DEXSMORB] TETON SIOUX MUSIC 77 



A young girl for whom the Alo'waijpi ceremony had been performed 

 might wear a calfskin robe similar to that shown in plate 5, The 

 decoration on this robe indicates that the wearer had taken part in 

 the Huijka ceremony, and also that her relatives had been successful 

 in war. Red, blue, and yellow are the colors used in the decorations. 

 It was said that "red represents blood, blue is a 'blue cloud,'. indicat- 

 ing success, and yellow is the color of the sky at mornmg."^ The 

 stripes on the head of the calfskin are red and represent the Hurjka 

 stripes painted on the face of the child for whom the ceremony was 

 performed. The two lines bordering the entire decoration are blue, 

 and the space between them is yellow. Near the left margin are red 

 lines, said to represent a spider's web. The crescents along the right 

 margin represent the phases of the moon, blue being used to repre- 

 sent a quarter moon and red a full moon. These are the phases in 

 which the child's relative engaged ui the war expeditions noted in the 

 decoration of the robe. Next to this border are parallel lines, the 

 dots on which represent the number of camps made during a certain 

 expedition. The panel in the center of the robe represents the 

 "warrior's path." A war party with eight camps is here shown, 

 each round dot representing a camp. Such a robe could be made 

 only by a woman whose relative had been successful in war. The 

 robe illustrated was made by the wife of Dog Eagle. (See p. 349.) 



The Ceremoxy of Spirit-keeping^ (Waki'cagapi) 



In the old days a Sioux, filled with grief at the death of a near 

 relative, might prolong his period of mourning by "keeping the 

 spirit" for several months or a year, and then "letting it go" by 

 means of a certain ceremony. This was a custom which exacted a 

 great deal and which, having been begun, must be carried out con- 

 sistently, either by the man who undertook it, or in the event of his 

 death by his nearest relative. A man considered this before he 

 announced his intention of "keeping the spirit" of a relative. He 

 considered the fact that for many months he could not hunt, nor go 

 to war, nor share in the social activities of the tribe, and he also 

 counted the cost of gifts which he must distribute at the feast for 

 releasing the spirit. If he felt that he coidd meet these requirements 

 he made known his decision, and those who wished to join him were at 

 hberty to do so, each providing a "spirit bundle" (wana'gi wapa'Jita) 



1 Other symbolisms mentioned in tliis work are as follows: The white buffalo robe used in Hugka cere- 

 mony (p. 80); colors — rod, blue, yellow, white, and black (p. 124); ascending smoke of sweet grass (p. 127, 

 footnote); a hoop (pp. 139,295); water, fire, and steam (p. 167); outline and structure of the sacred stones, 

 byChased-by-Bears (p.20o); by Brave Buffalo (p. 208); a hand (p. 330). The symbolism of the "earth 

 space" is given on page 122. footnote. 



2 See in this connection Fletcher, Alice C, The Shadow or Ghost Lodge: A Ceremony of the Ogallala 

 Sioux, Peabody Mus. Reps., ill, Nos. 3, 4, pp. 29G-307; also Dorsey, James Owen, A Study of Siouan 

 Cults, in Eleventh Eep. Bur. Ethn., pp. 487-89, 1894. 



