where she got a reed for the stem. Her pipe was ready; now she could complete her bundle.

Holy Sun, who wanted to marry her, was led into her lodge. Her male relatives met to make a decision, but first they asked her whether she agreed. They decided that she marry Holy Sun. Some years later she had a child which soon died. Each time a child was born to her it died. Finally, one time before her child was to be born, she took her husband upon a high hill and told him that the sun was taking their children away. “Take some of your hair and offer it to the sun and ask that our next child shall live.” The man took some of his hair, held it towards the sun, began to cry, and said, “Father Sun, I am poor in spirit, for you have taken my children. It is nearly time for another to be born. I offer you my hair. May the child that is coming grow to manhood. We want to keep it.” Then he placed the hair on the ground.

That night her husband dreamed of a strange-looking man whose body was covered with red paint. The strange man said, “My son, I am the sun, your father; you spoke to me yesterday. I will give you the child, for I promised the woman one child. I did not like your offering, for a piece of flesh should also accompany it. As soon as the child is born, you will be killed by the enemy. You will not live to see the child grow up.”

The man woke up. He went to the hills. The sun rose, and he prayed to it and promised many things. Soon after, his son was born. The child was called White (Ta · ka), for he was very light. When the child was about three months old, the Sioux attacked the village. The man fought at the front for he knew that he was to be killed. He was not shot; so he charged right into the enemy’s line and was killed. The woman mourned for her husband as long as she lived and did not marry again.

When her son was fourteen years old she had his name changed to Bluebird. When he grew up, the woman began to teach him about the bundle. He carried the bundle on the warpath and many men joined him, for he never failed to capture many ponies, mostly spotted. Finally he took the name Big Spotted Horse. When on the warpath, he always traveled east of the main party and did not let anyone pass between him and the sun. When the enemy was sighted by the scouts, he ordered a place to be cleared and a small fireplace made. Then they all sat around the circle and the bundle was opened. The rope was placed in front of the altar in a circle as if a trap were set. The pipe was filled with native tobacco; then the glass-like object would be held over the bowl of the pipe. (Presumably the object was a lens.) When the pipe was lit and Big Spotted Horse drew smoke, he turned to the men and would say, “Men, change your names for we are to be successful.” Then he sang a victory song. All the men sat around the circle of rope, and as they held the rope they said, “Father, let me get a nice pony with a colored rope around its neck.” They said this, for in the old days only fine running ponies had these ropes.

Big Spotted Horse became a great warrior. In 1857, after the treaty with the Government, he was made chief of the Skiri. While on a buffalo hunt on the Platte River near Fort Kearney, he was attacked by the Sioux and wounded. He was brought home and died. His mother took the bundle and in 1874 brought it to Oklahoma. Before she died she gave the pipe and rope away, but the skin and other things she placed under a rock. The pipe was given to Seeing Eagle, from whom I obtained it; the rope was given to the Pitahawirata band and Horse Chief became the owner.

Another informant states that there was no lens used, but that there was a clear stone in the bundle which was never used. When the pipe was filled, it was pointed towards the sun, the man puffed, and then came the smoke.

Sweathouse Ceremonies

The common sweathouse is used by the Pawnee, but does not seem to hold an important place as among other tribes. The rituals seem to have been personal affairs, and in fact the sweat was usually taken without ceremony of any kind. On the other hand, the doctors sometimes used an elaborate ritual reminding one of the Creation Ritual. The subject is presented in the two following narratives by John Buffalo (Figure 27), an old Skiri doctor.

The Sweatlodge Ritual

At their creation, the fixed stars were endowed with extraordinary powers. The stars created people and gave each band a bundle. At this time each band believed it was the only one on the earth. They knew nothing of the curative powers of herbs and roots. To cure any kind of malady the patient was taken to the bundle tipi, where the people prayed to the bundle for his recovery. Sometimes a cure was accomplished in this way and sometimes not.

The Squash Vine Village was at this time settled on the Elkhorn River in Nebraska. The bundle keeper was a good man and always tried to insure the recovery of anyone brought to his tipi. At night he prayed to Tirawahat to grant to his bundle the power to cure; but one time he dreamed that he must pray to a certain star in the east that had power to help his people. When he awoke he looked up at the sky, but saw nothing unusual there. Then he climbed up a hill to watch the sun rise. When it was high in the heavens he went to sleep. At dusk his glance circled the skies from east to east again, but he saw nothing. All night he waited and watched, but in vain. On the fourth morning when the Morning Star rose, he saw another star to its left, which seemed to send out bluish streaks of light. He gazed steadily at it and soon a man appeared, dressed in a buffalo robe, with the hair-side out. His face was covered with blue mud; through his scalplock was thrust an eagle feather, and eagle feathers and scalps decorated his leggings.

The man addressed the bundle keeper: “My son, I am standing here in the east where Tirawahat placed me. I gave you a bundle, but your people do not make any smoke offerings and for that reason there is so much disease among them. They have forgotten my powers. I watch not only over the people but over animals, for I created them and gave them great powers. Now you have seen me. I will give your people great powers through the animals who will talk to them. You will not be the one to receive them; someone else will be blessed. Go home and offer smoke to me.”

By this time the sun had risen and the man disappeared. The bundle keeper was worn out with watching, so he walked back slowly to the village, arriving late in the evening. He washed his mouth and ate some mush and some fat from the dried buffalo meat.

As the Morning Star rose the next morning, he took some native tobacco and buffalo fat and kindled a fire outside his tipi. When he had placed the fat upon the fire, he raised his right hand toward the east, saying, “Father, here is my offering; take pity upon me,” and he placed the native tobacco on the fire.

Years passed, and the bundle keeper’s son grew to manhood. He did not join the other children in their play, but spent most of his time inside the lodge. If he did go out he climbed a hill and sat there until sunset, when he returned to the lodge. One night he had a wonderful dream of Tirawahat before the creation, sitting in a small wikiup in total darkness. The darkness was really its covering. It was warm here. The heat from this place caused mist, fog, and rain, and seemed to be the place where rain originated. Just as the dreamer was about to learn the origin of all things, he awoke. After this incident he prayed constantly. He went into the hills and stayed for days at a time.

FIGURE 27.—John Buffalo (Kiwi·ku Rawa·ruksti·ˀu ‘Holy Bull’ or ‘Medicine Bull’), Skiri priest and doctor. (Possibly William H. Jackson photograph, 1868–1869, BAE neg. 1274; Smithsonian Institution, National Anthropological Archives, Bureau of American Ethnology Collection.)

One day as he sat on a hill watching the sun rise, a mysterious feeling came over him. He felt impelled to go south. He wandered for many days until one night he found himself on the summit of a hill which was entirely surrounded by water. He heard a voice which said, “My son, you are now standing over an animals’ lodge. You must take courage. It was through my power that you came here. I will help you.” The man was frightened and his hair seemed to stand on end; but soon he took courage and cried out, “Whatever power is speaking, take pity on me. I am poor.”

In the morning when he awoke he faced east. He stayed on the hill for several days with no thought of food; but one evening he again felt the mysterious feeling come over him. He felt his body being lowered, and suddenly he came to and found himself in a strange lodge. He could not see anyone for there were willow booths around the circle in the lodge. The lodge was in darkness, but in the center there seemed to be a circle of red hot stones.

When standing on the hill he had heard strange noises and drumming and at night sparks of fire had come out from a small opening. Soon he heard someone in the lodge say, “My son, we brought you here, for when the powers in the heavens created people they asked that smoke offerings be made to them. Tirawahat and other powers put us here, but the people do not know us and therefore do not make smoke offerings to us. We will teach you many things that you can pass on to your people. We will teach you a great ceremony, but first we must obtain the consent of the two errand men sitting at the entrance, the magpie on the north side and the mink on the south side.

The errand men gave their consent. In the darkness he heard strange sounds and soon found himself in a very hot place. He heard someone say, “My son, watch the hot stones. I will pour my breath upon them and when you see blue flames rise from the stones, pray to them, for the blue flame is the breath of Tirawahat. It was in a place like this that he created the stones (earth), timber, waters, animals, and people, and placed the germ of life in them. We sit here where it is dark as night, with the timber around us, and have the water to make the breath (steam). You must address the stones as grandfathers, for Tirawahat first made gods of the stones and placed them in the heavens. Take some of this water. It will make you sick, but you must go through with it all; you must bathe in the breath of our grandfathers who are listening to us, and thus rid yourself of all human impurities.” The water that was given him was an emetic. Soon he heard singing and as they sang the people clapped their hands.

When the man awoke from his trance he was sitting near the entrance of the strange lodge where there was a big fire. Someone sitting on the west side said, “Now doctors, we are sitting in our usual places and this man is sitting before us. It is time that we give him our powers.” All kinds of animals were sitting around the circle but these were now transformed into human beings. The one who had spoken rose and ran around the circle, jumping over the fire every once in a while.

The young man was told to rise; the master of ceremonies jumped over the fire, ran up to him, embraced him, and breathed into his mouth. Then he ran around the circle, tapped his sides with his hands and down feathers fell from his mouth; tapping his sides again, the down feathers were drawn back into his mouth. He embraced the young man once more and caused him to swallow some of the down feathers. He told him that he now possessed animal power and could perform the same trick. Now there was great commotion in the lodge. The geese flapped their wings over two ponds, which were on either side of the lodge; other animals also performed tricks. Finally the young man fell asleep.

When he awoke everything was dark, but soon he was taken to a sweatlodge. This time there was another spokesman; but he also told him of the stones, the timber, the waters, and the germ of life. The animals bestowed more powers upon him as before. When it was time for the bears to take him into the sweathouse, they said, “We sit in the lodge as bears,” and sang bear songs. If it was the beavers’ turn, they said, “We sit here as beavers.” They fed him with their own food every day. The bears fed him by vomiting cherries or plums. When the animals had taught him all they could, their leader told the young man it was now time for him to go home. By this time he had gathered together the contents of a bundle; he had animal skins, bird claws, etc.

One day as he sat on a hill watching the sun rise, a mysterious feeling came over him. He felt impelled to go south. He wandered for many days until one night he found himself on the summit of a hill which was entirely surrounded by water. He heard a voice which said, “My son, you are now standing over an animals’ lodge. You must take courage. It was through my power that you came here. I will help you.” The man was frightened and his hair seemed to stand on end; but soon he took courage and cried out, “Whatever power is speaking, take pity on me. I am poor.”

In the morning when he awoke he faced east. He stayed on the hill for several days with no thought of food; but one evening he again felt the mysterious feeling come over him. He felt his body being lowered, and suddenly he came to and found himself in a strange lodge. He could not see anyone for there were willow booths around the circle in the lodge. The lodge was in darkness, but in the center there seemed to be a circle of red hot stones.

When standing on the hill he had heard strange noises and drumming and at night sparks of fire had come out from a small opening. Soon he heard someone in the lodge say, “My son, we brought you here, for when the powers in the heavens created people they asked that smoke offerings be made to them. Tirawahat and other powers put us here, but the people do not know us and therefore do not make smoke offerings to us. We will teach you many things that you can pass on to your people. We will teach you a great ceremony, but first we must obtain the consent of the two errand men sitting at the entrance, the magpie on the north side and the mink on the south side.

The errand men gave their consent. In the darkness he heard strange sounds and soon found himself in a very hot place. He heard someone say, “My son, watch the hot stones. I will pour my breath upon them and when you see blue flames rise from the stones, pray to them, for the blue flame is the breath of Tirawahat. It was in a place like this that he created the stones (earth), timber, waters, animals, and people, and placed the germ of life in them. We sit here where it is dark as night, with the timber around us, and have the water to make the breath (steam). You must address the stones as grandfathers, for Tirawahat first made gods of the stones and placed them in the heavens. Take some of this water. It will make you sick, but you must go through with it all; you must bathe in the breath of our grandfathers who are listening to us, and thus rid yourself of all human impurities.” The water that was given him was an emetic. Soon he heard singing and as they sang the people clapped their hands.

They told him that when he arrived home he must make a sweatlodge and invite eight men to go into it with him; that he should get a pipe and smoke to the stones [earth], to the heavens, and to the animals’ lodge at Pa·haku (west of Fremont, Nebraska). They told him he now had great powers and that he must make an earthlodge on the plan of a sweatlodge, where the people could have their animal ceremonies. They asked him to teach the people to offer smoke to the animals at Pa·haku and to visit them and bring them native tobacco. Then someone asked the young man if he was satisfied with what he had learned from the animals. He said, “Brothers, I am satisfied with the powers you have given me. I now have many different powers, but still ask you to take pity upon me. I do not know how to cure sick people. You have roots that cure disease; you have weeds for people to sit upon in the sweatlodge; you gave me an emetic. Tell me of these things that I may know how to cure the sick.” When he asked for the roots and herbs, they were all glad.

