i^Dix] SYSTEM OF EDUCATION 169 



limb.'^ They will indeed like you very much if you obtain a limb, 

 or, even better, two or three. If you do thus, wherever people boil 

 an animal with a head " you will always be able to eat. 



If on account of your bravery you are permitted to tell of your 

 war exploits during the Four Nights' Wake for the benefit of the 

 soul of the deceased, do not try to add to your glory by exaggerat- 

 ing any exploit, for by so doing you will cause the soul to stumble 

 on its journey to the spirit land." If you do this and add an un- 

 truth to the account of your war exploit, you will die soon after. 

 The war spirits always hear you. Tell a little less. The old men 

 say it is wise. 



My son, it is good to die in war. If you die in war, your soul will 

 not be imconscious. You will have complete disposal of your soul 

 and it will always be happy.''^ If you should ever desire to retm-n 

 to this earth and live here again, you will be able to do so. A second 

 life as a human being you may live, or, if you prefer, as an inhabitant 

 of the air (a bird) you may live, or you may roam the earth as an 

 animal. Thus it is to him who dies in battle. 



My son, fast for an honorable place among your fellowmen. Fast, 

 so that when you are married you may have plenty of food; that 

 you may be happy and that you may not have to worry about your 

 children. If in your fastings you have a vision of your future home, 

 the members of your family will be lacking in nothing during their 

 life. Fast for the food that you may need. If you fast a suffi- 

 ciently large number of times, when in after life you have cliildren 

 and they cry for food you will be able to offer a piece of deer or 

 moose meat without any difficulty. Your children will never be 

 hungry. 



"That IS, a war honor, but more specifically if you "count coup" first. The honor of killing an enemy 

 and the three honors associated with first touching his dead body are always spoken of as "the four limbs 

 of the body." 



" That is, wherever people give a Wmter Feast. At this feast a deer, head and all, Is served to the 

 Invited guests. The head may only be eaten by bra%e warriors. 



'< At the death of a clansman an elaborate wake takes place. To this wake, as the prmcipal participants, 

 three or tour warriors who have counted "coup" are always invited. It is believed that the souls of all 

 the enemies one has killed become the slaves of the victor and he may command them to do his bidding 

 at any time. If the victor tells his exploit and then commands the enslaved soul to take care of the recently 

 departed person in whose honor the wake is being given, the soul of the conquered enemy will be of con- 

 siderable aid in overcoming the obstacles that are supposed to infest the path between this earth and the 

 land of the spirits. These can not be o\ercome by the merits of the individual alone. If, however, a 

 warrior becomes vainglorious, the soul of the recently departed individual will fail into the abysm of fire 

 which surrounds one of the heavenly earths through which he must pass. That is what is meant by 

 "stumbling." 



'' It must be remembered that the Winnebago believe that all that constitutes "life," "consciousness," 

 continues to e.xist alter death, the only difference being that in the former case an envelope, the body.is 

 presentand, Lnthelatteroase.it is not. Winnebago philosophy does not concern itself with what happens 

 when a soul becomes "unconscious" at death, which would, of course, be the case with all those who do 

 not die in battle: but it does insist that to him who dies on the warpath the moment of death does not 

 even deprive of consciousness. He goes right on living, as if he were still an inhabitant of this earth, the 

 only difference being that the corporeal envelope has fallen off his soul and that, although he sees and hears 

 human beings, he himself is not visible nor his voice audible. 



186823—22 12 



