Osage Traditions

Part 1

Osage Traditions

by J. Owen Dorsey

Edition 1, (October 4, 2006)

SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION--BUREAU OF ETHNOLOGY.

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION. TRADITIONS OF THE ELDERS. UNUn'U¢Á{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}E. TSÍOU WACTÁ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}E ITÁ*P*E. UNUn' U¢Á{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}E. QÜ¢ÁPASAn ITÁ*P*E. CONCLUDING REMARKS.

ILLUSTRATIONS

FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.

OSAGE TRADITIONS.

BY REV. J. OWEN DORSEY.

INTRODUCTION.

When the author visited the Osage, in the Indian Territory, in January, 1883, he learned of the existence of a secret society of seven degrees, in which, it was alleged, the traditions of the people have been preserved to the present time. Owing to the shortness of his visit, one month and eleven days, he was unable to gain more than fragmentary accounts of the society, including parts of two traditions, from several Osage who had been initiated.

The version of the first tradition was dictated to the author by Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ü{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se (Red Corn), a halfbreed Osage of the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u wactá{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e gens. He obtained it from Sa*d*eki¢e. Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ü{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se was adopted in childhood by a white man named Matthews, who sent him to a Jesuit college in Missouri(?) to be educated for the priesthood. But the boy left the institution after he had been taught to read and write, as he did not wish to become a priest. He took the name of William P. Matthews, but among his white associates he is known as Bill Nix. He has tried several occupations and is now an Indian doctor. The author was inclined at first to underrate Mr. Matthews's accomplishments and stock of information, but subsequently changed his opinion of him, as he obtained much that agreed with what had been furnished by members of other tribes in former years. Besides, the author obtained partial accounts of similar traditions from other Osage, who used the same chant which Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ü{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se had sung. None of the younger Osage men knew about these matters and the author was urged not to speak to them on this subject. He observed that several of the elder men, members of the secret order in which these traditions are preserved, had parts of the accompanying symbolic chart (Fig. 389) tattooed on their throats and chests. This chart is a fac simile of one that was drawn for the author by Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ü{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se. At the top we see a tree near a river. The tree is a cedar, called the tree of life. It has six roots, three on each side. Nothing is said about this tree till the speaker nearly reaches the end of the tradition. Then follows the "ceremony of the cedar." The tree is described very minutely. Then follows a similar account of the river and its branches.

FIG. 389. Symbolic chart of the Osage.

Just under the river, at the left, we see a large star, the Red or Morning Star. Next are six stars, Ta¢a*d*¢in. The Omaha know a similar group, which they call "Minxa si {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}añga," or "Large foot of a goose." Next is the Evening Star; and last comes the small star, "Mikak'e-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}iñ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a." Beneath these four we see the seven stars, or Pleiades (Mikak'e u*d*átse pé¢un*d*a, the Seven Gentes of Stars), between the Moon (on the left) and the Sun (on the right). Beneath these are the peace pipe (on the left) and the hatchet (on the right). A bird is seen hovering over the four upper worlds. These worlds are represented by four parallel horizontal lines, each of which, except the lowest one, is supported by two pillars. The lowest world rests on a red oak tree.

The journey of the people began at a point below the lowest upper world, on the left side of the chart. Then the people had neither human bodies nor souls, though they existed in some unknown manner. They ascended from the lowest upper world, on the left, to the highest. There they obtained human souls in the bodies of birds, according to Sa*d*eki¢e. {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayiñ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a said that there they met a male red bird, to whom they appealed for aid. (See p. 383, line 18.) This was distinct from the female Red Bird, who gave them human bodies. They descended to the first world, and from that they traveled until they alighted on the red oak tree. (See p. 383, line 30.) The ground was covered with grass and other kinds of vegetation. Then the paths of the people separated: some marched on the left, being the peace gentes that could not take life; they subsisted on roots &c.; while those on the right killed animals. By and by the gentes exchanged commodities.