The leader led the young man around the fireplace four times, into a dark place, and finally came to an opening where there was light. This was in September. All the herbs could be seen plainly. It was evening when they came out. The leader gave the young man four plants whose use he taught him. One of these was sage; another, buttonhole weed; the third, a kind of cactus; and the fourth, a kind of milkweed.

At last, the young man set out for his own village with his bundle and the four plants. He reached the village in the fall. He hid in a ravine until dark, then entered the village and went to his father’s grass lodge. Everyone was asleep. He went to the altar, tied his bundle with the plants on it nearby, and lay down by the fire. When he awoke he discovered that he had been gone three years. His father did not question him as to what had happened; neither did he watch him. But one day he related to his father all the strange things that had happened to him during his absence. He told him to invite six of the most prominent men in the tribe to come to the lodge the next day.

The next morning the six men gathered in the lodge. The young man said, “My friends, I invited you here today so that you may help me build a sweatlodge.” Each of the men passed his hands over the young man, blessing him and thanking him for the invitation. They went out to the timber, where they sat under a large old oak that the young man had selected. He stood west of the tree and said, “If you are my father or my mother, listen. I came to cut the life of some of the trees standing firmly in the ground. May life remain with them when I use them so that my people may also have long life.”

At this time, the people did not smoke pipes; they merely placed sweetgrass mixed with buffalo fat on the fire, so the young man did likewise. Then he sent the men to bring willow poles, which they dragged up to the village. They placed the poles east of the village and sat in a circle west of it. Unknown to the others, the young man placed some native tobacco in the holes where the poles were to be driven. Four poles were set in the ground, and arched over each other so that they crossed and were tied at their intersections. Then the other poles were laid across.

He sent the men for sage, while his father got dry willows and two green ash poles. The young man himself went for the stones. When he found a smooth round stone, he picked it up and placed native tobacco where it had rested and said, “Grandfather, I am moving you from where you were placed by Tirawahat. There are many gifts under you; you have the breath of Tirawahat. I place tobacco here, but bring gifts and your breath to our people, that they may enjoy good health.” Then he placed the stone in his robe. When he had gathered eight stones, he returned to the wikiup, placed the stones on the ground, and told one of the men to get water from the creek. The wikiup was covered with buffalo robes. Before digging the hole for the fireplace or the stones, he put native tobacco on the ground. He carried the dirt he dug out of the fireplace about 15 feet [4.5 m] outside of the wikiup and piled it in a mound. The entrance to the wikiup was at the east, and he built a fire between it and the mound. Two large logs were placed on the ground with dried grass between them. Across these two logs were laid four pieces of wood, and on this foundation many dried willows were piled. On the top he placed four bunches of sage. The fire was started; and when it blazed up the stones were put in. When the stones became red hot the young man took off his clothes and went into the wikiup. He appointed his father and one of the other men to help take the stones in. He spread sage all around the circle inside the wikiup with the stems pointing toward the stones at the center. The two men looped the ash sticks over so that they could carry the stones into the wikiup. The largest stone was taken in last and placed on top of the pile. With a buffalo horn dipper he poured water from an earthen jar upon the stones four times. This was done to remove the ashes from the stones.

The young man’s father was given a place on the west side where he had driven in his pole, and the others took their places at their poles. The last man to enter pulled down the door flap and sat near the entrance, while the young man sat at the south side of it. Then he asked them to remove their clothes and said, “My friends and father, we are sitting here as did Tirawahat when he was creating all things. Our grandfathers (the stones) are before us. Tirawahat placed our grandfathers firmly upon the earth for our benefit. Now they will breathe upon our bodies and remove any ailments we may have. This is the first time this will be done among our people. The time will come when you will do this for our people, but it will always be through animal power. When you teach our people the sweathouse ritual you must tell them what animals they represent, whether owls, beaver, otter, bears, wolves, or eagles, or any kind of insects. Now we are sitting in darkness as did Tirawahat when he created all things and placed meteors in the heavens for our benefit. The poles that shelter us represent them. The water we brought from the creek was made by Tirawahat, who placed the stones firmly on the earth. When I blow this root upon them you will see a blue flame rise from the stones. This will be a signal for us to pray to Tirawahat and the grandfathers. I will hand each of you a bunch of sage with which you may whip your bodies.”

He passed each a bunch of sage and said, “My friends, now I will blow my breath to the grandfathers,” which he did four times. (What is meant here is that a root is chewed and spat upon the hot stones.) A blue flame sprang up and they all began to pray. Then he said, “I will now sing to our grandfathers and all must clap their hands as I sing.’ He sang the song previously noted (p. 160), after which each man made a speech promising secrecy and obedience to the young man. They also promised him a buffalo robe, a parfleche filled with dried meat, and a sack of corn. While they spoke the young man dipped his horn in the water and poured it over the hot stones, causing clouds of steam to rise. (The steam was the breath of the grandfathers.) The young man was pleased, for they all bore the heat without murmuring. Then he told them that when they had had enough they could say, “Brother, I am satisfied, I wish now to leave the lodge through the opening belonging to Tirawahat.” When they were given permission to leave they sat outside until they were dry. Then they dressed and returned to their homes.

Years later the young man had an earthlodge built with two wikiups inside it on each side of the entrance. Each of the six men was given permission to build wikiups. They were given roots to place upon the stones before they prayed. These roots, when chewed and spat upon the stones, burned and produced a peculiar flame.

If a sick person were taken into the wikiup, he sat near the leader of the sweathouse ritual, who sucked out the disease.

Later, the people built their earthlodges like the sweatlodge that was given them by animal power, which in turn came from a star in the east that controls the animal power. Even today in the doctors’ ceremonies, smoke offerings are made to this star; and before the doctors may have their ceremony, they must go through the sweathouse ritual, related as follows by John Buffalo.

The First Sweatlodge

Some time after the sweatlodge was first given to the Pawnee in the animals’ lodge at Pa·haku (an island hill in the Platte River), a man fell ill with pains all over his body and a sore throat. One of the sick man’s relatives sought out this wonderful man who gave him root medicines. As these did not cure him entirely, the wonderful man suggested that the patient be allowed to go through the sweatlodge.

One day after the wonderful man had treated the patient, he told him the time had come to build the sweatlodge. He chose eight men to cut the long willow poles for the framework. Two of the men were to go to the north, two to the west, two to the south, and two to the east. He warned these men not to drag the poles through water after they had been cut. When the poles were brought in they were placed east of the lodge: two parallel at the north, two at the east, two at the south, and two at the west.

The next day the wonderful man sent them to bring in stones that they found embedded in the ground. These were to be placed east of the willow poles for the framework. Then he sent them to bring in soft dry grass, which they placed south of the stones. When the wonderful man came on the following day, he said, “You men must go into the timber in pairs—one man to gather dry willows, the other to gather either cottonwood, box elder, or elm. Place this wood in front of the stones and let it rest undisturbed until tomorrow.”

After each of the eight men had brought in the wood, he returned to his lodge and passed the time in games until it was time to retire. At dawn they met at the sick man’s house, where they found the wonderful man already waiting for them. All the men went out with him when he selected a place for the fire. He put the dry willow limbs, so that they crossed each other, on top of some dry grass which he had brought with him. On top of this each of the eight men placed a stick of wood and then the stones each had brought.

They went to where the poles were laid out and found the holes already dug. In each hole the wonderful man had put some buffalo fat and native tobacco. First, the two men at the east and the two at the west placed their poles in the holes, bent them over so they met, and tied them; then the men at the north and south also set their poles and tied them. The wonderful man filled all the holes. With a buffalo hair rope he tied all the poles, beginning at the north and going round to the south. Then the men covered this framework with their buffalo robes. The wonderful man crawled into the sweatlodge, carrying with him part of an old buffalo robe. He dug a hole for the stones and carried the dirt out in the old buffalo robe and made a little mound of it to the east of the sweatlodge. He placed dry grass around the circle inside the lodge. He sent the men for wild sage, which he put on the south side of the sweatlodge and then spread it around the circle. At the south side of the entrance he placed a pile of sage. An earthen pot of water was placed near the pile of wood and stones.

By this time the sun was up. The men sat in a circle about the pile of wood and began to make fire with their firesticks. When the fire was started, the wonderful man went to his tipi and returned, leading a dog. He led the dog around the fire and around the sweatlodge; and when he again stood east of the fire he said to the dog, “Now, my young man, I am to take your life for a purpose. I have led you around the circle so the gods in the heavens may look down upon you. Father Sun is coming and will see me strike you.” He struck the dog on the head and killed it. He singed the hair on the fire, cut up the body, and placed the pieces of flesh in an earthen jar on the fire, so the dog meat could be cooked while the stones were heating.

He filled the pipe with native tobacco and placed it on top of the wikiup with the stem pointing east. Then he cut two sticks about a foot and a half [46 cm] long. He selected one man to be errand man and sent him to bring the sick man to the sweatlodge. When the latter arrived, the wonderful man led him around the lodge to the east of the fire. The sick man and the wonderful man wore only their breechclouts. The wonderful man carried a bunch of sage, and as he circled the sick man he raised this toward the sun, which was now well above the horizon. Then he brushed the man with the sage, telling him to look at the sun and inhale its rays. He told the sick man that the magnetic power in men was obtained from the sun and that from this time on he also would be possessed with this power and could cure people by sucking out their pains.

They returned to the fire where the other men were waiting. The wonderful man gave the sick man some medicine from a little wooden bowl. Then he took up his medicine bag and little wooden bowls and went into the sweatlodge and sat near the south side of the entrance. The errand man carried in the hot stones in long green withes and placed them in the hole; then he carried in the pot of water. The wonderful man poured water over the stones with a buffalo horn while the door flap was still open so the ashes from the hot stones would blow out.

Now he invited two chiefs to enter, telling them to wave their right hands over the stones, which gave them the right to pass around them. The two men were then seated inside at the western half of the lodge, one to the north and one to the south. They were soon followed by the rest of the men, some of whom sat at the north and some at the south sides. The sick man was placed at the northeast, inside the entrance. Then the errand man placed the pot containing the dog meat on the coals. He closed the door flap and went to his place.

The wonderful man now told all the men to remove their clothing. He handed a bunch of sage to each man and asked him to chew some of the leaves. He told them that when he poured water on the stones and they gave out their breath (steam) they should whip their bodies with the sage; and when they began to perspire they should rub the sage all over themselves.

When everything was ready, the wonderful man said, “Chiefs and young men, we are here because our friend is sick. Before we continue we must do as Tirawahat planned. When he first placed people on the earth he gave them a pipe and told them to offer smoke to him. First, we sit in darkness as did Tirawahat before he made all things; then, when he put people on earth, there was light. So let our errand man lift the entrance flap.”

He went out and brought in the pipe from the top of the sweatlodge and handed it to the wonderful man. The errand man took a live coal from the fire and put it on the pipe bowl. When the pipe was lighted he returned the coal to the fire. Then the wonderful man directed two whiffs of smoke each to the east, to the north, to the west, and to the south, and one whiff up to the sky to Tirawahat. He also gave one whiff to the water and one to the stones. He offered the pipe to each chief and, when each had smoked, it was passed to all the other men, except for the sick man. When they had all smoked, the ashes were scattered over the stones. The wonderful man now passed his hands over the pipe stem and waved them in the directions he had offered smoke. Then the errand man replaced the pipe on top of the sweatlodge and sat on the north side of the entrance near the sick man.

The wonderful man said: “Chiefs and other men, we are seated here as kura·ˀuˀ (doctors; the word is used for anything pertaining to medicine. This word was used for the first time by the wonderful man when he taught the ceremony in the animal lodge.) Tirawahat did all this for us. We are sitting in darkness, like the night, with the timbers standing over us and the water before us. I spoke first of the night, for it cools all things. The timber was standing in river bottoms with the water running along beside it. Our grandfathers (the stones) before us were firmly fixed in the ground by Tirawahat; beneath each one of our grandfathers are placed health, strength, and good gifts. With the least movement of any of them, good gifts will come to us. These are the things Tirawahat first made for the use of men. We are here today for the benefit of our sick friend. Tirawahat and the minor gods in the heavens will watch us and give power to a minor god to help us and strengthen our sick brother. Our grandfathers will soon send forth their breath, which will remove all our bodily ailments. Our brother’s sickness will be removed and he will recover. Now I will place some roots upon our grandfathers, and if a bluish flame breaks out, it will be a sign that all the gods in the heavens and earth will favor us, and you must pray to Tirawahat and our grandfathers.” Then all the men said, “Rawa, rawa iri (Now, now thanks).”

