506 A STUDY OF SIOUAN CULTS. 



MANDzlJs CI'LTS. 

 MAxriAX invixniES. 



§ 322. According to oue of Maximilian's informants, the Manrlan be- 

 lieve in several superior beings. (1) The first is Obmabank-Xumalisbi, 

 tbe Lord of Life. He is tbe most powerful. He created the earth, man, 

 and every existing object. They believe that he has a tail, and appears 

 sometimes in the form of an aged man ami, at others, in that of a young 

 man. (2) Numank-Machana, the First Man, holds the second rank; he 

 was created by the Lord of Life, but is likewise of a divine nature. He 

 resembles jS'anabush or Mauabozho of the Ojibwa and cognate tribes. 

 (3) ObmahankChika, the Lord of Evil, is a malignant spirit, who has 

 much influence over men; but he is not as powerful as OhmahankNu- 

 makshi and Xumank-Macbaua. (4) RohankaTauihanka, who dwells in 

 the planet Venus, protects mankind on earth. The name of the fifth 

 power has not been gained, but he is ever moving, walking over tbe 

 earth in human form. They call bim, "The Lying Prairie Wolf." (6) 

 Ochkih-Hadda' is a spirit that it is difficult to class. Tliey believe that 

 oue who dreams of him is sure to die very soon thereafter. This spirit 

 is said to have come once into their villages and taught them many 

 things, but since then he has not appeared. They fear him, offer him 

 sacrifice, and in their villages they have a hideous image representing 

 him. 



§ 323. The sun is thought to be the residence of the Lord of Life. In 

 the moon dwells, as they say, tbe Old Woman who Never Dies. They 

 do not know much about her, but they sacrifice to her as well as to the 

 other spirits. She has six children, three sons and three daughters, 

 who inhabit certain stars. The eldest son is the Day, the second is the 

 Sun, the third is the Night. The eldest daughter is the star that rises 

 in the east, the Morning Star, called, " Tlie Woman Who Wears a 

 Plume. " The second daughter, called '' The Striped Gourd," is a star 

 which revolves the polar star. The third daughter is tbe Evening Star, 

 which is near the setting sun.- 



§ 324. The Old Woman who Never Dies. — The cult of this spirit is 

 observed in what Say calls "the corn dance of the Manitaries." Maxi- 

 milian declares that Say is quite correct in his account of it, and that 

 the Mandan practice it as well as the Hidatsa. 



It is tbe cousecratiou of the grain to be sown, anil is called tbe corn dance feast 

 of the woman. Tbe Old Woman who Never Dies sends, in tbe spring, the water- 

 fowl, swans, geese, and ducks, as symbols of tbe kinds of grain cultivated by tlie 

 Indians. Tbe wild goose signifies corn; the geese, the gourd, and the duck, beans. 

 It is the old woman who causes these plants to grow, and, therefore, she sends these 

 birds as herrejiresentatives. It is seldom that eleven wild geese are found together 

 in the spring ; but, if it happens, this is a sign that the crop of corn will be remarka- 

 ably fine. The Indians keep a large quantity of dried meat in readiness for the 

 time in the spring when the birds arrive, that they may immediately celebrate the 



'0-kee-hee-dee of Catlin. 'Uaximiliaa, Travels * * * in North Aiuerioa, pp. 359, 



