DOBSETl THE AVAR PROPHET TAKUSKAIJSKATJ. 445 



with the sacred pigments. lu fair weather they are hiid outside of the 

 lodge every day. They must uever be touched by an adult femak'. ' 



§ 125. Lyud's account is slightly different, though in substantial accord 

 with the preceding one: 



When a youth arrives at the age proper for going on the warpath he first purifies 

 himself l>y fasting ami the iuipi or steam bath for three days, anil then goes, with 

 tears in his eyes, to some wakau man whose influence is undoulited, and jirays that 

 he will present him with the wotawe or consecrated armor. This wakan man is 

 usually some old and experienced zuya wakau or sacred war leader. After a time 

 the armor is presented to the young man, but until it is so presented he must fast 

 and continue his puriticatious incessantly. It is a singular fact that nothing but 

 the spear of this armor is ever used in battle, though it is always carried when the 

 owner accompanies a war party. At the same time that the old m.au presents the 

 armor he tells the youth to what animal it is dedicated, and enjoins upon him to 

 ludd that animal wakau. He must never harm or kill it, even though starvation 

 threaten him. At all times aud under all circumstances the taboo or wohduze is 

 upon it, uutil by slaying numerous enemies it is gradually removed. By some the 

 animal is held sacred during life, the taboo being voluntarily retained.- (See $^ 

 101, 127.) 



THE SPIRITS OF THE MYSTERY SACKS. 



§ 126. These are similar to the armor gods, in that they are divinities 

 who act as guardian s])irits. Each of these powers is appropriated 

 by a single individual, protecting and aiding him, and receiving his 

 worship. These spirits are conferred at the tinu' of initiation into 

 the order of the Mystery Dance, and of course are conflued to the mem- 

 bers of that order. ' Each spirit of the mystery sack is not a separate 

 god, but a wakau power derived from the Uuktehi, according to a later 

 statement of Riggs." 



TAKUSKAIJSKAIJ, THE MOVING DEITY. 



§ 127. This is a form of the wakan which Jugglers, so-called mystery 

 men, aud war prophets invoke. In their estimation he is the most 

 powerful of their gods; the one most to be feared and propitiated, .since, 

 more than all others, he induences human weal and woe. He is supposed 

 to live in the four winds, and the four black spirits of night do his bid- 

 ding. The consecrated spear and tomahawk (see § 124) are its weapons. 

 The buzzard, raven, fox, wolf, and other animals are its lieutenants, to 

 produce disease aud death.^ (Compare this with some of the picto- 

 graphs on the war chart of the Kansa tribe : Fig. 4, Wind songs ; the 

 connection between the winds aud war is shown in § 3.3. Fig. 8, Deer 

 songs. Fig. 9, an Elk song. Fig. 10, seven songs of the Wakanda who 

 makes night songs. Fig. 11, five songs of the Big Eock. This is a 

 rough retl rock near Topeka, Ivans. "This rock has a hard body, like 

 that of a wakanda. May you walk like it." Fig. 12, Wolf songs. The 



> Pond, Minn. Hiat. Soc. Coll., vol. ii, pt 3, p. 53. < Am. Antiq., Vol. II, No. 4, p. 270. 



' Ibiil., pt. 2, p. 73. » Eiggs in Am. Antiq., Vol. II, p. 261 



'Biggs, Tah-koo Wah-kou, pp. 70, 71. 



