Chapter 4 of 13 · 3956 words · ~20 min read

Part 4

The procuring of food for the little one should always be done with a feeling of gratitude toward the Mysterious Power that brings forth life in all forms. There is a plant which is dedicated to use as a sacred food in the bringing up of the little ones, known as ṭse´-wa-the (_Nelumbo lutea_) (pl. 6, _b_). (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 183, lines 910 to 923.) You will at times go to the lake to gather the roots of this plant for use in feeding your little one. When about to go to the lake you will paint red the parting of your hair, as a sign of your gratitude to the god of day who passes over your head and over the plant you go to seek, shedding his life-giving power upon you as he goes upon his journey.

When you come to the edge of the lake you will look about for a staff to support you as you work in the water. You will choose the willow for your staff, for it is a tree that clings persistently to life. By this act you will make an appeal to the great Life-giving Power for a long and fruitful life for yourself and the little one. With the willow staff in your hands you will step into the water and take up from the soft earth beneath a root of the sacred plant, the ṭse´-wa-the. You will find clinging to the root some of the soft earth from which the plant draws nourishment and strength. Take this bit of soil and touch your forehead and body with it, an act which will be as a sign that you appeal to the earth wherein there is Life-giving Power. When you have performed this act return the root to the earth beneath the water, with the wish that the plant shall forever be plentiful. Then gather enough of the roots to satisfy the little one and yourself.

The maize is another sacred life-giving plant. You raise this plant from year to year. When you prepare the ground for planting the seed you will take one grain and put it in a hill, you will press down upon it the soil with your foot, and say: “My father-in-law bade me do this, as an expression of my faith that the sky and the earth will yield to me not only one ear of maize but one animal as well, or even one herd of animals.” In the next hill you will put two grains, in the next three, the next four, the next five, the next six, and in the seventh seven, always repeating the words at each planting.

The ceremony closes with the end of the special instructions given to the mother of the child blessed and named, and as each member of the gentes who had taken part in the rite rises to go he makes some pleasant remarks to the father and the mother.

When the mother goes to her field to plant the seeds of the maize she remembers the instructions and follows them in every detail. As the maize matures and the ears are still green and tender the mother cuts the stalks from the hills she had ceremonially made, leaving the ears on the stalks. She ties the stalks in bundles, and, with the aid of friends, carries them home to her house. She then prepares a feast to which she invites the man who had acted as Xo´-ḳa at the ceremonial naming of her child. He in turn invites some of his friends who had acted as Xo´-ḳa in child-naming ceremonies to come and share in the feast prepared for him.

If among the invited guests there happens to be a member of the Tho´-xe gens, learned in the rituals, he is requested by the honored guest to recite the maize wi´-gi-e of his gens.

A paraphrase is here given of the wi´-gi-e which the Tho´-xe recite to give pleasure to the host and to the guests. The mythical story points to mid-heaven as the region of the conception of life forms, and as the starting point of the Osage people in their journey to earth, the region of actual birth into bodily existence.

ORIGIN WI´-GI-E OF THE THO´-XE GENS

The people spake to one another, saying: Lo, the little ones are not a people, Let search be made by the younger brothers for a place where the little ones may become a people. Even as these words were being spoken, a younger brother Hastened to the first division of heaven, Close to which he came and paused, When, returning to the elder brothers, he spake, saying: Verily, nothing of importance has come to my notice. Make further search, O, younger brothers, the people said, The little ones are not a people.

Then, a younger brother, Even as these words were being spoken, Hastened to the second division of heaven, where he paused, When, as the god of darkness cast a shadow upon the heavens, He returned to the eldest brothers and stood. They looked up and spake, saying: How has it fared with you? It was not your wont to suffer so, O, younger brother. He replied: I have been to the second division of heaven. It is not possible for the little ones to become a people there.

O, Younger brother, We bid you make further search, the people said. Even as these words were being spoken, One hastened to the third division of heaven, He drew near and paused. The younger brother, As the god of darkness cast a shadow upon the heavens, Returned to the elder brothers and stood. The elder brothers spake: How has it fared with you? It was not your wont to suffer so. The younger brother replied: It is impossible!

O, younger brother, the people said, We bid you make further search. Then a younger brother Hastened to the Fourth division of heaven. Close to it he came and paused. Then the Man of Mystery, the god of the clouds, Drew near and stood before him.

