FIG. 166.—A tent of Nikuȼibȼaⁿ.
The black band refers to the night; the circle, to the moon; the circumscribed figure is a ghost that he saw in the moon; and the dots above the moon refer to the “white which stands above the rising sun or moon.” Pl. XLIV B shows another tent decoration of the same man. The red circle represents the sun, in which stands a man holding the ʇa-cá-ge, or deer rattles, made of the hard or callous knobs found near the hoofs of the deer. These knobs are split, hollowed out, and strung on sticks. The tent being very large, the figure of the man was almost life size, and a real feather was tied to his head. The blue band at the bottom may represent night, but there is no certainty about it.
§ 47. Fig. 166 is the decoration of one of the tents of Ni-ku-ȼi-bȼaⁿ, father of the present Wackaⁿ-maⁿȼiⁿ (Hard Walker), an ex-chief of the Omaha. Nikuȼibȼaⁿ was one of the two leaders of the order of Thunder shamans, and was regarded as being very “qube” or mysterious. The black band at the bottom refers to the night, and above it are seen the moon and a star. The old man named one of his grandchildren Haⁿakipa (Meets the Night), after the vision to which the tent decoration refers.
George Miller furnished the description of Nikuȼibȼaⁿ’s tent, obtained from an old woman, who is his widow:
| “Gaⁿ | wíqti | ʇaⁿ´ba-májĭ | ȼaⁿ´ja, | uȼaí | égaⁿ | ana´‘aⁿ | hă. | Gaⁿ´ | iñgȼaⁿ´ | íȼa‘eȼá-biamá, | ádaⁿ | ʇuɔniñ´ge | gáxai | tĕ |
| And | I myself | I did not see him | though | they have told about him | as | I have heard it. | And | Thunder Being | he had a vision of him, they say | therefore | rainbow | made it | the (past act) |
| gátĕ. | ┴íhuʞaⁿ | ȼaⁿʇá | bagȼéjai | tĕ, | é | uȼaí | hă | wa‘újiñga | igáqȼaⁿ | aká. | Maⁿ´ciaʇá | aȼiⁿ´ | akíi, | á-biamá. | Eʇá | ctĭ |
| that ob. | Smoke-hole | at the part | painted in spots | the (past act) | that | told it | . | old woman | his wife | the sub. | On high | having him | had reached there again | he said, they say. | There | too |
| majaⁿ´ | ȼé | égaⁿ, | á-biamá. | Qubĕ´qti | gáxai | níaciⁿga, | ádaⁿ | ʇí | ugá | tĕ | áwatégaⁿ | gáxe | gaⁿ´ȼai | ʞĭ, | gaⁿ´ | égaⁿ | gáxai. |
| land | this | like | he said, they say | Very mysterious | they made him | man | therefore | tent | painted | the | how | to make it | he wished | when | at any rate | so | he made it. |
| Bagȼéjai | tĕ | mási | é wakaí | tĕ.” |
| Made spotted by painting | he | hail | that it meant | the (past act). |