A. DESCRIPTION OF THE RITUAL OF THE WINNEBAGO MEDICINE DANCE[1]
The Medicine Dance is a society, admission into which is gained by purchase. The Winnebago suppose it to be a repetition of a ceremony originally instituted by the Rabbit, when he initiated the first man into its secrets. The society consists of five bands, which, during the ceremony, are known respectively as the Ancestor-Host’s, the East, North, West, and South Bands. These five bands are also known by the names of their leaders. Any band may act as host, and the position of the others in the lodge is dependent on the order in which they are invited by the band acting as host. It thus follows that each band must know the entire ceremony of the society.
I. Organization of the Bands.—For purposes of description it will be best to divide each band into three parts,—the leader, his two assistants, and the rest of the band. Leadership depends upon a thorough knowledge of the ceremony and its complete esoteric significance, which is in the possession of only one individual in each band. This knowledge can be obtained solely by purchase and religious qualifications. These religious qualifications, to which might be added moral as well, play little part at the present day, but there can be no doubt that they were essential in the past. The leader likewise often possessed other characteristics, such as those of warrior and shaman, but they were not essential for his position.
The two assistants were generally men who had purchased sufficient information and privileges to entitle them to help the leader in certain details of the ceremony. The drummers, rattle-holders, dancers, etc., were always recruited from their ranks. Eventually they became the leaders. Those who were neither leaders nor assistants possessed a knowledge varying from that of elementary information, required for admission, to such as would entitle them to the position of assistant.
There is a priority of position in the lodge depending on priority of invitation. The band invited first, occupies the east position; that invited second, the north; that invited third, the west; and that invited fourth, the south. The east is the position of highest honor; the south, that of the lowest. Between the bands, there exists an order of invitation based on tradition, the exact nature of which is unknown. According to one informant, if one band invited another, the latter in turn would be obliged to give it the position of honor; but as there are five bands, this can apply only to special cases. Whatever may be the order, it is certain that each band has ample occasion to occupy all five positions.
There are two ways in which a man can join the Medicine Dance. He may simply apply for admission to any of the five leaders, or he may take the place of a deceased relative. In the former case, if his payment is satisfactory, and he has the other qualifications, he is accepted. In the other case, he or his relatives decide to have him take the place of a deceased relative. This latter form of candidacy is by far the commoner. At the present day, initiation requires the payment of about three hundred or four hundred dollars, in the form of goods and tobacco. Of this, a portion is given to the leader of the Ancestor-Host’s Band during the Four Nights’ Preparation, and the rest to the leaders of the other four bands during the ceremony proper.
Exactly how much information an individual obtains on entering, cannot be determined. This would depend on the amount of the payment. The minimum of knowledge would be an acquaintance with the bare externals of the ceremony, its general significance, and such knowledge of the legendary origin of the Lodge as a single recital could give. The new member is not initiated into the symbolism of the ritualistic myths, and consequently a large portion of the same must be unintelligible to him. What he obtains is practically only the right to hold the otter-skin bag and to use it in a certain way. He cannot take part in any of the forms of dancing or singing, nor can he even shoot at will. He very rarely remains in this condition long, but takes the first opportunity to purchase additional knowledge and privileges.
There are three kinds of members,—mature men, women, and children. The privileges of women differ from those of the men, in that the women do not have to partake of the sweat-bath, may never become assistants, and are privileged to dance in a certain way. In other respects they have equal privileges with men. In practice, there are certain privileges that women never have, but this is due to the fact that either they do not care or they are not in a position to buy them. Children belong to a quite different category. Although they possess an otter-skin, they have not even the power of making it effective, and, in order to do so, must have it guided by some older member. There does not seem to be any evidence indicating that women were ever excluded from membership.
II. Prescribed Duties of the Bands.—The duties of the host, who is known as x’okera,[2] and whose band is called Minañk‘ara-k‘oñañgire′ra,[3] are as follows:
1. To rehearse the songs and rituals with his band four nights previous to the ceremony proper. At this rehearsal the candidate (hanbirok‘aragu′-inera, literally “the one for whom they seek life”) is always present, and instructed in the ceremony.