University of Virginia Library

I.
SIOUX CEREMONIES, SCALP DANCE, &c.

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.

Dahcotah 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 freemasonry
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 sounds.
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.