The younger brother turned to the elder brothers and said: Here stands a man! A fear-inspiring man! His name, I verily believe, is Fear-inspiring. The people spake to him, saying: O, grandfather! The Man of Mystery replied: I am a person of whom your little ones may make their bodies. When they make of me their bodies, They shall cause themselves to be deathless.

Little-hawk They shall take for their personal name, Then shall they always live to see old age. Hawk-maiden, also, Is a name that is mine. That name also Your little ones shall take to be their name, Then shall they always live to see old age.

O, younger brother! the people said, And the younger brother went in haste To the Tho´-xe (the Buffalo-bull), Close to whom he stood and spake, saying: O, grandfather!

Then to the elder brothers he said: Here stands a man! A fear-inspiring man! The Tho´-xe spake: I am a person of whom the little ones may make their bodies. Whereupon he threw himself to the ground, Then up sprang the blazing star, From the earth where it stood in all its beauty, pleasing to look upon. Tho´-xe spake, saying: Of this plant also the little ones may make their bodies. The people tasted the root of the plant, And exclaimed: It is bitter to the taste! Tho´-xe spake, saying: This plant shall be medicine to the little ones. When they use it as medicine, Their arms shall lengthen in growth, And they shall live to see old age.

Again Tho´-xe threw himself upon the ground, And the poppy mallow Sprang from the earth and stood resplendent in its reddened blossoms. Of this plant also Tho´-xe said, The little ones shall make their bodies. When they use it as medicine, Their arms shall lengthen in growth. The root is astringent, And, referring thereto, your little ones shall take the name Astringent. When the little ones make of this plant their bodies, They shall always live to see old age.

Tho´-xe (the Buffalo-bull), Threw himself to the ground, And a red ear of maize He tossed in the air, As he exclaimed: The little ones shall make of this their bodies! Then shall they always live to see old age.

Again Tho´-xe threw himself to the ground, And a blue ear of maize, Together with a blue squash, He tossed in the air as he said, These plants, also, Shall be food for the little ones, Then shall they live to see old age.

A third time he threw himself to the ground, And a white ear of maize, Together with a white squash he tossed in the air, As he exclaimed: These plants also shall be food for the little ones! Then shall they be difficult for death to overcome them, And they shall always live to see old age.

A fourth time he threw himself to the ground, And a speckled ear of maize, Together with a speckled squash, He tossed in the air as he exclaimed: What creature is there that would be without a mate! And he wedded together the maize and the squash, Then exclaimed: These also shall be food for the little ones! And they shall be difficult for death to overcome them.

The feasting of the Noⁿ´-hoⁿ-zhiⁿ-ga upon the fruits of the seeds of the maize planted by the mother with religious care in the seven sacred hills completes the rite of the naming of her child, by which its right to a place in its gens is formally recognized; the child has a place, not only in its gens, but also in the sky and the earth which the two great tribal divisions, the Hoⁿ´-ga and the Ṭsi´-zhu, represent.

CHILD-NAMING RITUAL OF THE ṬSI´-ZHU WA-SHTA-GE GENS

(SHOⁿ´-GE-MOⁿ-Iⁿ)

The Child-naming ritual of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens of the Osage tribe, here recorded, was given by Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ, a member of the Ba´-po subgens of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens. The name Ba´-po (Popper in English), Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ explained, is the name of the elder tree, the trunk of which boys, from time reaching beyond memory, used for making poppers. The name refers to a mythical story and to a ceremonial office. The mythical story is as follows: When the people of the Ṭsi´-zhu great division descended from the sky to make the earth their home they came down as eagles, and they alighted on a great red oak tree. The shock of their alighting caused the acorns to drop from the tree in great profusion, which was taken as a prophecy that the Ṭsi´-zhu would become a numerous people. One eagle was crowded off the tree, but as he dropped down he alighted upon a blossoming elder tree. This eagle was a peace bird and his alighting on the ba´-po tree made it to become a peace symbol. The Ba´-po subgens was given the office of furnishing a pipestem for the peace pipe in the keeping of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens, and the Ba´-po made the stem of an elder sapling a symbol of peace.

When Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ is called by a member of the Ṭsi´-zhu Wa-shta-ge gens to act as Xo´-ḳa (instructor) in the ceremonial naming of his child he goes to the house of the father without any formality. Usually the call is made when the sun is traveling downward (afternoon); when he receives the message he promptly responds to the call. On his arrival at the house the father, in a formal speech, informs him that his summons was for the purpose of asking him to conduct the ceremonies to be performed at the naming of his child. When Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ gives his consent to officiate at the ceremony the fees for the men who are to take part are placed before him. These he examines to make sure that there are enough articles to go around, and to see if the man had also provided a pipe for the Sho´-ḳa or Official Messenger.

CERTAIN GENTES CALLED TO TAKE PART IN THE CEREMONY

Being satisfied that the man had supplied all the necessary articles, he places in the hands of the father the ceremonial pipe and bids him go after the Sho´-ḳa of the gens. The father returns with the messenger who was already invested with the little pipe, the badge of his authority. When the two men had taken their seats Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ directs the Sho´-ḳa to go and call the heads of the following gentes, with their Noⁿ´-hoⁿ-zhiⁿ-ga members, to come to the house of the father, at sunrise the next morning, to take part in the ceremonies of naming his child:

1. Wa´-ṭse-ṭsi, of the Wa-zha´-zhe subdivision, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to their life symbol, the red cedar. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 95, lines 1 to 34.)

2. Noⁿ´-poⁿ-da, Deer gens, of the Wa-zha´-zhe subdivision, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to one of their life symbols, the water. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 98, lines 1 to 25.)

3. I´-ba-ṭse Ṭa-dse, Wind People, of the Hoⁿ´-ga subdivision, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to one of their life symbols, the maize.

4. Tho´-xe, Buffalo-bull gens of the Ṭsi-zhu great division, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to the maize. Tho´-xe is the gens that gave to the people the maize and the squashes. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 279, lines 54 to 110.) The Tho´-xe authorized the I´-ba-ṭse and certain other gentes to use the Maize ritual in their child-naming ceremonies.

5. Çiⁿ´-dse-a-gthe, Wolf gens of the Ṭsi´-zhu great division, to recite their wi´-gi-e relating to their life symbol, the sun. The Dog-star is also one of their life symbols. (36th Ann. Rept. Bur. Amer. Ethn., p. 118, lines 1 to 36.)

WA-ZHO´-I-GA-THE (LIFE SYMBOL) WI´-GI-E

The Sho´-ḳa returns to the house of the father and reports that he has given notice to all the gentes named to attend the ceremony. Then Shoⁿ´-ge-moⁿ-iⁿ proceeds to recite the Wa-zho´-i-ga-the Wi´-gi-e of his gens, a name which means, The Taking of Bodies; that is, The Taking of Life Symbols. The reciting of this wi´-gi-e is for the benefit of the father and the child.

THE TAKING OF LIFE SYMBOLS.

FREE TRANSLATION

1. The people spake to one another, saying: Lo, the little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, 2. Take heed, O, younger brothers, and see what can be done. 3. Then to the youngest of the brothers they spake, saying: 4. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, O, younger brother. 5. Hardly were these words spoken, 6. When the young messenger stood before the God of Day (the sun), to whom he spake, saying: 7. O, my grandfather! 8. The God of Day replied: My grandchild! 9. The messenger spake: The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, O, grandfather. 10. The God of Day spake: I am a person of whom the little ones may well make their bodies, 11. I am a god who has power to resist death. 12. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 13. They also shall have power to resist death, as they travel the path of life. 14. Even among the gods, 15. There is not one who is able to see my path. 16. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 17. Even the gods 18. Shall not be able to see their path, as they travel the path of life.

