6o Field Columbian Museum — Anthropology, Vol. IX. 



As already noted, the occasion of the ceremony is a vow or pledge ; 

 consequently, should no vow or pledge have been made, there would 

 be no Sun Dance. The ceremony is not, therefore, necessarily 

 annual, as it is, so far as I have been able to ascertain, among the 

 Ponca and the other tribes of the Sioux. With but a single excep- 

 tion, it is said the ceremony has never been held more than once in 

 a single year. On this occasion an epidemic in the tribe was respon- 

 sible for a second performance, which took place with only a single 

 day intervening between it and the first performance, the same 

 camp-circle being used for both. 



As pointed out in another place, the duration of the ceremony 

 varies to a slight extent. I have found a considerable amount of 

 discrepancy among the priests themselves as to what actually consti- 

 tutes the first day; but it is easy to establish the fact that the day 

 on which the altar is erected is at least the fourth day, possibly the 

 fifth. This is the first day of the fasting and on this day the first 

 paint is worn by the dancers. The duration of the ceremony beyond 

 this day depends entirely upon the number of days which the Chief 

 Priest fasted when he himself was Lodge-maker. It is said that there 

 is no Sun Dance priest now living who, as Lodge-maker, fasted four 

 days. Two Cheyenne who recently died are said to have fasted four 

 days. Of these Maple-Tree was reputed to have lived to the age of 

 io8 years and Black-Man to the age of 98 years. The most common 

 period of fasting is two days, this being the duration of the fasting in 

 both 1 90 1 and 1903. It seems, therefore, that originally the dura- 

 tion of the ceremony, should the so-called altar day be regarded as 



the fourth day, was eight 

 days. It should be noted, 

 however, that in consider- 

 ing the altar day as the 

 fourth day, this omits in 

 the reckoning both the erec- 

 tion of the Warriors '-tipi and 

 the formation of the camp- 

 circle. The majority of my 

 informants are inclined to re- 

 gard the altar day as the 

 fourth day, and the ceremony 

 therefore would vary from five 

 to eight days' duration, ac- 

 cording to the number of 

 P'lG. 2. Section of the camp-circle. fasting or dancing days. 



