They do not grow gray early, though Mr. Hamilton saw some children that were gray. But gray hairs are of such rare occurrence that an Omaha woman who has them is called "Gray Hair." When any one has white hair it is regarded as a token that he or she has violated the taboo of the gens, as when an Ictasanda or Wajaje man should touch a snake or smell its odor.
§ 115. Preparation for a journey.—When a man is about to start on a journey he gets his wife to prepare moccasins and food for him. Then he goes alone to a bluff, and prays to Wakanda to grant him a joyful and stout heart as well as success. (See § [195].)
CHAPTER VI.
VISITING CUSTOMS.
§ 116. Medicines or fetiches taken along.—Some of the ₵egiha used to take their respective medicines with them, saying, "Our medicines are wise; they can talk like men, and they tell us how many horses we are to receive from the people to whom we are going." For an account of the dance of discovering the enemy, as Dougherty terms it, see § [271]. It is danced by visitors.
§ 117. Mode of approaching a village.—When people go to make a friendly visit to another tribe, they stop when they are a short distance from the village or camp of their hosts, say at about 100 or 200 yards from it. There they sit on the ground and wait for some one to come and invite them to the village. Generally, each visitor departs with his special friend, or with the messenger sent from the village by that friend. On some occasions, all the visitors have been invited to one lodge, but these have been very unusual. The Omahas, Ponkas, Dakotas, Pawnees, and other tribes act thus when they visit.
THE CALUMET DANCE.
§ 118. The Calumet Dance.—The generic term is "wáwan," in ₵egiha, answering to the [T]ᴐiwere "wayan´we" (the specific of which is "ákiwan," [T]ᴐiwere, akíyanwe), to dance the calumet dance for any particular person. But the word makes no reference to dancing or singing. It is equivalent to "waqúbe éki¢ě," to make a sacred kinship. He who wishes to confer this degree is called "wáwan aká," the dancer of the calumet dance, which is also the title of those who assist him. He for whom the dance is made is the "áwani aká," who becomes the adopted son of the other man.
§ 119. The preliminary feast.—When a man contemplates adopting another man in this dance he invites all the other chiefs to a feast, and consults them. When the person has not been selected he says to them, "Wáwaman kan´b¢a. Inwin´¢ixi´dai-gă"—I wish to dance the calumet dance for some one; look ye around for me (and see who would be the proper object). But if he has already selected the person, he says to the chiefs, "Áwaman kan´b¢a. In¢in´wandan´bai-gă"—I wish to dance for him. See for me if he is the proper one. Sometimes they reply, "Let him alone! He is not the right one, as he is bad;" or, "Ni´acinga ¢in píäjĭ hă. Jin´äjĭ. Ákiwan´jĭ-gă"—The man is bad. He is proud. Do not dance for him. But should the chiefs give their approval, the man sends a messenger to the one whom he intends to honor, having intrusted to him a buffalo bladder containing tobacco, which is sent as a present. When the messenger reaches the place, and delivers his message, the awani aka calls his kindred together to lay the proposition before them. Sometimes he says, "I am poor. Do not come." In that case the messenger returns home, and the dance does not take place. But if the awani aka approve, and his kindred give their consent, he sends the messenger back with a favorable reply. In some instances, when one man has asked another to dance the calumet dance for him, the other one has replied, "Why should I dance it for you? Why should I give such a privilege to a bad man?"
§ 120. At the appointed time, the dancing party, which consists of two leaders and many companions, repairs to the place of destination. Sometimes the leaders take from twenty to thirty men with them. They reach the lodge of the awani aka, and there the two niniba weawan, or calumet pipes, are placed on a forked support, which is driven into the soil in the back part of the lodge.