76 BUREAU OF ARIBRICAN ETHNOLOGY [Bull. 195 



rites relating to thunder, but do not mention the interesting bit of 

 imitative magic given above, nor that the group were rainmakers. 



Gilmore (1919, p. 132) records a Ponca belief that where pilo tweed 

 abounds, lightning is very prevalent. The dried root was sometimes 

 burned during electric storms to avert lightning stroke. 



Certain Ponca shamans were believed to have the power to control 

 the elements. PLC recalled an occasion when Chief Standing-bear 

 by praying outside of his tent averted a storm which threatened to 

 stop a dance. 



The Ponca had an intimate knowledge of the geography of the 

 Central Great Plains region, as they hunted and traveled over a large 

 part of it. The various topographical phenomena were noted and used 

 as landmarks. PLC in his "History" (p. 20) mentions Wind 

 Cave, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, calling it Pahe-waddhoni, 

 the hUl that sucks in. The name derives from the fact that air inside 

 the cave is usually of a different temperature from that outside, 

 causing quite a noticeable draft at the cave entrance. The Dakota 

 caU the cave by a similar name. 



The four directions are spoken of as the "four life-giving winds" 

 by the Ponca. Directional symbolism is found in nearly all Ponca 

 ceremonies. In some Ponca Peyote rituals an eagle-bone whistle 

 is blown toward each of the four directions by the leader shortly after 

 midnight. 



The extensive knowledge which the Ponca possessed concerning 

 the plants found in their territory is shown in part by Gilmore in his 

 "Uses of Plants by the Indians of the Missouri River Region" (1919). 

 This has been cited in many places in the present work. According 

 to OK, PLC, WBB, and Joseph Rush, the Makq, or Medicine clan 

 specialized in herb medicines. This is noted by PLC in his "History" 

 (p. 19). Fletcher and La Flesche (1911, pp. 41-47) list taboos for 

 various Ponca clans and subclans. Several of these relate to plants. 

 An idea of the Ponca concept of what happened to a person who viola- 

 ted such a taboo may be gained from PLC's comment that "Poison 

 ivy was taboo to all of the clans." 



Most Ponca education was informal. Girls learned from their 

 mother and other female relatives and friends. Boys learned from 

 their father and male relatives and friends. Occasionally some wise 

 old man would gather a group of boys together and instruct them. 

 Such a man was called a wogqze. Wogqze has become the word for 

 "school" nowadays, being one word which is used by the Ponca but 

 not by the Omaha. At the present time most Ponca attend school 

 through the eighth grade. A few continue through high school and 

 college. Many older Southern Poncas have attended Carlisle. At 

 the present time higher education is often pursued at Haskell Insti- 



