318 OMAHA SOCIOLOGY

the partyhe begsmoccasins,etc.,from bis kiudreil.

Wbeu

^{lie is ready}

hegoesdirectly after the party.

The

following day,

when

thewarriors take theirseats, the follower ^{sits iu}sightofthem,butat

some

distance.

When

oneof the servants spies

him

he says to his captain, " Ntida"- haugii, f^iankh^{wi° 'atii ha."}

—

war

chief! this onein therear hascome.

Then

the captain says to all the warriors, "

Hau,

nikawasa"', ibaha"- ba hi^be cti(|'awAi-ga. Ma° ' t6 cti w(§gaska° <!4iga."

—

Ho, warriors^!rec- ognize him, ifyou can, andcountyoxir moccasins(to see if you can spare

him

any).

Examine

yourarrows, too.

Then

a servant is sent to see

who

the follower ^is.

On

his returnhe says, "War-chief{orcaptain),it ishe,"

naming

the man.

The

ca^jtain hasno setreply; sometimes he says, "Ho, warriors! the

man

isactive.

Go

afterhim.

He

^{can aid us}

bykilling game."

Or

he

may

^{say, "}

Hau,

nikawasa"'! ni^{e(j;i^i°} gi t6 a^i° ' gii-gS.

Agudi

ca"'';aiiga ndxi^i^ifg ^jji,

gaha

a^ija° ga° '^ai jji, ca"'

^ja^mi"'ha."

—

Ho,warriors! gofor him ^thathe

may

bringwater foryou.

If^{he icishes to lie} onyou{i. e.,on yourbodies) ichen thebigwolves (orthe foe) attach you,

I

think it is proper.

Then

the scoutgoes after thefol- lower.

But

if the

man

be lazj, fond of sleeping, etc., and the scout reports

who

he ^is, theydo not receive him.

Once

there

was

a

man who

^per-

sisted in going with

war

parties though he always caused misfortunes.

The

last time he followed a party the captains refused to receive him.

Then

he prayed ^to

Wakanda

to bring trouble on the whole party for their treatment of him.

They

were so

much

alarmed that they aban- donedtheexpedition.

§193. Officers.

— A

^{smallwar partyhasforits chiefofiScerstwo nuda"-}

haiiga, partisans, captains, or

war

chiefs.

Bach nuda° hanga

has his nuda° 'hauga qfexe or lieutenant, through

whom

he issues his orders tothe men. These lieutenants or adjutants are always chosen before the party leaves the village. After the food has been boiled the giver of the feast selects

two

brave

young

men, to each of

whom

he says,

"]Sruda° 'haiiga-q^6xe hni° 'tate,"

You

shall be a nuda"h'ingaq^exe.

In 1854

Two Crows was

invited by fourothers to aid

them

in organ- izing a large

war

party.

But

as they

went

to the feast given by the chiefs and received the presents they forfeited their right to be caii- tains.

Two Crows

refused the gifts,

and

persisted iu his design, win- ning the position of first captain.

Wauace

jiiiga

was

the other,

and

ja^i° -na° i)aji

and

Sinde-xa^xa"were the lieutenants. In this case a large party

was

intended, but itended intheforniation ofa small one.

For the change from a small partytoa large onesee § 210.

§ 194. Large

war

party.

— A

^large

^war

^{party is called} " Nuda^'hi"-

^aii'ga."

La

Fl^che

and Two Crows

do not

remember

one that has occurred

among

the

Omahas. The

grandfather of

Two Crows

joined one againstthePanis abouta

hundred

years ago.

And Two Crows was

called on to assist in organizing one in 1854,

when

fifty

men

^werecol-

lectedforan expedition which

was

prevented by thechiefs.

Such

par-

Li^hsEVM

LARGE WAR

PARTY.

319

ties usually

number

one or two huudred men, and soiuetiiues all the fighting

men

inthetribevolunteer. Occasionally thewholetribe

moves

against an enemy, taking the

women,

children, etc., till theyreach the neighborhoodof thefoe,

when

thenon-combatants are leftata safe dis- tance, and the warriors go on without them. This

moving

with the whole

camp

^{is called}"dwaha° qti ^^,"or "^gdq^a° qti^6," because they go in abody, as they do

when

^travelingon the buffalo hunt.

