Bowers] HIDATSA SOCIAL AND CEREMONIAL ORGANIZATION 337 



mother put across the hole in the sky when they came down, that the string used 

 for the necklace represents the sinew his mother used to come down from above, 

 that the red side of the hammer represents the sun and the black side the moon, 

 and that the road followed by Sun and Moon in their travels across the sky will 

 be represented by two lines. Grandson rules that those who buy will later sell to 

 those they call "sons." He rules that it is proper for them to steal food during 

 the nights when the ceremony is being performed. 



Water Grass forgets and blows the whistle during the cold weather and a severe 

 storm drives the game away. Grandson leaves the village with his wife and 

 pitches a tipi where he performs rites wliich bring the stars down carrying buffalo 

 meat wliich they place around those lodges that have a pipe set out for the stars 

 to smoke. After that the people would put a pipe by Grandson's lodge and the 

 stars would come down to eat and smoke, bringing buffalo meat with them. 



But YeUow Dog, the founder of the four Dog societies, has designs on Grandson's 

 wife. [The myth has now dated the mythological origin of the Stone Hammer, 

 Little Dog, Foolish Dog, Dog, and Old Dog societies.] Yellow Dog takes liberties 

 with Grandson's wife. Grandson and the gods from above are bringing meat to 

 the village when he discovers her unfaithfulness and attempts to leave. His wife 

 steps in front of him and attempts to stop him with the pipe. He makes a zigzag 

 path where he steps around the pipe and announces that those who follow this 

 track in the future without falling will live to be old.^^ Then Grandson and the 

 gods return to the sky. 



The people are angry at Yellow Dog and will not feed him. The people move 

 to new hunting grounds upstream but Yellow Dog is so weak that he cannot 

 travel. Grandson imprisons all game in Dog Den.^' 



Grandson's wife assists Yellow Dog and marries him. First Creator discovers 

 the condition of the people and assists Yellow Dog in rites to save the people from 

 starvation.^* 



First Creator advises Yellow Dog to throw turtle fat into the fire and the 

 "Leader of the Wolves" will help bring the game.^^ 



First Creator turns into a young buffalo bull and brings a herd of buffaloes near 

 the village, is shot in the thigh, and runs to Dog Den where Grandson removes the 

 arrow. Then First Creator asks Grandson to stop punishing the people as the 

 people are not starving. Grandson sends Fox to Yellow Dog's camp to learn the 

 news. Fox is taken in a deadfall, fed by the people, and returns to report that 

 Yellow Dog's people are not in want. 



First Creator goes out and brings another herd of buffaloes to Yellow Dog's 

 camp. Grandson sends Chickadee to Yellow Dog's camp; he, too, is trapped, 

 taken to the camp, and fed. He returns and reports that the people are not starv- 

 ing. Again First Creator begs Grandson to free the animals. 



M This happens about 1 mile south of Sanger, N. D, 



" In the Mandan sacred myths it is the Hoita of the Okipa rites who imprisons all the animals. The 

 Hidatsa seem to have no organized rites to dramatize this imprisonment of the animals. 



«« Note that First Creator holds supernatural powers superior to Grandson, for the former represents one 

 of the origuial characters who created the lands. Still, as far as it was possible to determine, there was no 

 First Creator ceremony although he assisted in many rites. There seem to be no tribal rites originating from 

 the "freeing of the animals" other than references to the incident in the Dog society songs of the age-grade 

 system. 



«9 The turtle is also associated with the buffalo on other occasions. Throughout Hidatsa hunting 

 territory are numerous turtle effigies arranged from boulders and situated on high hills with the head pointed 

 toward the river (pi. 6). Nearby are piles of stones on which individual oflerings were made to clear the 

 fogs so that the bufialo herds coxild be found. 



