Part 3

[12] Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 994).

[13] Mooney (Fourteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, p. 1075).

[14] Walker (The Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, October-December, 1905).

[15] Meeker, op. cit., p. 35.

[16] In the Report of the Peabody Museum (Vol. III, p. 286) is a description by Miss Fletcher of some ceremonies in which the hoop and the mirror played a part. “The neophyte held one, having a circular mirror, fastened by four cords, from which he cast a reflection of the sun from time to time upon the ground, or held up the hoop, and flashed the mirror.” The explanation given by this author of the significance of the mirror in these ceremonies differs from that secured by the writer; but Miss Fletcher’s account seems to refer to a form of ceremony pertaining to the elk rites not mentioned in his notes.

THE WHIRLWIND.

In another place the writer has described the conception of the power of the whirlwind among some of the Dakota, but wishes at this time to refer to it again because of its relation to their system of protective designs.[17] As stated in the former publication, there seems to be in the minds of some of the Dakota an association between the phenomenon of the whirlwind and those mental states generally known as “confusion of mind.” Some of them believed and still believe that the power in the whirlwind can be invoked to confuse the mind of an enemy. In common with many other American tribes, the Dakota believe the whirlwind to be associated with the fluttering wings of a moth, but they also associate this with the cocoon of the same moth; and in symbolic representation the design representing the power of the whirlwind is of an elongated diamond-shape, and refers to the cocoon. The protection or aid of the whirlwind was secured by prayers, and these prayers were symbolized by the cocoon worn upon the person, by its image in stuffed buckskin, or by its graphic representation, sketched or painted. The power of the whirlwind was supposed to have been associated with the power of the spider-web. As an illustration of this, we find engraved upon a German-silver cross (Fig. 18) the spider, and near it three representations of the whirlwind cocoon. Between the spider and these three designs is a zigzag line, implying the mystic power connection of the same. Again, on a forked bone object (Fig. 19), the use of which is unknown, occur a number of incised designs, among which is again what seems to be the spider-web, the tracks of a quadruped (probably the buffalo), and four designs representing the whirlwind cocoon, accompanied in each case by another design which cannot be determined, but which resembles the footprints of a person. It is interesting to note that the German-silver cross also bears the tracks of the buffalo, or some ruminant animal, in association with the spider. In the absence of direct information, the writer hesitates to offer any interpretation of the design upon these specimens, although he feels that they could be interpreted with reasonable certainty.

The design of the whirlwind resembles a feather-design, and no doubt the two are often confused. The difference seems to be, that, when representing the whirlwind, half of the design is filled with parallel or crossing lines; while, when representing feathers, half of the design is filled in with color (see Fig. 19). The feather-design is more fixed in form than that of the whirlwind. Fig. 20 is a representation of the latter, from the handle of a club, where it appears in a series with the spider, lizard, elk, and turtle. Another form of the same design is repeated in a series on a wooden popgun (Fig. 21).

[17] Wissler (The Journal of the American Folk-Lore Society, October-December, 1905).

THE THUNDER.

The thunder is a very important deity among all the Indians of the Plains, and is usually associated with military exploits. While the Dakota generally regard the thunder as a bird, usually symbolized by the eagle, yet they sometimes speak of it as a horse, a man, or a dog. The horse always appealed to them as a creature of mysterious origin, and in many cases was assumed to have been given by the thunder. In any event there is an association in their minds between the power of a war-horse and the thunder. The thunder is often represented by a zigzag or wavy line, usually in red; but this symbol really represents the power of the phenomenon in the abstract, because the Indian does have the conception of a force in nature. Consequently this graphic symbol is also a general sign for the presence of mysterious supernatural power. The whistles made from the leg and wing bones of eagles, and used among the Plains tribes, are generally employed by the Dakota to symbolize the cry of the eagle as a representative of the thunder-bird. In battle, or sometimes in stress of great trial, they are sounded to call up the power of the thunder to rescue the unfortunate one. As a rule, a zigzag line is scratched down the sides of these whistles. In this connection it is interesting to note the following:—

“Before daylight I set off with five Indians. . . . This caused a halt, as we were surrounded and began to suspect that the enemy had planned to cut us off. The Indians put on their war-caps, uttering some few words which I could not hear distinctly, and then began to whistle with a small bone instrument which they hung around their necks for that purpose.”[18]

This account (1807) by an acute observer is interesting, because our present knowledge enables us to understand the muttered prayers and the use of the whistle.

