One, painted black, had four ropes attached at once. The pulling out is done in the dance, the pulling carried on in the time of the music by jerk, jerk, jerk, and the eye, head, and front all facing the sun in the form of supplication. One had four setons attached to four dry buffalo head bones. These were all strung and suspended to his flesh by ropes that raised each head some three feet off the ground. He danced hard to tear them out, but they would not break the skin. One came off the stick accidentally, but it was again fastened. Finally, these heavy weights (each at least twenty five pounds weight,) not tearing out by their own weight or motion, the devotee gave a comrade a horse to take hold of the rope and tear out the setons. While these were being thus tortured, their female relations came in and had pieces cut out of their arms to show their appreciation of the valor and devotion of their kinsmen. Still, as soon as the victim could be prepared, the music was renewed, and the dismal dance went on, victims’ bodies now mingled with blood, paint, and setons.
There being several steamboats and many soldiers here, a crowd of spectators rather embarrassed the performers, so they concluded the performance at twelve o’clock, having only danced twenty-four hours instead of forty-eight, as they usually do. All the devotees gave away all their ponies and other valuables to their friends, had their wounds carefully dressed by attendant medical men, and sat down to an abundant feast of dog soup and buffalo meat.
So ended this most barbarous and painful exhibition of savage idolatry. The picture is still deeply impressed on my senses, but I cannot give half the horror of the scene, either by pen or pencil.”
The object of these rites is to obtain the favor of the god to whom they relate.
In these divinities which have been mentioned, and innumerable others like them, as various as the wildest imaginations, maddened by passion, can create, or their circumstances and felt wants demand, the Dakotas find all that they desire of a religious nature. These divinities communicate with mortals through the medium of
THE MEDICINE-MAN.
These men are the representatives of the gods on earth, to men. They are the gods in human form, though in diminished proportions. They are essentially different from other men—wakan.
The original essence of these men and women, for they appear under both sexes, first wakes into existence floating in ether. As the winged seed of the thistle, or of the cottonwood, floats on the air, so they are gently wafted by the “four winds”—“Taku-skan-skan”—through the regions of space, until, in due time, they find themselves in the abode of some one of the families of the superior gods, by whom they are received into intimate fellowship. There the embryotic medicine-man remains till he becomes familiar with the characters, abilities, desires, caprices, and employments of the gods. He becomes essentially assimilated to them, imbibing their spirit, and becoming acquainted with all the chants, feasts, fasts, dances and sacrificial rites which it is deemed necessary to impose on men.
Some of the more favored of these men are privileged to pass through a succession of such inspirations, with various families of the divinities, until they are completely wakanized, and prepared for human incarnation.