§ 275. If a ghost calls to a loved one and the latter answers, he or she is sure to die soon after. If some one is heard weeping outside of a lodge, it is a sign that a person dwelling in that lodge is doomed to die. If a sister dies, she has a strong desire to return and carry off a beloved brother. So in the event of a death in the family a gun is fired or medicine is thrown on a fire to raise a smoke. If one who is alone encounters a ghost, the latter will be apt to pull his mouth and eyes until they are crooked. This danger is encountered only by one who has dreamed of a ghost. He who has been harmed by a ghost always faints, and it is long before he revives. Mothers scare bad children by saying, “Well, wait a bit and I will tell a ghost to come and carry you off.” Some one who has dreamed of ghosts will draw one on a skin, etc., to frighten the children. Such a person is said to draw his own ghost just as he will appear in future. No one else dares to draw a ghost. (See § 299.)
CEREMONIES AT THE GHOST LODGE.[197]
§ 276. When a son dies the parents with a knife cut off some hair from the top of the head, just above the forehead, placing the hair in a deerskin cover. Then they set up three poles, fastened together at the top and forming a sort of tripod. A cord hung over the top of these holds up the white deerskin pack containing the hair of the deceased. This hair is called the ghost or shade (or wa-na-ġi) of the dead person. The deerskin pack hangs horizontally from the poles and the skin is worked with porcupine quills in many lines, and here and there are various kinds of red and blue circular figures sewed on it. All the sod had been cut away from the ground beneath the pack, and on this bare or virgin earth they put a bowl and a drinking vessel, each ornamented with porcupine work. Three times a day do they remember the ghost, for whom they put the choicest food in the bowl and water in the drinking vessel. Every article is handled carefully, being exposed to the smoke of sweet-smelling herbs. The pack said to contain the ghost is put in the ghost lodge with the knife which he used during life.
FIG. 192.—The ghost lodge.
The Indians always have observed the custom of smoking pipes and eating while sitting in the ghost lodge. At the back of the lodge they prepare a seat and in the middle they set up two poles similar to those erected outside the entrance to the tents. Before they eat in the lodge, they sacrifice part of the food. Whenever they move the camp or single tent from one place to another all these sacred objects are packed and carried on a horse kept for this special purpose. This horse is called “Wanaġi taśuŋkewakaŋ,” i.e., “The ghost’s horse.” This horse has his tail and mane cut off short; the hair on the body is shaved very close; his body is rubbed all over with yellow clay. Some one then rubs paint on the fingers, touching the rump gently several times, as well as the forehead and around the neck and breast. A feather is tied to the end of the tail. On his back they place a saddlecloth and a saddle, each ornamented with porcupine quills. The horse must mourn—i.e., keep his hair short—as long as the ghost remains unburied; but as soon as the hair is removed from the pack and buried the horse’s hair is allowed to grow long again. As soon as the people stop to encamp the ghost lodge is set up before any of the others. The articles which are kept there remain for a specified time, perhaps for several years, during which period certain ceremonies are performed. At the end of the allotted time comes the ghost feast, the Waéćŭŋpi or Wakíćaġápi, when the ghost pack is opened and the ghost taken out and buried. Then all the people assemble, setting up their tents near the ghost lodge. The kindred of the deceased weep and bring food to the place. All this food has been boiled. They set up in the ground some forked sticks, such as are used for digging wild turnips, and straight poles are laid along the forked sticks. On the poles are hung moccasins, and in the space between the forked sticks are piled blankets, buffalo robes, calico, untanned skin bags, tanned bags, porcupine quills, wild turnips, and fruits.[198] These are distributed by women, and the people spend the time pleasantly. They also give presents to the young women. If the deceased was a male and a member of an order of young men, all who belong to it are invited to a feast (there was a similar custom among the Ponka, in 1872), where they sing songs. When they stop singing they sit with bodies erect, but with bent head and stooping shoulders. Then the parents of the dead youth enter the lodge, weeping as they pass around the circle, and each one places both hands on the head of each guest, because the son, who regarded the men as his friends, is no longer present. If the deceased is a female, only the women assemble, except some men who lead the singing. If horses take part in the ceremonies, their manes and tails are shaved short, and they, too, receive gifts. Here and there one of the kindred of the deceased gives away all his property, and then the bag is opened and the hair or ghost is taken out and buried. From this time the parting with his parents is absolute. They think that, until the hair is buried, the deceased is really present with the household, and that when this burial takes place he dies a second time. After this burial the kindred put on their usual clothing, and while they weep for the dead at intervals they are at liberty to anoint and decorate themselves according to fancy.
Another account of Bushotter states that when they prepare for the ghost feast they redden the sack containing the hair and hang the war bonnet of feathers on the three poles at right angles with the ghost sack. They wish to remember his deeds in war, so they also stick one end of his war spear in the ground, with its top leaning against the tops of the three poles. His shield is suspended from one of the poles. The three pipes on the shield in a colored sketch prepared by Bushotter denote that on so many expeditions the deceased warrior carried a war pipe. The red stripes declare how many of the enemy were wounded by him, and the human heads show the number of foes that he killed. The half-moon means that he shouted at his foes on a certain night. Once he threw aside his arms and engaged in a hand-to-hand struggle with a foe; this is shown by the human hand. The horse-tracks indicate that he ran off with so many horses. If his name was Black Hawk, for instance, a black hawk was painted in the middle of his shield.
All these things are arranged before they open the bag containing the hair. Then they enter the lodge, and there they open all the things that they have brought. The kindred of the deceased are the only ones to enter the lodge, and when they see the hair taken from the sack they scream suddenly for a minute or two. It is at this time that they distribute the gifts. Food has been boiled in many kettles, and is now divided among the people not the kindred of the deceased, who are scattered around the ghost lodge, and some food is usually given to the young men of the order to which the deceased belonged.
A woman who attends to collecting the food, calico, bags, clothing, etc., turns to the four posts of the scaffold in succession, and utters one of the following sayings or prayers at each post: “If the ghosts eat this, may I live long!” or “May the ghosts eat this, and I obtain many horses!” or “If my nephew (or niece) eats this, may someone give me many presents!” This woman is careful to put the best part of the food on the bowl or dish, under the scaffold near the head of the corpse.[199] Should any one eat before the food has been put aside for the ghost, all the ghosts become angry with him, and they are sure to punish him; they will make him drop his food just before it reaches his mouth, or they will spill the water when he tries to drink, and sometimes they cause a man to gash himself with a knife.