The wonderful man chewed some roots (called “button roots” by the white people), and when he spat upon the stones, a bluish flame burst forth. He repeated this four times and then said, “Friends, this is for you. Then each man, in turn, held his hands over the stones and prayed for what he wanted most of all. After that the wonderful man said, “Chiefs and other men, it is now time to pour water on our grandfathers.” He poured water over the stones four times with the buffalo horn and said, “Chiefs and men, now we will sing.” They all said in chorus, “Rawa, rawa iri,” and sang as follows:

First Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Fifth Stanza

Sixth Stanza

Second Song

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Fifth Stanza

The story connected with this first song is that of the man who, through some mysterious influence, was led to the animal lodge at Pa·haku, the island in the Platte River. The second song is sung to the same tune. While they sang they kept time by striking their hands together. Now and then the wonderful man grunted and imitated either a beaver or an otter. When the songs had been sung, he said, “We will end our singing.” He poured water over the stones four times with the horn dipper. All the other men then made speeches, thanking the wonderful man for the privilege of being in the sweatlodge and expressing their hopes for the recovery of the sick man. Each man washed himself with water taken from the horn spoon and then left the sweatlodge, leaving only the wonderful man and the sick man.

The wonderful man went up to the sick man and breathed upon him, from his forehead down his chest, from the top of his head down his back and side. The places on his body where the pain had been the greatest he sucked with his mouth. They went out of the sweatlodge and sat near the fire. The wonderful man mixed some herbs and roots in a small wooden bowl and gave the mixture to the sick man, who vomited hard. Then he gave him another medicine as an antidote, and they started for the sick man’s lodge, the wonderful man carrying his pipe and medicine bag and the errand man the pot of dog meat.

When they arrived at the sick man’s lodge, the wonderful man told the sick man to lie down. He directed the errand man to place the pot of dog meat near the entrance. Then he put some of the dog meat in a wooden bowl and cut it into five pieces. The first piece he offered to the gods in the northeast and placed it on the western rim of the fireplace; the next piece he offered to the gods in the northwest and put it with the first piece. He offered a piece to the gods in the southwest and put the meat on the western rim of the fireplace; another piece he offered to the gods in the southeast and put that with the others. Finally he offered a piece of meat to the skies, i.e., to Tirawahat, and placed it on the rim of the fireplace.

He cut two additional pieces of meat: the first he offered to the gods in the east and the second to Mother Earth and the animals. He put the dog ribs in a wooden bowl, which he gave to the sick man, who now sat up. All the other men were given dog meat, they too partaking of the feast.

The wonderful man then took some fat medicine (bear medicine among the northern tribes) and some whirlwind medicine (this root is twisted in a spiral and therefore is called whirlwind medicine) and mixed them into a ball, which he put in a wooden bowl containing live coals. He told the sick man to get under his robe with the bowl so the smoke would pass over his body and he could inhale it. When the ball was burnt, the sick man uncovered and lay down, for the medicine made him sleepy. Later, he awoke and asked for more dog meat. He was cured. His friends gave many buffalo robes in payment to the wonderful man.

Doctors’ Ceremonies

Whatever may be the case elsewhere, among the Skiri the distinction between the priest and doctor is clearly drawn. All the preceding bundle ceremonies are performed by priests who pray to the heavenly gods; but we now come to the doctors who derive their power from animal gods who live upon the earth and in the waters. The doctors are shamans noted for their feats of skill, and between them and the priests a kind of opposition exists, in that neither enters the ceremonies of the other. Our data do not, however, make it clear that theory and practice agree, for in the late 19th/early 20th centuries at least some of the priests had also taken part in doctors’ ceremonies. It is certain, though, that in their systematized beliefs the two were kept apart.

Before proceeding to our task we may note that each individual is believed to have an animal guardian. Thus, every child while in the womb, through either parent as a medium, is brought under the power of an animal. This may be discovered later in life by the actions of one in illness. The doctors seem able to recognize the affinity of the individual and the animal and take only such cases as fall within their individual powers. These guardians are usually animals, but trees, stars, and thunder have also been known to serve the same function.

Renewal of Doctors’ Powers

I have indicated the distinction between the two organizations of doctors, that of Squash Vine Village and that of the federated villages, the former being the parent organization. These held similar ceremonies and at about the same time; hence we shall not distinguish between the two in the following discussion.

The cessation of ceremonies during the winter (p. 111) applies particularly to the doctors, because the animals are hibernating and the thunder sleeps, so the drums must be still. Therefore when thunder is heard in January⁷⁶ or later, the head doctor consults the stars; if the “Swimming Ducks” appear, he prepares for the renewing ceremony (p. 53).

Though the bundle of Squash Vine Village is the sanction for the great doctors’ renewal ceremony and must be hung up in the lodge when the ritual is begun, this bundle is not directly further involved in the proceedings. The sacred objects are kept in another bundle in the keeping of the leading doctor. These are, first of all, two loon skins, taken from the bird entire and supported by a staff thrust up through the body and into the neck and head. It is said that formerly there were eight loon skins instead of two. They are now kept in a small trunk, the whole wrapped in a buffalo skin and tied with a hair rope. The next most important object is a buffalo skull. This, together with the loon skins, is placed at the west side of the lodge to constitute the altar. The leader’s pipe is different from the bundle pipes, and certain personal regalia serve as badges of distinction.

In addition to the Thirty Day Ceremony in the fall, the doctors have single-day performances twice a year. One of these is at the time of the Thunder Ceremony in the spring and the other during the summer hunt. Just what relation these have to the main ceremony in the fall is not clear, but they are usually explained as periods of “rehearsal.”

In any event, a one-day renewal ceremony is performed in the spring. A large number of willow sprouts is brought back into the lodge, and each doctor makes a small bunch to hold in his hand. Also a few peel off some of the bark and make necklaces and wrist bands. These doctors usually derive their power from deer. The beaver doctors wear water grass, while others wear owlskin collars, etc.

The loons are taken out and set up at the west side of the lodge. Associated with the leading doctor are three other doctors, making four in all, who are equally divided as to north and south sides, as in bundle ceremonies. These men sit at the altar. In the main the ceremonies consist of dancing and singing.

While jugglery is one of the spectacular features of the Thirty Day Ceremony, it is not attempted here, unless some outsider makes a formal request and offers presents of a buffalo robe and a whole eagle. This makes it obligatory that a few demonstrations be made. When these are completed, the various organizations using drums can renew them and put them to use. Some time after this, preparations are begun for the grand Thirty Day Ceremony in early autumn. The most important of these is getting the buffalo head for the water monster’s scalp. The many details of these preparations occupy the doctors the whole spring and summer seasons. Thus they also have a yearly cycle of ceremonies that is less uniformly distributed, but still almost equally complex as the priests’. In a former paper (Murie, 1914:643), I have noted that the doctors of the Skiri were organized in much the same way as the bundle keepers and priests; but this organization is more private, since it takes no distinct part in political affairs. Thus, while the whole sanction and authority for the Skiri federation rests in the bundle scheme, the doctors are a body apart. In fact, these procedures are, in last analysis, nothing but the overgrown ceremonies of a special bundle, as is the case with the Morning Star Ceremony.

The Summer Ceremony

The second one-day ceremony of the doctors seems to have no fixed date, except that it should be held either when on the hunt or soon after the return to the village. We shall proceed here upon the assumption that it is held at the hunting camp. As a preliminary step, a large tipi-like shelter is made, open at the top. At the proper time the leading doctors are assembled and the ceremony opened by the leader, who rises, walks around the fireplace and lays a large gourd rattle on the west side. Then he takes two of the water drums, giving one to each side, announcing that “their voice is not yet to be heard.” Then he stands west of the fire, and facing east, takes up the rattle and sings two songs (not recorded) referring to the original handing over of the doctors’ lodge. If he should make an error in the song, a special ritual must be recited correctly; if he fails in this, the ceremony ceases.

The singing completed, the doctor passes around the fire. Grunting in imitation of animals and waving his outstretched robe as if flying, he begins to dance, simulating animals and birds, at which time the drums sound and the whole assembly makes animal cries and sounds, and whistles, causing a frightful din.

When the meeting is in an earth lodge, this part of the procedure is the function of the Buffalo Doctor Society. One of their number climbs upon the lodge and standing on the west side of the smoke hole, faces east, stretches out his robe, bearing a rattle in one hand and a feather in the other. Then he kneels down, and looking through the smoke hole, cries like an eagle. He repeats this at each of the four directions, and as he cries out, the doctors below raise the din just described. The exact idea underlying this procedure is not known, but it is assumed to represent the lodge under the water where the first doctor went to receive his power. The mythical notion that the buffalo did or could go under water seems to bring in the buffalo doctors. There are a number of special privileges enjoyed by this society in contrast to the others. The tradition is that its ritual was borrowed from other tribes. The society was independent for a while, but at last it was allowed to meet with the doctors, though not completely integrated with them.

In either ceremony the buffalo doctors bring in a buffalo skull and place it before their station. It should be understood that the seats in all doctors’ meetings are as definitely fixed as is the case in bundle ceremonies. For the skull, they march in a body to the tipi or lodge of their leader, where it is painted and prepared according to a brief ritual. Then one man takes up the skull and the others follow through the village. As they sing, the skull is swung back and forth. As they enter, they circle the fire four times and pass to their seats, placing the skull in front of their station. No one can pass this skull without reciting a formula and making presents.

The next important step is to cut the small trees for the enclosure. First the doctor appoints a chief and an assistant to conduct the affair. All the women and men are called in, the former bringing axes and pack straps. All then march out to the nearest timber. The chief leads until he finds a tree of the right size and shape. This must be either elm, box elder, willow, or cottonwood. The chief sits down on the west side of the tree and makes a smoke offering with the pipe given him by the doctor. In this case the formula for the bundle offering is used, he being a chief. When burned out, the ashes are dumped at the foot of the tree. The assistant then takes the pipe and blows smoke four times to the east for the Black Star, the god of the doctors; then standing west of the tree, blows four whiffs upward. After scattering the ashes at the foot of the tree, he passes his hands over the pipe and blesses himself in the usual manner.

The tree selected must be one of the largest and finest of its kind. It is not to be cut but entreated, as if it were the grand chief of the forest, the idea being that by this ceremony permission is secured to cut the necessary small trees. Accordingly, the chief announces that he will remain by the tree while the people go to cut the bushes. They are told to get only the four kinds of wood and take care not to let any of them touch water. Then the people scatter; and when each has a load, he returns to the chief waiting at the great tree.

When all are in place, he leads them back to the doctors’ tipi, where they place them about in a circle, Then the small trees are set up in a circle, beginning at the sides of the tipi and circling toward the east where an opening is left. The first tree set up at the tipi and also the last at the entrance must be cottonwood, but the others may be placed at random. The people then go to their homes, leaving the doctors to proceed with their ceremonies.

All take their fixed places in the circle and the doctors’ smoke offering is made with the pipe kept in the loon bundle. A large wooden bowl is filled with the blue mud used as paint, and the doctors put on their personal regalia and paint. Each daubs a bunch of down feathers to the crown of his head with some of the blue mud. When all are ready, the leader takes up a rattle and makes the animal cries as described, followed by the usual din. Then the songs begin. First there are two songs (not recorded) about the water monster and then a dance. The place to dance is between the loons and the fireplace at the center. The chief doctors then take turns dancing and singing according to their sides.

At this time the people may bring in presents. If they are for the loons the gifts are placed upon the birds and may afterwards become a part of the bundle or go to the keeper, as decided.

There follows a special smoke offering. On each side is a group of young men studying to become doctors. Accordingly, the errand men take the drums and rattles and place them in new positions. Also, two dried cowskins with beating sticks are laid down. The students cluster around these. Each side sings alternately during the following ceremonies. First the leader makes a smoke offering. In the meantime, all the doctors have passed their pipes to the altar. These are filled, and all who give presents are called in to make the doctors’ smoke offerings. Each man takes his pipe, goes outside and smokes, and then returns the pipe. When all are through, the drums and rattles are gathered up and placed at their regular stations. The dance follows, after which a man is selected to take an inventory of the presents and pile them before the altar. This ends the ceremony proper. As in many bundle rituals, the leadership now passes to the opposite side, whose doctors take charge.

The corn offering is like that for the bundle ceremonies (p. 61) with the exception of one feature: The first bowls for the two sides may be alternated, or exchanged back and forth until they reach the errand men, when they are returned. Also the preliminary offering is to the animal gods only. The spoon of cooked corn is first held out to the east and a little dropped on the rim of the fireplace. The spoon is held to the west and a little dropped on the rim four times. Then the whole spoonful is placed there as an offering to the dead doctors. The hands are placed on the little heap of corn, passed over the loons at the altar, over the drums, the rattles, and all the other sacred objects. The officiator returns to the rim of the fireplace and lays his hands on the corn offering again. Then, standing erect, he waves his hands and whirling about, moves both hands as if throwing something out the door. When the meat is cooked, the kettles are brought in, an offering made, and the meat served as before. The doctors’ smoke offering follows something of the same routine, but the fixed pipe stem is always pointed downward instead of upward as in bundle ceremonies.

