Osage Traditions

Osage Traditions
by J. Owen Dorsey
Edition 1, (October 4, 2006)
SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION—BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.
BY REV. J. OWEN DORSEY.

When the author visited the Osage, in the Indian Territory, in January, 1883, he learned of the existence of a secret society of seven degrees, in which, it was alleged, the traditions of the people have been preserved to the present time. Owing to the shortness of his visit, one month and eleven days, he was unable to gain more than fragmentary accounts of the society, including parts of two traditions, from several Osage who had been initiated.
FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.
Just under the river, at the left, we see a large star, the Red or Morning Star. Next are six stars, Ta¢ad¢in. The Omaha know a similar group, which they call Minxa si ʇañga, or Large foot of a goose. Next is the Evening Star; and last comes the small star, Mikak'ĕ-ɔiñʞa. Beneath these four we see the seven stars, or Pleiades (Mikak'ĕ udátse pé¢ŭnda, the Seven Gentes of Stars), between the Moon (on the left) and the Sun (on the right). Beneath these are the peace pipe (on the left) and the hatchet (on the right). A bird is seen hovering over the four upper worlds. These worlds are represented by four parallel horizontal lines, each of which, except the lowest one, is supported by two pillars. The lowest world rests on a red oak tree.

In presenting the accompanying traditions, the following abbreviations are used in the interlinear translations:
an., animate. cv., curvilinear. du., dual. in., inanimate. mv., moving. ob., object. pl., plural. recl., reclining. sing., singular. st., sitting. std., standing. sub., subject.