The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot IndiansWissler, Clark
Religion
The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians
Wissler, Clark
Siksika Indians; Sun dance
Seven songs for the eagle tail feather with which the sun is
supposed to have brushed off the scar from Scar-face's face and is
supposed to be the feather brought down from the sun by Scar-face
follow: "Old man says, hand me a feather." The feather is passed to
the man. Another song follows: "Old man says he wants a hundred
feathers. Old woman wants different kinds of feathers." Seven more
songs are sung, the words of some of them are: "This man says that
above have seen me. It is powerful. The ground I see is powerful.
Old man, says, white buffalo robe I want. Old woman, says, Elk I
want. Old man says, don't fool me. Old woman says, don't fool me."
The meaning of this is to be sure and give them what they ask for,
that is, offerings made at the sun dance to the sun, moon, etc.
Seven songs are sung before they take up the rattles and the rawhide
and five songs for the raven. At this time, the man takes hold of
one of the rattles by the ball part touching it to the ground, while
he holds the end of the handle straight up. The raven songs are:
"Raven says, buffalo I am looking for; buffalo I take. The wind is
our medicine. The brush is our home. Buffalo I take." The man pecks
the rattle handle with one finger on both sides and crows. Then they
begin to beat the rattles on the rawhide and shake them in a circle
once.
Now seven songs are sung for the smudge which is made of a species
of fungus that grows on a kind of willow. The songs: "Old man says,
all right, may my lodge be put up. Old woman says, all right may my
lodge be put up or built." These words mean that the sun and moon
are speaking and want the sun dance lodge built without any
accidents.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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