CHAPTER VI 



WAEFARE AND THE COUNCIL LODGE 

 Warfare 



War was one of the most important elements in the life of the 

 Winnebago. The life of the warrior was the ideal toward which all 

 men strove. It not only satisfied certain emotional needs but it 

 was so inextricably interwoven with social standing in the com- 

 munity and with individual prestige that Winnebago life is unthink- 

 able without it. It is not surprising, then, that the prayer for 

 success on the warpath was the most important prayer that men 

 offered up to the spirits and that it was reechoed in almost all the 

 ceremonies. (Pis. 43, 44, 45.) 



An element of culture fraught with so much significance to the 

 individual and the social group was bound to be surrounded by 

 innumerable customs, regulations, and restrictions. It was a life 

 that was at stake every time an individual went on the warpath, 

 and remembering the value of each life to a small community, it is 

 not to be wondered at if there is a definite attempt on the part of the 

 social group to restrict individual activity in this particiilar regard. 

 An individual might go on the warpath either alone or in company 

 with a few people, but the community, in the person of the chief, 

 insisted that he show some warrant for his action. If no warrant of 

 any kind could be given, he subjected himself to the only restrictive 

 measures the chief and the community could adopt, disapproval, 

 jeers, and temporary loss of social standing and prestige. So much, 

 as far as his own person was concerned. If his action jeopardized 

 the life or lives of other members of the tribe he had then to face 

 the relatives of these people, just as any individual who had com- 

 mitted some wrong. It is hardly likely that many men would 

 willingly run any risks of unnecessarily antagonizing their fellow 

 tribesmen when the proper means of preparing for the warpath 

 was open to all. A careful perusal of the system of education given 

 on page 166 makes it clear that a sufficiently large number of 

 methods for obtaining consent to lead a party were given, and that 

 it was possible for every male individual to go on the warpath 

 frequently if he so desired. Certain requirements were, however, 

 necessary. It was not left to each individual to decide for himself 

 whether he possessed these, but the final decision always lay in the 

 hands of the chief. 

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