39fi 



A STUDY OP SIOUAN CULTS. 



Fig. 159 Tent of "Wanukige. 



to go courting. The man cau uot give sacli a robe to Lis daughter, but 

 he can give oue to his sou's son, or to his daughter's sou, .should that 

 grandson be a large youth, who has ueared or reached the age of xni- 

 berty. 



If a man who became eligible by his vis- 

 ion to membership in the order of Thunder 

 shamans ventured to wear the decorated 

 robe without inviting the members of the 

 order to a feast, he incurred the anger of 

 the members and misfortune was sure to 

 follow. Should a man wear such a deco- 

 rated robe without having had a vision of 

 the mystery object, he was in danger (if 

 the object was connected with the Thun- 

 der-being, etc.) of being killed by lightning. 

 Every Omaha feared to decorate his robe, 

 tent, or blanket with an object seen by 

 another persou in a dream or vision. For 

 instance, George M iller would not dare to 

 haA'e beans' claws, horses' hoofs, etc., on 

 his robe, because neither he nor his father 

 ever saw a bear or horse mysteriously. There are penalties attached 

 to violations of the prohibitions of the other orders, but George Miller 

 did uot know about them. 



Besides the personal mystery decoration of the robe or blanket, is 

 that of the tent. PL 

 XLiv, E is a sketch of a 

 tent, furnished to the 

 author by Diied Buffalo 

 Skull, an old man of the 

 (|lata(la geusof theOma- 

 ha. The decoration of 

 this tent was the per- 

 sonal mystery or "qube" 

 of Hupe^a, Sr., father of 

 Hupefa,tTr (now known 

 as j^enugiv :janga),of the 

 Wasabe-hit'aji or Black 

 Bear sub-gens of the(^!a- 

 tada. After the death 

 of Hiipefa, Sr., the deco- 

 ration l)ecame the prop- 

 erty of his kinsman, Agaha-wacuce, of the same sub-gens, and father of 

 ja(j'i°ua''paji. The circle at the toji, representing a bear's cave, is some- 

 times painted blue, though Agalia wacnce had it reddened. Below the 

 four zigzag lines (representing the lightnings of different colors) are the 



'1 



m 



. IBO.— Robe of (Jjafinbe. 