§ 195.

When

a large

war

party ^is desired the

man who

plans the expeditionselectshis associates,andbesides thesetheremustbe at least two

more uuda° hauga

^; but only the planner and his friend are the

uuda° hauga

liju. or principal war chiefs. Sometimes, as in the case of "Wabaskaha (Contributions toN. A. Ethnology, Vol. VI, Part I, p.

394), the

man

paints his face with clay or

mud,

and wanders around, crying to

Wakauda

thus^:

"OWakanda!

though the foreigners have injured me, 1 hope thatyou

may

^help

me

^!"

The

peoi)le hear him,and

know

by hiscrying thatbe desires to lead a

war

party; so they go to

him ^tohearhis story.

Four wag^a

are sentto invitethe guests,

two

taking each side ofthe tribal circle, and hallooing as they pass each tent. Thereisno cause for secrecyon such occasions, so the criercalls out the

name

ofeach guest, and bids

him

bring his bowl. In the case of

Wabaskaha,

so great

was

the

wrong

suffered that allthe

men

assembled, including tlie chiefs. This

was

thedayafter

Wabaskaha

had told hisstory.

Then

a pipe (the

war

pipe)

was

^filled.

Wabaskaha

extended hishands toward thepeople,and touched

them

on theirheads saying, "Pity

me

; do for

me

as you think best."

Then

thechief

who

filled the sacred pipe said to the assembly, " If you are willing forus to take vengeanceon the Pawnees, put that pipe to yourlips; if (anyof) you are unwilling, do notputit to yourlips."

Then

every

man

put the pipe to his lips and

smoked

^it.

And

the chief said, "

Come

^!

Make

afinal decision.

De

cide

when we

^shalltakevengeanceonthem,"

And

onesaid, "

O

leader

!

during the

summer

let useatourfood,

and

pray to

Wakauda.

In the earlyfallletus take vengeance onthem."

The

fourcaptainswerecon- stantlycryingby

day and

uight, saying,

"OWakanda!

^pityme.

Help me

in thatabout which I

am

in a

bad

humor."

They

were cryingeven while they accompanied thepeople on the

summer

huut.

During

the

day

they abstained from food and drink; but at niglitthey used to partake of food and drink water.

§ 19G. Feast.

—

It was customaryfor the guestsinvited to join a large

war

party to gotothe lodge designated, wherefour captains satoppo- site the entrance,

and

two messengerssatoneachsideofthe door.

The

ensuing ceremonies were substantially those given in § 188, with the exceptionof theuse of thewa^ixabe^or sacred bags, which are never used except

when

large war parties areorganized.

Sacredbags

—

^Thesesacred bags,whichareconsecratedtothethunder or war god, are so called because

when

the Indians went on the War-

320 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

paili they used ^to ^ixabcorstrip off the feathersof red, blue, and yel- low birds, aud put ^{tbeui iuto} the sacred bags. There were^five bagsof this .sort

among

the Oiiiahas.

The

principal one is kept by Wacka"'-

iiia"(j-i", of the Wajiilgafatajl snbgeusof the <fd.tada. It is filled with the leathers

aud

skius of small ^birds,

aud

is

wrapped

in a-^ahupezi,or worn tent-skiu. This ^is the principal one.

The

second oneiskeptby the daughter of j^ahe-jiiiga, of the Iuk6sab6; becausethe peoi)le pity her, they allow her^tokeep ^the

bag

which lierfatherused to have^; but they do not allow her to take any part in the ceremonies in which the saured bagsare used.

The

third

bag

is iuthecustody of M.lhi"(fifi'ge ofthe Weji"ctegens.

The

fourth,

when

ⁱⁿexistence,

was

kept

by

jjidd- ma"(('i"; ofthej^ada gens.

