184 THE SIOUAN INDIANS |eth.ann. 15 



sun iis tlic Siouan arch-mystery, with tli<^ mythic thmiderljird or 

 family of thunder-birds as a sort of mediate link between the mysteries 

 and men, ixtssessing less ])ower but displaying more activity in human 

 allairs than the remoter waka"da of the heavens. Under these control- 

 ling waka"(las, other members of the series were vaguely and variably 

 arranged. Somewhere in the lower ranks, sacred animals — especially 

 sports, such as the white buffalo cow — were placed, and still lower 

 came totems and shamans, which, according to Dorsey, were reverenced 

 rather than worshiped. It is noteworthy that this thearchic arrange- 

 ment corresponded in many respects with the hierarchic social organi- 

 zation of tlie stock. 



The Siouan tliearchy was invoked and adored by means of forms 

 and ceremonies, as well as through orisons. The set observances were 

 highly elaborate; they comprised dancing and chanting, feasting and 

 fasting, and in some cases sacrifice and torture, the sliocking atrocities 

 of tiie Mandun and Mniitari rites being especially impressive. From 

 these great collective devotions the ceremonials graded down through 

 war-dance and hunting-feast to the terpsichorean grace extolled by 

 Carver, and to individual fetich worship. In general the adoration 

 expressed fear of the evil rather than love of the good — but this caii 

 hardly be regarded as a distinctive feature, much less a jieculiar one. 



Some of the mystery i)laces were especially distinctive and note- 

 worthy. Foremost among them was the sacred pipestone quarry near 

 Big Sioux river, whence tlie material for the waka"da calumet was 

 obtained; another was the far-famed Minne-waka" of North Dakota, 

 not inaptly translated "Devil's lake;'' a third was the mystery-rock or 

 medicine-rock of the Mandan and llidatsa near Yellowstone river; and 

 there were many others of less importance. About all of these jdaces 

 picturesque legends and myths clustered. 



The Siouan mythology is especially instructive, partly because so 

 well recorded, partly because it so clearly reflects the habits and 

 customs of the tribesmen and thus gives an indirect reflection of a 

 well-marked environment. As among so many peoples, the sun is a 

 prominent element; the ice monsters of the north and the rain-myths 

 of the arid region are lacking, and are replaced by the frecjuent thun- 

 der and the trees shaken by the storm-winds; the mythic creatures are 

 shaped in the image of the indigenous animals and birds; the myths 

 center in the local rocks and waters; the mysterious theivrchy corre- 

 sponds with the tribal hierarchy, and the attributes ascribed to the 

 deities arc^ those characteiistic of warriors and hunters. 



Oousidering the mythology in relation to the stages in development 

 of mythologic philosojjhy, it a]ipears that the dominant beliefs, such as 

 those pertaining to the sun and the winds, represent a (U-ude jdiysithe- 

 ism, while vestiges of hecastotheism crop out in the object -worship 

 and place-woi'ship of the leading tribes and in other features. At the 



