The Project Gutenberg EBook of Osage Traditions by J. Owen Dorsey

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Title: Osage Traditions

Author: J. Owen Dorsey

Release Date: October 4, 2006 [Ebook #19464]

Language: English

Character set encoding: UTF-8


***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OSAGE TRADITIONS***

Osage Traditions

by J. Owen Dorsey

Edition 1, (October 4, 2006)

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION—BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

INTRODUCTION.
TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS.
UNŬn'U¢ÁʞE. TSÍOU WACTÁʞE ITÁPE.
UNŬn’ U¢ÁʞE. QÜ¢ÁPASAn ITÁPE.
CONCLUDING REMARKS.

Illustrations

FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.

[pg 377]

OSAGE TRADITIONS.

BY REV. J. OWEN DORSEY.

INTRODUCTION.

When the author visited the Osage, in the Indian Territory, in January, 1883, he learned of the existence of a secret society of seven degrees, in which, it was alleged, the traditions of the people have been preserved to the present time. Owing to the shortness of his visit, one month and eleven days, he was unable to gain more than fragmentary accounts of the society, including parts of two traditions, from several Osage who had been initiated.

The version of the first tradition was dictated to the author by Hada-ɔüʇse (Red Corn), a halfbreed Osage of the Tsíɔu wactáʞe gens. He obtained it from Sadeki¢e. Hada-ɔüʇse was adopted in childhood by a white man named Matthews, who sent him to a Jesuit college in Missouri(?) to be educated for the priesthood. But the boy left the institution after he had been taught to read and write, as he did not wish to become a priest. He took the name of William P. Matthews, but among his white associates he is known as Bill Nix. He has tried several occupations and is now an Indian doctor. The author was inclined at first to underrate Mr. Matthews's accomplishments and stock of information, but subsequently changed his opinion of him, as he obtained much that agreed with what had been furnished by members of other tribes in former years. Besides, the author obtained partial accounts of similar traditions from other Osage, who used the same chant which Hada-ɔüʇse had sung. None of the younger Osage men knew about these matters and the author was urged not to speak to them on this subject. He observed that several of the elder men, members of the secret order in which these traditions are preserved, had parts of the accompanying symbolic chart (Fig. 389) tattooed on their throats and chests. This chart is a fac simile of one that was drawn for the author by Hada-ɔüʇse. At the top we see a tree near a river. The tree is a cedar, called the tree of life. It has six roots, three on each side. Nothing is said about this tree till the speaker nearly reaches the end of the tradition. Then[pg 378] follows the "ceremony of the cedar." The tree is described very minutely. Then follows a similar account of the river and its branches.

FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.

Just under the river, at the left, we see a large star, the Red or Morning Star. Next are six stars, Ta¢ad¢in. The Omaha know a similar group, which they call "Minxa si ʇañga," or "Large foot of a goose." Next is the Evening Star; and last comes the small star, "Mikak'ĕ-ɔiñʞa." Beneath these four we see the seven stars, or Pleiades (Mikak'ĕ udátse pé¢ŭnda, the Seven Gentes of Stars), between the Moon (on the left) and the Sun (on the right). Beneath these are the peace pipe (on the left) and the hatchet (on the right). A bird is seen hovering over the four upper worlds. These worlds are represented by four parallel horizontal lines, each of which, except the lowest one, is supported by two pillars. The lowest world rests on a red oak tree.

The journey of the people began at a point below the lowest upper world, on the left side of the chart. Then the people had neither human bodies nor souls, though they existed in some unknown manner.[pg 379] They ascended from the lowest upper world, on the left, to the highest. There they obtained human souls in the bodies of birds, according to Sadeki¢e. ʞahiʞe-waʇayiñʞa said that there they met a male red bird, to whom they appealed for aid. (See p. 383, line 18.) This was distinct from the female Red Bird, who gave them human bodies. They descended to the first world, and from that they traveled until they alighted on the red oak tree. (See p. 383, line 30.) The ground was covered with grass and other kinds of vegetation. Then the paths of the people separated: some marched on the left, being the peace gentes that could not take life; they subsisted on roots &c.; while those on the right killed animals. By and by the gentes exchanged commodities.

