﻿602 
  THE 
  OMAHA 
  TRIBE 
  [eth. 
  asn. 
  27 
  

  

  welfare 
  of 
  the 
  people, 
  and 
  by 
  the 
  authority 
  vested 
  in 
  his 
  office 
  the 
  

   chief 
  was 
  allied 
  to 
  the 
  all-ruling 
  and 
  mysterious 
  Wako 
  n 
  'da. 
  As 
  the 
  

   rites 
  connected 
  with 
  the 
  Sacred 
  Tribal 
  Pipes 
  were 
  the 
  medium 
  between 
  

   the 
  chiefs 
  and 
  Wako"'da, 
  there 
  was 
  no 
  means 
  by 
  which 
  to 
  atone 
  for, 
  

   or 
  condone, 
  any 
  mistake 
  or 
  mishap 
  occurring 
  during 
  the 
  ceremonial 
  

   filling 
  and 
  smoking 
  of 
  these 
  Pipes. 
  Instances 
  have 
  been 
  related 
  in 
  

   which 
  such 
  an 
  act 
  of 
  sacrilege 
  was 
  followed 
  by 
  death. 
  

  

  Totems 
  

  

  The 
  so-called 
  "personal 
  totem" 
  was 
  not 
  an 
  object 
  of 
  worship, 
  and 
  

   only 
  in 
  a 
  very 
  limited 
  sense 
  could 
  it 
  properly 
  be 
  termed 
  a 
  fetish. 
  It 
  

   was 
  a 
  token 
  or 
  kind 
  of 
  credential 
  of 
  the 
  vision 
  granted 
  the 
  youth 
  

   during 
  his 
  fast; 
  he 
  did 
  not 
  appeal 
  to 
  the 
  thing 
  itself, 
  but 
  to 
  that 
  which 
  

   it 
  represented, 
  the 
  forni 
  sent 
  by 
  Wako 
  n 
  'da, 
  which 
  could 
  reach 
  hini 
  

   personally, 
  "have 
  compassion" 
  on 
  him, 
  and 
  therefore 
  bring 
  to 
  him 
  the 
  

   help 
  he 
  required 
  in 
  his 
  hour 
  of 
  need. 
  A 
  reverent 
  attitude 
  was 
  main- 
  

   tamed 
  toward 
  all 
  rites 
  and 
  ceremonies 
  that 
  dealt 
  with 
  man's 
  relation 
  

   to 
  the 
  unseen 
  and 
  tolerance 
  was 
  shown 
  to 
  usages 
  that 
  differed 
  from 
  

  

  their 
  own. 
  

  

  Magic 
  

  

  Magic 
  formed 
  no 
  part 
  of 
  the 
  Omaha 
  religion 
  in 
  either 
  faith 
  or 
  prac- 
  

   tice. 
  All 
  the 
  rites 
  and 
  ceremonies 
  classed 
  as 
  We'wacpe 
  were 
  religious 
  

   in 
  character 
  and 
  singularly 
  free 
  from 
  anything 
  that 
  could 
  properly 
  be 
  

   called 
  magical. 
  The 
  supernatural 
  punishments 
  that 
  have 
  been 
  

   referred 
  to 
  can 
  hardly 
  be 
  considered 
  as 
  connected 
  with 
  magic. 
  Cer- 
  

   tain 
  other 
  beliefs 
  and 
  acts, 
  as 
  that 
  help 
  or 
  punishment 
  could 
  be 
  brought 
  

   about 
  through 
  the 
  exercise 
  of 
  will 
  power, 
  in 
  the 
  wazhi 
  n 
  'iheihe 
  (p. 
  583) 
  

   or 
  the 
  wazlti 
  n 
  'agtlu 
  (p. 
  407), 
  were 
  not 
  regarded 
  as 
  magical 
  practices, 
  

   nor 
  were 
  the 
  means 
  employed 
  by 
  the 
  Ghost 
  and 
  Thunder 
  societies 
  to 
  

   look 
  into 
  the 
  future; 
  these 
  were 
  thought 
  to 
  be 
  different 
  from 
  the 
  

   usages 
  of 
  the 
  Shell 
  and 
  Pebble 
  societies. 
  Only 
  the 
  members 
  of 
  the 
  

   two 
  societies 
  last 
  named 
  claimed 
  to 
  be 
  endowed 
  with 
  the 
  ability 
  

   to 
  exercise 
  powerful 
  magic, 
  and 
  their 
  operations 
  were 
  confined 
  in 
  the 
  

   main 
  to 
  theh- 
  own 
  membership. 
  

  

  Witchcraft, 
  such 
  as 
  is 
  said 
  to 
  have 
  existed 
  in 
  other 
  tribes, 
  was 
  not 
  

   found 
  among 
  the 
  Omaha. 
  There 
  was 
  general 
  fear 
  and 
  dread 
  of 
  

   magic, 
  but 
  no 
  one 
  who 
  practised 
  it 
  was 
  persecuted 
  or 
  punished 
  for 
  

   his 
  acts; 
  he 
  might 
  be 
  avoided, 
  but 
  he 
  would 
  remain 
  unmolested. 
  

  

  Warfare 
  and 
  Ethics 
  

  

  The 
  influence 
  on 
  warfare 
  of 
  the 
  higher 
  ethics 
  has 
  never 
  been 
  pro- 
  

   nounced 
  in 
  the 
  history 
  of 
  any 
  race 
  or 
  people 
  and 
  the 
  Omaha 
  were 
  no 
  

   exception 
  to 
  the 
  rule. 
  As 
  has 
  been 
  stated, 
  when 
  in 
  battle 
  an 
  Omaha 
  

  

  