188 CUSHIXG — REMAEKS ON SHAMANISM. [April 23, 



actively in any wind (or breath) that may be stirring. From this, 

 the spiritual relation, so to say, or the source or totemic origin of 

 the child is divined, and he will be named, and to a certain extent 

 the course of his life will be determined upon according to this 

 divination. For example, the Zufii totem gods of the several 

 regions are : the Gray Wolf for the East or Dawn-Land ; the 

 Mountain Lion or Puma for the North or fierce Winter-Land ; the 

 Black Bear for the Land of the West or Night ; the sun-loving Badger 

 for the South or Summer-Land ; the Eagle for the Sky and Light, 

 and the Burrowing Mole for the Under-Land and Darkness. Let 

 us suppose that the plume on the white wand — the one that is set 

 up toward the east — waves most actively ; then, what though the 

 child belong to a clan or totem of one of the other regions, he will 

 nevertheless be regarded as spiritually related to the Gray Wolf of 

 Dawn, and it will be believed by his fellows — and with their belief 

 he will himself become, as he grows toward puberty, more and more 

 impressed, — that he is destined for membership in the sacred organi- 

 zation or Shamanistic Society or Lodge of the Medicine-men of 

 the East, or of the Wolf deity. Now when the age of puberty is 

 attained, and the boy is to be solemnly invested with the gar- 

 ment or clout and the responsibilities of manhood, he is, as in the 

 account quoted by Dr. Morris from Mr. Williams, required to pass 

 through various ordeals, such as a period of vigorous fasting and 

 purification (this both by means of emetics and purgatives) ; and to 

 retire to some lonely spot and there keep, day and night, lengthy 

 vigils, whereby it is sought to diminish for a time his earthly gross- 

 ness interests and affections, to "still his heart" and quicken his 

 spiritual perception and hearing of the meaning of the " Silent Sur- 

 passing Ones." This is in order that he may gain sign from or 

 actually behold one of the Beings who wield, in the great quarters, the 

 forces of nature, and who shall thereafter be his special Tamanawa 

 or spiritual guide. It is also in order to aid him in seeking for 

 some objective sign by which this relationship to his Genius may be 

 proven to himself and made manifest to his people. In a condi- 

 tion of exaltation as he is — and I can attest to its absorbing nature, 

 through having myself endured such an ordeal — you can well under- 

 stand that his perceptions will become startlingly manifest in the 

 various visions and signs he sees. These will seem to him, I can 

 again personally assure you, far more real than the most absolutely 

 actual things he has ever beheld or experienced. Perchance he 