The small figures on the left, in going from the tree (on the right when facing the tree), show the heavenly bodies or beings to whom the Black Bear went for help, and those on the right, in going from the tree (on the left when facing the top of the chart), show similar bodies or beings to whom the Waɔaɔe or war gentes applied for assistance. These are unknown to the members of the Tsíɔu gentes. After the female red bird gave bodies to the Tsíɔu people, the Black Bear found seven skins, which were used for tents. Subsequently the people discovered four kinds of rocks, which were the In’qĕ sáde, or black rock; In’qĕ tṵhṵ,1 or blue (green?) rock; In’qĕ ɔüʇse, or red rock; and In’qĕ skă, or white rock. Therefore, when a child is named, four stones are heated for the sweat bath. After finding the rocks, according to ʞahiʞe-waʇayiñʞa, four buffalo bulls approached the people, as one of the men was returning to the company. When the first bull arose after rolling on the ground, an ear of red corn and a red pumpkin fell from his left hind leg. The leader of the Tsíɔu wactáʞe noticed them, and asked his younger brother to pick them up and taste them. The leader of the Bald Eagle subgens did so. Then the elder brother said: "These will be good for the children to eat. Their limbs will stretch and increase in strength." When the second bull arose after rolling, an ear of spotted corn and a spotted pumpkin dropped from his left hind leg. These, too, were tasted and declared good for the children. When the third bull arose after rolling, an ear of dark corn and a dark (black?) pumpkin dropped from his left hind leg. From the left hind leg of the fourth buffalo dropped an ear of white corn and a white pumpkin. Therefore, when a child is named in the Tsíɔu gens (alone?) the head man of that gens (ʞahiʞe-waʇayiñʞa himself, according to his statement) takes a grain of each kind of corn and a slice of each variety of pumpkin, which he puts into the mouth of the infant. Hada-ɔüʇse knew that the four kinds of[pg 380] rocks were found, "but he could not say in what part of the tradition the account belonged. He said that subsequently the Waɔaɔe and Tsíɔu gentes came to the village of the Hañ'ʞa-utá¢anʇse, a very war-like people, who then inhabited earth lodges. They subsisted on animals, and bodies of all kinds lay around their village, making the air very offensive. The Tsíɔu succeeded at last in making peace with the Hañ'ʞa-utá¢anʇse. After this followed the part of the account given to the author by ʞahiʞe-waʇayiñʞa:

"After the council between the Tsíɔu, Waɔaɔe, and Hañ'ʞa-utá¢anʇse, two old men were sent off to seek a country in which all might dwell. One of these was a Tsíɔu wactáʞe and the other a Panɥka-wactáʞe. Each man received a pipe from the council and was told to go for seven days without food or drink. He carried a staff to aid him in walking. Three times a day he wept, in the morning, at noon, and near sunset. They returned to the people at the end of the seven days, being very thin. The report of the Tsíɔu man was accepted, so the Tsíɔu gens is superior to the Panɥka-wactáʞe or Watsetsi. A Waɔaɔe man acted as crier and told all about the new home of the nation. All the old men decorated their faces with clay. The next morning the two old men who had gone in search of the new home led their respective sides of the nation, who marched in parallel roads. When they reached the land the policemen ran around in a circle, just as they do previous to starting to war. The Waɔaɔe man ran around from right to left and the ¢uqe man from left to right. At different stations the two old leaders addressed the people. Finally the men took sharp pointed sticks, which they stuck into the ground, each one saying 'I wish my lodge to be here.' The next day the Cuka or messenger of the Tsíɔu old man went to summon the Elk crier. The latter was ordered to make a proclamation to all the people, as follows: 'They say that you must remove to-day! Wakanʇa has made good weather! They say that you must remove today to a good land!' In those days the Osage used dogs instead of horses. When the old Tsíɔu man made his speech, he went into details about every part of a lodge, the fireplace, building materials, implements, &c. Four sticks were placed in the fireplace, the first pointing to the west. When this was laid down, the Tsíɔu leader spoke about the West Wind, and also about a young buffalo bull (Tseʇu’-ɔiñʞa), repeating the name Wani’e-skă. When the stick at the north was laid down, he spoke of Tsehe quʇse (gray buffalo horns) or a buffalo bull. When the stick at the east was laid down he spoke of Tseʇuʞa tañʞa (a large buffalo bull). On laying down the fourth stick at the south, he spoke of Tse minʞa (a buffalo cow). At the same time a similar ceremony was performed by the aged Panɥka man on the right side of the tribe.2