When all have eaten, the server of the food goes to the pile of presents at the altar and makes certain formal movements with his hands. Then he makes the offering of the bundles and also of the doctors’ ritual. He folds a piece of calico so as to make it appear to have a head. This is handed to one doctor for each side, who lays his hands upon it and prays. The presents are then divided among the doctors. When the distribution is completed, the distributor announces that the gifts have been received. If there is any meat left over, it is divided according to a fixed procedure. The doctor through whom the meat was received formally thanks those who contributed it and offers prayers. All then leave except the loon owners, who stay to put away the sacred objects.

The Thirty Day Ceremony

The great ceremony of the doctors must have been an impressive affair. As carried out by the Skiri, it offered the most objective and spectacular procedures known to the Plains area. Unfortunately our information about the details of the ceremony is fragmentary; yet I am able to present an outline of the whole and full accounts of certain rituals.⁷⁷ In Squash Vine Village a special lodge was owned by the doctors, which was spoken of as the Medicine Lodge. Among the federated villages there seem to have been two lodges that were used alternately.⁷⁸

The program of the Thirty Day Ceremony is as follows: (1) constructing the water monster; (2) building the animal lodges, or booths, for the doctors; (3) building the turtle fireplace and the mud woman; (4) bringing the cedar tree and dedicating the lodge; (5) visiting the village bundles and the sick; (6) public demonstration of doctors’ powers and tricks; and (7) returning the objects to the water. As previously stated, the preparations for this ceremony occupied the doctors most of the year. One of the important things was to secure a bull skin for the head of the water monster. The following narrative of John Buffalo, an old doctor, gives this procedure in detail:

When the Skiri lived in Nebraska, they had many ceremonies. The winter buffalo hunt was primarily to obtain meat for the bundle ceremonies and buffalo hair for rope. In the spring, after all the ceremonies had been performed, they again hunted buffalo. The chiefs, who gave their ceremony at the end of the series, usually decided on the time for starting.

Before leaving camp for the hunt, the doctors met secretly in their lodge. They sat around the fireplace while the leading doctor filled his pipe, lighted it with a live coal, and then blew smoke to the skies in the east, to Tirawahat, to the sun and the moon, four whiffs to the rim of the fireplace, and several whiffs to the animal lodges. Then he passed the pipe to the next man, stem pointing toward him. As he took the pipe, the doctor said, “We are sitting in here, kura·ˀuˀ (doctors).” In this way the pipe was passed to each in turn. Finally it was returned to the leader, who emptied the ashes, passed his hands over the pipestem, and laid the pipe before himself. He said, “My brothers, kura·ˀuˀ, as we are about to go on a buffalo hunt and the chiefs have decided when we shall start, I want to hear from you.” Then each man in turn promised to secure a parfleche filled with dried meat.

The leader filled the pipe and said, “Brothers, I fill this pipe again; the first pipe was for the gods in the heavens and the animals in their lodges. This pipe will be given to the man who is to make the bow and arrow for killing the buffalo bull.” He handed the pipe to Brave Horse, a middle-aged man, who knew how to make bows and arrows. Then everyone exclaimed, “Rawa, rawa iri.” The leader himself placed the coal on the bowl of the pipe. When it was lighted the leader returned to his place. Brave Horse smoked the pipe alone, then emptied the ashes, and passing his hands over the stem, returned the pipe to the leader. Brave Horse said, “Leader and doctors sitting in this circle, I shall do what is required of me. I shall make the bow and the arrow and the bowstring.” Food was brought in by the two errand men and served. Then the leader dismissed the doctors.

On the following day, Brave Horse went out into the timber and selected some ash for the bow and dogwood for the arrows. He went to the home of the leading doctor and stayed there until sunset, when they both set out for the place where Brave Horse had selected his materials. They sat down near the tree. The leader untied his medicine bundle and took out his medicine and paints. They painted themselves with blue mud, put on their owl collars, and put soft goose feathers on their heads. They pranced around the tree, waving their eagle wings, until they both fell. When they arose, blood streamed from each man’s mouth. They looked down upon the ground, and each found a crystal which he placed at the foot of the tree. Then the leader filled and lighted his pipe and blew four whiffs to the tree and to the bundle spread upon the ground, calling it the power of the tree. After they had smoked, each man swallowed his power (the crystal). The leader told Brave Horse that their undertaking would now be successful and that it was time to cut the tree, for it no longer had power or life. He felled the tree and then cut a stick as long as the spread of his arms and laid it near the leader. He also cut four straight strips of dogwood. Then they returned home.

Brave Horse sat near the fire and peeled the bark from the wood. He tied the sticks together and hung them over the fire so the smoke passed over them. When they set out on the buffalo hunt, the man carried the sticks on his back. During the journey he occasionally worked over the sticks. On the fourth day out he completed the bow, which he placed over the fire to season and dry. The sinew for the bowstring was furnished from the leader’s medicine bundle. It was twisted into string and placed in a bowl of water to soak. Then he rolled the sinew into one long string, doubled it, and stretched it from one tipi pole to another to dry. The leader then gave him three small packages of fat tied up in buffalo pericardium. The largest was buffalo fat; the next, eagle fat; and the third, turtle fat. First the man rubbed the buffalo fat all over the bow and hung it over the fire; then the eagle fat was rubbed over the arrows; finally he greased the string with turtle grease and stretched it between the tipi poles. (According to the leader, greasing the bow and arrows made them strong and gave them great power.) Then he filed down four old steel arrow points captured from the enemy and gave them to the leader, who gave him buzzard feathers and sinew from the shoulder blade of a young bull and a gummed stick with which to fasten the feathers on the arrows. Brave Horse now made grooves in the arrows to hold the points and the notch in the bow for the string. When the arrows were seasoned and dry, he split the buzzard feathers, scraped them smooth, and fastened them to the arrows, which he passed to the leader.

One night the leader invited the doctors to his tipi and addressed them as follows: “Now, kura·ˀuˀ, our friend has made these arrows. I want each one of you to examine them to see if they are perfect.” After the inspection, he said, “Now, doctors, I have selected this arrow to kill our buffalo. I want each of you to press it to your breast and breathe upon it.” After it had been passed around the circle, he placed it on the mat lying before him. The other arrows he returned to their maker. He said, “It is now time to tie the point on the arrow.” From his medicine bag he took a clam shell in which he placed some water and mixed with it some dried leaves from a poisonous weed. He gave Brave Horse some sinew from the tail of a mountain lion, which he asked him to moisten in his mouth. He placed the arrow point in the shell, then passed it to Brave Horse, telling him to place it in the groove made ready for it and to wind the wet sinew around it. Then he told him to hold the point over the fire four times.

When it was completed, the leader said, “Kura ·ˀuˀ, our father is completed. We must now offer smoke to it.” He filled and lighted a small pipe. The arrow lay with the point toward the south. He blew smoke first to the point, to the midle, and to the groove, and said, “Father, you are completed for a purpose. I offer smoke that you may keep straight and fly directly to your mark and make us great and powerful.” He emptied the ashes from the pipe on the middle of the arrow, passing his hands over the pipestem and over the arrow. He handed the pipe, stem downward, to his assistant. He gave the arrow to the arrow-maker, telling him to tie it with the bow to a pole outside the tipi.

By this time buffalo bulls were frequently seen, so the chiefs appointed soldiers to prevent the people from attempting to kill the buffalo before the proper time. Finally the scouts reported a great herd only a day’s journey distant.

That night the leading doctor invited all the Skiri doctors to his tipi. Brave Horse brought his bow and arrow, giving them to the leader. When the circle was complete, the leader filled and lighted his medicine pipe, drew four whiffs and passed it to the next man, saying, “We are again sitting here as doctors.” They sat with heads bowed and as each man passed the pipe to his neighbor he also whispered, “We are again sitting here as doctors.” When the pipe was returned to the leader, he emptied the ashes and placed the pipe before him together with the bow and arrow. Then he said, “We are again seated here as doctors. The bow and arrow are before us. We have used the first bow and arrow (the pipe and its stem). We have offered smoke to the animal lodges and to the deceased doctors. We sat in silence with bowed heads. Now I will determine who shall have the bow and kill the buffalo bull.”

He carried the bow and arrow to Dusty Hoofs and stopping before him said, “Dusty Hoofs, your aim is good. I select you to kill the buffalo bull,” and handed him the bow and arrow. He accepted them while the doctors exclaimed, “Rawa, rawa iri.” Dusty Hoofs said, “Leader and doctors, I am poor in spirit. I am not a great doctor, but with the aid of my animal power, I will shoot the arrow to the heart.” Then they exclaimed again, “Rawa, rawa iri.” Dusty Hoofs placed the bow and arrow before him. Another pipe was filled and smoked, and they were dismissed by the leader.

Dusty Hoofs went home, sat down by the fire, took the string from the bow, carefully rolled it up, and put it in his quiver lest it become damp. He tied the bow and arrow to a tipi pole. Before daybreak he left the camp with his bow and arrow. When he came to a high hill, he stopped and called upon Tirawahat for help. When Morning Star rose in the heavens, he called upon it too for aid; then he prayed to all the animals and birds; and finally when the sun rose, he held the bow and arrow toward it and crying aloud, said, “Father Sun, here is your bow and arrow. It was you who gave them to the people. I want your help. I want to kill the bull. Have pity on my spirit and help me kill a bull with this arrow.” Then he went home.

When he returned to the camp, he found that the scouts had returned and reported seeing a large herd of buffalo nearby. A crier rode about the village calling on the men to prepare for the surround. Men were driving their ponies into camp and some were decorating them. Dusty Hoofs immediately reported at the tipi of the leader, who instructed him in his duties. Then he returned to his tipi where he found his pony ready. He went inside and laid the bow and arrow near the fireplace. He opened his medicine bag, anointed himself with turtle grease, placed some coals near the fireplace and burned some roots on them, letting the smoke pass over his body. In a small wooden bowl he mixed some blue mud with which he covered his head and face and daubed his joints. Then he covered his head with soft down feathers from a loon. Next he painted the pony with the same mixture, daubing some on nostrils, ears, back, and each shoulder, hips, and tail. Then he tied up his bundle.

He mounted his pony and rode out where the soldiers were holding back the people, who were gathered into four groups. The holy man, wearing his buffalo robe, was seated in front of the assembled hunters, except for four old men who were priests. He said, “I consecrated the wildcat, and we were successful, so the wildcat will lead the first group,” and indicated the direction with a motion of his hand. “Another time, I consecrated an eagle, and we were successful, so the eagle will lead the second group. A third time I consecrated an otter, and we were again successful, so the otter will lead the third group. Again I consecrated a buffalo robe to cover Mother Corn, and we were successful, so the fourth group will be led by Mother Corn.” Each time he pointed out alternately with his right and left hand the direction the party was to take. He said, “All will have good luck; the buffalo will circle around until everyone has killed one. Now go.” Each chief led his group in the proper direction, soldiers riding ahead to turn back anyone who went too far ahead of the others. Then the holy man threw up his robe, and the whole party dashed forward among the buffalo.

Dusty Hoofs rode right in among the herd. He soon saw a great shaggy, long-haired bull and rode after it for awhile. He arched his bow and shot, striking his mark. He grunted four times instead of giving the usual war cry. The buffalo reared once and fell, the blood gushing from its mouth. Dusty Hoofs jumped from his pony, and, taking some tobacco from his belt, placed it on the nostrils and head of the buffalo. Then he placed another pinch of tobacco on its nostils, saying, “Father, I offer you this tobacco that your spirit may remain in the hide and that the doctors may do wonderful things in their ceremony. Father, take pity upon me and grant me long life.” He pulled the arrow from the buffalo and laid it on the animal to warn off any men who had not killed any. Then he went to find some of the doctors who could help him skin and cut up the meat. One man consented to go with him. They skinned it and placed the hide and cut-up meat on the pony. The buffalo hoofs hung down, for this was not a consecrated buffalo, but was for the animal powers on the earth.

Dusty Hoofs led the pony into camp to the leader’s tipi, where he unloaded the meat near the entrance and placed the bow and arrow upon it. The leader accepted the meat, and Dusty Hoofs led the pony to his own tipi. His wife met him and took the pony to the creek, washed it, and led it outside of the camp.