19. Again the people spake, saying: O, younger brothers, 20. Take heed and see what can be done, 21. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies. 22. They spake to the youngest of the brothers, saying: 23. O, younger brother, 24. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, 25. Take heed and see what can be done. 26. Hardly were these words spoken 27. When the young messenger stood before the Goddess of Night (the moon), 28. To whom he spake, saying: O, my grandmother! 29. The Goddess of Night replied: My grandchild! 30. The messenger spake: The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies. 31. Then spake the Goddess of Night: I am a person of whom the little ones may well make their bodies, 32. I am a goddess who has power to resist death. 33. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 34. They also shall have power to resist death, as they travel the path of life. 35. Even among the gods 36. There is not one who is able to see my path. 37. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 38. Even the gods 39. Shall not be able to see their path, as they travel the path of life. 40. Even among the gods 41. There is not one of them who can stand in my way to prevent my going. 42. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 43. Even the gods 44. Shall not be able to stand in their way, as they travel the path of life. 45. Moreover, I have been able to bring myself to see old age. 46. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 47. They also shall bring themselves to see old age, as they travel the path of life. 48. I have brought myself to the days that are calm and peaceful. 49. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 50. They also shall bring themselves to the calm and peaceful days, as they travel the path of life.

51. Again the people spake, saying: Lo, the little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, 52. Take heed and see what can be done, O, younger brothers. 53. Then they spake to the youngest of the brothers, 54. Saying: O, younger brother! 55. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, 56. Take heed and see what can be done. 57. Even as these words were being spoken, 58. He stood before the Male Star (Morning Star) who sitteth in the heavens, 59. And spake to him, saying: O, grandfather! 60. The Male Star replied: My grandchild! 61. The messenger spake: The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies. 62. The Male Star replied: I am a person of whom the little ones may well make their bodies. 63. I am a god who has power to resist death. 64. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 65. They also shall have power to resist death, as they travel the path of life. 66. Even among the gods 67. There is not one who is able to see my path. 68. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 69. Even the gods 70. Shall not be able to see their path, as they travel the path of life. 71. Even among the gods 72. There is not one who can stand in my way to prevent my going, 73. When the little ones make of me their bodies. 74. Even the gods 75. Shall not be able to stand in their way to prevent their going. 76. Moreover, I have been able to bring myself to see old age. 77. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 78. They also shall be able to bring themselves to see old age, as they travel the path of life. 79. They shall also live to see the days that are calm and peaceful. 80. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 81. They shall be able to bring themselves to the calm and peaceful days, as they travel the path of life.

82. The people spake, saying: O, younger brothers, 83. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, 84. Take heed and see what can be done. 85. Then they spake to the youngest of the brothers, 86. Saying: O, younger brother, 87. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies, 88. Take heed and see what can be done. 89. Even as these words were being spoken, 90. The messenger stood before the Female Star (Evening Star) who sitteth in the heavens, 91. And spake to her, saying: O, my grandmother! 92. The Female Star replied: My grandchild! 93. The messenger spake: The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies. 94. The Female Star replied: I am a person of whom the little ones may well make their bodies. 95. I am a god who has power to resist death. 96. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 97. They also shall have power to resist death, as they travel the path of life. 98. Even among the gods 99. There is not one who can stand in my way to prevent my going. 100. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 101. Even the gods 102. Shall not be able to stand in their way to stop their going. 103. Moreover, I have been able to bring myself to see old age. 104. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 105. They also shall be able to bring themselves to see old age, as they travel the path of life. 106. I have been able to bring myself to the calm and peaceful days. 107. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 108. They also shall be able to bring themselves to the calm and peaceful days, as they travel the path of life.

109. The people spake, saying: O, younger brothers, 110. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies. 111. Then to the youngest of the brothers 112. They spake, saying: O, younger brother, 113. Take heed and see what can be done. 114. Even as these words were being spoken, 115. The messenger stood before the Litter (Ursa Major), who stands in the heavens, 116. To whom he spake, saying, O, grandfather! 117. The little ones have nothing of which to make their bodies. 118. The Litter replied: I am a person of whom the little ones may well make their bodies. 119. I am a god who has power to resist death. 120. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 121. They also shall have power to resist death, as they travel the path of life. 122. Even among the gods 123. There is not one who is able to see my path. 124. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 125. Even the gods 126. Shall not be able to see their path, as they travel the path of life. 127. Even among the gods 128. There is not one who can stand in my way to prevent my going. 129. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 130. Even the gods 131. Shall not be able to stand in their way to prevent their going. 132. Moreover, I have been able to bring myself to see old age. 133. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 134. They also shall be able to bring themselves to see old age. 135. I have been able to bring myself to the calm and peaceful days. 136. When the little ones make of me their bodies, 137. They also shall be able to bring themselves to the calm and peaceful days, as they travel the path of life.