[pg 381]

"In placing the stick to the east, Taʇse ʞaqpa tsĕ, The East Wind, and Tahe cade, Dark-Horned Deer, were mentioned; to the north, Taʇse Pasan tsĕ, The North Wind, and The Deer with gray horns were mentioned; to the west, Taʇse Man'ha tsĕ, The West Wind, and an animal which makes a lodge and is with the Tahe pasiʞe were mentioned; to the south, T]aʇse Ak'a tsĕ, The South Wind, and Ta wañka he aʞ¢aɔĭ skutañʞa were mentioned."3

ʞahiʞe-waʇayiñʞa gave no further information, as a reported case of smallpox near the agency led the author to start for the East February 21, 1883. Since then he has learned of the existence of similar societies among the Kansa and the Ponka, and he suspects that there were formerly such societies among the Omaha.4

TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS.

In presenting the accompanying traditions, the following abbreviations are used in the interlinear translations:

an., animate.
cv., curvilinear.
du., dual.
in., inanimate.
mv., moving.
ob., object.
pl., plural.
recl., reclining.
sing., singular.
st., sitting.
std., standing.
sub., subject.

UNŬn'U¢ÁʞE. TSÍOU WACTÁʞE ITÁPE.

(Tradition of the Tsíɔu wactáʞe gens.)5

1 | Ɔiñʞa | weháʞi¢e6: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!7

| Child | last | he really said | O grandfather!

[pg 382]

6 | Ĕʇsíqtsi | níkacíʞa-dáɔĭ10: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Just there | they were not human beings | he really said | O grandfather!

| Ĕʇsíqtsi | níkacíʞa-dáɔĭ: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Just there | they were not human beings | he really said | O grandfather!

12 | Ɔiñ’ʞa | ɔuíʞa | añʞúʞiʇsé tatsé: ádintaú, Tsiká!

| Ĕʇsíqtsi | níkacíʞa-dáɔĭ: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Just there | they were not human beings | he really said | O grandfather!

[pg 383]

18 | Ĕʇsíqtsi | níkacíʞa é12: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Just there | they were human beings | he really said | O grandfather!

[pg 384]

| Káxe-wáhü-san13 | ¢é-na: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Crow bone white | he who was mv. in the past | he really said | O grandfather!

33 | ¢útsi naɔin’ | é | e¢ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Came directly to him and stood | he said | indeed, he really said | O grandfather!

| Há, | wiɔin¢é: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Ho | elder brother! | he really said | O grandfather!

42 | Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

[pg 385]

| Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

54 | Cŭnŭnckítá | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Há, | wítsiʞué | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Ho | grandfather! | he really said | O grandfather!

60 | Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Há, | wítsiʞué | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Ho | grandfather! | he really said | O grandfather!

66 | Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

[pg 386]

| Há, | wítsiʞué | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Ho | grandfather! | he really said | O grandfather!

72 | Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Há, | wítsiʞué! | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Ho | grandfather! | he really said | O grandfather!

78 | Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Há, | wítsiʞué! | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Ho | grandfather! | he really said | O grandfather!

84 | Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Ĕ’ʇsi | hi’ naɔin’ añká: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| There | he arrived and was standing | he really said | O grandfather!

[pg 387]

[pg 388]

The rest of this tradition was not obtained.

Translation.

