Part 1
Transcriber's Note:
Every effort has been made to replicate this text as faithfully as possible. Some changes have been made. They are listed at the end of the text.
Italic text has been marked with _underscores_.
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY
Vol. 12, No. 11, pp. 443-465, plate 7 July 11, 1917
POMO BEAR DOCTORS
BY S. A. BARRETT
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PRESS BERKELEY
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UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA PUBLICATIONS IN AMERICAN ARCHAEOLOGY AND ETHNOLOGY
Vol. 12, No. 11, pp. 443-465, plate 7 July 11, 1917
POMO BEAR DOCTORS
BY S. A. BARRETT
CONTENTS
PAGE Introduction 443 Origin Account 445 Acquisition of Power 452 Assistants 454 Hiding Places 454 The Magic Suit 455 Weapons and their Use 457 Rites Over the Suit 458 Communication between Bear Doctors 461 Panther Doctors 462 Comparison with Yuki Beliefs 462 Comparison with Miwok Beliefs 463 Summary 464
INTRODUCTION
One of the most concrete and persistent convictions of the Indians of a large part of California is the belief in the existence of persons of magic power able to turn themselves into grizzly bears. Such shamans are called “bear doctors” by the English-speaking Indians and their American neighbors. The belief is obviously a locally colored variant of the widespread were-wolf superstition, which is not yet entirely foreign to the emotional life of civilized peoples. The California Indians had worked out their form of this concept very definitely. Thus Dr. Kroeber says:[1]
A special class of shamans found to a greater or less extent among probably all the Central tribes, though they are wanting both in the Northwest and the South, are the so-called bear doctors, shamans who have received power from grizzly bears, often by being taken into the abode of these animals--which appear there in human form,--and who after their return to mankind possess many of the qualities of the grizzly bear, especially his apparent invulnerability to fatal attack. The bear shamans can not only assume the form of bears, as they do in order to inflict vengeance on their enemies, but it is believed that they can be killed an indefinite number of times when in this form and each time return to life. In some regions, as among the Pomo and Yuki, the bear shaman was not thought as elsewhere to actually become a bear, but to remain a man who clothed himself in the skin of a bear to his complete disguisement, and by his malevolence, rapidity, fierceness, and resistance to wounds to be capable of inflicting greater injury than a true bear. Whether any bear shamans actually attempted to disguise themselves in this way to accomplish their ends is doubtful. It is certain that all the members of some tribes believed it to be in their power.
Pomo beliefs differ rather fundamentally from those here summarized. In the first place, the Pomo appear to know nothing of the magician acquiring his power from the bears themselves. Since they ascribe no guardian spirit to him, he is scarcely a shaman in the strict sense of the word. The current term “doctor,” misleading as it may seem at first sight, may therefore be conveniently retained as free from the erroneous connotation that “shaman” would involve.
In the second place, the power of the doctor was thought to reside wholly in his bearskin suit, or parts thereof, and apparently was considered the result of an elaborate ceremony performed in its manufacture and subsequent donning. This distinctly ritualistic side of the bear doctor’s practices removes him still more clearly from the class of the true shaman.
Thirdly, there is a detailed Pomo tradition of the origin of bear doctors. This story is cast in the mold of a myth; in fact, its initial portions may be taken from the current mythology of the tribe. Other parts are, however, remarkably unmythical and matter of fact. The resultant whole is therefore rather incongruous, and, in the form recorded, may have been somewhat influenced by the speculations of an individual. But the events which it describes agree so closely with the beliefs which the Pomo at large entertain concerning the practices of recent bear doctors that the question of the extent of the prevalence of the myth among the group is of less importance than the insight which the tale affords into the Pomo mind. Its many specific references make it a suitable introduction to the presentation of the other data secured.
These peculiarities render a comparison of Pomo bear-doctor beliefs with those of other Californian groups desirable, but the published data from elsewhere are unfortunately too fragmentary to make such a study profitable at present. It has only seemed feasible to append some comparisons with Yuki and Miwok beliefs.
It may be added that the statements which constitute the body of this paper are the statements of native informants cited as representative of their convictions, and not as the opinions of the author. The degree to which the reputed practices of bear doctors were actually practiced is far from clear, as Dr. Kroeber has stated. Whether, however, they rest mainly, partly, or not at all on reality, they furnish interesting psychological material.
