TUNKAN OE INYAN, THE STONE GOD OR LINGAM.
§ 132. It has been said by Lynd[138] that the western tribes (probably the Teton, Yanktonai, Yankton, etc.), neglect the Unkteḣi, and pay their main devotion to Tunkan or Invan, answering to the Hindoo Lingam.
Tunkan, the Dakotas say, is the god that dwells in stones and rocks, and is the oldest god. If asked why he is considered the oldest, they will tell you because he is the hardest—an Indian’s reason. The usual form of the stone employed in worship is round, and it is about the size of the human head. The devout Dakota paints this Tunkan red, putting colored swan’s down upon it, and then he falls down and worships the god that is supposed to dwell in it or hover near it.[139] The Tunkan is painted red (see § 136) as a sign of active worship.[140] In cases of extremity I have ever noticed that they appeal to their Tunkan or stone god, first and last, and they do this even after the ceremonies of the medicine dance have been gone through with. All Sioux agree in saying that the Tunkan is the main recipient of their prayers; and among the Tetons, Mandans, Yanktons, and Western Dakotas they pray to that and the spirit of the buffalo almost entirely.[141]
§ 133. Riggs says:[142]
“The Inyan or Toon-kan is the symbol of the greatest force or power in the dry land. And these came to be the most common objects of worship. Large bowlders were selected and adorned with red and green (sic) paint, whither the devout Dakota might go to pray and offer his sacrifice. And smaller stones were often found, set up on end and properly painted, around which lay eagles’ feathers, tobacco, and red cloth. Once I saw a small dog that had been recently sacrificed. In all their incantations and dances, notably in the circle dance, the painted stone is the god supplicated and worshipped with fear and trembling.”
§ 134. Long tells of a gigantic stone figure resembling a human being, which he found on the bank of Kickapoo Creek. The Indians made offerings to it of tobacco and other objects.[143]