A Study of Siouan Cults: Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1889-1890, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1861, pages 351-544Dorsey, James Owen
Religion
A Study of Siouan Cults: Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology to the Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution, 1889-1890, Government Printing Office, Washington, 1861, pages 351-544
Dorsey, James Owen
Siouan Indians -- Religion
The Kansa have the Tce wactce, or Buffalo shaman, and an order of
such shamans. When a Kansa had a vision or dream (i-ya-k’e-ye) of an
animal, etc., he painted the mystery object on his shield. An old woman
used to “iyak’eye” of a flying serpent, the [M]yets‘a táji lícka. The
remains of such enormous serpents are found in the Black Hills, “and
if one finds such a reptile, he must die.” For an account of the Kansa
“wakandagi” see § 66.
The Kwapa or Ukaqpa Indians speak a dialect more closely allied to
that of the Omaha and Ponka than to those of the Kansa and Osage. With
them, to have superhuman communications is called dȼa-q‘é-dȼĕ; shamans
and doctors are níka qúwĕ, mysterious men, and among their societies
of such men are the following: Te dȼáq‘edȼĕ, Those having superhuman
communications with the Buffalo; the Maⁿtú dȼaq‘édȼĕ, Those having
interviews with the Grizzly Bear; the Iⁿtaⁿ´dȼaⁿ tañ´ʞa dȼaq‘édȼĕ,
Those having interviews with the Panther; and the Jawé dȼaq‘édȼĕ,
Those having interviews with the Beaver. There were doubtless other
orders, but they are unknown to the author’s Kwapa informant, Alphonsus
Valliere, of the Wajiñʞa or Bird gens.[56]
PERSONAL MYSTERY DECORATIONS.
§ 44. The Omaha and Ponka have certain personal mystery decorations,
some of which are worn on garments, and others appear on the tents
of their owners. The makers and wearers of such decorations must be
members of one of the orders of shamans. George Miller’s father, Little
Soldier, used to wear a buffalo robe decorated in the style shown in
Figs. 156 and 157. It was his personal mystery decoration, which no
one else could use. Even members of his gens (the Ictasanda, a Thunder
and Reptile gens) feared to imitate it. The father promised to paint
this decoration on four white blankets for his son George, but he died
before he could paint the fourth one.
[Illustration: FIG. 156.--George Miller’s personal mystery decoration.]
George received the first one when he was about seventeen years of
age. Before he married he had worn out three. He still has the right
to decorate and wear the fourth blanket, according to his father’s
intention. He could decorate other white blankets in this style, and
wear them, if he wished, but he could not transmit to any one of his
children (the grandchildren of Little Soldier) the right to make and
wear such a decoration, unless George himself should hereafter see the
objects in a dream or vision.
[Illustration: FIG. 157.--A variant of Fig. 156.]
The right to use such designs on a buffalo robe, blanket, tent, etc.,
must originate with one who has had a vision or dream in which the
mystery objects are manifested. Those who could use the class of
designs represented in the accompanying illustrations (Figs. 156-161)
were members of the order of Thunder shamans (Iñgȼaⁿ iȼa‘eȼĕ-ma).
ORDER OF THUNDER SHAMANS.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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