﻿FLETCHER-LA 
  FLESCHe] 
  THE 
  SACRED 
  POLE 
  249 
  

  

  of 
  its 
  hereditary 
  Keepers. 
  It 
  had 
  always 
  been 
  regarded 
  with 
  superstitious 
  awe 
  and 
  

   anyone 
  touching 
  even 
  its 
  Tent 
  must 
  at 
  once 
  be 
  cleansed 
  by 
  the 
  priest. 
  Even 
  little 
  

   children 
  shared 
  in 
  this 
  feeling 
  and 
  left 
  unclaimed 
  a 
  ball 
  or 
  other 
  plaything 
  that 
  

   chanced 
  to 
  touch 
  the 
  Tent 
  made 
  sacred 
  by 
  its 
  presence. 
  

  

  Thus 
  it 
  was 
  that 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Pole 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  found 
  its 
  way 
  into 
  the 
  Peabody 
  

   Museum 
  in 
  1888 
  but 
  leaving 
  its 
  ritual 
  songs 
  behind. 
  During 
  these 
  years 
  I 
  have 
  

   searched 
  for 
  men 
  in 
  the 
  Ho"'ga 
  gens 
  who 
  would 
  be 
  likely 
  to 
  know 
  these 
  songs 
  but 
  

   without 
  success. 
  The 
  old 
  priest, 
  Tenu'ga, 
  whose 
  office 
  it 
  was 
  to 
  sing 
  them, 
  died 
  

   before 
  I 
  came 
  in 
  touch 
  with 
  him. 
  

  

  By 
  the 
  use 
  of 
  the 
  graphophone 
  I 
  was 
  enabled 
  in 
  1897 
  to 
  secure 
  the 
  ritual 
  songs 
  of 
  the 
  

   Sacred 
  White 
  Buffalo 
  from 
  ^'ako" 
  / 
  mo 
  n 
  thi 
  n 
  , 
  the 
  last 
  keeper; 
  and 
  when 
  the 
  record 
  was 
  

   finished 
  I 
  said 
  to 
  him: 
  "Grandfather, 
  years 
  ago 
  I 
  saw 
  you 
  officiating 
  at 
  the 
  ceremonies 
  

   of 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Pole 
  and 
  from 
  this 
  I 
  judge 
  that 
  you 
  are 
  familiar 
  with 
  its 
  songs. 
  May 
  I 
  

   ask 
  if 
  you 
  would 
  be 
  willing 
  to 
  sing 
  them 
  for 
  me? 
  " 
  The 
  old 
  priest 
  shook 
  his 
  head 
  and 
  

   replied: 
  "Eldest 
  son, 
  I 
  am 
  forced 
  to 
  deny 
  your 
  request. 
  These 
  songs 
  belong 
  to 
  the 
  

   opposite 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  house 
  and 
  are 
  not 
  mine 
  to 
  give. 
  You 
  are 
  right 
  as 
  to 
  my 
  knowledge 
  

   of 
  them 
  and 
  you 
  did 
  see 
  me 
  officiating 
  at 
  the 
  ceremony 
  you 
  referred 
  to; 
  but 
  I 
  was 
  

   acting 
  as 
  a 
  substitute. 
  The 
  man 
  whose 
  place 
  I 
  took 
  was 
  newly 
  inducted 
  into 
  his 
  

   office 
  and 
  was 
  not 
  familiar 
  with 
  its 
  various 
  forms; 
  he 
  feared 
  the 
  results 
  of 
  any 
  mistakes 
  

   he 
  might 
  make, 
  on 
  account 
  of 
  his 
  children, 
  for 
  it 
  meant 
  the 
  loss 
  of 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  by 
  

   death 
  should 
  an 
  error 
  occur. 
  You 
  must 
  consult 
  the 
  keepers 
  of 
  the 
  Pole." 
  

  

  Knowing 
  that 
  it 
  would 
  be 
  useless 
  even 
  with 
  bribes 
  to 
  attempt 
  to 
  persuade 
  the 
  priest 
  

   to 
  become 
  a 
  plagiarist, 
  I 
  refrained 
  from 
  pushing 
  the 
  matter 
  further, 
  trusting 
  that 
  cir- 
  

   cumstances 
  in 
  the 
  future 
  might 
  take 
  such 
  a 
  turn 
  as 
  to 
  relieve 
  him 
  from 
  his 
  obligations 
  

   to 
  recognize 
  any 
  individual's 
  ownership 
  in 
  the 
  ritual 
  songs. 
  

