| | 1 | Author: | Catlin
George
1796-1872 | Add | | | Title: | O-kee-pa, a Religious Ceremony, and Other Customs of the Mandans  | | | | Published: | 2004 | | | | Subjects: | University of Virginia Library, Modern English collection | UVA-LIB-Text | | | | Description: | In a narrative of fourteen years' travels and residence amongst the
native tribes of North and South America, entitled `Life amongst
the Indians,' and published in London and in Paris, several years
since, I gave an account of the tribe of Mandans,—their personal
appearance, character, and habits; and briefly alluded to the singular
and unique custom which is now to be described, and was then
omitted, as was alleged, for want of sufficient space for its insertion,—
the "O-kee-pa," an annual religious ceremony, to the strict observance
of which those ignorant and superstitious people attributed not
only their enjoyment in life, but their very existence; for traditions,
their only history, instructed them in the belief that the singular
forms of this ceremony produced the buffalos for their supply of food,
and that the omission of this annual ceremony, with its sacrifices
made to the waters, would bring upon them a repetition of the
calamity which their traditions say once befell them, destroying the
whole human race, excepting one man, who landed from his canoe
on a high mountain in the West. "We hereby certify that we witnessed, with Mr. Catlin, in the Mandan
village, the ceremonies represented in the four paintings to which this certificate
refers, and that he has therein represented those scenes as we saw
them enacted, without addition or exaggeration. "We hereby certify that we witnessed, in company with Mr. Catlin, in the
Mandan village, the ceremony represented in the four paintings to which this
certificate refers, and that he has therein represented those scenes as we saw
them transacted, without any addition or exaggeration. "To George Catlin, Esq. "To Thomas Potts, Esq., Edinburgh, Scotland. "To George Catlin, Esq., City of New York. "No man can appreciate better than myself the admirable fidelity of
your Indian Collection and Indian book, which I have lately examined. They
are equally spirited and accurate; they are true to nature. Things that are,
are not sacrificed, as they too often are by the painter, to things as (in his
judgment) they should be. | | | Similar Items: | Find |
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