BI′ÄÑK̔I, THE KIOWA DREAMER
In October, 1890, shortly after Ä′piatañ’s departure, Sitting Bull, the Arapaho prophet of the Ghost dance, came down from his tribe and gave new impetus to the excitement among the Kiowa. This event also is recorded on the same Kiowa calendar in a well-drawn picture representing a buffalo standing beside the figure of a man ([figure 86]). It is also indicated less definitely on another calendar obtained from the tribe. Sitting Bull confirmed, as by personal knowledge, all that had been told of the messiah, and predicted that the new earth would arrive in the following spring, 1891. The Kiowa assembled on the Washita, at the mouth of Rainy Mountain creek, and here, at the largest Ghost dance ever held by the tribe, Sitting Bull consecrated seven men and women as leaders of the dance and teachers of the doctrine by giving to each one a sacred feather to be worn in the dance as the badge of priesthood. Until the Ghost dance came to the prairie tribes their women had never before been raised to such dignity as to be allowed to wear feathers in their hair. After “giving the feather” to the leaders thus chosen, they were taught the songs and ritual of the dance. At first the songs were all in the Arapaho language, but after the trances, which now began to be frequent, the Kiowa composed songs of their own.
Fig. 86—Sitting Bull comes down (from a Kiowa calendar).
Among the dreamers and prophets who now came to the front was one who merits more than a passing notice. His original name was Bi′äñk̔i, “Eater,” but on account of his frequent visits to the spirit world he is now known as Äsa′tito′la, which maybe freely rendered “The Messenger.” For a long time he had been in the habit of going alone upon the mountain, there to fast and pray until visions came to him, when he would return and give to his people the message of inspiration. Frequently these vigils were undertaken at the request of friends of sick people to obtain spiritual knowledge of the proper remedies to be applied, or at the request of surviving relatives who wished to hear from their departed friends in the other world. He is now about 55 years of age, quiet and dignified in manner, with a thoughtful cast of countenance which accords well with his character as a priest and seer. His intellectual bent is further shown by the fact that he has invented a system of ideographic writing which is nearly as distinct from the ordinary Indian pictograph system as it is from our own alphabet. It is based on the sign language of the plains tribes, the primary effort being to convey the idea by a pictured representation of the gesture sign; but, as in the evolution of the alphabet, a part is frequently put for the whole, and numerous arbitrary or auxiliary characters are added, until the result is a well-developed germ of an alphabetic system. He has taught the system to his sons, and by this means was able to keep up a correspondence with them while they were attending Carlisle school. It is unintelligible to the rest of the tribe. I have specimens of this curious graphic method, obtained from the father and his sons, which maybe treated at length at some future time. In the picture of Äsa′tito′la ([plate cvi]), he holds in one hand a paper on which is depicted one of his visions, while in the other is the pointer with which he explains its meaning.
[Plate cvii] herewith represents this vision. On this occasion, after reaching the spirit world he found himself on a vast prairie covered with herds of buffalo and ponies, represented respectively in the picture by short black and green lines at the top. He went on through the buffalo, the way being indicated by the dotted green lines, until he came to a large Kiowa camp, in which, according to their old custom, nearly every tipi had its distinctive style of painting or ornamentation to show to what family it belonged, all these families being still represented in the tribe. He went on to the point indicated by the first heavy blue mark, where he met four young women, whom he knew as having died years before, returning on horseback with their saddle-pouches filled with wild plums. After some conversation he asked them about two brothers, his relatives, who had died some time ago. He went in the direction pointed out by the young women and soon met the two young men coming into camp with a load of fresh buffalo meat hung at their saddles. Their names were Emanki′na, “Can’t-hold-it,” a policeman, and E′‛pea, “Afraid-of-him,” who had died while held as a prisoner of war in Florida about fifteen years before. It will be noted that they are represented in the picture as armed only with bows and arrows, in agreement with the Ghost-dance doctrine of a return to aboriginal things. After proceeding some distance he retraced his steps and met two curious beings, represented in the picture by green figures with crosses instead of heads. These told him to go on, and on doing so he came to an immense circle of Kiowa dancing the Ghost dance around a cedar tree, indicated by the black circle with a green figure resembling a tree in the center. He stood for a while near the tree, shown by another blue mark, when he saw a woman, whom he knew, leave the dance. He hurried after her until she reached her own tipi and went into it—shown by the blue mark beside the red tipi with red flags on the ends of the tipi poles—when he turned around and came back. She belonged to the family of the great chief Sett’aiñti, “White Bear,” as indicated by the red tipi with red flags, no other warrior in the tribe having such a tipi. On inquiring for his own relatives he was directed to the other side of the camp, where he met a man—represented by the heavy black mark—who told him his own people were inside of the next tipi. On entering he found the whole family, consisting of his father, two brothers, two sisters, and several children, feasting on fresh buffalo beef from a kettle hung over the fire. They welcomed him and offered him some of the meat, which for some reason he was afraid to taste. To convince him that it was good they held it up for him to smell, when he awoke and found himself lying alone upon the mountain.
PL. CVII
JULIUS BIEN & CO. N.Y.
BIÄÑKI’S VISION.