That night the two errand men were invited to go to the leader’s tipi, where they were instructed to roast the ribs of the buffalo. When this task was completed, they went about the village carrying their eagle wings and invited the doctors to the leader’s tipi. When all the doctors had joined the circle in the tipi, the two errand men took their appointed places near the entrance. The leader filled and lighted his pipe and, standing west of the fireplace, offered four whiffs of smoke to the east, to the ground, to the different directions, and to the animal lodge. Then the pipe was passed around the circle from the north. When all the doctors had smoked, the ashes were thrown to the west of the fireplace. The leading doctor passed his hands over the pipestem and then handed the pipe, with the stem pointing downward, to his assistant who said, “Rawa,” followed by all the doctors.

The leader said, “Doctors, Dusty Hoofs has killed a buffalo, which he brought to my tipi. My spirit asks Big Doctor and Scabby Bull to care for the hide. Big Doctor shall take the head; Scabby Bull, the body. I will keep the skull and the meat. Now we will eat.” The two errand men passed the ribs to the doctors.

When they had eaten, the doctors discussed ways and means of procuring the necessary buffalo meat for the ceremonies. It was expected that each man furnish a parfleche of dried meat. Big Doctor and Scabby Bull were instructed how to make the turtle fireplace, the water monster, the mud woman, and the images to be strung on poles around the lodge. The leader and his assistant, who sat on the south side, were to take care of the skull and loons and the two water drums. In this ceremony there are four leaders—a north leader and a south leader, and two assistants. The two men selected to oversee the building of the animal lodges divided the doctors up into groups so that each could do his share in making the preliminary arrangements. Then they were dismissed.

The buffalo hunt continued, and the men filled their parfleches with meat for the ceremony. In the meantime, Big Doctor and Scabby Bull continued their preparations. Bluebird was chosen to make the teeth for the serpent; Yellow Calf was selected to make the buffalo-hair rope.

By this time the leader’s wife had cleaned and scraped the hide, which was divided by Big Doctor and Scabby Bull, the former taking the head and the latter the remainder. During the period of the hunt they planned and prepared for the ceremony on their return. Each doctor prepared the roots and herbs he used in his shamanistic performances, for the roots and herbs were the real source of power.

After the hunt, when they settled down in the village, the doctors gathered in the leader’s lodge to see whether all their preparations had been completed. The 140 parfleches of dried meat were counted, and the leaders were satisfied. After the bundle ceremonies, the earth lodge was cleared of all its furnishings. The women set up their tipis nearby, since they could not remain within the lodge to witness the performances of the doctors; although in the later stages of the performance, women who could perform sleight-of-hand tricks were permitted to take part.

The four leading doctors and the two errand men occupied the lodge. They plastered the lodge with fresh dirt, cleared out the fireplace, took the ashes outside, and started a new fire with dry willows, dry cottonwood, box elder, and elm. The two errand men threw wild sage into the fire as incense. They swept the lodge with brooms of wild sage, then with bunches of hyssop, then with another weed, and finally with an eagle wing; the south errand man had a white-tailed eagle wing and the north, a black one. Then mats were placed around the circle. The errand men mixed some blue mud in a wooden bowl and plastered their heads and bodies with the mixture. They went to the altar where the leader sat with his medicine bag, and he scattered something over their heads.

The errand men put on their robes and, carrying an eagle wing, went through the village and summoned the doctors to the leader’s lodge. When they entered each lodge, they squatted down in the entrance and the leader said, “Now, I came for the doctors in this lodge. Make haste and come.” When they had invited all the doctors, they returned to the leader’s lodge and sat near the entrance. After the doctors had all arrived, the leader said, “Doctors, it is now time for our animal performances. From now on you must fast, be pitiable in spirit, and bathe every morning. Do not go near your women, and prepare for our ceremony. You must bring in your parfleches with dried meat and place them around the wall. Tell your women to cook corn for us.” Then the leader sent the errand men for the parfleches of dried meat. The doctors were dismissed, but were told to return to the lodge early the next morning.

Arrangement of the Lodge

In an earlier publication, I (Murie, 1914:602–603) gave a brief account of the organization of the lodge, as follows.

The native name for the ceremony is tawaru kutchu, ‘big sleight-of-hand’, but we shall for convenience speak of it as the twenty-day ceremony, as in fact it is often called by the Pawnee themselves. It is found among all the divisions, but seems to have originated with the Squash Vine Village, to whose medicinemen alone certain parts of the ritual were known. From the originators it passed to the Skidi and then to the other divisions. The twenty-day ceremony proper is given in the early autumn after all the bundle ceremonies have been performed, the corn harvested, etc. At the proper time the lodge is cleared and the altar arranged as before. After certain preliminary ceremonies, it is in order for each medicineman to build a booth of green willows in the lodge. They proceed ceremonially to a thicket where each gathers his willows, with which they march back and then construct their booths.

It may be stated that each medicineman sets up a booth for himself, but if he has attached to him one or more younger men in the capacity of students, these assist. Each booth, therefore, really represents a group of men. Further, all the people of the village to which a given medicineman belongs may at times enter, take seats around the booth, and offer assistance. In this way the whole people may be said to participate.

Among the Skidi there is a special feature since they are not content with merely dancing to the mythical water monster, but construct his image encircling the fireplace. In this all the medicinemen’s groups take shares. The head is begun on the south side of the door. The mouth is open, with teeth of willow. The head is covered with buffalo skin. There are two long “feelers” decorated with bands of bright colors. On the crown of the head is a large erect plume of down feathers. The body of the monster is formed of bowed willows, plastered over with mud. The tail is at the north side of the door and is forked like that of a fish.

The fireplace is cleared out and a large turtle modeled there, his head toward the altar. A new fireplace is then made on his back. While the water monster was peculiar to the Skidi the following were found among all divisions. A tree was cut and brought in with a ceremony almost identical with that found in the sun dances of the other tribes. The Skidi plant the tree (a cedar) in the forked tail of the monster, the others put it (a cottonwood) at the altar. A life-sized woman is built up of clay, dressed in regular costume and set upon the south side of the lodge. A large figure of a man is cut from rawhide and placed upon a pole above the lodge. Numerous small human figures are cut from rawhide, strung upon cords and stretched about overhead in the lodge. All these objects are highly symbolic: thus, the fire is the sun; the mud woman, the moon; the large rawhide image, the morning star; the many small images, stars.

All this construction was part of the ritual and so controlled by a definite program. When everything was in place, a general dedication ceremony followed in connection with which is a spectacular march through the village in two lines, according to their sides [north and south]. In front, two men carry the sacred animals from the altar, dancing. (For the Skidi, two loons are used; for the other divisions, two beavers.) All medicinemen are supposed to derive their powers from living creatures and their booths are spoken of as animal lodges. In this procession each man costumes himself so as to represent his animal mentor, often in very realistic fashion. There were also a few clowns dressed like wolves.

After the tour of the village, the procession enters the lodge and holds a secret ceremony upon which we have no data. Those on the outside hear a great uproar and a riot of hideous noises, while clouds of white dust rise from the smoke hole. When all is quiet again, the door is opened. The leader then performs a ceremony in which he sprinkles water about to consecrate the lodge.

It is then in order for the various medicinemen to demonstrate their animal powers. This is the time when remarkable feats of juggling were performed; thus it is told that stalks of corn were made to grow up and mature in a moment, likewise plums and cherries, the bear men tore out a man’s liver and ate it, after which he rose unharmed, and so on, in bewildering variety.

Finally, a certain number of days were given to ceremonial visits to the sacred bundles, each in turn, where certain ceremonies were performed.

At the end the animal powers and images are taken down and carried to a stream or lake. Here they are heaped up in the water something like a beaver’s house and the mud woman placed on top.

Places or booths in this ceremony were assigned by the leaders. A man having set himself up as a medicineman would apply for a place. He would be assigned one provisionally and at the proper time called upon to demonstrate; if he failed to carry his trick through successfully he was ejected, but otherwise given a permanent seat. As may be anticipated from the foregoing, medicinemen were trained and not made suddenly through dreams or visions. It is true that such experience counted for much, but the usual way to become a medicineman was to succeed one’s teacher at his death. Thus, it is clear that the seats in the twenty-day ceremony were practically fixed in form and number.

Visiting the Sick

At the proper time a visit was made to all the sick people of the village. It appears that the ceremony could only proceed at a time when there were no deaths. The doctors must ward off death, just as the weather dancers do in the Sun Dance of certain Plains tribes. The ritual proceeded as follows.

There were eight loons, each with Mother Corn inside them, constituting the altar. The corn, some native tobacco, and some buffalo fat were ceremonially placed in each loon to animate it. Thus, Mother Corn was in all the loons standing at the altar.

Twelve or 15 days after the ceremonies had begun it was time for Mother Corn in the loons to visit all the bundles in the village. After visiting the bundles, Mother Corn visited the sick. It is the function of the doctors to look after the sick. During this ceremony they must show their greatest power in curing. The parents of the sick did not need to notify the doctors, for if given the least sign or word the doctors would come to the sick of their own accord, taking Mother Corn with them.

After the doctors have had a 15–day ceremony, they bring in the wood to build their booths, or animal lodges, inside of the lodge. Before constructing these, they make a path around the rim of the lodge inside and next to the water monster. The booths face the monster and are so close together that as the doctors sit they can stretch out their legs and rest their feet on the serpent. When they have finished their booths, they select a day on which to take power away from the water monster. They practice shooting tricks on each other, i.e., hypnotizing and causing effects on one another.⁷⁹ One doctor, for example, might “knock down” another, causing him to growl and behave like a bear.

They select another day to procure a cedar tree. The doctors are grouped in two divisions; the bear men and the deer men are at the head of each. One division goes for the cedar tree. They cover themselves with blue mud and place down feathers on their hair. They find a cedar tree and cut it. Before they fell it, and while it is still alive, they take the power from the cedar tree. They bring it back to the lodge, singing. On the way, they practice tricks, shooting at one another, from which many appear bloody. The division inside the lodge goes to meet them and they have a sham battle for the possession of the cedar tree. Those who at any time have received power from cedar trees go to offer their gifts to it. They take the tree into the lodge and set it up on the north side of the entrance. When it is set up, the leading doctor says, “Now Mother Cedar Tree is present among us.” The doctors all rise, march around the fireplace, take up ashes, and throw them into the cedar tree, some using eagle wings. The ashes that some toss into the limbs of the cedar tree are made to turn into soft down feathers. Some doctors approach the tree, pat themselves on the breast, and soft down feathers come out of their mouths and fly up into the tree. They continue until the tree is covered with soft down feathers. Of course, they are not really feathers, but look like them. They perform the trick with wild sage and red ash leaves which, when dry, look just like soft down feathers.

After this procedure, the leading doctor says, “It is time to take power from the cedar tree. We have the eagle wings and receive power from them. They are filled with medicine power.” Over a frame of willows they mould the form of a woman out of mud and put a dress, a robe and false hair on her. Squash seeds are used for her eyes. They take power away from all the things they make, even the turtle image and the fireplace. The last thing they do is to take power from the loon at the altar inside of which is Mother Corn.

A sacred bundle is hung up by a buffalo rope and the Mother Corn is tied there. Some of the leading doctors may also be priests of the bundles. The head doctor says, “Now is the time to visit the different lodges where sacred bundles are kept.” The leaders rise and others follow, singing the song that follows for this procedure. One of them carries Mother Corn and they sing about her. First they go into the Evening Star bundle lodge and stand at the altar, singing. The Evening Star priest is seated there. He fills his pipe, and his visitors smoke. When they are through, they march out again and go to another bundle lodge. After they have visited every bundle in the village, they return to the doctors’ lodge. Then they are told to visit the sick. They visit every sick person in the village. When they stop at the bedside of a sick person, the man who carries Mother Corn presses it upon the patient’s breast. When they are through, the doctors are promised either dried buffalo meat, gifts of buffalo robes, or kettles of corn.

When they have visited all the sick people in the village, the doctors go back into the Medicine Lodge, place Mother Corn on the bundle, and are seated. Each doctor uses the power he has received from the different images in the Medicine Lodge. This is the purpose of this performance, i.e., to renew their powers.

After they have placed Mother Corn on top of their bundle, they take up a pipe and offer smoke to it. When the ashes are emptied, they hand the pipe to the leader of the doctors and are told to be seated. Now they know they may carry on their ceremony, because all the sick have been visited. They know there will be no deaths. If anyone were on the point of death, they could not carry on their ceremony. The following song for Mother Corn is sung as the procession of doctors goes about the village.

First Stanza

Second Stanza

Third Stanza

Fourth Stanza

Fifth Stanza

Miscellaneous Data

SPECIAL RITUALS FOR GATHERING ROOTS.—When a doctor takes a root for his special use, he often proceeds in a fixed manner. The root of what is described as a wild squash vine sometimes took the shape of a man, at which time the following procedures were in order.

