CHAPTER XLII
A SACRED CEREMONY IN MAD WOLF’S TEPEE
Mad Wolf called upon the Society of Brave Dogs to build the framework of the sweat-lodge. It held a prominent place in the Sun Dance.
Then the Brave Dogs rode to the river valley for willow branches to be used in constructing the framework of the lodge; and on their return, they entered the camp on the east side, parading around the circle and the tepee of Mad Wolf, where the sacred woman was fasting and praying, singing in unison and holding aloft their green branches, which they finally deposited on the side of camp toward the setting sun. There they built the sweat-lodge by sticking the willow branches into the ground and bending them into the form of an oval; they interlocked them on top and made the entrance toward the rising sun, digging a hole inside for the heated stones and covering the entire structure with robes and blankets.
When the Brave Dogs had everything ready, the medicine men and women came from Mad Wolf’s tepee. White Calf, as the “father,” was in the lead; then came Mad Wolf, and Spotted Eagle, the head medicine man; and then the wife of White Calf with Gives-to-the-Sun, the fasting woman.
They walked in single file, slowly and by stages, with eyes fixed upon the ground, passing around the south side of the sweat-lodge from east to west, following the direction of the sun through the heavens. They stopped on the west side, where Gives-to-the-Sun took her seat beside the structure with the wife of White Calf; the men stood on the south side, while the two women bowed their heads in prayer.
Then Mad Wolf, White Calf, and Spotted Eagle removed their clothing and entered the sweat-lodge. The fasting woman prayed over the skull of a buffalo bull, which the Brave Dogs handed to Mad Wolf inside the lodge. He laid the skull on a bunch of meadow grass, because it was the favorite food of the buffalo.
Then Spotted Eagle painted black marks on the skull to represent stars, and red for the Sun; and they chanted together, while Spotted Eagle put meadow grass into the nose and eyes of the skull, to symbolize the feeding of the buffalo. The Brave Dogs took the skull outside, fastening it on top of the sweat-lodge with the nose pointing towards the rising sun.
Then the Brave Dogs passed hot stones to Mad Wolf inside the lodge. He laid sweet grass upon them and held his hands in the rising smoke, rubbing them over his body for purification, and sang this prayer to the Sun:
“May our lives be as strong as these stones.”
He sprayed water on the hot stones; as the steam rose, he sang:
“May our lives be straight.
May we live to be old and always have water to drink.”
Throughout the ceremony, Mad Wolf and his associates prayed to the Sun, Moon, and Morning Star. Then the procession returned to Mad Wolf’s tepee, walking slowly and in single file, with heads bowed and eyes fixed on the ground, carefully avoiding the trail by which they came out.
On this same day the tribe had a parade, in which men, women, and children took part. They dressed in their best and painted their faces. The two war chiefs, Little Plume and Little Dog, were in the lead, wearing fine costumes of deerskin decorated with colored beads and black-tipped tails of weasels. Little Plume had a foxskin wound around his head for a cap, with the tail hanging down behind and two eagle feathers in his hair.
Some of the women riders wore dresses decorated with quill work and elk teeth; their saddles had pommels of deer antlers, beaded pendants, and buckskin cruppers; clusters of eagle feathers hung from the necks of their horses and bright-colored feathers from their tails.
Red Fox was dressed as a clown or jester. He rode a black horse and had his face and hands painted black; his robe too was black and extended from his shoulders, back over the tail of his horse, waving gracefully in the wind when he rode at a gallop.
Before the parade, Two Spears rode through the camp, leading the white horse of Morning Eagle, the aged warrior. It was covered with painted pictures, to remind the people of Morning Eagle’s brave deeds in war, both as leader and as a scout.
The pictures told how he cut loose a horse close to the lodge of an enemy—a hand with a knife, a picket pin and a horse; also the time he took many horses in an open fight; how he killed some Gros Ventres and took their weapons—a lance, a shield, and bows and arrows. He even seized a gun from the hand of an enemy and escaped without hurting him; and killed a Crow Indian who entered his camp at night and tried to steal his horses. While Two Spears rode through the camp, leading this horse of victory, he proclaimed in a loud voice the brave deeds of old Morning Eagle and then joined in the parade.
When the tribe had assembled, they marched slowly around the inner circle, with their two war chiefs in the lead, and singing in unison. Some held aloft human scalps tied to long branches; others held standards of eagle feathers, guns and lances and feathered shields fastened to poles.
