286 THE WINNEBAGO TRIBE [eth. ann. 37 



created everj'thmg with the definite purpose of benefituig mankind 

 in contrast to the creative acts of the old Trickster. It is very instruc- 

 tive to notice how he gradually usurped the place formerly held by 

 the older spirit-deities and clan ancestors. In the clan origin myths 

 there are a number of versions where he directs certain spirit animals, 

 the ancestors of the clan, to go down to earth, while in other appar- 

 ently older versions nothing is said of him. 



Sun. — The sun is known to the Wumebago generally as ha'^bwira, 

 orb of day, and ceremonially as ha'^horadjira, da3^-wanderer. He 

 does not occupy to-day the position he fonnerly held. There are a 

 number of mdications that seem to pomt to the fact that his worship 

 diminished when that of Earthmaker began to assert itself. Many 

 of his functions and powers were likewise taken over by the Thunder- 

 birds, who, although they distinctly belong to the older strata of 

 Winnebago beliefs, have }et assumed their present importance appar- 

 ently in connection with the development of the Earthmaker belief. 



The sun is occasionally spoken of in myths, but rarely as a culture 

 hero. In only one myth collected was he the hero of the myth. 

 There he appears as the husband of the moon and as an anthro- 

 pomorphic being who possesses an all-powerful disk (the sun). 



Offerings are frequently made to him, but he rarely blesses an 

 individual. In other words, he is not a true guardian spirit. He 

 only blesses men and upon them he always confers success in war. 



Moon. — The moon, like the sxm, probably formerly occupied a 

 more important place in the Winnebago pantheon. She is a female 

 deity and blesses women, although, like the sun, she is not a true 

 guardian spirit. 



Earth. — Earth, like the moon, is a female deity. She is one of the 

 oldest deities of the Winnebago and appears as the grandmother in 

 some of the oldest myth cycles, like that of the hare. Offerings are 

 made to her at the various ceremonies, particularly at the medicine 

 dance and the war-bundle feasts. She never appears as a guardian 

 spirit. 



The earth is one of the deities who has received considerable rein- 

 terpretation at the hands of the shamans. In the myths she is a 

 purely folk-mythological figure in no way interested in furthering 

 she welfare of mankind. On the contrary, she is spoken of as the 

 tister of those bad spirits who are bent on destroymg the human 

 race. Her role as a beneficent deity probably developed in connection 

 with that of the hare, her grandchild, according to the old folklore 

 notions, transformed when he became associated with the founding of 

 the medicine dance or its older Winnebago predecessor from a typical 

 trickster to an heroic animal deity. 



Morniug Star. — This is one of the spirits belongmg to the older 

 strata of Winnebago beliefs, who apparently was not displaced by 