After locating the plant, one of the doctors filled a small pipe and, sitting down before it, made a smoke offering. Then the leading doctor dug away some of the earth; afterwards, all the people took ahold of it until the whole root came out.

It was carefully borne to the tipi and laid down at the altar place, where another smoke offering was made to it. Then the leading doctor took up a knife and called upon the other doctors to choose their parts and, as they called for a leg, arm, head, etc., he cut off a piece and handed it over. The remaining portions went to him.

DOCTOR’S OUTFIT FOR SETTING BONES (AMNH 50–1–9637).—When a person broke a leg or an arm, he sent for the doctor who was keeper of the medicine sticks. The doctor came carrying a rattle, his wife following with a mat and bundle of sticks. The bundle consisted of three wooden splints about 34, 25.5, 28 cm long and 4.5, 4.5, 4.25 cm wide, respectively. One was painted red. For wrapping there were three strips of buffalo skin with the hair and four of rawhide. The mat was spread out for the patient to lie on. Then the doctor mixed up medicines, applied them to the broken limb, and straightened out the limb as he rattled and sang. After singing, he tied the sticks to the limb, placing the red stick over the worst place. These sticks were used on Man Chief (Pi·tare·sa·ruˀ), the grand chief of the Pawnees, who shot himself in the knee when crossing the Loup River in 1874. His kneecap was wounded, blood poisoning developed, and he died.

MEDICINE BAG (AMNH 50–1–9654).—A buffalo skin bag, used to keep roots, herbs, and other sacred objects for sleight-of-hand performances, was collected. The keeper of this bag was a woman. It must never contain objects relating to the heavens, e.g., meteors.

DOCTOR’S BUNDLE (AMNH 50–l–9642a–c).—This small bundle contains the skin of a skunk and an ear of yellow corn; it was used by High Eagle in dancing during the Doctors’ Ceremony. The head of the skunk was stuck through his belt, which reminded the people that High Eagle understood lightning, and should anyone be struck by it, he should send for High Eagle. The story of this bundle relates that for many years a man had been taught the mysteries of a skunk: that with its fluid the skunk could make rainbows at night; that the skunk took man to the after world; and that through the power of its smell a man could go among the dead. While among the dead, the man was told that he must always keep an ear of yellow corn in a skunk bag, for the yellow corn represented the powers in the west.

HUMAN SINEW STRING (AMNH 50.1–9633, 50.1–9655–9658).—Another bundle contains several objects accessory to a string of human sinew. This human sinew string was obtained by an old doctor, Big Doctor, who, while mourning for his younger brother on a graveyard hill, dreamed that a man appeared to him saying, “My son, I am a ghost wandering over this graveyard. My spirit sometimes makes people sick. Whenever you see a whirlwind, you will know that it is my spirit or one of my spirits. If a person is enveloped by the whirlwind, my spirit will make him sick. I will tell you how to cure people who have been affected by the whirlwind. You must have a grass hairbrush, a human sinew string, a weasel skin, an eagle leg, a meteor, and a deer tail. Tie the human sinew string around the patient’s head and place the stone under it. Press the grass brush on top of his head. The eagle leg must always be filled with native tobacco, which is burned for the patient. The weasel, which is also placed under the patient’s head, is used with the stone as an altar. The deer tail is passed over the body of the patient. When you obtain these things you will be a great doctor.”

The dreamer awoke and mourned again. At night he returned to the village, went to sleep, and dreamed again. In this dream he was told to get human sinew from an enemy who had been killed. He obtained all the objects of which he had dreamed; shortly thereafter he had an opportunity to test his medicine and was successful.

DOCTOR’S REGALIA FOR THE BUFFALO DANCE.—This set consists of leggings of buffalo skin, a stick rattle with buffalo hoofs, the necessary black moccasins (p. 226), and two bead necklaces (AMNH 50.1–9632ab, 50.1–9644, 50.1–9643ab, 50.1–9640–9641). They belonged to a doctor by the name of Little Sun. The leggings were worn when he danced in the Buffalo Dance, as he was instructed by the doctor from whom he acquired his power. The buffalo stick rattle was used by Little Sun only in the Bear Ceremony, for he was the headman of the Bear Dance. The black moccasins were worn in all ceremonies. The necklace and beads he wore in the Doctor Dance and also in the Buffalo Dance.

Notes to the Introduction

¹ In a note appended to the manuscript, Weltfish states that the correction of Murie’s transcriptions was done under a grant from the Bureau of American Ethnology. She also acknowledges support for her Pawnee fieldwork from the Committee on American Indian Languages. The note continues as follows:

The bulk of the work with informants was with Mark Evarts and Ida Phillips for the Skidi material and White Elk for the South Band material, with Henry Chapman constantly as interpreter. Special acknowledgment should be made to Henry Chapman for his unfailing interest and patience, to Mark Evarts for his generosity in imparting any esoteric information which he had which was necessary to clear up difficult points, and to Dr. Alexander Lesser, who was at the time engaged in an intensive study of Pawnee religion, for his elucidation of the concepts, references and symbolism involved in the song and other texts, without which suggestions much of the translation would have lost essential meanings.

² MS 2520, National Anthropological Archives, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. It consists of 1562 typewritten pages in partially edited form. The song transcriptions, phonetically revised by Gene Weltfish, are in Weltfish’s handwritten form. In addition to the typewritten copy, there are 125 pages in Murie’s handwriting; they are the original copy of part of the Bear Dance description. Apart from this small portion, the original draft of the manuscript has not been located. A typed copy of the first part of the manuscript (the description of Skiri ceremonial life) is in the files of the Department of Anthropology, American Museum of Natural History, New York City.

³ Based on linguistic evidence, the Arikara and Pawnee speech communities probably separated no more than 500 years ago. The split between the Skiri and the South Band dialects occurred perhaps 200–300 years ago.

⁴ In his list of 15 villages, one of them, Old Village, had four sacred bundles, each of which represented a former village. Thus Old Village was apparently the result of four villages which had joined into one. Since Murie provided the names for the various published lists of Skiri village names (e.g., Murie, 1914:550; Dorsey, 1904a:10–13; 1906e:72), the list given in this, his last and most complete, work should be taken as the most accurate that we will probably ever have. See also note 8 of “Notes to Part 1.”

⁵ In another publication Murie indicated (1914:550) that two of the South Bands had sacred bundles. The Chawi had at least three and the Pitahawirata two. But the Kitkahahki bundles had “passed out so long ago that no definite number can be enumerated.” As the discussion suggests (pp. 549–550), the two Pitahawirata bundles apparently represented two former villages. The Chawi bundles may also have been survivals of previously separate villages. However, in the late 19th century there appear to have been no traditions among the South Bands, as there were among the Skiri and Arikara, to support the idea of more villages at an earlier date.

⁶ For an excellent synoptic history of the Pawne, see Lesser (1933a:1–52).

⁷ In all of his publications on the Pawnee and Arikara, Dorsey listed himself as sole author and simply acknowledged the indispensable aid of Murie in a sentence or two in his introduction (cf. prefaces to 1904a, 1904b, 1906a). This sort of acknowledgment was certainly an inequitable reflection of Murie’s actual role in most of the publications, especially where Murie admittedly secured and wrote down nearly all of the material, which he (Dorsey) simply edited, as in the case of the volumes of traditions. Spoehr, on the other hand, in listing both Dorsey and Murie as authors of “Notes on Skidi Pawnee Society” (1940), more accurately reflects their duly collaborative roles. Linton, however, was most prone to publish under his own name the work of another. He had never done any fieldwork among the Pawnee, nor did he ever work with Murie. Yet in his Pawnee publications he drew almost exclusively from Murie and and Dorsey’s notes, frequently verbatim. Although in four of the publications (1922a, 1922b, 1923a, 1923b) he noted that his description was compiled from the unpublished notes of Dorsey, in none of them did he even once acknowledge Murie.

⁸ There are some 200 cylinders of recorded Pawnee texts and 501 cylinders of both Pawnee and Arikara songs. Most of the song material has been transcribed onto master tapes, but the textual material remains only on the cylinders.

⁹ These cylinder recordings were in the archives of the Bureau until 1942, when they were transferred to the Archives of American Folksong of the Library of Congress (AFS-cylinders 374–3964, Smithsonian Institution/Frances Densmore Collection, boxes 64, 65, 66). The collection today consists of 96 cylinders, which were recently put onto master tapes so that they could be copied. Unfortunately the sound quality of most of the songs is very poor and in many cases the songs are totally unrecognizable.

Notes to Part I

¹ The only documented dialectal split within Pawnee is that between Skiri and the other three bands, known collectively as South Band. (Arikara is a third and highly divergent dialect that is perhaps best considered a separate language.) Lesser and Weltfish (1932:4) stated that older generation South Band Pawnees insisted that when the bands lived apart there were differences in their speech. In my own fieldwork (1965–70) I have had informants state the same, but no one ever was able to provide any examples. I suspect that those differences consisted of varying lexical usages and perhaps also of some low-level (i.e., minor) phonetic peculiarities, one or both of which were leveled in the last century. [DRP]

² It is common in the literature and in native tradition to say that Arikara speech is most closely related to the Skiri dialect and then to use this argument to support an historical split of Arikara from the Skiri. My own work with Pawnee and Arikara, however, shows that linguistically Arikara bears a much closer affinity to the more conservative South Band dialect. Lesser and Weltfish (1932:3–4) have also indicated that “the Arikara divergences should be treated in relation to the South Band dialect, rather than in relation to the speech of the Skiri” and further point out that an Arikara informant was not able to understand a text in Skiri, but was able to understand the same text in the South Band dialect. Hence, they too refute a special Arikara-Skiri relationship. In a comparative study of Caddoan phonology, Taylor (1963:131) also demonstrated that Arikara cannot be a branch of Skiri. [DRP]

³ There is no contemporary linguistic basis for this etymological interpretation of the term awa·hu (Awahu). Tradition, however, does assign to the Awahu band the last, or rear, position in the tribal migration northward. The name awa·hu is undoubtedly cognate with the name that other Caddoan tribes shared for designating the Pawnee, viz., Caddo awahih, Wichita awa·hi·ˀ. Cf. also Tonkawa ˀawa·hey ‘Pawnee’. [DRP]

⁴ This is apparently the only mention in the literature of any Arikara band practicing human sacrifice. Murie has nowhere provided any amplification of this statement. [DRP]

⁵ There are many published versions of the Arikara origin story. See, for example, numbers 3–8 in Dorsey (1904b:12–35). [DRP]

⁶ Major documented contacts between the Arikara and Skiri occurred at least twice during the early contact period (c. 1700). Trudeau wrote that part of the Arikara tribe took up temporary residence with the Skiri in 1794 (Nasatir, 1952(1):200). In 1832 the entire tribe moved southward and resided with the Skiri until 1835 (Dunbar, 1918:701; Dodge, 1861:134–136). [DRP]

⁷ Based on linguistic evidence we now know that the first split in the Caddoan family was between Caddo and the other groups which collectively are referred to as Northern Caddoan; then Northern Caddoan split into Wichita, Kitsai, and Pawnee-Arikara. Finally Pawnee-Arikara separated and later Pawnee developed its two dialects, Skiri and South Band. [DRP]

⁸ In the various publications that list the number and names of Skiri villages and bundles, there are some discrepancies. By the first decade of this century, when Dorsey and Murie first recorded the names, many of the villages and bundles were extinct. Thus it proved difficult to obtain an accurate list of both, especially since village and bundle names, which were often different, were later frequently confused: each village had a bundle, and some were remembered by the village name while others were remembered only by the bundle name.

Although Dorsey (1904a:xviii) had said that there were 19 villages (but had given no names), he later (1906e:72) named 13 villages and suggested “a few others.” In his and Murie’s paper on Skiri society (1940:75), they also spoke of 13 villages, although the account implies 15 villages.

Murie, in his paper on Pawnee societies (1914:550–551), listed 15 villages by name. All of these agree with the list in this manuscript. Thus Murie’s later work increased the earlier count of 13 villages to 15. Two additional villages are Fish Hawk and Black (Ear Of) Corn. In Notes on Skidi Pawnee Society (1940:78), Dorsey and Murie gave Black Ear of Corn as an alternative name for a bundle called “Fools The Wolves,” the latter a village name in Dorsey (1906e:72). Fish Hawk was given in the Notes (Dorsey and Murie, 1940:78) as a bundle of Village In Thick Timber. Village On A River Branch was not mentioned at all in the earlier works, while in Murie’s later lists the earlier Fools The Wolves is not given as a village (or bundle) name.

