﻿518 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [ETH. 
  ANN. 
  27 
  

  

  the 
  servers 
  of 
  the 
  feast: 
  to 
  designate 
  to 
  whom 
  the 
  choice 
  pieces 
  of 
  

   meat 
  were 
  to 
  he 
  given; 
  to 
  invite 
  guests 
  to 
  be 
  present 
  at 
  the 
  public 
  

   part 
  of 
  the 
  ceremony. 
  The 
  right 
  to 
  wear 
  certain 
  regalia 
  had 
  also 
  to 
  

   be 
  purchased. 
  Some 
  of 
  these 
  articles 
  have 
  descended 
  with 
  the 
  office, 
  

   and 
  the 
  man 
  who 
  bought 
  the 
  office 
  generally 
  purchased 
  the 
  right 
  to 
  

   wear 
  the 
  regalia 
  that 
  had 
  been 
  worn 
  by 
  his 
  predecessor. 
  

  

  No 
  dream 
  was 
  requisite 
  for 
  membership. 
  A 
  member 
  "must 
  be 
  able 
  

   to 
  keep 
  a 
  secret 
  and 
  not 
  be 
  of 
  a 
  quarrelsome 
  disposition." 
  The 
  unani- 
  

   mous 
  consent 
  of 
  all 
  the 
  members 
  was 
  necessary 
  to 
  admission 
  to 
  mem- 
  

   bership. 
  In 
  former 
  times 
  four 
  years 
  had 
  to 
  elapse 
  between 
  the 
  pres- 
  

   entation 
  of 
  a 
  name 
  and 
  the 
  acceptance 
  of 
  a 
  person 
  as 
  a 
  member, 
  

   but 
  of 
  late 
  years 
  the 
  time 
  has 
  been 
  shortened. 
  Other 
  changes 
  seem 
  

   to 
  have 
  crept 
  in. 
  It 
  is 
  said 
  that 
  there 
  should 
  be 
  seven 
  lodges. 
  The 
  

   mysterious 
  stranger 
  told 
  the 
  man 
  and 
  his 
  wife 
  they 
  were 
  each 
  to 
  initiate 
  

   seven 
  members, 
  seven 
  men 
  and 
  seven 
  women; 
  then 
  they 
  were 
  to 
  wait 
  

   four 
  years, 
  when 
  seven 
  more 
  of 
  each 
  sex 
  could 
  be 
  taken 
  in. 
  The 
  

   seven 
  initiation 
  sticks 
  still 
  used 
  are 
  said 
  to 
  refer 
  to 
  this 
  direction 
  of 
  

   the 
  stranger. 
  How 
  the 
  change 
  to 
  five 
  lodges 
  came 
  about 
  could 
  not 
  

   be 
  learned 
  and 
  it 
  is 
  a 
  question 
  if 
  it 
  is 
  now 
  known. 
  Of 
  the 
  animals 
  

   that 
  held 
  a 
  council 
  with 
  the 
  stranger 
  and 
  agreed 
  to 
  give 
  magic 
  power 
  

   to 
  man, 
  the 
  four 
  which 
  were 
  to 
  give 
  themselves 
  as 
  food 
  seem 
  to 
  be 
  

   associated 
  with 
  the 
  lodges 
  of 
  the 
  four 
  "children." 
  That 
  of 
  the 
  

   "eldest 
  son" 
  is 
  sometimes 
  spoken 
  of 
  as 
  the 
  black-bear 
  lodge, 
  that 
  of 
  

   the 
  "second 
  son" 
  as 
  the 
  elk 
  lodge, 
  the 
  "daughter's" 
  as 
  the 
  buffalo 
  

   lodge 
  (it 
  is 
  said 
  that 
  the 
  "moon 
  led 
  the 
  Omaha 
  to 
  the 
  buffalo"), 
  

   and 
  the 
  "youngest 
  son's" 
  as 
  the 
  deer 
  lodge. 
  The 
  eagle 
  belonged 
  to 
  

   the 
  u'zhu, 
  the 
  head 
  of 
  the 
  society, 
  because 
  "the 
  eagle 
  descended 
  and 
  

   spoke 
  to 
  the 
  man 
  after 
  he 
  had 
  killed 
  the 
  black 
  bear 
  and 
  said 
  he 
  

   would 
  come 
  and 
  be 
  one 
  of 
  them 
  and 
  give 
  supernatural 
  power." 
  

  

  It 
  was 
  formerly 
  the 
  custom 
  that 
  when 
  a 
  man 
  was 
  initiated 
  he 
  was 
  

   required 
  to 
  bring 
  the 
  skin 
  of 
  an 
  otter, 
  a 
  mink, 
  or 
  a 
  heaver 
  to 
  repre- 
  

   sent 
  the 
  water, 
  the 
  skin 
  of 
  a 
  squirrel 
  or 
  a 
  badger 
  to 
  represent 
  the 
  

   earth, 
  and 
  that 
  of 
  a 
  crow 
  or 
  an 
  owd 
  to 
  represent 
  the 
  air. 
  So, 
  too, 
  when- 
  

   ever 
  a 
  member 
  shot 
  a 
  hear, 
  an 
  elk, 
  a 
  deer, 
  or 
  a 
  buffalo, 
  he 
  saved 
  a 
  

   portion 
  of 
  the 
  meat 
  for 
  use 
  at 
  a 
  meeting 
  of 
  the 
  society, 
  in 
  memory 
  of 
  

   the 
  fact 
  that 
  these 
  animals 
  were 
  closely 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  rites. 
  

  

  Each 
  lodge 
  possessed 
  a 
  pack, 
  or 
  parfleche 
  case, 
  in 
  which 
  arti- 
  

   cles 
  belonging 
  to 
  that 
  lodge 
  were 
  kept. 
  The 
  regalia 
  the 
  right 
  to 
  

   wear 
  which 
  had 
  been 
  purchased 
  by 
  members, 
  medicine 
  for 
  curing 
  

   diseases, 
  and 
  poisons 
  for 
  punishing 
  offenders 
  were 
  kept 
  in 
  these 
  packs. 
  

   Of 
  the 
  five 
  packs 
  belonging 
  to 
  the 
  five 
  lodges 
  three 
  are 
  gone. 
  One 
  

   was 
  captured 
  a 
  long 
  time 
  ago 
  in 
  a 
  battle. 
  One 
  was 
  burned 
  accident- 
  

   ally 
  near 
  the 
  beginning 
  of 
  the 
  last 
  century, 
  and 
  one 
  that 
  was 
  for- 
  

   merly 
  in 
  charge 
  of 
  Big 
  Elk 
  is 
  now 
  in 
  the 
  Peabody 
  Museum 
  (no. 
  37560) 
  

   of 
  Harvard 
  University. 
  The 
  contents 
  of 
  the 
  other 
  two 
  packs 
  have 
  

  

  