DORSEY.] THE SUN A WAKANDA. 377 



Among the Omalia auil Kausa tlie head of a corpse is laid towards 

 the east. For this reason no Omaha will consent to recline with his 

 head towards that point. The Kansa lodges also are orientated, and 

 so were those of the Omaha (see §50). The east appears to symbolize 

 life or the source thereof, but ' the west refers to death; so among the 

 Osage the course of a war party was towards the mythic or symbolic 

 west, towards which point the entrances of the lodges were turned^ 

 (see §§ 83 and 381). 



Gahige, the late Omaha chief, said that when he was young all the 

 Omaha prayed to the sun, holding up their hands with the palms to- 

 wards the sun and saying, "Wakaiida, (|;^'ea"'(fa-ga," etc., i. e., "O 

 Wakanda, pity me ! " They abstained ti'om eating, drinking, and (or- 

 dinary) smoking from sunrise to sunset ; but after sunset the restrictions 

 were removed.' 



For four nights the men who thus prayed did not sleep at home. 

 At the end of that period the task was finished. "Iwacka" gaxai,'' 

 i. e., they made or gained superhuman power. They could thus pray at 

 any time from the appearance of grass in the spring until the ground 

 became frozen. 



THE OFFERING OF TOBACCO. 



§ 29. In 18S9 G-eorge Miller gave an account of what he called "Nini 

 bahai te," i. e. the offering or presentation of tobacco. Whether 

 this phrase was ever used except in a religitmsor superhuman connec- 

 tion is more than the author is able to say. Whenever the Indians 

 traveled they used all the words which tbllow as they extended the 

 pipe with the mouthpiece toward the sun : " Haii, nini gake' Wakan'da, 



Ho tobacco that Wakanda 



Ig. ob. 



Mi"' ^6 niiike'c6! Ujan'ge ^i(^i%a, kf ega^qti u^ha td a. liigaxa-ga! 



Sun tbie you who sit Koad your the just so I follow will ! Make it for me 



Ig. ob. itscuiir.se 



Edada" ct^cte uda"qti akipankifa'-ga ! Ed^da" jiiajl wi"' ededite jji' 



What soever very good cause iiit- to meet it What inferior oue it is there if 



ibeta"ariki(J!a-ga ! (pi'-na" anuista wa(f-iona (fagcfi"', ni-u(}'an'da fecfa" 



cause me to pass Only thou directly in .sight you sit island this 



around it above (us) place 



f ^fa^ska 6dega", eddda" wanita:jan'de ucka"'cka" fa" bfi'igaqti nikaci"ga 



this large but what quadruped ground mv. on it here the all person 



and tbere 



f a°' ctPwa"' wi"' a"'ba ata"' if aoni'g(|;a° 3[T, 6ga"-na". Ada" wi'^ja-na"- 



the soever one day how you decide for when always so. There- I ask a favor 



long ' him * fore of you 



ma"' ha, Wakan'da" This may be rendered freely thus: "Ho, Mys- 



alone . . Wakanda 



terious Power, you who are the Suu! Here is tobacco! I wish to 

 follow your course. Grant that it may be so! Cause me to meet 

 whatever is good (i. e., for my advantage) and to give a wide berth to 



'Am. Naturalist, Feb. 1884, p. 126; JMd.., July, 1885. p. 670. 

 ■^rbid., Feb. 1884. pp. 115, 116, 117, 120. 123, 125. 



^ A similar rule about fasting obtained among the Kansa when mourning for the dead. See Amer 

 Naturalist, July, 1885, pp. 670. 672, 679. 



