Now, the Sun, the Moon, Scar Face, and Morningstar had a scalp dance while the Sun and Moon sang the praise songs in honor of Scar Face. The Sun addressed Scar Face: "When your people kill enemies they should scalp them and then give a scalp dance. Whenever anyone counts coup or recounts his war experiences, the praise songs should be sung." We have followed this custom ever since. Whenever anyone related his war deeds, some old men or old woman sang the praise songs, repeating the narrator's name during the singing.
The Sun was pleased with Scar Face. He directed Morningstar and Scar Face to build four sweathouses, standing side by side, with their entrances facing east. When they were completed, the Sun, Morningstar, and Scar Face entered one of them, the Moon remaining outside to close the door. After the Sun had worked over Scar Face, he ordered the moon to open the door and they went into the next sweathouse, again choosing the moon to be the door attendant. Now, the Sun asked the Moon to point out her son. The Moon designated Morningstar. They moved into the third sweathouse where the Sun had Morningstar and Scar Face exchange seats. Again, the Moon was asked to pick out her son. Though she noticed that the scar on the young man's face had disappeared, she pointed to her own son. They proceeded to the fourth sweathouse. Again, the Sun had the two men exchange places. The Moon looked in and pointing to Scar Face said, "This is Morningstar." The Sun replied, "You have mistaken him for Morningstar, the other is our son." Ever since that time, Scar Face has always been called Mistaken Morningstar.
Then the Sun gave Scar Face a buckskin suit decorated with porcupine quills. On the breast and back of the shirt were quill-worked rosettes representing the sun; the side seams of the leggings and sleeves were covered with strips of quillwork three or four inches wide. In addition, the sleeves and leggings bore hair fringes representing the scalps of cranes killed by Scar Face. The Sun also gave Scar Face a bow with a lock of hair fastened to one end, a whistle made of a hollow reed, a bladder, and the robe worn by Scar Face. To represent the scalping, the Sun painted the upper part black. The whistle and the bladder were to be used on the woman who had refused Scar Face. The bow too, is a reminder of the killing of the cranes and is still used in the sun dance lodge. The Sun gave Scar Face a circle of creeping juniper which the women that build the lodge (the sun dance or medicine lodge) are to wear on their heads.
The Sun told Scar Face of the sun dance, the lodge, and the sweathouse, and added, "When you return to your people and wish to make an offering to me, you must first build a sweathouse and there make your offerings. Then I will hear your prayers and accept them. You may also make offerings to me in the sun dance lodge." He covered Scar Face's face with the "seventh" or red paint, drew a black circle around his face and a black dot on the bridge of his nose, and a streak of black around each wrist. He said to Scar Face, "This is the way the people must paint when they make offerings to me in the sun dance lodge. For the victory or scalp dance they must paint their faces black." The Sun also gave him a necklace, in the center of which were strung two small shells and a pendent lock of hair, flanked on either side by four beads. This is the necklace worn by the husband of the woman owning the natoas. The Sun's lodge was made of white buffalo robes and some the color of beaver skins. The door of the Sun's lodge faced the east. For this reason, tipis were always turned so the doors faced east. Now Scar Face decided to return to the place where Spider waited.
The narrative then proceeds in the usual way, except that the hero calls all the men of the camp to take revenge on the young woman after which he by magic turns her into a cripple.
The Blood and North Blackfoot.
The writer has upon two occasions seen the ground where a Blood sun dance had been held. The dancing lodge, the sweathouse, etc., were still standing and all these were just as noted among the Piegan. The Blood lodge was a little larger, but the Piegan said that it was formerly so with them, they now having very poor timber to work with. We have in addition two brief published accounts of eyewitnesses.[19] The chief difference we could detect was in the secondary dances of the society where the Horns and the Matoki[20] took a very prominent part. As there are now no such organizations among the Piegan, this gives merely an outward appearance of difference.
The Northern Piegan, as may be expected, also had the same form. As to the North Blackfoot, we have only the statement of other Indians that the sun dance was the same. The Sarsi[21] also had the very same form and we may suspect the Kutenai as well. At least, my Piegan informants asserted that the Kutenai had the sun dance from them. The problem here, however, must rest until we have more data, though Hale is of the opinion that the Blackfoot gradually displaced the Kutenai and took over many Plains traits from them.[22]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] As in many other cases, there is a difference of opinion as to what was, or is, the correct schedule. Some maintain that the timber and sun pole are brought in on the fourth day and the fifth day given over to the erection of the dancing lodge only. This is, however, a matter of no great moment.
[2] See Grinnell, George Bird, Blackfoot Lodge Tales (New York, 1903), 264, for program.
[3] This series, volume 7, 215.
[4] This series, vol. 2, 83.
[5] For example, we were told that some few years ago the widow of Spotted-eagle took the part of the medicine woman and borrowed a natoas from the mother of Curly-bear. Recently (1911), the latter died. Then the former claimed the natoas on the grounds that she had paid full value for it at the time and that she had now the most right to it. Curly-bear consented. Then, after an interval, this woman transferred it to the wife of —— who made no vow to give the sun dance, for it was generally known that the reputation of the new owner permanently disqualified her for the function of medicine woman.