418 A STUDY OF SIOUAN CULTS. 



It i.s i)robable that some of the Omaha shamans iierformed similar 

 tricks, though the author has been unable to obtain any accounts of 

 them. 



§ 66. He was fortunate, however, in making the acquaintance of the 

 chief " wakandagi," or shaman of the Kansa, when at Kaw Agency, 

 in the winter of 1882. This man, Mxiidje yifige, was very communi- 

 cative. He said that there used to be ten shamans in the tribe, and 

 all had round jjebbles which they blew from their mouths against the 

 persons whom they ''nilu"xe" or "shot in a mysterious manner." 

 The arrow of the shamans was called " Mi-pa-ha," which is a name of 

 the Buffalo gens. This missile was made of part of the red-breasted 

 turtle. 



A woman named Sa°-si-le had two "maka"" (medicines, fetiches?) 

 which she used for "ickade" or "wakandagi wagaxe" (magic, sha- 

 manistic legerdemain). She could swallow a knife; and when she 

 swallowed a certain kind of grass she drew a green snake fi-om her 

 mouth. John Kickapoo's father had a red medicine, which was used 

 for women who desired to become enciente, for horses, and for causing 

 good dreams. Mxiidje yinge's mother, who was a shaman, has a small 

 pebble and a clam shell, which she used in her mystery acts. 



Pagaiii had a "sika-hyuka" or "needle" (so represented by Ni- 

 xiidje-yiuge, but it may not have been a steel needle), which he swal- 

 lowed and voided through the urethra. Grahige-wadayinga used to 

 stab himself with a "mahi"sii" or arrow-point, about 6 inches long, 

 causing the blood to spurt from his left shoulder as he danced. The 

 other shamans used to spurt water on his back from their mouths, 

 while he held his arms horizontally from his body, with the forearms 

 pointing upward. When they finished no wound could be found. One 

 shaman had a fish called "hu blaska" or flat fish, to which he talked 

 He made a necklace of the skin, and he used it for "jiilu°xe." 



Wakanda-zi had the skin of a small black bear as his sacred bag. 

 As he danced he held it by the tail and shook the skin. After shoot- 

 ing the round pebble from his mouth at a person he thrust the bear, 

 skin at the wounded man, drawing it back very quickly. The round 

 pebble was drawn into the mouth of the bear and dropped on the 

 ground when the skin bag was held with the tail up. 



He who wished to be shot at handed a gun to some one, who shot 

 him in the side, much blood escaping. He seemed to be dead; but the 

 shamans assembled and manipulated him. One put the mouth of the 

 otter (of the otterskin sacred bag) to the mouth of the patient in order 

 to perform the act called "liipayi"" (to raise up or resuscitate his own). 

 Then, "Zii'be aka eyau tuhuaii'ge ak;i," i. e., when the bag was drawn 

 away rapidly, the otter made the sound "ziibe," as when one draws 

 in the breath, and the bullet was in its mouth. On the patient's re- 

 covery he gave a horse to the mau who shot at him. 



Maiige zi had a clam shell and a snake that he used in his sleight-of- 



