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The Leader of the Hunt
The office of leader of the hunt was held in
great honor because of its grave responsibilities, which demanded a man of
high character and recognized ability. He must be of undoubted valor, a good
hunter, a man reverent and just. The entire tribe was placed under his
control, the principal chiefs acting as counselors, but complying with his
instructions. He directed the march of the people, and selected their
camping-places; he chose and dispatched the runners in search of the
buffalo, and organized and directed the hunt when the game had been found.
If the tribe encountered enemies, he was the leader of the warriors, taking
his place at the post of greatest danger, and he was held responsible for
everything that occurred, from the successful pursuit of the buffalo, and
the health and welfare of the people, down to the quarreling of children and
dogs.
He who desired to fill the office of leader was
required to procure a buffalo-hide from which the hair had been removed, a
crow, a golden and a bald-headed eagle, a shell disk, a quantity of sinew
for thread, a red-stone pipe with its flat stem ornamented with porcupine
quill embroidery, and a kettle. These he presented to the Hun-ga sells,
through the keepers of the two sacred tents, after he had been appointed to
the office by the chiefs. If there was no candidate for the position, the
chiefs appointed a man from a sub-gens of the In-kaetha-bae gens.
The leader having been secured, the principal chiefs,
with the newly appointed leader, met in council to decide upon the time of
moving out, and the direction to be taken upon the annual hunt. Before the
sun was up the food to be used at this council, which must be either
buffalo-meat or maize, had been cooked. As the sun rose, the sacred pipes
were filled, during the chanting of the appropriate ritual by a member of
the In-shta sunda gens.2
At this council every man wore an entire buffalo hide the hair side outward,
the head upon the left and the tail upon the right arm, and sat with bowed
head and arms crossed over the breast, this attitude bringing the robe upon
the head like a hood. No feathers were worn, and no ornament or article
pertaining to war was allowed in the tent. When the council was seated, the
sacred pipes were smoked, being passed with much ceremony by two bearers
from the Thatada gees-one pipe starting from the head chief, and the other
from the official herald, who sat directly opposite at the other side of the
lodge. The smoking was in silence, with bowed heads, and after the circle
had been completed by both pipes they were handed to the keeper of the
ritual, who alone had the right to clean them. Much circumspection was. used
in handling the pipes, for if by any chance they should fall, death would
come to the man who caused the accident.3
The council was opened by the head chief, who mentioned the terms of
relationship between himself and each one present; each man, as he was
designated, responding by the term of assent or approval, "Hough!"4
He then discoursed upon the duties and obligations tions of chiefs, and the
gravity and importance of the subject they had met to consider, and called
upon his associates for their opinions.
2 The two sacred tribal pipes in
charge of the In-kaetha-bae gens were always used together. Each had a bawl
of red catlinite, and upon the bare, flat stem of one were seven woodpecker
heads tied on in line; these represented the seven chiefs comprising the
oligarchy. The stem of the other pipe, also flat, was ornamented with
porcupine embroidery and one woodpecker head with its bill opened and the
upper mandible turned back; and falling from the under side of the stem was
a tuft of buffalo hair. This single woodpecker's head represented the unit
of authority. As indicated in the mythology of the tribe, the woodpecker was
associated with the sun. For the unanimity of authority, see THE CENTURY for
January, 1893, page 441 et seq.
3 This misfortune happened to the last keeper of the
ritual; he (lied within a fortnight, and the ritual died with him. This man
had two sons, to whom the ritual would have been intrusted; but they were
hasty of speech and action, and the father hesitated to place within their
keeping so sacred a charge. While he hesitated death overtook him, and this
ancient ritual, requiring several hours to recite, and containing much of
linguistic historical value (as many of its words and phrases have long been
obsolete), is now forever lost to the student. It maybe interesting to note
in this connection that the sulk-gens in the In-shta-sunda gens, to which
this tribal ritual was confided, survives in only two representatives -a
father and son.
4 Indian custom forbids the mentioning of a person's
name in his presence, and no one is ever so addressed. The only exception to
this rule among the Omahas is in this particular council to fix the time for
the hunt, when the head chief, speaking to the two men from the Thatada
gens, calls upon them by name to pass the sacred tribal pipes.
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Omaha Hunting Customs
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