DORSF.V] THE HEYOKA GODS. 46!) 



of form, «-siieeially as the difterences arc unirapoitant. They are said to he anued 

 with the bow and arrows, and -with deer-hoof rattles. -which things are charjjed -with 

 electricity. One of the varieties carries a drum, which is also charjied with the same 

 fluid. For a drumstick he holds a small Wakinyan god by the tail, striking on the 

 drum with the beak of the god. This would seem to us to be an unfortunate posi- 

 tion for a god, but it must be remembered that it is " wakan," and the more .absurd 

 a thing is, the more "wakan." 



\\ 219. One of these gods in some respects answers to the whirlwind zephyr of 

 Greek mythology. It is the gentle whirlwind which is sometimes visible in tlie del- 

 icate waving of the tall grass of the prairie.' 



By virtue of their medicine and tonwan powers the Heyoka render aid to such 

 men as revere them, in the chase, or by intlictiug and healing diseases, especially 

 those resulting from the gratitioation of their libidinous passions. 



IIEYOKA FEAST. 



§ 220. Lyud give.s au account of the Heyoka feast. He says: '^ 



They assemble in a lodge, wearing tall, conicalhats, being nearly naked, and painted 

 in a strange style. Upon the tire is placed a huge kettle full of meat, and they re- 

 main seated around the fire smoking until the water in the kettle begins to boil, 

 which is the signal for the dance to begin. They dance and sing around it excitedly, 

 plunging their hands into the boiling water, and seizing large pieces of hot meat, 

 which they devour at once. The scalding water is thrown over their backs and legs, 

 at which they never wince, complaining that it is cold. Their skin is first deadened, 

 as I am creditably informed, by ruljbing with a certain grass ; aud they do not in re.al- 

 ity experience any uneasiness from the boiling water — a fact which gives their per- 

 formances great mystery in the eyes of the uninitiated. 



§ 221. Dr. Briuton lias coiifouiided the Heyoka with the Wakinyau. 

 The two are distinct classes of powers, though there is some connection 

 between them, as may be inferred from the following stories in the Bush- 

 otter collection. 



§ 222. No Indian belonging to the Heyoka Society ever tells of his 

 own personal mystery. Such things are "wakaij," and not even one 

 man can be induced to sing the Heyoka songs upon an ordinary occa- 

 sion; because if they sing one of those songs except at the proper time 

 they say that the Thunder-beings would kill the entire households of 

 the offenders. Therefore they object to singing the Heyoka songs and 

 they do not like to speak about them. 



STOKY OF A HEYOKA MAN. 



§223. It is said that the people of the olden times knew when they 

 were about to die, and they u.sed to dream about their deaths and how 

 they would be when the time drew near. One of tlio.se men said, 

 " When the first thunder is heard next spring, I and my horse shall die." 



For that reason his kindred were weeping from time to time, this man 

 who had dreamed of his death decorated the legs of his horse by moist- 

 ening light gray clay and drawing zigzag lines down the legs. In like 

 manner he decorated the neck and back of the horse, and hemadesim- 



1 Compare the iMa''na"bi"tlje sub-geus of the K.insa tribe, and part of the wind gens, as the ga-ze 

 gens of the Omaha. Kansa and Osage may be associated with the Takuskar|4kai) of the Dakota. 

 'Minn. Hist. Soo. Coll.. vol. ii, pt. 2. pp. TP, 71. 