ORIGIN ACCOUNT
The following tradition was obtained in January, 1906, from an old Eastern Pomo man and his wife. The husband stated that he had himself been a bear doctor at one time in his life. In his later years he became a noted practitioner of ordinary Indian “medicine,” and was much in demand as a “sucking doctor.” His old wife proved a very valuable informant on Pomo mythology, and it was while relating myths that the subject of bear doctors was mentioned and the fact developed that her husband had practiced this craft when a younger man. The incident led to a full discussion of the entire matter with the couple, and resulted in the recording of the following material. This was given by the Indians more as a personal favor than for any other reason, and was communicated only after a pledge that their story would not be spread about as long as the two were still alive. Both are now deceased, as is also the interpreter who aided in recording the material, so that there is no reason for longer withholding this information. Out of deference to the relatives of the three, it seems best not to name them in these pages.
Besides the myth, these two old people furnished the greater part of the descriptive information given in the remainder of this paper, but additional data from other informants have been included. Unless otherwise stated, the Pomo terms are in the Eastern dialect.
In the days before Indians were upon the earth, and when the birds and mammals were human, there was a large village at _danō xa_.[2] These people were great hunters, pursuing their game with bows and arrows and spears. But chiefly they set snares in every direction about the village.
They had caught many kinds of game, but finally found a large grizzly bear in one of the snares. They saw that his carcass would furnish a great feast, but they were confronted with the difficult problem of getting their prize to the village. Each of the birds tried unsuccessfully to carry the bear, first on his right shoulder and then on his left, in the following order: _tsai_ (valley bluejay), _auaū_ (crow), _īlil_ (a species of hawk), _tīyal_ (yellowhammer), _karats_ (red-headed woodpecker), _sawalwal_ (mountain bluejay), _bakaka_ (pileated woodpecker), _kabanasiksik_ (a large species of woodpecker), _cagak ba bīya_ (a species of hawk), _kiya_ (a species of hawk), _sīwa_ (mountain robin), _tsitōtō_ (robin redbreast), _tcūma tsīya_ (grass bird), and _tīnītal_.
Finally a very small bird, _tsina bitūt kaiya patsōrk_,[3] succeeded in carrying the bear. He first tied its front and hind feet with a heavy milkweed-fiber rope in such a manner as to enable him to sling the carcass over his shoulder with the body resting upon his hip. No one else had thought of any such method. The ingenuity of this bird, the smallest of them all, won success and enabled him to walk away easily with the heavy load. The others laughed uproariously and shouted their approval of the feat, immediately naming him _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_,[4] literally grizzly-bear-you-carrier. Thus he carried the grizzly home to the village, and Bluejay, the captain, cut it up and divided the meat among all the people. As a reward for his service _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ was given the bearskin. This was a very valuable present, worth many thousands of beads.[5]
With this skin in his possession, _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ thought a great deal about the grizzly bear and became very envious of his powers of endurance, his ferocity, and his cunning. He forthwith began to study how he might make some use of the skin to acquire these powers. He needed an assistant, and finally took his brother into his confidence. The two paid a visit to _cō danō_, a high mountain east of the village. They then went down a very rugged cañon on the mountain-side and finally came to a precipice the bottom of which was inaccessible except by way of a large standing tree, the upper branches of which just touched its brink.
In a most secluded and sheltered spot at the foot of this precipice they dug a cavern called _yēlīmo_, or _būrakal yēlīmo_, which they screened with boughs so that it would be invisible even if a chance hunter came that way. They dug an entrance about two feet in diameter into the side of the bank for a distance of about six feet. This led slightly upward and into a good-sized chamber. The mouth of this entrance was so arranged as to appear as natural as possible. Some rocks were left to project and twigs were arranged to obscure it. As a further precaution against detection the brothers always walked upon rocks in order never to leave a footprint, in case any one became curious about their movements. They even went so far as to have the rocks at the foot of the precipice, where they stepped from the branches of the tree, covered with leaves, which they were careful to adjust so as to obliterate the slightest vestige of their trail should any one succeed in tracking them to this point. In this cave they began the manufacture of a ceremonial outfit.
They went out from the village daily,[6] ostensibly to hunt, and they did, as a matter of fact, kill deer and other game, which they brought back to the village; but they never ate meat, nor did they have intercourse in any way with women. When asked why he was thus restricting himself, _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ evaded the truth by saying that he expected to gamble, and that he had a very powerful medicine which would yield him luck only with the most rigid observance of certain restrictions.
When they began this work of preparing the outfits, they also provided a large sack of beads with which to bribe to secrecy any one who might discover them.
The two worked thus in the cavern four months.
When the outfit for _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ was done, the latter emerged from the cavern and ran around its entrance eight times each way, first in a contra-clockwise and then in a clockwise direction. The two then prepared a level, elliptical area, about twenty by fifteen feet, smoothed like a dancing floor, where _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ might practice and become a proficient bear doctor.
