The master of the lodge may sit where he pleases; and the women have seats by the entrance. Sometimes there is an aged male kinsman staying at the lodge, and his place is on the right side of the fire-place near the entrance. (Frank La Flèche. Compare § [112], as given by his father.)
MEALS, ETC.
§ 107. Meals.—When the people were traveling in search of buffaloes, they generally had but two meals a day, one in the morning before they struck the tents, and one in the evening after they pitched the tents. But if they moved the camp early in the morning, as in the summer, they had three meals—breakfast, before the camp was moved; dinner, when they camped again; and supper, when they camped for the night. During the winter, they stopped their march early in the afternoon, and ate but one meal during the day. When the camp remained stationary, they sometimes had three meals a day, if the days were long. They ate ʇa (dried buffalo meat), ʇanuʞa (fresh meat), and watanzi (corn), which satisfied their hunger. And they could go a long time without a meal. Soup was the only drink during meals. They drank water after meals, when they were thirsty. They washed the dishes in water, and rubbed them dry with twisted grass. The trader's story in Long's Expedition to the Rocky Mountains, Vol. I, pp. 322, 323, if true, relates to some other tribe.
The average amount of meat at a meal for an adult was two pounds, but some ate three pounds. The maximum quantity was about four pounds.
§ 108. During the sun-dance, the Ponkas pretended to go without food or drink for three days and nights; but near the sun-pole could be found a bulbous root, which was used by the dancers for satisfying hunger and thirst. This secret was told the writer by a man, an influential chief, who had taken part in the dance in former years. This dance is of Dakota origin, and is not practiced among the Omahas.
§ 109. At the present day, the Omahas use wheat, flour, sugar, coffee, tea, bacon, and other kinds of provisions introduced by the white people. They have been familiar with wheat for the past forty years. Many subsist chiefly on corn, as they cannot afford to buy great quantities of the provisions which have been mentioned. But while they are fond of wheat bread, they cannot be induced to eat corn bread in any shape, and they never have their corn ground into meal. All try to have sugar and coffee three times a day, even if they are compelled to go without meat. Within the past twenty years they have found a substitute for tea. It is made of the leaves or roots of one of the two species of "ʇabé-hi." One kind is called "nan´pa-ʇañ´ga ʇabé-hi," or "large cherry ʇabé-hi"; but the species of which the tea is made is the ʇabé-hi, which spreads out, resembling twigs. It grows on hills, and its large roots hinder the breaking of the prairie. The leaves, which are preferred for making the tea, resemble those of red cherry-trees, though they are smaller. When leaves cannot be obtained, they boil chips of the roots, which makes the water very red. The taste resembles that of the Chinese tea. (See § [177].)
§ 110. Cannibalism.—Cannibalism is not practiced among the Omahas and Ponkas, and it has been of rare occurrence among the Iowas. Mr. Hamilton says: "I have heard of an old Iowa chief who roasted and ate the ribs of an Osage killed in war; also of some one who bit the heart of a Pawnee, but this was evidently done for the purpose of winning a reputation for bravery."
§ 111. Feasts.—See §§ [81], [83], [106], [119], [124], [130], [143], [151], [187]-[8], [195]-[6], [217], [219], [219], [249]-[50], [274], and [289].
During the buffalo hunt and just before starting on it the only gens that invited guests to feasts was the Hañga. And whenever any important matters, such as the ceremonies connected with planting corn, required deliberation, it was the duty of the Hañga chief to prepare a feast and invite the chiefs and other guests. (See §§ [18], [130].) On ordinary occasions, any one can have a feast. (See § [246].) Then the principal guest sits at the back of the lodge, opposite the door, on the right of which are the seats of the wag¢a, the host's seat being on the left of the entrance. As the guests enter they pass to the left and around the circle, those coming first taking seats next the wag¢a, and the last ones arriving finding places near the host. Two young men who take out the meat, etc., from the kettles, have no fixed places for sitting.
They give feasts to get horses and other presents, to win a reputation for generosity, and perhaps an election to the chieftainship; also for social and other purposes.