PRINCIPAL DAKOTA GODS.
The gods of the Dakotas are of course innumerable; but of the superior gods these are the chief: The Unkteḣi, or god of the water; the Wakinyan, or thunder god; the Takuśkanśkan, or moving god; the Tunkan, Inyan, or stone god; the Heyoka god; the Sun; the Moon; the Armor god; the Spirit of the Medicine Sack; and the Wakantanka, who is probably an intrusive deity.[97]
MISS FLETCHER ON INDIAN RELIGION.
§ 99. The following remarks are those of a later writer, Miss Fletcher:
The Indian’s religion is generally spoken of as a nature and animal worship. The term seems too broadcast and indiscriminate. Careful inquiry and observation fail to show that the Indian actually worships the objects which are set up or mentioned by him in his ceremonies. The earth, four winds, the sun, moon, and stars, the stones, the water, the various animals, are all exponents of a mysterious life and power encompassing the Indian and filling him with vague apprehension and desire to propitiate and induce friendly relations. The latter is attempted not so much through the ideas of sacrifice as through more or less ceremonial appeals. More faith is put in ritual and a careful observance of forms than in any act of self-denial in its moral sense, as we understand it. The claim of relationship is used to strengthen the appeal, since the tie of kindred among the Indians is one which can not be ignored or disregarded, the terms grandfather and grandmother being most general and implying dependence, respect, and the recognition of authority. (See §§ 9, 100.)
One of the simplest and most picturesque explanations of the use of the varied forms of life in the Indian worship was given to me by a thoughtful Indian chief. He said: “Everything as it moves, now and then, here and there, makes stops. The bird as it flies stops in one place to make its nest, and in another to rest in its flight. A man when he goes forth stops when he wills. So the god has stopped. The sun, which is so bright and beautiful, is one place where he has stopped. The moon, the stars, the winds, he has been with. The trees, the animals, are all where he has stopped, and the Indian thinks of these places and sends his prayers there to reach the place where the god has stopped and win help and a blessing.”
The vague feeling after unity is here discernible, but it is like the cry of a child rather than the articulate speech of a man. To the Indian mind the life of the universe has not been analyzed, classified, and a great synthesis formed of the parts. To him the varied forms are equally important and noble. A devout old Indian said: “The tree is like a human being, for it has life and grows; so we pray to it and put our offerings on it that the god may help us.” In the same spirit the apology is offered over a slaughtered animal, for the life of the one is taken to supplement the life of the other, “that it may cause us to live,” one formula expresses it. These manifestations of life, stopping places of the god, can not therefore be accurately called objects of worship or symbols; they appear to be more like media of communication with the permeating occult force which is vaguely and fearfully apprehended. As a consequence, the Indian stands abreast of nature. He does not face it, and hence can not master or coerce it, or view it scientifically and apart from his own mental and emotional life. He appeals to it, but does not worship it.[98]
PRAYER.
§ 100. Every power is prayed to by some of the Dakota and Assiniboin. Among the accessories of prayer the Dakota reckons the following: (a) Ceremonial wailing or crying (ćéya, to weep, wail; whence, ćékiya, to cry, to pray, and woćékiye, prayer), sometimes accompanied by articulate speech (§§ 177, 208); (b) the action called yuwiⁿtapi (yuwiŋ´tapi) described in § 24; (c) holding the pipe with the mouthpiece toward the power invoked, as the Heyoka devotees sometimes do (§§ 223, 224); (d) the use of smoke from the pipe or the odor of burning cedar needles (§§ 159, 168); (e) the application of the kinship terms, “grandfather” (or its alternative, “venerable man”) to a male power, and “grandmother” to a female one (§§ 99, 107, 239); (f) sacrifice, or offering of goods, animals, or pieces of one’s own flesh, etc. (see § 185).
SACRIFICE.
§ 101. The radical forms of worship among the Dakota, according to Lynd, are few and simple. One of the most primitive is that of Wocnapi (Wośnapi) or Sacrifice. To every divinity that they worship they make sacrifices. Even upon the most trivial occasions the gods are either thanked or supplicated by sacrifice. The religious idea it carries with it is at the foundation of the every-day life of the Dakota. The wohduze or taboo has its origin there; the wiwaŋyag waćipi or sundance (§§ 141-211) carries with it the same idea; the wakaŋ wohaŋpi or sacred feast (feast of the first-fruits) is a practical embodiment of it; and haŋmdepi or god-seeking of the extreme western tribes is but a form of self-sacrifice. No Dakota in his worship neglects this ceremony. It enters into his religious thoughts at all times, even at the hour of death. The sacrifices made upon recovery from sickness are never composed of anything very valuable, for the poverty of the Indian will not permit this. Usually a small strip of muslin, or a piece of red cloth, a few skins of some animals, or other things of no great use or value are employed. Sometimes a pan or kettle is laid up for a sacrifice. But after a short time, the end for which the sacrifice was made is attained, and it is removed. Those in need of such things as they see offered in sacrifice may take them for their own use, being careful to substitute some other articles. Perhaps the most common forms of sacrifice are those which are made in the hunt. Particular portions of each animal killed are held sacred to the god of the chase or some other deities. If a deer is killed, the head, heart, or [some other part of it] is sacrificed by the person who has slain it. The part sacrificed differs with different individuals. In ducks and fowls the most common sacrifice is of the wing, though many sacrifice the heart, and a few the head. This custom is called wohduze, and is [always constant] with individuals, i. e., the same part is always sacrificed. The other wohduze or taboo is connected with the wotawe or armor,[99] and will be described hereafter (§ 125).
§ 102. Haŋmdepi or god-seeking.—Haŋmdepi or god-seeking is a form of religion among the Dakotas that points back to a remote antiquity. The meaning of the word, in its common acceptation, appears to be greatly misunderstood by some. Literally, it means only to dream, and is but another form of haŋma; but in its use it is applied almost wholly to the custom of seeking for a dream or revelation, practiced by the Sisitonwan, Ihanktonwanna, and Titonwan (Sioux), and by the Crow, Minnetaree, Assiniboin, and other western Dakota. In this respect it has no reference whatever to the common dreams of sleep, but means simply the form of religion practiced.