The English designations for villages vary within Dorsey’s (1906e:72) and Dorsey’s and Murie’s (1940:75–78) earlier lists and Murie’s list here. The correspondences of the eight names that vary are as follows:

Dorsey and Murie | Herein
Four Bands | Old Village
Village In The Bottom | Village In Bottomlands
Village On A Hill | Village Across A Hill
Village On The Wooded Hill | Village In Thick Timber
Buffalo Skull Painted Village | Skulls Painted On Tipi
One Half Village | Part Of A Village
Pumpkin Vine Village | Squash Vine Village
Coyote In Water Village | Wolves Standing In Water

See also note 3 of “Notes to the Introduction.” [DRP]

⁹ At Genoa, Nebraska. This is regarded as a very old village, but the so-called “Old Village’’ was west of what is now Fullerton, Nebraska.

¹⁰ The reason for the seeming contradiction is that the Skull bundle resided in Village In Bottomlands; i.e., it was in the custody of a family in that village, but it was not owned by the village. [DRP]

¹¹ The reference here, as elsewhere, to the Morning Star Village is in fact to Village Across A Hill, to which the Morning Star bundle belonged. The second Morning Star bundle, said to have been derived from the one in Village Across A Hill, used to be kept by members of Village In Bottomlands (Dorsey and Murie, 1907:201). [DRP]

¹² In this manuscript and his other writings (e.g., Dorsey and Murie, 1907; Murie, 1914), Murie frequently used several names for a bundle: its English or Pawnee name as given in Table 1 or the name of one of the ears of corn in the bundle. For example, the White Star bundle is often referred to as Mother Born Again (Dorsey and Murie, 1907:195, passim). Several times in this manuscript the Red Star bundle was called the Leader of Cornstalks. I have systematized the names of bundles here to conform to the English names in Table 1. Although corn names were sometimes used as alternate designations, it is not clear whether this usage was general or restricted. [DRP]

¹³ “In the center of the lodge was an excavation about eight inches [20 cm] in depth, surrounded by a slight embankment. This served as the fireplace. At the west side of the lodge a space was always reserved, which was considered sacred, and was called wiharu [wiha·ruˀ] (place-for-the-wonderful-things), this being the name which is applied to the garden of the Evening Star, where the corn is always ripening and where are stored many parfleches of buffalo meat. Here rested a buffalo skull, so placed that it faced the entrance of the lodge and, consequently, the rising sun. Above this, and suspended from one of the rafter poles, was the sacred bundle and other religious paraphernalia” (Dorsey, 1904a:xv).

¹⁴ Three of Murie’s six varieties listed here have two subtypes, thus making ten varieties in all. Will and Hyde (1917:306–307) list ten varieties of corn that they found among the Pawnee. They did not find Murie’s red and white speckled and Osage corn; they did, however, find two varieties not given by Murie, viz., sweet corn and popcorn. In addition, they noted seven varieties described by others, generally Murie (source not given), but which they had not found, and concluded that the Pawnee formerly had fifteen or more varieties.

Weltfish (1965:121–122) lists ten varieties that were given by her informant. Her list corresponds to Murie’s, except for her having sweet corn, which Murie’s list lacks, and having only one term for speckled corn while Murie gives two varieties.

In my own field work I have collected the same terms that Weltfish has. In addition, I was given names of three varieties not previously reported. They are: rikiskaˀu·ke·ˀac ‘a tall variety of corn’; rikiskec ‘yellow field corn’; and riki·sastarahi Arikara corn,’ a type borrowed from the Arikara. All three, it would seem, are varieties that have been recently introduced. [DRP]

¹⁵ I have given the Pawnee name in brackets after each of the varieties Murie describes in this section. He did not give the Pawnee term. [DRP]

¹⁶ Originally in the manuscript Murie gave Tirawahat as the primary deity or supreme being. Later, however, in only this section Tirawa was substituted as the term for the one supreme power in the heavens and Tirawahat was applied to all the gods and powers of the heavens. There is, however, no term Tirawa in Pawnee, only Tirawahat. The latter (tira·wa·hat) literally means ‘this expanse.’ Pawnees refer to it as atiˀas titaku ahrakitaku ‘our Father above.’ It seems that the distinction between Tirawa and Tirawahat that was later introduced in the manuscript was contrived to reflect a seeming dichotomy between an amorphous, expansive power and a discrete being. Since, at least linguistically, such a distinction is not made in Pawnee, I have, following native usage, replaced Tirawa with Tirawahat in the few instances in which it occurs. [DRP]

¹⁷ This term is grammatically awkward and unlikely. A more likely designation would be u·pirit rarihu·ru rakati·tu ‘big black star.’ [DRP]

¹⁸ Murie used ‘medicineman’ and ‘doctor’ interchangeably as translations of, or in reference to, what in Pawnee would be kura·ˀuˀ. ‘Doctor’ is the preferable translation; hence I have substituted it for ‘medicineman’ in nearly all instances throughout the manuscript. [DRP]

¹⁹ The current term for Milky Way is taraha raruhratura·ru·ta; literally it means ‘the buffalo’s road.’ [DRP]

²⁰ Doctors also wore their robes with the hair outside, like the animals from whom they got their powers.

²¹ During the winter hunt it is the duty of someone to kill some of the finest animals and consecrate the meat. The heart and tongue are dried and saved for this ceremony. The man who has prepared the meat comes forward at this time and kindles the fire at the proper place outside the lodge.

It may be noted that for the Thunder Ritual in the ceremonies of the Evening Star bundle and each of the four leading bundles, a burnt offering of a heart and tongue is required, but in the ritual of the North Star bundle there is an elaborate ceremony in which a whole buffalo is offered in compliance with a vision.

The consecration of animals to the gods through bundle ceremonies is a fundamental idea in Pawnee religion. It is conceived as the road by which one may rise almost to the level of the gods.

The first and most fundamental step may occur when a boy kills his first bird (Murie, 1914:574). Some of his male relatives may take it to the North Star bundle priest, who places it upon a staff in the bundle. The relative must then kill a buffalo for consecrating to the bundle.

After a boy has gone this far he is prepared for another step, the consecration of a buffalo to one of the main bundles. He must, alone and unaided, kill and properly dress a choice animal and deliver it to the priest of a bundle, who consecrates it. This at once gives the young man a high position, but over the years he may go on until all the bundles have been so sacrificed to. When all of them have been visited he is indeed a holy man.

²² In every sacred bundle there were two ears of corn, each having a name. One ear symbolized leadership in the summer, the other leadership in the winter. During its period of leadership the ear was responsible for the people’s welfare and it was the ear of primary significance in ceremonies for that season. [DRP]

²³ This black buffalo-hair rope was an important part of the ceremonial dress of the priest. It was made from the mane or head of a buffalo. Four twisted strands of hair were braided together into a long rope (see Weltfish, 1965: 377). [DRP]

²⁴ This means that, at the top, a part of the robe is turned over so that the inside shows. This color in contrast to the hair color of the robe is supposed to represent the woodpecker.

²⁵ The individual who “sponsors” or puts on a ceremony provides the food offering and meal for the participants. In this case, Strikes The Enemy put on the ceremony and, consequently, made the food offering. [DRP]

²⁶ The hawk is a symbol of the Morning Star, but the otter is a water animal, symbolic of rain. The otter, however, pertains to the doctor’s power (p. 39). The procedure upon the warpath and its ritualistic ceremonies, and the significance of the other animals are discussed under “The New Fire Ceremony” (p. 136).

²⁷ A murder or suicide was considered highly displeasing to the gods, and that in consequence a ceremony must be performed. This does not materially differ from that performed at every death, except that neglect to do it is regarded as certain to bring calamities.

It is conceived that when Wonderful Being came out to vitalize the earth he was clothed in the power. Also the idea is that the birth of a human being is analogous. Hence the passing back of the spirit to the land of the gods should be with equivalent dress. Thus, at death a holy man is called, i.e., one who has performed all the possible consecrations and other rites. He anoints the body with fat and red paint, places offerings of meat fat in the hands and mouth, and finally dresses the body in the regalia worn during life. As he does this he recites certain verbal formulae and symbolically sends the spirit on its way.

²⁸ The last performance of this ritual was in 1856. Murie’s account comes from two unidentified priests who formerly performed the ceremony and remembered the rites that Murie describes (see Dorsey and Murie, 1907:299). [DRP]

²⁹ Murie says here that the Skull bundle is kept in Center Village. In Table 1, however, he listed it in Village In Bottomlands. There is no explanation for this inconsistency, except that the bundle did not belong to any one village. It and the North Star bundle ministered to the Skiri at large; consequently, each would be in the village to which its keeper belonged. [DRP]

³⁰ In another account, Dorsey and Murie (1907:300) state that the woman’s husband provides the meat. However, given Murie’s statement here that the meat must come from the woman’s family and given the matrilineal kinship system of the Pawnee with its brother-sister obligations (Weltfish 1965:20–21), this account would seem to be the correct one. [DRP]

³¹ Although Murie states that the leading priests had nothing to do with the ritual, he undoubtedly meant to say that they neither owned it nor were responsible for it. Nevertheless, as the subsequent description makes clear, the owners of the Skull bundle turn the ceremony over to the priests of the Skull, Evening Star, and four leading bundles, if the latter are present. These priests actually conduct the ritual. [DRP]

³² Dorsey and Murie (1907:304) state that the five gourd rattles are those belonging to the leading bundle for that season. [DRP]

³³ The fat used here must be that peculiar lump found under the foreleg of the buffalo. This was holy and never eaten. According to an Arikara myth (Dorsey, 1904b:40, 44) the buffalo once ate people and, as they were driven off for the last time, one of the buffalo hid a piece of human flesh in his arm pit; hence, the fat.

³⁴ In another account of this ritual, Dorsey and Murie (1907:307) state that the skull is not painted during this ritual, but that it is painted as described here in the Chiefs’ Ritual. It is not clear which account is correct. [DRP]

³⁵ The mythical antecedent of this basket is a similar basket that held the dirt from which the earth was created. It also held the germs of life from which all things came. In general, it is by far the most symbolic of all the objects present, and for that reason is given to the pledger of the ceremony. The idea seems to be that Tirawahat caused the basket to move or pass through space at the creation, bearing its precious burdens. It moved without visible support but still as if borne by someone. Hence, in the dance the woman moves it around to imitate its initial functions.

³⁶ Freely translated, this line is, “Earth and Mother Corn are alive.”

³⁷ In this context, “laid by” means that the corn was left alone to grow and mature for harvesting, after its final dirt mulching. [DRP]

³⁸ The smoke offering described here follows the same sequence as described earlier (page 85). Although the ritual is performed in the cornfield, the order of the offering stations remains conceptually the same as it is outside the lodge, as given in Figure 10. [DRP]

³⁹ The number of stanzas sung at this point is uncertain. [DRP]

⁴⁰ This line refers to the sound of the arrow being inserted in the straightener.

⁴¹ The meaning of this sentence is not clear. [DRP]

⁴² This is the sequence the priest gave; it appears from the song text, however, that the woman should be brought in before the arrow-maker is selected. The order has been retained as he gave it.

⁴³ A fuller account of the installation of a new chief is given in Dorsey and Murie (1907:243–247). In it the North Star bundle is used. [DRP]

⁴⁴ A sign of many buffalo.

⁴⁵ He lights a pipe by putting a burning ember upon it.

⁴⁶ The following data are supplied by Dr. Ralph Linton of the Field Museum of Natural History: The star chart [Figure 15] accompanying the Big Black Meteoric Star bundle in this museum is approximately 26⅛ inches [66 cm] long and 18 inches [46 cm] wide. The material is a soft tanned skin, but the tanning has not been done very well, since patches of both the epidermis and the inner membrane still adhere. The skin appears to be antelope or deer, not buffalo. The chart is painted on what was the hair side. The outline of the chart and the stars are painted black. A narrow strip at one end [top] of the chart is painted red. At the opposite end there is a similar strip which seems to have been painted yellow or light brown. In the left hand sector is an oval figure, 1 inch [2.54 cm] long and ¾ inch [2 cm] wide, its long axis parallel to that of the chart, which seems to have been drawn with a heated bone point since the surface is depressed somewhat. Further, the chart seems to have been heavily coated with red paint, most of which has now worn off. Around its edges there are many small slits through which a drawing string was orginallly passed. Only a fragment of the string remains. The discolorations on both sides of the chart show that the edges were drawn as for a bag. [CW]

⁴⁷ Murie’s etymology here is doubtful. Kirihcisuˀ means ‘sweatlodge’, but I know of no verb for ‘wash’ to which it might be related. Kirihciskucuˀ literally means ‘big sweatlodge’. [DRP]

⁴⁸ The Pawnee undertook two communal buffalo hunts every year, one in the summer and the other in the winter. Each lasted three months or more; thus, the two consumed slightly over half of the year. The summer hunt began in early June, when nearly everyone in the tribe moved out of their earthlodge villages and lived in tipis for the duration of the hunt. Those who were unable to travel—the sick and the old, as well as a few poor people—were left behind, unguarded, in the permanent villages. These people were termed ka·kusuˀ ‘stay-at-homes’. After traveling 400 to 900 miles (645 to 1450 km), the tribe returned home at the end of August. The winter hunt began in early November and lasted until late February or early March.