And

thefifth

was made

by

Wabaskaha,

of the Iug(/)e'jidegens. This,too,^isnolongerinexistence. Accordingto

La

Fleche and

Two

Crows, the only wa(J;ixabe used in

war

are

made

of the (skin

and

feathers of the) g^eda"',or pigeon-hawk, thei"'bejau'ka, or forked-tail

hawk, and

the uickucku, or martin. All three kinds were not carried

by

the

same war

party. Sometimes one

man

^carries an i"be-jaiika,aud the other a nickiicku^; atother times one carriesa g^eda", aud the other an i° be-janka or nickucku. ja^i° na''p.TJi says that the weasel is very sacred.

Two Crows

^{never heard this;} and he says that thekeeperof any very sacred objectnever reveals

what

it is.

These^sacred bags arenot

heavy

; yet the bearer of one has no other work.

He ^must

wear ^his robe tied atthe neck,

and drawn

around

him

even in

warm

^weather.

At

thefeast, thethree wa^ixabe areput^{ia the} middle of the lodge.

The

keepers take their seats, and sing sacred songs,

some

of which are addressesto theThunder, while others aredanciugsongs.

Among

the former ^is oneofwhich afragment

was

given

by

ja(fi''-na''paji

:

"Wi-!li'-ga"' na'''-pe-wa'-fSe-ga"', Wi-^i'-ga"na^'-pe-wa'-i^ee-ga"',

\Ve'-ti"kgg^i'-han-lia"_^ii, Na"'-i>ewri-(,'6 ."

"As mygramlfatherisdaugerous, As

my

graiulfatberisilaugerous,

When

he brandisheshisclub, Daugerous ^."

When

he

had

proceeded so far jja^i° -na° pajl stopped and refused to tellthe rest, as it

was

too sacred.

This songisalsosung bythe keepers ofthewa^ixabe afterthe return ofthe warriors,

when

the ordeal of the wast6gistii^istried. (See § 214.)

Though

the keepers sometimes sing the songs four times,

and

the others thendance aroundfourtimes, this ^is notalways doneso often.

After thedance they enjoy thefeast.

Presents are

made

by the giv'erof the feast to the keepers of the wa(f;ixabe,

who

are thus persuaded to lend their sacredbags with the l)eculiar advantages or sacredness which they claim for them.

DOEBEY.]

LARGE WAR PARTY — ^{SACRED BAGS} — ^POLICEMEN. 321

§ 197.

The

priucipal captains select the lieutenants,

and

assign to each ofthe other captains a

company

of about twentywarriors.

Each

oftheminorcaptains

camps

with his

own

company, which hasits

own

camp-fire apartfromthe other companies.

But

only the two principal captains selectthescouts,police, etc.

When

the fasting, etc., begins (see § 191), even the captains wear plumesin theirhair.

When

the partyis very large, requiring

many

moccasins,

and

they intend going along distance, a longer period thanfourdays

may

bere- quiredfortheirpreparations.

Accordingto jafi° -na"pajl,theprincipalcaptainstiepiecesof twisted grass around their wrists

and

ankles,

and wear

other pieces around their heads. Thisrefers to the

Thunder

god.

Two Crows

says thathe neverdidthis.

§ 198. Openingoftliebags.

— ^When

^theprincipalcaptains wish toopen theirsacred bags,theyassembletheirfollowers inacircle,

making them

sitdown.

Any

^{of the}followersorservants (thetermsare interchange- able)

may

beordered to

make

an ^"uj6;i" in the center of thecircle,

by

pulling

up

the grass,then

making

aholein theground.

Then

thesa- cred bagsare laidatthefeetoftheprincipal captaius,eachone of

whom

opens his

own

bag, holding the

mouth

ofthe birdtowards thefoe, even

when some

of the warriors aregoing to steal horses.

§ 199. Policemen or Wandce.

—

^Theseare selected after thei)artyhas

left thevillage, sometimes duringthe nextday or night,sometimes on the second day.

The

appointmentsare

made

by theprinciple captains.

Ifthe war-partybea small one,few policemen (from se^en to ten)are appointed; but if it is a large party,

many

are appointed, perhaps twenty. There isnever

any

fixed

number

^; butcircumstances always determine

how many

are required.