The whistle shown in Fig. 22 is interesting because of the objects that accompany it. The whistle is from the wing-bone of an eagle, and near the top is a small bag containing the medicine of the owner. The feathers of the yellow-winged woodpecker are attached thereto, because this bird is considered as an associate of the thunder-bird, or at least it holds some relation to the thunder, since the Dakota have observed, that, when a storm is approaching, this bird gives a peculiar shrill call not unlike the sound of the whistle spoken of above. This they interpret as speaking to the thunder. Consequently, the feathers of this bird, when attached to the whistle, are supposed to put the individual also in a position to speak to the thunder. This bird has a large dark spot on the throat, which is said to represent the moon and to be further evidence of the sacred character of the bird. Thus we have a combined charm representing the woodpecker and the eagle,—two birds closely associated with the thunder.

The ceremony of offering a filled pipe to the thunder was frequently observed by the Dakota. One man stated that once, when the camp was threatened by an approaching storm, he filled a large pipe, went to the top of a hill, and, facing the storm, made an offering to the thunder by extending the stem upward, and praying, with the result that the storm divided, and passed around the camp without serious damage to his people. In the decoration of pipe-stems, a bunch of horsehair is attached (usually colored red), and this is often spoken of as an emblem of the thunder-horse. This horsehair is to signify the presence of the power of the thunder, as manifest in the horse, in all ceremonies connected with the pipe. It is worth while noting that in this case we have an illustration of a peculiarity of religious lore,—the indirect symbolizing of a power by one of a series of objects in which that power is manifest.

The United States emblem of the eagle with outstretched claws, holding arrows and the lightning, is regarded by the Dakota as an appeal on our part to the thunder-bird; and statements to the contrary are usually interpreted as white men’s lies to deceive the Indians and to guard the power. There is little doubt that the Dakota manner of drawing the thunder-bird has been modified by the United States emblem, and that their own idea of his power has been influenced accordingly.

[18] New Light on the Early History of the Greater Northwest, p. 436.

THE SPIDER.

The association between the spider, the spider-web, and the thunder, is very close—so close, that it is difficult to understand the conception of the power of the spider without considering the power of the thunder. The spider is often spoken of as the “spider-man.” It is also associated with the mythical elk. It was supposed to have great power. The observed fact that a spider manufactures a web, and that this web is not destroyed by bullets or arrows (since they pass through it, leaving only a hole), is cited by some individuals as the basis for the conception that the spider has power to protect people from harm. On the other hand, the spider is spoken of as a friend of the thunder; and it is a general belief that the thunder will never harm the spider-web, or, what amounts to the same, that the spider-web itself is a protection against thunder. As previously stated, the spider-web is represented by a peculiar four-cornered design. This design is sometimes said to represent the heavens, in which case the four points represent the four directions, the home of the winds, the four thunders, etc.; the supernatural character of the design being indicated by lightning-symbols extending from the four corners.

In a preceding paper,[19] the spider-web design was discussed in its relation to decorative art, where it was noted that among some divisions of the Dakota is a belief in a double woman,[20] to whom, among other things, certain ceremonial uses of this design are attributed. According to information secured by the writer, this character was also associated with the elk ceremonies, where she was often represented by two women tied together by a cord (about two feet in length), from the middle of which hung a doll or a ball. Women often receive power by dreaming of this character. Some such women are supposed to perform a kind of ceremony, somewhat secret, in which a child is taken out to a lonely place, where a swing or hammock-like structure is made in the form of the spider-web design, supported by the four corners, and the child is placed upon it. This is to bring good fortune to the child. A design of the spider-web might then be placed upon the robe of the child as a symbol of its having experienced the ceremony (Fig. 23).