Until shortly after the middle of the 19th century, each of the Pawnee bands followed different routes, but all traveled along the river courses in a westward and then southward direction until the buffalo herds were found. The hunting grounds covered the plains of western Nebraska and parts of eastern Colorado; they were bounded by the Loup and Platte rivers in the north and the Arkansas River in the south.

The meat procured during the hunts constituted almost half of the Pawnee diet. [DRP].

⁴⁹ The Skiri term for the South Bands is tuha·wit and literally means ‘east village.’ [DRP]

⁵⁰ The iruska society described by Murie (1914:608–616) is said to have originated during such a corn-burning as we have just described. It is said that corn so treated becomes red and the usual expression for it is, “the husk is now red.” It is sometimes said that the red feather worn by members of the iruska society represents the red husk of an ear of corn.

⁵¹ Juicy cornstalks, stripped of their ears, were chewed by children, much as children today chew on sugar cane. [DRP]

⁵² Apios americana Medicus, commonly called Indian potato. [DRP]

⁵³ An important point in a later ritual is associated with these stalks of corn. When a change in the bundles is made, the transfer of authority to rule for the ensuing year is made by giving over the stalks of corn. By this transfer the priest of the governing bundle passed on his power and office. At the close of the ceremony, the new leader takes the sacred stalks to his lodge, where they remain as emblems of his office.

⁵⁴ After the passing of the buffalo this covering was abandoned, so that the bundle contains only uncovered ears.

⁵⁵ John Buffalo told a story some years ago that the people had gathered in the corn and left one ear in the field. This happened to be real Mother Corn. They had gathered everything else. A woman and her husband had stayed late in the fields and seemed to hear a woman crying. They looked all around but could see nothing. They went to this stalk and found an ear of corn from which the noise came. They found the ear there covered with the cornhusk, which was waving and making the noise that they had thought was a woman crying. They took the ear of corn with the tassel and tied it on their wall. The man commenced to have dreams about it. He was lucky in hunting and on the warpath, while misfortune befell everyone else. The people wanted to know why. The man said he had his instructions from Mother Corn. They had been looking for it, but had left it in the field. The man kept it, and through dreams he learned to perform sleight-of-hand tricks with the Mother Corn. There is a song about it which he sang in the Medicine Lodge.

⁵⁶ An accurate description of this was given later, but failed to secure the symbolism of the objects. The skull under the bowl is from the Skull bundle. Two long sticks rest upon the skull and support the edges of the bowl. Over the middle of the turtle are two short sticks and upon the square thus made rests the clam shell. The turtle and shell were from the White Star bundle, and the four stones were from the Part Of A Village bundle. The bowl is said to represent a pond or the waters, while the stones and associated objects refer to the world quarters. [CW]

An unknown narrrator’s sketch in the original manuscript does not clarify the description. [DRP]

⁵⁷ The skull now upon the bundle is not the original, for that was once broken by a falling tipi pole. Its place was taken by the skull of a very distinguished man.

⁵⁸ It may be of some comparative interest to note that paints and down are kept in a bladder.

⁵⁹ In the mythical account of the inauguration of the Skiri federation, Evening Star was protected by four animals, or stars: Bear, Mountain Lion, Wildcat, and Wolf. Morning Star, who wished to marry Evening Star, vanquished her four protectors. In the Four Pole Ceremony described here, when the doctors dress as these animals and charge through the village, symbolically fighting the people, they are reenacting this episode.

In the manuscript Murie here lists the loon, instead of the mountain lion, as one of the animals which is impersonated by the doctors. This is probably a mistake since the loon did not figure into the mythical symbolism. [DRP]

⁶⁰ A brief account of the Pawnee sacrifice was published by Dorsey (1906b). Fragmentary accounts previous to his were McKenney and Hall (1933:201–217), Schoolcraft (1853–1857:77), and De Smet (in Thwaites, 1906:209–210). A sketch of the scene at the scaffold, given by a native, is presented in Alexander (1916:303–306). None of these accounts, however, develops the detail of the procedure as described by my informants.

The following account brings out a few important points. We see first of all that this sacrifice was not considered a part of the seasonal cycle and that its performance was dependent wholly upon a vision, a pledge, and success in securing a victim. Then the time for its performance was dependent upon the position of a certain star, presumably Mars; and after all the above preparations had been made, the ceremony must await that period. Another important point is that the whole ritual belongs to a single village bundle and is essential in its ceremony. So far as can be learned, the obligations were confined to that village; the few official participants called in, as stated, came by virtue of their positions in the federation of villages, just as they do in all ceremonies. What we have, then, is a single village bundle with the special ritual requiring a human sacrifice to a definite star. The only features this ritual seems to have in common with others are the matters of routine with pipes, offerings, singing, etc. In no case do we find anything like this sacrifice.

Attention has been called to the striking parallels between the procedures of this sacrifice and that found among the Aztec (Spinden and Wissler, 1916:49–55). The same form of scaffold was used in parts of Mexico as shown in native drawings. The use of the four steps by which the victim ascends is clearly indicated. Further, in the Mexican procedure the victims were to be induced to do everything of their own volition in much the same way as the Wolf (Star) man of the Skiri maneuvered the captive maiden into mounting the scaffold. Finally, the method of killing and sacrificing the blood is almost identical. Thus it is suggested that the Skiri sacrifice is the marginal distribution of a trait found in Mexico and southward. It seems to have had a limited distribution in the United States since few definite traces of this complex have been found. How or when the Morning Star Village of the Skiri came by it, we cannot determine. [CW]

Since the original manuscript was written, Ralph Linton (1926:459–460) points out that “an analysis of the Pawnee ceremony shows that although some of its features were probably of foreign origin its underlying concepts and most of its ritual were in perfect accord with the general body of Skiri belief and practices.” [DRP]

⁶¹ The son of the owner of the Morning Star bundle wanted to marry outside the village (tuhwa·hukasa). He wanted to marry into Village In Bottomlands (tuhicpi·ˀat). This was contrary to custom and against the wishes of the Morning Star bundle people. The father of the young man said that if he married into the other village, he would of necessity have to go there to live and they would have to divide up the bundle and send part to the other village. The young man was so determined that finally consent was given. The bundle was divided and the objects that belonged to a warrior—the warclub, flint knife, and warrior clothing—were sent with the bridegroom to the other village. The bundle formed by these items thus became the property of Village In Bottomlands.

Since then, whenever the original bundle was opened, it was necessary to send for the people of the other village. In the early days before the Morning Star bundle was divided, the people of Village In A Ravine (tuhu·caku) were neighbors to the Morning Star bundle people and were always invited to assist in the Morning Star Ceremony. Finally as in the case of all bundle ceremonies, the main bundle (Evening Star) must be present to initiate the ritual, which necessitates the participation of the people of Center Village (turi·kaku). Thus four villages came to participate in this ceremony.

One significant belief attaches to the above marriage. It is said that previous to this marriage no one was allowed to marry outside of his village, but that by this act intermarriage between these two villages was sanctioned and in the course of time all restrictions were broken down.

The two Morning Star bundles are never brought together unless a sacrifice is to be made. Since this custom was abolished many years ago, they have remained separated. However, each has the same ritual. It may be added that the Skull bundle is also kept in Village In Bottomlands and had to be brought into the sacrifice ceremony so that the bow and arrow upon it could be used to shoot the sacrifice.

⁶² The identity of this star is uncertain. The description of its appearance would indicate Mars, but the times given for its appearances suggest that Venus and even Jupiter could serve when in the proper place. However, it is not fair to test the case by present informants, for it may be that the older priests, when these ceremonies were intently pursued, did discriminate between Mars and the other planets. The characteristics that have come down to us are brightness and a red light. These apply to Mars rather than to any other star. A careful study of the native star chart (Figure 15) now in the Field Museum, Chicago, may afford some check data, but even this document should not be considered as conclusive evidence.

⁶³ The term for Morning Star, u·pirikucuˀ, literally means ‘big star.’ [DRP]

⁶⁴ In the Skiri creation legend (Dorsey, 1904a:17–20), the wolf was the first creature to experience death. The people killed him because of his perfidy, and as a consequence people and animals were destined to grow old and die. The Wolf Star was Sirius and was associated with death. These incidents were commemorated by the Wolf bundle, a special bundle belonging to no particular village. Its current keeper was thought to be a descendant of the original owners. In the description of the Morning Star ceremony here, the keeper is referred to as the Wolf man. [DRP]

⁶⁵ Note that the association of trees with semicardinal directions here is different from the description in the Four Pole Ceremony; cf. Figures 17 and 18. It is likely that Murie, or perhaps his informant, confused these associations in one of the two descriptions. [DRP]

⁶⁶ This is not the usual form for ‘moccasin’, which is asu·ruˀ.

⁶⁷ In the old days smoke was offered in the southwest to an “iron man god” found by the Pawnee, but which was subsequently stolen by some other Indians. This seems to have been a curious stone upon the summit of a hill (p. 40).

⁶⁸ A ring, or hoop, for stretching the scalp is made of twig. In this narrative it is assumed that there were four scalps, each taken by a different warrior. The first to take one was the leading man, and to him fell the duty of succeeding ceremonies. However, all these scalps were placed in bundles.

⁶⁹ In the original manuscript Murie did not include rawi·suˀ in this list. I have added it, however, since it is a part of the steps in similar songs and would seem to be necessary here as well. [DRP]

⁷⁰ In this account we have assumed that the scalp has been consecrated to the leading bundle in charge for the season. Hence, the priest of this bundle will call in the priests from the other three bundles, as well as the Evening Star bundle priest. The priests of other bundles may be present also.

⁷¹ On the basis of another description of this ceremony by the same author, but coming from another informant (Dorsey and Murie, 1907:31), it would seem that the bowl of red clay was also passed down the south side for those seated there to anoint themselves. However, Murie made no mention of this procedure for the south side in the description here. [DRP]

⁷² Personal names were generally bestowed and changed publicly as a part of certain ceremonies, usually at the close of the proceedings. The New Fire Ceremony was a particularly common one for name changing. [DRP]

⁷³ Weltfish added a footnote to the manuscript, stating that she was unable to obtain Murie’s translaion as given here. She preferred to give one supplied by Mark Evarts, her informal, who suggested that hura·wiˀ was a sung version of the word ca·kura·wiˀuˀ ‘cane, walking stick’. He interpreted the line as referring to the tapping canes of the old women in the procession. [DRP]

⁷⁴ This bundle cannot be located at this time. [DRP]

⁷⁵ The Medicine Lodge for the Thirty Day Ceremony was composed of animal cults, each of which had its origin in the vision of a man who received curing power and knowledge from an animal guardian. This animal gave the visionary the ability to hypnotize and control animals and other people. The original visionary, a doctor, took apprentices and established a cult, the knowledge and lore of which were maintained and elaborated over time. Each cult, or fraternity, had a booth, or “seat,” in the Medicine Lodge during the Thirty Day Ceremony, when the doctor and his apprentices demonstrated their powers. [DRP].

⁷⁶ The first thunder that heralded the time for the renewal ceremonies occurred in March, not January. This statement appears to be in error, since January is in the middle of winter and the tribe was on its buffalo hunt during that month. [DRP]

⁷⁷ Two other detailed accounts of the doctors’ Thirty Day Ceremony that the reader should consult for details to supplement the description here are Weltfiish (1965:272–317) and Linton (1923b:53–72). [DRP]

⁷⁸ Murie (1914:600) states that “The Skidi maintained two large earthlodges, one in the east and one in the west for these [doctors’] ceremonies and it is these lodges that were popularly known as the grand medicine lodges. The one in the west seems to have been the original lodge and the one most often used.” Whether these two lodges were located in one village or two different ones is not clear. [DRP]

⁷⁹ Three kinds of supernatural powers were conferred upon doctors by their animal guardians: the power to cure sickness or injury; the power to perform feats of magic or sleight-of-hand; and the power to “shoot” tricks or hypnotize. The latter “resembled hypnotism in some of its manifestations. By it the medicine man was enabled to subjugate the will of another to his own and to render his patient passive during ceremonies so that his power could go to the soul of the patient and remove the evil influence which was at the root of the disease. [This power] was likened to an arrow or bullet in its ability to cut off life. Medicine men could throw this power into an enemy as one would shoot an arrow, and the individual attacked in this way was helpless until some other medicine man, who understood the power, exercised his magic to draw it out” (Linton 1923b:57). [DRP]

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