For

a small party, two wan4ce- nuda° 'hanga,or captains of police, are appointed, to

whom

theprinci- pal captains say, ^'•

Wandce

^auuda^han'ga tat^,"

You

.'<haH be cap- tains ofthe police.

Each

of these wandce-nuda° 'haiiga has several wandce at his

command. When any

of the warriors aredisobedient, or are disposedto lagbehind therest, the policemen hit

them

at the

command

of their

own

captains, the wandce-nuda^'haiiga.

When

the

wandce

seethatthe

men

arestraggling,theycry, "

Wa° <;

^!

wa"<

^!"

On

hearing ^this, the warriors say,

"The

policemen are calling"; so they run towards the

main

body.

§200. Order ofmarchforany

war

party.

— ^The

^scouts,or wada"'be-ma, go from

two

tofour milesin advance during the day. Thereare only twoof these

when

thepartyis a smallone^; buta large party hasfour.

These scoutsare sentaheadassoon as they

have

eaten their breakfasts.

They

do notalwaysgostraightahead. Shouldthey

come

toa ^hill, they do not ascend, preferring to

make

a detour by going along a " skida,"

or highlevel forminganopeningbetween

two

hills. If,

when

they reach there,they detectno signs of afoe, they continueon their way.

Some

3

ETH

21

322 OMAHA

SOCIOLOGY.

ofthe warriors

may

^goout as scouts of^their

own

accord,beforerequested to doso

by

the captains.

§ 201.

When

^{there is} a large party, the

two

nuda^'haflga-jiii'ga,or minorcaptains,bearing the sacred bags, goabout a

hundred

yards in advanceof the others.

Then march

the captains, and after

them

^fol- low the warriors

and

those

who

are the servants of the captains.

Each

captain hashisservant,

who

carries his captain's

baggage

and rations, waits on him, brings

him

food

and

water,

and makes

hiscouch

when

they

camp

for the night.

As

the

day

advances and the warriorsbe-

come

tired, theydropbehind.

Then

the captains order those near

them

to halt

and

sitdown. If there are bearers of the wa^ixabe, they are thefirstto take theirseats at the

command

^of thecaptains,

who

sit

nextto them.

Then

the nearest warriors areseated,

and

so on, as they

come

^{together. Thoseinthe rearsit}

where

theyplease. Itisimportant fortheparty to keep together, for they might be exterminated if at- tacked

when

the

men

are scattered.

As

soon as thosein the rear

have

overtaken therest, allarise

and

resumethemarch.

The

scoutshavinggonetothe place designated, return ^{to report,}

and

two ofthe captains go

ahead

to meet them.

Having

reported whether they haveseen traces of

an enemy

or of game,etc., theyare relieved, and others aresentaheadin their places. This change of day scouts takes place as

many

times as the circumstances ^require.

One

of the

men who

bears thekettleon hisback, acts asifhe were a captain,ad- dressingthe warriors thus^: "Ho,warriors! bring

me

water,"or,"Ho, warriors! bring

me some

wood."

§202. Songs.

—

^Sometimes

^when

^a

^man

thinks thathe ^willdie fighting the

enemy

he singsdifferentsongs.

Oue

^{of thesesongsgiven}

^by

^{ja^i"-}

ua^paji,

was

intended to infuriate the warriors.

He

saidthatit

was

the

" Captive song,"

and was

notregardedassacred.

Though

hesaid that

it was sung

by

oueofthe

wandce

nuda° haSga, ashe danced around^the marching warriors, thatis doubted

by La

Flfeche

and Two

Crows,

who

saidthatone of the

nuda° hanga was

notalwayssinging

and

dancing around theothers.

The

song,as sung, differs fromthe spoken words.

Na"'-ku-^^hao'-ijiio-bi-go-f ^(i.e.,Na"'-ku-^6-a'^^-i'''-i-ga) Na"'-ku-^6-ha'''-^i"'-bi-go -f

H(5,nu-da^-han-gi,^an'-be tS

U-^-hi-ta-m^-jino

+

^{(i. e.,}Uahita-maji ii^ia u4-I)

Nii-dao-hafi-g^iia'''-ku-(f6-ha'''-^i''-bi-go-f It

may

betranslatedthus

:

O

makeusquickenoursteps^!

makeusquicken oursteps

!