The following translation is arranged in lines to correspond to the lines in the original text:

1 The first of the race
Was saying, "Ho, younger brother! the children have no bodies.
3 "We shall seek bodies for our children.
"Ho, younger brother! you shall attend to it."
They reached one upper world and stood.
6 There they were not human beings.
"Ho, younger brother! the children have no bodies," he was saying.
"We must seek bodies for our children."
9 They reached the second upper world and stood.
There they were not human beings.
"Ho, younger brother! the children have no bodies," he was saying.
12 "We must seek bodies for our children."
They reached the third upper world and stood.
There they were not human beings.
15 "Ho, younger brother! the children have no bodies," he was saying.
"We must seek bodies for our children."
They reached the fourth upper world and stood.
18 There they became human beings.
Still, the children were without (human) bodies.
"We must continue to seek bodies for our children."
21 They returned to the third upper world and stood.
The children were really without bodies.
"Ho, younger brother! the children have no bodies," he was saying.
24 "We must continue to seek bodies for our children."
They returned to the second upper world and stood.
The children did not find bodies for themselves.
27 "Ho, younger brother! the children have no bodies," he was saying.
"We must make an examination awhile longer."
They returned to the first upper world and stood.
30 They came to a red oak and were standing on it.
On a very fine day they came hither and stood.
Kaxe-wahü-san (the Black Bear), who was then moving,
33 Came directly to them and stood.
"Ho, elder brother!" (said the Black Bear.)
"You shall continue to burn my feet for me."
36 "Ho, Kaxe-wahü-san!" was he (the Tsiɔu) saying.
Kaxe-wahü-san went to the star Watse-ʇuʞa.
"Ho, grandfather!" he was saying.
39 "The children have no bodies."
Watse-ʇuʞa replied, "Can I give the children bodies?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
42 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
Then Kaxe-wahü-san went to the star Watse-minʞa.
[pg 389] 44 "Ho, grandmother!" he said;
"The children have no bodies."
She replied, "Can I give bodies to the children?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
48 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
Then he went to the mysterious one of day.
"Ho, grandfather!" said he;
51 "The children have no bodies."
Said he, "Can I give the children bodies?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
54 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
Then he went to the mysterious one of night.
"Ho, grandfather!" said he;
57 "The children have no bodies, grandfather!"
The Moon replied, "Can I give bodies to the children?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
60 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
Then he went to the Pleiades, saying,
"Ho, grandfathers!
63 "The children have no bodies."
One of these replied, "Can I give bodies to the children?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
66 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
Then he went to the constellation called Three Deer.
"Ho, grandfather," said he;
69 "The children have no bodies."
The latter replied, "Can I give the children bodies?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
72 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
Then he went to the Morning Star, saying,
"Ho, grandfather!
75 "The children have no bodies."
The star replied, "Can I give bodies to the children?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
78 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
Then he went to the Small Star, saying,
"Ho, grandfather!
81 "The children have no bodies."
The star replied, "Can I give bodies to the children?
"I am not the only mysterious one;
84 "You shall attend to it awhile longer."
The female Red Bird, who had been moving, was sitting on her nest.
To her he came, saying,
87 "Ho, grandmother!
"The children have no bodies."
She replied, "I can cause your children to have (human) bodies from my own,
90 "My left wing shall be a left arm for the children.
"My right wing shall be a right arm for them.
"My head shall be a head for them.
93 "My mouth shall be a mouth for them.
"My forehead shall be a forehead for them.
"My neck shall be a neck for them.
96 "My throat shall be a throat for them.
"My chest shall be a chest for them.
[pg 390] 98 "My bowels shall be bowels for them.
"My thighs shall be thighs for them.
"My knees shall be knees for them.
"The calves of my legs shall be calves of their legs.
102 "My heels shall be their heels.
"My toes shall be their toes.
"My claws shall be their toenails.
105 "You shall continue to exist without any cause of destruction for your race.
"Your children shall live as human beings.
"The speech (or breath) of children will I bestow on your children."

UNŬn’ U¢ÁʞE. QÜ¢ÁPASAn ITÁPE.

(Tradition of the Bald Eagle subgens.)20

| ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| he really said | O grandfather!

| Káxe-wáhü-san | tsi’ nacin’: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Káxe-wáhü-san | came and stood | he really said | 0 grandfather!

| Tsiká!

| O grandfather!

