The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot IndiansWissler, Clark
Religion
The Sun Dance of the Blackfoot Indians
Wissler, Clark
Siksika Indians; Sun dance
The next songs are for the natoas bundle which is not opened. The
songs: "Old man comes in, he says, I am looking for my bonnet. I
have found it. It hears me. It is medicine." The old woman sings and
uses the same words in her songs. There are six of these bonnet
songs. The songs for the badger skin follow: "The man above hears
me; he is powerful. The ground is my home; it is powerful." There
are four songs for the badger. The badger skin and other things are
not handled, the songs about them are simply sung. The songs for the
natoas are: "Old man says I am looking for my bonnet. I have found
it: it is powerful." The woman then sings a song with the same
words, which is followed by a song about the stone arrow points on
the natoas. There is a song for everything which makes up the bonnet
which is as follows: the leather band, the blue paint on the band,
the stuffed weasel skin tied crosswise on the bonnet, the weasel
tails hanging from the bonnet, two feathers in front, and two
behind, two plumes on each side of the bonnet, a flint arrow point,
a buffalo calf tail, a snipe, and a small doll the head of which is
stuffed with tobacco seed. The song for the doll on the bonnet is:
"Children are running about. They are running from us. They are
running towards us. They are boys. They are powerful." The man says,
"Give me the child," and makes the movement of reception. Another
song is sung: "Child is crying," and the man imitates the crying of
a child. The song for the little birds is: "Bird says water is my
medicine; it is powerful," for the calf tail: "Man says calf tail I
want," and for the arrow point: "Sharp points are on both sides."
Then follows the song for the leather band which represents the
lizard: "Yonder man, I am angry and mad at you." This song of the
lizard refers to the prairie dog chief. The blue paint on the band
represents water and the song for it is: "The blue waters are our
medicine." The song for the feathers is: "Feathers I want." Another
song for the plume on the feathers: "Red I want." This closes the
evening ceremony. The man and woman are put to bed and all go home.
This is the ceremony after the first sweathouse is made. Three more
moves of the entire camp and three more sweathouses must be made.
The fourth move and sweathouse is where the sun dance takes place.
Nowadays, only one sweathouse is made for the sun dance.
It seems that the final camp is marked out by a society laying rocks
around its bounds, according to which the arriving bands find their
proper places.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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