The small figures on the left, in going from the tree (on the right when facing the tree), show the heavenly bodies or beings to whom the Black Bear went for help, and those on the right, in going from the tree (on the left when facing the top of the chart), show similar bodies or beings to whom the Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e or war gentes applied for assistance. These are unknown to the members of the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gentes. After the female red bird gave bodies to the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u people, the Black Bear found seven skins, which were used for tents. Subsequently the people discovered four kinds of rocks, which were the In'qe sá*d*e, or black rock; In'qe tuhu,(1) or blue (green?) rock; In'qe {~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ü{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se, or red rock; and In'qe ska, or white rock. Therefore, when a child is named, four stones are heated for the sweat bath. After finding the rocks, according to {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayiñ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a, four buffalo bulls approached the people, as one of the men was returning to the company. When the first bull arose after rolling on the ground, an ear of red corn and a red pumpkin fell from his left hind leg. The leader of the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u wactá{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e noticed them, and asked his younger brother to pick them up and taste them. The leader of the Bald Eagle subgens did so. Then the elder brother said: "These will be good for the children to eat. Their limbs will stretch and increase in strength." When the second bull arose after rolling, an ear of spotted corn and a spotted pumpkin dropped from his left hind leg. These, too, were tasted and declared good for the children. When the third bull arose after rolling, an ear of dark corn and a dark (black?) pumpkin dropped from his left hind leg. From the left hind leg of the fourth buffalo dropped an ear of white corn and a white pumpkin. Therefore, when a child is named in the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gens (alone?) the head man of that gens ({~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayiñ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a himself, according to his statement) takes a grain of each kind of corn and a slice of each variety of pumpkin, which he puts into the mouth of the infant. Ha*d*a-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}ü{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se knew that the four kinds of rocks were found, "but he could not say in what part of the tradition the account belonged. He said that subsequently the Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e and Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gentes came to the village of the Hañ'{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a-utá¢an{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se, a very war-like people, who then inhabited earth lodges. They subsisted on animals, and bodies of all kinds lay around their village, making the air very offensive. The Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u succeeded at last in making peace with the Hañ'{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a-utá¢an{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se. After this followed the part of the account given to the author by {~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}ahi{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e-wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}ayiñ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a:

"After the council between the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u, Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e, and Hañ'{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a-utá¢an{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se, two old men were sent off to seek a country in which all might dwell. One of these was a Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u wactá{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e and the other a Pan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED H~}ka-wactá{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e. Each man received a pipe from the council and was told to go for seven days without food or drink. He carried a staff to aid him in walking. Three times a day he wept, in the morning, at noon, and near sunset. They returned to the people at the end of the seven days, being very thin. The report of the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u man was accepted, so the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u gens is superior to the Pan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED H~}ka-wactá{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}e or Watsetsi. A Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e man acted as crier and told all about the new home of the nation. All the old men decorated their faces with clay. The next morning the two old men who had gone in search of the new home led their respective sides of the nation, who marched in parallel roads. When they reached the land the policemen ran around in a circle, just as they do previous to starting to war. The Wa{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}a{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}e man ran around from right to left and the ¢uqe man from left to right. At different stations the two old leaders addressed the people. Finally the men took sharp pointed sticks, which they stuck into the ground, each one saying 'I wish my lodge to be here.' The next day the Cuka or messenger of the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u old man went to summon the Elk crier. The latter was ordered to make a proclamation to all the people, as follows: 'They say that you must remove to-day! Wakan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}a has made good weather! They say that you must remove today to a good land!' In those days the Osage used dogs instead of horses. When the old Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u man made his speech, he went into details about every part of a lodge, the fireplace, building materials, implements, &c. Four sticks were placed in the fireplace, the first pointing to the west. When this was laid down, the Tsí{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}u leader spoke about the West Wind, and also about a young buffalo bull (Tse{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}u'-{~LATIN SMALL LETTER OPEN O~}iñ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a), repeating the name Wani'e-ska. When the stick at the north was laid down, he spoke of Tsehe qu{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}se (gray buffalo horns) or a buffalo bull. When the stick at the east was laid down he spoke of Tse{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED T~}u{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a tañ{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a (a large buffalo bull). On laying down the fourth stick at the south, he spoke of Tse min{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED K~}a (a buffalo cow). At the same time a similar ceremony was performed by the aged Pan{~LATIN SMALL LETTER TURNED H~}ka man on the right side of the tribe.(2)

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