[pg 391]

| Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢acé tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Tsiká!

| O grandfather!

| Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢acé tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Tsiká!

| O grandfather!

| Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢acé tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

[pg 392]

| Tsiká!

| O grandfather!

| Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| he really said | O grandfather!

| Cŭn’ŭnckíta | úʇande¢a¢é tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Awhile longer | you shall attend to it | he really said | O grandfather!

| Tsiká!

| O grandfather!

| Há, | iɥʞú! | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Ho | grandmother! | he really said | O grandfather!

(Here some lines are wanting. See the other version for the appeal to the Red Bird and her reply. )

| Máxe | úʞawin’xe | ʇúda } ¢iñkcé ĕ’ʇsi | anníɥk`ăcin’ʞa: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

[pg 393]

| Ĕ’ʇsi | anníɥk`ăcinʞa-dáɔĭ: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| There | we were not human beings | he really said | O grandfather!

42 | Ĕ’ʇsi | anníɥk`ăcin’ʞa-dáɔĭ: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| There | we were not human beings | he really said | O grandfather!

| Ɔansan’ | antsi’ naɔin’: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Sycamore | they came and stood (on) | he really said | O grandfather!

|¢íakqá | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| this is he | he really said | O grandfather!

48 | Há, | wíɔin¢é!21 | Hañ’ʞa | ɔiñ’ʞa | d¢in’ | e¢aú | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

|¢íakqá | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| this is he | he really said | O grandfather!

51 | Há, | wíɔin¢é! | Waɔáɔe | d¢in’ | e¢aú | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Hañ’ʞa | anníɥk`ăcin’ʞa tatsé: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| Hañ’ʞa | we shall be people | he really said O grandfather!

[pg 394]

| ádintaú, | Tsiká!

| he really said | O grandfather!

| Tsíhe | ɔiñ’ʞa

| Lodge | small

Translation.

1 "O younger brother! we must see what can be done to make human beings
of the children."
The Black Bear came to them and stood.
3 He went to the mysterious one of day, saying,
"Ho, grandfather! the children have no bodies."
He replied, "I have an everlasting road (in which I must keep);
6 I am not the only mysterious one;
You must still seek for help."
(On reporting to the leader, the latter said,)
"O Kaxe-wahü-san, my younger brother! we must still see what can be done."
9 So the Black Bear went to the star "Watse-ʇuʞa, saying,
"Ho, grandfather! the children have no bodies."
He replied, "I have an everlasting road (in which I must keep);
12 "I am not the only mysterious one;
"You must still seek for help."
(On reporting to the leader, the latter said),
"O Kaxe-wahü-san, my younger brother! we must still see what can be done."
15 So the Black Bear went to the Bowl of the Great Dipper, saying,
"O grandfather! the children have no bodies!"
He replied, "I have an everlasting road (in which I must keep);
18 "I am not the only mysterious one;
"You must still seek for help."
(On reporting to the leader, the latter said),
"O Kaxe-wahü-san, my younger brother! we must still see what can be done."
21 Then he went to the Seven Stars, saying,
"Ho, grandfather! the children have no bodies."
He replied, "I have an everlasting road (in which I must keep);
24 "I am not the only mysterious one;
"You must still seek for help."
[pg 395] (On reporting this to the leader, the latter said),
26 "O Kaxe-wahü-san, my younger brother! we must still see what can be done."
So he went to the Morning Star, saying,
"Ho, grandfather! the children have no bodies."
He replied, "I have an everlasting road (in which I must keep);
30 "I am not the only mysterious one;
"You must still seek for help."
(On reporting this to the leader, the latter said),
" O Kaxe-wahü-san, my younger brother! we must still see what can be done."
33 So he went to the Red Bird, who was sitting (on her nest), saying,
"Ho, grandmother!
The children have no bodies."
* * * * *
36 They went to the good land of day.
In four revolutions or gyrations of the upper worlds, we became human beings.
Though we were human beings, we did not find bodies.
39 They arrived at the second revolution of the upper worlds.
There we were not (complete) human beings.
They arrived at the third revolution of the upper worlds.
42 There we were not (complete) human beings.
They arrived at the fourth revolution of the upper worlds
They stood on a sycamore tree.
45 They stood there at harvest time.
"Ho, younger brother! a man has left a trail."
"Ho, elder brother!" said the Black Bear; "you have said that a man has left a trail.
"This is the man."
48 "Ho, elder brother!" (said the stranger) "I am Young Hañʞa."
[Tsiɔu.] "Ho, younger brother! a man has left a trail."
[Black Bear.] "Ho, elder brother! you have said that a man has left a trail.
"This is the man."
51 "Ho, elder brother!" (said the stranger) "I am Osage.
"We shall be Hañʞa people."
Some people left a trail.
54 Those were the lodges of the Hañʞa uta¢anʇse.
(The Hañʞa uta¢anʇse leader said)
"Ho! some persons have come.
"Tsiɔu and Watsetsi have come."
57 They thought of what was good for the children.
They decided that the two should continue as chiefs for the children.
They decided that the two should continue without anything that would be fatal to the children. (And they said)
60 "There shall be an assembly of the children.
"You two shall seek a land in which the children may become men."
They two arranged for the location of a land in order that the children might become men in it.
63 The Female Beaver, who had been traveling, came to the confines of the village (of the Hañʞa uta¢anʇse?)
(She made?) a small lodge (for herself?).

