“The man who owns one of these bows must not wear iron on his person, he must never give his food to any one else after eating from it himself, and he must never allow the bow, or any part of it, to touch the ground.”[[21]]
Fig. 24. Sketch of a Robe for the
Medicine-bow Owner. Drawn by a Native.
The owner of a medicine-bow should have a buffalo-robe with special decorations, consisting of a spider-web design of the character previously described, from the corners of which extend wavy lines representing the thunder. Sometimes the picture of a thunder-bird was drawn above the spider-web design, or a few tail-feathers of the eagle were attached to the robe. The spider-web design on the robe of an owner of a medicine-bow was to symbolize the thunder, for, as stated by the informants, the spider is a friend of the medicine-bow. None of these robes are now in existence; but sketches were made for the writer, one of which is reproduced in Fig. 24.
The body-painting for the medicine-bow was rather elaborate. In the first place, the whole body was smeared over with a brownish-red paint, representing the earth in a buffalo-wallow. There were two ways of decorating the face. In one, a curved line was drawn, extending from the corners of the mouth around over the forehead, the ends of the lines being forked to represent lightning. Wavy lines, also with forked ends, were drawn down the arms and the legs. These lines were in black or blue. Blue bands were painted around the ankles, arms, wrists, and shoulders, representing the power of the lightning. These bands were often covered with wristlets and anklets of rabbit-fur, because the rabbit was in some way associated with the medicine-bow. In the other painting, a crescent, representing the moon, was placed upon the forehead and a line drawn from ear to ear across the bridge of the nose. In this form, the body-painting was the same as in the preceding, except that one of the lines upon the leg was straight instead of wavy, and it was said to signify the desire for ability to think straight or to possess presence of mind, in contrast to the state of mind supposed to be produced by the power of the whirlwind.
Fig. 25 (50-2093). Design on a Metal Belt-ornament. Width, 2 cm.
Fig. 26 (50-3124). Design of Spider-web on a Straight Pipe. Length, 25 cm.
The spider-web design has been mentioned in connection with shield and other designs, and a retrospect indicates a peculiar graphic resemblance in it to the older type of star-designs shown in [Plate vi]. The writer uses the term “older” on the authority of two Indians. Some incised designs on metal ornaments worn by a woman, of the form shown in Fig. 25, seem to be a combination of the older star-design and that of the spider-web. Another design (Fig. 26) scratched on the bowl of a straight pipe of red stone was also said to represent the spider-web. There is another design used by the Dakota in ceremonies relating to the buffalo; but it is rectangular in form with projecting corners, and is considered a distinct symbol.
| [19] | Wissler (Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History, Vol. XVII, p. 248). |