The men, however, use this design for military protection, in which connection it is not thought of as being associated in any way with the mythical double woman. It is, however, closely associated with the medicine-bow. This was a very sacred military object with the Dakota, of which only four duplicates could be had. It consisted of a bow of plain wood, of the usual length, to the end of which was attached a spear-head. Fastened to the bow was a stick somewhat longer, sharpened at one end, and decorated with feathers and other symbolic objects. The purpose of the stick was to support the bow, since all such sacred objects would lose their power if allowed to touch the ground. The bow was not used as a weapon, but was carried as a standard, because of its supposed magical power over the enemy. The figure of the dragon-fly was usually painted upon the bow and its support, as well as dots representing insects that fly swiftly, and zigzag lines representing thunder. Feathers of the eagle, the magpie, the hawk, and, in fact, of all birds swift of wing, were likewise attached to it. The association between these insects and birds was the same as that previously noted; that is, since they were swift in motion, and difficult to strike, they represented the qualities desired by the bearers of the bow. These bows have long since passed out of existence, but survive in models made for commercial purposes.

The account of the origin of the medicine-bow is as follows:—

“A man dreamed of the thunder, and afterwards called in four men to assist him in making the medicine-bow. They went through the preliminaries (the sweat-house, etc.), after which a special tent was erected. The ground inside of this tent, where the dreamer and his four companions sat, was covered with sage-grass. A young man was called in to act as their assistant. He was sent out to cut elm sticks. He went out slowly, and after a time came back with the sticks. Then he was sent out to get together the feathers of swift flying birds, pieces of buffalo-hide, paints, etc. He went around the camp, and begged these of the people.

“Then the four men set to work making the sticks under the direction of the dreamer. The dreamer gave a bow to one of the men, and a piece of buffalo-hide in which to wrap the sticks, also a wooden bowl from which to eat.

“After a time, the faces of the men were painted red. When the sticks were finished, four men came in wrapped in buffalo-robes, each carrying a drum. Now the four men who had prepared the sticks were ready to receive the bow, and the drummers began to drum and sing. Then the man who dreamed about the bow carried it outside of the lodge, pointing it toward the west. He was followed by the whole company, and, after singing a song, they took a step forward and pointed the bow to the north; another step again, then pointed to the east; and then a step forward, pointing to the south. Then they ran toward the west, then toward the east, then toward the north, and then toward the south. [The significance of this is, that the thunder resides in the four directions of the heavens, and also goes in all directions, so that the carrying of the sticks toward the various points of the compass puts them in touch with the thunder.] Then they went back to the sweat-house, and the ceremony was complete.

“The man who owns one of these bows must not wear iron on his person, he must never give his food to any one else after eating from it himself, and he must never allow the bow, or any part of it, to touch the ground.”[21]

The owner of a medicine-bow should have a buffalo-robe with special decorations, consisting of a spider-web design of the character previously described, from the corners of which extend wavy lines representing the thunder. Sometimes the picture of a thunder-bird was drawn above the spider-web design, or a few tail-feathers of the eagle were attached to the robe. The spider-web design on the robe of an owner of a medicine-bow was to symbolize the thunder, for, as stated by the informants, the spider is a friend of the medicine-bow. None of these robes are now in existence; but sketches were made for the writer, one of which is reproduced in Fig. 24.

The body-painting for the medicine-bow was rather elaborate. In the first place, the whole body was smeared over with a brownish-red paint, representing the earth in a buffalo-wallow. There were two ways of decorating the face. In one, a curved line was drawn, extending from the corners of the mouth around over the forehead, the ends of the lines being forked to represent lightning. Wavy lines, also with forked ends, were drawn down the arms and the legs. These lines were in black or blue. Blue bands were painted around the ankles, arms, wrists, and shoulders, representing the power of the lightning. These bands were often covered with wristlets and anklets of rabbit-fur, because the rabbit was in some way associated with the medicine-bow. In the other painting, a crescent, representing the moon, was placed upon the forehead and a line drawn from ear to ear across the bridge of the nose. In this form, the body-painting was the same as in the preceding, except that one of the lines upon the leg was straight instead of wavy, and it was said to signify the desire for ability to think straight or to possess presence of mind, in contrast to the state of mind supposed to be produced by the power of the whirlwind.

