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Scalp Dance
The Sioux
occupy a country from the Mississippi river
to some point west of the Missouri, and from
the Chippewa tribe on the north, to the
Winnebago on the south; the whole extent
being about nine hundred miles long by four
hundred in breadth.
Dahcotah1
is the proper name of this once powerful tribe of Indians. The
term Sioux is not recognized, except among those who live near
the whites. It is said to have been given by the old French
traders, that the Dahcotahs might not know when they were the
subjects of conversation. The exact meaning of the word has
never been ascertained.
Dahcotah means a confederacy. A number of bands live
near each other on terms of friendship, their customs and laws
being the same. They mean by the word Dahcotah what we mean by
the confederacy of states in our union. The tribe is divided
into a number of bands, which are subdivided into villages;
every village being governed by its own chief. The honor of
being chief is hereditary, though for cause a chief may be
deposed and another substituted; and the influence the chief
possesses depends much more upon his talents and capacity to
govern, than upon mere hereditary descent. To every village
there is also a war-chief , and as to these are ascribed
supernatural powers, their influence is unbounded. Leading every
military excursion, the war-chief's command is absolute with his
party.
There are many clans among the Sioux, and these are
distinguished from each other by the different kinds of medicine
they use. Each clan takes a root for its medicine, known only to
those initiated into the mysteries of the clan. The name of this
root must be kept a secret. Many of these roots are entirely
destitute of medicinal power. The clans are governed by a sort
of free-masonry system. A Dahcotah would die rather than divulge
the secret of his clan. The clans keep up almost a perpetual
warfare with each other. Each one supposes the other to be
possessed of supernatural powers, by which they can, cause the
death of any individual, though he may live at a great distance.
This belief is the cause of a great deal of bloodshed. When a
Dahcotah dies, it is attributed to some one of another clan, and
revenge is sought by the relatives of the deceased. All their
supposed supernatural powers are invoked to destroy the
murderer. They first try the powers of their sacred medicine,
imagining they can cast a fatal spell on the offender; if this
fail, they have recourse to more destructive weapons, and the
axe, knife or gun may be fatally used. After the supposed
murderer is killed, his relations retaliate, and thus successive
feuds become perpetual.
The Dahcotahs, though a reckless, are a generous
people, usually kind and affectionate to their aged, though
instances to the contrary frequently occur. Among the E-yanktons,
there was a man so feeble and decrepit from age as to be totally
unable to take care of himself; not being able to walk, he
occasioned great trouble. When the band went out hunting, he
entreated the young men to drag him along, that he might not
fall a prey to the Chippeways, or to a fate equally dreaded,
cold and starvation. For a time they seemed to pity him, and
there were always those among the hunting party who were willing
to render him assistance.
At last he fell to the charge of some young men, who,
wearied with carrying him from place to place, told him they
would leave him, but he need not die a lingering death. They
gave him a gun, and placed him on the ground to be shot at,
telling him to try and kill one of the young warriors who were
to fire at him; and thus he would have so much more honor to
carry with him to the land of spirits. He knew it was useless to
attempt to defend himself. In a few moments he received his
death-wound, and was no longer a burden to himself or to others.
The Sioux have a number of superstitious notions, which
particularly influence the women. They are slavishly fearful of
the spirits of the dead, and a thousand other fancies. Priests
and jugglers are venerated from their supposed supernatural
powers.
Little is generally known of their religion or their
customs. One must live among them to induce them to impart any
information concerning their mode of life or religious faith; to
a stranger they are always reserved.
Their dances and feasts are not amusements. They all
have an object and meaning, and are celebrated year after year,
under a belief that neglect will be punished by the Great Spirit
by means of disease, want, or the attacks of enemies. All their
fear of punishment is confined to what they may suffer in this
world. They have no fear of the anger of their deities being
continued after death. Revolting as the ceremony of dancing
round a scalp seems to us, an Indian believes it to be a sacred
duty to celebrate it. The dancing part is performed by the old
and young squaws. The medicine men sing, beat the drum, rattle
the gourd, and use such other instruments as they contrive.
Anything is considered a musical instrument that will assist in
creating discordant sound. One of these is a bone with notches
on it, one end of which rests on a tin pan, the other being held
in the left hand, while, with a piece of bone in the right,
which a medicine man draws over the notches, sounds as
discordant and grating as possible are created.
The squaws dance around the scalps in concentric
circles, in groups of from four to twelve together, pressing
their shoulders against each other, and at every stroke of the
drum raising themselves to their utmost height, hopping and
sliding a short distance to the left, singing all the time with
the medicine men. They keep time perfectly. In the centre, the
scalps are attached to a pole stuck in the ground, or else
carried on the shoulders of some of the squaws. The scalp is
stretched on a hoop, and the pole to which it is attached is
several feet long. It is also covered with vermilion or red
earth, and
ornamented with feathers, ribbons, beads, and other trinkets,
and usually a pair of scissors or a comb. After dancing for a
few minutes, the squaws stop to rest. During this interval one
of the squaws, who has had a son, husband, or brother killed by
a warrior of the tribe from which the scalp she holds was taken,
will relate the particulars of his death, and wind up by saying,
"Whose scalp have I now on my shoulders?" At this moment there
is a general shout, and the dance again commences. This ceremony
continues sometimes, at intervals, for months; usually during
the warm weather. After the dance is done, the scalp is buried
or put up on the scaffold with some of the deceased of the tribe
who took the scalp. So much for the scalp dance a high religious
ceremony, not, as some suppose, a mere amusement.
The Sacred Feast is given in honor of the sacred
medicine, and is always given by medicine-men or women who are
initiated into the mysteries of the medicine dance. The medicine
men are invariably the greatest rascals of the band, yet the
utmost respect is shown them. Every one fears the power of a
medicine man. When a medicine man intends giving a feast, he
goes or sends to the persons whom he wishes to invite. When all
are assembled, the giver of the feast opens the medicine bag
with some formality. The pipe is lit and smoked by all present;
but it is first offered to the Great Spirit. After the smoking,
food is placed in wooden bowls, or other vessels that visitors
may have brought; for it is not a breach of etiquette to bring
dishes with you to the feast. When all are served, the word is
given to commence eating, and those that cannot eat all that is
given them, must make a present to the host, besides hiring some
one present to eat what they fail to consume. To waste a morsel
would offend the Great Spirit, and injure or render useless the
medicine. Every one having finished eating, the kettle in which
the food was cooked is smoked with cedar leaves or grass. Before
the cooking is commenced, all the fire within the wigwam is put
out, and a fresh one made from flint and steel. In the
celebration of the Sacred Feast, the fire and cooking utensils
are kept and consecrated exclusively to that purpose. After the
feast is over, all the bones are carefully collected and thrown
into the water, in order that no dog may get them, nor a woman
trample on them.
The Sioux worship the sun. The sun dance is performed
by young warriors who dance, at intervals of five minutes, for
several days. They hop on one foot and then on the other,
keeping time to the drum, and making indescribable gestures,
each having a small whistle in his mouth, with his face turned
towards the sun. The singing and other music is performed by the
medicine men. The drum used is a raw hide stretched over a keg,
on which a regular beating of time is made with a short stick
with a head to it. Women pretend to foretell future events, and,
for this reason, are sometimes invited to medicine feasts.
Dahcotah Notes About the Book:
Source: Dahcotah, Or Life and Legends of the
Sioux around Ft. Snelling, Mary H. Eastman,
1849
Online Publication: The manuscript was scanned and
then ocr'd. Minimal editing has been done, and readers can and should expect
some errors in the textual output.
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