James's Account of S. H. Long's Expedition, 1819-1820, part 2

by Edwin James; Stephen H. Long; Thomas Say

Several Omawhaws, accompanied by a Frenchman, one day passed our cantonment, on their way to the trading house, with a considerable quantity of jerked meat. On their return they visited us; when one of them, who amused himself by turning over the leaves of a book in search of pictures, being asked by a squaw, in a jocular manner, what the book said, replied, "It tells me, that when we were taking our meat to the trading house, we wished to present some of it to white people on the way, but that the Frenchman would not permit us to do so." This remark explained the reason of their having offered us no meat.

An Indian, observing that one of our men, when cutting wood, uttered the interjection hah! at each blow with the axe, smiled; and asked if it assisted him, or added force to the blow.

{54} The Kinnecanick, or, as the Omawhaws call it, Ninnegahe, mixed or made tobacco, which they use for smoking in their pipes, is composed partly of tobacco, and partly of the leaves of the sumack (rhus glabrum); but many prefer to the latter ingredient, the inner bark of the red willow (cornus sericea); and when neither of the two latter can be obtained, the inner bark of the arrow wood (viburnum) is substituted for them. These two ingredients are well dried over the fire, and comminuted together by friction between the hands.

Their pipes are neatly made of the red indurated clay, which they procure from the red pipestone branch of the Sioux river.[26] The mass is readily cut with a common knife.

They frequently eject the smoke through the nostrils, and often inhale it into the lungs, from which it is gradually ejected again as they converse, or in expiration.

An Omawhaw, after an eructation of wind from the stomach, is often heard to say, "How-wa-ne-ta," thank you, animal; which they explain by saying, that some animal has presented itself to the hunter. The exclamation, however, has but an obscure meaning, and may be compared as somewhat similar to the "God bless you" of the French, after the convulsion of sneezing.

They indulge much in the pleasures of dancing, and their dances are of various denominations; of which the following may be particularized.

The calumet dance, nin-ne-ba-wa-wong, is a very favourite dance. It is usually performed by two individuals, in honour, and in the presence, of some one of their own or of a neighbouring nation, with the expectation of receiving presents in return. A person who intends to perform this dance sends a messenger, bearing a small skin containing tobacco to fill a pipe, to the individual whom he intends to honour. If the proposed compliment should not be {55} acceptable, it is refused in the most courteous manner, with excuses based upon poverty, and with many thanks for the honour intended. If, on the contrary, the tobacco should be accepted and smoked, the act shows that the visit also will be acceptable; and a time is fixed for the performance of the ceremony. At the appointed time, the dancers, with two selected companions, repair to the place of their destination, and are invited into the lodge of the person whom they addressed. After a short time, the calumet is placed upon a forked support, which is driven into the soil in the back part of the lodge. Notice is then given to the bearer of the calumet respecting the time when it will be convenient for the dance to take place. The bearer of the calumet is now considered as the father, and addresses the individual whom he is about to honour by the title of son, presenting him with some valuable articles; such as a gun, kettle, blankets, and clothing and ornaments for his youngest child, who is destined to represent the father, or the adopted son, at the ensuing ceremony.

At sunset the calumet is taken from the forked stick, or support, enveloped like an infant in swaddling clothes, and placed carefully in a bed, prepared for its reception; a lullaby is then sung, accompanied by the music of the rattle, for its quiet repose. On the following morning it is awakened by a song, with the same music, and again consigned to its forked support. The appointed day having arrived, a space of sufficient diameter, is enclosed by a skreen of skins for the dance, and a post is fixed in the earth, near the entrance to the area. Around this area the principal men of the nation seat themselves; the adopted son leads in his youthful representative; and the two dancers, decorated with paint, and entirely destitute of clothing, with the exception of the breech-cloth, commence the dance. They are each provided with a decorated calumet stem, and a rattle {56} of dried skin, or a gourd, containing pebbles, with which to keep time to the music of the gong, and to the vocal chanting of the musicians of the village. They dance in the ordinary manner of the Indians, and pass backwards and forwards between the entrance and back part of the area, endeavouring to exhibit as much agility as possible in their movements, throwing themselves into a great variety of attitudes imitative of the actions of the war eagle, preserving at the same time a constant waving motion with the calumet in the left hand, and agitating the gourd in the right, more or less vehemently, agreeably to the music.

Warriors and braves will now bring forward presents of horses, guns, &c. The bridle of the horse is attached to the post, by the donor, who receives the thanks of an old crier, stationed there to perform that duty. The music now ceases, whilst the donor strikes the post, and recounts his martial deeds, and boasts of the presents which he has made at different times on similar occasions. Sometimes during the ceremony, a warrior will take the gong from the performer, and strike upon it as many times as he has achieved brave and generous actions; he then sets it down, and no one must dare to touch it, but such as can strike upon it more frequently than the first; if this is done, the gong is returned to the performer.