  

  In 
  the 
  latter 
  part 
  of 
  June, 
  1898, 
  I 
  happened 
  to 
  be 
  on 
  the 
  Omaha 
  reservation, 
  and 
  while 
  

   there 
  I 
  drove 
  over 
  to 
  Wako 
  n/ 
  mo"thi"'s 
  house. 
  (Figs. 
  60, 
  61.) 
  He 
  was 
  at 
  home 
  and 
  

   after 
  the 
  exchange 
  of 
  greetings 
  I 
  addressed 
  him 
  as 
  follows: 
  

  

  "Grandfather, 
  last 
  summer, 
  after 
  you 
  had 
  taught 
  me 
  the 
  songs 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  

   ceremony 
  of 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Buffalo, 
  I 
  asked 
  you 
  to 
  teach 
  me 
  the 
  songs 
  of 
  the 
  Sacred 
  

   Pole. 
  You 
  replied 
  that 
  you 
  knew 
  the 
  songs, 
  butcould 
  not 
  sing 
  them 
  for 
  me, 
  because 
  

   they 
  belonged 
  to 
  the 
  other 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  house 
  and 
  were 
  not 
  yours 
  to 
  give. 
  I 
  respected 
  

   your 
  purpose 
  to 
  keep 
  inviolate 
  your 
  obligations 
  to 
  maintain 
  the 
  respective 
  rights 
  

   and 
  offices 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  houses 
  that 
  were 
  so 
  closely 
  allied 
  in 
  the 
  preservation 
  of 
  order 
  

   among 
  our 
  people, 
  so 
  I 
  did 
  not 
  press 
  my 
  quest 
  for 
  the 
  knowledge 
  of 
  the 
  songs 
  at 
  that 
  

   time, 
  believing 
  that 
  you 
  would 
  soon 
  see 
  that 
  the 
  object 
  for 
  which 
  that 
  Sacred 
  Tree 
  

   and 
  its 
  accompanying 
  rites 
  were 
  instituted 
  had 
  vanished, 
  never 
  to 
  return. 
  < 
  »ur 
  

   people 
  no 
  longer 
  flock 
  to 
  these 
  sacred 
  houses 
  as 
  in 
  times 
  past, 
  bringing 
  their 
  children 
  

   laden 
  with 
  offerings 
  that 
  they 
  might 
  receive 
  a 
  blessing 
  from 
  hallowed 
  hands; 
  new 
  

   conditions 
  have 
  arisen, 
  and 
  from 
  force 
  of 
  circumstances 
  they 
  have 
  had 
  to 
  accede 
  

   to 
  them 
  and 
  to 
  abandon 
  the 
  old. 
  I 
  have 
  been 
  here 
  and 
  there 
  among 
  the 
  members 
  

   of 
  the 
  opposite 
  side 
  of 
  the 
  house, 
  to 
  which 
  you 
  referred, 
  to 
  find 
  some 
  one 
  who 
  knew 
  

   the 
  songs 
  of 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Pole, 
  so 
  that 
  I 
  might 
  preserve 
  them 
  before 
  they 
  were 
  utterly 
  

   lost; 
  but 
  to 
  my 
  inquiries 
  the 
  invariable 
  answer 
  was: 
  '1 
  do 
  not 
  know 
  them. 
  Wako 
  n/ 
  - 
  

   mo"thi" 
  Is 
  the 
  only 
  man 
  who 
  has 
  a 
  full 
  knowledge 
  of 
  them.' 
  Therefore 
  I 
  have 
  made 
  

   bold 
  to 
  come 
  to 
  you 
  again 
  . 
  ' 
  ' 
  

  

  After 
  holding 
  the 
  pipe 
  he 
  had 
  been 
  filling 
  during 
  my 
  speech, 
  up 
  to 
  the 
  sky, 
  and 
  

   muttering 
  a 
  few 
  words 
  of 
  prayer, 
  the 
  old 
  man 
  lit 
  the 
  pipe 
  and 
  smoked 
  in 
  silence 
  for 
  

   a 
  time, 
  then 
  passed 
  the 
  pipe 
  to 
  me 
  and 
  made 
  his 
  reply, 
  speaking 
  in 
  low 
  tones: 
  

  

  "My 
  eldest 
  son, 
  all 
  the 
  words 
  that 
  you 
  have 
  just 
  spoken 
  are 
  true. 
  Customs 
  that 
  

   governed 
  and 
  suited 
  the 
  life 
  of 
  our 
  people 
  have 
  undergone 
  a 
  radical 
  change 
  and 
  

   the 
  new 
  generation 
  has 
  entered 
  a 
  new 
  life 
  utterly 
  unlike 
  the 
  old. 
  The 
  men 
  with 
  

   whom 
  I 
  have 
  associated 
  in 
  the 
  keeping 
  and 
  teaching 
  of 
  the 
  two 
  sacred 
  houses/have 
  

  

  