﻿490 
  

  

  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRTT'.K 
  

  

  [ETH. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  relatives 
  of 
  the 
  doomed 
  person 
  might 
  ask 
  the 
  member 
  foretelling 
  the 
  

   death 
  to 
  seek 
  to 
  avert 
  it. 
  To 
  bring 
  about 
  this 
  result 
  he 
  heated 
  water 
  

   as 
  he 
  sang 
  his 
  songs 
  and 
  then 
  cast 
  the 
  water 
  on 
  the 
  ground 
  to 
  the 
  

   right 
  or 
  the 
  left 
  of 
  the 
  entrance 
  of 
  the 
  lodge 
  of 
  the 
  threatened 
  per- 
  

   son 
  — 
  never 
  in 
  a 
  straight 
  line 
  from 
  the 
  door. 
  By 
  this 
  art 
  the 
  spirit- 
  

   is 
  thwarted 
  in 
  its 
  onward 
  progress 
  toward 
  the 
  spirit 
  world 
  and 
  is 
  

   forced 
  to 
  return, 
  so 
  that 
  person 
  continues 
  to 
  live. 
  The 
  members 
  of 
  

   this 
  society 
  could 
  also 
  stop 
  rain. 
  This 
  power 
  was 
  exercised 
  only 
  by 
  

   request. 
  "When 
  a 
  member 
  was 
  asked 
  to 
  stop 
  the 
  rain, 
  he 
  filled 
  a. 
  small, 
  

   unornamented 
  pipe 
  (in 
  token 
  of 
  his 
  modesty 
  in 
  addressing 
  the 
  cosmic 
  

   forces), 
  elevated 
  the 
  stem, 
  and 
  smoked, 
  singing 
  his 
  song 
  as 
  the 
  smoke 
  

   was 
  wafted 
  upward; 
  the 
  act 
  was 
  believed 
  to 
  secure 
  the 
  desired 
  result. 
  

   The 
  following 
  is 
  one 
  of 
  the 
  songs 
  of 
  this 
  society: 
  

  

  GHOST 
  SONG 
  

  

  e 
  tho 
  i 
  ne 
  tho-he 
  

  

  lie 
  tho 
  he 
  tho 
  

  

  Translation: 
  The 
  first 
  eight 
  measures 
  are 
  vocables. 
  lh>", 
  night; 
  

   fhi 
  n 
  , 
  moving; 
  ihethi 
  11 
  , 
  yonder 
  moving; 
  i, 
  come; 
  ne, 
  modification 
  of 
  

   thi 
  n 
  , 
  moving; 
  theihu, 
  here. 
  "Night 
  is 
  moving 
  toward 
  us 
  here." 
  Night 
  

   refers 
  to 
  death, 
  by 
  which 
  one 
  enters 
  the 
  realm 
  of 
  ghosts. 
  

  

  THE 
  ruTIIU 
  ITIIAETIIE 
  

  

  Membership 
  in 
  the 
  I"gthu"' 
  ithaethe 
  (I"gthu", 
  "Thunder:" 
  ithaeihe, 
  

   "shown 
  compassion 
  by" 
  — 
  "those 
  to 
  whom 
  the 
  thunder 
  has 
  shown 
  

   compassion") 
  society 
  was 
  open 
  only 
  to 
  the 
  man 
  or 
  woman 
  who 
  had 
  

   heard 
  the 
  Thunder 
  beings 
  in 
  dreams 
  or 
  visions. 
  It 
  was 
  believed 
  that 
  

   through 
  this 
  medium 
  occult 
  powers 
  were 
  imparted 
  and 
  that 
  by 
  means 
  

   of 
  the 
  songs 
  given 
  the 
  elements 
  could 
  be 
  controlled— 
  rain 
  could 
  be 
  

   brought 
  or 
  the 
  storm 
  driven 
  away. 
  Future 
  events 
  could 
  also 
  be 
  fore- 
  

   told, 
  for 
  in 
  most 
  of 
  these 
  secret 
  societies 
  magic 
  powers 
  were 
  supposed 
  

   to 
  he 
  exercised. 
  Sometimes 
  the 
  members 
  pitted 
  their 
  powers 
  against 
  

   one 
  another. 
  The 
  following 
  song 
  commemorates 
  one 
  of 
  these 
  con- 
  

   tests, 
  which 
  occurred 
  many 
  years 
  ago 
  when 
  a 
  number 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  

   went 
  on 
  a 
  visit 
  to 
  the 
  Ponea. 
  Among 
  the 
  visiting 
  party 
  was 
  a 
  mem- 
  

   ber 
  of 
  the 
  Thunder 
  society 
  noted 
  for 
  his 
  occult 
  powers. 
  In 
  the 
  Pdnca 
  

   Thunder 
  society 
  was 
  a 
  man 
  who 
  had 
  a 
  similar 
  reputation. 
  These 
  

  

  