While we know our northern friends may not feel it, in the South, Spring is
here. So we thought we'd share a few of our gardening sites appropriate
for this time of the year. Along with gardening, there's grilling, and getting
ready to diet so that you can fit back into that bathing suit this summer!
The Beaver
(t'ao) doctor is the "strongest" (i.e. most powerful) (Ingkanish). He is
a daitino (mescal-bean) doctor. He held a medicine dance in early spring.
He would throw fire up onto the "grass house" and get it down without the house
catching fire. He would shoot another doctor through the heart so that he bled
from the mouth. They would find the bullet and give it to the doctor who would
then revive the one he had shot. Also, according to Ingkanish, the doctors were
in groups, "bands." He mentioned three "bands"--Beaver, Mescal-bean, yuko,
and there were two or three other "bands" also. For the (?)origin of the yuko,
next strongest to Beaver, Ingkanish told a story of two brothers who raided a
camp. "One jumped over the fire. When a brave man did this it meant that he
never left the fire.102 This man was riddled with bullets. His
brother found him, took out the bullets, and restored him to life. He was
yuko." Inferably the yuko doctor was for wounds .... To one of the
doctor "bands" the scalp taker was conducted .... Bear medicine was familiar to
Ingkanish and so was the Panther doctor. There are still some doctors among the
Caddo, Ingkanish admitted; but he would not take me to one. "If we looked for
the doctors, the witches might be around." And there was no doubt that
Ingkanish was very much afraid of witches. Pardon was also. "Witches don't like
to be questioned. They might kill you. We were not allowed to ask questions
about them." The Delaware, Pardon added, did not keep their witches as secret as
did the Caddo. Delaware witches came to the house as birds. According to Pardon, yuku (yoko)
were doctors who could tell what was going to happen, and could find lost
things, they could bring back a stray horse. Yuku could find out a man's
supernatural "partner" or p'itauniwan’ha (to have power from).103
Pardon's grandfather, known as Mike Pardon, was a yuku. He could foretell
the coming of an epidemic or of anything else four days in advance. Beaver and
dai'tono doctors were known to Pardon merely as names. He knew, however,
of the Beaver medicine dance.
A doctor is
invited to perform a cure with a gift of tobacco. If he accepts it, it means
that he will undertake treatment.104 He performs it, for six days in
the patient's house, with a woman or man of the household to assist. None may
enter the patient's room without being smoked with cedar105 or with
white-leaf (Gasa'Gaiyu', R. ? sage). In sickness a sweat bath is also
used.106 After six days if no cure is effected, another doctor might
be called in. The doctor "puts down his medicines." He prays to "one above" or
to a’a, father (Ingkanish). If "one above" says so, the doctor undertakes
the cure. He is paid with a horse, calico, etc.
Each doctor has his own rules of curing, which depend on his supernatural
partner. Tsa'bisu, Mr. Wing (Dr. Gerrin) who died in 190'7 was a famous
doctor. His supernatural partner was a Red-headed woodpecker (R. ban').
He was also "connected with" the buffalo. Once while Wing was curing a girl,
White Moon looked into the tipi and saw Wing acting like a mad buffalo.107
There was a buffalo tail which seemed to be swishing about of itself. This girl
died. She was too far gone, Wing reported, "it was time for her to die." And
White Moon added, "We believe that you die when it is time."
Before his own death Wing had an extraordinary experience. There was an
epidemic in the tribe, and Wing (himself a witch) dreamed that it was I being
caused by witches. In his dream there appeared to him somebody with thorns all
over his face and head. This one said to Wing, "I am going to show you the men
who are causing lots of you to die, some of them are important men, too." And
then Wing saw these men sitting in a tipi. "I will show you, too, men of good
power," said the one with thorns, and among them, according to White Moon was
Mr. Blue, his father. But there was m ore to it. Before the one with thorns
disappeared he said to Wing, "I am leaving `two things in your hands. Tomorrow
at noon these things will be taken." Then Wing woke up, and in his hands,
which were crossed over his best were two snakes. He told the old woman who was
sitting there taking care of him to take the snakes in a can to a certain tree.
The day following, a summer day, clear and bright, as everybody remembers to
this day, at noon that tree was struck by lightning and the snakes disappeared.
The day after, Wing died.
A Kiowa-Apache
doctor was referred to by Ingkanish. His infant brother who had a straw sticking
in his throat-the child had swallowed it--was taken to this doctor. The doctor
made circuits around the patient. He brushed the patient with an eagle wing
feather. He sucked out the straw. The doctor used the eagle feather because when
he had himself been sick with pains in his side which he could not get out he
had gone into the mountains [to ask for power] and there an old eagle alit and
gave him power to cure himself and others. This doctor wore a necklace of
daitino.118 This daitino plant is used for medicine by
Caddo also.
Doctors have a medicine for snake bite. There is a "worn out (i.e. played
out) horse medicine."109
___________________________________________________ 102 Does this obscure
reference mean that by jumping over the fire a warrior fire the fire would stand
fast? Choctaw said that if one did anything wrong in the presence of the fire
the fire would tell the sun of it (Swanton 3: 196). 103 See pp. 57 ff. See
also pp. 61, 62 for the point of view that a doctor ran the risk of losing his
power if his supernatural partner were known. 104 Among Shawnee, tobacco binds the appointment of the funeral
leader. Tobacco is used
among Shawnee and many speaking
Woodlands tribes when approaching a guardian spirit, or to make binding the
prayers to a supernatural (Voegelin). Same concept throughout Southwest 105 Cp. Kiowa, Parsons,
135 106 See p. 50 107 Compare buffalo doctors of Kiowa, Parsons, 116; also for Caddo,
Dorsey 2: 22, where
Black-mountain-bear medicine-man
acts like a bear. 108 Mexican bean "next to peyote" [mescal bean]. According to
Pardon, this red bean is only worn nowadays for beads, nobody knows how to
use it for medicine. See La Barre, 105 ff. 109 See p. 40 for other shamanistic functions.
