﻿FLETCBBB-L4 
  FLESfHE] 
  THE 
  SACRED 
  POLE 
  21V) 
  

  

  people 
  came 
  — 
  men, 
  women, 
  and 
  children. 
  When 
  they 
  were 
  gathered 
  the 
  chiefs 
  stood 
  

   up 
  and 
  said: 
  "You 
  now 
  see 
  before 
  you 
  a 
  mystery. 
  Whenever 
  we 
  meet 
  with 
  troubles 
  

   we 
  shall 
  bring 
  all 
  our 
  troubles 
  to 
  him 
  [the 
  Pole]. 
  We 
  shall 
  make 
  offerings 
  and 
  requests. 
  

   All 
  our 
  prayers 
  must 
  be 
  accompanied 
  by 
  gifts. 
  This 
  [the 
  Pole] 
  belongs 
  to 
  all 
  the 
  peo- 
  

   ple, 
  but 
  it 
  shall 
  be 
  in 
  the 
  keeping 
  of 
  one 
  family 
  (in 
  the 
  Ho"'ga 
  gens), 
  and 
  the 
  leader- 
  

   ship 
  shall 
  be 
  with 
  them. 
  If 
  anyone 
  desires 
  to 
  lead 
  (to 
  become 
  a 
  chief) 
  and 
  to 
  take 
  

   responsibility 
  in 
  governing 
  the 
  people, 
  he 
  shall 
  make 
  presents 
  to 
  the 
  Keepers 
  [of 
  the 
  

   Pole] 
  and 
  they 
  shall 
  give 
  him 
  authority." 
  When 
  all 
  was 
  finished 
  the 
  people 
  said: 
  

   "Let 
  us 
  appoint 
  a 
  time 
  when 
  we 
  shall 
  again 
  paint 
  him 
  [the 
  Pole] 
  and 
  act 
  before 
  him 
  

   the 
  buttles 
  we 
  have 
  fought." 
  The 
  time 
  was 
  fixed; 
  it 
  was 
  to 
  take 
  place 
  in 
  "the 
  moon 
  

   when 
  the 
  buffaloes 
  bellow" 
  (July). 
  This 
  was 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  ceremony 
  of 
  

   Waxthe'xe 
  xigithe(seep. 
  230), 
  audit 
  was 
  agreed 
  that 
  this 
  ceremony 
  should 
  be 
  kept 
  up. 
  

  

  Mark 
  of 
  Honor 
  

  

  Waxthe'xe, 
  the 
  name 
  given 
  to 
  the 
  Pole, 
  was 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  ancient 
  

   Cedar 
  Pole 
  preserved 
  in 
  the 
  Tent 
  of 
  War. 
  The 
  word 
  is 
  difficult 
  to 
  

   translate. 
  The 
  prefix 
  wa 
  indicates 
  that 
  the 
  object 
  spoken 
  of 
  had 
  

   power, 
  the 
  power 
  of 
  motion, 
  of 
  life; 
  xthexe 
  means 
  "mottled 
  as 
  by 
  

   shadows;" 
  the 
  word 
  has 
  also 
  the 
  idea 
  of 
  bringing 
  into 
  prominence 
  

   to 
  be 
  seen 
  by 
  all 
  the 
  people 
  as 
  something 
  distinctive. 
  Xthexe' 
  

   was 
  the 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  "mark 
  of 
  honor" 
  put 
  on 
  a 
  girl 
  by 
  her 
  father 
  

   or 
  near 
  of 
  kin 
  who 
  had 
  won, 
  through 
  certain 
  acts, 
  entrance 
  into 
  the 
  

   Ho 
  n 
  'hewachi, 
  and 
  so 
  secured 
  the 
  right 
  to 
  have 
  this 
  mark 
  tattooed 
  on 
  

   the 
  girl. 
  (See 
  fig. 
  105.) 
  The 
  name 
  of 
  the 
  Pole, 
  Waxthe'xe, 
  signifies 
  

   that 
  the 
  power 
  to 
  give 
  the 
  right 
  to 
  possess 
  this 
  "mark 
  of 
  honor" 
  was 
  

   vested 
  in 
  the 
  Pole. 
  The 
  mark 
  placed 
  on 
  the 
  girl 
  was 
  not 
  a 
  mark 
  of 
  her 
  

   own 
  achievements, 
  but 
  of 
  her 
  father's, 
  as 
  no 
  girl 
  or 
  woman 
  could 
  by 
  

   herself 
  win 
  it. 
  The 
  designs 
  tattooed 
  on 
  the 
  girl 
  were 
  all 
  cosmic 
  sym- 
  

   bols. 
  While 
  the 
  "mark 
  of 
  honor," 
  as 
  its 
  name 
  shows, 
  was 
  directly 
  

   connected 
  with 
  the 
  Cedar 
  Pole, 
  which 
  was 
  related 
  to 
  Thunder 
  and 
  

   war, 
  the 
  tattooed 
  "mark 
  of 
  honor" 
  among 
  the 
  Omaha 
  was 
  not 
  con- 
  

   nected 
  with 
  war, 
  but 
  with 
  achievements 
  that 
  related 
  to 
  hunting 
  and 
  

   to 
  the 
  maintenance 
  of 
  peace 
  within 
  the 
  tribe. 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  the 
  custom 
  among 
  the 
  Osage 
  to 
  tattoo 
  the 
  "mark 
  of 
  

   honor" 
  on 
  the 
  warrior 
  and 
  on 
  the 
  hereditary 
  keeper 
  of 
  the 
  Honor 
  

   Packs 
  of 
  War. 
  The 
  description 
  of 
  the 
  Osage 
  practice, 
  which 
  appears 
  

   below, 
  may 
  relate 
  to 
  a 
  time 
  antedating 
  the 
  separation 
  of 
  the 
  cognate 
  

   tribes 
  when 
  the 
  Cedar 
  Pole 
  may 
  have 
  been 
  common 
  property. 
  The 
  

   photograph 
  from 
  which 
  the 
  accompanying 
  illustration 
  (pi. 
  37a) 
  was 
  

   made, 
  was 
  taken 
  in 
  1897. 
  The 
  design 
  tattooed 
  on 
  the 
  neck 
  and 
  chest 
  

   (fig. 
  48) 
  comes 
  to 
  a 
  point 
  about 
  2 
  inches 
  above 
  the 
  waist 
  line 
  and 
  i 
  

   extends 
  over 
  the 
  shoulders 
  to 
  the 
  back. 
  The 
  central 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  design, 
  ' 
  

   extending 
  from 
  under 
  the 
  chin 
  downward 
  to 
  the 
  lowest 
  point, 
  repre- 
  

   sents 
  the 
  stone 
  knife. 
  Two 
  bands 
  on 
  each 
  side 
  of 
  this 
  central 
  figure 
  

   extend 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  hair 
  an 
  inch 
  or 
  two 
  behind 
  the 
  ear, 
  terminat- 
  

   ing 
  in 
  a 
  knob 
  solidly 
  tattooed. 
  This 
  figure 
  is 
  called 
  i'bashabe 
  (mean- 
  

   ing 
  unknown) 
  ; 
  the 
  name 
  and 
  significance 
  of 
  these 
  bands 
  were 
  not 
  

  

  