The Mandan feast.—The following is an account of a feast given by the Mandan dancing society: "When the food has been prepared the crier or herald calls for those to come to the feast who take part in the dance. To bad men he says, 'Do not come to the feast at which I am going to eat,' and they stay away. Should the guests be slow in coming, the last one who arrives is punished. He is compelled to eat a large quantity of food, 6, 8, or 10 pounds. The others sit waiting for him to eat all that has been placed before him, and as they wait they shake the rattles of deer-claws and beat the drum. This is not a sacred rite, but an amusement. If the man finds that he cannot eat all in his bowl, he looks around the circle and finds some one to whom he gives a blanket, shirt, gun, or a pair of leggings, with the rest of the food saying, 'Friend, help me (by eating this).' Should the second man fail to eat all, he in turn must make a present to a third man, and induce him to finish the contents of the bowl. Sometimes horses are given as presents. Should a man come without an invitation, just to look on, and enter the lodge of his own accord, he must give presents to several of the guests, and depart without joining in the feast. When one smokes, he extends the pipe to another saying, 'Smoke.' The second man smokes without taking hold of the pipe. Should he forget and take hold of it, all the rest give the scalp-yell, and then he is obliged to make a present to some one present who is not one of his kindred. Should one of the men make a mistake in singing, or should he not know how to sing correctly, as he joins the rest, they give the scalp-yell, and he is compelled to make a present to some one who is not one of his kindred. If one of the guests lets fall anything by accident, he forfeits it and cannot take it up. Any one else can appropriate it. While at this feast no one gets angry; all must keep in a good humor. None but old men or those in the prime of life belong to this society."
Sometimes the guests danced while they were eating. All wore deers' tail head-dresses, and carried rattles of deers' claws on their arms. One drum was used. There was no fixed number of singers; generally there were six. Each one danced as he stood in his place, instead of moving around the lodge. There was no special ornamentation of the face and body with paint. All wore good clothing. The Omahas danced this Mandan dance after the death of Logan Fontenelle.
Those who boil sacred food, as for the war-path, pour some of the soup outside the lodge, as an offering for the ghosts.
§ 112. Sleeping customs.—They sleep when sleepy, chiefly at night. There are no sacred rites connected with sleeping. Adults occupy that part of the lodge next to the door, having their beds on each side of it. (See § [106].) Children have their beds at the back of the lodge, opposite the entrance. When there are many children and few adults, the former occupy most of the circle.
Each member of the household pushes the sticks of wood together ("abadan") towards the center of the fire, as the ends burn off. It is not the special work of the old women or men. Nor are the aged women expected to sit at the door and drive out the dogs. Any one may drive them from the lodge, except in cold weather, when they are allowed to remain inside.
§ 113. Charities.—The word for generous is "wacúce," meaning also "to be brave." This is apparently the primary meaning, as a generous man is addressed as one who does not fear poverty. He is regarded as the equal of the man who fears no enemy. Generosity cannot be exercised toward kindred, who have a natural right to our assistance. All who wish to become great men are advised by their kindred to be kind to the poor and aged, and to invite guests to feasts. When one sees a poor man or woman, he should make presents, such as goods or a horse, to the unfortunate being. Thus can he gain the good-will of Wakanda, as well as that of his own people. When the Omahas had plenty of corn, and the Ponkas or Pawnees had very little, the former used to share their abundance with the latter. And so when the Omahas were unfortunate with their crops, they went on several occasions to the Pawnees, who gave them a supply. This was customary among these and other neighboring tribes.
Presents must also be made to visitors, members of other tribes. To neglect this was regarded as a gross breach of good manners. (See § [292].)
Prior to the advent of the white man, the Omahas had a custom, which was told the writer by Frank La Flèche. When one man wished to favor another by enabling him to be generous, he gave him horses, which the latter, in turn, gave away, entitling him to have his ears pierced as a token of his generosity. The act of the first man was known as "niʇa gíbaq¢ukí¢ě," causing another man to have his ears pierced.
§ 114. Old age.—Old age among the Omahas does not encounter all the difficulties related by Dougherty (Long, I, pp. 256, 257). Old men do not work. They sometimes go after the horses, or take them to water, but the rest of the time they sit and smoke, or relate incidents of their youthful days, and occasionally they tell myths for the amusement of those around them. Old women throw away superfluous ashes, pound corn or dried meat, mend and dry moccasins, etc. Sometimes they used to bring a bundle of sticks for the fire, but that is now done by the men in their wagons.
The Omahas and Ponkas never abandoned the infirm aged people on the prairie. They left them at home, where they could remain till the return of the hunting party. They were provided with a shelter among the trees, food, water, and fire. They watched the corn-fields, and when their provisions gave out, they could gather the ears of corn, and procure some of the dried pumpkins and ʇa (dried meat) that had been buried in caches by the people. They were not left for a long time, generally for but a month or two. The Indians were afraid to abandon (waan´¢a) their aged people, lest Wakanda should punish them when they were away from home. They always placed them (i¢an´wa¢ě) near their village, where they made their home during the winter.