That evening, Mad Wolf invited to his lodge prominent men and women who had taken part in former Sun Dances, to pray and sing throughout the night. And the Brave Dogs sang in their lodge the dancing songs of the weather makers, to keep the weather clear. Then they rode through camp and commanded the people to be quiet and not disturb the medicine men and women in their ceremony in Mad Wolfs tepee; next day would take place the building of the sun lodge and the ceremony of raising the center pole.
Round the outside of Mad Wolf’s lodge green branches were placed—the sign of an important ceremony and only those invited should enter. For a while I watched from my tepee the chiefs and their wives coming to the ceremony. I went nearer and listened to a solemn chant led by Mad Wolf and White Calf. At intervals the low monotone of the men was joined by the higher voices of the women. Then I stood close to the door and heard the song die away. In the silence that followed I decided to enter. So I raised the door-flap and looked inside. Mad Wolf and White Calf were seated at the back, behind a sort of altar, made by cutting away the grass and forming sod-walls on three sides, with an open space toward the rising sun. An Indian seated by the door motioned me to withdraw, but my Indian father signed for me to stay, so I took my place among the singers and priests. At one side sweet grass was burning on a hot coal as incense. The base of the altar was covered with light-colored earth and had painted symbols to represent sun dogs, the Moon, Morning Star, and Mistake-Morning-Star.
Mad Wolf and his wife sat quietly in their places, with heads bowed in prayer and eyes cast down. As the fasting woman, she was the central figure; all the serious and solemn aspects of the Sun Dance centered about her. She wore a tanned buffalo robe, which covered her from head to foot; her hair was unbraided and concealed her face. She and Mad Wolf did nothing for themselves; others took care of their lodge and looked after the fire. No one spoke aloud; every one whispered. All who came to the ceremony entered quietly and reverently. That night throughout the big camp no noise was allowed, because of the fasting woman and her ceremony.
It was Morning Plume’s duty to attend to the fire. He kept the blaze down, so that the light was subdued. Every one sat quietly in their places without talking, and left the moving about to Morning Plume. If Mad Wolf or his wife had anything to say, they whispered it to White Calf or his wife; and they repeated it in a low voice to the others.
Morning Plume also attended to cutting the tobacco and filling the pipes for all the company. Beside him was a tobacco outfit—a large beaded bag, extra pipe stems and a cutting-board. Two redstone pipes were passed around the circle, one for men and the other for women. Whenever they burned out, they were handed back to Morning Plume, who emptied the ashes into a hole in the ground and refilled them with tobacco. After food had been distributed, they were ready to begin the ceremony.
CEREMONY OF THE SUN DANCE INSIDE THE SACRED TEPEE
The man and his wife giving the ceremony are seated behind an altar; men and women helpers on both sides
White Calf brought forth some buffalo rawhides, which were spread on the ground in front of the men singers, and pairs of rattles distributed. My Indian father asked that two of the rattles be given to me, so that I could join them in the singing.
White Calf opened the ceremony with a prayer. Then Bear Child took a hot ember from the fire with the prongs and laid it before White Calf; he placed sweet grass upon it to burn as incense and sang to the Morning Star. Then we all joined in singing seven songs to Morning Star and seven each to the Sun and Moon. There were seven songs for a sacred eagle feather; in the Sun Dance legend, the Sun God used an eagle feather to brush the scar from the face of Scarface. We also sang songs to the raven and songs to the sacred headdress, which was worn by the fasting woman. There was a song for everything that made up this bonnet—the white weasel-skin, the feathers and plumes, flint arrow-point, snipe, buffalo tail, and a small bundle filled with seeds of the tobacco.
Then White Calf, the head-chief, prayed, saying:
“Father, the Sun, I am praying for my people.
May they be happy in the summer and live through the cold of winter.
Many are sick and hungry,
Pity them and let them live.
May we go through this ceremony right,
The way you taught our people to do in the days of long ago.
If we make mistakes, pity us.
Mother Earth, pity us, help us; may the grass and berries grow.
Morning Star, shine into our lodge and give us long life.
Father, the Sun, bless our children, relatives and visitors.
May our trails lie straight through a happy life; may we live to be old.
We are all your children and ask these things with good hearts.”
During this prayer, the Indians sat silently and with heads bowed reverently; and at the close, they united in a long-drawn “ah-h-h-h-h-h” to express their approval, while some added a few words of prayer.
This ceremony lasted until long after midnight; day was beginning to dawn when the company went away. But before they separated, White Calf as the “father” gave instructions for the important events of next day—the big day of the camp. Then the Sun Dance Bundle would be transferred to Mad Wolf and his wife; they would have the tribal feast, when the sacred tongues would be distributed; women would make their vows before all the people; and at sunset they would raise the center pole and finish the sun lodge.