The spider-web design has been mentioned in connection with shield and other designs, and a retrospect indicates a peculiar graphic resemblance in it to the older type of star-designs shown in Plate VI. The writer uses the term “older” on the authority of two Indians. Some incised designs on metal ornaments worn by a woman, of the form shown in Fig. 25, seem to be a combination of the older star-design and that of the spider-web. Another design (Fig. 26) scratched on the bowl of a straight pipe of red stone was also said to represent the spider-web. There is another design used by the Dakota in ceremonies relating to the buffalo; but it is rectangular in form with projecting corners, and is considered a distinct symbol.

[19] Wissler (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XVII, p. 248).

[20] Dorsey (Eleventh Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology, p. 480).

[21] Narrated by an Ogalala man.

CONCLUSION.

The first point that appears in the consideration of these designs and their interpretations is the animistic basis upon which they rest. The Indian has observed nature, and singled out those qualities and situations that are not only wonderful from his point of view, but greatly to be desired as means to his own ends. He then proceeds on the assumption that these originate in and are due to some hidden agency, from which it follows, that, if he can put himself in the place of one of the favored living creatures, he will in turn be the object upon which this hidden agency will act. If he can be the bird that rides the storm in safety, he will in turn ride successfully the analogous storms of his own sphere, and, like the child that in its own mind is the policeman when it thrusts a club into its waistband, he feels that he is the bird calling to the thunder when he sounds the bone whistle, and mutters his song-prayer. That this is true only of the great Indian or the devotee, speaking in relative terms, and that the mass of Indian-kind follow in blind imitation of the more sensitive few, may be true; but the phenomena, for all that, are none the less ethnic.

One characteristic of the foregoing protective designs is, that they are usually animal motives to the almost entire exclusion of plant and inanimate forms. While it is true that the phenomena of the heavens hold a prominent place in this art, such phenomena are often interpreted as results of the activity of animal-like beings, and consequently are so expressed in art. The conditions leading to such a result are doubtless many and intricate; but the tendency to ignore plant-forms in protective conceptions may be due to the inactive character of the more inanimate world. Inert things are not easily conceived of as guardians or protectors. On the other hand, the Indian may not see the logical necessity of carrying his view to the utmost bounds of the universe. Pots and kettles may have an animistic presence within themselves; but perhaps this does not appeal to the Indian, because the living creatures are so much nearer to him and the analogy between their lives and his is not difficult to perceive. The mystery in the animal forms that come and go, in the storm, and in the heavenly bodies, reaches the mind unaided; but the plant and mineral wonders require a more microscopic eye. That there was a time when the animals were as the people is the striking thought in many Indian myths, and this indicates a belief in the fundamental life-identity of all moving creatures.

There is, however, one interesting suggestion in the interpretation of protective powers. In all of these conceptions we find less appeal for the direct destruction of enemies than for a shielding protection to enable the man himself to be the destructive agent. His prayers are, that he may be swift and impossible to hit in order that he may strike down the victim.

Again, there are in every part of the preceding paper examples of the close association between powers, or at least power-symbols, that are from many points of view incongruous; as the mirror and the hoop, the spider, the thunder, and the elk. There is in these a tendency to coalesce into conceptions of larger wholes in which the power becomes more general, tending toward the definite abstraction of a power-unit, or identity of forces in nature. These larger conceptions, that are really much more complex than indicated in this brief paper, seem to represent a growth, or at least an accumulation of ideas, on the part of a people who have not felt the need of systematically unifying them, or expressing them as an objective unit.

TRANSCRIBER NOTES

Misspelled words and printer errors have been corrected.

Punctuation has been maintained.

Some illustrations were moved to facilitate page layout.

[The end of _Some Protective Designs of the Dakota_, by Clark Wissler.]