Upon putting on the suit for the first time, the procedure was as follows: While seated in the dancing area, _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ took the bearskin in both hands and swung it over his right shoulder and then turned his head to the left. This was repeated four times in all. He next adjusted the skin carefully over a basketry head-frame and placed the latter securely upon his head. He next inserted his arms and legs within the suit and laced it up tightly in front, beginning at the lower part of the belly and lacing upward to the neck.
He then tried to rise and act like a bear. This he did four times, saying “ha” (strongly aspirated), and turning his head to the left after each trial. He finally arose on all fours and shook himself after the fashion of a bear, some of the hair falling out of the skin as he did so. He then jumped about and started off in each of the four cardinal directions in the following order: south, east, north, and west. Each time he ran only a short distance, returning to the practice area for a new start. Finally, the fifth time he started off, he went for about half a day’s journey up the rugged mountains to the east. He found that he could travel with great speed and perfect ease through thick brush and up steep mountain-sides. In fact, he could move anywhere with as much ease as though he were on a level, open valley.[7] On this journey he hunted for soft, sweet manzanita berries, finally returning to the practice ground after covering a great distance, perhaps a hundred miles, in this half day.
He repeated this ceremonial dressing and the race into the mountains for four days, returning each evening to the village and bringing the game he had killed. Finally, on the fifth day, he again put on his ceremonial dress and went over to a creek, called _taaiaka_, situated a considerable distance northeast of his hiding place. Here he found a bear standing erect and eating manzanita berries. The bear attempted to escape, but _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ gave chase and by virtue of his supernatural power was able to tire and outdistance the bear, overtaking him at length and killing him with an elk-horn dagger, which was part of his outfit.
He returned and brought his brother, who tied the bear’s legs together, as had _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ when he won his name, and carried the carcass to the village, _būrakal-ba-kīdjon_ meantime returning to the secret cavern.
The brother skinned the bear and told the captain to call all the people into the dance-house to receive their portions of the meat. On the following day a great feast was celebrated, every one joining and providing a share of acorn mush, pinole, bread, and other foods.
The two brothers then announced that they were again going out to hunt. Instead, they really went to this secluded spot and made a second bear doctor’s suit. This one was for the brother, who underwent the same training as his brother.
Finally the two brothers started out one day toward the north, going up to a creek called _gūhūl bidame_. Here they found a deer hunter coming down a chamise ridge. They hid until the hunter came within about fifteen paces of them. They then sprang out and attacked him, the elder of the two bear doctors taking the lead. This hunter was followed at a distance of perhaps a quarter of a mile by four others, and when he saw the bears he made a great outcry to his comrades. After a short chase the bear doctors caught and killed him. They tore his body to pieces, just as bears would do, took his bow and arrows, and started off.
Meantime the other hunters, who were Wolves (_tsīhmeū_), hid and escaped the fate of their companion. After the bear doctors had departed, they gathered up the bones and whatever else they could find of the remains of the dead hunter and took them back to the village. The usual funeral and burning rites were held, and the whole village was in special mourning on account of the fact that the hunter had been killed by bears.
The bear doctors went back to their hiding place, disrobed, and returned to the village as quickly as possible, arriving shortly after the four Wolves had brought in the remains of their comrade. They ate their supper and retired almost immediately, though they heard the people wailing in another part of the village. Their own relatives, the Birds, were not wailing, for they were not directly concerned, since the different groups of people lived in different parts of the village and were quite distinct one from another. During the evening the captain, Bluejay, came in and told the brothers the news of the hunter’s death, asking if they had heard anything of the manner of it. They replied: “No; we know nothing of it. We went hunting, but saw nothing at all today. We retired early and have heard nothing about it.” Bluejay then said: “We must make up a collection of beads and give it to the dead man’s relatives, so that they will not consider us unmindful of their sorrow and perhaps kill some one among us.” The bear doctors agreed to this and commended the captain for his good counsel.
Accordingly, the next morning Bluejay addressed his people, saying: “Make a fire in the dance-house. Do not feel badly. Wake up early. That is what we must expect. We must all die like the deer. After the fire is made in the dance-house I will tell you what next to do.” Every one gave the usual answer of approval, “O”.
After the usual sweating and cold plunge by the men, the captain again spoke, calling their attention to the fate of their friend the day before and asking that every one contribute beads to be given as a death offering to the relatives of the deceased.[8]
Bluejay himself contributed about ten thousand beads, and others contributed various amounts, but the two bear doctors contributed about forty thousand beads. This very act made the other people somewhat suspicious that these two were concerned in some way with the death.