Traditions of the Arikara

by George A. Dorsey

13. WHY THE BUFFALO NO LONGER EAT PEOPLE.[14]

A long time ago, while the Arikara lived together in the village, it was customary to hunt in the spring. The story I am about to tell was told to me by my father; for I was very small when this story was told by the priests:

On one of these hunts, the people failed to find any buffalo. Women and children began to cry from hunger. The men took long journeys hunting buffalo, but they could not find any buffalo. At last the chief was approached by the women and asked to call on the priests for aid.

The chief then took the sacred pipe from his bundle, filled it and took it to the lodge of the priests of the Knot-in-the-Tree (Critatao) bundle. The chief priest took the pipe, smoked it, and offered the smoke to the gods. After smoking, he said: “It is well. We will open the bundle and call on the gods to help us get buffalo. We will make an offering of gifts to the gods, so they will send buffalo.” The chief was glad, and went to his own tipi. The chief then called on the crier to tell all the people to be silent. The priest had his tipi cleaned and the bundle was taken down and the other priests were sent for. After the priests were seated and all the chiefs had entered, the priests took up the gourds and began to recite a ritual that had been given to the people by the Buffalo. After the giving of presents—native tobacco, black handkerchiefs, robes, and blankets—the priests stopped singing. The chief priest then went out and cut a long pole, brought it to the lodge and tied gifts upon the pole. The pole was then set in front of the lodge. Gifts were placed upon the pole for the southeast God, the southwest God, the northwest God, and the northeast God.

Again a ritual was recited for the buffalo to come. As they recited the ritual the errand man stood by the pole and would strike at the pole with an ash stick that he had in his hand. “Come, buffalo,” he would say, at the same time striking the pole. “You spoke to our people and promised to come when the people were in need of food.” After reciting the ritual the priests recited other rituals.

The buffalo came about three days after the ceremony. The chief ordered the crier to go through the village and let the men know that a whole buffalo was needed for the ceremony. The men went out, and a whole buffalo was brought into the ceremonial lodge. All the people were then invited, and the old priest told the people the following story:

There was a village of Buffalo. They were human, but had horns. When the Buffalo wanted meat they met in a tipi where there was the sacred bundle known as Knot-in-the-Tree. In this tipi a ritual was recited. It took them four days and four nights. The third night, the Buffalo gathered about the tipi where the ritual was recited. The fourth day, the four Buffalo who sat singing the ritual arose and went to the side of a hollow cottonwood tree that stood by the side of a steep bank. By the tree was an ash pole. Here the whole village of Buffalo stood around the hollow tree. Another ritual was recited, then the pole was taken up and the tree was struck three times. The fourth time, the people were heard crying, and some were singing. The first to come out was a man by the name of Cut-Nose (Kritstaricuts). This man seemed to be wonderful, for he always escaped his enemies. Next came a multitude of people. They escaped and ran over the prairie, the Buffalo killing them. Cut-Nose ran and returned to the hollow tree and crawled in, when the flood of people stopped coming out. The people were killed, and were taken to the tipis, where they were cut up, and their meat was placed upon the arbor they had built.

In one of these runs there was one boy among the people who was very handsome. A Buffalo cow chased the boy away out among the hills, but finally gave him up. The boy kept on running until he came to a deep ravine. There was a thick bush of dogwood covered with grapevines, in which the boy hid. Now and then the boy would go hunting, killing small birds for his food.

One day, as the boy was crossing a ravine, he saw sitting on the side of a hill a fine-looking woman. The woman’s hair was not braided, and she wore a buffalo robe. The robe looked white. There was a peculiar look about her that attracted the young man. The woman arose and started west. The young man followed. Towards evening the young man came to a bottom land, and there he saw a fine tipi. The young man went to the tipi, and there in the tipi sat the same woman. The woman spoke to the young man, and said, “Come in.” The young man went into the tipi and sat down. The young man was hungry, and looked at the woman pitifully. The woman put her hand under her robe and pulled out a lump of pemmican. She handed the pemmican to the boy, and the boy ate the pemmican. When he was filled he hid the pemmican under his arm. The woman spoke to the boy, and said, “You may lie with me; cover yourself with part of my robe.” So the boy lay down and went to sleep. When he woke up the woman was sitting by him, but there was no tipi. The woman then talked to the boy, and said: “I ran after you, but I did not intend to kill you. My people are Buffalo, and there is a way for them to become real animals. I selected you to be the one to turn them to buffalo, and then my people will not eat your people any more. My father is the chief of the Buffalo, and I learned by listening how your people can be saved. I want you to go with me to where my people are, and you will learn how my people kill your people. We must go and pass between the bulls who are stationed upon high hills. There are four circles of Buffalo bulls. We will have to pass through these stations unobserved.”