Ho,

O

warchief!

When

Iseehim

1shallhave

my

heart's desire

!

O

warchief,makeusquickenour steps

!

One

ofthesacredsongs whichfollows is from the j^oiwerelanguage,

and was sung by

an

Omaha

^{captain. It is} given as

sung

in the

DoasEY.)

SCOUTS SONGS OKDER OF ENCAMPING. 323 Omaha

notation ofthej,oiwere.

The meaning

of all the words cannot be given

by

thecollector.

Ma"'-^!" ^eli6ga+we+he-h6!{Ma.'^f.i",forma-nyi,towalk.)

Ma'''-iti'' ^e h6ga+we+he-he!

Tc^-do na-h^!(Tce-^onaha, buffalobull,hewho i-s,or, Thebuffalobull.) Ma"'-^!"^x>h6

ga+we+

he-h6

!

After singing this the captain addressedthe

men

thus^: "Ho,war- riors^! I havetruly said thatI shall have

my

^heart's desire^! Truly, warriors, theyshall not detect

me

at all.

lam now

proceedingwithout any desire tosavelife. IfI

meet

one of thefoe I will not spare him."

§203.

The

Mijiasi watci or Coyote Dance.

—

^This

^was

^danced

^by

^the

warriors before theyretired forthe night, tokeep

up

their spirits. It

was

not danced everynight,but only

when

thought necessary.

The

captainstooknopartinit.

Some

sangthedancingsongs. Allwhitened themselves (sa° ki^a^a).

Each

one carried agourdrattleanda

bow

^; he worehisquiverinhisbelt, and hadhisrobearoundhim.

They

imitated theactions ofthecoyote, trotting,glancing around,etc.

§204. Order of encamping.

— As

soon as theystopto

camp

^forthenight fournight scouts are sentout, one in advance, towards the countryof the foe,one to the rear,

and

one on each side of the camp, each scoutgoingforaboutamile. Before they depart the captainssay,"Ho, wariiors^!

When

you feel sleepy

come

back," referring to miduight.

Then

the scouts leave,

and

as soon as they reach their respective sta- tionstheylie

down and

watchfor

any

signs oftheenemy.

At

^the

command

of the nuda° hafiga-q^exe the

camp

is formedin a circle, with thefirein thecenter.

The

warriorsare told to gofor

wood and

water, and theservants of the captainspreparecouchesfortheirre- spectivemasters bypulling grass,

some

ofwhichthey twist aud ^tie up

forpillows.

Each

servant does this for his

own

^captain.

When bad

weatheristhreatening the lieutenants order the warriors to build a grasslodge. Fortent polesthey cut

many

long saplingsofhard willow orofanyotherkindofwood,

and

stick

them

inthegroundatacuteangles,

and

about one foot apart,if

wood

is plentiful,

and

small sticks arein- terlaced.

Then

they cover this frame with grass.

When wood

^isvery scarcethe saplings are placed further apart.

Unlike the lowas, the

Omahas

do notopen their sacred bags

when

they

encamp

for the night. All the bags are

hung

on two or three forkedsticks, the wa^lxabe-u^ubajig^e,whichareaboutthree feet high.

Thesesticks areplacedaboutfive feetfromthecircleofwarriors, close

enough

to be seized atoncein case ofan attack.

Should

any

scout detect danger he

must

give the cryof a coyote or mij[asi.

By and

by,

when

the scouts

become

sleepy,

and

thereisno sign of danger, they return tothecamp, and lie

down

with theircom- radestill nearlyday.

When

^{it is} timefor roosters to crow,one of the captains exclaims,

"Ho,

warriors! riseye and kindlea ^lire."

Then

^all

arise

and

dress in haste, aud afterthey haveeaten,the scouts aresent ahead, asonthe preceding morning.