Good Voice, of the Mink'in gens, knew the history of the Female Beaver, but he failed to keep his promise to dictate it to the author.

[pg 396]

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

An Osage said to the author: "We do not believe that our ancestors were really animals, birds, &c., as told in the traditions. These things are only wa-wi’-ku-ska’-ye [symbols] of something higher." On saying this he pointed to the sky.

Apart from such traditions or myths, it is found that even the taboos and the names of the gentes, subgentes, phratries, and persons are objects of mysterious reverence among many, if not all, of the Siouan tribes. Such names are never used in ordinary conversation. This is especially the case in tribes where the secret society continues in all its power, as among the Osage, the Ponka, and the Kansa. When the author was questioning these Indians he was obliged to proceed very cautiously in order to obtain information of this character, which was not communicated till they learned about his acquaintance with some of the myths. When several Dakota delegations visited Washington he called on them and had little trouble in learning the names of their gentes, their order in the camping circle, &c., provided the interpreters were absent. During his visit to the Omaha, from 1878 to 1880, he did not find them very reticent in furnishing him with such information, though he was generally referred to the principal chief of each gens as the best authority for the names in his own division. But he found it very difficult to induce any of them to admit that the gentes had subdivisions, which were probably the original gentes. It was not till 1880, and after questioning many, that by the merest accident he obtained the clew from the keeper of a sacred pipe.

The Iowa, who have these social divisions and personal names of mythic significance, also have sacred songs, but these are in the Winnebago language. It is probable that they are the property of a secret order, as they, too, show how some of the gentes descended as birds from the upper world. The names of the Winnebago gentes and of some members of the tribe have been recorded by the author, who has also learned parts of their traditions. He infers that their secret society has not been abolished.

When a man of the Kansa tribe observed that the author had an inkling of the matter he related part of the tradition of that tribe, explaining the origin of the names and the taboos of several Kansa gentes. The ancestors of these gentes were spoken of as birds which descended from an upper world. The phratries in that tribe, the "Wa-yŭn min-’dŭn," or "(Those who) sing together," refer to mystic songs and strengthen the view that the secret society exists among these Indians. Several members of the tribe have positively stated its existence.

As one phratry is composed of the two gentes, Large and Small[pg 397] Hañka, that have the sole right to sing the war songs, time may show that these songs, which, with their chart of pictographs23, are used by the Osage, are substantially those of the seventh degree in the Osage society. This is rendered the more probable by the fact that the Kansa have grouped their gentes in seven phratries, just the number of the degrees in the society. And this arrangement by sevens is the rule among Osage, Kansa, Ponka, Omaha, and Dakota, though there are apparent exceptions.

Further investigation may tend to confirm the supposition that in any tribe which has mythic names for its members and its social divisions (as among the Osage, Kansa, Quapaw, Omaha, Ponka, Iowa, Oto, Missouri, Tutelo, and Winnebago), or in one which has mythic names only for its members and local or other names for its social divisions (as among the Dakota, Assiniboin, Mandan, Hidatsa, and Crow), there are now or there have been secret societies or "The Mysteries."

