DREMIS AND THEIR OBLIGATIONS 



The oblio;atioii of a dream was as binding as the necessity of ful- 

 filling a vow, and disregard of eitlier was said to be punished by the 

 forces of nature, usually by a stroke of lightning. Dreams w^ere 

 sought by the Sioux, but it was recognized that the dream would 

 con-espond to the character of the man. Thus it was said that "a 

 young man would not be great in mind so his dream would not be 

 like that of a chief; it would be ordinary in kind, yet he would have 

 to do whatever the dream directed him to do." The first obligation 

 of a dream was usually its announcement to the tribe. This was b}^ 

 means of a performance w^hich indicated the nature of the dream and 

 allied the man to others who had smiilar dreams. If the dream 

 were connected with the sacred stones, or with herbs or animals con- 

 cerned in the treatment of the sick, it was considered obligatory 

 that the man avail himself of the supernatural aid vouchsafed to him 

 in the dream, and arrange his life in accordance wath it. 



Below will be found three groups of dream songs which, as noted 

 among Chippewa as well as Sioux, are songs believed to be super- 

 naturally received in dreams. The first of these groups comprises 

 the songs of the Heyo'ka (dreamers of the thunderbird) and songs 

 of those who dreamed of birds or animals. The numbers of these 

 songs are 37-58, inclusive; with few exceptions they were recorded 

 by the mljn who received them in their dreams. Two other groups 

 follow ; these comprise songs of the sacred stones and songs connected 

 with the treatment of the sick. ^ 



Heyo'ka Ka'ga (Fool Impersonation) 



A dream of the thunderbirds ^ was considered the greatest honor 

 which could come to a man from a supernatural source, and for this 

 reason the obligation of the dream was heavier than that of any 

 other. 



The manner in which the thunderbirds are regarded was indicated 

 by Shooter, who said: 



Dreamers have told us of these great birds in the sky, enwrapped in the clouds. If 

 the bear and other vicious beasts are regarded as dangerous, how much more should we 

 fear the thunderbirds that cause destruction on the face of the earth. It is said that 

 the thunderbirds once came to the earth in the form of giants. These giants did 



1 The thunderbirds {wdkiy'ya'o) are defined by Riggs as "thi cause of thujider and lightning, supposed 

 by the Dakota to be a great bird." (See Contr. N. Amer. Ethn., vii, p. 514, 1890). Cf. article Thunder- 

 bird by Dr. J. R. Swanton, in Handbook Amer. Iijds., pt. 2, 1910. 



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