┴[C]IWERE TRADITIONS.
§ 90. The ┴ɔiwere tribes have traditions of their origin similar to those found among the Osage, Kansa, and Ponka, and these traditions are considered as “waqonyitaⁿ,” or mysterious things, not to be spoken of lightly or told on ordinary occasions.
As among the Osage and Kansa, the traditions tell of a period when the ancestors of the present gentes dwelt, some in the upper world, and others in the ground (or in the world beneath this one).
Mr. Hamilton’s informant said, “These are sacred things, and I do not like to speak about them, as it is not our custom to do so except when we make a feast and collect the people and use the sacred pipe.” These traditions were preserved in the secret societies of the tribes. They explain the origin of the gentes and subgentes, of fire, corn, the pipes, bows and arrows, etc.
It is probable that similar secret societies exist among the Winnebago. James Alexander, a Winnebago of the Wolf gens, told a part of the secret tradition of his gens, in which appear some resemblances to the ┴ɔiwere traditions, such as the creation of four kinds of wolves, and their dwelling underground, or in the world beneath this one. (See §§ 381, 383.)
BELIEF IN FUTURE LIFE.
That the ┴ɔiwere believed in the existence of the ghost or spirit after death is evident from what Mr. Hamilton observed:
They often put provisions, a pitcher of water, and some cooking utensils on the grave for the use of the spirit for some time after burial. * * * At the time of burial, they often put new clothing and ornaments on the corpse, if they are able, and place by its side such things as they think necessary. I once saw a little child with some of its playthings which its mother had placed by it, in her ignorance, thinking that they would be pleasing to it. * * * They are generally careful for a year or so, to keep down all the weeds and grass about the grave, perhaps for 10 feet around.