Footnotes

1.

The sound of this inverted ṵ, between o and u, as well as the sounds of other letters used in this article, except that of the inverted ɥ (which is a sound approximating ch in the German word ich), is to be found on page 206, Third Annual Report of the Bureau of Ethnology.

2.

It is probable, however, that the Panɥka (Ponka) man began with the stick at the east, as he must use the right hand and foot first.

3.

Meaning uncertain; it may refer to the female or doe.

4.

See "Omaha Sociology," §§ 14-16, 19, 28, 33, 34, 36, 56, 143, 248-258, and passim, in Third Annual Report of the Director of the Bureau of Ethnology.

5.

The literal rendering of the title is "Growth told. Tsíɔu Peacemaker theirs." This may be translated freely by "Revelations of the elders of the Red Eagle gens."

6.

Ɔiñ'ʞa weháʞi¢e, "The first end of the children" or "The beginning of the race." This reckoning was backward. The Ponka have a similar usage: uhañge, an end; uhañge pahañga tĕ, the first end or beginning. Ádintaú, formed by crasis from ade and intau, may refer to the words of the old men who have handed down these traditions. Tsiká is unintelligible to the younger Osage of the present day. One man told the author that he thought it meant, "O grandfather," being addressed to the principal Wakanʇa. He said that it was substituted for another name of that being.

7.

The chorus or refrain at the end of each line is omitted in the free translation, as it would make confusion. If retained, the first four lines would read thus:

The first of the race: he really said, O grandfather!

He was saying, "Ho, younger brother! the children have no bodies": he really said, O grandfather!

"We shall seek bodies for our children": he really said, O grandfather!

"Ho, younger brother! you shall attend to it": he really said, O grandfather!

8.

Éʞi añká refers to the preceding words, which were those of one of the mythic speakers. He was an ancestor of the Tsíɔu gens. Here he addressed his younger brother. At this time the brothers were destitute of human souls and bodies, though they possessed conscious existence and could talk, as well as move about from place to place.

9.

See the lowest horizontal line on the left side of the chart.

10.

Nikacíʞa-dáɔĭ. Another reading is níkacíʞaqtsi-dáɔĭ: they were not complete human beings.

11.

A different reading of lines 17 to 25 is as follows:

Máxe úsakída | ʇúda | níkacíʞa¢áde: | ádintaú, | Tsiká!

Parallel upper worlds | four | they were made human beings | he really said | O grandfather!

Cŭn’ŭnckíta | é | e¢ádintaú, | Tsiká!

Awhile | he said | indeed, he really said | O grandfather!

Há, | wisŭñ’ʞa! | é | e¢ádintaú, | Tsiká!

Ho | younger brother! | he said | indeed, he really said | O grandfather!

Úʇande | añʞáxe tatsé: ádintaú, Tsiká!

Attention | we shall make | he really said | O grandfather!

Translation.

At the fourth upper world they were made human beings.

"Still," said he (the elder brother?), indeed he really said,

"The children have no bodies.

"Ho, younger brother!

"We must give this matter our attention."

They came to the third upper world.

"The children have no bodies."

"Still must we give this our attention," said one.

They came to the second upper world. (From this line on there is no variation from what has been given above.)

12.

Here they obtained human souls, though they were in the bodies of birds. See the bird hovering above the four upper worlds in the chart. Then began the descent to this earth.

13.

Why the Black Bear was called Káxe-wáhü-san was not explained to the author.

14.

Cáʞe | ʇsüʇsean’ ¢akcí¢ĕ &c. You shall take me for your servant; literally, You shall walk, causing me to burn my feet; that is, You shall make me go through fire and water for you.

15.

Wátse-ʇúʞa-na. ʇuʞa shows that the star was regarded as a male animal, just as min’ʞa, in line 43, denotes that the next star was a female animal, not a female of the human race. As they were called "grandfather" and "grandmother," they were looked upon as supernatural beings or gods. So were all of the heavenly bodies to whom the Black Bear applied.

16.

