Indians of North America -- Religion; Indians of North America -- Rites and ceremonies; Peyotism
Pabo, or Big Horse, was the only user among the Kiowa about 1868 or
1870, and Mooney began to notice Kiowa peyote only around 1886, so the
vigorous activity of a cult proper may be said to date from about this
time (though friendly contacts with the Mescalero in his opinion dated
as far back as 1850 or before).[33] But the introduction of peyote was
not exclusively the doing of one tribe, any more in the case of the
Kiowa than of other groups. Tribal contacts have been multiple since
the cessation of intertribal warfare, and one is not at all inclined
to discount the vague information from Kiowas that they knew of peyote
from the Cáγeso, the Zé·bakiɛni or “Long Arrows,” the Yæk’i (a loose
designation for various north Mexican tribes) and the Kωɔnhęɢo. These
last so-called “bare-footed” people are probably the Carrizo, who
ranged within the region of growth of peyote. The Tonkawa[34] also made
visits to the Kiowa around 1890 and performed shamanistic tricks in
peyote meetings. We therefore set the date of Kiowa peyotism somewhat
earlier than Shonle’s[35] “before 1891” (her data were based on official
Government sources which might not have become cognizant of the cult
until late in its history), for Kiowa were holding meetings by 1880 or
before. The Kiowa probably contributed little or nothing definitive to
the general shape of the ceremony, most of whose features were already
standardized among the Lipan and the Mescalero.[36]
At one time, however, there was intense opposition to peyote on the
part of some Kiowa. In the winter of 1887-88 Bąįgʸä had a revelation
on the strength of which he claimed to be the successor to Pate’te
or “Buffalo-Bull-Coming-Out” (the “Buffalo Prophet” of 1881-82 who
had promised to bring back the buffalo if his followers joined him in
resisting the Whites and returning to the old customs). He organized a
group of about thirty into an order called Baiyui or “Sons of the Sun,”
with a special costume, singing of guedωgʸä, or old “going-to-war”
songs, smoking ceremony and dance. These he commanded to resume the old
costume, weapons and customs, and distributed to them a sacred new fire
made with a drill to take the place of fires kindled with flint-and-steel
or matches. The Sons of the Sun were bitterly opposed to peyote on the
ground that it was in conflict with the Ten Medicine Bundles, though
since its introduction some years before there had been no special
opposition to peyote. One of their rules was to drink always from an
individual cup or bucket, in pointed contrast to the peyote custom.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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