Ɔiñ’ʞa ɔuíʞa miñkcé ¢an’tse, a phrase that puzzles the writer, who suspects that an auxiliary verb has been omitted and that the whole should read: "Ɔiñʞa ɔuiʞa-wikci¢e miñkcé ¢an’tse? ( Can I give you bodies for the children?) No! You must still make attempts to obtain them elsewhere."

17.

Wákanʇá ʞána d¢in-máɔĭ, I am not the only mysterious one (apply to some one of the rest).

18.

Mikák'ĕ pé¢ŭda, sometimes called "Mikák'ĕ udátse pé¢ŭnda," the Seven Gentes of Stars. Could this have any connection with the use of the number 7 as the number of the Tsiɔu, Waɔaɔe, and Hañʞa gentes?

19.

ʞahiʞe-waʇayiñʞa, of this gens, gave the following as another reading:

Translation.

As the children are not human beings, I go to you, O grandfather!

20.

This fragment of the tradition of the Bald Eagle subgens of the Tsiɔu wactaʞe gens was told by Pahü-skă, the chief, to Hada-ɔüʇse, who related it to the writer on the following day.

Hada-ɔüʇse, told some of the tradition first in English, but on chanting it in Osage he did not give all; so the former account is now given in these notes: "When the ancestors of the Bald Eagle people came to this earth they alighted on a sycamore tree, as all of the surrounding country was under water. This water was dried up by the ancestors of the Elk people, according to the tradition of the Ṵpqan or Elk gens; but this is disputed by the members of the Idats'ĕ gens, who are Kansa or Wind people. They say that their ancestors blew on the water, drying it up and causing the growth of vegetation. As soon as the water was gone the Bald Eagle people alighted on the ground. Then they met the Black Bear, who offered to become the servant of the Tsiɔu wactaʞe people. So he was sent to "Watse-ʇuʞa, who was a red star; then to Watse-minʞa, a star near the Morning Star; then to the Sun, Moon, and Seven Stars. As the people journeyed, the Black Bear said to the Tsiɔu leader, 'Brother, I see a man's trail. Here is the man.' The stranger said, 'I am a young Hañʞa. I am fit for work.' So they took him with them. Then they saw another trail, of which the Black Bear spoke to the Tsíɔu leader. They overtook the man, who was Hañʞaqtsi or Real Hañʞa. By and by they reached the village of the Hañʞa uta¢anʇse. They entered the village and made peace with the inhabitants. Then the leader of the Hañʞa uta¢anʇse said, 'We have some people come to us, and we will make them our chiefs.' So the two wactaʞe were made chiefs. The wactaʞe were then sent to search for a land where they might dwell, as the village of the Hañʞa uta¢anʇse was filthy and offensive on account of the dead bodies in and around it. This council was the first one of the whole nation. The two wactaʞe went out as mourners for seven days. The Hañʞa wactaʞe (Panɥka = Ponka) came back first, saying, 'I have found a place.' Afterwards the Tsiɔu wactaʞe returned and reported. The council was held again to decide to which place they would go. They agreed to settle at the place visited by the Tsiɔu wactaʞe. Then four standards were made by members of the Waɔaɔe (wanŭn gens, two for each side of the tribe. These were the standards made of minxa ha (swan or goose skins), and they were carried on the hunting road as well as on the war path. But the otter skin standards were always retained by the Waɔaɔe gens."

On comparing this version with that of Sadeki¢e we notice that in one or the other a transposition of some parts has been made. In this latter tradition the appeals to the heavenly bodies and to the Red Bird were made before the journey to the four revolutions of the upper worlds.

21.

Here is where the two roads begin.

22.

At this point begins the account of the Female Beaver. She was an ancestor of the Osage, according to a statement published in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains.

23.

See the author's paper in the American Naturalist for 1885, entitled "Kansas mourning and war customs," with which was published part of the chart mentioned above.

***END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK OSAGE TRADITIONS***

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Contents

Illustrations

OSAGE TRADITIONS.

INTRODUCTION.

TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS.

UNŬn'U¢ÁʞE. TSÍOU WACTÁʞE ITÁPE.

UNŬn’ U¢ÁʞE. QÜ¢ÁPASAn ITÁPE.

CONCLUDING REMARKS.

Footnotes

Credits

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